AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Good Morning:
Today — cultural institutions wrestling over how to handle their legacies: Nashville wants to bring back a beloved Red Grooms carousel, but lacks the funds for upkeep (The New York Times). Meanwhile, the Johnny Cash estate is suing Coca-Cola under Tennessee’s new “Elvis Act” to protect the singer’s likeness (The Guardian).
In media, audiences are embracing chaos: watching TV shows via remixed, out-of-order clips on social media (Washington Post). But traditional storytelling still rules, as evidenced by a retrospective on Tom Stoppard’s linguistic fireworks (The New York Times) and an appreciation for the “uneasy books” perfect for turbulent times (The Guardian).
All of today’s stories below:
- The Super Weird, Remixed Way People Are Watching Old TV Shows
“People are sitting through one-to-two minute, out-of-order clips of TV shows and movies on social media, awkwardly cropped for the vertical format and often with terrible music blaring in the background.” Okaaaaaay. But the people who love them really love them. – Washington Post (MSN)
- Nashville Would Like To Bring Back A Pretty Cool Piece Of Red Grooms Visual Heritage, But The Money Isn’t There
“Grooms’s carousel illustrates the financial challenge of regional museums, which scrounge to raise funds and then have to decide whether to add a wing or spend the money on upkeep for their collections.” – The New York Times
- Major Studios Turned Down ‘Stranger Things’
And it’s become, essentially, Netflix’s Star Wars, “that anchor series that drives customer acquisition and helps define the original programming.” – Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)
- Tom Stoppard’s Language Blazed With Urgency
“He loved his words to the point of mania and yet fretted over their inadequacy, making the mere act of speech seem somehow both heroic and doomed. He caused words to explode like fireworks, dazzling us with their bright, multicolored patterns.” – The New York Times
ISSUES
- Nashville Would Like To Bring Back A Pretty Cool Piece Of Red Grooms Visual Heritage, But The Money Isn’t There
“Grooms’s carousel illustrates the financial challenge of regional museums, which scrounge to raise funds and then have to decide whether to add a wing or spend the money on upkeep for their collections.” – The New York Times
- Look, Says The Guardian, Both Turner And Constable Were ‘Radical’ In British, And International, Art
“Constable’s paintings might not have the exciting steam trains, boats and burning Houses of Parliament of Turner’s, but they were radical too. Painting mill workers and bargemen was groundbreaking at a time when grandiose classical themes – favoured by Turner – were de rigueur.” – The Guardian (UK)
- Detroit Institute Of Arts Reimagines “Museum As Instrument Of Cultural Education”
The DIA has achieved a rare feat with its presentations: making art history feel unexpected, and so, truer to life. What immediate change it chooses for its closest community—that’s a story Detroit won’t forget. – ARTnews
- John Oliver’s Benefit Auction For Public Broadcasting Sets Million-Dollar Record For Bob Ross Painting
On Monday, Ross’ Cabin at Sunset, painted for a 1986 episode of PBS’ iconic “The Joy of Painting”, sold for roughly $1,044,000. – ARTnews
- Report: Museums Are Dramatically Underspending On Marketing
Museums have been resistant to spending on marketing at the same levels as other cultural organizations, says the report, which posits that the thinking may go that museums and art might even be demeaned by treating them like any other product. – ARTnews
MEDIA
- How Did These Film Studios Get Approved In A British Greenbelt?
One person on the town council: “This is the direct result of ill-thought-out planning changes and poor decision making, which threaten to destroy our green spaces.” But hey, James Cameron supports it. – BBC
- Sally Rooney Says She May No Longer Be Able To Sell Her Books In The UK
Rooney says that “UK legislation may mean she cannot be paid royalties by her British publisher or the BBC because it could leave both at risk of being accused of funding terrorism.” The Irish writer has said that she intends her royalties to support the group Palestine Action. – BBC
- Johnny Cash Estate Sues Coca Cola Under New “Elvis Act” For Using His Artistic Personna Without Permission
The case has been filed under the Elvis Act of Tennessee, made effective last year, which protects a person’s voice from exploitation without consent. – The Guardian
- Why Pop Culture Got Dull
Culprit number one is lucre. For pop stars, Mr Marx argues, the idea of “selling out” has died out. The ultimate measure of value is financial success; distinct musical genres have been squished into “glossy, marketable pop”. – The Economist
- Survey: State Of The Arts In Denver
Artists and cultural workers interviewed ahead of Colorado Creates said they worry about gentrification, burnout, lack of collaboration, the need to bring the younger generations into conversations and the cost of living in Denver. – Westword
MUSIC
- In Turbulent Times, An ‘Uneasy Book’ Might Be The Perfect Thing
Tessa Hadley: “Storytelling was the most powerful magic I knew: it got expressed first in the games I played out with my friends. Written down though, words were puny for such a long time.” Then came Henry James. – The Guardian (UK)
- This Seattle Graphic Novel Store Focuses On The Art Of Comics
Larry Reid, the man who owns and runs Seattle’s Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, says that comics have “a more immediate impact on culture than fine art.” – Seattle Times
- Tennessee Libraries Shut Down For Republicans’ Book Purge
Public libraries in Tennessee have begun to shut down as they carry out an order from state officials to remove children’s books containing LGBTQ+ themes or characters. – Common Dreams
- Survey: Writers Report Income Slipping Because Of AI
39% of novelists reported that their income has already been negatively affected by GenAI. They cited a range of reasons, including competition from AI-generated books, sabotage of sales due to rip-off AI-generated imitations of books, and supplementary streams of income such as copywriting becoming scarce due to increased use of GenAI. – The Conversation
- What Possesses People To Want To Own More Books Than They Can Possible Read?
Bibliomania, the only hobby which is also a mental health affliction. The person with piles of titles on their nightstand, in their closet, in the trunk of their car. Books in front of books on their bookshelf. “With thought, patience, and discrimination, book passion becomes the signature of a person’s character.” – LitHub
PEOPLE
- Good Morning:
Today — cultural institutions wrestling over how to handle their legacies: Nashville wants to bring back a beloved Red Grooms carousel, but lacks the funds for upkeep (The New York Times). Meanwhile, the Johnny Cash estate is suing Coca-Cola under Tennessee’s new “Elvis Act” to protect the singer’s likeness (The Guardian).
In media, audiences are embracing chaos: watching TV shows via remixed, out-of-order clips on social media (Washington Post). But traditional storytelling still rules, as evidenced by a retrospective on Tom Stoppard’s linguistic fireworks (The New York Times) and an appreciation for the “uneasy books” perfect for turbulent times (The Guardian).
All of today’s stories below:
- The Super Weird, Remixed Way People Are Watching Old TV Shows
“People are sitting through one-to-two minute, out-of-order clips of TV shows and movies on social media, awkwardly cropped for the vertical format and often with terrible music blaring in the background.” Okaaaaaay. But the people who love them really love them. – Washington Post (MSN)
- Nashville Would Like To Bring Back A Pretty Cool Piece Of Red Grooms Visual Heritage, But The Money Isn’t There
“Grooms’s carousel illustrates the financial challenge of regional museums, which scrounge to raise funds and then have to decide whether to add a wing or spend the money on upkeep for their collections.” – The New York Times
- Major Studios Turned Down ‘Stranger Things’
And it’s become, essentially, Netflix’s Star Wars, “that anchor series that drives customer acquisition and helps define the original programming.” – Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)
- Tom Stoppard’s Language Blazed With Urgency
“He loved his words to the point of mania and yet fretted over their inadequacy, making the mere act of speech seem somehow both heroic and doomed. He caused words to explode like fireworks, dazzling us with their bright, multicolored patterns.” – The New York Times
PEOPLE
- Good Morning:
Today — cultural institutions wrestling over how to handle their legacies: Nashville wants to bring back a beloved Red Grooms carousel, but lacks the funds for upkeep (The New York Times). Meanwhile, the Johnny Cash estate is suing Coca-Cola under Tennessee’s new “Elvis Act” to protect the singer’s likeness (The Guardian).
In media, audiences are embracing chaos: watching TV shows via remixed, out-of-order clips on social media (Washington Post). But traditional storytelling still rules, as evidenced by a retrospective on Tom Stoppard’s linguistic fireworks (The New York Times) and an appreciation for the “uneasy books” perfect for turbulent times (The Guardian).
All of today’s stories below:
- The Super Weird, Remixed Way People Are Watching Old TV Shows
“People are sitting through one-to-two minute, out-of-order clips of TV shows and movies on social media, awkwardly cropped for the vertical format and often with terrible music blaring in the background.” Okaaaaaay. But the people who love them really love them. – Washington Post (MSN)
- Nashville Would Like To Bring Back A Pretty Cool Piece Of Red Grooms Visual Heritage, But The Money Isn’t There
“Grooms’s carousel illustrates the financial challenge of regional museums, which scrounge to raise funds and then have to decide whether to add a wing or spend the money on upkeep for their collections.” – The New York Times
- Major Studios Turned Down ‘Stranger Things’
And it’s become, essentially, Netflix’s Star Wars, “that anchor series that drives customer acquisition and helps define the original programming.” – Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)
- Tom Stoppard’s Language Blazed With Urgency
“He loved his words to the point of mania and yet fretted over their inadequacy, making the mere act of speech seem somehow both heroic and doomed. He caused words to explode like fireworks, dazzling us with their bright, multicolored patterns.” – The New York Times
THEATRE
VISUAL
- With A Phone, A Friend, And Some LEGO, You’re All Set To Understand The Planet
Sure, people didn’t have phones (or LEGO) 2,000 years ago, but even they knew the Earth was round. – Wired
- Do You Miss Angelfire And Geocites?
Then the indie web might be for you. It’s “pushing back against algorithms and AI and calling for a more creative, personal internet.” – The Verge (Archive Today)
- Did We Make A Mistake When We Separated The Notion of Consciousness From Physical Things?
Ever since Descartes, who split mind from matter and linked thinking and being, we’ve drifted from the very thing that makes us human. We’ve separated ourselves from the natural world, physically and mentally. The mental separation enabled the physical one. We came to see ourselves inhabiting a world of things, ourselves the only conscious element within it. – Harper’s
- Study: Constant Checking Of Your Phone Feeds Cognitive Decline
A study by the Singapore Management University found that frequent interruptions to check our devices lead to more attention and memory lapses. Unlike total screen time, the frequency of smartphone checks is a much stronger predictor of daily cognitive failures. – Washington Post
- Scientist: AI Creativity Is Mathematically Limited To Amateur Status
The study provides evidence that large language models, such as ChatGPT, are mathematically constrained to a level of creativity comparable to an amateur human. – Psypost
