The Sharpest Comedy On Television Aired On HBO This Summer, And You Probably Never Knew It Was There

Francine Prose: “Offhandedly mocking our inadequate, improvisatory foreign policy in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, The Brink is so funny, so inventive – and so fearless in what it has to say about geopolitics – that watching it would be pure pleasure were the events it depicts not so uncomfortably close to the perilous reality of the world in which we live.”

Digital Program Books – Is Something Essential Lost When You Abandon Paper?

“We’re bringing the audience closer than ever before through new innovations like interactive program books. We are also going green by cutting back on all paper, ink and waste as a result of traditional methods. … Removing the wasted paper of printed books is the first step in our relationship with the opera-goers of the future.”

The Dissident Artist Who Was Detained For Eight Months In Cuba Speaks

“Until the last minute they want to mess with your head. They want to make you paranoid. At one point he said, ‘Someone close to you works for us.’ I said, ‘You’re not going to make me a paranoiac. I’ve been here for eight months and I am not a paranoiac.’ I understood they were watching me. But I would not let them make me a paranoiac. That’s what they do, they make you paranoid, they isolate you.”

The Science Behind Why Some People Are Selfish

“What is interesting, then, is that when you show calculating people what they expect — that you are ready to exploit their vulnerabilities for self-gain — there is no sign of surprise. When you respond to their selfish behavior with kindness, their brains immediately start planning how to best take advantage of you. They are, in fact, selfish jerks.”

Measuring The Creative Economy: Can We Measure How The Artists Are Doing?

“Interestingly, in all the responses to the article, no one so far has been able to suggest a data source that suggests that mean or median incomes for musicians have declined since 1999, adjusted for inflation. Everything that I have uncovered in many months of researching this article suggests that the story of music since 1999 is one of steady but small growth for musicians. Not some glorious renaissance, but certainly not a crisis.”