"Nearly everyone who knew him is gone, but the roses are a sort of saeculum that includes Orwell. I was suddenly in his presence in a way I hadn’t expected, and I was in the presence of a living remnant of the essay." - The Guardian (UK)
Well, things have changed: The Ted Lasso freakout has faded, while Squid Game's popularity has spurred producers to search for more "international drama." - Variety
In 1999, when musician Dame Hinewehi Mohi sang the national anthem in Maori at the men's Rugby World Cup, she got quite a backlash. Now, "awareness and celebration of Maori music is mirroring a shift in attitudes toward the language across New Zealand." - The New York Times
But not for its skill or beauty. One complaint: "Nothing could be less representative of Maria Callas, as no opera singer, not even a second-grade student at music school, would ever adopt such a pose with crossed arms in front of their chest." - The Observer (UK)
Many National Trust properties rest on profits from the labor of enslaved people. "The charity seems to have become a lightning rod for the boiling emotions of a nation in flux, racked by arguments over national identity, social justice, pride and guilt." - The Guardian (UK)
But they definitely help define the internet: "Years later, after the movie itself has been largely forgotten, you will still find images from it circulating, speaking a new dialect." - The New York Times
During a light show on a replica of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan, "vendors walked among the crowds selling Aztec-style souvenir headdresses with colored lights, filling the Zócalo with flashes of revelry." - Los Angeles Times
Fans of K-drama probably know much of this already, but "peppered throughout the series are blink-and-you'll-miss-them references to historical events and political jargon." - NPR
Nearly two-thirds of NPR stations are affiliated with colleges or universities, and "with higher education at the crossroads of the culture wars, public media is vulnerable to growing political interference over its operations." - Nieman Lab
Milagro Theatre's artistic director: "It brought home the value of what we do — that we are practitioners of live theater. ... How do you convey meaning to a stranger? How do you convey emotion to a stranger? That’s what we do in theater." - Oregon ArtsWatch
During the pandemic, tango suffered more than most other dance forms. "There is no distance between bodies; partners lean into each other, faces and chests touching, an arm wrapped around the other’s back, communicating through fingertips and subtle shifts in weight." - The New York Times
