Arts

Books
Arts

The Seedy Underbelly Of The Belle Epoque, 'Painted'

12:54pm January 14, 2013

by NPR Staff

The belle epoque was not particularly belle if you were poor and female — like the young girl who modeled for Edgar Degas' famous sculpture, The Little Dancer, Aged 14. A new novel by Cathy Marie Buchanan tells the story of that girl, ballet student Marie van Goethem.

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Ann Dowd plays Sandra, a hard-nosed Midwestern manager of a fast-food franchise in Compliance. The actress spent $13,000 to try to get an Oscar nomination for the role.

Arts

Ann Dowd's One-Woman Oscar-Nomination Campaign

11:01am January 13, 2013

by NPR Staff

Actress Ann Dowd received huge acclaim for her role in the indie film Compliance. But the studio told her it didn't have money to lobby the Academy for a best supporting actress award for her. So Dowd did something exceedingly rare in Hollywood: She spent $13,000 on her own campaign.

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Using touchscreens, visitors decide how they would make wartime choices.

World War II Exhibit Asks Visitors, 'What Would You Do?'

12:08pm January 12, 2013

by Elizabeth Blair

The National WWII Museum in New Orleans presents a range of real-life scenarios that give visitors a sense of the ethical — and often dangerous — decisions soldiers and civilians were forced to make during the war.

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Cover image for Amar'e Stoudemire's STAT: Slam Dunk.

NBA Star Aims To Inspire Young Readers With 'Slam Dunk'

12:08pm January 12, 2013

by NPR Staff

New York Knicks captain Amar'e "STAT" Stoudemire is a six-time All-Star, an education activist and the author of three books for middle-schoolers. In his latest release, an injury helps an 11-year-old STAT learn lessons both on and off the court.

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Books
Arts

No Going Back: A Hard Look At Bipolar Disorder

6:11pm January 11, 2013

by Ellen Forney

Juliann Garey's novel, Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See, is a searing exploration of mental illness. Author Ellen Forney says it's a vivid and accurate depiction of bipolar disorder.

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Lena Dunham's series Girls, which follows the lives of a group of young women in New York City, returns to HBO this month.

Arts

Season Two Brings Changes For 'Girls'

3:25pm January 11, 2013

by David Bianculli

The second season of the HBO series premieres this month, and Fresh Air critic David Bianculli says "these young women — these girls — really are changing and growing and adapting to tough life in the big city."

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Girls has been compared to Sex and the City. The characters, played by (from left) Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Lena Dunham and Zosia Mamet, navigate the ups and downs of life in New York City.

Arts

Lena Dunham Addresses Criticism Aimed At 'Girls'

3:25pm January 11, 2013

The creator and star of HBO's new series Girls addresses the backlash against the show, which follows four 20-somethings as they navigate the ups and downs of life in New York City. The second season premieres January 13.

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Wide angle shot of an hourglass with laptop computer in the background.

Arts

In Video-Streaming Rat Race, Fast Is Never Fast Enough

1:55pm January 11, 2013

by Sami Yenigun

As more and more Web users turn to streaming video services like YouTube, a new study shows how impatient those users are. The first of its kind, the UMass study suggests load times of more than 10 seconds can drive away more than 50 percent of viewers.

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Living Single (1993-1998) featured four young, black, professional women in New York — including Queen Latifah as the ambitious head of a small magazine.

Arts

'Living' In Color, Long Before 'Girls'

1:14pm January 11, 2013

by Karen Grigsby Bates

HBO's series Girls has been criticized for not being diverse enough. Long before Girls, two shows — Living Single and Girlfriends — featured professional African-American women. But the creator of Girlfriends says times have changed, and the shows she now produces have more multicultural casts to reflect changing demographics.

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Arts

Our State Magazine Turns 80

8:49am January 11, 2013

by David Ford

You've seen it at bookstores and newsstands everywhere, but you probably didn't know that more than 800,000 people in every state in the union and 42 countries worldwide enjoy this incredible periodical that just happens to be entirely devoted to North Carolina people, places, history and travel.

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