At the Artios Awards, casting directors on both coasts were wondering if the long-requested casting director Oscar might join the Academy Awards soon.
Tag: 01.20.17
What’s It Like To Be Set On Fire For Art?
Stuntwomen reveal all, or at least what they can say to the NYT without losing work: “Your mind has to overcome your body. If I’m standing on a building and I have to do a high fall, every part of my brain says, ‘Don’t do this.’ But then they say ‘Action!’ and my body goes into autopilot. You override something that’s not natural for human beings.”
By The Time They’re Five Months Old, Babies Already Know What They Think Is Funny
That’s sort of young. “So how do they do it? Like children and adults, infants appear to rely on two key features to detect funniness.”
Barack Obama’s Literary Legacy (So Far)
The 44th president cared – a lot – about books. What does that mean now?
75 Books For Survival and Resistance
A few dozen writers respond to a question from LitHub about what is necessary reading for the next four years. “As Paula Gunn Allen reminds us: ‘The root of oppression is the loss of memory.'”
UK Comedians Write Manifesto Against Free Work
“There is an alarming expectation that comedians will happily perform for expenses or even for free, without any promise of paid work in the future. This has created downward pressure on rates of pay and quality of working conditions for us all and can prevent participation by those with childcare and other responsibilities leading to a lack of diversity.”
Profanity’s Important Role In How We Express Ourselves
“Though research has not done much for profanity, the opposite is not true. Neurologists have learned a great deal about the brain from studying how brain-damaged people use swearwords—notably, that they do use them, heavily, even when they have lost all other speech. What this suggests is that profanity is encoded in the brain separately from most other language.”
Why Is Canada Cheaping Out In Commissioning Music For Parliament?
In an era when artists in general, and musicians in particular, are battling to get public understanding for their right to be paid, it is disheartening to learn that even the House of Commons just doesn’t get it. “Why on earth do people expect artists to do this kind of thing?” asks Montreal composer Simon Bertrand, who has organized an online petition requesting the award be raised. “When Parliament hires a plumber, do they tell the guy, come and work for free and then we’ll see what we think?”
Study: Smart People Like Morbid Humor
“A research team led by neurologist Ulrike Willinger of the Medical University of Vienna reports appreciating black humor “seems to be a complex information-processing task,” one that is facilitated by high intelligence and inhibited by bad moods.”
The Hermitage, Archaeologists, And Drones Create 3D Model Of Palmyra
“The State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg has joined forces with a Russian archaeological institute to build an interactive virtual model of Palmyra, as reports emerged today that Islamic State militants have destroyed the ancient city’s amphitheatre and four pillared gates.”