Plywood started going up about two weeks ago after vandals began smashing windows of closed businesses. That led to more plywood from store owners who feared they might be next. Things were starting to look bleak all over town. Already artists are out and about, painting murals to combat the growing blight as the novel coronavirus pandemic forces continued closures of local businesses and restaurants. – Seattle Times
Tag: 04.07.20
‘Tiger King’, The Most Watched TV Show In The U.S., Is An Ethical And Moral Dumpster Fire
“[The series is] the latest and most acute iteration of a Netflix trend toward extreme storytelling; the more unfathomable and ethically dubious, the better. The point is virality — content so outlandish that people can’t help but talk about it. … America right now, in the midst of a pandemic, is reliant on collective behavior, adhering to rules, and taking sensible precautions to avoid danger. Tiger King is the TV equivalent of licking the subway pole.” – The Atlantic
Williamstown Theatre Festival Finds Alternative To Canceling This Summer’s Season
“In a bold attempt to salvage its shows, the festival … has decided to develop, rehearse, and record all seven of its planned productions and release them in audio form on Audible … [with] the same performers that would have appeared onstage.” – The New York Times
Pulitzer Prizes Postponed, Will Be Livestreamed In May
The announcement of this year’s awards had been scheduled for April 20, but, as administrator Dana Canedy said in a statement, “The Pulitzer board includes many high-level journalists who are on the frontlines of informing the public on the quickly evolving Coronavirus pandemic.” – Poynter Institute
Kennedy Center Rescinds Furlough Of National Symphony Musicians
“The deal [with the musicians’ union] includes immediate pay cuts until early September, a wage freeze and a delayed pay increase and extends the current contract for a year, to 2024, according to the arts center. It avoids the open-ended furlough that was supposed to have started Monday.” – The Washington Post
New York Philharmonic Players Fired For Sexual Misconduct Reinstated
“The Philharmonic dismissed the players — its principal oboist, Liang Wang, and associate principal trumpet, Matthew Muckey — in September 2018. Both men denied wrongdoing, and the players’ union filed a grievance challenging their dismissals. The case was heard by an independent arbitrator, who found that the players had been terminated without just cause and should be reinstated.” – The New York Times
London’s West End Theatres To Remain Closed At Least Through May 31
“London’s theatres first shuttered their doors on March 16 in the wake of the escalating coronavirus pandemic. The mass closures, in an effort to curb the spread of the virus, mirrored those on Broadway on March 12. … While theatres in New York were initially scheduled to re-open April 13, an update from the Broadway League is expected to arrive in the coming days.” – Playbill
Singer-Songwriter John Prine Dead Of COVID At 73
“A onetime Army mechanic and mail carrier who wrote songs rooted in the experiences of lower-middle-class life, Mr. Prine rose to prominence almost by accident. He was at a Chicago folk club called the Fifth Peg one night in 1969, complaining about the performers, when someone challenged him to get onstage, saying, ‘You get up and try.’ … Within a year, he released his first album and was hailed as one of the foremost lyricists of his time, even as a musical heir to Bob Dylan. He went on to record more than 20 albums, win three competitive Grammy Awards and help define a genre of music that came to be called Americana.” – The Washington Post
With Everyone Else Avoiding Museums, Will Thieves Stay Away, Too?
Recent thefts of van Gogh and van Dyck paintings indicate that the answer is no. “Alarm systems and uniformed guards are still in place, of course, and the sale of museum-famous stolen art has never been easy. But … cavernous floors are now largely empty throughout the day, not just at night. Police departments in many places are stretched thin by illness. Social distancing has meant that the many people who might once have witnessed a burglary are now tucked in at home.” – The New York Times