The hosts of National Firewood Night, a 12-hour broadcast of logs being cut and then burned, invited viewers to submit advice via Facebook on how to position the wood. “I couldn’t go to bed because I was so excited,” one commenter wrote on the Web site of Dagbladet, a Norwegian newspaper. “When will they add new logs?”
Tag: 12.22.13
More Words Yes, But We’re Not Really Having Conversations
“We’re talking all the time, in person as well as in texts, in e-mails, over the phone, on Facebook and Twitter. The world is more talkative now, in many ways, than it’s ever been. The problem, Sherry Turkle argues, is that all of this talk can come at the expense of conversation. We’re talking at each other rather than with each other.”
Saving the Lost Art of Conversation
“In a fast-paced digital age, an MIT psychologist tries to slow us down” – with the help of the age-old technique of eavesdropping.
What May Surprise You About Duck Dynasty
Virginia Cannon: “Admittedly, a reality show about a hunting clan of self-proclaimed rednecks in West Monroe, Louisiana, sounded problematic to me, too – like having to spend time at home with a southern branch of the Palins. But what is remarkable about the show, at least what I’ve seen of it, is its gentle nature.”
Why Hungary’s Most Famous Musician Can’t Perform There
“I have been threatened that if I return to Hungary, they will cut off both of my hands. I don’t want to risk physical and mental assault.”
Can An Obscure Database Help ID Nazi-Looted Art?
“Questions about the origins of the Gurlitt trove, which includes works by Picasso, Matisse, Chagall and Renoir, have riveted the world. While German authorities have yet to divulge the identity of all the works, they have said they believe that less than half of them were stolen from Jewish owners.”
In Italy, Culture Intertwines With Politics (Sometimes Not So Legally)
“For years, the books kept coming. A precious edition by Thomas More. Leather-bound volumes from the Italian Renaissance. Some stolen from the Baroque-era Girolamini Library in Naples, given as gifts to an influential longtime consigliere to former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.”
Sundance: It’s Not Just For Movies Anymore
“Sundance’s growing influence on theater comes after two decades of gradually increasing the number of labs and workshops it holds each year and broadening its search for the next great, risk-taking playwright.”
Julian Myers, 95, Publicist To Marilyn Monroe And Elvis Presley
“Known for his good humor, smart wardrobe and old school stunts, he told Variety in 1992 — past most people’s retirement age — that he was opening ’round-the-clock’ offices.”
Making Fewer Films – And More Money
“Profitability is the new mantra. The film business is now in survival mode, as changed viewing habits, a long decline in home entertainment sales, and fresh competition for viewers in rich foreign film markets like China take their toll.”