Interesting take on possible future user interface interaction. Not sure what to think of the five finger concept, which is similar to what Apple is already doing with it’s track pad, with 1, 2, 3 and 4 finger interaction for basic visual commands. Only the most tech savvy would quickly adapt to such a concept. The everyday average/beginning user would be overwhelmed.
Monthly Archive for October, 2009
The official debut of Gustavo Dudamel, or Gustavo the Great/Gustavissimo/The Dude/G*D, as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic this week at the Hollywood Bowl has certainly created stratespheric expectations for the 28 year old conductor and has had a sort of Messicanic tinge to it all, whether he likes it or not.
But we must be cautious with our expectations. Dudamel is not going to walk on water and he is not going to single-handedly save an art form that has no need of life support. Indeed, were classical music so irrelevant to our times and needs, it could never have produced a Dudamel.
Don’t get me wrong, I think Dudamel is a brilliant musician from what I have gathered so far. But he’s still young and has what will seem to be a stellar career ahead of him. But let him mature and grow more before calling him a genius. However I’d much rather have this sort of excitement focused on someone like Dudadmel than, say, the next André Rieu or Sarah Brightman.
(Via Los Angeles Times.)
It was reported in today’s Times that the New York Philharmonic will be forced to cancel its October tour of Cuba that was originally scheduled for the end of this month. While it’s perfectly legal for musicians to travel to the communist nation, the donors of that trip, who would potentially spend lavishly while on the tour, are legally barred for entering the country. I guess this means musicians don’t make enough money to spend lavishly.
The cancellation was an embarrassment and something of a setback in the New York Philharmonic’s effort to cast itself as the nation’s flagship traveling orchestra. It made headlines with a trip to Pyongyang, North Korea, nearly two years ago (no United States government permission for patrons was required) and leaves on Sunday for an Asian tour that will take in another Communist nation, Vietnam.
This exposes how arbitrary the rules are governing American citizens’ rights to travel to Cuba,” Julia E. Sweig, an expert on Cuba at the Council on Foreign Relations, said of the Treasury Department’s position. “If you have a family member there, you can go. If you play an instrument or sport, you can go. But if you’re a philanthropist who wants to support arts in Cuba, you can’t?
Let me get this straight. The State Department requires no approval of patrons to accompany the New York Philharmonic on a tour of North Korea, a country that is openly developing nuclear weapons and one that would potentially divert the spending of those wealthy patrons to the development of the country’s nuclear program. But patrons must obtain permission from the State Department when traveling to Cuba, a country that poses no threat to the United States (anymore) except for ideologues that can’t let go of an outdated fear and grudge against an aging Cold War warrior who won’t be around much longer. I know I’m stretching things just a little bit, but the notion that Cuba is a bigger threat to the United States than North Korea is a joke. The restrictions, if there has to be any, should instead be reversed.
(Via New York Times.)
David Brooks has an interesting editorial today in the New York Times about the real world effect of right-wing political shock jocks such as Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and their actual effect on the political process.
Over the past few years the talk jocks have demonstrated their real-world weakness time and again. Back in 2006, they threatened to build a new majority on anti-immigration fervor. Republicans like J.D. Hayworth and Randy Graf, both of Arizona, built their House election campaigns under that banner. But these two didn’t march to glory. Both lost their campaigns.
In 2008, after McCain had won his nomination, Limbaugh turned his attention to the Democratic race. He commanded his followers to vote in the Democratic primaries for Hillary Clinton because ‘we need Barack Obama bloodied up politically.’ Todd Donovan of Western Washington University has looked at data from 38 states and could find no strong evidence that significant numbers of people actually did what Limbaugh commanded. Rush blared the trumpets, but few of his Dittoheads advanced.
This sounds about right, but it’s difficult to actually think so, because they are continually given a pulpit in which to spew from time and time again all under the banner of ratings. Not only do fans of Limbaugh and Beck watch their shows, but a large amount of people who can’t stand them watch the shows too along with the commercials that go with the program. While someone like Rupert Murdoch may have an obvious right-wing slant, he knows where the money goes and would most likely support a left-wing candidate if it meant them being in front of the camera for at least the next 4 years.
Brooks continues:
But this is not merely a story of weakness. It is a story of resilience. For no matter how often their hollowness is exposed, the jocks still reweave the myth of their own power. They still ride the airwaves claiming to speak for millions. They still confuse listeners with voters. And they are aided in this endeavor by their enablers. They are enabled by cynical Democrats, who love to claim that Rush Limbaugh controls the G.O.P. They are enabled by lazy pundits who find it easier to argue with showmen than with people whose opinions are based on knowledge. They are enabled by the slightly educated snobs who believe that Glenn Beck really is the voice of Middle America.
I would think that the silent majority is the people who can’t these political shock jocks, both Democrats and centrist Republicans who would like for their party to gain a scent of respectability again.
(Via New York Times.)
My first collection of photos on this blog of Bonefro, Italy received quite a bit of attention, especially from those who were looking for family roots in Bonefro. I was very lucky to spend 8 summers in Bonefro helping to run the Adriatic Chamber Music Festival, and I feel that I came to know the town and its people very well. It’s a time of my life that I will never forget, and I do plan to go back again.
Here is a second batch of photos that I took in 2004, a mix of photos of Bonefro, Termoli and the Tremiti Islands, islands that can actually be seen from Bonefro on the clearest of days, something I saw only once or twice in my 8 years there. I hope you enjoy the pictures.
As mentioned in the previous blog, the most important part of any small town in Italy is its piazza. This picture is one of those rare moments when not a soul sits in the center of town chatting, playing cards or simply walking around.
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