Category Archives: Reviews

Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement – Aug 18, 2023

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Times Literary Supplement (August 18 & 25, 2023): Theatre of war – How Susan Sontag brought Beckett to Sarajevo; Mina Loy; Madmen in the White House; Grieving for a child; Through the looking-glass again; Women artists unleashed and more…

Design: Enki Magazine – September/October 2023

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enki magazine (September/October 2023) – The cover features a luxury treehouse, one of series of treetop retreats at Nymetwood, a 20-acre site overlooking Dartmoor in the UK.

James Gorst Architects forms timber-framed temple | Fabric-first approach

James Gorst Architects has adopted a fabric-first and passive design approach to the build of a timber-framed temple complex in rural Hampshire. 

Review: Taiwan’s Strategy To Repel Chinese Invasion

Wall Street Journal (August 15, 2023) – For decades, Taiwan has looked to its east coast as a safe haven to survive a Chinese invasion until allies, particularly the U.S., can arrive to assist.

Video timeline: 0:00 Taiwan’s current strategy 1:38 The problem 4:15 Taiwan’s reliance on allies

In the east, Taiwan’s rugged mountain terrain also helps create a natural shield in the event of an attack. But China’s PLA activity on the island’s east has thrown that strategy into question. WSJ takes a look at how serious China’s threats to Taiwan’s east coast are and explores whether the island needs to change its defense strategy.

Analysis: How Airbnb Is Rattling Housing Markets

CNBC International (August 15, 2023) – In the Italian city of Venice, the number of beds dedicated to tourists is now almost on par with the number of beds allocated to residents.

An electronic counter installed by activists in the city tracking this number illustrates the ever-growing demand for short-term rentals, popularized by the home-sharing platform Airbnb, which is now as popular as hotels. The short-term rental market is projected to be worth $228.9 billion in 2030, boosted by the rise of commercial operators.

But as the housing crisis deepens worldwide due to land and labor shortages, residents are questioning the impact of Airbnbs and second homes locally. “We have more than 7,000 apartments involved in this kind of system of short-term tourist rentals.

And now it’s very difficult for a young guy or a new family to find an affordable house to rent,” Dario Nardella, Florence city mayor, told CNBC. So what is the economic impact of Airbnb and short-term rentals? And can restrictions ease the crisis? Watch the video to find out.

#CNBC #Airbnb #Housingmarket

Previews: Country Life Magazine – August 16, 2023

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Country Life Magazine – August 16, 2023: This week’s issue features a look at Britain’s sharks, classic posters, nightjars and dramatic wallpaper.

No fin compares to you

Far from being scary, our native sharks are friendly, sleekly swift and even bioluminescent. Helen Scales takes a dip

And all that jazz

The Roaring Twenties saw war-damaged Britain come alive in a swirl of cocktails and flapper dresses, finds Claire Jackson

A dramatic revival

The ruins of Hellifield Peel Tower, North Yorkshire, have been transformed. Jeremy Musson tours a splendid family home

Harvard Business Review – September/October 2023

September–October 2023

Harvard Business Review (September/October 2023) –

Reskilling in the Age of AI

Five new paradigms for leaders—and employees 

In the coming decades, as the pace of technological change continues to increase, millions of workers may need to be not just upskilled but reskilled—a profoundly complex societal challenge that will sometimes require workers to both acquire new skills and change occupations entirely.

People May Be More Trusting of AI When They Can’t See How It Works

by Juan Martinez

 New research looked at the extent to which the employees of a fashion retailer followed the stocking recommendations of two algorithms: one whose workings were easy to understand and one that was indecipherable. Surprisingly, they accepted the guidance of the uninterpretable algorithm more often.

Opinion: The Biden China Strategy, Saudi Arabia’s Sports Push, Green EV’s?

‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (August 14, 2023) Three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, why Biden’s China strategy isn’t working, Saudi Arabia’s plan to dominate global sport (10:20) and how green is your electric vehicle, really? (17:55).

AI Poetry Books: Werner Herzog Reads “I Am Code”

I Am Code: An Artificial Intelligence Speaks: Poems
By Joseph Bernstein, August 14, 2023

THE NEW YORK TIMES – If artificial intelligence had a voice, what would it sound like? Calm, like HAL 9000? Perky, like Alexa? Polite, like C-3PO?

A young man stands next to Mr. Herzog. Both are looking into the camera lens.
Brent Katz, an editor of the A.I.-generated poetry collection, with Mr. Herzog at a Los Angeles recording studio.Credit…via Brent Katz

For the editors of “I Am Code: An Artificial Intelligence Speaks,” a collection of poems generated by A.I., the answer was obvious: Werner Herzog.

The 80-year-old German director, actor and author is a titan of independent cinema whose films often concern the hubris and folly of humankind. His speaking voice, known to audiences mostly through the stark, literary voice-over narration that accompanies many of his documentaries, carries an existential pathos and Teutonic gravitas that have made it a pop culture trademark.

Something like this, anyway, was on the minds of Brent Katz, Josh Morgenthau and Simon Rich, the editors of “I Am Code,” when they reached out to Mr. Herzog to ask if he would lend his formidable instrument to the audiobook version of their project.

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Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – August 21, 2023

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The New Yorker – August 21, 2023 issue: This week’s cover features Kadir Nelson’s “Rideout” – The artist discusses biking, bridges, risk, and scale.

How the Writer and Critic Jacqueline Rose Puts the World on the Couch

Jacqueline Rose photographed by Robbie Lawrence.

Enlisting Freud and feminism, she reveals the hidden currents in poetry and politics alike.

By Parul Sehgal

“Psychoanalysis brings to light everything we don’t want to think about,” she said. “If you can acknowledge the complexity of your own heart


The Ukrainians Forced to Flee to Russia

A woman and child standing in between broken down buildings.

Some are brought against their will. Others are encouraged in subtler ways. But the over-all efforts seem aimed at the erasure of the Ukrainian people.

By Masha Gessen

How Carl Linnaeus Set Out to Label All of Life

A man sitting on a large flower looking at a list of paper.

He sorted and systematized and coined names for more than twelve thousand species. What do you call someone like that?

By Kathryn Schulz

2023 Exhibitions: ‘Banksy – Cut & Run’ In Glasgow

CBS Sunday Morning (August 13, 2023) – Putting together the first authorized exhibition in 14 years of works by the anonymous street artist Banksy required extensive planning and a cover story to hide its true identity until it opened, unannounced, in Glasgow this summer.

Photo Credit Banksy

The show will feature work from across his career titled CUT & RUN: 25 years card labour! Stencils from 2008 until 2023 are on display at this historic event.

Correspondent Seth Doane explores the art and the mysteries of Banksy’s world, including the continued speculation about the artist’s true identity, a closely-held secret for decades.