Ideas

The Death Of Languages There are only about 5000 languages left in the world. And the number is shrinking fast. "With the rise of international travel, world commerce, globalization and mass media, that number is declining rapidly. Of working languages still in everyday use, there are perhaps only 120. And more than half the world speaks one (or more) of only a dozen languages, including Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Russian - and, of course, English, the most pervasive of them all. Some linguists estimate nearly two billion people have at least a workaday knowledge of English, and that number is growing." National Post (Canada) 10/24/03
Posted: 10/24/2003 7:34 am

Is Thinking Just A Series Of Inferences? "It's plausible that at least some kinds of thinking just are processes of drawing inferences. It's the same for a lot of other things the mind does, such as learning, perceiving and planning. The picture that emerges is of the mind (or the brain if you prefer) as some kind of inferring machine; perhaps some kind of computing machine, since computations are themselves plausibly construed as chains of inference." The Guardian (UK) 10/24/03
Posted: 10/23/2003 9:16 pm

Visual Arts

Collectors Snared On Tax Charges "More than 100 wealthy buyers of art, jewelry and antiques have been forced to make good on unpaid sales taxes as part of a continuing investigation of New York's art world that was sparked by last year's arrest of Tyco International Ltd.'s former chief executive, L. Dennis Kozlowski." Arizona Repubic (WSJ) 10/24/03
Posted: 10/24/2003 6:51 am

Tate Modern's Problem Haze An artificial fog created as part of an installation at Tate Modern has sparked concern. "A chemical haze created for Olafur Eliasson's spectacular apocalyptic installation, the Weather Project - which has provoked near-religious awe in the crowds flocking to see it in the museum's Turbine Hall - is slowly creeping into the galleries. Attendants, who have to spend from eight to 12 hours in the fug, claim they are becoming disorientated." The Guardian (UK) 10/24/03
Posted: 10/23/2003 8:55 pm

Christie's Nazi Coverup "Christie's covered up its discovery that an Old Master painting it had hoped to auction had been looted by the Nazis, failing to alert art market authorities or the heirs of the original owners of the picture, a Guardian investigation has established." The Guardian (UK) 10/24/03
Posted: 10/23/2003 8:51 pm

Tomb Raider Or Archaeologist? Sir Aurel Stein sent back 40,000 artifacts back to the British Museum from China. His feats were described by one of his contemporaries as the most daring and adventurous raid upon the ancient world that any archaeologist has attempted. While his life's work is celebrated in the western world, he is remembered in a very different way by countries whose heritage he 'looted'. The heritage taken is China's parallel to the Greek claim on the Elgin Marbles - priceless friezes taken from the temple of the Parthenon in the 19th Century: both are unique cultural relics taken away by Europeans." BBC 10/23/03
Posted: 10/23/2003 8:32 pm

Music

Music Fans Beginning To Rebel Against Recording Companies More and more music lovers are getting fed up with the recording industry's tactics of protecting their business. Some are organizing a boycott of CD sales for the month of Decemeber. "Angry music fans see the recording industry's tactics for dealing with declining CD sales as punishing the wrong people - music lovers." Charlotte Observer 10/24/03
Posted: 10/24/2003 7:10 am

Disney Hall's First Night "As spotlights raked the billowing exterior of architect Frank Gehry's $274-million edifice, a glittering lineup of politicians, Hollywood players, captains of industry and cultural savants filed up a red-carpeted stairway and into the dramatically sculpted 2,265-seat hall, which has already drawn ecstatic reviews from architecture critics across the country." Los Angeles Times 10/24/03
Posted: 10/23/2003 11:48 pm

• Disney: So How'd It Sound? Mark Swed writes that Disney Hall is "everything and more than we might have hoped for. In this enchanted space, music can take on meaningful new excitement even in an age when many art forms are satisfied with oversaturated stimulation." Los Angeles Times 10/24/03
  Posted: 10/23/2003 11:45 pm

• Disney Hall - Fulfilling Expectations Nicolai Ouroussoff writes that Disney Hall lives up to extravagant expectations. "What makes the building so moving as a work of architecture is its ability to express a deeper creative conflict: the recognition that ideal beauty rarely exists in an imperfect world. It is this tension — and the delicacy with which Gehry resolves it — that makes Disney Hall such a powerful work of social commentary. That he could accomplish this despite a tortured construction process that dragged out over 16 years is a minor miracle. Its success affirms both Gehry's place as America's greatest living architectural talent and Los Angeles' growing cultural maturity." Los Angeles Times 10/19/03
  Posted: 10/23/2003 11:40 pm

• The LA Times' Complete Coverage Of Disney Hall Los Angeles Times
  Posted: 10/23/2003 11:35 pm

Barbie On The Half Shell (Operatically Speaking) A new opera in Dresden features Barbies. Naked Barbies. "This Barbie spends a lot of her time without her clothes on and has a male alter ego (not the trustworthy Ken doll but a mutated Barbie with brutally cropped hair); together they indulge in wildly experimental sex play. In performance, the action is performed by real Barbies in a real Barbie house, with the musicians and singers behind. The dolls are manipulated by two puppeteers and the action is video-projected on to screens on either side of the house. It is a technical challenge." The Guardian (UK) 10/24/03
Posted: 10/23/2003 8:46 pm

People

Bryn Terfel, Baritone In A Rugby Shirt Baritone Bryn Terfel has "risen effortlessly to become the greatest classical singer of his generation; certainly in Britain and possibly the world. His bass baritone is in demand in all the greatest opera houses, his records sell by the millions and he is that rarest of creatures, a performer with an absolutely natural talent and a golden waterfall of a voice." The Telegraph (UK) 10/24/03
Posted: 10/23/2003 10:47 pm

Theatre

Threat Of Another Broadway Strike Next Wednesday Actors' Equity will stage a rally protesting the proliferation of non-union tours of Broadway shows. "It is a contentious issue that will be at the center of Equity's upcoming negotiations with Broadway producers in the spring. Equity's contract with the producers expires June 30. With memories of the musicians' strike that shut down Broadway earlier this year still fresh, both sides are gearing up for what could be another ugly battle." New York Post 10/23/03
Posted: 10/23/2003 11:01 pm

Publishing

Amazon's Great Digital Archive "An ingenious attempt to illuminate the dark region of books is under way at Amazon.com. Over the past spring and summer, the company created an unrivaled digital archive of more than 120,000 books. The goal is to quickly add most of Amazon's multimillion-title catalog. The entire collection, which went live Oct. 23, is searchable, and every page is viewable." Wired 10/23/03
Posted: 10/23/2003 9:46 pm

France's Controversial Lit Prize "France's most important literary prize has this year been characterised by intrigue, subterfuge and drama - not because of the novels, but the unusual handling of the award announcement." The Guardian (UK) 10/24/03
Posted: 10/23/2003 9:19 pm

Why You Want To Win A Booker Vernon God Little, a novel by DBC Pierre (a pseudonym,) was listed at 1,124 on the UK's bestseller lists two weeks ago. Then, Pierre was awarded the Man Booker Prize, and his satirical poke at American life shot up to 18th on the list. Not a bad upgrade, but Pierre still trails last year's winner, Yann Martel, which remains at #10. BBC 10/22/03
Posted: 10/23/2003 5:13 am

Dance

Susan Marshall Returns Susan Marshall is back with one of the best pieces of her career, writes Tobi Tobias. Seeing Things (AJBlogs) 10/23/03
Posted: 10/23/2003 11:43 pm