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☆ An Epic Pilgrimage Across Three Great Religions
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Aatish Taseer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +111 min

Before there was tourism, there was pilgrimage: a trip of endurance, hardship and ecstasy in celebration of one’s faith. On an epic pilgrimage of his own, one writer ventures into the heart of three great religions in Bolivia, Mongolia and Iraq. The Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala the day after Ashura. “They’re poor, but they come thousands of kilometers for the love of Imam Hussein.” PILGRIMAGE WAS A great equalizer. “Labaik ya Hussein,” came the solemn chorus of surrounding voices.

Persons: Eduardo Quintela Gonzáles, ” Quintela, JAN, “, ”, Quintela, Victor, Edith Turner, Chaucer, ferne, sondry londes, Vaishno Devi, Lyra Skinner, Lyra, Victoria Preston’s, —, Prophet Muhammad, Virgin Mary, Bath, Naipaul, Augustus, Ryan, garret, Virgin, Monica Machicao, Nicholas Casey, ” Monica, Casey, Evo Morales, sloughing, Columbus, Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, Monica, glitzy cholets, Peru —, Viracocha, it’s, Pablo Quisbert, Leandro Chitarroni, Eichmann, Father Chitarroni, Father Chitarroni’s, Conquistadores ”, Fernando Cervantes, Bernabé Cobo, Quisbert, Edgar Quispe, Tatiana Huayhua, Francisco Tito Yupanqui, Mary, Yupanqui’s, su, Yupanqui, Chitarroni, she’s, Friar Abelino Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori’s, Irene, Juana, hajji, Waka, Aracely Alcón, Santiago, Alcón, ‘, don’t, ” Alcón, Tito Yupanqui, Uma Marka, Pachamama, haggard, Amaru Fiorilo Barrios, he’d, ” Fiorilo, Fiorilo, who’d, Valeria Alcón, Laureano Jose Quisbert, Elena Ticona Flores, Eduardo Quintela’s, Ensamble, pang, padre, consolations, Sincrético, El, Rodrigo Paz Pereira, Axel, amauta, strode, La, Aatish Taseer, Saint Helena —, Constantine I, La Paz, Orgilbaatar Tsolmon, Orgil, Genghis Khan, Edward Gibbon, ” Orgil, Araniko’s, Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan’s, Kubla Khan, Coleridge, Kublai, Stalin, sybarite, Khamar, Dalai Lama, Lama, Christopher Kaplonski, ger, I’d, banshtai tsai, Prim, Egi, Munkhdul, Gandantegchinlen, Haidav, herder, “ Um sain, boltugai, Danzanravjaa, Zanabazar’s, Erdene, Mandakhtsog Monkhbaatar, Monkhbaatar’s, Dalai Lamas, prostrated, He’d, Zuu, she’d, Santiago de, L.K, Advani, Emperor Babur, Ram, kar sevaks, Ayodhya, Narendra Modi, Munkhbaatar Batchuluun, Henry Wallace, Franklin D, Potemkin, Munkhbaatar, Gerelmaa, Giimaa, She’d, Eduardo Quintela, Aracely, Santiago’s, Joseph Brodsky’s, Muhammad’s, Hussein, William Keo, ” Khuder, pillion, Labaik, Hussein ”, O Hussein, hearkened, Prophet, Ali —, Ali, Yazid, Imam, crackling, chickpeas, Imam Ali, Imam Hussein, Saddam Hussein, Tusi, Qasim, Imam Hussein’s, Khuder, “ Will, Najaf, prestes, — I, Yasir Yaseen, Ashura, Ali Akbar, Abbas, Ali Asghar, “ We’re, Francisco Goya’s, Hussein’s, Groom, Joseph, ” Wissam, Turfi, Saddam —, Arbaeen, Saddam, “ Imam Hussein, WE, Muhammad, Barnaby Rogerson, Prophet Muhammad ”, ” Ali, Muhammad — Muhammad, formlessness, Muqtada al, Abrams, chiding, Abu Musab Al, Zarqawi, Al Qaeda, William, “ They’re, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, flagellants, ruddy, stylishly, Hussein — shahid —, Farman Ahsan, Syed Salman Raza —, Saddam’s, ” Raza, William “, Ali Zayn al, Abidin, Labaik ya Hussein, thrall —, Lloyd, Susanne Rudolph — Organizations: CITY LA, LA, LA PAZ, Virgin, Crusaders, Dolorosa, Sun, The New York Times, Bolivian, Spain, La, Cordillera, Universidad Mayor de, Catholic, Good, La Paz, Dominican, Pakistan, Caesars, Nissan, Coke, Communists, Communism, ardor, Communist, Hyundai, flails, sacra, Apache, Mahdi Army, Al, ISIS, Karachi —, Princeton Locations: Bolivia, Mongolia, Iraq, Aatish Taseer Bolivia Mongolia Iraq, CITY LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, NAJAF, IRAQ, ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA, LA PAZ, La Paz, Bolivian, Copacabana, Lake Titicaca, New York, Christian, British, sondry, India, Delhi, Varanasi, Europe, American, Mecca, Arabia, Long, Vino Tinto, Chile, Peru, Monica, Plurinational State, Bolivia —, Americas, Spain, Columbian, Aztec Mexico, Inca Peru, Calvary Hill, Virgen del Cerro, South America, Puerto Rico, Huatajata, ”, Argentine, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Mexican, revelry, Spanish, “, morena, La, “ India, multilayered, Potosí, Argentina, Warisata, Scotch, Santiago de Compostela, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Nations, El Alto, Buenos Aires, Bombay, Tibet, Bolivia’s, Yamuna Rivers, United States, Buddhist Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolian, Istanbul, Asia, Islam, China, Beijing, Dadu, Erdene Zuu, Soviet, Gobi, Los Angeles, gers, Qing China, Karnataka, Töv Province, Karakorum, Khamar, Erdene, Ukraine, Korea, Golden, Bayankhongor, Lhasa, Dalai, Inner Mongolia, Mongol, Nalaikh, Santiago, Santiago de Compostela and Canterbury, Bulgan Province, Somnath, Gujarat, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, ger, East German, Uvs Province, Pakistani, Indian, Tennessee, Najaf, Baghdad, Khuder, —, abayas, KARBALA, Kufa, Medina, Saudi Arabia, Karbala, Imam Ali, Bab, Kuwaiti, Bohras, South Asia, Tajikistan, Zaydis, Yemen, Alawites, Anatolia, Syria, Iran, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Sadr, U.S, Jordanian, Al Qaeda, Mesopotamia, Al, Multan, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan’s, Islamabad, Lahore, Kuwait, Karachi, Doha, Qatar

Seven generations of its men before him had trained as Islamic scholars, known as Mawlawis. But his father, Mawlawi Mohammed Rafiq Habibi, was a conflicted man. He dressed in suits and ties and was open to debating theological questions with his son about the existence of God. On a bus ride from Kandahar to Karachi, the conductor softly sang the song. “All these distances in the world — the threads, the ropes are in God’s hand,” she told him.

Persons: Mohammed Sadiq Habibi, Kandahar “, Mawlawi Mohammed Rafiq Habibi, Bibi Hazrata, “, ”, tugged Organizations: Radio Afghanistan Locations: Afghan, Kandahar, Karachi, India, Arghandab

☆ Presidential portraits: Kehinde Wiley’s secret, decade-long project painting African leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Thomas Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Perhaps not, supposes Kehinde Wiley in his latest collection, “A Maze of Power,” which, in the artist’s own indelible style, casts plenty of light of its own. We’re now learning that before and after that commission, he had been on a secret, decade-long odyssey across the African continent, painting its current and former heads of state. This series narrows the gap further, with subjects commanding a similar power to some of Wiley’s artistic reference points. Tanguy Beurdeley/© Courtesy Kehinde Wiley and Galerie TemplonHery Rajaonarimampianina, the former president of Madagascar, sits astride a horse in one painting. Some might wrinkle their nose at seeing certain heads or former heads of state depicted in such triumphant fashion.

Persons: Kehinde Wiley, Wiley, Barack Obama, We’re, Jacques Chirac, Obama, Sarah Ligner, Black, Old, Olusegun Obasanjo, Paul Kagame, Tanguy, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, Alpha Condé, –, ”, Rajaonarimampianina –, “, “ it’s, Andy Warhol’s, Mao Organizations: CNN, Old Masters, Democratic, Wiley Locations: Africa, Zimbabwe, Rhodesia, Los Angeles, Senegal, Nigeria, New York, Paris, France, Rwanda, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Guinea, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, Democratic Republic of Congo

☆ House Speaker Mike Johnson blamed the fall of the Roman Empire on its embrace of gayness — a totally baseless claim
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

House Speaker Mike Johnson once blamed the fall of the Roman Empire on "homosexual behavior." AdvertisementAdvertisementHouse Speaker Mike Johnson, a devout Christian, once blamed the fall of the Roman Empire on "homosexual behavior." The claim that homosexual behavior brought down the Roman Empire is not supported by historical evidence. Most historians agree that same-sex sexual activity was tolerated and even accepted during the Roman Empire, although there were still some taboos. Johnson did not elaborate on why he believed homosexuality hastened the fall of Rome.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Johnson, —, Hadrian Organizations: Service, CNN, Rome, Exodus Locations: Roman, Rome, Italian

☆ What Fuels the ‘Manic Creativity’ of Joan Baez
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Kathryn Shattuck | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

2Drawing Upside DownUpside down is far more interesting to me than right side up. Things otherwise not available to my conscious mind become obvious when I turn the drawing right side up and see what it’s telling me. 3A Certain TreeI sleep in my big oak tree most nights in the summer. The tree is named Frank. I like to put Leonard Cohen on Spotify and see which of my friends and colleagues show up in Spotify’s interpretations.

Persons: Doodling, Frank, It’s, Jussi Bjorling, Joan Sutherland, Kathleen Ferrier, Glenn Gould, Maurizio Pollini, Jascha Heifetz, Lauren Duski, Sturgill Simpson, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Andrea Bocelli Organizations: Gipsy Kings, Spotify Locations: Swedish

☆ She was a Pan Am flight attendant, he was a pilot. Their inflight meeting sparked a 50-year romance
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

CNN —Flight attendant Ilona Zahn was less than impressed when she first met pilot Ian Duncan. Ilona was working the first class cabin on the Pan American Airlines flight from Rome to Tehran, traveling via Beirut and Damascus. It was, says Ilona, “a long, romantic embrace.”When their Pan Am flight returned to Rome, Ian and Ilona spent the evening walking around the city together. When their flights didn’t coincide, they’d leave letters for one another at Intercontinental Hotels frequented by Pan Am crew. Ilona DuncanWhile Ilona was enjoying her romance with Ian, she was also keen to hold onto her independence.

Persons: Ilona Zahn, Ian Duncan, Ilona, Ian, ” Ilona, “, haven’t, Ilona wasn’t, Ilona Duncan Ilona’s, ’, ‘, ”, Rome Here's Ilona, Ilona Duncan, warily, wouldn’t, he’d, –, she’d, who’d, John F, Here's Ian, He’d, They’d, Rome, ’ ”, Iona, Pan, She’d, ” Ian, Ilona weren’t, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, “ Ilona Zahn, Manhattan –, Pan Am, Duncan, Ilona Zahn Ilona, She’s, Ian’s, I’m Organizations: CNN, Pan American Airlines, CNN Travel, Boeing, Pan, Royal Tehran Hilton, John, Kennedy, Intercontinental Hotels, Pan Am, “, Playboy, Airbus, Hotel Metropole Locations: Rome, Tehran, Beirut, Damascus, Tabasco, Worcestershire, ”, Iran, Germany, London , New York, Paris, American, Trevi, New York, Sydney, Australia, London, Tokyo, Kenya, Bermuda, JFK, Pan, New Delhi, Bangkok, Hong Kong, West Hampton, Long Island, Manhattan, Long Island , New York, Las Vegas, Fiji, Samoa, France, China, Virginia, Chesapeake, “, Florida

☆ An Apparent Cyberattack Hushes the British Library
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The British Library in London is normally a place of quiet study, its reading rooms filled with authors, academics and students often surrounded by piles of books from the library’s collection of about 170 million items. The library’s Wi-Fi has also stopped working, and staff members haven’t been allowed to turn on their computers. Its gift shop is open for business, but only for anyone with cash to buy trinkets such as British Library-branded pencils. Library users, many of whom include writers with pressing deadlines, are beginning to be affected. Books are only available if they are stored at the main library location.

Persons: it’s, ”, haven’t, — Organizations: British, University of Cambridge Locations: London

☆ Netflix DVDs, Scorsese and Me
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Gabe Cohn | More About Gabe Cohn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The DVD service was particularly handy when I decided to embark on a career-spanning marathon of all Martin Scorsese’s movies. The most rented movie overall was “The Blind Side” (never saw it) and the most rented TV show “Dexter” (a video store rental for me in 2010). The “Tár” outlier speaks to one of the beautiful aspects of the Netflix DVD. (Don’t sleep on De Niro’s deliciously unhinged performance in “The King of Comedy.”) For all Netflix DVD users, though, De Niro rests at a healthy but comparatively modest fifth place. In this way, the DVD service acted more as an overstuffed old-school video store.

Persons: Martin Scorsese’s, Bertha ” —, ‘, Dexter ”, Tom Cruise, ”, “, Cate Blanchett, Paul Newman, weren’t, Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Niro’s, De Niro, Meryl Streep, Catherine, Clint Eastwood, Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, Catherine Scorsese, Marty, Mark Wahlberg Organizations: Netflix, D.C, Washington , D.C, Gran Torino ’, Hulu, Disney, Apple Locations: ’ Washington, Washington ,, Scorsese’s, The

SHANGHAI, China (AP) — American Ballet Theatre returned to China on Thursday for the first time in a decade in the latest sign that strained U.S.-China relations are beginning to improve. The tour marks a revival of cultural exchanges between China and the United States. She said cultural exchanges between the U.S. and China “are very necessary" at this time. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said Monday during an event celebrating American World War II veterans who helped China battle Japan. But the two peoples of the countries have always been together.”The ABT last performed in China in March 2013 in Beijing.

Persons: ”, Susan Jaffe, ABT, Giselle, “, Jaffe, —, Zhang Xiaoding, Zhu Xiaoyi, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, China Nicholas Burns, ” Burns, Dwight Eisenhower’s, ___ Mistreanu, Caroline Chen Organizations: Ballet Theatre, Shanghai, Theater, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Center, Performing Arts, Shanghai Grand Theatre, U.S, Economic Cooperation, U.S ., Soviet Union Locations: SHANGHAI, China, U.S, New York, United States, Shanghai, Beijing, ”, Washington, Asia, San Francisco . China, Ukraine, Japan, American, Taipei, Taiwan

☆ Dollar holds near 150 yen as c.bank policy, data deluge awaited
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Euro, Hong Kong dollar, U.S. dollar, Japanese yen, British pound and Chinese 100-yuan banknotes are seen in a picture illustration shot January 21, 2016. A PMI data deluge, inflation figures in the euro zone and U.S. nonfarm payrolls also add to the mix of the event-packed week. "I think for the FOMC and the Bank of England, they will be pretty low key with them leaving interest rates on hold. The BOJ meeting will be the most interesting one (given) heightened speculation over a policy tweak at this meeting." The yen was last 0.1% lower at 149.75 per dollar, getting a slight reprieve after having struck a one-year trough of 150.78 per dollar last week.

Persons: Jason Lee, nonfarm payrolls, Carol Kong, Israel, Chris Weston, Christian Scherrmann, Rae Wee, Muralikumar Organizations: Hong, REUTERS, Rights, Bank of, U.S . Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, New Zealand, Aussie, Fed, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, Rights SINGAPORE, Bank of Japan, Gaza's, Palestinian, U.S

☆ At Ballet Theater, a Thrilling Puck and a Moment to Take Stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Brian Seibert | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Where “The Dream,” a Ballet Theater staple in recent decades, is a reliable showcase for the company’s theatricality, George Balanchine’s “Ballet Imperial,” on the same program, is good for displaying the troupe’s classical chops across its ranks. Unlike New York City Ballet, which has called the work “Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2” since the 1970s, Ballet Theater doesn’t downplay the imperial Russian associations, using a backdrop of St. Petersburg. That’s a choice that might disturb some viewers, but Ballet Theater’s rendition also had aesthetic problems. De la Nuez goes for it, too.

Persons: George Balanchine’s, ”, That’s, Skylar Brandt, Isabella Boylston, James Whiteside, Alonzo King’s, Alexei Ratmansky’s “, Jason Moran, Robert Rosenwasser, Jim French, Brandt, Calvin Royal III, King, Michael de la, De la Nuez Organizations: Ballet, New York City Ballet, Dnipro ” Locations: St . Petersburg

☆ Dollar holds near 150 yen as central bank policy, data deluge awaited
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A Chinese bank employee counts 100-yuan notes and U.S. dollar bills at a bank counter in Nantong in China's eastern Jiangsu province on August 6, 2019. The dollar inched broadly higher in cautious trade on Monday and held near 150 yen as traders looked to a policy decision by the Bank of Japan later in the week, alongside other major central bank meetings and a slew of economic data releases globally. A PMI data deluge, inflation figures in the euro zone and U.S. nonfarm payrolls also add to the mix of the event-packed week. "I think for the FOMC and the Bank of England, they will be pretty low key with them leaving interest rates on hold. The yen was last 0.1% lower at 149.75 per dollar, getting a slight reprieve after having struck a one-year trough of 150.78 per dollar last week.

Persons: nonfarm payrolls, Carol Kong, Israel, Chris Weston, Christian Scherrmann Organizations: Bank of, U.S . Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, New Zealand, Aussie, Fed Locations: Nantong, China's, Jiangsu, Bank of Japan, Gaza's, Palestinian, U.S

☆ The World Is Becoming More African
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Declan Walsh | Hannah Reyes Morales | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +37 min

Old World Young Africa As the world grays, Africa blooms with youth. The World Is Becoming More African Part one of a series on how the youth boom is changing the continent, and beyond. But while a handful of African countries are poised to ride the demographic wave, others risk being swamped by it. In the West, racists and right-wing nationalists stoke fears of African population growth to justify hatred, or even violence. The age gap between geriatric leaders and restless youth is “a major source of tension” in many African countries, said Simon Mulongo, a former African Union diplomat from Uganda.

Persons: Lauren Leatherby, ”, Jean, Patrick Niambé, Hilton, Edward Paice, “, Keziah Keya, Keya, Paul R, Ehrlich, stoke, Lauren Leatherby “, Carlos Lopes, Burna, Weeks, “ It’s, Laolu Senbanjo, Tems, Toulaye Sy, Pritzker, Abdulrazak Gurnah, “ Africa’s, ” Long, exotica, Mulendema, Hannah O’Leary, “ We’re, Sipho Dlamini, Dlamini, Moawad, Optimists, Mo Ibrahim, Aubrey Hruby, birthrates, India’s, China’s, Akinwumi Adesina, States —, William Ruto, Paul Biya of, Biya, Wole Soyinka, Paul Kagame of, Nourdine, Nigeriens, Awade, Ali Bongo Ondimba, Simon Mulongo, Nuha Abdelgadir, Abdelgadir, gesturing, “ We’ve, ” Weeks, Abdelgadir’s, Modu Ali, Young, Saidu, Habiba Mohammed, Ms, Ha, Joon Chang, Nobody, Chang, Ibrahim, Touré Organizations: Young, United Nations, Southern, Northern, Western Asia Northern, United, Ivory Coast, African Union, Group, European Union ., Suisse, Africa Research Institute, Nigeria Mozambique Kenya “, Russia Canada Germany United, Russia Canada Germany United States Japan China Iran Egypt India Mexico Nigeria Ethiopia Ethiopia Dem, Russia Germany, China Egypt India Nigeria D.R.C, Russia Canada Germany United States Japan China Iran Egypt India Mexico Nigeria Ethiopia Dem, Bank, Nations, International, Bryn Mawr College, Angola, Angola Ivory Coast, Angola Ivory Coast Cameroon Dem, Africa Middle Africa Southern, Economic Commission, New, Citi, Spotify, Cannes Film, Burkina Faso, UNESCO, Disney, Amazon Prime, Netflix, “, Apple, Cape Town, Microsoft, Google, Infrastructure, McKinsey & Company, Pew Research Center, African Development Bank, Greek Coast Guard, Saudi, Africa Climate, Young Voters, Freedom House, University of Denver, United Arab, Japan Cuba Vatican City, Netherlands South Korea Belgium U.A.E, Islamic, Global, Center for Girls Education, School of Oriental, Studies Locations: grays, Africa, India, China, United States, Southern Asia, Asia, America, Caribbean, Northern America, Western Asia, Western Asia Northern America, Europe, London, New York, West Africa, Ivory, Abidjan, Russia, Turkey, Gulf, Nairobi, Nigeria Mozambique Kenya, Italy, Japan, Russia Canada Germany United States Japan China Iran Egypt India Mexico Nigeria Ethiopia Ethiopia, Congo Indonesia Brazil Australia South Africa Argentina, Russia Germany U.S, China Egypt India Nigeria, Brazil South Africa Australia, Russia Canada Germany United States Japan China Iran Egypt India Mexico Nigeria, Nigeria, Africa’s, Young, South Africa, Somalia, Mozambique, Mali, Gabon, Niger, Mozambique Nigeria Kenya, Kenya, Pennsylvania, Angola Ivory, Angola Ivory Coast Cameroon, Congo Algeria Egypt, Ghana Kenya Madagascar Mozambique Niger Nigeria, Tanzania Uganda South Africa, Northern Africa Eastern Africa, Africa Middle Africa, Africa Middle Africa Southern Africa, Guinea, Bissau, African, Qatar, Nigerian, Brooklyn, Target, French, Senegalese, Paris, Milan, Venice, Burkina, Tanzania, Saharan Africa, Nigeria Kenya Senegal In Lagos, Dakar, Zambia, South Korea, Sotheby’s, Lagos, Zimbabwe, Watford, Cape, Mombasa, Zanzibar, Cairo, Morocco, East Africa, Nigeria Mozambique Morocco, Sudanese, North Africa, East Asia, Thailand, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, States, Namibia, Kenyan, Paul Biya of Cameroon, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, United Arab Emirates, United States France Turkey, Germany, Russia India, Brazil, Japan Cuba, Japan Cuba Vatican City Spain Italy Saudi Arabia Qatar, Netherlands South Korea Belgium, Iran Canada, Niger’s, Niamey, Senegal Kenya Kenya, X’s, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Senegal, Uganda, Khartoum, Sudan, Ethiopia, Al Qaeda, Islamic State, Chad, Burkina Faso, Nigeria Nigeria Morocco, hijabs, Zaria, American, Korea, South, England

☆ Delali Ayivi is following in the footsteps of one of Togo’s first photographers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Flo Cornall | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Her own curiosity, creativity and interest in photography echo that of her great-great-grandfather, Alex Agbaglo Acolatse – one of the first Togolese photographers. Alex Agbaglo Acolatse/The Metropolitan Museum of ArtAcolatse retired in the mid 1950s, a few years before Togo’s independence in 1960. Alex Agbaglo Acolatse/The Metropolitan Museum of ArtHer great-great-grandfather remains one of Ayivi’s biggest influences, despite them coming from completely different contexts. “The intent that came behind that (Acolatse’s studio photography), it’s still a guiding principle for me today,” she added. But there was still a sense of pride that I found very inspiring.”A self portrait by Alex Agbaglo Acolatse.

Persons: Delali Ayivi, Aminata, Germany’s, shouldn’t, Ayivi, Alex Agbaglo Acolatse, Acolatse, Metropolitan Museum of Art Acolatse, ”, Acolatse’s, it’s, I’ve, Malaika Nabilah, they’ve, Togo Yeye, Mami Wata, she’s, Nabilah Organizations: CNN, Togolese, Vogue Germany, Metropolitan Museum of Art, University of the Arts London Locations: Togolese German, Togolese, Togo, Lomé, Germany, Lilongwe, Malawi, West, New York, London

☆ The Doyenne of Classical Publicists Takes on a Final Client: Herself
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Alexis Soloski | More About Alexis Soloski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mary Lou Falcone has lived most of her life away from the spotlight. Fifty years ago, after brief careers as a performer and a teacher, Falcone changed course and became a leading publicist in the world of classical music. Now, for the first time since she was 28, Falcone has put herself center stage to promote a new, personal cause. In early 2019, her husband, the artist Nicholas Zann, was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a neurodegenerative disease. In many ways, she is doing what she has always done: crafting a narrative, then sharing it.

Persons: Mary Lou Falcone, “, ”, Falcone, Renée Fleming, Van Cliburn, Jean, Pierre Rampal, Gustavo Dudamel, Georg Solti, Jaap van Zweden, Nicholas Zann, Lewy Organizations: Café, Lincoln Center, New York Philharmonic Locations: Café Luxembourg, Manhattan

☆ ‘While He Waited, He Turned His Gaze in Our Direction’
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

ImageCasual EleganceDear Diary:I was dining with a friend at a French restaurant on the Upper East Side in the early 1990s. While he waited, he turned his gaze in our direction. I smiled and mimed playing a piano keyboard. I shook my head and mimed playing classical guitar. Then, as the hostess escorted him to his table, he waved in our direction and our brief encounter was over.

Persons: André Watts, — Mark Shechtman

☆ How seaweed shaped the past and could shape our future
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Too often seaweed is portrayed as a slimy, smelly nuisance that disrupts beach trips and ocean swims. In fact, seaweed, officially a type of marine algae, is an untapped resource that could transform the planet and our health. Farmer Jean-Marie Pedron picks edible seaweed along a beach of Le Croisic in western France in March 2021, for a three-starred chef. As well as offering hope for the future, seaweed indelibly shaped our past, as a fascinating finding released this week has revealed. Hassanain Qambari & Jayden Dickson/Nikon Small World Photomicrography CompetitionCaffeine crystals in a kaleidoscope of color.

Persons: CNN —, Farmer Jean, Marie Pedron, Loic Venance, Vincent Doumeizel, Karen Hardy, —, James Webb, Luke Farritor, Salvatore Laporta, ”, papyrologist Michael McOsker, Farritor, Svante Pääbo, hominins, Hassanain Qambari, Jayden Dickson, Mona Lisa ”, Leonardo da Vinci, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Getty, United Nations, Telescope, National, AP, University of Nebraska, University College London, Diabetes, Nikon, Lions Eye Institute, CNN Space, Science Locations: Le Croisic, France, AFP, Orkney, Scotland, Mount, Naples, Italy, Europe, Altai, Central Asia, Australia, Alaska

☆ Sydney Opera House: Australia’s most famous attraction turns 50
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Saying that the Sydney Opera House is a well-known icon of Australia is kind of like saying the Amazon is a creek. Inaugurated on October 20, 1973, by the late Queen Elizabeth II, the Opera House now welcomes more than one million visitors every year. A rich historyThere’s much more to the Opera House than, well, opera. “I think there’s a big misconception that we’re the classical arts,” says Jade McKellar, chief customer officer for the Sydney Opera House. “The Sydney Opera House constitutes a masterpiece of 20th Century architecture,” UNESCO wrote in its designation.

Persons: Queen Elizabeth II, Jorn Utzon, “, ”, Jade McKellar, we’ve, there’ll, Golding, McKellar, Megan Cope, Bob Henry, UCG, Piper, Hamelin Organizations: CNN, Sydney Opera, Deloitte, Empire, Opera, Opera House, Sydney Opera House, UNESCO, ” UNESCO, Fairfax Media, House, Nations, Botanic Garden, Getty, Opera Bar Locations: Australia, ”, Spanish, Korean, Sydney

☆ Review: Ballet Theater Revisits Its Past With a Hit and Two Misses
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Gia Kourlas | More About Gia Kourlas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

American Ballet Theater opened its fall season on a high note: Alexei Ratmansky’s “Piano Concerto No. The program, part of the first New York season created by the company’s artistic director, Susan Jaffe, gradually lost steam. “Petite Mort” (1991) is flimsier than ever. Devon Teuscher’s clean, classical elegance lent the overlong work a boost of grace and energy, but the ballet, created in 1948, is hardly a good time capsule. In a program note, Lander describes his ballet as “an expression of myself, and of my thoughts on dance.

Persons: Alexei Ratmansky’s “, Mort ”, Jiri Kylian, Harald Lander, Susan Jaffe, Devon Teuscher’s, George Balanchine’s, Frederick Ashton’s “, ”, “, Lander Organizations: Ballet Theater, New, Lincoln Center Locations: New York

☆ Ancient Herculaneum scrolls are now readable due to AI technology, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —At first glance, the Herculaneum scrolls look unremarkable, like pieces of coal. Ancient scrolls uncovered from volcanic mudThe 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius, a volcano located near Naples, Italy, covered the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic mud. Herculaneum and the scrolls remained buried until the city’s accidental rediscovery by a worker drilling for a well in the early 1700s, according to the Herculaneum Society. Approximately 1,100 carbonized scrolls, now referred to as the Herculaneum scrolls, were recovered from a building that was believed to be Julius Caesar’s father-in-law’s house, according to the University of Kentucky. “They wrote about love, they wrote about war, they wrote about peace, they argued with each other.

Persons: Luke Farritor, Brent, Brent Seales, Julius Caesar’s, Michael McOsker, ” McOsker, it’ll, Youssef Nader, —, Seales, ” Seales, “, that’s Organizations: CNN —, University of Nebraska, University of Kentucky, Herculaneum, University College London, Freie University Berlin Locations: Vesuvius, Naples, Italy, Herculaneum, papyrology

☆ For Teju Cole, Art Is a Lens on a History of Violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Brian Dillon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

TREMOR, by Teju ColeNovelist, essayist, critic, photographer, teacher — most writers or artists are content with one or two of these titles, perhaps blurring the distinctions between main and side pursuits. “Tremor” is the most sundry and vagrant of Cole’s works to date, with abrupt changes in form, perspective and theme. (I almost wrote that Cole seems like a postcolonial version of Sebald — but Sebald is already the postcolonial Sebald.) A Nigerian American photographer and professor named Tunde is antiquing in Maine with his Japanese wife, Sadako, when they find a West African antelope headdress, or ci wara. A cheap artifact without provenance, it nonetheless starts Tunde thinking about colonial violence on both sides of the Atlantic.

Persons: Teju Cole, —, “, Cole, W.G, Saturn ”, Tunde, Sadako Organizations: Harvard Locations: New England, Nigerian American, Maine, West

☆ The sound of a human voice is more scary to animals in the Savanna than lions, dogs, or guns, a study found
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Maiya Focht | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new study showed that mammals in the savanna are more scared of human voices than lions growls. The scientists discovered this by playing sounds from humans, lions, and birds from hidden speakers. They'd then play the sounds of humans, lions, dogs, gunshots, or birds, and record the animals' reactions. Naturally then, the hypothesis is that prey animals would fear humans much more than any other animal. But this is the first study to establish that fear of humans exists in species across the savanna, Zanette said.

Persons: —, Liana Zanette, Zanette Organizations: Service, University of Western Locations: South Africa, University of Western Ontario, California, United Kingdom

☆ Esports made their 'tense and exciting' debut at this year's Asian Games
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Esports, or professional video gaming, were an official sport at the Asian Games for the first time. AdvertisementAdvertisementEsports, or competitive video gaming, debuted as an official event at this year's Asian Games in Hangzhou, China that concluded earlier this month. Due to the event's popularity, esports tickets were sold on a lottery basis, with more than five million entering the ballot, according to Hangzhou Asian Games data. We're excited to see the landscape of esports events around the world expand," said John Robinson, president of US esport organization 100 Thieves. The Olympic Esports Series is "a global virtual and simulated sports competition created by the IOC, and in collaboration with International Federations and game publishers."

Persons: —, esports, Chris Liu, Liu, Esports, JADE GAO, John Robinson, Kim Gwanwoo, WANG ZHAO, Matt Woods, AFK, Grant Rousseau, " Rousseau Organizations: Asian Games, of, EA Sports FC Online, Singapore, Service, Professional, EA Sports FC, South Korea, Team Malaysia, China, Xinhua News Agency, South, Associated Press, Fighter, Getty, Olympic, IOC, International Federations, Guardian, Team Falcons Locations: Hangzhou, China, Thailand, Wuxi, esports, Asia, Pacific, US, South Korea, AFP, Los Angeles

☆ I've made thousands of dollars writing trivia questions as a side gig. It helps me pay my rent and makes socializing so much easier.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Noah Sheidlower has made thousands writing and editing trivia questions for school competitions. To be fair, I don't often write the one-liner, pub-style trivia questions that trivia enthusiasts and beer lovers alike play every Tuesday night. Outside of journalism, I write and edit trivia questions for various high-school and college competitions as a side gig. And they've helped many in the quiz bowl community want to learn more and become more inquisitive about the world. AdvertisementAdvertisementUsing trivia to inform my reportingSometimes as I learn new facts through writing questions, I notice that hidden within them are stories.

Persons: Noah Sheidlower, It's, —, I've, I'm, they've, Jane Austen, Frederick the Great Organizations: Service, Columbia University

Rubin died Friday at a hospital in Manhattan after “a brief and sudden illness,” according to his nephew, David Rotter. “Steve Rubin was a great publisher,” Grisham said in a statement. “For more than a month, it was humanly impossible to miss ‘Fire and Fury,’" Rubin wrote in his memoir “Words and Music,” published earlier this year. Rubin joined Bantam Books, a venerable paperback publisher, in the mid-1980s, and remained there for six years before leaving for Doubleday. In his memoir, he offered a succinct, if incomplete prediction: “I suppose the headline of my obit will read 'Publisher of ”The Da Vinci Code" dies'.”

Persons: — Stephen Rubin, John Grisham, ”, Rubin, “, David Rotter, Jacqueline Kennedy, Beverly Sills, Jane Friedman, ” Rubin, Kennedy, Henry Holt, Simon, Simon & Schuster, Bill O’Reilly, Martin Dugard, Laura Esquivel’s, Mitch Albom’s, ” Hilary Mantel’s, George W, Bush's, Bush, John Grisham's, Grisham, unshaven, “ Steve Rubin, ” Grisham, Doubleday, Dan Brown’s, Brown, Steve, Holt, Trump, Michael Wolff’s, Steve Bannon, Wolff, ’, Michael, Luciano Pavarotti, Sills, Cynthia Organizations: HarperCollins Publishers, Associated Press, New York Times, Doubleday, Henry Holt and Company, Simon &, Holt, New York University, Boston University, UPI, The New York Times Magazine, Bantam Books, Rubin Institute for Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music Locations: Manhattan, Europe, New York City

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