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Friday, March 26




Ideas

Humans - We're Jaw-Dropping Smart (Literally) How did humans develop such big brains? It could be because our jaws got smaller and weaker, says a new theory. "A mutation 2.4 million years ago could have left us unable to produce one of the main proteins in primate jaw muscles, the team reports in this week's Nature1. Lacking the constraints of a bulky chewing apparatus, the human skull may have been free to grow, the researchers say." Nature 03/25/04
Posted: 03/25/2004 3:59 pm

Words, Words, Words (And More Words) They're All Here The American National Corpus, an "annotated body of over 10 million words" is being released. "If the dictionary is like the drawer with bugs on cards, the corpus is the jungle. The ANC collects blocks of text from newspapers, books and conversations so words and phrases can be viewed in their natural habitat - that is, in an American English context." Chicago Tribune 03/25/04
Posted: 03/25/2004 3:53 pm

Visual Arts

No, No, We're Really Trying To Help While We Sell Off Your Biggest Assets Foundations want to sell a Lucien Freud and a Turner painting in a New Brunswick gallery - together the paintings could sell for $30 million. The foundations say they're helping the gallery. "When asked then, why virtually the entire board of the Fredericton gallery resigned, he replied: "Clearly they don't agree on the strategy." The strategy, he explained, would be for the foundations to sell art that has been on long-term loan to the gallery -- art they believe they own and that needs to be removed from a city of 48,000 and, in the words of one Canadian foundation member, made "more visible to the world." From these proceeds "[we] would give [the Beaverbrook gallery] a substantial donation" to help offset what Lord Beaverbrook calls its "substantial deficit." "We're trying to be helpful to them," observed Lord Beaverbrook, "but it's not always easy to do that, it seems." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 03/26/04
Posted: 03/26/2004 6:51 am

  • Previously: They're Worth How Much? Well, Give 'Em Back! "Two foundations set up by the late Lord Beaverbrook are claiming ownership of two paintings at a New Brunswick art gallery named in his honour, saying they're too valuable to remain there. The Montreal-based Canadian Beaverbrook Foundation and its British counterpart have an appraisal report from Sotheby's auction house that suggests two unnamed works among the 200 in the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton should be displayed elsewhere." But representatives of the gallery don't want to give up the paintings, which they say were a gift to the province, and accuse the Beaverbrook estate of trying to reclaim the paintings because the family is in financial trouble. Toronto Star 03/24/04

Art - A Popular Investment Once Again "After several years of seeing stocks and shares take a battering, more than one million Londoners have invested in art instead, researchers have found. Last year the capital spent more than £523 million on art. A quarter of Londoners questioned in a survey said they had bought into "alternative investments", such as art and antiques." London Evening Standard 03/24/04
Posted: 03/25/2004 4:16 pm

Barnes To Sell Country Estate? Should the Barnes Foundation sell off a valuable country estate in order to raise money? "I don't think anyone relishes the thought of selling assets. But, do you abandon a gallery and art education program... or a farm house that [Barnes] used on weekends for a few years and the sale of which would save his trust?" Philadelphia Inquirer 03/25/04
Posted: 03/25/2004 3:45 pm

Artist Paints Iceberg Red A Danish artist has painted an iceberg bright red. "Chilean-born artist Marco Evaristti mixed 3,000 litres of the red dye with sea water and used three firehoses, two icebreakers and a 20-person crew to spray a floating, 900-metre-square chunk of ice, located off the coast of western Greenland." CBC 03/24/04
Posted: 03/25/2004 3:33 pm

Can Iraq National Museum Open In A Year? Iraq's culture minister says the country's National Museum could open within a year, so that Iraqis have a chance to see the museum's artwork before it is sent on worldwide tour. "The reopening of the museum will take place within a year to show Iraqis the treasures of Nimrod, which the people have never seen because Saddam Hussein hid them." Progress on reopening the looted damaged museum has been slow because of security concerns. Middle-East Online 03/25/04
Posted: 03/25/2004 3:27 pm

Lots Of Money, Too Little Art So the art market has rebounded, and sales are strong. Only one problem - there isn't enough quality art to satisfy the demand. New York Post 03/24/04
Posted: 03/25/2004 3:03 pm

Music

Penny A Note - The Fair Way To Pay For Play Violinists in a German orchestra want to get extra compensation for playing extra notes. Howard Reich likes the idea and proposes a compensation system that would be fair to every player in a symphony orchestra. It starts with one cent for every 64th note and two pennies for every quarter note. Rests, of course, count towards vacation time. "Musicians are responsible for counting the notes they play. This is an honor system, so remember, mistakes do not count. Follow the score as directed and we won't have to levy fines for playing sharp or flat." Chicago Tribune 03/26/04
Posted: 03/26/2004 6:19 am

  • Previously: Musicians Demand: Equal Pay For Equal Play Violinists in the Beethoven Orchestra in Bonn, Germany, are suing for a pay raise - on the grounds that they play many more notes per concert than their musical colleagues - the flutists, oboists, brass, etc... The Guardian (UK) 03/24/04

New Music For Amateurs (As A Lifestyle) So much high-end contemporary music of the past century is so difficult, you need to be highly skilled to perform it. But shouldn't there be more new music for amateurs? "We need to look at new ways of keeping musical culture going, and composers need to think more broadly about how their music is performed, and who is performing it." The Guardian (UK) 03/26/04
Posted: 03/25/2004 9:49 pm

Arts Issues

Philadelphia May Cut Museum Funding The city of Philadelphia has a $227 million deficit it needs to cover. So the city's mayor proposes cuts, including eliminating the city's annual $2.25 million appropriation to the Philadelphia Museum of Art - "just as it and other stakeholders along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway are ramping up efforts to promote the Parkway as a major destination." Philadelphgia Daily News 03/26/04
Posted: 03/26/2004 7:42 am

NY Artists Still Suffering Since 9/11 A new report on the condition of artists in New York since 9/11 says that "despite huge infusions of crisis-aid funding from both public and private sources, a new study finds that artists, including performing artists, are still suffering great economic misfortunes with very little end in sight." Backstage 03/25/04
Posted: 03/25/2004 3:18 pm

People

Eddie Palmieri, Salsa King "Born in Manhattan of Puerto Rican parents in 1936, Eddie Palmieri is salsa's maverick genius and the winner of seven Grammy awards. With the passing of the great band leader Tito Puente, this one-time enfant terrible has become salsa's elder statesman. Yet, while Afro-Cuban music's overwhelming impact on 20th-century music is now universally acknowledged, for most of us salsa is simply great party music - sexy, stylish, but not much more than that. Palmieri represents Latin music at its most intellectual, but isn't the whole idea of "deep salsa" a contradiction in terms?" The Telegraph (UK) 03/26/04
Posted: 03/25/2004 5:20 pm

Theatre

Virtually Yours - A Broadway Battle Musicians are protesting the use of virtual orchestras on Broadway. Producers say the VO is a new instrument. Musicians disagree. "We think this machine is designed for the sole purpose of eliminating live music for the purpose of reaping profits. Their attempt to turn this machine, and I tell you that this is a machine, into an instrument is just another ploy. The synthesizer is a musical instrument played by a musician. A virtual orchestra machine is just that. I would not equate those two, ever." The New York Times 03/25/04
Posted: 03/25/2004 12:50 am

Publishing

Top Victorians What are the top ten Victorian novels? Philip Davis has made a list... The Guardian (UK) 03/26/04
Posted: 03/25/2004 9:53 pm

Say Hi To Electronic Paper The first electronic paper is ready for the consumer market. "This 'first ever' Philips' display utilizes E Ink's revolutionary electronic ink technology which offers a truly paper-like reading experience with contrast that is the same as newsprint. The Electronic Paper Display is reflective and can be easily read in bright sunlight or dimly lit environments while being able to be seen at virtually any angle - just like paper. Its black and white ink-on-paper look." E-Ink 03/25/04
Posted: 03/25/2004 3:56 pm

The Rest Of The Story - BBC Listeners Get The Chance The BBC has hired prominent writers to write first-parts of stories and will challenge listeners to complete them. "Eight novelists who will each write the first half of a short story for BBC Three. Their work will be published in a leaflet and distributed to coffee shops, libraries and on the internet. Readers will have six weeks to complete their chosen tale, with the winners showcased on BBC Three later this year." BBC 03/25/04
Posted: 03/25/2004 2:50 pm

Poet Wanted. For What, We're Not Sure. Canada needs a new national poet laureate. Yawn. So who doesn't? These days, it seems like every city, county, province, state, and regional confederation of boroughs has its own poet tasked with... well, what exactly are poet laureates supposed to do, anyway? The requirement that an official poet spend her/his time composing odes to the glory/beauty/strength of whatever geographical area is providing the employment are long gone, but the old restrictions have never really been replaced with new ones. Consequently, Canada's next poet laureate can more or less write her/his own rule book - that is, if anyone wants the job. Toronto Star 03/25/04
Posted: 03/25/2004 6:08 am

Media

Escape To Reality (On The Screen) Movie documentaries are hot these days. "At a time when mainstream Hollywood movies have never been more defensively fortified against any leaks from the outside world, when everything seems spawned by computers, designed by corporate merchandisers and inspired by comic book fantasy, even the editorial manipulations of documentary come as a bracing, flesh-affirming alternative." Toronto Star 03/26/04
Posted: 03/26/2004 7:51 am

The Meaning Of Games... Awww, Why'd You Have To Ruin It? Interactive computer games have taken over; they're a huge hit, and academics have begun studying them for what they mean for the larger culture. "They're a form of interactive storytelling. There's performance involved when you play the game. And they obviously have powerful visual elements. I think some games are, frankly, very beautiful." Some gamers, though, find the attention absurd. "It is a sensibility that strikes some in the game world as off the wall. Trying to strap meaning onto entertainment sometimes can be ridiculous." Los Angeles Times 03/26/04
Posted: 03/26/2004 7:04 am

Video Games Meet The Movies Some $20 billion worth of video games were sold last year. Games now outsell movies, and games now look more and more like the movies. "The convergence between films and games makes sense for many reasons. Both special-effects-laden blockbusters and shoot-'em-ups rely on computer power, and as games consoles become more capable their output becomes ever more cinematic. Indeed, modern games based on “Star Wars” look even better than the original films, since today's games consoles far outperform any special-effects technology available back in the 1980s. Costs have increased as the production values of games have improved: the typical budget is now $5m-8m." The Economist 03/25/04
Posted: 03/25/2004 4:15 pm

Monty Python: Looking On The Brighter Side Of Life Monty Python's "Life of Brian" is going to be released in theatres in the US again, following the success of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." "Adverts will challenge Mel Gibson's blockbuster with the lines 'Mel or Monty?', 'The Passion or the Python?' Distributor Rainbow said it hoped the film would 'serve as an antidote to all the hysteria about Mel's movie'. It was condemned as blasphemous before its original release, although Monty Python said it was intended as a spoof on Bible films and intolerance rather than Christianity." BBC 03/25/04
Posted: 03/25/2004 3:49 pm


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