No real surprise: "Romance dominated in terms of genre popularity across the US, with 22 states seeing it as their top searched genre. … Romance was especially popular in the south.” - Book Riot
What’s going on at the tech and everything else giant? "The change shocked many employees inside the studio, including one group busy putting the finishing touches on Amazon’s presentation at the year’s biggest theater convention, CinemaCon.” - The New York Times
“Art and sports have so many parallels, like the idea of practice versus natural talent. Athletes and artists both have invisible teams that ensure their success, or push it forward anyway, while museums and arenas both act as stages for their talents.” - Hyperallergic
“Voice cloning has become much easier, requiring just seconds of audio. … have found their voices replicated online without their consent, knowledge or compensation, reducing paid job opportunities and stripping them of their agency.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
And it’s a cool instrument too: “In effect, the user’s breath becomes the dinosaur’s breath. The result is not the roar that we hear in the movies, but something that sounds more like a deep wail.” - Wired
One (really) good thing: “While the vice president, along with the chief justice of the United States, is a member of the board by law, the executive branch does not have authority over the institution.” - The New York Times
"When I was coming up in the ranks, no one ever talked about the complicated ethics of fundraising. How do you decide when to say no to that check because it comes with strings attached, or … you take the money and you hold your nose?" - Nieman Storyboard
“The clip — titled ‘Slayed this TikTok but missed my flight’ — has inspired a months-long social media trend as scores of fans around the world staged their own airport routines. Dancers in countries including New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada have jumped on board.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
Today, DEI programs are being shuttered across North America. Despite my own and others’ cynicism about how DEI is employed, this is an alarming development. - The Walrus
“Archaeologists have been searching (in and around Lumbini in southern Nepal) for an altogether different Buddha — not the figure of faith and metaphor, but an actual man who was born, lived, preached and died in this region at least a century before any records of his teachings were written down.” - Smithsonian Magazine
He was at the helm as the gallery prepared to relocate to a new building downtown and then scrapped that plan last year after the project’s budget ballooned by 50 per cent to $600 million. - Vancouver Sun
A look at who’s preserving, and who’s updating, the music sung by generations of African-Americans in the South Carolina Lowcountry, from a cappella groups like Ann Caldwell and The Magnolia Singers who keep things traditional to the updates of the two-time Grammy-winning band Ranky Tanky. - The Post and Courier (Charleston)
As far as possible, the original building will be conserved as it was before. To do otherwise might be considered cultural sacrilege – after all the Pompidou's identity is indivisible from its original architects, Renzo Piano, and the late Richard Rogers. - BBC
"These creators are like the networks of today delivering the hit TV shows of today. This is really about one-to-one communication, where creators can actually present their formats and content calendars so brands can really see what are the opportunities around these voices that have this fandom and attention at scale." - The Wrap (MSN)
They cover more than a quarter of the nation and large parts of the West. Some are crisscrossed by hiking trails and used by hunters and fishermen. Ranchers graze cattle on others. In many areas, the government earns money through oil, gas, timber and mining leases. - The Conversation
