“‘Strong, distracting lines would mask the bow, stern, and sections that might be used to estimate the range, speed, or course of the ship. Submarines only had a few moments at periscope depth to fire their torpedo before they risked being seen. The aim was to make the estimation of where the ship would be so difficult that the torpedo would not be fired, or would be fired and miss.’
Tag: 01.19.18
The Distraction Factor (Good And Bad)
“The dichotomy between good attention and bad distraction is so fundamental that it is written into the very language we use to talk about attending. Consider the phrase “I pay attention.” It implies that attention is valuable, a type of currency we deliberately and consciously invest in. When I pay attention, I am in control of my action, and I am aware of its value. Now compare this with the phrase “I am distracted.” Suddenly we are dealing with a passive and vulnerable subject who suffers an experience without doing much to contribute to it.”
‘Roseanne’, A Sitcom Like No Other, Even After 30 Years
“Roseanne Barr is now a Ghost of Television Past, so strange and contradictory it’s hard to believe she was once one of America’s biggest TV stars. From her prime-time pedestal, she brought all kinds of progressive notions about gender and class to the homes of a nation convulsed by a culture war. She found a way to turn the insult of being poor and a woman inside out: Although Roseanne Conner sometimes pretends to be lazy and a lousy mom, she is neither.”
Jazz And Classical Pianists Use Their Brains Differently: Study
“While neuroscience has largely debunked the left-right brain divide, new research from the Max Planck Institute … shows that a similar binary might apply to pianists.”
Thailand Drops Lèse-Majesté Charge Against Historian For Lecture About 16th-Century King
“Prosecutors decided not to pursue their case against [84-year-old] Sulak Sivaraksa, who was charged in October under Thailand’s controversial lèse-majesté law against defaming, insulting or threatening the royal family. The charges were connected to a 2014 university lecture, during which Sulak … questioned whether [16th-century] King Naresuan had in fact slain a Burmese crown prince while riding an elephant.”
The Cleveland Orchestra Is 100 Years Old. Is It America’s Best?
Skeptics say that touring orchestras are steeled and on their mettle when they visit Carnegie Hall, adding, “They don’t play that way every week at home.” The Cleveland Orchestra, as I learned during a season (1988-89) spent as its program annotator and editor, plays that way every week, no matter what or where.
Writers Love Routines. So I Followed Famous Writers’ Routines. It Wasn’t Pretty
“For one week, I would spend each day following a different writer’s routine. Now, I know that in changing it up every day I would no longer be participating in a routine, per se, but my rationalization was that this would be akin to a workout schedule, where you do different exercises each day—getting a little stronger, faster, and more flexible with each session. Even if none of these became my permanent routine, I’d still have a solid week’s worth of writing to show for it. At least, that’s what I thought.”
A Theatre Critic Reviews The NFL Season’s Best Touchdown Celebrations
Nelson Pressley: “Victory rituals have been part of football for decades. … But this season’s repertory ensembles are different from the soloists who have historically commanded the end zone, from Billy ‘White Shoes’ Johnson and his Funky Chicken to Ickey Woods … doing his light-footed soft shoe known as the ‘Ickey Shuffle.’ … Three Kansas City Chiefs performed a potato sack race. Five Detroit Lions formed a boisterous (if bulky) Rockettes-style kickline. Flocks of Philadelphia Eagles danced the Electric Slide.”
How Technology Is Changing Our Basic Senses
“In a time when our environment is changing more rapidly than ever before—the inclusion of technology, potential for humans to travel to different planets, climate change—our senses are going to undergo a change to keep up with our environment’s transformation. It’s already happening, in fact.”
Bayeux Tapestry Is Too Fragile To Loan To England, Say Curators Who Care For It
“[Former Bayeux Museum director] Isabelle Attard said moving such a ‘fragile, near-1,000-year-old roll of wool and linen’ even a few metres was risky, never mind transporting it overseas.” The curator directly responsible for the tapestry said that when he first heard news of the plan to loan the piece to Britain, he thought it was a hoax.