Despite ample evidence to the contrary, many people remain stubbornly inclined to believe that great artists like Levine are somehow immune to the temptation to conduct themselves contemptibly. So it will be interesting to see what happens when the attention of the public turns, as it undoubtedly will, to the misconduct of still greater artists of the past.
Why Has A Once Obscure Canadian Psychology Professor Become So “Dangerous”?
“There have been several calls for his ouster from the University of Toronto — where he’s tenured — including a recent open letter to the dean of the faculty of arts and science signed by hundreds, including many of his fellow professors. Friends refuse to comment on him lest they be associated with his image. Critics hesitate, too, for fear that his supporters will unleash their online wrath. A graduate student at another Canadian university was reprimanded for showing a short video clip of Peterson to a group of undergraduates. One of the professors taking her to task likened Peterson to Hitler.”
Welcome To The Era Of The Crowd (And What It’s Doing To Us)
Because tech companies like Facebook and Google make money off the sale of our personal data to advertisers, they depend on the attention of the masses to survive. And because their algorithms shape much of what we see online, it’s to their benefit to coerce us into thinking of ourselves not as individuals but as members of groups. “The big tech companies,” Franklin Foer writes, “Propel us to join the crowd—they provide us with the trending topics and their algorithms suggest that we read the same articles, tweets, and posts as the rest of the world.”
Listening To Classical Music Every Day Saved My Sanity, And It Can Save Yours
Freelance writer, BBC Radio 3 presenter, and mother of a toddler Clemency Burton-Hill: “It turned out that, when I converted my listening habits into a conscious daily ritual, I began to feel less anxious almost immediately. I curated myself monthly classical playlists with a specific piece for each day. Getting on the Tube and pressing play, instead of automatically being sucked into a social media scroll hole, seemed to be spiritually stabilising. I began to look disproportionately forward to it. And it occurred to me that, if I could benefit in such a meaningful way from this small but powerful act of soul maintenance, so might others.”
What Happened To Amazon’s Desire To Make Indie Movies?
It’s gone. Now Amazon Studios has complete blockbuster lust, and that could hurt Sundance … a lot.
Saltz: Border Wall Prototypes Are Minimalist Art
Jerry Saltz: “As with much minimalism, these prototypes are hard-edged geometry and impervious materials brought into the American landscape of the West and arranged to impose order, inspire awe, and try to manage and align mystic political forces — and to make something that while instantly obsolete, like some useless Stalin Gulag project, meant to last forever. Trump has made something that evokes a real monument — one that may correctly be said to stand for everything he believes in. And I think mustn’t be forgotten.”
Frank Lloyd Wright Building Bulldozed In Montana
“The owner of a historic Frank Lloyd Wright building in Whitefish, Montana razed the structure last week, immediately after last-minute negotiations with preservationists attempting to buy it fell through. Designed in 1958 – one year before Wright’s death – as a medical clinic, the 5,000-square-foot building is the first Wright-designed one to be demolished in over 40 years.”
Hugh Wilson, 74, Created ‘WKRP In Cincinnati’ And Directed ‘Police Academy’ And ‘The First Wives’ Club’
Mr. Wilson worked his way into comedy writing after starting out in advertising, and in 1978 he graduated from writer to creator when WKRP made its debut. … [He] introduced a different brand of misfits in Police Academy, his first feature-film directing assignment, for which he was also one of the screenwriters.”
Prestigious Publisher Of Poetry Puts Poetry Publishing On “Hiatus”
“Poetry is changing, and the way people read is changing,” Alana Wilcox, editorial director of Coach House, told the Star. “We live in a Twitter world now — what does that mean for poetry?” Coach House still has six poetry titles planned for publication this year and another six for 2019.
Compulsory English Baccalaureate In UK Will Exclude 133,000 Students From The Arts
“The move towards a compulsory EBacc is likely to deepen the divide in the take-up of arts subjects between more affluent and higher achieving students and those facing more disadvantages. The Cambridge figures also reveal that drama, music, fine art and dance GCSEs are all taken up by fewer pupils from deprived areas and fewer lower attainers than others. Art and design is the only arts subject that bucks this trend.”
You’re A Writer? Really?
Writers are so often responding to questions that haven’t explicitly been asked, which perhaps is why our work is so difficult to measure and reward. The system in which we must live says to us, “What are you even for?”
Pop Culture Has Been Painting Harassment And Predatory Behavior As Romantic For A Long Time
As one male character in Gossip Girl sais in a wedding toast, “In the face of true love you don’t just give up, even if the object of your affection is begging you to.” Julie Beck lays out some of the owrrying examples, from “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” to “Blurred Lines” and from Say Anything to Twilight to Grey’s Anatomy.
‘The Boy Factor’ – Do Young Men Get An Unfair Advantage In Dance Competitions?
It sure seems that way, various teachers and judges tell Sarah Nagle. Why? Basically, the law of supply and demand.
Windfall Or White Elephant? Great American Songbook Foundation Gets A Huge Donation It May Not Be Able To Afford
“The Great American Songbook Foundation is around 10 years old and has an annual budget of less than $1 million, so accepting the donation of the $30 million Asherwood Estate is … well, complicated.” The gift isn’t cash: it’s an actual estate with mansion, pool and golf course – and there are restrictive covenants attached to the property that will complicate a sale.
‘The Awl’ Is Shutting Down
The webzine founded by Choire Sicha, Alex Balk, and David Cho in 2009 was eclectic and quirky: “On any given day, The Awl might play host to a story about colloidal silver, a guide to killing possums before they kill your chickens, or a novella-length examination of the TV show Adventure Time; there might be Q&As with salesmen of high-end vacuum cleaners, or a dive into McDonald’s marketing of its McRib sandwich.” As it and its sister site The Hairpin close due to insufficient ad revenue, former contributor Bijan Stephen pays tribute.
Anshel Brusilow, Former Conductor Of Dallas Symphony, Dead At 89
“[He] served as music director and executive director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in the early 1970s, and subsequently headed orchestra programs at the University of North Texas and Southern Methodist University.” Earlier in his career, he was concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy and assistant concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell.
Israel Philharmonic Chooses Successor To Zubin Mehta
Lahav Shani, a 29-year-old conductor and pianist from Tel Aviv who first performed with the IPO at age 16, will become music director in 2020. Mehta, who joined the orchestra in 1969 and became its Music Director for Life in 1981, announced just over a year ago that he would step down in 2019.
Of The Ten Bestselling Literary Novelists In The UK In 2017, Nine Were Women
Leading the list is Margaret Atwood, thanks to the TV versions of The Handmaid’s Tale and Alias Grace. Runners-up are Sarah Perry and Helen Dunmore; Elena Ferrante came in at number five, followed by the only man in the top ten, Haruki Murakami.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 01.17.18
Recent Listening: Young/Promane Octet
Dave Young / Terry Promane Octet Volume 2 (MAPL) … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2018-01-17
Study: Hormones Influence The Kind Of Music We Like
“A first-of-its-kind study from Japan reports men with higher testosterone levels are less likely to enjoy sophisticated music, such as classical, jazz, and avant-garde. Its findings raise the intriguing possibility that musical taste may be significantly influenced by our hormones.”
Time For A Nancy Drew Who’s Not A Teenager, And Who’s Also Not White?
“Geller said while the actress who will play the much-loved detective in the network’s television reboot hasn’t been decided, ‘she is diverse, that is the way she is written’ and specifically said this Nancy – a woman in her 30s in the network’s new show – won’t be ‘Caucasian.'”