Alla Shelest was virtually unknown in the West, but she was an eminent dancer in the USSR during the 30s, 40s, and 50s. Here she is trying to teach a younger dancer what’s known as épaulement, which is “the nuanced … Continue reading →
I’ve finally done some actual work on Gerard’s book – using the Amazon self-publishing platform, which my research points to as the most user-friendly. However, there’s still a steep and rather tedious learning curve there, and so I’m nowhere near … Continue reading →
By popular demand, I’m going to try to explain Plisetskaya’s jumping ability as shown in a recent open thread. Here’s the video again: You won’t see other women in ballet jumping like that. You’ll see a few men getting that … Continue reading →
When I was watching this video, I thought about a Bee Gees comparison before Fil made the same point. Were the Bee Gees the male Andrews sisters? Sort of. But I have one disagreement with Fil here – which is … Continue reading →
The latest from Heather Mac Donald is called When Race Trumps Merit: When Race Trumps Merit provides an alternative explanation for those racial disparities. It is large academic skills gaps that cause the lack of proportional representation in our most … Continue reading →
William Blake was a unique poet and artist. I don’t think he fits into any category except “mystical visionary” and probably “some sort of genius.” Many people are aware of his poem
Continue reading →I’m too old to have watched Mr. Rogers as a child. But as I watched him forty years ago with my own child, I found some of his messages a little obscure. For example, there was the song that follows, … Continue reading →
…there’s this: …[T]he Taliban are now selling tickets to visit the ancient monuments that they demolished in 2001, in an attempt to boost Afghanistan’s flagging economy. The Washington Post reported that Afghanistan’s tourist plan includes a pair of 1,400-year-old giant … Continue reading →
I’ll start out by saying that I think the five people in the submersible are dead, and that even days ago I thought they probably had been dead from the moment the vehicle stopped communicating with the mother ship about … Continue reading →
It’s a genre, and a rather large one. Here are just a few examples – heavy on the Bee Gees, of course. I always liked Ringo’s quirky voice: Early-ish Bee Gees: Got to include this one. And she’s got my … Continue reading →
[NOTE: I decided not to be as politics-intensive as usual today.] I consider the poems of Jesuit priest Gerard Manley Hopkins to be among the greatest, and I’m going to highlight a single line from his poem entitled—well, the poem … Continue reading →
Disney has just released a live action version of “The Little Mermaid.” Some people have panned it, in particular compared to the 1989 animated film of the same story that was very popular and highly praised. But I’ve never seen … Continue reading →