- The U.S. military’s marching band budget is almost three times as large as the annual sum being allocated to the National Endowment for the Arts. That’s $437 million dollars going to renditions of the Star-Spangled Banner and an Air Force rock band called Max Impact. Seriously, check out that rock band link. On a related note, it’s estimated that Americans spend $675m a year on fireworks. [New York Times]
- Is Donald Trump the villain that protest art has been craving? Hyperallergic’s Carrie Dunne takes a look. Also, speaking of the Donald, the great George Saunders joins the ‘respected writer attends a Trump rally’ club. [Hyperallergic, New Yorker]
- Iranian pop artist, Parviz Tanavoli, had his passport confiscated by authorities in Tehran this weekend. He was scheduled to attend a lecture in London that focused on his book, “European Women in Persian Houses.” As of July 4th, Tanavoli still did not know why he wasn’t allowed to travel. [The Art Newspaper]
- Abbas Kiarostami, director of great films like “Where Is The Friends Home?” and “Close-Up,” as well as a large body of photography and installation work has died at the age of 76. He was reportedly undergoing treatment for cancer. [Al Jazeera]
- Pieces of Christo’s Floating Piers have already appeared on eBay following the closing of the piece on July 3rd. The work is intended to be recycled but it seems some industrious person managed to snag a few chunks. The special socks that visitors wore are also available for $1000. [artnet News]
- The United Nations has passed a nonbinding resolution that makes internet access a basic human right. [Gizmodo]
- Pirates are now using YouTube’s 360° panorama feature to hide full-length films from the streaming video services automated content id systems. The resulting videos have an odd, online gallery showroom quality. While it’s a clever trick, as it is, this probably won’t become a widespread problem because it just looks weird. [Kill Screen]
- Wow, you might want to think twice before co-signing for a student loan in New Jersey. Specifically, if the student dies the loans will not be forgiven. One bankruptcy lawyer describes the program as “state-sanctioned loan sharking.” [The New York Times]
- While the verdict is still out on whether public interest will be able to sustain the new wave of virtual reality, Japan’s first VR porn festival was an overwhelming success. Mobs of people attended the gathering in Tokyo, causing organizers to shut off entry. Most of this stuff looks really uncomfortable. [The Next Web]
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