Fête Steve and Nationale: Habsburg culture is back

Happy Birthday SM as you celebrate the milestone after dark at Hong Kong

Many many moons ago we celebrated the Bastile Day (never ever say the day with the letter L) with our cousins at Reims a place and a region thar is  God's Gift to the world ... I can still taste the Champagne  ...

Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on the 14th of July each year. In French, it is formally called la Fête nationale and commonly and legally le 14 Juillet

The 1911 Heat Wave Was So Deadly It Drove People Insane - New England Historical Society

Stone tools found in China could be oldest evidence of human life outside Africa Guardian

What’s It Like To Receive The NEA’s Top Honor For Folk Art?

No, you’re burned out and just want to look at pretty pictures of books artfully arranged in architecture! Luckily, Condé Nast Traveler has an article featuring “17 Places Book Lovers Need to Visit,” which fits the bill. Just check out the Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading in Rio de Janeiro.

Or China’s Zhongshuge Yangzhou, which uses curved bookshelves and mirrors to create amazing optical illusions. (Dezeen has more pics of this place.)

Moscow’s Cafe Pushkin is also bookishly gorgeous. Oh, just check out the whole thing. Some of the places are less visually exciting, others you’ve heard of a million times, but it’s a nice little piece. Then when you’re done, check out Rachel Leow’s “Bookporn” archives over at a historian’s craft for more of the good stuff.

Great Protest Music Outlasts Its Time (And Then Comes Around Again)

“Truly great works build a bridge not only between the concerns of their time and a longer historical struggle, but also between the performer’s feelings and the common well of human sentiment. The most consequential protest songs get referenced again and again for a reason: their power, both felt and understood, never dies.”

Here’s A Real Surprise: Dancing Can Help People Feel Healthy And Confident

Yes, we say again – we know this – and we continue to “take notes” using pen and paper – this is not about technology – it is about comprehension and retention (knowledge management). “Even though technology allows us to do more in less time, it does not always foster learning. That’s why some college professors are saying “no more laptops or tablets” and going old-school, forcing note taking on paper only. But, students who grew up more familiar with keyboards than cursive are struggling to adjust to this device-free stance. University of Kansas associate professor of journalism Carol Holstead is one of many across the country who initially noticed how distracted students became while taking notes on their laptops. One day, she even observed two rows of students gawking at one student’s computer, clearly watching a funny YouTube video. After that, she declared her classrooms device-free zones…” Same for meetings at work!

 Alison Orr is taking a leaf out of the Skavic choreographer of  Tatranka Folkloric Group fame  - Marta Chamilova ;-)

‘Ethnographic Choreography’ – Allison Orr Makes Dances On Sanitation Workers, Power Linemen, Cooks

The Woman Who Turned The LA Children’s Chorus Into A Powerhouse Is Stepping Down

In photos Kendrick Lamar ascendant

Tracking Down A Father’s Actions Through His Favorite Novels

What does it say about a dad that he adores the original Swedish noir? “Sjöwall and Wahlöö didn’t just inspire other Scandinavian writers to embrace the murder mystery: they shaped the genre so completely that all of their descendants bear their eccentricities. The Martin Beck series is bizarre, a fitting starting point for what has become a multimillion-dollar industry selling other bizarre, exasperating books.”

Elena Ferrante Explains Why She Will No Longer Use Ellipses

Habsburg culture is back. Why? Nostalgia for its glamour, and our identifying with the late imperial period's disorienting changes in society and politics Habsburg Empire Strikes Back


“Actuality is continually outdoing our talents,” noted Philip Roth. This anxiety — that reality is more creative than fiction — is key to the work of Laurent Binet

Stephen Greenblatt's tour of Elizabethan-era tyranny is reassuring: Shakespeare believed that tyrants ultimately fail. But it is also deeply unconvincing... Tyranny

‘Rips, Tears, And Falls’ – The Nasty Injuries That Can End – Or Not – A Ballet Dancer’s Career