Tag: 09.11.05

Media – Killing The Ideas In Science

“Why is science in the media so often pointless, simplistic, boring, or just plain wrong? Like a proper little Darwin, I’ve been collecting specimens, making careful observations, and now I’m ready to present my theory. It is my hypothesis that in their choice of stories, and the way they cover them, the media create a parody of science, for their own means. They then attack this parody as if they were critiquing science.”

Phoenix Symphony Looks To Better Times

The Phoenix Symphony has shown a deficit in 15 of its 22 years in existence. Not this year though; they’re in the black. “The announcement comes in the wake of the completed $18 million renovation of Symphony Hall in downtown Phoenix, the hiring of young phenom conductor Michael Christie and a landmark six-year labor agreement between management and musicians. The tide finally might be turning for the much-beleaguered symphony.”

Fallen Idol – The Fake Talent Shows

Why are bad talent shows such hot business on TV? “Who’s to blame for those gladiatorial talent shows if not the millions of people who ring in to register their votes? Light entertainment is now a slave to the users of mobile phones, which allows you to understand why phone companies are falling over themselves to sponsor these shows and raise their profits. It’s a fake new democracy: people get to vote for their favourite bad singer and feel they’re involved in creating an entertainment phenomenon, while raising their own personal connection to the processes of fame.”

A “Sound of Music” Museum?

The city of Salzburg is considering building a museum for “The Sound of Music.” “Discussions are under way to create a centre about the Von Trapp family, whose story was told in the 1965 Hollywood classic about a family singing troupe that flees the Nazis. Around 300,000 people visit Salzburg each year simply because of the movie.”

Cultureshock – New Orleans Culture On The Run

“Last year, the city hosted more than 10 million visitors, many to sample that cuisine and music scene, and was on track this year to eclipse those figures. The city also was having success with tax incentives to film companies, making it possible for the filming of “All the King’s Men,” “The Skeleton Key” and parts of “The Dukes of Hazzard” and other films. Now, the bedrock and lifeblood of the city and the culture that it spawned have been threatened by flood waters and disease and a forced exodus.”

Why Hollywood Reads

Hollywood loves books. Always has. “Hollywood is essentially a story maw; it gobbles up narrative from any source — comic books have been big of late, ’70s TV shows have become a staple, before that magazine articles, plays, myths, legends, songs even, all had their run as big source material. But the book, the novel particularly, has been a font of movies for seemingly ever.”