“Social media is amplifying local challenges and they’re going viral, but we’ve also been observing a number of organisations activating local members to go to school board meetings and challenge books. We’re seeing what appears to be a campaign to remove books.” - The Guardian
To “yassify” something is to apply several beauty filters to a picture using FaceApp, an A.I. photo-editing application, until its subject — be that a celebrity, a historical figure, a fictional character or a work of fine art — becomes almost unrecognizably made up. - The New York Times
Latin America’s ballroom scene is relatively new. It started in 2013 when a group of dancers began hosting vogue battles in Brazil, and has since spread to Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Argentina and Colombia. - The New York Times
“Design was often not seen as an important aspect of homeless housing. They were faceless vanilla blocks that looked cheap and made people, by implication, feel that where they were living wasn’t important.” - The New York Times
It’s not possible to live authentically as a member of the working class without self-annihilating or folding oneself into the straitjacket of the middle class — either way, the collateral damage is the integrity of one’s art. The Smart Set
The more finely you can identify different body states—distinguishing, say, among aggravation, irritation, frustration, hostility, anxiety, and disgruntlement—the more you will understand yourself, and the more effectively you will move in the world. - The Atlantic
The most straightforward reason for the surge in gambling is a change to the law: In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, opening the door to online sports betting across 21 states. As a direct result, sports-betting revenues grew 69 percent. - The Atlantic
Film music may be a genre, but all that means is music used in a film. Other than that, anything the director will let a composer get away with goes. - Los Angeles Times
The road, also known as Road of the Rams, dates back 3,400 years, Reuters reports. However, it was first discovered in the late 1940s, according to Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. - CNN
Computer-assisted preparation makes it ‘harder and harder’ to demonstrate the superiority of his intuition and strategic thinking in classical games. Players with good memories, decent calculation and solid technique can use the latest AI discoveries to boost their chances against him. - London Review of Books
No matter the time of year, the energy of Comic-Con thrives in Southern California’s comic book stores — spaces deeply entwined within its culture. - Los Angeles Times
Union members have grown impatient with worsening working conditions and IATSE’s long tradition of avoiding nationwide walkouts. IATSE members in October overwhelmingly supported a strike authorization vote for the first time in its history. - Los Angeles Times
In the face of such debilitating immensity, we cannot merely shrug and take a selfie. We cannot allow the scale of the crises we are already living through, and of those to come, to trump their urgency. - Boston Review
It is becoming clear that the mixed nature of Spanglish represents a general phenomenon. Among people born in and growing up in neighborhoods like Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach — where it’s common to hear Russian and Ukrainian spoken — lots of English words are mixed in. - The New York Times
In a world filled with the buff, brown and sand hues of more utilitarian Late Bronze Age materials, glass — saturated with blue, purple, turquoise, yellow, red and white — would have afforded the most striking colors other than gemstones. - Knowable Magazine
