Groups that could make music together - whether a simple drumbeat or a beautiful melody - were more cohesive, communicative, cooperative and defensive. Natural selection then embedded the capacity for music into our biology. - Psychology Today
A team at the University of Maryland (UMD) has received almost a million dollars from the US National Science Foundation (USNSF) to study the possible application of artificial intelligence to violin pedagogy. - Nightingale Sonata
“For a long time now, popular culture has been moving forward without a once-essential style accessory: the Gay Best Friend. We’re not supposed to mourn his absence; we’re not supposed to want him back. But I kind of do." - The New York Times
The 13-book longlist "signals a 'second ‘boom’ in Latin American fiction', said judges, with a quarter of the nominated authors being South American." - The Guardian (UK)
“Taking home one of the industry’s most prestigious awards might seem to indicate that an actress is one worth paying attention to, making it more conspicuous when they’re seemingly nowhere to be seen, or limited to more supporting parts." - The Atlantic
Speculation has been absolutely rife online about Catherine, Princess of Wales, and the photo was supposed to calm it down. But "at closer inspection, it appeared the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards." - Los Angeles Times
"The production is testament to Blanc’s ability to forge a lasting career in a performance landscape that has often felt hostile to her. … last year, she became the first actress on the core syllabus for all French high school students studying theater." - The New York Times
The state legislature hadn’t funded the arts at all during its regular session in 2023, so “news was both good and bad Thursday ... when, in the closing hours of the short legislative session, lawmakers approved less than half of the funding arts champions had hoped for." - MSN (Oregonian)
And rightly so. "Any person could put into an AI programme something like ‘I want a song 100 BPM that sounds like a cross between Abba and Arctic Monkeys’. And some music will be created and it will be pretty good.” - The Guardian (UK)
“Before the buzzy movie debuted, paparazzi photos of the costumed stars began leaking from the location shoot. When the premiere rolled around, it was just the first in a months-long series of red-carpet events, for which the cast … wore clothes inspired by" Bonnie & Clyde. - The Atlantic
Whitworth "wrote revealing profiles in The New Yorker ... and polished the prose of some of the nation’s celebrated writers as its associate editor before transplanting that magazine’s painstaking standards to The Atlantic, where he was editor in chief for 20 years." - The New York Times
After honoring and thanking the crew members, "Kimmel turned to leave the crew members with a final promise. 'Thank you for standing with us,' he said. 'And also, we want you to know that in your upcoming negotiation, we will stand with you, too.’” - Vulture
Kathryn Scanlon, winner of the Gordon Burn prize, says, "I love that you could come to this book and not really know what it is you’re reading.” - The Guardian (UK)
"Like Nora, I had lofty dreams and thought of America as my salvation of sorts. The place where I could achieve things I’d never have an opportunity to experience in Iran. As I watched the movie nestled next to my Midwestern husband, I wondered … what did I sacrifice?" - HuffPost
