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Space, jazz and Afrofuturism, tonight on Radio 3

Last week was fun... interviewing jazz writers John Corbett and Graham Lock for a feature, tonight, about jazz during the space race era. It's a short piece on Radio 3's Jazz on 3, timed to play alongside a live concert by ex-Sun Ra alto saxophonist Marshall Allen. I was interested in finding out whether all the cosmic references in jazz in the 50s and (particularly) 60s meant anything... and what the space race meant to jazz. Details here.

Watching David Lynch is good for our brains

According to research by psychologists at UC Santa Barbara and the University of British Columbia, exposure to the surrealism in, say, Kafka's "The Country Doctor" or Lynch's "Blue Velvet" enhances the cognitive mechanisms that oversee implicit learning functions.

They call it "meaning threat", and say it motivates us to reach outside our comfort zones to manufacture meaning and sense. It makes us work harder... which is, apparently, a good habit to get into.

I dare you to ask Josh Olson to read your script

I will not read your fucking script. At this point, you should walk away, firm in your conviction that I'm a dick. But if you're interested in growing as a human being and recognizing that it is, in fact, you who are the dick in this situation, please read on.

What will happen if Apple DOESN'T announce a tablet computer?

Apple's silence on the subject must surely be construed as tacit confirmation that the much-rumoured but, as yet, entirely imaginary product is about to be launched. If not, shouldn't they break their silence and issue a firm denial now, before stumbling in and out of a disappointing September event, and watching their share price dip? Don't they owe that to the shareholders?

The First Post asked for my take on the subject. It's here.