“I suppose it goes without saying that James Joyce, DH Lawrence and others were expanding the scope of literature and redrawing humanity’s picture of itself when they approached this subject in the earlier part of the 20th century. But by the time I came along, many of my friends were embarrassed on my behalf precisely because the topic I was writing about seemed so closely associated with an earlier era. So why have I stuck with it?”
Tag: 06.20.09
Where Heaven Comes From
“The idea that Christians go to heaven upon dying isn’t found in the oldest books in the New Testament, such as the letters of Paul and the Gospel of Mark. In this excerpt from the new book The Evolution of God, Robert Wright suggests that early Christianity adopted the idea from a competing religion in the Roman Empire.”
Connecticut’s Long Wharf Theatre Cuts Budget, Staff
“The Tony award-winning theater is laying off about 10 percent of its full-time staff — between 40 and 50 employees — and also eliminating five seasonal workers, switching six year-round contracts to seasonal work, instituting a hiring freeze, cutting production costs and reducing salaries from 1 percent to 4.5 percent.”
Finland – Architecture That Defines
“The Finnish approach to architecture is a sobering yet exhilarating antidote to a world gone mad for excessive and absurdly expensive design.”
On Staying Viable And Relevant In The Face Of technology And Recession
“When movies came along we still read books and went to live performance and got something out of it we could not get any other way. It’s the same today. No matter how prevalent the computer has become, there is something in human beings that seeks out a shared experience, an element of surprise.”
Conductor Simon Rattle: Setting Into Middle Age
“Rattle is settling into comfortable middle age. The blue T-shirt may advertise a man still young at heart but the curls are white and thinning. Yesterday’s boy wonder is now older than most of his orchestra. He has begun to slow down, to be slightly less sensitive to criticism. But there’s another factor at work.”