Tag: 05.14.15

David Letterman, Great American Broadcaster

“Nobody would have been shocked if, as Letterman aged, he simply tried to cling to his younger irreverence, flinging his 68-year-old self to Velcro walls, like in the old days. That’s what TV does to people who want to stay on TV, and it’s usually a cringefest. Instead, Letterman began a quiet but noticeable transformation to a broader, more open, human version of himself.”

Glamour And An Iron Grip: Kevin Spacey’s Tenure At London’s Old Vic

Michael Billington: “In fact, Spacey … has done everything possible to restore the fortunes of the Old Vic. He has given the theatre stability and, through his presence as an actor, glamour. He has tirelessly raised funds to ensure its future. He has also done a lot of unheralded work to encourage young people through a scheme with the umbrella title of Old Vic New Voices.”

How Our Use Of The Internet Is Increasingly Contributing To Global Warming

“Instead of buying a few videos and watching them again and again, we’re now binge-watching entire seasons of shows in a sitting, which ends up creating a bigger carbon footprint overall. This trend extends to other industries as well. For example, according to the report, publishers now consume more energy as a result of their data center usage than they did through their use of printing presses.”

A Big Step Forward In Mapping The Brain

“The Allen Cell Types Database, on its surface, doesn’t look like much. The first release includes information on just 240 neurons out of hundreds of thousands in the mouse visual cortex, with a focus on the electrophysiology of those individual cells: the electrical pulses that tell a neuron to fire, initiating a pattern of neural activation that results in perception and action. But understanding those single cells well enough to put them into larger categories will be crucial to understanding the brain as a whole—much like the periodic table was necessary to establish basic chemical principles.”

National Theatre Wales Founder Leaving To Direct Manchester International Festival

“The biennial event specialises in staging premieres by international cultural figures. This year’s festival, which takes place in July, will feature the likes of singer Bjork, artist Gerhard Richter and children’s TV star Justin Fletcher. Mr McGrath will take over from the festival’s founding artistic director Alex Poots, who is leaving to run New York’s new Culture Shed.”