“Nostalgia’s dark side … is badly underestimated, and wreaks havoc not only in politics but also medicine and anthropology. Far from being harmless, [it] is a virulent falsehood that infects those whose intellectual defences have been weakened by fear and insecurity. It is easily weaponised by power-hungry propagandists who seek to replace nuanced discourse with patriotic platitudes.”
Tag: 08.17.16
The Fourth Remake Of ‘A Star Is Born’ Is Coming. Bad Idea
“The movie has been made three times (in 1937, 1954, and 1976), each time to diminishing critical returns, with barely any variation in story, and yet with every new Hollywood generation someone looks to try again. On Tuesday, the fourth version was announced: Lady Gaga will play the ingénue and Bradley Cooper her love interest, with the latter also writing and directing, and presumably trying to find a new angle to justify the remake.” David Sims looks at why the story is unlikely to play well in 2017.
Ellipsis – The Long, Strange History Of A Strange Punctuation Mark
“The punctuation mark of the ellipsis is perhaps the most unusual mark in the English language, for punctuation marks are designed to convey meaning by indicating relationships between ideas, but the ellipsis does the exact opposite.” What’s more, those three little dots date back centuries before Shakespeare.
Zurich’s Tonhalle Orchestra Says Lionel Bringuier Won’t Be Staying On As Chief Conductor
The young French conductor, who turns 30 next month and who assisted both Esa-Pekka Salonen and Gustavo Dudamel at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, succeeded David Zinman in Zurich in 2014. The decision not to renew Bringuier’s contract, which expires in 2018, was widely expected in the city. (in German; Google Translate version here)
Norton Simon Museum Can Keep Cranachs Looted By Nazis, Rules Judge
“A judge in US District Court in California has dismissed a claim by an heir to the Dutch dealer and collector Jacques Goudstikker to recover Lucas Cranach’s Adam and Eve (around 1530), two paintings now at the Norton Simon Museum. The 15 August ruling in the decade-long case holds that the paintings became the property of the Dutch government after the Second World War.”
Barnes And Noble’s Board Fires CEO
“In a terse statement that lacked any attempt at corporate spin, the company said that ‘the board of directors determined that Mr. Boire is not a good fit for the organization and that it was in the best interest of all parties for him to leave the company.’ … [He] is the third chief executive to leave the troubled company in just three years.”
NPR Website Drops Reader Comments
“NPR introduced public comments to its website eight years ago, when many of today’s most popular venues for digital interaction didn’t yet exist or were in their infancy. Since then, we’ve explored and developed many options for strengthening those connections. Some of these methods have proven invaluable. Others less so.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 08.17.16
Bobby Hutcherson: 1941-2016
Bobby Hutcherson, whose vibraphone playing developed deep and complex harmonies, died on Monday at home in Montara, California. He was 75. When Hutcherson came to prominence in the early 1960s, he was in the forefront … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-08-17
From England Via Florida With Love
The Sarasota Ballet presents an all-Ashton program at the Joyce Theater. … read more
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2016-08-17
Groundhog Day, The (Buddhist) Musical
Intelligence is not exactly the first quality you look for in a musical. … But when Matilda the Musical grabbed our attention at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2010, we had to acknowledge that Tim Minchin had ploughed new ground. … In converting the 1993 film Groundhog Day into a musical for the Old Vic, Minchin has gone at least one better. … read more
AJBlog: Plain English Published 2016-08-17
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Jazz Vibraphone Great Bobby Hutcherson, 75
“Hutcherson’s career took flight in the early 1960s, as jazz was slipping free of the complex harmonic and rhythmic designs of bebop. He was fluent in that language, but he was also one of the first to adapt his instrument to a freer postbop language, often playing chords with a pair of mallets in each hand.”
The Possibilities Of Love In This Summer Of Fear And Anxiety
Natasha Lennard: “It would be facile to respond to recent events – political upheaval, mass murder, police violence and festering racism – with a call to “love.” But in extreme times, it’s worth considering: Can love (as we know it) act as a radical force rather than a distraction? Does our current idea of love need revision? Is there a new kind of love emerging in new social movements, one that works against the narrow kind of love fostered by capitalism? I discussed these and other matters with Moira Weigel, the author of Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating.”