The Tin Sheds were a hothouse of art, music, ideas and politics. They were one of the most radical and memorable ‘alternative art spaces’ in Australia during their heyday from the late 1960s to the end of the 1970s. A group of dilapidated corrugated iron sheds across a busy city road from the University of Sydney were a place where — for a time — it seemed anything was possible.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/hindsight/the-hothouse/4162158
On the occasion of a new documentary (Corman’s World), the legendary filmmaker discusses how his infamous cost-cutting approach might be applied to other ares of American life, the difficulty of making independent films in America, why he gave up directing, and the undervalued nature of contemporary films.
Near the end of the 19th century, a mysterious young woman with a beguiling smile turned up in Paris. She became a huge sensation. She also happened to be dead. You’d probably recognize her face yourself. You might have even touched it.
http://www.radiolab.org/blogs/radiolab-blog/2011/nov/28/death-mask
Cartoonist Art Spiegelman’s epic Holocaust graphic novel, Maus, was published 25 years ago. Spiegelman’s new book, MetaMaus, explores that signature work through interviews, answers to persistent questions and examples of his early drawings.
When cartoonist Art Spiegelman published his epic Holocaust graphic novel, Maus, 25 years ago, a lot changed. He received a special Pulitzer Prize and became a contributor and cover artist for the New Yorker.
Maus blends the stories of Spiegelman’s trying relationship with his father and a horrifying tale of Auschwitz, as seen through his father’s eyes. Spiegelman drew the Jews as mice and the Germans as cats.
But Maus has continued to haunt him.
MetaMaus: A Look Inside a Modern Classic, Maus is the story behind Spiegelman’s signature work, complete with interviews, answers to many persistent questions and examples of his early drawings.
"Me and my mice, we weren’t dressed for success," Spiegelman tells NPR’s Neal Conan. "Originally we assumed we would self-publish Maus. … I didn’t believe it would be read beyond … about 10,000, 15,000 people. And when it got bigger, I felt littler."
http://www.npr.org/2011/10/05/141085597/spiegelmans-metamaus-the-secrets-behind-maus?sc=tw&cc=share
Tagged with npr holocaust history book:author=art spiegelman book:title=maus
Joe Kennedy lectures burping baby Ted on political ambition while teenagers Joe Jr. and John wrestle for the presidency. Cartoonist Kate Beaton irreverently recasts history and classic literature in her new book, Hark! A Vagrant.
http://www.npr.org/2011/09/29/140804195/hark-from-dna-to-jfk-a-comic-take-on-history
Evan Eisenberg’s The Recording Angel, which examines the idea of music as a commodity, was published more than 20 years ago. But with recorded music going digital, Eisenberg thought it was time for an update. He discusses how technology has fundamentally changed recorded music.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96403184
Tagged with book:author=evan eisenberg npr technology history music
Eisenberg’s a clever and funny writer of features for The Atlantic and The New Yorker. His book is not a history – its an eccentric, anecdotal excursion into the psychology, economics and aesthetics of recorded music and what’s fascinating is that it barely grazes the digital era and serves as a reminder that making a permanent record of the experience of music was awkward and controversial long before the CD and the MP3.
http://bowblog.com/reading/2011/08/evan-eisenberg-the-recording-angel/
University of Toronto Physics professor Robert K. Logan on The Origin and Evolution of Language and the Emergence of Concepts
Chair Zeinab Badawi introduces the motion ‘The Catholic Church is a force for good in the world.
Initial Vote: 678 For, 1102 Against, Undecided 346
Final Vote: 268 For, 1876 Against, Undecided 34
Arguing in favour of the motion are Archbishop John Onaiyekan and the Rt Hon. Ann Widdecombe MP.
Archbishop Onaiyekan begins by insisting that if the Catholic Church were not a force for good, he would not have devoted his entire life to serving it. He says that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church exists because of its 1.6 billion members worldwide, rather than in spite of them. He points not only to the spiritual assistance that his Church provides, but also to the tangible aid that is given internationally through Catholic projects. Finally, he admits that Catholics are not infallible, but are by necessity sinners trying to improve themselves through their faith.
Ann Widdecombe suggests that in trawling all the way back to the Crusades to find something to blame the Catholic Church for, Christopher Hitchens merely demonstrates how flimsy his argument really is. Why would the Pope have hidden 3,000 Jews in his summer palace during the Second World War if the Catholic Church was an antisemitic organisation? Admittedly, the New Testament does blame a Jew for the death of Christ; but it also blames a Roman, Pontius Pilate. Are we to infer then that Catholicism is anti-Italian as well as antisemitic? Widdecombe insists that the actions of the Catholic Church in the past should be judged with a degree of historical relativism; they were not the only people to murder and torture those deemed guilty of wrongdoing. She entreats us to imagine a world without the benefits of the Catholic Church, which provides hope, education and medical relief all over the globe.
Arguing against the motion are Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Fry.
Christopher Hitchens asserts that any argument trying to identify the merits of the Catholic Church must begin with a long list of sincere apologies for its past crimes, including but not limited to: the Crusades; the Spanish inquisition; the persecution of Jews and the forced conversion of peoples to Catholicism, especially in South America. He illustrates the vacuity of recent Catholic apologies by drawing on the case of Cardinal Bernard Law – shamed out of office in the US for his part in covering up the institutionalised sexual abuse of children – whose punishment from the Vatican was to be appointed a supreme vicar in Rome, and who was among those assembled in the 2005 Papal Conclave to choose the next Pope. Hitchens concludes by reminding the Archbishop that his own Church has been responsible for the death of millions of his African brothers and sisters, citing the Church’s disastrous stance on Aids prevention, as well as the ongoing trials in Rwanda in which Catholic priests stand accused of inciting massacre during the 1994 genocide.
Stephen Fry concedes that his opposition to the motion is a deeply personal and emotional one. He criticises the Catholic Church not only for the horrors it has perpetrated in the past, but also for its ideology, and for its sinister temerity to preach that there is no salvation outside of the Church. With two words he refutes Anne Widdecombe’s suggestion that the Catholic Church does not have the powers of a nation state: “The Vatican”. As a homosexual, Fry reflects how bizarre it is to be accused of being “immoral” and “a pervert” by an institution that has persistently hushed up the rape and abuse of children under its care, and whose leading members, abstentious nuns and priests, all share an attitude towards sex that is utterly unnatural and dysfunctional. He concludes by questioning whether Jesus, as a humble Jewish carpenter, would have approved of all the pomp and excess of the Catholic Church, and whether he would even have been accepted by such an arrogant organisation.