John McWhorter: "Mispronouncing someone’s name certainly can be a form of ridicule or dismissal. … But malice is not the only possible explanation for these flubs. As a matter of pure linguistics, it would be surprising if people didn’t have trouble with the name Mamdani.” - The New York Times
“A ‘once in a century’ discovery of a cache of long-lost letters has revealed how the English poet WH Auden developed a deep and lasting friendship with a Viennese sex worker and car mechanic after the latter burgled the author’s home and was put on trial.” - The Guardian
“The Trump administration has revoked the visa for Wole Soyinka, the acclaimed Nigerian Nobel prize-winning writer who has been critical of Trump since his first presidency. … Soyinka previously held permanent residency in the United States, though he destroyed his green card after Donald Trump’s first election in 2016.” - The Guardian
In addition to her role in what many consider the greatest British sitcom in history, Scales’s 60-odd-year career ranged through TV series from Coronation Street to Great Canal Journeys and films from Hobson’s Choice to Howard’s End — not to mention Dotty the Demanding Shopper from a set of Tesco commercials. - The Independent (UK)
Able to bring dynamic, highly musical playing to open-minded free jazz, R&B-leaning instrumental grooves and everything in between, DeJohnette is perhaps best known as the drummer in Miles Davis’s fusion period, contributing to albums such as Bitches Brew, Jack Johnson and On the Corner. - The Guardian
“After Girls, she more or less abandoned romantic heroines, in part to show her range and also because Marnie (and through her, Williams) became a target for online outrage. A little space seemed healthy.” - The New York Times
Lockhart played Timmy’s mom - and Lassie’s human, too, on Lassie; and then she starred in Lost in Space as well. Lockhart started her career onstage at the Metropolitan Opera at age 8 and acted in movies and streaming TV well into her 90s. - The New York Times
Valente “was acclaimed for the faultless technique and intelligence of her performances in operas, recitals and chamber music, but inexplicably failed to gain a wider following among classical music audiences.” - The New York Times
“The filmmaker announced he will auction off seven watches, ranging in value from $3,000 to $1 million, ... in an effort to rebuild his wealth after investing $120 million into the 2024 box-office flop Megalopolis.” - San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo!)
“In an era when sculptors were turning out factory-fabricated objects with shiny metal surfaces, … (she) stacked lengths of wood into objects that resembled pyramids, stairways and towers, imbuing the sleek forms of Minimalism with an aura of ancient mystery.” - The New York Times
With then-business partner Nicholas Grimshaw, he rode Britain’s “high-tech Modernism” wave of the 1970s to prominence. But he tired of that movement’s austere aesthetic and went on to design landmarks of London’s postmodern architecture such as the headquarters of TV-am and the intelligence service MI6. - The New York Times
Naghma, despite the popularity she achieved early in her career, faced many difficulties in conservative Afghan culture even before the rule of the Taliban. In the 1990s, mujahideen rebels murdered her sister and she fled the country. She’s been a cultural treasure for the Afghan diaspora ever since. - The New York Times
Loves: Baroque music, textiles “from all over the world,” real estate listings from across the world. Oh, and candy. "Am I not human?” - The New York Times
First of all, it was a surprise - to HBO. “It was very clear that they had been having meetings for Phase 1, and I had not been included in those meetings 'cause nobody thought I was going to be nominated for an Emmy.” (See the full interview here.) - NPR
