The Off Topic Topic

[The Brain]

All fair - still think it's weird how a paper of record published a piece speculating about her sexuality. Especially one based on her art. Which contains "signals"/something she is communicating rather than something we are reading/interpreting.

Feels like a fair bit going on there which I find a bit weird. Have a bit of a theory that art kind of swings between content and form. 18th and 20th century big on form, 19th on content and that we're in a bit of a swing to content again and this all seems of a piece with that - almost certainly nonsense though

Edit: Also again just the weird parasocial thing that the NYT thought this was okay to publish blows my mind

My first job out of college was with Nextel Wireless.  At the time our chief investor was Craig McCaw (founder of McCaw Cellular, the precursor to AT&T Wireless.)  While I was there Craig and his wife divorced and that was front page news on The Wall Street Journal.  I remember thinking "You know you're a success in business when your divorce is a front page story on The Wall Street Journal."  In a similar manner, you're a success at something if your sexuality is being discussed in the New York Times.

Yes, great success.

https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/27/magazine/wild-about-fur.html

[grumbler]

Fair, but this assumes that top end pop songs have tunes and lyrics which are top-end difficult to create, which I think is some miles off from being a universal truth.

Yeah, there is that.  My response was unconsciously tilted towards thinking about music stars like Taylor Swift.  There's likely a market for mediocre ghost songwriters for mediocre singers/groups who just can't write music.

[crazy canuck]

As I said I am not doubting that, just mentioning the shadow writer thing because I am assuming that means you are free to claim credit for what the shadow-writer wrote, meaning what's on the credits isn't a guarantee. But I could be wrong, I have never really cared about this stuff.

I'm thinking that the whole "shadow songwriter" thing is likely an urban legend.  If a writer has the talent to write top-end lyrics or music, they are going to insist on getting songwriting credit because it gets their name out in font of others looking for songwriting talent.  If they are not good enough to demand that credit, what use are they to some songwriter like TS?  Plus, even if they get paid for their contributions, they can always come back later and demand credit, so for it if not given freely, and get the credit that way.

I could, of course, be convinced by credible evidence that such ghost songwriters actually exist.

Fair, but this assumes that top end pop songs have tunes and lyrics which are top-end difficult to create, which I think is some miles off from being a universal truth.

As I said I am not doubting that, just mentioning the shadow writer thing because I am assuming that means you are free to claim credit for what the shadow-writer wrote, meaning what's on the credits isn't a guarantee. But I could be wrong, I have never really cared about this stuff.

I'm thinking that the whole "shadow songwriter" thing is likely an urban legend.  If a writer has the talent to write top-end lyrics or music, they are going to insist on getting songwriting credit because it gets their name out in font of others looking for songwriting talent.  If they are not good enough to demand that credit, what use are they to some songwriter like TS?  Plus, even if they get paid for their contributions, they can always come back later and demand credit, so for it if not given freely, and get the credit that way.

I could, of course, be convinced by credible evidence that such ghost songwriters actually exist.

Fair, but this assumes that top end pop songs have tunes and lyrics which are top-end difficult to create, which I think is some miles off from being a universal truth.

Why do you think it is easy to create a hit song?

[The Brain]

https://archive.org/details/TheManualHowToHaveANumber1TheEasyWay/page/n5/mode/2up

[Syt]

Apropos of nothing, this showed up in my Reddit feed ...

[Savonarola]

Apropos of nothing, this showed up in my Reddit feed ...

I met an engineer in Seattle who told me Queensryche (when they were still a local band) played at his prom.

[crazy canuck]

I saw U2 in the early 80s at a small venue that specialized in bands nobody ever heard of.  Luckily, I had a friend who was really into them and talked me into going.

One of the best concerts I've ever seen.

Two years later they came back to Vancouver and played in our football stadium to a sold out crowd.

[Josquius]

It's not april fools day. But I am making plans to visit London.

https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/jan/11/tfl-cardboard-steering-wheels-dlr-trains

[Savonarola]

It's not april fools day. But I am making plans to visit London.

https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/jan/11/tfl-cardboard-steering-wheels-dlr-trains

Steering wheels? 

[Tamas]

So are these guys just imagining these massive star-structures there because their computer program says they are there, or indeed our model for the universe is in need of a rethink?

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/jan/11/newly-discovered-cosmic-megastructure-challenges-theories-of-the-universe

[The Brain]

So are these guys just imagining these massive star-structures there because their computer program says they are there, or indeed our model for the universe is in need of a rethink?

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/jan/11/newly-discovered-cosmic-megastructure-challenges-theories-of-the-universe

a cosmologist at the Bahamas Advanced Study Institute & Conferences

Science is hard work.

[Josephus]

Sorry going back to the Taylor Swift thing .... Rush played my high school, alas it was about 10 years before I was there. 

[Legbiter]

New eruption just outside of Grindavík. About 450m from the outlying houses. Town was quickly evacuated.





Started about an hour and half ago. Much smaller than the previous one but badly located.

[Legbiter]

Yikes...

[Richard Hakluyt]

A bit too close for comfort.