The traffic started out the other way, of course, with over-the-air programs being released as or adapted into podcasts. “But podcasting has turned into an incubator of sorts for new radio shows, with several now making their way to local airwaves. … Starting out as a podcast offers show creators a chance to explore and experiment while also building a following — which can help when the subject matter is inherently challenging.” – The Washington Post
The Rage Fueling The New Campus Novels
A life made, or half-made, under conditions of academic precarity is often a paranoid, anxious, stupefying life—stupefying in part because, in some sense, you chose it. – The Nation
New AI System Makes Dubbing Of Films In Foreign Languages Less Awful
“The process begins with recording an actor speaking the dialog in the required language, as one would in a dubbing process, explains co-founder and filmmaker Scott Mann. The new audio and picture would then be delivered to [the company, called] Flawless, which would effectively use its AI-driven system to create a lip-synced picture.” – The Hollywood Reporter
How A John Denver Song Inspired A Generation Of Asian Immigrants
Over the past half century, Denver’s Appalachian anthem has also lodged in the hearts of many families in Asia, thousands of miles away from the Blue Ridge Mountains. In a 2009 paper, the sociologists Grant Blank and Heidi Netz Rupke published an informal survey of college classrooms in Western China that found that “Country Roads” was the most popular American song among the students. – The Atlantic
Redefining Monuments In Philadelphia Neighborhoods
Not granite or bronze, these new monuments by Deborah Willis, Sadie Barnette, Ebony G. Patterson, Courtney Bowles and Mark Strandquist, and Black Quantum Futurism, consist of outdoor sculptures and photography, storefront activations and performances. – The New York Times
Finally, A Decent App For Borrowing Ebooks From The Library
A clunky, outmoded piece of software called OverDrive had been the standard app for getting reading material from the library onto your Kindle. Instead of merely upgrading, OverDrive (the company) created a new, far more user-friendly app called Libby which debuted but only started getting public attention over the past year. – Engadget
Verizon Sells The Internet Junkyard (AOL, Yahoo…)
The telecom giant is selling Yahoo, AOL and the remainder of its Verizon Media brands to the private equity firm Apollo Global Management in a $5 billion deal announced Monday. – The Hollywood Reporter
How Four Regional Ballet Companies Are Moving Back Into In-Person Performance
“Pointe spoke to four U.S. ballet companies — Milwaukee Ballet, Orlando Ballet, Avant Chamber Ballet [of Dallas] and Columbia City Ballet [in South Carolina] — about how they have cautiously made their way back to live audiences. For each, the road back to the stage meant a combination of lessons learned throughout the pandemic, adhering to government and health and safety policies, and dogged determination.” – Pointe Magazine
ABT To Mark End Of Lockdown With Eight-City, 3,100-Mile Tour
“Performances during the [July] tour will take place outdoors on a custom-built stage designed to unfold from an 18-wheeler truck. At each stop, 20 members of the company will perform a 50-minute show comprising four pieces.” – The New York Times
Jacques d’Amboise, Ballet Dancer, Choreographer, And Teacher, Dead At 86
“[He] combined classical elegance with all-American verve and athleticism to become one of the top male dancers at New York City Ballet, then spent more than four decades providing free dance education to countless youngsters through his National Dance Institute.” – Yahoo! (AP)
Re-Entering Community Life In Person — But I Have Stage Fright
“In my official capacity as theater critic, I’m prepared to make a cultural diagnosis. As the pandemic shows signs of coming under control in the U.S., an epidemic of stage fright is exploding.” – Los Angeles Times
NYC To Lift COVID Capacity Restrictions May 19. Broadway Back?
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that one capacity restriction that will remain in place, with limits still being mandated on the number of people who can attend events at large outdoor stadiums. Those will remain at 33% capacity. Even though the rules have been loosened, Broadway isn’t expected to welcome guests back for several weeks, even months. – Variety
Eli Broad, Philanthropic Cautionary Tale
Broad’s style — his power plays, his demands for control and fealty, and his determination to go it alone — meant that controversy and ill-feeling dogged many of his big projects. He fell out with the architects; he crossed swords with directors such as Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Michael Govan; and his behavior stirred up resentments among fellow cultural philanthropists, many of whom refused to give to projects that had Broad’s name on them. – Washington Post
Blaming Liam Scarlett’s Death On Cancel Culture Is Just Another Way To Shut Victims Up
Reactions such as choreographer Alexei Ratmansky’s social media post that claimed “Cancel culture is killing” are deeply harmful – they place “a burden of guilt on victims who may have come forward during the investigations, at a time when the ballet world is finally reckoning with the way it has normalized abuse over time.” – Dance Magazine
Rome’s Colosseum To Get New High-Tech Floor
Milan Ingegneria, a structural engineering and architecture firm, has won an €18.5m (£16m) bid to build and install a retractable arena floor that will allow visitors “to see the majesty of the monument” from its centre, culture minister Dario Franceschini said on Sunday. – The Guardian