“The insidious thing was that when he was away from the oboe, his fingers worked just fine. It was only when he performed that his fingers got confused and stiffened. Practicing longer and harder only made the task-specific disorder worse.”
Tag: 08.11.16
Is There A Specifically American Style Of Stand-Up? (Asks A Brit)
Brian Logan: “‘This is an American-style hour,’ says Ari Shaffir at the top of his Edinburgh festival show. ‘So there’s no theme and no crying.’ So is that the American style of comedy? … I’ve seen a handful of US acts this first week on the [Edinburgh] fringe, and it’s interesting to note the features that, to some degree, make them distinctive.”
PEN America Creates New $50,000 Award For Foreign Authors
“The PEN/Nabokov award, supported by the Vladimir Nabokov Literary Foundation, replaces another award with the same name but a different remit. It will go to a writer born or residing outside the US, either writing in or translated into English to honor ‘an outstanding body of work over a sustained career’. “
Athletes At The Ancient Olympics Didn’t Get Medals, They Got Victory Odes
“Forget medals, Wheaties boxes, interviews on Good Morning America, or corporate sponsorships: The ancient Greeks celebrated their Olympic champions with poetry.”
The Abuse On Twitter Isn’t Accidental – It’s Built In
“Despite its integral role in popular culture and in social justice initiatives from the Arab Spring to Black Lives Matter, Twitter is as infamous today for being as toxic as it is famous for being revolutionary. And unless you’re a celebrity — or, as it turns out, the president of the United States of America — good luck getting help.”
When Does Digital Photo Editing Go Too Far?
“Just as doping in sports has sullied a pursuit where no one is supposed to cheat, editing tools like Photoshop are increasingly casting suspicion over an industry where no picture is supposed to lie.”
How To Survive A Book Emergency (Without An E-reader)
“I called AAA and waited for them to arrive and fix my flat tire. I waited. And I waited. And I waited some more. And suddenly I realized, to my horror, that I didn’t have any reading material in the car.”
Britain Resorts To Crowdfunding To Restore The ‘UK Sistine Chapel’
“Such is the impact of the 4,200 sq m of decoration, the Painted Hall has been dubbed the UK’s Sistine Chapel. But it was – and remains – so overwhelming that, according to legend, elderly sailors pleaded to be allowed to eat their dinners somewhere less grand.”
Two Years After Life-Threatening Crisis, Atlanta Symphony Reports Budget Surplus
“The ASO announced yesterday that it closed the 2015-16 fiscal year with a budget surplus for the second straight year. ASO spokeswoman Tammy Hawk said the final budget numbers won’t be released until a final audit is complete. In addition, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Musicians’ Endowment Fund has raised over $20 million and is expected to reach its $25 million goal this year.”
Why Do Some Composers Want To Write Music To Drive Us Crazy?
“Satie knew that the prospect of performing this composition was so daunting, he wrote a note above the score that said one should “prepare oneself beforehand, in the deepest silence, by serious immobilities. It’s as if he knew he had devised an art piece that is a cudgel to lay up against the side of the listeners’ heads with a force and fervor they can’t deserve.”