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- Why We Are Not Our Brains
Remember that the brain itself is merely another object in the world. To talk about it at all is to have already accepted a level of objective existence which cannot be reduced to sensory experience. – 3 Quarks Daily
- Rethinking What Biographies Are For
On its face, biography is the genre of the integral subject—a person interacting with others but distinct from them, not dissolving in a sea of substance. For Carlisle, though, the “metaphysical selfishness” of a world composed of discrete human beings “reinforces moral selfishness, and vice versa.” – The New Yorker
- Could Chicago’s South Side Become The Hub Of Black Theater It Used To Be?
Some of the first Black theater companies in the country were in South Side Chicago, and the scene flourished into the 1970s. Then, for economic and systemic reasons, the drama mostly dried up. Now, with some fresh talent and an influx of grant money, a revival is tentatively emerging. – WBEZ (Chicago)
- The Death Of Online Search?
Even Google may not be too big to fail, as pessimism mounts about the possibility of Search ever again working the way it used to. – The New Yorker
- We Need To Change Our Approach To Digital Life
It’s increasingly clear to me that we will not survive as a society without some seismic intervention that separates us from our screens, our algorithms, and our little simulacra of social life. – The New Yorker
- Waves Of CNN, CBS Veterans Take Skydance Buyouts
At CNN, according to two of these people, buyouts were offered to people who were in vice president roles or levels below and had more than 15 years of service. – Variety
- Gary Fisketjohn, One Of American Fiction’s Most Influential Editors, Is Dead At 72
“Fisketjon stayed with Knopf for 29 years, where he worked with many of the novelists who would come to define the American literary canon of the late 20th century” — among them Don DeLillo, Donna Tartt, Cormac McCarthy, Annie Dillard, Bret Easton Ellis, Patricia Highsmith, and Tobias Wolff. – Publishers Weekly
- Skydance Disses Warner Performance, Says It Will Be More Selective With Projects
“Warner Bros film has underperformed this year and will weigh on Q4 results. We’ll apply the same playbook we did at Paramount: greenlighting more selectively, prioritizing profitable streaming growth over subscriber count, optimizing linear and driving efficiency through the cost structure.” – Deadline
- Claim: AI Has Made It Almost Impossible To Assess Students
Universities should go back to traditional exams and in-person presentations to grade students after lecturers complained that AI has made it “close to impossible” to assess coursework, according to an investigation by England’s higher education regulator. – The Guardian
- Met To Stream Its Sold-Out “Lincoln in the Bardo” On YouTube
This broadcast—the first of its kind for the Met on YouTube—will support the company’s $1.5 billion Make the Met Forever fundraising campaign. Beginning November 20, the recording will be available on Met Opera on Demand through a range of paid viewing options. – TheatreMania
- One Of New L.A. Mayor’s Big Challenges Will Be Bringing Hollywood Production Jobs Back To City
“Nithya Raman’s connections to Hollywood were a key part of the coalition that fueled her upset victory. … Now, they and hundreds of thousands of entertainment workers and business owners that rely on the film-and-TV industry will look to Raman to find a way to stop the decline in employment opportunities.” – TheWrap (MSN)
- Met Opera To Livestream “Lincoln In The Bardo” For Free
The Missy Mazzoli/Royce Vavrek adaptation of the George Saunders novel sold out most of its run, including the final performance on November 14. That performance will be streamed live on the Met’s YouTube channel. The video will remain available on YouTube until midnight NYC time on Wednesday, November 18. – Playbill
- In Default Judgment, Court Orders Pirate Site To Pay Publishers Millions In Damages
“A federal judge in Manhattan has ordered the pirate site WeLib to pay 13 publishers $19.5 million in statutory damages. Judge Victor Marrero also directed the companies that register and host its domains to take it offline, after the site’s operators failed to respond to the publishers’ copyright infringement suit.” – Publishers Weekly
- Scholars Announce Two Caravaggio Rediscoveries In Two Days
One historian announced his authentication of a previously unattributed painting at a conference this past Saturday, while another revealed on Sunday that the original of a painting known only from copies had been located. – Artnet
- Actor Stacy Keach Has Died At 85
“Though he was considered a preeminent interpreter of Shakespeare and a favorite of such legendary directors as John Huston, Keach was indelibly linked with his take on the hard-boiled Mike Hammer, the fictitious TV private detective created by crime novelist Mickey Spillane.” – AP
- Kari Lake’s Firing Of Voice Of America Director Was Illegal, Appeals Court Rules
“A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Kari Lake and other Trump administration officials unlawfully attempted to fire Voice of America director Michael Abramowitz, upholding a lower court decision that blocked his removal without approval from an independent oversight board.” – TheWrap
- Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company To Close At End Of Next Year
“The Company’s final year will feature Memory Palace, a retrospective project (beginning) with a two-week festival at New York Live Arts in March 2027, followed by a final tour through December 2027. Beyond the Company’s conclusion, Memory Palace will continue to evolve through exhibitions and the creation of a legacy film.” – BroadwayWorld
- A Science Fiction Novel Wins the Booker Prize
Good Morning,
M John Harrison, 81, has won the Booker Prize for The End of Everything, a postapocalyptic novel set on the Kent coast. He is the prize’s oldest winner and the first from the science-fiction world, after decades of arguing that good SciFi is literary fiction (The Guardian).
A Desert Storm memorial opened last month just north of the Lincoln Memorial, and a Global War on Terrorism memorial is planned next to it. Philip Kennicott, the Post’s architecture critic, says a landscape meant to symbolize reconciliation after the Civil War is filling up with war (The Washington Post).
Near Moab, Utah, someone carved “Meru” and “Craig W” into rock art about 1,500 years old. Scrubbing the names off could destroy the images underneath (Outside).
Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles’s flagship nonprofit theater, booked a nonunion tour of Music Man, and the paper’s critic called it “community-theater-level.” Artistic director Snehal Desai says union tours had mostly gone to the commercial Pantages (Los Angeles Times).
Skydance, new owner of Warner Bros., has promised investors $6 billion in cuts. CEO David Ellison also told them that “in a world of AI slop,” handcrafted storytelling will command a premium (Los Angeles Times).
All of today’s stories below.
- Project To Make Downtown Chicago A “Cultural Stadium” Takes A Step Forward
“Former Michigan state representative Donna Lasinski was announced Wednesday as the initiative’s inaugural president. … The project has been discussed in abstract for years but is now moving from idea to reality with the appointment of Lasinski, who has served as the Cultural Stadium’s senior adviser since April.” – WBEZ (Chicago)
- How Did Equality Come To Mean Different Things?
Today, it’s evident that the word ‘equality’ means very different things to different people. What once seemed capable of providing common ground is now just another source of controversy. What explains this shift? – Aeon
- The National Mall In DC Is Getting Too Full, And The Reason Why Is Not A Happy One
“The sylvan landscape around the Lincoln Memorial is a mess, and it will only get worse. … A landscape that was meant to symbolize peace and reconciliation after the Civil War is becoming cluttered mainly with memorials devoted to war” — too many to fit in this one place. – The Washington Post (MSN)
- The Ethics Of Entertainment Values
“Is the value of my experience at Disney World undermined by the fact that it is, at the end of the day, a production of the Walt Disney Company? Can I trust a profit-hungry corporation to teach my children universal values? – Psyche
- “Art Is The Great Democrat”
“Art is the great democrat,” wrote Kennedy, “calling forth creative genius from every sector of society, disregarding race or religion or wealth or color.” He saw art as a means of transcending difference, as both a product of democracy and a contributor to its flourishing. – San Francisco Classical Voice
- Anime Could Become Japan’s Number-One Export Industry — If Its Business Culture Can Manage It
The international demand for anime is certainly big enough, and the struggling Japanese economy could really use the extra earnings from abroad. But the country’s corporate culture is not exactly known for nimbleness, and it may not be able to reallocate resources quickly enough to meet demand with supply. – The New York Times
- The Trap Of Optimization
We usually assume that more of it must be better. But we can become so focused on improving one thing that we lose sight of the others. You can try to arrange your calendar so that every minute is accounted for, but you’ll soon start running over and end up behind. – The Guardian
- Canadian Government Announces New Investment In Books
The new budget released by the government of Canada last week permanently increased the Canada Book Fund by CDN $5 million annually. This increase, the first since 2001, will bring the Canada Book Fund’s total annual budget to approximately CDN $43.4 million starting in 2027–28. – Publishers Weekly
- Skydance, Looking To Cut More Than $6B, Offers Big Staff Buyouts
One of the company’s highest priorities is to get its balance sheet in order. The company has more than $80 billion in debt, and Ellison has promised investors that he and his team would eliminate $6 billion in expenses within three years. On Monday, the executives signaled they were looking to exceed that sum. – Los Angeles Times
- Should Non-Equity Touring Shows Be Playing L.A.’s Flagship Nonprofit Theaters?
A non-Equity production of The Music Man is currently running at Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre, and quite a bit of SoCal’s theater community is unhappy about that. But a cast member says they’re treated well, and CTG artistic director Snehal Desai he didn’t have much choice in this case. – Los Angeles Times (MSN)
- America’s New Movie Capital: New Jersey?
At a time when filming in Los Angeles has plunged to historic lows, New Jersey has soared, becoming one of the nation’s hottest film destinations and squeezing into the limelight of its bigger neighbor across the Hudson River. – Los Angeles Times
- Aquaterra: The Vast Lands Of Civilization We’ve Not Yet Explored
To understand where—and what—Aquaterra is, you have to think about how sea levels fall and rise during an ice age. As the planet cools, ocean water becomes locked up in continental ice sheets, and sea levels fall by hundreds of feet. – The Atlantic
- The Louvre’s New Director On The Museum’s Many Challenges
The new challenges in recent weeks come at a time when Mr. Leribault has had to deal with everything in his brief tenure from the threat of staff strikes and a perennial shortage of visitor bathrooms to a whopping funding drive to finance the museum’s planned refurbishment and reorganization. – The Wall Street Journal
- Paul McCartney Is Now Officially A Billionaire
“Paul McCartney has joined the ranks of the world’s billionaires. Forbes has valued the former Beatle’s net worth at $1.4bn (£1.04bn), making him the world’s third richest musician behind Jay-Z at $2.8bn (£2.01bn) and Taylor Swift at $2bn (£1.49bn).” – The Guardian
- CBC/Radio-Canada To Get $300 Million In One-Off Extra Funding
“CBC/Radio-Canada will receive an additional $300 million in federal funding over the next two years, providing the Canadian public broadcaster with additional resources for news coverage, digital programming and Canadian-produced content.” – Inside Radio
- Britain’s BalletBoyz At 25
“Let’s dispel the myth about BalletBoyz — it’s not an all-male company and never has been. There were women in their first shows 25 years ago, in this show and others in between, while the ensemble’s lineup can change every year.” Founders William Trevitt and Michael Nunn never liked the name, anyway. – The Times (UK)
- Chicagoans Vote To Create Permanent Site For Rock Festivals. But …
“The (non-binding ballot) measure, meant to gauge public interest, arrived after pushback in recent years from some Chicagoans who oppose privately run festivals taking place in the city’s public spaces, from Lollapalooza in Grant Park to Riot Fest in Douglass Park. But despite electoral support, there are no clear next steps.” – WBEZ (Chicago)