"As the director of the relatively small-scale Regents Opera, I am acutely aware of the risk attached to any attempt on Wagner’s epic saga. Yet, like the lustful dwarf Alberich, so tempted by the Rhinegold that he steals it and forges it into a magic ring, I find myself irresistibly drawn." - The Guardian
A growing body of research has begun to explore the nuanced ways in which technology is influencing the workplace and the workforce, shedding light on both its many benefits and substantial risks. - Harvard Business Review
Concentration on the rhetoric of decline and renewal combines various kinds of phenomena: political leaders who genuinely believe in decline and those who cynically claim decline to gain power; earnest attempts at “restoration” and empty rhetoric about renewal. - Common Reader
Nüshu, a phonetic, syllabic script (as opposed to the standard Chinese ideogram characters) used by and between women, developed in a rural area of Hunan province. It nearly died out during and after the Cultural Revolution, but interest has revived and it's being taught once again. (video) - BBC
Designed by London architecture firm Vatraa, the “monument” was modeled after the Great Trilithon of Stonehenge, but instead of using stones, the architects wrapped three giant piles of plastic bottles in wire meshes and stacked the forms. - Fast Company
Atwood says, "I just want to know how you are going to get around the giant blue penises." McGregor's only response (other than laughter) is "It's not a literal interpretation but a leap of faith." - Financial Times
Spend on Australian features reached a record A$786M ($508M) during the period, an increase of 59% on the previous year, even though the overall number of productions declined. - Deadline
Michael Heizer's "City" isn't the only massive art installation out in the boondocks that took decades and millions of dollars to build. For 30 years, Kiefer has been working on "La Ribaute," a compound built in and around an abandoned silk mill. - Smithsonian Magazine
Involving communities in the way artefacts are used and displayed is a longstanding issue for African museums, even for objects that were never taken abroad. - The Conversation
"In the years following its release, Hollywood started producing a string of (movies) which, like Baby Jane, provided veteran actresses including Barbara Stanwyck, Tallulah Bankhead, Shelley Winters and Debbie Reynolds with villainous, yet deliriously camp roles within horror that ensured their careers could keep on rolling." - BBC
Viewing the process as a zero-sum game pits different parts of the country against one another. This approach also glosses over the underlying politics of arts funding beyond the number crunching and broader questions of what it’s actually for. - The Conversation
Data indicate that interest in classical music itself is growing, but BBC Radio 3, the more populist Classic FM, and newish Scala Radio have lost worryingly large chunks of audience in the past year. But there are good reasons why — and some of those might be fixable. - MSN (The Telegraph)
Eileen Kramer started dancing professionally in 1939 and lived in India, Europe, and the US before returning to Australia at 99. She now lives in a care home and, due to balance issues, can only perform while seated, but her latest dance film was made this year. - The Sydney Morning Herald
There are more ancient surviving writings in hieroglyphics and cuneiform, but the inscription on this 3,700-year-old personal-care item is the oldest to use letters that represent sounds. What does it say? "May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard." - The Guardian
A marketing document from the Broadway Strategic Return Fund claims that the fund's value quadrupled from January 2016 through September 2021, a period that included the COVID shutdowns — this in an industry notorious for losing investors' money. And now the SEC has noticed this. - Broadway Journal
