Why Foreign Investors Like Landmark Buildings "Is New York still New York if its trophies are sold off to foreign interests? Why do peak oil investors love our landmarks? What's next? The Seagram Building? And why not the Empire State Building? Or Rockefeller Center (again)?" Bloomberg 07/23/08

How The Tate Is Beating MoMA "Arguably the Tate brand, which has gained huge international currency since the founding of Tate Modern at the turn of the millennium, has threatened to eclipse that of MoMA. The Tate has even been making audacious inroads into MoMA's home turf of New York, courting American philanthropists and holding glamorous fundraising events." The Guardian (UK) 08/24/08

Beijing's Disappearing Historic Center "The explosion of construction activity that has transformed Beijing into a modern metropolis over the past decade also turned many of its historical neighborhoods -- known for their narrow alleyways, or hutongs -- into rubble." The New York Times 07/27/08

Why Musicians Are So Appealing "Why do we find musicians and singers so attractive? Looking at things from a biological point of view, we would normally expect women to be attracted to men with qualities that indicate good genes that can be passed on to her children or those that show he can look after a family, like a wad of cash for instance. Music doesn't seem to serve any practical purpose." The Scotsman 07/24/08

A Manifesto For Children's Arts Rights "The Manifesto for Children's Arts, published by charity Action for Children's Arts, and the first of its kind, criticises the UK for failing to deliver Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child - which states that the government should ensure all children have access to cultural activities." The Stage 07/23/08

Unlocking The Magic Of The Brain Researchers "argue that the collective wisdom of magicians, honed for millenia by the gazes of suspicious crowds, contains insights for investigators of human perception and cognition. A science of magic, they write, could take both cognitive science and magic to new heights -- and that's not all. It could help people defend themselves from the tricks of advertisers." Wired 07/23/08

Conductor James Levine's Kidney Had Cancerous Growth "Fortunately, because of early detection, it had not spread to the surrounding tissues, blood vessels or lymph nodes. Doctors reported the surgery was completely curative and no further treatment is necessary." Yahoo! (AP) 07/23/08

Netflix Closes Indie Film Distribution In a move that could have a big impact on indie film sales and distribution, online film rental service Netflix is shuttering its film financing and acquisition arm Red Envelope Entertainment. Yahoo! (Reuters) 07/23/08

Group Of Actors Challenges Screen Actors Guild Leadership "More than 30 actors dissatisfied with stalled contract talks said Wednesday they have joined to campaign for seats on the Screen Actors Guild's board of directors, a move that could eventually break the stalemate with Hollywood studios." Yahoo! (AP) 07/23/08

The Amises And The Public Intellectual Business "Amis & Son (the ampersand, neatly hinting at the "family firm", as Martin once referred to it, is a good touch) is about parenthood in the modern British intelligentsia and the huge cultural shift between the 1940s and the 60s, and an analysis of the way in which a celebrated father and son, each producing comic and satiric fiction, could come up with such disparate results." The Times (UK) 07/23/08

Small Publishers Tote Up The Cost Of Amazon "Small publishers get an amazing boost from selling on Amazon, in that it gives them instant worldwide distribution. Amazon should be applauded for the ease with which they grant access to this network. However, there's a price for entering such a spectacular marketplace; one so steep that it could be argued that all the economic advantage goes to Amazon alone." The Guardian (UK) 07/22/08

A Long Ad In The Guise Of A Play "The show isn't, as its title might suggest, just another wacky Fringe wheeze devised by attention-seeking theatre-makers. It's orchestrated by Pot Noodle themselves, in cahoots with the ad agency Mother - who together have decided that putting on a show in Edinburgh is the next step in selling dehydrated snacks to the masses." The Guardian (UK) 07/22/08

The Loyal Conductor Zubin Mehta has been associated with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra since 1961. "He was appointed its music adviser in 1969, music director in 1977, and in 1981 Mehta accepted the title of music director for life. It is a unique position in a business where contracts rarely run for more than five years." But for Mehta, such longevity and loyalty to a single ensemble is an ongoing theme. Sydney Morning Herald 07/23/08

Mayne's Challenge "It's hard to miss San Francisco's new U.S. Federal Building, a narrow 18-story office slab with a skewed, not-quite-mansard roof. Completed in March of last year, the building is a study in contradictions: an ambitious energy-conserving agenda, a tight budget, and a highly restrictive set of security concerns. How did Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne deal with this challenging mix?" Slate 07/23/08

Clear Channel Preparing To Leave The Market "The deal to take Clear Channel Communications Inc. private, disclosed 20 months ago, has been the subject of a lot of static from rankled shareholders, company officials, and lenders. Delayed and downsized, the $17.9 billion deal for the nation's largest owner of radio stations and a global power in billboards will finally close a week from today if shareholders approve the $36-per-share offer tomorrow." Boston Globe (AP) 07/23/08

Rockers Rallying Around Obama Barack Obama may have trouble with white working-class voters, but he appears to have the rock star vote sewn up tight. A new star-studded rock video paying tribute to the senator is set to hit the internet next week, "an inspirational kind of musical expression that conveys an upbeat, positive tone reminiscent of earlier projects like the 1985 ''We Are the World'' music video." Chicago Sun-Times 07/23/08

New Broadway Awards To Honor High Schoolers "Dozens of American high school musical performers will compete on Broadway next year for a new national award named after theater owner and producer James M. Nederlander." Philadelphia Inquirer (AP) 07/23/08

What's Going On At NBC? The network seems a mite discombobulated heading into the fall season. At a major press tour, "NBC played clips of series it says were not complete, and certainly not ready to ship to critics. One series... showed clips that the executive producer suggested might be reshot at a later date." San Francisco Chronicle 07/23/08

Helen Gardiner, 70 "Helen Gardiner, one of Toronto's most beloved cultural philanthropists, died yesterday at her Caledon East farm, just four days after her 70th birthday... [With her husband, Gardiner] assembled a spectacular ceramics collection and not only gave it to the people of Ontario, but built the museum that houses it." Toronto Star 07/23/08

New "At The Movies" Hosts Named Ben Lyons of E! Entertainment Television and Ben Mankiewicz of Turner Classic Movies have been named to replace Richard Roeper and Roger Ebert on At The Movies. Ebert and Roeper "each announced [Monday] they were disassociating themselves from the movie-review program citing changes Disney planned to make to the long-running series." Chicago Tribune 07/23/08

PhilOrch Keeps Paying Ex-President Joseph Kluger stepped down as president of the Philadelphia Orchestra in late summer 2005, but tax records show that the orchestra continued to pay him for two more years, even after a new chief was in place. Kluger says the $313,000 he received was for "consulting." Philadelphia Inquirer 07/23/08

NJ Cuts Back On Arts Funding "Against a backdrop of cutbacks, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts reduced by 12.6 percent its funding for arts organizations, programs and projects on Tuesday... It could have been worse, [though.] Through a statewide lobbying campaign, arts leaders joined with educators and businessmen to convince legislators to restore more than half of the 27 percent funding cut in the budget that Gov. Jon S. Corzine submitted earlier this year." Cherry Hill Courier Post (NJ) 07/23/08

Levine Had Cancerous Growth, Docs Say James Levine, who left his Tanglewood duties earlier this month to have emergency surgery, apparently had a cancerous growth on his kidney. "Fortunately, because of early detection, it had not spread to the surrounding tissues, blood vessels, or lymph nodes. Doctors reported the surgery was completely curative and no further treatment is necessary." Boston Globe 07/23/08

Giant Martin Luther King Sculpture Stirs Controversy "One could argue that some controversy was inevitable no matter what. Memorial sculptures for King have long been lightning rods for racial resentments, black and white. The importance of this one --- the first representation of an African-American and nonpresident to be so honored on the National Mall --- would make it particularly fraught." Atlanta Journal-Constitution 07/20/08

"Reality" TV Elle Takes On Broadway's Legally Blonde Bailey Hanks was "hand-picked by director Jerry Mitchell out of a group of 10 aspiring Elles on the MTV reality show Legally Blonde the Musical: The Search for Elle Woods, which premiered in early June. The finale aired Monday night. Hanks replaces Tony-nominated Laura Bell Bundy Wednesday night, and runner-up Autumn Hurlbert will appear as one of Elle's Delta Nu sorority sisters." Yahoo! (AP) 07/22/08

Minnesota Orchestra Cancels Concert Because Of Money The Minnesota Orchestra, citing future budget concerns, on Tuesday canceled its annual Lake Harriet bandshell concert, the finale for the venue's music season. The Star-Tribune (Mpls) 07/22/08

Kay Ryan, "Outsider" Poet? That's how America's new Poet laureate sees herself. "In truth, Ryan's as much a part of the Establishment as her 15 predecessors in the honorary position. She published her first collection in 1983. What she lacks is a literary position in a university, teaching remedial English part time at a California college." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 07/22/08

Tickets To Royal Opera House Opening Night To Be Available Only To Tabloid Readers Only readers of The Sun newspaper will be able to get tickets. "We have so many opportunities to open up our doors to more people and I'm thrilled that we're able to invite those who have never been to the opera house before to experience a first night performance." BBC 07/22/08

Prominent Authors Confess Which Classics They Haven't Read Perhaps it takes attaining a certain level of accomplishment to be able to admit the famous books one hasn't read... The Telegraph (UK) 07/23/08

Paris Opera Ballet Season Down Under Canceled The Victoria government won't support a planned tour by the Paris Opera Ballet, and the season has collapsed. "We're embarrassed for Australia, and we're embarrassed for Melbourne. It's terrible after having been given such a wonderful time in Sydney for the ballet to be flicked by Melbourne." Supporters of the planned vist warned that "the decision might do "irreparable damage" to the reputations of Melbourne and Australia. The Australian 07/23/08

The Secret Appeal Of Britain's Most-Played Song Bad Day by Daniel Powter has been the most played song in the UK over the past five years. What is it about this track and others that keep popping up everywhere we go? BBC 07/22/08

Royal Opera House To Hit The Continent's Movie Screens "The autumn programme of 16 ballets and operas will be shown in at least 112 cinemas, including the Empire Leicester Square, the Vue and Odeon multiplex chains, and independent venues on the Continent. For the price of a cinema ticket, audiences will be able to watch live shows in 'full surround sound' as they are being performed in the opera house in Covent Garden, where tickets can cost £195 each." The Independent (UK) 07/22/08