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Joan Didion’s Estate Auction (Sunglasses for $27,000?)

Among the 224 items up for grabs, both the photograph (a 1968 portrait of Didion by Julian Wasser) and the table (an oak desk she used in her office) were sold for a combined total of $87,000 — far beyond their projected worth. - Los Angeles Times

Why Andy Blankenbuehler, Choreographer Of “Hamilton”, Decided He Had To Create A Musical Of His Own

"There's a lot of storytelling ability in dance, but in musical theater, people champion words first. And so many times as a dancer, you don't feel integral. You don't feel like you are helping the story really come around." So he created Only Gold. - MSN (The Washington Post)

Analyzing How Visitors See Cultural Heritage Sites Through Their Social Media Posts

Tourists have often registered their experience by posting reviews, photographs, and comments on social media. Such data offer an unprecedented, though particular, view of the visitor experience at these sites. - Cultural Analytics

How Will Arbery Writes Plays That Appeal To All Sides In A Deeply Divided Country

"The key is Arbery's ear. He is one of the theater's greatest listeners, able to hear and reproduce the subtle and deeply specific ways individuals reveal themselves and their relationships to others with language." - The New York Times Magazine

Qatar’s Feast Of New Architecture Awaits The World Cup

Since winning the bid to host the World Cup in 2010, the Gulf state has focused on transforming itself into "a beacon of art and culture", according to the tournament's organisers. - Dezeen

As Xi’s Crackdown Gets Ever Tougher, Hong Kong’s Filmmakers Turn Overseas

For decades, the little territory's movie industry was vibrant and proud: its martial arts thrillers and historical epics gathered fans throughout the world. and its most famous actors (Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh) became global stars. Now, with Beijing's control tightening, Hong Kong cinema is turning abroad. - MSN (The Washington Post)

This Year’s Grammy Nominees

The 65th GRAMMY Awards, will air live on Sunday, Feb. 5, from Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena. - Grammy.com

Pakistan Unbans Its Entry For The Best International Film Oscar

"Pakistan has reversed course and lifted a ban on its Oscars entry, Joyland, but the film will receive some cuts by local censors. ... The film features a love story between a married man and a transgender woman, which sparked controversy among some conservatives." - The Hollywood Reporter

Report: Younger Americans Are Listening To Less Music, More Podcasts

While the share of Americans listening to spoken word audio increased across all age groups, it increased the most for those ages 13 to 34, the report found. That age group now dedicates 26% of its listening hours to spoken word audio (instead of music) — up from just 12% in 2014. - NiemanLab

The Gestation And Birth Of “The Lion King” — An Oral History

"In interviews over the last few weeks, many of those involved in bringing The Lion King to Broadway in 1997 spoke about the show's genesis. This oral history contains edited excerpts from those interviews." - The New York Times

For London Arts Organizations Squawking About Losing Funding, Some Choice Words From A Government Culture Honcho

Lord Neil Mendoza: "It's just not right — it's absolutely not fair. We're so London-focused. ... There's this idea that once you've had funding it's a human right that funding will continue. That's not true. ... No one's lost anything, because no one's guaranteed anything." - Financial Times

The Board Of ArtPrize Quietly Dissolves Itself

Last month, shortly after the 12th edition of the annual art competition in Grand Rapids ended, the board announced that "we know the time is right to conclude the original ArtPrize experiment and open up space for new energy and creativity."  They say that an "ArtPrize 2.0" is coming. - Artnet

Philly Pops To Close Permanently

"Facing mounting vendor debt and depressed ticket sales since the pandemic shutdown ended, the group has decided to fold, says longtime pops president Frank Giordano, ... leaving the city without a stand-alone pops orchestra and the Kimmel Center with one fewer resident company." - The Philadelphia Inquirer

2022 National Book Awards To Imani Perry, Tess Gunty, Sabaa Tahir, John Keene, Samanta Schweblin

More specifically: Imani Perry's South to America (nonfiction), Tess Gunty's The Rabbit Hutch (fiction), Sabaa Tahir's All My Rage (young people's literature), John Keene's Punks: New and Selected Poems (poetry), and Argentine author Samanta Schweblin's Seven Empty Houses, translated by Megan McDowell (literature in translation). - AP

Just How Serious Are Jay Leno’s Burn Injuries?

"Right now they're in that progression of somewhere between deep second and third-degree burns to the face," says his doctor.  "We're hoping we can keep them from progressing by using these alternate treatments, including good wound care and hyperbaric oxygen and aggressive surgical management." - CNN

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