Category: issues

“My research has found that there is in fact no relationship between how well students do academically and what their attitude toward schooling actually is. A student doesn’t need to be passionate about school to be academically successful.”

“Everything from the formation of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Central Park, to the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and opening of Ellis Island, happened over the course of these four decades.”

“As it gradually tightens the loops in Twitter’s social fabric, the algorithm risks further insulating its users from people whose viewpoints run counter to their own—a phenomenon, already rampant on Facebook, that has contributed to the polarization of the American electorate and the Balkanization of its media.”

Forget innovation and nimble adjustment to circumstances. Forget the entrepreneurial spirit. Geographic immobility, including rising housing prices – and the prevalence of video games and TV shows – have us all trapped.

Responding to a fierce takedown by author Fatima Bhutto (read that here), the director says she normally wouldn’t respond to criticism, but “Bhutto seems intent on inflaming the racial and religious divisions that my film is intended to challenge.”

It wasn’t exactly simple, says “Get Out” writer/director Jordan Peele. Known as a comedian, he saw his dream of being a director slipping away – but then he realized comedy and horror were close: “The reason they work, why they get primal, audible reactions from us is because they allow us to purge our own fears and discomforts in a safe environment.”

Much of the artwork, and sometimes entire rooms or domiciles too, is lost. As in, no one knows where it is, who owns it, and how the U.K. might get it back. The U.S. was desperate for a British or European shine, and “the trade was frenzied. When the Titanic sank in 1912, 30 tons of crated English architectural objects were on board.”

“While we understood the importance of focusing on infrastructure, job creation and public safety, we also knew that in order to spur resurgence in the city, we needed to embrace creative placemaking – using the arts to improve design and management of public places — to transform the city’s image among residents and outside entities. We quickly recognized the importance of public-private partnerships, and the investment of non-profit partners.”

On “Clean Monday,” residents of the village of Calaxidi cover their houses with plastic and then hurl bombs full of colored wheat flour at each other. (It’s like Holi, but with more calories.) The tradition is said to go back to an act of defiance against the ottomans in 1801. (video and slideshow)

“If SXSW determines, in its sole discretion, that Artist or its representatives have acted in ways that adversely affect the viability of Artist’s official SXSW showcase,” the contract states, then one of several actions can occur, including “SXSW [notifying] the appropriate U.S. immigration authorities of the above actions.”