Photographer Ignacio Evangelista has made a beautiful series titled “After Schengen” where he photographed old border control checkpoints between EU Member States that are no longer in service since the Schengen agreement. See the full series here.
In the US there is some controversy on what to call the “immigrant detention centers” where people are held who crossed the Southern US border and want to apply for asylum. Adam Hodges at Anthropology Nows provides his reflections on “What to Call US Border Detention Centers?” and if it is appropriate to name them as concentration camps:
The Museum of Modern Art published the following great video on why people used to be able to marvel at very first movies made. We may think they were of pretty bad quality because we’ve only seen bad reproductions. But the originals must have looked startlingly realistic. Via Aeon.
Fun little historical tidbit on “hacking” of technology in eighteenth century France. Apparently there were some brothers who used the semaphore telegraph system for their own gain. They used a mechanism for correcting errors when messages were relayed to transmit information. With the help of some insider person they could use to transmit their own information about the stock exchange in Paris to Bordeaux which allowed them to make a lot of money! I read the translated article at Courrier international.
Having fun looking at two posts from Sociological Images on gendered products:
Watching a video with excerpts from the Chomsly-Foucault debate via Aeon.co. These shorts segments give a good quick look on the diverging view of Chomsky and Foucault and their views on power and human nature.
A TED talk from Emma Marris, a writer who focuses on environmentalism, where she proposes us to redefine what is considered nature. I particularly enjoyed the section where she urges to rethink how we look at wild nature (“novel ecosystems”) in for example abandoned places cities. Watch the whole talk on the TED website.
Exploring some videos on by forest ecologists on how trees communicate via Open Culture. The following is a short educational Ted-Ed video in which Camille Defrenne and Suzanne Simard explain how trees communicate through their complex root system and the symbiotic relationship with fungi.
It took me a while to find the time, but finally started listening to the new Big Thief album, “U.F.O.F.”. The lyrics are as curious as always with short mysterious vignettes filled with names, colours and animals. Overall the albums sounds magical, with some wonderful moments like the screams from the guitar in the song “Contact”. Favorite track of the albums currently is “Orange”.
Surprised to see an interview with Donna Haraway on The Guardian. In the interview she discusses the science wars and her current focus on climate activism. Read the full article here.