First they came for the statues. Now they’ve come for the sonnets: The University of Salford, a public university in Greater Manchester, England, removed sonnets and other “pre-established literary forms” from a creative writing course assessment, The Telegraph reported. …A … Continue reading →
…not with a bang but a whimper: The smaller number of marching units, the absence of the “Z” sloganeering, any air units, and the elite of the Russian Army all gave the parade a more subdued air. It was not … Continue reading →
Long-time readers of this blog know that one of my favorite authors is Milan Kundera. Here are a few more Kundera quotes that offer food for thought: Once the writer in every individual comes to life (and that time is … Continue reading →
[NOTE: Here’s a slightly-edited version of a post I first published in 2014. I thought it might be good to put it up again, because it still seems appropriate.] The time was 1956, over 65 years ago. The place was … Continue reading →
[NOTE: This is part of a series I’ve done. So far I’ve featured dance teachers Stanley Holden and Finis Jhung. There are plenty more I could write about.] Last night I was musing about the changes in dance in my … Continue reading →
A while back I saw a link at Powerline to an article in The Critic entitled, “On the chopping block.” I idly clicked on it, wondering what it was about, and saw that it concerned one of those all-too-common flaps … Continue reading →
When I read that Robert Morse had died at the age of 90, my first thought was “Drat!” My second thought was, “How could he be 90? Impossible!” Because to me Robert Morse always looked like a kid. Morse rose … Continue reading →
But not for the usual reasons. For this reason: Disney execs worried that Tinker Bell and Captain Hook were “potentially problematic” during their review of content headed to the new Disney+ streaming service, the New York Times reports… …[T]hey reportedly … Continue reading →
[The following is a slightly edited repeat of a previous post.] Tonight is the beginning of the Jewish holiday Passover. I’ve been impressed by the fact that Passover is a religious holiday dedicated to an idea that’s not solely religious: … Continue reading →
In 1957, we see why Elvis was nicknamed The Pelvis. We also see – or at least I think I see – the roots of his dancing in James Cagney. “James Cagney?” you ask, puzzled. Not in Cagney’s tap dancing … Continue reading →
I often complain about how ballet has lost much of its charm and art, sacrificed to ever more spectacular technique and tense gymnastics. The greatest of the olden-day dancers didn’t raise their legs as high, and didn’t perform as many … Continue reading →