Osmo Vänskä and his ensemble will be the first professional American orchestra to tour the country, and they’re bringing with them a specially commissioned piece by a South African composer to honor the centennial of Nelson Mandela’s birth. (The Minnesota Chorale had to learn to sing in Xhosa.)
Tag: 07.22.18
Why Tyrants So Often Write Books
The prestige of the book as a cultural artifact has declined steeply of late, as is daily observable almost everywhere, but in the totalitarian century it was undiminished. Every tyrant wanted to publish a book; to have written one (or at least have his name affixed to it as the author) was proof of intellectual gravitas.
Rome’s Subway Expansion Keeps Digging Up Ancient Treasures
“The presence of ancient artifacts underground is a daunting challenge for urban developers. For archaeologists, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. ‘I think it’s the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to me, professionally speaking,’ says Simona Morretta, the state archaeologist in charge of the Amba Aradam site. ‘Because you never get the chance in a regular excavation to dig so deep. That’s how we’ve found architectural complexes as important as this.'”
1,000-Year-Old City Walls Of Kano, Nigeria ‘May Not Survive The Rainy Season’
“The historic walls are under threat as never before from a combination of an exploding population that has put pressure on land and housing, as well as local politics. … Houses and commercial buildings have sprung up on [some] demolished sections or been turned into dumping grounds for rubbish, litter and sewage from the ever more crowded city. Elsewhere, excavators dig into the fortifications for the red iron- and aluminium-rich rock laterite, which is loaded onto donkeys and taken away for use in construction and renovation.”
Brian Kellow, Longtime Editor At ‘Opera News’, Dead At 59
“Brian left behind an extraordinary legacy within the magazine’s pages — thirty years’ worth of news features, personality profiles, reviews and opinion pieces, every one of them lit by a writerly spark that was uniquely his own. He was also the author of a series of dazzling biographies exploring the lives of Pauline Kael, Sue Mengers, Ethel Merman and Hollywood’s Bennett sisters.”
Frishberg On The Half Note, Revisited
Something brought to mind a contribution by Dave Frishberg early in the blog’s history. Here it is, exactly as it appeared in the summer of 2007, except that ,,,
UK Health Department Proposes Arts As A Health Prescription
“Evidence has shown the potential benefits of approaches like social prescribing, which addresses people’s physical and mental well-being and has been shown to both improve patients’ quality of life and reduce pressure on other NHS services.”
Theatre Diplomacy: Lin-Manuel Miranda To Donate All Proceeds From January Puerto Rico “Hamilton” Performances To PR Arts
“The goal wasn’t just artistic satisfaction, but how can we leave Puerto Rico a little better than we found it,” said Miranda, who is largely of Puerto Rican descent and frequently visited the Commonwealth as a child and teenager.
When Your Kid Becomes A Big Social Media Star (It’s Lucrative!)
YouTube is the pinnacle, with the highest earners – 7m subscribers or more – able to demand $300,000 for an ongoing video brand-partnership. On Instagram and Facebook, the biggest influencers are taking home anywhere between $150,000 to $187,000 per post. And even smaller “micro-influencers” with followings around 100,000 are able to command up to $5,000 per sponsored post – a pretty good living when you add it up at the end of the day.
You Want A Legacy? Get Your Info On Microfilm, Because It Lasts For 500 Years
University libraries are giving them away, but “the microfilm machine is still widely used. It has centuries of lasting power ahead of it, and new models are still being manufactured. It’s a shame that no intrigue will greet their arrival, because these machines continue to prove essential for preserving and accessing archival materials.”