Tuesday, June 09, 2020

The Backstory Of The Bravest (And Sneakiest) Opening Number In Tony Awards History

 Dead men make such convenient heroes

— Carl Wendell Hives

You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.
- Winston Churchhill.

SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO SPEAK FRANKLY:  Whence Comes Dignity


Two things guide Barbara Ehrenreich: anger and curiosity. "I live for  Surprises »


The Backstory Of The Bravest (And Sneakiest) Opening Number In Tony Awards History


Here’s how songwriters Adam Schlesinger and David Javerbaum and host/lead performer Neil Patrick Harris concocted, and got away with, the immortal intro to the 2011 Tony Awards telecast, “It’s Not Just for Gays Anymore.” – The New York Times





In Russia, Independent Booksellers Begin Championing Neglected Cold River Writers



“The most widely-read books are translated foreign bestsellers. There is little space for Russian talent — and if you want to be one of the chosen few to secure a book deal, that means satisfying big publishers’ often conservative tastes. … Change, however, is already coming — driven by a new wave of young literary activists and independent startups challenging the status quo. Many are led by young women, on offshoot from Russia’s growing feminist movement. They search for the forgotten Russian writers of the past, look for young new voices, and translate the queer foreign titles that would otherwise never make it into Russian.” – The Calvert Journal






Why Buy The Cow When The Milk Is Free? Performing Arts Companies, Don’t Do What Newspapers Did



“There’s a long-running adage about working for free in the performing arts. ‘The problem with working for exposure,’ it goes, ‘is you can die from exposure’.” With arts companies all over the world pouring free content onto the web as their venues are closed during the pandemic, creative industries scholar Caitlin Vincent issues a warning. – The Conversation


How Did Ancient Australians Make Their Cave Paintings So Precise? A Team Of Archaeologists May Have The Answer


At a site in Limmen National Park in the Northern Territory are 17 paintings, stenciled on rock, that are far smaller than usual for such art, featuring detailed renderings of humans, kangaroos, turtles, boomerangs, and geometric figures. Researchers, working with the Marra people native to the area, think the painters may have used the same beeswax figures they used to make toys. – Artnet



I WAS WARNED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO THAT CHINA WAS GOING TO TRY TO CREATE ITS OWN ELON MUSK: Chinese private launch firms advance with methane engines, launch preparations and new funding.