You should read this for 9/25/2022:
Art, Music, and Film
Who Do the Benin Bronzes Belong To?
Against defenders armed with swords and muskets, the British-led force deployed machine guns and mobile artillery. Hundreds of Benin residents likely lost their lives.
The British drove into exile—and would later capture—Benin’s oba, or king, a man of semi-deified status known to history by his regnal name, Oba Ovonramwen. They looted the royal compound and packed the most beautiful contents into crates to ship home. Then a fire ignited, perhaps accidentally, perhaps not. Shrines, storehouses, the homes and burial places of past obas—all were destroyed.
Most of the spoils were auctioned off in London. The artworks of carved ivory and cast metal were immediately acclaimed as masterpieces: heads of kings and queen mothers, symbolic animal figures, bells to summon the spirits of the ancestors, metal plaques that depicted court life and the great deeds of the obas. The artistry of the finest pieces is extraordinarily delicate. Seen from the side or bottom, a metalwork from the great age of Benin art, from roughly 1450 to 1650, is astonishingly thin, only about an eighth of an inch thick.
J. Michael Straczynski Rallies Fans to Save the Babylon 5 Reboot
See @straczynski: The fate of the #Babylon5 pilot may be decided end of this month.
Books, Libraries, Writing, and Language
The Lindisfarne Gospels review – was Eadfrith the monk Britain’s first great artist?
Food and Drink
Different chillies perform different roles in cooking, and they’re not just about heat; chillies bring sweet, sour, fruity, earthy and smoky notes, too. So you need to understand why a chilli is there in the first place before switching it for an alternative.
6 apple cake recipes that smell and taste like home
History and Archaeology
A second ancient canoe is found in Wisconsin — this time tracing back to 1000 B.C.
Science and Nature
‘They really don’t ever forget’: 10 things only an elephant-keeper can tell you
Referral link: Curiosity Stream delivers shows across the full spectrum of the non-fiction genre to demystify science, nature, history, technology, society, lifestyle and more. $19.99/year for thousands of films (or $2.99/month).
Technology
Federico Viticci: iOS 16: The MacStories Review
iOS 16 review: unlocking the lock screen
SetApp: A Suite of macOS Apps for a Single Price Affiliate link for a great collection of ver 200 apps for macOS and iOS for a flat subscription fee.
Women’s Work
Nina Totenberg looks back on her decades-long friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Hilary Mantel: Royal BodiesAudio lecture and transcript.
Pay It Forward and Make It Better
Patagonia founder gives away company: ‘Earth is now our only shareholder’
In a letter posted to the company’s website, Chouinard wrote that ownership of the company, which was founded in 1973 and reportedly valued at about $3 billion, has been transferred to a trust that was created to protect the company’s values and mission as well as a nonprofit organization.
“Earth is now our only shareholder,” it said. “100% of the company’s voting stock transfers to the Patagonia Purpose Trust, created to protect the company’s values; and 100% of the nonvoting stock had been given to the Holdfast Collective, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting the environmental crisis and defending nature.”
Elton John ‘flabbergasted’ and teary after Biden surprises him with medal
‘This is what a river should look like’: Dutch rewilding project turns back the clock 500 years
Something Wonderful
Buy me a Coffee! If you find this site interesting, and would like to see more, buy me a coffee. While I may actually buy coffee, I’ll probably buy books to review.
