Elaborate prank? Culture war? Should we be paying attention to this at all? Seriously: “The men, wearing night vision goggles and camo gear, chanted in the grainy video as they toppled the shiny structure, in a video that was posted to the streaming site DLive.tv by someone using the name CultureWarCriminal, but later removed, according to The San Luis Obispo Tribune. The Tribune described the video as ‘at times racist and homophobic’ and said that the men sang along to country songs.” – The New York Times
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It’s Hard To Write About America
Not that you would know it from the number of books out there – but capturing the country isn’t easy. “Gross simplification comes along with trying to describe America. I’m convinced that trying to do this is like pouring Lake Michigan into a shot glass. It just can’t be done.” And yet. – LitHub
A Landmark Supreme Court Case May Change Art Restitution Worldwide
It’s complicated, but basically: SCOTUS “will hear oral arguments on whether the dealers’ heirs can sue in US courts to retrieve the church reliquaries, known as the Guelph Treasure or Welfenschatz, from Germany.” – The Guardian (UK)
Not To Be Hyperbolic, But Writers Save Lives
Just ask author Alex Wheatle, the (fictionalized) subject of one of Steve McQueen’s new Small Axe series of films. Wheatle served time in prison after the Brixton riots of 1981. A cellmate told him to read Black British history and books by Black authors. “Wheatle, now an author with 15 books to his credit, says the fiction novels which gripped him most in jail were those of Chester Himes.” – BBC
Video Games Are Now Playgrounds For Designers – And Brands
This is what happens with a pandemic shutdown of everything outside the house: Video games, which is a small market compared to apparel, shoots up in numbers. People start recreating brand ads in Animal Crossing. And the brands follow. “Many so-called hypebeasts who obsess over fashion are also gamers. … ‘The prototypical nerds have evolved to a point where they are very style-conscious. It’s cool to play games now.'” – Los Angeles Times
The Nutcracker As More Than Just A Show
That is, Nutcracker, but make it about touch and sound. Blind and visually impaired students in these classes, now via video from the students’ homes, each receive “a package of Nutcracker artifacts: a pointe shoe, a candy cane, a long stretch of tulle (from which tutus are made), a story synopsis and glossary in large print or Braille, sheet music with sections of Tchaikovsky’s score, and, of course, a nutcracker.” – The New York Times
By The Numbers, Gender Inequities In Opera Are ‘Staggering,’ Says New Study
The numbers are truly, deeply bad for women in opera. “Approximately seven out of 10 voice and opera graduates are women, but since the most popular operas in the canon have many more roles for men, female singers are much less likely to be given career opportunities, and more likely to go into debt. Female classical performers also earn on average 29 percent less than their male counterparts.” – Boston Globe
Panic About Warner Bros. Announcement Sets In For Actors, Agents, And More In The Film Business
As various contract and payouts get renegotiated, everyone is in shock. The worry: This decision “could irrevocably rewire moviegoers’ ticket-buying patterns, forever changing the way people turn out for films.” – Vulture
Will Publishing’s Latest Merger Kill Off Small Presses?
Literary diversity is in jeopardy with the proposed Penguin Random House/ Simon & Schuster merger, or so small publishers claim (with numbers to back them up). “This lack of competition doesn’t inflate consumer prices; it decreases labor costs. In other words, it disadvantages writers. Nowadays, the Big Four might not even make an offer for those big literary debuts. These are not guaranteed hits, after all.” – Los Angeles Times
Cliff Joseph, Artist And Advocate For Black Artists And Multicultural Art Therapy, 98
Joseph led protests in the 1960s and 1970s, telling museums they needed to include Black artists in their collections. Later, he entered the field of mental health, and taught art therapy at The Pratt Institute. He is credited for “helping to introduce concepts like racial sensitivity and cultural competency to the profession.” – The New York Times