This could be

an unnecessary tragedy.

Bartholomew I: Do not transform Hagia Sophia in Trabzon into a mosque

It would be even more of a tragedy as the leaders of both faiths agree and it is the government that is suggesting it...

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Lots of other

levels of governments and boards of museums and galleries should be paying attention to this:

Free museums: Visits more than double

We have an independent board-run, civic government funded, art museum in my city. It's been free from the day it opened, but every year they seem to have an argument about charging an entrance fee to it. We've been spoiled for too long. If a fee were charged, I fear the numbers would drop to next to nothing. Perhaps then they could re-institute the free admission policy and the numbers would grow again. I don't know...

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Things people don't usually see

The Louvre Less Traveled

This whole things sounds wonderful, though there is a group of people, which includes myself, who will sadly never see any of the Louvre, the frequently viewed items nor the hidden beauty. The most magnificent thing we'll ever see is another day, one hopes, and that, for me on good days, is beautiful enough...

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Speaking of Lutheranism

Vatican to display Martin Luther's excommunication ruling

They want to show the good and the bad in these displays of priceless documents. I hope they do...

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The law

is just trying to do the right thing...

Guitar Hero: Illinois Tries to Reclaim John Lennon's Ax

The headline makes it sound like they're being the baddies. (And if it's an acoustic guitar - I don't know, is it? - then it may be out of place to call it an 'ax'.) Headlines can be pretty bad...

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Somehow,

and this probably makes me a bad person, I have way more sympathy for the artist/forger than for the institutions he's trying to take donate art to.

The forger’s story

It's an interesting story...

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The wonderful Velveteria!

This would be a terrific place to visit!

Velveteria - Museum of Velvet Paintings

Somehow I have this weird attraction to the uber-tacky. It's the kind of thing that you either have or you don't, there's no half-way...

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There is, however,

a $1200 airline fee to get there to view them...

Vatican Museums announce free admittance for European Heritage Days

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