In an essay titled “Cheeseburger ethics,” Eric Schwitzgebel argues, “We – most of us – actually aim at mediocrity. The cheeseburger ethicist is perhaps only unusually honest with herself about this. We aspire to be about as morally good as our peers … B+ on the great moral curve of white middle-class college-educated North Americans. Let others get the As.”
Tag: 07.14.15
Movie Analysts Say Hollywood On Track For A Record Year At The Box Office
“The most optimistic box-office prognosticators say the industry will notch $11.2 billion in ticket sales in 2015, beating last year by 9% and setting a record for North America, not adjusted for inflation. Piper Jaffray analyst James Marsh this week increased his full-year estimate to $10.9 billion from $10.8 billion. Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter has also increased his projection by a percentage point to $11 billion.”
Fringe Actors Lose Case Over Minimum Wage Pay
“The tribunal centred on whether the actors could be classed as “workers” under law – and therefore entitled to the minimum wage. But the judge decided they should be regarded as self-employed professionals.”
Why Did Detroit File Felony Charges Against Celebrity Street Artist Shepard Fairey
“This is exactly what he wants. He wears his warrants on his sleeve like badges of honor. He’s using the judicial system and the media to market himself. It’s a minor investment and in return his name stays relevant. He’s been doing this for years, and he’s great at it.”
Is Streaming Helping Or Hurting The Music Business?
“I was interested in the number of streams I got on Spotify and I think it was around five million plays of the entire album from start to finish, in America, which for me was really exciting. But at the same time I didn’t see any money from that… so I don’t think it’s actually made a difference how the company sees me as an artist.”
New Thing: Dance Parties Early In The Morning
“The concept for Daybreaker came about in 2013 inside a Brooklyn falafel shop. Founders Radha Agrawal and Matthew Brimer were musing over their night of dancing when they had the idea to take the energy and inclusiveness of the nightclub scene and infuse it into the weekday morning routine.”
Report: Did Smithsonian Fail To Disclose Major Gift From Cosbys?
“Following last week’s news that the Smithsonian would stand by its much-criticized exhibition ‘Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue,’ which features a number of works from Bill and Camille Cosby’s personal collection, the Associated Press is now reporting that the Cosbys also gave the museum $716,000. As the report notes, that gift “virtually covers the entire cost” of the show.”
Plan To Sell Off NY City Opera Assets Is Withdrawn
“The opera’s board has recently been weighing another option: reorganizing the company through the bankruptcy process, with one of the bidders serving as a plan sponsor. That course could make it easier for NYCO to retain a bequest estimated to be worth $5.5 million.”
Tempest In A British Teapot: Complaints About Clenched Buttocks In ‘Mr. Turner’
“Timothy Spall’s clenched buttocks” – clothed, no less – “in Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner were the subject of 19 letters of complaint to the British Board of Film Classification.”
Reviewing The Reviews Of “Go Set A Watchman”
Jane Ciabattari finds that early assessments of the “new” Harper Lee novel fall into five categories.