“Instruction is the least important part of education. Most information is accessible from books and the media. Basic literacy and numeracy are important, but many if not most skills used by adults in daily life are picked up on the job. The main objective of education in every enduring society is to transmit authoritative cultural, political, and ethical traditions from one generation to the next.”
There’s Now A Sixth Taste – And It Explains Why People Love Carbs
“It has long been thought that our tongues register a small number of primary tastes: salty, sweet, sour and bitter. Umami – the savoury taste often associated with monosodium glutamate – was added to this list seven years ago, but there’s been no change since then. However, this list misses a major component of our diets, says Juyun Lim at Oregon State University in Corvallis. ‘Every culture has a major source of complex carbohydrate. The idea that we can’t taste what we’re eating doesn’t make sense,’ she says.”
I’m A Professor. I Write Romance Fiction. I Can’t Tell Anyone. (They’d Make Fun Of Me)
“I write bodice-rippers. Paperback romance novels that seek to titillate and entertain (both me and the reader). I create what is commonly referred to as pulp fiction. I was very lucky to have a mentor from the start, a friend far more established in their academic career who also has a sideline in crime novels. They advised me in no uncertain terms to keep the two absolutely separate. I should not breathe a word about my novel-writing until I had a permanent position. This is the advice that I would, unhappily, give to anyone doing the same thing.”
The Latest Found Material For Artists? Old Departure Boards From Train Stations
“These boards, most remarkable for the flapping, clacking sound they make as their split-flap cards flip to reveal new information, are often called Solari boards, after the Italian company that invented them. … Even as the old boards retire from transit hubs, they can still be found in unlikely places, as artists, designers and tinkerers save them, or make their own versions.”
India’s First Newspaper Was A Cross Between The Daily Mail And Private Eye
“Started in 1780 by Irishman James Augustus Hicky, … the paper was a mixture between tabloid and satire – rather unlike the more serious tone of newspapers in Britain at the time, which had just won the right to report on Parliamentary proceedings. Though Hicky’s Bengal Gazette was ostensibly concerned with political developments within the East India Company, Hicky primarily focused his coverage on the mockery of his personal enemies.”
Chinese Communist Party Turns ‘Core Socialist Values’ Into Songs For Nation’s Dancing Grannies
“The 12 ‘core socialist values’ are memorized by schoolchildren, featured in college entrance exams, printed on stamps and lanterns, and splashed on walls across China. Now they have made their way into 20 song-and-dance routines that the authorities in Hunan Province plan to promote to the country’s millions of ‘square dancers,’ the mostly middle-aged and older women who gather in public squares to perform in unison.”
Turning STEM Into STEAM With Theatre
“When science is presented through theatre, students aren’t as afraid of getting things wrong and feel free to shout out, or even dance, answers.”
Despite The Passage Of Brexit, London Is Still The Place For Art Dealers
“It will be expensive and complicated … But London is London. The museums are here. The auction houses are here. The best galleries in the world are here. I do not see another city taking London’s place. Madrid? Los Angeles? I just don’t see it.”
How Is The Toronto International Film Festival Doing With Women?
“For all the supposed liberalism of the cultural community, it would be hard to find a more gendered workplace than a film set, unless you went climbing up oil rigs or down coal mines.”
Learning To Dance Again After A Near-Death Experience
“Two qualities that were essential to Rodríguez as an artist proved crucial as he fought his way back. One was the discipline from a lifetime of dance training, which helped him persist with tedious physical and speech therapy despite frequent frustration and physical pain. The other was his drive to express himself, which he poured out in painting when he could not dance.”
The New Museum Creates A Pop-Up Support For Black Lives Matter Artists
“The event had ‘a proactive spirit, and we intend on continuing this work in some iteration, so that it’s not reactive,’ said Kameelah Janan Rasheed, an interdisciplinary artist who contributed to the installation.”
Actress Who Was Raped, And Whose Character In The Film Is Raped, Speaks Out About Director Nate Parker
“I took this part in this film to talk about sexual violence. To talk about this stain that lives on in our psyches. I know these conversations are uncomfortable and difficult and painful. But they are necessary.”
Making Art About Facebook Posts From Dead People
“On Sunday, I attended my funeral. It was a short ceremony, held in a small auditorium at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The pastor who led it made note of my professional accomplishments. He also cited my habit of eating straight out of the bulk bins at Sprouts.”
How Opera Is Bringing Healing To Earthquake-Ravaged Nepal
“Managing everyday life in post-earthquake Nepal was difficult for everyone, but the arts community was hit especially hard. Many lost their livelihoods.”
When Photographs Were Colored By Hand
“In the days when black-and-white photography reigned, professional colorists took on the task of creating technicolor views by meticulously painting pictures by hand.”
Obamas Were Visible Consumers Of The Arts. Is That Not Enough?
“It should come as no surprise that where the arts were concerned, the Obamas didn’t just ignore the Pennsylvania Avenue playbook, they wrote their own script. They established dynamic programs and raised considerable money for arts initiatives. They also sometimes drifted away from the traditions of the past, which could leave locals frustrated and impatient.”
Obama Culture Is Pop Culture
“Barack and Michelle Obama are arguably more conversant in popular culture than any other couple that has occupied the White House. And in four months, when his presidency comes to a close, they will depart as full-fledged celebrities, embraced by America’s two arbiters of cool: Hollywood and hip-hop.”
Kennicott: Obama Has Not Been An Arts President
“He is interested in culture, to be sure, but it is the living culture of our time, often the celebrity culture of popular music and commercial theater, but rarely the stuff people used to call “high” culture. Or that, at least, is the image his handlers have crafted.”
BBC Young Musician Winner: Classical Music’s Expense Problem
“Classical music is not elitist. The music itself is accessible to everyone. The real problem is the fact that it’s expensive and there is so little help from councils and the government.”
What Happens When You Mash Hip Hop And Ballet Together?
“Conceived by Homer Hans Bryant, the artistic director and founder of the Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center, hiplet (pronounce it “hip-lay” to rhyme with ballet) showcases dancers on pointe as they twist and dip to the floor in a loose translation of hip-hop movement.”
Pittsburgh Symphony Contract Talks Running Down To The Wire
“The contract for the musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is set to expire Sunday night, and while the symphony’s management and musicians have agreed not to discuss the negotiations with the media, messages from both sides are getting across.”
Opera Omaha’s Ex-Music Director Sentenced To Prison For Stealing From His Disabled Mother
“Through Wednesday, John C. Gawf Jr. visited his mother, who suffers from dementia, every day at her nursing home. He also stole $113,000 from her bank account over an eight-month period to fuel his gambling addiction. Thursday, [he] was sentenced to one to two years prison on one count of abuse of a vulnerable adult.”