Tag Archives: Reviews

Magazines, Previews, Research, Reviews, Science

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – April 27, 2023

April 26, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

nature Magazine – April 20, 2023 issue:

Massive mosquito factory in Brazil aims to halt dengue

Facility will produce up to five billion bacteria-infected mosquitoes per year

A WMP staff member releases Wolbachia mosquitoes in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro — A World Mosquito Program (WMP) staff member releases *Wolbachia*-infected mosquitoes in Niterói, Brazil.Credit: WMP Brasil.

The non-profit World Mosquito Program (WMP) has announced that it will release modified mosquitoes in many of Brazil’s urban areas over the next 10 years, with the aim of protecting up to 70 million people from diseases such as dengue. Researchers have tested the release of this type of mosquito — which carries a Wolbachia bacterium that stops the insect from transmitting viruses — in select cities in countries such as Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and Vietnam. But this will be the first time that the technology is dispersed nationwide.

Rewilding the planet

An archipelago constructed of sand and mud is bringing new life to a dead lake but can this bold experiment have a lasting impact

Arts & Literature, Books, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement – April 28, 2023

April 26, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Times Literary Supplement @TheTLS (April 28, 2023) – This week’s @TheTLS, featuring Abigail Green on 1848; @WeTheBrandon on the geopolitics of space; @woodsgregory on James Purdy; @JulianBaggini on food policy; @scheffer_pablo on the Passion in the Netherlands; @CamilleRalphs_ on poetry anthologies – and more

Architecture, Buildings, Design, Rankings, Reviews

Architecture: Innovation At The Top 25 Dutch Firms

April 25, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

25 best architecture firms in The Netherlands

Archello (April 24, 2023) – Dutch architecture has long been at the vanguard of experimentation and innovation, pushing the boundaries of design metaphorically and literally. With an extensive chunk of the country situated below sea level, the Dutch have always relied on bold engineering and architectural solutions to adapt to the changing water levels to build habitats.

1. MVRDV

photo_credit Marcel Steinbach — Marcel Steinbach

MVRDV is a globally based architectural firm established in 1993 by Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries, with offices in Rotterdam, Shanghai, Paris, Berlin, and New York.

2. OMA

photo_credit Egbert de Boer — Egbert de Boer

OMA is an internationally renowned architecture and urbanism practice led by eight partners, Rem Koolhas, Reinier de Graaf, Ellen van Loon, Shohei Shigematsu, Iyad Alsaka, Chris van Duijn, Jason Long, and Managing Partner-Architect David Gianotten. With offices in Rotterdam, New York, Hong Kong, Doha and Australia, the practice is currently working on several building projects, including the renovation of Kaufhaus des Westens in Berlin and the Simone Veil Bridge in Bordeaux.

3. UNStudio

UNStudio began as a vision of two young minds, Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos, who started with a simple drawing board and a pen, sketching their designs for the future. Today, 30 years later, UNStudio operates in over 30 countries with six international offices and a team of over 200 architects and designers who focus on designing spaces that meet human needs.

Preview: London Review Of Books — May 4, 2023

April 24, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

London Review of Books (LRB) – May 4, 2023 issue: French President Emmanuel Macron and the Pension Crisis, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Big Con’ and more.

Macron v. Millions – The pensions crisis in France

Jeremy Harding · Macron v. Millions · LRB 4 May 2023

Pensions – and ‘the fiscal impact of ageing’ – have long troubled the EU. A European Commission paper published in 2016 noted with relief that ‘most EU member states’ were reforming their pension systems. France is one of them. During his first term in office Emmanuel Macron envisaged an ambitious reform plan, but Covid-19 put paid to it. Re-elected in 2022, he put a different plan on the table; at its core is an increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64. It has been predictably unpopular. Pensions rank high on the list of French state expenditures. They are one of the cornerstones in France’s edifice of public provision, which is why the sound of drilling and hammering sets most citizens’ teeth on edge.

Art, Arts & Literature, Exhibitions, Magazines, Museums, Reviews

International Art: Apollo Magazine — May 2023

April 22, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Apollo Magazine – May 2023 issue:

FEATURES | Jaune Quick-to-See Smith talks to Samuel Reilly about breaking the ‘buckskin ceiling’; Grant Lewis on Handel’s art-buying habit; Elisa Germán talks to Apollo about the watercolours of Richard Foster Yarde; Louisa McKenzie on wax figures through the ages; Jonathan Griffin on the creative curating of Walter Hopps

REVIEWS | Imogen Tedbury on the experimental side of Giovanni Bellini; Nicola Shulman on tartan at the V&A Dundee; Matthew Sperling looks at Alice Neel’s paintings at the Barbican; William Carruthers digs deeper into the life of a formidable French archaeologist; Alice Minter is dazzled by a catalogue of the Louvre’s gold and silver

MARKET | Jane Morris on New York’s domination of the art market; plus the latest columns from Emma Crichton-Miller and Samuel Reilly

PLUS | Hettie Judah asks if artists are getting screwed over by galleries and museums; Rosamund Bartlett on how Sydney Modern is rethinking Australian art; Diane Smyth focuses on photography collections in the UK; William Aslet on the chequered history of St Mary-le-Strand; Thomas Marks watches La Grande Bouffe; Christina Makris drinks rosé at a sculpture park in Piedmont; Sophie Barling on the potter who turned back time; Helen Stoilas on what not to miss at TEFAF New York; plus our pick of the best exhibitions to see this month

What’s the point of studying fine art?

Enrolment in the humanities is tumbling across the United States, but the numbers for fine art are still holding up

Will Edward Bawden’s lost masterpiece ever be tracked down?

The hunt is on for an epic mural depicting ‘Country Life in Britain’ – but chances are it’s a wild goose chase

Finnish lines – a new look for the Ateneum in Helsinki

Finland’s most important art museum has been completely rehung just as questions of culture and national identity are on everyone’s mind

Financial, Investing, Magazines, Previews, Retirement, Reviews

Finance Preview: Barron’s Magazine – April 24, 2023

April 22, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Barron’s Magazine – April 24, 2023:

The Battle for the Future of the Car Is On. Tech Is a Weapon.

Auto makers are pressing ahead with “software-defined vehicles.” Here are the suppliers helping to make it happen.

Fewer Money Managers Are Bullish on the Stock Market Now

Professional investors favor bonds over stocks for the next 12 months, according to the Big Money Poll. The biggest risk to the market: recession.

Inside Barry Diller’s Plan to Stop ChatGPT From Destroying the News Business

Diller, chairman of IAC, says artificial intelligence could be an existential threat to publishers. He’s rallying the industry to fight back.

Arts & Literature, Books, Newspapers, Previews, Reviews

The New York Times Book Review – April 23, 2023

April 21, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

The New York Times Book Review – April 23, 2023:

With His Tale of Shipwreck, David Grann Is Steady as He Goes

This illustration shows a sailing ship being tossed in heaving seas. The art is stylized, with mostly black, white and subtle blue lines, and the image is mirrored, so the same picture appears twice, once right-side up and the other upside down. — Credit…Naï Zakharia

The author’s latest book, “The Wager,” investigates the mysteries surrounding an 18th-century maritime disaster off Cape Horn.

There were multiple moments while reading David Grann’s new book, “The Wager,” about an 18th-century shipwreck, when it occurred to me that the kind of nonfiction narratives The New Yorker writer has become known for share something essential with a sturdy ship.

‘Biography of X’ Rewrites a Life Story and an American Century

The book jacket of “Biography of X,” by Catherine Lacey, is a deep red with a small, scrambled photograph of a woman’s face in the center.

Catherine Lacey’s new novel follows a polarizing artist through a fractured country.

The narrator of “Biography of X,” the new Catherine Lacey novel, is a journalist named C.M. Lucca who worked for a Village Voice-like newspaper in New York City during the 1980s. C.M. has a cool tone and a lonely intelligence; she’s a solitary spirit.

These Police Chiefs Are Working to Change Perceptions

A sea of uniformed police officers throng Fifth Avenue; an American flag waves in the background. — Police officers from across the country line Fifth Avenue for the funeral of the N.Y.P.D. officer Wilbert D. Mora, 2022.Credit…Karsten Moran for The New York Times

In “Walk the Walk,” Neil Gross profiles three departments around the country experimenting with genuine reform.

WALK THE WALK: How Three Police Chiefs Defied the Odds and Changed Cop Culture, by Neil Gross

Analysis, Automobiles, Business, Reviews, Technology, Videos

Electric Vehicles: The 2023 Shanghai Auto Show (WSJ)

Video April 21, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Wall Street Journal (April 21, 2023) – At this year’s auto show in Shanghai, international automakers like Volkswagen Group and Porsche are trying to keep up with Chinese EV manufacturers like BYD and Li Auto, who dominate China’s EV market.

Video timeline: 0:00 EVs and plug-in hybrids are in the spotlight at Auto Shanghai 0:37 BYD’s Seagull and Li Auto’s L8 on display 1:58 How international companies like Volkswagen and Porsche are trying to keep up with Chinese EV companies 3:07 What’s next for China’s EV market?

WSJ’s Yoko Kubota heads to the most prestigious car show in China and takes a look at what’s driving the latest trends.

Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Previews, Reviews, Society

Preview: New York Times Magazine – April 23, 2023

April 21, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

The New York Times Magazine – April 23, 2023:

They Saw the Horrific Aftermath of a Mass Shooting. Should We?

A photograph of Detectives Art Walkley and Karoline Keith and Sgt. Jeff Covello, all staring directly into the camera. — Detectives Art Walkley, left, and Karoline Keith and Sgt. Jeff Covello, crime-scene investigators for the Connecticut State Police.Credit…Elinor Carucci for The New York Times

The crime-scene investigators are the ones who document, and remember, the unimaginable. This is what they saw at Sandy Hook.

How Much Power Should the Courts Have?

A color illustration of a courthouse in the clouds. — Credit…Illustration by Anson Chan

In Israel, the United States and other democracies, bitter battles are being waged over the same question.

What Was Twitter, Anyway?

A color photograph of a nest filled with trash, including cigarette butts, a soda tab, wire, chewed-up bubble gum and a blue feather in the middle. — Credit…Photograph by Jamie Chung. Concept by Pablo Delcan.

Whether the platform is dying or not, it’s time to reckon with how exactly it broke our brains.

Magazines, Podcasts, Previews, Research, Reviews, Science

Research Preview: Science Magazine – April 21, 2023

April 20, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Science Magazine – April 21, 2023 issue:

“It’s just mind boggling.” More than 19,000 undersea volcanoes discovered

Sonar mapping image of underwater seamounts including 4776-meter-tall Pao Pao Seamount — The 4776-meter-tall Pao Pao Seamount (right) in the South Pacific Ocean has been mapped by sonar. Many others haven’t.

New seamount maps could aid in studies of ecology, plate tectonics, and ocean mixing

Sleeping deep

Although northern elephant seals do sleep on land, like the one pictured here in California, they can also sleep while diving to 300 meters underwater.PHOTO: RACHEL HOLSER, NMFS 23188

Sleep is essential, but not all mammals live in environments where long periods of time asleep are possible. Marine mammals encounter especially challenging conditions for sleep when they are at sea.