"'I’ve decided to forbid bigots and homophobes from watching ‘The Sopranos,’ ‘The White Lotus,’ ‘Goodfellas’ or any movie or TV show I’ve been in,' Imperioli wrote. ... 'Thank you Supreme Court for allowing me to discriminate and exclude those who I don’t agree with and am opposed to. USA! USA!'" - Variety
Remember when it was a sign of, like, total rebellion to blow a huge bubble on screen? Well, that time is long gone - and the pandemic has helped kill off what was left. - The Atlantic
"The Emmy Awards, which are scheduled set to air on FOX in September, could be delayed for months. Reports ... suggest the organizers are discussing various contingency plans if the writers strike isn't resolved this summer. Nominations are still scheduled to be announced Tuesday, July 12." - NPR
"Khalifa is a Syrian novelist, poet and screenwriter whose work has been awarded the Naguib Mahfouz medal for literature, one of the Arab world’s highest literary honours. His soulful, often wry stories traverse time but are centred on the Syrian city of Aleppo" - which has been destroyed. - The Guardian (UK)
"On April 21 of the cursed year of 2020, the Upright Citizens Brigade — New York’s premier improv-comedy venue — announced it was closing its Hell’s Kitchen theater and training center permanently." But now, UCB has announced a new theatre will open in Manhattan this fall. - Vulture
"If all of this sounds like a lot of fretting over something as wonky as an API change, it’s not. It’s indicative of a growing new awareness of what constitutes labor on the internet, and how communities can have their work mined for money-making ventures." - Wired
If you miss the sound quality and visual image qualities of the 1970s, or you're in an altered state, you're in luck. "Sober, none of the music was more interesting, effective, illuminated or illuminating in this space than it would have been elsewhere." - The New York Times
They go to La Jolla, of course. The new company PointeWorks "is intended to 'create a space and platform for artists to perform and for choreographers to show their work' when they are not committed to other projects" - that is, during the summer. - La Jolla Light
Well this seems, in internet parlance, fine: "Horne’s departure comes as Warner Bros. Discovery scales back its socially responsible spending efforts, according to people with knowledge of the programs who were not authorized to comment." - Los Angeles Times
"The rap against the wharf has always been that it is dull and lifeless, no matter how hard its management tries to liven things up with open-water swimming and paddleboarding in the former docks, and an array of eating and drinking options." - The Observer (UK)
Sure, you can blame ChatGPT etc., but: "The pressure to sell one’s race and race-based adversity to colleges will compel students to write like chatbots. Tired platitudes about race angled to persuade admissions officers will crowd out more individual, creative approaches." - The Atlantic
That's the FTC's proposed plan, anyway. Why? Because "there are global businesses dedicated to generating fake reviews for scammers and merchants looking for a shortcut. And the problem threatens to explode in an era of artificial intelligence." - Washington Post
Artist Sterling Wells: "I’ve been painting in the water for a year and now that they’re paying attention, I can’t be here. ... I’m being removed little by little, but I’m still painting. And I haven’t given up on the raft." - Hyperallergic
"Fans of the publisher World Editions, which has brought translations of work by Maryse Condé, Amin Maalouf, Pilar Quintana, Jaap Robben and Zhang Yueran to English-language audiences, has found a new owner—none other than the US director Christine Swedowsky." - LitHub
First, look to its (storied) past: "With its mix of bubbly enthusiasm and Gen-X skepticism, Paper became the scrappy kid sibling to the argumentative Village Voice and the lustrous Interview. Its readers were beautiful people and misfits, insiders and outsiders." - The New York Times
