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Octet (musical)
''Octet'' is a chamber choir musical written and composed by Dave Malloy and directed by Annie Tippe. The show "explores addiction and nihilism within the messy context of 21st century technology." Synopsis Eight Internet addicts gather in a support group called "Friends of Saul" in a church basement and share their stories, in a score for an a cappella chamber choir and an original libretto inspired by internet comment boards, scientific debates, religious texts, and Sufi poetry. Musical numbers The musical is structured around a series of hymns and "shares," as the group members explain their relationship to technology. Each song corresponds to one of the Major Arcana cards in a tarot deck. Part 1 * I. "Hymn: The Forest" - All * II. "Refresh" - Jessica & Chorus * III. "Candy" - Henry & Chorus * IV. "Glow" - Paula * V. "Fugue State" - All Part 2 * VI. "Hymn: Monster" - Women, All * VII. "Solo" - Karly, Ed, All * VIII. "Actually" - Toby, Chorus * IX. "Little God" - Marvin, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Malloy
Dave Malloy (born January 4, 1976) is an American composer, playwright, lyricist, singer, orchestrator, and actor. He has written several theatrical works, often based on classic works of literature. His most well known work is the Tony Award winning '' Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812,'' an electropop opera based on ''War and Peace''. His other works include '' Ghost Quartet'', a song cycle about "love, death, and whiskey"; '' Preludes,'' a musical fantasia set in the mind of romantic composer Sergei Rachmaninoff; ''Octet'', a chamber choir musical about internet addiction; and '' Three Houses'', a chamber musical about the Covid-19 pandemic. Career Malloy grew up in Lakewood, Ohio and studied music composition and English literature at Ohio University. He began making theater in San Francisco in 2000. Early work included pieces with Banana Bag & Bodice, for whom he has been the composer since 2002. In 2008 he composed music for ''Beowulf – A Thousand Years ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4′33″
''4′33″'' is a Modernism (music), modernist composition by American experimental music, experimental composer John Cage. It was composed in 1952 for any instrument or combination of instruments; the score instructs performers not to play their instruments throughout the three movements. It is divided into three movements, lasting 30 seconds, two minutes and 23 seconds, and one minute and 40 seconds, respectively, although Cage later stated that the movements' durations can be determined by the musician. As suggested by the title, the composition lasts four minutes and 33 seconds. It is marked by silence except for ambient sound, which is intended to contribute to the performance. # ''4′33″'' was conceived around 1947–48, while Cage was working on the piano cycle ''Sonatas and Interludes.'' Many prior musical pieces were largely composed of silence, and silence played a notable role in his prior work, including ''Sonatas and Interludes''. His studies on Zen Buddhism du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Righteous Mind
''The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion'' is a 2012 social psychology book by Jonathan Haidt, in which the author describes human morality as it relates to politics and religion. In the first section, Haidt demonstrates that people's beliefs are driven primarily by intuition, with reason operating mostly to justify beliefs that are intuitively obvious. In the second section, he lays out his theory that the human brain is organized to respond to several distinct types of moral violations, much like a tongue is organized to respond to different sorts of foods. In the last section, Haidt proposes that humans have an innate capacity to sometimes be "groupish" rather than "selfish". Summary In the first part of the book, Jonathan Haidt uses cross-sectional research to demonstrate social intuitionism, how people's beliefs come primarily from their intuitions, and rational thought often comes after to justify initial beliefs. He cites David Hume and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonathan Haidt
Jonathan David Haidt (; born October 19, 1963) is an American social psychologist and author. He is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at the New York University Stern School of Business. Haidt's main areas of study are the psychology of morality and moral emotions. Haidt's main scientific contributions come from the psychological field of moral foundations theory, which attempts to explain the evolutionary origins of human moral reasoning on the basis of innate, gut feelings rather than logic and reason. The theory was later extended to explain the different moral reasoning and how they relate to political ideology, with different political orientations prioritizing different sets of morals. The research served as a foundation for future books on various topics. Haidt has written multiple books for general audiences, including '' The Happiness Hypothesis'' (2006) examining the relationship between ancient philosophies and modern science, '' The Righteous Min ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A History, A Theory, A Flood
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient Greek letter alpha, from which it derives. The uppercase version consists of the two slanting sides of a triangle, crossed in the middle by a horizontal bar. The lowercase version is often written in one of two forms: the double-storey and single-storey . The latter is commonly used in handwriting and fonts based on it, especially fonts intended to be read by children, and is also found in italic type. In English, '' a'' is the indefinite article, with the alternative form ''an''. Name In English, the name of the letter is the ''long A'' sound, pronounced . Its name in most other languages matches the letter's pronunciation in open syllables. History The earliest known ancestor of A is ''aleph''—the first letter of the Phoenician ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Gleick
James Gleick (; born August 1, 1954) is an American author and historian of science whose work has chronicled the cultural impact of modern technology. Recognized for his writing about complex subjects through the techniques of narrative nonfiction, he has been called "one of the great science writers of all time". He is part of the inspiration for ''Jurassic Park'' character Ian Malcolm. Gleick's books include the international bestsellers '' Chaos: Making a New Science'' (1987) and '' The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood'' (2011). Three of his books have been Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalists; and ''The Information'' was awarded the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award and the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books in 2012. His books have been translated into more than thirty languages. Per the ''Wall Street Journal'', "Some writers excel at crafting a historical narrative, others at elucidating esoteric theories, still others at huma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valis (novel)
''Valis'' (stylized as ''VALIS'') is a 1981 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick, intended to be the first book of a three-part series. The title is an acronym for ''Vast Active Living Intelligence System'', Dick's gnostic vision of God. Set in California during the 1970s, the book features heavy auto-biographical elements and draws inspiration from Dick's own investigations into his unexplained religious experiences over the previous decade. It is the first book in the incomplete ''VALIS trilogy'' of novels, followed by ''The Divine Invasion'' (1981). The planned third novel, ''The Owl in Daylight'', had not yet taken definite shape at the time of the author's death. Dick's final novel, ''The Transmigration of Timothy Archer'' (1982), builds on similar themes; Dick wrote: "the three do form a trilogy constellating around a basic theme." Synopsis In March 1974, Horselover Fat (the alter-personality of Philip K. Dick) experiences visions of a pink beam of ligh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip K
Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularized the name include List of kings of Macedonia, kings of Macedonia and one of the apostles of early Christianity. ''Philip'' has #Philip in other languages, many alternative spellings. One derivation often used as a surname is Phillips (surname), Phillips. The original Greek spelling includes two Ps as seen in Philippides (other), Philippides and Philippos, which is possible due to the Greek endings following the two Ps. To end a word with such a double consonant—in Greek or in English—would, however, be incorrect. It has many diminutive (or even hypocorism, hypocoristic) forms including Phil, Philly (other)#People, Philly, Phillie, Lip (other), Lip, and Pip (other), Pip. There ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The God Delusion
''The God Delusion'' is a 2006 book by British evolutionary biologist and ethologist Richard Dawkins. In ''The God Delusion'', Dawkins contends that a supernatural creator, God, almost certainly does not exist, and that belief in a personal god qualifies as a delusion, which he defines as a persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence. He is sympathetic to Robert Pirsig's statement in '' Lila'' (1991) that "when one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion."; In the book, Dawkins explores the relationship between religion and morality, providing examples that discuss the possibility of morality existing independently of religion and suggesting alternative explanations for the origins of both religion and morality. In early December 2006, it reached number four in the ''New York Times'' Hardcover Non-Fiction Best Seller list after nine weeks on the list. More than three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist, zoologist, science communicator and author. He is an Oxford fellow, emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science, Professor for Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008, and is on the advisory board of the University of Austin. His book ''The Selfish Gene'' (1976) popularised the gene-centred view of evolution and coined the word ''meme''. Dawkins has won several academic and writing awards. A vocal Atheism, atheist, Dawkins is known for his criticism of creationism and intelligent design. He wrote ''The Blind Watchmaker'' (1986), in which he argues against the watchmaker analogy, an argument for the existence of a creator deity based upon the Evolution of biological complexity, complexity of living organisms. Instead, he describes evolutionary processes as analogous to a ''blind'' watc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ready Player One
''Ready Player One'' is a 2011 science fiction novel, and the debut novel of American author Ernest Cline. The story, set in a dystopia in 2045, follows protagonist Wade Watts on his search for an Easter egg in a worldwide virtual reality game, the discovery of which would lead him to inherit the game creator's fortune and the game itself. Cline sold the rights to publish the novel in June 2010, in a bidding war to the Crown Publishing Group (a division of Random House). The book was published on August 16, 2011. An audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton was released the same day. In 2012, the book received an Alex Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association division of the American Library Association and won the 2011 Prometheus Award. A film adaptation, screenwritten by Cline and Zak Penn and directed by Steven Spielberg, was released on March 29, 2018. A sequel novel, '' Ready Player Two'', was released on November 24, 2020, to a widely negative critical reception. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernest Cline
Ernest Christy Cline (born March 29, 1972) is an American science fiction novelist, slam poet and screenwriter. He wrote the novels '' Ready Player One'', '' Armada'' and '' Ready Player Two'', and co-wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of ''Ready Player One'', directed by Steven Spielberg. Life and career Cline was born and raised in Ashland, Ohio, the son of Ernest Cline and Faye Imogene Cline. As a youth in the 1970s and 1980s, Cline was "addicted to video games and movies," especially ''Star Wars'', the movies of John Hughes, and the tabletop roleplaying game ''Dungeons & Dragons''. He worked in information technology in his twenties and worked on screenwriting during his spare time. Fanboys Cline co-wrote the screenplay for '' Fanboys'', based on a story he had developed in the late 1990s while his mother was dying of cancer. Cline shot some low-budget scenes himself and shared his screenplay draft with Harry Knowles, whose connections in the film industry helpe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
