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The Tips And Tricks Of A 23-Year-Old Crossword-Solving Champion

The young speedster says, Ttraining your eye to move back and forth from clues to grid without losing your place, remembering clues when you can, really helps." - The Atlantic

The Original Star Trek Enterprise Model, Missing For Decades, Has Surfaced At Sotheby’s

"For die-hard Trekkies, the model’s disappearance had become the subject of folklore, so an eBay listing last fall, with a starting bid of $1,000, didn’t go unnoticed." - The New York Times

Why Is Caravaggio Everywhere On The Cultural Scene?

"This is, after all, the guy who changed it all by introducing emotional intensity and identifiable humanity into the business of representing biblical stories." - The Observer (UK)

Lourdes Portillo, Director Of ‘The Devil Never Sleeps’ And A Visual Artist, Has Died At 80

The documentary filmmaker " ocused her work on writing, directing and producing film and videos that centered the emotions and circumstances of Latin American, Mexican and Chicano experiences,” including Las Madres: The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. - Variety

Netflix Gets Caught Using AI-Generated Images Of A Murder Victim In A True-Crime Documentary

"This isn't inventing a fictional narrative for the sake of entertainment — this is tinkering with the fabric of reality itself to manipulate a true story that actually happened.” (There’s more at the subscription-only 404 Media.) - Futurism

The Very Dark Side Of The Rare Book World

That is, the side where some books are bound in human skin. - The New York Times

Google’s AI Results Are A Disaster For Publishing

"According to ad sales company Raptive, Google’s Search Generative Experience could lead to a drop in search traffic ranging from 20% to 60%, a potential hit of up to $2 billion in global ad revenue." - The Present Age

Wait, The Actors From Blair Witch Project Have Never Gotten Residuals?

The actors improvised the script and shot most of the footage. "The film was bought by Artisan Entertainment for $1 million, after which the actors were paid a $300,000 buyout of their ownership points on the film. They were also listed as 'missing, presumed dead' on IMDb." - Vulture

Fifteen People Were Injured In A Tram Crash At California’s Universal Studios

The injuries were minor, but this isn’t great. "Universal Studios tour is one of the theme park’s most popular attractions, taking riders on a one-hour backlot tour to see behind the scenes where some of Hollywood’s most memorable films and television shows were filmed." - The Hollywood Reporter

The Argument To Pay A Lot More Attention To Tiny Art

That is, to miniature art and the museums that collect it. "Miniatures imitate life but have no clear practical purpose. They can be harder to make than their full-size counterparts. But they are portable.” - which makes them easy to carry as governments fall and empires shift. - The Atlantic

The Jazz Detective

To Zev Feldman, “solving a case means discovering a concert recording that has been gathering dust in an archive for decades, or studio sessions that were once thought to be lost and gone forever.” - El País English

The Vatican’s Biennale Show Is Set Inside A Women’s Prison

So … the show is for what audience, exactly? Probably not the incarcerated: "As if involuntarily submitting to state power wasn’t enough, one of the world’s most influential art organizations and one of its largest religious institutions is in the mix.” - Artnet

The Shakuhachi Is Having Its Moment

The Japanese bamboo flute is familiar to audiences who play video games and watch Japanese movies. "It is the sound of the earth. … The sound of the wind passing through a bamboo forest. It’s a sound that is constantly shifting tone colors, like light passing in the sky." - Boston Globe

As ‘Ecofiction’ Hits Its First Official Decade, Here Are Some Of Its Best Examples

"Many readers are seeking fiction that addresses environmental issues but explores a successful paradigm shift: fiction that accurately addresses our current issues with intelligence and hope. The power of envisioning a certain future is that the vision enables one to see it as possible." - Reactor Mag

Portugal’s Eurovision Song In 1974 Helped Topple Its Military Dictatorship

Portugal's song tied for last, but coup planners needed a signal on the radio. The first song suggested was censored, and too obvious. So the coup organizer "suggested that the announcer choose ... 'some banality' that would not raise any eyebrows. That choice was 'E Depois do Adeus.’” - The Observer (UK)

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