With binge-watching on Netflix, themed baking groups, self-GBBO challenges, and more, the U.S. seriously adores the Great British Bake Off. But why? Hm: “Many US viewers have said that they decompress watching the show, and they like that it is the antithesis of the nation’s fraught politics.” – BBC
Author: ArtsJournal2
A Writer’s Take On Literary Festivals
“For years I have not participated in collective activities, especially if they force me to move from one continent to another. … The round table was a disaster, since the other two participants, very young, started a binge yesterday evening that has lasted throughout the day, and presented themselves in a deplorable state. As they are mystery authors, they feel obliged to show a degree of alcoholism that they may not have.” – El País (Spain)
Untangling Nostalgia For The World Of The Hardy Boys
The brothers’ adventures appealed to many young readers, as the boys filled their lives with adventures that always ended safely. But it’s also true that there were no gay characters and a paucity of characters of color – and racism throughout, despite decades of revisions. Still, there was Chet. “There was always something delightfully transgressive about the fact that Chet’s car, depicted in the books as the ‘pride’ of his life, is named The Queen.” – The Atlantic
Vivendi’s Plan To Sell Half Of Universal May Become Real This Year
Universal had 40 percent of U.S. music business last year, including the top four most streamed artists of 2018. But who will buy Universal – Spotify? Liberty Media? This sounds wild, but streaming is still growing: “Consensus in the music industry and the investment community is there is a lot more growth left for music streaming as markets around the world open up to subscription.” – The Wall Street Journal
Jean Guillou, Legendary Paris Organist And Composer, Has Died At 88
Guillou, the organist for the church of St. Eustache from 1963 to 2015, had an international career and was excellent at improvisation. He was quoted as saying he wanted his instrument “out of churches” and in other areas of contemporary musical life – working with Noh theatre and with mimes, for instance. – Le Monde (France)
Chasing That Conductor’s Podium When You’re A Tattooed Mexican-American Woman [VIDEO]
Jessica Bejarano was raised by a single mom living in poverty, and she says music saved her life. But it’s not an easy road. “Every time I was told, NO, you can’t be a director or NO, not going to happen here – even further into, you know, my dreams becoming a reality.” – PBS
Why Do Reboots Attract Such Cultural Anxiety ?
And yes, we are talking (again) about Ghostbusters, but “every rebooted franchise plays off our longing for the past—the implicit promise that it can make us feel just like we did the first time. We know, if only subconsciously, that this isn’t possible. Deep down, we resent it.” – AV Club
Keats Is Dead; Long Live Poetry On Instagram
There’s been a dramatic shift in the demographics of who’s buying poetry, and giving poets including Rupi Kaur, Carol Ann Duffy, Helen Dunmore and other women six-figure incomes in the UK alone. And the topics have changed as well. – The Observer (UK)
What’s Actually In It For Online Trolls?
Trolls often see themselves as victims, and so they “have a distorted sense of what punching up vs. punching down looks like. So even though most of us would likely say that trolling behaviors are aberrant, and that we would never engage in them, this kind of inverted worldview allows the troll to see the behavior as justifiable and admirable.” – Slate
A Banksy Tribute Is Stolen In Paris
The tribute to victims of the 2015 Bataclan massacre, painted on an emergency door in the concert hall, was cut out and removed. “The theft, which occurred overnight on Friday, involved ‘a group of hooded individuals armed with angle grinders,’ AFP news agency reports, citing a source close to the investigation, said.” – BBC