Naypyidaw, which the now-ousted military junta built a few years ago to move the government to the country’s interior and away from the full-of-dissenters capital of Yangon, is notorious for having showy buildings and enormous highways with mothing much in, on, or behind them. But its most popular building gets lots of great reviews on social media, so travelers keep turning up.
Tag: 10.23.16
All The Reasons We Laugh *Besides* That Something Is Funny
There are studies suggesting that as much as 80% of people’s laughter is at things they don’t really find humorous. Says one neuroscientist, “It’s a hall of mirrors of inferences and intentions every time you encounter laughter.”
Researchers: Why Happiness Doesn’t Make You More Creative
“A positive mood is useful when first brainstorming, processing information, and coming up with as many ideas as possible—you don’t want to bring judgment into that, because it could stifle idea generation.
But rigor is the key to overcoming obstacles and completing tasks—and good mood doesn’t improve problem-solving, which involves judgments that almost by necessity won’t feel good: critique and evaluation, experimentation and failure. The stress that arises from problems may be unpleasant but it also motivates us to complete tasks, Davis says. In other words, negative emotions are actually beneficial to the creative process.”
Bill Murray Accepts The Mark Twain Prize
“‘My theme tonight is what is it like to be beloved,’ a straight-faced Murray told the crowd at the end of the two-hour salute. ‘It’s hard to listen to all those people be nice to you. You just get so suspicious.'”
Many Fear That Handwriting Is A Disappearing Art. But There Are Myths About Writing That Should Be Cleared Up
The first is that handwriting has always been a treasured mode of self-expression. Not so, according to Socrates, whom Plato quotes as saying that men’s acquisition of writing “will implant forgetfulness in their souls” and that writing’s value pales in comparison to the living art of conversation: “If you ask a piece of writing a question, it remains silent.”
There’s A Puppet Golden Girls Parody Off Broadway – And It’s Getting Sued
“Mr. Duncan-Watt and his producers claim that Mr. Rockefeller stole the show, cut them out of any royalties and harassed and intimidated them. They are seeking damages from the run of ‘That Golden Girls Show!,’ which is scheduled through Dec. 31.”
A Deal To Ban Pakistani Actors From Indian Films Removes Boycott Threat
“Bollywood is the latest battleground for heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed arch-rivals India and Pakistan, sparked by a deadly attack last month on an Indian army base blamed on Pakistan-based militants. In a series of tit-for-tat moves in the entertainment industry, Pakistan has suspended screening all Indian films until tensions calm, while Hindu nationalists in India have threatened violence at cinemas showing films featuring Pakistani actors.”
Someone Paid 22 Thousand Dollars For One Of The Naked Trump Statues
“The piece, entitled ‘The Emperor Has No Balls,’ was initially estimated to sell for $10,000 with a portion of the proceeds going to the National Immigration Forum, one of the leading immigrant advocacy organizations in the country. But it was the most talked about piece in the auction, and the price tag more than doubled.”
We Offer You More Margaret Atwood (We Just Can’t Get Enough)
“I get good reviews because I’m old. I don’t think artists retire. They just get worse. But they don’t always get worse.”
The True Awesomeness (In The Classical Sense) Of Earth, From Way Above
“While most of humanity will never make it past the ozone, Benjamin Grant’s Instagram project, Daily Overview, has been sharing high definition satellite photographs to give everyone access to this unique perspective.”