Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Justice For College Improv!
Eliminate the distinction between collegiate and professional improv, because there is none. We henceforth reject the label “amateur improvisers.” “Improvisers” is embarrassing enough, we...
Saving The News? We Need To Rethink The News
More and more observers are agreeing that a wholesale rethinking of how news is produced is necessary if rigorous, trustworthy journalism is going to...
The Problem With Novels About Life With The Internet
Ephemerality is the intractable problem plaguing most writing about the internet... Even if we’re stuck with social media for the long haul... its trends...
Would Extinction Be Such A Bad Thing?
Since we are considering whether extinction might be better than continuing to exist, the question arises whether some pains could be so great that...
Evel Knievel Museum Moving From Kansas To Las Vegas
According to a report on Monday, the museum dedicated to the career of Robert Craig Knievel, who became known for his death-defying stunts and...
Ellen Havre Weis, 64, Founder Of The Museum Of Modern Mythology
The museum was a once renowned San Francisco tourist destination where a vinyl Michelin Man rubbed elbows with a lifesize statue of Colonel Sanders. - The...
How Will The Humanities Record The COVID Plague?
The account by the Greek historian and general, Thucydides (460-400BC), of how the Athenians responded to their virulent plague in the fifth century, directly or indirectly...
The Physics Behind Executing This Common Gymnastics Move
If the wolf turn was just about balancing on one foot, it probably wouldn't be in an Olympic-level beam routine. It's the spin that...
How Museums Are Responding To Climate Change
After all, museums aren’t much more than glammed-up, oversized attics, right? How high could their carbon footprint really be? - Washington Post
A Smaller Edinburgh Fringe Festival — Is It Better?
For some in a city with a population of only around 500,000, a break from the Fringe last year, followed by a much smaller...
Instagram Is Turning Away From Photos To Videos. Artists Are Angry
The move has the artistic community seeing Pantone 032. Though there’s no way of knowing how many artists, architects and photographers have left the app,...
What Happens To Pop Music Stars When Recording Labels Lose Confidence
Stats from UK music trade body BPI say that only one in 10 signed artists are expected to succeed commercially, and if the...
How Seattle’s Last Remaining Video Rental Store Plans To Go National
Scarecrow has approximately 140,000 titles, on physical media. Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu — combined — have approximately one-third of that, and the ephemeral...
China Will Ban Karaoke Songs With “Illegal” Content
According to one CNN report, a song called "Fart" was blacklisted. The lyrics of the song read: "There are some people in the world...
We’re Being Cajoled To Be Positive. It’s Not Helpful
The pressure to try to adopt positivity as a constant state of being has begun to feel exhausting. Some have gone as far as...
Cautionary Tale For Publishers: Andrew Cuomo’s Book About Dealing With The Pandemic
When the manuscript began circulating, several major publishing companies vied for it in a frenzied auction, with bids soaring into the seven figures. -...
Counting: American Orchestras’ Programs Take A Leap In Diversity This Season
In 2017-18, 2% of works performed were written by women, and 3% by composers of color. By 2019–2020, it was 6% of works by...
TikTok Users Are Resurfacing Classic Songs
Unfortunately, the TikTok algorithm will always win out over your parents’ tastes. - Toronto Star
Ron Popiel And The Art Of The Infomercial
Even if you aren’t in the market for a rotisserie or a youth serum, infomercials can be enticing. The most sales-resistant person might start...
The Book Business Has Always Been Roiled By Technology
The 19th century witnessed a transformation of the book business as dizzying as our own: New reproduction technologies dramatically drove down the price of...
Why Are Very Smart People Sometimes Very Stupid?
What exactly is stupidity? How does it relate to morality: can you be morally good and stupid, for example? - Psyche
Los Angeles Libraries Considering Abolishing Fines
If it passes, the county will move to waive fines and fees for overdue books and other materials for its system, which serves 3.4...
Wanna Be Creative When You’re Old?
Dare to dawdle; to create without purpose; to be mediocre, even outright bad, at whatever it is you want to try. In short, let...
Offloading Our Brains
The framing of the brain–body complex as a borderless thinking apparatus is interesting, bringing together a wide range of research, from education and business...
Unopened Vintage Super Mario Brothers Game Sells For $2 Million
Demand for collectibles has surged during the pandemic, along with many other forms of investment, as people stuck at home look for ways to...
