AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- The Anti-AI ‘Hand-Designed’ Trend Is Big, But Also Filled With Grift
“Most telling is Claude’s branding, incorporating hand-drawn illustrations and details that attempt to tell the world, ‘Hey, we’re the more human AI.’” – Fast Company
- Confirmed: Amazon Is Scanning And Then Ripping Up Rare Books
Wow, OK, way to be just obviously evil. “The printed book is destroyed in the process. The logo of the Amazon team that works at this warehouse, called VGT3, is a dinosaur, brandishing its teeth and with a book in its hands.” – 404 Media
- Once Again, Police Are Claiming Classical Music Soothes Crowds Of Rowdy Youth
In one British McDonald’s, a hot spot for fighting and generally antisocial behavior, “measures were brought in including a playlist of classical music in the evenings.” – BBC (Yahoo)
- The Current Guy Uses AI To Claim Ballroom Approval From A Long-Dead Leader
The 47th president shared “a series of seemingly AI-generated images … and a short video in which Trump and Washington stroll through the still-unbuilt ballroom. ‘Thank you, George, for some of your brilliant ideas on this great Military Complex/Ballroom!’ Trump captioned the 10-second video.” – Salon
- Art Spiegelman Doesn’t See A Way Out Of The U.S. Political Mess
The man who created Maus has some worries: “The media are struggling with how to convey the stakes in this post-truth era, he explains, the courts are packed with Trump appointees, democratic norms have been destroyed, and there is no effective opposition.” – The Guardian (UK)
ISSUES
- As Some Paintings Are Found, Art Thieves Hit A Sicilian Museum
In the morning, good news about an art theft from March. Then came the evening. “Thieves got past the alarm system at Messina’s Museo Interdisciplinare Regionale (MuMe), and broke open a security case. They soon left with four wooden panels.” – NPR
- Massive Art Thefts, Massive Recoveries This Week In Italy And Brazil
“The recovered works are Cézanne’s Still Life with Cherries, which authorities said was valued at about $7m (£5.2m), Renoir’s Fish, valued at $3.5m, and Matisse’s Odalisque on the Terrace.” – The Guardian (UK)
- Celebrating “Other” Washingtons
In Chicago, a lone statue of George Washington is now surrounded by “Other Washingtons,” which take the form of blue flags bearing the faces of Black Americans who bear the same last name. – CNN
- History Is Being Erased In Gaza, Iran And Ukraine
Of international bodies, Unesco is active in keeping a record of the fate of cultural heritage worldwide, but a record is just a record. Its listing of Russia’s and Israel’s devastation of their hated foes is like watching a historic tragedy unfold in real time. – The Guardian
- Eight Matisses Stolen From São Paulo Library Are Found By Brazilian Police
The Matisse illustrations, made for a limited-edition art book, were taken last December from the Biblioteca Mário de Andrade, where they were part of an exhibition presented jointly with the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art. Also stolen were five engravings by Brazilian artist Candido Portinari; they have not yet been located. – BBC
MEDIA
- Confirmed: Amazon Is Scanning And Then Ripping Up Rare Books
Wow, OK, way to be just obviously evil. “The printed book is destroyed in the process. The logo of the Amazon team that works at this warehouse, called VGT3, is a dinosaur, brandishing its teeth and with a book in its hands.” – 404 Media
- The Current Guy Uses AI To Claim Ballroom Approval From A Long-Dead Leader
The 47th president shared “a series of seemingly AI-generated images … and a short video in which Trump and Washington stroll through the still-unbuilt ballroom. ‘Thank you, George, for some of your brilliant ideas on this great Military Complex/Ballroom!’ Trump captioned the 10-second video.” – Salon
- The Dream Of A ‘Red State Hollywood’ Usually Founders On A Couple Of Things
“No one wants more uncertainty, and certainly no one wants this chaos. And let’s face it, no one really wants to move from Beverly Hills to Nashville.” – The New York Times
- Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Gets To Tell Your Family’s Story?
“The trauma of the Holocaust has lived beneath the surface of daily life for decades, too painful to confront. But now second- and third-generation family members are getting access to archives of collaboration. In some cases, it’s opening old wounds.” – The New York Times
- Did AI Tell These Middle School Students They Now Live In ‘Venecky’ Instead Of Kentucky?
Wow: “Administrators later warned teachers there were a ‘LOT of mistakes’ on pages 19 through 36 and instructed students to tear the pages out of their planners before taking them home.”- Salon
MUSIC
- It’s Not Just US Booksellers Noticing A Gaping Maw Coming For Used Books
The booksellers are wondering how they’re supposed to feel. Tey’re “are “uncomfortable with the idea of books being destroyed – even if they admit not every title needs to be saved.” – BBC
- Founding Literary Publications As One’s Home Is Shelled To Rubble
“I began asking myself: what will remain of this experience if it is not written down?” – LitHub
- Not Only Is The Rumpus Alive, But It’s Launching A Spanish-Language Literary Magazine
From the editors: “Rather than translating existing work from The Rumpus, El Alboroto will commission and publish original Spanish-language writing spanning cultural criticism, personal essays, interviews, fiction, poetry and comics.” – LitHub
- Even In Oxford, Romantasy Books Are Taking Off
And NPR gets right down to it with the owner: What is “Monster smut,” and why is it so popular right now? – NPR
- How To Solve The So-Called Literacy Crisis, With Fun And Joy
In groups, sometimes with full-throated yawps, it’s time to take back public, communal reading. – The New York Times
PEOPLE
- The Anti-AI ‘Hand-Designed’ Trend Is Big, But Also Filled With Grift
“Most telling is Claude’s branding, incorporating hand-drawn illustrations and details that attempt to tell the world, ‘Hey, we’re the more human AI.’” – Fast Company
- Confirmed: Amazon Is Scanning And Then Ripping Up Rare Books
Wow, OK, way to be just obviously evil. “The printed book is destroyed in the process. The logo of the Amazon team that works at this warehouse, called VGT3, is a dinosaur, brandishing its teeth and with a book in its hands.” – 404 Media
- Once Again, Police Are Claiming Classical Music Soothes Crowds Of Rowdy Youth
In one British McDonald’s, a hot spot for fighting and generally antisocial behavior, “measures were brought in including a playlist of classical music in the evenings.” – BBC (Yahoo)
- The Current Guy Uses AI To Claim Ballroom Approval From A Long-Dead Leader
The 47th president shared “a series of seemingly AI-generated images … and a short video in which Trump and Washington stroll through the still-unbuilt ballroom. ‘Thank you, George, for some of your brilliant ideas on this great Military Complex/Ballroom!’ Trump captioned the 10-second video.” – Salon
- Art Spiegelman Doesn’t See A Way Out Of The U.S. Political Mess
The man who created Maus has some worries: “The media are struggling with how to convey the stakes in this post-truth era, he explains, the courts are packed with Trump appointees, democratic norms have been destroyed, and there is no effective opposition.” – The Guardian (UK)
PEOPLE
- The Anti-AI ‘Hand-Designed’ Trend Is Big, But Also Filled With Grift
“Most telling is Claude’s branding, incorporating hand-drawn illustrations and details that attempt to tell the world, ‘Hey, we’re the more human AI.’” – Fast Company
- Confirmed: Amazon Is Scanning And Then Ripping Up Rare Books
Wow, OK, way to be just obviously evil. “The printed book is destroyed in the process. The logo of the Amazon team that works at this warehouse, called VGT3, is a dinosaur, brandishing its teeth and with a book in its hands.” – 404 Media
- Once Again, Police Are Claiming Classical Music Soothes Crowds Of Rowdy Youth
In one British McDonald’s, a hot spot for fighting and generally antisocial behavior, “measures were brought in including a playlist of classical music in the evenings.” – BBC (Yahoo)
- The Current Guy Uses AI To Claim Ballroom Approval From A Long-Dead Leader
The 47th president shared “a series of seemingly AI-generated images … and a short video in which Trump and Washington stroll through the still-unbuilt ballroom. ‘Thank you, George, for some of your brilliant ideas on this great Military Complex/Ballroom!’ Trump captioned the 10-second video.” – Salon
- Art Spiegelman Doesn’t See A Way Out Of The U.S. Political Mess
The man who created Maus has some worries: “The media are struggling with how to convey the stakes in this post-truth era, he explains, the courts are packed with Trump appointees, democratic norms have been destroyed, and there is no effective opposition.” – The Guardian (UK)
THEATRE
VISUAL
- The Anti-AI ‘Hand-Designed’ Trend Is Big, But Also Filled With Grift
“Most telling is Claude’s branding, incorporating hand-drawn illustrations and details that attempt to tell the world, ‘Hey, we’re the more human AI.’” – Fast Company
- Good News For News Publishers? From AI?
Well, from Apple, in any case: “The pay-as-you-go plan would see publishers paid only when Siri AI uses their content,” which is similar to the Apple News+ model for print (er, digital). – Nieman Lab
- The Neuroscience Explanation For Why We Need Concerts
For “collective effervescence” to occur organically, bodies need to be present, in the same space, dancing to the same rhythm. The function is to restore the social bonds and shared beliefs that are eroded by the drudgery of ordinary life. – The Guardian
- An Attempt To Build India’s “Most Livable” City
More than 25,000 people are working at the site on any given day, building a design by Norman Foster, the celebrated British architect. The city is laid out in grids and includes about a five-mile stretch of government buildings. – The New York Times
- Are We Close To Locating Where Consciousness Lives In The Brain?
Most discussions of AI and consciousness ask whether machines can experience anything. But maybe the real mystery is: If consciousness is not fundamentally related to higher cognition, then what kind of phenomenon is it? – Noema