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An Englishwoman In New York

How Cecily Brown moved from working as a waitress, farmer's market worker, and animator to being a working painter celebrated at the Met. - The Observer (UK)

Larissa Fasthorse On Getting The Thanksgiving Play Ready For Broadway

"It’s meant to give people that beautiful release and time together as an audience, getting to have a really good time in the theatre. But then also, to choose your metaphor, to have the uranium rods for afterwards. ... I’m trying to make these things all exist together." - American Theatre

The Fight Over Books, Libraries, And Free Information In Llano, Texas

County commissioners agreed to keep the library open and restore some banned books, but the threat isn't over. A librarian who resigned explains not only how many horrible phone calls she received, but how important the library is for the community. - NPR

Why Not Have A Cinema That Looks Like Beautiful Pile Of Melting Ice Cream?

The designer of many of India's single-screen cinemas created "visually enticing places that transported you from the commonness of the streets and prepared you for the fantastical world of movies and storytelling that was to come." AMC, take notes. - BBC

Why Board Gamers Need To Chill When People Say No

"I desperately want everyone to witness the euphoric tactical flourishes and wonderful social interactions that a great board game can foster in the right environment, but I have also come to understand that for some people, a pile of cardboard will always be a pile of cardboard." - Slate

The Asia Society Will Stop Blurring Images Of The Prophet Muhammad Online

The Asia Society blamed a contractor for the blurring of two images in its show about the underworld. "We take responsibility for this error, but this was not an active choice to censor and is being corrected." - The New York Times

Machines, Humans, And The Definition Of Art

Let's rethink the whole thing. "Seeing a work of art as indissolubly linked with an individual creator’s technical skills is a worn-out myth. The further we develop, the more this link displays its conventionality." - Los Angeles Review of Books

Collectors In Britain Are Warned Against Overzealous ‘Restorers’ Of Furniture

Is that desk an antique, or is it a much more recent piece that's been, er, "restored"? One expert says, "Quite frankly, if you want something bright and shiny, buy something new." - The Observer (UK)

Amazon’s Growth May Be Slowing, But Warehouse Injuries Are Still High

Does "move fast and break things" really have to mean "move fast and break people"? - Fast Company

What Explains The Appeal Of A Book Published More Than A Millennium Ago

For one thing, it feels shockingly contemporary - and for another, "From its opening line, The Tale of Genji signals its author’s focus on how women steer the fate of the hero." - The New York Times

Scholastic Wanted To License This Book About Romance In The Internment Camps

But Scholastic only wanted the book if author Maggie Tokuda-Hall removed all references to racism in her book about the imprisonment of thousands of Japanese Americans during WWII. - NPR

Successful Video Game Adaptations Have Some Common Threads

Respect the source material, pay for talent, use visual cues from the games, and pick wisely. (The latter seems like it might be the most difficult one to get right, considering how many adaptations have gone wrong. - Washington Post

Time Might Have Defined The ‘Most Influential’ Writers Of 2023 By Accident

Well, not accidentally, but not on purpose. Its list of the 100 Most Influential People is "surprisingly literary! I mean, it’s not that literary, but considering that the TIME editors typically limit themselves to a single novelist among the 100, books seem to be coming up in the world." - LitHub

As She Leaves The Arena Stage, Molly Smith Has Some Post-Pandemic Audience Thoughts

How is the DC theatre doing? Well, each production is "either a boffo hit, with tons and tons of people, or it’s small audiences." Some shows are good, "but they weren’t events. That seems to be the thing that’s drawing people out of their pajamas right now." - American Theatre

Digital Modeling Is A Key Component In Restoring Notre Dame

Of course, stories abound about the ways artisans skilled in medieval construction have helped recreate the beloved cathedral. "But the builders, architects, and engineers do have the advantage of some 21st century technologies." - Fast Company

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