Stop and Hear the Music: a Most Interesting Story
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
Read the entire story, Pearls Before Breakfast at The Washington Post
via Amanda Martinez
Redefining Local: a poll
Over the past little while, I’ve found myself redefining what the word “local” means to me. I’ve been trying to “click the zoom button” on my map, relearn, and focus on what it means. Take a look at the thesaurus:
local
adjective
1 local government: community, district, neighborhood, regional, city, town, municipal, county. ANTONYMS national, global.2 a local restaurant: neighborhood, nearby, near, at hand, close by;
accessible, handy, convenient.
I’m planning to write more on this topic in the near future but in this age of metropolis and global communication, I think we’ve lost something by going big. Don’t get me wrong, I love big cities and I love to travel but I’ve been trying to be much more intentional about my immediate community. Where and how I “do life”. Especially in my economic choices. I refuse to drive the five miles to Wal-Mart because honestly, that’s too far for me and not because of gas prices either. Not to mention the topic of Wal-Mart could take up a whole series of posts by itself.
My point is, I love doing life right here. I want my money to benefit the businesses right here. We plan our fuel ups at the gas station right here. We shop at the grocery store right here. Our doctor’s office is right here. I think we’re losing what true community is and I’m trying to do my small part to reverse that.
Out of curiosity, anyone else out there think about these things or am I crazy? Hit the comments up below but only after you let us know here:
Harvesting Banksy
Anyone who knows me knows I’m fascinated by street art. Not the mindless tagging of a moniker but real street art. Something that makes a statement, provoking thought. It’s meant to be free and for the masses not harvested and sold to the highest bidder.
The footage above, that angered many street art fans, was put together by the Keszler Gallery in association with the Bankrobber Gallery where unnamed individuals traveled to Palestine and boldly removed some of the well known and much beloved work Banksy created for the Santa’s Ghetto event held in the West Bank in 2007.
It turns out several of the pieces that were cut out en bloc ended up in a recent show at the Hamptons at the Keszler Gallery in an unsanctioned show, although who knows if they are fake as these are obviously without Pest Control authentication.
via Arrested Motion
Ideas are going to continue to become more valuable, which means that the urge to control and patrol them is going to get greater… Locking down ideas makes them worth less.
If “Mad Men” Created Social Media Ads
MLK Memorial Unveiled
One of America’s greatest civil liberty leaders, Martin Luther King Jr., was honored this week with a long-awaited statue that was revealed at the National Mall in Washington, DC, the same place King made his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech.
To reach the memorial, visitors walk through two large stones with a gap in between. The giant 30 ft statue, the first on the Mall to honor a non-U.S. president, sits in a direct line between existing memorials dedicated to Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. The memorial also features a 450 ft-long granite wall inscribed with 14 of his most memorable quotations.
“I’ve seen probably 50 sculptures of my dad, and I would say 47 of them are not good reflections — that’s not to disparage an artist,” said Martin Luther King Jr.’s son, Martin Luther King III. “This particular artist — he’s done a good job.”
A few thoughts on raising taxes…
Last week Billionaire Warren Buffett told Congress to raise taxes on the wealthy. A lot of people think it’s a great idea. I don’t. Not because of some capitalistic greed ideology. Not because I don’t think they can spare it. They certainly can. But, here’s why:
Before we force anyone, in any income bracket, to pay more to this government, this government needs to be fixed. It’s not right or fair (a word the liberal left love to toss out) to make someone pay more for such a crappy product.
No one should pay more until Washington learns to reign in the obscene spending on programs, wars, and bailouts no one wants. And, that’s not to mention the congressional expense accounts that pay for their expensive cars, fuel, fancy meals, and other “essentials” that the rest of us pay for. I don’t know about you but no one pays for that stuff for me. Why should it be any different for them?
You wanna raise taxes? Fine. But, first let’s change some things so those new taxes don’t end up paying for stupid stuff.
The Quiet Place
Absolutely love this! The use of Jack’s Song from LOST makes it. If pressing the spacebar does nothing, simply click anywhere on the screen instead to scroll to the next message. And with this, I’m out for the rest of the day.
London Looters Get Photoshopped
PhotoshopLooter is a new Tumblr blog, which popped up yesterday, where people of the Internet have banded together to show London looters in embarrassing situations. As Uproxx says of these meme, “Many of its reader submissions are LOL-worthy and a nice breath of fresh air in a maddening time.”
The Daily Show | Indecision 2012 - Corn Polled Edition Ron Paul and the Top Tier
Thank you Cody for posting this… Makes me want to back him even more.
Banksy’s New TV Special ‘The Antics Roadshow’
Charting the history of behaving badly in public, the episode will feature anarchists and activists to attention-seeking eccentrics. Narrated by Kathy Burke and produced by Jaimie D’Cruz (Exit Through the Gift Shop), The Antics Roadshow examines the stories behind some of the most audacious stunts of recent times and what motivates the perpetrators, from mindless boredom to heartfelt political beliefs.
Looking forward to watching this.
street art that makes you think
As seen on the streets of Rome…
