“That’s right: Ballet is so hot right now. Or, I should say, the dark underbelly of the ballet world is so hot right now.”
Tag: 11.30.10
Bella Akhmadulina, 73, One of Russia’s Great 20th-Century Poets
“Along with the poets Yevgeny Yevtushenko (her first husband) and Andrei Voznesensky, she became one of the bold new voices in contemporary Russian literature [during the thaw after Stalin’s death], attracting ecstatic audiences of thousands to readings at concert halls and stadiums.”
The Secret of the Bestselling iPhone Game (It’s Not Just the Birds and Pigs)
“A game called Angry Birds is dominating the best-selling-applications charts for Apple’s iPhone with a simple, whimsical premise: Players turn different species of scowling birds into projectiles with which to crush a collection of grunting pigs scattered around various ramshackle structures.”
Is Mathematics the Language of God? (Naaah.)
“The power and beauty of mathematics is exactly what you’d expect if the universe were created by a powerful deity, worthy of worship. … And yet, is the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in the natural sciences really evidence for the existence of a deity? Is the language of math divine? There are good reasons to doubt it.”
Down With the Bad Sex in Fiction Award!
Laura Miller: “The Bad Sex Award poses as a knowing blow against literary pretension while embodying the most retrograde prudery. … Is there any reason why the literature that makes us laugh, cry and rage shouldn’t also, occasionally, turn us on?”
And Why Is There No Good Sex in Fiction Award?
Toby Lichtig: “In a sense, my question is: what is good sex in fiction as opposed to mere pornography? … And so I propose a modest counterpoint to the good japes at the Literary Review: a Good Sex in fiction award – for good bad sex, good great sex and good sex of the middling variety.”
How the Pre-Raphaelites Reconciled the Irreconcilable
“We have an artistic movement with a professed desire to escape from modern times and return to a medieval aesthetic on the one hand, and a commitment to extreme realism and immediacy on the other. The house of Pre-Raphaelitism, divided against itself, cannot stand. Unless, of course, those two impulses can go together.”
NYT Dance Critic Mocks Ballerina’s Weight
“New York Times critic Alastair Macaulay recently reviewed ‘George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker’ and he took a jab at one of the ballerina’s weight — and she’d previously left the ballet due to struggles with her body image.”
Alvin Ailey’s Revelations, Still Powerful After 50 Years
“Members of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform Revelations nearly as often as ordinary people brush their teeth.” Judith Jamison and some of the company dancers talk about the piece, movement by movement, and what makes it great.
Detroit Symphony Cancels Two More Weeks of Concerts Due to Strike
The administration’s decision – made following the breakdown of negotiations with musicians last week – “raises the number of cancellations since the beginning of the season to 34 concerts, about 30% of the season.”