Happy Chicken and No Mercy

Had a good sleep last night. Don't always. I've decided to do massage therapy, and had my second session of the year. That's receiving a massage, by the way. My £selfcare game is on point, and I've found a therapist I like after lots of testing. And hard kombucha.

I've been feeling a bit detached lately. I guess that could be seen as Independent Woman and isn't she strong, but really there's a lot of grief around. I'm disconsolate, but I also feel genuinely happy and calm sometimes, like at my recent tiny raucous karaoke birthday party. Actually that was less calm and we all screamed It's All So Quiet together. Work's been crunchy too, with shrinking runways and precipices. More on that another day.

Today, before my therapy, I'd thought I'd take a look at the (US) Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) website as I'd heard their funding programs had been revived, and grants reinstated. The IMLS is a fulcrum of federal cultural funding, and a target of the Trump administration which decreed in March  2025 that—in addition to everything else—disrupting libraries' and museums' work was a good way to spend their time.

I opened up the FY 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (PDF, 962KB) in the National Leadership Grants for Libraries Program (NLG-L). It's really weird.

...our whole nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of American independence

Benjamin Franklin once hoped that America's libraries would make America's "common tradesmen and farmers as intelligent as most gentlemen from other countries."

...teach Americans about their heritage and history, especially one of the greatest chapters in the human story-- America's founding.

We welcome projects that refocus cultural institutions on what unites us by fostering respectful civil dialogue.  

The top guideline for projects is:

  • "Meaningfully engage and educate communities about our nation's great history and the incredible story of America's founding, in fitting commemoration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence." 
And in third: 

  • "Expand on the important roles libraries play in connecting their communities with health services, promoting overall physical excellence and mental wellness." 
Between those, there's "help build the workforce." 

The document also links to four executive orders, and advocates for AI and religious freedom. I don't think we'll be applying.

And then I found this: Institute of Museum and Library Services Sponsors Freedom Trucks to Celebrate America’s 250th Birthday. 

WTFuck.

Washington, D.C. - The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded America250, the bipartisan organization charged by Congress to lead the commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a grant to launch six mobile exhibits known as "Freedom Trucks" to travel across the country throughout 2026, sharing the story of our nation's founding. The project directly supports the January 29, 2025, Presidential Executive Order, "Celebrating America's 250th Birthday."

I couldn't find any visuals of it. So I made some getting prompts from Claude, and drawing it with ChatGPT. The web UIs of those services look remarkably identical. Check these out:

Description used: A powerful illustrated poster of a large mobile exhibit vehicle called “Freedom Truck,” rendered in a serious cartoon style similar to a professional hockey poster. Strong perspective from a low angle, bold outlines, dramatic shadows. Red, white, and blue color palette. The truck features historical imagery inspired by the American founding era, stars, parchment textures, and subtle 1776 symbolism. Clean typography reading “Freedom Truck” on the side. Cinematic lighting, heroic tone, museum-quality illustration.
ChatGPT made this, my prompt.
 
Description used: A photorealistic large mobile exhibit truck labeled “Freedom Truck,” parked in a clean public plaza. Modern exhibit-truck design with wrap graphics in red, white, and blue, featuring subtle historical imagery inspired by the Declaration of Independence and early American iconography. Realistic reflections, natural daylight, professional documentary photography style. Ultra-detailed, high resolution, realistic textures and proportions. & Description used: A highly photorealistic image of a large mobile exhibit vehicle labeled “Freedom Truck” parked on a cracked asphalt street in a small-town Missouri setting. The truck is clean and vibrant, contrasting with a derelict storefront behind it: faded signage, boarded windows, peeling paint, overgrown weeds. Late afternoon light, cinematic realism, shallow depth of field. Americana mood, quiet rural town atmosphere, documentary photography style.
ChatGPT made this, my prompt.

I poked at the in-world VA250 example they were inspired by and... it looks kind of the same.

VA250 mobile museum shot from the side. It's a very long truck. It's in a car park, at Colonial Williamsburg.
Photo by Trevor Grimm

The truck won't be news to library folk, but boy howdy.

Anyway, my masseuse went to level two today - it was great. I'm seeing her again in two weeks. There was this move she did while I was on my back where she rotated one hip out square and then poked at something, and I said "I feel like a chicken." We both laughed. We were much chattier this second time, and she offered to do the Thai method where the masseuse walks on your body. We tried it. Legs, OK. Torso was too much. She hopped down quickly.

God it was nice. There's a bit of intense stretching at the end, and there was a neck one where I winced a bit. She said something like..."exercise a bit?" After a beat, I said "did you mean stretch a bit?"

On my way back, I bought kale, apples, shallots, parsley, granola stuff, red wine, and a Chelsea bun. I had the bun for £selfcare brunch and I'm yet to prepare the winter salad.