It’s not like there’s much else to do here at the tail end of the year but try to cram in Oscar bait or kids’ Christmas movie or soul-enhancing shows that lead us down internet rabbit holes or terrible superhero movies that lead to massive excellent live-tweeting sessions. So: What’s the best streaming service out there? Our lives, after all, depend on it. – Fast Company
Blog
What Drives Some Writers To Drink?
Hmmm. “Nothing slows the flywheel, nothing treats the node of unease on the ribs, like a drink—you don’t have to be an alcoholic to know that. And for writers, there might even be a fragile biochemical moment when the drinking helps.” – The Atlantic
The Look Of The Sounds Of Jazz
When animators were trying to illustrate the sounds of the new Pixar film Soul, they needed some non-traditional ideas, like … watch a jazz pianist play. “Along with video, they were able to digitally save the notes that were being played. That digital stream could be reverse-programmed into the animation in a way that worked almost like a player piano signaling to the animators which key was being played with each note. So when you see Joe at the piano, he’s playing exactly the notes you’re hearing.” – The New York Times
Some British Viewers Did Not Appreciate A Beloved White Character’s Appreciation Of Black Lives Matter
In her Christmas Day sermon, the Vicar of Dibley – on the long-running, eponymous show – took a knee and discussed racism. The character “is shown being filmed by parishioner and farmer Owen Newitt as she tells the audience she has been preoccupied with the ‘horror show’ of the death of George Floyd, who died while in US police custody.” – BBC
Why Is An American-Written, Directed, And Acted Movie About The American Dream Only Eligible For A Foreign Film Golden Globe?
Could it be – is it possible – that Korean Americans aren’t seen as American? (And that last year The Farewell, another Asian American written and directed movie, dealt with similar anti-Asian racism?) “It’s a multilingual film that reflects the reality of Americans that are multilingual. So it’s authentic to have that dialog in the language that would have been spoken growing up in a family like this growing up in rural Arkansas. What could be more American than that?” – The Guardian (UK)
Fanny Waterman, Who Presided Over The Leeds Piano Competition For Decades, 100
She was the driving co-founder of the competition, which succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. “The idea of presenting an international music competition in 1960s Leeds, a gritty industrial city in northern England, seemed risky. But Ms. Waterman, a Leeds native who learned perseverance from her poor Russian immigrant father, believed in the vitality of her hometown and was certain she could draw support for the venture.” – The New York Times
By The Pronouns, Who Designs And Directs In Major Regional Theatres?
Well … yes, it’s mostly he/him types. But also, 2020 was a real career killer. “Most designers, just like most artists in the field, have no work right now. They are hanging on by their fingertips. They have been forgotten or ignored by most of the theatres that called themselves ‘artistic homes’ for the artists. Many theatre designers I know are considering leaving the theatre—not just until it comes back, but forever—or have already left for good.” – HowlRound
We Could Do More Than Revive The WPA For Artists; We Could Revive CETA
Sure, there was the WPA during the Great Depression. But: “From 1974 to 1982, federal funds provided employment to 10,000 artists nationwide under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA).” It wasn’t intended to help artists – but a revival could be. – Hyperallergic
Staggering Economic And Career Cultural Losses Thanks To The Pandemic
Take star violinist Jennifer Koh as an example: “nine months into a contagion that has halted most public gatherings and decimated the performing arts, Ms. Koh, who watched a year’s worth of bookings evaporate, is playing music from her living room and receiving food stamps.” More than fifty percent of actors and dancers, and more than one fourth of musicians, are entirely out of work. And then there’s the broader category of arts and culture creatives. What will happen? – The New York Times
Barry Lopez, Award Winning And Influential Environmental Writer, 75
Lopez wrote Arctic Dreams (for which he won the National Book Award) and many other works that deeply synthesized reporting and essay form and science writing. He had recently lost land, housing, and archives to one of Oregon’s dreadful Labor Day fires. “Lopez was still being lauded in his final days, with an induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and with the literary organization Sun Valley Writers’ Conference announcing this week that it had awarded him its inaugural Writer in the World Prize, which recognizes and honors a writer whose work expresses a ‘rare combination of literary talent and moral imagination, helping us to better understand the world and our place in it.'” – Oregonian