CHICAGO — Here's what we're reading (and watching) today.
Idris Elba "Too Street" To Play James Bond?: At least that's what the author of the new Bond novels, Anthony Horowitz, told the Daily Mail's Event Magazine. “Idris Elba is a terrific actor, but I can think of other black actors who would do it better,” Horowitz tells the Daily Mail. “For me, Idris Elba is a bit too rough to play the part. It’s not a colour issue. I think he is probably a bit too ‘street’ for Bond. Is it a question of being suave? Yeah.” Reporter Mina Bloom — along with pretty much everyone else on the internet Tuesday morning — is outraged. Check out what David Simon, who cast Elba as Stringer Bell in the HBO show "The Wire," had to say about Elba's acting chops. Spoiler alert: Simon is a BIG fan.
Meet Baddie Winkle: Refinery 29 did a mini-documentary on Instagram sensation Baddie Winkle and it's GREAT. The 87-year-old grandma who rocks bold outfits (like the sparkly DI$COUNT UNIVER$E dress she wore at Sunday's VMA's) has more than 1.1 million followers who dig her ability to have fun with clothes no matter her age. She explains how her Instagram persona has helped her cope with the deaths of her husband and her son. Watch it here. And follow her at @baddiewinkle.
India's Storybook Stepwells 'Like Gates to the Underworld': Chicago journalist Victoria Lautman has spent the past four years attempting to document crumbing stepwells dating back to the 2nd century A.D. that were designed as a primary way to access water in India's dry regions, reports Colossal. Some modern stepwells in tourist-heavy spots are well maintained but others off the beaten path are strewn with garbage, waste, snakes, bugs and even a colony of "extremely vocal bats," Lautmen recounts in a more detailed account on ArchDaily. Reporter Alisa Hauser is intrigued by the amazing photos snapped by Lautman as well as the social benefits of the stepwells, which Lautman surmises "would have provided a reprieve in otherwise regimented lives" particularly for India's women relegated to fetching water even today.
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