Stories

Writing Is Hard, And Young Writers Are Getting Extra Discouraged

“They’re simultaneously struggling to figure out if they need to use AI to keep up in today’s competitive industry—or eschew it altogether in order to maintain trust.” - Fast Company

Now The LAPD Are Involved In Finding Out What Happened To Netflix’s Nicolas Cage Movie

“This report is being made on an emergency basis, as there is reason to believe that Netflix, Inc. and its employees are suppressing and/or spoliating evidence of the theft of an asset with a cost of $45 million to create.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

No, A Music Teacher Is Not A God

Why do teachers get so many pedestals - and so, so many opportunities for abuse? “Being perpetually curious is hard work. Grappling with an unruly instrument and the infinite subjectivity of music is extremely hard work.” - The New York Times

How Country Music Suddenly Started Dominating The Billboard Charts

“For a century now, country music has been a parallel universe of hitmaking that didn’t always register on the national pop charts—for data reasons more than popularity reasons.” Streaming is changing everything. - Slate

First, Record Albums Came Back, And Now It’s CDs

Teens and 20-somethings are, again, driving the shift back (related: so are K-Pop bands). One fan, on switching out phone for CD player: “It gives me a different feeling. … I feel like I’m listening to an artist’s work. It brings me joy.” - The Guardian (UK)

Patricia Douglas Challenged A Culture Of Abuse In Early Hollywood, And Paid A Price

In 1937, Douglas was told to come to a producer’s ranch for a movie. But, “she later said, she and more than 100 other young women — many of whom were minors — had been summoned to entertain men attending MGM’s annual sales convention.” - The New York Times

Australia, Like Most Places, Has A Dwindling Number Of Drive-In Movie Theatres

In Melbourne, there’s one hold-out. "The drive-in demands little of its audience. You can lie down, walk around, talk and sing without fear of being hushed. Parents feel at ease bringing newborns, and dogs can curl up beside their owners.” - The Guardian (UK)

Don’t Be Fooled By The Emmy Nomination For SubwayTakes

“The Emmy nod isn’t, in itself, a milestone. What it actually represents is much smaller: a win for YouTube’s awards campaigning, confined for now to a category that’s spent most of its existence as the Emmys’ junk drawer.” - Vulture

How Theatre Created, Then Recreated, The ‘Rocky Horror’ Mad Scientist Lab

“A slapdash seediness has been embedded in the musical’s aesthetic DNA ever since it started in 1973 in a tiny upstairs space at the Royal Court Theater in London.” - The New York Times

What Sepideh Moafi Brought To The Pitt

“The Iranian American actor drew from her own childhood experiences and advocacy work as an ambassador with the International Rescue Committee to shape Dr. Al-Hashimi into who audiences get to know onscreen.” - HuffPost

Designer Error, By About 10,000 Miles

Sydney, Australia, has an Allianz soccer stadium, and so does Munich, Germany. Guess which one appears on the Sydney Marathon medal? - The Guardian (UK)

The Smithsonian Plan For A Latinx Museum Avoids A Congressional Vote

“The Smithsonian Institution has called a board meeting to discuss giving one of its current buildings to the National Museum of the American Latino, which would bypass the need for congressional approval for a new site.” - The New York Times

Orchids Made Charles Darwin Who He Was

“Darwin had long been interested in orchids, possibly influenced by the borderline sexual love his grandfather, Erasmus, felt for them and put into his writings.” - LitHub

Meta May Finally Face A Day Of Reckoning Over Child Safety

“Other companies in Meta’s social media cohort, like Snap, TikTok, and YouTube, have opted this year to settle some suits that allege their platforms have harmed kids’ mental health. Meta instead chose to go to trial, only to very publicly lose and pay massive fines.” - Wired

The Mayor Of Los Angeles Suddenly Loves The Warnermount Merger

What in the rolling over for rich people hell, Karen Bass? - Vulture

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