Inducing A Chill On Technology Critics are lining up against the Induce Act, the anti-copying legislation now being considered by the US Congree. "The Induce Act would have a definite chilling effect on technological innovation. Even if judges are not inclined to interpret it broadly, the vague language opens the door to harassing lawsuits. Companies creating multipurpose technologies would have to be prepared to defend themselves against copyright infringement allegations." Reason 08/11/04
Posted: 08/12/2004 9:46 am
The Style Vs Content Debate In recent times, the mark of good academic writing has been in the information contained. But what of style? Doesn't it convey useful information too? "Everyone understands that the content is constant, frequently ordinary, and sometimes banal; that the (wide) variation, the arena for expression and excellence, the fun, the art - are all in the individual style." Chronicle of Higher Education 08/13/04
Posted: 08/11/2004 6:18 pm
Shouldn't Research Be Free For All? "For centuries, printed journals destined for university libraries have been the focus of publishing activity. The winds of change, though, are sweeping through these quiet and dusty corridors. Because of the internet, cost and distance are no longer barriers to providing the results of research to more than just a restricted and privileged few. This is leading people to ask why those results are not, in fact, freely available to all." The Economist 08/05/04
Posted: 08/11/2004 6:02 pm
Seattle P-I Architecture Critic Quits Over Review After Seattle Post-Intelligencer architecture critic Sheri Olson wrote a negative review of a local housing project, the architects threatened to sue. Olson - a freelancer - asked the paper to "guarantee that it would represent her should [the architects]decide to sue." When the paper declined, Olson quit. Oddly, the architects - Weber + Thompson - didn't dispute the quality of the building; rather, they maintain that "most of the changes... have been out of our control." The Stranger (Seattle) 08/12/04
Posted: 08/12/2004 9:24 am
Scandale! - Manet Son Really Brother? A new documentary claims that Manet's father, "one of France's most esteemed judges, had an illegitimate son whom the painter brought up as his own." The Independent (UK) 08/12/04
Posted: 08/12/2004 9:00 am
Australian Aboriginal Artists Paint New Paris Museum "Australian indigenous artists will spend next year painting the ceilings of a new museum in Paris, the French embassy has confirmed. The Musee du Quai Branly, a museum of ancient arts and civilisations, is under construction on the banks of the Seine near the Eiffel Tower and the Australian embassy. It is expected to open in early 2006." Sydney Morning Herald (AFP) 08/12/04
Posted: 08/11/2004 10:58 pm
Philly Orchestra Musicians Enlist Muti's Help Musicians of the Philadelphia orchestra, currently negotiating a new contract, have asked conductor Riccasrdo Muti to come and conduct them in a benefit concert to help bridge the gap between what the orchestra is offering in a new contract, and what the musicians want. "Muti, the orchestra's fifth music director, has returned to lead his former musicians only once since stepping down - and has never appeared at the Kimmel Center." Philadelphia Inquirer 08/12/04
Posted: 08/12/2004 6:15 am
Be This - New Role-Play Park A new theme park opens in Florida. The park enlists visitors in role-playing - players assume the identities of firefighters or cops or... and play out a scenario. "The $40 million entertainment complex is billed as the first indoor role-playing theme park in the United States for kids and the beginning of a national rollout for the concept. It's modeled after a similar park in Mexico." Miami Herald 08/12/04
Posted: 08/12/2004 7:19 am
Edinburgh - Too Big To Be Good? The Edinburgh Festival is huge. Enormous. Gigantic. So it's a big success right? Maybe not, writes David Benedict. "We're talking art, not merchandise, so why are we so hung up on size? Shouldn't we be vaunting quality over quantity? Not at Edinburgh. Less is no longer more. This is the festival most easily mistaken for a marathon, and every year some schmuck attempts to beat the record for the number of events crammed into 24 hours." New Statesman 08/12/04
Posted: 08/12/2004 6:58 am
New Funding For NY Arts? The New York State Legislature is considering setting up a new funding source for the arts. "The state Assembly has approved a bill establishing an arts fund that would receive money when individuals mark a personal income tax return check-off. The funds would go to the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), which funds arts programs statewide." Backstage 08/11/04
Posted: 08/11/2004 5:25 pm
Leon Golub, 82 Leon Golub, an "American painter of expressionistic, heroic-scale figures that reflect dire modern political conditions," died Sunday in New York The New York Times 08/12/04
Posted: 08/12/2004 7:03 am
Broadway In Vegas - A Trend? Following Avenue Q's booking in Vegas, a number of other Broadway shows are eying the gambling Mecca as a potential market. "It makes perfect sense that the hotels in Las Vegas, which need to differentiate themselves on a basis other than gambling, should turn to the biggest live entertainment pastime there is [behind] Major League Baseball. The more exposure Broadway shows get, the better it is for the industry as a whole." New York Daily News 08/12/04
Posted: 08/12/2004 8:05 am
Actors Unions: Another Try At Merger? Are the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) talking merger again? Last year a proposal to merge the two actors unions failed in a vote. "Some 75% of AFTRA members voted for the AIMA proposal. But SAG needed a supermajority -- 60% of voting guild members -- to approve the merger, and received only 58%." Backstage 08/11/04
Posted: 08/11/2004 4:57 pm
Zimbabwe - Little Theatre, Big Role Zimbabwe has little theatre, but what theatre it has is making an impact. "Since the Zimbabwean government introduced tough media laws in 2002, theatre has taken on a new and edgy role. It is a place where entertainment can express, yet mask, deep-rooted anger; where in the face of a dying culture, humour and humanity can be tended like glowing coals, ready for igniting in the future. And since the media crackdown, audiences have started to grow exponentially." BBC 08/11/04
Posted: 08/11/2004 4:36 pm
Ex-Billboard Mag Editors Sue Magazine Two of Billboard Magazine's former top editors are suing the magazine. "The suit alleges, among other things, that they had faced a hostile working environment tainted by sexual harassment, internal office sabotage, and the sacrificing of "editorial integrity for the sake of financial interests." Boston Globe 08/12/04
Posted: 08/12/2004 7:11 am
Kooser Chosen Poet Laureate Nebraskan poet Ted Kooser has been chosen as the next US Poet Laureate. "Kooser has written 10 collections of poetry, most recently "Delights & Shadows," published this year. His 1980 collection, "Sure Signs," received the Society of Midland Authors Prize for the best book of poetry by a Midwestern writer published in that year." San Francisco Chronicle (AP) 08/11/04
Posted: 08/11/2004 8:00 pm
An Assist For Authors And University Presses? University presses are essential for academics who need to publish to advance their careers. Yet university presses are underfunded and endangered. "One proposed solution now gaining ground is that universities and other institutions that support academic research create a pool of money to provide subsidies for authors to help offset the costs of publishing." Chronicle of Higher Education 08/09/04
Posted: 08/11/2004 5:48 pm
Khouri Proof Faked? Is Norma Khouri's "proof" that she lived in Jordan during the time she said she was there in her book, a fraud? "As part of what she called her "proof" that she had lived in Jordan from 1973 to 2000, Khouri sent photocopied pages from a passport. However, a source who has seen the material told the Herald that the pages came not from Khouri's passport, but from her husband, John Toliopoulos's Greek passport." Sydney Morning Herald 08/12/04
Posted: 08/11/2004 5:46 pm
- Previously: Khouri Defends Verity Of Her Book Norma Khouri is continuing to deny that her poignant book Forbidden Love was fabricated. Her publisher defended her, saying "we spoke with her today and impressed upon her that it was imperative to provide evidence. She said she is working on it." Meanwhile, the government of Australia is "investigating her for making false declarations in her application for an Australian residence visa." The Age (Melbourne) 07/29/04
- Khouri To Sue Over Allegations About Her Book Author Norma Khouri is preparing to sue over claims about the authenticity of her best-selling book Forbidden Love. "Ms Khouri had been overseas collecting evidence to back her book after the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age published damning allegations last month that her so-called memoir of life and hardship in Jordan was a lie." The book was pulled by publishers after the allegations. The Age (Melbourne) 08/11/04
Posted: 08/11/2004 5:42 pm
Movies Hit The Net (Legally) Downloading movies over the internet is becoming a viable and popular business. "A technological step beyond video rentals and pay-per-view cable movie channels, these online movie services provide a legal and reliable way to download and stream thousands of films, from recently released Hollywood blockbusters to vintage serials." The New York Times 08/12/04
Posted: 08/12/2004 8:41 am
In The UK - Subscription TV Revenues Exceed Advertising Income For the first time in Britain, subscription revenue from viewers has exceeded advertising revenue. More Britons are paying to watch TV - subscription revenue is up 63 percent since 1999. "There are fundamental economic shifts in the landscape with long-term significance."
BBC 08/12/04
Posted: 08/12/2004 6:20 am
Anime Through The Underground "Anime is everywhere. The global sales of Japanese animation and character goods, an astonishing 9 trillion yen ($80 billion) has grown to 10 times what it was a decade ago. Much of that growth has occurred in North America and Western Europe, where young people have embraced this distinctive style of popular culture, one which extends well beyond the wide-eyed beauties, cute animals, and giant robot battles anime represents for the most casual consumers." MIT Technology Review 08/11/04
Posted: 08/11/2004 6:51 pm
Aussie TV Dramas In Decline Australian TV is producing less drama. "The numbers are stark: the National Drama Production Survey, released last week by the Australian Film Commission, shows TV drama spending at its lowest level for 10 years; the number of hours of adult TV series being made is only just above the lowest annual figure for a decade, and the spending on foreign and co-produced TV dramas has plummeted an astonishing 78 per cent since 1998-99." The Age (Melbourne) 08/11/04
Posted: 08/11/2004 5:38 pm
Disney Negotiating Miramax Future Disney is negotiating with Miramax head Harvey Weinstein over Weinstein's departure from the studio. "Weinstein's status has been thrown into doubt in recent months, with reports increasing that he will leave Miramax behind while brother and fellow co-head Bob Weinstein could hang onto the reins at Miramax' s genre arm Dimension." Miramax is having a slow summer, having spent its budget. Backstage 08/11/04
Posted: 08/11/2004 5:31 pm
