Culture & Society

1,000-year-old China Song dynasty bowl sells for record $37.7m   Bowl, originally designed to wash brushes, breaks record for Chinese porcelain, auction house Sotheby’s says. A 1,000-year-old bowl from China’s Song dynasty sold at auction for $37.7m...

A Tax on Robots? Yanis Varoufakis Twitter: @yanisvaroufakis ATHENS – Ken makes a decent living operating a large harvester on behalf of farmer Luke. Ken’s salary generates income tax and social security payments that help finance government...

Harvard’s ART Institute suspends admissions By Malcolm Gay   Harvard University’s ART Institute, a graduate program in theater, has suspended admissions after the US Department of Education gave the program a “failing” grade for burdening its graduates...

Disney taps augmented reality for 'Star Wars' toy event The Walt Disney Company said they're sending Star Wars characters into the realm of augmented reality. Fans from 30 countries will be able to use their...

That’s Entertainment in India In India’s entertainment biz, two behemoths dominate: Bollywood and cricket. Things may be about to get a lot more interesting. Digitization, aided by a burgeoning middle class with more money to spend...

Hot air balloons boost tourism in Turkey’s Cappadocia   Turkish tourism body expects a total of 300,000 tourists are expected to explore the city in the air by the end of 2017. Hot air balloon tours in...

Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass/Book XVII   With Antecedents       1 With antecedents, With my fathers and mothers and the accumulations of past ages, With all which, had it not been, I would not now be here, as I am, With Egypt,...

'Chinawood' hopes to challenge Hollywood for cinematic dominance   China inaugurated the Qingdao Movie Metropolis this weekend, dubbed "Chinawood", which aims to become the global capital of film production. But as a tool of soft power,...

Stolen heart of French queen consort Anne of Brittany found   The golden casket holds the heart of the French queen Anne, who died over 500 years ago. French police have recovered a solid gold casket...

No more sour grapes – Temecula could be Californian wine’s latest success story Author: James Stannard   Better wine and a new approach to tourism are set to put southern California’s vineyards on the map for both...