"Seventeen plaintiffs — including the ALA's Freedom to Read Foundation, the Association of American Publishers, the American Booksellers Association, and the Authors Guild — will file a federal lawsuit over a recently passed law in Arkansas ... which exposes librarians to criminal liability for making allegedly 'obscene' books available to minors." - Publishers Weekly
It was an era of artistic manifestos, and in 1917 Pfitzner outlined his views in a pamphlet titled The Danger of the Futurists. It was written as a reply to Ferruccio Busoni, who argued in a futurist spirit that music should be liberated from all rules and conventions. - New Criterion
Even now, in the age of YouTube and TikTok, when you can catapult yourself into fame, riches and recognition for feats of all kinds with nothing more complicated than your phone, the Guinness Book of Records continues, somewhat incredibly, to exist. - The Guardian
For a century after van Gogh gathered flowers and placed them in an earthen vase to paint, the artwork’s provenance could be easily traced, and the piece was often exhibited in museums for visitors to admire. Now the painting has vanished from public view, its whereabouts unknown. - The New York Times
Things are happening quickly — Thomas Guggeis starts as the general music director of the Frankfurt Opera this fall — but he is trying to maintain a steady development that some of his peers have abandoned in favor of peripatetic celebrity. - The New York Times
"The use of hand tools to rebuild the roof that flames turned into ashes in 2019 is a deliberate, considered choice, especially since power tools would undoubtedly have done the work more quickly. The aim is … to ensure that the centuries-old art of hand-fashioning wood lives on." - AP
Tech industry players have been selling the promise of a future in which AI is an essential tool for every part of Hollywood production, from budgeting and concept art, to script development, to producing a first cut of a feature film with a single press of a button. - The Guardian
"At a Lagos cultural centre, a rapt audience listened to baritone John Onosolease perform an operatic song in the Yoruba language about a hapless soldier being admonished for his failure to cook a flavoursome dish of beans." - Reuters
Now it’s ballet’s turn, and a subversive new performance will become the world’s first AI ballet, using generative AI to inspire all aspects of the composition; from the concept to the score and the set design. - Wallpaper
"Stumbling on Ja'Bowen is like uncovering a New York City art secret. The lucidity of his body and the music that it produces are steadying forces in an unpredictable space. ... With rigor, elegance and humor, he takes the craft of tap seriously while disarming the crowds." - The New York Times
"TV writers ... have been trying to undo misconceptions about their jobs, which they say were never particularly glamorous even in the heyday of network TV. In the age of Netflix and Disney Plus, many writers say, grueling workloads and vanishing job security threaten the entire profession." - MSN (The Washington Post)
Typical curriculums fail to imbue children with love and appreciation of maths. This is not teachers’ fault – the education system judges students on performance, not enjoyment. However, if we focus on content at the expense of feelings then that content is unlikely to stick. Worse, we end up producing maths-phobic or maths-sceptical people. - The Guardian
"Lebanon's Sursock Museum has reopened, three years after a deadly explosion in Beirut's port — set off by tons of improperly stored chemicals — reduced many of its treasured (artworks) to ashes. The reopening Friday night offered Beirutis a rare bright spot in a country reeling from a crippling economic crisis." - AP
"I'm doing this emotional ballad, quiet at the start, and someone gets their phone out. They're on WhatsApp and start leaving a voice note saying, 'I'm just watching Bedknobs and Broomsticks, I'm really enjoying it, I think it finishes in 10 minutes'. I can hear the entire conversation." - The Guardian
