Geoff Dyer: “These days, unless I find myself in very unusual circumstances, I’m reluctant to read a book that shows any sign of prior occupancy. Mainly but not exclusively cosmetic, this aversion has proceeded in tandem with an increasing unwillingness to take other people’s readings — their opinions of what they have read — at face value.”
Tag: 08.28.11
Live In A Community? Time To Evolve
Communities, just like species, can evolve, says evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson, but it takes a lot of awareness and work.
They Say The Neon Lights Are Bright – And They Have Been For 100 Years
“Neon is the gas that has happily leant itself to the most ignoble uses,” writes Peter Conrad of the century-old gas. “Neon plays nasty games with us: it goads us to misbehave, then utters this kind of thunderous reproach.”
Turning A Concert Hall Into Art – With Audience Help
In Iceland’s new concert hall, “the big glass wall is active and interactive, made up of the movements of people inside and outside the building, who then take more notice of one another. It is this that sets Harpa, which is in fact a glass box with wonky angles, apart from many other examples of the genre.”
Bookstores Are Dying! Or Not, Says Ann Patchett
Novelist Ann Patchett goes on tour and discovers that “just because some people like their e-readers doesn’t mean we should sweep all the remaining paperbacks in a pile and strike a match. Maybe bookstores are no longer 30,000 square feet, but they are selling books.”
We’re Killing The Movies – But We Can Do Better
Mark Kermode: “This has become the shrieking refrain of 21st-century film (anti)culture – the idea that critics are just too clever for their own good, have seen too many movies to know what the average punter wants, and are therefore sorely unqualified to pass judgment on the popcorn fodder that “real” cinema-goers demand from the movies. This is baloney.”
From Principal To Teacher – New Ballet Master For Boston
Larissa Ponomarenko, who thrilled Boston audiences in both classical and modern ballets, turns her technique to teaching. “Every chapter in life or in nature ends at some point,’’ she says. “Of course, dancing onstage, nothing can compare to that.’’
Broadway: Dark For Irene
Everything’s off on Broadway — and Off-Broadway — as Irene hits the city. But what do theatre artists do on their unplanned holidays?
European Funding Model Dying, But Attendance Up At Festivals
“State support for culture — long posited as a taxpayer’s right, like decent roads or health care — is showing distinct signs of erosion, with a move toward the American fund-raising model, which suggests that art is a luxury to be paid for by those to whom it matters.”
Press “Print” For Your New Earrings – Or Table
“Virtually anything you can imagine, you can create – from earrings or shoes to an aeroplane or even a house. And instead of a factory-based production line, it’s all about the one-off, tweaked to exact specifications.”