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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWr67v620kY Buckminster Fuller had a difficult time as an inventor in his early years. “Having been expelled from Harvard for irresponsible conduct,” notes The Guardian, “he struggled to find a job and provide a living for his young family in his early 30s.” Despite later successes, and a later reputation as legendary as Nikola Tesla’s, he […] The Eden Project Built a Rainforest Ecosystem Inside...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyVPEDS2VGk At first glance, Madame Bovary and Blue Velvet would seem to have little in common, as would their creators. But the artistic life Gustave Flaubert led and the one David Lynch now leads share a basic precept: “Be regular and orderly in your life,” as the former once put it, “so that you may be […] David Lynch Explains How Simple Daily Habits Enhance...

London-based couple Filippo and Marianna's self-isolation project calls to mind artist (and museum curator) Bill Scanga's At the Met, exhibited nearly 20 years ago as part of the group show Almost Warm and Fuzzy: Childhood and Contemporary Art at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center (now known as MoMA PS1). Scanga's installation involved hanging mini-replicas of works from the Metropolitan Museum's American collection […] An Art Gallery for Gerbils: Two Quarantined Londoners...

I love ya, and I think maybe if we sing together, well, we’d just feel a little bit better. Give it a try, okay? —Neil Diamond Thus quoth singer-songwriter Neil Diamond on March 23, before launching into his surprisingly sturdy monster hit, "Sweet Caroline," having reworked its lyrics to promote hand-washing and social distancing to help control the spread […] Join Choir! Choir! Choir! for a Community Singalong...

When I became the Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence, I didn’t realize the most impactful word in that title would be "Residence." —illustrator Mo Willems Even as schools regroup and online instruction gathers steam, the scramble continues to keep cooped-up kids engaged and happy. These COVID-19-prompted online drawing lessons and activities might not hold much appeal […] Free Online Drawing Lessons for Kids, Led by...

If Charles Bukowski were alive today, what would you ask him? Best to avoid the standard questions put to writers about how or why they chose to become writers — not just because Bukowski would surely respond with a few colorfully choice words of dismissal, but because he embodied the lack of choice that characterizes […] “Don’t Try”: The Philosophy of the Hardworking Charles...

Some people are paralyzed by rejection. Others, like Michigan State University’s Earth and Environmental Sciences PhD candidate, Caitlin Kirby, sport rejection like a mantle of honor... or more accurately, a pleated skirt falling to just below mid-thigh. "Successfully defended my PhD dissertation today!" Kirby wrote in a Tweet that has since garnered over 25,000 likes. "In the spirit […] What to Wear to a Successful PhD Thesis...

Like many New Yorkers, retired sanitation worker Nelson Molina has a keen interest in his fellow citizens' discards. But whereas others risk bedbugs for the occasional curbside score or dumpster dive as an enviro-political act, Molina’s interest is couched in the curatorial. The bulk of his collection was amassed between 1981 and 2015, while he was on […] Treasures in the Trash: A Secret Museum Inside...

Shortly before he died, Queen’s frontman, Freddie Mercury, famously remarked, "Do whatever you want with my life and my music, just don't make it boring.” Mission accomplished, thanks to the Harvard Undergraduate Drummers, more commonly known as THUD. The ensemble, which rehearses weekly, is willing to consider anything with percussive potential—plastic cups, chalkboards, buckets—as an instrument, but […] Harvard Students Perform Amazing Boomwhacker Covers of Queen’s...

Disagree though we may about what's wrong with life in the 21st century, all of us — at least in the developed, high tech-saturated parts of the world — surely come together in lamenting our inability to focus. We keep hearing how distractions of all kinds, but especially those delivered by social media, fragment our […] How to Focus: Five Talks Reveal the Secrets...

Author Kurt Vonnegut was possessed of a droll, unsentimental public speaking style. A son of Indianapolis, he never lost his Hoosier accent, despite lengthy stints in Cape Cod and New York City. Actor Ian McKellen, on the other hand, exudes warmth. He’s a charmer who tells a story with a twinkle in his eye, altering his voice and facial expressions to […] Sir Ian McKellen Reads Kurt Vonnegut’s Letter to...