The name was so popular that over 30 Valentines, not to mention “a few Valentinas,” ultimately achieved sainthood. However, no matter which Valentine you look at, their traditions and texts have nothing to do with love or courtship. - LitHub
Between the 1912 Stockholm Olympics and the 1948 London Olympics, artistic competition was a vibrant part of the summer Olympic games. There were five categories in which individuals could compete, with architecture, literature, painting, and sculpture joining music. - Classical WCRB
When the Joe Rogan controversy broke with Neil Young removing his music from Spotify, other musicians decided that enough was enough: They didn't want Spotify's incredibly meager paychecks anyway. But most musicians, unlike Young, don't own and can't remove their own music. - Washington Post
Let filmmaker Nancy Myers show Hollywood the way: "Rom-coms typically suggest that thrilling courtship is for people in their 20s and 30s." They fall in love and get married; the end. "In these films by Meyers, though, both protagonists delight in their divorced lives." - The Atlantic
Hollywood is not pleased; China let in no Marvel movies at all last year. "There's routinely Chinese comedies, Chinese dramas, Chinese science-fiction epics topping the box office." - CBC
Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the director of Amélie who wouldn't bow to Harvey Weinstein, loathes the pressure of theatrical openings. But "with Netflix, half a billion people can see it. ... Even if just 1 percent of those people watch Bigbug, it would be huge." - The New York Times
Mental illness, hilarious: "Apart from the eraser ear, visitors can buy a £5 bar of soap, marketed as ideal for 'the tortured artist who enjoys fluffy bubbles.' An 'emotional first aid kit'" is £16 - but are depression, self-harm, and suicide really so funny?. - The Guardian (UK)
Petroglyphs and pictrographs aren't "rock art" - they're heritage objects. "Vandalism and theft is a physical attack on heritage objects. Another is appropriation of imagery that does not belong on t-shirts, mugs or any other tourist trap merchandise." But what do they mean? - Oregon ArtsWatch
At least for a brief time: Noongar man Aaron Wyatt "conducted the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) in Long Time Living Here, a musical Acknowledgement of Country." And, Wyatt notes, for once he wasn't the only Indigenous classical musician at the symphony. - ABC (Australia)
How do we know the pots weren't used for something like olive oil instead of, well, feces? Ah, science: "Intestinal parasitic worms trapped in layers of mineralization from years of use as a chamber pot." - Hyperallergic
If we're feeling surveilled, it might be because our electronic gadgets never really turn off. Instead, they're "sleeping" - or perhaps lying in wait. "This is mostly a good thing, improving our lives, though I also worry it adds to our sense of disquiet." Er ... yes. - Slate
If you're tired of the same old lists, the editors of The Rumpus will definitely surprise you with an eclectic list ranging from memoir to mystery to essay to short story that can go far beyond February's short confines. - The Rumpus
The Burrell Collection "represents a road that turned out to be less travelled in modern British architecture, where buildings were considered as things composed, like music or poetry." Or, rather, it did represent that road. After a five-year, £68 million renovation, things have changed. - The Observer (UK)
Saul, an art historian with the ability to be bluntly honest with her artists but also to protect them fiercely, created a place for mixed media artists, photographers, and artists from opera composers to the fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi. - The New York Times
