Archives for February 26, 2014

More People Now Have Cellphones Than Have Ever Had Landlines

ISSUES Posted: February 26, 2014 11:52 am

Today, almost everywhere has more mobile phone penetration than land-lines: The continent of Africa has dismal fixed-line penetration of 1.4 subscriptions per 100 people, but 63.5 cell subscriptions.

Five Artists Withdraw From Sydney Biennale After Protest

VISUAL Posted: February 26, 2014 11:47 am

“The artists’ decision to withdraw follows a call by 28 artists for the Sydney Biennale to withdraw from a funding arrangement with Transfield, which runs off-shore detention facilities for the Australian Government’s internment of asylum seekers.”

What The Minnesota Chorale Learned From The Minnesota Orchestra Lockout

MUSIC Posted: February 26, 2014 11:14 am

“We had to think about what the community demands of us. The lock out was a stark call that we needed to be in control of our own destiny. We can never again take for granted this ready source of work and income.”

The (Twitter) Ratings Are In For “House Of Cards” (It’s All We’ve Got)

MEDIA Posted: February 26, 2014 10:04 am

“Over a similar 11-day period, there was a 430 percent increase in tweets about the show from 2013 to 2014. Last year, the firm recorded 254,460 tweets; this year, the number was 1,350,400. In fact, more tweets were written about “House of Cards” 10 days after its debut in 2014 than on the day of the series premiere in 2013.”

He’s A Little Bit Country. She’s A Little Bit Rap (Why Rap And Country Now Share Audiences)

MUSIC Posted: February 26, 2014 9:54 am

“You’re not country only or rap only; people like both. I think that’s been there for some time, but we recognize it now, so collaborations work well, and the reverse is they help grow the interests of artists and music as a crossover.”

Research: How Bias Gets In The Way Of What We See

IDEAS Posted: February 26, 2014 9:48 am

“In two experiments, participants (74 Princeton undergraduates in the first, 85 adults recruited online in the second) looked at a series of 80 paintings and rated the artistic merit of each on a one-to-nine scale.”

So The Corcoran Is Going Away? But Its Mission Is More Important Now Than Ever

VISUAL Posted: February 26, 2014 9:21 am

“It is exactly this kind of painting — deeply tied to Washington, rich in local history and meaning — that is most in peril as the Corcoran is broken apart, its collection scattered, its community dispersed.”

Evgeny Kissin’s Remarkable Performance

MUSIC Posted: February 26, 2014 9:19 am

Anne Midgette: “I wish that Kissin were creating a new world of possibilities for all star performers, but I’m not sure anyone else has the virtuosity to step this far outside the box with such honesty and dignity and power. I also wish this concert had been recorded. As it is, it is an evening I will remember all my life.”

Why Movie Theatre Food Is So Bad

MEDIA Posted: February 26, 2014 8:55 am

“Snacks are a cash cow for theaters, providing some 85 percent in net profits. But no one really goes after the food Americans eat in movie theaters, which is mostly bits of corn syrup, food starch, malic acid, and artificial colors, encapsulated in a sugary ether.”

Trying To Grow Your Audience? Maybe Your Demographics Are Wrong

ISSUES Posted: February 26, 2014 8:47 am

“Generally, we begin screwing up by turning demographic research into inaccurate stereotypes. We find out how our audience differs from the general population, define it by those differences, and then aim our outbound communication at an imaginary person who embodies every one of those differences.”

Information-As-Junk-Food: Are You Obese?

IDEAS Posted: February 26, 2014 8:21 am

“A new kind of obesity is now looming with our information, data, and media diet. We have only scratched the surface, but there is already way too much of information available, and it is way too tasty, too cheap, and too rich.”

Poll: This Year Two-Thirds Of Americans Haven’t Seen A Single Oscar-Nominated Movie

MEDIA Posted: February 26, 2014 7:34 am

“Among those who responded to the online survey, Somali piracy thriller “Captain Phillips” was the most-watched film, at 15 percent. But 67 percent said they had yet to see any of the eleven films in the poll.”

National Book Awards Data: In 60 Years Women Writers Have Achieved Gender Parity

WORDS Posted: February 26, 2014 7:30 am

“In the 1950s, the finalists and winners of National Book Awards were more than 80 percent male. But notice how that percentage has steadily fallen until we reach the current decade – then women pulled slightly ahead.”

Mayor Threatens to Close Rome Opera Down If Unions Go Ahead With Strike

MUSIC Posted: February 26, 2014 5:00 am

Three of the five unions representing Opera di Roma employees say they’ll shut down the entire run of Manon Lescaut, starring Anna Netrebko and conducted by Riccardo Muti, that opens Thursday if management doesn’t withdraw plans – required by law – to revamp the budget and reduce the staff at the near-bankrupt opera house.

Disney Launches Its Own Digital Movie Service

MEDIA Posted: February 26, 2014 1:09 am

“Once fully deployed, the free service, called Disney Movies Anywhere, will allow consumers to buy a Disney, Marvel or Pixar movie once and watch it on any web-ready TV, mobile device or computer.”

Dresden’s Semper Opera Fires New Boss Before He Starts

MUSIC Posted: February 26, 2014 1:07 am

Saxony’s arts minister said that Serge Dorny, who had received widespread praise for reinvigorating the Opéra de Lyon and was due to start full-time in Dresden in September, “has managed to gamble away any confidence employees might have had in him in the shortest possible period.”

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Profumo Affair Musical to Close After Four Months

THEATRE Posted: February 26, 2014 1:06 am

Allan Kozinn: “The theater gods have at long last taken revenge on Andrew Lloyd Webber for the ubiquity of Cats, Phantom of the Opera and Evita. His latest musical, Stephen Ward, which opened to mixed reviews in London in December, and has had mediocre ticket sales ever since, will close on March 29.”

Why Did Andrew Lloyd Webber Take On the Profumo Affair in the First Place?

THEATRE Posted: February 26, 2014 1:04 am

Michael Billington observes that this particular topic lacks the one element at which Lloyd Webber is genuinely brilliant. (This was a job for Kander & Ebb.)

Ancient Buddhist Cave Paintings in China Could ‘Turn to Sand’

VISUAL Posted: February 26, 2014 1:02 am

“The network of 236 sandstone caves extend over an area of two to three kilometres in the vast, sparsely-populated autonomous Xinjiang region of China, along the ancient Silk Road. The caves were inhabited by Buddhist monks and used as temples between the third and the eighth centuries, and are lined with murals providing a rich picture of early Buddhist culture.”

Turkey Proposes Reconstructing Madrasa Next to Hagia Sophia

VISUAL Posted: February 26, 2014 1:00 am

“The Turkish government plans to reconstruct a demolished madrasa (religious school) next to Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia Museum, a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1985. But the local branch of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos) strongly protests these plans, calling the proposed construction a ‘new fake historic monument’ that would undermine the area’s significance.”

Does Reading Literature Make You More Moral? (It’s Not a Ridiculous Question)

IDEAS Posted: February 26, 2014 12:58 am

“So, if the answer to the question of whether reading literature makes us more moral is so obviously ‘no’, why ask it in the first place? And why did so many people show up to the event to consider the question?” Paula M.L. Moya allows as how literature helps shape what we consider to be moral in the first place.

Wait – Is This Actually Atheism?

IDEAS Posted: February 26, 2014 12:57 am

Louise Antony: “I say ‘there is no God’ with the same confidence I say ‘there are no ghosts’ or ‘there is no magic.’ The main issue is supernaturalism – I deny that there are beings or phenomena outside the scope of natural law. That’s not to say that I think everything is within the scope of human knowledge.”

One of the Wagner Sisters Running Bayreuth to Step Down

MUSIC Posted: February 26, 2014 12:55 am

“Eva Wagner-Pasquier, 68, great grand-daughter of Richard Wagner, will retire as co-director of the Bayreuth Festival next year. She currently runs the festival in uneasy collaboration with her much younger half-sister, Katharina Wagner, 36.”

Philip Seymour Hoffman + National Enquirer + Libel Suit = New Playwriting Award

PEOPLE Posted: February 26, 2014 12:54 am

How David Bar Katz, the longtime friend of the late actor who found his lifeless body, convinced (that’s as good a word as any) the tabloid to endow an annual $45,000 prize called the Relentless Award.