ArtsJournal Classic

AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only

DANCE

    IDEAS

    • Format confusion

      Good Morning,

      Nobody in the format business seems to know what people want, which hasn’t stopped some from betting big. Disney’s plan for Generation Alpha runs through vertical microdramas — shortform clips engineered for a phone held upright (Variety). Netflix, which spent years insisting games were the natural extension of its storytelling, is closing gaming studios (Los Angeles Times).

      The demand side keeps answering a different question. Four of Tana French’s novels made the Times’ 50 best thrillers of the century, more than any other writer (Irish Times). A bookstore in Oxford sells romantasy and nothing else, and is doing fine (NPR). A bookstore-slash-skate-shop next to Ballerina Farm can’t keep 1973 fly-fishing guides in stock (The Paris Review).

      Even today’s literacy fix isn’t technological: read out loud, together, with full-throated yawps (The New York Times). And Apple may start paying publishers when Siri’s AI uses their work — pay-as-you-go attribution, which is more than most AI companies have put on the table (Nieman Lab).

      New Bedford has a new Melville statue, and his sculptor would like you to know he was a smokeshow (Boston Globe).

      All of our stories below.

    • Not Only Is The Rumpus Alive, But It’s Launching A Spanish-Language Literary Magazine

      From the editors: “Rather than translating existing work from The RumpusEl Alboroto will commission and publish original Spanish-language writing spanning cultural criticism, personal essays, interviews, fiction, poetry and comics.” – LitHub

    • Ian Frazier Wrote A Humorous Piece About Wile E. Coyote In The New Yorker In 1990

      And now, after an improbable path whose twists and turns even the Roadrunner would have a hard time navigating, it’s a feature film. – The New York Times

    • Netflix Was Getting Into Gaming For A Bit There, But Now It’s Closing Gaming Studios All Over The Place

      “Games on Netflix have had mixed results,” but the plan is to focus on kids and sports, or so it seems. So much for narrative synergy. – Los Angeles Times (MSN)

    • Good News For News Publishers? From AI?

      Well, from Apple, in any case: “The pay-as-you-go plan would see publishers paid only when Siri AI uses their content,” which is similar to the Apple News+ model for print (er, digital). – Nieman Lab

    ISSUES

    MEDIA

    MUSIC

    PEOPLE

    • Format confusion

      Good Morning,

      Nobody in the format business seems to know what people want, which hasn’t stopped some from betting big. Disney’s plan for Generation Alpha runs through vertical microdramas — shortform clips engineered for a phone held upright (Variety). Netflix, which spent years insisting games were the natural extension of its storytelling, is closing gaming studios (Los Angeles Times).

      The demand side keeps answering a different question. Four of Tana French’s novels made the Times’ 50 best thrillers of the century, more than any other writer (Irish Times). A bookstore in Oxford sells romantasy and nothing else, and is doing fine (NPR). A bookstore-slash-skate-shop next to Ballerina Farm can’t keep 1973 fly-fishing guides in stock (The Paris Review).

      Even today’s literacy fix isn’t technological: read out loud, together, with full-throated yawps (The New York Times). And Apple may start paying publishers when Siri’s AI uses their work — pay-as-you-go attribution, which is more than most AI companies have put on the table (Nieman Lab).

      New Bedford has a new Melville statue, and his sculptor would like you to know he was a smokeshow (Boston Globe).

      All of our stories below.

    • Not Only Is The Rumpus Alive, But It’s Launching A Spanish-Language Literary Magazine

      From the editors: “Rather than translating existing work from The RumpusEl Alboroto will commission and publish original Spanish-language writing spanning cultural criticism, personal essays, interviews, fiction, poetry and comics.” – LitHub

    • Ian Frazier Wrote A Humorous Piece About Wile E. Coyote In The New Yorker In 1990

      And now, after an improbable path whose twists and turns even the Roadrunner would have a hard time navigating, it’s a feature film. – The New York Times

    • Netflix Was Getting Into Gaming For A Bit There, But Now It’s Closing Gaming Studios All Over The Place

      “Games on Netflix have had mixed results,” but the plan is to focus on kids and sports, or so it seems. So much for narrative synergy. – Los Angeles Times (MSN)

    • Good News For News Publishers? From AI?

      Well, from Apple, in any case: “The pay-as-you-go plan would see publishers paid only when Siri AI uses their content,” which is similar to the Apple News+ model for print (er, digital). – Nieman Lab

    PEOPLE

    • Format confusion

      Good Morning,

      Nobody in the format business seems to know what people want, which hasn’t stopped some from betting big. Disney’s plan for Generation Alpha runs through vertical microdramas — shortform clips engineered for a phone held upright (Variety). Netflix, which spent years insisting games were the natural extension of its storytelling, is closing gaming studios (Los Angeles Times).

      The demand side keeps answering a different question. Four of Tana French’s novels made the Times’ 50 best thrillers of the century, more than any other writer (Irish Times). A bookstore in Oxford sells romantasy and nothing else, and is doing fine (NPR). A bookstore-slash-skate-shop next to Ballerina Farm can’t keep 1973 fly-fishing guides in stock (The Paris Review).

      Even today’s literacy fix isn’t technological: read out loud, together, with full-throated yawps (The New York Times). And Apple may start paying publishers when Siri’s AI uses their work — pay-as-you-go attribution, which is more than most AI companies have put on the table (Nieman Lab).

      New Bedford has a new Melville statue, and his sculptor would like you to know he was a smokeshow (Boston Globe).

      All of our stories below.

    • Not Only Is The Rumpus Alive, But It’s Launching A Spanish-Language Literary Magazine

      From the editors: “Rather than translating existing work from The RumpusEl Alboroto will commission and publish original Spanish-language writing spanning cultural criticism, personal essays, interviews, fiction, poetry and comics.” – LitHub

    • Ian Frazier Wrote A Humorous Piece About Wile E. Coyote In The New Yorker In 1990

      And now, after an improbable path whose twists and turns even the Roadrunner would have a hard time navigating, it’s a feature film. – The New York Times

    • Netflix Was Getting Into Gaming For A Bit There, But Now It’s Closing Gaming Studios All Over The Place

      “Games on Netflix have had mixed results,” but the plan is to focus on kids and sports, or so it seems. So much for narrative synergy. – Los Angeles Times (MSN)

    • Good News For News Publishers? From AI?

      Well, from Apple, in any case: “The pay-as-you-go plan would see publishers paid only when Siri AI uses their content,” which is similar to the Apple News+ model for print (er, digital). – Nieman Lab

    THEATRE

      VISUAL

      • Good News For News Publishers? From AI?

        Well, from Apple, in any case: “The pay-as-you-go plan would see publishers paid only when Siri AI uses their content,” which is similar to the Apple News+ model for print (er, digital). – Nieman Lab

      • The Neuroscience Explanation For Why We Need Concerts

        For “collective effervescence” to occur organically, bodies need to be present, in the same space, dancing to the same rhythm. The function is to restore the social bonds and shared beliefs that are eroded by the drudgery of ordinary life. – The Guardian

      • An Attempt To Build India’s “Most Livable” City

        More than 25,000 people are working at the site on any given day, building a design by Norman Foster, the celebrated British architect. The city is laid out in grids and includes about a five-mile stretch of government buildings. – The New York Times

      • Are We Close To Locating Where Consciousness Lives In The Brain?

        Most discussions of AI and consciousness ask whether machines can experience anything. But maybe the real mystery is: If consciousness is not fundamentally related to higher cognition, then what kind of phenomenon is it? – Noema

      • Do We Lose Our Minds In Big Crowds?

        In popular culture and pop psychology, crowds are often associated with strong emotions, excessive emotional expression and the uncritical spread of emotions. Commentators often link that crowd emotion in turn with uncontrolled behaviour and, in some cases, mindless violence. – Psyche

      WORDS