When their father is imprisoned, three kids’ fates are up for grabs. From the Guardian: “In a government building in Nanzhao, the Zhang children’s father awaits his fate. He accidentally killed a child and will probably be executed. The Chinese state makes no provision for prisoners’ children. The Sun
“The high bidder at an auction has paid more money for a work than anyone else in the world thinks it’s worth at that point in time.” via Artsy
Edward Hardy is 93, lives in a nursing home, and suffers from dementia and depression. Sam Kinsella, one of Mr. Hardy’s care givers and the narrator of this video, learns of Edward’s prior life as a jazz pianist. After Sam arranges for a keyboard to be brought in,
Shimon is a robot that can play marimba chords and sequences that can’t be replicated by any single human. Jason Barnes is a drummer who lost part of his arm, and who now wears a robotic prosthesis that can drum up to 20 beats per second. via Quartz
We use our entire brain—and not just the temporal lobe, as once believed—to group words by meaning. via Aeon
Suffering from panic attacks, Ryan Bassil finds solace in the sounds of William Basinski, Oval, and Brian Eno, who “at one point felt like an angel sent to me from heaven.” Related: For those who experience anxiety attacks, every day is a case in survival. One writer’s journey to
In 1977, David Nash planted 22 ash saplings and trained them to grow into a dome. Nearly 40 years later, his vision continues to take shape. via This Is Colossal See also: A man who spent three years painting the same English tree repeatedly—in all weather, day and night—
Referencing historical photos of Denali National Park, a photographer takes exact matches that show how climate change has altered the landscape. via WBEZ Chicago Also, if you liked this video, you’ll probably enjoy Paul Colangelo’s “Sacred Headwaters” series about three of Canada’s biggest salmon rivers.
To sing in water, composer Laila Skovmand developed “a technique where she keeps an air bubble in her mouth and sings through it when submerged, rising to the top about every minute to take in a breath and a new bubble.” Related: Here’s Thom Yorke kind of singing underwater,
A primer to the controversial and brilliant Pet Sounds, which turns 50 this month. The album was such a major departure for Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys that Capitol Records released the first single, “Caroline, No” under Wilson’s name only, and then attempted to scuttle the album two
