Blog

In Rats, At Least, Brain Goes Nuts For Sugar

Scientists have pinpointed a spot in the brain that associates pleasure with sweet tatses. “Sweetness by itself is merely a sensation, they note. Its pleasure arises within the brain, where neural systems actively paint pleasure onto the sensation to generate a ‘liking’ reaction. The study pinpointed a pleasure spot within a larger part of the brain responsible for appetite in the nucleus accumbens, the lower front of the brain. There’s a ‘liking’ cube tucked within a larger ‘wanting’ cube.”

Star Turn: Alicia Graf

Alicia Graf has “been discovered not once but twice, is a dynamic young star capable of driving normally sober New York dance critics into paroxysms of delight. The first discovery came when she performed as a teenager with Dance Theater of Harlem in the late 1990’s. Now she is at it again in her first year with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater…”

The “Angriest Black Man In America”?

Aaron MacGruder’s Boondocks comic strip runs in 300 American newspapers. “Taking on the prevailing American mainstream, as well as the establishments of both the liberal left and black America, has made his strip popular, but it must make him lonely. With so few black and leftwing voices out there, how does he balance the demands of the under-represented constituencies of which he considers himself a part, and the demands of his cartoon?”

Children’s Museum Joins Boston’s Museum Boom

Boston’s Children’s Museum is about to begin construction of a $45 million expansion. “With the announcement, the Children’s Museum joins an unprecedented cultural building boom in Boston. Other projects include the Museum of Fine Arts, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Museum of Science, and a pair of museums slated for the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The closest in proximity to the Children’s Museum is the Institute of Contemporary Art, set to open on nearby Fan Pier in September.”

Zukerman’s Curious Working “Vacation”

Pinchas Zukerman’s abrupt decision to skip out on the second half of the sesaon with his National Arts Center Orchestra is puzzling. “During the 5½ months he won’t be performing with the NACO, Zukerman is booked for dozens of guest appearances with 14 orchestras on three continents. In sum, Zukerman is skipping out of his salaried gig, but keeping all the freelance work.” Doesn’t sound like a man “taking a sabbatical”…

Digital Conversion – CD Sales Fall, Downloads Rise

“According to Nielsen SoundScan, the information system that tracks sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada, sales of music CDs in the States are down almost 7 percent from last year. Album sales in 2004 totaled 480.6 million; sales through late October of this year reached 446.9 million. Meanwhile, legal digital downloading shows no signs of slowing down. Nielsen reported digital sales in 2004 of 101 million. Spurred by the iPod revolution, that number grew to 264.4 million this year. There are more than 230 online sites where consumers can buy music legally, up from 50 a year ago.”

A Guide For Everything, Anytime

“In the digital age, everyone’s a tour guide. Professionals and amateurs alike want to show you around neighborhoods, museums and historic sites around the world. Whether you download them to your Nano, connect via cell phone or load a CD into your Discman, the experience is the same: Hit Play or the Call button at a designated spot, go where you’re told and allow a local expert to turn your walk into a narrated tour.”

The Writer And The Immigration Service

Beijing-born writer Yiyun Li has “had stories published in prestige magazines such as the New Yorker and the Paris Review. She’s won the Pushcart Prize and the Plimpton Prize for New Writers. Random House has signed her to a $200,000, two-book contract. Her first book, a story collection called ‘A Thousand Years of Good Prayers,’ was published this fall to wide praise. Now she has another problem: How do you explain to the federal immigration bureaucracy what the word ‘extraordinary’ means?”

Lebrecht’s Holiday List Of Orchestra Woes

“Put starkly: since the millennium, the orchestral economy has been under siege on five fronts. Public funding has been frozen or yoked to energy-sapping political impositions – social inclusion, multiculturalism, primary school education. Faith in corporate and private support turned fragile in the aftermath of the Enron and Alberto Vilar scandals when donors failed to deliver cast-iron pledges. Boxoffice has been volatile since 9/11. Any terror or bird flu threat and music lovers stay at home. The over-60s, mainstays of the subscription list, avoid going into poorly lit parts of town on dark winter nights. The young are deterred by formality and predictability.”