“So, while we know that old-fashioned social interaction is healthy, what about social interaction that is completely mediated through an electronic screen? When you wake up in the morning and tap on that little blue icon, what impact does it have on you?” Well, …
Author: Matthew Westphal
‘S-Town’ – What Was Put In, What Was Left Out, And How That Was Decided
Pacific Standard‘s Katie Kilkenny talks with S-Town producer and narrator Brian Reed “about structuring his story, gaining subjects’ trust, and choosing what to include.”
A 21st-Century Psychiatrist Analyzes Robert Lowell
Kay Redfield Jamison, a specialist in manic depression and other mood disorders, talks about how Lowell’s poetry changed after being treated with lithium, his own attitude to his mental illness (and that of several of his well-known contemporaries), and the ethics of using the medical records she used (and those she chose not to use) in writing a book about Lowell.
‘Chocolate-Covered Broccoli’ – The Problem With 1990s ‘Edutainment’ Games
“In the infancy of computers, educators quickly figured out that computer games could be a great vessel for both education and entertainment. Problem was, the educators were always better at the teaching part than the game part. Today’s Tedium, in the midst of practicing its home-row keys, ponders why that was. (Includes the story of “the tutor who became a multi-millionaire edutainment innovator because she went to the wrong restaurant”)
Once Upon A Time, ‘Sesame Street’ Was Actually Controversial
Most of us take the show’s educational purpose (learning letters, numbers, and the like) for granted now, but in Sesame Street‘s early years on the air in the 1970s, experts differed enormously over how effective the program was, and the results of studies were all over the place. Some even argued that the Muppet monsters promoted antisocial behavior and aggression.
Whatever Happened To Google’s Grand Plan To Make Every Book Ever Searchable?
“Two things happened to Google Books on the way from moonshot vision to mundane reality. Soon after launch, it quickly fell from the idealistic ether into a legal bog … that finally ended last year, when the US Supreme Court turned down an appeal by the Authors Guild and definitively lifted the legal cloud … But in that time, another change had come over Google Books, one that’s not all that unusual for institutions and people who get caught up in decade-long legal battles: It lost its drive and ambition.”
Founder/Director Of Detroit’s Opera Company Diagnosed With Cancer
“Dr. David DiChiera, founder and artistic director of Michigan Opera Theatre and the man responsible for saving and restoring the Detroit Opera House, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.”
‘Angels In America’ After 25 Years: An Appreciation By The Director Who Staged The 1992 UK Premiere
Declan Donnellan: “Plays without ideas are boring. But all ideas are dead until someone gives them flesh. Angels is full of ideas – bursting with them – but they land in our laps only because they have been vomited up by the living situation.”
The Famous Concert Pianist Who Has No Idea What To Do With Chopin
Steven Osborne: “The only thing I’ve played in the last 20 years by Chopin is the Cello Sonata. I enjoyed doing it, but it was hard work finding my way into the style: I worked out what gestures were going to work and did my best to make it organic. With the music I love playing I don’t have to think in those terms because the gestures come immediately from the feeling I have about the piece. Some day I might suddenly fall in love with Chopin – but the world doesn’t really need another Chopin pianist.” (He doesn’t have much use for Haydn, either.)
Trinity Church Wall Street Sued By Artist For Moving His 9/11 Sculpture
Steve Tobin’s The Trinity Root was made to commemorate a sycamore tree in the churchyard of Trinity’s St. Paul’s Chapel that took the brunt of debris from the Twin Towers (which were across the street) and saved the historic chapel from serious damage. He gave it to Trinity for free in exchange for the promise that the church would keep it in its courtyard permanently. Then, two years ago, a new rector packed the sculpture off to Connecticut.