9 of the Strangest and Loveliest Dioramas Ever
While there are endless different kinds of dioramas, there is something that most all of them have in common: the strange beauty that comes from capturing our world in miniature, in exacting detail. Some of the most impressive examples of this craft are on display in museums around the globe, while others a bit more off the beaten path. From bizarre to beautiful, here are nine places to see these intricate three-dimensional snapshots of the world.
Key findings about U.S. immigrants
The U.S. has more immigrants than any other country in the world. Today, more than 40 million people living in the U.S. were born in another country, accounting for about one-fifth of the world’s migrants in 2015. The population of immigrants is also very diverse, with just about every country in the world represented among U.S. immigrants.
Sally Yates walked out of an Aaron Sorkin script and into liberals’ hearts.
Jim Bourg/Reuters Shortly before midnight on Monday, I texted a friend in Los Angeles. “Hey, do most people know who Sally Yates is?” I asked him.
Don't Be Fooled: 'Generation Wealth' Is More About Wanting Than Having
Jackie and friends with Versace handbags at a private opening at the Versace store, Beverly Hills, California, 2007. Lauren Greenfield/INSTITUTE hide caption toggle caption Lauren Greenfield/INSTITUTE
Met Museum Open Access Makes 375,000 Pieces Available for Free
Claude Monet, Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies (1899) Renowned for its comprehensive collection of work that captures “5,000 years of art spanning all cultures and time periods,” New York City’s world famous Metropolitan Museum of Art has recently announced that 375,000 of its pieces in the public domain are now available without restrictions. As an update to a similar 2014 initiative, the new policy, called Open Access, allows individuals to easily access the images and use them for “any purpose, including commercial and noncommercial use, free of charge and without requiring permission from the Museum.” The available works represent a wide range of movements, styles, and mediums, and span iconic paintings by Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh to centuries-old costumes and armor. You can access the unrestricted images through the Met’s website. As you search its collection, all you need to do is check off the “Public Domain Artworks” option under “Show Only.”
You're not going to believe what I'm about to tell you
Comics Blog Books Shop Comics: Random Most Popular All Cats Grammar Food Animals Tech This is a comic about the backfire effect.
Some States Spend Billions on Economic Tax Incentives for Little or No Return
By one estimate, state and local governments spend at least $45 billion a year on tax breaks and other incentives to lure or keep job-producing businesses and plants in their jurisdictions. New York, for example, plows billions of dollars into the Empire State Development Corp. and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signature Start-Up NY program. For more than three decades, Florida has offered an array of tax incentives to businesses that locate, invest, and hire in the state’s distressed areas through an initiative called the Enterprise Zone Program.
Gallery: An intriguing sci-fi vision of a megacity
Olalekan Jeyifous may have trained as an architect, but these days, the Nigerian-born, Brooklyn-based artist is much more interested in sparking debate with his conceptual drawings and sculptures. Starting conversation is at the center of his Improvised Shanty-Megastructures series, a speculative, forward-facing vision of Lagos, Nigeria, one of the world’s largest cities (with an estimated population of some 21 million). His images, which he creates through a process similar to architectural renderings, juxtapose sprawling shanty-town megastructures with shiny luxury developments.
15 Famous Sculptures in History click 2x
Lincoln Memorial, designed by Daniel Chester French & carved by the Piccirilli Brothers (1920) Originally designed to be 10 feet tall, this marble sculpture of the 16th president of the United States was enlarged to 19 feet from head to foot. It depicts Lincoln in contemplation, sitting inside the majestic temple structure that forms the rest of the Lincoln Memorial. From the 1930s, the space has gained importance as a symbol of race relations in the United States. Bird in Space by Constantin Brancusi (1923)
A Primer: What Is Net Neutrality — Why All the Fuss?
The battle over net neutrality is once again heating up. Earlier today, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that he wants to scrap a rule passed by the FCC in 2015. In an interview with Reason magazine, Pai said, “Going forward, my hope is that in a more free market, light touch environment, we can figure out what the right regulatory framework is to preserve those core protections of a free and open internet.”
