quoththeraven

It's not just that. It's the supposedly independent law firm they hired to investigate saying that. I grew up in the 60s and 70s (1974 high school grad) and I understood power dynamics. When someone (not you, I'm now responding to another comment) say girls competed to be part of a harem, be aware that it happened because they were conditioned to think this was the only way to get ahead - something that was a self-fulfilling prophecy that benefited the adults exploiting them, not the girls. Or in this case the the students of both genders whom Levine preyed upon. Moreover, while I am sure there were scandals and situations I wasn't aware of, the only professor I was aware of in the undergraduate liberal arts program I graduated from who dated students was single and to the best of my knowledge didn't date current students. I knew an undergraduate student who didn't start dating a former TA until he was a former TA because of the obvious conflict of interest. People knew better but they pretended they didn't so they could turn a blind eye to it. To excuse this on the basis of musical or artistic license is skeevy.

I find the highlighted statement completely unbelievable.

Finally. But the denial that the Met or its board knew anything about it or covered it up rings hollow given the long history of rumors. What Levine did is disgusting and should never have been allowed to happen. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/03/13/the-metropolitan-operas-james-levine-once-on-the-cover-of-time-has-been-fired-for-alleged-sexual-abuse/?utm_term=.0207a32d9711

But that really amounts to the same thing. It's not surprising to me that women would view Rigoletto differently from men, for example, when its best known aria is all about how fickle women are - a bit rich coming from a well-known womanizer! We all draw lines about what art and artists we will support, and calling the decision to avoid some art because its content doesn't align with one's values "PC" is dismissive. It's even more complicated because Rigoletto was subject to censorship because it was perceived as critical of the Duke, who was based on a contemporary or near-contemporary figure. But for women, most of whom deal with harassment and prejudice regularly, not to want to watch it on stage is self-care, not being PC.

This has been going on for years. Slash fanfiction, anyone? Real person fiction especially. Read and often written by teenage girls, not all of whom are straight.

At least you're self-aware about your prejudices.

Apropos of the main topic: http://www.macleans.ca/culture/should-canadian-opera-fix-mozarts-casual-racism/amp/?__twitter_impression=true I saw it because of a tweet from a Canadian friend who mentioned L'Italiana as an opera that could stand to have its libretto tweaked.

Alleys? What alleys? (I've usually been in midtown by myself anyway.) As someone who took the subway by myself from Grand Central to mid-Bronx at midnight during the mid-70s, I haven't really thought about this. But I am always grateful when someone gives me their seat.

Interesting interview with judge Michelle Visage in which she talks about gender, terminology, appropriation and the show. http://www.vulture.com/2018/03/michelle-visage-is-tough-because-she-loves-you.html

That policy makes no sense to me.

Tylenol only works on fever for me. Anything else and I take ibuprofen. In fact, ibuprofen is the only drug that relieves dental pain for me. I had inflammation from a cold that affected my teeth that Tylenol with codeine didn't touch but 2 200 mg of ibuprofen 4 times a day (otherwise I woke up at 3 am) did. How you respond to drugs depends. It's not the same for everybody.

It's perfectly okay not to like a piece of art. The people in Rigoletto are uniformly awful. The duke lives to seduce another day and Rigoletto's daughter sacrifices herself for him. Rigoletto is no prize either, as he's fine with the duke's frivolous ways except when they affect his daughter. Despite the glories of the music, I'm not sure I'd want to spend an evening with these characters. It's not like Don Giovanni, where Don Giovanni gets his just deserts.

What I don't get is the reference to physical therapy. Sorry, medical training is neither physical therapy nor massage therapy training. That doesn't necessarily mean he's incompetent, but neither does it mean he is competent. That's without even considering the sensual aspects of the massage.

It's more of an issue for others, who may need to specify which Gary or Kelly they are talking to or about.

Given that Hanyu was only able to compete at the Olympics because of painkillers, I'm glad he's not going to Worlds. He needs to rehab that ankle.

It all depends on the patient's personality, psychology and physiology and the condition being treated. I've taken lorazepam (Ativan) for insomnia, anxiety and muscle spasms (muscle relaxants make me dizzy) for years without problems. I take a half pill, don't take it every night and have gone months without taking it after prescriptions run out before making an appointment to see the doctor. I realize it's not a narcotic, but the principle applies.

You really think that would be appropriate or appreciated by Harding?

Disagreement is not the same as an attack, jeez. For every argument about the DNC preferring/favoring Clinton there's nonsense perpetrated by the Sanders campaign and followers and existing structures like caucuses that favored them. Thanks for believing that others should suffer so you can get the perfect candidate.

This is my version of great sexy arms. YMMV. (Also happens to be my favorite song from last year. However, I hadn't listened to it until a week ago. Now I'm making up for lost time.)

Pictures At An Exhibition by Mussorgsky Original https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IOEZhogGzI Ravel orchestral arrangement (generally prefer to piano version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VeiELD3RIA Emerson, Lake and Palmer version (my preference for Great Gate at Kiev) A particularly good ELP performance of Great Gate

There already are local sex worker advocacy groups that are loosely allied at the national level. It seems a bit peculiar to me to create additional organizations. Reminds me too much of non-disabled people (parents especially) dominating disability advocacy.

"Despacito" is reggaeton, but it also qualifies as hiphop; Daddy Yankee is a rapper, after all, and "Despacito" is the catchiest, most infectious tune of 2017. (I've never listened to the Justin Bieber version of this song, so I have no idea what it's like.) For those of you who are curious about the lyrics,"Despacito" is all about slow sex. ("Despacito" means "slowly.") https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin/7873132/despacito-lyrics-translation-english-meaning

Epik High's "Rocksteady" featuring Korean-American rappers Kero One, Dumbfoundead and MYK (Michael Young Kim) and Rakaa of Dilated Peoples, all based in LA. 99% of the lyrics are in English. (Okay, maybe 95%....) I own the CD of the album and the lyric booklet doesn't include all of the English in the chorus or any of the Korean rapped by Epik High member Mithra Jin and I haven't found a lyrics video (I haven't looked for a non-video translation yet), so I sympathize with @WilliamM about the difficulty of understanding lyrics. There's a Korean version of "Rocksteady" too - same beat, different rappers, different lyrics, (mostly) different language. (There's English sprinkled in here and there.) Featuring Paloalto, Dok2, Beatbox DG and Beenzino. Comparing the two shows why Korean is such a great language to rap in. With soft consonants and lots of ending vowels, it's easier to maintain flow than in English.

Epik High's song about dangerously obsessive (sasaeng) fans is like a cross between "Stan" and Stephen King's "Misery" (without the maiming) and is one of the greatest (and scariest) music videos of all time. Instead of throwing a pregnant girlfriend in the trunk of the car and driving it into a river, as Stan does in Eminem's music video, the fan tries to launch her beloved into the heavens."You are my star, I'm you're number one fan. Baby, please take my hand." A live version of "Fan" with traditional Korean instruments, which is fun because the audience that is bopping along is composed of K-pop stars who know what it's like to have obsessive fans. Don't worry, receiving the bonsang award for the album on which "Fan" appears, which precedes the performance, doesn't take long. Another live performance. This is a demanding song to rap; it's very fast and requires a lot of breath control. The guy in a gray t-shirt dancing around in the middle is Epik High's DJ Tukutz.

Not to diss Eminem either; his music is melodic and he can tell a spellbinding, albeit scary, violent and homophobic story. But he deserves props for showing a male fan who is as obsessed with a male artist as Stan is toward Eminem. "Stan" has now entered the dictionary as a synonym for "dedicated fan" and "to be a dedicated fan of" (as in "I stan BTS").