Werner Herzog, Bloomberg, Stowaway, Sleep, China & Russia, Subwoofers
New Again: Werner Herzog
Bruce Chatwin | Interview | 17th June 2015
Bruce Chatwin joins Werner Herzog to film Cobra Verde in Ghana in 1988: "The king of Dahomey (played by a real king) is carried from his palace in a litter. Other directors, faced with the problem of re-creating a 19th century African court, would have put it in the hands of the set and costume designers. Werner, hiring a real court, more than makes up for lack of historical accuracy by establishing an authenticity of tone" (4,450 words)
Bloomberg: The Mayor Versus The Mogul
Luke O'Brien | Politico | 18th June 2015
Almost excessively detailed account of Michael Bloomberg's return as chief executive of Bloomberg LP, with digressions on Businessweek, the China fiasco, the Heilemann-Halperin adventure and John Micklethwait's hiring. Think of Bloomberg News as a cat-fight inside a bag: "The point is not for a cat to emerge. The point is for Mike Bloomberg to have cats in a bag. Until they are all dead. Then he just gets a new bag of cats" (10,200 words)
I Posted Myself To Australia In A Box
Reg Spiers | Financial Times | 20th June 2015 | | Read with 1Pass
"I had no money and I was desperate to return home to Adelaide to see my family after several months living in England. So I came up with a scheme to post myself home in a wooden box. I got a job working in the cargo section at Heathrow airport. The job gave me the knowledge I needed to export myself. I knew about cash-on-delivery for freight and how live animals were safely transported in a pressurised hold in a plane" (713 words)
I Cheated Sleep
Akshat Rathi | Quartz | 18th June 2015
The trick is to break your sleep into shorter sessions distributed through the day and night. The Dymaxion schedule allows a thirty-minute nap every six hours and nothing more. The Everyman allows 3.5 hours sleep at night plus three 20-minute naps during the day. After three weeks it feels great: "The best bit was that I was benefitting from that superb early-morning blank mind four times a day instead of just once" (2,030 words)
Putin Looks East
Anatole Kaletsky | Prospect | 18th June 2015
"When the history of the early 21st century is written, the defining event of the period may not be recalled as the global financial crisis or the rise of militant Islam. It may be the convergence of interests between China and Russia, which led them to create a united front against the global dominance of Western economic and political values. Both countries now distrust and despise America more than they do each other" (1,000 words)
The Case Against Subwoofers
Damon Krukowski | Pitchfork | 17th June 2015
"Between the wane of freak folk and the rise of EDM, it seems every rock club in the indie universe decided to install subwoofers". A category error. Subwoofers amplify low-frequency vibrations to make the floor (or car) shake. Which is OK in cinemas for disaster movies; and at home for video games; but no musical instrument produces notes that low. Turn the subwoofer off and you'll hear the bass much better (2,000 words)
Video of the day: Ambiguous Garage Roof
What to expect: Runner-up for Optical Illusion Of The Year 2015 (1'01")
Thought for the day
It is useless to become accustomed to the loss of a father, for it will never happen a second time
Umberto Eco