“Researchers said a sample of children who either have or are at high risk for bipolar disorder, which was formerly called manic-depressive illness, score higher on a creativity index than healthy children.”
Blog
Study: Workers Get Stalled By Tech
A new study claims that technology in the workplace is so complicated, that some workers waste up to a month per year trying to figure out how to make technology on their jobs work. “The demands of the 21st century office leave almost one in five workers (17 per cent) struggling to get their heads round simple tasks asked of them, according to the report.”
The Singing Mormons
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is one of America’s oldest musical institutions. “Its syndicated radio program, ‘Music and the Spoken Word,’ found on 1,500 stations across the world, started in July 1929; it is the longest-running broadcast in the medium’s history. The choir has sung for every United States president since William Howard Taft, and in addition to its Grammy and Emmy wins, it has CD sales in the millions with two platinum records and five gold records.”
Analysis: FCC Indecency Attacks Blunted By Ineffective Process
“A Washington Post analysis of all 92 known proposed indecency fines shows that the agency’s record of policing the airwaves has been undermined by plodding investigations, insufficient fine amounts and inconsistent follow-up.”
A Starchitect Plan For The United Nations Neighborhood
Architects Richard Meier and David M. Childs have unveiled a master plan for four buildings, a park and an ice rink on part of an enormous nine-acre site near the United Nations. “They say the designs, filed with the city last week as part of an environmental assessment statement, will restore a sense of the Manhattan grid to the edge of the East River. The project is part of a four-parcel property between 35th and 41st Streets that Sheldon H. Solow, the developer, bought from Con Edison for $630 million in a deal approved last year.”
David Smith Sculpture Sells For Record Price
Larry Gagosian, the Manhattan dealer, fought off five aggressive bidders and paid $23.8 million at Sotheby’s for David Smith’s “CUBI XXVIII” (1965), the last of the artist’s renowned Cubi series. “The reason for the high price was plain to lovers of contemporary art: this elegantly composed melding of boxes and columns may be the last example of the series to come on the market for some time. Most of the others are in museums or collections where they will stay for generations. So this last-chance opportunity was irresistible, which is why the sculpture’s final price was nearly double its high estimate, $12 million.”
The Zaha Hadid Phenomenon
“For years, Zaha Hadid’s architecture was problematic. Her ideas were stunning, particularly when ex-pressed as large paintings full of what seemed like exploding buildings, sharp angles and jagged planes, but many found it hard to believe that they could ever be built. Today, however, she seems omnipresent.”
Byrd’s Small Seattle Dance Company Goes Big
Three years ago, choreographer Donald Byrd left New York to take over Seattle’s Spectrum Dance Theatre, a small community company. Many were surprised Byrd would take on a company with little reputation, but in three years he has transformed Spectrum, and last week scored a hit, bringing the made-over company to New York where it earned enthusiastic reviews.
Restoring Forbidden City
The Chinese government is spending 1.5 billion Yuan ($185 million) to restore the Forbidden City over the next 15 years.” Work has already started, and scaffolding now covers dozens of buildings in the complex. Projects along the central axis are scheduled for completion by 2008, in time for the Olympic Games in Beijing.” The restoration often takes the form of replacement of worn materials.
Michigan Opera: Subscriptions Down, Ticket Sales Up
Detroit’s Michgan Opera Theatre ran a very modest deficit for the past season. Michigan’s weak economy continued to take a toll on corporate and individual giving to the company, which remained flat. Ticket income dipped slightly, but the bigger story is that subscription income fell short of goals by $140,000. Subscription sales have now declined for five straight seasons, which officials attribute to aging audiences and lifestyle changes that find younger patrons less willing to commit. Still, single-ticket sales exceeded goals in 2005 because of a surge for the world premiere of Margaret Garner.”