Stories

Over Half Of National Museum Of Sudan’s Holdings Have Been Looted

“A statue of the Nubian god Apademak stands alone in the courtyard of Sudan’s National Museum, one of the few survivors of systematic looting amid a (civil war) that has developed into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.” - NBC News

Live Nation And U.S. Justice Dept. Announce Settlement, But Antitrust Case Isn’t Over Yet

“The Justice Department touted a tentative settlement of its antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment on Monday as a victory for consumers that would end an illegal monopoly over live events in America, but over two dozen states planned to keep fighting the companies in court.” - AP

Longtime Kennedy Center Patrons Mourn — And Make Other Plans

Regulars who feel that the complex has been politicized and are now staying away miss what the Kennedy Center offered. But they’re not all staying home, and other performing arts institutions in and around D.C. are benefiting. - The New York Times

The Argument Against Optimizing

What you lose in optimizing morality is the same thing you lose in maximizing your airline-mile spend. In other words, nothing quantifiable—but precisely the chance to escape quantification, to orient toward something that cannot be counted, predicted, analyzed. - The Point

Amazon Pulls Sponsorship Of Paris Bookfair After Accusations Of Promoting AI Books

The SLF has been sharply critical of Amazon, arguing that it destabilises the book trade. In a statement reported by the Bookseller, it accused the company of seeking “to flood the market with fake AI-generated books, promoted by fake reviews, written by fake readers to the top of fake rankings”. - The Guardian

How Gen Z Is Hacking The High Cost Of Music Festivals

Enter Breakaway: a growing dance-music festival brand built on the premise of making concerts and festivals accessible and affordable again. - Fortune

How Does The Troubled Philadelphia Museum Of Art Get Its Swing Back? Here Are 10 Ideas

The museum today is focused on the fact that fewer visitors are coming now than before the pandemic, and the concern is legitimate. But the way back can’t be merely quantitative. - Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

Directors Are Mattering More In Hollywood

An emerging trend skews more classic Hollywood—directors, particularly those who might be considered auteurs for their well-defined aesthetic and storytelling style, have begun to matter just as much as the actors attached to them. - The Atlantic

How Hollywood Has Adjusted Its Messaging During The Second Trump Administration

The creators of some of the more politically compelling movies and TV shows of the past year have explored how being alive feels during a tumultuous period. They capture the atmosphere, the mood, the ambient existence of everyday people who are living through a transformative time in history. - The Atlantic

An Opera Singer Who’s Made A Name As A Car Salesman

He started making videos of himself performing robust opera arias while standing outside on a car lot, wearing his name tag. He composed lyrics to describe the cars he was selling and put the videos on TikTok and Instagram. - Seattle Times

Quentin Tarantino Has Written A Theatre Farce For The West End

The stranger-than-fiction truth is that Tarantino has written an original, old-fashioned British farce, in the door-slamming, trouser-dropping, mistaken identity vein of Brian Rix or Ray Cooney. - Daily Mail

Thinking Of AI Art — You Have To Think Of It As Its Own Art Form

I don’t understand how anyone can say they’re anti something that’s potentially creative. If it’s not working for you today it could work for you a year from now. Soon conversations like that won’t even matter. It’s like discussing the Internet. It already is. - The Hollywood Reporter

UK Museums Hold Hundreds Of Thousands Of Human Remains

An investigation by the Guardian found that UK museums hold more than 263,000 items of human remains from around the world, including whole skeletons, preserved bodies, such as Egyptian mummies, skulls, bones, skin, teeth, nails, scalps and hair. - The Guardian

LiveNation Settles Antitrust Case

The centerpiece of the agreement is expected to be structural changes to Live Nation’s ticketing business. Under the settlement, Ticketmaster will be required to open parts of its platform to rival ticketing companies, allowing third-party sellers such as SeatGeek or Eventbrite to list tickets directly through Ticketmaster’s technology. - Politico

Preserving Church Architecture Isn’t Easy, Especially In An Era Of Digital Attendance

“Sometimes people think that churches have some kind of magic ATM machine that we go to and withdraw money. And the truth is that we do not.” - NPR

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