The orchestras and concerts have disappeared and so has most of the critical commentary associated with them. To be blunt about it, from a musical point of view, CBC English-language radio has dumbed down. - Toronto Star
The current infodemic isn’t just familiar because of this history. Culture constantly recycles materials: stories are re-told, revised and re-told again. - The Conversation
Born in Czechoslovakia and raised in Canada (where he first met such young comics as his later stars Dan Aykroyd and Rick Moranis), Reitman made his first major impression as the producer of “National Lampoon’s Animal House” (1978). - Variety
To fight back against the plagiarism and dispossession of Indigenous art, Mexico has approved a law meant to protect and safeguard the cultural heritage of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples and communities. Whether the law actually works is another question. - The Verge
The name was so popular that over 30 Valentines, not to mention “a few Valentinas,” ultimately achieved sainthood. However, no matter which Valentine you look at, their traditions and texts have nothing to do with love or courtship. - LitHub
Between the 1912 Stockholm Olympics and the 1948 London Olympics, artistic competition was a vibrant part of the summer Olympic games. There were five categories in which individuals could compete, with architecture, literature, painting, and sculpture joining music. - Classical WCRB
When the Joe Rogan controversy broke with Neil Young removing his music from Spotify, other musicians decided that enough was enough: They didn't want Spotify's incredibly meager paychecks anyway. But most musicians, unlike Young, don't own and can't remove their own music. - Washington Post
Let filmmaker Nancy Myers show Hollywood the way: "Rom-coms typically suggest that thrilling courtship is for people in their 20s and 30s." They fall in love and get married; the end. "In these films by Meyers, though, both protagonists delight in their divorced lives." - The Atlantic
Hollywood is not pleased; China let in no Marvel movies at all last year. "There's routinely Chinese comedies, Chinese dramas, Chinese science-fiction epics topping the box office." - CBC
Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the director of Amélie who wouldn't bow to Harvey Weinstein, loathes the pressure of theatrical openings. But "with Netflix, half a billion people can see it. ... Even if just 1 percent of those people watch Bigbug, it would be huge." - The New York Times
Mental illness, hilarious: "Apart from the eraser ear, visitors can buy a £5 bar of soap, marketed as ideal for 'the tortured artist who enjoys fluffy bubbles.' An 'emotional first aid kit'" is £16 - but are depression, self-harm, and suicide really so funny?. - The Guardian (UK)
Petroglyphs and pictrographs aren't "rock art" - they're heritage objects. "Vandalism and theft is a physical attack on heritage objects. Another is appropriation of imagery that does not belong on t-shirts, mugs or any other tourist trap merchandise." But what do they mean? - Oregon ArtsWatch
At least for a brief time: Noongar man Aaron Wyatt "conducted the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) in Long Time Living Here, a musical Acknowledgement of Country." And, Wyatt notes, for once he wasn't the only Indigenous classical musician at the symphony. - ABC (Australia)
How do we know the pots weren't used for something like olive oil instead of, well, feces? Ah, science: "Intestinal parasitic worms trapped in layers of mineralization from years of use as a chamber pot." - Hyperallergic
