When it comes to interpreting the world around us, we need to realise that our feelings can trump our expertise. This explains why we buy things we don’t need, fall for the wrong kind of romantic partner, or vote for politicians who betray our trust. In particular, it explains why we so often buy into statistical claims that even a moment’s thought would tell us cannot be true. Sometimes, we want to be fooled. – The Guardian
Month: September 2020
Giant Sculpture That Sings — Flight 93 National Memorial Is A Massive Wind Chime
To mark the place in Pennsylvania where the fourth plane went down on 9/11/01, architect Paul Murdoch and his team designed the Tower of Voices, a 93-foot-tall open-air structure with 40 specially designed and tuned aluminum chimes, one for each passenger and crew member. Carolina Miranda talks to Murdoch and others about the incredible technical and aesthetic (and, yes, political) challenges that building the memorial posed. – Los Angeles Times
Minnesota Public Radio Fires Its Only Black Classical Music Host
Garrett McQueen said he was taken off the air after his shift on Aug. 25. He was then given two warnings — one of which was about his need to improve communication and the other warning was for switching out scheduled music to play pieces he felt were more appropriate to the moment and more diverse, McQueen told MPR News. – MPR
How To Remake American Theater In The Wake Of COVID? Five New York Times Critics Offer Their Ideas
“Things clearly had to change — and with the enforced pause of the pandemic, the opportunity has now arrived in the nick of time. If ever there was a need, and a moment, to fix the theater, this is it. So for the six-month anniversary of the shutdown, The New York Times asked its theater critics … what those fixes might look like.” – The New York Times
20 Stage Professionals Weigh In On How To ‘Revolutionize’ American Theater
“Here, six months after most stages went dark, 20 theater figures — many far from the heart of the commercial sector — offer their own suggestions.” – The New York Times
Fauci: When It Will Be Safe To Go Back Into Theatres
Basically, a year after the vaccine. Anthony Fauci made his prediction in a 30-minute interview with the actress Jennifer Garner on Instagram Live about vaccines, lockdowns, and the coming flu season. – Business Insider
How Does This Classical Music TV Series Attract Millions Of Viewers? It’s Made Like A Cooking Show
Each episode of Now Hear This “manages to turn its exploration of a single subject into a hybrid of travelogue, mystery, history, cultural study, documentary and performance — all with … intricate webs of narrative that connect composers across episodes and eras.” Showrunner Harry Lynch and host Scott Yoo freely acknowledge that they were inspired by the approach of food-TV stars such as Anthony Bourdain. – The Washington Post
#CancelNetflix Becomes A Thing As Anger Mounts Over Film Sexualizing Young Girls
“Controversial French film Cuties — about a young Senegalese girl in Paris who joins a ‘free-spirited dance clique’ to escape family dysfunction — has spawned a new backlash against Netflix by critics who allege it goes over the line in portraying children in a sexualized manner.” – Variety
Where Do Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Stand on the Arts?
“With the election less than two months away, Hyperallergic looked at the Democratic candidate and his running mate’s track record in the field, from legislative achievements to museum affiliations and general support of the industry.” – Hyperallergic
TikTok Says It’s Paying Out Hundreds Of Millions To Video Creators. Some Of Those Creators Are Ticked Off
It seemed like very good news when the company said it was setting aside $200 million to compensate the users who make its mini-videos. It seemed even better news when TikTok raised the amount to $1 billion in the U.S. and at least $1 billion more overseas. Now some of those creators say they’re getting a few dollars a day even when they get six-figure view numbers; others say their traffic mysteriously drops after they sign up. Many say the program is far from transparent. – Wired