This year, the candy company Mars expanded their reach considerably with a (still pretty limited) one-night-only show in New York starring Michael C. Hall called Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical. While proceeds from Sunday’s performance are going to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the production is a commentary on Super Bowl advertising and product placement that is, itself, a feature-length advertisement full of product placement. Even if you didn’t get a ticket, you can listen to the songs (and four minutes of Hall noisily eating candy, if that’s your thing). – Slate
Blog
Ratings For “Mrs. Maisel” Are In (Sorta – And Who Can Trust Them?)
So “Mrs. Maisel” is a hit, according to Nielsen, averaging 1.9 million views in its second season. But the difficulties in coming up with an estimate of audience points to the chaotic state of ratings measurement these days. What, exactly, constitutes a hit in the era of streaming? – The New York Times
Study Of History Has Declined Sharply. What’s The Consequence?
“A nation whose citizens have no knowledge of history is asking to be led by quacks, charlatans, and jingos.” – The New Yorker
London Police Arrest Rappers For Performing A Song In Concert
Police say the duo’s song is incitement to violence. They’ve been cracking down. Police interference has undoubtedly had an impact on the scene’s lyrics. “A lot of rappers are censoring their music now. Even down to what they name their video, or what hashtag they use to promote it. They want to go under the radar. You put all that hard work into it, you gas everyone up – ‘Listen to my song!’ – and it gets taken down in 10 minutes. This is our livelihood, and it’s a serious financial loss to have a tune banned.” – The Guardian
Is Netflix A “Colonial Power” Subverting Foreign Cultures?
That’s the contention of the CBC’s Catherine Tait. Netflix is such a force in Canada it’s difficult for homegrown productions to compete. As countries struggle to protect their national cultures, streaming services such as Netflix have threatened the media ecosystem. – Toronto Star [paywall]
A Grammar Guide For The Age Of Tweeting
This is an excellent time for someone to tell us how to think about these things. Social media has spawned a generation of un-Strunk-and-White-ified people who appear to believe that punctuation is optional, that grammar is for the elderly and that ending a sentence with a period is a deliberate act of aggression. – The New York Times
Endless Lurid Speculation Over Leonardo Painting (Is It Or Isn’t It, Etc) Says Much About Our Current Art World
“The basic truth of all Salvator Mundi stories is less exciting; it is an important painting with a solid connection to Leonardo da Vinci, and many rich people want to own it. Its delayed appearance at Louvre Abu Dhabi most likely reflects Middle Eastern politics. But facts seem no longer to matter with the picture. Maybe this determination to speculate reveals nothing more than our fascination with all things Leonardo, but I suspect it is also because his accessibility makes it possible for everyone to have an opinion on his art.” – The Art Newspaper
Is it time to resurrect the artistic leader discretionary fund?
After decades of watching the nonprofit professional theater sector play musical chairs with leadership positions, a number of top posts have gone to women, or people of color, or others who, though mid-career in many cases, are taking the helm of an institution for the first time. I am advocating for a genuine discretionary fund that says, “Welcome to your new job! We don’t care how you choose to spend this money, we are backing you.” — Diane Ragsdale
Transfigured Night
I am always amazed by the dances that Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker creates for her Belgium-based company, Rosas. To begin with, I’m never sure what I’ll see or where I’ll have to go in order to see one of them. — Deborah Jowitt
Your Last Supper?
I’d never heard of cicerchie, or grass peas, so I read it was “an ancient pulse” — nice vampiric phrase — and that the recipe for Zuppa di cicerchie (Grass Pea Soup)is similar to those from Umbria and places not too far. I went through the inviting text and cooked the otherwise ordinary recipe in my head, but when I got to the end-note, I stopped … — Jeff Weinstein