“Guatemala’s Mayan people accused the government and tour groups on Wednesday of perpetuating the myth that their calendar foresees the imminent end of the world for monetary gain. ‘We are speaking out against deceit, lies and twisting of the truth, and turning us into folklore-for-profit. They are not telling the truth about time cycles,’ charged Felipe Gomez, leader of the Maya alliance Oxlaljuj Ajpop.”
Tag: 10.24.12
Artists (Like Others) Get Depressed. How To Keep On Working?
“Somehow I don’t think I’m the only artist in the era of late-stage capitalism to experience infrequent bouts of mild-to-moderate depression.”
Louise Erdrich, Serious Writer; Amusing Interviewee
“Q. The North Dakota Ojibwe reservation in your novels has frequently been compared to Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha County for its scope and variety of characters. Have you been directly influenced or inspired by Faulkner?
A. Most writers have been influenced by Faulkner.”
Artist-Led Recording Labels Break Out
“It adds a certain cachet to a new band to be taken on by a label set up by a hip act. And both the new act and the music-buyer would hope that, with musicians behind the labels, making a quick buck is less on the agenda than with many major-label deals.”
Anita Björk, Bergman Star And Sweden’s Top Stage Actress, Dead At 89
“Björk was considered the leading lady of Swedish theater, with a cool aura not unlike that of Greta Garbo. [Her] deep, self-restrained voice was impossible to confuse with anyone else’s. She appeared in more than 100 roles, many directed by Bergman. Björk’s international breakthrough came with the title role in Alf Sjöberg’s 1951 Strindberg adaptation Miss Julie.”
Seeing Anna Pavlova On Film
“Though a number of big-time ballet figures – Frederick Ashton, Agnes de Mille – have said that Anna Pavlova was their inspiration, their thunderbolt, some people still regard her as a chocolate-box ballerina … But in 1916, [she] starred in a feature film, The Dumb Girl of Portici, … and it shows a very different side of Pavlova.”
Royal Shakespeare Company Under Fire For Lack Of Asian Actors In Play
“The 13th-century Chinese drama, which has been adapted by James Fenton and will be directed by the RSC’s new artistic director Gregory Doran, includes two east Asian heritage actors performing with puppets as a dog and one playing a maid, out of a cast of 17.”
UK Dance Leaders Protest Exclusion Of Dance From New Curriculum
“The Olympic [opening and closing] ceremonies offer a really good example of what investing in dance education can achieve. If it were to be sidelined, young people in the future may not have the same opportunities to participate in dance.”
Are Jukebox Shows Stunting Theatre?
“Suddenly the West End seems flooded with jukebox theatre. It has its place, but it’s not taking us anywhere or getting us very far in the development of musical theatre.”
A Program That Teaches Literacy Through Drumming (And It Works)
“When you get a juvenile delinquent to buy into something like this, that’s a breakthrough. I’ve seen these kids go from reading 30 words a minute to three or four times that.”