The 17th-century Shah Mosque in Isfahan, widely considered one of the country's most beautiful buildings, has suffered damage to the tiling and shape of its dome, likely due to the weight of the scaffolding erected around it for the restoration project. - Yahoo! (AFP)
Last week, when Panahi went to Tehran's Evin Prison to inquire about a colleague who'd just been arrested, he was taken into custody himself and ordered to serve a six-year sentence for "propaganda against the system" that he had received following the mass protests after the disputed 2009 election. - BBC
"The new role is slated to begin in the 2025/2026 season. Assuming (he) isn't renewing his contract with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, he is scheduled to end his tenure (there) in 2025. The Spanish dynamo (recently) completed his second season as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra." - Ludwig Van
Even though the tally, 970,000, is the largest such loss in the company's history, executives and analysts had expected the number to be more than twice as high. - Variety
Not exactly, no (certain headlines notwithstanding). What the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds (Britain's only dance conservatory that's not in London) has done is to stop requiring prospective students to include ballet in their auditions. (It is, after all, a school of contemporary dance.) - Classic FM (UK)
“There’s so much love from the film and television industry for books, Whether it’s scouts or producers or buyers, there’s a huge passion for books in a way that feels even stronger at times than original screenwriting projects.” - The Walrus
Some of the most easily offended university students in America have become adept at characterizing any speech they dislike as if it creates an unsafe, discriminatory, or hostile climate, or else constitutes harassment or even violence. - The Atlantic
Hotels—grand ones, modest ones, inns, motels, and single-room occupancies—once filled a crucial niche in the American housing ecosystem. And now they should again. - Slate
Like any novel tool, generative models introduce significant changes in the process of art-making. In particular, AI art expands the multifaceted notion of curation and continues to blur the line between curation and creation. - Wired
A proposed change to the ornate Main Reading Room at the Library of Congress that critics say would remove the symbolic and functional heart of the 1897 Beaux-Arts masterpiece has landed the library on the D.C. Preservation League’s 2022 list of Most Endangered Places. - Washington Post
Not only is there the longstanding question of whether or not the actual English monarch was as evil as depicted, only a decade ago was it confirmed that he really did have a misshapen back. And now there's a debate over whether non-disabled actors should continue taking the role. - BBC
The notion of participatory creativity has major implications for any person or organization concerned with the creation of innovative ideas or artistic expression. It means recognizing and putting in place the means to foster creativity as a collaborative process. - The Conversation
Last week, when minister Nathi Mthethwa presented plans for the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra, with an annual budget of 30 million rand (about $17.6 million), comparing the new band to a national sports team, he did not get the ovation he'd hoped for. - Sunday Times (South Africa)
Indeed, they were often required to keep watch at city gates and were sometimes required to show skill at swordsmanship. This isn't just because musicians could raise a loud alarm when necessary. In fact, European cities often made their paid musicians a point of civic pride and ceremony. - Ted Gioia
