Tag Archives: Stories

Morning News: Senate Passes Health-Climate Bill, U.S. – Africa Relations

Senate Democrats pass major legislation addressing health care, taxes, and climate change. Antony Blinken is in South Africa to lay out a new strategy for US relations in the region. Results of a new poll find stark racial disparities when it comes to accessing healthcare.

Cover Preview: Barron’s Magazine – August 8, 2022

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THE TRADER

July’s Strong Jobs Report Didn’t Crush the Market. What to Look for Next.

Ben Levisohn

UP AND DOWN WALL STREET

Job Boom Means There Is No Recession. It Also Boosts Pressure for Rate Hikes.

Randall W. Forsyth

STREETWISE

The Big Three Wireless Stocks Are Seeing a Growth Surge. We Break Them Down.

Jack Hough

TECHNOLOGY TRADER

Advertising Is Still Going Strong. Apple Wants In.

Eric J. Savitz

Greek Architecture: ‘O Lofos’ Residence On Crete

O Lofos*: The green, wild Cretan landscape and the richness and heritage of traditional crafts define this new, thoroughly contemporary residential design by Block722. Sat on the northern foothills of Thrypti mountain within the Greek island’s eastern side, the project is a commission by a private client.

The main home is divided into two low buildings linked by a semi-enclosed area with an envy-inducing water feature | O Lofos by Block722 | STIRworld
The main home is divided into two low buildings linked by a semi-enclosed area with an envy-inducing water featureImage: Ana Santl

It called for a 280 sq m home on a slope, including two guestrooms and generous outdoors areas. Balancing the needs of the brief with the natural setting that combines vistas of mountains, plains, and the Mediterranean Sea, was critical in the architects’ design solution. The architecture was driven by desire to create a modern house that is discreet and respectful to its surroundings.

The built is in harmonious continuation of the Cretan context | O Lofos by Block722 | STIRworld
The built is in harmonious continuation of the Cretan context

Negotiating the site’s angle through levels instead of steps was also critical in moulding a relaxing environment that embraces its setting.
A path down a slope from the main road leads visitors to the residence’s entrance. The complex’s size is cleverly broken down into smaller volumes, which are interconnected through circulation routes and in-between spaces – some indoors and some open-air. The main home is divided into two low buildings linked by a semi-enclosed area with a water feature.

The design merges natural materials that are often used in the local vernacular, such as wood and stone. At the same time, the atmosphere is distinctly contemporary, blending Block722’s inherent Scandinavian sensibility and organic minimalism with Japanese architecture influences. This nod to Japan unfolds through the design’s refreshing simplicity of clean, almost austere lines that balance the materials’ natural, tactile nature and the overall craft-rich approach. The powerful Greek sunlight helps define shapes and surfaces,

Read more

Cover: National Wildlife Magazine – Aug/Sep 2022

Surrounded by golden light, a mule deer stands in grasslands.

National Wildlife Magazine – August/September 2022

Burning Up

Heat, drought and wildfires are ravaging western wildlife while conservationists try to help ecosystems adapt

By Brianna Randall – Conservation, Aug 02, 2022

Dead mussels lie along the Pacific shore of Vancouver, British Columbia, during 2021’s summer heat wave. Scientists estimate that the record-breaking heat killed more than 1 billion marine animals off the coasts of British Columbia and Washington state.
(Photo by Christopher Harley/University of British Columbia)

GASPING SALMON WITH INFECTED LESIONS. Emaciated deer searching sagebrush flats for water. Clams and mussels boiled to death in their shells. Last summer, temperatures in the Northwest soared to record highs in the triple digits, killing more than 1 billion marine animals in the Salish Sea and stressing wildlife from the Pacific to the Rocky Mountains. Simultaneously, ongoing drought in the Southwest—which began in 2000 and is the region’s driest 22-year period in 1,200 years—is causing plants to wither, springs to dry up and wildfires to engulf entire landscapes.

Summer 2022: New Books

5 New Books Adam Grant Thinks You Should Read This August

1. If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal by Justin Gregg 

Rarely have I heard of a book with a weirder title, but Grant explains this book about how animals think is actually as useful as it is interesting. “A dazzling, delightful read on what animal cognition can teach us about our own mental shortcomings,” he writes. “I tore through his book in one sitting. I dare you to read it without rethinking some of your basic ideas about intelligence.” (It’s out August 9th.)  

2. The Neuroscience of You by Chantel Prat 

“Move over, outer space–this book is a stunning tour through inner space. This neuroscientist has a rare, remarkable gift for making neurons sing and dendrites dance. She’s written the smartest, clearest, and funniest book I’ve ever read about the brain,” Grant enthuses about The Neuroscience of You. (Out August 2nd.) 

3. What We Owe the Future by Will MacAskill 

Grant isn’t the only public thinker raving about this book by an Oxford philosopher about our “moral responsibility to do right by our grandchildren’s grandchildren.” “This book will change your sense of how grand the sweep of human history could be, where you fit into it, and how much you could do to change it for the better. It’s as simple, and as ambitious, as that,” says Ezra Klein. (Out August 16th.) 

4. Longpath by Ari Wallach 

Next on the list is another book about long-term thinking (apparently a preoccupation of Grant’s at the moment). He explains his second pick on the topic this way: “This book is an antidote to nearsightedness. A futurist offers an actionable guide for planning multiple generations in the future.” (Also out August 16th.) 

5. Both/And Thinking by Wendy Smith and Marianne Lewis 

This book by a pair of business school professors is specifically aimed at leaders trying to navigate uncertain times. “Life is full of paradoxes, and too often we ignore them or try to erase them when we should be learning how to manage them. Two top scholars of paradox examine how to embrace tensions and overcome tradeoffs,” says Grant. Fellow business writer Tom Peters is more succinct: “This book is, pure and simple, a masterpiece.” (Out August 9th) 

Read more at Inc. Magazine

Previews: Times Literary Supplement – Aug 5, 2022

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This week’s @TheTLS , featuring Marjorie Perloff on Robert Lowell’s Memoirs; A. N. Wilson on Lord Northcliffe; @funesdamemorius on Aleister Crowley; @MarenMeinhardt on Manon Gropius; @JuliaBell on Lillian Fishman; @chrismullinexmp on political lives – and more.

September 2022: National Geographic Traveller

National Geographic Traveller (UK) September 2022

PHOTOGRAPH BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER

The September issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK) is out now. The cover story this month focuses on the Italian coast, which encapsulates the very best of the country.

Covers: France-Amérique Magazine – August 2022

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France-Amérique Magazine, August 2022 – This month, we celebrate French education in all its diversity. Read our investigation on how to become a professeur de français in the United States (Spoiler: It’s difficult, but not impossible); meet the French couple behind the first franchise for bilingual education in North America; and discover the latest edition of our French Education Guide, a comprehensive state-by-state directory of French dual-language programs in the United States. And because summer is not over yet, visit the Hôtel Les Roches Blanches, a hotspot for Art Deco enthusiasts on the Mediterranean coast; read all about les espadrilles; and meet American pastry chef Amanda Bankert, the donut queen of Paris!