Or certainly the hottest 80-year-old. Freaky. This is a holiday weekend, and you might want to leave politics for a while (I know I often do) and turn to the tale of Deshun Wang (or Wang Deshun), an 80-year-old Chinese … Continue reading →
Yes, they do. But not nearly as dizzy as you and I would. They’ve got a system, although it takes a lot of practice: The short answer is training, but to really grasp why figure skaters can twirl without getting … Continue reading →
[NOTE: This is a repeat of a previous post.] I write some poetry from time to time, And gravitate to forms, I must confess. I crave some meter and a bit of rhyme. Free verse can be illusory progress. The … Continue reading →
People seem to think that new violins sound better: In tests at concert halls in Paris and New York, audiences were asked to listen to soloists performing on brand new violins, and three made by master fiddle maker Stradivari. The … Continue reading →
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 →