Today, the online platform that connects readers to local bookstores launched an e-reading platform of its own. For the first time, local independent bookstores can sell e-books to customers, says CEO and founder Andy Hunter. - USA Today
One of the largest arts centres on the planet and the world’s most visited museum, the Louvre attracts more than 8 million people a year. When it was modernised in the 1980s, it was designed to welcome 4 million visitors a year, yet now handles more than double that number. - The Guardian
"The name of this monstrosity, which was released earlier this month, is Stimulation Clicker, and it is more than a game. It is a reenactment of the evolution of the internet, a loving parody of its contents, and a pointed commentary on how our online life went wrong." - The Atlantic (MSN)
"Why is it so often that the people with the least amount of imagination and the most concern for the bottom line – real estate developers – get to choose how to transform derelict urban areas? Why not the people who might care about those areas most: the citizens who grew up there and live there?" - The Guardian
The New York Times is a competitor to all local newspapers. For the cost, you get much more value with a subscription to NYT than you would with a local newspaper, except for local. Subscribers would get local news from their local newspaper but national/international news from the Times. - A Media Operator
There’s nothing like getting caught in a giggle loop, where the desire to laugh builds until it bursts out at a disastrous moment. Only then do we often realize that laughter is a rather strange phenomenon. - Sapiens
"(Their) weepy confessions are, ostensibly, gestures toward intimacy. They’re meant to inspire empathy, to reassure viewers that influencers are just like them. But in fact, they’re exercises in what I call 'McVulnerability,' a synthetic version of vulnerability akin to fast food: mass-produced, easily accessible, sometimes tasty, lacking in sustenance." - The Atlantic (MSN)
The Batman (176 minutes). Oppenheimer (180 minutes). Avengers: Endgame (182 minutes!). The Irishman (a whopping 209 minutes!). Do Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan want us to develop urinary tract infections? It's time, argues Travis Andrews, to follow the example of The Brutalist. - The Washington Post (Yahoo!)
There won't be too many surprises at the top of the lists — Daniil Trifonov and Yuja Wang as busiest pianists, Mozart and Beethoven (dead) and John Williams and Arvo Pärt (living) most-played composers — but one Canadian orchestra performed even more than the Berlin or Vienna Philharmonics. - Bachtrack
Its most famous alumnus, David Schwimmer, has joined the board, plans to return to its stage, and is doing fundraising around the city. He and the company hope not just to expand their offerings, but to help in the post-COVID revival of downtown Chicago. - Chicago Tribune (Yahoo!)
The alleged perpetrator was an IT contractor fired earlier this month. He returned on Thursday to breach and shut down the museum’s security and IT systems, the institution said, and was arrested by police that same day. - ARTnews
The company's bookstore division, which has 500 retail outlets in cities and towns throughout the UK, has seen declining revenue for years, leading to reduced spending on inventory and maintenance, leading to ever-lower customer traffic in the usual downward spiral. - Publishers Weekly
The National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, DC, is ending its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs as a result of an executive order (EO) issued by President Donald Trump on Monday, January 20. - Hyperallergic
I could see just fine. (A colleague quipped that sitting any closer wasn’t going to make a show better or worse.) And I understood why it’s called standing at attention: My senses felt heightened and my focus was sharp. - Washington Post
