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What Explains The Appeal Of A Book Published More Than A Millennium Ago

For one thing, it feels shockingly contemporary - and for another, "From its opening line, The Tale of Genji signals its author’s focus on how women steer the fate of the hero." - The New York Times

Scholastic Wanted To License This Book About Romance In The Internment Camps

But Scholastic only wanted the book if author Maggie Tokuda-Hall removed all references to racism in her book about the imprisonment of thousands of Japanese Americans during WWII. - NPR

Successful Video Game Adaptations Have Some Common Threads

Respect the source material, pay for talent, use visual cues from the games, and pick wisely. (The latter seems like it might be the most difficult one to get right, considering how many adaptations have gone wrong. - Washington Post

Time Might Have Defined The ‘Most Influential’ Writers Of 2023 By Accident

Well, not accidentally, but not on purpose. Its list of the 100 Most Influential People is "surprisingly literary! I mean, it’s not that literary, but considering that the TIME editors typically limit themselves to a single novelist among the 100, books seem to be coming up in the world." - LitHub

As She Leaves The Arena Stage, Molly Smith Has Some Post-Pandemic Audience Thoughts

How is the DC theatre doing? Well, each production is "either a boffo hit, with tons and tons of people, or it’s small audiences." Some shows are good, "but they weren’t events. That seems to be the thing that’s drawing people out of their pajamas right now." - American Theatre

Digital Modeling Is A Key Component In Restoring Notre Dame

Of course, stories abound about the ways artisans skilled in medieval construction have helped recreate the beloved cathedral. "But the builders, architects, and engineers do have the advantage of some 21st century technologies." - Fast Company

Rachel Pollack, Writer Of Groundbreaking Fantasy And Comics, Has Died At 77

Pollack, a transgender activist and tarot creator and interpreter as well, observed that "people think things like comic books, science fiction, can’t have an intellectual framework. But of course these are often a place where many ideas and issues and taboos can be examined." - Washington Post

The Nonprofit Theatre Reckoning Is Here

The recent stories about Williamstown and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival have thrown some serious structural issues into relief. "Quality theatre ... is not in question, but whether quality theatre is enough of a reason for an organization to be nonprofit in any particular community is." - Wratchford Group

The High-Drama Music Of Award-Winning Anime

Thanks to the Japanese band Radwimps, anime director Makoto Shinkai has made changes to movie narratives - and won over a lot of new fans to the genre. - The New York Times

Big New Museum Built Underneath A Dutch Palace

The extension, designed by Kaan Architecten and finished with decorative walnut and Blanco Macael white stone, echoes the symmetry and style of the Dutch palace – itself built as a riposte to Versailles, built for William III’s French rival Louis XIV. - The Guardian

Australian Music Is Facing An “Existential Threat”

Traditional channels such as radio and gigging still matter, but the explosive growth of TikTok in particular has given it a disproportionate power over the industry. - The Guardian

British Government Denies Visas For Ukrainian Orchestra Members

“They made a big deal out of supporting the Ukrainians but when it came to giving them visas to play in the UK, they didn’t want to know." - The Guardian

Has The Metaverse Been Put On Hold?

A challenging macroeconomic environment discourages both consumers and tech giants from investing heavily in metaverse technologies that lack a solid history of performance and compelling applications. - JingCulture

Hollywood Retreats To The Basics: Making Money

As entertainment’s largest conglomerates face a perfect storm of financial pressures and macroeconomic uncertainty, there’s been a clear shift again to embrace the fundamentals and focus on profits, not market share, for new services.  - Variety

Audience Behavior Is Definitely Getting Worse

“There’s a lack of respect for other people in line-ups, they push through, don’t respect ticket takers. Some of them don’t even realize you have to show a ticket to get in." - Toronto Star

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