When Certain Sounds Really Do Drive You Crazy

“Named in the early 2000s by the neurologists Pawel and Margaret Jastreboff, misophonia – also called selective sound sensitivity syndrome – is one of many symptom clusters that don’t have a clear etiology. Those who suffer from misophonia recoil from human-made noises like chewing and whistling. The risks of being tormented by everyday experiences, like going to the movies only to find themselves sitting near a popcorn-cruncher, can make them too anxious to leave the house.”

The Pixar Theory Of Life And Labor (It’s Really A Silicon Valley Company At Heart)

“In film after film, Pixar presents narratives chiefly concerned with characters trying to be the best at what they do, or otherwise prove their usefulness … resulting in a filmography that consistently conflates individual flourishing with the embrace of unremitting work. … This excess, epitomized as the complete entanglement of an individual’s private life with their employment, is at the core of Pixar’s conceptualization of what it is to be a person.”

“I Don’t Think She Looked Up At The Stage, Except To Register A Laugh” – Patti LuPone In Her Own Words On The Cell-Phone Incident

The actress/folk hero explains what exactly the audience member whose phone she took away was doing, where in the theater the offender was sitting, and why her nonstop texting was distracting everyone else in the house. (Patti also reminds us that she’s never stopped a show because of a cell phone or texting.) (audio)

Neil Young Removes His Music From Streaming Services (But Not Because Of Money)

Neil Young says he’s removing his music from all streaming services because his songs are being “devalued by the worst quality in the history of broadcasting.” In two Facebook posts, the Toronto-born 69-year-old denigrates streaming and notes his preference for the formats of yesteryear, including analog cassettes, eight tracks and AM radio.

Size Matters

“For an artist, going big can be the most seductive of ego trips. But it can also offer an opportunity to disappear from view. Some large-scale works are boastful, whereas others are shaped by the lightest of touches; they are as likely to oppress as to inspire. But whatever the medium and whatever the message, there is no doubt that, when it comes to art at least, size really does matter.”

How To Build A Better (More Compelling) Digital Book

“Created by the British novelist Kate Pullinger and British-Canadian multimedia artist Chris Joseph, Alice is a book that blinks, buzzes, hums, sings, jitterbugs, plays games, and, on occasion, rains and snows. Using her laptop, Fleming projected the first Alice story onto a library whiteboard … and her fifth-graders went nuts. The story was immersive like little else, the first piece of fiction that helped them see life through a character’s eyes.”