Required Reading
This week: the Obama Center opens in Chicago, painting with Urdu script, glamour as protest, the woman who popularized astrology, an artist’s ode to pigeons, and more.
Headlines
- All
- Africa
- Asia
- Business
- Culture
- Environment
- Europe
- Gaming
- Markets
- Middle East
- Movies & TV
- Music
- Politics
- Science
- South America
- Tech
- World News
Seattle Art Museum Workers Vote to Unionize in Landslide Election
The new union will represent over 130 full- and part-time employees across the institution’s three locations.
Monty Python: The Philosophers’ Football Match
As the World Cup gets underway here in the Americas, here’s a look back at a football battle for the ages: Germany vs. Greece in The Philosophers’ Football Match . Germany’s lineup included Nietzsche , Kant, Hegel, Wittgenstein, and Marx while the likes of Plato, Socrates,
“The prevailing emotions among scientists right now...
“The prevailing emotions among scientists right now are rage and shock.” U.S. Science Is in Chaos. “This compact that has existed since World War II, that made the U.S. the successful, prosperous nation that it is, is being dismantled.”
10 Art Events for Juneteenth Joy in NYC
David Hammons-inspired freedom flag workshops, a community art mosaic, late hours at the Bronx Museum, and more activities to mark the contemplative holiday.
The Founding Story Behind Japan’s Oldest Whisky Maker ....
The Founding Story Behind Japan’s Oldest Whisky Maker . “Success in the Japanese market required a lighter, more delicate flavor profile than Western spirits typically offered.” And so Suntory was born.
Supermountains, the Boring Billion, and Their Connection to Life on Earth
Twice in the Earth’s history, massive ranges of supermountains have formed on ancient continents . Studies like these point to something we do know for sure: from the highest peaks to the smallest cells, geology and biology are deeply intertwined. And while it’s often said
Heritage Groups Sue Trump Over “Garden of American Heroes"
The National Mall is “not a personal sandbox for each President to renovate however he likes,” preservationists argue.
Due to FIFA’s poor security practices, this person...
Due to FIFA’s poor security practices, this person stumbled into their wide-open broadcast portal w/ full access . “An attacker could have rickrolled the entire FIFA World Cup. Or played Subway Surfers gameplay. Live. On every TV network worldwide.”
The Whimsy and Heartbreak of America’s Garage Sales
"For $100, I bought bric-a-brac that explains a nation."
Sour Soda Studio Depicts a Saccharine World Where Humans Have Lost Control
The illustrator takes a playful and slightly unsettling view of some of the most pressing issues of the Anthropocene. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The
Craigslist founder Craig Newmark has given away half a...
Craigslist founder Craig Newmark has given away half a billion dollars against a backdrop “where a growing number of billionaires are lashing out against philanthropy”.
The Brexit Catch
"Britain's fishermen became the folk heroes of Brexit. In Brixham, they were promised a brighter future. Did it ever arrive?"
Inspired by Ukraine, and Worried by China: Taiwan...
Inspired by Ukraine, and Worried by China: Taiwan Teaches Its Citizens How to Fly Drones . “I may not be a soldier, but if [a China invasion] ever happened here, as a citizen, I’d like to have the ability to help in some way.”
How Stamps Get Designed
Art director Antonio Alcalá, one of four art directors employed by the USPS, talks a little bit about the history behind US postage stamps and how they are designed and produced. [This is a vintage post originally from Dec 2016.] Tags: Antonio Alcala · design · stamps · USPS
Surreal Figures Step from Leonora Carrington’s Paintings into ‘Shape of Dreams’
The prolific artist's oeuvre extends far beyond the two-dimensional surface. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Surreal Figures Step from Leonora
Assume You Will Be Hacked . “As AI tools have...
Assume You Will Be Hacked . “As AI tools have become extremely good at writing code, they’ve also become extremely good at pulling off cyberattacks. The result has been a change in the scale, speed, and sophistication of hacks…”
Necessary Losses: The Life-Shaping Art of Letting Go
"We cannot deeply love anything without becoming vulnerable to loss. And we cannot become separate people, responsible people, connected people, reflective people without some losing and leaving and letting go."
Why Lionel Messi is a genius on the football pitch .
Why Lionel Messi is a genius on the football pitch .
Neanderthal 1
The 16 bones that would rewrite history – on the site in Germany where we began to understand Neanderthals, and ourselves - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
Duck Dynasty at the Frick
The duckling family found waddling at the Manhattan museum, Art Basel impressions, and Kim Dacres’s rubber art.
Words, words, words
Strong resistance to AI among writers is understandable. But it obscures what we share with the machines: language itself - by Martin Puchner Read on Aeon
The People Who Know Too Much: A Reading List on Amateur Experts
The people whose private fixations become a way of seeing, remembering, and caring for the world.
Promotion, activation, conversation
[A long riff on book publishing with (perhaps) wide applicability to your work as well.] Publishing is different from writing—it’s the hard work of creating the conditions to help people get in sync, move forward, and get to where they’re headed. The best reason to publish a
Meet Héloïse, the Medieval Woman Philosopher Who Turned a Doomed Love Affair into a Meditation on Ethics
The ill-fated romance of Abelard and Héloïse may be a permanent cultural fixture, but it’s worth asking what any of us understand about Abelard or Héloïse themselves. Before the two ever crossed paths, Peter Abelard was already a celebrated philosopher in France whose classes
The Map of Physics: Animation Shows How All the Different Fields in Physics Fit Together
From Newton’s mechanical calculations to Einstein’s general and special relativity to the baffling indeterminacy of quantum mechanics, the discipline of physics has become increasingly arcane and complex, and less and less governed by orderly laws. This presents a problem for
Watch Baseball Games in Realtime in 8-Bit View
This is kind of fantastic: Ribbie lets you watch actual MLB baseball games “rendered pitch by pitch in a cozy 8-bit view while they happen”. Ribbie is a simple way to keep a live baseball game nearby. It shows the score, the bases, the count, and a tiny pixel field that moves