The Avatar sequels are delayed – again. That’s the seventh delay, in case you’re counting. Will they ever happen? And what’s going on with James Cameron? – Vulture
Author: ArtsJournal2
Modern Construction Is Threatening The Prehistoric Traces Of Human Migration
Rapid development in India is threatening knowledge of how humanity came to be. Sites are crumbling into rivers, being turned into rice fields, and being destroyed for buildings. “With sites holding the evidence of India’s past rapidly disappearing, reearchers worry about whether complex questions about humankind’s distant past can be answered.” – Wired
As The Tate Modern Reopens, Its Disturbing Art Is Almost Comforting As A Reflection Of Our Times
You can take one of two paths through the 20-year-old museum as it reopens, and nothing is comforting – not that that’s new. “Tate Modern has never been a relaxing place to visit. But we’ve never needed its clear eye for the restless more than we do now, as we learn the true meaning of modern times.” – The Guardian (UK)
Regis Philbin, TV Host And ‘Everyman,’ 88
Philbin hosted everything from Regis and Kathie to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, but was far more than that. “He also wrote five books, appeared in movies, made records as a singer, gave concerts and was a one-man industry of spinoffs, from shirts and ties to medical advice and computer games.” – The New York Times
Can British Theatre Survive Coronavirus In Any Recognizable Form?
A huge number of Britain’s theatres are in serious trouble:”Julian Bird, chief executive of UK Theatre and the Society of London Theatre, said 70 percent of theatres and production companies risked going bust before the end of the year” – Yahoo News (AFP)
The Legacy Of Isaac Stern
At the centenary of his birth, NPR has an appreciation of those he mentored and his influence on the music world of today. “Isaac Stern’s tombstone simply reads, Isaac Stern, fiddler. These three words leave out an awful lot.” – NPR
Dystopian Fiction Was Never Fictional For Many People In The United States
While some authors say the fiction can help people learn how to resist and persist, Black people in the U.S. say it’s more of a mirror. “Assume where America has always been is a tragedy. What is done in hell isn’t romantic; sacrificing bodies to dystopia isn’t beautiful.” (But fiction can still be a teacher of hope.) – Wired
What Disneyland Means To Southern California
It may be closed on its 65th anniversary, but that’s the only appropriate choice. “For me and many Southern California residents, Disneyland is more than a theme park; it is where I go to write, to read, to reset. It represents something between a living pop-art museum and an emotional retreat. Mostly it’s an invitation to play, and when I play I’m calm. Yet I would not be calm if I were inside Disneyland right now.” – Los Angeles Times
A Poet Contemplates Storytelling, Her Murdered Mother, And Confederate Monuments
Natasha Trethewey, former poet laureate of the U.S.: “When people talk about how getting rid of [Stone Mountain] would be erasing history – well, the monument itself is already an erasure of history. So, I’d be interested in figuring out a way that we can tell the fuller story about exactly why it’s there and exactly what it means.” – The Guardian (UK)
Indonesian Literary Legend Sapardi Djoko Damono, 80
Sapardi, an influential poet and cultural critic, founded the Indonesian Literary Scholars Association and served as a dean at the University of Indonesia. One author: “As long as I’ve known him he had always been a close reader – meticulous and generous, yet critical. … He steadfastly held on to his maxim, ‘Literature is how an author presents an idea, not the idea itself.'” – The Star (Malaysia/The Jakarta Post)