Shafak, author of The Island of Missing Trees, has a popular appeal across the globe: She "is the author of 21 books, including 13 novels; her works have been translated into 58 languages. She also holds a PhD in political science.” - The Guardian (UK)
The group Operation Bluebird claims Elon Musk’s X has legally abandoned Twitter (not to mention the word “tweet”), and wants to relaunch. If you “reserve your handle" at twitter dot new, you’ll even see a surprise hashtag. - Ars Technica
The National Museum of Asian Art’s "records showed that there were no export licenses for the objects, as required under Cambodian law, and that the items had passed through the hands of middlemen known to have trafficked in looted artworks.” - The New York Times
But sadly, he’s not here to see it. “Why the opera was not performed when it was written, in 1995, offers a snapshot of the classical music scene in Italy at the time, which snubbed Morricone as a mere composer of film soundtracks.” - The New York Times
Sometimes it’s timing - or a good translation. Vincenzo Latronico’s Perfection didn’t find its audience in Italy, but English readers love it. It “has now sold more copies in specific London bookshops than in the whole of France.” - The Guardian (UK)
Two recent heists “represent a different threat altogether, one involving weapons, threats to staff, getaway vehicles, and missing artworks worth over $100 million, all happening in broad daylight.” - Wall Street Journal (MSN)
The rewriters who didn’t get a credit: “The way that Writers Guild arbitration process works is that if you arbitrate for credit and you don’t get credit, the Writers Guild forbids what they call compensatory credit. … Jim Carrey’s dentist has a credit on this movie, and we don’t.” - Vulture
Oh, people don’t read anymore? Tell that to Matt Dinniman, who was making a living drawing people’s cats (yes, that’s a job) until he started writing what became the Dungeon Crawler Carl empire. - The New York Times
A lot depends on where you are. “In the near term, it's not a concern and it's not a nationwide crisis. … But it depends on location. In locations that have existing water stress, building these AI data centers is gonna be a big problem.” - Wired
“The long take, the unbroken tracking shot, ‘the oner’ — whatever you want to call it, … it’s a feat of creativity, but also great coordination and choreography when a single, tiny mistake can ruin a shot.” - The Verge (Archive Today)
“The works under her pen name came to define Ms. Wickham’s career. She wrote nine Shopaholic novels, which sold tens of millions of copies and were translated into dozens of languages.” The writer announced a glioblastoma diagnosis in an Instagram post in 2024. - The New York Times
“Over a four-decade career, Mr. Greene stood comfortably in a villain’s shoes, bringing to life a range of characters who unnerved audiences with their sadism and moral corruption,” including in Pulp Fiction and The Mask. - The New York Times
“I almost felt like I was living out moments of my own mother’s passing that I never would have witnessed. So directing actors in a tender way without falling apart in the corner was definitely part of the challenge.” - Irish Times