It was called Bookman, started in 1895, and was the only place you could see which books were selling. “Once invented, the best seller could be discussed in literary journals, trade publications, social circles, and book clubs, solidifying a popular conception of what it meant to be a best seller and what it meant to read one.” – Lapham’s Quarterly
Author: Douglas McLennan
The Full Berry: Mozart’s Letters
Reading Mozart’s correspondence is like being tugged by an enthusiastic, garrulous friend right into the green room of 18th-century European culture. The cast list extends from Empress Maria Theresa to the family dog Bimperl: Mozart is just as fascinated by both. One minute, he’s dressed as Harlequin and dancing all night at the 1783 Vienna carnival. Next, he’s talking shop with Dad (Leopold was a respected composer in his own right), or bitching about a mediocre singer or arrogant patron. – The Spectator
Charismatic Leaders, For Good And Evil
Anyone concerned with the question of charismatic political leaders necessarily stands in the shadow of Max Weber, the great German sociologist who wrote sketches of the subject not long before his death, a century ago, from a case of pneumonia brought on by the Spanish flu. For Weber, charisma was one of three basic forms of political authority, along with traditional rule based on custom and rational rule based on law and bureaucracy. – The Point
This Year’s Emmy Nominations
Netflix dominated the 72nd Emmy Award nominations on Tuesday, breaking the record for the most nominations ever, and a newcomer to the streaming universe, Disney+, scored a nomination in a big category for “The Mandalorian” in yet another sign of the growing importance of digital technology to Hollywood. – The New York Times
The Big Sort: All Fiction Can Be Organized In Four Categories
Tim Parks: “All of narrative fiction, I’ve suggested, can be sorted into four grand categories. Each presents a rich world of feeling in which any number of stories can be told and positions established, but always in relation to, or rather, driven by, a distinct cluster of values and consequent emotions. My claim is that it really is worth being aware which of these worlds we are being drawn into. We read better. We know where we are. And what the dangers are.” – New York Review of Books
The Man Who Invented The 8-Hour Workday Had An Even More Radical Idea For Money
Introduced in 1832, the radical idea was called the National Equitable Labour Exchange – a system of currency built on the idea that labour is the source of all wealth, and that goods should be bought and sold based on the time it took labourers to produce it. While the Exchange lasted only a few years, the idealistic project helped to lay the groundwork for some of Owen’s more successful later reforms, such as shorter working days, with the ultimate goal of a workday based on the principle of ‘eight hours labour, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest’. – Aeon
UK’s Sky Arts Channel Goes Free, All Arts
The move to Freeview, the digital network free to all UK residents, has been under discussion for years and is motivated by “a passion to get as much content to as many people as possible and make it more accessible”. But Sky Arts “isn’t a ratings-driving channel. We’re there to be a bit more experimental. We’re there to help nurture new talent and find new voices; new creative voices… The call out that we’re doing today, as we’re launched as free to air is: ‘Artists, what would you do if I gave you the channel for 24 hours to do with what you will?’ – The Art Newspaper
Rick Brettell, Texas Art Critic, Museum Director, Fundraiser For The Arts, 71
In 2014, he secured $17 million from Mrs. O’Donnell to create the institute of art history. In 2017, UTD partnered with the late Margaret McDermott to create the Richard Brettell Award in the Arts, which, every other year, bestows $150,000 upon an artist “whose body of work demonstrates a lifetime of achievement in their field.” – Dallas Morning News
Regal Cinemas Says It Will Reopen In August
Along with AMC and Cinemark, Regal closed down U.S. sites in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic — which profoundly altered the spring and summer slate. “Wonder Woman 1984” was moved to October and James Bond title “No Time to Die” has been slotted for November while many major titles have been taken off the schedule, gone out on streaming services or dated for 2021. – Variety
Why Bob Ross Is Still Hugely Popular
If you’re somehow not familiar with the name, Bob Ross is probably America’s most famous painter. With his distinctive hair, gentle voice, and signature expressions like “happy little trees,” he’s an enduring icon. Even 25 years after his death, he’s popular not only with viewers who remember him fondly, but also with kids who weren’t even born when his show was originally on the air. – The Atlantic