For Australian philosopher Roman Krznaric, author of Carpe Diem Regained, the “hijacking [of carpe diem] is an existential crime of the century–and one we have barely noticed.” Krznaric is concerned that the philosophy has come to mean something else, almost the antithesis of what Horace’s words actually meant. – JSTOR
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Who Was Ira Glass’s Biggest Influence? Roland Barthes (Yes, The Semiotician)
“At college, we were assigned Barthes’s S/Z , which made me understand what I could do in radio. … In S/Z, Barthes takes apart a short story by Balzac, line by line. He asks: How does this story pull you in, engage, and give you pleasure? He … explains: here’s how to structure a narrative by creating a sequence of events that will create forward motion that will create narrative suspense, planting questions along the way that can be answered. That turned out to be an enormously useful way to think about how to do an interview.” – The New York Review of Books
Rotten Tomatoes’ Critic Problem
The movie review aggregation site is only as good as the critics it aggregates. But are the critics representative of the real movie audience? Assuredly not. So there’s a problem. How to fix it? – Columbia Journalism Review
Sara Mearns, Star Of New York City Ballet, Explores Dance Without Point Shoes
“To find another ballet dancer who expanded his or her range with such fortitude and ferocity, you’d have to go back to Mikhail Baryshnikov. But he transitioned into modern dance after his ballet career ended. Ms. Mearns is still going strong as a classical dancer.” – The New York Times
Study: Here Are The Conditions Under Which People Lie
It seems there’s a moral spectrum in play: Scientists found that people would probably lie if they thought a big corporation, like say, Starbucks or Walmart, would foot the bill for the deceit. They told the truth if they felt like an individual proprietor of a business or a specific employee would have to pay for their dishonesty. – Mic
Tolkien Estate Throws Large Monkey Wrench Into Amazon’s ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Series: Report
“Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey, who is supervising the show’s development, told German fansite Deutsche Tolkien that the estate has refused to allow the series to be set during any period other than the Second Age of Middle-earth. This means Amazon’s adaptation will not cross over at all with events from the Third Age, which were dramatised in Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning trilogy and sees hobbit Frodo Baggins destroy the One Ring.” – The Guardian
What Artists Studios Tell Us
There are two questions surrounding artists and their archives. Why do artists keep them? And what is worth keeping? – The New York Times
As Plantation Museums Turn Their Focus To Enslaved People, Certain Tourists Are Not Happy
“‘It was just not what we expected.’ ‘I was depressed by the time I left.’ ‘… the tour was more of a scolding of the old South.’ ‘The brief mentions of the former owners were defamatory.’ ‘Would not recommend.’ These are a few of the apparently negative reviews posted online about guided tours of Southern plantations.” – The Washington Post
Bank Discovers AI Writes Better Ads Than Their Ad People Do
In tests, JPMorgan Chase found that Persado’s machine-learning tool crafted better ad copy than its own writers could muster, as measured by the higher click rates—more than double in some case—on digital ads for Chase cards and mortgages. – Quartz
The Rise Of The ‘Catalyst-Conductor’
Lidiya Yankovskaya (a fine example of the phenomenon herself): “In addition to their traditional duties within established institutions, an increasing number of conductors run independent organizations, launch musical and civic initiatives, serve as catalysts for the development of new work, and use their positions to cross disciplinary boundaries. In bypassing institutional gatekeepers, these conductors have brought relevance, vitality, and an expanding number of previously unrepresented voices into the field. Indeed, the dynamic new ‘catalyst-conductor’ could help bring the revitalization that the classical music industry so desperately seeks.” – NewMusicBox