Con Art
“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
Archive
A collection of 14229 issues
Reunited
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,
Rebirth of the Cool
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
May 23, 2016
* Bayer wants to buy Monsanto and create world's largest GMO supplier. * Obama ends military weapons embargo of Vietnam—possibly as leverage against an encroaching China. * Until last week, the term "Oriental" still appeared in federal law—now it will be replaced by "Asian American."
The Brain Dictionary
We use our entire brain—and not just the temporal lobe, as once believed—to group words by meaning. via Aeon
May 20, 2016
* Oklahoma's legislation to outlaw abortions is so "blatantly unconstitutional" that it's hardly enforceable. * McDonald's reports that higher pay and better benefits have boosted their bottom line. * Verizon strike faces challenges indicative of labor's larger struggles. * Colonialism is alive in Western
The Art-Seeing Eye of Google
Google’s new “Art Camera” will travel the world, taking ultra-high-resolution “gigapixel” images to digitize a series of artworks. See also: Masterpieces already digitized from Rotterdam’s Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.
Classical Is Calling
Berklee pianist Tony Ann plays a medley of familiar ringtones. See more of Tony Ann on Facebook.
May 19, 2016
* EgyptAir flight crashes over the Mediterranean; "terrorism more likely than technical failure." * Labor Relations Board rules that companies aren’t allowed to pressure workers to be relentlessly positive. * Restaurants ditch the no-tipping movement. * Whatever destroyed Venezuela's economy, the result is "one of the most
To Reduce Anxiety, Bliss Out to Ambient Music
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