“Decades ago, the thousands of Tibetan-language books now ensconced in a lavishly decorated library in southwest China might have ended up in a raging bonfire. ”
What Makes a Language a Language and Not a Dialect? (No, It’s Not an Army)
“The law says that ‘Chinese and English’ are Hong Kong’s official languages. Whereas some people say that Cantonese is a dialect of Chinese, others insist that it is a language in its own right. Who is right – and how do dialects differ from languages in general?”
At Least Sergei Filin Can See This Much
“Sergei Filin, the Bolshoi Ballet artistic director who was wounded in an acid attack last year, will come to New York in April as one of the judges in the Youth America Grand Prix ballet competition, officials from the contest announced.”
Dancing With a Forklift
“The forklift is spinning around and Henna and I are hanging off the tines and holding each other and pulling each other up and constantly moving.”
Cash and Choreographers – Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Your Audience for Money!
“That’s the one thing they never tell when you’re starting your own organization. You’re always advised to have money, find money, get money, get people behind your project that have money, but you’re never told to just ask for money.”
Fort Worth Opera Scales Back, Cancels Premiere
Citing money concerns, Fort Worth Opera will cut back its 2015 festival from four to three productions, indefinitely delaying the planned world premiere of American composer Libby Larsen’s A Wrinkle in Time.
Martin Scorsese’s Little Thing For Communist-Era Movies From Poland
“The tradition of filmmaking in Poland is as long as the history of filmmaking itself. In fact, a Polish inventor patented a camera before the famed, pioneering Lumiere brothers in France.”
What Exactly Do Americans Mean When We Say ‘Hello’?
“In Colorado, it’s ‘Where do you ski? (hike/mountain bike/fish)?’ And it’s never asked after noon on Friday because everybody is already en route.”
Top AJBlogs Posts From 02.16.14
Bellowing about Bellows: Randolph College’s Maier Museum is “Not a Museum”
Source: CultureGrrl | Published on 2014-02-16
The Great Hibernation is Over
Source: Audience Wanted | Published on 2014-02-16
What would it cost Game of Thrones to play a live cello?
Source: Slipped Disc | Published on 2014-02-16
Replacing Gatekeeping with Cultivating
Source: We The Audience | Published on 2014-02-16
Refreshing Rigoletto? You must be joking
Source: Plain English | Published on 2014-02-15
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Why Hasn’t The Minnesota Orchestra Board Brought Back Osmo Vanska Yet?
“Bringing Mr. Vanska back, if his demands are not unreasonable (and this outsider will not be the one to say whether jettisoning Mr. Henson would be reasonable), would go a long way toward rebuilding bridges to the players, to audiences and to, ahem, critics. The chemistry he obviously had with these musicians is rare, and some of them suggest that it could be even more potent if he were to return under these circumstances.”
What’s Up With The Highly Physical Version Of Sex In Recent Movies?
“Graphic sex is no longer off-limits in cinema culture … as long as it’s coupled with major festival wins, critical acclaim, and a wide marketing reach.”
Who Were Disney’s First Animators? [AUDIO]
Nancy Beiman: “One student had a poster, a nude one, of Suzanne Somers, and he put it over his desk. And Jack Hannah, the teacher, came in and said, ‘Oh, who is that?’ and the student said, ‘Oh, that’s Nancy.'”
Comedian: Get Rid of ‘Knackered Old Male Comics,’ British TV
“Once we have enough women doing it, it just becomes normal. Then if we see an all-male show, we’ll just say ‘how sweet, look at all the boys together’ instead of going ‘oh, not again.’”
Whether You’re Self-Publishing Or Going The Traditional Route, Stop Being A Jerk
“It doesn’t matter how you publish. It matters, though, that we’re all together in this, and not shitty toward each other, and not hunkering down into our little cults and camps, our factions and followings. It matters that we can all do better and that we strive for that with every day, every word, every story.”
The Big Winner At The British Film Awards?
It wasn’t what the bookies expected.
It’s Time The Queen Had A Mistress (Of Music)
“A female composer has never held the post, but if ever there was a moment to redress that injustice, this is it – a chance to make musical history, like Marin Alsop’s being the first woman to conduct the Last Night of the Proms last year, that it would be shameful to let pass.”
Who, And What, Will Win At The British Film Awards Today?
In the final big awards before the Oscars, bookies have tipped the odds toward 12 Years A Slave.
What Has ‘Riverdance’ Done For (Or To) Irish Dance?
“In this exuberant subculture, a centuries-old practice has evolved into a tightly regulated hybrid of art, sport and beauty pageant for which many dancers, regardless of their heritage, train with the drive of professional athletes.”