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Putin Impersonator And Kim Jong-Un Impersonator Help Zelensky Impersonator Escape Ukraine

The Ukrainian president has remained in Kiev, but for Umid Isabaev, the entertainer who looks like Zelensky (and played his body double on Servant of the People), Ukraine was not safe once the Russian military invaded. So two of Isabaev's colleagues (it's a small profession) intervened. - MSN (The Washington Post)

Being A Comedian May Be An Ideal Background For A World Leader

"Imagine if Zelensky's hit show had been not Servant of the People, but Fury Force 5 or something similarly over-the-top, and Zelensky's career had been more Arnold Schwarzenegger than Al Franken. Would his comment, 'I need ammunition, not a ride,' have had the same impact?" - Zócalo Public Square

How Intimacy Directors Work In Ballet

"Intimacy work for screen and theater doesn't entirely translate to dance. In those fields, intimacy directors choreograph sexually charged scenes by setting the performers' moves in advance, but for existing dance works, the choreography mostly can't be altered, which limits their potential input." - The New York Times

700-Year-Old Passover Manuscript At Center of Lawsuit Against Israel Museum Over Nazi Looting

The so-called Birds' Head Haggadah (ca. 1300) belonged to German parliament member Ludwig Marum, one of the earliest Jews to die in the Holocaust. His grandchildren (three of them survivors themselves) are suing the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, where the book has been since 1946, for restitution. - The Art Newspaper

Does The Spanish Language Explain The “Hispanic Paradox” In Health Outcomes?

The "paradox" is that Hispanics in the US tend to have less heart disease and longer lifespans than non-Hispanic whites despite having higher risk factors. One researcher suggests that particular features of the Spanish language such as the diminutive suffix are a key element of the phenomenon. - The Conversation

Dr. William G Hamilton, Who Pioneered Dance Medicine, Dead At 90

"Ballet dancers may be the 'athletes of God,' as Albert Einstein supposedly said. But until Dr. Hamilton came along" as New York City Ballet's resident orthopedic surgeon, "they were treated more like ethereal beings than physical bodies that could crack, tear and otherwise fall apart." - The New York Times

CNN’s New Streaming Network Is About To Get Massive Budget Cuts

"The news giant was initially planning to invest around $1 billion in the service, CNN+, over the next four years. Hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be cut from that original investment total." - Axios

Library Of Congress Picks Recordings To Preserve

The list usually includes what the LOC calls "sounds of history," and this year, those selections include the complete presidential speeches of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and WSB-Atlanta's coverage of Hank Aaron's 715th home run, vividly called by legendary sportscaster Milo Hamilton. - NPR

2000 Irish Artists To Get Basic Incomes

“It is recognition, at government level, of the important role of the arts in Irish society. It also places a value on the time spent developing a creative practice and producing art,” reads a press release for the initiative. - Hyperallergic

Margaret Atwood: Feelings As Explanation, Not Excuse

Feelings are real—people do have them, I have observed—and they can certainly be plausible explanations for all kinds of behavior. But they are not excuses or justifications. - The Atlantic

Hollywood Shoots Record Number Of Productions In Canada In 2021

They made a record volume of productions here between March 2020 and April 2021 worth $5.27 billion. Canada’s homegrown film and TV industry also remained afloat, with some government underpinning, though it saw a dip in production of 12 per cent. - Toronto Star

Designing Ukraine Refugee Shelters That Are Livable

The Paper Partition System (PPS) is quickly and easily constructed using cardboard tubes as structure and textiles as partitions. One unit takes approximately five minutes to build with the help of three people. - Dezeen

Ancient Australian Rock Art Threatened

These artifacts are 10 times older than the pyramids of Egypt. Dating back tens of thousands of years, this cluster of one million images on the Burrup Peninsula is like an artistic encyclopedia, depicting human and environmental evolution. - National Geographic

How Thomas More And Thomas Cromwell Ended Up Glaring At Each Other Across A Fancy Fifth Avenue Fireplace

That fireplace is at The Frick Collection in midtown Manhattan, and on each side of it are Hans Holbein's famous portraits of Henry VIII's two ministers.  Penelope Rowlands retraces the paintings' journey into Henry Clay Frick's mansion. - The American Scholar

Cities Not Working? Why Not Build New Ones?

At first blush, it might seem obvious. But history is full of failed, unfinished or underperforming scratch-built city projects, in California and elsewhere, and more are in the pipeline. - Bloomberg

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