AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- How Jonah Hill Went From Shlubby Comic Actor To Oscar Nominee To Film Auteur
His new movie, Outcome — which he directed- co-wrote, and co-stars in — “is difficult to watch without drawing parallels to Hill’s odd and unexpected arc, as well as to the real-life controversies that could have sunk his career.” – The Hollywood Reporter
- Helen DeWitt Declined A Prestigious $175,000 Prize. Is She Principled Or Crazy?
Opinions on her recent stance are strongly divided: some have praised her principled refusal to play the self-promotion game that takes so much out of writers, while others have called her a spoilt, entitled nightmare. – The Guardian
- Connections Between Classical Music And Heavy Metal?
There’s more that connects metal and classical music than sets them apart. A love of volume, turning the noise up to 11? From Black Sabbath to Stravinsky, check. A worship of virtuosity, of speed, technique and orgiastic instrumental excess, from Vivaldi to Van Halen? Absolutely. – The Guardian
- Owner Of Now-Closed Boulder Dance Studio Indicted For Theft, Insurance Fraud
“The owner of the shuttered Boulder dance studio, Frequency Dance, turned herself in Thursday afternoon at the Boulder County Jail after being indicted on accusations of staging two break-ins and getting more than $567,000 in fraudulent insurance payouts.” – Daily Camera (Boulder)
- What’s Behind Saudi Arabia’s Multi-Billion-Dollar Investment In Paramount’s Warner Deal
The Kingdom’s bet on entertainment at home has been matched by an equally ambitious push abroad — one that is rapidly reshaping Hollywood’s balance sheet. – The Hollywood Reporter
ISSUES
- Trump’s Plan For A Supersized Arch Alienates Even Supporters
Trump’s push to build the giant arch — more than quadrupling its size from original plans — has alienated early proponents of the project, classical architects and veterans groups who say it will diminish nearby Arlington Cemetery. – The New York Times
- The Met Museum Is In The Middle Of A $1.5 Billion Renovation
One wing has already been renovated; another is being built; galleries will be renewed and rehung; new retail and dining areas are coming; infrastructure will be improved. And it’s all happening within the museum’s current footprint and while the visitors keep streaming in. – The New York Times
- France Passes Law To Expedite Return Of Looted Artworks
“The bill aims to simplify the return of cultural property taken illegally from France’s former colonies, particularly focusing on items taken between 1815 and 1972 — the year UNESCO’s convention for the protection of cultural heritage came into force.” – Euronews
- Man Wins $1.2M Picasso In Christie’s Raffle
“How do I know this isn’t a prank?” the 58-year-old asked when he was told he was the new owner of the 1941 work by the Spanish master. Organisers said more than 120,000 tickets for the prize draw were sold at €100 (£87; $118) each, raising around €11m (£10m; $13m) for Alzheimer’s research. – BBC
- Two Major Atlanta Museums Ponder Their Place In The City
The two museums now share a similar challenge: to reach across racial, economic, educational and even geographic lines to feel vital and necessary to a vast cross-section of people who constitute Atlanta. And to do so at a time when it seems there is more competition for attention and resources than ever before. – The New York Times
MEDIA
- The End Of The Internet As We Know It
Now, thanks to new A.I. tools, anyone can write code. Soon, bad actors could use those same tools to find out what’s wrong with code. The détente is over. – The New York Times
- Why Should We Indulge In Art In Difficult Times?
At a time of great suffering and upheaval, is it right to engage with art? Or are we using it as a way of dodging the moral realities of the world? – ArtsHub
- San Diego Mayor’s Proposed Budget Cuts Arts Funding By 85%
“The proposed budget (reduces arts spending) from $13.8 million to just about $2 million, eliminating all funds under the city’s two grant-making arms. … The remaining $2 million will essentially keep open the city’s Cultural Affairs Department, whose staff oversee the public art program and grant-making process.” – The San Diego Union-Tribune (MSN)
- Former Manager Of Fresno Arts Council Confesses To Embezzling $1.8 Million
Suliana Caldwell will plead guilty to one count of wire fraud and pay restitution. She admitted to making repeated unauthorized transfers of city taxpayer money intended for arts funding to her personal PayPal and bank accounts and to falsifying financial documents to hide her theft. – Fresnoland
- What 100 Years Of Data Shows Us About Who Gets Guggenheim Grants
If 100 years of data are any indication, then an outsized share of the new recipients work at the most renowned universities in the US. Over time and across fellowships, the high prevalence of winners from well-resourced, high-status institutions can understandably bring to mind Percy Bysshe Shelley’s adage that “the rich have become richer.” – PublicBooks
MUSIC
- An Autistic Man Wrote A Bestselling Book. Didn’t He?
“It is mysterious and confounding to see a severely autistic nonspeaker perform acts of scholarship and fiction writing if you don’t presume intelligence in a disabled person. I have been using the same green board since I was in middle school and I find the letters and colors very calming.” – The Atlantic
- British Government Approves Purchase Of Telegraph Newspaper
“Axel Springer’s planned £575 million takeover of Telegraph Media Group has been approved by the UK Government. It is still awaiting regulatory approval in Ireland and Austria (due to there being a lower threshold for competition concerns in those countries although there is no expectation of any impact there).” – Press Gazette (UK)
- I Survived A Year Inside Stephen King’s Archives
This book is Caroline Bicks’s account of what happened when King gave her permission to spend a year in his archive, poring over the drafts of five of his most popular novels, including Pet Sematary, The Shining and Carrie. Bicks’s particular aim is to spot what she calls King’s “biblio‑magic” in action. – The Guardian
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Is Saved, Three Weeks Before It Was To Close
“The Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, the nonprofit parent organization of The Baltimore Banner, reached an agreement with Block Communications to acquire the I, which was slated to shut down in May.” – Nieman Lab
- Other Legacy U.S. Newspapers Which Have Gone Nonprofit
So far, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is the fourth large one (not including The Philadelphia Inquirer, which remains for-profit itself though it is owned by a nonprofit organization). – AP
PEOPLE
- How Jonah Hill Went From Shlubby Comic Actor To Oscar Nominee To Film Auteur
His new movie, Outcome — which he directed- co-wrote, and co-stars in — “is difficult to watch without drawing parallels to Hill’s odd and unexpected arc, as well as to the real-life controversies that could have sunk his career.” – The Hollywood Reporter
- Helen DeWitt Declined A Prestigious $175,000 Prize. Is She Principled Or Crazy?
Opinions on her recent stance are strongly divided: some have praised her principled refusal to play the self-promotion game that takes so much out of writers, while others have called her a spoilt, entitled nightmare. – The Guardian
- Connections Between Classical Music And Heavy Metal?
There’s more that connects metal and classical music than sets them apart. A love of volume, turning the noise up to 11? From Black Sabbath to Stravinsky, check. A worship of virtuosity, of speed, technique and orgiastic instrumental excess, from Vivaldi to Van Halen? Absolutely. – The Guardian
- Owner Of Now-Closed Boulder Dance Studio Indicted For Theft, Insurance Fraud
“The owner of the shuttered Boulder dance studio, Frequency Dance, turned herself in Thursday afternoon at the Boulder County Jail after being indicted on accusations of staging two break-ins and getting more than $567,000 in fraudulent insurance payouts.” – Daily Camera (Boulder)
- What’s Behind Saudi Arabia’s Multi-Billion-Dollar Investment In Paramount’s Warner Deal
The Kingdom’s bet on entertainment at home has been matched by an equally ambitious push abroad — one that is rapidly reshaping Hollywood’s balance sheet. – The Hollywood Reporter
PEOPLE
- How Jonah Hill Went From Shlubby Comic Actor To Oscar Nominee To Film Auteur
His new movie, Outcome — which he directed- co-wrote, and co-stars in — “is difficult to watch without drawing parallels to Hill’s odd and unexpected arc, as well as to the real-life controversies that could have sunk his career.” – The Hollywood Reporter
- Helen DeWitt Declined A Prestigious $175,000 Prize. Is She Principled Or Crazy?
Opinions on her recent stance are strongly divided: some have praised her principled refusal to play the self-promotion game that takes so much out of writers, while others have called her a spoilt, entitled nightmare. – The Guardian
- Connections Between Classical Music And Heavy Metal?
There’s more that connects metal and classical music than sets them apart. A love of volume, turning the noise up to 11? From Black Sabbath to Stravinsky, check. A worship of virtuosity, of speed, technique and orgiastic instrumental excess, from Vivaldi to Van Halen? Absolutely. – The Guardian
- Owner Of Now-Closed Boulder Dance Studio Indicted For Theft, Insurance Fraud
“The owner of the shuttered Boulder dance studio, Frequency Dance, turned herself in Thursday afternoon at the Boulder County Jail after being indicted on accusations of staging two break-ins and getting more than $567,000 in fraudulent insurance payouts.” – Daily Camera (Boulder)
- What’s Behind Saudi Arabia’s Multi-Billion-Dollar Investment In Paramount’s Warner Deal
The Kingdom’s bet on entertainment at home has been matched by an equally ambitious push abroad — one that is rapidly reshaping Hollywood’s balance sheet. – The Hollywood Reporter
THEATRE
VISUAL
- The Pressure To Go Viral: These Days You Can’t Be An Artist Without It
All of a sudden, chefs, lawyers, podcasters, critics – all people with jobs once associated with an off-camera existence – are turning the lens on themselves. Even film director Werner Herzog, a once proud non-social media user, is now sizzling steaks and doing unboxing videos to camera. – The Guardian
- How AI Will Kill Content Platforms
Not only will AI agents compete away the revenue streams of the giant digital platforms, but they will also render irrelevant the data on which the platforms built their competitive advantage. – Harvard Business Review
- Why Has Culture Gone Flat?
Capitalism—and then late capitalism, and then late, late capitalism—has been identified as the culprit for culture’s flattening for at least a century. David Marx borrows heavily from Fredric Jameson’s account of postmodernism. – LA Review of Books
- All In? (Or Not): The Existential Bet On AI
Artificial intelligence will bring us heaven on earth or kill us all. It is the most important invention in human history or a scam. – The Nation
- Do-Gooders And The Pointlessness Of Jobs
The few jobs today that are tangibly useful—say, social workers and science teachers—pay far less than the mass of uninspiring administrative and middle-management roles that prop them up. As a result, many opt for the paycheck, even if that means resigning oneself to working a job that doesn’t really need to be done. – The Point
