Medical Videos: “How Coronaviruses Work” (Johns Hopkins Medicine)

It’s one of the tiniest machines on the planet — about a hundred times smaller than the average cell. It’s so small that no scientist can spot it through a typical light microscope. Only with an electron microscope can we see its spiky surface. It’s not alive, and it’s not what most of us would think of as “dead.” This teensy machine seems to survive in a kind of purgatory state, yet it has traveled across continents and oceans from host to host, and brought hundreds of nations to a standstill. Despite its diminutive size, the novel coronavirus, dubbed SARS-CoV-2, has seemingly taken the world by surprise with its virulence.

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Morning News Podcast: Families Form ‘Schooling Pods’, Coronavirus Safety And Washington Redskins

Axios TodayMany school districts are still debating whether to go with a virtual, in classroom or hybrid education model for the year, but some families are taking their children’s education into their own hands. Neighbors are banding together to form schooling “pods” with private instructors as a way to secure child care and make sure their kids don’t fall behind in school. 

But this trend could deepen the educational divide along racial and class lines.

  • President Trump changes tact on Coronavirus safety
  • Re-branding the Washington Redskins

Guests: Axios’ Caitlin Owens, Margaret Talev, and Kendall Baker.

Museum Tours: “The Old Guitarist” By Pablo Picasso (Art Institute, Chicago)

On this episode of Art Institute Essentials Tour, take a closer look at The Old Guitarist, painted by Pablo Picasso between late 1903 and early 1904. In the paintings of Picasso’s Blue Period (1901-04), the artist restricted himself to a cold, monochromatic blue palette, flattened forms, and emotional, psychological themes of human misery and alienation. This painting reflects the then twenty-two-year-old Picasso’s personal struggle and sympathy for the plight of the downtrodden.

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New Film Trailers: “Made In Italy” Directed By James D’Arcy (August – 2020)

Made In Italy is a heart-warming comedy set in glorious Tuscany about bohemian London artist Robert (Neeson) who returns to Italy with his estranged son Jack (Richardson) to make a quick sale of the house they inherited from his late wife. Neither expects to find the once beautiful villa in such a state of disrepair…

Renovations go badly, and father and son find themselves at odds – not for the first time. Robert’s comical lack of DIY experience leads him to seek help from some colourful locals, but for Jack, the state of the house seems to mirror his search for memories of happier times with his mother. Then Jack falls for Natalia, a vivacious young Italian chef, who restores both body and soul with delights from her local trattoria – until the pair find their developing relationship in jeopardy from Natalia’s jealous and threatening ex-husband.

As Robert and Jack painstakingly restore the villa to its previous glory, they also start to mend their relationship. The future may now look quite different and surprise them both.

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Books: “The Clock Mirage – Our Myth Of Measured Time” By Joseph Mazur

The Clock Mirage - Our Myth of Measured Time - Joseph Mazur - Book Review - July 2020With a narrative punctuated by personal stories of time’s effects on truck drivers, Olympic racers, prisoners, and clockmakers, Mazur’s journey is filled with fascinating insights into how our technologies, our bodies, and our attitudes can change our perceptions. Ultimately, time reveals itself as something that rides on the rhythms of our minds. The Clock Mirage presents an innovative perspective that will force us to rethink our relationship with time, and how best to use it.

A tour of clocks throughout the centuries—from the sandglass to the telomere—to reveal the physical, biological, and social nature of time.

Wall Street Journal Review

What is time? This question has fascinated philosophers, mathematicians, and scientists for thousands of years. Why does time seem to speed up with age? What is its connection with memory, anticipation, and sleep cycles?

Award‑winning author and mathematician Joseph Mazur provides an engaging exploration of how the understanding of time has evolved throughout human history and offers a compelling new vision, submitting that time lives within us. Our cells, he notes, have a temporal awareness, guided by environmental cues in sync with patterns of social interaction. Readers learn that, as a consequence of time’s personal nature, a forty‑eight‑hour journey on the space shuttle can feel shorter than a six‑hour trip on the Soyuz capsule, that the Amondawa of the Amazon do not have ages, and that time speeds up with fever and slows down when we feel in danger.

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Economics: “How Energy Prices Got So Cheap” (WSJ)

An abundance of fossil fuels combined with advances in technology to harness wind and solar power has sent energy prices crashing around the world. WSJ explains how it all happened at once.

Photo illustration: Carlos Waters/WSJ

Travel, Food & Wine: Top Australian Restaurants And Vineyards (Podcast)

Monocle 24 Only In Australia PodcastUnrestrained by culinary tradition, Australia’s fine drinking and dining scene applauds creativity and food fusion. The country’s outdoor eating culture is enlivened by some of the world’s best fresh produce, breathtaking landscapes and ideal growing conditions. 

Get your tummy ready to rumble as Georgina Godwin takes a tour through some of Australia’s finest dining rooms, vineyards and cellar doors, with star wine-makers, foragers of fine food and industry-leading artisans as her guides.

New Video Documentary: “Tending The Flame” – “Red House” Of William Morris

 

This film documents the story of furniture designer and builder Hugh Miller and the journey he embarked on, ending with his piece being inducted in to iconic Red House in Bexley Heath. Steeped in artistic history Red House was the only house designed and lived in by champion of the arts and craft movement William Morris. Today it stands as an example of the preservation of craft skills in the face of autonomy and is a lasting testament to celebrating art in it’s many forms. This documentary hopes to highlight how some of the lessons taught by Morris and his friends can be implemented in to the world of art and design today.

This film was made with the support of The Crafts Council and The National Trust.

Art History: “Titans Of British Modernism” In Early 20th Century (Video)

Sotheby's logoSotheby’s upcoming cross-category Evening Auction ‘Rembrandt to Richter’ (28 July | London), features many of the key British avant-garde movers and shakers of their day.

In this video, discover titans of British Modernism such as Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth; artists such as Christopher Wood and Marlow Moss who found their inspiration amongst the belle monde of Paris; Stanley Spencer and Cedric Morris whose inspiration remained resolutely closer to home; and a bold new generation of artists including Frank Auerbach who forged their careers in London in the aftermath of the Second World War.

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious