Travel: ‘Lisbon At Dawn’

Matteo Bertoli Films (May 23, 2023) – Lisbon is Portugal’s hilly, coastal capital city. From imposing São Jorge Castle, the view encompasses the old city’s pastel-colored buildings, Tagus Estuary and Ponte 25 de Abril suspension bridge. Nearby, the National Azulejo Museum displays 5 centuries of decorative ceramic tiles. Just outside Lisbon is a string of Atlantic beaches, from Cascais to Estoril. 

War Scenarios: Ukraine’s Four Counteroffensives

Wall Street Journal (May 23, 2023) – Ukraine is on the brink of launching its counteroffensive against Russia. Russia now occupies 17% of Ukrainian territory, a stretch of landmass roughly equivalent to the size of Iceland with 900 miles of frontline.

Video timeline: 0:00 The stakes for the counteroffensive 0:53 The current Russia-Ukraine War situation 4:09 Ukraine’s counteroffensive scenarios 6:42 Potential results from the counteroffensive

Ukrainian troops’ current offensives have been limited to the Donbas region. WSJ spoke to retired Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, who breaks down four likely scenarios that the Ukrainian forces might attempt to kick off their counteroffensive.

Design: A Tour Of Arthur House In Melbourne

The Local Project (May 21, 2023) -Located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne and a short distance from the Yarra River, Arthur by Oscar Sainsbury Architects (OSA) is an architects own house that extends upon the ideas of family living and connection to nature.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Architects Own House 00:31 – Designing for Yourself 00:59 – The Initial Design Ideas 01:13 – Encouraging Usage of the Garden 01:33 – A Focus on the Garden 01:56 – The Original Double Brick House 02:12 – The Central Part of the House 02:58 – Challenges Designing with Heritage Homes 03:39 – The Materials Used 04:35 – Favourite Aspects of the Home

As the owner, architect and builder, OSA dances across the separate realms with ease in order to deliver a home that allows the family to grow in place. Following a desire to open up an architects own house to the outside, OSA uses contemporary methods of design, allowing for the family to easily manoeuvre about.

With the house tour of an architects own house beginning at the double-bricked façade, OSA has additionally maintained three of the original bedrooms, with two facing the street and one opening up to the rear decking. Designed to be the central part of the house, the kitchen is laid out to encourage flow and connection from the private quarters and into the public living spaces. Known to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, the owner and architect has incorporated functionality by allowing it to serve its purpose as well as be easy to live and entertain in.

Paris Views: A Walking Tour Of The Île de la Cité

ART VISION TV (May 23, 2023) – Ile de la Cité, once known as Lutetia, is the oldest settlement in Paris, and boasts more than its fair share of Paris sights: the Pont Neuf, the Pont de l’Archevêché and Notre Dame cathedral, to name only three.

Its location bang in the middle of Paris, with Châtelet to the north and Saint-Germain-des-Prés to the south, makes it the central crossroads of the city, which grew outwards from here. When you’ve finished visiting all the sights, take one last admiring look at the magnificent facade of Notre Dame, then stroll along the banks of the Seine and stop to watch improvised concerts by wandering musicians, for whom this area is a prime performance venue.

Ile de la Cité is also the perfect place for a riverside picnic. At night, the bridges are beautifully lit, and there is a feeling of midsummer magic.

#PARIS#PARIS4K#WALKINPARIS#ILEDELACITÉ#PARISCITÉISLAND

Exhibitions: “Outstanding! THE RELIEF FROM RODIN TO PICASSO” At Städel Museum

Städel Museum Frankfurt (May 23, 2023) – Rodin, Matisse, Gauguin, Picasso, Jean Arp, Yves Klein… They all created outstanding art in the truest sense of the word—reliefs. This summer, the Städel Museum is presenting a major exhibition on the relief from 1800 to the 1960s.

OUTSTANDING!

THE RELIEF FROM RODIN TO PICASSO


5/24–9/17/2023

“This summer, our visitors will have the opportunity to encounter an exciting artistic medium—the relief: an art form between painting and sculpture that literally breaks through the confines of the frame and bursts the boundaries of our sense of sight! We are devoting a major exhibition to this sometimes underacknowledged medium.”

Is it painting or sculpture, surface or space? Hardly any artistic medium challenges our sense of sight like the relief. And that is what has always made it so appealing for the most famous artists. From 24 May to 17 September 2023, the exhibition will present prominent works spanning some 160 years by Bertel Thorvaldsen, Jules Dalou, Auguste Rodin, Medardo Rosso, Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Alexander Archipenko, Jean Arp, Kurt Schwitters, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Yves Klein, Louise Nevelson, Lee Bontecou and others.

News: Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant Outages, Thailand Constitution

Tuesday, May 23, 2023: Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant loses its external supply for the seventh time since Russia’s invasion. Plus: Thailand’s new government pledges to rewrite the constitution, a round-up of today’s papers and the latest fashion and retail news. 

Front Page: The New York Times —- May 23, 2023

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A Breakthrough Deal to Keep the Colorado River From Going Dry, for Now

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the country, is formed on the Colorado River at the Hoover Dam. The reservoir’s water level has significantly dropped, along with the river.

The agreement on cuts, aided by a wet winter and $1.2 billion in federal payments, expires at the end of 2026.

He Was Investigating Mexico’s Military. Then the Spying Began.

Alejandro Encinas, Mexico’s under secretary for human rights, was targeted by spyware while investigating abuses by the nation’s military.

While looking into abuses by the armed forces, the country’s top human rights official was targeted with Pegasus, the world’s most notorious spyware, The Times found.

Russia Claims Bakhmut, but Some See a ‘Pyrrhic Victory’

A top Ukrainian official essentially acknowledged that the devastated city had been lost. Thousands of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers died there, but the cost for Moscow was especially steep, experts say.

Bakhmut Is Gone: An Aerial Look at the War’s Destruction

Drone footage taken by The New York Times captured the scorched buildings, destroyed schools and cratered parks that now define the city in eastern Ukraine.

Spring In Switzerland: A Tour Of Lauterbrunnen

Jeka Traveler Films (May 22, 2023) – Lauterbrunnen is a municipality in the Swiss Alps. It encompasses the village of Lauterbrunnen, set in a valley featuring rocky cliffs and the roaring, 300m-­high Staubbach Falls.

Nearby, the glacial waters of Trümmelbach Falls gush through mountain crevices past viewing platforms. A cable car runs from Stechelberg village to Schilthorn mountain, for views over the Bernese Alps.