Even if you spend very little time online, there’s little you can do outside the logic of the internet. It is a force that warps our reality, a cosmic background noise that is everywhere and nowhere — something inhuman that’s subtly reshaping our language, our politics, even our minds. - The New York Times

It might repay us to take a moment, not just from our jobs but also from our leisures, to make some to-do about doing nothing. - The American Scholar

The further artists move out of amateur hour and into the professional realm, of course, the more we expect their work to reflect their “real” capabilities. But what is real? - The New Yorker

In the dream world of an executive, fandom is something like a parasitic disease — contagious through mere exposure, trafficking quickly between hosts with immediate contact and little to no external intervention. - Words from Eliza

Linguistic diversity among AI systems is real and growing. Cultural worldview diversity, however, has not kept pace. - The Conversation

“What is it about these heists that people like, as long as nobody gets hurt?” - The Guardian (UK)

Keir Starmer joined criticism of the festival at the weekend, saying it was “deeply concerning” that West had been booked to perform “despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism”. - The Guardian

The WPA provided for culture workers through Federal One, encompassing the Federal Art, Music, Theatre, and Writers’ Projects. But the social benefits of painting a mural were less obvious than those of planting a tree. - ARTnews

So the people who go to the fanciest colleges tend to have the most successful careers—this is not exactly news. The question of why this is the case, however, is surprisingly tricky to answer. - The Atlantic

Also, what’s that board going to look like once the president gets finished with it? “Smithsonian officials declined to comment on the appointment process, and offered no explanation for the delays.” - The New York Times

“Solutions like Proudly Human and Not by AI aim to be broader, covering published text, visual art, videography, and music, but the verification processes being used by these services can be questionable.” (Archive Today version here.) - The Verge

“Payment services don’t have any incentive to consider the value of controversial and unpopular speech or how it may benefit our society.” - LitHub

Independent venue closures, social media algorithms, streaming royalties and the rise of generative AI have contributed to a wider ecosystem that artists say is becoming increasingly difficult for working musicians to weather — and which they say makes the sustainability of touring more crucial than ever. - NPR

“At a time when women did not yet have the right to vote, but were playing in women's leagues and filling the stands at occasional Ladies Days, ‘Take Me Out’ celebrates a fictional young woman's deep and abiding passion for baseball.” - NPR

Next month the hipster harpsichordist is doing the cycle three different ways: the usual manner, for solo keyboard; arranged for strings, flute and continuo (the scoring of Bach’s Musical Offering; and as a new composition, UNDR for piano, percussion and electronics. He explains here in a Q&A. - Bachtrack

Arts philanthropy is essential but elusive. Even so, there is a curious — and hopefully not delusional — optimism in classical music, L.A. style. We have lively leadership at all levels. “Accessibility” isn’t the term bandied about; “adventure” is. Full houses are common. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)

Composer Chris Rogerson will lead the summer festival in the Colorado resort town, taking over after the 16-year tenure of pianist Anne-Marie McDermott. Rogerson is the first composer to direct the event: before McDermott were flutist Eugenia Zukerman and violinist Ida Kavafian. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

“Nearly half a century on, although performances on period instruments (let alone fortepianos) are hardly the norm, historically informed performance has increasingly moved toward mainstream acceptance, picking up new repertoires, time periods, and styles along the way. The movement’s relative success may seem surprising.” - Early Music America

Despite unsteadiness across the museum industry, the country's most-visited institutions remained relatively stable. - NPR

The former head of the Château de Versailles, Christophe Leribault arrived after Des Cars’s desperate five-month struggle to save her job came to an end. A string of management failures had been confirmed in stinging reports from various bodies and parliamentary hearings in the wake of the heist. - The Art Newspaper

The Uffizi said it had been targeted by a cyberattack on February ​1, but added that nothing had been stolen and no information lost. ⁠It also denied that the hackers had obtained security maps or that employees' phones had ​been infiltrated. - Reuters

“Dalí prescribes this very method, deeming zinc white the color with which ‘you will achieve the most absolute whites in your picture.’ But chemically speaking, this approach causes problems.” - Artnet

“The claim, registered in a New York lawsuit filed in 2015, has long been disputed by the Nahmad family, a prominent dynasty of art dealers that wields enormous power in the international art market.” But a federal judge (finally) ruled for the claimants. - The New York Times

China has ordered a sweeping, nationwide audit of its state-run museums after a scandal at one of its top institutions revealed that national treasures had quietly slipped into the private market, according to Hong Kong newspaper South Morning China Post. - ARTnews

Book scientists are working tirelessly with an array of technologies — including microscopes, multispectral imaging and artificial intelligence — to recover, understand and preserve many valuable ancient texts. - The Conversation

The design language is neither stately and trim in the Republican mode, nor bold and innovative, as preferred by Democrats. It is, instead, generically contemporary, a glass tower struggling for some kind of distinctive shape or symbolic form, like so many towers built in Dubai or China. - Washington Post

Although I don’t buy the claim that AI is “inevitable” in some theoretical sense, I also feel like the current incentives in media and publishing, as Max Read recently argued, make it highly unlikely it won’t be used by some writers at some stage of the writing process. - The Third Hemisphere

No, you can’t “steal” a book title, but this is … hm, interesting. - LitHub

“The president uses verbs to evade responsibility and even proclaim a new form of leadership. Perhaps surprisingly, this is true even when Mr. Trump is proudly, if also prematurely, declaiming military successes.” - The New York Times

HarperCollins has announced a multi-year partnership with Toonstar, an “AI-powered” animation studio, to adapt a slate of the publisher’s titles into original YouTube series. - Publishers Weekly

Per the outlet, the corporation is seeking signed equity commitments of close to $24 billion, for which Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has agreed to contribute approximately $10 billion. - Deadline

While union rules constrain Hollywood's use of the technology, Indian cinema is racing ahead, pitting efficiency against questions of creative authenticity and audience acceptance. - Reuters

The lawsuit was brought by Italian consumer advocacy group Movimento Consumatori, which alleged that the price hikes violate the Consumer Code, Italian legislation that aims to protect consumer rights. - Ars Technica

“If given the stamp of approval, the deal will be notable for its unusually long term. Three-year deals have generally been the norm since at least the 1940s for Hollywood unions,” but the extended 2023 strikes changed things. - The Hollywood Reporter

Anthony Norman thought he was just doing a job. But no, says a writer for the weirdly Truman Show-like series: “It was so much more than we ever could have hoped for. … He’s a true hero.” - The New York Times

"Sister Margaret-Angela saw their involvement in Call the Midwife as something that would endure. ‘We've bought all the DVDs so it'll be in our archives,’ she said. ‘It's part of the community history now.’” - BBC

PSU’s “dance program had once been a cornerstone of Portland’s artistic community, even as it struggled against decades of intermittent support, administrative turnover, and shifting school priorities.” - Oregon ArtsWatch

Among the Largest 50 companies, in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, artistic directors earned an average of $240,741. This represents an increase compared to FY2023, during which the average compensation was $227,650. - Dance Data Project

After being in the company for a full year, any full-time member of Boston Ballet can take courses toward a degree from Northeastern University, with almost all courses available online. - CBS News

Pelican, as it’s titled, will be staged on a roller-skating rink — just as the original was in 1963 and 1965. - Artnet

Tiit Helimets, an Estonian dancer and choreographer who was a principal at San Francisco Ballet from 2005 to 2023, will take up his new role at the start of next season. - The Sacramento Bee

Two Canadian sisters make polished, professional, joyous ballet breakdown videos every week - and they have won over ballet scholars and ballerinas alike. “The goal is to make viewers feel equipped to say, ‘I understand what’s going on, and I can appreciate it.’” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Leading figures from the world of comedy have met the government to make the case for comedy, including that it be recognised as an art form in its own right to improve funding access and policy development. - BBC

“According to producing artistic director Rachel May, Synchronicity’s programming, partnerships, and community impact have never been stronger, and the theatre’s leadership is actively engaged in a search for a new theatrical home.” - American Theatre

Shawn and Eisenberg, an author and actress who has been Shawn’s partner for five decades, performed with scripts in the Off-Broadway production of What We Did Before Our Moth Days to fill in for ill co-stars Hope Davis and Maria Dizzia. - Playbill

“When I did it before, nobody was really explicitly saying the opposite of what I was saying. I was attacking implicit assumptions, unthought-through assumptions that people seemed to have. Now I’m attacking open declarations that people are making very publicly.” - Slate (MSN)

The Todd Haimes Theatre is one of five spaces owned by Roundabout, including Studio 54 and the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on Broadway. The current production of “Fallen Angels” will mark its official opening on April 19, and will run in a limited engagement through June 7. - Broadway News

Between his roles as producer, co-playwright, and star of Good Night, and Good Luck, about CBS newscaster Edward R. Murrow, Clooney himself took in an estimated $9 million (if not more) for the 13-week run of the production, which grossed $48 million. - Broadway Journal

A German artist who created carnival displays mocking Russian President Vladimir Putin was sentenced in absentia on Thursday to 8 1/2 years in prison by a court In Moscow. - AP News

“As the architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable once noted: ‘There is a kind of collective schadenfreude in the revelation of defects in great buildings and flaws in great men.’ Few figures bear this out more fully than Wright.” - Aeon

In a paywalled essay in Vanity Fair, the playwright/actor/screenwriter/impresario writes that he read 23 books, finished an outline he owed to a film studio, journaled, and profited from his time off the grid. Indeed, he says, “you could re-create this experience and rich white people would pay for it.” - The Cut (MSN)

“Working primarily with found steel objects, Edwards created masses of hooks, chains, and beams, some of which were abstracted beyond recognition. His titles … tended to be forceful, referring to anti-Black violence, Malcolm X, African cultures, and even American-led wars in Vietnam and Iraq.” - ARTnews

Roberts dedicated her life to sharing the stories of her people, preserving and promoting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture through language, dance and ceremony, and securing pathways for First Nations talent to flourish. - The Guardian

"Known for the organic beauty, narrative drive and humor of his productions, (he) became the most famous ballet choreographer in Texas, and one of the most celebrated in the country, during almost three decades at the helm of Houston Ballet and later at Fort Worth-based Texas Ballet Theater.” - The Dallas Morning News (Yahoo!)