Month: July 2018

An Attempt At A Parallel, More Diverse NYT ‘By The Book’ Column

It started centuries ago, and also six months ago, when an author listed his favorite books for The New York Times, and he seemed not to know that women have been writing books for – yes – centuries. Then came the #ReadMoreWomen hashtag. At Electric Lit, “in light of that simple mission statement — read more women — we’re launching a new series, which we’re thinking of as a stripped-down, feminist version of ‘By the Book.’ Twice a month, we’ll have some of our favorite writers — of any gender — discuss their favorite or most influential books that aren’t by men.”

Mel Brooks Is 92, And Seems Just The Same As He Ever Has Been

Is there anything he can’t do? “Brooks and the director Susan Stroman mounted a musical version of [Young Frankenstein], a show that Brooks now calls ‘lugubrious.’ It was only moderately successful, so he cut about 40 minutes, bringing the entire evening (with intermission) down to about two hours, and that version has been playing at the Garrick Theatre in London since last September. Was it hard to edit himself? ‘I did it in a couple weeks. I knew what to do.’ He cut three songs and added a new one. (Singing) ‘It could work! My grandfather wasn’t wrong. You could re-animate dead tissue’” He finds it hard to believe ‘It Could Work’ wasn’t in the original show, since it’s the ‘Rain in Spain’ moment, the song that makes the musical a hit. In imitation of Dr. Frankenstein, he seems to have reanimated his own dead show.”

SAG-AFTRA Approves Deals For Non-Primetime TV Plus Telemundo

One of the key pieces of info: “The non-primetime deal with the networks includes language limiting auditions in hotel rooms and private residences. Those limits are part of the initiative announced earlier this year by SAG-AFTRA leaders in response to the industry’s sexual harassment scandals that came to light in October with the revelations about disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein. It’s the first time the union has included those specific provisions in a master contract.”

Museum Babygate Over Trump Balloon

Who gets the balloon – the British Museum, the Museum of London, the Bishopsgate Institute, or others? “The Trump babysitters started a crowdfunding campaign to fund a ‘Trump Baby world tour’: They have so far raised over 34,000 British pounds, or about $44,500. But Mr. Smith said the creators need time to work out what to do next, and assess the offers from museums and others. Other options could include releasing the balloon’s design under a Creative Commons license so that activists worldwide can use it.”

Here’s One Path Forward For Facebook: Look At Reddit

Reddit’s AskHistorians subreddit – one of the largest history forums on the internet – doesn’t bother debating Holocaust deniers. Instead, it bans them, and one moderator says Facebook should, too, because “deniers need a public forum to spread their lies and to sow doubt among readers not well-informed about history. By convincing people that they might have a point or two, they open the door for further radicalization in pursuit of their ultimate goal.”

New Yorkers Booked Almost 10,000 Free Museum Tickets In Four Days

As soon as the Culture Pass NYC site went live, it crashed for several hours under heavy traffic. Culture Pass is “an initiative that allows New York Public Library, Queens Library, and Brooklyn Library cardholders to book free passes at 33 of the city’s museums.” Some museums’ passes went quickly – the Whitney, MoMA – but they’ll drop more in August.