“From CDs to DVDs to Live in HD, DiDonato is a diva for the digital age, using new technology and social media to reach broad audiences.”
Did The Family Of This Barcelona Art Collector Pull Off A Major Art Heist?
“The missing 352 paintings and drawings, together with tapestries and other works, constitute an art heist on a grand scale, according to the city. It is alleging theft and fraud in a criminal case against the four daughters of Julio Muñoz Ramonet, a Catalan industrialist who bequeathed the property to his native city of Barcelona when he died in 1991.”
Why Mark Zuckerberg’s Book Club Is Really Cool
“Most of the coverage of Zuckerberg’s book club has taken the perspective of the publishing industry and invokes the hallowed name of Oprah. Will the Facebook founder become the book business’ new Prince Charming, bestowing instant fame and bestseller status on some obscure but deserving author twice a month? But far more intriguing is the emerging portrait of Mark Zuckerberg as a reader.”
Beloved Danish Orchestra (That Is Technically Shut Down) Rises Through Crowdfunding
“The Danish National Chamber Orchestra (DNCO) has launched a Kickstarter campaign to continue bringing music to audiences in Denmark and beyond—even though, officially, it seems to be shut down.”
First Lady Of Arabic Cinema, Faten Hamama, Dead At 83
“For a half-century, she stayed current by taking topical roles in films dealing with social justice and women’s rights. As an idolized national figure, she not only galvanized support for those causes but also helped redefine the Arab woman.” (She was also, by the way, the frequent co-star and erstwhile wife of Omar Sharif.)
$150K Play Production Award To Rajiv Joseph’s “The Guards At The Taj”
Joseph, who was a Pulitzer finalist in 2010 for Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, won the 2015 Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award, “which provides $50,000 to the winning playwright and an additional $100,000 to defray production costs for the play’s premiere.”
Hunger Games: Wave Of New Video Games Focuses On Scarcity And Subsistence Rather Than Shooting
“These games subvert the usual arc of heroic triumph … at last breaking away from the technicolour militarist bloodbaths that dog the reputation of computer games. … Finding a mouldy crust of bread to eat is often a higher priority than blazing away at the robots.”
Literary Feud News: Naipaul And Theroux Bury 19-Year-Old Hatchet
The two men, who once had a close mentor-protégé relationship, began a nasty public feud in 1996; this week it came to an end as the ailing 82-year-old Naipaul was honored at the Jaipur literary festival.
NY City Opera Board Wants Lower Of Two Purchase Bids
“The board for the bankrupt New York City Opera said Thursday that it still wanted to sell the company’s name and few remaining assets to its preferred suitor, even though another bidder offered $250,000 more for them at an auction in court earlier this week.”
Harvey Weinstein’s Broadway Publicist Dumps Him (Or Was Fired)
The famously volatile film producer “and the veteran Broadway press agent Rick Miramontez have parted ways on Mr. Weinstein’s forthcoming musical Finding Neverland after sharp words were said at their weekly planning meeting on Tuesday.”
The Nazi Films Still Banned In Germany To This Day
“The first surprise is the wide range of propaganda subjects on which bans are still enforced” – not only anti-British, -French, -Russian, and (of course) anti-Jewish propaganda, but also films promoting fighter pilots (a musical, no less), the Hitler Youth, euthanasia, and the repatriation of ethnic Germans in Poland. Richard Brody considers why these movies are still forbidden after 70 years.
Notes On Grumbling
Joshua Rothman: “Given its omnipresence, it’s tempting to say that grumbling may be the quintessential modern speech act. … Susan Sontag dedicated Notes on Camp to camp’s patron saint, Oscar Wilde. These far humbler notes are dedicated to that great grumbler Oscar the Grouch.”
Why Dannon Needs To Warn You That a Foot-Tall Strawberry Is Not Going To Pop Out Of Your Yogurt Container
Shirley S. Wang takes a look at the ever-expanding phenomenon of advertising disclaimers.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 01.22.15
Approaching Beauty in a Business School
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AJBlog: Unanswered Question Published 2015-01-22
Ward Swingle, 1927-2015
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2015-01-22
“Translucent Complementary Contrast”: Steven Holl’s Alluring Expansion of MFA, Houston (with video)
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2015-01-22
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New Investigation Into Death Of Pablo Neruda (Was He Poisoned?)
“Tests on Neruda’s exhumed body in 2013 found no trace of poison but more will now be done. His death certificate says he died of prostate cancer. Neruda died 12 days after the military coup that brought General Augusto Pinochet to power.”
Television Becomes A Force At Sundance Film Festival
“Independent film used to define the cutting edge in entertainment, but the indie crowd has lately ceded ground to television … The festival, fiercely proud of its heritage as America’s foremost showcase for independent cinema, is working to hold on to that identity. At the same time, it is tentatively embracing an art form, television, in which innovation and energy abound.”
John Bayley, 89, Literary Scholar, Critic, And Memoirist Of Wife Iris Murdoch
“As a critic and author, Mr. Bayley was acclaimed for his dissections of Goethe and Pushkin as well as of Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy and Henry James.” He drew an international readership, wide praise and some condemnation for Elegy for Iris, his account of his wife’s descent into Alzheimer’s disease.