Weekend reading list – week of February 25, 2019

Each week, we share the top five articles that caught our attention. Here are your must-reads, published here and abroad, for the week of February 25th 2019.

Why we think cats are psychopaths
Anyone who has looked into the curiously blank face of a cat can be forgiven for thinking they are psychopaths. But what does it mean to apply a human mental diagnosis to felines? Sarah Zhang explains the truth behind “resting cat face”.
→ Read it on The Atlantic

Where are all the aliens?
We know that they exist, but how come they haven’t made contact yet? A new study, led by astrophysicist Adam Frank and his team, looking at neighbouring galaxies and the lifeforms that may live there offers a more nuanced resolution to this old paradox.
→ Read it on Popular Science

Cyber minimalism: a green movement or a social one?
Karen Mauvilly, author of a book on cyber minimalism, reveals seven ways that we can adopt to live in our modern times, but with a more critical approach to our lifestyle and consumer habits.
→ Read it on Usbek & Rica (French)

The complex journey of a text message
For most of us, sending a text message is as effortless as breathing. But what happens, exactly, when we hit send? Scott Weingart takes a text message written by his wife and retraces its complex route from brain to thumb to screen to retina.
→ Read it on Motherboard

How to learn from your mistakes
Do you obsess over mistakes you’ve made and why you just can’t let go? Dr. Alice Boyes explains that there are effective solutions for breaking yourself out of this rut—and that it’s all simpler than you think.
→ Read it on HBR

The 2019 Créa Awards shortlist
#Sponsored
Six nominations for the 2019 Créa Awards—Havas Montréal has had a good start to the week! Congratulations to the creative teams that worked with Daniel Gagnon Speed Reading and Productions micro_scopes.
→ Read it on Infopresse (French)

In your earbuds: How I Built This
A new episode of the How I Built This podcast featuring Eileen Fisher, famous fashion designer and founder of an eponymous label. This episode takes us back to her first fashion show in 1984 and the many obstacles she faced along the way.
→ Listen to it on NPR

Instagram fave
JR is a contemporary artist whose photographic collages are wowing people all over the world.

View this post on Instagram

– NEW RELEASE!! – ALL PROFITS WILL HELP SUPPORT THE ACTIVITIES OF @casaamarelaprovidencia "Casa Amarela, JR on the moon, Favela Morro da Providência, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2017" 46 x 36 cm – 18.1 x 14.2  inches approx., white paper BFK Rives, 270 grams, numbered /250 on the left side corner and signed by JR on the right side corner.
Price : 300 euros without taxes Almost 10 years ago, at the very top of Brazil’s first favela, Morro da Providência, I founded Casa Amarela. Since then, it has turned into a cultural center, which aims to make art and culture as reachable as possible to its inhabitants.
Everyday, Casa Amarela opens its doors to children, teenagers and adults, offering a wide range of activities, such as, arts, theatre, dancing, music, alphabetization, French, English and sports such as boxe and capoeira.
With time, many partnerships have been built with local activists, artists and teachers but also other cultural centers that now allow for this very diverse program held at Casa Amarela. Some would say it is a sanctuary for those who come to participate, others would call it a peaceful place where the main pillars are: the arts, culture and education.
At Casa Amarela, you can even dream of reaching the moon, especially since there is one at the top of the house, that welcomes artists from all over Brazil and the world for artistic residencies, during which the artists come to discover life at Providência, and share their passion and art with the youth of the community. #lithography #print #givingtuesday #jr #casaamarela #favela #rio

A post shared by JR (@jr) on Nov 27, 2018 at 7:02am PST

Photo: Marie Westmoreland

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