Things got a bit heated at The Chronicle of Higher Education when one of its contributing bloggers, in an attack on the discipline of African-American Studies, mocked the research in some dissertations that had been featured in a Chronicle article – without having read any of the papers she was attacking.
Tag: 05.08.12
The Maurice Sendak Illustrations We May Have Forgotten About
“Before he began writing his own tales, he illustrated children’s book written by others. When he began illustrating his own stories, he created a world unlike any other. ‘Children’s books were always very pretty,’ [said curator] Barbara Gilbert. … ‘But Sendak wanted them to be honest.'”
What Maurice Sendak Understood About Children: They Want To Be Scared
“[He] wasn’t afraid of writing very dark and disturbing children’s books. In fact, he understood that what children really want is to be disturbed, ruffled, terrified. He wasn’t interested in writing sweet or charming books for children like Angelina Ballerina, or Olivia. ‘I refuse to lie to children,’ he said. ‘I refuse to cater to the bullshit of innocence.'”
What Will Become Of Paper Books?
“Now, as we move into the digital age, the well-made copy has come to occupy a familiar, almost nostalgic middle ground between the aura of an original and the ghostly quality of a computer file. A mass-produced paper book, though bulkier and more expensive, may continue to be more desirable because it carries with it this material presence. And presence means something–or it can, at least, in the hands of a good book designer.”
Maurice Sendak, 83
“Maurice Sendak, American born author of Where the Wild Things Are, has died at the age of 83. Over a career that began in the late 1940s he illustrated more than 100 books and wrote more than 20, but it was Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963, that made his name internationally, selling over 17m copies.”
Could Facial Recognition Software Help Identify Subjects Of Old Master Paintings?
“Most unknown sitters are unknown because they were only painted once, and there is no other likeness with which to compare them. So the new programme will most likely only help with portraits of people for whom we already have other portraits.”
Does The Death Of Vancouver Theatre Signal More General Difficulty For Canadian Regional Theatre?
“The Playhouse might be the canary in the coal mine for Canada’s regional theatre network, which was set up in the 1950s and 1960s. It’s time to look at what that institutional model offers us and ask whether it’s good value for public money compared with the smaller, more dynamic companies that are in comparatively robust health.”
CBGB’s To Rise Again (This Time As A Festival)
“The new owners of the club’s assets — some with ties to the original Bowery establishment — say they hope that the festival will revive the wide-open artistic aesthetic associated with CBGB, which in its heyday served as an incubator for influential acts like Television, the Talking Heads, the Ramones, Blondie, Sonic Youth and Patti Smith.”
Hip-Hop Website Returns After Authorities Can’t Prove Copyright Infringement
“Federal authorities seized the dajaz1.com site based on assertions from the Recording Industry Association of America that it was linking to four “pre-release” music tracks in November, 2010. The authorities gave it back nearly 13 months later without filing civil or criminal charges because of apparent recording industry delays in confirming infringement.”
The Rise Of Fan Fiction And Creativity
“Fan fiction has boomed in the past decade, as young people (and many adults) have swarmed online to share what-if tales set in their favorite movies, books, animation, and videogames. Hunger Games fanfic? 10,692 stories. Teen Titans? 26,594 stories. Shakespeare fan fiction? Oh, yes way: 1,747 stories.”