“How do we predict what will make us happy or unhappy – and then how do we feel after the actual experience? For example, how do we suppose we’ll feel if our favorite college football team wins or loses, and then how do we really feel a few days after the game? How do we predict we’ll feel about purchasing jewelry, having children, buying a big house or being rich? And then how do we regard the outcomes? According to this small corps of academics, almost all actions — the decision to buy jewelry, have kids, buy the big house or work exhaustively for a fatter paycheck — are based on our predictions of the emotional consequences of these events.”
Tag: 09.07.03
Arranged Marriage – Eschenbach And Philly
Christoph Eschenbach takes over the Philadelphia Orchestra. “The most optimistic forecast for the Eschenbach era is that he will deftly charm big bucks from rich patrons, give a new mission and a social conscience to the orchestra’s board and administration, and achieve a new level of visibility and stature for himself. Musically, Eschenbach could animate the magisterial qualities of the Philadelphia Orchestra with the personal vision and originality that have marked his best work.”
Prince & Sondheim – Together Again
Hal Prince and Steven Sondheim are collaborating on a new show for the first time in 22 years. “Prince has directed more than 30 shows in New York alone, and to sit down with him is to confront a half-century of American theater history. His name instantly evokes an almost unparalleled parade of over-the-moon triumphs, noble failures and, yes, a few bewilderments. When he attaches himself to a project, theatergoers take notice. The last is even more true of Sondheim, of course. Devotees will be making long flights to Washington in the fall to check up on this latest venture. “
Return Of The Girls
“Girl culture” seems to be back as a force. “But what exactly is girl culture? On one hand, it’s a shared set of values and behaviors among girls in their teens, ‘tweens and early 20s. It’s directly affected by consumerism, body image, mass media and the cosmetic, fashion and entertainment industries. Teen girls have tremendous pocketbook power, and companies are eager to tap into that exploding market. On the other hand, girl culture is also a resistance – rooted in 1960s and ’70s feminism – to all those forces.”
Broadway’s New Champion Playwright
In a Broadway season that is light on plays, “Richard Greenberg has the opportunity to become the first American writer to have two new plays running simultaneously on Broadway since Neil Simon did it in 1992 with “Jake’s Women” and “Lost in Yonkers.” (The British playwright David Hare did it in 1999 with “Amy’s View” and his one-man show, “Via Dolorosa.”) It is a league, however, that Mr. Greenberg has trouble considering himself a part of.”
The Politics (And Utility) Of Early Education
“Nowadays, some kind of education before the age of 6 has become common, whether it comes in federally funded Head Start programs or at expensive Manhattan preschools with admissions procedures to rival Harvard’s. President Bush’s recent proposals to steer Head Start funds to the states while stiffening the program’s academic standards have stirred up debate over whether such an approach would widen inequalities or narrow them. They have also raised the age-old question of just how our youngest children, rich or poor, really learn.”
Baltimore’s Theatre Gambit
Baltimore is revitalizing an old 2,300-seat theatre, hoping to book some of the touring shows that bypass the city. The city’s leaders are hoping that “the Hippodrome will do for Baltimore what Harborplace and Oriole Park did in the 1980s and ’90s: catalyze economic development and attract thousands of people to the city, thus literally setting the stage for renewal of Baltimore’s once bustling retail district. So far, the city’s cultural gambit appears to be paying off.”
Privacy Fears May Doom Amnesty Plan
Will downloaders take up the music industry’s offer of amnesty? Not likely. “I would think that many of the people who have downloaded music would be concerned about their privacy rights. To put identifying information into a database that the RIAA owns will turn people off, and therefore the program will not succeed.”
The Killing Of Classical Music Radio
Programming gets less interesting, audiences fall off, and classical music exits the radio dial. “Public radio, following the commercial lead, adopted similar ‘lite’ strategies to attract daytime audiences. But there’s an obvious paradox. ‘The more it sounds like background, the less people will be committed to your station. After all, you’re encouraging them to not pay attention to it; then you ask them to pay for it at fund-raising time. It’s a Catch-22. If your strategy is to be as uninteresting as possible, how can you ask for support?”
Why Opera Australia Is Pulling Back
Why is Opera Australia retrenching? And why is opera in Melbourne such a tough go? “We know that our performances need to be 40 per cent underwritten in Melbourne for us to break even, but in Sydney it only needs to be 28 per cent funded. We sell 25 per cent to tourists in Sydney but in Melbourne the tourism sales are negligible.”