ArtsJournal - Newsside

The Dictionary With The Awesome Twitter Account

WORDS Posted:

“If you were ever a nerd who thought of the dictionary as your best friend … well, this is sort of like that dictionary has finally come to life and loves you back and also tweets about words all the time.” A conversation with the folks behind @MerriamWebster.

Sergei Polunin’s Rise, Fall, And Return To Dance – And What He Thinks About It Now

DANCE Posted:

This preview of the documentary Dancer gives a good overview of the story of “ballet’s James Dean” – with quotes like this one about his troubled period in London: “At first, I didn’t want to talk to the media, I feel like I was shaken into talking to them, then they became [a sounding board]. … I started using the media as psychiatrists, I guess, they were someone to talk to.”

Why Oscars Season, Like Christmas-Shopping Season, Keeps Getting Earlier And Earlier

MEDIA Posted:

“When the early ceremonies give out their awards, often the only people who’ve seen the films are critics, festivalgoers, and (sometimes) their own voting bodies. Are these awards about recognition, or are they about advocacy, or are they about attempting to steer a conversation? Or they, at this point, just about being first?”

5,000-Year-Old City Unearthed In Egypt

VISUAL Posted:

The first reports on this find in English, which came out just as the Thanksgiving holiday was starting, said that the ruins archaeologists found near Abydos in southern Egypt were 7,000 years old. That seems to have been a mistranslation from the initial news release in Arabic. Even so, this is one of the earliest settlements yet found in the country.

‘The Pérez Art Museum Miami Just Got A Lot More Pérez – $15 Million Worth’

VISUAL Posted:

“The longtime arts supporter for whom the 3-year-old public museum is named, Jorge Pérez, has pledged a multimillion-dollar gift to the museum over the next 10 years with specific instructions. The goal: to acquire the works of Cuban and Latin American artists and bolster the museum’s endowment.”

Ethan Stiefel Is Making A Ballet About The Space Program

DANCE Posted:

Washington Ballet director Julie Kent commissioned him to create a work for the JFK centennial celebrations at the Kennedy Center – but, as he says, “I didn’t want to do JFK: The Ballet.” (Think of the fights over who’d get to dance Jackie and Marilyn.) He came up with the idea for what to do instead (where else?) on one of his motorcycle odysseys.

So A Man Goes Into An Auction And Buys A Painting. He Turns Around And Sells It At Huge Profit. Now The Seller Is Mad At The Auction House

VISUAL Posted:

The auction house is Sotheby’s and the sellers have big questions. “The traders asked Sotheby’s, according to court papers, whether it had been aware that there was a much higher price to be had for the painting. Hadn’t Sotheby’s taken the painting, presale, to an apartment where the Russian billionaire had viewed it? Were the traders misled to favor the Swiss dealer, a valued Sotheby’s client named Yves Bouvier?”

Why Do We Change Our Minds After Making Decisions? Brain Scientists Investigate:

IDEAS Posted:

“Both sets of studies confirm the importance of evidence accumulated after a decision has been made, but diverge on the source of this evidence. The Cambridge group suggests that an incoming stream of evidence is continually accumulated both before and after a choice has been made. By contrast, the Trinity College group suggests that top-down signals – information that feeds back to influence earlier stages of processing – provide an additional input to enable changes of mind.”

A Week Post-Pence, “Hamilton” Sets New Record For Broadway Box Office

AUDIENCE, THEATRE Posted:

The show grossed $3.3 million in the week. “It is not clear how many seats “Hamilton” sold for a $998 box office price, but the show’s high average paid admission last week — $303, which is also a Broadway record — suggests that a substantial number of seats were sold for a premium ( these are the official box office prices — many people pay more buying tickets from resellers).”

Composer Andrew Norman Wins $100K Grawemeyer Award – And Has Some, Well, Mixed Feelings About It

MUSIC Posted:

Sure, he’s deeply honored, no question. But, he says, “sometimes the recognition is actually bad for me. In my head it’s tricky because now there’s yet another layer of expectation.” And there’s this: “Maybe I can use this moment to … call attention to the fact that there are problems. For instance, this award has been given to three women out of its 30-year history. And to me that’s kind of an issue.” (includes audio)

Top Posts From AJBlogs 11.28.16

AJBlogs Posted:

The common problem
I have a theory that you don’t become a full-fledged adult until you’ve weathered the death of someone with whom you are intimate, not in distant memory but at the actual moment of that person’s demise. … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-11-28

Monday Recommendation: George Cables
George Cables, The George Cables Songbook (High Note) … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-11-28

 

California Cities Consider A “Netflix Tax” For Streaming Media

MEDIA Posted:

“Public officials have argued that taxation rules need to be revised to account for changing technologies. It is unfair, some say, that people who get video through cable television are taxed while those who have shifted over to internet streaming services are not. One question officials would need to resolve is where to stop, analysts say. If streaming video is taxable, then what about music, podcasts or video games?”

No #OscarsSoWhite This Year?

MEDIA Posted:

“By any measurement, it’s been an exceptional year for blacks in film. From comedies to high-quality dramas and documentaries, 2016 will forever represent a bonanza year for black cinema, and all cinema really.”

The Simple Life Versus A Complicated Life – Which Is Preferable?

IDEAS Posted:

“Through much of human history, frugal simplicity was not a choice but a necessity – and since necessary, it was also deemed a moral virtue. But with the advent of industrial capitalism and a consumer society, a system arose that was committed to relentless growth, and with it grew a population (aka ‘the market’) that was enabled and encouraged to buy lots of stuff that, by traditional standards, was surplus to requirements. As a result, there’s a disconnect between the traditional values we have inherited and the consumerist imperatives instilled in us by contemporary culture.”

The Life Of A Tour And Production Manager With 250 Crew Members To Wrangle

MUSIC Posted:

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra only tours at Christmas, and the band likes its spectacle to be truly spectacular – which means a lot of trucks and a lot of crew. Production manager Elliott Saltzman: “Our schedule is pretty amazing. … We’re going to do almost 22,000 miles, 34 states, 61 cities, 105 shows, and 44 double-show days.”