Workers at all four galleries — Tate Britain and Tate Modern in London, Tate St. Ives in Cornwall, and Tate Liverpool — represented by the Public and Commercial Services Union voted 98% to 2% to walk out from November 26 to December 2 over a pay offer they insist is too low. - The Guardian
“With the (federal government) shutdown creating anxiety and uncertainty for those who depend on government aid, many independent bookstores took on a new role as hubs for food donations.” - The New York Times
An American Alliance of Museums survey of over 500 museum directors found that one-third of responding museums have lost government grants or contracts under the Trump administration, one-fourth of them have had to cut targeted programs (e.g., for students or senior citizens), and over one-fourth have canceled programs for the general public. - The Guardian
“Disney may lose $30 million in revenue per week as its carriage dispute with YouTube TV has left ABC, ESPN and more of the media giant’s channels and programming dark on the Google-owned platform for 12 days.” - TheWrap (Yahoo!)
Thieves smashed open a door on Sunday night and reportedly took ancient Roman marble statues and gold items. The museum had reopened for good, with its collection intact, only this past January after extended closures due to the Syrian civil war and subsequent uprising against the Assad regime. - ARTnews
A Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award winner and Oscar nominee for the 1987 film Anna, in which she plays a great Czechoslovak actress trapped in New York’s avant-garde scene, she had over 260 roles in a decades-long career, from Andy Warhol to The Sting to 2006’s Factory Girl. - The Hollywood Reporter
“On Monday, musicians, singers and stagehands (from Teatro La Fenice) marched through Venice with workers from other Italian opera houses. … They were joined by season-ticket holders, music students and Venetians worried about the future of artistic independence at La Fenice — and across Italy.” - AP
“I think theatre is a catalyst for change,” Sher said. “I don’t think you make theatre pieces to tell people how to change. We tell stories that express people’s ability to handle ambiguity, deal with problems, see conflicts and make decisions.” - New York Observer
As the union’s executive director, Al Vincent Jr., tells it, Actors’ Equity was much closer to declaring a work stoppage than we might think. - The Hollywood Reporter
Of course, with mass production comes surplus and, then, refuse. We containerize actual trash because otherwise debris gets on everything else and makes everything less good. AI is, arguably, doing the same on the internet. It’s clear we think of a lot of AI as trash, though we’re not doing much to clean it up. - Fast Company
Cowley’s power and influence lay in opening, not shutting, the door to a new generation. He came of age at an especially fertile literary moment, after World War I, and he had a special interest in the work of his contemporaries, in the homegrown modernism of Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway. - The Atlantic
Christine Vendredi may well have proven to be the best candidate, but that the bungled process of simply elevating the chief curator to the directorship behind the scenes also did a disservice to the new director, as it “put her legitimacy in question.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
There are The Farmer’s Almanac and The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Both are over 200 years old and both are annual publications known for their seasonal weather forecasts. The Farmer’s Almanac (founded in 1818) is the one closing; The Old Farmer’s Almanac (founded in 1792) “isn’t going anywhere.” - Nieman Lab
Whether we like it or not, chatbots are here to stay. It’s not necessarily a problem, but it risks becoming one if people use chatbots in harmful ways. I’m going to help you avoid that. - Psyche
People with higher levels of dopamine are more likely to choose a harder task with a higher reward than an easier, low-reward task. Low dopamine doesn’t reduce focus, but it’s believed it provokes giving more weight to the perceived cost of an activity instead of the potential reward. - 3 Quarks Daily
