Every once in a while this world overwhelms. Yesterday I went to a lovely special exhibit on the art and archaeology of the land of Nubia (largely northern Sudan). Lots of gold jewelry, lots of gorgeous things. It was a good escape from the evil voting restriction laws. I thought you might be interested in an emphasis this evening on some of the more artsy news, so the serious section is shorter, and the arts section is bigger this evening. But first:
Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, Interceptor7, Magnifico, annetteboardman, jck, and Besame. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Man Oh Man, wader, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw.
OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time.
Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
From the Daily Beast:
Nothing says a return to normal like Europe’s struggle with migration by sea. After a week at sea, 572 people running out of food were finally given a safe harbor.
Editor’s note: the Ocean Viking was assigned a safe port late Thursday evening and will disembark in Sicily on Saturday.
ROME—No one may ever know for sure what drove a man who had just been rescued to jump overboard a migrant rescue vessel on Wednesday night. It could have been the smell of sweat, urine, and vomit from 572 people crammed in the ship—or the fact that no one in Europe seems to give a damn about their fate. After jumping ship, the man was rescued again, and told his saviors, SOS Mediterranee Search and Rescue, a French NGO, that he “could not take it anymore.”
From Deutsche Welle:
The man claimed he only wanted to temporarily knock out his wife, yet the court found him guilty of attempted murder. Both the wife and her mother had to be rushed to the hospital after eating some of the roll.
A toxicology report found the defendant had baked lethal amounts of sleeping pills into a cinnamon roll served to his wife
A 39-year-old Bavarian man was found guilty of attempted murder and sentenced to six years and three months in jail on Thursday for the poisoning his wife and her mother.
From CNN:
Wayne Couzens, a serving police constable whose "primary role was uniformed patrol duties of diplomatic premises," had pleaded guilty to Everard's kidnap and rape in June.
From CBS News:
A fire engulfed a food and beverage factory outside Bangladesh's capital, killing at least 52 people, many of whom were trapped inside by an illegally locked door, fire officials said Friday.
The blaze began Thursday night at the five-story Hashem Foods Ltd. factory, in Rupganj, just outside Dhaka, sending huge clouds of black smoke billowing into the sky. Police initially gave a toll of three dead, but then discovered piles of bodies on Friday afternoon after the fire was extinguished.
From the Washington Post:
JERUSALEM — Raising the red, green, white and black Palestinian flag is banned in Israel. So the watermelon — locally grown and similarly colored — has for decades served in Palestinian iconography as a subversive stand-in.
In recent weeks, the watermelon has resurged on social media, as part of what some Palestinians say are efforts to preempt or circumvent online censorship and content moderation, in the face of heightened enforcement sparked by the Israel-Hamas conflict in May and the attendant wave of grass-roots Palestinian activism.
News of the arts and other interesting items:
We begin with this, from USA Today:
Designers in Denmark have created the world's biggest sandcastle, which stands more than 69 feet tall. The creation features over 5,000 tons of sand and beats out the previous biggest sandcastle in Germany by more than 10 feet, according to Guinness World Records.
With the help of 30 sand sculptors, Dutch creator Wilfred Stijger created the sandcastle to represent the power the coronavirus has held over the world, The Guardian reported. If you look closely, at the top of the sandcastle lies a replica of the virus in the form of a crown.
“It’s ruling our lives everywhere,” Stijger told The Guardian. “It tells you what to do. ... It tells you to stay away from your family and not go to nice places. Don’t do activities, stay home.”
From CNBC:
KEY POINTS
- Champagne producers are proud of their name and brand and refuse to use any reference to “sparkling wine”.
- The French Champagne industry asked its members to halt shipments to Russia for now, stating that the name “Champagne” is protected in over 120 countries.
- This dispute could ultimately reach the World Trade Organization.
From the New York Post:
Measuring 196 feet from top to bottom, the Deep Dive Dubai pool is the largest diving pool in the world.Deep Dive Dubai
It makes an Olympic swimming pool look like a puddle.
As if Dubai wasn’t filled with enough record-breaking attractions, the United Arab Emirates metropolis is now home to the world’s deepest pool, complete with an underwater city, caves and more.
From Insider:
A tiny Da Vinci drawing fetched a big price of $12.2 million at a July 8 Christie's auction.
- The sketch, "Head of a Bear," measures only 2.75-by-2.75 inches.
- It is one of the painter's studies of animals, and experts believe the piece came from Da Vinci's sketchbooks.
From Artsy:
London’s modern and contemporary art sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s (with only a smattering of
Impressionists) clocked up £313 million ($433.7 million) in 10 sales last week. That take marked a slight improvement on the equivalent pre-pandemic auctions, in June 2019, when their combined sales (excluding Phillips) made £308 million (about $391 million).
From The Guardian:
Sophie Taeuber-Arp gets a UK retrospective, Aberdeen surveys British art, Kneebone makes connections, and Walpole’s cat is honoured –
all in your weekly dispatch
British Art Show 9
Michael Armitage’s paintings of surreal nature, Tai Shani’s Dracula and a talking dog are among the highlights in this survey of the state of British art.
Aberdeen Art Gallery, 10 July-10 October, then touring.
Horace Walpole’s Goldfish Bowl
A small but fascinating exhibition about the Chinese porcelain bowl in which an 18th-century cat drowned, inspiring a poem by Thomas Gray and beautiful illustrations by William Blake.
From the New York Times:
According to a criminal complaint, employees at New York auction houses were approached about the art. A man was taken into custody and charged with wire fraud.
Angel Pereda, 49, of Mexico, was taken into custody in New York and charged with wire fraud after prosecutors accused him of trying to sell artworks that he falsely claimed had been created by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York announced on Friday.
From TMZ:
TIFFANY HADDISH SHARK SEX IS SO VIOLENT!!!
Seeing It Traumatized Me
Tiffany Haddish got an up close look at tiger sharks mating for "Shark Week," and she says the experience is gonna stick with her for a long time ... and she might need therapy.
Tiff joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and told us about her deep dive into shark reproduction ... with a fun lesson on why female sharks have two uteruses and male sharks have two penises.
From Games Radar:
By Chris Arrant
Wakanda Forever … and a bunch of days before the next Black Panther comic
The upcoming Black Panther ongoing series by John Ridley and Juann Cabal has been delayed by Marvel Comics.
The publisher has informed retailers that the monthly series, originally planned to launch on August 4, has now been postponed to November 3. The second issue is now slated to arrive December 1.
Marvel Comics hasn't disclosed the reason for this new Black Panther series' delays, however, the previous volume also had routine schedule issues not including an 11-month hiatus during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From The Root:
'The world wants to see Mr. Cosby,' says publicist Andrew Wyatt. Do we, though?
Bill Cosby may be just a week out of jail but the comic and actor is already making big plans for his “new life” outside of prison.
According to The Cut, Cosby’s publicist Andrew Wyatt has confirmed that there is indeed a comedy tour shaping up, adding that “multiple comedy clubs” were “open to the idea” of Cosby performing at their establishments. But that’s not the only kind of tour allegedly in the works. Wyatt also alluded to a potential speaking tour across prisons, schools and neighborhoods that would be centered around “being better citizens and curbing violence.” (Wait, please say ‘sike.’ You’ve got to be kidding me.) Wyatt says the inspiration for the tour came about as a result of the moving stories Cosby heard behind bars.
From The Daily Beast:
In his new HBO docuseries “Catch and Kill: The Podcast Tapes,” Ronan Farrow unloads on NBC for allegedly cozying up to Weinstein and derailing his story on the mogul’s abuse.
CHEYENNE ROUNDTREE
From CNBC:
This 28-year-old artist made over $130,000 selling NFTs in just 5 months
During this time, many artists, like Justin Aversano, have minted, or blockchain verified, their work. NFTs are unique digital assets, like jpegs and video clips, that are represented by code recorded on the blockchain, a decentralized digital ledger.
From the New York Times:
The president’s son will be able to sell his paintings through a New York dealer, who will not disclose the buyers or the prices.
WASHINGTON — The White House has helped develop a system for Hunter Biden to sell pieces of his art without him, or anyone in the administration, knowing who bought them, the latest effort to respond to criticism over how President Biden’s son makes his money.
Under the arrangement, a New York City art dealer would sell the paintings, which the dealer has said he is pricing at between $75,000 and $500,000, while keeping secret all information about the sales, according to a person familiar with the plan.
From This is Colossal:
It’s not uncommon to run into a friendly cat on the streets of Tokyo, but one particular calico is making an outsized impression on passersby. A billboard ad for Cross Shinjuku Vision that was created in partnership with MicroAd and Unica, the hyperrealistic 3D feline lives outside the bustling Shinjuku Station, where it meows, wiggles its ears and tail, and stretches in its perch. As expected of any cat, the calico makes brief appearances throughout the day and is typically active between 7 a.m. and 1 a.m. when it retreats for a short nap. Get a sneak peek at the giant creature above before it officially launches on July 12.