“The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future,” Trump’s post said. - Washington Post (MSN)
Democracies thrive on open debate, but when the threat is not strong enough to unite and not weak enough to ignore, debate can spiral into paralysis and political conflict. - 3 Quarks Daily
“Now a hale 81, Kevin Woods calls himself Ireland’s last leprechaun whisperer, a title that reflects the weekly conversations he says he still carries on with them. But he’s more precisely a leprechaun promoter, building a tidy business from books, merchandise and guided tours of (a) cozy leprechaun cavern.” - The New York Times
In 2023, our book was one of thousands pulled from library shelves around the country, and as we write, an evolving legal strategy being used to defend many such bans threatens to upend decades of precedent preserving the right to read. - The Atlantic (MSN)
According to data released this year by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, recent art history graduates nationwide were more employed than computer science graduates, at a rate of 3% and 6.1%, respectively. - Hyperallergic
“Resembling idealized flowers, many (of what are called) bloom patterns are rotationally symmetric around the center. The bloom patterns, with their set of attractive properties, appear promising for future engineering uses, especially for large structures that are sent to outer space.” - The New York Times
Brian Ferriso came to Portland in 2006 after a series of art museum leadership roles in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Milwaukee and Chicago. During his tenure, he boosted the Portland Art Museum’s endowment by $40 million while eliminating millions of dollars in unfunded debt and raised its national and international profile. - The Oregonian
“We’ve got to get patriotism back in the Smithsonian,” conservative Texas Congressman Sam Johnson said, on being appointed to the museum’s Board of Regents shortly afterward to provide so-called ideological “balance.” “We want the Smithsonian to reflect real America and not something that a historian dreamed up.” - The New Republic
The White House started an audit of the Smithsonian earlier this month. But what about other institutions? It is unclear what legal and financial pressures his administration might pursue in trying to align American museums to his vision. - NPR
The first problem was that the producers didn’t realize they’d need a choreographer until after a band was assembled, rehearsed, and on set for shooting. The second problem was that they wouldn’t show him the script until he got there. Here’s how Andrew Turtletaub made it work. - TheWrap (Yahoo!)
“Conversing with a plant might sound silly, and Dan Daly acknowledged the piece” — Arborlogues: A Botanical Recital Performed for One Tree — “is probably not for everyone. But the aim is to highlight the interdependence of humans and trees.” - The New York Times
That’s a big worry for musicians as well as luthiers, and not just because the supply of wood could dry up. Touring musicians could wind up having to show paperwork demonstrating a bow’s provenance every time they cross a border, whether the bow was made 200 years or two months ago. - The Strad
“While the back-and-forth on a TikTok ban remains a juicy topic (for the media), it's been a source of frustration and confusion for creators — many of whom just want the uncertainty to end. And ... (user) numbers in the U.S. have trended down” even as global usage rises. - TheWrap (MSN)
“Researchers at the University of Florida and University College London have found that between 2003 and 2023, daily reading for reasons other than work and study fell by about 3% each year. The number saw a peak in 2004, with 28% of people qualifying, before falling to 16% in 2023.” - The Guardian
The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia has been mired in a two-year controversy over an “ethical review” by the now-former executive director which removed all online exhibits and videos. The museum’s new approach will focus more on the lives of patients and how medical history has changed over time. - WHYY (Philadelphia)
