Happy Friday! Did you know that Robert E. Lee was "an honorable man"? Or that environmental experts are actually bad for the Environmental Protection Agency? Ah, maybe not, since you were too busy hearing about sweeping changes to immigration after the horrible attack in New York City. In fact, just about the only good things this week were the Dodgers losing the World Series and the 11 blissful minutes when Trump was kicked off Twitter.
Look homeward, angel, into the avenging night. Here's what got us through it all.
A Three-Minute Prayer From an Atheist Outlaw Hiding in an Alleyway
An' you know I ain't never prayed before
But it always seemed to me
That prayin's the same as beggin', Lord
An' I don't take no charity
I mean, this is just a perfectly written song. Not one word out of place. Played it 12 times this week. —Gabe Meline
Akram Khan's 'Until the Lions'
It’s been a year since I last experienced the work of the British choreographer Akram Khan. That was his dark, dark version of the classical ballet staple Giselle at London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre, and it rocked my world. The Akram Khan company was in town this week, performing Until the Lions, his jaw-dropping take on the ancient Indian epic The Mahabharata. With some of the most barbarically beautiful kathak and contemporary choreography I’ve ever witnessed, along with balletic lights and an arresting percussion-and-voice-centered musical score performed by musicians live on stage, the production engulfed me completely. —Chloe Veltman