Stanley Fish: “In fact, ‘stand your ground’ is more than a declaration of a right; it is an injunction – stand your ground, be a man. Retreating in order to avoid violence is not the commendable act of a prudent man, but the act of a coward, of someone who runs away. It is this aspect of the [laws] … that links them to the novelistic and filmic representations of the old west.”
Tag: 07.22.13
Sexual Repression Can Fuel Creativity – For Protestants: Study
“Three University of Illinois psychologists present evidence that this equation only applies to Protestants – or, perhaps, people raised in a Protestant-dominated culture. … Jews and Catholics have a less-productive way of responding to uncomfortable thoughts and feelings: guilt.”
U.S. House Republicans Propose Massive Cuts To NEA, NEH
Legislation now moving through the Appropriations Committee would reduce the budgets of the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities by $71 million each. Funding for the Smithsonian and the National Gallery of Art would be cut by almost one-fifth.
The Hochhausers: Fifty Years Of Bringing Russian Artists To London
“The day of [Stalin’s] death we started working with the Russians. That meant we just missed meeting Prokofiev because he died the same day.” But the couple did meet – and present, and befriend – Shostakovich, Oistrakh, Richter, Rostropovich and Vishnevskaya, Plisetskaya – and Nureyev, the most difficult of them all.
Fired Ballet Star On His Relationship With The Bolshoi
Nikolai Tsiskaridze: “The Bolshoi is the best in classical dancing. And for years I have been the face of that company.” On his contentious relationship with former Bolshoi Ballet director Alexei Ratmansky: “The prime minister doesn’t tell the queen what to do. He can only offer polite advice.”
In Egypt, This Year’s Ramadan Soap Operas Star Conservative Islamists
“Moltaheen – ‘people with beards’ – are all over TV this Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, which Egyptians mark by staying up through the night and watching multi-episode soap operas. … These programs were filmed when Morsi still held power, and they appear to be the cultural establishment’s collective protests against extremism.”
Alabama Arts Center Closed Due To Bat Invasion
“A bat infestation in March caused Kentuck [Art Center] to evacuate its downtown Northport building and seek about $50,000 from the city of Northport to help get rid of the bats and restore the structure. The bats have been banished, but four months later, the arts association is still not back in its building.”
The Man Who Runs Random Penguin (We Know, But It’s A Better Name For It)
“He is the most powerful publishing figure on the planet, but for now all he wants to do is talk. Talk to his people, to answer their questions about an uncertain new era. And talk to you, his reader.”
Historians Of The Future: Sorry We Left So Much Stuff!
“Future historians will have hundreds of millions of images (from Instagram alone) of people’s daily lives. Add tens of millions of videos. And then there is the metadata–GPS locations for those posts and images, networks of friends and sharing, tags and hashtags!”
Is This The End For Lonely Planet Guidebooks?
“It’s a moribund turn for a company that prided itself on being the down-to-earth guide for a generation of free-spirited travelers and vagabonds who set out without much more than a backpack, a Lonely Planet guide, and a lust for adventure.”