Reading is down “thanks in large part to the number of digital distractions competing for our limited attention.” Ironically, these podcasts might help fix that. - The New York Times
“What Reiner’s vastly differing films all share is the generous and empathetic heart of their director, a deep sense of humanity, and a relentless curiosity about and love of people, in all their imperfections and quirks.” - Los Angeles Review of Books
Bardot “shot to international fame in 1956 with And God Created Woman” and stayed famous as a “sex kitten” for two decades. Then she retired and became a far-right activist in France, her statements resulting “in a string of convictions for inciting racial hatred.” - The Guardian (UK)
“For some fiber artists, craft is inherently political. ‘Creating in a time of destruction and chaos, that is resistance in and of itself,’ said Downey. … But she thinks one of the other successes of craftivism is that “‘it centers joy’” - The Guardian (UK)
More than 150,000 were taken, and never returned, often turned into ammunition or taken to a Glockenfriedhof, or bell cemetery. The sliver of silver lining: “A postwar ‘bell quality race’ ... led to major advances in campanology.” - The New York Times
“The entire tapestry of this film is musicalized — from the emphatic breathing, chest thumping and floor stomping that make up the worshipers’ rituals, to the songs, inspired by Shaker traditionals and performed by star Amanda Seyfried and the cast.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)
The spokesperson at the Kennedy Center told NPR, "Any artist cancelling their show at the Trump Kennedy Center over political differences isn't courageous or principled—they are selfish, intolerant, and have failed to meet the basic duty of a public artist.” - NPR
The tidal power station "would curve from Minehead to Watchet and use 125 underwater turbines to harness the power of the second-highest tidal range in the world” - and also become a race track for cyclists. - The Guardian (UK)
It’s called the two-block rule, as in, if you need to trash the show, wait until you’re two blocks away. “You wouldn’t go to someone’s house and trash their cooking, so why would you do that in a theatre?” - Washington Post (MSN)
“Something profound is lost when we reject the symbolic, that well-spring of human communication since an Australopithecus some three-million years ago found a pebble on the South African savannah and held onto it because the rock happened to look like a human face.” - LitHub
For instance, in Pluribus, “the music was designed to explore the tension between the pain of individuality and the comfort of surrender.” - Fast Company
“Streaming numbers have reflected the craze, with multiple tracks from featured Canadian artists ‘jumping tens of thousands of per cent in streams and thousands of new playlist adds in a matter of days’ — most notably for Feist and Wolf Parade.” - CBC
Worth a read just for the pans: “This listless and supercilious musical – ostensibly on the theme of heartwarming home town values – ... flatlines like a hedgehog run over by an 18-wheeler.” Ouch. - The Guardian (UK)
Pokrovsk’s displaced choir had to distill “the complex choral melody for just three singers this Christmas, down from the usual 30. Hearing the arrangement performed by three singers gives a sense of Ukraine at the moment after years of war: depleted, persistent, still beautiful.” - Washington Post (Yahoo)
The vessel belonged to King Khufu (aka Cheops), builder of the Great Pyramid — near which the boat was discovered in 1954 and excavated in 2014. The 137-foot-long structure, made of 1,540 wooden pieces, is being reassembled in the exhibition hall of the new Grand Egyptian Museum, which opened earlier this year. - AP
Love it or hate it, Hallmark movies are big business in B.C., where the company films the about 40 per cent of its content — Christmas and year-round programming. When Hallmark films in B.C., it hires almost exclusively local workers to make it happen. The province estimates about 100 local crew members are hired for each movie. - CBC
“While there were some new finds like the oldest blue pigment discovered in Europe, a rare hieroglyphic decree identified in Egypt, and an elite Moche residence unearthed in Northern Peru, a number of archaeological studies took a deeper dive into previously known sites and artifacts.” - ARTnews
In Canada, the literary world tends to be inward-looking. It’s obvious why. For three-quarters of a century, the official position has been that if Canadians don’t support Canadian culture, no one will—and that some stage management is required. - The Walrus
The last hurrah of these bygone performers was the Broadway season of 1957–58, arguably the greatest season on Broadway of the last 75 years. It was the last time that all of the “hall of famers” of yore (save John Gielgud) appeared “on the boards” in the same New York theater season. - The American Scholar
The current erosion of the art market is not a cyclical contraction; it is the result of oversaturation and a speculative economy in which artworks have functioned as fictitious capital, reinforced by a liquidity crisis where overextended galleries frequently find themselves prioritizing rising commercial overhead over timely payments to artists. - ARTnews
“Something profound is lost when we reject the symbolic, that well-spring of human communication since an Australopithecus some three-million years ago found a pebble on the South African savannah and held onto it because the rock happened to look like a human face.” - LitHub
Aphorisms are different. They are the antithesis of the half-baked hot take and nothing like the machine-made flattery that’s now permeating so many informational environments. A platitude is a placebo for the mind; an aphorism is a wake-up call. - The Atlantic
“I am constantly begging my mom to put her phone down, every time I see her she is just mindlessly scrolling. I swear her attention span is GONE,” one person wrote. - The Atlantic
Technology may blur boundaries, but it also reveals who holds the power. When male creators use AI to simulate female voices and personas, are they expanding artistic possibilities or perpetuating a new form of gender appropriation, ventriloquism and misogyny? - The Conversation
When we sit down for a meal, all of our senses come to the table, and some of them have unexpected effects. Heavier cutlery, for example, makes a meal more pleasurable, he has found, and flavors in space are often duller. Foods that sound better taste better, too. - Nautilus
When all time is flattened into the present, narrative form begins to erode. Instant communication collapses tenses into an interminable “now,” and live streams keep us there. Finally, storytelling demands leisure, or at least a relaxed mind, since immersion requires the mental margin to forget ourselves and linger in the unfolding. - LA Review of Books
More than 150,000 were taken, and never returned, often turned into ammunition or taken to a Glockenfriedhof, or bell cemetery. The sliver of silver lining: “A postwar ‘bell quality race’ ... led to major advances in campanology.” - The New York Times
Under U.S. law, the copyright on thousands of creations from 1930 — including films, books, musical compositions and more — will expire at the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1, 2026, meaning they will be free to use, share and adapt after nearly a century. - NPR
Like maple syrup, frankincense is harvested by tapping the sap of a tree, in this case several varieties of the Boswellia tree, which grows in the Horn of Africa. Those trees — all wild; for whatever reasons, nobody farms Boswellia — are threatened by climate change, pest infestation, local conflict, and, above all, overharvesting....
“They came to the Wanamaker Building on Christmas Eve … out of love for the ghosts of Christmas past — and to share a cherished tradition with children who had yet to see (it). They came because it's going away, and no one knows for sure when it will be back.” - The Philadelphia...
“The state attorney general has spent nearly two months lobbying Pensacola officials to cancel the show, to no avail. Instead, the 1,600-capacity tour stop is sold out.” - The Guardian
The traditional birthplace of Jesus is in the West Bank, and the livelihoods of thousands of people in the Palestinian town depend on visiting tourists and pilgrims. The war in Gaza brought activity in Bethlehem to a halt, and with a ceasefire signed, those pilgrims and tourists are gradually returning. - AP
“The entire tapestry of this film is musicalized — from the emphatic breathing, chest thumping and floor stomping that make up the worshipers’ rituals, to the songs, inspired by Shaker traditionals and performed by star Amanda Seyfried and the cast.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)
The spokesperson at the Kennedy Center told NPR, "Any artist cancelling their show at the Trump Kennedy Center over political differences isn't courageous or principled—they are selfish, intolerant, and have failed to meet the basic duty of a public artist.” - NPR
“Streaming numbers have reflected the craze, with multiple tracks from featured Canadian artists ‘jumping tens of thousands of per cent in streams and thousands of new playlist adds in a matter of days’ — most notably for Feist and Wolf Parade.” - CBC
Pokrovsk’s displaced choir had to distill “the complex choral melody for just three singers this Christmas, down from the usual 30. Hearing the arrangement performed by three singers gives a sense of Ukraine at the moment after years of war: depleted, persistent, still beautiful.” - Washington Post (Yahoo)
Busoni proposed the notion of “Ur-Musik.” It is an elemental realm of absolute music in which composers have approached the “true nature of music” by discarding traditional templates. Sonata form, since the times of Haydn and Mozart a basic organizing principle governed by goal-directed harmonies, would be no more. - The American Scholar
Composer-conductor McGlaughlin, now 82, is known to public radio listeners as host of numerous classical music programs over several decades. He's been founding host of WFMT’s Exploring Music since 2003. Now station management has told him it won’t renew his contract; no reason or rationale was given. - Symphony Magazine
“For some fiber artists, craft is inherently political. ‘Creating in a time of destruction and chaos, that is resistance in and of itself,’ said Downey. … But she thinks one of the other successes of craftivism is that “‘it centers joy’” - The Guardian (UK)
The tidal power station "would curve from Minehead to Watchet and use 125 underwater turbines to harness the power of the second-highest tidal range in the world” - and also become a race track for cyclists. - The Guardian (UK)
For instance, in Pluribus, “the music was designed to explore the tension between the pain of individuality and the comfort of surrender.” - Fast Company
The vessel belonged to King Khufu (aka Cheops), builder of the Great Pyramid — near which the boat was discovered in 1954 and excavated in 2014. The 137-foot-long structure, made of 1,540 wooden pieces, is being reassembled in the exhibition hall of the new Grand Egyptian Museum, which opened earlier this year. - AP
“While there were some new finds like the oldest blue pigment discovered in Europe, a rare hieroglyphic decree identified in Egypt, and an elite Moche residence unearthed in Northern Peru, a number of archaeological studies took a deeper dive into previously known sites and artifacts.” - ARTnews
The current erosion of the art market is not a cyclical contraction; it is the result of oversaturation and a speculative economy in which artworks have functioned as fictitious capital, reinforced by a liquidity crisis where overextended galleries frequently find themselves prioritizing rising commercial overhead over timely payments to artists. - ARTnews
Reading is down “thanks in large part to the number of digital distractions competing for our limited attention.” Ironically, these podcasts might help fix that. - The New York Times
In Canada, the literary world tends to be inward-looking. It’s obvious why. For three-quarters of a century, the official position has been that if Canadians don’t support Canadian culture, no one will—and that some stage management is required. - The Walrus
“Wet Ink, a novel (about a 1960s housewife using Tupperware parties to smuggle erotic stories) by the 33-year-old London-based author Abigail Avis, is not scheduled to be published until the spring 2027, but industry insiders said a fierce auction between six major production companies had already taken place.” - The Guardian
Listening to music can be a passive experience — one enjoyed in tandem with folding laundry, or driving a car. To really learn about ourselves and how our year has been, we might want to turn elsewhere, to a habit with more intention. I’m talking, of course, about reading. - Los Angeles Times
Federal funding, the freedom to read, perpetual or temporary access to print and digital collections, and AI innovations saw new and unpredictable developments on a weekly basis. - Publishers Weekly
The group of authors, which includes two-time Pulitzer Prize winner John Carreyrou, are among those who opted out of the proposed $1.5 billion settlement of the lawsuit against Anthropic, announced in September. - Publishers Weekly
“What Reiner’s vastly differing films all share is the generous and empathetic heart of their director, a deep sense of humanity, and a relentless curiosity about and love of people, in all their imperfections and quirks.” - Los Angeles Review of Books
Worth a read just for the pans: “This listless and supercilious musical – ostensibly on the theme of heartwarming home town values – ... flatlines like a hedgehog run over by an 18-wheeler.” Ouch. - The Guardian (UK)
Love it or hate it, Hallmark movies are big business in B.C., where the company films the about 40 per cent of its content — Christmas and year-round programming. When Hallmark films in B.C., it hires almost exclusively local workers to make it happen. The province estimates about 100 local crew members are hired for each...
The artifacts of 20th-century cinema are being preserved in museums, archives and other august institutions. But they are surviving, too, in the care of private film collectors like Mr. Darwas, who has amassed hundreds of movie prints at his home in Westchester County. - The New York Times
“Every year, studios, publicists and talent huddle to determine categories for the acting contenders on the bubble between lead and supporting. And many film fans step in to disagree, … debating how the system has been unfairly gamed. … But of course this kind of strategizing is what the Oscars are all about.” - The Hollywood...
Disney is the first and only studio to cross $6B this year, the next best major is Warner Bros with $4.3B. 2025 repped Disney’s biggest year at the B.O. since 2019 when it earned an all-time $13.1B ($11.1B from Disney titles alone, the rest being 20th Century Studios and Searchlight). - Deadline
Gia Kourlas: “They have regressed to being a legacy brand — good for merchandise but sad for the art of precision dance. … True as (their) sisterhood may be, it’s not what the Rockettes should be most admired for. That should be dancing.” - The New York Times
It’s been a commonplace for decades that troupes depend on the income from Nutcracker ticket sales to support the rest of their seasons. For just one prominent example, New York City Ballet’s roughly 50 performances of Balanchine’s classic version of the work bring in 45% of the company’s ticket revenue for the year. -...
The key is hiring — in particular, hiring dancers proficient in both classical and contemporary techniques, since Nedvigin wants to present top-tier renditions of both classical and new repertoire with a relatively small roster of performers. - ArtsATL
In 2023, when he was ballet director at Germany's Hannover State Opera, Marco Goecke did this and was promptly fired. Now he’s been given another chance: he’s artistic director of Ballet Basel in Switzerland. Critics have set aside any grievances, but Goecke’s big mouth has nevertheless gotten him into trouble. - The New York...
Ballet West in Salt Lake City reported Monday a “dramatic spike” in people “arriving at performances with fake or invalid tickets purchased from third-party sellers.” - The Salt Lake Tribune
“Having worked with the Ballets Russes, most notably with Vaslav Nijinsky …, Marie Rambert became a pioneer in British ballet: setting up a ballet school, and then establishing her own company, the first in the UK, Ballet Rambert, which she led for 40 years after its founding in 1926.” - Bachtrack
It’s called the two-block rule, as in, if you need to trash the show, wait until you’re two blocks away. “You wouldn’t go to someone’s house and trash their cooking, so why would you do that in a theatre?” - Washington Post (MSN)
The last hurrah of these bygone performers was the Broadway season of 1957–58, arguably the greatest season on Broadway of the last 75 years. It was the last time that all of the “hall of famers” of yore (save John Gielgud) appeared “on the boards” in the same New York theater season. - The American...
Young’uns under 40 may not realize just how sleazy the heart of Broadway’s entertainment district had become by the 1980s. Now it has The Lion King, Harry Potter, office towers, and a former porn cinema remade into a flagship for children’s theater. We can thank an organization called New 42. - The New York...
The 17,000 costume pieces are the least extravagant feature of The Gift of Christmas, the annual spectacular presented by Prestonwood Baptist Church near Dallas. On the 300-foot stage are LED screens, lasers, fireworks, trapezing elves, flying angels, and 21 animals. (And yes, shepherds, three kings, and the Holy Family. And Santa.) - Texas Monthly
“The Queen of Versailles, the biggest-budget production to open on Broadway this fall and the only large-scale new musical, aspired to be a cautionary tale about consumption and greed. Instead, it wound up as a cautionary tale about Broadway.” - The New York Times
This is not a “best of” list. What we asked hundreds of theatre folks to do was send us 10 titles they felt had been the most influential on the theatre in the past 25 years. - American Theatre
Bardot “shot to international fame in 1956 with And God Created Woman” and stayed famous as a “sex kitten” for two decades. Then she retired and became a far-right activist in France, her statements resulting “in a string of convictions for inciting racial hatred.” - The Guardian (UK)
“A Palestinian director and actor who sought to share the complexities of Palestinian identity and culture through a variety of works in both Arabic and Hebrew, … Bakri was best known for Jenin, Jenin, a 2003 documentary about an Israeli military operation in the northern West Bank city the previous year.” - AP
“As an independent filmmaker, photographer, teacher and activist, he explored issues of justice, identity, memory and racism. He was a founder of Visual Communications, the oldest community-based organization of Asian-American and Pacific Islander filmmakers and media artists in the United States.” - The New York Times
“While Sotto's best-known masterworks are overseas, (such as) the creation of Main Street, U.S.A., for Disneyland Paris …, he had a reputation for fighting tirelessly to enhance the theme park experience, pushing for improvements to everything including ride vehicles and the food on guests' plates.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
“Ransone was born in 1979 in Baltimore, an advantage in the early 2000s when The Wire, then a little-watched drama on HBO, was looking to cast actors from the city for the show’s second season.” - The New York Times
Earn your Master’s in One Year. Northwestern University’s MS in Leadership for Creative Enterprises (MSLCE) program develops leaders across Entertainment, Media and the Arts.
“For some fiber artists, craft is inherently political. ‘Creating in a time of destruction and chaos, that is resistance in and of itself,’ said Downey. … But she thinks one of the other successes of craftivism is that “‘it centers joy’” - The Guardian (UK)
More than 150,000 were taken, and never returned, often turned into ammunition or taken to a Glockenfriedhof, or bell cemetery. The sliver of silver lining: “A postwar ‘bell quality race’ ... led to major advances in campanology.” - The New York Times
The spokesperson at the Kennedy Center told NPR, "Any artist cancelling their show at the Trump Kennedy Center over political differences isn't courageous or principled—they are selfish, intolerant, and have failed to meet the basic duty of a public artist.” - NPR
Gia Kourlas: “They have regressed to being a legacy brand — good for merchandise but sad for the art of precision dance. … True as (their) sisterhood may be, it’s not what the Rockettes should be most admired for. That should be dancing.” - The New York Times
The 17,000 costume pieces are the least extravagant feature of The Gift of Christmas, the annual spectacular presented by Prestonwood Baptist Church near Dallas. On the 300-foot stage are LED screens, lasers, fireworks, trapezing elves, flying angels, and 21 animals. (And yes, shepherds, three kings, and the Holy Family. And Santa.) - Texas Monthly
The series is called Finding Mr. Christmas. “What is fascinating about the premise is that it’s television for women about men making television for women. It’s the hosts and judges evaluating, week by week, what makes a man appealing to a likely female Hallmark viewer.” - The Washington Post (Yahoo!)
The Trump administration threatened “to withhold federal funds if it does not submit extensive documentation for a sweeping content review. … It was not immediately clear how much money the White House might try to withhold, from which parts of the Smithsonian or on what authority.” - Washington Post (MSN)
Bari Weiss is said to have spiked the show a few hours before it was supposed to run. "The report … was to have featured correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi interviewing deportees who the Trump administration has sent to the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) prison in El Salvador.” - Variety
How to pick an (Oscar) winner: "The presumptive top five in the Best Picture race includes two auteur-driven blockbusters, one old-school weepie, one timely social drama, and one family saga by a venerated European director.” - Vulture
News broke late Sunday night that "the Los Angeles Police Department said it was investigating an ‘apparent homicide’ at the couple’s home in West Los Angeles.” - The New York Times
But sadly, he’s not here to see it. “Why the opera was not performed when it was written, in 1995, offers a snapshot of the classical music scene in Italy at the time, which snubbed Morricone as a mere composer of film soundtracks.” - The New York Times
“The archives ... said that no curators of ‘The American Story’ were available to speak, citing staff departures that have left the institution with only two curators, neither of whom had a substantial role in the exhibition.” - The New York Times
