"That’s not just because President Donald Trump has repeatedly weaponized the phrase of the title against his own critics. ... It’s also because the 1882 play … seems to express the micro and macro ethical dilemmas that have become a daily fixture of the second Trump term." - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
Roan gets respect and true appreciation for her artistry and gumption but is far too green and too uninformed to be the agent of change she aspires to be today. - The Hollywood Reporter
Like its 2020 predecessor, the new order has little to do with classical architecture in any meaningful way—which itself has been decontextualized from its ideologies, aesthetics, spatial origins, and material conditions and flattened into a kind of “Deus vult” meme for people overly concerned with their haplogroup type. - The Nation
According to Leah Koch, just two things make a romance novel: a central love story and a happy ending. “A criticism I hear a lot is, ‘Well, how is that interesting?’ The whole point to me is how we get from point A to point B,” she said. - The New Yorker
"'The bloom is off the rose of rom-coms,' says Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s senior media analyst. 'There was a period in which they couldn’t miss. But then there were a number that were absolutely awful, and streaming changed things. Now you need spectacle to get audiences into theaters.'" - Variety
The new N.E.A. rules require applicants to agree not to operate diversity programs “that violate any applicable federal anti-discrimination laws” and call on grant applicants to pledge not to use federal funds to “promote gender ideology.”
“The data shows a shift in cognitive effort as knowledge workers increasingly move from task execution to oversight when using GenAI,” the researchers wrote. “Surprisingly, while AI can improve efficiency, it may also reduce critical engagement, particularly in routine or lower-stakes tasks in which users simply rely on AI." - 404 Media
In the complaint, Thomson Reuters claimed the AI firm reproduced materials from its legal research firm Westlaw. Today, a judge ruled in Thomson Reuters’ favor, finding that the company’s copyright was indeed infringed by Ross Intelligence’s actions. - Wired
"The findings reveal an overwhelming dominance of male choreographers, particularly in the Largest 50 ballet companies, despite some growth in opportunities for female choreographers in mid-sized and smaller companies." - Dance Data Project
"The City Council voted 8-2 on Monday to become part of a new governance system for distributing millions in arts grants that will also include Mecklenburg County, the Foundation for the Carolinas and the group formerly known as the Arts and Science Council." - The Charlotte Observer
"Musk commented on a social media post by U.S. Special Envoy Richard Grenell, ... who said the radio networks are 'state-owned media' and 'are a relic of the past.' 'Yes, shut them down,' Musk wrote in his reply to the post. “Europe is free now … Nobody listens to them anymore." - Inside Radio
KUSC in Los Angeles and KDFC in California, both owned (as of 2011) by the University of Southern California, are merging their organizations into a single entity called Classical California with a single programming feed. Current on-air staff will be retained, as will the two broadcast studios. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
"A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit over insurance payments for five artworks destroyed in a 2022 house fire in west Michigan, among them three paintings by the French impressionist Claude Monet collectively worth more than $45 million." - MLive (Michigan)
The controversial Danish director announced in 2022 that he'd been diagnosed with the neurological disorder but that he intended to maintain his career. This year he was working on a film about death and the afterlife; it's evidently unclear whether he'll be able to continue the project. - New York Daily News
On the opera stage, she was known mainly for Mozart, but she was particularly active as a recitalist and concert soloist, and she built up a very large discography in Lieder and vocal-orchestral works from the 1960s into the '80s. - Presto Music
