“I’m not saying News Corp. or Conde Nast, publisher of Vogue and GQ, would have been worth as much as Google if they hadn’t bought into the iPad hype. But they did lose precious time and money following Apple down the iPad rabbit hole when they could have focused on Facebook, internet video, smartphone apps, mobile websites, their own subscription products or other promising areas. Newspaper and magazine publishers no longer treat the iPad as a priority, if they devote resources to it at all.”
Author: Douglas McLennan
Ferry McFerryface? Social Media Naming Vote Goes Wrong (But Not The Way You Think)
When the name was announced back in November, Transport Minister Constance tweeted as though his hands were tied and there was nothing he could do. He said that while Ferry McFerryfacce wasn’t “everyone’s cup of tea,” the “people voted for it.” It turns out that was a lie.
Window Cleaner Rushes To Save Banksy Mural After It Had Been Painted Over
“I was just going to bed when I’d seen that it had been painted over, and someone had said it was still wet,” he said. “Banksy, love him or hate him, has international prestige and he’d gifted the city with his art.” The window cleaner already had his ladders and other equipment prepared for his Monday morning shift, so he headed straight to the bridge in an attempt to save the mural.
UK Government: Foreign Languages Versus Arts Education
Under their model, “modern foreign languages teaching hours are increased at the expense of subjects other than biology, chemistry, classics, English, geography, history, mathematics, and physics teaching hours”. Consequently, 51,000 more curriculum hours are being planned for languages by 2022, which is to be achieved, in part, by cutting hours for art & design, design & technology, drama and music by a collective 19,000 hours.
The Condescension Of Calling Something Out
When is the last time you heard someone say outright that someone else is watching wrong? These days, to call out wrongness or falseness or badness is to risk being accused of condescension. The desire to make such accusations is taken as a mark of unacknowledged privilege. It’s understood as likely to hurt someone’s feelings. People prefer to play it safe. They hesitate to make such critical judgments.
How Artificial Will Judge Us (The Star System? Really?)
The reputation economy is based on the simplistic, but effective star ratings system. Anyone who’s ever rated their Uber driver or Airbnb host has actively participated. But what happens when algorithms, rather than humans, determine an individual’s reputation score based on multiple data sources and mathematical formulas, promising more accuracy and more flexibility via machine learning?
The Curious History Of Cinerama Movies
Cinerama movies highlight some of the questions facing modern film preservation. Is it worth restoring films that can’t be seen properly? Only three theaters on Earth — in Los Angeles, Seattle and Bradford, England — can still screen the first form of Cinerama, which required three projectors running simultaneously, each aimed at a different part of an enormous screen.
How Artists Are Helping Rebuild Puerto Rico
Through decades of economic hardship, and years of financial crisis, the art world in Puerto Rico has had to learn to survive during lean times through a new artistic “sharing” economy — sharing knowledge; resources; and access to infrastructure, materials and spaces. Might these artists now serve as an example — and catalyst — for other communities?
The Great Art Of Monstrous Geniuses (What To Do?)
Despite ample evidence to the contrary, many people remain stubbornly inclined to believe that great artists like Levine are somehow immune to the temptation to conduct themselves contemptibly. So it will be interesting to see what happens when the attention of the public turns, as it undoubtedly will, to the misconduct of still greater artists of the past.
Canadian Theatre Pioneer Sean Mulcahy, 91
Mulcahy established Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre as a major hub. He doubled the subscriptions and the theatre was packed every night. Mr. Mulcahy was fired in 1972 for criticizing the theatre’s leadership. At the time, he said it was because of “several irritating dissatisfactions I am undergoing with the theatre’s administration.” Mr. Mulcahy was the artistic director at five other Canadian theatres, most of them in smaller cities, from Fredericton, where he was director of the Playhouse, to the Press Theatre in St. Catharines, Ont. He was co-artistic director of the Shaw Festival’s first professional season. He also continued acting.