Getting To The Soul Of Things "As traditionally understood, the soul is something that is both within us and yet superior to us, a repository for the most precious (or in some accounts "divine") aspects of us. The soul survives when the rest of us dies, it can continue indefinitely (like a kind of hardy seed preserved in arctic tundra), and may even reinhabit a bodily form at another time. The idea that we have a soul should, if we can manage to believe it, stop us feeling quite so sad that we must die. What makes a history of the soul rewarding is that it offers a useful way into the question of what different societies and thinkers have at various points viewed as the most important aspect of life." The Telegraph (UK) 02/16/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 12:48 pm
Cleveland Schools - An Architectural Opportunity Cleveland has $1.5 billion to spend on building schools. "If ever there were an opportunity for excellence in architecture and planning - and a chance for Cleveland to distinguish itself nationally - this is it. But with the district ready to break ground soon for the first four new schools in the city in more than 20 years, the forecast for design is discouraging." The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 02/22/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 12:23 pm
Welcome To The New Houston "For most of the past half-century, Houston was the proud avatar of freebooting suburban sprawl. You could do anything you wanted in Houston, as long as you did it as God intended, behind the wheel of your car. Downtown sprouted a forest of new office towers in the 1970s, but the old business district along and near Main Street fell into disuse." In the past seven years, however, Houston has transformed itself... San Antonio Express-News 02/22/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 12:09 pm
Contemporay Art Sales Records In London Recent sales of contemporary art at London's Sotheby's set new records... The Art Newspaper 02/20/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 8:09 am
The Artist As Multi-National Supplier "Once upon a time, young artists started their careers with a single gallery in their home country. Scoring international representation was a consecration that occurred only once the artist had an established reputation and a proven market. But that old model has been pulverised. Today, both in Europe and America, artists only a few years out of school commonly have some combination of several European galleries, dealers on both US coasts, and perhaps something more exotic, like representation in Japan or Latin America. Yet in the same way that a college degree has devolved from being a symbol of high achievement to a minimum requirement for decent employment, having multiple international galleries is now just an early step toward art world success." The Art Newspaper 02/20/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 8:02 am
Singing The Praises Of Singing There are hundreds of thousands of choruses and choirs in North America. "For all the developments in symphonic and operatic music in recent decades, choral singing remains the most pervasive musical activity in the country, whether in churches, schools or concert halls." So what is the allure of opening your mouth to make noise? Toronto Star 02/22/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 11:37 am
Classic Zappa - Understanding The Avant Garde "The wary romance between Frank Zappa and the classical world was never fully consummated. It also never really ended. A decade after his death, Zappa is still a surprise guest at concerts by classical musicians, who can rent his published works almost as easily as they can music by Richard Strauss or John Williams. Some treat Zappa as a naughty kindred spirit, while others seem to deploy his works as props for the construction of a hip image." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 02/21/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 11:08 am
In Road Trip: Rattling Around In A BIG LOUD ROOM Sam Bergman and the Minnesota Orchestra perform in Leeds' Town Hall, and it's a terrifying experience. "It's a Big Loud Room, is what I'm saying here, and Big Loud Rooms (hereafter referred to as BLRs) are probably the hardest places for an orchestra to play, since we depend on our ability to hear each other to stay together. The overall sound of an orchestra playing in a BLR can actually be quite effective from the audience's point of view, since the acoustic can obscure some minor mishaps which might stick out in a drier space, but from the perspective of a single musician, it can be just terrifying." RoadTrip (AJBlogs) 02/22/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 8:52 am
Making A Case For The Arts In North Carolina "One out of every eight people in North Carolina is a member, supporter or volunteer of an arts organization. The craft arts make about $538 million a year for North Carolina." Wilmington Star-News (North Carolina) 02/20/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 7:52 am
In Praise Of Christopher Plummer Christopher Plummer "comes naturally to his noblesse. It has served him well. In roles ranging from the creepy von Trapp to a fantastically neurotic Iago to the crusading Mike Wallace in the 1999 film "The Insider," he has consistently thrilled audiences with the kind of voice and bearing that used to be taken for granted in an actor. Still, for all its high-tone glories, his career — nearly 200 television and movie roles, by his estimate, and stage productions too numerous to count — has thrived on his eagerness to strip away that noblesse and reveal the human muck beneath, the rot in the royalty." The New York Times 02/22/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 9:00 am
The Marvelous McGuires William and Nadine McGuire moved to Minnesota about 15 years ago, and have emerged as leading donors to the arts in the Twin Cities. "The McGuires' burst of generosity just since July has left observers giddy: $10 million to the University of Minnesota, $10 million to the Guthrie Theater and $1 million to the Children's Theatre Company. Other recent Twin Cities giving by the McGuires and their family foundation, for which details were not revealed, bring their total giving to more than $40 million, William McGuire said Thursday." The Star-Tribune (Mpls) 02/20/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 7:55 am
On Broadway - Enough Of The Fluff! "Be honest. Aren't you starting to overdose on escapism? Haven't you been experiencing cravings that "Mamma Mia!" and vicarious trips down the red carpet just aren't satisfying? Well, after an autumn of jaw-dropping silliness and thinness on Broadway (witches and drag queens and lounge acts, oh my!), the New York theater is poised to provide deliverance from the culture of triviality." The New York Times 02/22/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 9:37 am
Mr. Wolfe's Public George Wolfe is strongly identified with New York's Public Theatre. But what is Wolfe's legacy at the Public? "Mr. Wolfe the director shone brightly during his time at the Public. The Public Theater itself usually seemed to hang back in the shadows, like the timid offspring of a glamorous star." The New York Times 02/21/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 9:25 am
Lit Fiction - Struggling To Be Serious Is serious fiction in danger? There does seem to be less of an audience. "It's not that serious fiction no longer has a mass audience. It never did. Most readers prefer storytelling of the John Grisham and Stephen King variety because they want to be entertained, not challenged. Literary fiction is more demanding and complex." The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 02/22/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 12:32 pm
A Publishing Best-seller Miracle Rick Warren's "The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?" sold 11.3 million copies in 2003, making it one of the biggest best-sellers of all timke. "Unabashedly religious, the book is being read and studied by millions of people in and out of churches across the country. Readers are buying extra copies at churches and in bookstores and passing them along to friends. As a crossover bestseller, flying off the shelves in both the Christian and mainstream markets, it is a modern marketing miracle." Washington Post 02/22/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 11:27 am
Sacred Literalism - Christ On The Screen America has a long tradition of being outraged at depictions of religion on the silver screen. "Since the beginning of movies, filmmakers worldwide have courted controversy with their attempts to 'literalize the sacred.' It's true whether the subject is Jesus in The King of Kings, the Muslim prophet Muhammad in Mohammed, Messenger of God, or the Hindu deity Rama in the Ramayana." And so the latest "The Passion of The Christ" is nothing new. Philadelphia Inquirer 02/22/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 12:36 pm
Radio's New Non-Format Format: Playing What We Want There's a new radio format on the Canadian airwaves, and record labels aren't exactly thrilled. The stations are called JACK or BOB. "JACK's "brave" programming strategy is to ignore radio's typically strict formatting and to play a variety of stuff on one format that you'd normally hear on, say, three: A bit of classic rock, some adult contemporary and a whole lotta '80s hits geared primarily towards listeners in their upper 30s and early 40s." Toronto Star 02/22/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 11:42 am
Why There Are No Movie Ads On The Oscars Telecast Why don't you see ads for movies on the annual Academy Awards telecast? It's all about appearances, of course... But "cutting out an entire, very lucrative ad category appears not to have hurt ABC any; the network was able to charge about $1.5 million per 30-second spot this year and the ad time is all sold out." Washington Post 02/22/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 11:32 am
Now In Theatres - The New Documentaries Once it was rare to see documentary films in theatres. But documentaries are getting new respect at the box office. "Credit everything from wide availability of cheap technology for filmmakers and an explosion of cable channels and satellite TV desperate for product, to audiences whose appetite for the real has been whetted, but ultimately not satisfied, by reality TV. The documentary phenomenon is international." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 02/22/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 10:59 am
Roy's Disney Crusade Roy Disney has declared war on Disney chairman Michael Eisner. And Now the Disney Company is in danger of being swallowed up by Comcast. To understand Walt's nephew Roy and his beef with Eisner, it helps to understand a little family history... New York Times Magazine 02/22/04
Posted: 02/22/2004 10:49 am
