All posts tagged: Culture

Students discover long-lost Roman villa under high school gym

Students discover long-lost Roman villa under high school gym

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time. Like all high schools, Cavour Scientific High School has its fair share of rumors. For years, students swore that their classrooms were built atop ancient, unexplored Roman ruins. Their theories were understandable given the school’s impressive view.. From its front steps on Via degil Annibaldi, Cavour Scientific High School is less than a five minute stroll to the Colosseum. Yes, that Colosseum. The monumental symbol of ancient Rome is only one example of the surrounding neighborhood’s historical significance. Famous figures including Pompey, Cicero, and Emperor Augustus all lived there, but much of the vital archaeological record remains buried underneath centuries of municipal development. The school, originally built during the late 19th century as a missionary complex, is its own testament to this constant …

It’s Brad Pitt and His Dog vs. the Alaskan Wilderness in David Ayer’s ‘Heart of the Beast’

It’s Brad Pitt and His Dog vs. the Alaskan Wilderness in David Ayer’s ‘Heart of the Beast’

Published by Jenni Sidey

And still, Ayer admits that he’s “surprised” with how well the final product turned out. After spending his last two films unleashing Jason Statham on hundreds of nameless tough guys, it’s a drastic swerve to make a dog named Uber the Paul Walker or Ethan Hawke to Pitt’s Vin Diesel or Denzel Washington. “You’re sitting there in the rain, there’s mud everywhere, you’re slipping off the side of the mountain, and the dog is running around,” Ayer recalls of production. “And every now and then something came across my monitor that took my breath away. I’m like, This is the movie. This is why we’re here.” As someone who writes most of his own films, what was it about this script that sucked you in? I’ll just be really honest: it made me cry. Reading the script, it’s like a tone poem, in a sense. It’s so sparse—just a guy, a dog, mountains, and the calamities and triumphs that unfold, but what’s fascinating about the script is they’re constantly rescuing each other. It’s not like …

Afroman Is Back—and He’s Bitcoin’s Latest Freedom Fighter

Afroman Is Back—and He’s Bitcoin’s Latest Freedom Fighter

Published by skeptic

Joseph Edgar Foreman is still getting high. In a makeshift greenroom made from curtains at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, Afroman, as he’s better known, inhales a blunt rolled by his videographer, who’s wearing a tight cocktail dress and clear sky-high heels. The 51-year-old rapper seems unconcerned that several thousand people are waiting for him, in a room far larger than the dive bars he’s been playing over the past two decades. Foreman is wearing the same American Flag ensemble that he donned during his recent appearance in court (and now wears everywhere). In 2022, police officers raided his home in Winchester, Ohio, on suspicion of drugs and kidnapping. They found nothing except a jar filled with “green leafy vegetation,” THC wax, pipes, and more than $5,000 in cash. Following the raid, Foreman released a series of songs mocking the cops, rapping about having sex with their wives and their receding hairlines, among other humiliations. Seven of the officers sued him for $4 million for defamation and invasion of privacy. Foreman won, both the …

All the Fashion From the Tony Awards 2026 Red Carpet

All the Fashion From the Tony Awards 2026 Red Carpet

Published by Sam Flores

If you, like Shakespeare, believe that all the world’s a stage, then the Tony Awards 2026 red carpet is primed for performance. Joined by first-time ceremony host Pink, a bevy of stage and screen stars will descend upon New York’s famed Radio City Music Hall to celebrate the best of a bustling Broadway season. As for who will win at the Tony Awards 2026, it’ll be a battle for best musical between The Lost Boys, an opulent adaptation of Joel Schumacher’s queer classic film, or Schmigadoon!, a cheeky ode to Broadway’s golden age based on a cult-favorite Apple TV+ comedy. They lead the Tony Award nominations as the year’s most nominated musicals with 12 nods each. Meanwhile, Death of a Salesman is the most recognized play with nine total nods—including individual honors for stars Nathan Lane, Laurie Metcalf, and Christopher Abbott. Expect them to grace the Tonys carpet, in addition to lead-actor-in-a-play nominee Daniel Radcliffe for Every Brilliant Thing, lead-actor-in-a-musical nominee Luke Evans for Rocky Horror, and Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion, fresh off an …

How Obsession’s Inde Navarrette Went From Twitch Streamer to Scream Queen

How Obsession’s Inde Navarrette Went From Twitch Streamer to Scream Queen

Published by Jenni Sidey

Like, he never admits it. He tells Ian in the very beginning, “Nikki’s acting weird.” And Ian says, “Well, did you sleep with her? Because if you did, that’s really fucked up.” And [Bear] goes, “No, no, I didn’t, I slept on the floor.” That’s a lie. He did sleep with her. So, you see the things in the very beginning that lead to him making that decision, but it’s only within that decision that he fully becomes the villain. I think that’s so smart, beautiful, and very human. Another one that I think is more fun it’s Sandy [the cat] that’s possessing Nikki. I choked on my water about that one, it was really funny. But no, Sandy did not possess Nikki. Nope. Definitive exclusive! The cat is not Nikki. [laughs] Definitive. Yeah, sorry. [laughs] Why do you think the film is connecting with so many people? I think that Curry did a really good job with applying modern technology to this movie while making it feel nostalgic. And I think something that my …

Vintage Clothes Are Great. Vintage Shopping Keeps Getting Worse

Vintage Clothes Are Great. Vintage Shopping Keeps Getting Worse

Published by Jenni Sidey

This is an edition of the newsletter Pulling Weeds With Chris Black, in which the columnist weighs in on hot topics in culture. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Thursday. Like most of you reading this, I spend a lot of time online. Some of that time can truly be called work; the rest of it is spent looking at Instagram Reels about viral Kool-Aid Pineapple sales in the Southern United States and watching Hunter Biden bloom as a Twitter power user. Online is a great place to shop. Of course, I would prefer an expertly arranged retail store with the perfect in-house scent, soundtrack, and cool employees who are attentive but not all over you, but in 2026, those are few and far between. I am mostly interested in vintage, whether it be yet another pair of orange-tab Levi’s 505s, deadstock Made in USA Converse Chuck Taylors, or a true XL 1990s Son Volt shirt. These items aren’t coming from Mr Porter or Tres Bien; they are coming from independent …

Police can’t find shoplifter who fled in self-driving Waymo

Police can’t find shoplifter who fled in self-driving Waymo

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time. It may not have been the most thrilling getaway job, but San Francisco law enforcement said it’s one of the first crimes of its kind. It also remains unsolved after nearly six months. According to officials speaking with the San Francisco Chronicle, police are still investigating a case in which an unidentified man stole an arm-full of activewear from a local yoga studio, then fled the scene inside a self-driving Waymo taxi. “I would think it would be easier to solve in a Waymo,” Sgt. Tim Faye told the newspaper on June 4. Anticipating an open-and-shut investigation is understandable, but the situation is actually more complicated than it seems. While police couldn’t comment on an active case, it’s almost certain the robber used …

Jay-Z Locks Back In | GQ

Jay-Z Locks Back In | GQ

Published by Jenni Sidey

This is an edition of the weekly newsletter Tap In, GQ senior associate editor Frazier Tharpe’s final word on the most heated online discourse about music, movies, and TV. Sign up here to get it free. “I would have written a shorter letter, but did not have the time.” Back in January, on set for his GQ cover story, Jay-Z told me that quote—often attributed to Mark Twain, but initially credited to French philosopher Blaise Pascal—was not only a favorite, but one that’s affected him in all aspects of his writing. There’s genius in brevity: Compared to successfully communicating an open and closed idea in eight bars like “Frontin,” an extendo verse like “God Did,” while still impressive, might be the easier exercise. I found myself thinking back to that exchange this past Saturday night in Philadelphia, when Jay kicked off his set at Questlove’s annual Roots Picnic festival by going full third-act Michael Corleone and settling a bunch of previously unrebutted scores in a searing three-minute freestyle—which, considering it’s his first true verse in …

The Life and Death of Hilde Lynn Helphenstein, the Art World Meme Maker Behind @JerryGogosian

The Life and Death of Hilde Lynn Helphenstein, the Art World Meme Maker Behind @JerryGogosian

Published by Sam Flores

The news reached New York the next day, prompting an outpouring of messages from the people who consumed her content, and those on the receiving end of the barbs. Even Jerry Saltz, her namesake, chimed in. “I found myself very sad at her death; her writing always had a real suspiciousness, knowingness, and even cynicism to it. But the art world beat a path to her byline,” Saltz wrote on Instagram. “I was very touched by and able to chuckle with knowing at her choice of my first name as hers. She tattled and rattled cages at a moment when this really needed it.” The outpouring of admiration after Helphenstein’s death reveals the story of a complicated person in an industry that’s fiercely territorial about who it lets in. She was an art world social media fixture but was only sporadically able to monetize it. In the last two years, she was navigating an ever-changing online landscape amid an art market in the middle of a downturn. “All I can say is that when she …

AI feature film on Iran’s protest movement makes festival history – arts24

AI feature film on Iran’s protest movement makes festival history – arts24

Published by Sam Flores

To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. Accept Manage my choices One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Try again ARTS24 © FRANCE 24 Issued on: 05/06/2026 – 14:25Modified: 05/06/2026 – 14:26 12:38 min From the show Reading time 1 min A film about Iran’s protest movement is making cinema history. “Dreams of Violets” is the first fully AI-generated feature film ever selected by a major international film festival. The 75-minute drama will premiere at New York’s Tribeca Festival next week. Created by Iranian-British director Ash Koosha from his home in London, the film took just three months to produce and cost less than 2,000 euros. There were no actors, no cameras, no sets and no film crew. Koosha says the film simply could not have been made through conventional means. Living in exile and unable to safely film inside Iran, he turned to AI to recreate events …