Links All major intellectual food groups covered ...
"It turns out no-one is providing the extra commentary blind people are coming to expect at events and as an aid to watching television programmes at home. Oh, the irony that the only members of the crowd who can't enjoy the blind football are those who can't see. Luckily, I have an assistant who is able to give me his, albeit unprofessional, take as we both get to grips with the rules. The GB men lose 11 goals to one as the far bulkier Lithuanians systematically outclassed them."
The New Yorker's Richard Brody on what makes a great film:
"The movies I’ve seen most often aren’t necessarily the ones I consider the very best (top on the list: “42nd Street,” followed by “A Letter to Three Wives”). The books we keep by the bedside for a cozy read aren’t likely to be the most substantial; the foods we consider comfort foods—or, for that matter, daily fare—aren’t necessarily the summits of culinary art. I’m not sure why it’s such a problem that critics consider the very best of cinema to be something of a stretch, something that they love but to which they also bring a sense of awe and of distance. This very awe, which involves putting surpassingly colossal accomplishments on a sort of mental pedestal, constitutes a formative act of critical consciousness. And it’s important to distinguish between works of art that are close to us because they arouse our deepest personal feelings and those that are close to us because their achievements, splendid though they may be, are more modest, more conceivable—they’re on a plane of accomplishment that doesn’t surpass our conception, doesn’t make us feel small in their shadow."
The latest crop of Buffyverse comics have reignited the spirit of their respective series and in a classy move have exchanged the totems of their respective premises, Buffy dealing with Wolfram and Hart and Angel tackling the loss of magic in the world. Here, the writers compare notes:
"I like writing Faith for a lot of the same reasons I like writing Angel: she is striving for redemption and to make up for past mistakes. She’s a badass but she has feelings. Having hit bottom, she has a special understanding of what it’s like to need help. The usual perks of writing flawed characters. My favorite thing is the way she takes no crap from anyone; she is the first to call BS on people, or demons, or gods. The special challenge is not to gloss over the bad things she did while still keeping her likable."
Why fringe theatre should ignore Shakespeare:
"Bad Shakespeare is torture. And 9 out of 10 times, you will be producing bad Shakespeare. Rehearsals are hurried, actors may be inexperienced and need more time than the director (who also may not be that experienced) can give them. It hurts my ears to hear words mispronounced. It hurts my brain to hear actors rush through the language without clarity of meaning, tone color, objectives, or intent. How will your audience understand the more archaic terms if your actors are shaky on them?"
Trevor Glicks of Every Woody Allen Film has gone further than I could when I did something similar. He's visited Paley Center for Media in New York and seen Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story:
"It’s surprising that the White House’s response was so strong, given how tame the movie feels today. In this day and age, when any major political figure can look forward to being openly compared to Hitler on national TV on a regular basis, it’s hard to imagine people being scared of a movie as gentle as this."
Lost BBC archive of Neil Armstrong's moon landing found:
"The BBC's library footage of Neil Armstrong's moon landing - which was missing, presumed lost forever - has been found by a viewer. [...] Philip Longden, who was 12 at the time, recorded the moon landing from BBC television, with commentary by Sir Patrick Moore and James Burke."
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