“As mobile phones have replaced landlines, call quality has, strangely, gone down. The general connectivity of the world — including the ease of international video calls and the use of foreign call centers — means that spelling out a name or word is an increasingly common practice. A modern, updated, globally friendly English spelling alphabet would be pretty useful right now, but getting people to use one might be harder than you’d think.” – Atlas Obscura
Tag: 07.12.19
Check Out The New World’s Largest Performing Arts Building
Designed by the Dutch architectural firm Mecanoo, the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Kaohsiung is a city of nearly 3 million at the southern end of Taiwan) opened last fall and includes a 434-seat recital hall, a 1,210-seat theatre, a 1,981-seat concert hall, a 2,236-seat opera house, an art gallery, and an outdoor amphitheatre incorporated into the roof. – Bachtrack
Berlin’s Heyday As An Inexpensive Haven For Artists Is Being Gentrified Away
“Its reputation as a hub where artists and creative types can rent inexpensively and still afford to do as they please is eroding. Certain neighborhoods, such as Kreuzberg, … [which] was pressed up against the Wall and became home to immigrants with few other choices, have had the hex of coolness cast upon them.” – The New Yorker
The Evidence Is In On The Effectiveness Of Trigger Warnings
“Like many a random supplement, trigger warnings are probably useless for most people and potentially, though not definitively, a little harmful to some. So, with no clear upside, why risk it?” – Slate
Can Science Fiction Be Useful In Imagining The Future?
“The answer is one that divides futurists, writers, and academics. Some argue that there is power in narrative stories that can’t be found elsewhere. Others assert that in our quest for imagination and prediction, we’re deluding ourselves into thinking that we can predict what’s coming.” – Wired
Why It’s Not Good To Invite A Writer Into Your House
Is it a good idea to invite someone into your home whose occupation it is to observe everything? The writer as host might be no better. Even the most thoughtful guest will undoubtedly interfere with the writer’s productivity during the visit. – The New York Times
A Proposed New International Airport Threatens Machu Picchu
The site draws up to 5,600 foreign visitors daily, more than double the 2,500 recommended by Unesco. The new airport could quadruple tourists, to 6 million from 1.5 million a year, which would mean a lethal burden of 22,000 visitors a day, or almost 10 times the limit set by Unesco. – The New York Times
The Classical Musicians Who Created The New Live-Action ‘Lion King’ Score Because Representation Matters
The African American and Black musicians who make up the Re-Collective Orchestra recorded a chamber-music version of Black Panther‘s “All the Stars Are Open.” Hans Zimmer heard it, and then he asked the musicians to record the score for the Disney behemoth’s live-action version of its massive 1994 hit. For bassoonist Lecolion Washington, the experience “felt like an acknowledgement that who makes art, and the stories they bring, holds as much value as the art itself.” – WBUR (Boston)
A Catalan Pop Star Uses Some Spanish Words In A Catalan Song, And Her Fans Are Not OK With That
The Spanishisms, or Spanish words, or words that are a mix, are making Catalan purists and separatists angry. Ironically, “there are also a few English words thrown into the song but, amid the fuss, no one seems to mind that the refrain repeats the words ‘Fucking money man.'” – The Guardian (UK)
What Libraries Mean To The American Dream
Last year, an economics professor suggested killing off the public library and replacing it with Amazon. The backlash was swift – and it’s ongoing. Why? Libraries are free, providing a refuge for everyone, and helping those disenfranchised gain more and more agency – and more: “Libraries are the cornerstones of democracy, where all people—regardless of income, race and religion—are welcome. To me, they’re also the one place where I truly feel at home.” – LitHub