For real, and for instance, many of us may be living or working in mushroom buildings: “Mycotecture – architectural building blocks that are formed from the fibrous material of fungal roots – are as strong as concrete and as insulating as fibreglass.”
Tag: 11.22.17
Nashville Singers Save Their Best Songs For Last, But Why?
Seriously, where did this formula come from? (And in an era that prioritizes singles far, far above album construction – remember “albums”? – how is this meaningful in the slightest?)
Here’s Prokofiev, Balancing Between Stravinsky And Haydn, Trying To Decide How To Be Himself
Maybe he was a bit of a jokester: “This was Prokofiev doing his best impression of those guys, but not in the way he had youthfully aped Stravinksy’s style. This time it was, bear with me, a bit. A joke. You’re supposed to be in on the ‘Classical’ Symphony. Recognize its themes and rhythms and what he’s doing.”
Will ‘Mudbound’ Be The Netflix Movie That Breaks Netflix’s Oscar Drought?
Director Dee Rees, who did Pariah in 2011 and HBO’s Bessie in 2015, had a much larger budget – and has much more marketing backing – for this movie, but she also says, “A bigger budget can buy you more background … but it’s not going to buy you better performances. For me, the directing work is still in the performances. It’s still in the blocking, the composition. Money doesn’t buy you better frames, you know what I mean?”
The FBI’s Long History Of Investigating Black Musicians
The FBI’s focus on black musicians has its roots in the agency’s Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO), which led to the surveillance of several of the most important black jazz musicians of the mid-20th century.
Why Are Our Buildings So Tightly Sealed?
“Our current built environment squanders too much fresh water and other vital resources, and tips too many poisonous substances into our surroundings. To develop a more sustainable relationship with the natural world, we need to allow chemical exchanges that take place within our living spaces, and between the inside and the outside. We need to embrace permeability.”
The ‘Psychedelic Dream Homes’ Of El Alto, Bolivia
A Times 360 video tour of the exuberant architecture of Freddy Mamani Silvestre, a Bolivian architect whose house designs for the world’s highest city (El Alto, at 14,000 feet, sits on a plateau above La Paz) incorporate visual motifs and colors from the indigenous Aymara culture.
Putin’s Cultural Forum Turns Into Debate Over Artistic Freedom In Russia
“The Russian government’s annual St Petersburg International Cultural Forum (16-18 November) set off a new round of debate about the state of artistic freedom in Russia, with officials saying it is flourishing and a model for the world and the liberal intelligentsia saying it is under attack.”
A Year After Strike, Pittsburgh Symphony Is On The Mend
Says board of directors vice chairman Tony Bucci, “Last year, right, wrong, agree, disagree, ugly or nice, we confronted our problems.”
Baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky Dead Of Brain Cancer At 55
“A favorite of audiences thanks to his alluring voice and heartthrob presence, Mr. Hvorostovsky cut a striking figure, his trim 6-foot-1 frame topped by a mane of prematurely white hair. He also had a compelling personal story: He escaped the street-gang life as a teenager in a grim Siberian city, found his talent there despite the region’s cultural isolation, and overcame a tempestuous drinking problem that could have ruined his career.”