“I’m always more interested in mystery books where ‘whodunit?’ isn’t the biggest question of all. Even if the red herring doesn’t feed into whodunit, because of course it can’t, it feeds into more integral questions: What makes the detective go down that sidetrack? … A bunch of times I’ve started off writing something thinking, ‘This might be the solution’ and then going, ‘This totally can’t be the solution, it doesn’t fit — but I can see why the narrator might want it to be the solution.'”
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‘City Ballet’s Bravura Sparkler,’ Joaquin De Luz, Is Ready For His Farewell
Marina Harss visits with the 42-year-old Spaniard ahead of his final performance with New York City Ballet, where he has spent 15 years.
Brexit Plans Will Create ‘Bureaucratic Nightmare’ For Tours And ‘Strangle The Supply Of Vital Talent’, Say UK Arts Leaders
“According to the immigration proposals, announced earlier this month, there will be no preferential treatment for European Union workers, who will have to apply for specific category visas to come and work in the UK, as is the case for workers from the rest of the world. The visas will be restricted to applicants who have a confirmed job offer and earn a minimum of £30,000 a year pro-rata, with the potential for it to rise to £50,000, a situation that leading figures have warned is not fit for purpose.”
Snapchat, Following Facebook And YouTube, Moves Into Producing Original Video Content
“With NBCUniversal’s help, the struggling social media giant preps more than a dozen original series for its 188 million users as it muscles into a crowded market. … But its slate won’t be ripped from the Netflix playbook. All Snapchat scripted series will average about five minutes an episode and be released daily in the signature vertical video format.”
Albert Barnes’s Grouchy Letters To Leopold Stokowski Make For New Barnes Foundation-Philadelphia Orchestra Joint Project
“[The collector] referred to Mahler’s ‘spectacular banalities,’ Wagner’s ‘voluptuous debauches,’ and Weber’s ‘inanities.’ … ‘Why give us so much … that nourishes the idle, the ignorant, the lazy, the debauche, to whom in music the only thing is the cheap emotional orgy?” Yes, the Barnes and the Philadelphians are building two programs out of this — and they should be good ones.
Architect Richard Meier Retires Following Sexual Harassment Allegations
“Richard Meier’s six-month leave of absence from the firm he founded, which began after five women came forward in March to accuse him of sexual misconduct, has become more permanent. Richard Meier & Partners Architects announced today that its founder would ‘step back from day-to-day activities’ at the firm.”
New York City Will Pay To Make Small Theaters More Accessible To Visually- And Hearing-Impaired
“[The city government] will give grants to Off Broadway and other small theaters to install software that allows patrons to follow along with low-light smartphones and tablets. … The software, using voice recognition, can provide closed captioning of the spoken word, or audio description of stage action, on users’ mobile devices.”
YouTube’s Latest ‘Vlogging’ Stars Aren’t Even Real People
Kizuna Ai, an anime-style cartoon character with two million followers, “is part of an emerging trend where 3D avatars – rather than humans – are becoming celebrities on YouTube, with dedicated fan bases and corporate deals. It’s becoming so popular that one company is investing tens of millions in ‘virtual talent’ and talent agencies are being established to manage these avatars.”
Titian Painting Rips As It Falls Off A Wall
“The lower part of the painting, which depicts the Crucifixion (around 1555), was torn after the piece loosened due to weak wall fastenings [in a monastery at El Escorial in Spain]. Crucially, the figure of Christ was undamaged. ‘Detaching from the wall caused a considerable horizontal tear [across the canvas support],’ says an official statement.”
This One Neat Trick Helps Russia Suppress Box Office For Foreign Films
“[A new study] suggests that the Russian government has been indirectly restricting Hollywood and foreign films for the last four years by assigning them tight age restrictions. … As families and teenagers constitute a large proportion of moviegoers in Russia, industry sources say tighter age restrictions could cost foreign releases a significant share of potential box office gross, which could reach 15 percent-20 percent.”