“There is perhaps no institution on earth whose opening has been as wildly anticipated, or as mind-bogglingly delayed. ... Its construction has been such a fiasco — mired by funding lapses, logistical hurdles, a pandemic, nearby wars, revolutions (yes, plural) — that it begs comparison to that of the pyramids.” - The New York Times
This odd wind instrument, whose name is Italian for “little goose,” was invented more-or-less by chance in 1853 in a little town near Bologna. That town now manufactures hand-crafted ocarinas, boasts an ocarina septet which tours internationally (and sells out concerts in East Asia), and hosts an international ocarina festival. - Atlas Obscura
Coachella’s payment plan is just this: For a $599 GA ticket (including fees), fans had the option to put $49.99 down when tickets went on sale in November 2024, then pay off the remainder of the balance in monthly installments through March of this year. - Los Angeles Times
“What if … Glengarry is instead celebrating the deceit, in fact presenting it as the epitome of manliness? What if Glengarry Glen Ross, quite possibly in ways a younger Mamet himself did not entirely fathom, offers us a joyful ethnography of Donald Trump’s America?” - The New Republic
These virtual spaces do more than serve as mere backdrops for gameplay. The design of buildings, streets and entire cities guides player emotions, behaviours and even advances the narrative. - The Conversation
In the early 20th century, the industrialist Andrew Carnegie provided the seed money for the Simplified Spelling Board, which, unlike the Spelling Reform Association, was committed to subtracting letters from the alphabet rather than adding them. - The Wall Street Journal
In 2024, the 40 best-funded theatre companies that make their own productions - ranging from the National Theatre to the Colchester Mercury - opened 229 original productions, compared with 332 in 2014, a drop of 31%. - BBC
“An archaeologist and curator … in Copenhagen finds that Greco-Roman statues were often perfumed with enticing scents like rose, olive oil and beeswax. These fragrances were ‘not merely decorative but symbolic, enhancing the religious and cultural significance of these sculptures.’” - Smithsonian Magazine
When you studied literature in school or university, I expect that you were taught, implicitly or explicitly, that this plot-focused way of reading was simplistic, and that you were trained to read in new ways where plot was largely irrelevant. The message is: Only amateurs read for the plot. - Public Books
With a full slate of free programming that ranges from workshops and classes to performance, the company is hoping to become a neighbourhood hub. - Ludwig Van
“Several dismissed jurors were open about why they couldn’t serve fairly. (One) told a pool reporter, ‘I don’t like the guy; he is a really bad guy.’ One woman said she was the victim of sexual assault. A restaurant maître’d explained, ‘I don’t see how anyone can be impartial.’” - Vulture (MSN)
The controversy around France’s deal with India may appear more ambiguous to a Western audience. Is it France’s concern if the YYBNM decides to portray a skewed history of India that privileges Hindu culture and a Hindutva ideology, even if its role is limited to “specific areas of technical collaboration." - ARTnews
“The Iliad is the poem of death. Death stalks its lines, blood soaks it. Countless young men appear in the poem only to be cut down. … But at the heart of the Odyssey there is life, and survival. This survival isn’t pretty, or comforting, or dignified.” - The Guardian
“We can read the Odyssey today with a sense of déjà vu: we feel we know these narratives, we have met these characters, we recognize these themes. Yet the epic of Odysseus’s return is, in many ways, as unfathomably strange to us as the one-eyed giant Cyclops was to its hero.” - Literary Hub
