“I haven’t seen a dumbing down of anything – at least not yet. Looking at new projects, you have to think about who is writing it and who is going to be involved. But I see the rising competition as a positive thing. It’s good for actors but I think television as a whole has been enriched.” – The Guardian
Tag: 01.26.19
The Current Journalism Crisis Didn’t Just Happen – It’s Been Decades In The Making
People want to blame the internet for the news industry’s troubles, but the seeds go back to the 1980s. To understand this moment and how to fix it, it means understanding three key forces creating this slow-motion disaster. – Slate
A Conservative’s Case For Classical Music
Roger Scruton: “To my way of thinking, there cannot be a coherent conservatism, either in everyday life or in politics, that does not take high culture seriously. It really matters to the future of our societies that classical music should survive, not as a museum exhibit but as a live tradition of performance and enjoyment, radiating its grace and graciousness across our communities, and providing us all, whether as performers or as listeners, with a sense of the intrinsic value of being here, now, and among our fellows.” – Future Symphony
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
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
The Moment When You Start To Get Cy Twombly, Really Get Him
Actually, you’ll need to understand Keats, and his theory of negative capability, first – Twombly certainly did. – Los Angeles Review of Books
Can Happiness Be Measured (By Economists)?
Some are trying. One, who has written a book called Happiness, thinks that “happiness should become the goal of policy and the progress of national happiness should be measured and analyzed.” – LitHub
Lyn Kienholz, Tireless Advocate For The Artists Of Los Angeles, Has Died At 88
Kienholz, founder of the California/International Arts Foundation, fiercely advocated for the artists of Los Angeles, and she hosted dinner parties to connect them with “writers, politicians and tastemakers from all over the world.” She was one of the main sparks for the idea that became the L.A.-focused artist showcase Pacific Standard Time, and she never stopped advocating for the artists of Los Angeles to be written permanently into art history. – Los Angeles Times