To show you what this process looks like, we trained six tiny language models starting from scratch. We’ve picked one trained on the complete works of Jane Austen, but you can choose a different path. - The New York Times
Most people who write for the internet have had the experience of publishing something that escapes the bounds of one’s usual audience and goes viral. The experience can be mesmerizing. - Slate
Rex Brasher, who left "almost 900 large-scale watercolors documenting American bird life and habitat," was not a self-promoter. He preferred to learn from birds in the wild "by boat, bicycle, canoe and on foot," rather than kill them, as Audubon did. - Washington Post
And that how is together. "The very idea of collectively tuning in to history as it happens has been altered, as the profusion of channels and platforms now funnels audience members into self-segregated affinity groups." - Nieman Lab
"It's a delicate experiment in what happens when we really try and tune in to local audiences rather than just deliver the same product around the country, which is what we normally do." - BBC
It's always the libraries. "Three national and state libraries, including the National Scientific Medical Library of Ukraine, as well as some 25 university libraries, have been severely damaged or destroyed, the most shocking statistics relate to public libraries."- The Atlantic
"For centuries, skilled Iranian storytellers known as Naqqals have transfixed audiences in traditional coffeehouses" - but it was always an art by men, and for men only. Gordafarid "is the first known female Naqqal to have learned the craft the traditional way." - Los Angeles Times
It was not exactly easy, but Brian Maracle "has figured out this improbable, but linguistically extremely smart, method of delivering this radically different language to adults." - The New York Times
"The dimly lit space, which is sandwiched between a former Victorian public baths and a burger shop in Clapton, east London, is a cinematic Aladdin’s cave, its floor reduced to a narrow path between stacks and shelves of film paraphernalia." - The Guardian (UK)
County commissioners agreed to keep the library open and restore some banned books, but the threat isn't over. A librarian who resigned explains not only how many horrible phone calls she received, but how important the library is for the community. - NPR
We couldn’t ignore that there were more mental health problems among people who play musical instruments and among people who reach higher levels of music engagement. I wanted to see if it was because they were engaged in music, or because they were born with a package. - Van
The Make It Right Foundation was supposed to provide well-designed replacement homes for wiped-out Katrina victims in the impoverished New Orleans neighborhood. The houses have been plagued by nonstop design and material problems, and a legal settlement to help the beleaguered residents has now come unraveled. - The Hollywood Reporter
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival announced a campaign Tuesday to raise $2.5 million to “save” the season set to begin later this month and said it was suspending its planning for 2024 as it seeks to stabilize its finances. - The Oregonian
As Black and brown musicians, the question is not whether we can “solve” classical music’s issue with racism. Rather we wonder: Why do we try to change a world that isn’t ours? Under that: Can this be our world? And the trickier phrasing: Should it be? - Van
Adam Platt: "As you move from one pleasantly distracting set piece to another, pondering when to ingest the lemon-flavored edible in your pocket, it feels like playing hooky — a reprieve from the hushed, ponderous solemnity of the Establishment museums and galleries." - New York Magazine
Titled New York, New York — yes, after what he calls "that song," which he and Fred Ebb wrote but he's never liked — it differs substantially from the Scorsese-De Niro-Minnelli movie and has plenty of new material, including half a dozen songs with lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. - The New York Times
Both sides have a point, but both sides are also, let's say, a bit touchy. Why? "Coming out against libraries making books more accessible looks miserly, but so does protesting against authors getting paid what they deserve." Meanwhile, the publishers are the problem. - Wired
"The venue had the clandestine air of a speakeasy. Notice of its existence was passed along by word of mouth. Guests stuffed cash into a cardboard box marked 'donations' to receive canned Modelo from a fridge. There were readings, screenings and music shows." - The New York Times
Where Quantitative Aesthetics is really newly intense across society—in art and everywhere—is in how social-media numbers (clicks, likes, shares, retweets, etc.) seep into everything as a shorthand for understanding status. - Artnet
