In an essay titled “Cheeseburger ethics,” Eric Schwitzgebel argues, “We – most of us – actually aim at mediocrity. The cheeseburger ethicist is perhaps only unusually honest with herself about this. We aspire to be about as morally good as our peers … B+ on the great moral curve of white middle-class college-educated North Americans. Let others get the As.”
Movie Analysts Say Hollywood On Track For A Record Year At The Box Office
“The most optimistic box-office prognosticators say the industry will notch $11.2 billion in ticket sales in 2015, beating last year by 9% and setting a record for North America, not adjusted for inflation. Piper Jaffray analyst James Marsh this week increased his full-year estimate to $10.9 billion from $10.8 billion. Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter has also increased his projection by a percentage point to $11 billion.”
Fringe Actors Lose Case Over Minimum Wage Pay
“The tribunal centred on whether the actors could be classed as “workers” under law – and therefore entitled to the minimum wage. But the judge decided they should be regarded as self-employed professionals.”
Why Did Detroit File Felony Charges Against Celebrity Street Artist Shepard Fairey
“This is exactly what he wants. He wears his warrants on his sleeve like badges of honor. He’s using the judicial system and the media to market himself. It’s a minor investment and in return his name stays relevant. He’s been doing this for years, and he’s great at it.”
Is Streaming Helping Or Hurting The Music Business?
“I was interested in the number of streams I got on Spotify and I think it was around five million plays of the entire album from start to finish, in America, which for me was really exciting. But at the same time I didn’t see any money from that… so I don’t think it’s actually made a difference how the company sees me as an artist.”
New Thing: Dance Parties Early In The Morning
“The concept for Daybreaker came about in 2013 inside a Brooklyn falafel shop. Founders Radha Agrawal and Matthew Brimer were musing over their night of dancing when they had the idea to take the energy and inclusiveness of the nightclub scene and infuse it into the weekday morning routine.”
Report: Did Smithsonian Fail To Disclose Major Gift From Cosbys?
“Following last week’s news that the Smithsonian would stand by its much-criticized exhibition ‘Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue,’ which features a number of works from Bill and Camille Cosby’s personal collection, the Associated Press is now reporting that the Cosbys also gave the museum $716,000. As the report notes, that gift “virtually covers the entire cost” of the show.”
Plan To Sell Off NY City Opera Assets Is Withdrawn
“The opera’s board has recently been weighing another option: reorganizing the company through the bankruptcy process, with one of the bidders serving as a plan sponsor. That course could make it easier for NYCO to retain a bequest estimated to be worth $5.5 million.”
Tempest In A British Teapot: Complaints About Clenched Buttocks In ‘Mr. Turner’
“Timothy Spall’s clenched buttocks” – clothed, no less – “in Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner were the subject of 19 letters of complaint to the British Board of Film Classification.”
Reviewing The Reviews Of “Go Set A Watchman”
Jane Ciabattari finds that early assessments of the “new” Harper Lee novel fall into five categories.
Why Did Mendelssohn Never Write An Opera?
His music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream seems so promising. Yet “spend any time in the company of Mendelssohn’s letters, and it becomes clear that here is a man of prodigious talent, shining intellect and bubbling enthusiasm who, when it came to opera, pretty much pressed self-destruct on any project that was suggested to him.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 07.14.15
It’s a work in progress, but it’s crucial work
AJBlog: Field Notes Published 2015-07-14
The Willingness to Unlearn
AJBlog: Field Notes Published 2015-07-14
The Ethics of Process
AJBlog: Field Notes Published 2015-07-14
The Commons
AJBlog: Field Notes Published 2015-07-14
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Shepard Fairey Expected To Turn Himself In To Detroit Police Today
Fairey, 45, is accused of causing about $9,000 in damage to nine illegally tagged properties while he was in Detroit in May. He was invited to the city for commissioned work that included an 18-story mural on One Campus Martius for Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock Real Estate Services and others.
Shepard Fairey’s Arrest In Detroit Suggests A New Era For Street Art
“Fairey’s arrest, and his release, provides a window into the evolution of street art, its growing acceptance in American culture and the extent to which an old question, ‘Is it art or is it vandalism?’ now gets answered through new eyes. The social media and press attention that the Detroit incident received speaks to the artist’s fame, which is itself a marker of how street art has become part of the zeitgeist.”
How Much Are The Arts Worth? Report Says £7.7bn To UK Economy
A major independent report has revealed that arts and culture contribute £7.7 billion to the economy, an increase of 36% in three years.
Coroner: BB King Was Not Poisoned
“Tests conducted after two of the musical icon’s 11 adult children said their father had been murdered showed the cause of death was Alzheimer’s disease, plus physical conditions including coronary disease, heart failure and the effects of Type 2 diabetes, Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg told The Associated Press.”
Shepard Fairey To Turn Himself In On Detroit Arrest Warrant
“World-renowned street artist Shepard Fairey is planning to turn himself in to Detroit authorities today on charges that he illegally tagged public and private property in the city.”