News of Beyonce’s pregnancy breaks record for most tweets per second. “Users on the microblogging site posted 8,868 tweets per second when the singer showed off her baby bump after her performance at the event. The previous record was 7,196 after Japan’s win over the US in the women’s World Cup final in July.”
Tag: 08.30.11
Are Moths Eating Our Major Art Collections?
“Virtually all the major museums now have clothes moths, and some serious problems, where 10 years ago we found very few indeed.”
Is There Ever Such A Thing As Too Much Rehearsal?
In Britain, a professional theatre production generally gets four weeks’ rehearsal (or six, at best), a few previews, then press night and that’s it. A few directors – Katie Mitchell and Deborah Warner, for instance – will watch performances during the run and give actors’ notes or even convene a rehearsal. At what point do diminishing returns set in?
Wanna Feel Safer? Dump Your Facebook Friends
“Worried about loose-tongued friends sharing your private details with the world? Culling the least discreet members of your social network will help you feel more secure, but it’s not a perfect solution. What if your best friend is an offender?” An Arizona researcher “has a technique for working out which friends are most likely to leak private information.”
Astro Boy Ballet? Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Next Work Is Based On Manga
Fantastical comic images appear on scrolls onstage; the dancers mimic the shapes … The Belgian choreographer and and composer Nitin Sawhney are making a new piece based on the work of Japanese manga visionary Osamu Tezuka.
Steve Jobs’s Greatest Legacy: Persuading The World To Pay For Content
“Ten years ago, if you wanted to download some music, your best bet was Napster or one of the filesharing systems such as LimeWire or KaZaA.” Then along came iTunes and its 99-cent songs. “Nowadays Apple sells TV shows, films, books, apps, as well as music. We take the explosion in available content for granted. But without Jobs, it’s likely we wouldn’t be here at all.”
Yahoo! To Produce Original Web Video Series
“The beleaguered online giant will launch its first-ever slate of original series beginning in October. While Yahoo isn’t about to overtake Fox or CBS as those nets launch their fall schedules, the company will mix some traditional TV programming tactics with its own new-media savvy.”
Goethe Prize Goes, For First Time, To Arab Writer
The modernist Syrian poet Ali Ahmad Said Esber – better known by his pen name, Adonis – is the first Arabic-language author to receive the prestigious €50,000 German literary award.
UK Phone Hacking Scandal Inspires Half A Dozen Plays
“Six volunteers have agreed to allow [London’s Theatre503] access to their voicemails, recordings of which will be passed on to one of six playwrights. … These will then form the basis of six short plays to be premiered at the end of September.”
Study: Birds Change Their Tune When Nose Pollution Intrudes
“When bombarded by noise pollution, some male birds begin to sing higher tunes, found a new study. And that tonal shift makes them less attractive to females.”