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- Booksellers Are Sounding The Alarm About A Presidential Memorandum
“The presidential security memo issued last year specifically targets what the regime sees as leftist ideas in books, zines, and other publications, which is a major concern for all of us that care about books and freedom of expression.” – LitHub
- When Hallmark Movies Have Something In Common With Concrete
It’s all about attention to mundane detail. The new The History of Concrete fits Hallmark “because that’s the kind of living proof that this rhythmic cyclical way of storytelling is actually soothing and attractive to people over long periods of time.” – Los Angeles Times (MSN)
- If You’re A Northern Irish Actor, You’ve Probably Been In A Show About The Troubles
Lola Petticrew wasn’t just in one show about the Troubles before she left Northern Ireland; she starred in – and was acclaimed for – two. “A lot of the questions that were raised were questions that I, as a young adult, have about how we heal and move on,” she said. – The New York Times
- What Happens To Your Art When You Become The Set Designer For Everything, Including The Olympics?
“In the 30 years since she won the Linbury prize for stage design in 1995, Es Devlin has established herself as a go-to set designer for highbrow theatre, international opera, global pop …, official celebrations …, fashion runways and public sculpture.” – The Guardian (UK)
- When Collecting Becomes Nearly A Blood Sport
Well, a bot sport, anyway. Bots are doing so much online work that regular collectors just can’t keep up – and are getting excluded from the things they love as a result. – The Verge
- The Mighty Sparrpw, One Of The Last Great Calypso Singers, Has Died At 91
“A singer, songwriter and guitarist, Sparrow — his given name was Slinger Francisco — was renowned for his sonorous voice, unremitting energy and extraordinary command of the verbal prestidigitation and sly double-entendre that are among the hallmarks of calypso lyrics.” – The New York Times
- Survivor’s Host And Producer May Work At Paramount, But He’s Not Abandoning Diversity
Jeff Probst doesn’t care about the Trump-loving network owners. Instead, he says, he cares about story. “Our stories are so much more interesting now because we have people from completely different walks of life.” – Variety
- Dolly Parton’s Estate Is In Shambles Over Accusations, Lawsuits, And Restraining Orders
“While the family appeared to be putting on a united front, behind the scenes, things were far from harmonious. Employees were afraid to come to work and some were allegedly quitting.” Then there was the security guy’s threats. – Vulture
- Meta’s New Surveillance Mascot Looks Like A Toy
It’s supposed to be for adults only, but it looks like a Tamagotchi. Will the cuddliness cause us all to forget the deep, deep creep factor? – Wired
- Rose Tremain Knows Her Generation Of Novelists Is Dying, But She’ll Keep Going As Long As She Can
“Contrary to what publishers hope and expect, serious writers don’t think obsessively about readers, or even about sales, royalties and prizes. What we talk to each other about, what we dream of, what we can’t live without is the work itself.” – The Guardian (UK)
- Ashland, Oregon, Is Known For Its Shakespeare Fest, But Now It’s Got A Murder Fest As Well
OK, you could argue that Shakespeare is a murderfest of his own, but “Mystery Fest has given cozy mystery fans a new reason to discover Ashland, attracting readers who might not otherwise have put the city on their travel list.” – Oregon ArtsWatch
- Beckett Is Only Bleak If You Have No Sense Of Humor
“I think Irish actors and directors have an innate advantage in dealing with Beckett. They get his humour.” – Irish Times - The Strike Is Over In Cleveland
“In a deal reached late Saturday night and ratified Sunday by the union, the two sides agreed to a three-year contract that includes a 5 percent annual raise for each of the three years, according to the orchestra.” – The New York Times
- The Ragtime Cancellation That Lasted Twelve Hours
Good Morning,
Every hour in Veracruz, the clock tower plays the original “La Bamba,” three centuries older than Ritchie Valens’ hit. Son jarocho, the genre behind it, was dismissed in the 1970s as “the music of drunken people”; now its fandangos draw dancers from Tokyo to Los Angeles, summed up in one word, convivencia — alive together (NPR). In Melbourne, Charles Lai has spent a decade running a free calendar of gallery openings, turning down offers to let galleries sponsor it because he wants to “keep my own counsel”; one critic, following his listings, hit seven shows by e-bike, from a converted lending library to Everfresh Studio, an artist collective back after its old space closed (The Guardian).
In Louisville, Nathan Balasubramanian, incoming academic chief for city schools, secretly ordered Manual High School’s “Ragtime” canceled over its racial slurs; the district reversed course that evening, after a viral outcry, though board member Linda Duncan says nobody told the superintendent (LPM). Conductor Andris Nelsons, pushed out by the Boston Symphony this year, got the opposite verdict in Leipzig, where the Gewandhaus orchestra just extended his contract to 2032 (The Boston Globe).
YouTube, TikTok and Meta are declining paid ads for documentarian Alex Gibney’s new film on Elon Musk, despite breaking none of their political-ad rules; distributor Bleecker Street is appealing, refused by Meta, while a film about a man trying to control the conversation makes its point before it opens Oct. 9 (The Hollywood Reporter).
All of our stories below.
- The All-Night Song And Dance Parties Of Veracruz
“This syncopated, jubilant folk music is a melange of European, Caribbean and Indigenous influences. While fandangos — where folks gather to play their instruments, sing and dance — are more than 300 years old, their popularity is now spreading around the world.” – NPR
- In Leipzig, Ousted Boston Symphony Orchestra Director Andris Nelsons Feels The Love
“When he conducts, he does not think in English or German or Latvian, even if that would be his own. But he thinks directly in music, and this is so direct. … Sometimes in a concert you have suddenly a new gesture never seen before, that everybody understands.” – Boston Globe
- Major Social Media Platforms Are All Turning Down Paid Advertising For The Documentary About Elon Musk
No one will be surprised that X (formerly Twitter) won’t take the ads for Alex Gibney’s award-winning movie, but what’s up with TikTok, YouTube, and Meta? – The Hollywood Reporter
- Sylvester Stallone Finally Reckons With Decades Of Trauma
“When I look at that footage, I look distorted. I was gone for a few seconds. Sometimes in acting or painting or writing, you just subliminally lose yourself. You do not know where you are. … What was that?” – The New York Times
- An Ohio School District Cancels A Popular Play, And The Fallout Is Ongoing
“Copley Superintendent Aimee Kirsch said the play was canceled not because of its gay themes but because the proper vetting procedure wasn’t followed.” Unh-hunh. The students cast in the canceled She Kills Monsters were offered parts in the newly approved Alice in Wonderland. – Akron Beacon Journal (Yahoo)
- Action Films Use To End Just As Happily As Any Rom-Com
Basically, “the heroes are still winning, but it’s costing them a whole lot more.” But why? – The New York Times
- An Art Crawl, By Bike, In Melbourne
“Even as a Melbourne local and a longtime art lover I find it near impossible to keep up with the independent openings happening in my city.” – The Guardian (UK)
- What The Grammys Usually Get Wrong About K-Pop, And Asian Music In General
“If eligibility is determined by musical style, what does language have to do with it? Why should a K-pop act’s music be labeled ‘Asian’ on the basis of language—and if a recording is performed entirely in English, does it somehow cease to be ‘Asian pop’?” – Time
- Milwaukee Museum Returns Enslaved Artist David Drake’s Works To His Descendants
“Drake made and inscribed ambitious stoneware jars while enslaved in South Carolina in the 1800s, despite punishing conditions and anti-literacy laws that prevented teaching enslaved persons to read.” – The New York Times
- The School District That Tried To Cancel ‘Ragtime’ Claimed It Was A Miscommunication, But Emails Reveal A Different Story
“In emails with members of the public obtained by KyCIR, Duncan repeatedly said the show was never canceled because Balasubramanian ‘went rogue.’” That’s a little different from a miscommunication. – WFPL
- Haitian-Canadian Author’s Book Withdrawn From Goncourt Short List Over Accusations Of AI
“As critics sparred with defenders of Mr. Orélien, who is Black, over whether he was targeted because of his race and his book’s treatment of migrants, he was accused of plagiarism in earlier writings, inflaming the controversy.” – The New York Times
- We Don’t Make People Pay To Access Public Parks
Public parks are widely considered a social good, and we know that because our tax dollars go to maintain them, we don’t have to pay every time we go to a park. What if the same were true for theatre? – American Theatre
- While Some Cleveland Musicians Are On The Picket Line, Others Are Performing Free For The Community
One musician: “This is for our community and for the people who love what we do with our music. …The concert came together very quickly and we have many people who are excited to play chamber music for our fans.” – WKYC
- Who Killed Paulina Borsook’s Tech Writing Career?
Maybe it wasn’t one person, or one magazine – maybe it was just the Zeitgeist changing. Right? (Because that’s the way it always goes for “difficult” women.) – Wired
- Let’s Check In On How New York Feels About Dudamel
Justin Davidson is very, very pleased. “At every moment, you could feel Dudamel’s multilayered control — over the pacing, careening tempo changes, and the complicated sense of spaciousness.” – Vulture
- A Guy Who Scammed Writers And Publishers For Years Sure Appears To Be Back, If Hidden, Online
“The messages bear the hallmarks of Bernardini’s original scheme: look-alike emails, carefully replicated fonts and signatures, fluency in industry slang and an intimate knowledge of relationships in the book world.” Then there are the poop emojis. – The New York Times
- When A Limited Series Pushes Way Past Itself
Should a “limited series” that won Emmys and then turned unlimited less than two weeks later be forced to give those Emmys back? – Vulture
- City Ballet Finally Gets A Woman On Its Choreography Staff
She – Tiler Peck – just happens to be a City Ballet principal dancer as well. – The New York Times
- Adam Schumaker talks about the impact of $300,000 in prizes at The Gilmore
Adam Schumaker, Director of Education at The Gilmore, talks about the impact of their $300,000 prizes along with role of The Gilmore Fellowship in the field.
- Catching Up With Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick, Now That He’s Out Of Prison
“I’ve done my time, and all that I ask is that people give me the benefit of the doubt. I may not be given a second chance — but at least recognize that I’ve suffered a lot from what happened.” – Artnet
- Survey: How Libraries Are Using AI
Respondents were most likely to use AI for enhancing staff productivity (57.7%), supporting student learning (55.8%), and improving content discovery (53.3%). They were less likely to use AI tools for digital preservation (21.3%) or collection management (27.5%). – Publishers Weekly