Beyoncé isn’t the only superstar who’s struggling to make a hit with staying power. The past year has seen superstars release new music to weaker-than-expected sales or reviews. - The Wall Street Journal
While the idea of an intermediate state after death is present in many religions – Buddhism has its bardo, Judaism its Sheol, Islam its A’raf – Purgatory stands out precisely for its ambiguity, an ambiguity rooted in the fact that there is scant scriptural evidence for its existence. - Aeon
Facebook has paid publishers who participate in the News program. The company signed deals worth tens of millions of dollars with news organizations such as The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, the Journal reported. - The Wall Street Journal
The closely watched case holds major implications for a publishing industry that has been grappling with consolidation for years. It also looms as a key test for the government amid growing calls for more vigilant antitrust enforcement. - Publishers Weekly
"She weathered the ups and downs of 20th-century Chinese history, and thrived under different political realities. ... Her remarkable onscreen life spanned the Chinese Republican regime (and Mao's revolutions) right through to the modern commercial blockbuster period." - The Guardian
“We find clear differences between users at different points of their off-platform lifecycles, with younger listeners consistently exploring less and exploiting known content more.” - Ludwig Van
The State Theatre at Arts Centre Melbourne, the city's venue for the Australian Ballet and Opera Australia, is closing in March 2024 for three years of renovations — and the designated replacement theatre has too small a stage and too few open dates for those companies' productions. - The Age (Melbourne)
Key to Conversation Radio's success is the higher level of interaction between hosts and the audience. “The hosts skilled in storytelling, the life of a party but not the center of attention – the audience is always the center of attention.” - Inside Radio
"Their purpose seems obvious — to quench thirst, duh — but stage actors get dry mouths, and no Hamlet puts down his sword to pick up an Evian. The water bottle is the prop that clues us in that a comic — not a character — is at work." - The New York Times
The decree has generated conversations in the tourist-heavy, gentrifying borough about history, art, and the effects of globalization: How should a city balance the need for a general sense of cleanliness and order with calls to preserve tradition and culture? - Christian Science Monitor
"In Maskwacîs — an area with four First Nations reserves on the Alberta prairie between Edmonton and Calgary — Cree, the most widely spoken Indigenous language in Canada, can be found written on stop signs, municipal buildings and emergency vehicles. A local radio station has Cree-speaking DJs." - MSN (The Washington Post)
The public health officer categorized the socially distanced ballet as a “high-risk sport” and counted each of the ballet’s eight segments as a separate event, and each student participating in the various segments as a separate violation—maximizing the amount of the fine. - Pacific Legal Foundation
"The new Art Gallery of Nova Scotia planned for the Halifax waterfront is on hold. Premier Tim Houston said his government had decided the project should be 'paused indefinitely' due to rising costs. Construction was slated to begin later this year." - CBC
In both positions, though, men are paid more than women in the same job — and for artistic directors at the 50 largest ballet companies, that pay gap has grown since 2019. - Dance Data Project
It's not only a matter of adjusting signs so that they can be seen on a video chat screen. Think of telephones 100 years ago, 50 years go, and now: the sign for the word "telephone" has changed right along with the object. - The New York Times
