“The rise of spoiler-free criticism seems like a move away from criticism as art — and a move toward criticism as an arm of fandom marketing. It’s fine to not want spoilers in your criticism. But there is something distasteful about the assumption that providing spoilers is some sort of lapse in ethics or etiquette.”
Month: November 2014
Why We Create Better In The Middle Of The Night (Yes, Really)
“Blissfully zonked out by prolactin, our night brains allow ideas to emerge and intertwine as they might in a dream.”
Wait, Is ‘Jane Eyre’ A Genre Novel? (And If So, What The Heck *Is* Genre?)
“Why not just let books be books? The thing is that genre doesn’t have to be vexing. It can be illuminating. It can be useful for writers and readers to think in terms of groups and traditions. And a good genre system — a system that really fits reality — can help us see the traditions in which we’re already, unconsciously, immersed.”
Figuring Out Rome’s Graffiti, One Century At A Time
“These graffiti are indices, minute traces testifying that our relationship with masterpieces, between the 15th and 19th centuries, was very different from what it is today.”
It’s Official: Atlanta Symphony Lockout Is Over
The ASO Players’ Association, the orchestra’s board, and parent organization the Woodruff Arts Center have all ratified the collective bargaining agreement negotiated with the help of Federal mediators. Concerts begin next Thursday, Nov. 13.
Detroit Institute Of Arts Saved As City’s Bankruptcy Plan Is Approved
“With his decision on Friday approving this city’s federal bankruptcy plan, Judge Steven W. Rhodes – aided by nearly a billion dollars in private and state rescue money – ended an unprecedented threat to the Detroit Institute of Arts, whose world-class paintings and sculpture could have been parceled off at auction to help pay city debt.”
How DIA’s Art Got Caught Up In Detroit’s Bankruptcy In The First Place
“The idea to rescue a bankrupt American city started with a doodle on a legal pad. U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen … wrote the word ‘art’ on the pad and drew a box around it. Then he drew an arrow from the box to where he had written the word ‘pensions’.”
“Hunger Games” To Become Stage Show (And Theme Park?)
“The stage show is just the latest extension of Lionsgate’s popular, Jennifer Lawrence-starring franchise, with the company considering a theme park among other ancillary business opportunities.”
Patricia McBride At 72
“For her part, McBride, a mother of two, now a grandmother of three, says she’s enjoyed the transition from dancer to teacher, though in some ways finds it even more nerve-racking than being on the world’s grand stages as a dancer.”
Florida Grand Opera Floats A Recovery Plan
“Opera leaders say they can’t go on cannibalizing their own operation. Full-time administrative staff is down from 40 people to 18. This season’s budget is just $8.6 million. To get through the season at that level, FGO has resorted to cost-saving strategies such as borrowing set and costumes for Butterfly from the Sarasota Opera, where Danis used to be director.”