Sleep Deprived - What We Lose "Most of us now sleep less than people did a century ago, or even 50 years ago. The National Sleep Foundation’s 2005 poll showed adult Americans averaging 6.8 hours of sleep on weeknights — more than an hour less than they need. Not only how much sleep, but when people sleep has changed. In the United States, six to eight million shift workers toil regularly at night, disrupting sleep patterns in ways that are not necessarily amenable to adaptation." The question is: What are we losing by sleeping less? Harvard Magazine 08/05
Posted: 08/30/2005 4:29 am
Camille Paglia Unloads On Culture "We are getting worse writing, worse art. Part of the reason for the much worse writing is that young people have so many other distractions in terms of their time—so many things to do, that reading books has just shriveled. They are assigned books, but few kids read books for pleasure. Too much else is going on. Now I’m a champion of the web—I began writing for Salon in 1995 from the first issue on. But the style of the web, not only the surfing skimming style that you learn—dash, dash—you absorb information not by reading whole sentences. It’s flash, flash, flash. Email, blog, everything is going fast, fast, fast. So the quality of language has obviously degenerated. It’s obvious." The Morning News 08/05
Posted: 08/30/2005 4:22 am
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Gauguin Sculpture Discovered A Copenhagen-area museum says a bust by French artist Paul Gauguin of one of his sons has been discovered in Denmark where a family had unwittingly been using it as a Christmas decoration. The Globe & Mail I(AFP) 08/30/05
Posted: 08/30/2005 5:24 am
Museums - Bribing The Collectors? A new show at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts that displays a collector's boats has observers wondering about the ethics of romancing collectors for their collections. 'Years ago, you got a little quiet thank-you note for supporting a museum. Today, they put your boats outside. But that is essentially killing philanthropy. Everybody is going to want the same thing. If he can have it, why can't I'?" Boston Globe 08/30/05
Posted: 08/30/2005 4:59 am
Tracing "David's" Quarry Scientists have found the exact spot where marble for Michelangelo's David was quarried. "Until now, art historians knew only that the large block came from the Carrara quarries in Tuscany, which still produce many types and qualities of marble. Analysts have now used three tiny samples, retrieved from the second toe of the left foot of David when the figure was damaged in act of vandalism in 1991, to track down the marble's origin. Not only were they able to determine the exact spot of excavation, they also found that Michelangelo's marble is of mediocre quality, filled with microscopic holes, and likely to degrade faster than many other marbles." The Guardian (UK) 08/29/05
Posted: 08/29/2005 5:18 pm
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Runnicles To Lead Grand Teton Festival Conductor Donald Runnicles has been named director of Jackson Wyoming's Grand Teton Festival. "In addition to his position as music director and principal conductor of the San Francisco Opera, Runnicles, 50, is also principal conductor of the Orchestra of St. Luke's in New York City and principal guest conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He guest conducts frequently in Germany, Austria and Great Britain." San Francisco Chronicle 08/30/05
Posted: 08/30/2005 6:00 am
Noted: Concert Success Isn't Driving Album Sales Pop stars who sell lots of high-priced concert tickets on the road are finding that their recordings aren't selling in stores. "Scenarios abound when it comes to the disparity between chart and box office numbers -- figures that rarely tell the whole story. In some cases, like with the old guys, it's that millions and millions of records have already been sold over decades, and fans feel that they have what they need. But sometimes, as with many of the big jam bands, it's simply the live work that truly drives the train." Yahoo! (Reuters) 08/30/05
Posted: 08/30/2005 4:44 am
Do-It-Yourself Critics "Destroying someone's career or pulling work from obscurity used to be the province of well-financed mass and trade publications, but now anybody with a voice strong enough to stand out on the Web can have a real impact - and maybe make a couple of bucks in the process. Pitchfork Media is a case in point. Started by Ryan Schreiber in his parents' house in suburban Minneapolis in 1995, Pitchfork has emerged as one of the more important indie music tastemakers in any medium, with 125,000 unique visitors a day and only three full-time employees." The New York Times 08/29/05
Posted: 08/29/2005 5:53 pm
Gershwin Was Richest Composer George Gershwin has been named the richest composer of all time. "Gershwin eclipsed such classical greats as Strauss, Verdi and Handel in the poll for Classic FM. The classical music station drew up the rich list based on estimates of earnings accrued in a composer's lifetime." The Guardian (UK) 08/29/05
Posted: 08/29/2005 5:01 pm
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An Orlando Performing Arts Center - Planning Gets Serious After two decades of talking, Orlando Florida is working seriously on building a new performing arts center. "A glittering new performing-arts complex in downtown Orlando could draw the best performers from Orlando and around the world and could serve as a uniting force for Central Florida. A poorly planned and supported project could become a giant vacuum, sucking up the Orlando area's energy and cash." Orlando Sentinel 08/28/05
Posted: 08/30/2005 7:27 am
Money To Rescue "Eyes on the Prize" From Copyright The classic civil rights documentary Eyes on the Prize has been out of circulation because copyright licensing of clips in the movie had expired. "The 14-part series, which chronicles the history of the civil rights movement in America, has been blocked from television rebroadcast and DVD release by a thicket of copyright restrictions on the hundreds of photos, music tracks and video clips used in its making. But thanks to a $600,000 grant from the Ford Foundation and a philanthropist's $250,000 donation, the process of re-licensing that material has begun." Wired 08/30/05
Posted: 08/30/2005 4:39 am
Pssst... Need A Ticket? (Oh Yeah, we Don't Need To Do That Anymore) It used to be that ticket scalping was a shady illegal transaction that had to be carried out on street corners. But increasingly, "secondary ticket selling" has become respectable as it moved online and established a thriving business. Now AOL has joined the act... The New York Times 08/29/05
Posted: 08/29/2005 5:47 pm
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Rushdie: On Life And A New Book Saklman Rushdie, now 58, is "sometimes cast as the over-indulged boy-child: chubby, cute, aware of his own cuteness, with the reserves of spite and temper that come from the eminence of this position. He has many more female than male friends - "I remember saying to [his wife] Padma last year, I'm going to have to start dating some guys!" - and has some mannerisms usually associated with women; with one hand he tucks his hair behind his ear; he can look as demure as Princess Di. But he can be caustic, too."
The Guardian (UK) 08/29/05
Posted: 08/29/2005 5:27 pm
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Amazon - Unlocking The Words Inside Amazon's new "search inside" feature unlocks a wealth of analysis about the texts of books. "Thanks to a sensational subsection called Fun Stats, you will know just how many words you are getting per dollar and per ounce with each book. For instance, "War & Peace" by Leo Tolstoy gives you 51,707 words per dollar, while "Obliviously On He Sails: The Bush Administration in Rhyme" by Calvin Trillin delivers only 1,106 words per dollar." Washington Post 08/30/05
Posted: 08/30/2005 6:05 am
Shakespeare - A Whole Lot Of Guessing Going On There's a big industry of "who was Shakespeare" theories and books, and most of it is just conjecture and guessing. "The traditional theory that Shakespeare was Shakespeare has the passive to active acceptance of the vast majority of English professors and scholars, but it also has had its skeptics, including major authors, independent scholars, lawyers, Supreme Court justices, academics and even prominent Shakespearean actors." The New York Times 08/30/05
Posted: 08/30/2005 4:54 am
Where Are The African-American Idea Magazines? "There's the feel-good, middle-class black mirror most vividly embodied by Ebony and Jet, and the post-modern, hyper-acquisitive "bling" aesthetic found in hip-hop magazines such as Vibe and XXL. But there's no idea-driven publication aimed at black Americans -- at least none that has achieved equivalent success. Why?" Washington Post 08/29/05
Posted: 08/30/2005 4:09 am
The Best Scottish Book Of All Time? Lewis Grassic Gibbon's 1932 novel Sunset Song has been picked - after a six-month exercise - as the best Scottish book ever. But was this public contest worth anything? "Is there any point in the exercise in the first place? Does it lead to a debate or is it just another example of a dumbed down culture unable to discuss any topic unless it has been reduced to a list?" The Scotsman 08/29/05
Posted: 08/29/2005 6:11 pm
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CBC Unlocked: Toronto Show Moves Across Town CBC Toronto's top-rated morning show crew have moved their show over to the University of Toronto's radio station while CBC employees are locked out. "The most delicious aspect of Toronto Unlocked is in its timing: Sept. 5 marks the start of the fall radio ratings measurement season. And so, with neither CBC nor the Guild even talking about returning to the bargaining table: "In the best of all possible worlds — I mean this is crazy — but at the end of the rating period, it would be nice to see that CIUT has the best-rated morning show in the city." Toronto Star 08/30/05
Posted: 08/30/2005 7:20 am
Studios Using Amazon, Netflix As "Seers" Hollywood studios are discovering that tracking sales and "wish lists" of online DVD retailers and renters such as Amazon and Netflix is giving them insight into what TV and movies will sell... Los Angeles Times 08/30/05
Posted: 08/30/2005 5:28 am
Poll: Canadians Don't Miss CBC In Canada, the BCB has been on strike for three weeks. And a new poll says most Canadians aren't missing the public broadcaster. "About 61 per cent of those polled said they felt no impact at all from the lockout, which began on Aug. 15, Canadian Press reports. Only 10 per cent of 1,000 surveyed by phone between Aug. 18 and 21 said it was a major inconvenience to them, while 27 per cent said it was a minor inconvenience." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 08/29/05
Posted: 08/30/2005 4:25 am
Nielsen Defends Electronic Viewership Tracking A year after the American TV ratings company Nielsen was attacked by critics of a new counting system that some feared would shortchange counting of African Americans, Nielsen says "black people are watching more television in all six cities that are using the new electronic meters. Its critics remain unsatisfied, and the Senate held a hearing last month on a bill that would require greater oversight of the company that has a monopoly over measuring TV audiences." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (AP) 08/29/05
Posted: 08/29/2005 6:03 pm
Coming Soon To A DVD Near You? Why do movies have to be released in theatres first? "The tradition of major films debuting first in theaters, then across staggered release "windows," including pay-per-view, home video, cable and, finally, broadcast TV, is being openly questioned. The millions of dollars that studios spend marketing first-run movies would serve double duty promoting the more profitable DVDs, making for a faster and more efficient return on investment." New York Daily News (AP) 08/29/05
Posted: 08/29/2005 5:36 pm
Study: We're Not Going To Movies Because They're Bad Why are fewer people going to the movie theatre? A new study says it comes down to quality. "Even when moviegoers cite other reasons for going to theaters less often than they used to, they still circle back to the quality of films as the root cause for their disaffection. For example, potential moviegoers who cited the ease and selection offered by Netflix as one reason why they visit the multiplex less, then said they were driven to try Netflix because of the dearth of decent theatrical releases." Backstage 08/29/05
Posted: 08/29/2005 5:04 pm
Protest Groups Whine That BBC Ignored Them The Christian group that protested the BBC's showing of Jerry Springer, The Opera is upset that the broadcaster didn't pay attention to its protests. "We all might cause offence through ignorance but I am worried that there are people working in television who know something is going to be offensive and then just go ahead and show it." BBC 08/29/05
Posted: 08/29/2005 4:57 pm
A Test "Elvis" A satellite radio service adds an all-Elvis all-the-time format. "Elvis Radio, one of more than 130 channels on Sirius, may be the first station to transform what is normally a short-lived publicity stunt into a full-time dial fixture. As such, the all-Elvis station is widely viewed as an early litmus test for the ultra-niching that may lie ahead in satellite and digital radio, which offers listeners hundreds of channel choices."
Los Angeles Times 08/29/05
Posted: 08/29/2005 4:40 pm
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Half Way Around The World, Two Dancers Reunite Two Chinese dancers who studied together as children in China, then parted on their seperate careers, reunite in Pittsburgh, of all places... Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 08/29/05
Posted: 08/29/2005 5:58 pm
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