Alibaba Group Holding is banking on four new business pillars to drive growth in the coming decade, according to CEO Eddie Wu Yongming, as the Chinese e-commerce giant bolsters its strategy after shocking investors with its decision to shelve the spin-off of its cloud unit.
In his first conference call with analysts since new leadership took charge of the firm in September, Wu said Alibaba would focus on three key priorities in the next 10 years: technology-driven internet platform businesses, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technology businesses and global commerce networks. Read More...
The Strange Library
by Haruki Murakami
Knopf
Grant Snider once drew a "Murakami Bingo" cartoon for that allowed readers to track Japanese author Haruki Murakami's idiosyncrasies and recurring motifs: mysterious woman, ear fetish, unexpected phone call, dried-up well, feeling of being followed, urban ennui, cats, old jazz records, running, secret passageway, train station, weird sex, parallel worlds, cooking, Tokyo at night, vanishing cats, supernatural powers and precocious teenager.
, featuring design and illustrations by Chip Kidd, includes many of Murakami's obsessions. Read More...
Li Zhe stands in the middle of a classroom completely nude. He is unfazed by the multitude of eyes staring at him, studying his body.
Li, a nude art model in Shanxi province, is equally unbothered by how others regard his occupation. Nude art modelling is still looked down upon on the mainland, especially in more conservative, interior provinces like Shanxi, and male models are especially rare.
But that hasn’t deterred Li from pursuing modelling for 14 years. Read More...