Madeline Miller's 2011 book The Song of Achilles has, she says, helped readers come out to their parents; has inspired people to earn Ph.D.s in Classics; and even led to some intense tattoos. - The Guardian (UK)
In theory, four fall film festivals are about to take place, with masked, vaccinated, and tested participants. "Yes, the last Oscars were just four months ago. But there’s no shortage of intriguing awards season hopefuls premiering at these festivals." - Los Angeles Times
Newlove wrote hundreds of articles, essays, and stories; novels; and several books of advice for writers as well. Once sober, he called his former muse "Drunkspeare." - The New York Times
Sounds gloriously picturesque: "There’s a tall lamp standing on the stone quayside at a lock in rural Co Carlow on a warm and clear evening. Beside it, a cream and green barge is moored, with a mixing desk on the bow and a few cables trailing on to the bank up towards the lamp." - Irish Times
The art park (project? bioregion?) in France is a bit unclear right now. Luma "is a wonderland of good intentions. They certainly don’t pave the road to hell, but they do offer versions of desirability that are at odds with each other." - The Observer (UK)
Charles McNulty, in Los Angeles, says yes, but: "Anticipating the stress of the new COVID-19 protocols, I forgot the old stresses, the lunatic driving at Hollywood and Vine, the $25 parking fee ('credit card only, please'). The woman sitting behind me returned after intermission with a bag of potato chips." - Los Angeles Times
Grant was the first in so many categories. First woman to write the book, lyrics, and music to a Broadway musical. One of the first Black actors with a long-running character on a soap opera. And when she couldn't win - see 1986's flop Phillis, about Phillis Wheatley - she bounced back. - The New York Times
Or was the graffiti artist after whom the NY Police Department sent a drone, a helicopter, and several cars actually the next potential Banksy or Basquiat? - Vice
Australian tenor Stuart Skelton on Wagner: "Singers are like athletes doing long-distance competitions. You get to the point where you’ve reached your physical limits. You hit the wall. Then it’s a mental game of trying to dig deep into your technical resources to keep going." - The Observer (UK)
You might call the headlines "brutally honest," if you were being kind. "Novel or Nightmare?" one asks. "Two Pathetic Books," one proclaims. - The New York Times
"Comics artist Ilan Manouach and AI engineer Ioannis Siglidis developed the Neural Yorker, an artificial intelligence (AI) engine that posts computer-generated cartoons on Twitter." The results can be hilarious - or deeply unsettling. - Hyperallergic
Asner won played Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show; his career continued into the 2000s, including Up and Elf, and even the 2019 Dead to Me. He also worked hard for unions (including the Screen Actors Guild), animal rights, and farmworkers. - The New York Times
Rooney found immense success with her first two books - so much success that it became a challenge to writing. How did she get back to work? - The New York Times
