The project was commissioned by conservationist Richard Leakey, whose fossil discoveries have helped reveal how humankind has evolved. “The museum — titled ‘ngaren’ — will be the first center of its kind to present research, discovery, and exploration of more than two million years of human history and the origins of our universe from evolution, biodiversity, and overpopulation, to war, disease, and climate change.” – DesignBoom
Author: Douglas McLennan
Pittsburgh Opera Postpones Major New Opera. What (If Anything) Does This Say About New Opera? (About Pittsburgh Opera?)
The company expected to deliver “Bhutto” — a dramatic treatment of the history of Pakistan’s Bhutto political dynasty — this coming November. However, “Bhutto” has been removed from next season’s lineup and put on hiatus primarily due to lack of funding, according to the opera. – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Man Dives To The Deepest, Remotest Place On Earth And Finds… Plastic
Vescovo, the Dallas-based co-founder of Insight Equity Holdings, a private equity fund, found the manmade material on the ocean floor and is trying to confirm that it is plastic. – The Guardian
Ten Must-See Movies Setting The Buzz At Cannes
Bill Murray and zombies, Afghanistan, football. It’s an eclectic (to say the least) lineup this year. – The Guardian
E.O. Wilson On Creativity In Science And Humanities
“Science tends to advance sometimes in major jumps. Something is discovered, some mystery is solved, some system is for the first time understood and can be duplicated. When that happens, science moves quickly. I started thinking: What moves the creative arts? I thought, maybe a scientist could say something useful to innovators and masters of the humanities. I thought the next big thing could be at the interface of science and the creative arts.” Chronicle of Higher Education
Why Do Artists Tend To Be More Liberal? Study Says Their Brains Work Differently
“A recent study finds that such people are particularly good at imagining events that are far removed from their current reality. That imagination is, in a sense, their superpower, and it allows them to empathize with a wider range of people.” – Pacific Standard
BBC Wants To Pry Listeners From Their Bubbles (Possible?)
The broadcaster is developing a “public service algorithm” that’s “built to surprise you,” said the BBC’s director of radio and education James Purnell.His hope is that audiences will stumble onto something new, instead of content that simply reinforces their views. Algorithms “do not have to create echo chambers,” he added, “they can open them up”. – BBC
A Beam Of Light? Crystal? What Should A Rebuilt Notre Dame’s Spire Be?
President Emmanuel Macron said last month he was not opposed to a “a contemporary architectural gesture” that could make Notre-Dame “even more beautiful”. But many in France have called for Viollet-le-Duc’s spire to be restored as it had been built. – Irish Times
How Doris Day Connected With America
Todd Purdum: “Doris Day, who died Monday at 97, was always underrated—the girl next door whose peaches-and-cream good looks, 1,000-watt smile, and sinuous, molten singing voice were so often taken for granted. Her huge commercial power—and the bad management of her third husband, Martin Melcher—meant that she seldom had material worthy of her talents, in records or on film. But when she did, watch out.” – The Atlantic
Rebuilding A Literary Canon With The Voices That Weren’t Heard In The Mainstream
“Instead of holding up a few isolated women as exceptions to the rule of male genius, we owe it to that audience to raise up a crowd: sharing, teaching, citing, and celebrating them despite their flaws and complications. Only then can we demonstrate that literary history has always contained a cacophony of female voices, diverse in their politics and outlooks, but forthright in their determination to speak in public and be heard.” – LitHub