Questions in the Media & Arts category.
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April 19
Good Western novels for a genre newbie
What classic or modern western novels would you recommend to a genre newbie? [more inside]
Secondary Market for Jonathan Richman tickets?
My husband really wants to see Jonathan Richman when he’s in Northern California in May, but the shows are sold out. Is there any place to buy tickets that are being resold? [more inside]
April 18
Origin of the quip "the golden years should be called the rust years"
Mrs. Larry David Syndrome claims that her grandfather coined this quip (or a variant of it.) I think it's much more likely to have originated from a comic/humorist and he just was repeating it. (It does follow the pretty standard joke format of turning a phrase on its head by substituting an opposite.) Can anyone tell me who was the first person to publicly say/write this phrase (or a close variant such as "...more like the rust years") and what year that occurred? Or when this phrase first became commonly used?
Who is this US academic who taught humanities to disadvantaged citizens?
Several years ago I heard a podcast episode about a US academic who set up a free community program to teach humanities subjects to uneducated or unemployed people in his area. My sketchy recollections include: Initially his idea was treated with derision ('Poor people don't need the arts, they need real life skills' etc) but after a crash course in subjects like philosophy, many of his students were able to improve their lives in unexpected and profound ways, and all found employment - except for one who was fired after trying to set up an employee's union. What was this program, who ran it, and what podcast did I hear about it on? [more inside]
April 17
Adventures of Wade and Henry, part one
I want to make custom photo books (maybe through Snapfish, which I've seen recommended here) of my great nephews having adventures via Photoshop. Maybe I'd write some rhymes to go with the pictures. Riding dinosaurs, as superheroes, on a spaceship, etc. So Metafilter, what's the etc.? What else should I Photoshop some little boys doing? Any other ideas to make these the coolest presents ever would be gratefully accepted!
Art history question!
Can someone please explain (in very simple, pared down language) the difference between "technologies of display" and "practices of display" with respect to art history? Any information I can find online just confuses me further.
Great modern art museums I don’t know yet?
I've got some flexibility in planning my travels, and my work commitments are usually at night, so daytimes are for museums and modern art's my big priority. Tell me your favorites that aren’t on this list of ones I’m grateful to know already (ordered roughly by how much I love them): Tate Modern, SFMOMA, Pompidou, Kiasma, MoMA and PS1, Stedelijk, YBCA, Moderna Museet, Whitney, de Young, Hirshhorn. Don't need to be 'major' but I want to hear places you think are extraordinary.
An unbiased review of my illustration portfolio by a professional
I am a professional illustrator and, recently, my career has been horribly slow. I am worried about the quality of my work and would really like the unbiased opinion of an industry professional. Though I am not sure how to achieve that. Is there any site out there that facilitates something like this?
Social media gets one quarter portion of the residuals
After reading yet another "one quarter portion" joke today, a question occurred to me: are TV and movie scriptwriters and producers intentionally trying to create meme-able lines nowadays? [more inside]
Blues singalong suggestions?
A friend will be performing a 90-minute set of blues music at an upcoming street festival, and she's looking for songs the crowd can sing along with as she plays guitar. ("Do 'Come On in My Kitchen!' I said, and was reminded that there will be lots of kids present, so.) She's aware of the Blues chapter of "Rise Again." What else do you have for her? [more inside]
Songs without choruses
I'm looking for songs that genuinely do not have choruses. It can be any genre, my fave is indie rock, folk, neo-folk but anything will do. What are your favorite songs without choruses? Thanks!
Funny Songs About American History
Looking for funny songs about American history in the vein of Ben Franklin (Decemberists/Lin Manuel Miranda), Heroes by Jill Sobule, and F Delano by Kishi Bashi, which is a lot darker. Feel free to include songs about notable writers/events/crimes as well as politics, but keep them funny.
April 16
Big dance numbers of the last two decades
Can anyone think of movies with awesome dance scenes in them, made in the last twenty years? [more inside]
April 15
Seeking depictions of healthy anger
Looking for movies, shows, and books that depict someone feeling and expressing healthy anger. [more inside]
April 14
Listening to kids these days
Can you recommend some new rock-ish music for me? I'm particularly interested in expanding my knowledge of younger and female artists, to counterbalance my natural gravitation toward '90s-early '00s dad rock (The National, Spoon, Belle and Sebastian). Some artists I would classify this way whose work I have enjoyed: TORRES, Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, Courtney Barnett, maybe Mitski. Thanks for your help with my aspirations to be a Cool Musical Youth again!
How to find this wild-looking Donnie Yen film?
Does anyone have an idea where I might be able to buy or stream or download 1985's Mismatched Couples, which based on the trailer is a ridiculous and joyful mix of martial arts and hip hop starring a very young Donnie Yen?
What does Parminster signify?
I am curious about the assumed meanings and implicit cultural coding of the fictional town of Parminster in Dr. Foster. [more inside]
April 13
I‘m holding out for a hero
I recently reread Tombs of Atuan and I understood why teenage me was so infatuated with the book. Sparrowhawk, as the male lead, is a kind and empathetic as well as intelligent man and these traits and how he uses them are crucial to the day being saved in the end. I would like to find more books with male main characters who are like that and who drive the plot by being this way. [more inside]
April 12
College Radio Earworm Help
What song did I hear on the radio? [more inside]
Post-post-collapse fiction?
I've read plenty of speculative fiction taking place in the years/decades following the collapse of society (for various definitions of "the collapse of society"). I'm looking for recommendations for post-post-collapse fiction, taking place after society has begun to rebuild itself. [more inside]