Category: issues

The rowdy, messy, laddish types who flock to the city for the hashish and the red-light district have been joined by hordes of selfie-seeking Instagram addicts, and Amsterdam is becoming ever more unpleasant for those who live there. So the Netherlands Tourism Board has stopped promoting the city, permits for new hotels are being sharply reduced, and Airbnb limits are being enforced. On the other hand, two airports are being expanded and an enormous cruise ship terminal is planned. Feargus O’Sullivan looks into the Dutch capital’s conflict between quality of life and economic growth. – CityLab

Facebook currently employs 25 curators and administrators to run its artist-in-residency program and its Analog Research Lab. (The company also has a designer-in-residency program run by the same team.) – Artnet

Esino Lario wasn’t even struggling – it had attracted resources through events and volunteering schemes, and its population of 745 had dropped only slightly since the turn of the century. – The Guardian

Stressing the enormous financial benefits that the city’s festivals bring to Scotland, a member of the Scottish Parliament is arguing that the increasingly frequent, seemingly arbitrary denials of visas to international artists and writers invited to Edinburgh is discouraging those writers and artists from even trying to come. – Edinburgh Live

Dubbed “The Persistence of Chaos,” the Samsung NC10 contains six viruses that have caused an estimated $95 billion in damages. Despite what you might think, it’s not meant to be a tool for any world domination scheme. It’s intended strictly as an art piece — though it could be used for academic purposes — and it’s currently isolated and air-gapped to prevent foul play. – Engadget

“An array of Chinese artists and writers, performers and filmmakers — all up to no good by the standards of Beijing’s morality police — [are] hungrily taking in the many crazy, dissolute subcultures Berlin has to offer. The city’s affordable housing, the country’s special visa for freelancers and artists, and German-government support for a few of China’s best-known creatives have meant that some of the most interesting developments in modern Chinese culture are happening as much in Berlin as in Beijing.” – The Atlantic

On one hand, passion for one’s work can lead to greater satisfaction. But the researchers’ new paper in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, “Understanding Contemporary Forms of Exploitation: Attributions of Passion Serve to Legitimize the Poor Treatment of Workers,” lays bare the unique ways passionate workers can be taken advantage of in a culture that encourages us to find our life’s calling at work. – KQED