Does Religious Education Undermine Western Society?

Education is always a touchy subject, and with the world embroiled in any number of religion-based conflicts, religious schools are suddenly a controversial topic in Britain. Some are even suggesting that faith-based education should be abolished altogether. “Unless all faith schools are abolished, Britain will never be truly egalitarian, nor will our multi-ethnic society be secure enough to be worth celebrating.”

Where Does He Find The Time To Make All The Nukes?

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il’s official bio is quite the document, laying out the Dear Leader’s supposed accomplishments in the fields of international relations, publishing, and pretty much everything else under the sun. And then there’s this sentence: “It is also said that he wrote six operas, all of which are better then any in the history of music.” Well, of course they are. Regardless of whether he has actually written any operas, Kim has authored a book on opera (along with 1500 others, according to the bio,) which contains such keen artistic insights as “In the first place, an opera singer must sing well.”

The Long, Slow Fight For Art Recovery

Groups advocating the return of art looted by the Nazis in World War II have made great progress in recent years, but the battle is far from over. Just identifying looted art is a major undertaking: “One thorny issue is just how many looted items could have made their way to American museums. Under scrutiny are objects that were created before 1946 and obtained by a museum after 1932. Other criteria are whether the piece was in Europe at that time and whether ownership changed between 1932 and 1946.”

Everyone Knows Teletubbies Are More Evil Than Sex, Anyway

Earlier this week, PBS’s Sprout Channel (TV for the under-5 set) dismissed one of its most popular hosts for the heinous crime of having once used a few curse words in a satirical sketch about sex that is now available online. Mark Morford cannot believe we’ve come to this: “What sort of people are we? What sort of warped and reckless and utterly silly value system do we suck on in this culture? Why are we so wildly, preternaturally terrified of all things sexual while at the same time drawn to it all like fat teenagers to french fries?”

Morris Misstep?

When Mark Morris announced plans to choreograph a new version of the Delibes-scored ballet, Sylvia, it immediately became one of the most-anticipated events of the 2006 season. But Clive Barnes isn’t the least bit impressed with the results: “Morris, a modern dance master with classic leanings, still approaches ballet like a man talking a foreign language: with a misplaced confidence, a very limited vocabulary and a totally unconvincing accent.”

Toronto Movie House To Get New Life

“After months of theatre closings and speculation that repertory cinemas in Toronto are doomed, some good news for a change: The Royal Theatre, a College Street landmark, has been sold for $2.2-million to a company set on keeping the projector running — with a modern twist. The buyer is Theatre D Digital, a Toronto-based postproduction film company that plans to restore the theatre’s rickety red velvet seats and ornate moulding to their original charm. It will be used as a state-of-the-art production studio by day and movie theatre by night.”

Chelsea’s Summer Wars

“The summer group show wars are raging in [New York’s Chelsea neighborhood.] Over the last few years they have become something of an annual rite. Starting in late June and continuing through August, the solo shows drop off and the group shows — four or more artists — proliferate. The densely packed yet oddly discrete parallel universes in which galleries exist for most of the year lose some of their definition… It is open season for cool hunting and power gathering. Hipness prevails over blue-chipness.”

Could Full Body Trombone Tackling Be Far Behind?

Plenty of orchestras have embraced the trend of performing concert versions of the musical scores to video games, so it probably shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Houston Symphony is planning a concert of music from the National Football League. You didn’t know the NFL produced original music? Silly you. The league has, in fact, had not one but three composers on call over the last 40 years, writing the full orchestral scores you hear under the voice of Harry Kalas on the film-quality highlight reels put out by NFL Films.