Two Davids
There’s this: And then there’s this: ‘Nuff said.
Continue reading →Category Archives: Arts
Oooo, the poor plagarists, the pressure made them do it
I am getting really, really, really sick of this sort of excuse/explanation: “The problem [of plagiarism] is as old as journalism,” says Stephen Ward, director of the Center for Media Ethics at the University of Wisconsin. “It’s a systemic issue, … Continue reading →
War ballets
This article about US Marine and Iraq war veteran and ballet dancer Roman Baca, who has choreographed ballets based on themes connected with the war, its veterans, and their families, reminds me of the fact that although there have been … Continue reading →
Gymnasts’ bodies: form follows function
The bodies that excel in different sports are not randomly chosen, they are selected by the needs of the activity. One would never mistake a professional basketball player for a jockey (except maybe the highly unusual Spud Webb, and at … Continue reading →
Planning ahead: Obama and the suburbs
I’ve been one of many people who have long said that in an Obama second term, unconstrained by the need for re-election, Obama would be free to undertake the more radical parts of his agenda. And it won’t really matter … Continue reading →
Another reminder that certainty is an iffy proposition
Vincent Van Gogh on his relationship to posterity: As a painter, I will never amount to anything important. I am absolutely sure of it.
Continue reading →Time, you old gipsy man
Five guys at the lake decide to recreate a photograph of themselves over and over, showing the passage of time [hat tip: Althouse].
Continue reading →And now for something completely different
In a conversation the other day, I brought up this memorably creepy episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, which featured the great Peter Lorre and the great Steve McQueen in a Roald Dahl story. No one there remembered it, although they … Continue reading →
30 years of the Sultans: may there be 30 more!
This is a clever idea, and it appeals to both my inordinate love for Mark Knopfler and my interest in watching performers then and now (see this, this, this, this, and this): All hail YouTube and virtual time travel!
Continue reading →Obama: “you didn’t build that”
I don’t ordinarily read the Chicago Tribune, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard of John Kass before, but this is one heckuva good column. I’m tempted to quote the whole thing, but I’ll just suggest you read it. In … Continue reading →
Three swans: part II
[NOTE: Please see Part I.] “Swan Lake” is—among other things—the story of a woman named Odette who’s got a lot of reasons to be afraid. After all, she’s under an evil magician’s spell that turns her into a swan by … Continue reading →
Why music?
This article describes several theories which seek to explain why music is a human universal. All of them focus on group cohesion of some sort, and the fact that music seems to foster it, whether it be in work, play, … Continue reading →