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SNL Crew Says Everyone’s Ready To Strike In A Couple Of Weeks

What do they want? Health care! When do they want it? In the contract for the future. And pay: "By offering annual increases that lag behind industry standards, pushing for a deal that ignores the soaring cost of living.” - Los Angeles Times

New York’s Mayor Wants To Cut Library Funding, But Three New Libraries Show Their Value

"With the pandemic seemingly in the rearview mirror but the city still seeking its new normal, New York’s recovery depends on fortifying, not diminishing, tent-poles like parks, streets and libraries." - The New York Times

As Fraudulent Indigenous Art Floods The Market, Actual Indigenous Artists Suffer

Fake Indigenous art is a global market, and stamping it out "is like playing Whack-a-Mole." - CBC

How Hollywood Tried To Erase Anna May Wong, Its First Asian American Star

"She continued to be typecast as dragon ladies and China dolls ... always envisioned an alternative future for herself: 'Some day someone will write a story demanding a real Chinese girl — then perhaps I’ll have my chance,'" she said nearly a century ago, in 1928. - The New York Times

Meta Mehta On His Sound, Mahler, And More

"Shortly after becoming music director of the L.A. Phil and not long before her death in 1964, Mehta visited Alma Mahler, the composer’s widow and a composer in her own right. 'I didn’t know her well, but I speak Viennese, ... so we got along very well.'" - Los Angeles Times

Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Writer Suzy McKee Charnas, 83

"In an epic that began with Walk to the End of the World (1974) and concluded 25 years later, ... Charnas conceived a dystopic world in which an escaped female slave, Alldera, leads the rebellious Free Fems to brutally conquer and enslave their former male masters." - The New York Times

Oh No, Chris Rock, Why?

"He and his peers have achieved immense success, but still don’t know how to cope with the cultural shifts that naturally occur over a long career. Instead they want to keep the conditions that gave rise to their success forever preserved so they can say whatever." - The New York Times

Now Even Going To The Movies Is A Test Of Your Paycheck

Everything is about class, including where we sit in the cinema. "One of the last truly democratic public institutions where everyone paid the same and had the same chance to get a good seat, will join airplanes, live theaters, music venues." - The Verge

A Stranger Things Actor Steps Back From Movies Thanks To A Producer’s Sexual Advances On Set

So, #MeStillFreakinToo. Grace Van Dien is "looking for more agency after a producer on 'one of the last movies I did' allegedly asked for sexual favors." So, she's turning to her Twitch stream instead. - Los Angeles Times

The Hay Book Festival Is Going Eurovision

It's real: "The Eurovision book contest will culminate in an event at this year’s literary festival in June, where a panel will discuss the books selected to represent the 37 countries that take part in the music competition each year." - The Guardian (UK)

How Jamie Lee Curtis Emerged As ‘The Most Unhinged’ But Fun Nominee Of 2023

You can blame (or be grateful to) the visual flood known as meme culture (and the actress herself). - Slate

When Will Argentina’s 1980s Military Dictatorship Finally Face A Reckoning?

The events of the Oscar-nominated Argentina,1985 aren't much fictionalized. "With more than 300 open investigations and 14 trials, the process is 'permanently alive,' said Estela de Carlotto, the president of Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo." - The New York Times

Giving The English National Ballet Body Type A Makeover

"The new boss of English National Ballet wants to ditch the stereotypical image of super-skinny dancers and see 'all' body types on stage." - The Times (UK)

The Techno Club In Berlin Where Classical Music Composers Find Inspiration

One composer "felt at home in this genre, somewhere between abstract contemporary opera and sound art, but like many composers she had to reconcile her interests with the financial pressures of a traditional career." - The New York Times

What Reason Is There For Not Letting Former Guantanamo Prisoners Take Their Art With Them?

"We had nothing, so we made art out of nothing. We drew with tea powder on toilet paper. We painted our walls with soap, and carved Styrofoam cups and food containers. We sang, danced, recited poetry and composed songs. We were always punished." - The Guardian (UK)

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