What harm is done by letting conductors into our chamber music? More than you’d suspect. Collaborative pianists — we only recently stopped calling them “accompanists” — have struggled to acquire a modicum of dignity for their vocation. - The Critic
The Greeks used Laurus nobilis, or “bay laurel,” as a remedy for rashes from other plants and boiled it down for antiseptic and first aid applications. But the use of crowns crafted from laurel sprigs emerged for different reasons. - The Conversation
Littlefeather, "the Apache activist and actress who refused to accept the best actor award on behalf of Marlon Brando at the 1973 Oscars," has died at 75. - The New York Times
One duo says it can be done. "We’re about understanding the evidence and showing how a case can go from what should have been innocence to guilt, based on one eyewitness or a forced confession." - Los Angeles Times
Or, at least, some authors who should. "You would think that in this, post-Squid Games, post-BTS world, the Academy would attempt to reclaim relevance by reading and engaging with works outside their comfort zone, by reading outside of Europe and North America." - LitHub
Mary Mattingly creates "prescient environmental projects that address current crises and potential cataclysms: What might the good life look like if cities that depend on precarious supply chains became more self-reliant? How could public parks help relieve urban hunger?" - The New York Times
Before TikTok, Instagram "became a destination for an endless variety of beautiful, funky, far-out and vibrant images — of food, national parks and everything else — turning into one of the internet’s premier visual repositories." Then, a pivot to video. - The New York Times
AI "therapists" are always online, always available, unlike the humans who invented them - but also unlike the humans who trained for years to know how to respond to, say, reports of sexual abuse. "It’s creating the illusion of help," says one ethicist. - Wired
One Irish writer says yes. "It is through the stories passed down by our ancestors that we can learn how best to live sustainably ... and how to navigate a world that presents existential threats on a daily basis." - Irish Times
Though Bussard collected 15,000 albums, he was selective: "He loved jazz but detested any jazz recorded after the early 1930s. He loved country music but decreed that nothing good came after 1955. Nashville? He called it 'Trashville.' Rock ’n’ roll? A cancer." - The New York Times
For people who came of age in the '80s, the author says, "Slasher movies, Stephen King and Twin Peaks all got mixed with our reality, which was already full of the language of horror: the disappeared, the children of the dead, children of the lost generation." - The Guardian (UK)
People who subscribe to Dish or Sling suddenly found themselves without Disney's network of channels on October 1. While the companies blame Disney for hardball negotiations, customers on social media are furious with the delivery systems instead. - The Verge
