Denes, who has a new show up at the (oft-maligned) Hudson Shed, says that “Environmental art spreads like wildfire and now everybody wants to partake in its production. It’s okay, but do some good, make people think and act effectively. … We are becoming robots. I would like to make people think and feel good about themselves. Inside, even in a misguided fool, lurks a good person. My art touches on that secret spot.” – Fast Company
Can We Make A Better Social Media World?
One science fiction writer and futurist says we can – but a lot will need to change. “The issue isn’t technical. It has to do with the way business is being done in Silicon Valley. The problem, as most people know by now, is that tech companies want to grab a ton of private data from their customers without telling anyone why they need it. And this … is bad design for users.” – The New York Times
Does Venice Have A Future?
Yes, the water’s up, but the population is also dropping fast. “In the central Castello District, master artisan Paolo Brandolisio — one of only four remaining makers of oars and oar posts for the city’s legendary gondolas — is trying to put his workshop back in order. Brandolisio is trying to salvage his waterlogged oak worktable.” Brandolisio says, “If no one’s left to make wooden boats, they’ll disappear and be replaced by plastic ones.” – NPR
An Actor Afraid Of Singing And Dancing?
Well, no time to confront those fears like filming a Noah Bambach movie, of course. Julie Hagerty has been in everything from Airplane to Lost In America (and a whole lot more), but it was new to work with Bambach – and for Netflix. Wallace Shawn, a frequent collaborator, says: “I’ve seen her act on Broadway. I know that she has an incredible … ability to control what she does to make the audience laugh, to do whatever the director wants her to do. When you act with her, it feels as if it’s never happened before.” – Los Angeles Times
As Fines Head To The Scrap Heap, Libraries Tear Down (Self-Inflicted) Barriers For Low-Income Patrons
Fines probably seemed like a great idea at the time – an encouragement for children (and adults) to keep track of time, keep track of library books and DVDs, and go back into the library to return books and encounter yet more of a library’s offerings. Yet libraries have realized fines and overdue fees are agents of inequity: “The penalties drive away the people who stand to benefit the most from free library resources.” Scrapping fines is one part of the answer. – NPR
Ski Architecture That’s Meant To Be Egalitarian And Perhaps Has Aged Better Than It Began
One of the ideas of Les Arcs was to make skiing holidays easier and more affordable for French holidaygoers. “This huge block of holiday apartments is cantilevered into the hillside, one side tilting outwards so that each floor gets the same amount of sunshine bouncing off the snow. The balconies are on the other side – again each set so that no apartment has more light than another.” – The Guardian (UK)
The Latin Dictionary That’s Been Underway For 125 Years And Isn’t Finished Yet
German researchers started working on this new dictionary in the 1890s, thinking it would take 10-15 years of work. But “the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae (T.L.L.) has seen the fall of an empire, two world wars and the division and reunification of Germany. In the meantime, they are up to the letter R. This is not for lack of effort.” – The New York Times