“Restlessness is discontent—and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man—and I will show you a failure.” Thomas Edison, The Diary and Sundry Observations of Thomas Alva Edison ... read more
Consumer Reports: How to snag deep discounts, get the best seat for your money, avoid nasty surprises, increase your comfort, and more – “In September, American Airlines began service from Miami to Los Angeles—a flight of just under 6 hours—on its Boeing 737 Max aircraft
Is This How Ancient Egyptians Built The Pyramids?
Scientists researching ancient inscriptions happened upon a ramp with stairways and a series of what they believe to be postholes, which suggest that the job of hauling into place the huge blocks of stone used to build the monuments may have been completed more quickly than previously thought. …[Read More]
In The Moscow Times Michele A. Berdy suggests The Women's Century: Five Russian Writers to Watch. English-writing Sana Krasikov is probably the most familiar in the US/UK, while Guzel Yakhina's Zuleikha is due out next year from Oneworld (see their publicity page); I hope we get to see more from the others in English.
Mungo Mccallum on Scomo express backfires
While mystery surrounds Scott Morrison’s sacking from Tourism Australia, a buried audit report shows numerous anomalies and concerns over contracts worth $184 million. By Karen Middleton.
Exclusive: Auditor-general found Morrison breaches
Wait, Why Isn’t Most Of The ‘A Star Is Born’ Music Eligible For The Grammys?
It's the number one soundtrack everywhere, but filmmakers wouldn't release the soundtrack before the movie - not even the five days before that would have made it eligible for the Grammys this year. Why not? "The soundtrack really is the story of the film. There are multiple tracks in there that are soundbites from the film and so it was really important that people experience them simultaneously." … [Read More]
How Do You Reinvent Talk Shows For A Post-TV World?
The genre has had an especially tough time adjusting to an era where the TV channel is just one media pathway among many. Who needs a late-night chat with the stars when stars are available on Instagram and Twitter, 24/7 and without intermediation? What is “late-night” talk on a streaming platform, where, as on a casino floor, neither day nor night exist? … Read More
The unlikely odyssey of Sergei Shchukin: How a Russian textile magnate become one of the most important patrons of the Parisian avant-garde
Why Have Men In Ballet Gotten Away With Abuse? Hero Worship Plus Supply-And-Demand
"It's like a cult," says Alexandra Waterbury, the accuser at the center of the New York City Ballet nude photo-sharing scandal, of the deference that was given to the bad behavior of the likes of George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Peter Martins. As for why women don't speak up and male dancers get a pass — as one former NYCB dancer puts it, "Women are a dime a dozen." … [Read More]
The bone hunters
What archaeologists find in this cave could shed light on one of the biggest mysteries in human history.Study: Micro-doses Of Psychedelics May Enhance Creativity
The Banksy Shredder Comes To Greeting Cards
“Hello from Banksy!” is a postcard that you need to shred to read. Created for the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands, and designed by the Belarusian graphic designer Lesha Limonov, it looks like a miniature, framed piece of art. But pull at a tab on the bottom, and the precut postcard comes out in shreds.
When Andy Warhol Realized That Everything He Did Was The Art
Business Art, he came to call it, “the step that comes after art.” It established that everything this artist had done or would do, as head of Andy Warhol Enterprises, Inc. — as portraitist, publisher, publicist or salesman — counted as components in one boundless work: part performance art, part conceptual art and part picture of the market world he lived in and that we all still inhabit. … Read More
The most intellectual creature to ever walk Earth is destroying its only home’ Guardian
Luminous LEDs transform Prague’s historic Mirror Chapel into an interactive art space
The most intellectual creature to ever walk Earth is destroying its only home’ Guardian
Gustavo Dudamel, At Mid-Career
When Dudamel conducts an orchestra these days, he feels a ghost at his shoulder. The ghost belongs to his mentor, the Venezuelan conductor and educator José Antonio Abreu, who gave him both his musical training and his philosophy of life, and who had died just a few weeks earlier, in March, at age 78. “I lost Maestro physically,” Dudamel says, “but every time I do this” — he raises his hands as if he’s about to conduct — “a levare, to the orchestra, he’s there. He’s in the sound. I can hear him all of the time.” … Read More