“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)
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
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
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
As research, including my own, into this breadth of ancient media production has developed over time, one theme has emerged again and again: as theatrical performance grew into a cultural staple, it was accompanied by the fear that just as art imitates life, so art could overcome reality itself. - The Conversation
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
The beloved librarian and host of the kids’ TV show reboot, Threets made news earlier this week when he said on social media “I am not okay” and checked into a psychiatric hospital. Now he has revealed some details of how he’s been suffering and what his diagnoses are. - San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo!)
Big, established names are using it to make more money. Non-stars say the number of jobs has plummeted and that they are being tricked into training their replacements. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
“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
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
“One of the most distinctive features of Schlemm’s career” — which ran from the 1940s to the 1990s — “was the evolution of her voice and repertoire. Having begun with lyric soprano roles, she gradually moved into dramatic soprano and mezzo-soprano territory, while becoming particularly admired for her abilities as a singing actress.” - Moto Perpetuo
“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
“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
