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Alan Cumming Hands Back His OBE

The actor, who received the honor in 2009, has had it with "the toxicity of empire." - BBC

Wait ‘Til The Construction Dust Settles To Believe This One

The proposed architectural overhaul for London's Liverpool Street Station has some issues. "The new work was represented as a white substance impervious to weather and dirt. Trees were shown flourishing in overshadowed locations where they would struggle to grow." - The Observer (UK)

Coaching Balanchine And Robbins In New York

Kyra Nichols returns to help City Ballet figure some things out: "How can a dancer replace force with something more free? How can she explore the possibilities of effortless dancing, the kind that Nichols was known for." - The New York Times

Let’s Talk About The Alec Baldwin Charges

Will the actor really face jail time? Should he? Thing is, "it is in the common understanding that guns are dangerous and are in fact designed to cause death." That makes the Rust shooting different from other workplace accidents. - Slate

How Bad Is Ticketmaster?

Even when it doesn't break under hordes of Taylor Swift fans, it's intensely, ridiculously, unbelievably bad. "In the best-case scenario, customers would feed money into the system and receive their tickets without much hassle. That’s not the reality." - The Atlantic

A Return To Sundance Nets Joy, And Some Standout Films In A ‘Very Solid’ Lineup

"It’s always dubious to draw zeitgeist-y conclusions amid all the variables. ... Yet that has rarely stopped any critic and I can confidently assert that, as a culture, we are bummed — but also hopeful!" - The New York Times

Quit It With The Mummy

The term is now "mummified person." Museums in the UK and some in the US "have rewritten their display labels and online resources with the new language as it 'can encourage visitors to think of the individual who once lived.'" - Hyperallergic

Sylvia Syms, Prolific British Film Star, Has Died At 89

Syms, nominated for two BAFTAs, was a hit with her first major role in 1956, playing a young delinquent in My Teenage Daughter. Nominated for two BAFTAs, she later played Margaret Thatcher and, memorably, Queen Mother to Helen Mirren in The Queen. - The Guardian (UK)

Joan Didion’s Archives Are Going To The New York Public Library

The personal literary archives of Didion and her husband, writer John Gregory Dunne, contain 240 linear feet of material - including her research for The White Album and Slouching Towards Bethlehem, drafts of screenplays, and even her footprint as a newborn. - The New York Times

This Viral Star Can’t Read – But Now He’s Found BookTok

Oliver James, a 34-year-old TikTok star, was functionally illiterate - until he joined forces with TikTok's book-loving community, BookTok. Now he's got a plan to read 100 books in 2023. - NPR

What Do German Critics Think Of This Year’s British And American War Movie Darling?

The new All Quiet on the Western Front "has been at the receiving end of a critical drubbing, with critics complaining that it turns a beloved literary classic into a spectacle 'horny for an Oscar'" - one or more of which it may well receive. - The Guardian (UK)

The New Poet Hero Of Young Chileans

Garbriela Mistral, the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, "is being reclaimed by a new generation of feminist and L.G.B.T. activists as an anti-establishment icon — and igniting a debate about how we appropriate literary figures from the past." - The New York Times

Drew Barrymore Says Nominating A Child Actor For A Razzie Award Is Bullying

Barrymore and an wider backlash on the internet led to permanent changes: "Razzies organisers have apologised and introduced an age limit for the awards." - BBC

The Many Performers Who Are One Measly Award Away From An EGOT

Kate Winslet, for example, needs a Tony. Dame Maggie Smith could use a Grammy. And, of course, Dick Van Dyke could use an Oscar. - Baltimore Sun

Eight Ways, Aside From Scrapping Ticketmaster, To Make Ticket Buying Better

There's the obvious - cap the prices, end hidden fees - and then some less-obvious, but useful, ideas, like upgrading ticket-buying software to eliminate those hellish queues. - BBC

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