The technology uses a 3-D sensing module and locates and tracks the ear position sending audio via ultrasonic waves to create sound pockets by the user’s ears. Sound can be heard in stereo or a spatial 3-D mode that creates 360-degree sound around the listener, the company said. – Times of Israel
Tag: 11.13.20
How Will We Protect World Treasures Threatened By Climate Change?
Venice is just one example of the challenges of preserving iconic landmarks that are threatened by the effects of climate change, such as rising seas and recurrent, intensifying droughts, storms and wildfires. In my research as a social scientist, I help heritage managers make tough decisions prioritizing which sites to save when funds, time or both are limited. – The Conversation
Spain’s Language Academy Acknowledges, Then Backs Away From, Gender-Neutral Pronoun
Late last month, the Royal Spanish Academy launched the Observatory of Words, a web portal that discusses terms and expressions which are coming into regular use in Spanish but which the Academy isn’t ready to officially include in dictionaries. The media quickly noticed that among the words indexed in the new Observatory was elle, coined as a gender-neutral alternative to el/ella (he/she). Within four days, elle was gone. Here’s why. – Global Voices
Here’s One Country Where Theatre Is Alive And Well Despite COVID
“When the second wave of [the pandemic] hit, theatres in South Korea remained open. How? By approaching theatre as a controlled event, says New York-based director Sammi Cannold, who observed Seoul’s approach first-hand.” – The Stage
Study: Americans Feel Positive About The Arts, But There Are Demographic Differences
“The extensive survey, coordinated by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’s Humanities Indicators project, … [found that] 80% of American adults hold a ‘very favorable’ or ‘somewhat favorable’ view of the arts … but only 11% of them said they visit art museums or attend arts events regularly, while another 29% said they do so ‘sometimes.'” Interestingly, Black and Latinx Americans are far more likely to attend poetry and literary events than are their white compatriots. – Hyperallergic
Another COVID Casualty: Toronto Company Dancemakers Closes Permanently
“Starting as a summer project in 1974, Dancemakers went on to curate award-winning Canadian and international performances and play host to a multiyear resident artist program, as well as many presentations and workshops. More than 4,000 audience members and artists passed through each year.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Chinese Gov’t Is Cracking Down On Hong Kong’s Public Broadcaster
“Amid the political turmoil since the pro-democracy movement erupted last year and the national security law was enacted in July, [RTHK] has been under fire from various quarters as the government appears to tighten its grip.” Producers have been taken for questioning, programs have been cancelled, staffers (who are considered civil servants) are being made to take a loyalty oath, and the national anthem of the People’s Republic of China is now played every day before the 8 am news. – Global Voices (Hong Kong Free Press)
Tower Records Returns Online
The new online version of Tower Records was originally scheduled for introduction at the 2020 South by Southwest, but pulled back when that event was curtailed by the pandemic. It was also envisioned as a series of pop-up shops, an idea also delayed by the coronavirus. – Deadline
How Cities Will Change, Permanently, Post-Covid
Abandoned office towers. Empty subway cars. Shuttered cafés. And the absolute gutting of services for urban workers. “Since the remote workers will not all return, North America is liable to see a ‘labour-market Armageddon—the loss of tens of millions of urban service jobs.'” – MacLean’s (Canada)
Turning The Kirk Douglas Theatre Into A Center For Filming Streaming Plays Wasn’t Easy
Just ask production manager Christopher Reardon, who worked with playwright Luis Alfaro and his retold/set in L.A. Greek trilogy of play to turn them into this stage-to-screen event. “As great as it was to return to the theater, it was scary, too. … Everybody is overjoyed, but in this weird mental place of always being on edge.” – Los Angeles Times