Tag: 09.10.06

The Man Who Saved Geometry

“Geometry was, for much of the 20th century, a discipline very much in jeopardy. It was deemed by a generation of mathematicians to be old-fashioned, a fine recreation for idling away a lazy afternoon, but in essence little more than a trivial tinkering with toys.” But the enemies of geometry didn’t figure on Donald Coxeter…

The Theme Park That’s Beating Disney

Last year Disneyland opened in Hong Kong. The park “has struggled a bit in its debut year in Hong Kong. Its park hasn’t quite reached its first-year attendance goal of 5.6 million, and its had some hiccups along the way.” By contrast another Hong Kong park is thriving. “In the past year, Ocean Park has experienced its largest attendance boom ever, luring customers with its cheaper ticket prices and diverse attractions like dolphin shows and a cable car ride with stunning views of the South China Sea.”

The Memorials Of 9/11

“Almost from the minute the black smoke and human dust cleared, people began to talk about how to commemorate the event, how to impose a sense of meaning and logic on a moment of blood, fire, chaos and death. Abraham Lincoln had done it in 1863 with just 272 words at Gettysburg, another scene of American destruction, memorializing the dead and challenging the living in a speech that has outlived memories of the battle itself. In this postindustrial and postmodern age, we are using granite, steel, glass, cyberspace, music, film and, sometimes, our own bodies to remember September 11.”

This Fall’s Broadway – Same Old Thing?

“For most of its history, Broadway was like a train station. Shows came and went; some big hits would stick around for a few years, then leave before too long. But things have changed, or to be precise, stopped changing. September is traditionally the time when the marquees light up with new titles, productions fresh from the road tryout or from a successful run at a smaller theater. This year, however, 10 of the shows on Broadway have played more than 1,000 performances, 7 of them more than 2,000.”

How Do You Plan For The New Cities?

“This is the first year in history when more than half of the world’s population is resident in cities. A century ago that figure was 10 per cent and in 20 years it will be 75 per cent. This escalation is almost entirely attributable to the rapidly developing economies of Asia, Africa and South America, where a vast exodus from the countryside is underway.”

Recalling The Pain

The fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks will be inescapable this weekend, but how many tributes can we stomach? It’s a question that artists and musicians have been facing since the first days after the attacks, and the answer seems to be that it all depends. “Some genres are inherently more concrete and visceral than others. A television show or film might punch viewers in the stomach, while a novel or song taps them on the shoulder. The answer also has to do with the type of story that the artworks choose to tell, and whether the way that story is told makes us more anxious and afraid or offers some hard-won comfort.”