The basic irony of standards is the simple fact that there is no standard way to create a standard, nor is there even a standard definition of “standard.” There are, however, longstanding ways that industries and nations coordinate standardization efforts. In the United States, the system of voluntary consensus standards is coordinated by ANSI, the American National Standards Institute. – The New York Times
Tag: 02.17.19
Buddy DeFranco’s Birthday
What is your favorite key? Assuming that it’s not Z-minor, you will find it in the video below, as vibraharpist (vibraphonist, if you prefer) Terry Gibbs explains in his introduction. – Doug Ramsey
AI Researchers Made A Bot That Wrote Convincing News Stories. It Was So Good They Shut It Down
These excellent results have freaked the researchers out. One concern they have is that the technology would be used to turbo-charge fake news operations. The Guardian published a fake news article written by the software along with its coverage of the research. The article is readable and contains fake quotes that are on topic and realistic. The grammar is better than a lot what you’d see from fake news content mills. And according to The Guardian’s Alex Hern, it only took 15 seconds for the bot to write the article. – Gizmodo
Despite Reports, The Louvre Says It’s Still Hoping To Get Salvador Mundi For Big Leonardo Show
“I confirm the Musée du Louvre has asked for the loan of the Salvator Mundi for its October exhibition and truly wishes to exhibit the artwork,” a spokeswoman for the institution tells The Art Newspaper. The museum has requested the work’s loan from its owner but “the owner has not given his answer yet,” the Louvre spokeswoman says. – The Art Newspaper
Fears Of A Crackdown On Artists In Cuba
The government issued a decree that requires artists to obtain government approval before performing or displaying their work, while also regulating the artwork itself. For example, it prohibits audiovisual content that contains “sexist, vulgar and obscene language” or that uses “national symbols” in ways that “contravene current legislation.” Government inspectors can impose fines on offenders and confiscate their property. – The New York Times
If Netflix’s Roma Wins Oscars’ Best Picture, It Will Change The Movie Business Forever
If a film primarily distributed online wins, the debate in Hollywood about what constitutes cinema is over. It would strike a blow to the big multiplex chains, which have refused to show “Roma” because Netflix offered them an exclusive play period of only three weeks; three months is the norm. As far as box office figures, Netflix has said the film has appeared in about 250 theaters in the United States since it was released on Nov. 21, but it refuses to disclose ticket sales. A win by “Roma” could embolden old-line studios like Universal and Warner Bros. to shorten their own theatrical “windows.” – The New York Times
Nan Goldin Wants London’s National Portrait Gallery To Turn Down A One Million Pound Donation From The Sackler Family
The alternative? The artist yanks her “prestigious new exhibition of work.” Goldin said, “What is the museum for? Art is transcendent and that makes it very, very dirty if they take the money; it’s failing the whole idea of a museum as a place to show art.” – The Observer (UK)
An Entire Italian Town Fell Silent In Order To Preserve The Sounds Of Stradivarius
In Cremona, where the mayor doubles as the president of the Antonio Stradivarius Violin Museum Foundation, sound engineers were trying to record every note a Strad could make, and every transition between every note. But a town of 70,000 people can be noisy, so the mayor “asked the people of Cremona to please keep it down, and blocked traffic around the concert hall during recordings.” – NPR
Booker Prizewinner Marlon James On Following Up His Literary Novel With An Epic African Fantasy Trilogy
James, who is originally Jamaican and who lives in Minnesota, says of his African fantasy epic, “I was reading a lot of the original myths and legends. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to write a fantasy novel. I wanted the ability to pick and choose and do what Tolkien did with Scandinavian and British culture. I wanted this pool of ideas and legends and building something out of it.” – The Observer (UK)
Japanese Jazz Journalist Kiyoshi Koyama Has Died At 82
Koyama covered jazz in Japan throughout the 1960s and 1970s, was an avid interviewer of New York jazz musicians in their homes and wherever they played, and then he became a producer of jazz albums. “By the end of his life, Mr. Koyama’s personal archive included close to 30,000 vinyl albums and CDs. He also retained a copy of nearly every issue of Swing Journal, hundreds of books, and cassette tapes of his interviews. He recently donated the archive to New York University.” – The New York Times