Twenty years after a previous generation of Taliban took over the country and looted and smashed its way through the collection, the new government, which took power in August, has reopened the museum, providing security officers and even encouraging visits. - AP
After a 3½-year judicial investigation in Paris, and in accordance with the prosecutor's recommendation, the case brought against Besson by actress Sand van Roy has been dismissed for lack of evidence. - Variety
Time was, that was a low-stakes category for obscure indie directors. Ten years ago, HBO was the only major competitor. Now several legacy media institutions, most notably The New York Times and The New Yorker, are livening up the field and actively pursuing the statuette. - The Hollywood Reporter
The trade group says that a Maryland law (along with a similar one pending in New York) requiring publishers who sell e-books to individual customers in the state to also sell to libraries "on 'reasonable' terms" is against federal copyright law and unconstitutional. - Publishers Weekly
Following a meteoric rise in the '00s, the Mexican tenor suffered more than one vocal crisis, changed repertoire, and finally gave up. But, he says, he retooled his technique during the pandemic and now thinks he's singing better than ever. - The New York Times
The Standard-Bearer, once owned by George IV of Great Britain, is one of the very few Rembrandts still in private hands. The Rothschilds are prepared to sell it to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam for €175 million, of which €150 million will come from the central government. - Artnet
The government agencies that provide 75% of Circus Oz's budget told the company that it must revamp its board and governance or lose funding. The Company Members (anyone who performed with it for at least three years) rejected that demand by a 3-to-1 margin. - ArtsHub (Australia)
If words are arbitrary and purely a matter of convention, then how did they come to be established in the first place? In practical terms: how did our ancestors create the original words? - Psyche
Erik Ronmark has spent virtually his entire career with the DSO, having started as a part-time assistant in the music library in 2005. He was named general manager eight years ago and became vice president three years later. - Detroit Free Press
Deepfakes, for better or worse, are here to stay: apps that make use of this technology are widely available, and will only become more so. That means it is incumbent upon us to think through our moral intuitions about this new and dangerous technology. - Psyche
“I would love to have a robot load up dishes into my dishwasher, and I’d love to have a robot clean my house,” says Zador, but we are far from making such helpful assistants. When it comes to household chores, we’re at the level of Roomba. - Nautilus
Of 179 artistic directors of major ballet companies, 59 are women (33%), while 119 are men (66%), and 1 is gender expansive (0.6%). Similarly, of artistic directors of the Largest 50 U.S. ballet companies, there are 15 women (29%) and 36 men (71%). - Dance Data Project
The effect that actors have — the source of their power and fascination — is more than just subjective. It’s interpersonal. Watching them act, we don’t simply appreciate their discipline or admire their craft. They offer the potent, sometimes uncomfortable possibility of intimacy. - The New York Times
One critic describes Anna von Hausswolff's music as "where post-rock, doom metal, modern classical and high church music all coexist." Her concert at a church in Nantes was called off after protesters chanting Hail Marys blocked the entrance; tonight's performance at Saint-Eustache in Paris is cancelled. - The Guardian
“Diversity” may have become an even more popular buzzword in show business circles since the summer of 2020, but the goal of attaining full and meaningful multicultural representation remains elusive. - Los Angeles Times
