That’s how most movies are experienced today. They are not, as they were for most of their history, seen. They are watched—on TVs, computers, tablets, phones. If you’re an average American, Gallup says, you saw (in theaters) exactly one movie in 2021, and it was probably the new Spider-Man. - Wired
From Pitlochry in Scotland to the Cotswolds to Sutton Hoo to Cornwall (well, that one's been there for 92 years) to north London, old Greco-Roman-style outdoor theatres are opening — and the few that have survived from the Roman era are being excavated. - The Observer (UK)
In the fall of 2019, years after it had revolutionized the industry with a slate of boundary-challenging originals and maybe a little drunk with ego, Netflix ushered in what I considered its new normal: the Just OK Era of TV. And mostly, with the occasional exception, the company has stayed in that lane. - Wired
Under the headline "Monet Is Next Dead Artist To Mint Money," a correspondent explains the finances of this very successful business. - Bloomberg Businessweek
Ashur, on the banks of the Tigris, was the first capital of the Assyrian Empire, and big parts of its city gate and ziggurat temple still stand. But with Iraq facing ongoing drought, authorities want to finish the Makhoul Dam first planned by Saddam Hussein 20 years ago. - ARTnews
Russia, for instance, is attempting to wipe out a separate Ukrainian culture; as Ukraine's artist at the Venice Biennale says, "If it has no culture, Ukraine does not exist." Same with China and Uyghur culture. ISIS certainly understood culture's importance. Even Boris is using culture as a weapon. - The Guardian
Crikey, collecting the lingo that makes Strine Strine is a hard yakka that can leave a poor bastard with a head like a half-sucked mango. - The New York Times
"The Lavender Bay home of Wendy Whiteley will be sold after her death and her collection of Brett Whiteley artworks donated to the Art Gallery of New South Wales in an 'extraordinary' cultural gift to the state of NSW." - The Sydney Morning Herald
Paramount CEO Bob Bakish: "By definition, you have some things that were made in a different time and reflect different sensibilities. I don't believe in censoring art that was made historically, that's probably a mistake. It's all on demand – you don't have to watch anything you don't want to." - The Guardian
"A vast new arts hub called Plateforme 10 has opened in the Swiss city of Lausanne with the aim to revitalize the surrounding area through culture. Poised to become a new 'arts district,' Plateforme 10 spans 25,000 square meters, the equivalent of five football fields." - Artnet
Beneath Twitter's reputation as a shitposter's heaven, art lovers often prefer it to platforms that promote other forms of content (like Instagram), and artists use it as a portfolio and work-in-progress platform to showcase everything from drawings and pixel art to vector-based illustration and video game development. - Wired
The frustration has become a persistent meme: that Google Search, what many consider an indispensable tool of modern life, is dead or dying. For the past few years, across various forums and social-media platforms, people have been claiming in viral posts that Google’s flagship product is broken. - The Atlantic
The increase in online buying has meant a reduction in the number of physical outlets, but those that remain have a beadier eye for bargains unsuspected by their owners. The trade has lost much of its charm and romance, and the number of eccentrics has dwindled. - The Critic
If a writer is to be rejected on grounds of style, it might as well be done stylishly. One publisher brilliantly mimicked Gertrude Stein’s experimental prose with “Only one look, only one look is enough. Hardly one copy would sell here. Hardly one. Hardly one”. - The Critic
