Unlike ideas of air, food and water that allow us to think about the everyday resources we need to survive, the venerable notions of knowledge, truth or justice don’t obviously cater to practical needs. – Aeon
Why Is Amazon’s Science Fiction So Toxic?
Amazon has shat out science-fiction programming for years, and it ranges, on the smell-o-meter, from the merely obnoxious to the just plain noxious—a flatulence that fluctuates. – Wired
Creativity Scores Are Going Down
“A researcher at the University of William and Mary analyzed 300,000 Torrance Test scores since the ’50s. She found that creativity scores began to nosedive in 1990. – Inc
Study: Why We See Faces In Inanimate Objects
Face pareidolia – seeing faces in random objects or patterns of light and shadow – is an everyday phenomenon. Once considered a symptom of psychosis, it arises from an error in visual perception. – The Guardian
Dancing To Heal From Turmoil And Tragedy
Ari Honarvar, who as a teen danced secretly to get herself through life in post-revolution Iran, writes about how she now leads communal dancing as therapy for Central American asylum-seekers marooned in Tijuana. – Slate
Notre-Dame’s Neighbors Sue City Of Paris Over Lead Levels After Fire
“The plaintiffs” — local residents and a powerful labor union — “accuse the authorities of ‘grave negligence’, which they say exposed city dwellers, particularly children and those working to restore the cathedral, to dangerous levels of toxic lead dust.” – The Guardian
Inside The Black Market For College Essays
“For every privileged kid too lazy to write an essay, there was a more complex story. To my surprise, of the hundreds of clients I worked with, many—maybe most—students were simply desperate for the help.” – Slate
Dallas Theatre Promises To Diversify, Then Announces An All-White Cast
“An effort was made. Was it good enough? Was it the right effort? Was it an effort that was still within the blind spots that we have? Possibly.” – Dallas Morning News
People Are Returning To Movie Theatres. Just Not Enough Of Them
With pandemic limitations in mind, as of early July, the overall domestic box office has reached $1.05 billion in ticket sales, down 42.3% from 2020 and down 81.3% from 2019. – Variety
Signs Netflix Is In Decline?
Netflix is the Kleenex of streaming, a brand so dominant it can stand for the whole of the market. (It’s not “Hulu and chill,” after all.) There are signs that this synecdochal power is waning, though. – Wired
How The LA Times Brought Down The Golden Globes
“When we were working on the story, it didn’t occur to us in our wildest dreams that not only would NBC pull the show, but Tom Cruise would return his Golden Globes.” – The Postscript
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Has Become A Master Of Visual Communications Tools
Alexandra Lange takes a look at the New York City congresswoman’s “ability to get her message across visually, through graphic design, through fashion, and through social media.” – Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)
Experts Stunned By Huntington Museum’s Decision To Allow Iconic Old Master To Travel
Sending the picture abroad was unanimously opposed by the expert team, who believed travel puts the prized work at grave risk. – Los Angeles Times
Jivan Gasparyan, Who Entranced The World With An Armenian Shepherd’s Pipe, Dead At 92
“What he accomplished during his career was remarkable — not just in terms of his personal achievement, but also what he accomplished for his instrument’s profile. … He transformed the duduk from a purely folk instrument … into a force on the concert stage,” recordings and film scores. – NPR
Beeple Starts Up A Cross Between Christie’s And Sports Illustrated, But For NFTs
It’s not enough that he sold his own NFT for $69 million. The graphic artist and some even richer tech and entertainment types have launched WENEW, which sells NFT images of “iconic” athletes, artists, and such. The platform’s motto: “The Memory Palace of the Metaverse.” – Artnet
Bury Old Movies & Shows That Now Seem Offensive? This TV Network Has A Better Idea
“[AMC’s] ‘Can We Talk About This?’ video initiative … is designed to acknowledge what may have been acceptable at one point in history is not now and perhaps never should have been. … This way, the networks don’t lose programming, but rather get a chance to recontextualize it.” – Variety
City Of Dallas Wants To Offload Its Classical Radio Station
The City of Dallas owns a classical radio station? Yep. WRR Classical 101 FM, which celebrates its 100th birthday next month, is operated by the municipal Office of Arts and Culture — for now. With revenue down because of COVID, the city is seeking a nonprofit to take over. – Inside Radio
Dilip Kumar, Bollywood’s First Great Realistic Actor, Dead At 98
“In a career that spanned five decades, Kumar is widely regarded as the finest actor India has ever produced. Starring in some of the all-time classic films of Indian cinema, Kumar’s versatility and command of his craft allowed him to excel across genres.” – The Hollywood Reporter
Why Are So Many Musicians Looking To Space For Inspiration?
It is understandable that musicians believe in extraterrestrial beings: after a year socialising over Zoom or from behind a mask, every interaction IRL feels like you need to relearn social skills after arriving from another planet. – The Guardian
Let’s Take A Look At How Museums Deal With Ownership Of Nazi-Era Collections…
The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston have repeatedly rejected the heirs’ claims for paintings that were sold at the same auctions. – The New York Times
Extraordinary Times: Smithsonian Natural History Museum Turns To Art To Demonstrate Climate Change
The museum staff decided the situation is so complex that they had to turn to photography and conceptual art to address it. – Washington Post
At last! Live music, pure and uncompromised
My first visit to the kind of concert that could’ve happened before March of 2020: the bold pianist Beth Levin at Bargemusic in Brooklyn. – David Patrick Stearns
This Pair Returned MGM To Glory. Then Amazon Gobbled It Up. What Happens Now?
Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy “have compiled a heady mix of A-list directors and compelling material they hope hearkens back to the days when Fred Astaire and Judy Garland roamed the [studio]. The next six months will show if their strategy pays off.” – The New York Times