Political signs are objects with meaning beyond the literal messages they bear. And while whatever they signify depends a lot on the signs themselves and their context, it also depends on a world of cultural gestures operating below the surface. – The Baffler
Blog
Much Of What We Think We’re Choosing Is Random Chance
This suggests that we like things because we chose them, which is very different than what we think we’re doing, choosing things because we like them. The babies’ behavior implies that this penchant for dismissing all the non-chosen options is a fundamental and hardwired part of human behavior. – Fast Company
Why Pantone’s Color System Is Problematic
On the surface, this system seems like a useful service, but ultimately it’s become a way to try and make color a private business. It does provide a standard for various industries around the world, but Pantone considers the colors and color formulas to be its intellectual property. This means that they can’t be openly shared, so in order to speak this language of color, you have to shell out for a guide, which will cost you around $650. – Slate
Preserving The Black Culture That Has Flourished Online
Jenna Wortham and Kimberly Drew: “With social platforms, there is newly shared culture, and in effect, shared history, but it is one that is vulnerable to a loss as arbitrary as a server migration or company sale. … In 2015, we set out to create our own analog archive of contemporary Black life by Black people and for Black people. … The ephemerality of social media terrified us, and as such, inspired us.” – The New York Times Magazine
The Artistic Value Of A Banana?
Conceptual artists in the 1960s argued that an artwork’s identity is not to be found in its physical manifestation but in the artist’s idea. That idea can, but does not have to, take material form. Following that logic, the material object is a manifestation of an idea, and it is the idea that is bought and sold on the art market. – The Conversation
The Man Who Brought Ballet Classes To Nigeria
“Born and raised in Lagos, [Daniel Owoseni] Ajala is the founder and creative director of the Leap of Dance Academy, which provides ballet [instruction] for young dancers. His school has gained worldwide attention ever since June, when he posted a video of one of his students dancing in the rain at his home. The clip went viral, leading to major scholarship opportunities and coverage from news outlets around the world. [We] spoke to Ajala about how he’s used his love for culture and dance to create a ballet program for a community that had none.” – Dance Magazine
Why Really Busy People Should Have Hobbies
In reality, when the future comes, there isn’t more time–and this is just one of many reasons why you should commit to a hobby now. – Fast Company
New Netflix Project: ‘Made By Africa, Watched By the World’
“Mixing new, original content with older African classics that have not previously been streamed elsewhere, this initiative … creates a path for stories that specifically address different slices of the African experience to see the light of day and reach a wider audience. Considering that there’s a growing feeling among Africans that inaccurate representation on screen is a given, that’s a good thing for everyone.” – The Guardian
Is Netflix Too Quick To Cancel Series?
Exactly how Netflix makes the call on what to renew or not is something of a mystery – it never releases ratings or viewer figures that would illuminate its decisions. Instead, everything is driven by top-secret data. Netflix notoriously number-crunches every bit of viewer interaction – what you watch, when you watch it, the device you watch it on (TV, PC, phone, tablet, smart microwave, whatever), how many episodes you watch in a row; even when you pause and for how long. It then uses this to inform production choices.- The Guardian
Jim Dwyer, Crusading Newspaperman, Dead At 63
“In prose that might have leapt from best-selling novels, [he] portrayed the last minutes of thousands who perished in the collapse of the World Trade Center’s twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001; detailed the terrors of innocent Black youths pulled over and shot by racial-profiling state troopers on the New Jersey Turnpike; and told of the coronavirus besieging a New York City hospital. … Colleagues called him a fast, accurate and prolific writer who crusaded against injustice, worked for six metropolitan dailies and wrote or co-wrote six books.” – The New York Times