Vooks, Byooks, rental textbooks and many more apps populate the e-book landscape like mushrooms in the forest, leaving consumers fascinated … and a little overwhelmed.
Tag: 08.07.11
Aliens In The Desert – Hari Kunzru’s New Novel
“Kunzru’s almost self-defeatingly ambitious fourth novel is about the human quest for transcendence – not just encountering big-brained Venusians, but the hope of finding a thing that sometimes goes by the name of God.”
Can The Bard Hack It In L.A.? Maybe Not
If you want to see Shakespeare this summer, don’t go looking for offerings from the Los Angeles Shakespeare Center. For the first time in 25 years, there’s no outdoor show.
Text That Program Note! Classical Music Tweets To Engage
“As the concert opened with the overture to ‘The Marriage of Figaro,’ Pacheco clicked on her iPhone and began following tweets posted by the Pacific Symphony (actually hired-hand Jonathan Beard, an L.A. composer) and the marquee guest performers, the sibling pianist group 5 Browns (when they weren’t onstage).”
Art In The Riverbed – Urban Rangers in L.A.
The L.A.-based art collective Urban Rangers lead art walks in the city to help Angelenos see their natural world (audio).
Storytelling Will Always Be Storytelling – Or Will It, In A Digital World?
“They weave narratives from seemingly innocuous blogs, magazine ads, TV slots, fashion labels and public phone calls. Clues in the alternate realities designed by authors are littered in the physical and the virtual; consumers simply need to be tuned in to see them, and willing to take part in the unfolding narrative.”
Polly Platt, Confused Careerist (Who Co-Created The Last Picture Show)
“Platt was the production designer and uncredited costume designer on the film. It was she who spotted the then unknown Cybill Shepherd on a magazine cover and suggested her for the role of the seductive Jacy Farrow.”
Music To Drive By – Wagner And Dvorak Meet The Mountains
“My songline didn’t have much to do with ancient creation myths: you might more conventionally call it a pile of CDs. But the way the music seemed to imprint itself on the landscape made for some spine-tingling moments.”
Poor In Life And Death – Edgar Allen Poe House In Trouble
“Because of who Poe was, and what he wrote about, his lingering presence seems stronger in this house than, say, somewhere where George Washington once slept. Writers like Stephen King come to visit. Visitors try to spook one another. People often ask whether the house is haunted.”
Smells Like Middle-Aged Spirit — Gen X Looks Back
“It brings on something of an identity crisis to see Gen X’s formative years become part of the cycle of retro revivalism. How does an anti-nostalgic generation deal with the human reflex to sentimentalize its youth?”