HBO programming president Casey Bloys explained that the network never had any intention of caving to the fan petition requesting that HBO hire new writers to do season 8 over — despite the fact that it has been signed by nearly 1.7 million people. – Time
Author: Douglas McLennan
Next Gen Reality TV: Kinder, Gentler?
Fire up Netflix and you’ll see sweet-natured shows such as Queer Eye, which kicked off its fourth season with a public school teacher getting an enthusiastic makeover, and a slew of food programs where people are lovely to each other. – NPR
Finally Seeing Through Silicon Valley’s Shameless Ideas Of Disruption
“As if your moral responsibility could stop at the metaphorical front door, where food, cars, packages magically arrive for your use. We are discovering what a world devoid of moral responsibility looks like. It ain’t magical. Only lately have we come to see disruption as a dressed-up version of scab-ism. It does not make the world a better place.” – Wired
Forgotten How To Read? Utility Fights Pleasure
Many of us who fell in love with reading at a young age then have to adapt to reading for utility – extracting information to serve some purpose. Then we forget how to read for pleasure. How do we find our way back? – LongReads
David Brooks Plays Art Critic, Decries Politicization Of Art
“Artists have always taken political stands, but in some eras there’s more of a conviction that beauty yields larger truths about the human condition that are not accessible through politics alone — and these are the truths that keep us sane. Now one gets the sense that not only is the personal political, but that the political has eclipsed the personal. What’s missing from most of these pieces is human contact and emotional range.” – The New York Times
Woman Breaks World Record For Singing Lowest Note
Helen Leahey, the aptly named ‘Bass Queen’, sang from a D5 to a D2 note at an incredibly deep 72.5 hertz(es) in her attempt at the Music School Wagner in Koblenz, Germany. – Guinness World Records
Sasquatch Books’ Gary Luke Retires After 25 Years: The Secret To Regional Publishing
“I think that it was possible to thrive as a regional publisher in the Northwest because we have a very healthy bookstore ecosystem. In other parts of the country, you don’t have that. Like in Los Angeles for example, they don’t have stores like Powells, and Elliott Bay, and Village Books, and Third Place. They’re, I think, predominantly served by chain bookstores like Barnes and Noble. So that’s a big piece of the ecosystem that has to be in place in order for regional publishing to survive.” – Seattle Review of Books
M. Owen Lee, 89, Longtime Voice On The Met Opera Broadcasts
Father Lee was a scholar by training. His field was the classics. But he did not sound particularly dry or academic on the radio as an opera quiz panelist or as a commentator explicating characters’ motives, composers’ motifs and librettists’ plot twists for an international audience. – The New York Times
Curtis Institute Apologizes For Response To Story About Sexual Assault
Curtis President Roberto Diaz: “Yesterday we communicated with all of you in a way that was not consistent with our values. We have understandably lost your trust and for that I am profoundly sorry.” – Philadelphia Inquirer
Curtis Institute Asks Its Community Not To Talk About Story Of Sexual Abuse
“Out of respect for all those involved, we request that you refrain from discussing this matter publicly, online, or on social media,” Curtis spokeswoman Patricia K. Johnson wrote in an email to the Curtis community shortly after the story was published. – Philadelphia Inquirer