“Intendant Uwe Eric Laufenberg, frustrated by the failure of the city to resolve financing issues, noted that would be the first time any German house cancelled its entire season since the darkest days of the Second World War.”
Tag: 04.18.12
Can A Brain Scan Tell You What Drugs To Take and Choices to Make?
As a result of a massive fMRI data collection project currently underway, researchers may one day “be able to read your DNA and determine your innate level of anxiety, your propensity for drinking, and a range of other psychological traits.”
Eighteen Antique Chinese Artworks Stolen From Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum
“Among the stolen items were six pieces from the Ming dynasty, including a jade 16th century carved buffalo, a carved horse from the 17th century and a green and brown jade carved elephant.”
Angelin Preljocaj, Prince Of Dystopian Dance, Turns To Snow White
The French choreographer is known for such projects as a Romeo and Juliet in a totalitarian state and Casanova as a case study of advanced venereal disease. “But when Preljocaj announced he was planning a full-length Snow White … even his most loyal supporters panicked.”
New York City Opera Settles On Two Homes (For The Next Couple Seasons)
“New York City Opera will return to its roots at New York City Center in March after a 48-year absence, splitting the 2012-13 season between its former home and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.”
The ‘Cocktail Effect’ – How You Hear Your Friend Through The Surrounding Chatter
“Weaving your way through a crowded party, you spot an old friend. Despite the surrounding chatter you have no trouble filtering out the other voices to focus on her words alone. How the brain performs this trick, dubbed the ‘cocktail party effect’, has been identified for the first time.”
Chicago Symphony Brings Its Shostakovich To Moscow
“The Chicago Symphony Orchestra performs in Russia for the first time since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union on Wednesday, hoping to show Russian audiences a different side of American cultural with its rendition of Soviet composer Dmitry Shostakovich.”
Were Mean SOBs Born That Way? (Probably)
After collecting and analyzing both survey answers and saliva from their test subjects, researchers “found that some people have receptors that are especially sensitive to the hormones oxytocin and vasopressin, and that those people did nice things even when their survey answers revealed that they generally feared others in society.”
What ‘Hopefully’ Shows Us About Word Usage
“In the end, usage really isn’t related to grammar or logic but is a realm of fashion. And this cuts both ways. Just because something is, linguistically, grammatical English doesn’t mean it’s expedient to use it. It’s like wearing jeans or a suit. Clothing tastes, like grammar instruction, were once rigidly prescriptive, too.”
Growing Consensus: TV Is Higher Quality Than Hollywood Movies
“Clearly, there is lots of dross on TV, just as there are great films such as The Artist still being made in Hollywood. But for creativity and originality, this is a golden age of high-end television.”