‘How to save those wet, damaged books? The question has to be asked. [Here] you can watch a visual primer from the Syracuse University Libraries—people who know some thing about taking care of books. It contains a series of tips, some intuitive, some less so, that will give you a clear action plan the next time water and paper meet.…’ (via Open Culture)

‘The new study described this “almost unprecedented rate of increase” in the length of an average day as a quantifiable consequence of Earth’s rising oceans.…’ (Matthew Phelan via Gizmodo)

‘First lady Melania Trump on Thursday delivered some wildly over-the-top praise to an unexpected person: herself.

With husband President Donald Trump looking on at a Women’s History Month event at the White House, the first lady declared herself to be a “visionary” who is “often alone at the top.”

“In solitude, my creative mind dances, filling my imagination with originality,” she said, then listed all of her roles: “mother, humanitarian, philanthropist, and entrepreneur.”

Melania Trump was also pleased with her work on the film about herself, “Melania,” which currently has an 11% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

“I shaped its creative direction, served as a producer, managed post-production, and activated the marketing campaign,” she said, adding:

“Curiosity is a core value that keeps me ahead of the curve. Curiosity begets knowledge, opening doors to ideas and industry that I have otherwise overlooked. This unrestricted mindset has led me to build across very different sectors: fashion, digital assets, publishing, accessories, skincare, commercial television, and of course, filmmaking.”…’ (Ed Mazza via HuffPost)

Public figures occasionally praise their own work, but the rhetorical register here resembles personal promotional copy more than the usual language of public office. The grandiosity goes a long way to explaining the sometimes puzzling reason she stays with him. 

‘One-time Donald Trump biographer Michael Wolff revealed why the situation with the Iran war “could not be more dire” as the president continues his habit of ignoring intelligence briefings.

A veteran reporter and author, Wolff is best known for his 2018 book, Fire & Fury, which used inside sources to chronicle the chaos of Trump’s first term in the White House. During the latest episode of his Daily Beast podcast, “Inside Trump’s Head,” he dug into why Trump’s habits make it uniquely dangerous for him to be overseeing the war against Iran.

As Wolff noted, Trump is well-known for his refusal to read daily intelligence briefings, which his various predecessors would read extensively. In the past, reports indicated that staffers have tried to get important information to him by simplifying briefings, getting them down to a page or less and trying to include as many pictures as possible. They have also reportedly tried to construct the information to be about Trump himself, in order to pique his interest.…’ (via Alternet)

‘Without the mass stellar migration, life may not have been able to form on Earth.…’ (Passant Rabie via Gizmodo)