I don’t get HBO and don’t think I’ve ever watched one of their documentaries. So the name “Sheila Nevins” meant very little to me, but the headline of this article caught my eye. It features an interview in which Nevins … Continue reading →
Being a blogger is a funny thing. Every day a blogger like me has to decide what to write about. Will it be some long-winded technical and/or reflective piece that attempts to tackle big and complex issues? Do I want … Continue reading →
If you’ve followed ballet as long as I have, you can’t help but notice vast changes in technique (I’ve written about some of them here and elsewhere). In general, the number and scope of physical feats has increased tremendously, perhaps … Continue reading →
[Hat tip: commenter “Artfldgr”] I’m not a big opera fan, although there are a couple of operas I love and with which I’m very familiar. But I have the deepest admiration for the skill and artistry of opera singers, who … Continue reading →
I don’t like Bill O’Reilly. I don’t like his style and I don’t like his show, although I’ve watched it every now and then just to familiarize myself with it. I don’t watch most shows of that type (talk and … Continue reading →
Here are two male ballet dancers performing the same variation from Don Quixote. Which do you prefer? I know which one I’d choose. Barani—whom I’ve never seen dance in person, nor even heard of–is very impressive, very athletic, one of … Continue reading →
Remember the Miller Analogies Test? It was one of those “this is to this, as this is to which of these?” tests that supposedly tapped into a person’s logical reasoning ability as well as the person’s knowledge base. Analogies can’t … Continue reading →
I try to follow the general outlines of the current theories of theoretical physics, but it goes without saying that I don’t understand the math, and that I miss a lot of the details. So although I’d never even heard … Continue reading →
…is hard to do. As Britain is now learning. When a country voluntarily signs away some of its autonomy—in this case, to join the EU—it would seem at the outset that such a decision would be reversible if that country … Continue reading →
I found the following at Buzzfeed. Now, Buzzfeed isn’t a site I usually visit and certainly not a site I often (or ever?) quote. But this description of the current news coverage struck somewhat of a resonant chord in me … Continue reading →
As far as I’m concerned, the 1948 David Lean black-and-white version of “Oliver Twist” is the masterpiece of the many movie versions of the story. I first saw the film as a child and it scared me horribly at times, … Continue reading →
Decades ago, the book review section of the NY Times used to be one of my favorite portions of the paper to read of a Sunday, back when I read it in the paper version. Implicit in my mind—without my … Continue reading →