What if a journalist writes a thought-provoking, well-supported, fact-checked, fascinating story that turns the world as we know it on its head – and the central premise is utterly wrong?
Tag: 11.05.12
Europe’s Latest Tall Building Is A Leaning Tower Of Pink
“A towering beacon of pink mirrored glass has overtaken the Shard to become the tallest building in Europe. Moscow’s Mercury City tower, which topped out on Thursday, now rises to 339m, making it 29m taller than London’s own crystalline pyramid.” (The Shard held its title for only four months.)
Neuroscience Is Changing Everything, Even Architecture
“Today, the near 10-year-old Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture believes that neuroscience could make science’s greatest contribution to the field of architecture since physics informed fundamental structural methods, acoustic designs, and lighting calculations in the late 19th century.”
‘I Numb My Intellect With Scotch And Water’: Kurt Vonnegut’s Daily Routine
From a letter to his wife: “In an unmoored life like mine, sleep and hunger and work arrange themselves to suit themselves, without consulting me. I’m just as glad they haven’t consulted me about the tiresome details. … Last night, time and my body decided to take me to the movies. I saw The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, which I took very hard.”
Canada’s Richest Theatre Prize ($100K), In Its Final Year, Goes To Lighting Designer
“Montreal-based lighting designer Robert Thomson has won the 2012 Elinore & Lou Siminovitch Prize in Theatre, the largest theatre award in Canada. It is the 12th and final year for the prize, which asks winners to choose a protégé to share a prize pot of $100,000.”
In China, Reviving An Ancient City And Its Craft Traditions
The streets and alleys of Cicheng are home to houses and temples dating back more than a millennium. Local officials, hoping to keep the city from becoming merely a tourist attraction, “have embarked on an ambitious program to revitalize Cicheng’s craft traditions by encouraging artisans and designers to study and work there.”
Are You Responsible For The Outcome Of The Election?
“We’ve all heard arguments that go something like this: it’s not rational to vote, because the probability that your vote will make a difference is vanishingly small. … I think there are also psychological forces that drive us to the ballot box, forces that stem from the way we attribute responsibility.”
Growth Of EBook Share Of Book Sales Slows In Second Quarter
“E-books accounted for 22% of all book spending in the second quarter of 2012, only a one percentage point gain from the first quarter of the year, but up from 14% in the comparable period in 2011.”
How Star Wars Wrecked George Lucas’ Life
“When the sale of Lucasfilm was announced last week, it felt partly inevitable. Mainstream success had taken its toll on Lucas. The experimental sci-fi films he had vowed to create once he made it big never materialized. In effect, he became what he once reviled: the corporate chieftain of a company for which scale and sparkle and box office numbers trumped the specifics of his artistic vision.”
US Supreme Court To Rule On Importing Copyright Rules
“At stake in this important and knotty case is whether copyright holders — publishers, filmmakers, musicians and creative artists of all sorts — can sell their copyrighted works abroad at prices different from what they charge in the American market and rely on copyright law to help maintain the separate pricing without having importers profit from the difference.”