Headlines

Seu Jorge’s Lovely Tribute to David Bowie

For his 2004 film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Wes Anderson enlisted Brazilian musical artist Seu Jorge to perform several of David Bowie’s songs in Portuguese. Jorge released an album of the songs about a year or so later. A few weeks ago, to mark the 10th anniversary

Archival Art Will Not Save Us

Archival work has a place in historical recovery and cultural self-understanding. But not every artwork must be archival, and our politics shouldn’t end with presence rather than action.

The Accidental Winners of the War on Higher Ed ....

The Accidental Winners of the War on Higher Ed . “Well-resourced and prestigious small colleges are less exposed in almost every way to the crises that higher ed faces.” (My kid goes to a liberal arts school & anecdotally can confirm.) 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

Opportunities in February 2026

Residencies, fellowships, grants, open calls, and jobs from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, the Rubin Museum, and more in our monthly list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers.

Significant Find of Cambrian Explosion Fossils

A recent paper in Nature details what scientists found at the Huayuan biota: Here we report the Huayuan biota — a lower Cambrian (Stage 4, approximately 512 million years ago) BST Lagerstätte from an outer shelf, deep-water setting of the Yangtze Block in Hunan, South China.

Pizza Supreme

"Pizza Hut Classic is fast becoming a cultural obsession. I spent a day at one to find out why."

Volleyball Player Does Sliding Dogeza Apology

During an exhibition, Japanese volleyball player Yuji Nishida hit a courtside judge in the back with an errant serve. He immediately sprinted across the court and dove prostrate in apology. The gesture was a sort of sliding dogeza : Even in a country where a sincere apology can

Autocratic backfire : when dictators construct echo...

Autocratic backfire : when dictators construct echo chambers, overestimate their abilities, and dismiss their adversaries’ capabilities, leading to weakening or ruin. Examples: Mussolini, Putin, and now (hopefully) Trump. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

Darren Aronofsky’s AI Studio Used Artificial...

Darren Aronofsky’s AI Studio Used Artificial Intelligence Tools for Revolutionary War Animated Series . Interesting use of “animated” to mean “AI-generated photorealism”. I watched the trailer…everything looks vaguely plastic. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

Tim Burton on Catherine O’Hara :...

Tim Burton on Catherine O’Hara : “Catherine’s so good, maybe too good. She works on levels that people don’t even know. I think she scares people because she operates at such high levels.” Loved her. RIP. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

Victims and villains

In Southeast Asia’s scam compounds, workers are being enslaved but the boundary between victim and perpetrator is blurred - by Ivan Franceschini & Ling Li Read on Aeon

Aeon

Precision vs. accuracy

Precision requires producing the same results each time. Repeatable, measurable, dependable. Accuracy means hitting the target. The only way to consistently be accurate is to be precise. But there are plenty of precision methods that don’t yield the most desired outcomes. Simon