“Grand Central Terminal, the main building on Ellis Island and the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden – all among the greatest New York City landmarks – look better today than they have since their earliest years. Many hands were responsible. John Belle was the common denominator. Mr. Belle, the retired founding partner of Beyer Blinder Belle, … died last week at 84.”
Tag: 09.13.16
Dropping The Naked Ladies Was A Good Move For ‘Playboy’
“Americans are liking what they are not seeing in Playboy. The 63-year-old men’s magazine has seen newsstand sales jump 28.4 percent in the first six months after its decision to drop nude photos from its pages, industry statistics show.”
London Has A Plan For ‘Artist Zones’ To Shield Creatives From Ever-Rising Rents
“Dedicated ‘artist zones’ could be created in areas such as Hackney Wick and Peckham to offer protection against developers and soaring rents, under proposals being worked on by the deputy mayor for culture.”
Cindy Sherman, Martin Scorsese To Receive Japan’s Highest Cultural Honor
“The annual Praemium Imperiale recognizes career achievements in five categories: painting, sculpture, architecture, music and theater or film.”
Burning Man’s #SoWhite Problem May Finally Be Getting (A Little) Better
Steven W. Thrasher: “In the summer of 2015, … I interviewed about 30 black people and some other people of color at Burning Man (pretty much all the people of color I could find who would talk to me) … When I returned this year, there was a burning question on many people’s minds: did I think there were more black people at Burning Man a year later? In a word: yes.”
Objects And Even Chores Can Give Meaning To Life, If You Find The Play In Them
Ian Bogost: “Normally we think of play as the opposite of work. Work is the thing you have to do, and then there’s play, the thing you choose to do. But if you think of play as being in things, there are things that are playable, then it becomes the work of figuring out what a thing can do.”
Preserving Disappearing Languages From All Over The World – In One City
“[Toronto’s] roughly 2.8 million residents come from about 200 distinct ethnic origins and speak more than 140 languages and dialects. Of these, [linguist Anastasia] Riehl says, at least a ‘few dozen’ are endangered and several probably don’t even have proper names. “Large multi-ethnic cities like Toronto become the last context for these languages.'”
Gawker Media’s New Owners Delete Six Existing Posts, Staff Rebels
“[Editorial staffers and the new owners at Univision] fought over the decision to delete six posts from the embattled digital media company’s stable of sites … Also expected to be discussed at the meeting was staffers’ request that Univision indemnify them personally for stories published – a request that the media giant denied, sources said.”
Berlin’s Most Famous Nightclub Is Now Officially A Cultural Venue
“A vast dance club housed in a former East Berlin power station, Berghain has somehow managed the impressive feat of becoming world famous while still retaining a reputation as having an underground edge. Now, a regional court has to an extent enshrined its status in law, by ruling that it may join the city’s museums and concert halls in being taxed not as an entertainment business, but as a venue for culture.”
Why WebTV (Remember WebTV?) Was Doomed
“Terrible product ideas are a dime a dozen, but what about ideas that are fascinating, and perhaps executionally sound, but conceptually flawed? How often do they come about? And how often is it that they stick around the market for 17 years, despite fairly limited public interest? … On September 18, 1996 – 20 years ago this week – a startup firm released a device that meant to bring the internet to the living room.”