In a section of his 1843 masterwork Either/Or: A Fragment of Life, … the Danish philosopher defines boredom as a sense of emptiness and examines it not as an absence of stimulation but as an absence of meaning – an idea that also explains why it’s possible, today more than ever, to be overstimulated but existentially bored.”
Tag: 01.14.15
Does Gentrification Actually Even Exist?
Not really. “As for displacement — the most objectionable feature of gentrification — there’s actually very little evidence it happens. In fact, so-called gentrifying neighborhoods appear to experience less displacement than nongentrifying neighborhoods. It’s time to retire the term gentrification altogether.”
Mark Zuckerberg’s New Book Club: He’s No Oprah (Yet)
“See, when Zuckerberg actually hosted the first book club ‘meeting’ – a Facebook Q&A yesterday with the book’s author, Moises Naím – he faced a problem familiar to far more plebeian bookclubs: Hardly anybody showed up. (And of those who did, few had actually read the book.)”
The Avant-Garde 1935 Ballet That Freaked The Soviets Right Out
“The Bolt,” choreographed in 1931 by Fyodor Lopukhov to a score by Shostakovich, with designs by Tatiana Bruni, has a strange history. Despite an unimpeachable narrative – an idle saboteur plans to throw a bolt into factory machinery but is prevented from doing so by worthy workers – the ballet was banned after one performance.”
“The Interview” Was Not Enough: Hackers Target Kim Jong Un Video Game
Glorious Leader! lets players battle invading imperialist U.S. paratroopers, face down tanks in Pyongyang, and (of course) play basketball with Dennis Rodman. Well, it did – until game maker Moneyhorse saw its servers hacked and locked during the holidays. The company is now “reevaluating its commitment” to the project.
The Thing About Theatre Audiences? They REALLY Want To Talk To You
“I’ve started to suspect that occasional theatregoers want to engage with a new play sooner than I previously thought and stay engaged for a longer time. They’d like more information before they see a show. They want more things to read and watch afterward. They want to hear from the director and the playwright and the designers, possibly over drinks.”
Concert Companion – Orchestra Tests App To Enhance Your Listening Experience
“At a time when most orchestras are policing interruptive phones during concerts – in China, red lasers zap offending users – here smartphones were not only kept on but encouraged, though the specially designed darkened screens created by the app are theoretically not distracting to nearby patrons, and repeated messages appear on phone screens reminding everybody to turn down the ringtones.”
Relationship Between Arts And The Press Is Fraying
“Last month, Opera Australia removed a music critic for the Sydney Morning Herald from its complimentary press ticket list after the company’s artistic director was reportedly “very offended” by a piece on the newspaper’s arts website. This was followed Jan. 2 by a similar “comp” list ban against a critic for the publication Stage Noise. And in New York, a theatrical press agent blacklisted Wall Street Journal writer Joanne Kaufman, after she admitted to “bolting” from Broadway shows during intermission.”
Architect Buys, Tears Down Ray Bradbury’s House
“According to Curbed, Bradbury’s house was purchased by “starchitect” Thom Mayne, of the firm Morphosis, and his wife, Blythe Alison-Mayne. Mayne, who is on the faculty at UCLA, is a winner of the Pritzker Prize. Bradbury, who typed “Fahrenheit 451″ on a pay-as-you-go typewriter at the UCLA library, was presented with the National Medal of Arts in 2004.”
The Arts In Movie Theatres: It’s Now Big Business
“Last season, I was tickled to learn, the Royal Ballet’s live cinema relay of Tchaikovsky’s seasonal favourite The Nutcracker beat the James Bond movie Skyfall at the cinema box-office, and came second only to The Hobbit. This year, the number of live opera, ballet and theatre productions that will be available to global cinema audiences is bigger than ever, with two million Britons expected to partake. ‘Event cinema’, as it is being dubbed, is now worth an estimated £15m ($23m) in the UK alone and shows no sign of abating.”