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☆ How to Navigate London’s Wondrous (and Very Big) V&A Museum
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Andrew Ferren | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Even for someone who loves getting lost in museums — especially “everything museums” like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York — London’s Victoria and Albert Museum might have been my Waterloo. The V&A typically draws around 3 million annual visitors, but even on the busiest days, the museum has the space and setup to largely avoid the sense of competing with the crowds. Since visiting the permanent collection is free (some exhibitions cost up to 20 pounds, or about $25), once you’re in the door you can just start wandering. Step right for medieval mosaics and Renaissance tapestries or go deep for 1940s Paris fashion, Baroque sculpture and, beyond that, Buddhist art. It’s easy to spend an entire day in the V&A.

Organizations: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Albert Museum Locations: New York, Victoria, Waterloo, Paris

☆ Opinion: Student protests are what created the university as we know it
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Opinion David M. Perry | Matthew Gabriele | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Editor’s Note: David M. Perry is a journalist, historian and senior academic adviser in the history department of the University of Minnesota. CNN —In recent days, protests by college students against Israel’s actions in the ongoing war in Gaza have popped up across the country. Concerned faculty at the University of Texas-Austin called a strike to protest police actions against peaceful protestors. But then, in the year 1200 CE, a group of students in Paris got swindled by a shopkeeper. They are a reminder that institutions of higher learning are a union between teachers and students dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge.

Persons: David M, Perry, Matthew Gabriele, “, ”, Noëlle McAfee, Caroline Fohlin, Elijah Nouvelage, King Philip II Augustus of France, Paris didn’t, doesn’t, Ibn Rushd Organizations: University of Minnesota, of Religion, Virginia Tech, CNN, University of Texas, CUNY, Emory University, Notre Dame, universitas, Twitter Locations: Europe, Gaza, Emory, Austin, Paris, ”

☆ Sex and marriage patterns in an ancient empire revealed by DNA
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

With opulent graves but no written records, the empire and its people have remained largely in the shadows of history until recently. But a landmark April 2022 study involving ancient DNA taken from the graves of the Avar elite shed light on the empire’s far-flung origins. A tiny sample is drilled from a bone at the ancient DNA laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. In the case of men, researchers found two partners in 10 cases, three partners in four cases and four partners in one case. “Polygamy (having multiple marriage partners), serial monogamous marriages and extramarital relations are all possible explanations,” she said.

Persons: ”, Zsófia Rácz, Rácz, aren’t, Guido Alberto Gnecchi, Max Planck, Eötvös Loránd University Múzeum Lara Cassidy, “, polygyny, Ruscone, Cassidy, Bryan Miller, wasn’t Organizations: CNN, of Archaeological Sciences, Eötvös Loránd, Múzeum, University’s, Archaeological Sciences, Max, Max Planck Institute, Eötvös Loránd University, Trinity College Dublin, Turks, Central, University of Michigan Locations: Central, Eastern Europe, Hungary, Rákóczifalva, Budapest, Leipzig, Germany, Europe, Mongolia, Caucasus, what’s, Constantinople, Byzantine, Eurasia

☆ Travel news: ‘World’s largest wildlife crossing’ being built in Los Angeles
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Maureen O'Hare | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —In travel news this week: the world’s best and busiest airports, the European capital banning new hotels, the Hawaiian attraction being removed because of bad tourist behavior, plus the real-life animal crossing being built over a California freeway. Snakes will, however, be very welcome on “the world’s largest wildlife crossing,” under construction over the major 101 Freeway in Los Angeles. The Wallis Annenberg overpass will span 10 lanes and provide safe passage for mountain lions, coyotes, bobcats, toads and even ants. World’s best and busiest airportsThe world’s busiest airports were revealed in an annual ranking released Monday, with Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International holding strong in the No. US National Park Week starts April 20, kicking off with a free entry day on Saturday to all NPS sites.

Persons: Wallis, It’s, Alyssa Kopp, Mary Gomes Kopp, Doha’s, Florence’s, it’s, America’s Organizations: CNN, Aegean Airlines, Atlanta’s Hartsfield, Jackson International, UAE, Qatar, Doha’s Hamad international Airport Locations: California, Tokyo, Osaka, Los Angeles, Crete, Europe, Dubai, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Canary, Spanish, Africa, Italy, Ponte, Lake Mead, Hawaii

☆ Bitcoin halving is likely this week — here's what you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +27 min

And that's, that's the whole idea of it. Tom ChittySo if I go and buy bitcoin, the bitcoin I buy is fresh bitcoin that's been mined, not someone who's selling bitcoin is that right? Arjun KharpalThe likelihood is if you buy bitcoin, if we go on an exchange and buy bitcoin, we're selling bitcoin that's in existence already. And so what they say is, well, with the halving, you know, bitcoin will not be devalued. That's that's really what so many of the enthusiasts and proponents love about it.

Persons: Bitcoin, Tom Chitty, Arjun, we'll, Ethereum, Arjun Kharpal Paris, Kharpal, we've, Arjun Kharpal, Tom Chitty 13,777B, that's, what's, they're, bitcoin, there's, That's, It's, you've, Richard Tang, Richard Teng, I'm, he's, Arjun Kharpal That's, Tom, it's, Tom Chitty That's, I've, Arjun Kharpal It's, they've, Binance, Arjun Kharpal Binance, Changpeng Zhao, cryptocurrency, Jan van Eck, Jean, Marie Mognetti, van Eck, Jan Van Eck, Cathy, Gary Gensler, let's, Tom Chitty Let's, Tom Chitty Oh, There's, Tom Chitty Memecoins, Arjun Kharpal They're, we'd, David Hunt, David, Tom Chitty Poor David, Paris, Tom Chitty We'll Organizations: CNBC, Eurostar, U.S ., Paris, Department of Justice, U.S, CZ, DOJ, SEC, Mr, Gamestop Locations: beyondthevalley@cnbc.com, Paris, CNBC.com, bitcoin, U.S, Abu Dhabi, Binance, Chicago, Pennsylvania, Elmira , New York, NYC , New York City, Syracuse, Elmira, it's

☆ The US was getting too expensive. So this artist relocated to France for a slower-paced life
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Silvia Marchetti | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Ditching the US and relocating close to the French Pyrenees wasn’t part of Taylor Barnes’ life plan. ‘Visually inspiring’US artist Taylor Barnes, from Los Angeles, relocated to the medieval village of Saissac close to the French Pyrenees in 2021. Taylor Barnes“I considered, among many things, where I would like to live out the last quarter of my life,” Barnes tells CNN. Cozy hideawayIn 2019, Barnes bought an abandoned crawfish restaurant and converted it into a residency for artists. Since moving to Saissac, Barnes says she has happily embraced a slower-paced lifestyle.

Persons: Taylor Barnes, Barnes, Taylor Barnes “, ” Barnes, “, ”, she’d, Cozy hideaway, Dennis Miranda Zamorano, Sonya, Berger Blanc, apéros, She’s, it’s, Carte, Barnes isn’t Organizations: CNN, Berger Blanc Suisse, Barnes Locations: Los Angeles, Saissac, Aude, France, Montagne, French, California, Spain, Saissac ., England, Ireland, Netherlands, America

☆ Florence’s famed Ponte Vecchio to be restored to former glory with two-year makeover
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Barbie Latza Nadeau | Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —In the seven centuries since the Ponte Vecchio was first built in Florence, Italy, the bridge has watched the city changing around it, surviving floods, fires and the Nazi invasion in World War II. Now, the famed bridge itself is getting a two-year makeover, at the cost of about €2 million, to restore it to its former glory, the city of Florence and the Marchesi Antinorini winemakers announced on Wednesday. “This is a historic project because Ponte Vecchio has never had a restoration intervention of this technical complexity,” Florence’s mayor Dario Nardella told reporters on Thursday. Such is the Ponte Vecchio’s significance that it was the only bridge across the Arno River spared by the retreating German army towards the end of World War II. Previous replacement joints will be upgraded, the stone itself will be strengthened and the footpath’s stone will be restored too.

Persons: Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, ”, Dario Nardella, “, Marchesi Antinori, Piero Antinori, Tod’s Organizations: CNN, Diesel Locations: Florence, Italy, Nazi, Venice

☆ I'm a student at Yale, and we party more than you'd think. Here's what parties at the Ivy League are like.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Miles Kirkpatrick | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewLike most Yale students, I'm swamped. Despite the Ivy League's reputation as one big ivory tower, Yale students still love to throw a good party. Yale isn't a huge party school, but we still have partiesWhen choosing a school, the party scene wasn't very high on my priority list. This wasn't a medieval cloister; it was just what you'd expect from any college despite the Ivy League status. Related storyEven closer to campus is Toad's Place, a club that hosts Yale-only Wednesday night parties and is free on Saturdays with a Yale ID.

Persons: —, I've, aren't, that's Organizations: Service, Yale, Business, Ivy League, Sigma Chi, Chi Psi, Saybrook College, Saybrook

☆ Blizzard, NetEase deal: ‘World of Warcraft’ and other hit games return to China as dispute ends
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Diksha Madhok | Wayne Chang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —China’s gaming giant NetEase will bring back the iconic “World of Warcraft” and other popular video games by Microsoft’s Blizzard Entertainment to the country, the companies said in a joint statement Wednesday. California-based Blizzard and Hangzhou-based NetEase had ceased their 15-year relationship in 2023 after an acrimonious fallout, leaving millions of fans in China heartbroken. “After a year of negotiations, Blizzard and NetEase are pleased to align on a path forward to once again serve players in mainland China,” the companies said in a post on NetEase Games’ official Weibo account. The new deal will see the return of “World of Warcraft” and “Hearthstone” games to China, as well as other titles in the Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo and StarCraft universes, according to the statement. Foreign publishers must work with local partners to offer video games in China.

Persons: NetEase, “, ”, we’ve, William Ding, ’, Phil Spencer Organizations: CNN, Microsoft’s Blizzard Entertainment, Blizzard, Games, Weibo, Microsoft Gaming, Xbox, Microsoft, Activision, Big Locations: China, California, Hangzhou, Beijing, Big Tech

☆ From One Leaning Tower to Another, Tips to Stop the Tilt
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Leaning for centuries at a worrisome tilt, the Garisenda Tower in Bologna has endured insults and trauma. Dickens called it “sufficiently unsightly,” if extraordinary, while Goethe said it was “a spectacle that disgusts.” And then there were the earthquakes, the Allied bombing raids of the city during World War II and urbanization that doomed other towers. The Garisenda has stood through it all, a beloved symbol of this medieval city, a reminder of a past when important families or communities would erect towers to remind others of their status, and for defense. But now, the Garisenda is in trouble. After sensors attached to the monument, which leans at a 3.6 degree angle, picked up “anomalous movements” last year, alarmed experts issued what one called an “engineering code red.”In October, the Garisenda was cordoned off, with bright red protective barriers set up along part of its perimeter to limit the damage should the tower tumble, and a group of experts got to work on plans to safeguard it for the future, while watching for signs of imminent trouble.

Persons: Dickens, Goethe Organizations: Allied Locations: Bologna

☆ Forget Recession, New York City Is Entering a Wild New Gilded Age
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

In a country roiled by recession worries, those at the top of New York City — for better or worse — couldn't give a single gilded shit. For New York City, a brush with death called for a time of decadence. "New York City's restaurants and bars are experiencing an uneven pandemic recovery nearly four years after COVID-19 struck our city," Andrew Rigie, the executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, said. AdvertisementIf a pandemic can't defeat New York City, a little inflation certainly isn't going to do it. And what that looks like is the affluent in New York City eating caviar, and poorer Americans eating cereal.

Persons: Steve Jobs, it's, Jennifer Saesue, Saesue, Fish Cheeks, Z, bistros, James Murphy, us Carbone, Casas — Cruz, Cipriani, Jean, Georges Vongerichten, Bongo, Andrew Rigie, Corey Mintz, we're, WK Kellogg, Gary Pilnick, Gary Pilnick's Organizations: Grand Prospect Hall, New, New York City, Apple, Mastercard, Chefs, Casas, Soho House, Bangkok Supper, Village, IBA, Hospitality Alliance, Nationwide, National Restaurant Association, Nasdaq, The University of Michigan Consumer, UBS, New York Locations: New York City, New York, Rome, Xinjiang, New, Manhattan, Coqodaq, Las Vegas, York, Bangkok, Hell, TouchBistro, Brooklyn, The Bronx

A pile of flowers blanketed a small memorial in the center of the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius after the death of the Russian opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny last month. The impromptu tribute at the memorial, an unassuming pyramid commemorating victims of Soviet repression, has highlighted Vilnius’s growing status as the center of Russian political opposition. In Vilnius, exiled Russian journalists have set up studios to broadcast news to millions of compatriots back home on YouTube. Russian activists have rented offices to catalog the Kremlin’s human rights abuses, and exiled Russian musicians have recorded new albums for the audience back home. The arrival of the Russian dissidents in Vilnius has added to a larger wave of Russian-speaking refugees and migrants from Belarus and Ukraine over the past four years.

Persons: Aleksei A, “ Putin, ”, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Lithuanian, YouTube Locations: Lithuanian, Vilnius, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Belarus

☆ A New Chapter for Irish Historians’ ‘Saddest Book’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Ed O Loughlin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the first pitched battle of the civil war that shaped a newly independent Ireland, seven centuries of history burned. On June 30, 1922, forces for and against an accommodation with Britain, Ireland’s former colonial ruler, had been fighting for three days around Dublin’s main court complex. The national Public Record Office was part of the complex, and that day it was caught in a colossal explosion. “This happened just after the First World War, when all over Europe new states like Ireland were emerging from old empires. They were all trying to recover and celebrate their own histories and cultures, and now Ireland had just lost the heart of its own.”

Persons: ”, Peter Crooks Organizations: Trinity College Dublin Locations: Ireland, Britain, Dublin’s, “, Europe

☆ Secrets of a Danish Castle
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Finn-Olaf Jones | Charlotte De La Fuente | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

My first conscious memory occurred on the lower landing of a staircase that spiraled up four floors of the 14th-century, moat-encircled Gjorslev castle in Denmark. And now, five decades later, I’m standing on the same spot, this time with a statuesque Danish woman in stylish Japanese casual wear. “This is roasted and steamed tea from Korea,” Mette Marie Kjaer tells me, offering a pleasant cup of miso-tinged brew. Ms. Kjaer runs her Asian tea company, Sing Tehus, from a rented wing of the castle, offering tea ceremonies and yoga retreats while maintaining Gjorslev’s status as the oldest continuously inhabited building in Scandinavia. After half a century of benign neglect following my grandfather’s departure, the castle is hosting not just yoga and tea events, but arts festivals, medieval fairs and even a summer musical theater in its courtyard.

Persons: Edward Tesdorpf, ” Mette Marie Kjaer, Kjaer, Sing Locations: Gjorslev, Denmark, Danish, Korea, Scandinavia

☆ A 500-Year Old Chapel, 438 Solar Panels and an Architectural Squabble
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Clambering across the sloped roof of King’s College Chapel with the agility of an undergraduate, Toby Lucas, 56, pointed to where his craftsmen had welded solar panels to an expanse of newly installed lead. It was the scariest part of the project, he said, because an errant spark could have ignited the 500-year-old timbers underneath, which hold up the roof of this English Gothic masterpiece. “It’s an iconic landmark in Cambridge, and it’s part and parcel of where I live,” said Mr. Lucas, whose firm, Barnes Construction, did the restoration. “You don’t want to be the person who is responsible for burning part of it down.”The chapel came through the project unscorched and now stands at the heart of Cambridge University, no longer just a glorious relic of the late-medieval period but also a cutting-edge symbol of the green-energy future. Its 438 photovoltaic panels, along with solar panels on the roofs of two nearby buildings, will supply a shade over five percent of the college’s electricity.

Persons: Toby Lucas, ”, Lucas Organizations: Barnes, Cambridge University Locations: Cambridge

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried faces sentencing this week. Here’s what to expect
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Sentencing is a much more fluid process, with both sides allowed to make sweeping arguments to try to make their case to the judge. But instead, his life in recent years has been one of unmatched greed and hubris; of ambition and rationalization; and courting risk and gambling repeatedly with other people’s money,” prosecutors wrote in a memo. In a letter to the court, Marc Mukasey, the lawyer Bankman-Fried retained for sentencing, called the government’s memo “disturbing” and accused the government of trying to “break” Bankman-Fried. His behavior may come back to haunt Bankman-Fried in sentencing, Fischer said. But legal experts say that even if 100% of FTX customers get their money back, it’s not necessarily going to sway the judge to go easy on Bankman-Fried.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Judge Lewis Kaplan, ”, Kaplan, Howard Fischer, Moses Singer, Prosecutors, Fried, Marc Mukasey, Bankman, ” Mukasey, “, Sam, ’, Caroline Ellison, Fischer, ” Ellison, Bernie Madoff, it’s, ’ ”, John Ray, ” Ray Organizations: New, New York CNN, Southern, of, Prosecutors, Bankman, MIT, Detention, ” Prosecutors, Alameda Research Locations: New York, Manhattan, of New York, Palo Alto , California, Brooklyn, Bankman, FTX, Alameda

☆ An Italian town wants to sell its abandoned homes for $1 but the owners won't let it
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

However, Patrica's mayor said people in the town aren't prepared to sell their abandoned homes. AdvertisementThe mayor of a quaint medieval Italian town wants to replicate the one-euro home initiative, inspired by the success stories of places like Mussomeli in Sicily. But according to CNN Travel, homeowners in Patrica, a town of about 3,000 people in central Italy, aren't prepared to sell their abandoned properties. The news outlet said that Lucio Fiordaliso, the mayor of Patrica, has struggled to transform the town using the offer of $1 homes, which Business Insider has covered extensively. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: CNN he's, Mussomeli, Patrica's, aren't, —, Lucio Fiordaliso Organizations: CNN, Service, CNN Travel, Business Locations: Patrica, Italy, Mussomeli, Sicily

☆ This Italian town is struggling to sell off its empty homes for one euro. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Silvia Marchetti | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Abandoned homesItalian village Patrica, located south of Rome, is struggling to offload its abandoned homes. Public callMany of the town's local families left in search of a brighter future elsewhere, leaving their homes empty for decades. Some of the houses are simply too neglected to sell, even if the owners were willing to agree to it. But the town’s ready-to-occupy homes, with two-bedroom properties starting at 20,000 euros ($21,832,) proved to be more appealing. “There is interest, but then when many (foreigners) actually see the bad shape of the old homes they’d prefer to opt for turn-key apartments that are already restyled or in need of just minor fixes,” says Grossi.

Persons: CNN —, Lucio Fiordaliso, who’ve, “, Fiordaliso, ”, Patrica Fiordaliso, it’s, Patrica, Gianni Valleco, ’, Valleco, Alessandra Pagliarosi, Patricia, Pagliarosi, Ilario Grossi, Fiordaliso hasn’t Organizations: CNN, ”, Local Locations: Mussomeli, Sicily, Zungoli, Campania, Rome, Italy, Patrica, Canada, Argentina, Europe, Ceccano

☆ Counting sheep: Who came up with this old sleep tip, and does it work?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Does counting sheep work? So does counting sheep really help you fall asleep? “Something as mundane as counting sheep usually does not do the trick,” she said. Remember what happened, how you felt and let yourself bask in those good feelings to encourage sleep, Harvey said. Doing so can get it out of your head before your head hits the pillow, allowing sleep to come without counting sheep.

Persons: CNN —, —, I’ve, Messer Azzolino, …, Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, Quixote, Disciplina, Don Quixote ” —, Panza, you’ll, Allison Harvey, ”, Harvey, “, ” Harvey, didn’t, savoring Organizations: CNN, Hulton, Research, University of California, Oxford University Locations: ”, Berkeley

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers say prosecutors are treating their client like a 'depraved super-villain' with 'dark and megalomaniacal motives'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-20 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers slammed the 40 to 50-year prison sentence prosecutors recommended. Bankman-Fried's lawyers accused prosecutors of casting him as a "depraved super-villain." AdvertisementLawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried are pushing back against the 40 to 50-year prison sentence prosecutors have recommended for their client. "It adopts a medieval view of punishment to reach what amounts to a death-in-prison sentencing recommendation," Bankman-Fried's lawyers wrote. Related storiesThis isn't the first time Bankman-Fried's lawyers have pleaded for leniency.

Persons: Sam Bankman, —, Lewis Kaplan, Fried, Marc Mukasey, Mukasey, they've, Barbara Fried, Kaplan Organizations: Service, Bankman Locations: Delaware

☆ Book Tok drives demand for immersive fantasy events among younger users
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Eva Rothenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Sometimes events are simply fantasy themed, without reference to specific books or fantasy worlds. Dreams shattered.”She attributes the growing demand for fantasy events to the commercial success of fantasy romance books, especially among Millennial women. The past year has also seen a spike in the popularity of “romantasy,” or romance fantasy books. “You know, work dredges on for a lot of people,” said Brittany Proctor, a Michigan-based entrepreneur who’s been hosting fantasy balls in the Midwest since 2022. In fact, Proctor is considering scaling back some of her events due to the sheer number of these fantasy balls that have been cropping up in recent years.

Persons: San Diego Comic Con, Con, Harry Potter, ”, Katherine Stinson, Eric Atticus, Stinson, Dana John, “, she’s, Alexander Chernev, Matt Harris, Sarah J, Maas, Patti McConville, Juliette Sureau, Sureau, Sophie Valfroy, “ romantasy ”, “ They’re, ” Juliette Sureau, Shaun Wada, Ariana Smoak Holly Simone, Tok, Simone, Shawn Strider, ” Stinson, Brittany Proctor, who’s, ” Maja Djikic, you’re, ” Djikic, Proctor, “ I’ve, I’m Organizations: New, New York CNN, Social, Allied, Research, Disney, Universal, San Diego Comic, TikTok, CNN, Stinson, Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, Barnes, Noble Booksellers, Times, Google, “, University of Toronto Locations: New York, Canada, Houston, Houston , Texas, Texas, New York City, USA, TikTok, Columbia , South Carolina, London, Los Angeles, Michigan, ”, Bahamas

☆ A French Castle Filled With a Collector’s Treasures
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Aimee Farrell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the French gallerist Yves Gastou bought the Ermitage de Douce-amie — or refuge of a sweet friend — a follylike crenelated castle on the outskirts of Biarritz in southwest France, in 1990, it had the air of a place frozen in time. Hidden within a forest of bamboo and pine, bay and oak trees, the 5,380-square-foot house was built in 1900 as a retirement home for a member of the imperial court of Napoleon III, or so Gastou believed. The house had changed hands only a few times since: The woman from whom he purchased it was among the last ladies in Biarritz to travel by horse and cart. The hermitage was his summer hideaway, a place for monthslong vacations with family and friends. And if his Paris home was an expression of his appetite for modernity — it epitomized his eclectic tastes, with Cubist midcentury furniture by the French sculptor Philippe Hiquily and acrylic 1980s-era pieces by the Japanese designer Shiro Kuramata — the castle offered a retreat into the past.

Persons: Yves Gastou, Douce, amie —, —, Napoleon III, Gastou, Philippe Hiquily, Shiro Kuramata Locations: Biarritz, France, Carcassonne, Limoux, Paris, French

☆ '3 Body Problem' is not 'Game of Thrones' with aliens — but it's just getting started
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Palmer Haasch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Similarly, it's hard to tell how "3 Body Problem" will pan out even from its first season, which by the end still feels like it's only barely gotten started. Netflix"3 Body Problem" is based on Chinese author Liu Cixin's "Remembrance of Earth's Past" trilogy. The modern-day storyline is less compelling — at least so farJin Cheng (Jess Hong) and Jack Rooney (John Bradley) in "3 Body Problem." "3 Body Problem" has a "Contact"-like bent, in that it attempts to use science and extraterrestrial life to interrogate the idea of God itself. But "3 Body Problem" is worth your time, if at least to see what some of television's greatest hitmakers have taken on next.

Persons: David Benioff, Weiss, Liu Cixin's, Alexander Woo, —, Benioff, Carl Sagan fan's, Ye Wenjie, Ye Zhetai, he's, she's, Wenjie, Rosalind Chao, Tseng, Derek Tsang, Jin Cheng, Jess Hong, Jack Rooney, John Bradley, Ed Miller, alums, Da Shi, Benedict Wong, Thomas Wade, Liam Cunningham, Ye, Woo, It's, Ye Wenjie's Organizations: Netflix, Service, HBO, Amazon's, Tsinghua University Locations: China, Mongolia, London, Oxford

☆ Epic Games says Apple retaliated over lawsuits by banning company's developer account
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Apple has rejected Epic Games' application for a developer account it would use to launch an app store for iPhones in Europe, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said Wednesday. The relationship between Apple and Epic Games has been confrontational since Epic sued Apple in 2020 over whether Fortnite could evade Apple's App Store rules and bypass its 30% cut of game sales. The spat highlights global regulatory threats to Apple's App Store sales, a profitable division for Apple reported under its services business. Sweeney said Wednesday that Epic planned to introduce a new app store in Europe to distribute Fortnite and other games. Don't miss these stories from CNBC PRO:WATCH: Epic Games lawsuit

Persons: Apple, Tim Sweeney, Sweeney, Phil Schiller, Schiller Organizations: Games, Apple, Apple App, Epic Games, Digital Markets, Spotify, Epic, Sweden, CNBC Locations: iPhones, Europe, California, Sweden

☆ Off the Board Game, Onto the Digital Canvas
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Travis Diehl | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The capricious churn of internet-charged culture is producing more main characters, apocrypha and relics than we can handle. Simon Denny, an artist working in Berlin, creates sculptures, installations, videos and prints inspired by the aesthetics of tech companies. In two concurrent shows in Manhattan he has seized on omens like the blade to explore the sociopolitical fallout of the technology industry’s taste for medieval lore. In Denny’s telling, dreams of wizards and blacksmiths, dark forests and dank castles shape the newest digital realms. The sculpture is plugged into a power strip that Denny sourced from a liquidation sale at Twitter during its Musk-mandated transition to X.

Persons: Grimes —, Elon Musk —, Simon Denny, ”, Denny Organizations: Twitter Locations: Canadian, Berlin, Manhattan, New York, Grimes

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