What If Stephen King Were Treated Like A Latinx Writer?

Combining recent controversies – a statement King made about the Oscars and the reaction to American Dirt – author Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez explains what publishing is like for many Latinx writers. “MODERATOR: Hello, ladies and gentleman! Thank you for coming to the event today. As you can see, we have here with us today one of the nation’s leading white voices, the white male ‘writer,’ Stephen – hold on. I’m not sure how to pronounce your last name. Do you say it with a British accent? (Purses lips like the Queen’s arsehole, LAUGHS.) ‘King.'” – Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez

So Much For The Grammys’ New Era

Ousted chief Deborah Dugan’s explosive claims threatened to overshadow the star-studded show itself, which is scheduled to air on CBS. Her brutal portrait of the Recording Academy as a chummy cabal of men with expense accounts, conspiring to line their pockets on the backs of musicians, harass women at will and cover it all up, seemed to confirm people’s most cynical fears about the music industry and the Grammys in particular, which have long been criticized as out of touch and lacking transparency. – The New York Times

The Difficulty Of Being A Cultural Ambassador For The US In The Time Of Trump

Under the Trump Administration, the challenge for cultural workers who agree to participate in official events is akin to swimming upstream in boiling waters. Civil servants, thinking of the long game—the point in the future when Trump will be gone and our democracy will be restored—task cultural workers with creating a counter-narrative of America while their employer puts forth a pernicious, deleterious version of the country. But how will this anticipated moment of restored democracy arrive if we behave as if events unfolding in this country were normal, as if our collective house were not on fire? – The New Yorker

There’s A Wave Of Forgeries Coming To The Print Market, Warn Art Experts

“Since the dawn of the internet, the problem of phony art being sold has only grown, experts say, and the primary coin of the forgery realm has long been the fake print, which is relatively easy to create, often difficult to detect and typically priced low enough to attract undiscriminating novice buyers. But now the problem seems to be escalating, according to law enforcement officials in the United States and Europe.” – The New York Times

What’s The Most Physically Demanding Job In America? According To Insurers, It’s Dancer

“Researchers at InsuranceProviders.com analyzed data from the Occupational Information Network, a national organization developed through support from the U.S. Department of Labor …, to determine the 20 most physically demanding jobs in the country. They analyzed the level of strength, stamina, flexibility and coordination required for a host of jobs, and each category was assigned.” Dancer tops the list with 97 points out of 100. (Athlete came in third.) – Dance Magazine