Hundreds of buildings, including one with monument status dating to the early 17th century, were destroyed in the fire which began early yesterday in Dukezong Ancient Town.
BBC Philharmonic Loses £1M in Local Funding
In 2007, the local council of Salford (near Manchester) stepped in with £2 million in annual funding for the radio orchestra, then facing cuts from the BBC. Now it’s the local authorities who are strapped for cash …
Amazon’s Kindle Vending Machine Shows The Power Of The Behemoth
“When Amazon ventures into the physical world — whether with in-store delivery lockers or grocery trucks or vending machines — the company’s sheer scale and ambition demand that you think in terms of world domination.”
When A Convicted Murderer Wins A Mystery-Writing Contest
“Before this phone call, it had never occurred to Kirkpatrick that her contest winner might have spent the past 25 years in prison, where he’s serving a life sentence for murder.”
Nudity: Not All About Titillating TV Critics
Yes, sometimes Lena Dunham is nude to be amusing – but “the nudity on Girls often serves another valuable function that is neither funny nor sexy, in that it illustrates the intimacy between the show’s characters.”
What Will Top The Golden Globes – And Which Movies Are Spoilers?
Is it “12 Years a Slave” or “Gravity”? Or will “American Hustle” come from late in the game to win it all? And what about “Wolf of Wall Street”?
Stop And Think For Just A Second: Does Her Make ANY Sense?
“At bottom the hackneyed, infantile writing of Twombly underscores a terrible solipsism, a real, modern solipsism that is romanticized in a way that embodies the toxicity of modern life, and there’s nothing soft or clean or pleasurable about it at all.”
Tweeting Beowulf
The medievalist who compressed Beowulf into 100 tweets says it “forced me back to the Old English to try and capture, in the shortest possible length, what I thought were the essential components of the poem.”
The Real-Life Son Of Philomena
“Mr. Hess’s attempts to find his birth mother were unsuccessful — he made three trips back to the convent, where he was told by the nuns that they had no records about Ms. Lee and they had no idea how to find her — he did opt to be buried in Roscrea, in the hopes that Philomena would one day find him.”
Print Smells SO GOOD – Just Ask Pitchfork
“We love the speed and community of the Internet, but there’s so much noise. … We wanted an opportunity to give some pieces a second life, one that won’t be lost to Google searches.”
Hey, What’s Wrong With Likable Female Characters?
“The distance between being willfully unlikable and a total Mary Sue is vast, and within that space live hundreds of female characters who are both challenging and appealing.”
Making Opera Nimble And Quick – And Cool
Beth Morrison, producer: “The ability to make decisions as I want to make them, without an institution, means that I can take more risks, and it means that we can change course on a dime.”
Chaz Ebert Keeps Roger Ebert’s Legacy Alive
“Roger Ebert has been gone for nine months and doesn’t appear to have slowed down much. … The looming question is how far the legacy of someone even as popular as Roger Ebert can be extended posthumously.”
Are Computer Codes In Movies Cool-Looking Gibberish – Or Real?
“In The Terminator, we see the world through T-800’s head-up display, yet the scrolling text accompanying the crosshair in his vision is the harmless assembly code for an Apple-II.”
How Dancers Are Changing Their Ballet World
“Among ballet dancers today, soul searching is hardly unusual. Just as international stars bounce among companies, others, like Wendy Whelan and Alessandra Ferri, are taking on modern dance.”
Today’s Top AJBlog posts 01.10.14
Contrarian Musings: Why Folk Art Museum’s Building Should Not Be Saved (with slideshow)
Source: CultureGrrl | Published on 2014-01-10
Solving Field-wide Problems Together
Source: Field Notes | Published on 2014-01-10
Amiri Baraka Has Died, a Remembrance
Source: Straight|Up | Published on 2014-01-10
How Spotify killed off paid downloads
Source: Slipped Disc | Published on 2014-01-10
German Legislature May Move On Nazi Loot
Source: Real Clear Arts | Published on 2014-01-10
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Maybe There Is Something To That Connection Between Odd And Creative
As more than a decade’s research is showing, genius and madness are basically best friends. What’s interesting is why.
New York’s Symphony Space Director Resigns
“Laura Kaminsky increased the space’s new music programming significantly, helping to make it competitive with the Miller Theater at Columbia University, which had a long tradition of new-music presentation, as well as with relative upstarts like Le Poisson Rouge, which opened in 2008 and has become an important space for independent classical music, rock and jazz.”
Russia Sees Opportunity In Film Industry, Starts Investing
“By the start of 2017, the Cinema Fund would have doubled the size of its current budget of 3 billion rubles ($90.3 million), with half coming from the state and the other half from recoupments.”
A New York Dance Company Signs Lease On A Huge Expansion
“Gibney Dance has seven studios stretching over 15,000 square feet that it rents out to dance companies, Broadway shows or anyone in need of arts-related space. By adding the downtown facility, Gibney Dance will more than double its operations—and it’s not just empire-building.”
The Convict Who Won A Detective Story Competition
Before this phone call, it had never occurred to Toni Kirkpatrick that her contest winner might have spent the past 25 years in prison, where he’s serving a life sentence for murder.
Now That Tools Have Made Art Easy, Everyone’s An Artist (Oh Wait…)
“The main difference between dilettantes and the dedicated is that the former will often find themselves unable to exercise the degree of control necessary to achieve the desired result.”
Could London’s National Theatre Live Streaming Initiative Cannibalize UK Theatre-Going?
NT Live is a “fantastic thing” in allowing people to access shows they might not be able to otherwise see and the screenings are cheaper than a trip to London to see a play. “But it is not the same experience as being in the theatre.”
Just Because Osage County Is A Crappy Movie Doesn’t Mean The Play Is Bad
“Fine dramatic architecture does not require transferability to the screen. A camera does not shed a scorching light on the “bald spots” of theatrical writing. The two media are fundamentally different.”
This Video Game Makes You Dance (Literally)
Bounden “asks two players to dance together, each holding onto the ends of an smart phone and twisting their bodies to make the cursor hit a series of intended bullseyes.” Choreographers from the Dutch National Ballet collaborated on the game’s design.