“In the first instalment of Talking TV, … Tom Brook reports on how television has been at the vanguard of changing perceptions of gay people – especially in the US where the proliferation of gay and lesbian TV characters has arguably created a climate more receptive to the idea of gay marriage.” (video)
Author: Matthew Westphal
Restoration Of Unfinished Leonardo Da Vinci Painting Now On View
Leonardo began work on The Adoration of the Magi in 1481 and abandoned it a year later. “The current restoration project, which began three years ago, has removed much of the dull, oxidized varnish as well as traces of past restoration attempts, revealing many previously hidden details, facial expressions and subtleties of light and shadow.”
Prehistoric Cave Art In Spain To Remain Open For Limited Viewing
The Altamira caves, which had been closed since 2002 out of worries that moisture and body heat from tourists could ultimately damage the 18,000-year-old paintings, were opened earlier this year to a maximum of five visitors for one hour per week. Researchers say there’s been no perceptible damage to the art, and the experiment will continue for at least five more months.
Theater Folk In L.A. Say Entire Scene Needs Overhaul
“A group of theater artists in Los Angeles is calling for major changes in the city’s stage industry, saying that companies are relying on outdated modes of doing business and that union rules over artist compensation, especially at small venues, need revision.”
Using Mel Gibson Movies And Korean Soap Operas To Save Endangered Languages
A new project is using crowdsourced translation to provide subtitles for popular films and television programs in such tongues as Cherokee, Maori, and Basque.
What the Marshmallow Test Really Teaches About Self-Control
“Over the last 50 years, the ‘Marshmallow Test’ has become synonymous with temptation, willpower, and grit. Walter Mischel’s work permeates popular culture.” In a Q&A, Mischel discusses “what the [test] really captures, how schools can use his work to help problem students, why men like Tiger Woods and President Bill Clinton may have suffered ‘willpower fatigue'” – and whether to worry if your pre-schooler flunks the test.
Ig Nobel Prizes For 2014 Include Arts-Related Research
Among the honorees this year were scientists who investigated the differential in pain thresholds of people looking at beautiful art versus ugly art, the neuroscience behind people who see the face of Jesus in a piece of toast or the Virgin Mary in a stain on a wall, and the physics behind one of the hoariest gags in all of slapstock comedy.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 09.24.14
A Question to Nobelist Kandel Reveals A Big Gap At the Met
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts | Published 2014-09-25
The Roots of Author Jeff Hobbs
AJBlog: CultureCrash | Published 2014-09-24
Learning to Be Local
AJBlog: Engaging Matters | Published 2014-09-24
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Atlanta Symphony Lockout: Robert Spano Speaks (More Carefully Than Runnicles)
“Our brilliant and creative musicians, who need to be intimately involved in the creation of our path to the future, have been asked to leave the building – and Atlanta is left with a deafening silence. … If the 10th-largest urban economy in America is incapable of sustaining its cultural jewel, what does that signal about our country?”
The Trouble With “The Death Of Klinghoffer” Isn’t Quite What You Think
Justin Davidson: “I don’t believe that this imperfect opera denigrates Jews, incites hatred, endorses libels, or casts collective blame. It doesn’t glorify terrorists or justify their crimes. What it does do is embed a spasm of thuggish violence in a broad historical context, a job that Adams, librettist Alice Goodman, and the original production’s director and all-around inspiration man, Peter Sellars, have fumbled badly.”