Even if you're unmoved by the idea that we're losing touch with a physical human practice thousands of years old, there are measurable cognitive skills which are strengthened by writing by hand and weakened in those who never learn to do it. - The Guardian
Survey participants placed the value of online reviews above price, free shipping, brand, and recommendations from family and friends. The survey found 94 percent of customers ranked it as the single most important factor, and four out of five said they won’t shop on a website unless it has customer reviews. - The Walrus
Plowright was “perhaps the greatest Anglophone actor of the 20th century”, in Variety’s words. She was certainly a leading pioneer in post-war British theatre’s modernisation – particularly in terms of her theatrical style, as well as her geographic and class origins. - The Conversation
"Her centennial is this year — she died in 2013, at 88 — and she remains widely regarded as America’s first prima ballerina. … Her legacy rests ... in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s — a series of revelations about what ballet could be and what a ballerina could look like." - The New York Times
What is fiction in the first place? Despite common usage, philosophers agree that we can’t equate ‘fiction’ with ‘false content’. On the one hand, the inclusion of falsity isn’t enough to render a work fiction. - Aeon
While threats to funding for arts and humanities organizations are one big worry, the primary ethical concern for most in the book business is free expression. - Publishers Weekly
How much reworking is too much? Should the instrument be made playable or simply maintained in its present condition? And in the case of instruments that have been modified over the centuries, what is, in fact, “original”? - Early Music America
"Joaquin “Guac” Oliver and 16 others were murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on 14 February 2018. Manuel Oliver turned this unfathomable loss into art, including a one-man show entitled Guac that honours his child and addresses the scourge of gun violence in America." - The Guardian
The findings paint a picture of an industry in transformation: streaming numbers are soaring, physical formats are showing surprising resilience, and superfans are reshaping how artists connect with audiences. - Ludwig Van
Among Trump's executive orders on the first day: canceling Biden's Executive Order 14084 of September 30, 2022 (Promoting the Arts, the Humanities, and Museum and Library Services). - The White House
Col Needham started building the database that later became IMDb in 1990. He remained CEO even after selling the website to Amazon in 1998, overseeing major changes like the rollout of its IMDbPro subscription and an update that lets professionals hide their age. - The Verge
Since succeeding Osmo Vänskä as music director in the fall of 2023, he has shown a flair for programming, thrown himself into community engagement (he insists on conducting family concerts himself), and enchanted the musicians. Says one principal, "We're still on our honeymoon." - The New York Times
Since the elimination of mandatory retirement in symphony orchestras and with union protections making it difficult to fire older players, many orchestras include members who look as though they just arrived from a retirement home. - Nightingale Sonata
The re-recording mixer for Emilia Pérez said that AI software was used to extend the vocal range of star Karla Sofía Gascón to reach that of her songs, and The Brutalist editor Dávid Jancsó used an AI program to correct the pronunciation in Adrien Brody's and Felicity Jones's Hungarian dialogue. - The Guardian
Alan Cumming, who made the comparison, provides a good example: he was hired in September to run the Pitlochry Festival Theatre and "invite the world's best theatre artists" to perform. He still doesn't know whether the company will be funded even for this summer. It's like this throughout the sector. - The Scotsman
