Britain’s Abandoned Brass Instruments Are Changing Children’s Lives In Uganda

The not-for-profit Brass for Africa “has delivered 800 brass instruments to both Uganda and Liberia and reaches over 1000 children weekly. … The children involved include those living in extreme poverty (living either as street children or in a slum), as well as children living in orphanages and rehabilitation centres, living with physical or mental disability, or coping with HIV/AIDS. These children each have two training sessions a week, which include music theory, and … the bands each have at least three performances a year,.”

In Praise Of Quiet Books

Not every book needs to be splashy. Author Silas House: “To me, good literature examines the way the biggest moments of life happens in the quiet moments. I think the characters I create tend to be quiet observers, people who might lead quiet lives but are very sensory. I love the idea of examining what some might think of as ‘small, quiet lives.'”

Why Bloomberg Philanthropies Hit On Arts As A Boost For Cities

While the arts may not always seem to be an obvious area for investment, the sector has uniquely comprehensive impact. Cultural activity creates social cohesion, builds neighborhood identity, supports local economies by providing direct and ancillary jobs for residents, and generates spending at a range of businesses, large and small—from equipment suppliers and caterers to parking garages, dry cleaners and babysitters.

Why The Classic Chicago Accent Is Disappearing

The classic Chicago accent is heard less often these days because the white working class is less numerous, and less influential, than it was in the 20th century. It has been pushed to the margins of city life, both figuratively and geographically, by white flight, multiculturalism and globalization: The accent is most prevalent in blue-collar suburbs and predominantly white neighborhoods in the northwest and southwest corners of the city, now heavily populated by city workers whose families have lived in Chicago for generations.

The Changing Calculus Of How Hollywood Decides On Making Sequels

Once upon a time — specifically, from the dawn of the “talkie” in the 1920s until just a few years ago — Hollywood’s calculus regarding how sequels got made was simple. A movie came out, did big business, won over fans, and the captains of industry in the studio C-suite called out for another one: the same again, only different. These days, however, the forces dictating which films get sequelized and which don’t has become a much weirder science.

Hollywood Has A Gun Problem It Needs To Fix

“It’s ironic, then, that Wayne LaPierre and the NRA’s other spokespeople blame Hollywood’s glorification of violence whenever there is a mass shooting. What they ignore is that nearly every American film involving weaponry might as well be an NRA infomercial. On the big screen, guns rarely kill innocent bystanders, they don’t go off by accident, and they aren’t used to slaughter children in classrooms. Pick any action movie at random, and I’d wager it could be advertised using LaPierre’s catchphrase: ‘The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.'”

The English Restoration’s Filthiest Poet (And Why The Era Needed Him)

“With characters like ‘Buggeranthos,’ ‘C__tigratia,’ ‘C__ticula,’ ‘Clytoris’ and of course ‘Fuckadillia,’ the late seventeenth-century play Sodom, or the Quintessence of Debauchery would seem to be little more than pornography. And yet, in certain critical respects, this bawdy play embodied the Restoration. … This traumatized world, where all inherited beliefs and moralities were questioned, called out for a poet laureate. [John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester], a debauched dilettante, answered that call.”

In Wake Of Curator Firing, Is MoCA’s Director About To Resign?

“Is Museum of Contemporary Art Director Philippe Vergne on his way out? That’s the question swirling in the art-world air following his surprise firing of MOCA’s chief curator one month ago, the sudden cancellation of the museum’s annual gala fundraiser and, perhaps most important, the pending expiration of Vergne’s contract. … Vergne has placed his $4-million Hollywood Hills mansion on the market, and on Tuesday, real estate websites showed a sale pending.”