Stories

The Challenges – And Rewards – Of Curating A Small Town Art Museum

The Sun Valley museum has no permanent collection, a small exhibition space, and an audience that’s mixed - contemporary art-fan resort visitors and local kids. The curator says, “I think about exhibition schedules in terms of what schools or what teachers, what grades might be interested in." - Slate

Creating A Full Language From A Few Words In Old Books

That was the remit for Dune, both Part One and the strike-delayed, well-reviewed Dune, Part Two. "For language constructors — conlangers, as they are known — small touches enhance the verisimilitude of even gigantic edifices like the Dune series." - The New York Times

Is This The End Of Apple’s Phone Supremacy?

The DOJ antitrust lawsuit will change the phone ecosystem. Sure, many people love Apple products - “but the federal government makes a compelling case that much of this love, especially within United States borders, is coerced." - Slate

The Power Of An Oscar Changed Los Angeles Students’ Access To Music

In Los Angeles, 11 technicians work long hours repairing 6,000 public school instruments a year. "One of the last programs of its kind in the U.S., it has struggled to stay afloat over the years. But now, thanks to the Oscar-winning documentary short The Last Repair Shop, donations are pouring in." - CBC

The Cafe Where You Order Art Supplies From A Waiter

“At Happy Mediums Café, there’s nothing edible on the menu." - The New York Times

The University Ballet Program Taking An Orientalist Ballet And Plopping It In The American West

Why not? “By setting in a movie-land far west, and swapping Orientalist clichés for American ones, Chan said, the team was creating 'a form of exoticism that is about us, not about ‘them.’’” - The New York Times

The Charming Boldness Of Frida Kahlo’s Celebration Of Her Affair With Trotsky

"Kahlo’s red lipstick and fingernails, the yarn decorating her woven hair and blouse, and perhaps even the high blush of her cheeks are thought to symbolize her Communist sympathies.” Then there’s the letter she holds. - Washington Post

What Do New Yorkers Think About The New Museum’s Expansion?

It’s not incredibly popular, "with some viewing the project as 'hostile' and ‘corporate' when juxtaposed with the original building as well as the surrounding Bowery neighborhood.” - Hyperallergic

Was The Artist Of The Adultery Plaque A Really Angry Spouse, Or Banksy?

The people of Clifton have their theories about the bench plaque whose text ends with, “Yes, Roger, I knew." - The Observer (UK)

Saving Karachi’s Oldest Bookstore

"I feel like I’m fusing with the photograph. There’s even a sound in my head like a whaaaa. I feel like, Oh my God, this is one of those old beautiful buildings. And what would happen if all the bookshops in the world start to close down? Hate is going to rise." - LitHub

What Happened When Hampshire High School’s Production Of The Prom Imitated The Musical’s Plot

“The student cast and crew were informed by the school district in the small town of Hampshire, an hour outside of Chicago, that they were not allowed to advertise the musical outside the school building. ... They were told they could refer to it only as 'the musical.’” - American Theatre

James McBride Is Dealing With The Overwhelming Success Of His New Novel

The author of The Color of Water and Deacon King Kong has known good sales before, but now? The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store has sold more than a million copies since it came out last summer. - The New York Times

Pianist Maurizio Pollini, 82

During a flourishing international career spanning more than six decades, Mr. Pollini was steadily ranked among those rare musicians to whom other musicians paid close attention. - Washington Post

Indigenous Theatre Blooming Across Canada

The Indigenous theatre community has grown to sold out shows being produced across the country. This spring alone, stages in Montreal, Whitehorse, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Toronto are all hosting plays written by Indigenous artists. - CBC

What We’re Starting To Understand About Aging

While we think of our genes as being set from birth, DNA does accumulate changes over the years. Sometimes errors are introduced when a cell divides, a spontaneous typo emerging when the DNA is copied and pasted from one cell into another. Mutations can also occur as a result of environmental exposures. - The New York Times

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