“It was the ultimate test of Franklin’s scholarship and polymathy, a phonetic alphabet designed to have a ‘more natural Order,’ than the existing system. … Franklin was confident that his new alphabet would easier to learn and, once learned, would drastically reduce bad spelling.”
Tag: 05.10.13
Did Vermeer Have A Secret Female Apprentice?
About six of his roughly 30 surviving paintings differ noticeably in style from the others, despite depicting the same people and rooms. Art historians have wondered if Vermeer had an apprentice, though there’s no surviving record of one. Scholar Benjamin Bistock suggests that this mysterious artist was one of Vermeer’s daughters.
No One Wants To Succeed Nicholas Hytner At The National Theatre
Oscar-winner Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) follows Michael Grandage, Marianne Elliott and Dominic Cooke in ruling out the artistic directorship of Great Britain’s flagship playhouse.
You Know The Young, Educated Listeners The Whole Classical Music Industry Is Desperate To Attract? Here’s One Of Them
Journalist and editor Jaime Green recently went to Carnegie Hall – for only the second time in her life, she says – to hear Gabriel Kahane and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Unsure what to make of the experience, she contacted a friend her age who works in classical music. Read their exchange here.
Mo Yan Wants Us To Let Him Write And Stop Badgering Him About Human Rights In China
“Whether or not I deserved the Nobel Prize, I already received it, and now it’s time to get back to my writing desk and produce a good work. I hear that the 2013 list of Nobel Prize nominees has been finalized. I hope that once the new laureate is announced, no one will pay attention to me anymore.”
Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company Names New Artistic Director
“Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company announced Daniel Charon as its new artistic director Thursday, May 9 — the eve of its 50th anniversary. Charon becomes the first male and the second full-time artistic director to be hired by the company … The company’s founding directors, Shirley Ririe and Joan Woodbury, stepped down in 2008.”
Why People Loved Ray Harryhausen’s Stop-Motion Animation (Even In the Age Of CGI)
“What was odd about Harryhausen’s work was that it was obviously ‘fake,’ fabricated – even in its heyday, its invented, articulated falseness was as evident as it was bemusing. One wasn’t convinced by his skeleton warriors; one was amazed by them, a different thing.”
Are Cute Neighborhoods Supposed To Make Us Forget Montreal’s Issues?
“The sweetness of the small architectural intervention is sadly being offset these days by the weight of large public works gone wrong. The corruption charges levelled against Montreal politicians have contaminated the reputation of the venerable metropolis.”
Is *Anyone* Making Money Publishing Online?
Maybe. (Well, probably. It’s a little fuzzy though.)
Did ‘A Rite of Spring’ Really Make Audiences Hate New Music?
“Rather than dividing the audience from new music by ramming the avant-garde down people’s throats, it created something brand-new and made it wildly popular throughout European society.”