Scientific American – October 2023: The issue features ‘Will Humans ever Live in Space – Here’s what it will take to leave planet Earth’; AI could help us to talk to animals; New origins of wine, and more…
Global warming is so rampant that some scientists say we should begin altering the stratosphere to block incoming sunlight, even if it jeopardizes rain and crops
The Local Project (September 19, 2023) – An inspired super house leveraging its unique site nestled between the calm waters of Pittwater, the surf beach of Avalon and bushland in Clareville on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, M House envelopes the landscape in its very structure in an alluring and profound way.
Video timeline:00:00 – Introduction to the Brazilian Inspired Super House 00:56 – Behind the Modernist Idea of Form Follows Function 01:26 – The Beachside Location 01:47 – Brazilian Modernist Inspiration 02:14 – A Walkthrough of the Home 04:24 – An Emphasis on Privacy 05:11 – The Rich Green Landscaping 05:30 – Connecting the Masculine and Feminine Materials
Rama Architects creates a home that viscerally connects inhabitants to the surrounding landscape while maintaining a sense of privacy and tranquillity. Grounded in the idea that form follows function, this inspired super house is functional first, then focuses on layout and flow. As such, Rama Architects responded to the client’s brief to create a Brazilian modernist-style home. This style is based on creating a sense of transparency and connection to surrounding waterways while maintaining a feeling of sanctuary.
With a tangible indoor-outdoor connection, there is an immediate sense of tranquillity as the plantings engulf the architecture of the home’s structure. Upon entering the inspired super house, one is greeted with a courtyard that welcomes filtered light through the above tree canopy. The home is delineated by floor-to-ceiling glass doors and leans heavily into subtropical design principles and Brazilian modernist philosophies surrounding the prioritisation of natural light and ventilation. Plants cascade down from the rooftop and are visible from every room, once again reiterating an appreciation of the beachside locale.
Similarly, the main living area releases with ease to the water and western horizon beyond, while a sunken lounge is incorporated to align with the Brazilian modernist typology of the inspired super house and ensures no couches or furniture distract from the view. The M House is grounded in a connection between masculine and feminine materials, which creates a juxtaposition of feeling safe but also vulnerable within the home. For example, privacy is created through the dominant brutal front façade and greenery engulfing the building.
The Globalist Podcast (September 19, 2023) – Will the UN General Assembly step up its action on climate change?
We also discuss the Iran-US prisoner swap, the latest on the conflict in Sudan and Justin Trudeau’s claim that the Indian government was involved in the killing of a Sikh leader on Canadian soil. Plus: why are young Germans among the unhappiest in Europe?
The terms of the deal have generated intense criticism from Republicans, even as the White House insists Iran will be prevented from spending the money on anything except humanitarian goods.
The Ukrainian leader’s second trip to America comes at a more delicate diplomatic moment, as he tries to navigate political currents while expressing gratitude for Western support.
Strike Is a High-Stakes Gamble for Autoworkers and the Labor Movement
Experts on unions and the industry said the U.A.W. strike could accelerate a wave of worker actions, or stifle labor’s recent momentum.
In Moscow, the War Is Background Noise, but Ever-Present
Muscovites go about their daily lives with little major disruption. But the war’s effects are evident — in the stores, at the movies and in the increasingly repressive environment.
The planet’s apparent backward motion occurs for a few weeks about every four months. Here’s what’s really happening—and how astrology became a modern phenomenon.
Phillips (September 18, 2023) – From Phillips’ London gallery, Specialist and Head of Sale Rebecca Tooby-Desmond provides an expert look into a selection of pop art staples, including Roy Lichtenstein’s ‘Two Nudes,’ Robert Indiana’s ‘The Book of Love,’ and Andy Warhol’s ‘Electric Chairs.’
Today’s conservative dilemma by James Piereson Can conservatives still win by Victor Davis Hanson Conservatism reconfigured by Daniel McCarthy The promise of populism by Margot Cleveland
New poems by Daniel Brown, Sophie Cabot Black & W. S. Di Piero
‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (September 18, 2023) – Three essential articles read aloud from the The Economist. This week, an analysis of how AI can revolutionize scienceand how a fresh wave of hard-right populism is stalking Europe.
Harper’s Magazine – OCTOBER 2023: This issue features ‘Craving A Choice’ – Insurgency and its Threat to the Democratic Party; The Spy – An Essay On seeing without being seen, and more…
For decades, New Hampshire has generated brisk and gratifying drama with its first-in-the-nation presidential primary. The Granite State momentously destroyed a presidency in 1968, when the Minnesota senator Eugene McCarthy ran against President Lyndon Johnson on an antiwar platform.
Not long ago our mother died, or at least her body did—the rest of her remained obstinately alive. She took a considerable time to die and outlasted the nurses’ predictions by many days, so that those of us who had been summoned to her bedside had to depart and return to our lives.
The Times and The Sunday Times (September 18, 2023) – They used to call it La Belle Endormie: a sleeping beauty choked with traffic and blackened with soot. But now Bordeaux has woken up. Its long parades of 18th-century architecture have been sandblasted clean and its streets equipped with trams, cycle lanes and pedestrianized zones. Navigation is quick, the atmosphere unhurried and the food uncommonly good. And if you fancy following in the footsteps of King Charles, who will visit Bordeaux during this week’s short French state visit, you can even get there by train — take the Eurostar and a high-speed TGV; the total journey time from London is six hours.
What to do
The Chartrons quarter
● First, a little history. See that modest cathedral by the Hôtel de Ville? It’s where Eleanor of Aquitaine married King Louis VII of France. Later, in 1152, this feisty daughter of the southwest married again, in Poitiers, to the man who became King Henry II. In doing so she began a Bordelais involvement with England that didn’t end until 1453, when the French captured the city. Sure, a lot of water has flowed under the city’s bridges since then, but to be reminded of the connection is like discovering an unexpected cousin.
● Bordeaux profited handsomely from this attachment thanks to the English thirst for its wines. So continue this 650-year tradition with a riveting, self-guided audio tour of La Cité du Vin. The decanter-shaped landmark explores every aspect of global winemaking and wine culture, with one amusing omission: intoxication. The best bit is a display that wafts key wine flavours up your nose (£19; laciteduvin.com).
Coolest neighborhood
The northern district of Chartrons starts with palatial mansions and merchant warehouses, but shrinks to more modest proportions the further you wander from the city centre. Along the Rue Notre Dame it finds its mojo. Here, half a mile of browsable tiny shops sell must-have crockery, hand-made brushes and £2.50 fruit-crumble tartlets. Clambering vines deepen the sense that you’ve found the perfect French provincial street.