Of the five that WQXR has chosen to cite and congratulate, one is well-established and well-known, one is newer but has made the news, one’s unglamorous but very useful, one’s an outreach idea we’d never thought of, and one’s not really a project at all (but it involves a lot of heros). — WQXR (New York City)
If You Delete Facebook, Should You Also Delete Instagram And Whatsapp?
Maybe. If you’re hard-core. “If your goal is to opt out of Facebook’s digital surveillance apparatus altogether, then you probably should quit Instagram and Whatsapp too—along with Messenger and Oculus VR. But beware that you won’t have totally escaped the social network.” – Slate
The Full Story Behind The Most Famous Photo Of Our Only Planet
The photo turns 50 years old on Christmas Eve this year, but why did it affect humanity’s view of the Earth so strongly? The photo – called “Earthrise” – “with its incontestable beauty, a beauty that had needed no eye of a beholder for billions of years, … caught the human heart by surprise.” – The Guardian (UK)
Yes, International Audiences Can Appreciate – And Spend Money On – ‘Minority’ Actors And Movies
Though Tyler Perry movies aren’t popular overseas, three movies from this year of U.S. cinema have shown that it’s time for a Hollywood industry shift on actors of color. Check the numbers for Black Panther, Crazy Rich Asians, and BlackKlansman, and it’s all too obvious that “conventional wisdom” is about as unwise as you can get. – The New York Times
Catrin Finch And Seckou Keita – The Two Harps Are Back For The Holidays
Kora and concert harp, played together, are “so beautiful that almost anything that Catrin and Seckou play will seduce the ear.” – Michal Shapiro
A Literary Cry Of Grief For The Ending Of ‘Tin House’
Sure, the site, and its books and workshops, will continue, but losing the literary magazine is a real blow. Karen Russell: “Tin House was so inviting, so beautiful and so playful. … You sort of felt like readers all are welcome here, and these are your people. These are the lovers of language, the super weirdos, the poets and the wizards that you want to be with.” – NPR
The Art Project With Its Roots In An S&M Magazine That Failed
Recent art history for the long holiday weekend: “For the late photographer Steve Kahn, ‘The Hollywood Suites,’ a series of images that chronicled, in conceptual ways, the interiors of a dilapidated no-tell hotel on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, all started with a bondage magazine.” – Los Angeles Times
‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Isn’t Perfect, But It Made A Perfect Decision About The Idea Of Having It All
Sometimes, it’s not possible to be devoted to art and to have love and a family. [Spoiler alert for the end of Season 2 ahead.] “‘I can’t go back to Jell-O molds,’ Midge tells her soon-to-be-ex-husband, Joel. ‘There won’t be three [kids] before 30 for me. I just made a choice. I am gonna be all alone for the rest of my life.'” – The Atlantic
Audrey Geisel, The Keeper Of Dr. Seuss’ Flame, Has Died At 97
Geisel, the widow of Theodor Geisel and a fierce protector and advocate for his estate, died on Wednesday. “Ms. Geisel, a petite woman of boundless energy, would hold court each morning with aides at a hotel restaurant in San Diego, The Associated Press reported, arriving in a 1984 Cadillac with a license plate that said GRINCH.” – The New York Times
Who’s Going To Sing The King’s College Solo On Christmas?
No one knows until – get this – until the broadcast starts. So if you’re a choirboy, you’d best be ready. – BBC
Technology Advances – And Architectural Choices – Lie Behind Modern Partiers’ Obsession With The Kitchen
A century ago, kitchens smelled terrible, and no one at parties would want to be caught dead socializing with the servants in the land of inefficient refrigeration and terrible cleaning agents, not to mention the plumbing. Now, things are different. – NPR