Ideas Philosophically Thinking... Are there ny common traits or beliefs that define philosophers? Do they share beliefs or proclivities or personality types? The Philosopher's Magazine took a survey and discovered a group of philosophiles who thought they ought to find more ways of contributing to the world... The Philosopher's Magazine 02/03 Posted: 02/12/2003 5:14 pm Missing (Seeing) What's Right In Front Of You "How can we look directly at things and not see them? The answer is that your brain perceives the world through what amounts to a mental 'soda straw.' When it aims that straw at one thing, all other objects—even those within your direct field of vision—recede into the background. Cognitive psychologists call this phenomenon selective attention, a neural process by which the 'volume knob' on one set of sensory inputs is turned up at the same time the intensity settings of all other stimuli are turned down." Discover 02/03 Posted: 02/12/2003 4:42 pm Visual Arts The First Titian Show In 400 Years (In Britain) Titian was one of the great painters of the Renaissance. The great biographer Vasari concluded that "Titian had invented a new form of art 'made up of bold strokes and blobs, beautiful and astonishing because it makes paintings seem alive." Every painter that has followed him has been influenced by his work in some way. So why, in 400 year, has there never been a British exhibition of his work? Now London's National Gallery has managed to beg and borrow more than 40 of Titian's finest paintings for an exhibition of his work. The Telegraph (UK) 02/13/03 Posted: 02/12/2003 6:03 pm Hot Pictures - Photography makes Its Move Photography is not only what Richard Woodward of the New York Times last year called the 'New New Thing in the art market,' but it is also, says Peter Galassi, chief photography curator at the Museum of Modern Art, 'the medium of the moment.' Despite a slowing economy, auctions continue to see record prices for classic blue-chip images." ArtNews 02/03 Posted: 02/12/2003 4:32 pm Miami Cops Sting Art Thieves A Renoir and a Monet stolen from a Florida mansion in December have been recovered by Miami police. The police used their acting talents as much as their investigative skills to recover the art. "A Miami-Dade officer posed as a seedy high-roller with a penchant for gold jewelry. A private investigator, hired by an insurance company, adopted the role of an Eastern European businessman with a professorial air and an appetite for boosted art treasures. Another Miami-Dade officer posed as a chauffeur-body guard to the artistic impersonator, driving him to the decidedly unswanky Hialeah hotel in a pricey Lincoln..." And the sting was on... Miami Herald 02/12/03 Posted: 02/12/2003 3:20 pm The First Titian Show In 400 Years (In Britain) Titian was one of the great painters of the Renaissance. The great biographer Vasari concluded that "Titian had invented a new form of art 'made up of bold strokes and blobs, beautiful and astonishing because it makes paintings seem alive." Every painter that has followed him has been influenced by his work in some way. So why, in 400 year, has there never been a British exhibition of his work? Now London's National Gallery has managed to beg and borrow more than 40 of Titian's finest paintings for an exhibition of his work. The Telegraph (UK) 02/13/03 Hot Pictures - Photography makes Its Move Photography is not only what Richard Woodward of the New York Times last year called the 'New New Thing in the art market,' but it is also, says Peter Galassi, chief photography curator at the Museum of Modern Art, 'the medium of the moment.' Despite a slowing economy, auctions continue to see record prices for classic blue-chip images." ArtNews 02/03 Miami Cops Sting Art Thieves A Renoir and a Monet stolen from a Florida mansion in December have been recovered by Miami police. The police used their acting talents as much as their investigative skills to recover the art. "A Miami-Dade officer posed as a seedy high-roller with a penchant for gold jewelry. A private investigator, hired by an insurance company, adopted the role of an Eastern European businessman with a professorial air and an appetite for boosted art treasures. Another Miami-Dade officer posed as a chauffeur-body guard to the artistic impersonator, driving him to the decidedly unswanky Hialeah hotel in a pricey Lincoln..." And the sting was on... Miami Herald 02/12/03   Music The Piano Team The University of Indiana has long been known for its first-rate music school. Now it's being known for its "piano team. In 1991 pianist Alexander Toradze - the Tbilisi-born, Moscow-trained piano virtuoso - was appointed as professor and began building a studio of young student and professional pianists from all over the world. "The model for his program in Indiana, Toradze explains, was the 'class recitals' he heard as a student at a music school for gifted children in his native Tbilisi and later during his studies at the Moscow Conservatory." Chicago Tribune 02/13/03 Posted: 02/13/2003 9:53 pm You Send Me - The Top Ten Most Romantic Albums Just in time for Valentine's Day - What are the top ten most romantic albums ever recorded? The Telegraph's pop music critics have their say... (Roberta Flack? Really?) The Telegraph (UK) 02/13/03 Tale Of Two Opera Companies - With English National Opera The Loser While London's Royal Opera House seems to have steadied itself, The English National Opera is going in the other direction. Norman Lebrecht reports that dismay greeted ENO's choice of a new director last week. "The most dispiriting aspect of his appointment is its wilful myopia. Nothing about him inspires faith that Sean Doran will do better than any of the bathroom warblers who are lining up to try for an ENO role in Channel Four's gimmicky Operatunity contest. The idiocy of promoting an untested candidate from a provincial Australian ensemble was amply demonstrated by the fate of Ross Stretton at the ROH." La Scena Musicale 02/11/03 Big Score - Stadium Music Clones Why does music at sports stadiums all sound the same wherever you go? "Turns out that the folks who make decisions about stadium music are less interested in crafting a unique, venue-specific soundscape than in giving the people what they want—and they are not too proud to steal. If fans in Sports Market A love a given song, you can bet that it'll soon be pumping out of speakers in Sports Markets B, C, D, etc. Forget about regional music. These days, stadium music functions pretty much like mainstream radio—a combination of lowest common denominator hits and reliable standards, all played to death until they seem inescapable." Slate 02/12/03 Arts Issues Creatives Vs. Bean Counters - Who Should Prevail? The "combination of financial foundering and artistic success sums up the challenge of running an arts organisation. Which do you put first: the art or the accounts? Given that it is tough to find curators, opera administrators or artistic directors who are as good at managing as they are at having creative ideas, who do you put in charge: a bean counter who can balance the books, or the visionary with no head for figures?" The answer, every time, has got to be... The Guardian (UK) 02/13/03 Grant Denied Because Of "Unpatriotic" Comment An arts group in Whitesburg, Kentucky has been turned down for a $300,000 grant to create an exhibition hall for film documentaries and old radio programs because county officials objected to a remark they said one of the group's members made on his radio program. County officials called the remark - that "America has killed more innocent people than any other country in the world" "unpatriotic," but the disk jockey says he doesn't remember saying it. NJ.com (AP) 02/12/03 NY Warns Venues To Drop Added Ticket "Fees" New York State is going after venues that add on fees to ticket prices. "When the consumer sees a ticket price advertised for $100, that should be the price you pay. We don't want the consumer exposed to a situation where they are led to believe that the ticket price is $100 and then you get to the box office only to be told that there's a $1 restoration or a $2.50 convenience charge or whatever the venue calls their added-on fee. If the theatre feels it needs a dollar to go to a restoration fund, that's their business, but they should advertise that the ticket costs $100 or $101, whatever the total is. The rest is accounting." Backstage 02/12/03 NY City Council Overturns Mayor's Veto Of Cell Phone Ban Last year New York's City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting use of cell phones in theatres and concert halls. The mayor vetoed it. Wednesday, the council voted 38-5 to override the veto. Henceforth, in New York City, "talking on a cell phone, dialing, listening or even having one ring during a performance will constitute a violation punishable by a $50 fine." Wired 02/12/03 Arts Council To Give Arts Funding Big Boost The Arts Council of England says it will "nearly double" the amount it gives to individual artists, increasing spending to £25 million per year. The council also said it "would increase funding of the groups it already supports by a further £70 million, to £300 million by 2006. The Arts Council says the drive is designed to place 'the arts at the heart of national life'." BBC 02/12/03 New Name, New Logo, Less Staff - Arts Council England Relaunches The Arts Council of England has relaunched itself as Arts Council England, with a new logo and 100 fewer staff. Now there will be just the Arts Council, with regional offices, one telephone number and one application form for artists, replacing more than 100 different grants schemes." The council says the changes would "save almost £20m over the next three years, and £8m a year after that, all to be ploughed back into the arts." The Guardian (UK) 02/13/03 People Opera On First And Ten Keith Miller played football for the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos. But his love of opera has outlasted his football career. "Last fall, he won a full-tuition scholarship to the Academy of Vocal Arts, the prestigious, highly selective, post-graduate incubator for future opera stars. 'You watch a veteran football player like Jerry Rice make a catch, and he moves with such fluid grace and beauty. Hours and hours of practice and preparation make it look completely effortless. Same thing on the opera stage. A singer opens his mouth and out comes a sound that makes time stand still'." Philadelphia Inquirer 02/13/03 Posted: 02/13/2003 3:55 pm Theatre An Expensive "Journey' A new production of Eugene 'Neill's "Long Day's Journey Into ight" is going to charge $100 a ticket when it opens in May on Broadway. "The hefty price tag - which does not include a $1.25 per ticket "restoration fee" - is usually reserved for big-budget Broadway musicals such as 'The Producers', 'Hairspray' and 'Movin' Out'. A $100 ticket is rare for a straight play. "The Iceman Cometh," also by O'Neill, and starring Kevin Spacey, charged a $100 top price in 1999." New York Daily News 02/13/03 Posted: 02/13/2003 9:54 pm Publishing Library Of Congress Gets Digital Money The Library of Congress will get $100 million collect and preserve digital information, including images, CD's, Web pages and electronic journals. The Library has been "lagging in the task of archiving electronica: scholarly journals, books and magazines that are 'born digital'; CD-ROM's; digital photographs, music and films; and millions of miscellaneous pieces of Internet-based material. Digital technology "has spawned a surfeit of information that is extremely fragile, inherently impermanent, and difficult to assess for long-term value." The New York Times 02/13/03 Posted: 02/13/2003 3:56 pm Protesting Poets - Tradition or Knee-Jerk Reaction? "The belief that poets are naturally rebellious and 'progressive' is a fairly recent one. It is equally naive to think that poetic talent confers on its bearer some special grasp of political wisdom. Just in the past hundred years, renowned poets have supported some very bad causes, including communism and fascism. Today, the literary community is overwhelmingly left of center. Is this groundswell of antiwar sentiment among poets driven by well-considered opposition to the war, or is it a knee-jerk reaction?" Reason 02/11/03 Books Based On Video Games? Better believe it. Games are big business. "Video game sales surpassed movie sales last year, with a staggering $9.4 billion take. Mario, the plucky plumber and star of an 18-year-old series of games, has brought in twice as much revenue as all five Star Wars films combined. The Sims, a digital family whom players manipulate through every stage of life, has sold nearly 20 million units. So it's no surprise that book publishers are turning to video game novels. Yes, novels." Publishers Weekly 02/11/03 Media Online Gaming Ban Gets Greece In Trouble Last year Greece passed a law banning online games. The idea was to fight internet gambling. But the ban is problematic - some prominent Greeks have been caught playing, and the European Union says the ban "casts its net too wide, the EU says, ensnaring innocent Internet café owners and computer game companies." Why the ban? "Parliament took this decision spontaneously, and under unbearable pressure to wipe out the 'cancer' of gambling. As a result they voted one of the most excessive, unprepared and extreme laws ever enacted in Europe." Wired 02/13/03 Posted: 02/13/2003 3:57 pm Sagging Ratings For Those Who Compile The Ratings Radio industry execs are challenging Arbitron, the ratings company to improve its sampling rates. It seems fewer listeners are cooperating by filling out listening diaries. "As radio researchers, we have all been troubled for a long while over the impact that sagging response rates have had on Arbitron's nationwide and local market products. These surveys are our currency for pricing our commercials and inventories industrywide." Yahoo! (Reuters) 02/12/03 Drawing Little Comfort - Animators Brooding "These are anxious times for film animators, whose business is being roiled by layoffs, new technology and tension between the industry's longtime leader, the Walt Disney Company, and its upstart partner, Pixar Animation Studios. Computer technology is the essence of both the creative and production process of every movie. Those are not soothing words to traditional animators, who have watched jobs dwindle in the wake of computer techniques." The New York Times 02/10/03