Professional colleagues with sharp political and philosophical differences would do well to learn about the virtues of civility and respectful disagreement from Jane Panetta and Rujeko Hockley, co-curators of the controversy-plagued Whitney Biennial. They deftly double-teamed me during the following interview. – Lee Rosenbaum
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It’s Easy To Get Depressed About The World Ending (Climate Change And All). But Enter The Extremophiles…
Extremophiles tell us that everything we think we know about the fragility of life is wrong. Life is indeed extraordinary, not to mention precious and deserving of reverence – but not in any sense miraculous. – Aeon
Sculptor Neil Estern, Known For Realistic Public Monuments, Dead At 93
“[He] created sculptures of some of the nation’s leading public figures, works that can be seen today in major cities … He [always] maintained his commitment to verisimilitude, whether depicting a charismatic President Franklin D. Roosevelt or an effervescent Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia of New York.” – The New York Times
Pink Seesaws That Straddle The US/Mexico Border Fence
In an Instagram post that has received tens of thousands of likes, children and adults can be seen playing and interacting on both sides of the fence using the seesaws, which provide “a literal fulcrum” between the countries. – The Guardian
The Very First Motion Pictures Were Grainy And Too Fast, Right? Not At All
“Rather, viewed in their original form on large screens and prior to decades of degradation, these movies were vivid and realistic. In particular, early 68mm film, which was less practical than 35mm film and thus used less frequently, delivered startlingly lifelike impressions of distant realities to early moviegoers.” (video) – Aeon
What Happens When What You See Gets In The Way Of What You Know?
Most philosophers nowadays think that knowledge is fallible. In other words, they think that you can know something without its being certain for you. – 3 Quarks Daily
Broadway Giant Hal Prince, 91
Over his long career in the theater, Prince received 21 Tony Awards, including three special Tonys, marking the most Tonys received by any individual. The celebrated director and producer was a frequent collaborator with Stephen Sondheim, as the director and producer of “Company,” “Follies,” “Pacific Overtures,” “Merrily We Roll Along” and “A Little Night Music,” director of “Sweeney Todd” and producer of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and “West Side Story.” – Broadway News
A Wearable Robot Makes You Dance To Its Moves
“My arms jerk up and down and twist from side to side with the beat, but my own muscles aren’t doing the work; my flesh is being pushed around in space by the 45 pounds of metal, cable, and hydraulic cylinders running across my shoulders and down my arms. A robot is making me dance. With me beneath the lights are 11 other humans, each cinched into an exoskeleton of their own.” – Wired
Report: Notre Dame Fire May Have Poisoned Local Residents With Lead
According to confidential documents leaked to the (paywalled) website Mediapart earlier this month and discussed across French media, locations surrounding the fire-damaged cathedral have registered levels of lead contamination ranging between 500 and 800 times the official safe level. – CityLab
Can Delhi Turn Its Most Chaotic Street Back Into An Indian Champs-Élysées?
When Shah Jahan (yes, the one who built the Taj Mahal) built Chandni Chowk in the 1650s, it was lined with trees and elegant buildings and had a canal down its center. Now it has jam-packed crowds, insane traffic, run-down buildings and hawkers everywhere. But the Delhi city government has engaged a team of architects to redesign the street to something like its original splendor. – The Guardian