Anastasia Tsioulcas: “Not only have many ‘regulars’ within classical music had their say, but the conversation has also reached a mainstream audience. Outlets that usually don’t touch classical music – ABC, Time, Salon and Jezebel among them in the U.S. alone – seized on the uproar, and we’ve had more than 500 reader comments here on Deceptive Cadence. After so much discussion, I feel compelled to add a few more thoughts.”
More Evidence That Learning A Second Language Can Slow Mental Decline In Old Age
“A study that tracked hundreds of Scottish people for decades is the strongest evidence yet that speaking an extra language slows the mental decline that accompanies ageing. The benefits hold regardless of your IQ and even if you learn your second tongue as an adult.”
Why We Need Not Fear Our New Computer Overlords
Adam Frank: “When computers finally become self-aware, will their first act be enslaving the obviously inferior human race? The answer, I think, is ‘no.’ But they won’t spare us out of altruism or a sense of responsibility to their creators. No, they will leave us alone because we bore them.”
James Joyce Had Syphilis, Says Harvard Scholar
Kevin Birmingham: “Without the diagnosis, Joyce’s letters make him seem as if he’s a grousing hypochondriac or someone who just isn’t particularly healthy. The truth is that he was in serious pain.”
‘Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America’
That’s the title of the filmmaker’s new book, and that’s exactly what he did. He reports back to WNYC’s Brian Lehrer. (audio)
NY Phil Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow: The Exit Interview
“After 34 years at the New York Philharmonic, concertmaster Glenn Dicterow will play his final concert on June 28. Dicterow has had the longest tenure of any Phil concertmaster, and he’s done everything from traveling with the orchestra to North Korea in 2008 to taking over when a conductor gets lost.” (audio)
Amazon Seems To Be “Restocking” Books It Blocked
“It seems like Amazon has taken note of this discounting that’s happening at every other retailer and they’re doing some discounting and price drops in line with that.”
Salt Lake City Breaks Ground On New Performing Arts Center
“Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams headed up Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the 2,500-seat theater, designed to suit traveling Broadway shows. The theater will also have a black box venue, with 200 seats, for experimental performances.”
Simon Russell Beale And Sam Mendes On ‘King Lear’
“Here the actor and the director discuss their roles in putting on the National Theatre’s acclaimed production … They are joined by the three actresses playing Lear’s daughters.” (video)
Two Chinese Artists Detained Over Tiananmen-Themed Works
“Guo Jian, who lives in Bejiing, was taken into custody earlier this week by Chinese authorities after giving interviews with the Financial Times and other foreign media outlets in which he discussed a Tiananmen-themed sculpture that he was creating. Separately, artist Chen Guang was reportedly detained by authorities after presenting a performance-art piece about the 1989 Tiananmen protests.”
Neuropunked: Five Ways Our Brains Mess With Our Memories
Our brains change a memory a bit each time we call it up. Implanted false memories are a real thing. We may inherit memories from our parents. Outside stimuli can muck up memories more than any of us want to admit. And then there’s caffeine.
Convincing Seniors To Go Onstage And Talk About Their Sex Lives
That’s what Darren O’Donnell and his theatre company, Mammalian Diving Reflex, have managed to do in half a dozen cities from Glasgow to Singapore and Prague to Philadelphia – with Toronto coming up – for a show called All The Sex I’ve Ever Had. (audio interview plus video clips)
U.S. Customs Seizes Bows From Budapest Festival Orchestra
“The acclaimed Budapest Festival Orchestra had seven of its bows seized at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday because of what orchestra officials said were misplaced concerns that the bows contained forbidden African elephant ivory.”
Hollywood Wants Camera Drones, And The FAA Might Let Them Fly
“While the Federal Aviation Administration has previously ordered companies and individuals to stop flying unmanned aircraft, this week the agency said it’s considering exemptions for seven film and television productions seeking to use aerial drones in their work.”
‘We Have A Big Head Problem’: Terry Gilliam On Directing Berlioz’s ‘Benvenuto Cellini’
“This is a perfect metaphor. Much of the visual stuff I’d planned isn’t working – because there’s a big head in the way. The head is bigger than it should be, just like Berlioz’s, Cellini’s and mine.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 06.03.14
In Re: DIA — The Moral Of The Michigan Vote Story
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts | Published 2014-06-04
The Withering of College Radio
AJBlog: CultureCrash | Published 2014-06-03
Lygia Clark: The Geography of Hagiography
AJBlog: Artopia | Published 2014-06-03
Kevyn Orr Reprimands Detroit Creditors
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts | Published 2014-06-03
Transforming Art: A Look Back At What Mattered
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts | Published 2014-06-03
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Precipitous Fall: Hollywood Blockbusters Are Dying On Their Second Weekends
The conventional wisdom for most blockbuster movies has been that a drop of more than 50% is disappointing. If the number rises above 60%, the drop begins to look like a cliff dive. “Spider-Man 2” saw its numbers drop 61% from its first weekend. “Godzilla” plummeted 67%. This past weekend, “X-Men” tumbled 64% from figures it posted in its first three days.
German Museum Exhibits Ear Grown From Van Gogh’s DNA
“A German museum has put on display a copy of Vincent van Gogh’s ear that was grown using some of the Dutch artist’s genetic material. The 19-century painter is said to have cut off his own left ear during a psychotic episode in 1888.”
Egypt’s “Jon Stewart” Shuts Down Show Amid Threats
“I am tired of struggling and worrying and fearing for my personal safety and the safety of my family,” he added. “When we are censored and harmed,” he said, people will show solidarity only through “hashtags and retweets.”
BBC News Might Cut 600 Jobs
“Hundreds of employers working on the BBC’s news output, both on television and radio, could lose their jobs as the corporation stretches to meet budget cuts. It currently employs around 8,000 journalists, all of whom are expected to be assessed under an appraisal system throughout this year.”
Remaking The Costumes For A 50-Year-Old Balanchine Classic
“Figuring out how to remake 104 of the costumes that the designer Barbara Karinska created more than a half-century ago for the fairies and foolish mortals of George Balanchine’s ballet A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Tuesday night’s opening performance required detective work, millinery archaeology and a scavenger hunt for material that eventually led to three continents.”
What Are We Losing As We Give Up On Handwriting?
It may be that we’re losing some real cognitive development and memory ability.