A French Family Saga, Painted on Porcelain. Olivier Assayas's grandly ambitious film is set among the bourgeois Protestant families of the Limoges region of France in the 20th century. By A. O. Scott. [New York Times: Movies]

She's Ready for Shrinking. "I don't always see my movies right away," said Emmanuelle Béart, the stunning French actress who stars in Olivier Assayas's "Les Destinées." By Dave Kehr. [New York Times: Movies]

«A dynamic interactive environment for typographic hyperpoetry. Four poems and an open system to create your own... »

[ rhizome ] [environy daily]

Face to Face With a Hate That Bloodies the Mideast. This installment of the "Frontline" series puts a human face on the intractable conflict in the Middle East, even if that face is seen in shadow or mostly wrapped in a scarf.

By Ron Wertheimer. [New York Times: Arts]

«At a San Francisco porn studio, industrial sex toys run rampant.

«The BattleBots have invaded the bedroom, courtesy of a pornographic Web site that streams videos of women having sex with monstrous machines. It's a twisted garage mechanic's fantasy of what sex would be like if all the men had been replaced by mechanical bulls.

«Here, sexual prowess is measured in torque and horsepower.»

BattleBots in the Bedroom, an article on Fuckingmachines.com by Katharine Mieszkowski in Salon.com

Unlikely Star Captivates the French. For an actress of 25 who graduated from the National Conservatory of Dramatic Art in June, Rachida Brakni's screen and stage career has begun on an impressive note.

By Alan Riding. [New York Times: Arts]

Only the Title, 'Architecture,' Will Stay the Same. Architecture, the monthly design magazine that began life 90 years ago, is about to get a radical makeover, shifting its focus to service.

By Alex Kuczynski. [New York Times: Arts]

Savoring Brazil's Mix and Exuberant Spirit. Brazilian music seduces visiting musicians, and Angélique Kidjo isn't the first internationally known songwriter to fall in love with it.

By Jon Pareles. [New York Times: Arts]

This evening I attended a lecture by Jonathan Miller, at the The Getty Center. The title, "The Gaze: looking, as it appears in Pictures"

Mr Miller is famous. He was part of "Beyond the Fringe" revue which included the late Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. He has directed theatre and opera. Many of his books are in print. He has done TV: "The Body in Question", "Museums of Madness", &c.

I liked his direction of the English National Opera's production of Rigoletto.

I have found his books to be fustian: empty displays of scholarly trivia, without the supporting structure of any conception or idea.

The lecture was fustian too. But the audience has seen his TV, and read his books. They wanted a celebrity, and they got it. Good, I guess, for the Getty. But it was a second-rate lecture, compared to the other marvellous lectures which the Getty has presented.