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☆ Opinion | The Case for Tourism
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Agnes Callard, a University of Chicago philosopher, infuriated various portions of the internet in June with an essay making the case against travel. Though really it was the case against tourism, since Callard exempted many forms of travel — for work or study, for personal or political reasons or charitable service — from her critique. The traveler departs confident that she will come back with the same basic interests, political beliefs and living arrangements. So I refrained from any comment on her thesis, assuming — like every other self-deluded tourist — that I would return more enlightened than before. But casting my mind back to that distant prior self, I dimly remember having two reactions to Callard’s essay.

Persons: Agnes Callard, Walker Percy, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Chesterton, Callard, Mona Lisa, ’, Percy Organizations: University of Chicago, Scottish Locations: G.K, France, Britain, Netherlands

☆ ‘The Heiress and the Heist’ Review: From Debutante to Militant
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Rose Dugdale Photo: PA Images via Getty ImagesArt theft always has a bit of romance about it, perhaps because the act suggests a thief with good taste. Usually, though, the facts of the matter turn out to be quite otherwise—opportunity, blundering and the disappearance of masterpieces for decades because, well, you can’t sell the “Mona Lisa” on eBay. In the three-part documentary “The Heiress and the Heist,” you get all of the above, as well as a mastermind acting out her daddy issues against a backdrop of bomb-lobbing, extortion and kidnapping.

Persons: Rose Dugdale, Mona Lisa ” Organizations: Getty Images, eBay

☆ A Canadian lake best charts humanity’s impact on Earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Fossils embedded in rock reveal intriguing details about animals, plants and other life-forms that once called Earth home. ConsequencesCrawford Lake in Ontario is the geological site that best reflects a new epoch recognizing the impact of human activity on Earth, said geologists of the Anthropocene Working Group. The Anthropocene Working Group determined in 2016 that the epoch began around 1950 — the start of the era of nuclear testing. The international research group says that Crawford Lake in Ontario best charts humanity’s impact on Earth. Back then, it took 10 hours to relay a single image to Earth — incredibly slow by today’s standards.

Persons: Crawford, they’ve, Amenhotep III, didn’t, Philippe Martinez, Mona Lisa of Egypt, Thais Rabito Pansani, —, Webb, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Conservation, Scientists, MAFTO, Sorbonne University, NASA Mariner, Mariner, NASA Jet Propulsion, CNN Space, Science Locations: Ontario, Brazil, South America, Americas

☆ These ancient Egyptian paintings were hiding a secret
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.CNN —Researchers using a cutting-edge technique have discovered hidden details in two ancient Egyptian paintings in the Theban Necropolis, near the River Nile, that date back more than 3,000 years. Using portable chemical imaging technology, the researchers identified alterations made by the artists that are rare in Egyptian paintings, commonly thought to be the product of highly formalized workflows. We want to understand how these paintings were made.”X-ray fluorescence in chemical imaging technology helps to reveal alterations made in Egyptian tomb paintings that may not seem obvious to the naked eye. “It demonstrates the potential value of quantitative data, obtained through scientific analysis, for a more comprehensive and less subjective interpretation of ancient Egyptian art,” she said. “And the adaption of portable (X-ray) instruments as mobile devices designed for use in the field is a very exciting advancement in the study of ancient Egyptian wall paintings.”

Persons: ”, Philippe Martinez, Amenhotep III, Mona Lisa of Egypt, ” Martinez, “, Menna, Osiris, Ramesses II, Martinez, I’m, ” Joann Fletcher, Lorelei Corcoran Organizations: CNN —, Sorbonne University, MAFTO, UK’s University of York, of Egyptian Art, University of Memphis Locations: Paris, Egypt, Menna, Luxor, Tennessee

☆ Mr president, please return the Mona Lisa to Italy, says Tour rider Bettiol
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BORDEAUX, France, July 7 (Reuters) - Italian Tour de France rider Alberto Bettiol took to social media on Friday to ask French President Emmanuel Macron to return the Mona Lisa to his home country. "Monsieur le Président, please give us back the Monna Lisa and thanks for coming to the Tour," Bettiol tweeted, using the Italian spelling for Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece. Macron paid a visit to the world's greatest cycling race on Thursday, where he shook hands with Bettiol, of the EF Education EasyPost team. It was kept it at the Palace at Fontainebleau, where it remained until King Louis XIV moved the painting to the Palace of Versailles. Following the French Revolution it was moved to the Louvre museum where it is still displayed.

Persons: Alberto Bettiol, Emmanuel Macron, Mona Lisa, Monsieur le Président, Lisa, Bettiol, Leonardo da, Macron, Da Vinci, France's King Francis I, King Louis XIV, Vincenzo Peruggia, Julien Pretot, Ros Russell Organizations: de, EF Education EasyPost, Thomson Locations: BORDEAUX, France, Italy, Loire, Fontainebleau, of Versailles, Florence

☆ Ancient stones removed in France to build new hardware store
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —An ancient stone site in western France has been removed to make way for a new hardware store, sparking criticism of the local mayor. The mayor of Carnac, Olivier Lepick, insisted he adhered to the law in granting planning permission for the new Mr Bricolage hardware store. “Whether it’s little or not, [the site] has an archaeological value,” Obeltz told CNN affiliate BFMTV. “There were not archaeological remains of sufficient value to reject planning permission,” the mayor said. On Thursday, French far right politician, Marine Le Pen retweeted a link to an article by local French newspaper, Ouest France, calling the removal “deplorable” and remarking that the French state “protects neither our citizens or our heritage.”

Persons: Olivier Lepick, Christian Obeltz, “, ” Obeltz, Lepick, ” Lepick, “ It’s, Mona Lisa, ” Organizations: CNN, Carnac, UNESCO, French Ministry of Culture, BFMTV, Ouest France Locations: France, France’s Brittany, Carnac

☆ Taste testing the space food of the future
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The competition led the Astra Gastronomy team at Nonfiction, a design and innovation firm based in San Francisco, to develop the Space Culinary Lab. Bringing that level of agency to astronauts is where designers like us start.”The Space Culinary Lab made it through the first phase of the Deep Space Food Challenge in October 2021. This rendering shows what the Space Culinary Lab might look like inside a spacecraft. Time for a taste testThe futuristic space food prepared using the culinary lab was available for a taste test at Nonfiction during CNN’s visit in March, including space coffee and algae mixed with different flavors. The fruit powders masked the algae flavor and made it taste more like a slightly sweet treat without added sugars.

Persons: San Francisco CNN —, ”, Phnam Bagley, “, Bagley, munch, sizzle, bok, Mona Lisa ”, CNN’s, Mark Alexander, Mardis Bagley, Nadia Kutyreva, Fifile Nguyen, ” Bagley Organizations: San Francisco CNN, NASA, Canadian Space Agency, Astra Locations: San Francisco, Mars

☆ Transfer of holy icon shows Russian Orthodoxy's new sway under Putin
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Emphasising its importance to the faithful, Putin last month ordered Andrei Rublev's "Trinity" be transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church from Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery for a year. For some, though, there is unease at the sway of the Church - and concern about possible damage to the fragile icon. She quipped that Russian leaders over the centuries have turned to icons in tough situations with the hope of victory. "Masterpieces of Russian icon painting and national shrines should not be exposed to unjustified risk," members of a cultural council within the Russian Academy of Sciences wrote in an open letter to Russian Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova. "The only space suitable for placing the icon 'Trinity' by Andrei Rublev is in the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery, which is confirmed by almost a century of practice."

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Andrei Rublev's, Moscow's Tretyakov, the, Josef Stalin, Abraham, Regina Elsner, Sergius –, Bolsheviks, Kirill of Moscow, Kirill, Putin's, Ksenia, Leonardo da Vinci's, Mona Lisa, Tretyakov, Korobeynikova, Olga Lyubimova, Andrei Rublev, Lucy Papachristou, Guy Faulconbridge, Mark Potter Organizations: Trinity Sunday, Soviet Union, Church, Eastern European, International Studies, Kremlin, Putin, Reuters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Moscow, Ukraine, Moscow's, Soviet, Mamre, Russian, Berlin, Russia, Trinity, St, Moscow –, Gdansk

☆ AI is getting out of control and it's creating a generational divide
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Spriha Srivastava | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

There's a sense of déjà vu, similar to the digital revolution, and it's led to a generational divide. Tech leaders are also worried. While in many instances these digital innovations brought people closer, helped families bond, and gave people a tool to voice their feelings and opinions, for many others, it created a divide between generations — a digital divide. The letter read: "We call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4. This can result in a digital divide, where some people have limited access to technology or lack the necessary digital skills to effectively engage with AI systems and other emerging technologies.

Persons: It's, it's, Bard, —, haven't, Mona Lisa, Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, Sam Altman, OpenAI, Bill Gates, aren't, Spriha Srivastava Organizations: Tech, Facebook, Twitter, Adobe, Life Institute, Elon, Apple

☆ Two Creative Directors on Sports, Hip-Hop and Faith
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Justin Baek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Everybody has a story, and you can tell it through A.I., pictures, music, all the creative elements. It came, and though it’s not gone, the whole time, I was like, I’m still going to go with touchable, feel-able art. A lot of things are happening through technology, and a lot of things are going to happen, but I don’t know anything that is bigger than the Mona Lisa. No matter what happens in technology, the root of creativity will always be around. It’s the reason we still hear Fleetwood Mac and Marvin Gaye songs in the same rotation that you hear Drake.

And so whenever I get one of those notifications, I know I’m going to have a good time there. kevin roose[LAUGHS]: I actually don’t think I could’ve told you what IBM stood for. kevin rooseSo I’ve thought a lot and written a lot about how and when AI actually is a threat to jobs. The third category is just the jobs that I think are going to be protected, the jobs that we won’t let AI do. But I don’t actually think the speed of it matters at all.

☆ French pension protest blocks entry to Louvre museum
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] French police look on as protesters holding French CGT labour union flags in front of the glass Pyramid block the entrance of the Louvre museum to protest against the French government's pension reform, in Paris, France, March 27, 2023. REUTERS/Marco TrujilloPARIS, March 27 (Reuters) - Trade union protesters angered by President Emmanuel Macron's move to raise the French retirement age without a final vote in parliament blocked the Louvre museum in Paris on Monday, frustrating crowds of visitors. Demonstrating peacefully against plans to make most French work an extra two years to 64 to balance the pension budget, a small number of protesters gathered at the foot of the Louvre's glass pyramid. The protest came one day ahead of a 10th round of nationwide strikes and street marches and followed violence in cities across France over the pension system changes. Separately, Paris police said they were carrying out an operation to prevent unauthorised gatherings in front of the Centre Pomopidou, another landmark museum in Paris.

☆ Supreme Court to hear trademark dispute case over Jack Daniel's whiskey and poop-themed dog toy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a case over a dog toy modeled after a Jack Daniel's bottle. Lower courts have differed on whether the toy harms Jack Daniel's brand or is protected expression. "But VIP's profit-motivated 'joke' confuses consumers by taking advantage of Jack Daniel's hard-earned goodwill." "The Bad Spaniels dog toy, although surely not the equivalent of the Mona Lisa, is an expressive work," Judge Andrew Hurwitz wrote in the ruling. Jack Daniel's did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

On Tuesday, a nationwide day of industrial action brought record numbers of people onto the streets against the policy change. But Olivier Gantois, the head of the French Association of Petroleum Industry (UFIP), said there was little impact on consumers for now. The logo of French oil and gas company TotalEnergies is seen at TotalEnergies fuel depot in Mardyck, near Dunkerque, as France faces the sixth nationwide day of strike and protests against French government's pension reform plan, France, March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal RossignolThe four French LNG terminals and all of the gas storage facilities also remained blocked, FNME-CGT representative Fabrice Coudour said. The next nationwide day of strikes and protests is set for Saturday.

☆ In Turkey's quake-devasted city of Antakya, an antiques seller is determined to stay put
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Timour Azhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Close by was a mosaic portrait of Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, old magazines and several Turkish flags. "Even before the earthquake, these chairs were outside, I had items outside to show that we run an antique shop ... In one room, a wall collapsed on top of his collection of Turkish antique glassware. A man who has made a living from old things, Sincan said he took a historical view of the earthquake's devastation. Sincan said he was confident the city would rise again.

☆ Whales use a sound similar to Kim Kardashian's 'vocal fry' to hunt deep sea prey, say scientists
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Toothed whales can use vocal registers like humans to communicate and hunt. Like Kim Kardashian, whales have a "vocal fry" which can be used to find prey in deep sea. This gives them access to falsetto, which allows them to make their high-pitched whistles, and the chesty, vocal fry range, which is how they make echolocation. Christian B. Christensen, Aarhus UniversityAn affectation that shaped toothed whales' evolutionTeglberg and Elemans say this has very much influenced the way dolphins, orcas, and other toothed whales evolved a "Mona Lisa" fixed smile on their face. "While vocal fry may be controversial in humans and may be perceived as everything from annoying toauthoritative, it doubtlessly made toothed whales an evolutionary success story", Elemans adds.

☆ Michael Jordan’s Championship Air Jordans, Sneakerdom’s Most Elite Collection, Head to Sotheby’s Sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Jacob Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Sotheby’s auction house will unveil on Tuesday in Dubai what many sneaker collectors consider to be the Holy Grail: the “Dynasty Collection,” or six Nike Air Jordan sneakers that Michael Jordan, His Airness himself, wore during the six NBA championship games the Chicago Bulls won in the 1990s. The price for the collection, on offer in a private sale? Sotheby’s won’t disclose it. But to sneaker collectors, it’s close to priceless: These shoes are like the Mona Lisa, the David and a few of Monet’s Water Lilies rolled into one. Memorabilia experts place their value well into the millions, which would make the collection the most expensive set of shoes ever sold.

☆ 6 sneakers Michael Jordan wore during game-clinching NBA Finals games are about to go on sale — and the price could set a record
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sotheby's this week will put up for sale a collection of six Air Jordan sneakers. Each of the six sneakers was worn by Michael Jordan during an NBA Finals game. Auction house Sotheby's on Tuesday will unveil a collection of six Air Jordan sneakers in Dubai. For perspective, a jersey Jordan wore during the 1998 NBA Finals sold last year for $10.1 million. "This set represents the most valuable and significant collection of Air Jordan sneakers ever brought to market," Sotheby's said, in a listing.

☆ The Biggest Debates and Opinions in 2022 - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +30 min

Opinion The 22 Debates That Made Us Rage, Roll Our Eyes, and Change Our Minds in 2022Debating is what we do here at Times Opinion. To many, she was an icon: She ruled for 70 years, presided over the transition from empire to commonwealth and served as a living link to the generation that won World War II. (Though Ben Bernanke, a former Fed chairman himself, wrote in The Times that that wasn’t going to happen.) The United States and its European allies poured weapons and aid into Ukraine, but how was this going to end? As 2022 draws to a close, the fighting continues and peace talks look as distant as ever — which probably means that the debates will continue.

☆ Fact Check-No evidence of human remains dubbed ‘Mona Lisa’ found on the moon
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Human remains have never been found on the moon, NASA’s chief historian told Reuters, but users online are sharing a video that is allegedly proof a sarcophagus named Mona Lisa was discovered during a moon mission. The same Mona Lisa figure appears in the background of a book by French author Thierry Speth titled, “Apollo 20, the Unknown Mission” (here). He added that there is “no evidence to substantiate” the claim that a figure named Mona Lisa was found on the moon. He also shared filmstrips of the Mona Lisa to that group that match the footage in the viral video (here). In one post (here), Speth shared a link to an interview he did about Apollo 20 (here).

☆ Eleven more women accuse dead Florida doctor of criminal and suspicious activity; two sue his business
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

He bonded out of jail on Nov. 23, according to court records. Another woman who one of the police reports show accused Salata of committing a sex crime is also suing the business, according to court documents. A spokesperson for the Naples Police Department did not respond to a question about why that incident was classified as a suspicious incident. Another trio of police reports were filed Nov. 30. The Naples Police Department's investigation into Salata is ongoing, according to public information officer Lieutenant Bryan McGinn.

☆ In ‘Glass Onion,’ an Art Collection That Says ‘Rich Jerk’
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Esther Zuckerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

What art would a billionaire tech bro with a penchant for showing off put in his private Greek-isle palace? According to the “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” he’d have two Basquiats, a Mark Rothko, a David Hockney, some Matisses, a Degas, a Twombly. Oh, and the Mona Lisa.

☆ ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ Review: Daniel Craig Solves a Puzzle on a Greek Isle
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Kyle Smith | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

Still, the nattily attired Blanc is not only a detective dandy, he’s a dandy detective, and “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” is breezy holiday entertainment. All of them accept the offer to be guests at the lavish Greek island property of a jovial billionaire, Miles Bron ( Edward Norton ). We learn that he used to hang out with all of them at a tavern called the Glass Onion before he launched the tech business that made his fortune. Now he’s doing well enough to have built himself an enormous mansion topped by a palatial structure shaped like a glass onion. He boasts to his old friends that, unknown to his insurers, he has installed an override button that removes the protective glass housing around the masterpiece.

☆ Climate protesters are chucking food at priceless paintings. A social movements expert says these tactics only convince people who already think climate change is serious.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A string of climate protests this year involved throwing food at famous pieces of art. But disruptive tactics won't sway those who aren't already concerned about climate change, a sociologist told Insider. "What I've found is that these tactics are likely to be viewed as positive by people who already believe that climate change is a serious social problem," Dylan Bugden, a sociologist at Washington State University who studies global climate change protests, told Insider. In Bugden's research, he's found disruptive and confrontational tactics aren't effective on people who are not already concerned about climate change. Tomato soup on van Gogh's 'Sunflowers'The van Gogh painting was unharmed due to protective glass, in October.

☆ IBM Unveils New Chip in Push to Realize Quantum Computing’s Promise
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Isabelle Bousquette | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Quantum computers use quantum bits, or qubits, which represent and store information in a quantum state that is a complex mix of zero and one. Jerry Chow, IBM fellow and director of infrastructure for IBM Quantum, at the Watson Research Center. Since 2016, IBM has been putting their quantum computers on the cloud to enable companies, universities and individuals to experiment with the technology. Jerry Chow, IBM fellow and director of infrastructure for IBM Quantum, said the companies would be able to start using the Osprey chip in the first quarter of next year. Boeing Co. said it is using IBM’s quantum computers via the cloud to experiment with modeling chemical reactions related to corrosion on its aircraft.

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