Sometimes, as with 2012’s monster hit “Gangnam Style” and all of the K-pop since, “all it takes is one song to introduce a new culture to the mainstream, paving the way for other acts or similar musical styles.” – CBC
Blog
Mental Health Apps May Be Sharing Data, And Not Telling Their Customers
Basically: “Free apps marketed to people with depression or who want to quit smoking are hemorrhaging user data to third parties like Facebook and Google — but often don’t admit it in their privacy policies, a new study reports.” Yikes. (Er, nine of the most popular mental health apps don’t even have a privacy policy.) – The Verge
It’s Past Time To Let Go Of Robinson Crusoe
The colonial fairytale doesn’t hold up at all in our contemporary world. Crusoe, to put it bluntly, was a slave trader – but somehow it became a children’s story: “Educationists agreed that the island narrative of Crusoe was an ideal text for teaching the virtues of self-reliance, careful management of resources and trust in the overall – if a little mysterious, but that’s a part of the appeal – wonderfulness of the Christian God. That the novel could be harnessed to the business of empire was a further recommendation.” – The Guardian (UK)
Pop-Up Theatre Can Change Lives
When Fiona Shaw decided to perform excerpts from T.S. Eliot’s “The Wasteland” in (and near) an empty fountain in Central Park, she didn’t want it announced – and there was only a brief mention on social media. Then word of mouth happened. What’s next? “Taking theatre to the audience in unexpected ways can only serve to evoke interest, and may capture the imagination of those not used to planting themselves in a theatre seat.” – The Stage (UK)
Director John Singleton Is In Intensive Care After A ‘Mild’ Stroke
The director is most known for the 1991 film Boyz N the Hood, but he’s also a producer and screenwriter whose films include 2 Fast 2 Furious, Shaft, and the documentary LA Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later. – Los Angeles Times
The Man In Charge Of The Music Of The Ring
Philippe Jordan, 44, has 15 hours of Wagner’s Ring Cycle to get through – and try to shine through – at the Met. How does he do it? The man who has been in charge of Opéra National de Paris, and who is about to assume the reins as music director of the Vienna State Opera, actually considers it something of a break. – The New York Times
Are Trigger Warnings At Theatres Useful Context Or…
As part of his PhD research on theatre spectatorship at the University of Toronto, Scott Mealey interviews many audience members and says he’s “shocked” by the level of anxiety many of them “seem to feel as they encounter theatre, especially if it seems unfamiliar in some way. The more I talk about it the more stories people offer me.” – Toronto Star
Arbitrator: NY City Ballet’s Firing Of Two Dancers Was “Wrong And Unjust”
The two principals, Amar Ramasar and Zachary Catazaro had been dismissed for sharing graphic text messages. An independent arbitrator determined that “while the company was justified in disciplining the two men, suspension was the appropriate action and termination took it too far.” The two will be reinstated. – Dance Magazine
Alexa! Play HAPPY Music! (And Why That’s A Challenge)
Using your smart speaker to play music is the top use for them. But making music choices useful has been a challenge. “Using voice to sift through and access music may be a relatively new idea, but it’s brought with it an immense technological challenge that streaming companies, record labels and machine-learning start-ups are all reckoning with. Proper use of this new interface and underlying metadata can mean the difference between sinking and staying afloat on the smart speaker medium.” – BBC
Why Are Many Of Us Obsessed With Reading Books Quickly?
The point is, the act of reading is rarely a simple case of ‘finish one, start another one’—it’s an endless overlapping conversation between reader and page, an imprecise gumbo of genres and moods and facts and jokes and… cliffhangers. – Melville House