The Off Topic Topic

[Grey Fox]

Cases with 5.25 bay are widely available just not at price points you are looking at. Stop being cheap.

I'd say the opposite.
They're available at low price points but not in the better quality stuff I'm looking at.

http://www.coolermaster.com/case/mid-tower/haf-912-advanced/

[The Brain]

Is Lettuce writing for The Onion now?

https://entertainment.theonion.com/taylor-swift-breaks-political-silence-to-throw-support-1829602513

Taylor Swift Breaks Political Silence To Throw Support Behind Restoring Shōgun To Throne Of Japan

NEW YORK—In a heartfelt social media statement to her fans, singer–songwriter Taylor Swift broke her long-standing political silence Monday to support restoring an all-powerful shōgun to its rightful place on the throne of Japan. "Hey guys, Taylor here—I'm writing this post because I've been inspired by recent events to speak up about why we need to install an all-powerful military dictatorship in Japan's imperial palace," said the famously apolitical pop star, admitting that in the past, she had been "reluctant" to voice her long-held support for Japan's famously brutal system of medieval clan-based governance, but felt differently after witnessing the country's decay since the final shōgun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, fell from power in 1868. "I believe that a weak-willed democratic Japan is WRONG. I believe the dilution of the proud Tokugawa Clan's samurai class is WRONG. Please, please educate yourself on the Meiji Restoration's folly. Only through the blood and steel of a true shōgunate ruler can Japan flourish. Thanks for reading. XOXOXO." At press time, bloggers had criticized Swift for going too far after she called on current Emperor Akihito to immediately surrender his throne and commit seppuku for disgracing Japan.

The Tokugawa were medieval now? Oh right it's The Onion.

[The Minsky Moment]

I'm a bit of a philistine when it comes to contemporary art but this antic by Banksy is pure brilliance: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/sotheby-s-banksy-ed-as-painting-self-destructs-live-at-auction

[Syt]

Loved it, too. German paper Die Zeit reported on it. However, their article was "shredded" and the words randomly re-arranged. I guess that makes it meta-art?

[Syt]

Speaking of art, I must be sure to check out the current Pieter Bruegel the Elder exhibition in KHM:

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/preview/vienna-bags-bruegel-blockbuster

Largest ever exhibition on Pieter Bruegel the Elder opens in Vienna

Show at the Kunsthistorisches Museum unites more than three-quarters of the artist's paintings

The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna is mounting the largest ever exhibition devoted to Pieter Bruegel the Elder, uniting more than three-quarters of the artist's surviving paintings and presenting the results of important research into his working methods.

The father of a painting dynasty, Bruegel is loved around the world for his detailed paintings of peasant life, landscapes and Biblical scenes. Yet previous attempts to stage exhibitions of his output have failed—mainly because of the fragility and value of the surviving works, says Sabine Pénot, one of the show's four curators.

The exhibition, which marks the 450th anniversary of the artist's death, includes loans from major museums across Europe. "Many of them are being sent abroad for the first time in centuries," Pénot says, noting that some of the works have been restored especially for the show.

Around 30 paintings and 60 drawings will be displayed. Two paintings of the Tower of Babel, one from the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam and one from the Kunsthistorisches Museum's own collection, will be reunited for the first time. Other highlights include The Adoration of the Magi in the Snow (1563) from Am Römerholz in Winterthur, and two paintings that have been restored for the exhibition: Dulle Griet (around 1562) from Antwerp's Museum Mayer van den Bergh and the Triumph of Death (1562-63) from the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid.

Little is known about Bruegel's life. He was born between 1525 and 1530 in Antwerp and probably trained in the studio of Pieter Coecke van Aelst, whose daughter he later married. He is known to have travelled to Italy before the births of his sons, Pieter and Jan, in 1564 and 1568 respectively. Although Bruegel was popular in the 17th century, he fell into obscurity before being rediscovered in the late 19th century. Not all of his output has survived. Some of his works on cloth were too delicate to weather the decades; other paintings disappeared and are known only from copies.

Thanks to the enthusiasm of Habsburg collectors in the 17th century, the Kunsthistorisches Museum has the world's largest collection of paintings by Bruegel the Elder. But an attempt to stage an exhibition of original works in Vienna and Brussels 50 years ago failed, because lenders were not prepared to relinquish their priceless paintings.

This time round, the six-year research preceding the show was key to convincing museums across Europe to part with their treasures, Pénot says. "There is a lot of literature on Bruegel, but not much about his production methods," she says. "We used all the methods of modern technology that are not invasive. This is a real milestone in Bruegel research."

Infrared and X-ray analysis of the 12 paintings in the Kunsthistorisches Museum—which span the artist's career—revealed extensive underdrawing and provided insights into how the artist's technique developed, Pénot says. "In his early career, he drew very precisely and his paintwork was very faithful to the drawing," she says. "In the later works, he no longer stuck slavishly to the underdrawing but became much freer." In Vienna's Tower of Babel, for instance, not all of the figures in the underdrawing were recreated in paint.

The research findings will be published online (insidebruegel.net) when the show opens, and a symposium due to take place in Vienna in December will bring together experts on Bruegel to discuss the artist's methods. One of the aims of the research project, Pénot says, is to produce the first Bruegel the Elder catalogue raisonné.

The main sponsor of the exhibition is Flanders State of the Art.

[Oexmelin]

I'm a bit of a philistine when it comes to contemporary art but this antic by Banksy is pure brilliance: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/sotheby-s-banksy-ed-as-painting-self-destructs-live-at-auction

Yes. Today, there was this, as well:

[Malthus]

Speaking of art, I must be sure to check out the current Pieter Bruegel the Elder exhibition in KHM:

Now, if Pieter Bruegel the Elder arranged a mechanism for one of his paintings to self-destruct 450 years after his death - I'd be very impressed. 

[Malthus]

I'm a bit of a philistine when it comes to contemporary art but this antic by Banksy is pure brilliance: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/sotheby-s-banksy-ed-as-painting-self-destructs-live-at-auction

The new owner may not be upset -  the piece just doubled in value, at least. 

[Eddie Teach]

https://youtu.be/z7SqtIe5rZQ

[Eddie Teach]

Nothing, eh?

Anyhow, hope that guy got arrested. Both for the assault and for being a fucking hipster.

[Maladict]

Nothing, eh?

Anyhow, hope that guy got arrested. Both for the assault and for being a fucking hipster.

Just saw it. Wow, and the excuse makes it even worse 

[celedhring]

So, our government wants to raise the minimum wage by 26%, in a single year. I guess we'll be a testbed for all those minimum wage is great/awful theories, if it gets passed (it's not clear it will).

[The Larch]

So, our government wants to raise the minimum wage by 26%, in a single year. I guess we'll be a testbed for all those minimum wage is great/awful theories, if it gets passed (it's not clear it will).

AFAIK, the situation about minimum wage in Spain is rather peculiar, in the sense that not *that* many people are on it, so raising it doesn't really affect that much, but it is used as a benchmark for plenty of sectorial arrangements, so those are indirectly affected by a minimum wage raise.

[Duque de Bragança]

So, our government wants to raise the minimum wage by 26%, in a single year. I guess we'll be a testbed for all those minimum wage is great/awful theories, if it gets passed (it's not clear it will).

AFAIK, the minimum wage raises in Portugal were not done this way. Not sure if a single significant increase will be as beneficial for everybody.
Then other external factors played in favour, like the tourism and real estate for foreigners boom during the last years.

[derspiess]

Nothing, eh?

Anyhow, hope that guy got arrested. Both for the assault and for being a fucking hipster.

I think he was fired from his job and arrested.  He had apparently assaulted someone at a different protest, so he got charged for that as well.  He said he was trying to kick her phone out of her hand and that may be true, but assault is assault.