New Avetts track, haiku warning signs, a great soup

I seem to be doing more long-lead writing lately, but one piece that just got published is a commentary on yesterday's Supreme Court ruling on the health-care reform law.

:: tunes ::

• Rolling Stone talks to the Avett Brothers about their forthcoming album, The Carpenter (due out in September) and dealing with the cancer of their bassist's daughter. Their first single, "Live and Die" (which you can stream at the end of the article) made me bummed I missed their recent show at the Greek.
• Upcoming concert highlights: I've fallen a bit off my game in terms of trying to hear at least one live show a month, but I'm interested in a couple upcoming shows. Anyone else up for going?
• Dr. John @ the Independent, 8/16 and 8/17
• Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples @ the Greek, 9/14

:: visual art ::

• After much negotiation, a Polish museum launches a major exhibition of an influential Russian photographer's work. But as part of Russian-dictated conditions, exhibit text cannot be altered, despite its copious omission of any reference to communism. "Yet Communism, both as a utopian ideal and as a despotism, intermediated Rodchenko's career," writes the WSJ reporter. "Can you discuss the art of Michelangelo without mentioning Christianity?"
• Mako Fujimura recommended this on Twitter: a fascinating look at how cultures came up with names for different colors.
• Pictograms of famous musicians' careers (via Paste)
• Following his arrest, and now conviction, on more than 40 counts of sexual assault, Jerry Sandusky's face in a Penn State mural has been painted over and replaced with that of a female poet and activist. 
• A New York public-safety campaign uses haiku in street warning signs.

:: film ::

• The Anna Karenina trailer is out, with a first glimpse at the film that will star Keira Knightley and Jude Law and features a script by Tom Stoppard. 
• A.O. Scott reviews Woody Allen's latest film, To Rome with Love.
• In case you hadn't heard, Nora Ephron, the writer and director known for When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail and Julie and Julia, died this week 71. Her New York Times obituary.
  

:: dance ::

• You probably remember the dancing-guy meme from a few years back ... and now he's back with a new video that shows a lovely evolution in his celebrity. (via Andy Crouch) 

:: food ::

• Wednesday night, I was looking for something I could make for dinner, without having to buy a ton of ingredients, and decided to try this chicken-chickpea harira recipe. I wasn't familiar with the Moroccan soup before, but the results were fantastic. It took maybe 90 minutes start-to-finish, produced close to 3 quarts, and resulted in a beautiful, delicious soup that only improved the next day. I will definitely be making this again.