One of the highlights of the new China Art Palace in Shanghai is a giant digital rendering of a famous ancient scroll, "Along the River During Qingming Festival," which includes figures that walk and talk. The work was first presented at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.
China Builds Museums, But Filling Them Is Another Story
()China has been building museums with abandon, opening about 100 annually in recent years. Two of the biggest opened on the same day last fall on opposite banks of Shanghai's Huangpu River. But filling these museums — with both art and visitors — is proving more challenging.
Performing Arts
At L.A.'s UnCabaret, 25 Years Of Letting It All Hang Out()
May 20, 2013 Launched as an alternative to the stale stylings of the '80s stand-up circuit, Beth Lapides' event bills itself as a venue for "idiosyncratic, conversational comedy." It's helped establish careers for performers from Kathy Griffin to Randy and Jason Sklar.
Author Interviews
After Crashing In Canadian 'Abyss,' Four Men Fight To Survive()
On an icy night in 1984, a commuter plane crashed in the wilderness. Six passengers died, but four survived: the pilot, a politician, a policeman and a prisoner. Carol Shaben's Into the Abyss describes their fight to make it through that frigid night alive.
Author Interviews
Courtside Chemistry: How NBA's Phil Jackson Won 'Eleven Rings'()
Jackson is famous for his philosophical take on basketball and for the many stars he led to championship triumphs. He taught his players yoga and gave them assigned reading — but also pushed them to intensely practice fundamental skills. His new book looks back on a legendary coaching career.
Book Reviews
American Voices On 'The Unwinding' Of America's Values()
George Packer's The Unwinding explores the social and economic upheavals that have transformed the U.S. over the past 30 years. In a nuanced work of literary journalism, colorful characters from across the class divide tell their own stories of a social contract in tatters.
Television
Mel Brooks: 'I'm An EGOT; I Don't Need Any More'()
May 20, 2013 The screenwriter, producer, director and actor, whose name has become synonymous with American comedy, talks about his penchant for spoofs and his decades-long friendship with Carl Reiner. Brooks, who is among a handful of people who've won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards, is the subject of a new documentary on PBS.
The Two-Way
Book News: Stephen King's New Bogeyman? Digital Publishing()
Also: the legacy of Kierkegaard; the creator of Lyle Crocodile has died; Aussie airliner Qantas commissions flight-length books.
Monkey See
Reaction Saturation And Sunday Night Television()
May 20, 2013 On Sundays, it can seem like we're a nation of critics. But we're not.
New In Paperback
May 20-26: A Coup, An Ancient Battle And One Steamy Diary()
May 20, 2013 In softcover nonfiction, Jenny Rosenstrach examines dinnertime, Kate Summerscale recounts a scandalous Victorian trial, and John Dramani Mahama looks back on his childhood in Ghana. In fiction, Victor Davis Hanson reimagines an ancient battle, and Marie NDiaye follows three women from Senegal to Europe.
The Two-Way
Book News: J.K. Rowling Tells 'Harry Potter' Backstories()
May 20, 2013 Quidditch was invented "in a small hotel in Manchester after a row with my then boyfriend," writes the Harry Potter creator. Other book news: Ireland puts an entire short story on a postage stamp; Daniel Handler on Midwestern literature; and the best books coming out this week.
Nostalgia For Sale As Captain Kangaroo's Pals Are Auctioned Off()
May 20, 2013 A giant lot of Captain Kangaroo memorabilia goes on the auction block this week in Los Angeles. Among the items up for auction are several of the captain's signature jackets, Mr. Green Jeans' famous jeans and the life-sized costume worn by Dancing Bear.
Author Interviews
Siblings' Separation Haunts In 'Kite Runner' Author's Latest()
May 19, 2013 Khaled Hosseini's new novel, like his two earlier works, is set partly in Afghanistan — but this time, political turmoil isn't a major element of the plot. Instead, And The Mountains Echoed is a story of a family's loss that spans decades and continents.
Movie Interviews
One Couple, Nearly 20 Years, All 'Before Midnight'()
May 19, 2013 We've already met Jesse and Celine, twice. In the 1995 film Before Sunset, they had a romantic encounter in Vienna. Nine years later, they found each other in Paris. In this third film, their relationship has progressed another nine years. The romance hasn't left, says director Richard Linklater, it's simply changed.
Author Interviews
Stories Of Hope Amid America's 'Unwinding'()
May 19, 2013 When the factory she worked at closed down, Tammy Thomas reinvented herself as a community organizer; and when Dean Price's truck stop business went belly up, he became a champion of biofuel. In a new book, George Packer examines how ordinary people are adapting to a new America.
Code Switch
'Scandal': Preposterous, Unmissable, Important()
May 18, 2013 The show has become a social event for a large and varied crowd of African-Americans and others on Twitter, for reasons mysterious, complex and worth exploring.
Author Interviews
'Waiting To Be Heard' No More, Amanda Knox Speaks Out ()
May 18, 2013 Less than two months into her study abroad program in Italy, Amanda Knox was accused and eventually convicted of murdering her roommate, Meredith Kercher. After her conviction was overturned, Knox returned home to Seattle — and now faces a potential retrial. Knox tells her story in a new memoir.
