Murakami’s approach to consciousness is less representational than literal, with many of his characters literally being transported to a realm created by (or wholly inside of) their minds. - Esquire
In 1984, the first year for which data is available, 35 percent of 13-year-olds reported reading for fun “almost every day,” according to NAEP. By 2023, that figure was down to 14 percent, and 31 percent of respondents said they never read for fun at all. - Vox
“Every technology affects the way that we think, behave and interact. AI is not going away. It will become a part of our humanity, and therefore a part of our art-making.” - The Guardian
The leader of the group Declare Emergency, Donald Zepeda, got 24 months for destruction of government property, while group member Jackson Green got 18 months. They must also pay more than $58,000 in restitution. - Artnet
Eric Nuzum said he’s relieved NPR is trying to “correct audience erosion issues that should have been addressed years ago.” But he also concluded that it’s too little too late and that research shows that listeners say NPR is too boring. - Current
Lately, various writers with meaningful personal resources—money, followers, notoriety—have struck out on their own or made nontraditional arrangements. - The Atlantic
My guess is that there are thousands of A.I. accounts, commenting on one another to drum up attention. When the gambit works, it draws real fans of this kind of content. Who in turn are joined by another group clicking in to gawp at rubes interacting with fake stuff or to try to warn people it is A.I. -...
Macquarie Dictionary defines the word as "the gradual deterioration of a service or product brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided, especially of an online platform, and as a consequence of profit-seeking." - The Guardian
The word saw an enormous spike in searches on the site in August, thanks to a TikTok video by a creator named Jools Lebron that went viral. - Smithsonian Magazine
The Georgia Congresswoman has been tapped by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new House subcommittee working with the pair's not-yet-created Department of Government Efficiency. She said, "We'll be looking at everything from government-funded media programs like NPR that spread nothing but Democrat propaganda." - Salon
"It was 1987, three years before Nelson Mandela walked free. ... We saw apartheid lasting till the crack of doom. It seemed impregnable. The law had once banned 'miscegenation'. And here I was directing Othello, a play about miscegenation, at Johannesburg’s Market Theatre." - The Guardian
"(He) was a celebrated wordsmith, a leading voice in literature in Afrikaans — an offshoot of Dutch that was developed by white settlers (in South Africa) — and a fierce critic of apartheid that was imposed against the country’s Black majority between 1948 and 1990." - AP
"The lawsuit brought by Chang Chun-Ko in White Plains federal court sought unspecified damages on behalf of Chang and other alleged victims of Shen Yun, … saying it has subjected some children who perform for it to harsh conditions, including long hours for little pay." - AP
"After leading the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for seven years, CSO President and CEO Jonathan Martin has announced that he will retire on Feb. 16. He will be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Robert McGrath as the acting president and CEO." - The Cincinnati Enquirer (Yahoo!)
“This is a very clear, direct statement by Comcast” that “they are exiting the cable network business. This is them saying ‘We don’t want to be in this business. This is no longer a growth business.’ - CNN
