A scholar of the history of Christianity writes about “New Thought” – developed by a Maine clockmaker whose most famous student was Mary Baker Eddy (who, of course, went off in her own direction) – and how it led to the uniquely American “prosperity gospel” (which dates back to 1925) and Norman Vincent Peale, who led the church attended by the Trump family.
Tag: 02.15.17
Oscar Season = Piracy Season
“Screeners are usually identifiable by an intermittent on-screen message reminding viewers the film is not to be copied or shared, and they also usually contain watermarks as a security measure against piracy. But every year they do get leaked online, and 2017 has been no exception, despite earlier reports that fewer leaks were happening this time around.”
Preserving Palmyra On The Web, With Centuries-Old Images
With ISIS having retaken the ancient Roman city in Syria and destroyed yet more of its historical sites, the Getty has created an online archive with the oldest-known photos of Palmyra (from 1864) and drawings and etchings made in the mid- and late 1700s.
Verona Fires Its Entire Ballet Company
The hugely popular opera festival at the Arena di Verona is, like almost all Italian opera houses, in deep financial trouble: it nearly went into liquidation last spring, until Rome sent a turnaround specialist to the rescue. Last week, as a cost-cutting measure, the 19 dancers of the festival’s ballet company were laid off – despite the fact that their shows regularly sell out. (in Italian; Google Translate version here)
Crisis In Bordeaux: Ballet’s Director Is Suspended And Dancers Fight Job Cuts
With a sharp, if veiled, rebuke – “the Opéra has been working for several months to define a new balance between reduced resources and ambitious artistic activity … [an effort] which assumes commitment, trust, and close collaboration” – the board president of the Opéra national de Bordeaux has suspended Charles Jude, the house’s director of ballet. The action follows months of dispute over how to allocate dwindling state funding and whether or not to fill vacant positions in the corps de ballet. (in French; Google Translate version here)
The Russian Library That Costs £100 A Visit
“To enjoy the library’s collection and atmosphere, you have to pay a ticket of just under £100 for a four-hour reading session – a markedly different experience to the free access readers can enjoy in Russia’s public libraries.”
Outstanding Clarinetist Gervase de Peyer, 89
He went on to become the outstanding player of his generation, developing a warm, flexible sound that made extensive use of vibrato, particularly in the lower register, and inspired many new compositions.
Journalists Are Beginning To Use Bots To Write The News
When Facebook fired the human editors of its Trending module last year and let an algorithm curate the news, the world soon learned (falsely) that Megyn Kelly had been fired from Fox News. “Will there be controversy when the bot thinks this is important, and humans say this is important, and they’re the exact opposite thing? It’s going to get interesting.”
How Wikipedia Is Enlisting An Army To Fight Fake News
“Wikipedia’s role in beating back the post-truth age doesn’t rest with blacklisting certain sources as perpetually unreliable (as the website did with the Daily Mail) or preventing congressional staffers from meddling with their boss’ bios. An elder statesman of the content ecosystem in Internet years, Wikipedia has been combating misinformation by thoughtfully and purposefully iterating on strict guidelines of verifiability that Wikipedians (active editors in the Wikipedia community) both refine and enforce information transparently in open channels.”
New York City Proposes A New Cultural Plan. Commence Debate…
“The fight continues to be not only about housing and arts and culture, but about what kind of city New York will be. The question I pose is: Can we have both the people and the price of land be part of how this city is defined? How this plan plays out may give us part of the answer.”