One should not want to be anything but what one is

There are many ways to arrive; the best is not to leave. Ennio Flaiano, “Il gioco e il massacro”, 1970

A sea turtle swims in the water off the shore of Naqoura, a small town south of Lebanon’s capital Beirut. Photo: AFP/Joseph Eid.

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They fight for the idea, not having one. Ennio Flaiano

Intelligence Is Overrated

Stupidity has made enormous progress. It is a sun that one can no longer gaze at without blinking. Thanks to mass communications, it isn’t even the same thing any longer, it feeds on other myths, it sells at an extremely high price, it has turned good sense into something ridiculous, it spreads terror all around itself. Ennio Flaiano, “The Via Veneto Papers”, 1973

Google+

“Great Firewall” that blocks western websites is too restrictive and hinders economic progress while discouraging foreign investors, says 罗富和 (Luō Fùhé) China’s sprawling internet censorship regime is harming the country’s economic and scientific progress, a senior official has said in a rare public rebuke of longstanding Communist party policy. [Read more].

• Benjamin Haas, Chinese official calls for easing of internet censorship, The Guardian, March 4, 2017

China restricts outside websites including Google. Photo: Sinopix/REX.

As I Walked Out One Evening

Garry Kimovich Kasparov (@Kasparov63)

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Channel surfing

La miglior vendetta? La felicità. Non c’è nulla che faccia più impazzire la gente che vederti felice. The best revenge? Happiness. Nothing drives people crazier than seeing you happy. Alda Merini

Discovery Shark

In honour of Shark Week 2010, the Discovery Channel transformed its main office building in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, United States into a giant inflatable shark, named “Chompie”. Photo: bluelandchronicle.blogspot.com.

Nocturne

Winks of the Thirties

With her series Modern Girl, artist Dina Goldstein brightly satirises Chinese beauty advertisements. An exhibition of the images is at Galerie Virginie Barrou Planquart, Paris, France until 27 November.

Planet Earth Water In a statement accompanying the exhibition, Dina Goldstein explains her use of 1930s Chinese advertising: “The breaking away from filial tradition in this era saw the emergence of Asian women coming into their individuality”. Artwork: Dina Goldstein.

Revenge “At the same time”, says Goldstein, “modern gender roles and expectations opened the door to exploit the female form for marketing and advertising campaigns”. Artwork: Dina Goldstein.

• China girl: Dina Goldstein’s satirical pinups – in pictures, The Guardian, November 17, 2016

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

沟通最重要的是听出弦外之音。
Gōutōng zuì zhòngyào de shì tīng chū xiánwàizhīyīn.
The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.

Artwork © FeliDae84

Eureka!

• Nancy Groves, “I turned the Olympic torch into an ice cream”: British artists reveal their Rio 2016 posters, The Guardian, August 2, 2016

David Shrigley, Life Is Fantastic

An Unremitting Moment

“Unremitting”, by Thomas Tyrer, 24, studying media and communications at Liverpool Hope University. Photo: Thomas Tyrer/GuardianWitness.