The municipality of metro Istanbul closed 1453 Culture and Art Magazine and fired three editors for “bounderish, disrespectful and provocative content” – that content being a spray-painted “Erdo-gone! Inshallah mashallah (God willing)” on a wall behind a cat. The offending article? A cover story on a popular documentary about the city’s street cats.
Tag: 05.16.17
What Are Young People Thinking? It Might Surprise You…
The Youth Index recently reported that 44% of young people said they didn’t know what to believe in the media, and here I was learning how they are creating their own theories of who holds power and control in contemporary society and over individuals’ lives.
We’ve All Totally Misunderstood Murphy’s Law – It’s Really A ‘Call To Excellence’
Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. “The phrase has a dour fatalism to it – if everything’s bound to fail, why bother trying? But time has distorted the law’s intended meaning entirely. There really was a Murphy, and the law that bears his name is not an admission of defeat. It is a call to excellence.” Corinne Purtill explains. (Has she ruined it for the rest of us?)
‘Wait, Is That Really A Word?’ How Do You Figure Out The Answer To That Question?
In the English language, that effort is just about futile, argues linguist John McWhorter in this Lexicon Valley podcast.
Why Turning The Play ‘King Charles III’ Into A TV Special Just Didn’t Work
Mind you, this wasn’t a telecast of the theatre performance; decades’ experience has shown that those can be just dandy. (Yes, yes, it’s not the same as being there. Not everyone can get there.) This was a BBC television adaptation, with television conventions. Yes, sometimes that can work; Time Out London theatre editor Andrzej Lukowski analyzes why, for this play in particular, it did not.
How The Getty Singlehandedly Built A New Generation Of Art Conservators
“In the late 2000s, there were roughly 10 such experts worldwide—a small number that was poised to get even smaller. Many of these individuals were approaching retirement age, and across the whole of the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe, there were at most two young conservators considering a career in this niche field. This was the worrisome picture that emerged from a survey begun in 2008 by Copenhagen’s Statens Museum for Kunst and funded by the Getty Foundation.”
Why Elvis’s Status Is Plummeting (He Was A “Novelty” Act?)
Elvis has fallen to the status of “novelty act”, according to David Hesmondhalgh, an author and professor of music at the University of Leeds, who says that any musician whose image transcends their music will ultimately fade away: “If you ask a small child about Elvis, the fact he died on a toilet through overeating or wore a silly suit is all that registers. The music has become far less important than the caricature. His image has been cheapened.”
St. Paul MN’s Ordway Center Chief Steps Down
A onetime child star, James Rocco initiated the Ordway’s Broadway Songbook series, which celebrates musical theater composers. He also built up the Ordway’s in-house Broadway-style producing arm, putting on shows such as “A Chorus Line,” “Paint Your Wagon” and the recent smash, “West Side Story.”
A Sundance For Choreography?
It’s even in Utah. “A breath of fresh choreographic air is coming to Salt Lake City. Ballet West artistic director Adam Sklute has invited companies from across the country to join Ballet West for the first annual National Choreographic Festival, May 19–20 and 26–27. Over the course of two weekends and two different programs, premieres and recently acquired repertory will be performed in the new, state-of-the-art Eccles Theater.”
This Year’s Big TV Series For Ramadan Is About Life Under ISIS
Ramadan is the big season for television in the Muslim world, as families gather at the set each night after breaking the daytime fast. Black Crows, a 30-part drama airing on the Arab world’s most popular satellite channel, “paints a picture of the Islamic State … as a brutal criminal organization run by corrupt and hypocritical leaders. But recruits are depicted as victims, and women who challenge the militants’ control are heroes.” (includes scenes from three episodes)