“It’s the Faustian bargain we’ve all struck. In exchange for a ‘free’ web, we give you our time. Unfortunately, this structure is unsustainable and is compromising both our experience of the web and the quality of the things we consume.”
If You Think Pee-Wee Herman Is Gay, You’re Sorta Missing The Joke
“Pee-wee might live in a world of adult longings and eroticism, but Pee-wee does not partake. It’s not that he’s queer or even asexual, but that – by being frozen in a state of stunted adolescence – he exists in a prepubescent universe where sexuality doesn’t quite exist yet.”
How American Psycho Patrick Bateman Became An American (Anti-)Hero
“Over the past decade or so, Bateman has become a pop something, a grinning, blood-flecked national gargoyle. A brash new musical based on American Psycho is set to open on Broadway. You can purchase Bateman action figures. Bateman memes – photographs and GIFs from the director Mary Harron’s excellent 2000 film version of American Psycho – splash across every corner of the web. (‘I have to return some videotapes’ is among the movie’s indelible lines.)”
China Resorts To Tax Break To Get Its Cinemas To Show Chinese Films
“Last week, state regulators announced that Chinese theater chains that generate at least two-thirds of their box office receipts from local Chinese films will be able to keep half of a five percent tax they usually pay on ticket sales.”
‘Conductrix’ – It’s Like ‘Guitar Hero’ For An Entire Orchestra
Co-creator Eimear Noone: “I thought, what if you could create a virtual experience where people could experience what I feel and see on the podium, the high I get when the main theme from Zelda kicks in?”
How Should The National African American Museum Handle Bill Cosby?
Not the way it’s been planning to, say accusers.
The Programmer Who Broke The Internet By Deleting A Tiny Piece Of Code
“‘I think I have the right of deleting all my stuff,’ Koçulu wrote on March 20 in an email that was later made public. And then he did it.”
The Architects Whose Folk Museum Was Destroyed Are Now Causing Controversy With Their Own Renovation
“‘The Charles Moore building is being unnecessarily violated,’ said Robert A. M. Stern, dean of the Yale School of Architecture. ‘It’s a terrible irony that Tod and Billie are caught in this situation, considering that they were so visibly upset about the demolition of their Folk Art Museum.'”
Therapeutic Opera, Coming To A House Near You
“The gist is this: contact the Opera Helps phoneline with a personal problem, and they will endeavour to send a singer to your house. Said singer will briefly discuss the issue with you, select a suitable aria that addresses it, then perform it for you while you relax in familiar surroundings: on a comfortable chair, for instance, or even in bed.”
Writer And ‘Free Spirit’ Jim Harrison Has Died At 78
“He was perhaps the leading exponent of the small subgenre in which shotguns and shoe leather play a far greater role than balsamic reduction.”
The Ballet Company That Doesn’t Pretend Compulsory Heterosexuality Is Real
“The word ‘Ballez’ was born, initially as a joke. We thought, ‘What could be more ridiculous than downtown, queer dancers expressing their values in a ballet?'”
A Von Trapp Tries To Bring New Energy To Old Rodgers And Hammerstein Songs
Elizabeth von Trapp “listened as Vermont musician Christopher Peterman led ‘The Sound of Music’ not with the sweeping orchestral music fans of that movie are used to, but with a wistful saxophone that tapped into something deeper. That was just what she was looking for.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs For 03.27.16
How Relevant is My Arts Organization? Take this Self-Test!
Arts administrators worry. We worry about cash flow. We worry about achieving and sustaining consensus. We worry about attracting and retaining quality staff team. We worry about logistics. We worry about outstanding grant applications and… … read more
AJBlog: Audience WantedPublished 2016-03-27 David Baker, 1931-2016
AJBlog: Audience WantedPublished 2016-03-27 David Baker, 1931-2016
No vacation can deflect the march of time. I am sad to learn of the death yesterday at 84 of the trombonist, cellist, composer and music educator David Baker. He is pictured here, on the… … read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2016-03-27
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2016-03-27
South Africa’s Citizen Artists: Mbovu Malinga*
*This is the second essay in a series of four “We the Audience” posts designed to introduce my readers to the citizen artists working in some of South Africa’s most challenged areas. Today’s essay focuses… … read more
AJBlog: We The AudiencePublished 2016-03-27
*This is the second essay in a series of four “We the Audience” posts designed to introduce my readers to the citizen artists working in some of South Africa’s most challenged areas. Today’s essay focuses… … read more
AJBlog: We The AudiencePublished 2016-03-27
Trump Detour: Via Bernie’s Home State
Once upon a time — in Vermont, of all places — Sinclair Lewis sat down to write a counterfactual satire about American politics. Never having cracked the book myself, I’m grateful to Chris Braithwaite for… … read more
AJBlog: Straight|UpPublished 2016-03-25
Once upon a time — in Vermont, of all places — Sinclair Lewis sat down to write a counterfactual satire about American politics. Never having cracked the book myself, I’m grateful to Chris Braithwaite for… … read more
AJBlog: Straight|UpPublished 2016-03-25
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Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Has Become A Video Game Impresario
“Justice O’Connor’s own passions and priorities were central to the development of a number of the games — among them Supreme Decision, in which students take on the role of an imaginary Supreme Court justice who must cast the deciding vote in a case.”
Clap Between Movements, Wear A T-Shirt, Whatever, Just Come To The Symphony
“They know they’re doing their jobs when there is clapping between movements: They got someone who has never experienced classical music into a seat at E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall in Akron. And they’ve enticed another person away from his or her smartphone, laptop, iPad or other device for live music.”
‘Women Who Move Us’: Dance Theater Of Harlem Launches Female Choreographers Project
“Lately, the world of ballet has been scrutinized and criticized for two things: its lack of diversity and the paucity of female choreographers. Dance Theater of Harlem has the first one covered. This season, it will do something about the second.”