Turns Out Barack Obama, On Top Of Everything Else, Is An Excellent Editor

Adam Frankel, a former member of Obama’s speechwriting team: “‘Something about this draft just doesn’t feel right.’ That, or something like it, is probably the most frequent feedback a speechwriter ever receives, and it is typically accompanied by precisely zero suggestions on what to do about it. I never heard Obama utter those words. In fact, I was always struck by the precision of his edits. If a certain sentence or structure had problems, he’d tell us exactly how to fix them.” – Literary Hub

Ballet Helps Veteran Recover From PTSD

“‘Keep your fingers straight and off the trigger. Do not point the rifle at anyone you do not intend to shoot.’ That’s Roman Baca, a U.S. marine and Iraq War veteran. But he’s not speaking to the company of soldiers he led during his tour as a sergeant in Fallujah, Iraq. Here, Baca is instructing a company of ballet dancers” in the documentary short Exit 12: Moved by War. (video) – The Atlantic

Why Do We Even Need Fiction? Asks Isaac Bashevis Singer

“Why invent things when nature and life supply so many strange events? … Why bother proving a lie when truth needs no preface? I sometimes fear that all of humankind may sooner or later come to my conclusion: that reading fiction is a waste of time. But why should I be afraid? Just because I would personally be one of the victims? No, it’s not just that.” – Los Angeles Review of Books

Cookie Monster’s Lifelong Love Affair With Art

“I’ve suspected there is something life-affirming in Cookie Monster’s unabashed love and joy for cultural stimuli — so pure and brash that if he could eat it all, he would. Cookie Monster was once a bad example, designed to teach children about self-control — one mustn’t always eat cookies — but so much of Sesame Street’s ethos is about love and kindness for others, for the nuances of the human race, for oneself.” – Hyperallergic

Sabotage? Andras Schiff Went To Conduct The Montreal Symphony. It Didn’t Go Well

The Hungarian-born pianist, who was scheduled to play and conduct in the Maison symphonique on Oct. 23 and 24, ended up performing only before intermission in both concerts. Schiff withdrew from the second half of the program after an acrimonious rehearsal in which OSM sources say he criticized the players unfairly and even accused them of “sabotage.” – Montreal Gazette

Inside The 1811 Louisiana Slave Rebellion Re-Enactment

“It took years [for the organizer, artist Dread Scott,] to raise the funds of over $1m, which included money from 500 individual donations, to pull off the spectacle. But as word of mouth about the project got out, African Americans from all over the country signed up.” Reporter Oliver Laughland joined the re-enactors as they marched 26 miles from the LaPlace, La. plantation where the original rebellion started to the center of New Orleans. – The Guardian