“The appeal of online forums on Yelp, Amazon, TripAdvisor, and countless other sites, is to offer a wide range of opinions that, taken together, give consumers the scoop about the real quality and worth of a product or service. But recent social research into how these sites work reveals that they may fall short of providing a representative sample of broad opinion.”
The Strange Tale Of ‘Hawaii’s Van Gogh’
That was a nickname he was given, but Arman Manookian’s painting owes more to Paul Gauguin and Diego Rivera than to van Gogh, and his life was more like Arshile Gorky’s.
Richard H. Hoggart, 95. Who Helped Save ‘Lady Chatterley’ From The Censor’s Pen
“[The] pioneering British cultural historian … was most widely known outside academia as the star witness for Lady Chatterley’s Lover in a 1960 trial that ended British censorship of that novel.”
Here’s What Happens When A Millennial Decides To Write Snail Mail Letters
“I completely forgot to check my mailbox for a good two weeks. But I had a lovely, unexpected surprise when I checked it twenty minutes ago – a perfect addition to Valentine’s Day; there’s nothing more poetic than sharing your handwriting the good, old fashioned way with a good, old friend.”
Essays Have A Newfound Popularity – Maybe Because Of Reality TV
Roxane Gay: “I think it’s very similar to why we watch reality television. We want to see people open themselves up and we want to see where they’ll take that openness.”
Business Leader: What Makes Me Human Is Dance
“What makes me human is a love of dance. On the dance floor, age, colour, nationality, status and education are of no consequence, only a shared ability to respond to the rhythms of music.”
How To Start Your Own Opera Company
“You and your librettist (and co-collaborator for most artistic things in your life) decide that the way around the non-performances and non-workshops of your work is to create a small opera company. This totally can be done, you think. You got this.”
How Stories Work On Our Brains (And Why They Can Be So Powerful)
“Your brain on story is different than your brain when it is receiving any other form of information, including straight facts and data. There are proven intersections between neuroscience, biology, and story we cannot ignore. The threads of stories that we read, hear, watch, and click on affect us intrinsically. And tempt us as well.”
Abramovic, McQueen, Paulus Among ‘Time 100’ For 2014
“Artist Marina Abramovic and theater director Diane Paulus are among Time magazine’s 100 most influential people for 2014. The annual list, which covers fields as diverse as arts, politics, science and sports, was released on Thursday and also included artist-filmmaker Steve McQueen and songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.”
Sascha Radetsky To Retire From ABT
The 37-year-old American Ballet Theater soloist does plan to continue dancing as a guest with other companies and is in training as a repetiteur with the Anthony Tudor Ballet Trust.
The Utopian Origins Of The Symbol-Signs We See At Airports
“I refer to those minimal pictographs of man, woman, child, car, sink, toilet, etc., that … are intelligible to all.” They’re from a system called Isotype, invented in the 1920, now seen on signage everywhere, and the biggest influence on current concepts of data visualization. Yet Isotype’s creators were far more concerned with human development than with helping us understand an economics chart or find the restrooms.
A History Of Office-Speak
Emma Green drills down into the origin of corporate lingo, runs it up the flagpole, provides added value, and brings increased mindshare to the bottom line. (Don’t worry: the article itself is not stupefying. And don’t forget to take the office-speak quiz!)
Top Posts From AJBlogs 04.24.14
The Baltimore Symphony And Arts Journalism: Don’t Let This Spread
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts | Published 2014-04-25
Herb Wong, 1926-2014
AJBlog: RiffTides | Published 2014-04-25
“Satellite Museums” Panel: My Interchange with Guggenheim’s Richard Armstrong on Abu Dhabi Human-Rights Concerns
AJBlog: CultureGrrl | Published 2014-04-24
Can Impulse Records Come Back? Plus, Shakespeare’s Acting
AJBlog: CultureCrash | Published 2014-04-24
That Dangerous Impulse To Ever-Expand
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts | Published 2014-04-24
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The Science Behind Why We’re Neurotic
“Highly neurotic individuals do not avoid action despite acknowledging its usefulness, the data suggest. Rather they represent action less favorably and inaction more favorably than emotionally stable individuals do.”
How A New Ivory Ban Is Worrying Musicians
“Under new regulations that began to take effect in February, musical instruments that have even the smallest amount of ivory are banned from entering the U.S. unless it can be proved that they were purchased before 1976. That includes any violin bows with a small piece of ivory at the tip, and also some bassoon bells and piano keys.”
Breaking: Minnesota Orchestra Rehires Osmo Vanska
“Sources reported that Vänskä was hired on a two-year contract to rebuild the orchestra. Vänskä held the post for 10 years before resigning last October during the longest labor dispute in the history of U.S. orchestras. His previous contract extended through 2015.”
Warhol’s Lost Home Computer Art (Yes, On A Commodore Amiga) Found
“The artworks, made by Warhol as part of a collaboration with Commodore Amiga, had been stranded on Amiga floppy disks for almost twenty years after the artist saved them in the mid-1980s. They were only discovered and rescued from their obsolete format thanks to the chance viewing of a YouTube clip.”
Jeffrey Kahane Resigns As Music Director Of LA Chamber Orchestra
“Kahane, 57, is the ensemble’s fifth music director since the group was founded in 1968. He assumed his post in 1997. The conductor, who is an L.A. native and currently lives in Santa Rosa, Calif., is also an accomplished pianist and continues to perform and conduct with ensembles around the world.”
Ben Heppner Retires From Singing
“At his peak during the 1990s, Heppner was in demand around the world as one of the few tenors able to succeed in the demanding heroic tenor roles of German opera, as well as in Italian works such as Verdi’s Otello and Puccini’s Turandot.”
Well, Here’s One Good Thing Coming Out Of Russia’s Annexation Of Crimea: Antiquities Looting Is Being Addressed
“Russia’s annexation of Crimea, a region rich in archaeological sites that are routinely targeted by looters, has thrust illegal excavations around the shore of the Black Sea onto the political agenda. Mikhail Piotrovsky, the director of the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, which has run archaeological digs in Crimea for decades, addressed the topic in a presentation to the Russian parliament in March, shortly after the peninsula voted to join Russia.”
This Will Be Britain’s Most Viewed Piece Of Public Art
“Artist Richard Wilson jammed a cardboard plane into a plastic hamster ball and bowled it along the floor, saying to engineers: ‘This is what I want! The result? An enormous 77-tonne aluminium artwork” called Slipstream that will be a centrepiece of Heathrow Airport’s new Terminal 2.
Australian Ballet’s Longest-Serving Principal Dancer Retires
Lucinda Dunn ended her 23-year career with the company with a performance of the title role in Manon last night at the Sydney Opera House.