Monocle on Sunday, January 21, 2024 – Georgina Godwin, Charles Hecker and Latika Bourke on the weekend’s biggest talking points. We also speak to Monocle’s editorial director, Tyler Brûlé, in Paris and Monocle’s correspondent, Mary Fitzgerald, reporting from Granada, Spain this week.
All posts by She Seeks Serene
The New York Times — Sunday, January 21, 2024
In Strategic Bind, Israel Weighs Freeing Hostages Against Destroying Hamas
Some Israeli commanders said the government’s two main goals were mutually incompatible. To eradicate Hamas, the military would have to engage in a lengthy war that would most likely cost the hostages’ lives.
For the Anti-Trump Wing of the G.O.P., It All Comes Down to Tuesday
The old guard of the Republican Party has rallied around Nikki Haley ahead of New Hampshire’s primary, in a long-shot bid to stop the former president’s march to the nomination.
‘America Is Under Attack’: Inside the Anti-D.E.I. Crusade
The backlash against “wokeism” has led a growing number of states to ban D.E.I. programs at public universities. Thousands of emails and other documents reveal the playbook — and grievances — behind one strand of the anti-D.E.I. campaign.
How Allegations of an Office Romance Came to Complicate the Case Against Trump
The claims involving Fani Willis and Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to manage the sprawling case in Georgia, have led to new questions about Mr. Wade’s qualifications.
Finance Preview: Barron’s Magazine- January 22, 2024
BARRON’S MAGAZINE – JANUARY 22, 2024 ISSUE:
Sizing Up Barron’s Stock Picks of 2023. Why We Trailed the Market.
The 77 companies featured in bullish Barron’s articles last year returned nearly 10% on average, slightly trailing their benchmarks. Here’s what we got right—and wrong.
The S&P 500 Just Hit a New High. 27 Picks for the Year Ahead, From Our Roundtable Pros.
Tech, energy, entertainment, and more ideas to power your portfolio.
Dividend Cuts Are Coming. They Bring Big Opportunities.
Saturday Morning: News And Stories From London
Monocle on Saturday, January 20, 2024: What are the key takeaways from the interview with German defence minister, Boris Pistorius? Which country is the common link in the recent Middle Eastern conflicts, and why?
Join Georgina Godwin and Austrian journalist Tessa Szyszkowitz for this and more from the week’s news and culture. Plus: Monocle’s Lilian Fawcett visits Singapore’s international art fair, ART SG, to find out how Singapore is trying to establish itself as a global art hub.
The New York Times — Saturday, January 20, 2024
Divisions Emerging in Israel Over Gaza War
Protesters demanded action to free hostages, a war cabinet minister criticized the military campaign and the Israeli prime minister publicly ruled out a two-state solution, rebuffing the U.S.
America Stares Down a Trump-Biden Repeat in Disbelief and Denial
Unable to fathom a 2020 rematch, many Americans are clinging to forlorn hopes and floating wild theories — including that Michelle Obama might replace President Biden.
Israeli Women Fight on Front Line in Gaza, a First
After a long struggle for acceptance, Israel’s female combat soldiers are pushing new boundaries after rushing into battle on Oct. 7.
With Harsh Anti-L.G.B.T.Q. Law, Uganda Risks a Health Crisis
The country had made great progress against H.I.V. Now terrified patients have fled clinics, and experts fear a resurgence.
The New York Times Book Review – January 21, 2024
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (January 19, 2024): The latest issue features the excitement over advance copy reviews of a January novel, Kaveh Akbar’s “Martyr!” …“You’ve got to read this,” one editor said. “One of the most electric novels I’ve read in a long while,” another said. This kind of thing — everyone thrilled by the same book — is unusual at the TBR, and explains why “Martyr!,” about a grieving young man’s search for meaning, graces our cover this week.
A Death-Haunted First Novel Incandescent With Life
In “Martyr!,” the poet Kaveh Akbar turns a grieving young man’s search for meaning into a piercing family saga.
Martyr!, by Kaveh Akbar
Reviewed by By Junot Díaz
Cyrus Shams, the aching protagonist at the heart of Kaveh Akbar’s incandescent first novel, is a veritable Rushdiean multitude: an Iranian-born American, a “bad” immigrant, a recovering addict, a straight-passing queer, an almost-30 poet who rarely writes, an orphan, a runner of open mics, an indefatigable logophile, a fiery wit, a self-pitying malcontent. But above all else Cyrus is sad; profoundly, inconsolably, suicidally sad.
Here are the books discussed in this week’s episode:
- “Knife,” by Salman Rushdie
- “James,” by Percival Everett
- “The Book of Love,” by Kelly Link
- “Martyr,” by Kaveh Akbar
- “The Demon of Unrest,” by Erik Larson
- “The Hunter,” by Tana French
- “Wandering Stars,” by Tommy Orange
- “Anita de Monte Laughs Last,” by Xochitl Gonzalez
- “Splinters,” by Leslie Jamison
- “Neighbors and Other Stories,” by Diane Oliver
- “Funny Story,” by Emily Henry
- “Table for Two,” by Amor Towles
- “Grief Is for People,” by Sloane Crosley
- “One Way Back: A Memoir,” by Christine Blasey Ford
- “The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir,” by RuPaul
The New Criterion – February 2024 Preview
The New Criterion – The February 2024 issue features:
The importance of Homer by Joshua T. Katz
Galaxy brains by Gary Saul Morson
The Thames: river of destinies by Jeremy Black
“Breakfast Special”: a new story by Woody Allen
New poems by Nicholas Friedman, Jessica Hornik & Michael Spence
Museum Tour: ‘European Paintings – 1300 To 1800’ At The Met In New York City
The reconfigured galleries highlight fresh narratives and dialogues among more than 700 works of art from the Museum’s world-famous holdings, which include recently acquired paintings and prestigious loans, as well as select sculptures and decorative art, showcase the interconnectedness of cultures, materials, and moments across The Met collection.
Australian Architecture: ‘Lee House’ Tour In Sydney
Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the 200 Year Old Home 01:02 – The Original Concept 02:13 – Seeking Perfection Through Form 03:00 – Behind The Material Palette 04:30 – The Relationship Between Builder and Architect 05:26 – Experiencing the Intimacy of the Home 06:50 – Favourite Aspects
“What we have tried to do is seek aspects of perfection in form that enable us to encourage something in the human condition which isn’t able to be seen, but is perhaps only able to be felt,” reflects Angelo. Here, the architect redesigns a 200 year old home in Sydney’s Watsons Bay. The front façade appears as a humble, one-storey traditional cottage that sits in contrast to the two-storey, modern, geometric façade at the rear. The way the architect redesigns a 200 year old home was a step away from the client’s original brief – removing the existing cottage and creating a large home.
After many discussions, the client developed a modesty about their brief. “It meant we could work with an incredibly quiet house… something that is purely an interior design,” says Angelo. The architect redesigns a 200 year old home with a material palette that is simultaneously robust, raw and refined. Timber flooring and ceilings make the space feel spacious yet cosy and is also used in the kitchen for joinery, the dining table and the base of the island bench. This is complemented by the heavy use of concrete for walls, stairs and detailing, softened by round curves. Styling is dominated by minimalist furniture and neutral tones.
The New York Times Magazine- January 21, 2024
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (January 19, 2024): The new issue features ‘The Whale Who Went AWOL’ – How do you solve a problem like Hvaldmir?; How Group Chats Rule the World – They quietly became the de facto spaces to share dumb jokes, grief or even plans for an insurrection…
The Whale Who Went AWOL
Hvaldimir escaped captivity and became a global celebrity. Now, no one can agree about what to do with him.
By Ferris Jabr
On April 26, 2019, a beluga whale appeared near Tufjord, a village in northern Norway, immediately alarming fishermen in the area. Belugas in that part of the world typically inhabit the remote Arctic and are rarely spotted as far south as the Norwegian mainland. Although they occasionally travel solo, they tend to live and move in groups. This particular whale was entirely alone and unusually comfortable around humans, trailing boats and opening his mouth as though expecting to be fed. And he seemed to be tangled in rope.
How Group Chats Rule the World
They quietly became the de facto spaces to share dumb jokes, grief or even plans for an insurrection.
By Sophie Haigney
I am texting all the time. I am, at the very least, receiving texts all the time, a party to conversations in which I am alternately an eavesdropper and an active participant. This is because I am in a lot of group chats — constant, interlinked, text-message-based conversations among multiple friends that happen all day long. I dip into and out of these conversations, on my phone and on my computer. Sometimes I will put both away for two hours and return to find 279 new messages waiting.
Boomers Daily 