“Zaha Hadid has filed a law suit against the New York Review of Books and architecture critic Martin Filler … claiming that Filler had falsely implied that she did not care about the working conditions of migrant workers on her projects in the Middle East.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Google Wins Dismissal Of German Publishers’ Suit
“A German regulator handed Google Inc a victory on Friday as it said it would not pursue a complaint brought against the internet search engine operator by a group of publishers for giving users access to their news articles.”
Delayed Gratification Is The Best Kind
“All things being equal, a bunch of research has shown, the purchase of experiences appears to bring more happiness than the purchase of things.” A new paper suggests that “we also derive more pleasure from anticipating experiences than material objects … and offers a useful hint about how to ‘hack’ your purchases of experiences to maximize your enjoyment of them.”
Nerding Out With David Mitchell
“One of the pleasures of hanging out with Mitchell is that he is, by self-identification, many kinds of nerd – a Star Trek nerd, a Doctor Who nerd, a map nerd, a taxonomy nerd, a tea nerd, a word nerd, and, for good measure, what you might call a nerd nerd: an enthusiast of nerdery of all kinds. At one point in our conversation, he speaks admiringly of sheep nerds.”
When Lena Dunham Was Always Afraid
“My parents [were] getting worried. It’s hard enough to have a child, much less a child who demands to inspect our groceries and medicines for evidence that their protective seals have been tampered with.”
No, We Are Not In A Golden Age Of Journalism, Whatever Techie Utopians May Say
“A true golden age of journalism, if it is to last more than a few ephemeral years subsidized by check-writing billionaires and venture-capital speculation, will require that publishers make a profit and writers and reporters can make a decent living. … If you are lucky, you might be able to command a freelance pay rate that hasn’t budged in 30 years. But more people than ever work for nothing.”
The Real Editors And Gatekeepers Of The Internet
“In a small number of Silicon Valley conference rooms, decisions are being made about what people should and shouldn’t see online – without the accountability or culture that has long accompanied that responsibility.”
Are Art Flippers Inflating The Market For New Work? Naaah
“Soaring prices and quick resales, especially of work by emerging artists, have fueled a perception that a new breed of collectors, fond of flipping art as they would a stock, have overtaken the market. … But separate statistical analyses conducted for The New York Times by two companies that specialize in evaluating art market data indicate that the hand wringing may be premature.”
Art Flippers Aren’t Inflating The Market? Don’t Be So Sure
“Emerging artists” may be a small slice of the auction market, but the private market for art is much bigger, and “flippers have every incentive to operate stealthily, outside of the auction system.”
What Makes The (Wildly Popular) New Tom Hanks Typewriter App Click
“Last week, the actor, who signs his tweets ‘Hanx,’ released the ‘Hanx Writer,’ an iPad app that he helped to create with the company Hitcents. It simulates a typewriter keyboard – clacks, clangs, and all.”