In this week's edition, we have Tiny Desk Concerts, comfort movie list, and fake art making headlines
Things are really bad in India as I write this newsletter. One wonders if there is any point in any of this. But, I am still hoping you’ll find something in this week’s newsletter that distracts you from what has been going on. Possibly take your mind off from reality and hopefully, even provide you a moment of joy.
Remember, we all are in this together. I guess.
Hello.
It is the first week of May and here is edition 7 of the newsletter. Since the last edition, there has been one major development.
This newsletter has a website now. A landing page. Very simple. Minimalistic.
Check it out. discontent.crd.co
Reading
First up, I have a thread. A twitter thread.
Over the last one year, we all have, at different times, considered the possibility of “What will I do once the pandemic is over?”
Will you jump into your lover’s arms?
Will you take the public transport?
Will you actually stop to smell the roses?
Tomer Hanuka, who has been an artist for more than 20 years, gave his third-year illustration students at New York’s School of Visual Arts a project prior to their summer break – to imagine life after the COVID-19 pandemic, in the style of a New Yorker magazine cover.
Here is the twitter thread in its entirety
Fake Art
What is worse than a NFT selling for $69 Million ?
A fake Da Vinci selling for $450 million.
What is the story?
Saudi Crown Prince, French Government, Louvre, and art historians battle it out in what could be one of the biggest art scandals ever.
Man with no name
FNU seems like a funny name. An odd one.
It happens to be a name shared by a lot of people currently living in America. Interesting story on names and identity.
(You may need to sign-in to read this one. Mental note for myself to only include articles without any subscription or ones not behind a paywall)
Bonus Read - The voice in the sky
When a Venezuelan pilot speaks to a New York air-traffic controller, or when a pilot from Brooklyn speaks to a controller in Caracas, they speak in English. It’s something to marvel at, the first time you fly to Tokyo, say, and you hear an exchange between a Japanese pilot and a Japanese air-traffic controller, both speaking carefully in Japanese-accented English. The whole world is in the sky.
Music
Let me be honest, this week I didn’t hear much new music. This was more of a ‘listen to your comfort songs’ kind of a week. Which is why I was surprised when I found Sinatra and Elvis pop in that list. Clearly some evolution has happened!
But there was one track that did percolate it way down to me. Gojira is a French metal band that this is a single that they released a couple of days back. The music video seems all too familiar. Even is metal isn’t you thing, do check it out. #Tibet
Podcasts
Here is a podcast that will make up for the lack of music recommendations this week!
Tiny Desk Concerts
Back in a pre pandemic world, every weekend as NPR employees were wrapping up their work, they would be visited by some of the best musical acts around for a private mini-concert. These performances are available as Youtube videos and as podcasts. More than 300 episodes. Coldplay se lekar Adele, sab milega.
Here is a video of one of my favourite performances. Shaggy+Sting
Here is recent one featuring Dua Lipa. Exquisite.
Quiz Time India
If you’ve made your way past Dua Lipa, check out the latest edition of Quiz Time India. This week on the show we were joined by Dr. Ashvini Natu. The episode is called ‘Thomas Edison, Censorship, and Wasseypur’ and of course, these are some of the topics discussed this week.
Movies
The good folks at Guardian have put together a list for us. 52 perfect comfort films – to watch again and again.
Devil Wears Prada. Ratatouille. The Graduate. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
Don’t think twice. Just go for it.
Here is the entire list.
Enjoy!
Videos
We all have heard the phrase ‘moving houses’. Well here is a literal ‘moving house’.
Here is a 139-Year-Old Victorian House being moved through the streets of San Francisco
Bonus Beauties
and this one too (if you are in the mood for a romantic story)
A friend and ‘reader-of-the-newsletter’ Berty Ashley has sent in this recommendation. A book. Seems quite interesting tbh.
Here is the Amazon link.
If you have any such recommendation for us, please do send it across to us.
Or even better just comment below and everyone who reads this edition will get to know about it.
And on that note, we bring this edition to an end. Any typos you came across were totally on purpose :)
If you have read all the way here then please drop a subscribe.
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