Requests that were once directly stated as imperatives were now couched with indirectness as merely suggestions or questions: “Shut the window,” became “Could you please shut the window?” And, in addition to saying “thanks,” responding with an acknowledgment of that thanks, such as “you’re welcome,” became routine. - Time
The 45-year-old actor blames his upbringing for mispronunciations, like calling a “library” a “liberry.” Fans seized on the gaffe. “I was like, you know what? Touché,” Palmini said. “Even though you said you want to burn the book now because I said ‘liberry,’ I get it. Truly. Noted. ‘Library’ it is.” - The Wall Street Journal (MSN)
Oliver Wainwright: “It is a tour de force of how to do a lot with a little. It reads like a collage of its context: a shed clad with corrugated fibre-cement sheeting, rising from graffiti-covered warehouse walls on one side and framed by a new brick gable end on the other.” - The Guardian
The Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity, the nonprofit established by the family of design and art pioneers Ray and Charles Eames, is set to file a master plan with the city of Novato that will transform the 85.5-acre site into a global design museum, attracting some 200,000 visitors a year. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
After less than two weeks in theaters, it’s already one of the highest-grossing documentaries of all time and, as it expanded into thousands of domestic theaters in its second weekend, came second only to a major studio comic-book movie. - Slate
For an actor to remain insured through SAG-AFTRA, they must typically make a minimum amount of money from on-screen work and residuals. Leveraging his Instagram following of almost 750,000, Cheyenne Jackson began posting headshots of performers, their biographies and how many dollars away each was from crossing that threshold, which this year is $28,090. - The New York Times
Well, for a start, they have negotiable rates, along with the pension and health contributions and the protected working conditions (such as guaranteed breaks) that dancers working in film and TV have had since 1992. - Dance Magazine
Multiple bestselling Big Five authors say they’ve gone to “war” with their publishers over AI and are considering abandoning traditional publishing altogether. - Wired
To be online, many now admit, is to be endlessly manipulated and exploited. In December, Oxford University Press declared rage bait to be the word of the year, noting that use of the term had tripled over the previous 12 months. - Wired
Students are connecting with each other more in the time between classes, staff across the state said. And during lunch, staff are hearing louder and more lively conversation in the cafeteria — a stark contrast from previous years when phone use stifled talking. - WBUR
“The Crucible, a longtime West Oakland arts institution known for welding, blacksmithing, glassblowing and other hands-on classes as well as fire-related performances, has temporarily closed because of serious financial problems, leaving staff, faculty, students and artists uncertain about what comes next.” - San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo!)
Errol Morris directed some commercials for Theranos back when it was flying high, and he has two hours of unedited Q&A footage of Holmes from that period which he thinks would make a good before-and-after comparison with You Can See Everything. (He also has two very entertaining anecdotes about unmade commercials.) - Variety
The film composer, who has a large and devoted fan base, begins a five-year term next fall as the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s composer-in-residence for the Hollywood Bowl and The Ford. Hisaishi just started a two-season term as composer-in-residence with the Philadelphia Orchestra. - Moto Perpetuo
“California architecture studio Johnston Marklee has unveiled designs to expand the Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach, including elevated galleries and courtyard spaces.” - Dezeen
The Desert Shield and Desert Storm Memorial, honoring servicemembers who died during the 1990-91 war to end Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait, consists of two dune-shaped walls made of sand-colored granite, one with a 125-foot bas-relief by sculptor Emily Bedard and the other with inscriptions. - Smithsonian Magazine
