“With the number of paying subscribers using Match approaching 1.8 million, the Âcompany has had to develop ever more Âsophisticated programs to manage, sort and pair the world’s singles. Central to this effort has been the development, over the past two years, of an improved matchmaking algorithm.”
Tag: 07.20.11
Planned Cultural Center In Arles, Designed By Frank Gehry, Faces Delay And Site Changes
“Building work on an ambitious Frank Gehry-designed cultural centre in Arles will be delayed for at least six months following concerns over its effect on the French city’s heritage, which includes archaeological sites and views immortalised in paintings by artists such as Van Gogh and Gauguin.”
Native American Design As Imagined By White People: The Strange History Of The Indian Blanket
The Pendleton woolen mill in Oregon, founded in 1893, “played a huge role – perhaps more than any one Indian tribe – in creating these distinctive patterns. Pendleton’s early designers were instrumental in shaping modern conceptions of what Native American designs look like.” (And Pendleton blankets were hugely popular among Native Americans themselves.)
Why Closing Libraries Over Budgets Is Wrong
“Closing libraries is the behaviour of a debased culture. Libraries are not just a source of books. Many of us feel that they symbolise something more, that Britain is a civilised place. And when part of our civilisation is being destroyed, we have to stand up against the barbarians.”
The Future And Technology In Uneven Alignment
“The physics of the twentieth century, with its Alice in Wonderland landscape of black holes and quantum cats, would have seemed impossible, even ludicrous, from the orderly standpoint of the nineteenth. This squishy, fuzzy post-Newtonian physics, in turn, has given birth to technologies and consumer products that would have seemed like rank impossibilities to the likes of Verne and Maxwell.”
Málaga Tries Hard To Stake Its Claim To Picasso
“Although Pablo Picasso left his native Málaga as a child,” and came back to visit once at age 19, “the city has done its utmost to call attention to its connection to him.”
Dutch Government To Switch Bulk of Arts Funding To Per-Project Grants
While seven orchestras, four major dance companies and a few other national-level organizations will continue to receive direct subsidies, medium-sized and smaller companies will lose their four-year grants and will have to apply for funding – from a much smaller pool of money – for each individual project.
Academic Journal Articles Want To Be Free
Matthew Yglesias: “Right now in academic publishing, what you have is basically a lot of donor- and government-financed nonprofit organizations taking outputs with near-zero distribution costs (electronic journal archives) and selling them to each other.” This may make sense for hard-copy journals, but on the Web, “it’s a mix of pointless and pernicious.”
Short Animated Riff On Ramayana Angers Some NYC Hindus
“Sita Sings the Blues, an animated modern take on the Hindu religious epic, The Ramayana , has won awards and been shown at hundreds of locations across the world since its release two years ago. Never has creator Nina Paley faced a problem until now, oddly enough, in Queens, one of the most diverse communities in the country.”
What Killed Borders? (It Wasn’t The Internet)
“Borders had long lost its competitive edge on many fronts, from corporate strategy to coffee. It died by a thousand – OK, maybe just four or five – self-inflicted paper cuts.”