“This is not choreography for the faint of heart. Tethered by harnesses and ropes, belayed by riggers from above, the dancers engage in constant risk management, watching for jagged surfaces, crumbling sandstone beneath their feet and the ever-present threat of rope snarls.”
Madrid’s Protest Orchestra
Although the term “protest music” conjures images of Baez, Dylan, Marley, Molotov, and many more, its roots lie in the classical traditions represented by La Solfónica, a rabble-rousing group that plays at demonstrations across Madrid.
Thriller: James Patterson’s New Book Is Designed To Destruct In 24 Hours
“Designed to bring the thrill of Patterson’s book to new heights, the site shows who and where in the world the book’s early readers are, how far along through the book they’ve read and gives you the option to sabotage their efforts by cutting their 24 hours short.”
Our Scientific Issues As Moral Issues
“The cost of modern skepticism about scientific virtue is paid not just by scientists but by all of us. The complex problems once belonging solely to the spheres of prudence and political action are now increasingly conceived as scientific problems: if the global climate is indeed warming, and if the cause is human activity, then policies to restrict carbon emissions are warranted; if hepatitis C follows an epidemiological trajectory resulting in widespread liver failure, then the high price of new drugs may be justified.”
Claim: The Decline Of Venice Is A Moral Failing
“The current non-management of the tourist industry and the way in which the authorities fail to lift a finger against the shortest of short-term economic interests will destroy the city as a living and diverse community.”
Chile To (Finally) Build Gaudí’s Only Project Outside Of Spain
“The project originated in 1922 through a series of letters exchanged between Gaudí and Chilean Franciscan Friar Angélico Aranda, who asked Gaudí to design a chapel for Chile.” The actual design, it turns out, is sort of an outtake from the plans for the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
Ward Swingle, 87, Founded The Swingle Singers And Made Bach Swing
His a cappella octet “reimagined Bach and Mozart with driving jazz rhythms and playfully scatlike vocals – and put centuries-old classical masterworks on the pop charts.”
Tony Verna, Who Invented Instant Replay, Dead At 81
“Mr. Verna was directing the Army-Navy football game for CBS Sports in 1963 when he ran the first instant replay on television, changing the way sports were viewed by fans and, over time, refereed by officials. His invention, for which he received no patent or payment, is considered one of the most momentous in sports and entertainment history.”
Now Here’s An Argument: Oil Lobby Says Building Keystone Pipeline Is Like Painting The Mona Lisa (No Kidding)
According to American Petroleum Institute, the pipeline is just like the Mona Lisa: “One of the world’s most recognized works of art was created by a painter who made his living on temporary jobs”
Some Odd Research: Want Someone To Better Appreciate Surrealist Art? Remind Them They’re Going To Die First
“It finds people are more likely to forge a positive emotional connection with surrealistic art if they have just been reminded of their own mortality.”
Here’s What The “Vinyl Comeback” Really Looks Like
“When one of these kinds of bands sells 1000 LPs, it’s doesn’t look like much in the scheme of the entire music industry. But in terms of the personal economy of the sort of band I’m talking about, it can be significant. That’s why this sector doesn’t need to grow to 1970s levels to be a small but significant part of a healthy music business ecosystem.”
Revised SAT Test Revealed (Let The Uproar Begin)
“The College Board’s decision to eliminate the vocabulary component from the reading section and redesign the essay portion has garnered lots of attention. But it’s the revision of the math section that could have particularly egregious consequences.”
Famed NY Art Gallery Vs. Government Of Qatar Over A VERY Expensive Building
“The lawsuit involves two clearly deep-pocketed parties. But while Wildenstein family members and those of the Qatari ruling family have been habitués of opulent showrooms and frequent the thoroughbred horse racing circuit, court proceedings indicate they are in different leagues.”
Broadway Has No Room Anymore For Shows That Are Merely Good
“How do you tell somebody who’s going to spend anywhere from $175 to $500 or more, per ticket, for a show, how do you tell them ‘It’s so-so, but you can’t miss this performance’? … Unless you come out of the theater saying ‘I have to tell everybody I know they must see this show,’ the show is going to die.”
This Play Isn’t Coming To Broadway Because It’s Doing So Well In Toronto
David Mirvish, lead producer of The Heart of Robin Hood: “In light of the great reception we are getting from audiences and the media in Toronto, we have decided not to rush in to New York this season.” (Think that’s all there is to it?)
New Zealand’s Maori War Dance Looks Even Cooler On Ice
Sports fans and viral video mavens have seen the haka, the traditional pre-battle dance that New Zealand’s national sports teams (most notably, rugby’s formidable All-Blacks) do on the field before a match. Now the clever Kiwis have figured out how to do the haka on skates. (video)
Painter Jane Wilson Dead At 90
“In the postwar era, Wilson marshaled the dominant Abstract Expressionist style – loose brushwork and wide swaths of color – to record real places, from the endless skies of her Midwestern childhood and the seascapes of Long Island’s East End to Tompkins Square Park in New York City.”
The Museum Of The Future Is Here (And It’s On Fifth Avenue)
“The Cooper Hewitt has transformed into an organization not unlike Wikipedia, Pinterest, or, for that matter, The Atlantic: Somewhere between a media and a tech firm, it is a Thing That Puts Stuff on the Internet. Or, more precisely, A Thing That Puts Things on the Internet. But to get to that point, the museum [and its leaders] … have ultimately had to shift their understanding of what a thing is in the first place.”
Are We All Born With Synaesthesia?
“The under-examined complexities of ordinary perception, some neuroscientists and developmental psychologists contend, suggest that, like the Nabokovs, we all inhabit the synaesthetic spectrum – we just need to look back in time, to when we were infants with developing brains.”
TV Critics Demonstrate, Embarrassingly, Why America Needs “Fresh Off The Boat”
At the Television Critics Association press conference for the new ABC series about an Asian-American family, the first question wasn’t about creating the show or issues of assimilation or any such thing. It was about chopsticks.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 01.20.15
The benefits of price discrimination
AJBlog: For What It’s Worth Published 2015-01-20
Excited audience
AJBlog: Sandow Published 2015-01-20
The Will of Eva Perón, Painted in Tango
AJBlog: Fresh Pencil Published 2015-01-20
The Prototype Festival’s Scarlet Ibis
(and the day I almost ate glue)
AJBlog: Condemned to Music Published 2015-01-19
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Just In: This Year’s National Book Critics Circle Awards Nominees
“For the first time in the 39-year history of the awards, one book is a finalist in two different categories.”
Pakistan’s Cross-Dressing Dancers – “Safe” Gender Exploration In A Conservative Culture
“Male and female roles are clearly defined in Pakistan, and transgender people often face harassment and abuse. One role where they are tolerated is as dancers at weddings and other celebrations at which men and women are strictly segregated. In between the dancing and showers of rupee notes, they must fend off groping from drunken guests.”
2014 Was A Record Year For Art Auctions
“Christie’s has maintained its $800m lead at auction over Sotheby’s in 2014, as both houses reported record nominal sales for 2014.”
Choose The Books You Want To Read Carefully, For You Have A Limited Time On This Planet
“Life is too short for Martin Amis. Life is too short for Ayn Rand. Life is too short for 1,000-plus pages of Infinite Jest and life is too short to give Philip Roth another chance.”