Tag: 02.15.00

SLOW DOWN

In our frantic race towards modernization and productivity, we have begun to fear slowness – to equate leisure with the insidiousness of being idle.  In “Slowness of Speed” eight Korean artists examine the notion of time in the traditional Oriental sense – where the boundary between past and present is much less defined than in the West – and the conflict between traditional values and the needs of modernization. – Korea Times

BUT IT’S JUST A FACTORY

American investors have bought a Russian porcelain factory, but encountered resistance when they went to take control of it. “The struggle for control of the Lomonosov porcelain factory has all the elements of Russia’s own national struggle. It is a tale of Russians against foreigners, socialism against capitalism, the Kremlin against private investors, alleged Russian crooks against brazen interlopers – with a priceless imperial treasure as the prize.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada)

MASTER FORGER

“Nine years ago, Antonio J. Mendez, the son of a Nevada copper miner, retired from the CIA after a quarter-century. He had worked his way up from the lowly forgery unit – bogus signatures, altered documents, counterfeit currency and the like – to become head of the espionage agency’s division of disguise, with a rank equal to that of a two-star general. He created some of the CIA’s most elaborate, if little-known, productions – the ploys, skits, scams, masquerades and sleights of hand designed to dupe foreign agents and enemy surveillance teams.” – Washington Post