“Relying on empathy to motivate charity means that it is not enough that the needy are humans, but they must also be lucky … The needy must also not be repulsive, but preferably be adorable. … The Abrahamic tradition has a different approach to altruism. The New and Old Testaments largely command people who are comfortable to give to people who aren’t – unconditionally.”
Tag: 09.17.14
Yo, What Fools These Mortals Be: When Plays Keep Reminding The Audience That They’re Plays
Sir Isaac Newton, Chris Jones observes, probably did not say “yay” – except in a new play about him now running in Chicago. “That in itself is not a new idea; playwrights have been modernizing historical subjects and simplifying conversations for generations. But in [this case and others], the anachronisms are intended to draw attention to themselves. … So what gives with this trend? To some degree it’s a consequence of the Wikipedia-ization of our culture.”
In The Age Of The Internet, Who Needs Footnotes?
“For a book to be taken seriously, does it have to take us right to the yellowing page of some crumbling edition guarded in the depths of an austere library, if the material could equally well be found through a Google search? Has an element of fetishism perhaps crept into what was once a necessary academic practice?”
Censorship! (Alas, It’s All Too Easy To Cry Foul)
“If the concept of censorship is extended to everything, it means nothing. It should not be trivialized.”
“It’s Not Literary” – Why It’s Such A Breakthrough For Alison Bechdel And Roz Chast To Be Getting Book Prizes
Alexander Chee: “‘I don’t know how to evaluate this.’ ‘Shouldn’t comics have their own category?’ ‘This isn’t literary.’ As a frequent juror on prizes, colonies and fellowships, I am, it could be said, so tired of this, that in fact, I will fight you for Roz Chast’s right to be on this list. I will fight you for the right for Bechdel to get that MacArthur.”
Philadelphia Loses 10,000 Maurice Sendak Items (Here’s What’s Really Being Lost)
“Leaders from the Rosenbach and the Free Library of Philadelphia – the two merged in 2013 – are not surprised to see the Sendak material leaving. In visits with him in his last years, Rosenbach staffers heard him talk more and more about a museum and study center devoted to his life and work.”
Why An Old(er) Lady Dances
“I may not kick or jump as high as I used to, but I am a trained dancer with body movement memory, a sense of rhythm, an ability to get every routine and never miss a beat. Besides, I have a hell of a time doing it.”
This Year’s Gramophone Classical Awards
Here are the best recordings of the year as chosen by the magazine.
Butterfly Lands On Contestant In International Flute Competition, And…
“As Ota played Pierrre Sancan’s Sonatine for the judges, a butterfly first landed in her hair and then settled on her left eyebrow as she continued to perform. Only a brief glance upward belied her complete concentration as the insect opened and closed its wings.”
Rob Ford Musical Will Go On, Cancer Or No Cancer
“The mostly sold out production of Rob Ford the Musical: Birth of a Ford Nation will open as planned Thursday night, regardless of Wednesday’s health update” that the embattled Toronto mayor has cancer. (They’ve changed the ending, though.)