Can you prove you’re not in a simulation? You might think you have definitive evidence that you’re not. I think that’s impossible, because any such evidence could be simulated. - Nautilus
Most Nazi monuments in Germany were torn down after 1945, but in Spain and Italy many of the buildings and statues glorifying fascism are still standing — and there are arguments over them to this day. What to do? The city of Bolzano in the Italian Alps had some ideas. - BBC
I think we can all agree that this system is not set up for independent artists with a growing fanbase. The benefits of this pay-out scale are designed for the established, mega-stars with millions, or even billions of streams. - Erie News Now
It was only from the 1970s that American commercial theater settled on the rule: start at 8:00 for evening shows and 2:00 for matinees (maybe 3:00 on Sundays). COVID has loosened that rule — and though ticketholders have to pay attention, they now have more choice and flexibility. - The Stage
The position of resident choreographer, while it does not exist at every company and varies between organizations, represents job stability, resources, and artistic opportunity for choreographers, who otherwise tend to operate as freelancers or gig-workers. - Dance Data Project
"After a granddaughter and great-grandson of the artist trumpeted the upcoming sale, lawyers for the family said Thursday that his heirs have not authorized the launch of any such 'Picasso NFT.'" Later, the business manager for the great-grandson, Florian, said, "Maybe we should have been a bit more clear." - AP
Opera demands engagement. It’s best if it accomplishes this by being creatively provocative or ravishing or infuriating, but as long as there's enough to mull over to defeat tedium then all’s square. The worst operas are the ones that inspire nothing but boredom in a captive audience that can’t change channels. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Jamar Roberts, who only stopped dancing for the Ailey company last month and who remains its resident choreographer, says that the new work is very different than he thought it would be in the spring of 2020, when it was supposed to have premiered. - The New York Times
The artist has now admitted that the very widely reported sale of the piece (titled For the Love of God) in 2007 never actually happened and that the bedazzled bundle of bone has been sitting in a London warehouse all this time. - Artnet
Massachusetts Cultural Council executive director Michael Bobbitt is "convinced the crisis presents an opportunity to restructure arts funding, transforming the sector into one that is more affluent, inclusive, easier to navigate, and higher profile than it ever was before." - MSN (The Boston Globe)
Skyhorse Publishing acquired the books by Woody Allen, Blake Bailey, Norman Mailer and others that were dropped when controversy hit. Says Skyhorse chief Lyons, "All you hear is the takedown of the author and no analysis of the book itself.' Critics accuse him of "a libertarianism of convenience." - The Guardian
The board governing the McMinn County school district in southeastern Tennessee deemed the Pulitzer-winning book inappropriate for eighth-graders because of a drawing of a nude dead woman and some "rough, objectionable language." - CNN
Damn you, COVID-19! yet the good news is that 2020-21 season's shortfall, $6.3 million, is down by almost half from the previous season. And donations were up by 23%. Not too bad for an orchestra that played only 13 live-with-audience concerts. - The Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
She started working at the foundation in 1972 and continued until this year, and the prestigious competition and awards she administered helped launch many impressive careers. - The New York Times
Arthur Brooks: Engaging with art after worrying over the minutiae of your routine is like looking at the horizon after you’ve spent too long staring intently at a particular object: Your perception of the outside world expands. - The Atlantic
