Over the past few decades, this ethos of cheerless duty has been overtaken by the imperative to love your work. Graduation speakers, human resources departments, and motivational memes keep telling us we ought to merge passion with profession. But work remains stubbornly unlovable. Especially for workers in the United States, the hours are long, wages have not remotely kept up with productivity, and job security is minimal. – The New Republic
Hollywood Rediscovers The Limited Series
Once thought of as a relic of yesteryear, the limited series—or miniseries, depending on which generation you belong to—has rapidly shifted back into focus. – Fast Company
One Composer’s Long Slog To Make A Giant TV Network Pay For Using His Music
Unbeknownst to the composer, waiting beyond a YouTube search for his name was a seeming subindustry that consistently used Kerry Muzzey’s music without his knowledge. ContentID surfaced roughly 20,000 videos for Muzzey in the first month—200 or 400 more got flagged every single day. – Ars Technica
Georgia Towns Sue Netflix To Make Them Pay Cable Fees
Three municipalities in Georgia are suing Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming video providers for as much as 5 percent of their gross revenue in the district — joining a nationwide group of towns and counties that want these services regulated more like cable TV. It’s a small but growing front in the war over cord-cutting, challenging regulators to decide which matters more: the increasing role streaming services play in American media diets or their significant practical differences from traditional TV. – The Verge
Meet Maya Phillips, The NYT’s Newest Critic-At-Large
“There have been a lot of bad things happening this year, obviously. But the good thing about being a critic during this pandemic is that it forces us to be flexible in a way that a lot of critics may have been resistant to. I think it’s really essential that we don’t lock critics in this very strict, old-fashioned idea of what criticism is and should be. The pandemic has emphasized that there should be a broadening of ideas of how the arts interact, and in theatre, what the art form even is. That’s really intimidating but also exciting, and I’m fortunate to be stepping into this space on such a large platform at such a strange, experimental time.” – American Theatre
Mattel Rolls Out A New “Maya Angelou Barbie”
The new Barbie, whose face is “sculpted to Dr Angelou’s likeness” and who is wearing a head-wrap, jewellery and floral print dress on its “curvy body”, joins Rosa Parks and Florence Nightingale in the “Inspiring Women” series of Barbie dolls. – The Guardian
The Power Of Jigsaw Puzzles To Put The World Back Together
If maps are representations of a larger reality, then jigsaws are maps too. Indeed, they began life this way, as ‘dissected maps’. Invented by the British cartographer John Spilsbury in the 1760s, the earliest puzzles were designed to make geography lessons more fun for schoolchildren and, no doubt, inculcate them early into the cult of empire. – Psyche
Ominous Juxtaposition? Biden Flanked by Duncanson’s “Rainbow” & Statue of a Murdered President
Am I the only one who gasped at the photo in this tweet? – Lee Rosenbaum
Read (And Watch Again) Amanda Gorman’s Inauguration Poem
Here’s the video and the transcript. – The Hill
The Tiniest Art Gallery (And Please Take The Art)
“The idea is pretty simple — anyone is welcome to leave a piece, take a piece or just have a look around and enjoy what’s inside,” said Stacy Milrany, a painter who runs a small, appointment-only gallery featuring her works. – Washington Post
When They Make A Movie About Your Wife’s Illness And Death, And Critics Hate It
Journalist Matthew Teague made his career covering war and disaster zones, but it was a longform essay for Esquire about his wife’s terminal cancer that got him a National Magazine Award, legions of new fans, and a movie deal. “What he didn’ account for was just how cruel Hollywood can be when a movie does come together, an experience he is still coming to terms with.” – The New York Times
Art Collector/Felon Tries To Redeem His Reputation With Museums (Built With Spaniards’ Tax Money)
“[Roberto] Polo, a financier whose roller-coaster career included a major art fraud scandal that landed him in prison, has recently resurfaced in central Spain, where last month he defied the coronavirus pandemic to inaugurate a museum in the medieval hilltop city of Cuenca that is devoted to his collection. His first art space opened in 2019, in Toledo, a city that once hosted the Spanish court of the Holy Roman Empire.” – The New York Times
Boris Johnson’s Gov’t Passes On Pursuing Visa Waiver For British Musicians Touring EU
“The Musicians’ Union (MU) has been lobbying for the creation of a ‘musicians’ passport’ that would last at least two years, cost nothing or very little, encompass all EU member states, prevent any requirement for carnets or other permits, and cover road crew, technicians and other necessary staff to facilitate touring.” Britain’s culture minister rejected that plan this week during questions in Parliament. – The Guardian
On His Way Out, Trump Designates Heroes For His Garden Of American Greatness
The earlier order laid out a vision for a garden to “depict historically significant Americans” at a to-be-determined place with a target date for public access of July 4, 2026. The list of those Trump wants to honor is wide-ranging; it includes past politicians, musicians, artists, astronauts, movie stars, philosophers, athletes and other historical figures. Trump’s order says the garden would be paid for and maintained by the Department of the Interior. – NPR
A Concert Series Programmed For You To Stream While Going To Sleep
The Philadelphia new-music producer Bowerbird has planned a set of seven concerts, each timed for 10:00 or 11:00 pm, that aim to put listeners in that odd space between sleep and wakefulness — thus the series title, Liminal States. Says pianist Marilyn Nonken, who opens the set next Wednesday with Morton Feldman’s Triadic Memories, “Everybody is so traumatized and beat up that if a concert involves another state of awareness, that’s a very attractive prospect. … It’s a physically different place … where your brain waves change.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Trump Pardons Disgraced Art Dealer
“Helly Nahmad, a member of the Nahmad family dynasty and the son of art collector David Nahmad, was caught running an illegal gambling ring worth $100 million out of his apartment in Trump Tower in New York. He owns the entirety of the building’s 51st floor, which reportedly cost a collective $21 million.” – Artnet
BBC Faces ‘Financial Risk’ As Viewers’ Habits Change
The UK’s national broadcaster is funded by mandatory license fees, charged annually to every household that owns a television set. But as more and more Britons, especially younger ones, consume all their video via streaming on their computers and phones, fewer and fewer of them have televisions to pay license fees on. And so, says a report from the UK National Audit Office, the BBC “faces considerable uncertainty” in its future and needs to prepare “a long-term financial plan … as soon as possible.” – BBC