Tag: 01.14.17

Zhou Youguang, Who Standardized Chinese In Western Alphabet, Dead At 111

Pinyin, the spelling system that Zhou and a Communist Party committee developed in the 1950s, revolutionized the learning of Chinese – and not only for foreigners. The illiteracy in China was nearly 85% before pinyin was introduced; it’s now in the low single digits. What’s surprising, given the time and place, was that Zhou had a past as a Wall Street banker and economist.

Congolese Music Has Been Adopted By All Of Africa (But Wow, The Political Problems…)

“Music is probably Congo’s most influential export, though nowhere near as lucrative as copper or gold. Whereas in the West the country’s name inspires pictures of child soldiers fighting bloody battles, in most of Africa it is associated with “rumba Lingala” (Lingala is the language of the Kinshasa street). This upbeat music has become genuinely pan-African in the 60 years since Congolese musicians were first inspired by Cubans.”

How President Obama And His Family Joined The Canon Of Images On Many Walls

In Peggy Sutton’s kitchen, she “has a framed a black-and-white sketch of the president she bought from a man for $1 at the 63rd Street beach. On the way to the lower level, she hung an oversize Ebony magazine cover of the black cool issue in which Mr. Obama exits a car wearing dark shades. Downstairs is a beaded Obama pillow. Upstairs on display in a spare bedroom is like Obama-palooza: homemade clothes, dollar bills with pictures of the president and the first lady, jeweled Obama champagne flutes, inauguration invitations.”

The Houses Of Parliament Are An Architectural Wonder – And 24-Hour Patrols May Be The Only Thing Keeping Fire From Engulfing The Building

The first Houses of Parliament burned to the ground in 1834, and what we now photograph endlessly was finished rebuilding in 1860. But now, “a Westminster source said fire alarm cabling and systems were ‘so antiquated that they fail regularly and replacement parts are no longer available. The poor disabled access in the palace means emergency evacuation procedures for people with mobility impairments do not meet acceptable standards.'”

Can The Minnesota Orchestra Hit The Holy Grail Of Attracting Diverse Audiences?

“People say, ‘I would go more if I was represented on stage,'” says one former board member. But it took until 2015 and the Minnesota Orchestra’s tour of Cuba to create a diversity committee. “There is not a single black musician among the orchestra’s permanent members.”

Is La La Land – A Movie Musical – About To Get Converted Into A Musical For The Stage?

Pretty much, and pretty soon. That’s an unexpected result: “It is an extraordinarily speedy outcome for a film project once regarded as too risky when director and screenwriter Damien Chazelle approached producers in Los Angeles. While film musicals are no longer seen as the financial black holes they were two decades ago, it was a difficult proposition.”

The Sheer Power Of Emerging Stars At The Met Should Be Attracting Audience In Droves (Why Isn’t It?)

“The reasons for the Met’s less than spectacular performance at the box office remain somewhat obscure, particularly since, on a day to day basis, the company offers what is likely the strongest casting of any opera company in the world.” Indeed, the Met is in the middle of “a golden age of vocalism.”

The Man Who Figured Out How To Bridge The Chinese And Roman Alphabets Has Died At Age 111

Zhou Youguang didn’t create the first system to convert Chinese characters into another alphabet, but his Pinyin, which was adopted in 1958, not only made external communication easier but also helped Chinese people speaking widely varying dialects learn to communicate with each other.