AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Homer Is Free. The Rembrandt Isn’t.
Good Morning,
Nobody owns the Odyssey, which is why it keeps working. Emily Wilson is retranslating it from scratch (AP), having decided her celebrated version has flaws worth fixing. In Kyiv, professional actors and active-duty soldiers are staging Homer as Odysseus, Maeotis, using the myth to ask what return means while the war is still on (AP).
The UK has blocked a $97 million Rembrandt from leaving the country (The Art Newspaper). Mexico appears to be forfeiting a long argument over who gets access to Frida Kahlo (The New York Times). And the State Department pulled a Kehinde Wiley painting off the wall because a White House official found it “aesthetically terrifying” (The New York Times) — Yup. The bureaucrats are flexing their muscles.
Authorship is getting the same treatment. The defense of an AI-assisted op-ed in the Wall Street Journal was essentially that speechwriters have done this for years (The Atlantic), while non-star actors say they’re being talked into training their own synthetic voice replacements (Los Angeles Times).
Two European museum heists in two days: Bronze Age gold in Villena, Spain, gone in four minutes (The Guardian). And the Vienna crew who took a 673-diamond necklace at least bought tickets first (AFP).
All of our stories below.
- “Aura Farming” Has Become Young Latin Americans’ New Favorite Dance Sport
“The contests appear to be designed for virality, with young competitors often demonstrating exaggerated versions of popular TikTok dance moves for the audience. Outrageousness seems to be the point of these battles, which have no apparent criteria, judges, or rules. Instead, contestants compete for crowd reaction and are rewarded with attention.” – CNN (MSN)
- The Very Definition Of Kitsch
In one moment, you see children playing on the grass, and you are genuinely moved. In the second moment, you see the children playing, and you think how nice it would be to be moved. The latter is the substance of kitsch. – 3 Quarks Daily
- A Ukrainian “Odyssey” — Kyiv Theater Reimagines Homer Amid Today’s War
The play, titled Odysseus, Maeotis (an ancient name for the Sea of Azov), is performed by a mix of professional actors and active-duty soldiers. Says serviceman Daniil Mireshkin, who plays Odysseus. “This combination of myth and modernity allows us to … understand just how critical the question of return is.” – AP
- Group Chats: Our Own Little Neighborhoods
In one chat that I share with literary friends, we sometimes joke that after we’re all dead, if historians try to unearth our correspondence, they will find only this sprawling, years-long museum of absurdities. – The New Yorker
ISSUES
- “Aesthetically Terrifying”? What US State Department’s Removal Of A Painting Is Really About
“It was very woke,” Dan Scavino explained. “It was by the gentleman who did Obama’s portrait. And it was aesthetically terrifying.” Strong words for a group portrait of four fully dressed, largely expressionless sitters in front of a background adorned with flowers. – The New York Times
- A Fight Over Frida Kahlo And Access
The fight about these priceless works — where they should remain and who can have access to them — is really a battle over cultural patrimony and national sovereignty, and it’s one the Mexican government seems to have forfeited. – The New York Times
- Heist Of Spanish Museum’s Bronze Age Gold Took Four Minutes
The raid on Thursday morning of the 66 mostly gold objects in the Spanish town of Villena lasted just minutes, officials said. – The Guardian
- Why Andy Warhol Couldn’t Get Dolly Right
Parton’s astuteness may have extended to art, if it’s true she was disappointed by her Warhol portrait. – The New York Times
- Today In European Museum Robberies: 200-Carat Diamond Necklace Stolen In Vienna
The platinum necklace with 673 diamonds, originally made for Egypt’s royal family and reportedly worth more than $4 million, was taken in a smash-and-grab at Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts. But at least the thieves paid for their tickets. – AFP (Yahoo!)
MEDIA
- Lessons From The Edinburgh Fringe: How To Manage Controversy
At a time when mainstream media coverage of festivals such as Edinburgh has shrunk significantly, her debut inevitably pulled headlines towards the infamy of one performer and risked becoming the token fringe story – the celebrity whom everybody outside the festival bubble recognises. – The Stage
- Judge To Kennedy Center Board: Why Did You Vote To Put Trump’s Name On The Building Right After I Ordered You Not To?
“A judge on Thursday expressed skepticism about the Kennedy Center’s intention to return President Donald Trump’s name to the historic performing arts venue by early next month, challenging the board’s insistence on moving forward even in the face of a court ruling that blocked and reversed a previous effort.” – AP
- What It’s Like To Go Through One Of Burning Man’s Dust Storms
“The next big gust tore the tarp from our shade structure. I scrambled to secure the flapping tent walls, using water jugs and costume bags as weight. Above the screaming wind, I heard poles clanging as neighboring camps were blown to smithereens. Then, in a lull, I heard a faint voice. ‘Help!’” – The Guardian
- Numbers: The Percentage Of Australians Who Engage In Culture
The figures are growing. Live performance attendance has increased by 1.2 million since 2022, to the highest figures ever. Around three quarters of those surveyed had attended a live performance or festival in 2025. – ArtsHub
- Invoking Dolly Parton, Federal Judge Overturns Texas Law Banning Drag Shows
The law, Texas Senate Bill 12, would fine business owners up to $10,000 for hosting “sexually oriented performances”; performers would face up to a year in prison. The judge reaffirmed his ruling from three years ago that the law was an overly vague infringement on free speech. – The Texas Tribune
MUSIC
- A Turning Point In The Battles Over AI Writing
“Many contributors, especially prominent politicians or CEOs, employ speechwriters or hire a Beltway writing shop,” he wrote. “How different is that from using AI to streamline an essay?” – The Atlantic
- After All This, Emily Wilson Is Retranslating The Odyssey From Scratch
“She says her translation methods have become more sophisticated and that enough time has passed for her to see some flaws in her work. … The new edition will be longer, she says, and will better reflect the differing social worlds of Homer’s poem.” – AP
- Where’s The Evidence That Colleges Are Committed To Teaching Writing?
AI has both clarified what we should be doing when we teach writing and made it much harder to teach writing than in the days prior to the technology’s existence. – InsideHigherEd
- Cyber Attack On Australian Book Distributor
A cyber attack on one of the country’s major publishing distributors has left bookshops and authors struggling to fill their shelves in the lead-up to their busiest trading period. – ABC Australia
- The Warehouse Where Amazon Takes Apart And Scans Books To Train Its AI: An Employee Speaks
“The employee worked at Amazon’s VGT3 warehouse, which is housed in the same facility as LAS8, where Amazon operates its print-on-demand business. … The Amazon employee I talked to described what that operation looks like from the warehouse floor.” – 404 Media
PEOPLE
- Homer Is Free. The Rembrandt Isn’t.
Good Morning,
Nobody owns the Odyssey, which is why it keeps working. Emily Wilson is retranslating it from scratch (AP), having decided her celebrated version has flaws worth fixing. In Kyiv, professional actors and active-duty soldiers are staging Homer as Odysseus, Maeotis, using the myth to ask what return means while the war is still on (AP).
The UK has blocked a $97 million Rembrandt from leaving the country (The Art Newspaper). Mexico appears to be forfeiting a long argument over who gets access to Frida Kahlo (The New York Times). And the State Department pulled a Kehinde Wiley painting off the wall because a White House official found it “aesthetically terrifying” (The New York Times) — Yup. The bureaucrats are flexing their muscles.
Authorship is getting the same treatment. The defense of an AI-assisted op-ed in the Wall Street Journal was essentially that speechwriters have done this for years (The Atlantic), while non-star actors say they’re being talked into training their own synthetic voice replacements (Los Angeles Times).
Two European museum heists in two days: Bronze Age gold in Villena, Spain, gone in four minutes (The Guardian). And the Vienna crew who took a 673-diamond necklace at least bought tickets first (AFP).
All of our stories below.
- “Aura Farming” Has Become Young Latin Americans’ New Favorite Dance Sport
“The contests appear to be designed for virality, with young competitors often demonstrating exaggerated versions of popular TikTok dance moves for the audience. Outrageousness seems to be the point of these battles, which have no apparent criteria, judges, or rules. Instead, contestants compete for crowd reaction and are rewarded with attention.” – CNN (MSN)
- The Very Definition Of Kitsch
In one moment, you see children playing on the grass, and you are genuinely moved. In the second moment, you see the children playing, and you think how nice it would be to be moved. The latter is the substance of kitsch. – 3 Quarks Daily
- A Ukrainian “Odyssey” — Kyiv Theater Reimagines Homer Amid Today’s War
The play, titled Odysseus, Maeotis (an ancient name for the Sea of Azov), is performed by a mix of professional actors and active-duty soldiers. Says serviceman Daniil Mireshkin, who plays Odysseus. “This combination of myth and modernity allows us to … understand just how critical the question of return is.” – AP
- Group Chats: Our Own Little Neighborhoods
In one chat that I share with literary friends, we sometimes joke that after we’re all dead, if historians try to unearth our correspondence, they will find only this sprawling, years-long museum of absurdities. – The New Yorker
PEOPLE
- Homer Is Free. The Rembrandt Isn’t.
Good Morning,
Nobody owns the Odyssey, which is why it keeps working. Emily Wilson is retranslating it from scratch (AP), having decided her celebrated version has flaws worth fixing. In Kyiv, professional actors and active-duty soldiers are staging Homer as Odysseus, Maeotis, using the myth to ask what return means while the war is still on (AP).
The UK has blocked a $97 million Rembrandt from leaving the country (The Art Newspaper). Mexico appears to be forfeiting a long argument over who gets access to Frida Kahlo (The New York Times). And the State Department pulled a Kehinde Wiley painting off the wall because a White House official found it “aesthetically terrifying” (The New York Times) — Yup. The bureaucrats are flexing their muscles.
Authorship is getting the same treatment. The defense of an AI-assisted op-ed in the Wall Street Journal was essentially that speechwriters have done this for years (The Atlantic), while non-star actors say they’re being talked into training their own synthetic voice replacements (Los Angeles Times).
Two European museum heists in two days: Bronze Age gold in Villena, Spain, gone in four minutes (The Guardian). And the Vienna crew who took a 673-diamond necklace at least bought tickets first (AFP).
All of our stories below.
- “Aura Farming” Has Become Young Latin Americans’ New Favorite Dance Sport
“The contests appear to be designed for virality, with young competitors often demonstrating exaggerated versions of popular TikTok dance moves for the audience. Outrageousness seems to be the point of these battles, which have no apparent criteria, judges, or rules. Instead, contestants compete for crowd reaction and are rewarded with attention.” – CNN (MSN)
- The Very Definition Of Kitsch
In one moment, you see children playing on the grass, and you are genuinely moved. In the second moment, you see the children playing, and you think how nice it would be to be moved. The latter is the substance of kitsch. – 3 Quarks Daily
- A Ukrainian “Odyssey” — Kyiv Theater Reimagines Homer Amid Today’s War
The play, titled Odysseus, Maeotis (an ancient name for the Sea of Azov), is performed by a mix of professional actors and active-duty soldiers. Says serviceman Daniil Mireshkin, who plays Odysseus. “This combination of myth and modernity allows us to … understand just how critical the question of return is.” – AP
- Group Chats: Our Own Little Neighborhoods
In one chat that I share with literary friends, we sometimes joke that after we’re all dead, if historians try to unearth our correspondence, they will find only this sprawling, years-long museum of absurdities. – The New Yorker
THEATRE
VISUAL
- The Very Definition Of Kitsch
In one moment, you see children playing on the grass, and you are genuinely moved. In the second moment, you see the children playing, and you think how nice it would be to be moved. The latter is the substance of kitsch. – 3 Quarks Daily
- Group Chats: Our Own Little Neighborhoods
In one chat that I share with literary friends, we sometimes joke that after we’re all dead, if historians try to unearth our correspondence, they will find only this sprawling, years-long museum of absurdities. – The New Yorker
- Study: To Get Employees to Use a Benefit, Make Signing Up a Little Harder
In some cases, you need to make it (ever-so-slightly) harder for people to sign up for the program to help them feel like it’s worth the effort, suggests research forthcoming in Management Science. – Harvard Business Review
- A Case For Limiting AI In Culture
If we fail to think through and delimit the role of AI in our lives, we risk undermining the intelligibility of our own guiding cultural concepts, and thus initiating a period in our own society of which it may someday be possible to say that “nothing happened.” – The Point
- The Worst Year Ever To Be Alive
A massive volcanic eruption in AD536 has led historians to describe it as the “worst year to be alive”. Europe, the Middle East and parts of Asia were plunged into darkness for 18 months. Temperatures in the summer months fell by 1.5˚C to 2.5˚C, initiating one of the coldest decades in the past two millennia. – The Conversation