Art in the Instagram Era

PARIS - The young couple moved to the front of the crowd to look at the painting. After a few seconds, the woman turned around, smiled into her cellphone and took some selfies. Next, her husband took more formal shots of her in front of the work. The two then posed arm in arm for selfies together, turned to have a last brief look at the painting - and moved away.

“It’s too small, and it’s too crowded to get close to look at the detail,” said the woman, Jeannie Li, 28, a financial analyst in Shanghai, unimpressed by her first sight of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.” “I can see it better in a book or on the internet.”

The way the couple interacted with the 500-year-old painting exemplifies how differently the digital generation experiences art. Most of the roughly 150 people crowded around the painting at the Louvre were taking photographs of the piece or of themselves in front of it. In the presence of the “Mona Lisa,” digital photography, more than looking at the actual artwork, is the primary experience.

Ms. Li and her husband, Steven, were in Paris for their honeymoon. Why had she wanted to visit the Louvre and see this particular artwork? “Because it’s famous, because of its mysterious smile, and because I read ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ ” Ms. Li said, referring to the best-selling novel by Dan Brown, which opens with the shooting of a curator in the museum’s Grand Gallery.

In 2017, the Louvre attracted 8.1 million visitors, retaining its status as the world’s most visited museum. Leonardo’s enigmatic, infinitely reproduced portrait of a woman thought to be Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine  merchant, is the star attraction. Made in oil on wood in the early 16th century, the painting is presented in a temperature-controlled capsule behind bulletproof glass and a protective barrier.

In October 2014, the American megastars Jay-Z and Beyoncé, and their daughter Blue Ivy, had the privilege of visiting the Louvre on their own. The resulting smartphone photo session drew huge attention on Instagram, prompting Buzzfeeed to declare: “No Picture Matters More Than Beyoncé And Jay-Z Posing In Front Of The Mona Lisa,” and adding, “It might very well be the best picture of our generation. Or any generation.”

The way the “Mona Lisa” is viewed is representative of the way most art is viewed in today’s digitally-mediated visual culture. In the past a privileged few spent hours with masterpieces but digital reproduction has changed things.

“At least millions of people want to see it,” said Dulce Leite, 63, an Italian who seemed amazed by the crowd in front of the “Mona Lisa.” She had spent the previous 15 minutes contemplating a crowd-free “Virgin of the Rocks” (without taking any photos).

Imprisoned by its reputation as the most famous painting in the world, and by its security capsule, the “Mona Lisa” has ceased to exist as an original work of art. It has become a photo opportunity.

What could be a more contemporary way of seeing?

From The New Yorl Times (edited)

             

Average birth costs

The Duchess of Cambridge’s third baby was born on April 23rd. Reporters waited for updates outside the Lindo Wing, a luxurious private maternity ward in London that has often been used by the royals and which boasts a comprehensive wine list for celebrating parents.

Yet the price of delivering the new prince, who is fifth in line to the British throne, was probably slightly less than that of an average American baby.

In 2015, the Lindo Wing charged £5,670 ($8,900) for 24 hours in a deluxe room and a non-Caesarean delivery.  A survey in the same year by the International Federation of Health Plans found that the average fee for such a delivery in the United States was $10,808. That rises to roughly $30,000 after accounting for care given before and after a pregnancy, according to Truven Health Analytics. Insurers cover most of the cost, but parents are still left with an average bill of about $3,000. 

In many European countries, free maternity care is available.

From The Economist

Against plastic pollution

The United Kingdom will ban the sale of plastic straws, stirrers and cotton swabs as the global war against plastic pollution gains momentum.

Up to 1 million birds and 100,000 sea mammals die every year from ingesting some of the more than 150 million tons of plastic in the world’s oceans, advocates say. According to the British government, 8.5 billion plastic straws are thrown away every year in the U.K.  .

The proposals, part of Britain's 25-year plan to help preserve the environment, are subject to a governmental review, which will begin later in the year, officials said. Britain is asking other Commonwealth countries “to join in the fight” against plastic pollution, a government statement said.

May described plastic waste as “one of the greatest environmental challenges facing the world,” and said Britons “have shown passion and energy” in embracing a 7-cent charge for plastic bags and a ban on micro-beads that were introduced in the past few years. 

"The Commonwealth is a unique organization, with a huge diversity of wildlife, environments and coastlines, Together we can effect real change so that future generations can enjoy a healthier natural environment."

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Britain also announced a $90 million research fund to help Commonwealth member nations stop plastic from entering the oceans. The government said will work with industries to find alternatives to plastic for use in Britain.

From USA Today

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A plan to put beds on planes

Airbus last week announced its partnership with Zodiac Aerospace, a French aviation-equipment company, to develop "lower-deck modules with passenger sleeping berths." 

In other words, passengers will be able to go below decks to the cargo hold and sleep in bunk beds. The video released by the companies shows a clean, white, modern, and comfortable-looking space, although without windows.

Starting in 2020, Airbus says, the beds will be available on its widebody A330 planes, and could possibly appear on A350s as well. The airlines will decide whether to use the hold for cargo or for passengers to get some rest. They will  also include areas for the medical treatment of sick passengers, play places for children and meeting spaces.

Few passengers will turn down the chance to sleep in a real bed on a long-haul flight, especially if they are not among the lucky few with partially or fully reclining business- or first-class seats. The question is, how much will this privilege cost? Airbus hasn’t released any details on pricing.

 According to the International Air Transport Association, cargo generates an average 9% of airline revenue on combined passenger-cargo flights, more than twice what airlines get from first-class flyers.

 Given that only a fraction of flyers will probably be able to use these beds, it is not hard to imagine something close to a doubling of ticket prices to use them—or, if airlines want to make the beds more attractive, spreading-out those costs among other passengers.

For flyers at the top and bottom of the price hierarchy, the beds won’t make sense. First-class passengers on Korean Air A330s, for example, already enjoy the comfort of a flat bed. And most economy passengers won’t be willing to pay the price of a hotel room for a few hours on a bunk bed. But for some business travellers, a better night’s sleep might be well worth the extra cost to them or their employers.

From The Economist (edited)

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Shrinking Plane Seat Sizes and Leg Room (captions)

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Korean Air executives lose their jobs

SEOUL, South Korea — Two sisters accused of abusing Korean Air employees will be removed from management positions in their family-run corporate empire, the company announced on Sunday, four years after one of them became notorious for an episode known as ´nut rage´.

The executives, Cho Hyun-ah, 43, (photo) and Cho Hyun-min, 35, have become lightning rods for South Koreans who say that leaders of the family-run conglomerates known as chaebol, which dominate the country’s economy, often act as if they are above the law.

Cho Hyun-ah became infamous in 2014 when, as a Korean Air vice president, she flew into a rage after she was served macadamia nuts in an unopened package, rather than on a plate, in first class. She threw documents and insults at members of the flight crew, and she ordered flight attendants to kneel and beg for forgiveness.

Then she ordered the Korean Air plane pilot to go back to Kennedy International Airport in New York where she fired the chief flight attendant.

She was later accused of violating airline safety laws and spent several months in prison, though she recently made a quiet return to the Hanjin conglomerate for which her father, Cho Yang-ho, is chairman. She is now managing a hotel business that he controls.

This month, the police began investigating accusations of physical abuse against her younger sister, Cho Hyun-min, a Korean Air marketing executive. She was accused of insulting an advertising executive and hurling water in his face during a business meeting.

Ms. Cho said she threw the water on the floor, not at the official’s face, but nevertheless apologized for what she called foolish and reckless behavior. 

The family has become so unpopular that South Koreans want national authorities to ban Korean Air from using “Korean” in its name.

Mr. Cho, the company chairman, apologized in a statement on Sunday: “I am deeply sorry that problems connected to my family have worried the people and employees of Korean Air,” he said. “As chairman of Korean Air and as the head of my family, I feel crushed by the immature behavior of my daughters. They will be immediately removed from management'".

 Mr. Cho also said he will introduce professional managers to top company posts. His son, Cho Won-tae, will remain as president of Korean Air.

South Korea’s wealthy families are entangled in several corruption scandals.  But the chaebol will continue to endure, critics say, because they are crucial to the country’s economy.

From The New York Times (edited)

Skip the Straw (video)

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Russia bans messaging service (audio)

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Ex President Found Guilty of Bribery (audio)

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Planned Solar Farm in Saudi Arabia

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Right now it only exists on paper, in the form of a memorandum of understanding. But when constructed, the newly-announced solar photovoltaic project in Saudi Arabia will break many records. It’s larger than any solar project currently planned. The project was announced in New York on March 27. It is backed by Softbank Group and Saudi Arabia’s new crown prince, Mohammed Bin Salman.

The “Great Wall of Solar” in China is the world’s largest operating solar farm, with a capacity of 1.5 GW. Larger farms are under construction, including the Westlands Solar Park, which plans to finish with 2.7 GW of capacity.

The Saudi project includes two early-stage solar parks will have a capacity of 7.2 GW, and will generate electricity as early as next year. When completed, nominally in 2030, it will have a capacity of an astonishing 200 gigawatts (GW).

Saudi Arabia’s current electricity generation capacity  is 77 GW. This project will almost triple it. The current total solar photovoltaic generation capacity installed worldwide is 303 GW. In other words, this single solar farm will account for a similar installed capacity as the entire world’s capacity in 2015, and over a thousand times more than we had in 2000.

The estimate for the budget is around $200 billion.

It will come as no surprise that Softbank is involved in this project. The founder, Masayoshi Son, is well-known for large-scale “visionary” investments. It has invested millions of dollars in tech companies like Uber, IoT, NVIDIA and ARM, and startups across fields like VR, agritech, and AI.

Son is also focused on green electricity, floating the idea of an Asia Super Grid that will connect Mongolia, India, Japan, China, Russia, and South Korea with high-voltage DC power cables. “Since this is such a grandiose project, many people told me it is crazy,” Son said. “They said it is impossible both economically and politically.” The first stage of the project, a demonstration wind farm of 50 megawatts in Mongolia, began operating in October of last year.

Softbank will invest $25 billion in Saudi Arabia, and $1 billion will be spent on the first solar farms there.

Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, 32, who recently consolidated power, is a modernizer. He is effusive about the project.  He said: “It’s a huge step in human history. Although it’s risky, we will succeed.”

It is the risk that will keep renewable energy enthusiasts concerned.

Every visionary plan contains the potential for immense disappointment. The fact that a memorandum of understanding exists between the Saudi government and Softbank is no guarantee that it will ever be built. Some analysts in the industry are a little skeptical.

“It’s an unprecedented construction effort; it’s an unprecedented financing effort,” said Benjamin Attia, a global solar analyst.

These vast-scale renewable energy projects can fail, despite immense enthusiasm. They are not easy to accomplish. But in a world without fossil fuels, they will be required. This project could be a flagship example of how to run a country on renewable energy—or another example of grand designs and good intentions. We’ll have to wait to find out which.

From Singularity Hub

Zuckerberg’s testimony to Congress (video)

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Ocean Plastic Pollution (captions)

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Richest People In Different Countries (video)

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French prisons: a test case (video)

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Argentina’s drought (audio)

Jorge Josifovich, a farmer and agricultural engineer in Argentina, picks up soy seeds affected by the drought in Argentina's most fertile agricultural regions

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Moldovan wines

“LET’S try this!” Victor Bostan selects a 1984 red from the cellar of his Purcari winery. He is in a bullish mood. Last month Purcari shares began trading on the Bucharest stock exchange. In 2017 sales from his four wineries were up 35% on 2016. Bad weather in the big western European winemaking countries caused production to plummet to its lowest level in 60 years. But in Moldova, where the weather was good, producers cannot contain their excitement at how well things are going.

In Soviet days almost all Moldovan wine went to the rest of the Soviet Union. In the 1980s its vineyards were uprooted when Mikhail Gorbachev began his anti-alcoholism campaign. With the collapse of the Soviet Union much of Moldova’s industry also collapsed; but the wine and brandy businesses did not. Indeed, says Mr Bostan, these were the best times ever since 80% of the country’s booze went to Russia. 

Moldova is controlled by Russia. In 2006, when Moldova rejected a deal to end the frozen conflict over Transdniestria, Vladimir Putin’s Russia slapped an embargo on Moldovan wine. Millions of bottles already in Russia were poured away or never paid for. “The sector was dead,” says Gheorghe Arpentin of the National Office for Vine and Wine. The embargo was relaxed a little later, but Mr Putin redoubled it in 2013 when Moldova annoyed him by signing an association agreement with the European Union.

Since then the industry has transformed itself. Like Purcari, all Moldova’s wineries have redirected their sales to the EU. The main customers are former communist countries where Moldovan wine was already known, such as Poland and Romania. Chinese buyers are interested, too. 

The Moldovans’ hard work is paying off. In 2017 exports were 19.4% higher than in 2015. Winemakers, unlike grapes, cannot easily be crushed underfoot.

From The Economist

Nepal monks and marathon runners

Nepali Buddhist monks running during a training session in Sindhukot village, some 80 kilometers northeast of Kathmandu (AFP Photo / Prakash )

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/nepal-monks-marathon-runners/4281503.html

How much do you tip a robot?(captions)

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Malala's first trip back to Pakistan (audio)

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