Perhaps unsurprisingly, “the design and necessity of the new stadium have faced objections from the community. It has an estimated to cost over $4.2 billion, with … approximately $1.5 billion, be drawn from state taxpayers." - Dezeen
Redmayne, just nominated for a Tony, explains, “We’ve had sort of moments where the audience interaction can get a bit too vocal ... and we’ll have to sort of clamber through and improvise around the situation but that, again, keeps us on our toes.” - The Hollywood Reporter
The collective putting it on could use an equivalent funder, but they don’t trust the Smithsonian after last year’s sudden, unexplained cancellation weeks before the kick-off. - Washington Post (MSN)
Choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa: “He seemed caged because of the fame he encountered at a very young age. … I decided to make a mosaic portrait of his persona, music, inspirations, beliefs and struggles. Ultimately, fame alienated him from reality and destroyed him.” - Bay City News
It just takes some thought, and some very good design. “'We are social animals, and play fosters social relationships,’ says landscape architect Meghan Talarowski, executive director of Studio Ludo, who is also a certified playground safety inspector.” - Bloomberg
"What I didn’t do was lose consciousness. People who were there have said that I was ... screaming with pain. Inside my head, I was not aware of the pain, ... so there was a strange disconnect between my inside feeling and my outside behaviour." - The New Statesman (UK)
Syrian director Soudade Kaadan: "I wanted to show a film where you can see our tragedy with dignity, when you can sympathise with us and not see us only as victims. I opted for dark humour because I believe we laugh with people who we feel equal with.” - The Guardian (UK)
"Widely interpreted as Beethoven’s plea for a global ‘brotherhood,' the fourth movement has been incorporated into ceremonial events sponsored by international organizations such as UNESCO, the Olympics, the Council of Europe and the European Union … has also been appropriated for propaganda by supporters of Nazism." - The Conversation
This episode of the podcast There's More to That tells the whole story, from how these papyruses buried by the Vesuvius eruption of 79 CE were discovered were rediscovered in the 1700s to how a trio of scientists solved the problem and won a $700,000 prize. (audio plus transcript) - Smithsonian Magazine
"The hope must be that the more traditional audiences will move with the times, and come around to new visions. You can’t please all of the people all of the time — but you can do your best to take them with you." - The New York Times
“'This is a day for Asante. A day for the Black African continent. The spirit we share is back,’ said Asante King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.” Of course, Britain has only “loaned back” the looted items for three years. - BBC
Playwright Eleanor Burgess's "Galilee, 34" at SoCal's South Coast Rep depicts Jesus's family and followers months after the Crucifixion as they try to figure out — sometimes arguing and frequently cussing — what to do next and whether to continue the preaching that got Jesus executed. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
There aren't many open calls anymore; the first audition today is usually a self-shot video. Otherwise? "Please, God, I need this job" is as true-to-life as it was 50 years ago. The difference nowadays, says one former dancer, is that "we’re trying to make the industry a better place." - The Guardian
"Historic houses across the United States are targeted for teardowns every week, often under cover of night with little to no warning. Increasingly, preservationists say, these demolitions are not driven by changing tastes but rather by (the) ravenous desire for larger and larger homes." - The Washington Post (MSN)
