“The move to subsume the Brazilian cultural ministry into the education ministry following the recent impeachment and suspension of President Dilma Rousseff has been reversed. … Bitter protests from the arts and culture community followed the initial announcement.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
More Young Classical Musicians Are Rocking Out In Crossover Bands
Classical crossover is hardly new, but groups like Apocalyptica, the Piano Guys, and 2Cellos are taking a harder, more rock-oriented approach than, say, André Rieu or Vanessa-Mae ever did. They’re also acquiring some serious fans and social media mojo.
Could Virtual Reality Transform How Architects Work The Way CAD Did?
“New virtual reality tools will allow architects and designers to create buildings and products intuitively in 3D space around them, according to the director of visualisation studio VRtisan. The technology, which couples VR software created for game designers with hand-held motion controllers, offers designers ‘a completely new tool.'”
‘Creating A New Canon’ Of Latino Theater
The Sol Project “plans to partner with 12 Off Broadway companies to produce one play per season. So far six companies have been announced: New Georges, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, the Public Theater, Labyrinth Theater Company, Atlantic Theater Company and Women’s Project Theater.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 05.26.16
The Tosca effect
Implausible things in opera staging, things any TV show gets right, things that can mar even opera productions that, overall, are quite good — that was the subject of my previous post. This weakens us, … read more
AJBlog: Sandow Published 2016-05-26
Speaking of Politics: ‘A Study in Depravity’
Pamphleteering in England goes back nearly 300 years, represented most famously by such 18th-century polemecists as Henry Fielding and Daniel Defoe, and in America by the British-born Thomas Paine. Even the poet John Milton was … read more
AJBlog: Straight|Up Published 2016-05-26
An Analytical Cornucopia, Wanted or Not
Over the last eleven years, I’ve given at least seventeen keynote addresses and conference papers, and in recent weeks I’ve managed to post all but two of them … read more
AJBlog: PostClassic Published 2016-05-26
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Taking The Nabokov Tour Of The American West
“On his cross-country trips chasing butterflies and researching Lolita, the Russian-born novelist saw more of the United States than did Fitzgerald, Kerouac or Steinbeck.”
Real-Time Computer Translation – Did These Folks Just Invent A Real Babel Fish?
Well, no, not an actual creature that swims into your ear canal and feeds off brain wave radiation, with instant translation from any language as its excretions. (That would actually prove the existence of God – until it didn’t.) “Last week, New York City-based Waverly Labs announced its recent invention, Pilot, a set of two ear buds that costs $299. Scheduled to be released by spring of 2017, the device purports to offer near-simultaneous translation for four languages.”
Neurotic City Folk, It’s True: Peace And Quiet Really Do Make You Crazier
“When you’re incredibly stressed and have a million things to sort out there can be nothing more annoying than zen yoga and deep breathing and people who tell you to chill. … Such irritation isn’t simply irrational, as researchers found that neurotic people find anxiety-inducing environments more restorative than traditionally calm ones.”
Nigeria Has Become A Global Scrabble Superpower
“Scrabble has been a government-sanctioned sport in Nigeria since the 1990s. Tournaments get corporate sponsorship and offer big cash prizes. Results are reported in the media. When the 32-year-old [Wellington] Jighere captured the 2015 world championship in Perth, Australia, he received a congratulatory call from Nigeria’s president. … As a result, Nigeria boasts 23 players in the top 100 in the world rankings, compared to 18 for the United States, 13 for Australia, and 11 for England.”
The Chelsea Hotel And The End Of Bohemian New York
“The Chelsea hotel, on West 23rd Street, is still standing. But it is much diminished from the glory days when it hosted the likes of Dylan Thomas, Sid Vicious and Warhol’s Chelsea Girls. The halls are dusty from sheetrock; the doors are plastic sheets taped to the wall. Developers are hoping to turn the place into a luxury hotel or condos. But there are still some people still clinging to the place.”