I sighed when I came across this, because it is is yet another iteration of a previously-observed phenomenon: Donors Worry About Fate of Artifacts as Museum on Irish Famine Closes: Quinnipiac University, which had opened Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum in 2012, said that it could no longer afford to operate it. Enthusiastic person sets up a ( Read more... )

Spotted on Twitter: RT if you would absolutely, in a heartbeat, give up your savings/discretionary income/wealth if it meant you would solve/end world hunger and poverty.
I dunno: this sounds to me a bit like the 'if you could do [desirable thing] by pressing a button which would kill a complete stranger a long way away from you, would you?' thought ( Read more... )

Noting, here, for reference, that the writer of this letter to Mariella says that they are both in their 40s in a 'sweet monogamous relationship', and I am inclined to smack him with at least a fairly substantial sardine for referring to a woman in the prime of life as his 'girlfriend'.
And on the one hand I wonder if this is an iteration of The ( Read more... )

Bloooo Mooooon, you saw me standing alone: Pamela Stevenson Connolly admits: I wish there was an easy way forward, but there is not.

***
But nul points for this article: It’s a keenly observed study* that those of us who are young, or relatively young, know all too well when it comes to parents and technology. It is less amusing when it isn’t one ( Read more... )

Was reminded by a discussion elsewhere of that annoying thing - at least, I find it annoying - where praising one thing involves dissing on some other thing, quite often with substantial mischaracterisation if not actual error re the other thing.
Or, as I have sometimes argued, you needed both the militants and the constitutionals to get to ( Read more... )

Scarlett Thomas: Why I was wrong about children’s fiction.
I do see that she has come to realise that 'children's books: not the easy option',from trying to write one, because have we not, my dearios, seen an awful lot of celebs who think any fule can can write a kiddybook?
But, might we not also see in that article that she seems also to be coming ( Read more... )

Hadley Freeman on appreciating other writers:
I particularly liked this apercu: [O]utrage, despite popular opinion today, is not the be-all and end-all response. To dismiss a writer’s entire output because he occasionally offends you is like saying you hate a movie because you found the plot disagreeable....

What great writers teach you is not just ( Read more... )

I set out determined to change the world of public libraries.
And a) I'm wondering to what extent is this rather severe vision of libraries and librarianship still the case? are libraries still full of severe tweedy ladies in hornrims going sssshhh (outside some people's erotic fantasies)? are they not more welcoming and user-friendly?
And b) Is ( Read more... )

Maybe it's just me, but 'I was challenged by this play' [or other form of art] is not the same as 'I was grossed-out by it'.
Should our theatres do more to challenge audiences?
Too much of this sounds to me like the special pleading for 'grimdark' as supposedly more 'realistic'.
I depose that the viewer/reader/etc can be challenged by something ( Read more... )

Elizabeth Bowen, cited in a post by
( Read more... )