Stories

Auto-Tune As An Everyday Performance Tool

The debate has come a long way since the advent of Auto-Tune, when artists like Cher and T-Pain had hits that used the technology to turn their recorded vocals into something markedly robotic. - The New York Times

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Getting Ready To Open

All eyes are on the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi as it prepares for opening on December 11 after two decades of delays. - ARTnews

Mexico’s First Female Professional Sculptor, Geles Cabrera, Has Died At 100

“When Cabrera began her long career, few other women in Mexico were taken seriously as artists, and sculpture was something that only men were expected to do. While she enjoyed some early recognition, … major institutions only started noticing her pioneering work much later in her life.” - ARTnews

A New Survey Of Readers To Find Out How They Discover Books

The survey will talk to 5,000 book buyers and profile them by genre, covering how they discover books across every channel—including social media and other digital tools—where and how they buy, and their mix of print, e-book, and audio, with a deeper look at audio habits, subscription behavior, etc. - Publishers Weekly

Lonnie Bunch Resignation Throws Smithsonian Into Uncharted Leadership Waters

Previous searches have largely revolved around professional qualifications. This one begins after Trump has spent more than a year demanding changes to the Smithsonian’s exhibits and leadership — and as Republicans and Democrats are already staking out competing visions for Bunch’s successor. - Washington Post (MSN)

US Supreme Court Orders Blue State AGs to Respond To Red State Paramount Antitrust Objections

The SCOTUS deadline is one day after the dozen blue states are set to argue against the David Ellison-owned Para’s desire for a $1.88 billion bond in front of a federal judge in Oakland. - Deadline

Operabase Is Acquired By Events.com

The go-to web platform for finding scheduling information about opera worldwide, Operabase developed the technology to convert fragmented information from different companies into a machine-readable, searchable record. Available in 31 languages, it has been online for three decades and is used by virtually the entire industry. - The Violin Channel

A Whiteface Incident At Finnish National Ballet

Brazilian dancer Nayara Lopes of Philadelphia Ballet spent this past season with FNB in Helsinki. In February, she was rehearsing the role of Cupid in Don Quixote when she was asked to wear white makeup for the staging. (As one might expect, she is now back in Philadelphia.) - Dance Magazine

Okay, So Maybe The Bayeux Tapestry Had A Tiny Little Bit Of Damage While Being Moved

As French Culture Minister Catherine Pegard put it, “A break of two threads over a length of 70 meters was reported. … So today, if we say it is in the same state after having arrived in London as it was when it left Bayeux, I think we’re not very wrong.” - Le Monde

FCC Approves Transfer Of Penn State’s NPR Station

“The Federal Communications Commission has approved the transfer of WPSU’s broadcast licenses from Penn State University to news/talk WHYY Philadelphia (90.9), clearing the principal regulatory hurdle for a transaction designed to preserve public media service across central and northern Pennsylvania.” - Inside Radio

How The Smithsonian Prepared Its 9/11 Anniversary Exhibit As Trump’s White House Keeps The Pressure On

After the attacks, Congress charged the Institution with documenting them and preserving the physical record. A quarter-century on, with the White House constantly accusing the Smithsonian of distorting American history, its 9/11 exhibit is especially fraught — and especially important. - The Washington Post (Yahoo!)

Sacha Baron Cohen In Quentin Tarantino’s First Stage Play (Wait, What?)

The play, titled The Popinjay Cavalier and set in Europe in the 1830s, will be produced by Sonia Friedman in London’s West End next spring. - Deadline

“A Woman Going Places” — The New Statue On London’s Fourth Plinth

Ten feet tall, on a 13-foot-high platform, made of bronze, painted, and striding with purpose. Tschabalala Self’s Lady in Blue is this year’s sculpture for the empty fourth column in Trafalgar Square. - CNN

The Acrobats Who Entertain Drivers Stuck In Nairobi’s Horrendous Traffic Jams

“Nairobi’s street acrobats first began appearing in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they have since become normalized at traffic stops in and around the city, with acrobats taking advantage of gridlocks to perform in exchange for cash tips. It is how they earn a living.” - AP

What Jonathan Swift Warned Us About Reading

"Far from merely raising a reactionary fist in the air at the new science, Swift identified an attitude that is still around today — and one that has created many of the greatest challenges now facing educators." - The Dial

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