5 smart reads for the weekend
An argument that we need more guns and more gun control. An explanation of Ravi Shankar's music. And more compelling, of-the-moment stories to dive into
1. "The case for more guns (and more gun control)"
Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic
The past week has seen at least two tragic shootings in the United States: On Tuesday, a gunman (allegedly 22-year-old Jacob Tyler Roberts) fatally shot two people at the Clackamas Town Center in Oregon before committing suicide. And on Friday, a gunman who law enforcement officials identified as Adam Lanza allegedly killed 27 people (including 20 children) at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, before turning his gun on himself. The shootings have inspired people to revisit the long national debate over guns in America, weighing the balance between stricter gun control and the right to bear arms. In the most recent issue of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg makes the case that more Americans should arm themselves — but that gun control should also be stricter:
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Read the rest of the story at The Atlantic.
2. "New Zealand's Hobbit trail"
by Brooks Barnes and Michael Cieply, The New York Times
On Friday, Peter Jackson's highly-anticipated The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey — a prequel to his critically beloved, massively popular Lord of the Rings trilogy — hit movie theaters across the globe. But the enormous success of the Lord of the Rings films hasn't just beefed up the bottom line of production company New Line Cinema; it's invigorated the entire tourism industry of New Zealand, where both the original Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit movies were filmed. An exploration of how Lord of the Rings has revolutionized the young "movie tourism" movement, and changed the face of contemporary New Zealand:
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Read the rest of the story at The New York Times.
Nicholas Lemann, New Yorker
On Thursday, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, who was widely expected to succeed Hilary Clinton as the next Secretary of State, formally withdrew her name from consideration. Rice, a longtime advisor to President Obama, had been met with fierce opposition from a number of Republicans, who had criticized her for inaccurate remarks she made shortly after the September attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. A New Yorker piece written shortly before the 2008 presidential election, which explores the foreign policy philosophies of both Sen. John McCain and President Obama, delves into Rice's role in determining Obama's policies:
Read the rest of the story at the New Yorker.
4. "Golden Globe-award-winning case file #167: Butterfly"
by Nathan Rabin, The AV Club
On Thursday, the Hollywood Foreign Press announced this year's nominations for the Golden Globe Awards. The 70th annual ceremony, which will be televised live in January, is widely regarded as one of the best predictors for the Academy Awards, which are awarded the week after. But the Golden Globes have also long been dogged controversy over concerns that its relatively small voting body, which reportedly consists of around 90 journalists, is susceptible to bribery. The HFPA's all-time most controversial decision came when it awarded Pia Zadora the Golden Globe for New Star of the Year in 1982 for Butterfly, awarding a performance universally derided by critics when the film premiered in the United States. Here, a description of the suspicious circumstances behind the controversial choice:
Read the rest of the story at The AV Club.
5. "On appreciation of Indian classical music"
by Ravi Shankar, RaviShankar.org
This week, legendary sitarist Ravi Shankar, who introduced hundreds of thousands to classical Indian music, passed away at age 92. Shankar was a world-renowned musician and a three-time Grammy Award winner who could count The Beatles among his many devoted fans. But many who enjoyed his music for its beauty may not have known the philosophy that drove it. In a post at his own website, Shankar explains the history of Indian music, and the deeper meaning behind the many ragas he wrote and performed:
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Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.
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