“Talent is a destructive myth. To call someone talented is to imply that their abilities are intrinsic. Having written and taught for decades now, I’ve satisfied myself that the improvement of a person’s art isn’t drawn from the mystical well of their soul: it’s generated by practice.”
Tag: 05.03.15
Cable’s Dreaded Bundle Comes To Internet TV
“This may come as a surprise to those who expected the television of the future to resemble, say, a smartphone screen, where every channel would be roughly like an app that you subscribe to à la carte. But overestimating change in the television industry is a rookie mistake.”
‘The Bieber Of Buddhism’
“Except imagine if Justin Bieber had been pronounced, from age seven, the most perfectly compassionate and wise being.” His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, visits Princeton.
Tips On Creativity And Work From A Performance Artist, Including The One About Doing Drugs
“Drugs, drinking, dancing and dating helped me shed decades, after acting middle-aged for so long. In addition to losing years off my life, I no longer had the need for a large studio space. I felt lucky, portable and adaptable.”
The Love Affair Of Scientists And The Lord Of The Rings
“Paleontologists named a 900-pound ancient crocodile Anthracosuchus balrogus, after the Balrog, a giant whip-wielding fire monster from The Lord of the Rings. There is also a dinosaur named after Sauron, which seems kinda harsh.”
The Most Successful Literary Couple In The U.S.
“The emergence of street lit is one of the big stories in recent American publishing, a juggernaut that has generated huge sales by catering to a readership — young, black and, for the most part, female — that historically has been ill-served by the book business. But the genre is also widely maligned.”
The Newest Hot Literary Journal Is … United Airlines’ In-Flight Magazine?
“As airlines try to distinguish their high-end service with luxuries like private sleeping chambers, showers, butler service and meals from five-star chefs, United Airlines is offering a loftier, more cerebral amenity to its first-class and business-class passengers: elegant prose by prominent novelists.”
Is Live-Streaming Via Meerkat And Periscope Going To Kill Pay Per View Sports?
And what about things like plays streamed from the National Theatre? Hmmm. “When the starting bell rung at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, multiple live stream feeds of the action appeared on Meerkat and Periscope from people at home who had paid the $89 or $100 for the fight on their TV.”
Saturday Night Live Shows Exactly Why We Don’t Trust Marvel To Make A ‘Girl Superhero Movie’
“Turns out, the lethal, ass-kicking Natasha Romanoff is just a simple girl looking for love in the Big Apple. She’s a leather-clad intern at magazine Fashion Weekly who falls for the wrong guy (er, robot): Ultron.”
Two Gunmen Killed Trying To Storm Muhammad Cartooning Event In Texas
“The event, led by prominent conservatives who are critical of Islam, was ending when two males drove up in a car and began shooting at a police officer outside, according to a statement posted on Facebook by the city of Garland, a suburb about 20 from Dallas.”