The opening of the renovated and reorganized (with some input from Belgium’s African community) museum moved Joseph Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to call for objects taken during the colonial period to be returned for a new national museum in Kinshasa. — The Guardian
Why Our Meritocracy Has Failed Us
“First, meritocracy segregates talent rather than dispersing it. By plucking the highest achievers from all over the country and encouraging them to cluster together in the same few cities, it robs localities of their potential leaders — so that instead of an Eastern establishment negotiating with overlapping groups of regional elites (or with working-class or ethnic leaders), you have a mass upper class segregated from demoralized peripheries.” – The New York Times
French Cultural Venues Close As Protest Riots Grow
The Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysées was graffitied by rioters; TV footage showed its interior ransacked and a smashed statue of Marianne, symbol of the French republic. French President Emmanuel Macron visited the Arc de Triomphe on Sunday, after returning from a trip to Argentina the day before, in order to inspect the damage. – The Art Newspaper
Inside The Obsessive, Weird Fandom Of A Murder Podcast
The podcast “My Favorite Murder” started two years ago, and “unleashed the Murderino fandom community onto the internet. Facebook is the space where the murder-minded come out to play; take any hobby, profession or pop culture touchstone and add ‘erino’ to find the niche, murder-minded community you never knew you needed. There are Teacherinos and Bakerinos, Weight Watcherinos and Brooklyn 99erinos. I typed ‘Pooperino’ into my Facebook search bar just to see if it would yield a result. It did.” – HuffPost
When Israel’s Holocaust Museum Plays Host To Autocrats
Hungary’s right-wing nationalist prime minister and the president of the Philippines, who compared himself to Hitler and meant it as a compliment to both Hitler and himself, and other right-wing autocratic leaders have visited Yad Vashem in the past six months. Some staff members are highly distressed, but none of them is allowed to speak publicly about the issue. – The New York Times
It Wasn’t Easy For Barry Jenkins To Bring James Baldwin To The Big Screen
The director of Best Picture-winner Moonlight has loved Baldwin’s work for decades – and his new movie, If Beale Street Could Talk, is the first Hollywood big-screen production of Baldwin’s fiction. How did he do it? Persistence and delicacy (and winning an Oscar or two). – The Atlantic
The Belfast Photographer Who Tries To Find New Ways Of Seeing Women
Hannah Starkey didn’t start out with a feminist agenda, but she did go to art school when photography, especially portraiture, was dominated by men. “Though her photographs appear at first glance to be traditional observational documentary, they are deftly choreographed. Often she reimagines what she has observed on the street or in cafes, clubs and bars, using women she has hired to meticulously create stilled moments of female reverie, togetherness or fleeting interaction.” – The Observer (UK)
A Documentary Photographer Has Gone Missing In China
Internationally acclaimed photographer Lu Guang has been missing for five weeks. “According to local sources, the security services detained Lu Guang, along with his local host, on or about Nov. 3. He was supposed to travel a day or two later to Sichuan Province, where he regularly does charity work. He never made it.’ – The New York Times
Instagram Makes Parenting Teenagers Way Easier
Can’t get through to your kid? Sure, you could stalk them around the house, but probably their social media presence – especially Instagram, where they might even be pretty great photographers – can reveal much more than any sparse conversation would. – The New York Times
Some Essential Reading, According To Actor John Leguizamo
The actor found out his son was getting bullied at school about their heritage – so he created a stand-up show, got it on Netflix, and is now promoting some top-quality books about Latinx history so other kids don’t have to experience the same thing. Here’s his holiday shortlist of books (that, yeah, Americans should already have read). – The Atlantic
Is Russia Engaging In A ‘Covert War’ Against Its Own Youth, And Their Favorite Musicians?
Well, possibly. For instance, rapper Husky has had recent concerts cancelled by the government – and when he performed outside for his audience, he was arrested and convicted. An electronica group whose concerts were also cancelled says, “The order to exert pressure on us is coming from Moscow.” – BBC
Fruscella And Moore: An Important Find
“We are rewarded with an hour of their music that until now has been all but unknown.” – Doug Ramsey
Tales Of Doomsday Eros
“Why not acknowledge the MLFs, masochists, rapists, sadists, animal fuckers, and fisting fetishists, among other artisans of debauchery, with one helluva good read.” – Jan Herman
High Culture Without Apologies – What Orchestras Can Do
Colleges and professional orchestras both seem to be declining in relevance and power, but if they work together, much is possible. – Joe Horowitz
The Poet Who Wants Americans To Have A Personal Reckoning
Natasha Trethewey has been the U.S. poet laureate, is a Pulitzer Prize-winner, and has a new collection out, and it requests from, and gives back, much to its readers. “Trethewey writes into the sprawling and untold stories in America’s history, giving voice to the forgotten, or the memories at risk of being forgotten.” – BuzzFeed
Louisville Ballet Gets Its First Woman Resident Choreographer
Andrea Schermoly becomes the ballet’s third resident choreographer in a smaller ballet company that is newly committed to new work. The South African dancer had worked with choreography in college, and that “ended up being a great background when Schermoly faced a dance career ending injury and was able to turn full time to choreography.” – WFPL (Kentucky)
Getting Straight A’s In School Is Terrible For Life
That’s right, strivers: Stop it. Well, don’t stop striving. Just stop striving for perfection. “Academic excellence is not a strong predictor of career excellence. Across industries, research shows that the correlation between grades and job performance is modest in the first year after college and trivial within a handful of years.” – The New York Times