Writing in the New York Times, Roberta Smith pleads for the preservation of the American Folk Art Museum.

Two posts in Lens, the New York Times’ photography blog, are worthwhile reading. The first is a question and answer with Pete Brook about prison photography projects.

Q. But then why is it important? If it’s not going to change anything, why devote so much time to prison photography?

A. Well, a lot of people don’t want to talk about prisons. There’s no incentive for anyone in society to look at prisons for the failure that they are. Politicians don’t win if they appear to be soft on crime. And then you have the media, which is after ratings. It wins by stoking up emotions. With ‘American Idol,’ it’s making people sentimental. With politics, it’s making people divided and angry. And with crime, it’s making people afraid.

The second is a feature on photographer Lori Grinker’s exploration of the branches of her family, Jewish refugees who were scattered from Lithuania.

For Ms. Grinker, the project has become more than a personal journey. “You don’t have to be a Grinker to want to understand how a family gets broken up and becomes other,” she said. “Whether you are Iraqi refugees, Jewish, Asian or African, it’s about putting together the pieces of the puzzle. It’s about the experience of diaspora.”

A gold-plated necklace on display with artifacts recovered from the Titanic has been stolen. Associated Press via Washington Post.

The L.A. Daily Mirror and L.A. Crime Beat curated to the most exacting standards by the bots at paper.li.