CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT

Photo: Joseph Gordon-Levitt via The New Yorker.

This is how Tim Wu's article in The New Yorker starts: The variety show “HitRECord on T.V.,” which débuted at the Sundance Film Festival, begins with the host and producer Joseph Gordon-Levitt running onto a stage, clutching a stick with an attached video camera. He wields it like a sceptre, symbolizing the show’s premise: while you’re watching him, well, he’s taping you. Gordon-Levitt calls the show “ ‘Sesame Street’ for adults,” and the segments—cartoons, films, and songs—are created with contributions from the show’s fans. In other words, the show borrows crowdsourcing techniques from the Web to make a TV show. And, in case that setup is not confusing enough, the show runs on a cable channel (Pivot) that was just launched by a film studio (Participant), and the show premièred at a film festival, except for the first episode, which is available on YouTube. Got it? Read full article in The New Yorker. E.T.P. 8'

Still from the film Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer via The Guardian.

"Back in February 2012, when Pussy Riot staged Punk Prayer – a musical protest at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in which they appealed to the Holy Virgin to "chase Putin out" – a two-year jail sentence for a 40-second peaceful protest would have seemed unimaginable", writes Masha Gesse, the journalist that corresponded with Nadya and Maria of Pussy Riot while they were  in prison, and now examines how their trial became the first battle in Putin's 'war on modernity' – and a dark moment in Russian history. This is a very insightful and detailed article of a story that, maybe is just starting, read the complete article in The Guardian. E.T.P. 16'

Also this is Masha's book: Words Will Break Cement. (I certainly hope!)