“I started looking into whether lead degrades in water, trying to find out why fisherman use lead weights and researching the composition of lead type, as I didn’t really know anything about the chemistry of it and wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to start looking for something that had rotted away.”
Tag: 02.03.15
Data’s In: A Map Of The Most Popular Music In Every Country Of The World
“The biggest surprise is that pop music doesn’t get more social-media love from Brazilians, who frequently request that pop stars “come to Brazil!” to the point of Internet meme notoriety.”
The World’s Biggest Movie Superstar – Most Americans Have Never Heard Of Him
“Given that Bollywood films are watched by a global three billion people, Amitabh Bachchan has a good claim to be the most famous actor in the world. In India, he has long transcended his day job to become a national institution, Brando, Pacino and De Niro rolled into one. Across Asia and the Middle East, [he] gets mobbed in the streets.”
Whatever Happened To Henry Winkler (Whom We Won’t Call The Fonz)? He Became A Dyslexia Activist
His own case – undiagnosed at the time – of the learning disability was so severe that he just barely managed to complete high school; he only discovered the reason when his son was diagnosed with the same condition. Since then, he has traveled the world as advocate – and co-written 28 children’s books (so far) about a boy struggling with dyslexia.
How Languages And Genes Evolve Together (Geography Is Destiny)
“The thing we’ve done that no one else has is match worldwide genetic populations to their languages, so that you’re looking at a comparable set, … showing that language and genes do in fact share similar geographic fault lines.”
Simon Rattle Talks Sibelius
The Berlin Philharmonic’s chief conductor and Finnish music journalist/Sibelius expert Vesa Sirén spend an hour talking about the composer’s music – and what the Philharmoniker find easy and difficult about it. (video interview in English, web page in Finnish)
The Common Core Has Not Killed Literature
“The Common Core language-arts and literacy standards call for ‘a true balance of informational and literary texts.’ Many teachers and administrators misinterpret that. They immediately focus on the shift to nonfiction texts and forget the ‘balance.’ There’s nothing in the standards about Ponyboy, but I certainly see how I could use him, with some nonfiction and multimedia texts about gangs, to give my kids a rigorous learning experience. And that’s my choice.”
British Theatres Are Doing More Plays With Less Funding
“More plays were staged by the UK’s most-subsidised theatre companies in 2014 compared with five years earlier, despite fears about funding cuts, BBC research suggests. A total of 200 full plays and musicals were staged by 20 of the venues and touring production companies with the biggest government grants in 2014. That is up from 163 full plays in 2009.”
The State Of UK Theatre: Boom Or Bust?
“A few years ago, the theatre establishment mobilised stars from Danny Boyle to Dame Helen Mirren to warn about funding cuts. New figures suggest theatres have actually increased production levels in recent years. So what is the story behind the stats?”
You May Think You Can’t Dance But Nepalis Will Make You Try
“Peer pressure is integral to Nepali dance. There’s even a word for this: nachaune, ‘to make dance.’ … It’s an elaborate group flirtation. Coyly insist you can’t, and then once you’re begged, bust out all the moves. No matter how much you might rather drop dead on the spot than dance in front of a huge crowd of people, it’s useless to resist, especially if you’re a foreigner.”