“Ants can perform simple arithmetic operations with small numbers. We suggest that applying ideas of information theory and using the natural communication systems of highly social animals can open new horizons in studying numerical cognition.”
Tag: 04.11.11
Amazon Offers Kindle With Ads
“Amazon has found a new way to make its Kindle e-book reader even cheaper: It will start shipping a new edition next month that is supported by advertising. … The ads and special offers will show up as full-screen screensavers on the Kindle device and as small banner ads at the bottom of the Kindle home screen.”
Bob Dylan’s Vietnam Debut (The Place Was Half-Empty)
“Bob Dylan played his first ever concert in Vietnam on Sunday, following two unprovocative gigs in China. Four decades after his songs became anthems for America’s anti-Vietnam war movement, the folk legend appeared at a half-empty venue in Ho Chi Minh City.”
The Strange Accusations Against Ai Weiwei
Faced with a major international outcry over the artist’s arrest, the Chinese government has undertaken a public relations counterattack that sometimes verges on the bizarre – with charges of plagiarism, accusations of obscenity, and an investigation into unspecified “economic crimes.”
Ai Weiwei’s Last Interview Before Arrest
Two days before his detention, the Chinese dissident artist told a German radio network, “There are two surveillance cameras at my gate entrance, my phone is tapped and every message I send on my microblog is censored. Yesterday and the day before over a dozen police came to my place, but in my opinion, it is purely nuisance. They are coming again today.”
Humiliation Via Publishing Deadline: Conde Nast Traveler Top April Destination Is –
Libya. “In its April issue, [the magazine] named Libya one of the ’15 best places to see right now,’ reasoning that the ‘recent lifting of visa restrictions against Americans means that a door long shut is open again.’ The door was open on February 15 when the magazine went to press.”
Sneaking Abstract Expressionism Into Woody Woodpecker Cartoons
“Sixteen years ago Tom Klein was staring at a Woody Woodpecker cartoon, ‘The Loose Nut,’ … [and] watched that maniacal red-topped bird smash a steamroller through the door of a shed. The screen then exploded into images that looked less like the stuff of a Walter Lantz cartoon than like something Willem de Kooning might have hung on a wall.”
Making Musical Theatre Out Of Serial Murder
“During the winter of 2006, Alecky Blythe was in a brothel in Bournemouth, interviewing prostitutes for a new play she was creating called The Girlfriend Experience, when a horrifying story began to unfold on the news. Police in Ipswich were searching for a serial killer after discovering the bodies of five murdered women.”
China Accuses Ai Weiwei Of Plagiarism
“China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported that artist Ai Weiwei, whose continued detention has drawn international criticism, has been accused on the net of ‘stealing’ the idea for a 2007 exhibit.”
Pew Trust Turns Down Philadelphia Orchestra Rehab Campaign
“The Pew Charitable Trusts has passed on giving money to the orchestra’s rehabilitation plan, several sources familiar with the decision say. Pew president Rebecca W. Rimel confirmed that the foundation has made a decision, though she would not say what it was, or whether it was irrevocable.”