Michelle Tea, author of several memoirs and novels, says (in her new book called, er, Against Memoir) that it certainly is. “Examining the need to record her experiences in the title essay, she writes: ‘Personal narrative is a mental illness, but you don’t want to be well.’ She tells me how the compulsion to write is similar to the craving to drink.” – The Guardian (UK)
Tag: 11.08.19
So They Hired Phoebe Waller-Bridge Of ‘Fleabag’ Fame To Help The James Bond Movies Out
Remember how Carrie Fisher (RIP, General) used to punch up scripts? It’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s time now. She’s the second woman – only the second – to get a writing credit on a Bond movie on the six-decade franchise. She says she wasn’t trying to fix the, shall we say, anti-feminist message of many early Bond films: “They were just looking for tweaks across a few of the characters and a few of the storylines.” – BBC
Gillian Jagger, Sculptor Who Used Trees And Animal Carcasses, Has Died At 88
Jagger used the natural world as inspiration, and her work related to Land Art, ecofeminism, and Post-Minimalism without aligning to any one specific movement. The artist “hit upon one of her signature methods while living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in the 1960s. She began capturing direct impressions of the world around her by casting unlikely forms in plaster, like a cat that had been stoned to death by children and, most famously, manhole covers.” – The New York Times
Why Would The Oscars Reject A Nigerian Film For Its Language?
Because the language isn’t “foreign” enough – it’s English. The Academy is changing what the category is called – Best International Film instead of Best Foreign-Language Film – but it hasn’t changed the rules. “Lionheart, then, is ineligible for the Best International Film category, despite being an international movie shot in the most populous country in Africa.” – The Atlantic
Maria Perego, Who Created The Mouse Puppet Topo Gigio, Has Died At 95
Perego was an Italian puppeteer who came up with the 10-inch tall mouse puppet/marionette in the 1950s – and then the Ed Sullivan Show came calling, and calling, and calling. Of the puppet’s numerous appearances on the show, Perego said, “My puppet not only entered Americans’ households, I believe he also entered their hearts.” – The New York Times
Laid-Off Marciano Art Foundation Staffers Protest At The Museum’s Building In Los Angeles
The staffers walked a picket line in front of the former Scottish Rite Temple on Friday. “We’re here to work! We want to work!” they chanted, and “Let us in! Let us in! Let us in!” – Los Angeles Times
The Rise – And Importance – Of Asian American Dance Groups
In a lot of Asian countries, “hip-hop rose to popularity as a form of self-expression and resistance, sometimes in the face of colonialism and oppressive regimes.” But current Asian American hip hop groups are all about finding each other, and finding community. – Noisey
McSweeney’s Internet Tendency Is Now Old Enough To Drink Legally
Happy 21st, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. How the heck do you stay so funny over some exceedingly unfunny years? One editor interviews another to find out. – Inside Higher Ed
Preorder Your Books From Indie Bookstores
Here’s why you should do that: “Your interest in a title will indicate to booksellers that it’s worth checking out! Maybe they’ll read it. Maybe they’ll love it and give it table space up front and hand-sell it to everyone who walks in the door.” – Literary Hub
Sudden Closing Of LA’s Marciano Foundation Raises Questions About Private Arts Institutions
“We need to think about how we regulate these institutions. And maybe ask, why are they tax exempt to begin with? Are the benefits outweighing the costs to the public?” The Marciano situation has also highlighted issues of pay equity at museums, which frequently have a coterie of well-remunerated administrators at the top, followed by a much larger subset of poorly paid workers at the bottom, many part time. – Los Angeles Times