“Lack of evidence, if indeed evidence is lacking, is no grounds for atheism. No one thinks there is good evidence for the proposition that there are an even number of stars; but also, no one thinks the right conclusion to draw is that there are an uneven number of stars. The right conclusion would instead be agnosticism.”
How Humans Are Different From Animals (Or Not)
“In the light of new research into animal intelligence, some scientists have concluded that there simply is no profound difference between us and other species. But other scientists of equal eminence argue the opposite: that new research is finally making the profound difference between humans and animals clear.”
Why The “Guilty” In Guilty Pleasure?
“With the exceptions of warmongering doublespeak and racial epithets, is there any more pernicious linguistic remnant of the 20th century than the phrase ‘guilty pleasure’? And how did these two concepts ever come to be married anyway?”
The Creative Contradictions Of Baz Luhrmann
“What happens when you get a degree of success and then a degree of brand and then a degree of acknowledgment is: You cannot walk away from it.”
Michelangelo, Master Artist and Master … Forger?
“Michelangelo was also a skilled forger who made copies of major works before ageing them with smoke and swapping them for the originals.” Wait, what?
How Can Choreographer Paul Taylor Cement His Legacy?
“After six decades in which the Paul Taylor Dance Company existed to dance almost nothing but Paul Taylor works, Mr. Taylor said that he wanted to broaden its mission to include presenting past masterworks of modern dance and works of contemporary choreographers in addition to his oeuvre and the dances he plans to continue to create.”
What’s It Like To Be A Medical Actor?
“You get a script and a paper gown. You get $13.50 an hour. Our scripts are ten to twelve pages long. They outline what’s wrong with us — not just what hurts but how to express it. They tell us how much to give away, and when. We are supposed to unfurl the answers according to specific protocols.”
Sony Leaves The North American Ebook Market And Hands Its Customers To Kobo
“Sony, which is essentially a non-player in the U.S. ebook market at this point, is cutting its losses and shutting down its digital bookstore in the U.S. and Canada, the company reported Thursday”
As Sony Leaves Ebook Market, What Does This Mean For Barnes & Noble’s Nook?
“I’m sure Apple or Kobo or Google would be just delighted to have their ebooks integrated into Barnes & Noble’s suite of offerings, and probably Amazon would too, although they would almost certainly never be asked.”
How The Hell Does The Builders Association Make (Good) Theatre About Technology?
Marianne Weems: “When we first started a lot of people would say, ‘Is this theater?’ — Producers, presenters and audience members alike. And our response at the time was, ‘Well it is taking place in the theater,’ and obviously all that has changed.”
BBC Comedy Has Too Few Women – And Now The BBC Is Fixing That
“While all-male episodes already filmed will still be broadcast, all future programming will feature at least one female panel member or presenter.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 02.09.14
The Best Artistic Response To “Monuments Men”
Source: Real Clear Arts | Published on 2014-02-10
Documenting Dance, Part 1
Source: Dancebeat | Published on 2014-02-09
Raising Up the Masses?
Source: We The Audience | Published on 2014-02-09
In defence of BBC Radio 3
Source: Slipped Disc | Published on 2014-02-09
You Are There: Where Burroughs Once Lived in Mexico City
Source: Straight|Up | Published on 2014-02-09
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What Will The Broad Museum’s Planned Plaza Do For LA’s Public Spaces?
“The design of the plaza is the most meaningful bit of news here. And that’s not just because Bunker Hill is short on public space that is well-designed and friendly to pedestrians. It’s also because the details of how the plaza will operate — and who will own it — make up a multilayered and in the end rather opaque story.”
So, Romance Novels Thrive On Predictability (Shocker!)
“One thing that you have understand if you’re gonna get into writing romance is that the things that are valued in that genre are not the same things that are valued when we read something like literary fiction.”
Return The Elgin Marbles To Greece? George Clooney Says Yes
“Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing if they were returned. I think that is a good idea. That would be a very fair and very nice thing. I think it is the right thing to do.”
Using Music’s Patterns To Create Stronger Spider Silk
“From the basic physics of string theory to complex biological materials, different functions arise from a small number of universal building blocks. I call this the universality-diversity paradigm.”
China May Raise Foreign Movie Quota By 10
“The Film Bureau in Beijing looks set to raise the quota of foreign movies allowed into China by 10 movies to 44 films, a sign of growing openness in the world’s second-biggest box office market.”
Broad Museum In L.A. Delays Opening Until 2015
“Construction, which began in 2012, was delayed by one of the building’s most distinctive features: a honeycomb-style concrete-and-steel structure, known as the veil, that wraps around the museum.”
A Terrible Night For Miles Davis – And Two Classic Albums For The World
“They have a big row, they go on, and basically they play this kind of speed-metal, punk, thrash-jazz, with Davis acting almost as conductor. They knew the setting and the moment was unique; they thought they were absolutely rubbish, though.”
Oh, You Think The Beatles Were Cute? They Destroyed America!
Well, American music, anyway: “February 1964 — boom! No one had made or heard sounds like these. Here’s a crucial truth that goes totally unappreciated today: They were loud. … By the standards of the day, they were cacophonous.”