Tootfinder

Calling it “divisive” to document the honest brutality of American slavery and lynching is an attempt to erase the uncomfortable truth of racial terror.
Government efforts to remove such important history from both curricula and public institutions are efforts of deliberate whitewashing, propaganda to protect a mythology of American innocence.
Sanitizing the past protects power, not feelings.
(Clint Smith is always required reading.

The Power of Private Museums
Montgomery shows what’s possible when museums aren’t subject to capricious executive orders.

The Organists Improvising Soundtracks to Silent Films | The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/29/the-organists-improvising-soundtracks-to-silent-films

The Organists Improvising Soundtracks to Silent Films
Early on, movies had no sound, but musicians provided live accompaniment. The tradition continues, Alex Ross reports.

The Department of Homeland Security has ordered immigration officers to gather identifying information about anyone filming them and to “send that information to Intel who will do a ‘work-up’ on them,” a federal law enforcement official directly involved tells me.
“Meaning, trying to identify them via social media, running their license plates if available, and running a criminal history check,” the official explained.
The directive is part of a sweeping, nationwide effort by U.S…

ICE Making List of Anyone Who Films Them
“We have a nice little database and now you’re considered a domestic terrorist.”

Following Disney, Paramount sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, alleging its AI-generated Seedance videos and Seedream images infringed Paramount's IP (Todd Spangler/Variety)
https://variety.com/2026/film/news/par

Paramount, Disney Send ByteDance Seedance AI Cease-and-Desist Letters
Paramount Skydance accused ByteDance of engaging in "blatant infringement" of its intellectual property with its Seedance video and Seedream image generative AI platforms.

Following Disney, Paramount sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, alleging its AI-generated Seedance videos and Seedream images infringed Paramount's IP (Todd Spangler/Variety)
https://variety.com/2026/film/news/par

Paramount, Disney Send ByteDance Seedance AI Cease-and-Desist Letters
Paramount Skydance accused ByteDance of engaging in "blatant infringement" of its intellectual property with its Seedance video and Seedream image generative AI platforms.

Looks like Plankey lost his nomination to head CISA and we head into 2026 with no real leader at the cyber agency.
Sean Plankey nomination to lead CISA appears to be over after Thursday vote
https://cyberscoop.com/sean-plankey-cisa-nomination-stalled-senate-ho…

Sean Plankey nomination to lead CISA appears to be over after Thursday vote
Sean Plankey’s nomination to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency looks to be over following his exclusion from a Senate vote Thursday on a panel of Trump administration picks.

My plans to hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing were derailed by two days of rain and high winds, so we made a plan B: the Tama lakes track, which has somewhat less exposure but still gets up over 1400m. We’re lucky we didn’t try Tongariro given how tough the conditions were at Tama lakes – driving snow and winds on the ridge. But we were rewarded with good views and improving weather on the return trip. #hiking

Following federal cuts to history-focused organizations, the president of the Canadian Historical Association, Colin Coates, sent this letter to Marc Miller, the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture.
One thing might not be obvious: Coates's reference to Carney's recent Quebec City speech suggests Canadians' need for historical context right now. He doesn't agree with Carney's claims. In fact, most Canadian historians would dispute them.

Because because because because because. Because of the wonderful things he did in the last scene.
Improv teacher Steve Hoopla in today's 'story' course guided us through some "Because Games", in which scenes are to be causally connected. Each following on from prior scenes. Because that happened, this happened.
He didn't explicitly mention Pixar's "Story Spine", but the main loop in Pixar's story template is "...and because of that..." looping over and over between the introduction, call to adventure, and conclusion.
Causality is what strings a story together, gives it structure an avoids it being just a disconnected dream sequence. This scene is only happening because of the events in the prior scenes. It gives the string of scenes meaning and relevance.
So good fun to drill some of that stuff with the team and end up with sheep infestations and santa claus robot wars among other laughs.
Gonna miss next week's session due to a prior engagement, but the team is gelling well. Pretty sure we could do this show without much further guidance really. Everyone's very good.
#london #improv #hooplaImpro

Texans' DeMeco Ryans backs C.J. Stroud after four-INT outing in loss to Patriots https://www.nfl.com/news/texans-demeco-ryans-backs-c-j-stroud-after-four-int-outing-in-loss-to-patriots