The Times makes a list.
Tag: 05.17.09
Norway Wins Eurovision Song Competition
“Singer and violinist Alexander Rybak, 23, smashed the record for the most points awarded during the competition. Iceland came second in the vote, followed by Azerbaijan which took the third place. The UK’s Jade Ewen, singing an Andrew Lloyd Webber song, ended in fifth position.”
Regional Theatres Stand To Profit From Broadway-Bound Show
“The Ordway is part of a consortium of regional theaters and presenters that are among the lead backers of a musical version of “The Addams Family.” Producers announced this week that the show, starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth, would open on Broadway next March following a Chicago tryout this autumn.”
The Age Of Immediacy (And The Shriveling Of Mystery)
Thanks to search engines, “[t]rue understanding (or skill or effort) has become bothersome – an unnecessary headache that impedes our ability to get on with our lives (and most likely skip to something else). Earning the endgame seems so yesterday, especially when we can know whatever we need to know whenever we need to know it.”
The Neuroscience of Magic Tricks
“Our brains don’t see everything – the world is too big, too full of stimuli. So the brain takes shortcuts, constructing a picture of reality with relatively simple algorithms for what things are supposed to look like. Magicians capitalize on those rules.” Says Teller (of Penn and), “If the audience asks, ‘How the hell did he do that?’ then the experiment was successful. I’ve exploited the efficiencies of your mind.”
Incomprehensible Plots, Clarified
Never figured out just what the heck actually happens in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ziggy Stardust, Pink Floyd’s The Wall (wait, that had a plot?) or James Joyce’s Ulysses? The good folks at Wired explain it all for you – in Twitter-sized summaries, no less.