“After being forced to go in just two directions, up and down, for more than a century, escalators are finally getting a little freedom. A newly invented moving staircase will be able to twist, bend, spiral and even snake around sharp corners.”
Tag: 12.26.10
What Should Be Done With The Whitney Museum When The Art Moves Downtown?
“An architecture museum done right would help cultivate a public that, in the past decade, has been shocked into caring about building.”
A Philosopher Considers Forgiveness
Charles Griswold: “What is forgiveness? When is it appropriate? Why is it considered to be commendable? Some claim that forgiveness is merely about ridding oneself of vengeful anger; do that, and you have forgiven. But if you were able to banish anger from your soul simply by taking a pill, would the result really be forgiveness?”
The Woman Who Established Western Classical Music in Vietnam
The 92-year-old pianist Thai Thi Lien founded Hanoi’s music conservatory and convinced Ho Chi Minh to fund it, kept the school going throughout the war (students studied in underground bunkers), and mentored two generations of musicians – including her son Dang Thai Son, the first Asian ever to win Warsaw’s International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition.
The YouTube Videos Nobody Watches
“Viral videos get all the attention, feeding into their viral-ness and giving them even more hits. But what about the other end of the scale? More than 35 hours of video are uploaded onto YouTube every minute. Nobody’s watching some of it, not even the people who star in it.”
Dancers: “Black Swan” Perpetuates Stereotypes
“Some Canadian ballet dancers are unhappy about the depiction of the dance world in the psychological thriller Black Swan.”
What Works Online – The Power Of Competing
“Now that 97% of teens and more than half of adults play video games, companies have caught on to the medium’s addictive powers. Websites and apps are using virtual points, levels, leader boards, badges and challenges to motivate people to stay healthy, watch television or read a newspaper.”
Why KCET Never Became A National Player On PBS
“While KCET officials contend they were marginalized by an institutional bias within PBS toward an elite group of East Coast stations, critics are adamant, at times withering, in their view that the local station squandered its potential, surrendered its ambition of becoming a national player and never truly connected with its viewing public – who after all were counted on to largely fund the endeavor.”
Culture Turns To Austerity As A Subject
“There are many similarities between now and the 1930s. Not just economically. Both periods saw shifts in global power and instability. The response to the economic depression came not just in escapism, but also anxiety and psychological depression.”
2010 Was A Great Year For Dance
“Flying in the face of every gloomy prediction about personal spending, last season Sadler’s Wells reported its biggest audiences ever, with 600,000 people turning out to see 136 shows – predominantly of contemporary dance.”