“The idea behind SocialSTREAM, and other experiments like it, is to collect reams of live text being published to the internet, and to run it through dictionaries designed to test language for signs of mood. For an individual tweet – “Good morning!” – this might be meaningless. But taken across millions of postings, from the personal to political, a rough indicator of popular sentiment does emerge.”
Tag: 03.02.12
Epicurus Was No Epicurean
For Christian Europeans, the Greek philosopher’s name became a byword for luxuriant sensuality; for Jews, his name denoted a godless heretic. While Epicurus was indeed godless and heathen (he believed in no deities), he was by no means a hedonist: his thought, in fact, was close to that of the Stoics.
‘Write What You Know’ Is The Most Misunderstood Piece Of Advice Ever
This hoary aphorism does not mean that fiction needs to be disguised autobiography. Nathan Englander observes that the idea behind the advice is roughly analogous to method acting.
A New Ellsworth Kelly Sculpture For The New Barnes Foundation?
“The Philadelphia Art Commission is expected to vote on Wednesday on plans to erect a 40-foot-high stainless steel sculpture by Ellsworth Kelly at the end of a reflecting pool in the garden of the new Barnes Foundation.”
Chicagoans: Not Shy About Anything, Including The City’s Culture
The city of Chicago invited its citizens to speak out about the city’s cultural plan – and then stood in shock as thousands of people with ideas both crazy and brilliant packed the open meetings.
Random House Wants To Screw Libraries On E-Books; Libraries Fight Back
Random House might be one of the only big publishing houses in the U.S. to offer e-books at libraries, but that doesn’t make it a saint. In the face of steep price increases for e-book access, librarians fight back.
Violinist Joshua Bell Has A Doppleganger – Who Stole His Watch And Laptop
Bell was on stage when someone who looked like him and claimed to be him got into his hotel room in Zaragoza, Spain. How did he get the hotel staff to open the room safe? That took some ingenuity, and a towel.
Need A Recipe? Google It (Even If You Have It On An Index Card Somewhere)
“Social media is becoming deeply embedded in our food habits: Half of consumers use sites like Twitter and Facebook to learn about food. Another 40 percent of consumers say they learn about food via websites, apps, or blogs.”
Radio’s Going Everywhere (That’s Why NPR Isn’t ‘National Public Radio’ Anymore)
New NPR CEO Gary Knell: “Now you have voice-activation systems in Fords and other car manufacturers, which are just going to get faster, smaller, and cheaper every year, and NPR’s gotta be on there. Public radio’s gotta be a player. If we’re not on these platforms, we’re dead. This isn’t a choice of whether — it’s really a choice of how.”
The Real War Horses (It Wasn’t As Pretty As The Spielberg Film)
In WWI Britain, “a million horses were taken overseas, pulled out of farms, breweries and every industry you can think of, most of them had no experience of being near anything that went bang and they went through a hell of a time.”