Rafi Segal’s design was chosen by an enthusiastic jury over competitors that included several international starchitects. Then a Jerusalem municipal attorney threatened to block the entire building process because he disagreed with Segal’s opinions about West Bank settlements. Suddenly, accusations of plagiarism arose and the jury was re-writing the rules and reopening the design competition.
Tag: 05.13.12
Is Death Truly Bad For You?
Yale philosopher Shelly Kagan: “We all believe that death is bad. But why is death bad? … [If] death is my end, how can it be bad for me to die? After all, once I’m dead, I don’t exist. If I don’t exist, how can being dead be bad for me?”
Does David Sedaris Deserve The Same Scrutiny Mike Daisey Got?
“The immediate question is whether Sedaris’s stories are, strictly speaking, true – an important consideration for journalistic organizations such as NPR and programs such as This American Life. … Then there’s this: Does it matter whether a humorous writer, working on a news or nonfiction program, makes stuff up?”
Thom Mayne To Design Anchor Of Cornell University’s NYC Tech Center
The Pritzker Prize winner and his firm, Morphosis, have been named architects of the flagship structure of a major research center and high-tech business incubator planned for Roosevelt Island, the quiet strip of land in the East River between Manhattan and Queens.
As Talent Moves From Broadcast To Cable, Networks Sweeten The Creative Pot
“In growing sections of the television drama business, a condition known as ‘cable envy’ has been setting in — and spreading. Cable, the land of small budgets and even smaller audiences, has become the place creators of drama go if they want to take big creative risks — and win golden trophies.”
Russia’s New Cinematic Sage
Andrei Zvyagintsev “is being described as a seer of the social and spiritual divides in Vladimir V. Putin’s Russia. … And the sense that he views life – and the Russian condition – as a series of moral challenges is apparent in his films and in conversation.”
Logic Is Not Neutral (Contrary To Popular Belief)
Many laypeople, and more than a few logicians, consider logic “an umpire, a neutral arbitrator between opposing theories, imposing some basic rules on all sides in a dispute. The picture is that logic has no substantive content, for otherwise the correctness of that content could itself be debated, which would impugn the neutrality of logic.” Oxford philosopher Timothy Williamson explains why this is – illogical.
In A Social-Networked World, Fans Lobby To Save Their Favorite TV Shows
“Fans have become more creative (or maybe desperate) over time, sending symbols as well as letters to networks.”
Are We Completely Ruled By Our Body Chemistry?
“The choices we make in day-to-day life are prompted by impulses lodged deep within the nervous system. Not only are we not masters of our fate; we are captives of biological determinism. Once we enter the portals of the strange neuronal world known as the brain, we discover that — to put the matter plainly — we have no idea what we’re doing.”
Punch And Judy Turn 350 Amid Raucous Crowd Of Puppeteers
“Punch and Judy men and women – known as ‘professors’ – took their hand puppets on a procession in London’s Covent Garden, staged shows for hundreds of children and held a church service with the red-nosed Mr Punch in the pulpit.”