“You are not on LSD. All sail and no boat, it’s a vision, one that provoked a perfectly sober, gainfully employed psychologist seeing the building for the first time to respond: ‘I nearly wept in awe. Amazed by how soft, alive and enfolding it is.'”
Month: November 2014
The Celebrated New Science Fiction Writer Suddenly Exposed As A Longtime, Vicious Troll
“In outing and rushing to condemn Sriduangkaew, are sci-fi fans perpetuating a sexist, even racist double standard? Or are minority voices, on the contrary, so prized in sci-fi/fantasy publishing that their fans will go to any lengths to excuse them?”
When Aging Boy Banders Try To Reclaim A Piece Of The Pop Music Money Pie
“They’re taking a mode of salesmanship that’s traditionally worked on impressionable, wildly hormonal young girls and turning it towards two groups — the gays and the moms — who someone on their team decided would be the next-most susceptible.”
Hans Zimmer’s Score For “Interstellar”, Isn’t Just LOUD, It’s Ingenious And Brilliant
“In fact, in order to do its supporting job as a score for a film that depends on so many difficult concepts, it had to be smart: Emotional heft alone won’t cut it when your camera is headed for a singularity. Zimmer had to find musical ways of reinforcing Nolan’s astrophysics textbook of a script.”
Greco-Roman Myth And “The Hunger Games”
Katniss Everdeen is an updated Theseus; the Capitol is a reflection of the Rome described by Tacitus.
“Bonfire Of The Inanities”: The Awl Has At The New York Times Styles Section
“Like a marathon watching of Sex and the City, a sustained reading of Styles reveals more about both the culture and New York City than you might think from a look at a single issue. … The Styles section may well be pretty stupid sometimes. It’s also a richer and more complex entity than any of us would like to believe.”
Another Spanish Artist Rejects A National Prize
“The latest is the Catalan photographer known as Colita, born Isabel Steva Hernández, who last week refused to accept the National Photography Prize, worth €30,000, … [writing,] ‘The situation of culture and education in Spain is shameful, embarrassing and heartbreaking. It is not possible that such a ministry exists. It is a chimera.'”
A Bike Path Modeled On Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”
“The ‘Van Gogh-Roosegaarde’ cycle avenue debuted this week just outside of Eindhoven, the design capital of the southern Netherlands.”
The Secrets Of “Serial”‘s Success
The multi-episode spinoff of This American Life is now the most downloaded podcast at iTunes, and entertainment blogs run the sorts of recaps and discussions that are usually the province of juggernaut TV shows like Breaking Bad and Downton Abbey. Laura Miller considers the ingredients that make Serial such a hit.
Tony Committee Agrees To Consider Reviving Sound Design Category
“The Tony Awards administration committee … on Thursday asked the rules committee for the Tonys to review a request by theatrical sound designers, Broadway actors, and many others to restore Tony Awards for best sound design for a play and for a musical. The administration committee eliminated those two awards in June.”