“New novels from Don DeLillo and Martin Amis, two of the remaining dons of the literary scene of the 1980s, are out within a week of each other, like some last blast of “Remember when?” just before the 2020 election further propels us into a new realm of reality. Amis has written a novel so interested in Amis that its cover — a black-and-white portrait of, you guessed it, Amis — feels less like a postmodern joke and more like a warning sign. DeLillo, whose work is usually our national harbinger of future calamities, has written a disaster thriller that forgets to thrill.” – New York Magazine
Blog
How Archaeology Regards Layers And Order
Past use doesn’t determine what we mean by uttering a word on a particular occasion, but it does shape what a speaker can intend to get across. If I am being cooperative, and I intend to make a request that you pass something on the table, I won’t use a word I know you don’t know. To do so would be to violate a tacit commitment to a basic principle of cooperation, which Grice argues underpins all communication. – Psyche
Is Requiring Ethnic Studies In Universities A Good Idea?
“In essence, the California state legislature has made it mandatory for the nearly 500,000 students in the Cal State system to take the classes that student activists and others fought for universities to implement decades ago. While these classes are not without controversy, as a scholar who studies racial dynamics on college campuses, I argue their benefits outweigh their liabilities.” – The Conversation
Chicago Jazz Clubs Flounder Under New Shutdown
“The past few months have been picking up a little bit. We’ve been trying to meet our restricted quota. So people were starting to come out a little more now. Now that we have to close, that’s another nail in the coffin.” – Chicago Tribune
The Viral Video That Captures America Just Now Is A Snowball Fight In 1897 France
“The footage was captured in Lyon, in 1897, by the Lumière brothers, who were among the world’s first filmmakers. It was originally black and white, of course, and herky-jerky because of the low frame rate. But this snowball fight has recently been colorized and smoothed, and the result is shockingly modern. The video shows 52 seconds of joyful carnage: a gaggle of antiquated French people hucking compacted snow at one another’s faces with terrifying ferocity.” – The New York Times Magazine
Researchers Link Peak Music Moments To Brain Stimulation
From a neuroscience perspective, when a study participant experienced pleasurable musical chills, Chabin et al. observed an uptick of theta activity in the prefrontal cortex in conjunction with higher arousal and emotional-response ratings. – Psychology Today
The First Mughal Emperor Wrote One Of History’s Great Autobiographies
“Profoundly honest and unusually articulate, at once emotionally compelling and profoundly revealing, the Babur Nama is in many ways an oddly modern text, almost Proustian in its self-awareness. It presents the uncensored fullness of the man, a human life perfectly pinned to the page in simple, direct and unpretentious prose.” – Literary Hub
Choreographing Differently-Abled Dancers
“The choreographies are designed for the functionally diverse artists so that they can demonstrate their artistic qualities. As I create, I physically put myself in their place (wheelchair, etc.), testing and experiencing the choreography. I search for innovative ways someone with restricted movement can achieve the same intention, such as hitting the floor with the wheelchair to create what would be the percussion of footwork. – Dance Magazine
Historical Interpreter At A Heritage Site Is One Of The Most Challenging Acting Jobs Around
These are the people you see in period dress portraying anyone from a Tudor monarch to an aristocrat’s cook “The work is underpinned by rigorous research, often drawing on primary-source material. The results, [one interpreter] says, have a different depth than a guidebook, or an audio guide.” – The Stage
Could VR Help Save Theatre?
Having long been one of the digital technologies heralded as being a game changer for theatre, we think VR has an important part to play now in engaging audiences during the coronavirus pandemic. This will be a vital test of how theatre might be delivered safely and innovatively in the short- to medium-term, and a taste of how theatre, and its audiences, may embrace digital in the long-term. – Arts Professional