“Clear evidence of American society’s increasing narcissism can be found in our best-selling popular songs. That’s the conclusion of a study just published in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts. Compared to a quarter-century ago, ‘Popular music lyrics now include more words related to a focus on the self,” reports a team of researchers’.”
Tag: 03.31.11
The Decline And Fall Of Venice
“Already half the houses in Venice are empty, owned by foreigners and absentee landlords. True Venetians hate the Disneyfication of their city – the kitsch of the carnival that has now become a commodified mass spectacle, the endless tourists. There is talk of constructing a London Eye-type ferris wheel to dwarf the surroundings. Venetians such as Germano and Marina almost despair of regaining their city.”
Italian Culture Minister Says Mega-Ads In Venice Need To Go
“Tourists should not be faced with such a horrible sight, and the advertisers themselves must be finding the ads are bad publicity, he said. The money to pay for the restoration that the advertisements are financing will have to be raised in other ways.”
Why You Can’t Get “The Worst Song Ever” Out Of Your Head
“For anyone who’s surprised that this simple ditty has connected in a big way — the 13-year-old’s relentlessly chipper YouTube video is about to cross the threshold of 66 million hits — don’t be.”
Massive New Montreal Cultural Project – Four Years And A Billion Dollars
“The project to create a cultural quarter with a public sqaure, a symphony hall and a skating rink has cost close to $1 billion in public and private money . The two sq. km. area also will be home to new luxury condos and office towers. But at a public meeting Thursday, the audience was divided on whether the project was worth waiting for.”
Orlando Orchestra Presenter Shuts Down
“The organization, which has sold more than 250,000 tickets to more than 100 concerts, is the victim of the economic downturn and venue-scheduling difficulties, said executive director Susan Carey, one of the festival’s two employees.”
First-Ever Mikhail Gorbachev Awards Go To Inventors Of World Wide Web, CNN
“CNN founder Ted Turner, World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee and Kenyan engineer Evan Wadongo are the inaugural recipients of the Mikhail Gorbachev Awards.” All three were selected personally by the former Soviet leader.
Rochester Philharmonic Comes To Aid Of Stiffed Syracuse Symphony Patrons
“The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra will honor Syracuse Symphony Orchestra tickets for the remainder of the season,” after the Syracuse orchesta suspended operations, cancelled all concerts and refused refunds to ticketholders. The two cities are roughly a 90-minute drive apart.
2011 Peabody Award Winners Include Temple Grandin, Radiolab, The Good Wife
Other winners ranged from Spike Lee’s Katrina follow-up If God Is Willing and da Creek Don’t Rise and NPR reporter Julie McCarthy’s coverage of Pakistan to the PBS documentary William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible and the live storytelling series The Moth Radio Hour.
ABT Returns To Moscow After 45 Years
“The audience awaits, bearing 300 years of experience. In the halls of the Duma next door, things Western are cause for suspicion. As the house lights dim on opening night, the uphill course confronting the American Ballet Theatre grows ever more illuminated – the stage is at a slope.”