“From Henry James to Heidi Julavitis, writers seem to delight in publishing manifestos that outline the book review’s shortcomings and inadequacies.”
Tag: 04.25.12
Getting To Know The Young Susan Sontag (Through Her Journals)
“She contemplates the kind of writer she wants to be, wondering – in a swoop of ambition and possible megalomania – how to be as good as Tolstoy. … There’s ego and insecurity and the continuous plotting of her own public face … though she’s not without an inkling of her public function and renown (from 1975: ‘My role: the intellectual as adversary’).”
It’s Time To Stop Worrying About Theatre Audiences Texting
Lyn Gardner: “[T]heatre-going doesn’t just begin with buying a ticket and end when the curtain falls. People clearly do want a more interactive theatre experience that allows them to engage with others who have seen what they’ve seen, and they want to share and discuss over many platforms.”
Paradigm Shift Unbundled
“Thomas Kuhn wanted to free us from the illusion that knowledge is independent of history and of the sociality that marks us as humans, but he did not think that all beliefs that our history and sociality put before us are equally worthy. Indeed, he quickly moved away from the “shift happens” conception of paradigms as bundles of beliefs, emphasizing instead that they’re examples of good scientific practice that researchers apply in their daily work.”
Want A Better Brain? Exercise Is The Key Factor
“Animals that exercised, whether or not they had any other enrichments in their cages, had healthier brains and performed significantly better on cognitive tests than the other mice. Animals that didn’t run, no matter how enriched their world was otherwise, did not improve their brainpower in the complex, lasting ways that Rhodes’s team was studying.”
Study: Want To Make Better Decisions? Learn A Second Language
“A research team led by psychologist Boaz Keysar reports using one’s second language reduces or eliminates certain biases that otherwise infiltrate our decision-making. Specifically, our aversion to potential loss — a bias that can lead us to pass up promising opportunities for potential gains — diminishes as we ponder options in a language learned later in life.”
Jazz At Lincoln Center Gets A New Director
Greg Scholl is a former NBC Universal executive with a background in digital music distribution.
Music Companies Get More Aggressive In Demanding Licensing Fees For Film
“As the recording industry has seen its sales tumble by more than half since 2000, labels are intent on squeezing every bit of profit out of songs in their catalogs. Licensing that music to films — whether big Hollywood productions or modestly budgeted documentaries — is an attractive source of revenue.”
Philadelphia Orchestra, Musicians Union, Settle Over Pension Dispute
“The American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Fund (AFM-EPF), which had filed a $35 million claim in the case, will drop all its legal challenges in exchange for $1.75 million from the orchestra. The fund did not immediately respond to a request for comment.”
Calls Mount For UK Culture Minister To Resign Over Murdoch Scandals
“Emails released by News Corporation to the Leveson Inquiry on the culture, practice and ethics of the press appeared to show that [minister Jeremy] Hunt’s office gave the media organisation confidential information about its planned takeover of BSkyB.”