“Countless change blindness studies have showed that we’re extremely bad at noticing when a scene has changed. We fail to notice objects moving, disappearing, or changing color, seemingly right before our eyes. But sometimes we do notice the change. What sorts of changes are we more likely to notice?”
Tag: 09.04.07
Study: Being A Rock Star Is Bad For Your Health
“A rock survivor in Europe, more than 25 years after achieving fame, has a death rate slightly higher than a contemporary with a more conventional career, the research indicated. But American musicians continue to die in greater numbers. Over the first 25 years, the risk of dying is 1.7 times higher. A disproportionate number of deaths are caused by drink or drugs.”
Why Are Americans So Ga-Ga Over Brit Actors?
“To the outsider, the American infatuation with British theatre – specifically its knights and dames – might seem a trifle silly. Dazzled by the crisp accents and whiff of royalty in the titles, plenty of New York audiences swoon at imported London productions, feeling that our workaday theatre has suddenly become a linen-napkin affair.”
Hugo Chavez Puts Up Millions More For Music Ed
“The Venezuelan leader announced the creation of ‘Misión Música’, a government-funded effort to give tuition and instruments to 1 million impoverished children. He made the announcement on his Sunday television show, Aló Presidente, after reading out rapturous British reviews of the youth orchestra’s performances last month at London’s Royal Albert Hall.”
Collectors Vs. The Museum
Relationships between private collectors and museums have become strained in recent years. “The days when gifts or bequests were put on permanent display in galleries named after the donor are largely a thing of the past. Museums claim they can’t afford the space and are often embarrassed about being seen to glorify privilege and affluence.”
Can Superstars Save The Traditional Music Business?
Some big music stars will release albums this fall. “But whether any of them can sell the type of huge numbers that the industry enjoyed two, three years ago — or even last year — remains to be seen. While music sales have been on the downward trend the past few years, this year’s slippage has reached alarming levels, and it’s unclear whether the release of any artist — even two powerhouses on the same day — will prompt consumers to reach for their wallets.”
Terfel Pulls Out Of “Ring”
“Bryn Terfel has pulled out of his highly anticipated appearance in the Royal Opera’s production of Wagner’s ‘Ring’ cycle, citing ‘a particularly stressful family situation’ involving one of his children.”
US Film Industry Files Complaint Against Canada
A US film industry group has filed a trade complaint against Canadian subsidies for film production. The group “claims the U.S. has lost 47,000 jobs per year and an estimated $23 billion US in economic benefits in feature filmmaking since 2000, citing data from the Center for Entertainment Industry Data.”
Why Copy Protection Is A Fool’s Errand
“There are some fundamental truths in the universe. We cannot travel faster than light, and we cannot make a copy protection system that is uncrackable.” Here’s why software locks on music and movies don’t work.
Pre-Pub Date, Author Annotates Novel On Facebook
“Necessity is the mother of invention, the old saying goes. But boredom and the desire to experiment are powerful forces too, says Canadian author Michael Winter. That’s how he came up with the idea to ‘serialize’ his latest novel on Facebook, the hot social-networking site.”