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Octavia Butler’s Seemingly Prophetic Parable Of The Sower Is Now An Opera

The book, published 30 years ago, is a classic that took on new relevance during recent events. Co-writer Toshi Reagon: "Singing this story evokes all of us in the space to be in a vibrational relationship so that we can really feel like we're not alone." - NPR

Private Museum In India Fires Curator Over Anti-Modi Personal Social Media Post

"Sandip K. Luis, the former curatorial research and publications manager at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) in Noida, was formally terminated from his post on July 5 due to a Facebook post criticizing an art exhibition celebrating Modi’s 'propagandist' radio show." - Hyperallergic

And Now To Explain Why So Many People Have Walked Off Work

In a word, money. In a few words, "the advent of streaming has led to significantly lower residuals, according to SAG-AFTRA." - Washington Post

A Rebellion Against AI Stealing Content

Fan fiction writers, "social media companies such as Reddit and Twitter, news organizations including The New York Times and NBC News, authors such as Paul Tremblay and the actress Sarah Silverman have all taken a position against A.I. sucking up their data without permission." - The New York Times

Meanwhile, Netflix Says Its Password Crackdown Is Working

Prognosticators of doom were not correct. "Instead of the company shedding users, Netflix’s new subscriber count grew 236% between May 21 and June 18 of this year." - Fast Company

Let’s Be Clear About What Hollywood Actors Are Allowed To Do Right Now

It's not a lot. While the strike lasts, "actors cannot act, sing, dance, perform stunts, pilot on-camera aircraft, puppeteer or do performance capture and motion capture work in front of the camera." They also can't do publicity for their movies. - Los Angeles Times

What’s At Stake For So-Called ‘Background’ Actors?

"'I am sure that the feeling is unanimous among background actors that being scanned and having our likeness used in perpetuity for a one-time payment of approximately $200 is horrifying,' said Christopher Cosmo, a New York-based background actor." - HuffPost

The Smithsonian Suddenly Cancels Asian American Literature Festival

"The 2023 iteration was expected to draw thousands of attendees to Washington in early August. But just weeks before writers from across the world were due to land, the Smithsonian abruptly canceled the event, citing 'unforeseen circumstances'" - possibly "controversial" content. - Washington Post

Don’t Settle, Hollywood Actors Urge Canadians

"Stars including Elliot Page, Martin Short and Tatiana Maslany are among the 74 Canadian actors who signed a July 10 open letter calling for on- and off-screen colleagues in B.C. to vote down the deal they say uses them as 'a bargaining chip.'" - CBC

Just Stop Oil Protesters Interrupt First Night Of Proms In London

"The duo mounted the stage and briefly unfurled an orange banner on Friday. They were met with boos and jeers from some members of the audience at the BBC's classical music festival, before being led away by security staff." - BBC

Drunk Shakespeare, But Make It Union

"'We have had so many conversations with our upper management about the issues we are trying to fix, and once it became clear that they would not budge on these issues, unionizing became the obvious choice,' said Ella Fent, Drunk Shakespeare United union leader." - American Theatre

David Brooks: Why AI Won’t Replace Us

 Over the past few months, I’ve become an A.I. limitationist. That is, I believe that while A.I. will be an amazing tool for, say, tutoring children all around the world, or summarizing meetings, it is no match for human intelligence. It doesn’t possess understanding, self-awareness, concepts, emotions, desires, a body or biology. - The New York Times

Science Fiction Is Chockablock Full Of Aliens. But “Alien” Is So Hard To Comprehend, So We Describe Them In Human Terms

“A truly alien alien is so incomprehensible that stories about them just become stories about human beings,” Jaime Green writes in her new book, The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Universe. - The New Republic

Amapiano – Can The South African Dance Music Craze Go Global?

In Zulu, amapiano means “the pianos,” or “piano people,” and the genre’s name refers to its origin as a jazzy variant of house music—at parties around Johannesburg and Pretoria, d.j.s would sometimes invite keyboard players to improvise chords over the beats. - The New Yorker

Why Are Published Editions Of Under-represented Composers So Riddled With Errors?

Some inaccuracies were very obvious, while others needed more detailed detective work, and only became apparent as we got to know the music more intimately. - Classical Music UK

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