“We don’t need air conditioning, which is an incredible energy saving." Temperatures in this region of the world remain at about 40C (104F) during the hottest season. - The Guardian
"On the surface, there is much reason to cheer. No country on the continent has benefited as much from the disruption of global streaming platforms as South Africa, where competition between Netflix and homegrown rival Showmax has fueled a surge in production." - Variety
Like Banksy, the British street artist he is sometimes likened to, Invader is elusive, fiercely protective of his anonymity and operating on the margins of illegality. - AP
Hussein Smko learned his first hip-hop at age 9, from an American soldier in Erbil, and founded a street dance troupe there when he was 13. From there it's been a long journey, with some very good luck, to his debut this week at the Joyce Theater. - The New York Times
In a 65-plus-year career, he sought to create buildings that were, as he often put it, “grounded in the earth yet soaring toward the sky.” - Architectural Record
"Some have framed South Korea’s cultural advance as a government-led mission. The Korean state has been instrumental in turning cultural identity into an exportable commodity since ... the late '90s — a thread that has run through successive administrations. ... But others see it as more of a fruitful public-private effort." - The Guardian
“Want to do something different this Saturday? Come see an orchestra play,” reads the ad. It was apparently created by someone who has never seen an orchestra play, and imagines it as rows of violinists seated in the audience, many playing with three hands or one hand or no hands at all. - The Guardian
In fact, this reform is already in place in Maine, Alaska, New York City, San Francisco, and the Twin Cities — and in the Best Picture category. It simply needs to be extended to the other categories and to other locales. - Literary Hub
Joyce Slocum was instrumental in TPR’s growth from an organization of modest size and ambition to one whose reach and influence is recognized nationwide, with a deep passion for storytelling rooted in South Texas. - Texas Public Radio
Before Leonard Bernstein, it was a given that U.S. orchestras wanted their maestros to be European. Yet by 2008, American conductors were music directors in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis and D.C. Today only one of those jobs is held by an American. - The New York Times
"The battle to remove censorship from the British stage was fought primarily at the Royal Court Theatre in London during the mid-1960s. The plays of Edward Bond, one of the most important British dramatists of the 20th century, … were an essential part of that story and that struggle." - The Guardian
Mayor Brandon Johnson, who took office last May, dismissed Commissioner Erin Harkey in February, and nobody knows why (other than wanting to replace his predecessor's appointee with his own). Johnson has named no replacement, and with Chicago's festival season coming on, there's some concern. - WBEZ (Chicago)
During the '00s, Gabo went through several drafts of Until August and planned to publish it. But by 2012, afflicted with dementia and unable to finalize the book, he asked that it be destroyed. A decade later, his sons decided it could be salvaged. Were they right to try? - The New York Times
"Groupe Juste pour rire Inc. said that it is seeking protection from its creditors as it begins formal restructuring under Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. … The company plans to continue operations in what it called a scaled-down format as it restructures (and) hopes the festival will return in 2025." - AP
Violist Hank Dutt, 71, who's been with the group for 46 years, and violinist John Sherba, 69, who joined one year after Dutt, will leave the group as the season ends in June. They leave violinist, founder and artistic director David Harrington, 74, as Kronos's only veteran member. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
