King George III in New York, the Buddhas in Afghanistan, a traitorous general in Virginia - "scrutinizing monumental statuary is an integral part of what open societies do as they reassess past values and seek new ones to guide their futures." - Washington Post
For $30 a month, maybe. But it lacks nuance, and can be "downright self-serving," making suggestions, for instance, to call itself an "excellent" service instead of a "nice" one. Clever, but no. - FastCompany
That's a normal budget for an indie, but it does bring home grim realities of the industry. "The producers of the movie Rust earmarked $650,000 to pay themselves, $7,913 to pay their armorer and $350,000 as a contingency in case anything went wrong." - The Hollywood Reporter
Green "planned to paint the meals until capital punishment was abolished, or until she had made 1,000 plates, whichever came first. In September, she painted her 1,000th plate." - The New York Times
Boo from the Guild to the proposed Penguin Random House takeover of Simon & Schuster: "Consolidation doesn’t just stifle competition, it also makes acquisition editors less willing to take risks," the Guild says. And that's bad for consumers, er, readers. - Los Angeles Times
Not entirely clear, but "Diana’s posthumous framing as a rebel against the establishment with an undercurrent of feminine fragility resonates — even among those who weren’t old enough to witness her dancing to Uptown Girl ... the first time around." - Hyperallergic
"Changes to characters, costumes and choreography will be made to 'remove elements of caricature,'" especially from the Land of the Sweets. In addition, Drosselmeyer the magician will be played by both male and female dancers. - The Scotsman
The teens and adults who were killed in a crowd surge Friday night weren't the first, and probably won't be the last. "The music industry hasn’t learned anything. ... These disasters highlight the problems that people face in places of public assembly." - Washington Post
Mendonça, Grammy winner and social media sensation, was killed in a small plane crash in Minas Gerais. "Her legions of fans found power in her song lyrics, which implored women to reject bad and abusive relationships." - The New York Times
Just ask Laura Davis: "After many failed attempts at story architecture, with the help of several editors, my brilliant coach ... and 127 early readers, I ended up with a braided structure, moving the reader through time, keeping them guessing." - Los Angeles Review of Books
The Netflix series revives the always-popular with Austenites tourism industry in Bath, but then there's David Attenborough's Our Planet and other productions that, said one mayor, "help put our area on the map." - BBC
The museum has become "the latest Western cultural institution — and one of the most prominent to date — to agree to explore returning items that were stolen in 1897 from Benin City, in what is now Nigeria." - The New York Times
The group's songs weren't actually popular in gay clubs at the time - but then came the 1980s, when disco was supposedly "dead," and a DJ with tape, a razor, and an accidental remix (not to mention an exclusive, gay-owned subscription remix service). - Los Angeles Times
During a tsunami of deeply virulent homophobic, racist protests against books, a parent in Kitsap County, Washington, has asked to prosecute librarians for having the graphic novel Gender Queer: A Memoir on high school shelves. - LitHub
Kim Sherwood has struck a deal with HarperCollins to write three contemporary thrillers set in the world of James Bond but where the original 007 is missing, presumed captured or even killed. - The Guardian
