Reviews and News:
Andrew Wyeth’s fragile reputation.
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Does taking a Masterclass, say, in acting help you become a better actor? “‘It’s like someone studying violin but not holding a violin — just looking at videos of how to play a violin,’ says Sharon Chatten, an acting coach who has worked with Cameron Diaz and Ben Stiller. ‘It’s silly to put on your resume that you’ve studied acting because you’ve taken this course. I think it’s valuable in the way that watching ‘Actors on Actors’ or Charlie Rose is. You’re expanding your mind, but I wouldn’t consider that taking an acting class.’”
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on his winning friendship with coach John Wooden.
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James Franco shuts down the play James Franco and Me.
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In Case You Missed It:
Against empathy: “Empathy, in general, has an excellent reputation. But leads us to make terrible decisions, according to Paul Bloom, psychology professor at Yale and author of Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion. In fact, he argues, we would be far more moral if we had no empathy at all.”
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A history of plywood and how it helped the Allies win WWII.
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Molly Keane’s sweet and sour life and work.
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The magnificent Helen Andrews on the magnificent R. A. Lafferty: “The heritage of science fiction is, after all, not only anti-Christian but specifically anti-Catholic…But Lafferty the daily Mass-goer was a science fiction author and no other kind.”
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Interview: John J. Miller talks to Kevin J. Hayes about George Washington’s reading habits and books.
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Classic Essay: Alfred Kazin, “The Useful Critic”
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