This Super Bowl was “the first with A.I. taking center stage—a revealing gametime moment for the tech as it confronts investor anxiety, broader fatigue, and fears of impending economic crisis. ...The real twist is that consumers seem to loathe this marketing ploy.” - Slate
“We are supposed to read triptychs from left to right: Adam and Eve → sexy fruit playground of jubilant behavior → decay and hell. ... But the middle panel, where the temptation is happening, is so fun and funny.” - Paris Review
Surely it’s a coincidence that as a movie named about the current First Lady opens in the UK, people start watching a movie about Michelle Obama (“a rise in views of more than 13,000%”). - The Guardian (UK)
"Encouraging audience enthusiasm while upholding basic theater etiquette has become a tricky balance, but attracting fans itching to sing along is also a badge of popularity. … Where people draw the line on what’s “too crazy” may be the animating question of our time.” - The Washington Post (Yahoo!)
This livestream has a rich list of links to stories about the nominees as well as live updates from the red carpet and, eventually, the ceremony itself. - Los Angeles Times
“There’s so much political resonance with the text — we’ve heard so many amazing, divergent responses in terms of how the piece speaks to today’s slippery political reality — but we didn’t want to play into that too much.” - Culturebot
“At Palo Alto Players, the initiative is part of a broader effort to lower barriers to getting to the theater — one (Managing Director Elizabeth) Santana credits with putting the company in ‘a state of growth,’ a rarity in a Bay Area theater scene reeling from closed companies and abridged lineups.” - San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo!)
“For almost a quarter-century Freeview has enabled viewers to access (digital terrestrial) television from the nation’s biggest broadcasters … for no charge. Despite it still being the UK’s largest TV platform, … those same broadcasters are now calling for the service to be switched off in as little as eight years’ time.” - The Guardian
“Free First Thursday, which waives the general admission fee for all Bay Area residents from 4-8 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month, has been temporarily halted starting in February. … No return date has been set, but SFMOMA plans to announce a new program series in the summer.” - San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo!)
Christos Makridis of Arizona State University: “I found the public’s demand for meaningful, live cultural experiences — including opera — remains strong. … (But) few opera companies have embraced strategies the rest of the entertainment industry regularly uses: audience data analysis, experimentation with digital content and streaming, engagement through online platforms rather than brochures.” - The Conversation
Paul Dien, the chief marketing officer who oversaw that rebrand, has resigned. New director/CEO Daniel Weiss has set up a task force of staffers and board members to evaluate the rebranding and examine “what works, what doesn’t work, to do some analytical work around that.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
This isn’t great for U.S. audiences either - or the producers and promoters trying to bring international artists. “It’s an unbelievable mess, … and no one can provide an answer.”- The New York Times
OK, sure: Heated Rivalry Night “began as a single event that quickly sold out, leading to extra dates … and more than 100 multi-city pop-ups are planned over the next few months in places like Brooklyn, Washington, D.C., Chicago and London.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
The opera, which "received an influx of donations, from more than 500 donors, after its announcement last Friday that it would seek a new home … will host two operas this spring season at George Washington University, where the organization got its start nearly 70 years ago.” - The New York Times
