The Morning News

Disney's original Peter and the Wolf animated short, paired with a narration by David Bowie.

Bowie recorded his narration of Prokofiev’s composition, performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, in December 1977, apparently as a Christmas present for his son Duncan, then seven years old.

As for Disney’s animated adaptation, which was released some 30 years prior—the inspiration came straight from the composer himself:

Prokofiev, while touring the West in 1938, visited Los Angeles and met Walt Disney. Prokofiev performed the piano version of Peter and the Wolf for "le papa de Mickey Mouse", as Prokofiev described him in a letter to his sons. Disney was impressed, and considered adding an animated version of Peter and the Wolf to Fantasia, which was to be released in 1940. Due to World War II, these plans fell through, and it was not until 1946 that Disney released his adaptation of Peter and the Wolf narrated by Sterling Holloway. It is not known if Prokofiev, by that point behind the Iron Curtain, was aware of this.

Sometimes parents really do come through when trying to impress their children.

As for that visit to the Disney studios, Walt Disney recreated it for a 1957 TV show, with pianist Ingolf Dahl sitting in for Prokofiev, who died four years prior.

"A five-year-old girl was...fined £150 for running a stall selling cups of homemade lemonade to passersby."

↩︎ The Guardian 1d

Most of the plastic that has been made is no longer in use—about 6.3 billion metric tons of plastic have been thrown away since 1950… 60%—about 4.9 billion metric tons—is in landfills or scattered in the environment.

Humans manufacture and discard plastic—through landfilling or littering—at staggering rates.
↩︎ The New York Times

Every time Trump goes to Mar-a-Lago, the no-fly zone disrupts shark researchers who need low-flying planes.

↩︎ The Washington Post 1d

Tennessee jail toys with eugenics, offering early release to inmates who receive a vasectomy or Nexoplan implant.

↩︎ BuzzFeed 1d

Stunning drawings from young Brazilian artist Ritchelly Oliveira.

↩︎ BOOOOOOOM 1d

Fireflies in a Pennsylvania field at dusk, as captured by artist Diana Lehr. It's summer, after all.

Via The Kid Should See This

In the 20th century, government saved us from disease and illiteracy; in the 21st, it needs to help us clear our minds.

Too many Americans walk around in a mental fog, neurologically speaking. Why? Drug abuse, lead pollution, and poverty.
↩︎ Bloomberg

Since the Brexit vote, demand for an Irish passport—from Britons who want to keep their options open—has jumped 50%.

↩︎ The Guardian 2d

Art for your weekend: “Sleepless” by Esther Sarto, opening Saturday at Talon Gallery, Portland, Ore.

↩︎ Esther Sarto 2d

Reporter breaks White House rules and streams live sound from an off-camera briefing.

↩︎ The Washington Post 2d

A short video to illustrate National Geographic's recent feature on the remarkable motions of hummingbirds in flight, based on research done by Clark lab at US Riverside, Dudley lab at UC Berkeley, and the Altshuler lab at the University of British Columbia.

The secret to the hummingbird’s hovering ability lies in the near symmetry of its wing motion, which allows it to produce lift during the upstroke as well as the downstroke. By filling the air with a fine mist using an ultrasonic fogger, researchers can observe the tornado-like vortices that this Anna’s hummingbird sheds at the end of each half-stroke—when its wings flip more than 90 degrees and reverse course.

A game theory problem for the Trump era: Why is it bad to attend a meeting without your own translator?

↩︎ Marginal Revolution 2d

Photographs of unused vehicles constructed by the Islamic State for suicide car bombings.

↩︎ The Guardian 2d

Your Thursday white paper: How awful was the Black Death? (Some towns in England lost 55% of their population.)

↩︎ Medieval Histories 2d

In the morning, the police are back again, in force, to retake the territory they were compelled to cede the night before.

Mark Edmundson on the metaphysics of a hangover. "Has anyone ever taken up the subject of the religious hangover? Is it possible that when the service is over, the spirituals have been sung, and the visitation is at an end, there is a sense of loss?"
↩︎ The Hedgehog Review

O.J. Simpson today faces “the parole hearing of the century,” so dubbed by Christopher Darden.

↩︎ Quartz 2d

Slowly, Google realized Glass's ideal users weren't consumers, but laborers; GE sees 46% efficiency gains.

↩︎ WIRED 3d

Movie stars should take a cue from athletes' unions and push for wages to be public.

↩︎ Vulture 3d

After their visas were restored, Afghan girls robotics team competes in DC, win silver in courageous achievement.

↩︎ The New York Times 3d