Comments “belong on personal blogs, or on Twitter or Tumblr or Reddit, where individuals build a full, searchable body of work and can be judged accordingly. Hell, put them all on Medium, and let Evan Williams try to sell the douche bags to BMW.”
Architecture Becomes A Political Battleground In Design Of U.S. Embassies
“But design, the hearing made clear, has become the word that dare not speak its name in an era when American diplomats fear being targets around the world.”
How I Learned To Love Van Gogh: Peter Schjeldahl
“Like some other art mavens I know, I thrilled to van Gogh when I was young, and then, with the snobbery of the insecure tyro aesthete, I took to disdaining him for his popularity. Art that wasn’t difficult couldn’t be serious. … In fact, there is no end of difficulty in van Gogh – his own, surmounted.”
Smithsonian Is Crowdsourcing Transcription Of Historic Documents
“The Smithsonian Institution has … [opened] an online transcription center allowing members of the public to help decipher thousands of digitized pages of Civil War diaries, botanical labels, correspondence and other documents that cannot be easily read by a computer.”
Japan’s Most-Killed Screen Samurai Finally Gets A Lead Role – And An Acting Award
“He’s made a career playing henchmen and underlings in thousands of Japanese samurai movies, always in the role of the kirareyaku, a swordsman whose job is to die spectacularly on film. Now, at the age of 71 and after a reputed 50,000 on-screen deaths, Seizo Fukumoto has won a prize for his first ever lead role in a semi-autobiographical movie.” (includes video)
Lucid Dreaming: The Next Miracle Mental Technique?
Some people use it “to solve problems, spur creativity, overcome nightmares or practice a physical skill.” Researchers are seeing early indications that the technique can improve cognition and help alleviate depression. “Many of the studies are small, however, and it isn’t always clear whether lucid dreaming is responsible for the improvements or simply linked to them.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 08.12.14
Amazon and Orwell and Penguins
AJBlog: For What it’s Worth | Published 2014-08-13
Blue Music Group Pulls its Catalog from Spotify
AJBlog: CultureCrash | Published 2014-08-12
Chris Crosman on Corcoran’s Endangered Legacy (plus: National Gallery’s Lonely Founding Fathers)
AJBlog: CultureGrrl | Published 2014-08-12
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Bouncing To The Beatles Breeds Benevolent Babies (Well, Bouncing To Anything, Really)
“Canadian researchers find synchronized movement to music can inspire altruism in 14-month-old infants.” The music used in the experiments? “Twist and Shout”. (Babies do enough of that already.)
Jazz Legend Cecil Taylor Swindled Out Of $500K
“A Long Island man was arrested this week after authorities accused of him siphoning nearly $500,000 of prize money that had been awarded to 85-year-old free jazz pioneer Cecil Taylor last year.”
Meet The People Behind “Save The Corcoran”
“The court calls them ‘The Intervenors,’ which sounds as if it could be the name of a performance art collective…. The scrappy group of students, staff, faculty and concerned observers … see themselves as David fighting Goliath – which makes their recent legal intervention the proverbial sling to the forehead.”
Major Ancient Tomb Discovered In Northern Greece
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, visiting the site at Amphiopolis, “said he was confident it would yield an ‘exceptionally important find’ from the early Hellenistic period. The tomb dates to between 325 and 300 BC, which coincides with the time when Alexander the Great died.” (in English)
Violinist Played Instrument During His Own Brain Surgery
In 2010 Minnesota Orchestra associate concertmaster Roger Frisch had a small electrode planted in his brain to stop the tremor that had developed in his hands. But for the neurosurgeons to get the device planted in the right spot, Frisch had to be awake – and to play. Erin Brodwin explains the how and why. (includes operating room video)
Why Bea Arthur And A Unicorn Showing You The Heimlich Maneuver Isn’t Entirely Legal
The standard poster demonstrating the Heimlich that you see in every New York City restaurant is clear, mostly grayscale, almost demure – and all too easy to ignore entirely. So several eateries have commissioned designers to create new versions: cocktail-lounge romance, ’50s nautical theme, ballroom dancing manual, and, yes, Bea Arthur and a unicorn. But there’s a problem, and it’s not just killjoy Health Department inspectors. (includes audio podcast and sample posters)
Met Opera Sets Another Deadline For Contract Talks
Federal mediators announced that the company’s new deadline for agreement is Sunday, August 17, just five weeks before opening night of the new season. Met general director Peter Gelb has been threatening a lockout if the deadline is not met.