The New York Times — Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Image

China Quietly Rebuilds Secretive Base for Nuclear Tests

Beijing is investing heavily in the modernization of Lop Nur, a sprawling military site where it long detonated atom bombs and thermonuclear warheads.

A White Christmas in New York City (if You Squint a Little)

It has not snowed in New York in a very long time. But onstage at Lincoln Center, inside a shop display, and in a busker’s saxophone, there are flakes to be found.

In Campus Protests Over Gaza, Echoes of Outcry Over Vietnam

The war in Vietnam ignited a protest movement that helped define a generation. Is the war between Israel and Hamas doing the same thing?

Netanyahu Visits Gaza as Palestinians Mourn an Attack That Officials Say Killed Dozens

The Gazan Health Ministry blamed Israeli airstrikes for the deaths, and Israel’s military said it was reviewing the episode.

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – Jan 1 & 8, 2024

A person pauses from working at their desk and looks out the window at fireworks over a city skyline.

The New Yorker – January 1 & 8, 2024 issue: The new issue‘s cover features Bianca Bagnarelli’s “Deadline” – The artist evokes a moment suspended between the old and the new.

How Camille Pissarro Went from Mediocrity to Magnificence

A painting of a young girl with flowers by Camille Pissarro

He began as more of a tutor than a talent. But in his final decade he lent a keen eye-in-the-sky view to the Paris streets, rendering miracles of kinetic characterization.

By Adam Gopnik

It’s one of the stranger anomalies of French intellectual life that Impressionist painting—by far the most influential of French cultural enterprises—has received so little attention from the most ambitious French critics and philosophers. One can page through André Gide’s journal entries, a lot of them on art, or through Albert Camus’s, and find very little on Claude Monet or Edgar Degas (and much more on the Symbolists, a group that was far easier for a literary man to “get”). Marcel Proust cared passionately for painting, and his hero-painter Elstir has touches of Monet, but in order to make him interesting Proust had to model him on the more histrionic James McNeill Whistler, with samplings from a forgotten American painter added in.

A Palestinian Poet’s Perilous Journey Out of Gaza

A photograph of the writer Mosab Abu Toha and his family

Following Hamas’s October 7th attack and Israel’s invasion, Mosab Abu Toha fled his home with his wife and three children. Then I.D.F. soldiers took him into custody.

By Mosab Abu Toha

Christmas Day Morning: A 2023 Review From London

The Globalist Podcast (December 25, 2023) – Tom Edwards looks back at the year in design and architecture. We also visit a wooden-toy factory in Finland and Andrew Mueller recaps the past 12 months with a special ‘What We Learned’.

The New York Times — Monday, December 25, 2023

Image

Hoping for Peace With Houthis, Saudis Keep Low Profile in Red Sea Conflict

Riyadh is seeking to avoid getting dragged back into a bloody clash with the Yemeni militia, which has sowed chaos by attacking shipping and firing missiles at Israel.

America’s Truckers Face a Chronic Headache: Finding Parking

A rest area with truck parking on the eastbound side of Interstate 90 near Salem, S.D.

Parking spots for trucks are in short supply around the country, and the problem can lead to unsafe situations for long-haul truck drivers and other motorists.

Christmas Comes Early in Ukraine, but Not a Moment Too Soon

Santa handing out gifts to children on Friday at a festival in Kyiv, Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church formally changed the date for celebrating to Dec. 25, departing from the Russian tradition of celebrating on Jan. 7, according to the Julian calendar.

What Went Wrong for Ron DeSantis in 2023

The Florida governor entered the year flush with cash and momentum. In the months since, internal chaos and Donald Trump’s indictments have sapped even his most avid supporters.

Apple’s Newest Headache: An App That Upended Its Control Over Messaging

Beeper Mini, which offers iPhone messaging on Android phones, has grown fast and its duel with the tech giant has gotten the attention of antitrust regulators.

Travel Guide: A Day In Regensburg, Germany

DW Travel (December 24, 2023) – DW’s Hannah Hummel hosts an experience of maximum Middle Ages. Regensburg in Bavaria is one of the largest preserved medieval cities in Germany.

Video timeline: 00:00 Intro 00:55 Regensburg Cathedral 04:14 Stone Bridge 05:05 Stadtamhof quarter 05:25 Sausages with Sauerkraut at the Historic Wurstkuchl 06:46 Stroll through the Old town 07:37 Walhalla

Not far from Regensburg lies an important national monument for the Germans: the Walhalla. Find out what it’s like to visit the Germans’ “Hall of Fame”!

Switzerland Train Travel: The Glacier Express – Brig To Andermatt (Dec 2023)

AKSense – Zurich Films (December 24, 2023) – The Glacier Express is the world’s slowest and Switzerland’s most elegant express train. This video is between Brig and Andermatt stations.

The entire route takes around 8 hours, the Glacier Express takes you across the Swiss Alps between St. Moritz and Zermatt regions, passing through narrow valleys, tight curves, 91 tunnels, and over 291 bridges including the unique Landwasser viaduct (UNESCO site).

Sunday Morning: Stories And News From Zürich

Monocle on Sunday, December 24, 2023 – Monocle’s editorial director, Tyler Brûlé, brings us a festive programme from the radio studio in Zürich.

Featuring journalist Juliet Linley, as well as Monocle’s Andrew Tuck, Nic Monisse and Robert Bound.

The New York Times — Sunday, December 24, 2023

Image

Putin Quietly Signals He Is Open to a Cease-Fire in Ukraine

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia speaking at a rally in February at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

Despite its bravado in public, the Kremlin has indicated its interest in striking a deal to halt the war — so long as it could still declare victory.

Ghosts on the Glacier

Decades after the unexplained deaths of two American climbers in Argentina, a camera belonging to one of them was found in the snow. The film held astonishing images, but the mystery endures.

‘God Is Under the Rubble in Gaza’: Bethlehem’s Subdued Christmas

The war in Gaza has prompted the city, traditionally seen as the birthplace of Jesus, to tone down its Christmas celebrations.

2023 in Photos: A Weary World

Photographers captured historic moments of war, grief and wonder that defined the year.

Historical: Saving John Steinbeck’s ‘Western Flyer’

CBS Mornings (December 23, 2023) – After writing “The Grapes of Wrath,” author John Steinbeck explored the Gulf of Mexico in a famous boat called the Western Flyer.

Since then, the boat has inspired adventurers and scientists for generations, but the original ship was nearly lost. CBS News’ Jeff Glor reports on the person determined to give it new life.

International Art: Apollo Magazine – January 2024

Image

Apollo Magazine (December 23, 2023): The new January 2024 issue features ‘The Last Days of Vincent Van Gogh’; What’s in store for the art market?; Paris pays tribute to Agnès Varda, and more…

Breath of fresh air – Gerhard Richter in the Alps

Three exhibitions in the Engadin Valley explore how the Swiss mountains have inspired some of the painter’s most playful work

Remembering the festive geese of Christmas past

The festive bird has often been served up by artists and writers including J.M.W. Turner and Charles Dickens

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious