Boris's deputy, Dominic Raab, took a potshot at Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner (a longtime union rep proud of her working-class roots) for going to posh Glyndebourne while railway workers were striking. Rayner (who paid all of £62 for her ticket) had a couple of choice replies. - Classic FM (UK)
Much as AI, or machine learning, has been woven into the rest of our daily lives, it's now taking a shot at resurrecting precious cultural artefacts once lost to the passage of time. - BBC
"Thanks to funding from Jack Dorsey's #StartSmall foundation and a donation from billionaire McKenzie Scott, which supplemented the city's initial investment with $3.5 million, 60 additional artists began receiving monthly $1,000 payments between October 2021 and February 2022 — funding which continues for a total of 18 months." - KQED (San Francisco)
"A number of marble tiles on the floor of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, which was turned back into a mosque in 2020 after serving as a historical museum for decades, have reportedly been cracked by heavy machinery used to clean the building last week." - Artnet
"Now that the law is on the verge of going into effect, thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court, the studios have gone quiet. ... For Hollywood in particular, Georgia's $1.2 billion tax credit for film and TV production may be too good to pass up." - Variety
"The collection of metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin ... that have found their way into 20 museums across Germany were mostly taken by British forces when they conquered, burned, and looted the city of Benin in 1897." - Deutsche Welle
"Funded by a $440 million bequest from Ruth DeYoung Kohler II, the Ruth Foundation for the Arts immediately enters the highest echelons of arts philanthropy. ... The foundation, based in Milwaukee, is planning to give away between $17 to $20 million a year." - The New York Times
"That is on top of the 2,500 closures since 2004 documented in earlier reports. The result is even more 'news deserts' in poorer and rural communities and a growing split between haves and have-nots in access to local news." - Poynter
It turns out that Francis Fukuyama doesn’t like what history’s end has wrought. Liberalism has been corrupted by bad actors on all sides who have lost faith in its tenets: free speech, universal tolerance, and human equality. - The Baffler
Countries—including Bangladesh, China, Denmark, Ireland, and Uruguay, and Bangladesh—had a net gain in tree cover, according to new data from researchers at the University of Maryland and the nonprofit World Resources Institute. Others, including the U.S., had a net loss. - Fast Company
The deal reduces the number of top agencies to three dominant players: CAA, WME and United Talent Agency. ICM is the fourth largest firm. The combination of the two companies will give the emerging entity the heft to better compete against Beverly Hills-based Endeavor. - Los Angeles Times
"For me, at least, fandom has started to feel like a phenomenon akin to cryptocurrency or economic populism—a history-shaping force that we’d be foolish to ignore." - The New Yorker
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) shared the clip on Twitter — and blasted the popular PBS/HBO children’s show for allowing Elmo to “aggressively advocate for vaccinating children UNDER 5.” He added: “You cite ZERO scientific evidence for this.” - Washington Post
I do think the purpose of criticism is to make an assertive claim for what is there. When Toni Morrison speaks of the “Africanist presence” in Willa Cather, or Richard Dyer on “romanticism” in disco, these observations operate inquisitively yet still, “stake a claim.” - The Point
