The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent
In the New Yorker...
serious crayons:
Well, legions or no, I'm in the group. I couldn't get far into TSN either, for pretty much the reasons that writer describes (though I DO get the "kissed/bunched fingers" imagery).
oilgun:
This article is pretty long but is so far (five pages of 26) a great read.
The Apostate
Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology.
by Lawrence Wright February 14, 2011
On August 19, 2009, Tommy Davis, the chief spokesperson for the Church of Scientology International, received a letter from the film director and screenwriter Paul Haggis. “For ten months now I have been writing to ask you to make a public statement denouncing the actions of the Church of Scientology of San Diego,” Haggis wrote. Before the 2008 elections, a staff member at Scientology’s San Diego church had signed its name to an online petition supporting Proposition 8, which asserted that the State of California should sanction marriage only “between a man and a woman.” The proposition passed. As Haggis saw it, the San Diego church’s “public sponsorship of Proposition 8, which succeeded in taking away the civil rights of gay and lesbian citizens of California—rights that were granted them by the Supreme Court of our state—is a stain on the integrity of our organization and a stain on us personally. Our public association with that hate-filled legislation shames us.” Haggis wrote, “Silence is consent, Tommy. I refuse to consent.” He concluded, “I hereby resign my membership in the Church of Scientology.”
Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/02/14/110214fa_fact_wright#ixzz1DJxVwgdk
Front-Ranger:
Yes I only read 5 pages too. Everything you never wanted to know about Scientology...and more!!!
Jeff Wrangler:
In typical fashion for me, I've got more than one issue going at once. I'm reading the Paul Haggis/Scientology article at home, and I'm finding it fascinating.
(If nothing else, I'm learning a lot about Paul Haggis's career. I'd never even heard the name, as far as I can remember, until the Crash win, but he's been involved in a lot of productions I have heard of.)
Meanwhile, over lunch I've been reading Ben McGrath's article in the January 31 issue about head injuries in football. One of the experts mentioned in the article was Dr. Robert Cantu. During my brief stint as a copy editor at the W.B. Saunders company, I edited a book by Cantu, Neurologic Athletic Head and Spine Injuries, published by Saunders in 2000, so I've been aware of this issue for more than ten years.
Jeff Wrangler:
Here's a puzzlement.
Over my lunch today, among other things, I read the capsule review for a production of Moliere's The Misanthrope in the February 7 issue. The review includes the sentence, "The story involves a young nobleman disgusted by the phoniness and superficiality around him in the courtly circles of Louis XVI."
Hunh? ???
Moliere lived and worked at the court of Louis XIV, in the 17th century. So, is that XVI an error for XIV, or is this productionn set a hundred years after Moliere, maybe because someone likes the clothes better? ???
I also got a kick out of David Denby's descriptions of Ashton Kutcher (in Denby's review of No Strings Attached) as resembling "a pensive mushroom," and as "pointlessly tall." ;D
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