Stories

Writers Just Can’t Resist Writing From The POV Of A Dog

Virginia Woolf with Flush, Paul Auster with Timbuktu, Garth Stein with The Art of Racing in the Rain, and now another Paul - Yoon - with Etna. Why? Yoon says, “I deeply believe dogs have superpowers and secrets.” - The New York Times

Ballet Might Help Stave Off Dementia

“When we’re learning choreography, we’re asking the brain to do so many things at once: remember sequences, process music, coordinate movement, adapt when we make mistakes, and stay present with other people in the room. It’s a perfect puzzle for keeping the mind fresh.” - Harper’s Bazaar

How Samantha Morton, Circe In The New Odyssey, Survived A Grim Childhood To Become A Star

“It was theater that ultimately changed her life. Between the ages of 14 and 16 she began acting while, offstage, she kept stealing food to survive, used drugs and accumulated several arrests for violent incidents.” - El País English

Question: Is It Even Possible To Make Non-Creepy Smart Glasses?

Sure, everyone has phones, but “the phone still needs to be pulled out, held up, and have its camera activated to capture a photo or film a video. Smart glasses, with small built-in cameras and the user’s ability to obfuscate the recording notification, are much sneakier.” - Wired

How Fender’s Newish CEO Seems Intent On Ruining The Famous Guitar Company

The CEO "appears to be suggesting that, by learning to play other people’s songs, internalizing those influences, and then synthesizing them into something new, you are essentially doing the same thing as an AI.” - The Verge

Morgan Freeman’s Deep Voice Is Still Going Even As The Actor Is Almost 90

“The 89-year-old Oscar-winning actor has voiced God and presidents, and he is the go-to narrator for your favorite documentarian. He still brushes aside the impact of his immediately recognizable, resonant baritone.” - The New York Times

People Aren’t Reading As Much, But Perhaps This Will Spur Them On

That’s right: It’s a couch-to-5K, except for books. - The Guardian (UK)

Gen Z Is Saving Hollywood, Right?

Er … not really. "Moviegoing used to be a matter of habit meeting spontaneity. … Today, patrons generally plan their cinema visits in advance, and the question of what to see has collapsed into the question of whether to go at all.” - The Atlantic

How To Get From Canada To Eurovision

“It's still too soon to say how Canada's act will be chosen, but as any athlete will tell you, it's never too soon to start preparing for the international media, the next-level fans or winning over voters.” - CBC

Vincent Pastore, Who Went From Nightclub Owner To Mob Guys In ‘Goodfellas’ And ‘The Sopranos,’ Has Died At 80

Pastore once said, “It’s easier for me to play a tough guy than it is to play the good guy. … I grew up in a tough neighborhood. I didn’t study the classics. I’m a street actor. A lot of my training was on the set.” - The New York Times

When Childhood Dreams Turn Into Big Screen Reality

This guy started practicing Spider-moves and parkour as a kid, hoping he’d one day get to do stunts for Spider-Man movies … and that has paid off in a big way. - BBC

What Happens When Two Partners Working Writers Suddenly Write Together

“‘We’d always been very wary of working together because we’d quite like to stay together,’ says Sharp wryly. She looks at her partner of 13 years. ‘You don’t generally like to work with others.’” - The Guardian (UK)

They’re Re-Gilding Some Statues In DC, For Some Reason

“All four statues were a thank-you gift from Italy following the end of World War II.” - Artforum

The Power Of Images, Or, How Fake Towns On Maps Sometimes Became Real

“The logic is simple: two cartographers might easily draw the same real town, but two cartographers can’t independently dream up the same fake one. So if a rival’s map contains the same invented place, it all but proves they copied the map.” - Open Culture

Where Does All Of This ‘Odyssey’ Discourse Leave Us?

First of all, let academics write reviews of things they know about - whether you agree with their reviews or not, it jump-starts the discussion. - Vulture

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