Sometimes Grammarly doesn’t do what it should, and sometimes it even does what it shouldn’t. These strengths and failings hint at the essence of language and the peculiarity of human intelligence, as opposed to the artificial sort as it stands today. – The Economist
‘Lamborghini’ Of Ancient Roman Chariots Unearthed At Pompeii
“The chariot is preserved in remarkable detail, officials say, with four iron wheels, metal armrests and backrests, and a seat perched atop that could sit one or two people. Notably, the chariot is adorned with metal medallions depicting satyrs, nymphs and cupids, suggesting the possibility that it may have been used in marriage ceremonies.” – NPR
The Pronouns Problem
For now, pronoun declarations are both novel and blatant — which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on whether you’re socially progressive or socially conservative. As in almost every other segment of American life, society is fractured. – Los Angeles Review of Books
Australian Theatre Is Lighting The Way For The West End And Broadway
Actors get temperature-taking robots; there’s Hamiltizer for your hands if you’re rehearsing Hamilton; and then there are the actors who can’t hug – so Olaf and Elsa flash each other peace signs instead. Audience members have their own rules, and they won’t be at the stage door begging for selfies now either – but sales in Australia are strong and steady, giving producers and theatre workers hope. – The New York Times
Ripping Up The Netflix Streaming Playbook, And Winning
The Mouse – Disney Plus, in this case – has a huge back catalog, and it’s also doing this little thing called dropping a new episode once a week. What even? Well: “They’re treating The Mandalorian like it’s Seinfeld—people tune in one week and they get a great publicity bump as people talk about it over the weekend and there are roundup pieces in the press, ‘What happened on The Mandalorian last week?’ … It’s an old-fashioned PR marketing tactic.” – Fast Company
A Judy Chicago Installation Is Scrapped Because Of Sheep
And other animals. And smoke. But the project manager has some questions. “The Living Desert specialists had assured us that the project would not damage the desert or any native or captive wildlife, so their backing out is incredibly disappointing and perplexing.”- The New York Times
Steve McQueen Will Let Critics Decide If ‘Small Axe’ Is TV Or Cinema
McQueen, whose series of (what some of us would call) films hasn’t been entered for BAFTAs or Oscars, says, “I just make stuff. You are the guys who want to put labels on things. That limits your thoughts and your imagination. If you want to be limited by form then fine. But kids aren’t. It feels dusty. It feels like an old conversation.” – Irish Times
How The Internet Has (So Far) Transformed Celebrity
We live in a fragmented celebrity world, due mostly – but not entirely – to social media. It’s a global culture “where somebody can have nearly 17 million subscribers on YouTube and plenty of people can have no clue who they are.” – The Guardian (UK)
Dealing With The Existential Void At The Heart Of Our Constant Information Overload
It’s not easy for any of us. “More information isn’t always a good thing, particularly when it’s an overload of unwanted (even predatory) (mis)information.” And the designers of search engines use keywords that, to put it mildly, don’t always work for humans who aren’t the search engine designers. But new apps may give some hope. – Slate
If You Want To Watch The Golden Globes Tonight, Here’s How
And here’s who is nominated, and who, and what, might win. – Los Angeles Times
Oscars So Puritanical? One Director Thinks So
As her movie Never Rarely Sometimes Always – a quiet but hair-raising quest movie about two 17-year-olds from Pennsylvania going to New York to obtain an abortion – teeters on the verge of awards nominations, director Eliza Hittman called out at least one Academy voter who refused to watch the movie. She wrote in a (now-deleted) Instagram caption, “This email came in last night and was a harsh reminder that the Academy is still so painfully monopolized by an old white puritanical male guard. I wonder how many other voters out there won’t watch the film.” – Variety
The Real Story Of Billie Holiday And The FBI
Behind the new movie The United States vs. Billie Holiday stands a lot of history – and playwright Suzan-Lori Parks. Parks: “Jimmy Fletcher is literally, actually an agent for the United States and she falls in love with him. To me, this is all about how we love this country and it dismisses us, and how for Black people, the fastest route to being an American is to throw someone of color under the bus.” – Los Angeles Times
Yuval Waldman, Violinist And Conductor Focused On Music Composed During Times Of Oppression, 74
Waldman’s parents survived WWII and the Nazi occupation of Ukraine, and “his career in some ways reflected his multinational upbringing and his sense of music as a lifeline in a turbulent world.” – The New York Times
Reframing Nature Photography
Nature photography means what – Ansel Adams? The National Geographic‘s contests and covers? Or … the nature that’s around us all of the time in cities, in parking lots, in the area between apartment buildings, the in-between spaces where plants, bugs, birds, rodents, and some humans thrive? “Working within predominantly Black neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Los Angeles and her home city of Oakland, [California-based photographer Channell] Stone photographs locations like overgrown lots and green spaces at public housing projects, often including herself in the frame.” – NPR