Pine is new to philanthropy, according to the donor, and did not set out to support any particular causes. “I was just thinking that I wanted to use my bitcoin for good in this world.” But several themes emerged. Pine made a point of showering largess on relatively obscure organizations, bestowing cash on a few high-profile groups — the American Civil Liberties Union’s political arm and Charity: Water each received $2 million — but mostly on small organizations and those working on complicated issues that might not attract average donors.
Tag: 02.22.18
What Paramount Is Doing To ‘Annihilation’ Is A Troubling Precedent For The Studio
Paramount sold the international rights to the movie, with five female leads, to Netflix, which means Paramount doesn’t have to advertise or market it anywhere aside from the U.S. That’s a problem. “Annihilation is a film of stunning visuals and rumbling audio, complementing a brainy and psychologically unsettling story; it deserves to be seen on a big screen in Dolby surround sound with the full attention of the viewer, rather than as Bright-level background noise while folding laundry and checking Instagram.”
The Making Of ‘Get Out’: An Oral History Of ‘The First Great Movie Of The Trump Era’
“As one of the most unlikely Oscar Best Picture nominees in years, Get Out is being taught in courses on racism and Afro¬futurism. It began as an insight in the brain of creator Jordan Peele during the 2008 primary fight between Obama and Hillary Clinton and premiered at Sundance within a week of Donald Trump’s inauguration. This is the story of how Get Out got out.”
An Important Iconic NY Skyscraper Is About To Be Torn Down
“If the bank has its way—and who’s to stop it?—workers will soon take acetylene torches to the 700-foot, 57-year-old building at 270 Park Avenue, razing and then replacing it with a 1,200-foot-high hyper-headquarters ample enough for 15,000 people. Union Carbide will become the tallest structure ever demolished by peaceful means, grabbing that mournful title from the 1908 Singer Building, which came down in 1968.”
What Could Be The Next Great Source Of Pigments? Genetically Engineered Bacteria
“The model organisms used for [a new] study were colonies of flavobacterium, a rod-shaped bacteria found in soil and freshwater; the colonies were naturally a rich, metallic green hue. By altering the genetic makeup of the flavobacterium, the scientists found they could also change the color of the bacteria. Not only could they produce any color of the rainbow, they could control the intensity of each shade” – and the resulting pigments are brilliant and iridescent, like peacock feathers.
Another Chicago Theater Company Director Accused Of Abusing And Coercing Actresses
Less than two years after revelations of abuse led to the closing of Profiles Theater Co. and the creation of the advocacy group Not in Our House, “six Chicago-based actresses report an extensive pattern of verbal and physical abuse by Jeremy Menekseoglu, artistic director of the Dream Theatre Company (DTC), a small non-Equity company which recently relocated to the Atlanta area from Chicago.”
Thanks To Global Warming, A New Issue In The Illegal Ivory Trade: Mammoth Tusks
Now that the permafrost in arctic and subarctic Russia has started to thaw, huge numbers of tusks from the ancient animals are turning up in the region of Yakutia. “100 tonnes is procured annually, about one-third of it illegally, and 90% of the haul is exported to China” for the ivory-carving industry.
Fire Breaks Out At 1,300-Year-Old Temple In Tibet, And Outside World Has No Idea Of Damage
“On Saturday evening, Tibetan social media users posted photos and videos of the ancient Jokhang Temple complex in the region’s capital, Lhasa, a UNESCO world heritage site, with one of its golden roofs engulfed in flames. … The blaze may have severely damaged the 1,300 year-old temple and many of its precious architectural features, murals and relics; or perhaps it was small and quickly extinguished, and the temple is more or less fine.” The Chinese government says the latter, but many observers don’t trust its account.
Mixed-Race Teenager Chosen To Be Joan Of Arc In French Parade; Racists Flip Out
“Mathilde Edey Gamassou was chosen among 250 girls Monday to play Joan for a spring festival marking the victory of the Catholic warrior saint in breaking the English siege of Orléans in 1429. … But the announcement has been met with a flurry of posts on Twitter and on far-right websites branding her nomination an exercise in ‘diversity propaganda’ and an attempt to re-write French history.”
How Universities Were Taken Over By Administrators
Administrators control the modern university. The faculty have “fallen,” to use Benjamin Ginsberg’s term. It’s an “all-administrative” institution now. Spending on administrators and administration exceeds spending on faculty, administrators out-number faculty by a long shot, and administrative salaries and benefit packages, particularly those of presidents and other senior managers, have skyrocketed over the last 10 years. Even more telling perhaps, students themselves increasingly resemble administrators more than professors in their ambitions and needs.