Archive for September, 2011
Facebook’s Story Change: Life’s Not a Narrative
by Adam Leipzig
“Once upon a time…” the storyteller says, and we lean forward. We all love being held in a master storyteller’s hands; we love it because it is easier to listen to a story than to tell one.
That’s why Facebook’s new format raises some intriguing questions. At the top of the page, where it used to say “News,” it now says “St More...
Ruination of the Bulls?
by George Wead
Barcelona ran its last bullfight the other day, and a shadow crept across my confidence. Does this mean bullfights won’t last forever?
Let me explain. When I went to college in Texas, Ernest Hemingway was my god. He was alive then, and I had yet to learn that many Spaniards considered him a blowhard. What counted for me was that he wrote Death More...
When Wall Street Occupied Me
by Levi Asher | Literary Kicks
Watching protesters occupy Wall Street for the past several days, I've been thinking back to the two years in the early 1990s when I worked at the headquarters of the JP Morgan Bank at 60 Wall.
I did not find myself on Wall Street by accident; I had graduated from a state university with a computer science degree six years earlier, and had taken More...
Steven
by Nico Sabenorio
In the hands of a sensitive and innovative director, even something common as an anti-drug commercial can become a good movie. That’s what director Nico Sabenorio achieved when he took an assignment for Life After Meth. This 6-minute mini-documentary has all the telltale signs of accomplished filmmaking: strong characters, visual craft, and More...
Is Resistance Futile? Are There Alternatives to Global English?
by Dennis Baron | The Web of Language
English is a world language. Once an insignificant set of immigrant dialects on an obscure island in the rainswept North Sea, English is now the de facto language of multinational business, of science and technology, and of rock 'n' roll. Non-English speakers around the globe seem to be learning English as fast as they can. Plus there are more than More...
My Auditions
by Chloe Veltman
It's always a humbling experience critiquing other people's artistic efforts and attempting to put your own out there.
I spent Saturday morning in the company of some talented San Francisco Conservatory students, graduates and pro musicians auditioning for a spot as an oboist in the eclectic Magik*Magik Orchestra. I've been wanting More...
From Lead into Gold: The World of Victor Raphael
by Barbara Hitchcock
In 1966, a new television program called Star Trek hit the air waves. Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and “Scotty” embarked upon an odyssey into outer space that captured the attention of children of all ages. Simultaneously, NASA’s real space adventurers rocketed into orbit, culminating in 1969 with Neil Armstrong’s and Buzz Aldrin’s historic ho More...
Theatre in Space: Adventures in Cyberturgy
by Anne García-Romero | HowlRound
I fidget in my chair as three actors read the first act of my new play Paloma, in New York City. I’ve never heard this draft aloud so like most playwrights I know, I’m hoping I can truly hear my play. Paloma explores the lives of Ibrahim, a Muslim-American, who falls in love with Paloma, a woman of Puerto Rican descent, while they’re studying More...
