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The Difficulty Of Organizing University Professors

One challenge many faculty members faced was lack of practical knowledge. Almost invariably, we found faculty unable to think outside of the framework for individual action when asked to act in solidarity with student workers. - The Point

Conspiracy Theory Du Jour: The “Live” Internet Died Five Years Ago

Dead-internet theory suggests that the internet has been almost entirely taken over by artificial intelligence. Like lots of other online conspiracy theories, the audience for this one is growing. - The Atlantic

What Will Happen Now To Afghanistan’s Biggest Broadcaster?

"'I'm still surprised we are up and running,' said Saad Mohseni, Tolo's co-owner. … Whether its menu of pop music and female television hosts will survive in the new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will be a barometer of the insurgents' tolerance for dissenting views." - The New York Times

Why We Work Too Much

The ubiquity of overwork is a serious obstacle for many of the ideas about how we might reshape our professional lives in the months ahead. - The New Yorker

‘Rodeo Clowns Are The Best Athletes In The Arena, And They Save Lives’

"Their work is just as dangerous and exciting as the bull riders they're employed to protect. Working in teams, their job is to distract an enraged bull from attacking the rider who's just been catapulted to the dirt." - Texas Highways

Disney Doesn’t Want Frank Oz To Make Muppets Anymore

“They don’t want me because I won’t follow orders and I won’t do the kind of Muppets they believe in,” he continued. Just how does Oz describe the new version of the Muppets? “The soul’s not there,” he said. - Deadline

American Speech Isn’t Getting Coarser, It’s Getting Softer And More Polite (F-Bombs Notwithstanding)

John McWhorter: "The grand old four-letter words seem to be used as punctuation, … (and) Twitter is full of people being recreationally nasty. Yet when I listen to America talking in our times, I hear an encroaching sweetness, a flowering of deference." - The New York Times

What You Say You Know…

As near as I can figure, when I claim to know something, I am only announcing to myself or to others that henceforth I am going to act and speak as if that something is true. I am going to adopt that claim as a kind of policy guiding my future actions. - 3 Quarks Daily

Prices For Vintage Video Games Are Getting Insane

Just over the past year, the record price for a copy of a game has risen by a factor of almost 20, from $114,000 to $2 million, with the most in-demand items being versions (preferably sealed) of the Super Mario Bros. franchise. - Artnet

China Restricts Kids’ Video Game-Playing

Gamers aged below 18 will be limited to one hour of online game play, between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in normal weeks. They will also be allowed to play on statutory public holidays. - Variety

In Louisiana, Someone’s Finally Teaching Genuine Cajun French

The state has been working to revive French for decades — but the language taught in schools has been the standardized variety, very different from the dialect local elders actually speak. Now a school for adults in a small town is teaching proper Cajun. - National Geographic

A New Company Rises From The Ashes Of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet

"A group of performers from the shuttered Aspen Santa Fe Ballet company have founded the new contemporary company DanceAspen and will debut new work at the Wheeler Opera House next month." - The Aspen Times

Lloyd Dobyns, Anchor of ‘NBC News Overnight’ And ‘Weekend’, Dead At 85

He attracted national attention in the 1970s for his waggish style hosting NBC’s Weekend, where he was joined by the equally irreverent Linda Ellerbee. They later co-anchored NBC News Overnight, an admired but little-watched show that lasted only 17 months in 1982-83. - The New York Times (AP)

Apple Buys Classical Streaming Service Primephonic — And Shuts It Down

The tech giant will take Primephonic offline next week and, it says, work on integrating the service's catalog and specialized search engine, with a new Apple classical app launching next year. Current subscribers will get a refund and six free months of Apple Music. - The Hollywood Reporter

Gary Graffman And Jennifer Higdon Leave Curtis Institute Faculty

Graffman, now 92 and formerly the music school's director and president, had been its leading piano teacher, with Yuja Wang and Lang Lang among his students. Higdon, a Pulitzer- and Grammy-winning composer, cited musical and family commitments for her departure. - The Philadelphia Inquirer

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