In the end it comes down to a simple question. Western classical music as a living art form – do we want it or not? If not, then that is, of course, our prerogative. - Engelsberg
“After years of giving millions of dollars to literacy programs, bookstore employees and librarians, James Patterson has now launched an initiative on behalf of emerging authors: … (the) ‘Go Finish Your Book’ campaign. Authors each will receive up to $50,000 to help them complete their manuscript.” - AP
Turns out the walls are easier to drill into, and to accurately level the art being hung, than drywall. What’s more, they can be colored, when desired, with a special glazing technique developed by a friend of Peter Zumthor, the new building’s architect. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
The Nation’s Newspaper checks out the National Museum of African-American History and Culture, the National Museum of American History, National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of the American Indian, and National Portrait Gallery — and asks about four dozen museumgoers for their own opinions. - USA Today
“In a social media post, Atwood wrote that since her famed work was no longer permissible in Alberta schools, she had written a ‘suitable’ short work for teens. … The extremely brief story traces the lives of John and Mary, two ‘very, very good’ children.” - The Guardian
“Two activists, representing the campaign group Futuro Vegetal, targeted the basilica on Sunday, August 31, spraying the colored powder over a column while shouting ‘climate justice.’ … (They were protesting) what they call the Spanish government’s failure to act on this summer’s record wildfires.” - Artnet
Hundreds of these dances, known as emotes, have been released on Fortnite, where players can buy them for a few dollars each. Epic Games, Fortnite’s creator, says it pays the dances’ creators, but some choreographers beg to differ, and the company has been sued multiple times. - The New York Times
The 61-year-old Finn, currently Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra in Finland, takes up his post in Ottawa one year from now. He succeeds Alexander Shelley, who departs next summer. - Ottawa Citizen (Yahoo!)
“Sports is defying ratings gravity, exerting even more influence with each passing season as by far the dominant genre that people prefer to watch live, which has significant implications for sponsors pushing products on a schedule.” - TheWrap (Yahoo!)
When AI searchbots, with Meta (52% of AI searchbot traffic), Google (23%), and OpenAI (20%) leading the way, clobber websites with as much as 30 Terabits in a single surge, they're damaging even the largest companies' site performance. - The Register
The real reason that indie started to die is Spotify. As streaming supplanted downloads and album sales, it automated music discovery. Instead of reading Pitchfork or asking a record-store clerk for recommendations, more and more people began to let algorithms suggest their next obsession. This had a variety of consequences. -The Atlantic
“Our attention span — or patience — for enduring these far-too-frequent tragedies appears to be shrinking. The horror persists, but the novelty is fading, fueled by a sense of numbness, or perhaps a desire, faced with an inability to change or adequately address the situation, to simply tune it out.” - TheWrap (Yahoo!)
WGBH, the bellwether public TV station in Boston, has laid off the 13 people who worked on the history series “American Experience” and announced that no new documentaries will be produced for the show until further notice. - The New York Times
Kaitlyn Sardin, a twentysomething African-American from Orlando who won her first junior world championship in 2009, now mixes up traditional Irish dance with hip-hop, Afrobeat and voguing. She’s amassed over 100,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok and performed in Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour. - Dance Magazine
