“The malleability of habits isn’t news to Madison Avenue: Effective commercials show how people can be quickly trained to do something new and then keep on doing it. The secret, it turns out, is the quick combination of a memorable cue and a rewarding experience.”
Tag: 02.18.12
Can Society Get The Benefits Of Religion Without The Faith?
Alain de Botton: “How did religion once enhance the spirit of community? More practically, can secular society ever recover that spirit without returning to the theological principles that were entwined with it? I, for one, believe that it is possible to reclaim our sense of community – and that we can do so, moreover, without having to build upon a religious foundation.”
Edmonton Considers A New Performing Arts Centre
“The idea, recommended by Mayor Stephen Mandel’s arts visioning committee, last fall would see three theatres constructed with a total of 2,800 seats – 400 more than the Jubilee [Auditorium] – orchestra pits, rehearsal space and room in the wings.”
Philip Seymour Hoffman On Acting And Directing At The Same Time (He Didn’t Like It)
“[If] you’re directing and acting you’re on both sides of that equation so everyone’s just waiting on you completely which is … it needs to be shared, that relationship. There needs to be an actor and a director and they should be sharing the responsibility of getting it right. … I remember going, ‘Phil, remember this, remember this feeling right now. Don’t do this again’.”
Aspen Puts Abstract Art On Ski-Lift Tickets
“Ski-lift tickets usually just consist of a logo, a bar code and an expiration date. But in Aspen, Colo., they now display limited editions of Mark Grotjahn’s art. The Aspen Art Museum arranged for the release last week of five different batches of tickets featuring his work, part of an effort to bring art to unlikely places.”
Has TED Lost Its Glow?
“What began as something spontaneous and unique has today become a parody of itself. What was exceptional and emergent in the realm of ideas has been bottled, packaged, and sold back to us over and over again. The whole TED vibe has come to resemble a sales pitch.”
Skip The Movie; The Title Sequence Shows The Real Art
Title sequences can set up the rest of the movie. Of course, the rest of the movie often disappoints. That’s OK: New title sequence websites mean you never need to watch a full movie again.
Music Sales Up; Music Press Way Down
New figures say that in the new media world, “the recorded music business, for all its troubles, is actually faring far better in the transition to digital than the British music press.”
Utah Shakespeare Fest Wants An Indoor/Outdoor Theatre
“Keeping ‘Shakespeare under the stars’ became the top focus with the design of the theater. But if the weather turns rainy, too windy or cold, technicians will be able to close a retractable roof when the new theater is completed; stars will still be there, but painted on the ceiling when it’s closed.”
NPR Critic Accuses Composer Of Copying (But What Does That Even Mean?)
Tom Manoff says that Osvaldo Golijov’s “Sidereus” is just a little too much like Michael Ward-Bergeman’s “Barbeich.”