All posts by She Seeks Serene

My Journey of Reimagining Life, Love and Education

Preview: New York Times Magazine – April 16, 2023

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The New York Times Magazine – April 16, 2023:

The R.T.O. Whisperers Have a Plan

A photo illustration of an empty chair surround by confetti.
Credit…Photo illustration by Derek Brahney

A niche group of consultants is trying to get you back to the office. It’s not going too well.

Being the boss doesn’t mean you get exactly what you wish for. That’s what Craig Knoblock discovered when he tried to get his employees to come back to the office in the fall of 2021.

You Call This ‘Flexible Work’?

Credit…Illustration by Brian Rea

Labor fought for a long time to draw a bright line between work and home. It took almost no time at all to erase it.

When Your Boss Is an App

A color illustration of a person working under an overhead lamp that is shaped like a large phone screen.
Credit…Illustration by Derek Abella

Gig work has been silently taking over new industries, but not in the way many expected.

For most Americans, the concept of “gig work” has been synonymous with a handful of Silicon Valley giants — companies like Uber and DoorDash, Instacart and TaskRabbit. There was a moment in the 2010s when pundits told us to expect the “Uberization of everything”: a future in which the typical worker would move from job to job or task to task, finding either independence and flexibility in freelancing or, more realistically, the precarity of working for platforms that may be light on benefits and aggressively exploitative of labor.

News: German FM Visits China Amid Taiwan Stress, North Korea Defectors

The Globalist, April 14, 2023: Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, visits China amid tensions over Taiwan. Meanwhile, South Korea announces that it will test North Korean defectors for radiation exposure and the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, heads to Vietnam. Plus: we’re joined by Sony’s Photographer of the Year.

Reviews: ‘The Week In Art’

April 13, 2023: This week: Expo Chicago and the art scene in the Windy City. Ben Sutton, The Art Newspaper’s editor, Americas, and Carlie Porterfield, associate editor, art market, Americas, discuss the fair, and the wider market and gallery scene in Chicago. 

As the US president Joe Biden visits Northern Ireland to honour the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday or Belfast agreement, we talk to Hannah Crowdy, head of curatorial at National Museums Northern Ireland, a group of four museums. She tells us about how the museums are addressing the anniversary, representing Northern Ireland’s recent history and looking to the future.

And this episode’s Work of the Week is Georges Clairin’s 1876 portrait of the celebrated French actor Sarah Bernhardt, who died 100 years ago. The work is part of a huge new exhibition about Bernhardt opening this week at the Petit Palais in Paris. The museum’s director, Annick Lemoine, tells us about the painting and the extraordinary fame of the woman it depicts.

Principled and Revolutionary: Northern Ireland’s Peace Women by Hannah Starkey, Ulster Museum, Belfast, until 10 September; Array Collective: The Druthaib’s Ball, Ulster Museum, until 3 September.Sarah Bernhardt: and the woman created the star, Petit Palais, Paris, until 27 August. 

Front Page: The New York Times — April 14, 2023

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F.B.I. Arrests National Guardsman in Leak of Classified Documents

Law enforcement personnel outside the home of Airman First Class Jack Teixeira’s mother in North Dighton, Mass., on Thursday. The F.B.I. had been zeroing in on him for several days.
CREDITHALEY WILLIS/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Authorities say Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, posted sensitive materials in an online chat group.

VISUAL INVESTIGATIONS

The Airman Who Gave Gamers a Real Taste of War

CREDITWCVB-TV, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

The group liked online war games. But then Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old National Guard airman, began showing them classified documents, members say.

Abortion Is Back at Supreme Court’s Door After Dueling Orders on Pill

The justices are poised to consider whether the most common method of ending pregnancies can be sharply curtailed in states where abortion remains legal.

Politics Rooted in Protest Fuels ‘the Justins’ of Tennessee

The young Black Democrats expelled from the legislature bring an activist approach, and model themselves after civil rights leaders of the past.

Cinematic Travel: ‘Around The Ring Road Of Iceland’

Uploaded April 12, 2023: The famous ‘Ring Road’ is a 1322 km (820 miles) loop connecting most towns and villages; a road trip renowned for its variety of scenery, passing many of Iceland’s most iconic sites.

The southern drive from Reykjavík to Egilsstaðir is the more scenic half, with waterfalls and glacial lagoons visible from the road. That is not to say this part of the country merits more of your time—only that there are more things to see and do along the Ring Road. Other regions reward a good detour, for instance along the Eastfjords or Snæfellsnes Peninsula. Travelers spending more than a week on the road should consider the scenic Arctic Coast Way and the Westfjords Way (Vestfjarðaleiðin).

“In September of last year, I had the opportunity to go on a father & son trip to Iceland, and I hope this video encourages you to do the same!”

Filmed and edited by Alex Cormier

Research Preview: Science Magazine – April 14, 2023

Current Issue Cover

Science Magazine – April 7, 2023 issue: Anchoring radiocarbon dates to cosmic events, why hibernating bears don’t get blood clots, and kicking off a book series on sex, gender, and science.

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Reproductive medicine

Since ancient times, humans have been trying to exercise control over their reproductive decisions, whether to avoid undesired pregnancy or to improve their chances of conceiving. In addition, the risks of pregnancy and childbirth have always been a major challenge.

Droughts are coming on faster

Higher global temperatures are increasing the frequency of flash droughts

Previews: The Economist Magazine – April 15, 2023

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The Economist – April 15, 2023 issue:

The lessons from America’s astonishing economic record

The world’s biggest economy is leaving its peers ever further in the dust

Can the West win over the rest?

In a more transactional world the price of influence is going up

Emmanuel Macron’s blunder over Taiwan

The French leader has made a dangerous situation worse

Travel & Nature: National Geographic — May 2023

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National Geographic Magazine – May 2023: The groundbreaking, award-winning natural history franchise Secrets Of returns with its next installment, Secrets of the Elephants, from Academy Award®-winning filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer at Large James Cameron. 

THE ELEPHANT NEXT DOOR

Secrets Of The Elephants” Clip Released – What's On Disney Plus

ASIAN ELEPHANTS ARE LEARNING TO LIVE WITH US. BUT WILL WE LEARN TO LIVE WITH THEM?

Kosovo wants to decide its future—but will history hold it back?

This small Balkan country won its independence from Serbia 15 years ago, but still waits for justice for wartime victims and global recognition as a new nation.

Travel: A Walking Tour Of Downtown Cairo, Egypt

Uploaded April 12, 2023: A walking tour starting at Talaat Harb Square in Abdeen, and exploring the historic neighborhoods and architecture of downtown Cairo before strolling through the bustling markets under Al Azhr Bridge.

Video timeline: 0:00 Intro 4:20 Al Sharifain Passage 7:07 Qasr Al Nil Street Abdeen 11:24 Mustafa Kamil Pasha 13:20 Ex-Davis Bryan Building 15:37 Adly Building 19:34 Opera Square 22:13 Al-Kakhia Mosque 23:23 Suuq el Ataba Electronics Market 32:34 Suuq el Ataba Furniture Market 37:35 Abd El-Aziz Street 40:25 Attaba Square 44:24 Al Azhar Market Under Bridge 48:30 El-Gaish Open Air Market

Filmed and edited by: 4K World Wanderings

Nature: The Hummingbird Effect In Costa Rica (PBS)

Nature on PBS (April 12, 2023) – Discover how tiny hummingbirds influence their many flowering kingdoms and their ripple effects on macaws, quetzals, monkeys, tapirs and more. Set in the exotic landscapes of Costa Rica.

Costa Rica’s motto is Pura Vida – Pure Life – and this deceptively small country is bursting with some of the most spectacular wildlife and pristine ecosystems in the world. All this diversity thrives, in part, thanks to one surprising little creature: hummingbirds.

Venture across Costa Rica’s wild and rugged landscapes, from volcanic peaks to coastal jungle to misty cloud forests, and discover the nation’s dazzling diversity of hummingbirds. There are more than 50 species of hummingbirds here, and they play an outsize role in maintaining some of the richest and wildest environments on Earth.

The Hummingbird Effect premiered on April 12, 2023.