AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Made by People
Good Morning,
A run of today’s stories shares a new chore: proving something was actually made by a person. The Commonwealth Short Story Prize spent its week clearing this year’s winners of suspicion that AI wrote them (The Independent). So when fabrication is free, certifying human becomes considerable work. It cuts the other way too. That feel-good clip of an audience member sight-reading at La La Land in Concert turns out to be considerably staged (The Guardian).
Meanwhile Hollywood studios are industrializing microdramas (The New York Times) that have taken over social media. The Wrap worked on making its own to show what AI can crank one out start to finish (Yahoo).
The New Republic nominates the 15 artworks that most shaped the country (The New Republic) — canon-making as a civic act in a year when even the Constitution is up for reinterpretation (Boston Review).
And in Paris, the Marquis de Lafayette has become an unlikely selfie magnet (MSN).
Doug
- The Marquis De Lafayette Has Become A Selfie Magnet In Paris
In France, feelings about him are more mixed than in the U.S. (For one thing, during and after the French Revolution, he favored a constitutional monarchy, not the most popular position then.) But an exhibition at France’s National Archives which tells Lafayette’s full story has become a hit. – The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- Competing At Istanbul’s Tango Championship
The Turkish metropolis has become one of the world’s major centers of tango, perhaps behind only Buenos Aires itself. This month Istanbul hosted La Turca Tango Marathon and Championship, a three-day festival and competition which saw 56 dancers from around Europe competing in six categories. – The New York Times
- The Elusive Illusion Of Utopia (And Its Uses In Our Imagination)
Some patterns emerge: many utopias employ a framing device in which the narrator is accidentally or fantastically transported to a new land, and then subjected to reams of expository monologue about how it all works. – The Guardian
- What To Make Of The US Constitution When The Country Is In Turmoil?
How should we remember the American Revolution when millions march in the streets and shout “No Kings!”? When squads of masked thugs invade homes without warrant, kangaroo immigration “courts” deport hundreds of thousands without due process, and an executive agency buys up warehouses to use as internment camps? – Boston Review
ISSUES
- Ancient Roman “Curse Tablet” Translated
Dutch archaeologists found this curse tablet in a pit beneath Heerlen‘s town hall square. Archaeologists often frequent this area situated amid the former site of Coriovallum, a Roman military settlement along the Via Belgica, which once connected Belgium’s Tongeren region to Cologne. – Artnet
- Archaeologists Discovery Intact Ancient Mayan City
Located deep within the jungles of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, the city—which the researchers have named “Minanbé,” a Maya Yucatec phrase meaning “there is no road”—had been hidden by vegetation for over a thousand years. – ARTnews
- NYC’s Street-Scaffolding Sheds Are Ugly. Can We Design Something Better?
The city wants structures that will go up smoothly, look good while they last, and go away quickly. Those are separate goals, none of them easy to achieve. – New York Magazine (MSN)
- The New Republic’s 20 Images That Define American History
In 15 photographs, four paintings, and one very iconic sculpture, “a visual chronicle of the national experience, from Iwo Jima to Emmett Till to January 6.” – The New Republic
- Vatican Begins First-Ever Restoration Of Raphael Frescoes In Apostolic Palace
“The Vatican Museums on Wednesday announced the start of a five-year, $5.5 million project to clean and restore the Raphael Loggia, a 65-meter (yard) long, 4-meter (yard) wide corridor that is considered one of the highest expressions of Renaissance figurative art.” – AP
MEDIA
- Southbank Center Chairman To Step Down After Social Media Controversy
In May, Misan Harriman was accused by the Telegraph of sharing a social media post that contained a conspiracy theory about the Golders Green attack because it questioned the amount of coverage given to the Muslim victim, Ishmail Hussein. – The Guardian
- The New Republic’s 15 Most Important Artworks In U.S. History
The editors have chosen four movies, six books, two songs, a piece of classical music, a painting, and a monument “whose impact extended beyond culture to society as a whole.” – The New Republic
- Revamp Of Philadelphia’s “Avenue Of The Arts”: The Beta Test Is Complete
“A landscaped median under construction for months in front of the Kimmel Center has reached completion — the down payment on a promised major redo of the Avenue of the Arts streetscape. The leafy ribbon down the middle of Broad Street from Spruce to Pine Streets was officially unveiled Wednesday.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- Manhattan’s Borough President Directs His Entire Discretionary Budget — $50 Million — To The Arts
“Fifty-five cultural institutions and 28 schools will benefit from grants ranging from $60,000 to $2 million,” with much of the money designated for buildings or infrastructure. “In previous years, the discretionary budget has been divided into small grants … across sectors like the arts, public housing, social services and parks.” – The New York Times
- Is The Smithsonian Next?
From the start of the second Trump administration, the entire Smithsonian had been a target of those on the MAGA right who are preoccupied with expunging what they understand to be “wokeness” from prominent institutions. – The Atlantic
MUSIC
- Commonwealth Short Story Prize Determines That None Of This Year’s Winners Were Written By AI
“The Commonwealth Foundation dismissed accusations that the short stories which won its literary prize this year were generated with artificial intelligence, saying a month-long review had found ‘AI wasn’t used’ to write them.’” – The Independent (UK)
- Too Many Books, Too Quickly: Australia’s Publishing Industry Is Too Prolific For Its Own Good
“Talk to authors, talk to prize judges, talk to critics and to editors and you hear versions of the same story. … What might have been excellent books are marred by shoddy copy editing, flat-out errors, cursory proofreading — and, in some cases, an obvious lack of revision.” – The Guardian
- The Next Bookstore?
Samir Pail argues that the publishing industry is fundamentally flawed insofar as publishers and authors generate consumer demand, then hand buyers off to companies like Amazon, which takes a significant cut and then owns the customer relationship. – Publishers Weekly
- Benjamin Franklin’s Library Given 1,500 Rare Books About Sex
The collection is the latest donation to the Library Company of Philadelphia, founded by Franklin in 1731, by Charles Rosenberg, a now-retired historian of science at Harvard University. He described this collection, including volumes dating to the late 1600s, as largely “how-to-run-your-sex-life books.” – The New York Times
- With Book Reviews Disappearing From Newspapers, This Bookstore Decided To Start Doing Its Own
“The Porter Square Review of Books launched this month. The (Cambridge, Mass.) store’s booksellers and writers-in-residence have begun publishing weekly(ish) book reviews on its website, on Thursdays; at about 500 words, these are deeper looks at books than the couple of sentences you’ll find describing ‘staff picks’ in-store.” – Nieman Lab
PEOPLE
- Made by People
Good Morning,
A run of today’s stories shares a new chore: proving something was actually made by a person. The Commonwealth Short Story Prize spent its week clearing this year’s winners of suspicion that AI wrote them (The Independent). So when fabrication is free, certifying human becomes considerable work. It cuts the other way too. That feel-good clip of an audience member sight-reading at La La Land in Concert turns out to be considerably staged (The Guardian).
Meanwhile Hollywood studios are industrializing microdramas (The New York Times) that have taken over social media. The Wrap worked on making its own to show what AI can crank one out start to finish (Yahoo).
The New Republic nominates the 15 artworks that most shaped the country (The New Republic) — canon-making as a civic act in a year when even the Constitution is up for reinterpretation (Boston Review).
And in Paris, the Marquis de Lafayette has become an unlikely selfie magnet (MSN).
Doug
- The Marquis De Lafayette Has Become A Selfie Magnet In Paris
In France, feelings about him are more mixed than in the U.S. (For one thing, during and after the French Revolution, he favored a constitutional monarchy, not the most popular position then.) But an exhibition at France’s National Archives which tells Lafayette’s full story has become a hit. – The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- Competing At Istanbul’s Tango Championship
The Turkish metropolis has become one of the world’s major centers of tango, perhaps behind only Buenos Aires itself. This month Istanbul hosted La Turca Tango Marathon and Championship, a three-day festival and competition which saw 56 dancers from around Europe competing in six categories. – The New York Times
- The Elusive Illusion Of Utopia (And Its Uses In Our Imagination)
Some patterns emerge: many utopias employ a framing device in which the narrator is accidentally or fantastically transported to a new land, and then subjected to reams of expository monologue about how it all works. – The Guardian
- What To Make Of The US Constitution When The Country Is In Turmoil?
How should we remember the American Revolution when millions march in the streets and shout “No Kings!”? When squads of masked thugs invade homes without warrant, kangaroo immigration “courts” deport hundreds of thousands without due process, and an executive agency buys up warehouses to use as internment camps? – Boston Review
PEOPLE
- Made by People
Good Morning,
A run of today’s stories shares a new chore: proving something was actually made by a person. The Commonwealth Short Story Prize spent its week clearing this year’s winners of suspicion that AI wrote them (The Independent). So when fabrication is free, certifying human becomes considerable work. It cuts the other way too. That feel-good clip of an audience member sight-reading at La La Land in Concert turns out to be considerably staged (The Guardian).
Meanwhile Hollywood studios are industrializing microdramas (The New York Times) that have taken over social media. The Wrap worked on making its own to show what AI can crank one out start to finish (Yahoo).
The New Republic nominates the 15 artworks that most shaped the country (The New Republic) — canon-making as a civic act in a year when even the Constitution is up for reinterpretation (Boston Review).
And in Paris, the Marquis de Lafayette has become an unlikely selfie magnet (MSN).
Doug
- The Marquis De Lafayette Has Become A Selfie Magnet In Paris
In France, feelings about him are more mixed than in the U.S. (For one thing, during and after the French Revolution, he favored a constitutional monarchy, not the most popular position then.) But an exhibition at France’s National Archives which tells Lafayette’s full story has become a hit. – The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- Competing At Istanbul’s Tango Championship
The Turkish metropolis has become one of the world’s major centers of tango, perhaps behind only Buenos Aires itself. This month Istanbul hosted La Turca Tango Marathon and Championship, a three-day festival and competition which saw 56 dancers from around Europe competing in six categories. – The New York Times
- The Elusive Illusion Of Utopia (And Its Uses In Our Imagination)
Some patterns emerge: many utopias employ a framing device in which the narrator is accidentally or fantastically transported to a new land, and then subjected to reams of expository monologue about how it all works. – The Guardian
- What To Make Of The US Constitution When The Country Is In Turmoil?
How should we remember the American Revolution when millions march in the streets and shout “No Kings!”? When squads of masked thugs invade homes without warrant, kangaroo immigration “courts” deport hundreds of thousands without due process, and an executive agency buys up warehouses to use as internment camps? – Boston Review
THEATRE
VISUAL
- The Elusive Illusion Of Utopia (And Its Uses In Our Imagination)
Some patterns emerge: many utopias employ a framing device in which the narrator is accidentally or fantastically transported to a new land, and then subjected to reams of expository monologue about how it all works. – The Guardian
- What To Make Of The US Constitution When The Country Is In Turmoil?
How should we remember the American Revolution when millions march in the streets and shout “No Kings!”? When squads of masked thugs invade homes without warrant, kangaroo immigration “courts” deport hundreds of thousands without due process, and an executive agency buys up warehouses to use as internment camps? – Boston Review
- How AI Prompting Poses The Classic Writer’s Challenge
This is one novel frustration of the AI age, yet millions of users searching for the “right prompt” are engaging in an old literary practice: turning mental images, vague desires and atmospheric intuitions into precise language. – The Conversation
- Has Blogging Ceased To Matter?
Anyway, the reason I’m writing all of this is not to brag, but to complain. Over the last two years, I’ve felt like my job has become a bit less important than it used to be, for three reasons. – Noahpinion
- Why Meritocracy Is A Deeply Flawed Idea
Zhuangzi insists that even in idealised situations where values can be straightforward, the idea that hierarchies and institutions can reflect that moral map is a profound misunderstanding of how power actually works. – Aeon
