Category Archives: Reviews

Health: “The Effect Of Hearing Loss On Cognitive Decline” (JAMA Podcast)

JAMA Clinical ReviewsEven limited hearing loss might be associated with cognitive decline. If true, early intervention with hearing aids might help people have better cognitive performance. 

Michael Johns III, MD, online editor for JAMA Otolaryngology, speaks with Justin Golub, MD, MS, assistant professor of otolaryngology at Columbia University, whose research has shown that very mild hearing loss can be associated with cognitive disability.

Future Of Housing: Four-Family Communal Living – “Margarets Drive Shelter Island, NY” (Office CY)

Office CY Margarets Drive Shelter Iskand 2020The result is a home with four gabled boxes connected by glass hallways. The two double-story bookend boxes are the private living spaces for each client and the two center boxes house the shared common spaces with one box for the kitchen and dining area and the other for the shared living room.

For many years, a married couple and a friend shared a summer cottage rental on Shelter Island. When they each began the process of looking for property to build a new, year-round vacation home, they decided to maintain the house-sharing relationship in order to maximize resources. A key part of the project brief was the desire to reference the vernacular farm and cottage architecture prevalent on the east end of Long Island.

Office CY Margarets Drive Shelter Iskand 2020

Another component was the need to support separate living spaces for two families with a shared kitchen and common living area, but maintain a floorpan that could support a single-family scenario if they ever decided to sell the property. Each client also wanted a second-floor master bedroom to maximize views onto the bay behind the house; in each master bedroom, there was the desire to position the bed under the ridge looking out the gable end onto the water. To round out the floor plan, we added extra bedrooms and bathrooms for guests, and a private living room and covered porch for each family.

 

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New Art Books: “Titian – Love, Desire, Death” By Matthias Wivel (May 2020)

Titian Love Desire DeathTitian (active 1506–1576) produced a masterful group of paintings for Philip II of Spain, celebrating the loves of gods, goddesses, and mortals. Depicting scenes from Ovid’s narrative poem Metamorphoses, Titian named them “poesie” and considered the works as visual equivalents of poetry.

This volume presents a detailed study of the complete series—Danaë, Venus and Adonis, Perseus and Andromeda, Diana and Actaeon, Diana and Callisto, and The Rape of Europa, as well as The Death of Actaeon—lavishly illustrated with details of these emotionally charged paintings. The book explores Titian’s creative process and technique, in addition to his use of literary and visual sources and his correspondence with Philip II.

The artistic legacy of the series for later European painting is also examined in the works of artists such as Rubens, Velázquez, and Rembrandt. Offering the most comprehensive overview of these remarkable works, Titian: Love, Desire, Death is an indispensable resource for scholars and admirers of Renaissance painting.

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Travel: RV Vacations Just Might Be The Safest Option This Summer (WSJ)

From a Wall Street Journal article (May 16, 2020):

Wall Street JournalOriginally, we were going to make it a six-day trip,” said Mr. Goble, “but we were honestly having such a good time we extended it four times into an 11-day trip.” Normally, rental companies’ full calendars preclude such spontaneity. Thanks to the motorhome’s self-sustainable features, they stayed overnight at a campground just twice on the trip. Most of the time they’d “boondock”—that is, stop at places without water or electrical hookups, or nightly fees. Say, creekside clearings off fire roads deep in the forest.

RV Vacations - Wall Street Journal - Steve Scott Illustration - May 16 2020

“We have been flooded with new inquiries, and an unusually high number of longer rentals (lasting from one to three months in duration),” said Mr. Ward. “I think this is going to be the trend for the remainder of 2020 and 2021, at a minimum.” One couple, he said, just booked their RV for a three-month loop around the deep South on short notice. “Neither have work to do right now due to the virus, so they’re like, ‘There’s no better time. We’ve always wanted to travel in an Airstream. This works for us now.’”

In a season when the urge to escape home will only be matched by the need to be flexible, getting lost in America in an RV works for a lot of people right now. Mr. Rybak and Ms. O’Hara are still hoping to tick at least one national park off their list in the next few months. They even have a campsite reserved. If you see them, say “Hi.” From a safe distance.

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Top Upcoming Art Books: “Leonor Fini – Catalogue Raisonné of Oil Paintings”

Leonor Fini - Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings 2020Leonor Fini (1907–96) is one of the most important artists and personalities of the twentieth century. Her work came to prominence as part of the 1936 exhibition Fantastic Art, Dada and Surrealism at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, where her paintings were widely celebrated for their uniquely female approach to surrealism—although Fini never joined the surrealist movement.

0826a7ee73c580dba81b75756d38f812Self-made and self-taught, she preferred to work on her own and was known for her fierce independence and provocative panache. A prolific painter, Fini also wrote, worked extensively in book illustration and printmaking, and designed for plays, ballets, operas, and film.

Presenting the definitive catalogue raisonné of Leonor Fini’s more than 1,100 oil paintings, this book brings together more than one thousand color illustrations and essays on her work by Fini experts Richard Overstreet and Neil Zukerman and a concise, up-to-date biography by British art historian Peter Webb.

Richard Overstreet is an American artist and photographer. In 1998, he founded the Leonor Fini Archives in Paris.

Neil Zukerman is the owner of the CFM Gallery in New York. He is an expert of Leonor Fini’s work and author of several books about her.

Peter Webb is an art historian and has published extensively on art and artists of the 20th century. He formerly taught at the Coventry College of Art, the Hornsey College of Art and the Middlesex University in London.

Leonor Fini (1907- 1996) was an Argentinian surrealist painter, designer, illustrator, and author, known for her depictions of powerful women.

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Top Health Podcasts: Dubious Coronavirus Content, Funding Fears

Coronapod ReportWith questionable coronavirus content flooding airwaves and online channels, what’s being done to limit its impact?

In this episode:

00:57 The epidemiology of misinformation

As the pandemic spreads, so does a tidal wave of misinformation and conspiracy theories. We discuss how researchers’ are tracking the spread of questionable content, and ways to limit its impact.

News: Anti-vaccine movement could undermine efforts to end coronavirus pandemic, researchers warn

Nature Video: Infodemic: Coronavirus and the fake news pandemic

 

17:55 One good thing

Our hosts pick out things that have made them smile in the last week, including walks in new places, an update on the Isolation Choir, and a very long music playlist.

Video: The Isolation Choir sing What a Wonderful World

Spotify: Beastie Boys Book Complete Songs

22:30 Funding fears for researchers

Scientists around the world are concerned about the impacts that the pandemic will have on their funding and research projects. We hear from two who face uncertainty, and get an update on the plans put in place by funding organisations to support their researchers.

Interior Design Books: “Splendor Of Marble – Marvelous Spaces” By Karen Pearse (Rizolli)

Splendor of Marble Karen Pearse RizzoliThe first book to examine the many ways this beautiful stone can be incorporated into a home environment, describing the unique nature of marble and the leading role it plays in the best of interior design today.

For spectacular drama, fabulous luxury, or simply the warm glow of organic textures, colors, and patterns, marble is like no other natural material. Marble has been favored by architects and designers for millennia, and as this book attests, the love affair with marble continues today. Featured are rooms showcasing marble by many of the world’s most prominent decorators, including Kelly Wearstler, Vincente Wolf, Juan Pablo Molyneux, Bjarke Ingels, Ryan Korban, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Robert Kime, the Haas Brothers, and Joseph Dirand, among many others.

Splendor of Marble Karen Pearse RizzoliThis is the first book that explores the many ways marble can bring color, pattern, and warmth to the home, as well as the vast array of beautiful types of marble that are available. It is a hugely popular material for home kitchens and bathrooms in particular, but it also is incorporated in outdoor patio spaces, hallways, and stairwells, even living rooms. All are featured here in gorgeous images, providing new inspiration for design lovers.

About The Author

Karen Pearse is a marble expert and founder of Karen Pearse Direct, the foremost international purveyor of stone and marble for private and commercial spaces. Massimo Ferragamo is chairman of Ferragamo USA.

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New Books: “Brain Fables – The Hidden History of Neurodegenerative Diseases” (Cambridge, 2020)

An estimated 80 million people live with a neurodegenerative disease, with this number expected to double by 2050. Despite decades of research and billions in funding, there are no medications that can slow, much less stop, the progress of these diseases. The time to rethink degenerative brain disorders has come. With no biological boundaries between neurodegenerative diseases, illnesses such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s result from a large spectrum of biological abnormalities, hampering effective treatment.

Acclaimed neurologist Dr Alberto Espay and Parkinson’s advocate Benjamin Stecher present compelling evidence that these diseases should be targeted according to genetic and molecular signatures rather than clinical diagnoses. There is no Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s, simply people with Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s. An incredibly important story never before told, Brain Fables is a wakeup call to the scientific community and society, explaining why we have no effective disease-modifying treatments, and how we can get back on track.

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