Tag Archives: January 2023

Books: London Review Of Books – January 19, 2023

Contents · Vol. 45 No. 2 · 19 January 2023 · LRB

London Review of Books (LRB) – January 19, 2023:

Puzzled Puss

Buster Keaton by James Curtis

Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker’s Life by James Curtis.

From acclaimed cultural and film historian James Curtis—a major biography, the first in more than two decades, of the legendary comedian and filmmaker who elevated physical comedy to the highest of arts and whose ingenious films remain as startling, innovative, modern—and irresistible—today as they were when they beguiled audiences almost a century ago.

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I want to be queen

The Drunken Boat: Selected Writings by Arthur Rimbaud, translated by Mark Polizzotti

Poet, prodigy, precursor, punk: the short, precocious, uncompromisingly rebellious career of the poet Arthur Rimbaud is one of the legends of modern literature. By the time he was twenty, Rimbaud had written a series of poems that are not only masterpieces in themselves but that forever transformed the idea of what poetry is. Without him, surrealism is inconceivable, and his influence is palpable in artists as diverse as Henry Miller, John Ashbery, Bob Dylan, and Patti Smith.

‘Everyone is terribly kind’


The Newspaper Axis: Six Press Barons Who Enabled Hitler 
by Kathryn Olmsted

Last Call at the Hotel Imperial: The Reporters Who Took on a World at War by Deborah Cohen

Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement – Jan 13, 2023

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Times Literary Supplement (January 13, 2023):

Three in this marriage

Why Vincent van Gogh’s sister-in-law was responsible for his worldwide fame

A real papist plot

How did Henry VIII’s love letters to Anne Boleyn get to the Vatican?

Et in Arcadia ego

The eccentric members of the Hypocrites set

News: Russia Claims To Capture Soledar, China-Taliban, Aid To Pakistan

Russia claims control of Soledar but Ukraine remains silent. Meanwhile, is China pulling away from Russia and turning towards the Taliban? Plus: Pakistan receives a pledge of $9bn (€8.4bn) from the international community and a roundup from Art SG.

Front Page: The New York Times – January 12, 2023

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Discovery of More Classified Records Raises Questions Over Biden’s Handling of Documents

The revelation is sure to intensify Republican attacks on the president, who has called former President Donald J. Trump irresponsible for hoarding sensitive documents at his estate in Florida.

Hunter Biden’s Tangled Tale Comes Front and Center

Federal prosecutors could decide soon whether to indict the president’s son on tax and gun charges, and he faces a fresh round of hostile congressional hearings. But a close look at his story shows that it differs in important ways from the narrative promoted by Republicans.

Here Are All the Ways Republicans Plan to Investigate Biden

House Republicans are preparing a cascade of investigations, some overlapping, into the Biden administration and its policies. Right-wing lawmakers have said the ultimate goal is to impeach the president.

Obamacare Is Everywhere in the Unlikeliest of Places: Miami

A decade after the Affordable Care Act’s federal health insurance marketplace was created, its outsize — and improbable — popularity in South Florida persists.

Research: New Scientist Magazine- January 14, 2023

ISSUE 3421 | MAGAZINE COVER DATE: 14 January 2023 | New Scientist

New Scientist – January 14, 2023 issue:

How can we understand quantum reality if it is impossible to measure?

If we can’t measure something, we can’t know its true nature. This fundamental limitation hampers our understanding of the quantum world – but it doesn’t preclude scientific thinking

How AI is shifting the limits of knowledge imposed by complexity

From weather to the structure of proteins, some things are predictable in theory, but too complex to figure out in practice. But the rise of artificial intelligence is changing that fast

Why some aspects of physical reality must be experienced to be known

We will never fully know what pain, colour and love are really like for other people – never mind other animals. That means we may never know if we have created sentient AI

Previews: The Guardian Weekly – January 13, 2023

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The Guardian Weekly (January 13, 2023) – In Washington, the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives took 15 attempts just to fulfil its primary duty of appointing a speaker. Kevin McCarthy eventually squeaked through by four votes, after quelling a days-long revolt from a bloc of far-right conservatives. But, with a wafer-thin majority, and few powers, Nancy Pelosi’s successor looks set to be one of the weakest speakers in history.

For our big story, Washington bureau chief David Smith examines the chaos within Republican ranks and what it means for the party. It’s a theme picked up for this week’s cover by illustrator Justin Metz, who took the traditionally harmless-looking motif of the Republican elephant and turned it into something altogether more confrontational.

In Brazil, meanwhile, supporters of the former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed congress buildings in scenes eerily reminiscent of Washington on 6 January 2021. Latin America correspondent Tom Phillips reports on a dark day for Brazilian democracy, while Richard Lapper considers the potential fallout for the new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and a deeply fractured nation.

There’s a feast of great writing elsewhere in this week’s magazine. British food writer Jack Monroe, who taught us how to eat well on a shoestring, opens up to Simon Hattenstone about her struggles with addiction.

And Chris Stringer, who has received a CBE for his work on human evolution, tells how his remarkable quest as a young researcher transformed understanding of our species.

News: Protests In Peru, Executions In Iran, 100-Year Flood In Australia

January 11, 2023: Tensions mount in Iran over imminent executions. Plus: Calls grow in Peru for President Boluarte to resign; Australia’s outback is hit by “a one-in-100-year flood”; political momentum grows towards reaching agreement on Northern Ireland protocol talks; a run through the day’s papers; and the latest business news.

Front Page: The New York Times – January 11, 2023

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Soaked and Battered by Repeating Rainstorms, California Girds for More

Extreme weather has plagued many parts of the country this fall and winter. But few places have been as savaged by the changing climate these last weeks as California.

As Infrastructure Money Lands, the Job Dividends Begin

Trillions of dollars in government spending will profoundly affect the labor market, but in ways hard to measure, and mostly under the surface.

Divided House Approves G.O.P. Inquiry Into ‘Weaponization’ of Government

Republicans pushed through a measure to create a powerful new committee to scrutinize what they have charged is an effort by the government to target and silence conservatives.

An Ailing Arkansas City Elected an 18-Year-Old Mayor to Turn Things Around

Residents hope that Jaylen Smith’s youthful energy and sense of purpose can improve the fortunes of Earle, Ark. — or at least attract a supermarket to the small city.

Preview: MIT Technology Review – January/Feb 2023

JF23 cover

MIT Technology Review – January/February 2023:

10 Breakthrough Technologies 2023

Our annual look at 10 Breakthrough Technologies—including CRISPR for high cholesterol, battery recycling, AI that makes images, and the James Webb Space Telescope—that will have a profound effect on our lives. Plus care robots, 3-D printing pioneers, and chasing bugs on the blockchain.

Generative AI is changing everything. But what’s left when the hype is gone?

No one knew how popular OpenAI’s DALL-E would be in 2022, and no one knows where its rise will leave us.

AI is bringing the internet to submerged Roman ruins

The technology is making it easier to monitor underwater archaeological sites.

Village Walks: Saint Paul De Vence, France (2023)

Tourist Channel (January 2023) – Saint-Paul de Vence (also called simply, Saint Paul) lies near Nice, between Cagnes-sur-Mer and Vence. St-Paul is a medieval village, and today it is a real mecca for artists, who have been coming here since 1920. Among others, Picasso, Dufy, Matisse, and Marc Chagall have stayed here and created their works. Chagall lived in St-Paul for 19 years and is buried in the local cemetery (on the right after entering the cemetery).

The village has also hosted world cinema stars, including Greta Garbo, Sophia Loren, and Catherine Deneuve. The artists usually spent the night in a hotel and restaurant called the Colombe d’Or, which is located in front of the walls of the old town. Apparently, the most famous of them paid for their stay in kind, leaving their works for the owner.