“As Hollywood’s annual two-month frenzy of awards shows begins Jan. 12 with the Golden Globes, the reality is that for the TV networks, awards season now runs all year.”
Scientists Create Algorithm That Can Predict Bestselling Books
A technique called statistical stylometry, which mathematically examines the use of words and grammar, was found to be “surprisingly effective” in determining how popular a book would be.
MoMA Reveals Its Grand Redesign Plans
“The Museum of Modern Art unveiled on Wednesday a sweeping redesign of its Midtown building, featuring a retractable glass wall, new gallery space and the opening of its entire first floor, including the beloved sculpture garden, free to the public.”
What Can We Learn From Classical Music’s Horrible 2013?
Anthony Tommasini suggests that the lessons from the demise of New York City Opera and the ongoing Bleeding of the Minnesota Orchestra can be boiled down to a single five-word warning.
Edward Albee, Bessie Smith and Saving a Dying Hospital
A Brooklyn theater company is mounting a site-specific production of Albee’s The Death of Bessie Smith – “which by most evidence is based on an apocryphal account of how Smith, the black, early-20th-century blues singer, was denied treatment at a whites-only hospital” – at a struggling community medical center.
Europe’s Lingua Franca? These Folks Want It To Be Latin
“A modest white schoolhouse near Brussels is in the vanguard of a long-struggling movement of Latin enthusiasts who refuse to say requiescat in pace to the ancient language.”
They’re Tracking Us (You Might Be Surprised By What They Can Find Out)
“An Acxiom presentation to the Consumer Marketing Organization in 2013 placed customers into “customer value segments” and noted that while the top 30 percent of customers add 500 percent of value, the bottom 20 percent actually cost 400 percent of value. In other words, it behooves companies to shower their top customers with attention, while ignoring the bottom 20 percent, who may spend “too much” time on customer service calls, and may cost companies in returns or coupons, or otherwise cost more than they provide.”