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☆ A Filmmaker Needed a Quiet Place to Write. Where Better Than a Tuscan Villa?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Kurt Soller | Ricardo Labougle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Moya initially planned to find a more permanent home in Paris after his working holiday. Instead, after visiting the 2,475-square-foot apartment, he decided to stay in Florence so he could write in solitude. The astronomer Galileo Galilei stayed here several times in the 17th century, until the family of artistic patrons eventually sold it off. “I like empty spaces and complete austerity because I travel for work. “But here, the question was, ‘How do we respect the woodwork?’”

Persons: Moya, ”, “, Galileo Galilei, I’m, ” Moya Organizations: ”, Villa, Medicis Locations: Paris, Florence, Italian

For a few hundred years, money poured in from the church, which was eager to expand its influence in the Dodecanese, this group of islands so close to Turkey that on a map it looks like a jeweled choker wrapped around the country’s southwestern coast. Pilgrims seeking either enlightenment or refuge — from the fall of Constantinople, the waning influence of Crete — soon settled this island’s Chora (“town” in Greek) in the shadow of the monastery. Patmos continued to grow into the modern era as a locus of cross-cultural currents and commerce: Prosperity and geography made it ideal for seafaring, as boats brought back wooden furniture from Venice and crafts from Istanbul and Cairo. By the 15th century, both immigrants and rich merchants were building the small churches and blocky mansions that still crowd Chora’s narrow, steep pathways. Although throughout history various interlopers — pirates, Ottoman expansionists and Nazis among them — have claimed this territory as their own, Patmos has belonged to Greece since the late 1940s.

Persons: Crete —, Patmos, Ottoman expansionists, — Locations: Turkey, Constantinople, Crete, ”, Venice, Istanbul, Cairo, Ottoman, Greece

☆ Five Things Tom Dixon Wishes He’d Created
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Kurt Soller | More About Kurt Soller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sacco Chair (1968) by Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini and Franco Teodoro for Zanotta“In the 1960s, people wanted to find new ways of socializing. I still remember sitting on my first beanbag chair and thinking it was a massive leap of imagination coupled with a new material (polystyrene balls), which is always what pushes design forward.”Image Credit... © 2023 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris. Photo: © Christie’s Images Limited 2023Hippopotame II Bar (1978) by François-Xavier Lalanne“Many designers are doing art-furniture today, but the Lalannes were doing it much earlier. It’s playful and Surrealist and yet beautifully crafted — in brass, a metal I’m obsessed with.”Image Credit... Farrar, Straus & Giroux“The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” (1968) by Tom Wolfe“I took a couple of acid tabs when I was a kid, and it was super mind-expanding. Wolfe’s writing is, too.”

Persons: Sacco, Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini, Franco Teodoro, Zanotta “, Xavier Lalanne “, . Farrar, Straus, Giroux, Tom Wolfe “, ” Organizations: Rights Society, François Locations: New York, ADAGP, Paris

“We like emptiness, so there isn’t a lot of decoration,” Sauzay says. (This, after all, was where the first electric streetlights were installed.) There are also no carpets in the apartment, the better to reveal shadows drifting across the bare floors. “I don’t love rugs,” de Tonnac says. “Let’s just say I prefer the wood.”Photo assistant: Camille Padilla

Persons: “, ” Sauzay, Auguste Perret, Sauzay, Paolo Buffa, Jules, “ It’s, ”, de Tonnac, “ Let’s, Camille Padilla Locations: France

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Heidi Lange was among the first to rebuild after the deadliest wildfire in California history destroyed her home in 2018 along with much of the town of Paradise. Residents have received annual premiums that near or exceed $10,000 — leaving many to wonder how they're supposed to rebuild their hard-hit community when insurance is so shockingly high for houses in an area that is supposed to be among the most affordable in California. Seven of the 12 top home-insurers in California — including Farmers Insurance, State Farm, Allstate — have paused or restricted new business in California, saying they can’t afford to take on new clients. Carl Johnsen, a retired drywall contractor, has lived in the same house since 1979, when he moved to Paradise. The Robinsons are paying $4,500 through the California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan, and $750 with another insurer for supplemental liability coverage.

Persons: — Heidi Lange, “, ”, Ricardo Lara, Michael Soller, Rex Frazier, Carl Johnsen, Johnsen doesn’t, Gene Robinson, Robinson, Lara, Soller, Kathy Ehrhart, ” Lange Organizations: FRANCISCO, Fire, Farmers Insurance, State Farm, Allstate, California’s, Insurance Department, Paradise . Farmers Insurance, Farmers, “, Personal Insurance Federation of, Robinsons, FAIR Locations: California, Paradise, Personal Insurance Federation of California, Louisiana , Texas, Florida, Chicago

☆ The Fashion Designer Making Art Out of Offcuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Kurt Soller | More About Kurt Soller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Before that, Koizumi, 35, studied sculpture, painting and drawing at Chiba University, in the suburb where he grew up, hoping to become a children’s art teacher. Last summer, the gallerist Yukiko Mizutani heard him talk about his background on television and sought out the designer, one of fashion’s rising talents, to tell him that he should try being a visual artist himself. “And oil paint stinks.”) He’s spent six months creating 30 or so pieces; his first solo show will be held there this December. Most are constructed using leftover fabric, which he sews into small or wall-filling rectangles, then smears with layer upon layer of oil and acrylic paint, which collects like alien goo within the folds of the ruffles. The artist initially used brushes, but it took too long — the crenulated surfaces are a few inches deep — so now, like Jackson Pollock, he uses his hands.

Persons: Tomo Koizumi, Lady Gaga, Sam Smith —, Koizumi, Mizutani, He’s, Jackson Pollock Organizations: Chiba University Locations: Shinagawa, Shinjuku

☆ A Local’s Guide to Majorca
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Gisela Williams | Richard Pedaline | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

T’s new monthly travel series, Flocking To, highlights places you might already have on your wish list, sharing tips from frequent visitors and locals alike. Majorca, the largest of Spain’s Balearic Islands, has been a classic summer destination for Europeans and Brits for decades. In the last few years, a number of artists and designers have left larger cities in Europe and moved to Majorca. For the first installment of our series of Flocking To travel guides, we asked four locals or frequent visitors to Majorca to share the places they love most. One word of advice for first-time visitors: Majorca sprawls across roughly 1,400 square miles (it’s about the size of Long Island), so if you’re planning on exploring, you might want to rent a car.

Persons: helipads, Frédéric Chopin, George Sand, Robert Graves, Laura Riding, Deià —, Gertrude Stein —, Joan Miró, Miquel Barceló, ikat Locations: Majorca, Balearic, Polish, French, Valldemossa, British, American, Deià, Barcelona, Palma ., Asia, Europe, Sóller, Palma’s Old, Long

Pop, like all genres of creative expression, is more commercialized than ever. Rihanna, who hasn’t released an album since 2016, has her multibillion-dollar Fenty Beauty line; Ariana Grande will soon star as Glinda in Universal’s “Wicked” juggernaut. Service95 represents who Lipa is “behind closed doors,” she says, a space where discussions around trans liberation are as common as those about jewelry and yoga. “My intention is never to be political … but there’s a political bent to my existence,” Lipa says. “I’ve found being in the media this way very encouraging.”

Persons: Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, —, Lipa, don’t, Rihanna, hasn’t, Ariana Grande, ”, ’, Sinéad Burke —, she’s, ” Lipa, Tavi Gevinson, “, Drew Barrymore, Kelly Clarkson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lipa won’t, Oprah, Reese Witherspoon, Tracy Flick, “ I’ve Organizations: “, ” Locations: Lipa, London, ” Lipa, Tokyo, Lipa’s, “

Card 2 of 12Pink Floyd, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and MeThe inside story of a Times reporter’s strange role in a foundational moment in early internet culture: “The Dark Side of the Rainbow.”Background Image: A video montage showing scenes from “The Wizard of Oz” with Pink Floyd song lyrics superimposed.

Persons: Pink Floyd, ‘, Oz ’, Oz

What do you think queer literature specifically has to say with its hybrid forms? Gay: I don’t think you can overlook nonfiction in talking about queer literature. Queer and trans people have, amazingly, taken that demand and subverted it, and that’s why those kinds of stories are so important. Also, Roxane, the point you were making about how some of the greatest truths of queer culture and activism have been done in nonfiction … Oddly enough, queer fiction writers have long hidden behind persona and character to write about queer culture and about themselves. I remember interviewing Galgut once and saying, “Your character Damon” — and he stopped me and said, “No, that’s not a character, that’s me.” I thought to myself, “I’m trying to protect you here,” which is a very quaint protectiveness on my part.

Persons: …, Adrienne Rich, “, ” Lorde, Lorde, ” — Tomi Obaro Soller, Roxane, I’m, we’d, Edmund White, Marcel, Proust, André Gide, Ernest, Hemingway’s, Hemingway, Ed, Gide — White, Willa Cather, Mukherjee, Damon Galgut, Damon, Galgut, Damon ” —, ”, “ I’m

☆ Hotel Corazon Wants to Host Your Hot Girl Summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Serra de Tramuntana is a mountain range that runs along the northwestern edge of the island of Majorca, off the coast of mainland Spain. Its towering peaks and valleys are lined with ancient olive groves, lemon orchards and picturesque hilltop villages. The winding pathways that dot the rugged cliffs plunge through pine trees and goat herds to meet the Mediterranean Sea. In 2020, after she fell in love with the 18th-century finca next door, she and her husband, the Mexican artist Edgar Lopez Arellano, decided to turn their hands to hospitality. Hotel Corazon opened earlier this month, after more than two years of work by the couple alongside a team from Moredesign, a local architecture practice that’s a mainstay of glossy magazines like Architectural Digest.

Persons: Kate Bellm, Edgar Lopez Arellano, Hotel Corazon Organizations: Gucci, Hotel Locations: Tramuntana, Majorca, Spain, British, Deia, Mexican, Moredesign

☆ State Farm will no longer offer new home insurance policies in California over wildfire concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

State Farm said it won't accept new applications for business and personal lines of property and casualty insurance in California. The change won't impact those with personal auto insurance, and current property and casualty insurance holders can still file claims for property that's already covered by State Farm. "Insurance companies prioritize their short-term financial goals, the long-term goal of the Department of Insurance is protecting consumers," California Department of Insurance spokesperson Michael Soller told CNN. Soller continued: "It's important to note that current State Farm customers are not affected, and no non-renewals are being issued as a result of this announcement." "We pledge to work constructively with the CDI and policymakers to help build market capacity in California," Friday's statement from State Farm said.

☆ State Farm stops home insurance sales in California, citing wildfire risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —State Farm is stopping new home insurance sales in California, citing wildfire risks and skyrocketing construction costs, the company announced Friday. The insurance giant stopped accepting applications for all business and personal lines property and casualty insurance in California on May 27. “State Farm General Insurance Company made this decision due to historic increases in construction costs outpacing inflation, rapidly growing catastrophe exposure, and a challenging reinsurance market,” the company said in a statement. While “insurance companies prioritize their short-term financial goals, the long-term goal of the Department of Insurance is protecting consumers,” California Department of Insurance spokesperson Michael Soller said. “However, it’s necessary to take these actions now to improve the company’s financial strength,” State Farm said, adding it will reevaluate according to market conditions.

☆ On Long Island, an Artist’s Studio That Floats Among the Trees
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Kurt Soller | Angela Hau | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Imagine a place for making things: a simple room, with little but the tools you need and the ideal never-too-bright light. They also wanted somewhere to park their car, a nearly 18-foot-long 1966 Chevy Impala Super Sport convertible. Researching bespoke garages online, the couple discovered the work of another couple, Max Worrell and Jejon Yeung, two architects in their 40s who, after meeting in their Yale graduate program, co-founded the firm Worrell Yeung in 2015. Several years ago in upstate New York, they had built a Japanese-and-Scandinavian-influenced minimalist annex with space for their clients to relax — and to store their vintage Ford Bronco. It was exactly what Burst, 62, and McDonough, 67, pictured for themselves.

There is perhaps no Zoom meeting less satisfying than one scheduled on a cold weekday morning to talk about food — specifically, the food that one ought to eat in Paris. And so was the Paris culinary scene, driven by that thrilling hunt for places both new and old, French and not, an obsession among natives and tourists alike. As with a similar list we made for New York — and as part of our ongoing T 25 series, which has surfaced significant and memorable travel destinations, buildings, interiors, art, fashion and books — we wanted to name the essential Parisian dishes to eat right now. The final list, which appears in unranked alphabetical order below and covers most arrondissements, isn’t what we expected, nor is it like the myriad Parisian food rankings we’ve all encountered before. Above all, it speaks to the fact that great food — particularly in Paris, particularly right now — looks forward and backward at once: That’s what makes eating there (and debating where to eat there) so deliciously freewheeling.

Persons: I’d, Dominique Ansel, Dorie Greenspan, Moko Hirayama, Omar Koreitem, Aude, Mercerie, Daniel Rose, Jessica Yang, Pierre Hermé, chou, — Kurt Soller Organizations: New York Locations: Paris, New, 11th, Marie, America, France, Italy, Africa, Asia, Philippines

☆ Ford and Mercedes-Benz Formally Exit From Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Dean Seal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Ford said it has sold its 49% stake in its joint venture with Soller PJSC that produced and distributed Ford vehicles in Russia. Ford Motor Co. and Mercedes-Benz Group AG have both completed their exits from Russia after suspending activities there last March in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Ford said Wednesday that it has sold its 49% stake in its joint venture with Soller PJSC, which it established in 2011 to produce and distribute Ford vehicles in Russia. The Dearborn, Mich.-based company said it still has an option to repurchase the shares within the next five years.

"Andor," the latest series in the "Star Wars" franchise, hits Disney Plus on September 21. The sci-fi adventure is a prequel to "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." How to watch 'Andor'You can watch "Andor" exclusively on Disney Plus. Based on the runtimes of similar "Star Wars" series on Disney Plus, each episode will likely be about 35-45 minutes long. Season one of "Star Wars Rebels" is set within the same year as "Andor," so the two shows have parallel timelines.

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