Around The Web | What We’re Reading
“Instagram accounts are being scrubbed, Facebook pages edited, publicists consulted and memories jogged” is how one writer put it. As the Harvey Weinstein debacle rages on, more and more stories of sexual harassment emerge from out of the woodwork.
One industry not afraid of controversy is fashion; the 2018 Met Gala has announced its theme for 2018, titled ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and The Catholic Imagination’, and it’s here to show you the plethora of Catholic influence throughout the history of fashion, but it seems that not everyone is happy about the New York cultural institute’s theme of choice.
From all things heavenly we descend to the underbelly this week, with a peek inside the mysterious world of satan-worshipping metal mega-fans. Finally we discover how genetic engineering in its many forms can overwhelm us with its terrifying and life-saving properties.
Here’s this week in review:
“So a Balenciaga one-seam wedding dress will be displayed in a chapel in the Cloisters dominated by an enormous crucifix…Yet juxtaposing the sacred and the profane at this particular moment in time, when the Catholic church is rived with internal disputes between conservatives and liberals…is a risky move.” The MET Costume Institute announces its most controversial theme so far for 2018, an exploration of the connection between Catholicism and fashion, with pieces on loan from everyone from Chanel to the Vatican. What does the Pope have to say?
“It is rather unusual to find a built archipelago in the sea. It is even more uncommon to see that it is protected by a parasol creating a rain of light. The project was conceived as a ‘museum city’ combining traditional Arabic inspiration with contemporary design.” Take a first look at Jean Nouvel’s Louvre Abu Dhabi, an astonishing piece of architecture merging the worlds of French and Middle Eastern fine art.
“Those with the highest psychopath scores were some of the biggest fans of Blackstreet’s ‘No Diggity’. The most psychotic of the bunch also loved Eminem’s incomparable ‘Lose Yourself’.” Forget Hannibal Lector’s love of classical tunes, these fascinating studies highlight some of the more unexpected musical tastes of people with psychopathic tendencies. Check your playlist now…
“This is underground metal…Beryl is a character, she explains, ‘like a little girl who witnessed the murder of her parents by one of the other members of the band and, because she’s been horribly abused by them, joins in and becomes a serial killer.” It’s a dark subculture of music that came about in the mid-80s with legions of hardcore fans, but do you know the difference between brutal death metal and melodic sludge metal? Enter the underworld.
“Instagram accounts are being scrubbed, Facebook pages edited, publicists consulted and memories jogged about what might have happened where and with whom on that blurry night years ago.” The sexual harassment claims in Hollywood are sending Tinseltown into a state of disarray. Find out the extent of the fear among the acting elite as they wait to see who will be next in the firing line.
“If Facebook wanted to build a software tool to combat revenge porn without accidentally flagging photos that are in the public domain or are of historic significance – like when it wrongly blocked the iconic photo of the nude girl in the Vietnam War – it’s probably going to have to be more complex than this.” Facebook, the company that has been host to countless images shared as a form of ‘revenge porn’, is now trying to tackle the issue head-on by asking users to share their nudes before someone else can. Is this really the best way to solve the issue?
“The users carry a little Bluetooth tag that run for six months on a little watch battery. That tag becomes associated with the help that person would like. Whenever they come close to one of the responsive items it will deliver the service they have asked for.” The ingenious designs of this tech engineer are now being trialled across London, aimed to aid blind people walking through the city with responsive street apps., from brighter street lights to audio directions.
“Using lab-grown mosquitoes to kill mosquito pests has been tested extensively in Brazil in recent years. The country has allowed large-scale releases of such mosquitoes in response to an epidemic of the Zika virus that began in 2015.” Bioengineered mosquitos are on their way. The US Environmental Protection Agency will allow release o the insects in 20 states and Washington DC in order to kill off deadly virus-carrying mosquitos.
“After two months we were absolutely sure there was nothing we could do for this kid and that he would die…In the first procedure, we grafted all four limbs…The kid is doing quite well, the skin is of good quality.” In a landmark case for genetic engineering, surgeons were able to save a child on the verge of death from a skin condition called epidermolysis bullosa, causing excruciating blisters to form all over his body and peel away the layers of skin, by genetically engineering a healthy skin cell to save the boy’s life.
