“New York City is withholding payment into a pension system that covers some employees at … some of its best known cultural institutions, including the American Museum of Natural History, the Brooklyn Museum, the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.”
Tag: 03.12.12
The Man Who Saved Sri Lankan Buddhism
“When Henry Steel Olcott came to Sri Lanka [from the US] in the late 19th century, his goal was simply to learn more about the Eastern religions he so admired. But somehow, this Presbyterian-born Spiritualist ended up becoming a Buddhist himself and initiating a revival that would sweep throughout Sri Lanka and the entire Buddhist world.”
Mythic Creativity? Phooey! Anyone Can Learn To Be Creative
“Creativity is not a trait that we inherit in our genes or a blessing bestowed by the angels. It’s a skill. Anyone can learn to be creative and to get better at it. New research is shedding light on what allows people to develop world-changing products and to solve the toughest problems. A surprisingly concrete set of lessons has emerged about what creativity is and how to spark it in ourselves and our work.”
Belarus Free Theatre Seeks Funding To Prevent Closure
“The Belarus Free Theatre troupe faces closure in three months unless it gets significant funding, warns its founder.” The company, which is formally banned in its homeland and performs there in secret, “needs about £200,000 a year to pay staff and cover costs, and raise funds from small and large donors to produce shows.”
Philly’s Free Library Suspends Expansion Plans As It Rethinks Its Mission
“The Free Library of Philadelphia will always be a huge repository of knowledge for casual learners as well as scholars. But as patrons increasingly look to the system for job assistance, Internet access, and an after-school safe haven for children, the library’s physical manifestation is morphing as the idea of the institution evolves.”
Iranian Government Blocks Ceremony To Honor Oscar Winner
“The event for Asghar Farhadi, whose movie, A Separation, won the Oscar for best foreign film last month, was abruptly scrapped after authorities denied permission, according to the semiofficial Ilna news agency.”
Margaret Atwood’s Adventures In Tweeting
“But on Twitter you find yourself doing all sorts of things you wouldn’t otherwise do. And once you’ve entered the Enchanted E-Forest, lured in there by cute bunnies and playful kittens, you can find yourself wandering around in it for quite some time. You might even find yourself climbing the odd tree-the very odd tree-or taking refuge in the odd hollow log-the very odd hollow log-because cute bunnies and playful kittens are not the only things alive in the mirkwoods of the Web.”
Earworms: Why Those Tunes Get Stuck In Our Heads – And How They Might Be Useful
“Research suggests that there may be psychological reasons why some songs are more likely to stick, including memory triggers, emotional states and even stress. Some researchers hope to better understand why this happens and figure out what, if anything, music memory can teach psychologists about how to treat patients dealing with memory loss.”
Conductor Dies After Collapsing During Bach Performance
“Vincent LaGuardia, 68, was the longtime conductor of the Arapahoe Philharmonic, a small classical group in Littleton, Colo. LaGuardia collapsed about two-thirds of the way through” Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor.
The Theremin: What Is That Weird Machine, Where Did It Come From – And Why?
The theremin, invented by an amateur cellist, turned into a propaganda piece for Lenin – a way to showcase the inventiveness of Russians after the Revolution internationally, and to promote electrification across Russia. Then there was Theremin’s mission in the U.S.: industrial espionage.