One Of France’s Best Little Museums Was Founded (Surprise, Surprise) By A Hedge Fund Manager

“Mr. Levett became a voracious buyer, assembling one of the world’s largest private collections of ancient arms and armor. Today, his scores of Greek hoplite helmets, Roman greaves and shields, along with Egyptian sarcophagi, Greek statues and ancient glass, are the crown jewels of his Musée d’art classique de Mougins.”

Here’s One Famous Writer Who’s Very Happy With Amazon (And Pleased To Say So In Print)

Neal Pollack: “When I waded into one conversation to say, ‘Hey, Amazon’s not so bad,’ someone referred to me as being like ‘the Vichy French, taking money to cover up crimes.’ What in the name of Bezos is going on here? There are obviously a lot of issues at play … But while everyone seems to hate Amazon, my personal experience with this supposedly evil corporate behemoth has been fantastic.”

Icelanders, Laplanders, Turks, Oh My! Excellent Orchestras In Unexpected Places

David Patrick Stearns: “Symphony orchestras draw great cachet from their geographical homes: Any group with Vienna, Berlin, or Amsterdam in its name is going to command immediate attention from audiences … So can an orchestra from Turkey, Iceland, or Lapland hope to be noticed at the world’s busiest orchestra festival, [the BBC Proms]? Actually, it can.”

Paris’s Nouveau Yiddish Culture

“In France, which houses the biggest Jewish community in Europe, the Ashkenazi legacy has been sadly shrinking.” (What, the Sephardim are chopped liver?) “In the latter half of the 20th century, what French Jews call their imaginary Yiddishland has been reduced to a small patch. … However, there is reason for hope. In Paris, a new generation of entrepreneurs are launching initiatives to perpetuate the Yiddish way of life.”