“On Thursday, Tunisian courts will hand down a verdict in the public prosecution of Nabil Karoui, chief of popular Tunisian broadcaster Nessma TV, for airing [Marjane Satrapi’s film Persepolis]. The verdict will say a lot about the future of freedom of expression in the very country whose citizens kicked off the Arab Spring a year and a half ago.”
Tag: 04.30.12
Boy Nouns And Girl Nouns: Why Languages Have Gender
“Languages all across the world have what’s called grammatical gender, which means simply that nouns get divvied up into different categories or ‘classes.’ Sometimes those categories are called masculine and feminine, like in Spanish, although for some other languages the categories have nothing at all to do with natural gender or biological sex.”
The Greatest Author-vs.-Critic Feuds Of All Time
“The face-slaps, spitting contests, and pie fights that occur when one author turns his pen on another.”
Stephen King To US Government: Raise My &***#! Taxes Already!
“What charitable 1 percenters can’t do is assume responsibility – America’s national responsibilities: the care of its sick and its poor, the education of its young, the repair of its failing infrastructure, the repayment of its staggering war debts. … That kind of salvation does not come from Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Ballmer saying, ‘OK, I’ll write a $2 million bonus check to the IRS’.”
Microsoft Invests In The Nook, Heating Up The E-Book Market
“The deal, which gives Microsoft a 17.6 percent stake, values the Nook unit at $1.7 billion — roughly double Barnes & Noble’s entire market value as of last Friday — and bolsters the bookseller’s efforts to make its digital business the linchpin of its future growth.”
A Challenge To The MPAA On Who Represents The Movie Business
“The relationship between IFTA and MPAA is a telling example not only of how lobbying gets done in Washington but also of how perceptions are formed.”
The Rise Of Face-To-Face Story-Telling
“While they’re partly driven by a craving to get out of their screens — and sometimes tiny living quarters — and into the real world of physical contact, they’re also working around a dissatisfaction with traditional political and media discourse, according to Mark Winston, director of SFU’s Centre for Dialogue. Newspapers and TV don’t bring people in touch with each other like this.”
Does The iPad Have Any Use For Classical Music?
“Granted, music editing software and even some apps are better than they used to be. But while musicians and industry buffs occupy themselves with apps such as Sound Hound, Turntable, or even the I Am T-Pain app (which makes your voice sound like that of rapper T-Pain), or with mastering Pro Tools, do classical composers get anything out of the new iPad?”
Five Ways To Get More People Into Movie Theatres
“For all the talk of a box-office renaissance, the truth is that most of the gains of the past decade have come from rising ticket prices, not more people seeing movies.”
New Yorkers Will Get To Vote For Preservation Projects’ Funding
“It’s the preservationists’ version of American Idol. American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation have chosen New York City to receive $3 million in preservation grants, and New Yorkers and New York lovers will get to vote for some of the winners.”