“A former director of the English National Ballet and confidant of Diana, Princess of Wales, has admitted that he asked a pregnant ballerina to consider having an abortion.”
Tag: 03.22.13
How’s the Art World Going For Women Artists In Germany?
Yep, still sexist – and also just flat-out “extremely conservative.”
Want To Be A Violin Soloist? Good Luck Getting An Instrument To Borrow
“Most often soloists rely on the generosity of a wealthy owner or foundation to lend them an instrument.”
Berlin, Artistic Mecca – And Architectural Hell
“There’s a dirt trail running from Berlin’s main railway station, and it demonstrates how this city works: First, someone comes up with something; then everyone does something completely different; and, finally, the whole thing goes haywire.”
Measuring The Internet – Illegally
A hacker probably opened up your computer, router, or security system to discover how weak normal passwords are (and in the process, map the supposedly unmappable internet).
Would Willa Cather Have Hated Having Her Letters Published?
“The letters do not yield steamy intimate detail. But they do make clear that Cather’s primary emotional attachments were to women, while also laying to rest what the volume’s editors, in interviews, called a persistent urban legend: that of the fanatically secretive author eager to erase any record of shameful desire.”
Barnes and Noble Dramatically Cuts Orders From Simon & Schuster
“A standoff over financial terms has prompted the bookstore chain Barnes & Noble to cut back substantially on the number of titles it orders from the publishing house Simon & Schuster, raising fears among other publishers, agents and authors.”
Is Oral Storytelling Going The Way Of The Manual Typewriter?
“Hardly anyone tells these stories anymore. And very few are interested to hear them. In fact, we have to dig through our memory, because it’s been so long since we narrated them.”
Bebo Valdés, 94, Giant of Cuban Music
“This is my profession, and it is my hobby, and I live in love with what I do,” the pianist and composer said in 2006. “Even if I wasn’t successful, I did it because I liked it, and I’ll keep doing it until I die.”
Chinua Achebe, 82, ‘Grandfather Of African Literature’
“His creation of a hybrid that combined oral and literary modes, and his refashioning of the English language to convey Igbo voices and concepts, established a model and an inspiration for other novelists throughout the African continent.”