“This story is very sad, but it has so much wrong in it that I think we have to be careful with what’s been reported here. Maybe Ross was sick, maybe he was confused, it’s hard to know what he actually said.”
Month: June 2008
iTunes: Five Billion Songs Sold
Apple’s iTunes “has sold over five billion songs since its 2003 debut, while the iTunes music catalog has ballooned to over eight million tracks. Customers can also choose between over twenty thousand television episodes or over two thousand films, 350 or so of which are available in high definition.”
Screen Actors’ Strike Looking More Likely
“Jitters over renewed labor unrest have mounted in recent days as contract talks between the Screen Actors Guild and the major film and TV studios have grown increasingly rancorous with little or no sign that a settlement is near.”
Why Sleep Shapes Brains
“One large study suggests that REM (rapid eye movement) sleep – during which the brain is highly active – may play a key role in intelligence. The REM phase – can improve people’s ability to remember what they have learned in the day by about 15%. In other species, the evidence is less clear cut…”
Mark Rylance: UK Theatre Should Emulate Broadway’s Emmys
“The thing that struck me was the incredible marketing machine that made the most of the evening to raise awareness of what was happening on Broadway. It’s a shame there isn’t that kind of support around the awards in England. I also really loved the ensemble awards that the drama desk gave out to two companies. I wish there were more of those, like a Best Chorus Award, perhaps.”
Documentaries Are A Tough Sell These Days
Critically acclaimed films about provocative subjects struggle to make money all the time, but rarely have so many lauded documentaries consistently failed to connect at the box office.
Opera Theatre Of St. Louis Names New Director
Timothy O’Leary, 33, who joined Opera Theatre of St. Louis as executive director in January, will be the company’s new general director.
How The Music Album Shrank In Value
Less than 10 years ago, it was common for albums to cost $15 and above. Apple helped redefine what the price of an album could be in the minds of consumers, but Steve Jobs’ company is far from the only reason that albums are costing less and less.
Earliest Computer Music Recording Discovered
It was made in 1951. “The recording captures one of the earliest computers to use short term random access memory playing God Save the King, Baa Baa Black Sheep and a short piece of Glenn Miller’s In The Mood.”
A Sports Writer Reviews Opera
“There is a parallel between what you feel during a top-class rugby match and what an artist feels on stage – and it’s not just the roar of the crowd. The people who are watching influence how you behave: they were viewing Kaufmann and driving him forward, just as they used to inspire me. I could empathise with Kaufmann’s total concentration on the performance, and the way he had to become one with the orchestra, who gave him the power to go beyond the norm.”