The singer: “The only reason I’m Jewish is probably antisemitism. Think about Soviet Russia – religion is illegal. So there’s no cultural Judaism, no tradition. The only thing that made Jewish people marry other Jews is that they didn’t want to be called ‘kikes’. They knew they wouldn’t hear the word ‘zhid’ come out of their husband’s face when they had their first marital fight. So it’s the only reason a lot of us exist.”
Tag: 11.13.16
How Will The Art Market React To A Trump Presidency? Auctions May Give A Clue
First of all, everyone’s sitting on great work because they’re waiting to see if the market will be there for great work. So that’s a slight problem.
Why Write About The Nastiness Of Humanity? Ask This Zimbabwean Author
Petina Gappah, winner of the Guardian First Book Award several years ago, Has a new book of short stories out. And the people in them experience quite a lot of painful challenges. Why? “The criminal justice system links everyone together, from the top politicians to the street vendors – it cuts across the boundaries of race and class.”
The Director Of ‘Selma’ And ’13th’ Explains What Trump’s Win Means
Basically? Private prisons – something well-covered in Ava DuVernay’s documentary “13th,” streaming on Netflix (and at a big screening in L.A. on Sunday night).
In Theatre Awards In London, The New ‘Harry Potter’ Play Comes Out On Top
Ralph Fiennes won a best acting award, as did Billie Piper (whom US fans might know from Doctor Who) – and Glenn Close completes a theatre comeback in London with an award as well. The director of the Harry Potter play said, “It’s a show about the peril of isolation, about unity, about family and about love.”
This Week’s AJ Highlights: Divided Culture, Audience Issues, Hope From Lin Manuel Miranda
This Week: Hard to imagine there are arts headlines to compete with election news, but here goes: Science tries to explain why we’re ideologically segregated… It’s not just politics – arts and entertainment don’t really know what their audiences want… Even the most-respected arts coverage is being cut back… Infighting on the jury of the National Book Awards point to how deeply we’re divided… To end on an upbeat note, read Lin Manuel Miranda on the power of arts education.
Top AJBlogs Posts From The Weekend, 11.13.16
Why it’s time to completely, totally, finally give up on economic impact studies in the arts
This is my last attempt at this topic, based on some recent (friendly!) twitter conversations and questions. One. Let me start with some data. Here, from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, are sector shares … read more
AJBlog: For What it’s WorthPublished 2016-11-12
The Revenge of the Mediocre . . .
. . . upon the great is a risk that every biographer takes. Mary Wisniewski has taken it, and it defeats her. Old friends of Nelson Algren whom he later spurned, to say nothing of … read more
AJBlog: Straight|UpPublished 2016-11-12
The May-Sinatra-Ellington “Indian Summer”
Vibraphonist, arranger, bandleader and master transcriber Charlie Shoemake lives on the California coast halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. As a performer who also teaches, he is known in the jazz community for the … read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2016-11-11
75 Days to Decide: Is Your Organization Part of the Solution – or Part of the Problem
How will you use these 75 days? In her Jumper blog, Diane Ragsdale delivers a stirring message for the dawn of the Trump Presidential era that deserves to be shared and contemplated with the staff, … read more
AJBlog: Audience WantedPublished 2016-11-11
Mark Zuckerberg Says The Fake News Problem (And The Election) Isn’t Facebook’s Fault
Zuckerberg says that despite the company’s firing of human news managers and the fake news problem – he says 99 percent of news shares are from real sources – Facebook is not the problem: “I believe we must be extremely cautious about becoming arbiters of truth ourselves.”
Designers, Time For You To Step In And Make The Country Better
Dear designers: We need you to help create images that solve problems, bring clarity, inspire agency, and help those who want to “shape the future with pragmatic hopefulness.”
Fiction Podcasts Are Here To Stay, And Here’s A List Of Some Of The Best
You probably already know about “Welcome to Night Vale,” but there’s so much more than that, including dramas with Catherine Keener and Oscar Isaac, stories conceived by Issa Rae, and an alternate universe old-time variety show with Mandy Patinkin and Tim Robbins.