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M.C. Escher: Journey To Infinity [2018, 1h20m] is the story of world famous Dutch graphic artist M.C Escher (1898-1972). Equal parts history, psychology, and psychedelia, Robin Lutz’s entertaining, eye-opening portrait gives us the man through his own words and images: diary musings, excerpts from lectures, correspondence and more are voiced by British actor Stephen Fry, while Escher’s woodcuts, lithographs, and other print works appear in both original and playfully altered form. RogerEbert.com review from Matt Zoller Seitz. [more inside]
posted by hippybear at 7:45 PM PST - 18 comments

"Governments from across the world made grand promises... at the biodiversity conference in Montreal to save nature by protecting 30 percent of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030. But back home many are presiding over the destruction of some of the most ancient and precious protected areas on Earth — sacred groves and places that have long been preserved by religious fervor and strict taboos that are often far more effective than game wardens or environmental statutes." [more inside]
posted by clawsoon at 2:54 PM PST - 16 comments

It doesn’t take much theorizing to notice that this banal cosmopolitan approach to the world isn’t a form of rebellion or a noble counter to the prevailing capitalistic, nationalistic business as usual. It’s very much aligned with the dominant system. The expat who moves to Portugal because they’ve been priced out of their American housing market uses the same logic of a multinational corporation transferring their operations to Bangladesh. They’re both trying to get more bang for their buck. And neither tries to argue they owe something to their new locale. Their money should be enough. from Americans Abroad by Jessa Crispin
posted by chavenet at 11:14 AM PST - 103 comments

Cash-free payment systems link up across Southeast Asia 'Adoption of QR payments is one thing, but being able to pay across country borders is another. While a Chinese tourist might be able to use an Alipay QR code at an accepting merchant in Japan or the U.S., the Southeast Asian network is a direct agreement between central bank systems.' We're talking about embedded links that takes you to direct bank transfers from one person's bank account to another, not a third-party solution or clearinghouse. What is QR code payments? (Wiki)
posted by cendawanita at 10:19 AM PST - 18 comments

What did British Latin sound like?
Linguist Danny Bate attempts to reconstruct a little of how Latin was spoken in Roman Britain.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 9:40 AM PST - 16 comments

"One of the most terrifying things that ever happened to me is that Keith Moon decided he liked me." (slyt via boing boing) Joe Walsh on the stories that inspired the lyrics to Life's Been Good. [more inside]
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 8:57 AM PST - 11 comments

After getting picked up by Netflix after being a casualty of the Disney-Fox merger and the ill-fated Chapek regime, the Nimona movie now has a teaser trailer and a release date - June 30th.
posted by NoxAeternum at 8:40 AM PST - 27 comments

The Mysterious Origins of New England Steak Tips [more inside]
posted by backseatpilot at 7:22 AM PST - 38 comments

Killers of the Flower Moon directed by Martin Scorsese [Official Teaser Trailer ] [YouTube] Based on David Grann’s broadly lauded best-selling book, Killers of the Flower Moon is set in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the Reign of Terror. Directed by Martin Scorsese and Screenplay by Eric Roth and Scorsese, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, and Jillian Dion.
posted by Fizz at 6:32 AM PST - 55 comments

I think the best most human thing in the world is strangers doing a silly thing together A short Tumblr post by calamitys-child lists a few examples, such as "very tiny girl at the pharmacy interviewing everyone in the queue and every single one of us in turn sat down and answered this toddler's questions like we were on Letterman".
posted by brainwane at 6:25 AM PST - 15 comments

Taco Bell has filed a petition to cancel two much smaller rivals' trademarks for "Taco Tuesday", a move that would let its 15,000 US locations use the phrase.
posted by Etrigan at 5:21 AM PST - 49 comments

Montana completely bans TikTok. This follows bans on government-, state-, and university-owned devices around the country. [more inside]
posted by box at 5:02 AM PST - 46 comments