Reversing an earlier decision, the National Park Service has now denied an omnibus petition for 199 sites on public land near Moab, Utah to be listed in the National Register. The NPS agrees that the ancient petroglyphs are significant, but it now wants individual applications for each of the sites. – The Salt Lake Tribune
The Fatal Flaws Of Roger Scruton
It was, for Scruton, impossible to conceive of society without prejudices and exclusions, discrimination and inequality. That’s why his views, despite mellowing over the years, never substantially altered. Scruton the philosopher required Scruton the polemicist. – The Observer
Controversial Art Is Good For Us. Don’t Cancel It
The controversy over “Attack Helicopter” is another case study suggesting that rejecting “art’s for art’s sake” in favor of “art for justice’s sake” doesn’t necessarily yield more justice. It may help no one, harm many, and impede the ability of artists to circulate work that makes us think, feel, grapple, empathize, and learn. Americans will always seek out, discuss, and be moved by art that is messy, tense, and chaotic, whether the censors of any moment like it or not. If liberals stop producing art like that, illiberals of all sorts will fill the breach. – The Atlantic
Alan Turing And The Shaping Of Artificial Intelligence
Had Turing lived longer, perhaps the state of artificial intelligence would encompass more than drearily corporate banalities such as the Amazon checkout window making suggestions about what you might like for your next purchase, Google offering up a few words for how to complete a sentence in progress, or a South Korean genius having his soul crushed by a roomful of statistics wonks—not to mention more chillingly Orwellian developments, such as facial-recognition software. – The New Yorker
The Quality Versus Opportunity Debate – A Predictable Oscars Ritual
The Academy’s perceived snubs—of actors such as Us’s Lupita Nyong’o and Hustlers’ Jennifer Lopez, along with directors such as Little Women’s Greta Gerwig and The Farewell’s Lulu Wang—are as unfortunate as they are predictable. And comments like Stephen King’s reveal a major reason why: Diversity is too often discussed as something separate from, or even in conflict with, artistic virtue. – The Atlantic
A dip into Mexico City street music and avant-garde
The metropolis does not have a high profile in generally accepted narrative of jazz and other progressive music, although it should: Mexico City has a thriving community of skilled, sophisticated and risk-taking musicians, having produced and attracted modernists and innovators in all the arts since at least the 1920s. – Howard Mandel
Reconsidering Alan Bloom’s “Closed Minds”
Re-reading Bloom, I am thunderstruck, because my inclination is to blame it all on social media and attendant technologies favoring vicarious experience. But Bloom’s 1987 narrative establishes an earlier start. He distinguishes my sixties’ generation from his eighties’ students, in whom tendencies that we initiated yielded a dead end. It may in effect be read as a tale of unwanted, unanticipated consequences. – The American Interest
National Archives Blurs Anti-Trump Protest Signs Of 2017 Women’s March In Exhibition
By blurring out details from protest signs in an image of the 2017 Women’s March, including the name of President Trump and references to the female anatomy — a decision the Archives publicly apologized for on Saturday — it has damaged the faith many Americans, particularly women, may have had in its role as an impartial conservator of the nation’s records. – Washington Post
Jazz Saxophonist Jimmy Heath, 93
Mr. Heath’s saxophone sound was spare but playful, with a beaming tone that exuded both joy and command. But his reputation rested equally on his abilities as a composer and arranger for large ensembles, interpolating bebop’s crosshatched rhythms and extended improvisations into fulsome tapestries. – The New York Times
Wait, ‘1917,’ It Might Be The Year Of ‘Parasite’
If the SAG Awards are any guide – and they can be – Parasite may win best picture; it won best ensemble at the ceremony on Sunday night. “When the Parasite cast, none of whom received individual nominations, earned a warm standing ovation early in the night from the audience of actors at the Shrine Auditorium, while introducing the film, it was clear where the crowd’s affections resided.” – Los Angeles Times
Singer-Songwriter David Olney Says ‘I’m Sorry,’ Closes His Eyes, Drops His Head, And Dies Onstage
Olney, 71 and regarded as “the founding father of Americana,” was performing at a songwriters’ festival in Florida when he suffered a fatal heart attack. “‘He was very still, sitting upright with his guitar on, wearing the coolest hat and a beautiful rust suede jacket we laughed about because it was raining … outside the boathouse where we were playing,’ singer Amy Rigby, who said she was sitting next to him onstage, wrote on Facebook.” – The Washington Post
All Of The Winners Of The SAG Awards
Just a list, with no interpretation (look for that in another post). – Los Angeles Times
Edith Kunhardt Davis, Author Of ‘Pat The Bunny’ Sequels, Has Died At 82
Davis followed rather literally in her mother’s footsteps when she wrote the sequels to her mother’s bestselling and beloved children’s book. But she didn’t write the children’s books until she got sober – and that was after she was pregnant and had a son whose weak heart killed him when he was young. “His death from heart disease in 1990 became the subject of Ms. Davis’s 1995 memoir, I’ll Love You Forever, Anyway. An account of her grief made all the more anguishing by her guilt, it stood in stark contrast to the cheerful children’s tales for which she was known.” – The New York Times
To Research How To Make A Better Museum, Ask Kids
Says one designer who experienced many a test lab with kids and families at London’s V&A: “A nine-year-old said: ‘Objects have rights.’ The phrase has stuck. It captures both the need to conserve objects and to consider them as active participants in the museum experience. It has brought the collection alive, allowing us all to imagine and design around objects’ ability to talk to visitors and to each other.” – The Observer (UK)
A Royal Ballet Dancer Says It’s On Dancers (And Companies) To Make Sure Ballet Doesn’t Look Elitist
Marinela Nuñez: “When I’m dancing, I always think – even when I am in a fairytale ballet such as The Sleeping Beauty – that it is real. It touches me and it makes me think of my life; it should have that impact when you’re watching. Some people always say that ballet is elitist and it’s definitely not. It is this beautiful piece of art, unfolding live in front of you, not like something in a museum.” – The Observer (UK)
Portraits Of Its People Rattle Some In A Georgia Town
Newnan, Georgia, reacted to a neo-Nazi rally by putting up 17 large-scale banner portraits of people in the town – a diverse collection including African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Pakistani Americans. Not everyone dealt with that well, to put it mildly. – The New York Times
After Producers Guild Win, Looks Like ‘1917’ Is Becoming An Oscar Fave
Sam Mendes’ movie inspired by his grandfather, a movie starring many men, a movie that’s about war and that showcases technical skill, may now be the frontrunner for the Oscars. (This link includes the entire list of winners.) – The Hollywood Reporter