Rather jaw-dropping, really. "The BBC has declared a record income of £5.33 billion ($6.4 billion) for the 2021/2022 period, up from £5.06 billion last year, and a surplus of £206 billion." - Variety
Perhaps, as some in Japan say, because America has such a black-and-white, good-versus-evil mindset. Perhaps because Hollywood thinks animation is for kids and therefore must be simple. It could be an epic snafu with the English script. Or it could be, as Neil Gaiman says, "Harvey Weinstein being petty." - BBC
And the effort paid off: The Horniman's "values are woven through everything it now does, with a passionate team breathing life and meaning into every object, performance, plant and animal. In many ways it’s the perfect museum." - The Guardian (UK)
In what the organizers call la République des Hyper Voisins (the Republic of Superneighbors), up to 2,000 people regularly gather for meals (including one at a 700-foot outdoor table seating 648), cultural events, oral history gatherings, etc., as well as mutual aid both in person and online. - The Guardian
It's a deliberate process. "We are not starved for folks being able to select shows and communicate with artists and keep those programs running. ... But the thing we’re predominately lacking in the role of the artistic leader is a singular point of truth." - Yahoo (Los Angeles Times)
Lily Janiak: "Brook sympathizes with artists' complaints about critics — they're wrong; they're mean-spirited and 'disapproving' — but then he issues a warning: 'An art without critics would be constantly menaced by far greater dangers. For instance, a critic is always serving the theatre when he is hounding out incompetence.'" - San Francisco Chronicle
A trailblazer for years, "Garofalo didn’t just help shift the comedy scene away from clubs. Her style represented a sea change from the polished, tight and desperately relatable bits ready-made to translate into a sitcom or a late-night appearance." - The New York Times
"While breakers around the world ramp up their training, the organization recognized by the IOC to conduct the program, the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), faces the unprecedented challenge of bringing a dance form to the Olympic stage." - Dance Magazine
Filippo Bernardini allegedly impersonated numerous authors, agents, and others in order to obtain unpublished manuscripts — for reasons nobody yet understands. Now his first court date has been postponed while a deferred prosecution request is considered. - The Guardian
The ornate gold-and-lapis lazuli vessel, which houses vials said to contain blood that flowed from Jesus's body as he was crucified, was stolen on June 1 from Fécamp Abbey in Normandy. When the thief realized it couldn't be sold, he had it returned to famed Dutch art detective Arthur Brand. - BBC
"With Russia actively trying to erase Ukraine's national identity, this country's music, literature, movies and monuments are not recreations. They are battlefields. The true culture war of our age is the war for democracy, and Ukrainian culture, past and present, has become a vital line of defense." - The New York Times
The American soprano was going to make her Arena di Verona debut as Violetta in La Traviata — until a furor arose over Netrebko's photos of herself in dark makeup and her Aïda costume and Arena di Verona management defended the makeup as part of a historical staging. - Classic FM (UK)
"The actors and stage managers of (Paradise Square) asked for Drabinsky to be put on the 'Do Not Work' list due to 'outstanding payments and benefits, and a continued pattern of abuse and neglect that created an unsafe and toxic work environment.'" - The Hollywood Reporter
Scammers ruin everything, including violin skills: "At its most basic, it’s someone who is busking with a violin, apparently playing, while they’re actually faking it — the music comes from a hidden recording." - Ludwig Van
Meetings, walkouts, subtle out of office notes - and representation: "Many in Hollywood have begun to think about how they portray characters receiving abortion and reproductive care. And some in the industry have been turning to their guilds for guidance." - The Hollywood Reporter
