“Orwell would have been more disturbed by the mendacity of those claiming to have been canceled than he would have been by the decision of some media not to publish them.” - The Smart Set
Something about this “Brat” summer we’re living through gets me down — something about our eagerness to replace the seasons of our lives with industry promo cycles, about how contemporary pop fandom feels like a zombie publicity reflex, about hype’s uncanny ability to blot out the thing it’s hyping. - Washington Post
I am having trouble thinking of an app update fiasco large enough to compare it to this one, because in my time as a consumer tech reporter and editor, I cannot think of another software update that took away users' ability to control the volume. - Wired
Few currently active conductors have developed such a natural affinity with the recording studio. The independent producer Andrew Keener, who collaborated on his UK recordings, tells me that Slatkin always stood out as ‘a conductor who is totally studio wise, and who knew how to apportion time in the studio. - Gramophone
Research has shown that many aspects of memory are affected by ageing, such as recall tasks that require real-time processing, whereas recognition tasks that rely on well-known information and automatic processes are not. - Nature
"Senior breaking is one of a growing category of sports tailored to Japan’s large population of older people who, thanks to the country’s extraordinary longevity statistics, are determined to keep popping and locking for as long as their bodies will allow." Their inspiration: breaking as an Olympic sport. - The Guardian
Inspired by opera houses, the grands magasins were astonishing spectacles, built on a pharaonic scale. A new exhibition in the French capital charts the golden age of a dying concept. - The Guardian
"The company is liable for few of the major criticisms levied at the opera world, with varying degrees of justification, by politicians and their quangos. And yet … the company has been bullied into an acquiescent silence concerning its forced transformation into a shadow of its former self." - Classical Music (UK)
As of June 28, the House of Representatives has approved $203.9 million each to the NEA and the NEH, evenly distributing the Biden-Harris administration’s original allocations of $210 million for the arts and $200 million for the humanities. - Hyperallergic
"The collection, which includes contemporary and historical artworks, design objects, and artifacts, was targeted on January 8, 2023, when riots erupted in Brasília following the defeat of then-president Jair Bolsonaro by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the general election." - ARTnews
A dancer's day is all about discipline, be that in relation to movement or intake (even healthy, appropriate eating: food is fuel etc). So when it comes time to leave the constrained environment, is it any wonder if things go off the scale in the opposite direction? - Gramilano
"… more fitting might be a theater proselytizer. ... In his eyes, theater should be as much a part of the American story as music is: 'Music has figured out a way to really brand itself as necessary, because people can see the tangible links to profit.'" - The Washington Post
As viewers, we’re being flattened by a fire hose of programming — and the experience of watching TV feels like a ritual of submission, passively accepting a slush of shows served up by a streaming service’s algorithm. - The New York Times
Have the buildings created as lodging for thousands of athletes really provided housing and other benefits for their neighborhoods after the Games are over? Don't cynically assume that the answer is no: the record is quite mixed. Perhaps the best example: Helsinki. - BBC
"Erector-set arenas have sprung up like crystals in the city’s traffic circles and parks, often with Parisian landmarks as backdrops. There are temporary pools, temporary television studios, and temporary bleachers to watch the swimming events in the Seine, where there is a temporary floating halfpipe." - Slate
