Pretentiousness – What If It’s Really Authenticity That Someone Else Doesn’t Like?

“Authenticity is overrated – give me a perfectly struck pose. (That may be what authenticity is, anyway.) But everyone has things that set them off, and whatever we dislike we might choose to call pretentious. It’s not a stable category of behavior, really, so much as a versatile put-down, meaning, ‘I don’t like what you’re trying to do, and besides, you’re not pulling it off.'”

Galileo Was Totally Overrated

“In the popular presentations of the history of science, he is portrayed as a one-man revolution, an intellectual superhero who dragged science kicking and screaming into the modern era. … The descriptions sound too good to be true – and they are.”

Top Posts From AJBlogs 03.31.16

Perfect Pairings: Frick Draws on Van Dyck’s Drawings to Illuminate His Portrait Paintings
It takes not only brains but also curatorial brawn (which powerful institutions are in the best position to exert) to wrest seldom loaned choice works from discerning, possessive lenders. One of the many joys … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-03-31

Producer’s April: George Martin, Sam Phillips
Jerry Lee Lewis’s mother to her son: “You and Elvis are good, son — but you’re no Chuck Berry. Chuck Berry is rock ’n’ roll from his head to his toes.” … read more
AJBlog: blog riley Published 2016-03-31

Classical Pop Art
“… while the overall style of each fine artwork is maintained, eisen bernard bernardo’s mash-ups create quirky unions of contemporary and classical imagery.” Here’s Milo Miles talking with Robin Young. … read more
AJBlog: blog riley Published 2016-03-31

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Amazon Has Become A Media Giant (And With Video, That’s Only The Start)

“What seemingly started as a way to get people to sign up for two-day shipping has turned into a major force in the world of entertainment. Prime Video may have started as a perk to draw in more Prime members. Now, it’s just as easy to believe that Prime Video may be its own draw, and two-day shipping a nice perk. For $99 a year—cheaper than a year of Netflix, which doesn’t ship anything other than DVDs.”