He began training his training at age 4 and went on to win the World Championship of Hoop Dance three times in each of three age divisions and tour with Cirque du Soleil for three years. – The New York Times
The Drivers Of American Innovation Are Slowing
The coronavirus pandemic and the administration’s botched response to it are damaging the engine of American innovation in three major ways: The flow of talented people from overseas is slowing; the university hubs that produce basic research and development are in financial turmoil; and the circulation of people and ideas in high-productivity industrial clusters, such as Silicon Valley, has been impeded. – The Atlantic
Disabled Performers On Their Place In The Arts Business
“Social movements like #OscarsSoWhite and #MeToo have started important conversations about an industry with entrenched disparities. With that in mind, we asked entertainers” — actors Ali Stroker, Marlee Matlin, Micah Fowler, and Lauren Potter, and Leroy F. Brown Jr. of Krip-Hop Nation — “how they have navigated their careers, and where their hopes lie for the future of their industry.” – The New York Times
How Science Fiction Writers Foresaw Pandemics
Science fiction writers have, indeed, always embraced globality. In interplanetary texts, humans of all nations, races and genders have to come together as one people in the face of alien invasions. Facing an interplanetary encounter, bellicose nations have to reluctantly eschew political rivalries and collaborate on a global scale, as in Denis Villeneuve’s 2018 film, Arrival. – The Conversation
Dorothy Parker’s Ashes Are Buried In NAACP HQ. But HQ Is Moving, So…
Parker was a huge supporter of civil rights and gave most of her estate to Martin Luther King (whom she had never met) when she died in 1967. When King died, the estate was transferred to the NAACP and she was buried at Baltimore headquarters. Now the organization is moving to Washington… – The New York Times
The Legacy Of Isaac Stern
At the centenary of his birth, NPR has an appreciation of those he mentored and his influence on the music world of today. “Isaac Stern’s tombstone simply reads, Isaac Stern, fiddler. These three words leave out an awful lot.” – NPR
Dystopian Fiction Was Never Fictional For Many People In The United States
While some authors say the fiction can help people learn how to resist and persist, Black people in the U.S. say it’s more of a mirror. “Assume where America has always been is a tragedy. What is done in hell isn’t romantic; sacrificing bodies to dystopia isn’t beautiful.” (But fiction can still be a teacher of hope.) – Wired
A Poet Contemplates Storytelling, Her Murdered Mother, And Confederate Monuments
Natasha Trethewey, former poet laureate of the U.S.: “When people talk about how getting rid of [Stone Mountain] would be erasing history – well, the monument itself is already an erasure of history. So, I’d be interested in figuring out a way that we can tell the fuller story about exactly why it’s there and exactly what it means.” – The Guardian (UK)
Indonesian Literary Legend Sapardi Djoko Damono, 80
Sapardi, an influential poet and cultural critic, founded the Indonesian Literary Scholars Association and served as a dean at the University of Indonesia. One author: “As long as I’ve known him he had always been a close reader – meticulous and generous, yet critical. … He steadfastly held on to his maxim, ‘Literature is how an author presents an idea, not the idea itself.'” – The Star (Malaysia/The Jakarta Post)
Sometimes Artists, Writers, And Intellectuals Support Dictators
What’s that about? “Are these enablers true believers or just cynical opportunists? Do they believe the lies they tell and the conspiracies they invent or are they simply greedy for wealth and power? The answers … are frankly equivocal.” – The New York Times
Perhaps It’s The Perfect Time For A Sculpture That Depicts ‘Everywoman’
There aren’t many in England, even in the capital city – and it took two years to raise the funds for this one. “Price’s latest statue will be one of very few in Britain of black female subjects. Those in London already include a prominent one of Crimean war nurse Mary Seacole outside St Thomas’s hospital and one of a woman and child in Stockwell Gardens, south London.” – The Observer (UK)
Is Netflix’s Top Ten List Even Real?
Last week, Netflix suddenly decided to “reveal” its Top 10 movies of all time. Hm. “The catch was that Netflix provided the ranking and the numbers itself, meaning there was no way to verify any of it, so the whole list was only slightly more informative than when Netflix insists that something is popular without providing any numbers at all (as it did in 2018 with Bright, a movie that didn’t even appear on the list despite how successful Netflix said it was). Interesting? Yes. Informative? Eh.” – AV Club
How’s The Met’s Quest For Paying Subscribers Going?
Sure, people might pay $20 for a concert – but will they do what’s even better, what the Met would like them to do? “The recitals are intended to stimulate donations. ‘Fund-raising ebbs and flows according to activities and events,’ Peter Gelb, the company’s general manager, said.” – The New York Times
Disney Has Joined The Facebook Ad Boycott
At least partially – the biggest ad buyer this year on the social media giant has decided to pull its Disney Plus and Hulu ads, probably, along with hundreds of other advertisers, over concerns about how the platform handles hate speech. – Variety
Barcelona, In The Middle Of A Second Wave, Re-Closes Movie Theatres
While Spain’s figurehead monarchs went to the movies in Madrid, the Catalan government shut down Barcelona theatres and other mass gatherings (though it’s awfully hard to shut down Barcelona street parties, looks like). “The mandated shutdown is fiercely contested by Barcelona area town halls, adding to a nationwide debate about just how safe it is to go to the cinema.” – Variety