From the category archives:
Site Seeing
‘Ideas Worth Spreading’
If you’ve ever been required to sit through a excruciatingly boring lecture by a self-important professor, it’s easy to understand why the mere mention of the word itself—lecture—might trigger a negative reaction, or even sheer terror. If you’ve ever been required to attend a mind-numbing, time-wasting conference by your employer, it’s easy to understand why the suggestion of attending such an event could cause unease, at the very least.
So when I stumbled upon TEDTalks a while ago, I was surprised by what I discovered: lectures that were intriguing, insightful and inspiring. Could this really be possible? These few clips must have been anomalies, I thought, rare standouts plucked from hundreds or more of the aforementioned variety. But over time, as I watched new and newly discovered selections, TEDTalks—videos of lectures given at annual conferences put on by TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design)—rarely failed to deliver, even when the subject matter seemed a bit outside my typical interest zone.
TED, a nonprofit, has a simple but noble mission: “Spreading ideas.” And it does so through a well-designed, fun-to-explore site (along with a YouTube presence). The themes of the engaging and thought-provoking talks are wide-ranging, from arts, culture and entertainment to technology, science and a host of global issues. The styles, backgrounds and expertise of the speakers are equally diverse. TEDTalks, as a result, is fairly addicting (and healthy) Internet fare, especially considering what’s on the rest of the menu.
With TED2010 only a few weeks away, The Madness of Art presents its Top 10 TEDTalks—most of which deal with the topic of creativity (in some way) and its powerful effects. So, in the spirit of TED, here are some ideas I thought were worth spreading. Read more…
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The Wild Things Are Here
The long-awaited Spike Jonze-directed Where the Wild Things Are arrived in theaters on Friday, and the film—based on the beloved 1963 book by author and illustrator Maurice Sendak—topped the domestic box office over the weekend, grossing an estimated $32.5 million from 3,735 theaters, according to Variety.
Just like the classic children’s book, which won Sendak the Caldecott Medal, the PG-rated movie’s appeal extends far beyond contemporaries of its main character: those over the age of 18 comprised 43 percent of the audience this weekend, while families accounted for a mere 27 percent. While I’ve yet to see Where the Wild Things Are, it will likely get me to a movie theater for the first time in about two years. (So there’s no misunderstanding, I love movies and watch a lot of them, but I simply prefer to do so from the comfort of my couch with conveniences of home, i.e., wine.)
Obviously, Where the Wild Things Are is one of the hottest topics on the Web in recent weeks. More importantly, the book and the movie both seem to inspire creativity, awakening that sense of pure imagination that resides within all of us.
So, The Madness of Art offers this roundup of all things wild. Read more…
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Some More Joy
Next week, as highlighted in a previous post, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova’s follow-up to Once—the indie musical that became 2007′s surprise hit (both the film
Fans, and there are many now following these once-obscure musicians turned Oscar winners, don’t have to wait until October 27 to hear the dozen tracks that comprise the duo’s new album, Strict Joy
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Friday Feed
Some suggestions to satisfy your reading, viewing and listening appetite throughout the weekend… Read more…
Friday Feed
Some suggestions to satisfy your reading, viewing and listening appetite throughout the weekend… Read more…
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Friday Feed
Some suggestions to satisfy your reading, viewing and listening appetite throughout the weekend… Read more…
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Book of The Dead
The Dead, in an innovative spin on the concert souvenir, have partnered with on-demand publisher Blurb to offer custom, collectible photography books for each show during the band’s current 2009 tour. Read more…
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Friday Feed
Some suggestions to satisfy your reading and viewing appetite throughout the weekend…. Read more…
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Spoken Word
Former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky,
Notable Wordsmiths Read ‘Poems Out Loud’
Robert Pinsky, U.S.Poet Laureate from 1997 to 2000 and editor of the recently released Essential Pleasures: A New Anthology of Poems to Read Aloud
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Day of the Dead
Surviving Grateful Dead Members
Kick Off Tour Tonight in Greensboro, NC
In less than seven hours, my wife and I are headed to the promised land—Greensboro, North Carolina. That’s where the Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann (original members of the Grateful Dead), along with guitarist Warren Haynes and the keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, kick off The Dead’s 2009 tour—a reunion of sorts, consisting of 20-plus shows, after a five-year hiatus.
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