Stories

Britain’s BalletBoyz At 25

“Let’s dispel the myth about BalletBoyz — it’s not an all-male company and never has been. There were women in their first shows 25 years ago, in this show and others in between, while the ensemble’s lineup can change every year.” Founders William Trevitt and Michael Nunn never liked the name, anyway. - The Times (UK)

Chicagoans Vote To Create Permanent Site For Rock Festivals. But …

“The (non-binding ballot) measure, meant to gauge public interest, arrived after pushback in recent years from some Chicagoans who oppose privately run festivals taking place in the city’s public spaces, from Lollapalooza in Grant Park to Riot Fest in Douglass Park. But despite electoral support, there are no clear next steps.” - WBEZ (Chicago)

Ancient Petroglyphs In Utah Vandalized, Damage May Be Permanent

“The Bureau of Land Management announced on November 6 that it was investigating vandalism at two ancient rock-art sites near Moab, Utah, where someone carved names into petroglyphs, leaving damage that may be impossible to remove.” - Outside

Former CFO Sues Philadelphia Museum Of Art, Claiming Her Severance Was Withheld

“Valarie McDuffie has accused museum director and CEO Daniel H. Weiss and board chair Ellen Caplan of withholding nearly $150,000 in severance out of ‘spite and retaliation.’ But the museum has countered with allegations of its own, claiming that McDuffie breached her severance agreement.” - ARTnews

For The First Time, The Booker Prize Goes To A Bona Fide Sci-Fi Novel

“Eighty-one-year-old M John Harrison has won the Booker Prize for The End of Everything, a postapocalyptic novel set on a near-future Kent coast, becoming the oldest winner in the award’s history." Booker Prize Foundation CEO Gaby Wood called it "the first Booker winner to have emerged from the bona fide SF world.” - The Guardian

Google, Meta And TikTok Sue To Block California Law Aimed Against Platform Addiction

The law prohibits social media platforms from offering children things like personalized feeds and autoplay for videos. It also requires the deletion of children’s accounts with those features. - KQED

Many Of DC’s Memorials Are In Darkness As Park Service Maintenance Lapses

The lapse in upkeep and repairs at some of the most prominent memorials in Washington and at the more than 400 national park properties across the country comes as the Trump administration has reduced the agency’s staff by roughly 25 percent and withheld millions of dollars in funding. - Washington Post

When AI Transfers Into The Physical World

“With a world model, you give it a visual state of the world, an image, and it will then predict the next visual state of the world.” These 3D generations can be used as digital training grounds. “They’re simulations, but they look and feel real.” - Wired

Restoration Of London’s Parliament Buildings Could Take 61 Years And Cost £40B

The Commons public accounts committee this week warned it was "crunch time" for the ailing building's restoration, which could cost up to £40bn and take 61 years. - BBC

Macklemore Says Major Arenas Are Refusing To Book His Concerts

“After weeks of reaching out, nine major American arenas have turned us down,” he wrote. Macklemore went on to name the specific venues that have allegedly turned him and his team away, despite having availability in the coming months. - The Wrap

When Writers Lose Confidence In Free Speech

If democracy is the political system that allows the fullest human flourishing, the novel is the literary form that most fully cultivates our understanding of human possibility and tragedy and endurance. - The Atlantic

Everything You Need To Know About Life You Can Learn From “Sound Of Music”

I would argue that everything you need to know about life can be found in “The Sound of Music.” Quite an expansive claim, but I have good credentials for making it. As a child actress, I played the bookish Brigitta von Trapp for three years in a touring production of the musical. - Washington Post

A Long-Lost, Supposed Destroyed, Handwritten Draft Of MLK’s ‘I Have A Dream’ Speech Has Emerged

"Like the typed version, it does not include the words 'I have a dream,' part of the ringing second half of the speech that King famously improvised." - The New York Times

Can Authors Ever Use Enough Tools To ‘Prove’ They Didn’t Use AI?

Especially since a lot of LLMs are trained on those authors' words already? Well, that's the hope - that's there's a way to prove a negative. - Wired

Wait, Why Is A 77-Year-Old Judge In Virginia In Charge Of The Titanic?

Maritime law means Judge Smith oversees "the remains of a ship that was built in Belfast, sailed from England, was heading to New York City and sank off the coast of Canada in international waters more than 1,000 miles from Norfolk." - The New York Times

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