Filed by Trevor at 11:36 am under The Arts
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“Robert Frost disliked having poems set to music. Not because he objected to the music - he objected to what it did to the poems. Frost, himself, would have objected. He would have strenuously objected.” — Lesley Francis, Robert Frost’s granddaughter

Two versions of the same piece, one of them illegal. Imagine having to commission a text with the same meter, rhyme scheme, and key words as Robert Frost’s “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” while at the same time being a coherent, emotionally resonant text befitting the music. Or, I guess I should say, imagine having to write it, especially after the original version had already enjoyed numerous successful performances nationwide. This is what is necessary when one is sued for copyright infringement by the estate of a long-dead, universally respected poet.

The poem becomes public domain in 2038 and Eric Whitacre, the composer, has stated that he would not revert to the original in that instance. Which do you prefer? Why? Is it the subject matter or the actual constants and vowels of the text itself?

Filed by Bil at 4:23 pm under Pop Culture, The Arts, The Science
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Thanks to Laughing Squid for bearing the hard news that famed mathematician and all-around smart guy Benoit Mandelbrot has passed away, and double thanks for the pair of videos posted on that page, which I have re-embedded here, along with a bunch of other fractal videos (for the benefit of everyone out there who’s not on drugs).

The TED talk Mandelbrot gave earlier this year is a little over 17 minutes long, and worth every second of it, so if you’ve got the time, do yourself the favor.
(Keep reading…)

Filed by Bil at 9:22 pm under General
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I’m both extraordinarily tired and highly motivated these days. I want to do too much and I have neither the time nor the energy. It’s quite the conundrum.

Currently, I am in rehearsals for “The Devilish Children and the Civilizing Process” over at Dream Theatre. Rehearsals are turning out to be as much fun as I have had with a show in a long time. This particular rehearsal process is a little more interesting than usual, and this cast is a riot.

However, all this rehearsing on top of a full-time day job leaves little room for anything else, and certainly doesn’t leave me with much energy to make the time. But there is so much else I want to do…

And do I shall. I don’t have any Dream Theatre shows lined up right away after “Devilish Children” and I have plans of all sizes I’m eager to start working on.
(Keep reading…)