The configuration and language of the four directions is common to many—though not all—cultures. - LitHub

Unlike bones, we can’t dig up ancient languages to study how they developed over time. While we may be unable to study the true evolution of human language, perhaps a simulation could provide some insights. That’s where AI comes in—a fascinating field of research called emergent communication. - Singularity Hub

True crime, also known as “murder shows” and “murder podcasts,” really appeal to more women than men. Why? “Most of the true crime I watch reflects a black and white moral universe where victims ultimately get justice, even if it is delayed.” - The New York Times

Turns out playing a game makes you smarter - but only at playing that game. - The Conversation (Fast Company)

“If I can’t get my mind off current events even in a movie where acclaimed character actor Simon McBurney bites the head off a pigeon, what hope is there for any other Oscar contender?” - Vulture

The thing is, "We invent technology. Technology doesn’t invent us.” (Take that, “AI art.”) - Wired

“Without the profound impact of National Lottery funding for the arts, heritage, charity and tourism sectors, introduced by the Conservative government in 1994, survival of even the fittest would have been nigh on impossible." - The Art Newspaper

The outlet, near Independence Hall, will offer 30% to 50% discounts, up to three days before curtain, to select music and dance performances (including the Philadelphia Orchestra and Philadelphia Ballet) as well as theater. This is the first TKTS booth in the US outside New York City. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

The university's College of Arts and Sciences has suspended admissions to doctoral programs in a dozen humanities and social science departments, including English, philosophy, history, political science, and sociology. Though officials deny it, evidence indicates that the suspension is in response to the unionization of graduate students. - Inside Higher Ed

Airbnb and the Colosseum Archaeological Park have signed a $1.5 million deal to offer 16 tourists a chance to "unleash their inner gladiator." Colosseum officials say it will pay for site maintenance; many Romans object to both the bad taste of the idea and the company's contributions to overtourism. - CNN

The climate activists sprayed orange powder paint on some of Stonehenge’s monuments in June. The English Heritage chief claimed that despite there being no permanent visual damage, the act caused distress “to those for whom Stonehenge holds a spiritual significance.” - Salon

It’s not that easy. “A government ban on a trans rights exhibition at Depo in Beyoğlu this summer, coming in the wake of anti-LGBTQ+ protests at a separate art show last year, has rattled artists and cultural workers in Turkey.” - Hyperallergic

After six years on the job, the 42-year-old conductor will step down at the end of this season. He is only the fourth music director in the orchestra's 53-year-history. (The second, Kent Nagano, remained for 31 years, long into his high-profile international career.) - San Francisco Chronicle

Barbara Hannigan heads the list. - Musical America

A budget series called "World's Greatest Music," produced by RCA Victor and marketed and distributed by the New York Post, included 38 discs (78 rpm) released from 1938 to 1940; ultimately more than 1 million records were sold. But the performers were unnamed — until now. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

Nono saw the potential to communicate with contemporary audiences, neither bound by nor rejecting the past, building solidarity against any resurgence of the fascism he had resisted under Mussolini. - The New York Times

The German maestro is currently chief conductor of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana and the Bruckner Orchestra Linz in Austria; he begins his term in Utah in 2027, when he departs Linz. Beginning next season, he will also be chief conductor of the Sinfonieorchester Basel. - The Salt Lake Tribune

"Drawing from a bank of over 7,000 'musical shapes, textures and gestures,' as (Michael) Schumacher describes the mix of sampled audio, field recordings and musical fragments, Living Room Pieces assembles the sounds into 301 'modules' and algorithmically arranges their playback through seven 'modes,' one for each day." - The Washington Post (MSN)

Maurizio Cattelan's conceptual piece, titled Comedian, first sold for $120,000 at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019; last night, cryptocurrency mogul Justin Sun agreed to pay more than 50 times that amount. He gets a roll of duct tape, a banana, official instructions for installation and a certificate of authenticity. - CNN

He painted them, back in 1889, in a deep, vibrant purple. Here's how two conservators at the Getty figured that out — and why the irises have turned blue over the intervening 135 years. - Hyperallergic

The Museum of West African Art (Mowaa), a constellation of buildings and outdoor performance spaces spread out across a 6-hectare (15-acre) campus, will hold its inaugural exhibition in May 2025. - The Guardian

One of several versions of René Magritte's "L’Empire des lumières” sold for $121 million at auction at Christie's New York. - CNN

More than half a dozen nonprofit arts and cultural institutions reviewed by the Chronicle have experienced significant revenue decreases, most say attendance remains below pre-pandemic levels and some have had issues with fundraising in recent years. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

Since last year, the Prado has been bringing novelists to live in an apartment overlooking the museum. They stay for periods ranging from three to six weeks, but they are not expected to write there. All they have to do is look at the art — and draw inspiration from what they see. -...

Everett's revisionist riff on Huckleberry Finn continued its prizewinning streak in the fiction category; in nonfiction, de León's Soldiers and Kings pipped Knife, Rushdie's memoir of his stabbing and recovery. Lena Khalaf Tuffaha's Something About Living took poetry honors; Shifa Saltagi Safadi’s Kareem Between won for young people's literature. - AP

A.I. chatbots can imitate famous poets like William Shakespeare well enough to fool many human readers, according to a new paper published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. In addition, many study participants actually preferred the chatbot’s poetry over the works of renowned writers. - Smithsonian

Nuanxed's approach, known as post-editing (PE), combines the use of AI translation tools with human editing and proofing. According to cofounder and CEO Robert Casten Carlberg, the company completes roughly 50 translations per month, and in total has worked with 150 authors to complete around 800 translations. - Publishers Weekly

Accepting the award for his Question 7, the Australian author said he would not take the £50,000 which comes with the prize until sponsor Baillie Gifford presents to the public a plan for divesting from fossil fuel companies and investing in renewable energy. - The Guardian

The kinds of speech that strike us as authentic, satisfying, and desirable change with time, and depend on our position in the world and on the conversations happening around us. - The New Yorker

To invoke language when talking about LLMs is to misunderstand the nature of language and miss its fundamentally lived and embodied character. LLMs may get better and better at sourcing certain kinds of information or completing certain kinds of tasks, but they are finders, not creators. - The Dial

"Comcast's move is the strongest sign yet of alarm reverberating throughout Hollywood's traditional companies. Cable channels have long been a key economic pillar, generating billions of dollars in distribution fees that more than covered up the misses when big-budget movies flopped or during advertising recessions. No more." - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Last week, the state House of Representatives voted to terminate the incentive effective June 30, 2025, as part of a sweeping tax reform package. In response, hundreds of people jammed the hallways of the state Capitol in Baton Rouge on Sunday to protest the move, which would threaten thousands of film jobs. - Variety

"The company, which last month said it was studying the idea, will separate off entertainment and news channels including MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen, E!, Syfy and Golf Channel. Those assets generated about $7 billion in revenue in the 12 months ended Sept. 30." - The Wall Street Journal (MSN)

Geoffrey Mason, aged only 30, was a producer helping run coverage of the Munich Olympics when terrorists from the Black September group took hostage, and eventually murdered, 11 Israeli athletes. - The Hollywood Reporter

You get a film titled About a Hero, interspersing an AI-written narrative starring Herzog (as a character) investigating a mysterious death with interviews with artists, philosophers, and scientists on AI issues. Yes, Herzog is (in a way) involved, and no, he doesn't like the film. - The Hollywood Reporter

The bulk of the changes will come in the U.S., where we remain committed to our 50-state footprint but must evolve to align with changing customer and market needs. - Deadline

The original building, the smallest of the dance festival's three venues, was destroyed by fire four years ago. The rebuilt Duke, opening July 9, is three times the size of the old one, has flexible configurations for both stage and audience, and is equipped to livestream performances. - The Berkshire Eagle

Judy Morr "decided to do something nobody else was doing in Southern California, which was to bring major international dance companies to Orange County. That’s how it all started. Dance became the way to establish the Center’s reputation nationally and internationally.” - CultureOC

Meryl Tankard was one of the dancers in the 1978 premiere of Bausch's Kontakthof, and she has now restaged the piece with herself and eight other performers from the first run dancing alongside film footage of the original production. - The New York Times

The company is alleged to use underage student performers to work on and off stage for workweeks of well over 40 hours, with extremely busy touring schedules, for only nominal pay. - The New York Times

The Minneapolis-based company will shut down next March. "It’s the latest blow to the Twin Cities dance community, less than a year after ... Minnesota Dance Theatre announced in February it would pause its performing company, and the Cowles Center for Dance and Performing Arts went dark." - The Minnesota Star-Tribune

Shklyarov, a principal with the Mariinsky Theatre, fell from the fifth floor of a St. Petersburg building, “while on painkillers.” Federal authorities in Russia are investigating the death. - BBC

Les Misérables was originally written in French by two Frenchmen, based on a classic French historical novel — and the musical has been wildly popular just about everywhere except France. Yet an updated version of the show at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris might just catch on. - The New York Times

School district officials cancelled Santa Rosa High School's production of Dog Sees God, which depicts the characters of the comic strip Peanuts in high school and deals with themes of bullying, gun violence, and homophobia. A privately-owned theater nearby hosted the production instead. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

“Food is a very grounding thing in itself; you want to have a shared experience with people while you’re eating it. When you think about immersive dining, it is very important that that feeling doesn’t get overshadowed by anything else.” - The Stage

“When you create art for a living, sometimes you take for granted how much more art is out there,” says Cody Renard Richard. Still, New York gives him a broad canvas to discover. - The New York Times

Tammy Faye "is getting perhaps the gayest tribute a person can have: a Broadway musical,” one composed by Elton John. - The New York Times

What worked in the past, that is, pre-pandemic, is coming around again - more marketing, more membership drives, more discounts, more repertory theatre. Can it work? - Oregon ArtsWatch

In our fragmented media landscape, it can be difficult to grasp just how large Carson loomed over the culture. At the center of late-night for 30 years — he presided from 1962 to 1992 — he is the most influential talk-show host of all time, and possibly the most popular figure in the history...

"He was part of the founding editorial crew of Time Out Chicago, once a major force in local arts coverage. … Vire stayed with (Time Out) until 2018, then moved on to a busy freelance career, eventually landing at the Tribune-owned Chicago magazine as a freelance arts-and-entertainment editor." - Chicago Tribune (MSN)

Multiple Vladimir Putin adversaries have died after falling from windows. The term “Sudden Russian Death Syndrome” was born after many notable Russian figureheads who have spoken out against Putin’s reign died in puzzling ways. One of the most common causes of the deaths are window falls. - The Daily Beast

Beginning in 1957 with "Europe on $5 a Day," Frommer’s philosophy changed the way Americans traveled abroad. His advice became so standard that it’s hard to remember how radical it seemed in the days before discount flights and backpacks. - AP

Michael R. Corcoran, 96, of Newport, RI, has an inimitable way of "whipping through hundreds of lots while engaging crowds with a blend of repartee, potted histories, antiquarian acumen and name-dropping with the subtlety of an anvil being shoved off a roof." - The New York Times

"(He) brought a commanding presence to historical figures like Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and King Edward VII, and to notables of classic theater like King Lear, Macbeth and Willy Loman. He was perhaps best known to American audiences for his performances in British television imports." - The New York Times