“When a face looks back at us in the real world, that means something very deep: we have to choose how to respond – because they can see us. So we manifest a facial expression, or talk back, or look away. Cinema takes away that other person seeing you. That gives us some freedom: we can look, think and engage with the content of the film.” – The Guardian
Author: Douglas McLennan
Who Contributed £250,000 UK Campaign For Bookstores? Why, Amazon…
The fundraiser got the anonymous donation, organized to help out struggling book sellers, after raising £100,000. Book shop owners are feeling a bit conflicted. – The Guardian
Why Are So Many Jazz Greats Dying Of COVID?
“It will be a while before we can accurately assess whether jazz indeed has suffered more losses, proportionately, than other art forms. Yet the tragedy of so many major figures dying of the disease in such short order says a great deal about the jazz world’s perils and vulnerabilities.” – Chicago Tribune
It Was 15 Years Ago Today The First YouTube Video Was Uploaded. Here It Is
It was an 18-second video called “Meet Me At The Zoo” and it’s been seen 90 million times. – CNN
Critic: Am I Mean? Yup. And I Don’t Care
Adrian Searle: “On the page, I am the mildest, most humane and dare I say sympathetic of writers, while the one who is doing the writing is an incoherent monster, if not an absolute swine. But it isn’t always like this. Life would be intolerable if it were. Often protesting that I am only as good as my material, give me an artist I admire and work that I can identify with and it can all be plain sailing.” – The Guardian
Surge In Library E-Book Borrowing
Loans of online e-books, e-magazines and audiobooks were up an average of 63% in March compared with last year. And 120,000 people joined libraries in the three weeks after lockdown began, Libraries Connected said. – BBC
Can We Learn From Movies About Interactions That Take Place In Different Places?
Movies depict phone calls, there are split screens, fast cuts, etc. There’s already a rich visual language of remote interaction. So what can we learn? – Irish Times
No Surprise: Netflix Reports Huge Increase In Subscribers
Netflix added 15.8 million subscribers, more than double the 7.2 million that were expected — a growth of more than 22 percent year over year. Netflix now has 182 million subscribers worldwide. The company also saw quarterly revenue of $5.77 billion versus the $5.76 billion estimated. – The Verge
Six Ways Our Cities Might Change After COVID
In the 20th century, tuberculosis, typhoid, polio and Spanish flu breakouts prompted urban planning, slum clearance, tenement reform, waste management and, on a larger level, Modernism itself, with its airy spaces, single-use zoning (separating residential and industrial areas, for instance), cleaner surfaces (think glass and steel) and emphasis on sterility. – Los Angeles Times
We Always Talk About Community. So Here’s Where Community Is
“How do we define community in a time of crisis, which is in many ways what community is for? We don’t need our neighbors as much when we are healthy and wealthy and can pay for all the assistance we require. When we need our neighbors most, and when community matters the most, is when we are hungry or sick, or when good Samaritans are our only hope.” – Plough