“If you can’t annoy somebody, there’s little point in writing.”
– Kingsley Amis
The ghost story is the oldest type of supernatural tale, and thus the one closest to the European oral storytelling tradition.
One day while browsing the World Wide Web (obviously for work—not just wasting time), I stumbled on the following ad, on the Web site of a magazine, the Economist
'Never give up, never despair': Queen's VE Day address reflects on today's fight against COVID-19
Queen Elizabeth has led tributes to veterans of World War Two, recalling the "never give up, never despair" message of Victory in Europe Day 75 years ago, as coronavirus dampened VE Day commemorations.
L.A. Times Art Critic Christopher Knight Wins Pulitzer Prize
“The jury said Knight’s work demonstrated ‘extraordinary community service by a critic’ through the application of ‘his expertise and enterprise to critique a proposed overhaul of the L.A. County Museum of Art and its effect on the institution’s mission.’ … [The other finalists were] Justin Davidson of New York magazine, nominated in part for his writing on the Hudson Yards development in New York, and Soraya Nadia McDonald of The Undefeated, honored for her work exploring the intersection of film, theater, and race.” (Davidson has already won the criticism Pulitzer, in 2002 for classical music writing at Newsday.) – Artnet
How Production Studios Are Adapting To Stay-At-Home Productions
“There are systems we had before that are good and coming in handy, but there are new systems that are popping up all the time, too. I think it’s going to change us for the better in the long term. There’s no way we go back to the studio and produce the show the same way we did before. We’ve learned too much.” – Washington Post
Is The Future Of Music Festivals Drive-In Theatre?
The Danish city of Aarhus allowed popular singer Mads Langer to perform a drive-thru event at a newly constructed venue just outside the city. With six days’ notice, the event sold 500 tickets and, according to locals, went off without a hitch. – Los Angeles Times
The Songs of 1984
You might remember last year
when the Hood Internet released a series of videos mashing up the top songs of 1979-1983. Over the next few weeks, they’re going to finish up the 80s. The video from 1984 is up first:As previously noted, 1984 was perhaps mass pop culture’s high tide, a great year for music, and the most 80s year of the 1980s.
2020 World f Daffynition
“Drillosophy”: a combination of drill (a type of hip hop music) and philosophy — “In each of six episodes, they take a philosophical concept and break it down using metaphors thrown up in some of drill and UK rap’s most popular songs”
“If you are interested in grappling with hard questions and examining diverse views while considering your own beliefs, philosophy might be the right major for you” — what U.S. News & World Report thinks readers “need to know about becoming a philosophy major”
What To Do About Now? is a new group blog on applied political philosophy and political theory — initiated by Hannah McHugh (UCL), it aims to give early career political theorists a platform for their more publicly-minded work
“People become misinformed because they tend to trust those they identify with” — philosophers Cailin O’Connor & James Owen Weatherall (UC Irvine) explain with the peculiar example of hydroxychloroquine
“The informal and untraceable talk, the socializing, the comradery, and the sheer serendipity that results from being in the space space and time together…” — videoconferenced academic events lack these, so despite their alleged advantages, Eric Schliesser (Amsterdam) is not a fan
“Her drawings are imaginative, often elliptical responses to philosophical writings” — the philosophical art of Maria Bussmann