“It never occurred to either of my parents (or to me) that the National’s manager, whose ticket-taking staff consisted entirely of young, single men, was also gay–in hindsight a larger-than-life queen worthy of ‘The Nance.’ Such was the closeted world, even in the theater, as seen by those on the outside looking in, circa 1966.”
Tag: 05.26.13
Mali’s Underground Railroad: How Timbuktu’s Ancient Manuscripts Were Smuggled To Safety
“It was 7 o’clock on a hot night in August, and Hassine Traore was nervous. Behind him were 10 donkeys, each strapped with two large rice bags filled with ancient manuscripts. The bags were covered in plastic to shield them from a light rain. Radical Islamists had entered Timbuktu four months earlier, and they had set about destroying everything they deemed a sin.”
Critic: We’ve Forgotten How To Read
“What’s missing from our classrooms and our culture, Eagleton says, is discussion of the literariness of literature, of what makes a poem different from a stop sign, or a novel about grief different from the account of grief in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. As an English professor might say, we’re good on content, not so good on form. We go straight for what the play says, and ignore how it says it.”
Why Science Needs Philosophy Now More Than Ever
“Recent attempts to explain how the universe came out of nothing… reveal conceptual confusion beneath mathematical sophistication. They demonstrate the urgent need for a radical re-examination of the invisible frameworks within which scientific investigations are conducted.”
Could Lahore Restore Its Medieval Quarter To Its Mughal-Era Splendor?
“The Walled City’s gardens and squares are now obscured by illegal shops and businesses, the skyline cluttered by unplanned tenements and bundles of cables. … But last month the new Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) – in effect an independent town council – met for the first time. The body oversees the ambitious plan to restore the past glory … of the city’s oldest neighbourhood.”
Studies: Arts Therapy Helps In Treatment Of Disease
“On the whole, people with cancer who were assigned to creative arts treatments reported less depression, anxiety, and pain and a better quality of life during the programs than those who were put on a wait list or continued receiving usual care.”
Opera Charges Into The Future
“Opera is vigorous in ways it never was before. Its future will certainly be unlike its past, but no less resplendent. That has been the nature of opera throughout its long history.”
Catholic Church Gets Back Into The Art Business
“This for us is a germ, a seed to return to the hope that there can be even more commissions between churchmen, ecclesiastical figures and artists – quality contemporary artists.”
Sell-Off Of Detroit Institute Of Art Collection Would Be Extraordinary Event
“The forced sale of art from a major American museum would be without precedent — and likely extraordinarily complicated and controversial.”
Is Google Glass Unsafe?
“News about Google Glass is everywhere these days, and so are its critics. … Nonetheless, most agree that a smartphone-linked display and camera placed in the corner of your vision is intriguing and potentially revolutionary – and like us, they want to try it. But Glass may inadvertently disrupt a crucial cognitive capacity, with potentially dangerous consequences.”