“New technologies have given us access to countless channels for music, television and film — and we can sample them whenever we find it convenient. But as the options multiply, are we losing our sense of a common culture?”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Romeo And Juliet, As People Misremembered It
A new version of “Romeo and Juliet” is based “on the fuzzy recollections of people who read it in high school. … The result is a hilarious mishmash of half-recalled quotes, mixed-up plot points and wild digressions — all performed in the traditional Shakespearean style.”
A Common Human Tendency: Procrastination Of Pleasure
Researchers “have begun to explore the strange impulse to put off until tomorrow what could be enjoyed today. Why, for instance, is it so hard to find time to visit landmarks in your own backyard?”
Matt Turney, Graham Dancer For Two Decades, Dies at 84
“Matt Turney, a principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, died on Dec. 20 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. … Tall, serene and lyrical, Ms. Turney did not fit the stereotype of the Graham performer.”
In Cuba-US Relations, Both Sides Try Arts Diplomacy
“[A] movement by [Cuban] artists, scholars and businessmen to change United States policy toward Cuba from the bottom up” has an American counterpart: “the Obama administration has quietly expanded cultural and academic exchanges as a way of reaching out directly to Cuban people. Many of those who participate try to avoid politics.”
How Those Accountants Tally Oscar Nominee Ballots
“This is a very low-tech process, one that involves stacking ballots on a table — and not leaving a paper trail. Called the ‘preferential system,’ it’s an intricate and little-used process also known as instant runoff voting.”
Who’s Responsible For New Year’s Madness? Clockmakers.
Simon Winchester: “Clocks are the real key. The whole notion of bidding formal and raucous farewell to the Old and offering optimistic greeting to the New was something that could really only occur once we in the public square knew when the exact moment of midnight was.”
The ’00s In Architecture
“It was an era when architecture became hotter and hipper than ever, yet too often was treated as a three-dimensional marketing tool. In fact, it’s the art form that shapes the world in which we live, with long-term implications for the environment and our civic culture.”
Mass. City Seeks $3K To Preserve Frost’s Attendance Log
Robert Frost used the log “when he taught grammar school more than a century ago. … ‘It’s very important,’ [Methuen] Mayor William M. Manzi III said in a telephone interview today. ‘It’s actually more than a book just with a signature in it. It’s actually in Robert Frost’s hand.'”
As Studios Encroach On Their Turf, Cinemas Put Up A Fight
“Exhibitors have drawn a line in the sand, steadfastly resisting the compression of release dates that they view as a threat to their livelihood. They get nervous when a studio attempts to release a movie on DVD less than 90 days after opening in theaters. Nonetheless, theater executives now are acknowledging they may need to adapt.”