Author: NY TIMES

This article is part of our Design special section about water as a source of creativity.In the science fiction epic “Dune” (books and movies alike), the people who inhabit the brutally harsh desert planet Arrakis wear garments called stillsuits that allow them to drink their own recycled bodily waters.These full-body survival suits, which look a bit like a techy version of an insect’s hard upper shell, absorb moisture from sweating and urination and filter out impurities to make potable water. This water is stored in pockets and sucked through a tube.If this sounds like magical sci-fi thinking, the principle is…

For decades, Munch’s Make Believe Band at Chuck E. Cheese has performed for countless birthdays, end-of-season Little League parties and other celebrations. There’s been Chuck E. Cheese and Helen Henny on vocals, Mr. Munch on keys, Jasper T. Jowls on guitar, and Pasqually on drums.The band of robot puppets has been a mainstay at the colorful pizzeria-arcade chain where children run amok and play games for prizes in between bites of pizza slices.Their final curtain call is coming soon.By the end of 2024, the animatronic performances — endearing and nostalgia-inducing, if perhaps slightly creepy to their audiences — will be…

Bill Holman, an arranger and composer whose work with Stan Kenton, Gerry Mulligan and other jazz greats established him as a transformative figure in the cool jazz sound associated with 1950s California, died on Monday at his home in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles. He was 96.Kathryn King, his stepdaughter, announced the death.Mr. Holman’s longtime collaboration with Mr. Kenton, first as a saxophonist in his band and later as an arranger, provided the foundation of his reputation, but he also went on to arrange for Maynard Ferguson, Count Basie, Peggy Lee, Tony Bennett, Michael Bublé and many others,…

Turkey has suspended trade with Israel. The world’s top court is considering whether Israeli leaders have committed genocide. Protests have overtaken cities and campuses worldwide. Ireland and Spain say they will recognize Palestine as a state by the end of the month.Even the United States — long Israel’s closest ally and benefactor — is threatening for the first time since the war began to withhold certain arms shipments.Seven months after much of the world pledged its support to Israel following a Hamas-led terrorist attack, the country finds itself increasingly isolated. With a war that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians…

The Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, received a gift of fine cognac at the Élysée Palace in Paris and was cheered in Belgrade by Serbians waving Chinese flags, albeit most of them were bused-in government workers.And by the time he left Hungary on Friday at the end of a six-day European tour, the clouds over his country’s relations with the West looked much less dark, at least from China’s perspective.Mr. Xi told President Emmanuel Macron of France that relations would be “as vibrant and thriving as springtime.” At his next stop, he said the “tree of China-Serbia friendship will grow tall…

One suspects Michael Malone wasn’t surprised by what he saw.The Denver Nuggets coach gained first-hand knowledge of championship-caliber defenses from his late father, Brendan, a lifelong basketball player and longtime assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons. He was on Chuck Daly’s staff during the 1989 and 1990 championships. Most relevantly, Brendan Malone is the defensive mind behind the “Jordan Rules,” the Pistons’ blueprint for how to stop Michael Jordan from dominating the playoffs, just like Denver’s Nikola Jokic is now doing That way.In fact, the rules are very simple.Detroit’s Hall of Fame guard Joe Dumars, one of the best point…

A person, typically a woman, is talking gently into a microphone. She’s paying close attention to you. Perhaps she’s asking you about your day, or role-playing the part of an aesthetician or doctor or your best friend at a slumber party. Maybe she’s about to give you a facial. Or examine your eyes with a light and a magnifying glass. Or simply listen to you talk.There are a lot of — for lack of a better description — mouth sounds. The woman whispers and clicks her tongue, all while speaking with overemphasized consonants and elongated vowels. Occasionally, she taps her…

When corporate jousting, don’t choose jealousy. Source link

On Saturday, acts representing 26 countries will compete at the Eurovision Song Contest, the high-camp competition that is also world’s most watched cultural event. The winner is chosen by a combination of votes from music industry juries in participating countries and viewers watching at home. Sometimes, they reflect the strength of individual performances; other times, politics comes into play.Who is most likely to triumph at this year’s event in Malmo, Sweden? Here are the five acts who may have the best chance, based on European bookmakers’ odds and online chatter.The NetherlandsJoost KleinJoost Klein, representing the Netherlands with “Europapa,” has emerged…

Following Israel’s incursion into Rafah this week, the Israeli military briefly shut down the Kerem Shalom crossing and seized the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, choking the flow of desperately needed food, fuel and medical supplies at a time when experts believe parts of Gaza are already experiencing a famine and several have died from malnutrition.According to United Nations data, the number of aid trucks entering Gaza hit a peak last week since October: A total of 1,674 aid trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings, the main entry points of aid into the enclave. But…