Students are taught to stack one number atop another and multiply each digit of the bottom number by each digit of the top one. For millennia, mathematicians believed this to be the fastest multiplication method, until a 23-year-old made a shocking discovery in 1960, which led to a mystery that remains unsolved to this day.

Glen Hansard, Oscar-winning Irish musician, has died in a single vehicle motorcycle crash. He was 56.

Hansard was known for many accomplishments, gaining fame as the guitarist Outpan Foster in the 1991 movie The Commitments. He was the founder and frontman of legendary Irish rock group The Frames, won an oscar with Marketa Iglova for best song with "Falling Slowly" from the motion picture Once, in which they both starred, as well as a successful solo career. Fitzcarraldo - The Frames Revelate - The Frames Falling Slowly - from Once, with Marketa Iglova Glen Hansard NPR Tiny Desk Concert and with a heavy heart, Lay Me Down - The Frames

The director known for scrappy, lo-fi, distinctly Canadian indies takes on his biggest project yet: Anthony Bourdain. (slVulture)

(archive link here) Tony trailer Blackberry trailer (rentable on Prime in Canada; available on AMC+ in the US) And of course, the biggest export of Johnson's career yet, the extremely Toronto-heavy and yet heartfelt movie that even made the US pay attention: Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie Audiences unfamiliar with Nirvanna the Band the Show will be able to watch it streaming on Hulu in the US as of July 24th. Fanfare discussion of Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie here.

Dead City is a complete webcomic by Max Parker and Jey Pawlik. Mikael and JP try to survive a zombie apocalypse together in an abandoned city. This is a slow burn romance with zombies as the plot device; don't expect a lot of action or horror.

Jey also made Gender Slices - an autobiographical comic about being nonbinary. And they're a regular guest artist for Oh Joy Sex Toy (nsfw).

The 6th World Nomad Games will take place in Kyrgyzstan from August 31 to September 6, 2026, returning to the birthplace of the international event. The opening ceremony will be held in the capital city of Bishkek, while the main sports competitions and cultural events will be hosted around the Issyk-Kul region (primarily Cholpon-Ata). Participants from around 100 countries are expected, competing in traditional heritage sports

Competitions include: Kok-Boru, or Kok-Par, essentially polo with a goat carcass; Er Enish (horseback wrestling), Alysh (belt wrestling), and Mas-wrestling (stick-pulling contest) as well as tug-of-war, this year played in rounds of 1v1, 5v5 and the standard 8v8. As well as dozens of other various forms of wrestling that were invented by, typically only entered by, and always won by the Kazakhs and the Kyrgs. Traditional Archery, Horse Archery Eagle Hunting and falconry. Taigan Zarysh (sighthound racing) Probably more congenial to mefites are the intellectual sports, including Mangala, Oware and Toguz Korgool (originally played with sheep dung, which considering 162 "beads" are needed to play, must have made a very aromatic game – boring small pebbles are the norm now). Straddled halfway between the intellectual sports and sports requiring aim is Ordo. Perhaps the most violent sounding name is Heer Shalga, Breaking of the Vertebral Bone - in which animal bones are broken by hand. These sports are the highlights of a programme that also celebrates nomadic cultural traditions and scientific achievements, so will be accompanied by musical performances, dramas, talent shows and a museum compromising of dozens of yurts, each hosting exhibitions for unique parts of Central Asias Geography and history. I'm following the GB teams Traditional Intellectual Sport Teams Instagram. Other feeds are available.

Ik zat zeven dagen in een all-inclusive resort in Turkije, waar we al eerder waren geweest, dus de verrassing was er wel vanaf.

Writer Sarah Wilson argues we’re hurtling toward the same end as ancient Rome and the Mayan civilisation – but there’s plenty to fight for

In Sarah Wilson’s new book, one page is mostly blank. It’s intended as a reprieve, a neutral space “for you to stare at for a minute while your feelings catch up”.

You will need it. In I Eat the Stars, Wilson argues that the world as we know it is in collapse – and that we are too late to avoid the worst.

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Dominic Sessa stars as a conceited yet vulnerable young chef alongside Antonio Banderas – but the feelgood factor is compromised by what we know of the author

For all the drugs and punch-ups, this is an unexpectedly sentimental coming-of-age story – or maybe origin myth – about the formative youthful kitchen experiences of legendary badass chef Anthony Bourdain. It is taken from the opening chapters in his bestselling memoir Kitchen Confidential; Canadian film-maker Matt Johnson directs and Dominic Sessa (the callow kid from Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers) plays the conceited, smug yet lonely and vulnerable young college student Tony. “Anthony” is in the future.

It is the mid-1970s and Tony effectively runs away from home after failing to get a residential summer writing scholarship that he had assured everyone was in the bag. He shows up nearly penniless in the seaside vacation resort of Provincetown, Massachusetts – a place that is pretty similar to Amity Island in Jaws, which is showing at every drive-in. The reason is that he has a desperate crush on Nancy (Emilia Jones) who is there for the summer too and whom he desperately wants to impress with his smouldering intellectualism.

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Thuiskomen na een lange werkdag op de NRC-redactie. GAZONSCHAAMTE. Kinderen een aai over de bol. GAZONSCHAAMTE. Op het bankie naar Even tot Hier kijken en je doodlachen. GAZONSCHAAMTE. NRC op schoot eens kijken of we überhaupt nog iets mogen. GAZONSCHAAMTE. Partner wil al jaren geen seks maar vanavond toch weer eens proberen. GAZONSCHAAMTE. Gazon maaien. GAZONSCHAAMTE. Gazon strelen. GAZONSCHAAMTE. Gazon zoenen en stiekem meer. GAZONSCHAAMTE. Alles met Kim Kötter. Groener gazon bij de buren. GAZONSCHAAMTE. GAZONSCHAAMTE. In het vliegtuig vol vliegschaamte naar Grown Ups 2 kijken. GAZONSCHAAMTE. Schat wil jij het gazon sproeien ik heb waterschaamte. GAZONSCHAAMTE. 

De gazonschaamte is overal, achtervolgt u tot in uw kussensloop, dringt uw lichaam binnen via een gat in uw sok, vestigt zich in uw doucheputje en verkracht uw cavia. Gazonschaamte is de roos op uw schouder, het velletje aan uw neus, de etterende wond op uw bil en het stemmetje in uw hoofd dat zich voortdurend afvraagt: is het leven nog wel de moeite waard als ik gebukt ga onder GAZONSCHAAMTE?

Ja wij hebben er toevallig geen last van

Wie kent dit nog van vroeger?

Social

Participants in a recently published study spoke 28% fewer words per day in 2019 than they did in 2005. (People are spending more time alone and more time digitally communicating.)

Russia has charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism and placed him on an international wanted list. The country's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the charges on Wednesday, alleging that Telegram failed to remove channels, chats, and bots used by Ukrainian intelligence to recruit young Russians for sabotage and terrorism. The alleged offenses include armed attacks on law enforcement officers and arson targeting transport, energy, communications, and financial infrastructure. According to an FSB news release, these attacks have resulted in numerous human casualties, including women and children. One focus of the allegations is the popular Telegram dating bot "Leo," which reportedly has more than 13 million users and matches people seeking dates or friendship. The FSB said 46 Russian citizens aged between 12 and 22 have been arrested across the country since July 2025. The FSB alleges they had accepted instructions from Ukrainian intelligence officers to carry out attacks inside Russia. The agency went on to claim that Ukrainian intelligence officers had been using Leo while posing as women to establish contact and build fake romantic relationships with young Russian men. According to the FSB, Ukrainian officials would encourage men to pay for cinema tickets, concert tickets, or gifts through phishing links then blackmail them into carrying out attacks in Russia. "Subsequently, representatives of Ukrainian intelligence agencies, posing as Russian law enforcement or Rosfinmonitoring officers, contacted the individuals through foreign messaging apps," the FSB said. "The fake law enforcement officials claimed that the transferred funds had been deposited into accounts of the Ukrainian armed forces, and that the transferred coordinates had been used by the enemy to plan missile strikes and drone attacks." "After this, the deceived and intimidated citizens, unable to critically assess the situation due to psychological pressure, were threatened with criminal prosecution and coerced into committing armed attacks and arson, ostensibly as part of an anti-terrorism security check of the targets and participating in other 'pseudo-operational activities.'" Leo was banned in Russia on December 23, 2025, on the basis that it contained information relating to child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and LGBT propaganda. Russia's Supreme Court designated what authorities call the "international LGBT movement" as extremist in November 2023, despite no such formal organization existing, and banned its activities in the country. Russia further accused Telegram of failing to take down content relating to these "prohibited activities" as well as the numerous accounts allegedly used by Ukrainian intelligence. The Kremlin has meanwhile been pushing citizens toward the state-backed MAX messenger. Since 2025, smartphones sold in Russia have been required to come with the app preinstalled. However, government agencies still communicate official updates via Durov’s Telegram, which remains vastly more popular in Russia. Neither Durov nor Telegram have responded officially, other than the messaging platform's social media post of the founder holding his middle finger to the camera. Durov, 41, left Russia in 2014 and now lives in the United Arab Emirates. He holds Russian, French, Emirati, and St Kitts and Nevis citizenship. Although the UAE reportedly has close ties with Russia, it remains unclear whether Moscow will secure an Interpol notice or ask Emirati authorities to extradite Durov. Like cybercriminals who avoid countries likely to honor US extradition requests, Durov will now need to consider where Russian demands might be enforced. In August 2024, the Telegram founder was arrested by authorities in France, where he also holds residency and a passport. Durov was charged with multiple offenses relating to alleged failures to prevent criminal activity on Telegram, including drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime, and the distribution of CSAM. The French case remains open, although Durov was allowed to return to Dubai in March 2025. ®

AMSTERDAM (ANP) - De AEX-index op de aandelenbeurs in Amsterdam is woensdag met een kleine winst de handel uitgegaan. Bij de bedrijven was chemicaliëndistributeur IMCD koploper dankzij goed ontvangen cijfers. De chipfondsen gingen echter opnieuw omlaag, ondanks sterke resultaten van chiptoeleverancier ASMI. Daarmee zette de chipsector de zware neergang van deze week door vanwege zorgen bij beleggers over onder meer toenemende concurrentie uit China.

De AEX sloot licht hoger op 1093,10 punten. IMCD ging meer dan 5 procent omhoog. Topman Marcus Jordan sprak van een positief halfjaar voor de onderneming. ASMI bungelde onderaan met een verlies van bijna 5 procent. Het bedrijf boekte in het tweede kwartaal een omzet van meer dan 1 miljard euro en verwacht voor het lopende kwartaal een verdere toename. Branchegenoot Besi daalde ruim 4 procent en ASML werd bijna 2 procent goedkoper.

AMSTERDAM (ANP) - Madonna is komend weekeinde zoals verwacht in Amsterdam. De Amerikaanse superster laat zich zaterdag zien tijdens het World Pride Music Festival in AFAS Live, kondigt ze woensdag aan via Instagram. Het is niet duidelijk of ze ook zal zingen.

Op de line-up van het feest staat ook dj Honey Dijon, die al meerdere keren samenwerkte met Madonna. Ze remixte verschillende van haar nummers en draaide al op promo-evenementen van Madonna's nieuwe album CONFESSIONS II.

Madonna verraste Nederlandse fans dinsdag plots met een Nederlandse boodschap. "Ik heb iets waar ik over wil praten", plaatste ze op sociale media. De tekst "I've got something I wanna talk about" komt uit een van Madonna's recentste singles Bring Your Love met Sabrina Carpenter.

Op het affiche van het tweedaagse World Pride Music Festival van zaterdag staan ook onder anderen Bebe Rexha en Paris Hilton.

While Ferrari remains his ultimate goal, Ollie Bearman says he is happy to continue his development at Haas as he weighs up his long-term future.

While many in F1 are embarking on their summer break, three drivers and teams have been participating in tyre testing at the Hungaroring.

Honda’s new-specification power unit has run on-track for the first time during an Aston Martin filming day in Hungary, in preparation for its planned race debut at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Across West Africa, Indigenous communities mark holidays, rites, and sacred events with a remarkable variety of ceremonies ranging from dances to processions. These masquerade traditions incorporate meticulously carved masks and full-body costumes that often facilitate links between humans and the spiritual world. There’s evidence of masked customs dating back millennia, and today, artists continue the tradition of hand-hewn masks and ensembles in vivid colors and a wide array of materials—sometimes with a twist.

The exhibition New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations, which opens at the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg next month, celebrates contemporary creations by four artists: Chief Ekpenyong Bassey Nsa (Nigeria), David Sanou (Burkina Faso), Sheku “Goldenfinger” Fofanah (Sierra Leone), and Hervé Youmbi (Cameroon). Along with displays of some of their masks and full ensembles, visitors will be able to explore documentary photographs and videos of ceremonies and parades in addition to immersive multimedia experiences.

“Across many West African cultures, masquerade a broad range of artistic, social, spiritual, and civic traditions,” the museum says. “Encompassing sculpture, textiles, performance, music, movement, and community participation, these performance traditions continuously adapt to contemporary life.” Sanou’s geometric masks are bold and brightly painted, often paired with costumes made from colorfully dyed fiber. And one can even spot pop culture references in Youmbi’s “Tso Scream Mask,” for example, which coats the iconic visage from the Scream movie franchise with thousands of beads.

New African Masquerades is conceived as a dynamic exploration of the masquerade tradition’s collaborative and community-based practices, inviting viewers to a kind of reverie where time-honored heritage meets constant innovation. The show is organized by the New Orleans Museum of Art in partnership with the Museé des Civilisations noires in Dakar, Senegal. The exhibition opens on August 15 and continues through January 3, 2027, in St. Pete, Florida. Follow updates on the museum’s Instagram.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Innovation Meets Heritage in West African Contemporary Artists’ Masquerade Ensembles appeared first on Colossal.