Stories

Pitchfork Is Experimenting With Reader Ratings

Pitchfork has historically been a one-sided affair. While it ran the occasional reader poll, there was no way for readers to directly voice their opinion on the site. - The Verge

A Major New Center For Circus Arts Opens In Melbourne

“Circus Centre Melbourne, originally designed as a home for Circus Oz, has reopened as a home for the broader contemporary circus and physical theatre sectors — a space where circus artists can meet, create, train and perform.” - ArtsHub (Australia)

YouTube Paid The Music Industry $8 Billion In The Past Year

“Today’s $8 billion payout is a testament to the fact that the twin engine of ads and subscriptions is firing on all cylinders,” said YouTube’s Global Head of Music, Lyor Cohen, in a statement. - TechCrunch

Symbolically, The White House Is…

The White House was never meant to be a palace, nor the Oval Office a throne room. The East Wing was the living artery of the White House, the First Lady’s offices, the Social Office, the machinery of ceremonial democracy where symbolism gets translated into human scale. - Rick Wilson

Why It Doesn’t Bother Me That My Students Are Using AI

 It seems wrongheaded to feel wistful for a time when students had far less information at their fingertips. And who can blame them for letting AI do much of the work that they are likely to let AI do anyway when they enter the real world? - The Atlantic

Japanese Museum To Sell Treasures To Pay Off $50M Legal Debt

Sotheby’s said the items to be sold are estimated to draw bids in excess of $50 million. Any extra proceeds not needed to retire the debt and any unsold artworks will be returned to Okada Fine Arts, which is controlled by Okada. - The New York Times

Surrealism Wasn’t Just About Art And Literature; It Was About Radical Politics, Too

“Overcoming the contradiction between dream and reality, (Breton and his fellow Surrealists) believed, would complement the class struggle between the global proletariat and its bourgeois oppressors. Surrealism was much more than a merely artistic project — it was also a means toward a larger political end.” - The Conversation

Opportunity Knocks: German Company Whose Ladder Was Used In Louvre Heist Wants To Sell You One

“When you’re in a hurry, the Böcker Agilo carries your heavy treasures,” the ad boasted under a photo of the lift parked outside the Louvre. - The New York Times

Kennicott: Why Images Of The White House Being Torn Apart Are So Shocking

There are subtle differences between the images of authoritarians and elected leaders, in body language and other details. Is the leader acting as a quality-control agent, asking questions, studying details? Or surveying his domain in miniature? Is he simply toying with the world? - Washington Post

Why Horror Movies Keep Evolving To Scare Us

By playing with metaphor, imagery and narrative, horror has always addressed hard truths about death, decay and the human condition that mainstream productions tend to shy away from as too disgusting, embarrassing or distressing. - The Guardian

Is Netflix Going To Use AI To Make Movies Or Not? It’s Trying To Play It Both Ways

Co-CEO Ted Sarandos told Wall Street analysts the company is excited “to leverage new technical capabilities as they come online” in advertising and product but also “content production.” Then he backtracked a bit: “We’re not chasing novelty for novelty’s sake. … It takes a great artist to make something great.” - The Hollywood Reporter

A New Opera House For Hanoi, Designed By Renzo Piano

“Isola Della Musica will be situated on a newly-built square island between Hanoi's West Lake and Đam Tri Lake. … Renzo Piano Building Workshop and PTW Architects conceived a bulbous concrete building (clad in pearlescent ceramic tile) that will contain a 1,800-seat opera hall and a 1,000-seat convention hall.” - Dezeen

San Diego’s Old Globe Theater At 90

“Today, the Globe is thriving as San Diego’s oldest and largest theater organization, offering performances … for more than 250,000 people a year. … We spoke with its leaders, present and past, about the company’s legacy, and some of the goals in mind for the theater’s centennial in 2035.” - The San Diego Union-Tribune (MSN)

Francis Ford Coppola Is Reduced To Selling Off His Watch Collection

“The filmmaker announced he will auction off seven watches, ranging in value from $3,000 to $1 million, ...  in an effort to rebuild his wealth after investing $120 million into the 2024 box-office flop Megalopolis.” - San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo!)

Mark Morris Sued By Ex-Company Member For Allegedly Discriminating Against Black Dancers

“The plaintiff, Taína Lyons, an Afro-Latina dancer, … alleges that (Morris) told her that her hair was ‘too big’ and a ‘distraction.’ ... Ms. Lyons, who started at the company in 2022 and was terminated in 2024, claimed that she had faced discrimination based both on race and on disability.” - The New York Times

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