Ken
@bludrone.bsky.social
Liberal and egalitarian values - Art - Music - Literature - Philosophy - Film - Politics - “ life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards “ ( Kierkegaard )
Miami Beach , Florida
Miami Beach , Florida
“The red rose, for instance, absorbs all the wavelengths of light except red, which is then reflected. Red is not a physical property of the rose but of light. All objects around us display their particular colors based on how much they absorb light.”
www.thecollector.com/why-do-color...
www.thecollector.com/why-do-color...
Why Do Colors Matter in Our Lives? | TheCollector
Have you ever wondered why certain colors were chosen in your favorite designs? In this piece, we uncover the science of colors and how they impact us psychologically.
www.thecollector.com
January 25, 2026 at 1:41 PM
“The red rose, for instance, absorbs all the wavelengths of light except red, which is then reflected. Red is not a physical property of the rose but of light. All objects around us display their particular colors based on how much they absorb light.”
www.thecollector.com/why-do-color...
www.thecollector.com/why-do-color...
“There is an undeniable feeling of melancholy in Hopper’s paintings. In a departure from most of his realist contemporaries, Hopper depicted urban life in a subtly stylized manner, brimming with psychological layers.”
www.thecollector.com/connection-b...
www.thecollector.com/connection-b...
Is There a Connection Between Cinema and Edward Hopper? | TheCollector
From 'Nighthawks' to 'New York Movie', discover how Hopper's cinematic style influenced filmmakers—and vice versa.
www.thecollector.com
January 25, 2026 at 1:38 PM
“There is an undeniable feeling of melancholy in Hopper’s paintings. In a departure from most of his realist contemporaries, Hopper depicted urban life in a subtly stylized manner, brimming with psychological layers.”
www.thecollector.com/connection-b...
www.thecollector.com/connection-b...
“And what is intolerable to Trump, Miller, and Noem must be destroyed. It must be destroyed by their modern-day Silver Shirts . When Ross shot Good, he shot her in the face—not merely to kill her but to obliterate her “
www.liberalcurrents.com/return-of-th...
www.liberalcurrents.com/return-of-th...
Return of the Silver Shirts
In ICE's invasion of Minneapolis, an echo of a dark past.
www.liberalcurrents.com
January 25, 2026 at 1:36 PM
“And what is intolerable to Trump, Miller, and Noem must be destroyed. It must be destroyed by their modern-day Silver Shirts . When Ross shot Good, he shot her in the face—not merely to kill her but to obliterate her “
www.liberalcurrents.com/return-of-th...
www.liberalcurrents.com/return-of-th...
“These sensorial, highly emotional qualities only enhance Geesaman’s thematic interests. The exhibition’s photographs aren’t simply romantic representations of gardens—they meditate upon how these spaces also harbor some sort of existential anxiety. “
mymodernmet.com/lynn-geesama...
mymodernmet.com/lynn-geesama...
Hazy Dreamlike Photos Reflect Humankind’s Complicated Relationship With Nature
Don’t these photos seem to resemble paintings more than they do static images?
mymodernmet.com
January 25, 2026 at 1:32 PM
“These sensorial, highly emotional qualities only enhance Geesaman’s thematic interests. The exhibition’s photographs aren’t simply romantic representations of gardens—they meditate upon how these spaces also harbor some sort of existential anxiety. “
mymodernmet.com/lynn-geesama...
mymodernmet.com/lynn-geesama...
“Swedish artist Hilma af Klint finally received praise as the forgotten pioneer of abstraction. She had a profound interest in occult and spiritualist practices and spent years trying to decode images that were, according to af Klint,sent to her by higher beings”
www.thecollector.com/hilma-af-kli...
www.thecollector.com/hilma-af-kli...
What Are the Recurring Symbols in Hilma af Klint’s Work? | TheCollector
Hilma af Klint’s works were a mystery even to the artist herself, so she spent years decoding symbols in them.
www.thecollector.com
January 24, 2026 at 1:20 PM
“Swedish artist Hilma af Klint finally received praise as the forgotten pioneer of abstraction. She had a profound interest in occult and spiritualist practices and spent years trying to decode images that were, according to af Klint,sent to her by higher beings”
www.thecollector.com/hilma-af-kli...
www.thecollector.com/hilma-af-kli...
“Her time was one of gender imbalance,violence,myths of female inferiority,cultural silencing of women’s voices and achievements. Artemisia was artistically inclined and learned the trade from her father, becoming one of the greatest painters of the Baroque Age.”
www.thecollector.com/artemisia-ge...
www.thecollector.com/artemisia-ge...
4 Feminist Paintings by Artemisia Gentileschi | TheCollector
Known as the Queen of Baroque, Artemisia Gentileschi was a leading Italian feminist painter.
www.thecollector.com
January 24, 2026 at 1:16 PM
“Her time was one of gender imbalance,violence,myths of female inferiority,cultural silencing of women’s voices and achievements. Artemisia was artistically inclined and learned the trade from her father, becoming one of the greatest painters of the Baroque Age.”
www.thecollector.com/artemisia-ge...
www.thecollector.com/artemisia-ge...
“Things turned out differently, and now artists are leaving the Trump Kennedy Center in droves. Other regimes that have tried to impress their signature on the arts have had similar experiences. “
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The Kennedy Center without the arts
Donald Trump’s reordering of the Kennedy Center illustrates a broader truth: when political leaders imprint their signature on cultural institutions, artistry finds a way to escape.
engelsbergideas.com
January 24, 2026 at 1:13 PM
“Things turned out differently, and now artists are leaving the Trump Kennedy Center in droves. Other regimes that have tried to impress their signature on the arts have had similar experiences. “
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
“As saunas gain global popularity, a hypnotic offshoot involving theatre, music and towel-twirling known as "Aufguss" is attracting wellness-seekers across the world. “
www.bbc.com/travel/artic...
www.bbc.com/travel/artic...
Europe's new steamy, semi-nude wellness trend
As saunas gain global popularity, a hypnotic offshoot involving theatre, music and towel-twirling known as "Aufguss" is attracting wellness-seekers across the world.
www.bbc.com
January 23, 2026 at 3:19 PM
“As saunas gain global popularity, a hypnotic offshoot involving theatre, music and towel-twirling known as "Aufguss" is attracting wellness-seekers across the world. “
www.bbc.com/travel/artic...
www.bbc.com/travel/artic...
“probably no other individual was as heavily censored" as Paul Robeson. And in some ways he did present a unique threat.Not as a spy,but as an outspoken black socialist.Someone who linked the African American fight for civil rights to the cause of the working classes”
www.bbc.com/culture/arti...
www.bbc.com/culture/arti...
'The most famous black person in America': How the 1950s 'Red Scare' erased a US icon
Paul Robeson was a superstar of the stage and screen, a talented football player and a music hitmaker. Then came a dramatic fall from grace.
www.bbc.com
January 23, 2026 at 1:04 PM
“probably no other individual was as heavily censored" as Paul Robeson. And in some ways he did present a unique threat.Not as a spy,but as an outspoken black socialist.Someone who linked the African American fight for civil rights to the cause of the working classes”
www.bbc.com/culture/arti...
www.bbc.com/culture/arti...
“on 18 January 1826, "hello" made what is thought to be its earliest recorded appearance in a Connecticut newspaper called The Norwich Courier. Hidden among the column inches, it was a modest in-ink debut for a word that would go on to greet much of the modern world. “
www.bbc.com/culture/arti...
www.bbc.com/culture/arti...
'Hullo, hillo, holla': The 600-year-old origins of the word 'hello'
It's 200 years since the word "hello" was first used in print - though its roots date back to the 15th Century. How has the language of greetings evolved - and what does it tell us?
www.bbc.com
January 23, 2026 at 12:54 PM
“on 18 January 1826, "hello" made what is thought to be its earliest recorded appearance in a Connecticut newspaper called The Norwich Courier. Hidden among the column inches, it was a modest in-ink debut for a word that would go on to greet much of the modern world. “
www.bbc.com/culture/arti...
www.bbc.com/culture/arti...
“In tarring and feather, pine tar was poured, brushed or “bedawbed” on the victim, either on bare skin or, more mercifully, over clothes. The victims were then rolled or showered in feathers, then paraded around in the sticky, feathery mess. “
daily.jstor.org/tarring-and-...
daily.jstor.org/tarring-and-...
Tarring and Feathering, American Style - JSTOR Daily
What began as a European folk practice became a distinctly American ritual of public punishment.
daily.jstor.org
January 23, 2026 at 12:51 PM
“In tarring and feather, pine tar was poured, brushed or “bedawbed” on the victim, either on bare skin or, more mercifully, over clothes. The victims were then rolled or showered in feathers, then paraded around in the sticky, feathery mess. “
daily.jstor.org/tarring-and-...
daily.jstor.org/tarring-and-...
“We all have a performative identity that we put on every morning – that side of me had been running the show,” she says. “This very small voice inside me was saying: ‘This is not the life you want, and we’re going to shut this down.’”
www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...
www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...
Feel your feelings and reconnect with past passions: how to recover from burnout
Recognizing the physical and psychological tells is half the battle, says author Emma Gannon
www.theguardian.com
January 23, 2026 at 12:48 PM
“We all have a performative identity that we put on every morning – that side of me had been running the show,” she says. “This very small voice inside me was saying: ‘This is not the life you want, and we’re going to shut this down.’”
www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...
www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...
At the end ,Hitler was screaming uncontrollably about delusional armies he wanted deployed when there were none as the Nazi regime was destroyed ;Trump,a rotting carcass,spewing absurd inanities and sardonic illusions,appears to be in the same condition as reality sets in ; his wretched fate awaits.
January 22, 2026 at 3:44 PM
At the end ,Hitler was screaming uncontrollably about delusional armies he wanted deployed when there were none as the Nazi regime was destroyed ;Trump,a rotting carcass,spewing absurd inanities and sardonic illusions,appears to be in the same condition as reality sets in ; his wretched fate awaits.
“The Trump administration has indeed been marked by a combination of shamelessness and intransigence that is perhaps just as well likened to the public relations strategies of mafiosos as to those of politicians.”
www.bostonreview.net/articles/emp...
www.bostonreview.net/articles/emp...
Empire of Vice
In a perverse twist on virtue signaling, the Trump administration is training Americans in the politics of raw domination.
www.bostonreview.net
January 22, 2026 at 1:21 PM
“The Trump administration has indeed been marked by a combination of shamelessness and intransigence that is perhaps just as well likened to the public relations strategies of mafiosos as to those of politicians.”
www.bostonreview.net/articles/emp...
www.bostonreview.net/articles/emp...
“Zutrau took a cue from ink painting, or what has come to be known as “first thought, best thought.” He trusted that initial instinct without stepping back and commenting on it.”
hyperallergic.com/edward-zutra...
hyperallergic.com/edward-zutra...
Edward Zutrau Was a Chromatic Rebel
He combined the reductive strain of Abstract Expressionism with the principles and style of Japanese ink painting, for something uniquely his own.
hyperallergic.com
January 22, 2026 at 1:17 PM
“Zutrau took a cue from ink painting, or what has come to be known as “first thought, best thought.” He trusted that initial instinct without stepping back and commenting on it.”
hyperallergic.com/edward-zutra...
hyperallergic.com/edward-zutra...
“incidents linked to deepfake video have outnumbered all three combined. That doesn’t include deepfakes produced since late December, when an update to xAI’s Grok allowed for rampant use of the model to sexualize images of real women and minors. “
time.com/7346091/ai-h...
time.com/7346091/ai-h...
What the Numbers Show About AI's Harms
Incidents arising from use of the technology, such as deepfake-enabled scams and chatbot-induced delusions have been rising steadily.
time.com
January 21, 2026 at 1:21 PM
“incidents linked to deepfake video have outnumbered all three combined. That doesn’t include deepfakes produced since late December, when an update to xAI’s Grok allowed for rampant use of the model to sexualize images of real women and minors. “
time.com/7346091/ai-h...
time.com/7346091/ai-h...
“The attack on Venezuela marks the arrival of the Sopranos stage of imperialism: the transformation of US hegemony into naked extortion. As with the Mafia, loyalty may ultimately buy nothing, and deals can be broken at gunpoint. “
jacobin.com/2026/01/trum...
jacobin.com/2026/01/trum...
We’re Now in the Sopranos Stage of Imperialism
The attack on Venezuela marks the arrival of the Sopranos stage of imperialism: the transformation of US hegemony into naked extortion. As with the Mafia, loyalty may ultimately buy nothing, and deals...
jacobin.com
January 21, 2026 at 1:14 PM
“The attack on Venezuela marks the arrival of the Sopranos stage of imperialism: the transformation of US hegemony into naked extortion. As with the Mafia, loyalty may ultimately buy nothing, and deals can be broken at gunpoint. “
jacobin.com/2026/01/trum...
jacobin.com/2026/01/trum...
“She contends that dreams have more of a free-flowing nature than previously realized, and that they can be influenced, diverted, and even completely rewritten with simple techniques, such as playing sounds or issuing scents that penetrate the sleeper’s mind. “
theamericanscholar.org/scientists-i...
theamericanscholar.org/scientists-i...
Scientists in Dreamland - The American Scholar
What might our nightly visions mean?
theamericanscholar.org
January 21, 2026 at 1:09 PM
“She contends that dreams have more of a free-flowing nature than previously realized, and that they can be influenced, diverted, and even completely rewritten with simple techniques, such as playing sounds or issuing scents that penetrate the sleeper’s mind. “
theamericanscholar.org/scientists-i...
theamericanscholar.org/scientists-i...
“they seek advice from job coaches; they joke about their obsessive budgeting of exclamations. They fear seeming overexcited, yes — but they also know the risks of the plain old period. Too brusque. Too cold. Too testy.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/m...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/m...
Why Are We Still So Afraid of Using the Grumpy Old Period?
www.nytimes.com
January 21, 2026 at 1:07 PM
“they seek advice from job coaches; they joke about their obsessive budgeting of exclamations. They fear seeming overexcited, yes — but they also know the risks of the plain old period. Too brusque. Too cold. Too testy.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/m...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/m...
“Ironically, race is also tied to the weakest part of Moses’s practice: painting figures. Moses’s amorphous people, with crude smiley-face lines as expression, often detract from her skillfully rendered, serene landscapes. “
hyperallergic.com/what-the-smi...
hyperallergic.com/what-the-smi...
What the Smithsonian Won’t Say About Grandma Moses
The benign narrative of the beloved artist must be deconstructed, as she also embodies the US’s detrimental values.
hyperallergic.com
January 20, 2026 at 12:59 PM
“Ironically, race is also tied to the weakest part of Moses’s practice: painting figures. Moses’s amorphous people, with crude smiley-face lines as expression, often detract from her skillfully rendered, serene landscapes. “
hyperallergic.com/what-the-smi...
hyperallergic.com/what-the-smi...
“This reuse of material is not incidental,” per the statement. “It testifies to Rubens’ playful intelligence and his experimental approach to composition and process.” www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/c...
Could This Portrait of an Elderly Man With a Young Woman's Face Hidden in His Beard Be a Long-Lost Study by Peter Paul Rubens?
When a dealer saw the unsigned painting at auction, he wondered if it might be an original piece by the renowned 17th-century Flemish artist. Experts are divided on the work's attribution
www.smithsonianmag.com
January 18, 2026 at 3:48 PM
“This reuse of material is not incidental,” per the statement. “It testifies to Rubens’ playful intelligence and his experimental approach to composition and process.” www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/c...
“The timing proved perfect for his childhood soulmate Nelle Harper Lee, who was delighted to play detective beside him: the adventure would distract from the itchy limbo of waiting for publication of her own novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the next summer.”
lithub.com/truman-capot...
lithub.com/truman-capot...
Truman Capote, Bennett Cerf, and the Making of In Cold Blood
Bennett Cerf’s decision to sell Random House to the Radio Corporation of America early in 1966 opened a door to the unknown, but his days stayed grounded in the work he knew and loved. His di…
lithub.com
January 18, 2026 at 1:33 PM
“The timing proved perfect for his childhood soulmate Nelle Harper Lee, who was delighted to play detective beside him: the adventure would distract from the itchy limbo of waiting for publication of her own novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the next summer.”
lithub.com/truman-capot...
lithub.com/truman-capot...
“While lawmakers squabble over what should be taught in schools, those responsible for teaching it are navigating increasingly hostile and precarious working environments with dwindling support and resources.”
thebaffler.com/latest/antis...
thebaffler.com/latest/antis...
Antisocial Studies | Marianne Dhenin
As the war over American social studies classrooms heats up, the curriculum is in the crosshairs.
thebaffler.com
January 18, 2026 at 1:27 PM
“While lawmakers squabble over what should be taught in schools, those responsible for teaching it are navigating increasingly hostile and precarious working environments with dwindling support and resources.”
thebaffler.com/latest/antis...
thebaffler.com/latest/antis...
“Ford’s vociferous antisemitism helped to fuel the rise of German Nazism,Musk has now gone all in to promote the rise of Germany’s neo-Nazis,who constitute much of the AfD, which, to the alarm of millions of Germans,may finish second in that nation’s upcoming elections.”
prospect.org/2025/01/06/2...
prospect.org/2025/01/06/2...
Ford and Musk. They Made Cars. They Backed Fascists. - The American Prospect
Each age’s premier industrialist has had appalling politics.
prospect.org
January 17, 2026 at 1:35 PM
“Ford’s vociferous antisemitism helped to fuel the rise of German Nazism,Musk has now gone all in to promote the rise of Germany’s neo-Nazis,who constitute much of the AfD, which, to the alarm of millions of Germans,may finish second in that nation’s upcoming elections.”
prospect.org/2025/01/06/2...
prospect.org/2025/01/06/2...
“If he began the novel as a conservative Romantic, ‘obsessed with death and decay,’ Mann finished it – after nearly 20 million men had been buried in the mud – as a democratic humanist, a staunch defender of life.”
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/thom...
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/thom...
Thomas Mann's art of contradiction
Morten Høi Jensen’s 'The Master of Contradictions' explores the tensions at the heart of Thomas Mann’s world and shows how, in 'The Magic Mountain', he heroically struggles to resolve them.
engelsbergideas.com
January 17, 2026 at 1:30 PM
“If he began the novel as a conservative Romantic, ‘obsessed with death and decay,’ Mann finished it – after nearly 20 million men had been buried in the mud – as a democratic humanist, a staunch defender of life.”
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/thom...
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/thom...