“Proving the existence of the afterlife is, of course, beyond the scope of science. But something physical might be able to explain the phenomena of near death experiences, according to a new finding by a team of neuroscientists from the University of Michigan. They observed, at least in the brains of rats, a sudden surge of electrical activity that continues for roughly 30 seconds after clinical death.”
Tag: 08.12.13
The American Culture Of Blame
“Take a risk and succeed, and you are a hero. Take a risk and fail, and you are to blame – even if it costs you your life. Risk and blame are the hallmarks of worthy personhood in contemporary American society. … But the puzzling question is why people who do not benefit from a system of blame – that is, most Americans – cling so fiercely to its creed.”
Laurence Olivier Despised His Co-Stars (Especially The Americans)
Joan Fontaine was “loathsome”. Merle Oberon was a “silly little amateur”. Olivier’s hatred for Marilyn Monroe was “one of the strongest emotions I had ever felt”.
The Arts – What Ails Ye (And It Isn’t The Economy)
“It has been harder, for sure, to balance our budgets and has required arts managers and boards to be nimble in the face of the new environment in which we operate. But blaming “the economy” is not way to sustain ourselves.”
Eduardo Falú, 90, Worldwide Ambassador For Argentine Folk Music
“[He] was widely regarded as a master of … in particular the peppery chacareras and romantic zambas from the northwestern part of the country where he grew up. He also studied harmony and music theory and said it was his life’s work to ‘give another dimension to folklore’ by bridging indigenous and classic sounds. Starting in the late 1950s, he appeared on stages from Paris to Washington to Tokyo.”
Albert Camus Drama Appears In English For First Time
“La Vie d’artiste, originally published in a small Algerian journal in February, 1953, was recently collected in the fourth and final volume of the Pléiade edition of Albert Camus’s complete works. The play … stands out as the only of Camus’s works in which the written words were not intended to be seen or heard by an audience.”
Germany Faces A Newspaper Crisis
“It came to Germany almost a decade later than America, but the newspaper crisis is sweeping the country, with plummeting circulations and revenues.”
NY Art Dealer Suspected Of Selling Fakes Is Released
“Glafira Rosales, the Long Island art dealer who was arrested this past spring on charges that she laundered money and evaded taxes as part of a scheme to sell multimillion-dollar forgeries, was released on bail Monday.”
How The Emerson Quartet Got A New Cellist
“Recruiting a new quartet member is akin to a courtship. Whether touring or rehearsing, a quartet lives in a union as much psychological as aesthetic.”
A Bidding War To Buy Steinway?
“The prospect of a bidding war sent Steinway shares up $3.08 US, or 8.5 per cent, to $39.31 US in late morning trading. The stock peaked at $39.44 US earlier in the day, an all-time high.”