Yearly Archives: 2023

Striking TV Workers Explain What The Job’s Really Like (And, Therefore, Why They’re On...

"TV writers ... have been trying to undo misconceptions about their jobs, which they say were never particularly glamorous even in the heyday of...

Learn To Love Math And You’ll Be Good At It

Typical curriculums fail to imbue children with love and appreciation of maths. This is not teachers’ fault – the education system judges students on...

Beirut’s Leading Museum Is Back, Three Years After Being Wrecked By That Port Explosion

"Lebanon's Sursock Museum has reopened, three years after a deadly explosion in Beirut's port — set off by tons of improperly stored chemicals —...

British Theatre Audiences Behaving Badly, Part XVII: Actors Have A Whinge About It

"I'm doing this emotional ballad, quiet at the start, and someone gets their phone out. They're on WhatsApp and start leaving a voice note...

Ilya Kabakov, Pioneer Of Installation Art And Ferocious Critic Of Soviet Communism, Is Dead...

"In vast installations, Kabakov took up the many failures of the Soviet Union, where he lived for decades before departing for the West. By...

Why Did Venice’s Grand Canal Turn Bright Green Over The Weekend?

"A mysterious patch of fluorescent green water that appeared in Venice's famed Grand Canal Sunday was caused by a chemical commonly used in underwater...

Winning The Nobel Prize Was Not A Happy Experience For Annie Ernaux

"So I'm going to be brutal and say that I obtained a prize I never wanted. The Nobel Prize fell upon me. It fell...

Italy Is Raising Museum Ticket Prices (Slightly) To Fund Recovery From Recent Floods

"Following catastrophic floods that have crippled the Emilia-Romagna region, Italy has announced a plan to raise museum admission fees across the country by €1...

Ed Ames, ’50s Pop Singer Turned ’60s TV Star, Is Dead At 95

He was the youngest member of the Ames Brothers, who had a major touring career, a syndicated TV show, and 49 hits on the...

The Life-Changing, And Sometimes Life-Saving, Joys Of Internet Fandom

Let's not downplay the true connections people find online. "I could introduce you to dozens (if not hundreds) of other people who have met...

This Artist Has Had A Solid Career, And Now He’d Like To Sell Another...

"If he finds a buyer, he will be prohibited from being Darren Bader the contemporary artist, and that identity will be taken over by...

Fighting For The Right To Fix Our Own Stuff

Many people are sick of buying and throwing away everything from clothes to phones. But repairing things with computer chips can be illegal. So,...

Bill Lee, Bassist And Composer Who Scored His Son Spike’s Movies, Has Died At...

"Lee was an acclaimed sideman and session player with a rich acoustic bass sound. His sensitive approach and versatility — he could be gentle...

When The World Ends With A Whimper

"I like to imagine that I would survive, thrive even, conveniently forgetting that my life of indoor pursuits, reading, writing, and streaming drama box...

What’s The Point Of A Prize?

"Winning a prize is an undeniably thrilling, magical thing. It is, in essence, the world’s way of telling you that you’ve done something noteworthy...

An Auto-Captioned World Is On Its Way

"My first conversation with captioned glasses did feel like something out of the movies. I kept shaking my head in wonder at the captions...

Writing, During A Pandemic And A War, About Rachmaninoff In Exile

"We remain guests, respectful of the amount we can never know, hoping to take away something of lasting value for all." - The Observer...

The Woman Trying To Archive Black Twitter

Professor Meredith Clark "says preserving Black Twitter will allow for a more accurate and complex retelling of the history of the internet. But it's...

The British Team Trying To Preserve, And Restore, As Many Banksys As Possible

"If you owned a valuable painting you'd keep it inside, in correct lighting and temperatures but outside art is open to all the elements...

How Disney’s Musicians Redid The Music For The New Little Mermaid

Regardless of the movie's critical reception, the music is pretty good. "With the help of a renowned dance company, an 86-person orchestra and a...

How Did A Novel About Game Development Become A Multi-Year Bestseller?

Gabrielle Zevin, author of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, isn't sure. And it's a bit weird for her. "Even though is not her...

A New York City Artist Is Paralyzed After Being Shoved On The Subway

Artist and illustrator Emine Yilmaz Ozsoy's "designs have been featured in outlets such as Chicago Magazine and NPR, and she won an American Illustration award in 2021." - Hyperallergic

Ingrid Haebler, Splendid Interpreter Of Mozart, Has Died At 96

Haebler was a pianist who "drew particular acclaim for her performances and recordings of the works of Mozart, impressing critics while still in her...

NPR’s Biggest Gaffe Turns Forty

That's right, this is four decades on from the time the national radio network let a six-year-old entirely spoil Return of the Jedi. -...

A French Murder Mystery Wins The Palme D’Or At Cannes

Anatomy of a Fall director Justine Triet is the third woman ever to win the prize. The courtroom drama, which stars German actress Sandra...