Tag: 08.21.07

With Press, Bellevue Hospital Ventures Into Literature

“(T)he 271-year-old Bellevue Hospital is producing literature — and not just the medical kind. Among the first titles of the Bellevue Literary Press, released this spring, are a novel interweaving themes of sickness and recovery into a 1940s family drama, a collection of editorial cartoons by an accomplished physician-artist, and a nonfiction work that explores the mind-set and meaning of awkwardness. The press plans to release four more books, including another novel, in the fall.”

Harlem’s New Vitality Threatens Historic Record Store

Bobby Robinson’s store, “Bobby’s Happy House, which he opened in 1946, is hardly about selling records, cassettes or CDs anymore. It has become a landmark of Harlem’s black heritage and a place that residents of the neighborhood can call home. … But because Mr. Robinson’s store is no longer lucrative, it may succumb to Harlem’s growing corporate landscape.”

Underpinning Those Magic Tricks: Cognitive Theory

This summer in Las Vegas, scientists at the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness’ annual meeting learned from the pros: stage magicians. “Secretive as they are about specifics, the magicians were as eager as the scientists when it came to discussing the cognitive illusions that masquerade as magic: disguising one action as another, implying data that isn’t there, taking advantage of how the brain fills in gaps — making assumptions, as The Amazing Randi put it, and mistaking them for facts.”

States Fight, Lose Battles Vs. Violent Video Games

“As video games have surged in popularity in recent years, politicians around the country have tried to outlaw the sale of some violent games to children. So far all such efforts have failed.” New York is probably up next, with a law drafted to circumvent the biggest stumbling block. “Put simply, the United States Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution as allowing states broad leeway in regulating minors’ access to sexually explicit material. … Courts have not, however, said that states have a similar right to regulate media based on violence.”

In Tuscany, An Etruscan Tomb Is Unearthed By Locals

The recent unearthing of an Etruscan tomb in Tuscany relied on an unconventional work force: not professional archaeologists but local amateurs. “If it weren’t for amateur groups … much of Italy’s ancient heritage would be even more at risk to random plundering by tomb robbers, said Gabriella Barbieri, who is the state official in charge of protecting the area’s archaeological heritage and granted permission for the excavation. ‘The more citizens are concerned, they more they can help us,’ she said. ‘The state can’t be everywhere at once.'”

Abbado’s Golden Years

When Claudio Abbado “conducts these days, it is a choice occasion. At 74, his schedule reduced after his recovery from stomach cancer six years ago, Mr. Abbado has mostly turned away from the kind of grand institutions he once led — La Scala, the Vienna State Opera, the Berlin Philharmonic — and now pours his limited energies mainly into a few bursts of concerts. He has distilled away the distractions of modern conductorhood, like administration, dealing with unions and constant travel. He plays the music he wants with the musicians he chooses.”