“Four or more years of musical training in childhood was linked to faster neural responses to speech, even for the older adults who had not picked up an instrument for more than 40 years.”
Author: ArtsJournal2
Why Popular Romance Movies Matter Now, And Always Have (It Has To Do With Kant And Hume)
“If the contemporary rom-com is filled with the stresses of urban life — text messages, high heels, workplace drama, stylish high-rise apartments, shopping montages — then the Sparks love story is rooted in an almost pre-digital arcadian space, a stone’s throw from the ocean, filled with ancient trees bathed in golden light.”
Ai Weiwei Backs New, Multimillion Dollar Digital Art ‘Space’
“Ai compiled the list of names of 5,196 student victims via his blog after accusations that shoddy construction work had caused the collapse of thousands of classrooms during the quake.”
The Poet Laureate Who Doesn’t Plan Big
Charles Wright: “I will not be an activist laureate, I don’t think, the way Natasha [Trethewey] was … and certainly not the way Billy Collins was, or Bob Hass, or Rita Dove, or Robert Pinsky; you know, they had programs. I have no program.”
This 18th Century Mystery Painting Inspired The Hit Movie ‘Belle’
“The real journey started with the questions – Who is she? Who is the white girl sitting next to her? But even more importantly – who commissioned the painting?”
How (And Why )To Quit Amazon And Shop In A Real, Bricks And Mortar Bookstore
“By now, purchasing print books in a brick-and-mortar building is something of a lost art, like taking snuff or drinking brandy after dinner. Which is not to say that it’s not worth doing. Quite the opposite.”
You Always Hurt The Ones You Love – Especially If You Expect Their Music For Free
“With scarcity now gone, songs are in the air, a mist we move through like so much department store perfume. We are no longer collecting music; it is collecting us on various platforms.”
David Nadien, Ex-Concertmaster For The NY Phil, Dead At 88
“Concertmasters are typically poached from other orchestras or promoted from within the ranks, but Mr. Nadien, then 40, was a freelance commercial musician. Although Bernstein described him as ‘an extraordinary violinist,’ he had almost no experience playing with a major symphony orchestra.”
The Many Lives Of ‘The Wizard Of Oz’
“It started out as an adaptation of one of the most beloved American children’s books of the early 20th century; now it’s America’s gay national anthem, as well as a launchpad for entire careers of subversive and oppositional film-makers, from David Lynch to John Waters.”
The Secrets Of Storytelling, According To Zadie Smith
“Did I really almost drift away, down that anaemic, intellectual path where storytelling is considered vulgar and characters a stain on the purity of a sentence? Dear Lord – almost.”