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How Fringe Theories Multiply

Devotees of a fringe theory are usually committed to more than one. They might start with just one, but fringes have a way of agglomerating. The second puzzle emerges when you scrutinise the first. The accumulation of fringe theories is often not random – it has a structure. - Aeon

Belgian Museum Returns Nazi-Stolen Painting After 80 Years

After years of research, the painting has been returned, the first restitution of any artwork looted from a Jewish family in the second world war by the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, which covers six museums, with works spanning the old masters to Magritte. - The Guardian

The Extravagantly Painted Chapels Of Michoacán

The walls and ceilings of these old places of worship, some of them dating back to the 1600s, illustrate Catholic stories and teachings and are painted in an imported European style, but their pigments — and their exuberance — are those of the indigenous Purépecha. - T — The New York Times Style Magazine

The “Most Important Archaeological Find In The UK” In A Century

A 5,000-year-old chalk sculpture discovered in east Yorkshire, due to be displayed at the British Museum, has been described as the most important piece of prehistoric art to be found in Britain in the last century. - The Guardian

The Rwandan Women’s Percussion Group Bringing Hutu And Tutsi Together

"Ingoma Nshya, … founded by Odile Gakire Katese in 2004, … arose to heal divisions after the 1994 genocide, which left around 800,000 people dead. … Members of Ingoma Nshya also had to overcome cultural stereotypes: Traditionally, drums have been the exclusive preserve of men." - The Christian Science Monitor

The End Of Mass Market Products

Mobility, consumer expectations, and technology are evolving exponentially, and there is huge appetite for low-friction user experiences, on-demand delivery, and personalized manufacturing. These are the technologies that are completely reshaping this century’s consumer behavior. - Shelly Palmer

Will Dance Companies Keep Experimenting With Film And Video After They’re Performing Live Again?

"Screendance provided an attractive platform to explore new directions for choreographic works. … The challenge now, is how to keep going." - Dance Magazine

Peter Jackson Tops Highest-Paid Entertainer List

Last year he sold his fx company. Forbes estimates Jackson personally made about $600m in cash and $375m in stock from the deal, making him the third person in history to become a billionaire from making films, after Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. - The Guardian

Defining Afrofuturism (Can It Be Done?)

With a festival this month and next, Carnegie Hall is taking a crack at defining, or at least surveying, the genre (if that's even the right word). Here are five Black scholars invited by Carnegie Hall to answer the question "What is Afrofuturism?" - Playbill

MoviePass Is Back

“We’re looking at this from another point of view,” Stacy Spikes said of the company’s relaunch, adding that he now plans to run the business like a “co-op.” MoviePass users will be able to hold partial ownership of the company, with its most premium tier inclusive of a lifetime subscription. - The Verge

“What If John Lennon Was A World-Class Intellectual With An Insatiable Curiosity For Third World Literature?”

A long, loving profile of Caetano Veloso, who has transformed Brazilian music more than once, was a famous exile during the dictatorship, and has become a leading voice of opposition to Jair Bolsonaro. - The New Yorker

An Oral History Of One Of The Best, And Most Meta, “Simpsons” Episodes Ever

"Stars Yeardley Smith, Nancy Cartwright, Hank Azaria and writer David X. Cohen, among others, share new insights and secrets about the 'ballsy' episode that thumbed its nose at Hollywood brass and pushed back against viewers already claiming that the Fox show was far past its prime." - The Hollywood Reporter

Remember Ski Ballet?

"On social media, it's easy to get lost in videos of this bygone athletic art. Clips from its Olympic appearances as a demonstration sport — at Calgary in 1988 and Albertville in 1992 — surface frequently on YouTube and TikTok, to the fascination of dance and sports enthusiasts." - The New York Times

Are Small Literary Magazines Going Extinct?

"Across the country, universities are slowly, quietly, cutting funding and shutting their literary publications down. Even magazines not connected to universities are closing their doors or changing publication strategies — a trend made worse by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic." - CNN

Attempted Book Bans Are Soaring In The U.S., Thanks To The “Outrage Ecosystem”

"The books are kind of incidental. What we're really arguing about is, what does it mean to be a citizen of the United States? How do we want our children to be educated? What do we want to say about our history?" - The Christian Science Monitor

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