Carolyn Keene didn’t exist; nor did Franklin W. Dixon, purported author of the Hardy Boy series. Who the writers actually were isn’t germane, really. “What was important was the author as a brand—a shortcut for readers to know that they were getting a consistent product—and arguably, in the case of Nancy Drew, a more consistent product than they might have received if Carolyn Keene had been a single individual. A real Carolyn Keene might have become bored of the project, she might have died, she might have decided to alter Nancy—make her older, marry her off, or gasp, even have her meet her end with the roadster plunging off a cliff.” – CrimeReads
Tag: 03.07.19
The Latest For Donors Is Traveling Like A Musician, Ballerina, Or Conductor
And by that, we don’t mean “worrying about your instrument all of the time,” but rather, if you have the money, “you can simply donate money to your favorite nonprofit — amounts seem to start at around $2,500 — in exchange for the opportunity to tag along on an international tour with the organization.” – The Washington Post
In The UK Translated Fiction Outsells English Fiction. It’s All About Collaboration
Of course, translating isn’t only the business of people who get paid to do it. Around 300 languages are used daily in London, and New York may be home to as many as 800, according to the Endangered Language Alliance. Yet any talk of translating literature—rather than shopping lists or doctors’ orders—is oddly esoteric. – Prospect
Steven Pinker Enthuses About Humanity’s Progress. So Why Do So Many People Hate Him?
The dismissive term “Pinkering” has been coined to describe applying a too-sunny gloss to world events. A cartoon strip published in Current Affairs shows a crazed-looking Pinker staring into a mirror: “Remember,” cartoon Pinker says to himself, “no matter what people say it’s statistically impossible for you to be the worst person on the planet.” In addition, a surprising number of detractors have referred to Harvard’s Johnstone family professor of psychology as “Peven Stinker,” which, while not exactly an argument, does capture a certain disdain. – Chronicle of Higher Education
Peabody Essex Museum Names New Director
“After a five-month search, the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem has hired Brian Kennedy as its new director and CEO. Kennedy, now 57 years old, was born in Dublin and has worked for museums on three continents, including the National Gallery of Australia, the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College and the National Gallery of Ireland. He currently heads the Toledo Museum of Art, where he’s been since 2010.” – WBUR (Boston)
Can Shostakovich Help You Run Faster? (We’re Dubious)
When you hear music — or any rhythmic sound — it activates the portion of the brain that coordinates and times movement, the same neural pathways that regulate your running pace. While any upbeat tune has been proven to aid exercise, music timed so that you’re running in sync with the beat allows for a smoother experience. – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Psychologist Jonathan Haidt On Understanding Versus Advocating
“The mission of a university I believe should be to understand. And if you do a great job of research, that can be the basis for all kinds of activism later. But if you start with a commitment to a certain way of seeing the world, and you start with a belief that some people are good and some people are bad, I think it makes it very hard to understand real social systems.” – Nautilus
The Frustrating Circular Firing Squad Of Some Wikipedia Sourcing
So Wikipedia cites a source for a piece of information. The source cites Wikipedia. And around and around it goes. Trying to find out the original sourcing can be a frustratingly circular exercise. – Slate
Virginia Walcott Beauchamp, Who Pioneered Women’s Studies As A Discipline, Dead At 98
“In her research and teaching, she pored over the records left by women who received little if any public attention during their lives but whose diaries, letters and other writings vividly revealed the eras in which they lived.” – The Washington Post
The Stevens Spielberg And Soderbergh Are The Twin Poles Of The Movie Theater-Versus-Netflix Struggle — Or Are They?
Soderbergh has made a feature for Netflix and released his work in all sorts of ways; he says “I really don’t care how people see my movies, as long as they see them.” Spielberg is trying to ban Netflix from the Oscars and says that “movie theaters need to be around forever.” Critic Ann Hornaday writes that the root of Spielberg’s anxieties is something that Soderbergh understands. – The Washington Post