The ‘Default Mode Network’ – It’s Why Your Mind Won’t Keep Still When It’s Not Occupied With Something Particular

“When given nothing else to do, the brain defaults to thinking about the person it’s embedded in. … [That is,] brain areas related to processing emotions, recalling memory, and thinking about what’s to come become quietly active.” It’s quieting that area that Buddhist meditation practice is all about.

Musicians Fret About Repeal Of The Affordable Care Act

“Although Republicans have ripped Obamacare as a disastrous form of taxing-the-rich socialism since it passed Congress in 2010, the act has given struggling Americans a lifeline for buying health insurance, often for the first time. Musicians have been an especially vulnerable segment of this group — just before the law took effect in 2013, the Future of Music Coalition estimated they were uninsured at a rate of almost three times more than the general population.”

Top Posts From AJBlogs 01.19.17

Killing NEA, NEH And PBS Is Just Collateral Damage In The Commodification Of American Values
So it begins. … Zeroing out the culture budgets isn’t about money; together, the NEA, NEH and PBS account for barely 0.02 percent of the federal budget. Neither is it about art the Trumpsters think is offensive or artists they don’t like. … read more
AJBlog: diacritical | Douglas McLennan Published 2017-01-20

What to stand for
I haven’t been able to assemble many words since November, so I’m grateful for those who have. On the one hand, thoughtful rhetoric and reasoned language seem increasingly discounted and disdained as core values. On the other, … read more
AJBlog: The Artful Manager Published 2017-01-19

Stumped by Trump: MoMA’s Lowry Walks “Fine Line” Between “Asserting Values” & Being Partisan
I opened up a can of worms at the Museum of Modern Art’s press breakfast yesterday, when I asked the first question after the director’s and curators’ presentation about upcoming exhibitions: … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2017-01-19

 

UK Members Of Parliament Want To Ban Arts Internships, Calling Them “Curse Of The Arts Industry”

The report draws on the evidence submitted from people including outgoing Arts Council England chair Peter Bazalgette, who warned that unpaid internships were “the curse of the arts industry”. He said there was an expectation that young people will work for less than the minimum wage, which he added was a “major barrier for disadvantaged young people interested in accessing jobs in the creative industries”.

Kennicott: Trump Eliminating NEA, NEH And PBS Is Significant Step To Eliminating The Free Public Realm

Phil Kennicott: “The loss of the NEA is mostly about symbolism. But along with the loss of the NEH and privatization of the CPB, these proposed budget cuts are part of a nascent but ominous larger movement to eliminate the last vestiges of a public realm free of the dictates of the market. Privatizing the social safety net and shifting tax dollars away from public schools are essential moves in a longer war on a social contract that preserves faith in the public realm. Academia is another target and is in the cross hairs as well.”

Soprano Roberta Peters, 86

Ms. Peters, who would sing with the Met 515 times over 35 vigorous years, was internationally renowned for her high, silvery voice (in private, she could hit a high A, two and a half octaves above middle C); her clarion diction in a flurry of languages; her attractive stage presence; and, by virtue of the fact that she and television came to prominence at about the same time, her wide popular appeal.

Report: Trump Plans To Eliminate The NEA And NEH

“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be privatized,” the Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports, “while the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities would be eliminated entirely.” In total, the administration aims to cut spending by $10.5 trillion over the next decade.