High expectations aren’t always a bad thing. But if you’re finding yourself flooded with disappointment more often than you’d like, you might consider the case for lowering your expectations and turning to gratitude instead. - The Atlantic
There have now been more than a thousand versions of Monopoly, based not only on different cities but on properties such as “The Big Bang Theory,” “The Powerpuff Girls,” and M&M’s. The message, though, remains the same. - The New Yorker
“It’s a bit like, be as sweaty and dirty as when we’re in the field is actually more trustworthy than if we look like we’ve just stepped out of an awards ceremony or a fine dinner party.” - Deadline
Today, nearly half a billion people qualify as Indigenous. If they were a single country, it would be the world’s third most populous, behind China and India. Exactly who counts as Indigenous, however, is far from clear. - The New Yorker
Although the Barnes & Noble event caters to fans of romance and fantasy, BookTok is vast and multifarious. The community is a constellation of fandoms. - Lithub
If great masses of people maintain a certain belief over long periods of time, one can be fairly sure that there is something in it. This doesn’t mean that the belief in question is true, but it’s unlikely to be complete nonsense either. Myths tend to have a core of truth. - Unherd
What began with a chance discovery turned into a quest that consumed Mr. Ayers for decades. He managed to discover a great deal about the painting’s mysterious origins before he died last year at age 64. - Wall Street Journal
Make that 'library.' Faculty and students at Vermont State University were not having it when the financially strapped institution announced last week that everything would be digital. "Since the announcement, the union faculty and staff voted no confidence" in the leadership. - Inside Higher Ed
The troupe's third artistic director says it's been a real challenge during the past few years, and now is a time for joy and some experimentation. "We often have different generations of audience members at the same performance, and so everybody has something they can connect to." - NPR
Remember the Garden Bridge imbroglio? These two are far from that. Instead, the results are "faceted and intriguing ... driven by the imaginative response to circumstance." - The Observer (UK)
What theatres need "are the movies that grease the wheels of the theatrical experience: the friendly bread-and-butter formula films for adults that audiences can depend on, that can keep them hooked on the act of moviegoing." - Variety
Turns out that after years of doubt and many studies, "experts are confident they can declare the portrait a true Peale, one of many versions of his 1779 original, which the artist painted over and over in an era when copiers did not exist." - The New York Times
Muriel Box - the first woman to win an Oscar for screenwriting - "directed 13 feature films in the 1950s and early 60s and remains Britain’s most prolific female director." Yet, though she's appreciated in France and Spain, she's relatively unknown in the UK. - The Observer (UK)
"Israel is now considered a global hotbed of contemporary dance, with Batsheva still at its center. But when Ms. Gluck arrived in 1954 as a recent Juilliard graduate and a newlywed, Israel, as a young country, was still seeking and constructing its identity." - The New York Times
One analyst: "Even without Fox, Disney would still be struggling with linear channels and figuring out how to make streaming profitable. ... But they’d be in a much better position, financially." - Los Angeles Times
