All posts by She Seeks Serene

My Journey of Reimagining Life, Love and Education

Classical Piano: Alice Sara Ott – Beethoven “Für Elise”

Deutsche Grammophon (July 28, 2023) – Earlier this year, pianist Alice Sara Ott became the face of the Apple Music Classical app when she starred in its launch video, performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15 with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and its Chief Conductor Karina Canellakis.

Beethoven: Für Elise, WoO 59 - YouTube

The recording of it now becomes the headline work in Ott’s latest Deutsche Grammophon album, Beethoven. The pianist has paired it with a series of solo works, including “Für Elise” and the “Moonlight” Sonata.

SUMMER STORIES 2023 – THE ECONOMIST 1843 MAGAZINE

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1843 MAGAZINE – SUMMER STORIES 2023:

Who will succeed the Dalai Lama?

As rival candidates are lined up, the Tibetan spiritual leader tells Brook Larmer what he really thinks of China

Rum and coke and automatic rifles: Myanmar’s Gen Z guerrillas

Young soldiers have buoyed the country’s fight for freedom, but at great cost. Irena Long meets them in their jungle hideout

The Baghdad job: who was behind history’s biggest bank heist?

Criminals stole $2.5bn from Iraq’s largest state bank in broad daylight. Nicolas Pelham follows their trail

News: Ukraine Military Gains, Moldova To Expel Russians, Taiwan’s Defense

The Globalist Podcast, Friday, July 28, 2023: President Putin concedes that Ukraine has intensified its counteroffensive as Moldova expels 45 Russian diplomatic staff over “unfriendly actions”.

Plus, Taiwan’s efforts to bolster its defense capabilities, updates on the Niger coup and an ode to the pleasures of skinny dipping.

The New York Times — Friday, July 28, 2023

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Trump Faces Major New Charges in Documents Case

The revised indictment added three serious charges against former President Donald J. Trump, including attempting to “alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal evidence.”

The office of the special counsel accused the former president of seeking to delete security camera footage at Mar-a-Lago. The manager of the property, Carlos De Oliveira, was also named as a new defendant.

Justice Dept. Opens Civil Rights Investigation of Memphis Police

Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, announced on Thursday an investigation into the practices of the Memphis Police Department.

The department will examine allegations of pervasive problems with excessive force and unlawful stops of Black residents that were amplified by the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols.

Study of Elite College Admissions Data Suggests Being Very Rich Is Its Own Qualification

Elite colleges have long been filled with the children of the richest families: At Ivy League schools, one in six students has parents in the top 1 percent.

Amid Shared Pain Over Synagogue Massacre, Divisions on Death Penalty

Since the 2018 attack that left 11 people dead, Jews in Pittsburgh have weighed whether the government should seek the execution of the killer.

Research Preview: Science Magazine – July 28, 2023

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Science Magazine – July 28, 2023 issue: This artwork depicts social media users that are engaged (and often enraged) from the “left” (liberals, blue) and the “right” (conservatives, red) perched on Meta’s logo. Social media algorithms personalize users’ online experiences, recommending engaging content that will interest them and possibly spark outrage.

Social media and elections

The advent of social media forever changed how we consume news. At least half of Americans rely on it for news, and Facebook (owned by parent company Meta) is the most popular. Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms are funded through advertisements and generate more revenue when users spend more time on their platforms. To make platforms alluring and increase screen time, tech companies operate on business models that incentivize algorithms that are designed to elevate eye-catching content to the top of users’ feeds—content that captures attention and may go “viral” by stimulating “engagement” through comments, likes, and resharing.

Origin of diamond-bearing eruptions revealed

Deep mantle waves from continental rifting trigger mysterious kimberlite volcanoes

‘I should have done better.’ Stanford head steps down

Probe clears Marc Tessier-Lavigne of misconduct but criticizes lab culture and lack of “appetite” for corrections

Previews: The Economist Magazine – July 29, 2023

The overstretched CEO | Jul 29th 2023 | The Economist

The Economist Magazine (July 29, 2023 issue): The overstretched CEO; Larry Fink demonised – All he wanted to do was save the planet while making his firm a fortune. Henry Tricks meets the face of woke capitalism; The greatest bank heist ever – Criminals stole $2.5bn from Iraq’s largest state bank in broad daylight. Nicolas Pelham follows their trail, and more…

The overstretched CEO

Companies are increasingly caught up in governments’ competing aims. What to do?

The world should not let Vladimir Putin abandon the grain deal

Here is how to get him to sign up again

Israel has lurched closer to constitutional chaos

But there are still ways to step back from the brink

Analysis: Ukraine Drones Destroying Russian Tanks

Wall Street Journal (July 27, 2023) – Since the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces began, there’s been a dramatic increase in Ukraine’s use of FPV, or first person view drones to execute kamikaze-style attacks on Russian tanks, troop positions and other large-scale weapons.

Video timeline: 0:00 Increase in use of FPV drones 1:01 The kamikaze drone process 2:15 Destroying targets

The aim is to operate cheaply and to make the military less dependent on Western weapons. WSJ gathered dozens of videos from Ukrainian units on the frontlines, to break down how their drone teams execute these attacks on Russia’s military.

#Russia #Ukraine #WSJ

HARVARD DESIGN MAGAZINE S/S 22 – SUMMER 2023 ISSUE

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Harvard GSD – HARVARD DESIGN MAGAZINE S/S 22 (SUMMER 2023) – ISSUE 50: TODAY’S GLOBAL – How is design advancing the definition of globalization beyond the mere movement of capital to a more nuanced, projective, and equitable discourse and practice? Our world’s ugly histories and daunting challenges—environmental, political, social, ethical, and economic—have compelled new forms of cooperation, motivated by the vital optimism of those inheriting our shared planet.

THE WORLD-CITIES OF THE GLOBAL AGE

Black and white photograph of men in a desert building a tall scaffold inthe shape of a building.

By Diana L. Eck

Lewis Mumford in introducing his now-classic study The City in History wrote, “This book opens with a city that was, symbolically, a world: it closes with a world that has become, in many practical aspects, a city.”1 He saw among the chief functions of the city the conversion of energy into culture. Indeed, the city of old was the anchor of the surrounding culture and synonymous with it. However in the decades since he wrote, the energies of cities have been fueled by an increasingly diverse population with increasingly diverse cultures. Cities are the very places where we see the effects of global migration and face the questions of identity in a complex multicultural society. Today there are a multitude of cities that are, symbolically, the world with all its diversity. Not just New York and London, but Minneapolis and Leeds are today’s world-cities. And the globalization of people, communications, and transportation has created a world that is, in many ways, a city.

READING ARCHITECTURE IN AN ERA OF GLOBALIZATION

Arial view of the top of a building with a diamond shaped, recessed  outdoor space with people standing

By Nicolai Ouroussoff

The architectural profession is in the midst of a long-overdue ethical reckoning. For years, it could ride the tidal wave of globalization to bigger and better commissions while still claiming that it was fighting the good fight. Nowadays, architects are more likely to be on the defensive. Our most celebrated architectural minds are routinely chastised in the media for placing personal vanity above the interests of the general public. And the fact that many of them have been far too willing to brush aside a client’s dubious ethics for the right commission has done little to dispel that perception.

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Books: The Top Ten Best Reviews – July 2023

Wall Street Journal Books & Art (July 26, 2023) – A wild rowboat race across the Atlantic, the overlooked triumphs of the 20th president, notes on life behind home plate and more. A selection of July’s most noteworthy books, as discussed by The Wall Street Journal’s reviewers.

After the Funeral and Other Stories

By Tessa Hadley Knopf

Moments of “intense insight and recognition” animate a dozen new stories from a master of the form. Review by Sam Sacks.

Read the review


Brothers and Sisters: The Allman Brothers Band and the Inside Story of the Album That Defined the ’70s

By Alan Paul St. Martin’s

Even after the loss of two of their founding members, the Georgia-based band created a country-blues sound that captivated audiences. Review by Gavin Edwards.

Read the review


Completely Mad: Tom McClean, John Fairfax, and the Epic Race to Row Solo Across the Atlantic

By James R. Hansen Pegasus

Tom McClean faced frostbite, nonstop gales and waves that looked like skyscrapers. A 15-foot shark followed him for days. He named it Bluey. Review by Bill Heavey.

Read the review


The Controversialist: Arguments with Everyone, Left Right and Center

By Martin Peretz Wicked Son

The pugnacious editor and publisher looks back on his career putting the New Republic at the center of a generation’s political conversation. Review by Tunku Varadarajan.

Read the review


Credible: The Power of Expert Leaders

By Amanda Goodall | PublicAffairs

Should a doctor run a hospital? An engineer a tech company? Workers seem to value a boss with skill and knowledge in the core business. Review by David A. Price.

Read the review


End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration

By Peter Turchin Penguin Press

The widening wealth gap in the U.S. has been fueled by elite overproduction—a combination that, to some, can only signal an imminent state breakdown. Review by Dominic Green.

Read the review


The Man Who Organized Nature: The Life of Linnaeus

By Gunnar Broberg Princeton

The Swedish naturalist Linnaeus bestowed an orderly taxonomy on the natural world, but his love of animals and plants was quirky and personal. Review by Christoph Irmscher.

Read the review


The People’s Justice: Clarence Thomas and the Constitutional Stories That Define Him

By Amul Thapar Regnery Gateway

A federal judge argues that when we follow the arguments of Supreme Court Justice Thomas in applying the Constitution, the weak and the powerless stand to benefit the most. Review by David J. Garrow.

Read the review


President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier

By C.W. Goodyear Simon & Schuster

James Garfield’s ambitious career—from janitor to Union general, then from Congress to the presidency—was cut short by an assassin. Review by Richard Norton Smith.

Read the review

News: Africa Leaders Shun Russia Summit, Cambodia PM Resigns, World Cup

The Globalist Podcast, Thursday, July 27, 2023: The Russia-Africa summit begins in St Petersburg. Also, Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Sen, announces his resignation and the country’s first new leader since 1985.

Plus, a check-in from the Women’s World Cup and a flick through the day’s papers.