“(John) Dowland was well regarded; (he) was also well-connected, cosmopolitan and at times unusually well-remunerated for his work. Yet his musical expression was dominated by melancholy. With that imbalance comes the sense that Dowland had an acute understanding of his place in the musical market of the time.” - The New York Times
Life in chess has always been a struggle, never more so than today. During the two-year battle for the 2024 world chess championship, I saw tantrums, I saw tears, I heard one top grandmaster muse about leaving the game for a career in fashion. - The Walrus
In a startling and largely gratifying way, LACMA has done what the poet Audre Lorde, alluding to a different but not unrelated aspect of patriarchal dominance, deemed impossible: used the master’s tools to dismantle the master’s house. The change goes far beyond a remodel. It’s a reinvention, a recalibration, a revisionist fever dream. - Los Angeles Times
The Brazilian film industry has plenty of infrastructure for film production, but there was almost none for the early stages of development. So Olga Rabinovich founded, and singlehandedly funds, Projeto Paradiso to provide that support. During the Bolsonaro years, however, Rabinovich had to expand Projeto Paradiso’s remit. - Variety
“We need a NATO for universities,” said Lee Bollinger, president emeritus of Columbia University. “When one university is attacked, everyone commits to coming to their defense. We need less capacity of individual institutions to make decisions about where we should go in defending universities and more power in a system.” - InsideHigherEd
What’s really wrong with Trump’s arch isn’t something that is always wrong with victory arches but, rather, something that is always wrong with all the architecture of autocracy. - The New Yorker
The FCC has launched a new inquiry into the TV ratings system, including whether issues of gender identity are being included in children’s programming without flagging that content to parents. - Deadline
“I can’t wait for the judge to get hit with a $45 ‘Verdict Convenience Fee,’ a $30 ‘Gavel Processing Fee,’ and an $80 ‘Digital Print-at-Home Ruling Surcharge,” a Reddit user cracked. (After the verdict, Live Nation said in a statement, “The jury’s verdict is not the last word on this matter.") - The New Yorker
“In getting to its exalted place, the book had to navigate a tricky set of rapids. Though it sailed through them, a question lingers. ... Would a book like this, with its regional setting and its male and outdoorsy focus, face different challenges in today’s publishing world?” - The New York Times
While this may be framed as fiscal discipline, cutting arts and culture is not a serious long-term economic strategy. It is a short-term fix that reduces foot traffic, weakens neighborhood business districts, and chips away at the culture that makes people want to live, work, visit, and invest here in the first place. - San Diego Magazine
Using AI tools and a pseudonym, unknown culprits are now profiting from my work and that of my colleagues. Worse, they are limiting what we can write about in the future. What publisher wants to publish a second book on an archaeological discovery, no matter how significant? - The American Scholar
For me, the subject of music is its sound. And in my music, I want to be in touch with sound that I haven't heard before, that feels somehow elemental, inevitable. One of the ways I've gone about it is, I use mathematics. - NPR
“The main studio of the École des Sables (in) Senegal defies every convention of what a professional dance space should be. It has no sprung floor, no mirrored walls, ... no walls at all. The dancers work outdoors, under a large, tented canopy. … The floor is unusually treacherous: It’s sand.” - The New York Times
The book became a dominant symbol of the age of development through the efforts of the new international institutions, and the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in particular. - The Conversation
This soul of yours has obviously come into existence with your body. Yet equally obviously it’s not made of bodily stuff. It lasts through the night when your body sleeps. It wanders off and leaves your body when you dream. - Aeon