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Archive of posts filed under the News and Politics category.

Working Best at Coffee Shops?

Why are many telecommuters most efficient in noisy public places with lots of distractions? by Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic Read More 04/15/11

Article: Mona Lisa smile created using ‘trick’

Austrian neurologists say analysis of the masterpiece shows her face appears to shift depending where a person focuses their gaze. If her eyes are stared at, it appears she has a subtle smile on her lips. But if the onlooker shifts their gaze to her mouth, then the smile disappears. Professor Florian Hutzler, a psychology [...]

Article: Artist Ai Weiwei makes rare U.S. appearance to talk about digital activism

The Los Angeles Times has an article on a visit to the US by Ai Weiwei, a visual artist who has carved out a second career as a digital activist is a prominent online voice against censorship and other forms of oppression in China. Here

Article: Rights battle over Polaroid sale

LONDON. A group led by a former US magistrate judge has launched an 11th hour campaign to prevent the auction of photographs from the Polaroid collection. Judge Sam Joyner and others are working towards filing a motion for a rehearing at the Minnesota bankruptcy court that awarded sale rights to Sotheby’s last August. A selection [...]

Article: Forthcoming Frida Kahlo book denounced as fake

A collection of Frida Kahlo oil paintings, diaries and archival material that is the subject of a book to be published by Princeton Architectural Press on 1 November has been denounced by scholars as a cache of fakes. Full article

Article: Stanford scanner penetrates mummy’s secrets

A minor priest from ancient Egypt gave his body to a high-tech scanner at Stanford Medical Center on Thursday.  The priest is a mummy, dead for some 2,500 years, and getting him under a scanner may shed new light on the religion, the art and the history of a time before the Persians conquered the [...]