“‘Every increase of one letter in the average length of words describing a dish is associated with an increase of 69 cents in the price of that dish.’ Compared with inexpensive restaurants, the expensive ones are ‘three times less likely to talk about the diner’s choice’ (your way, etc.) and ‘seven times more likely to talk about the chef’s choice’.”
Tag: 08.13.14
Could An Arts Council Work In San Diego County?
“[Advocates say] it’s time for the county to look for a new, more transparent, professional and equitable option for funding the arts.” And there’s no reason an arts council (like the one in, say, the city of San Diego) couldn’t work. But it probably won’t.
Radio Disney Gives Up On Over-The-Air Transmission
After finding out that only 18% of its listeners tune in via AM or FM radio, the network’s execs have decided to sell all but one of its 24 U.S. stations. (Radio Disney will keep its L.A.-based flagship station, which will produce and distribute the national digital and satellite feed.)
Metaphors Really Are Powerful (But You Won’t Believe Us If You Happen To Be Smelling Something Fishy)
Research psychologists call them metaphorical effects: “instances in which a metaphor commonly used to describe a psychological state or social reality can, in turn, induce that state or reality. So, for example, holding a warm cup of coffee makes people feel warmly toward each other … and cleaning one’s hands makes a person feel morally clean.”
A Kickstarter For Producing Broadway Shows
“Putting a new spin on crowdsourcing and the very risky business of producing Broadway shows, investors Howard and Janet Kagan have launched a new online investment platform invest.maxolev.com, offering equity in Broadway productions.” Their first venture,
Artist Who Smashed Ai Weiwei Vase Pleads Guilty, Gets Probation
Máximo Caminero will spend 18 months on probation, do 100 hours of community service and reimburse the insurance company $10,000, but he’ll avoid further jail time for dropping one of Ai’s painted Han Dynasty urn in front of a photograph of Ai dropping a Han Dynasty urn.
Benjamin Millepied Really Is Staying Involved With L.A. Dance Project
When the news hit that Millepied was to be artistic director of the Paris Opera Ballet beginning this fall, observers were skeptical (despite his protestations) that he’d continue to pay attention to the company he had founded just in 2012. Now LADP has announced it will premiere a new Millepied work in October.
Why Watching Classical Music Through A Performer’s Google Glass Is A Waste Of Time
“Seeing a musical or operatic performance from only one performer’s point of view actually destroys the experience. It confuses ordinary reality with the artificial reality that art creates. … If you see [an opera] though the eyes of one participant, the performance is revealed for what it actually is; a bunch of people in fancy dress shouting in a foreign language.”
Why It’s So Hard to Catch Your Own Typos
“If we are our own harshest critics, why do we miss those annoying little details? The reason typos get through isn’t because we’re stupid or careless, it’s because what we’re doing is actually very smart.”
America Has The Most Ridiculous Mythical Creatures The World Has Ever Known
“Hands down. Nowhere else has a mythology formed so beautifully in a perfect amalgam of too much whiskey, too little sleep, and perhaps some accidentally consumed magic mushrooms.”