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Friday, December 9




Ideas

Urban Sprawl Bad? Maybe Not "Sprawl has been as evident in Europe as in America, and can now be said to be the preferred settlement pattern everywhere in the world where there is a certain measure of affluence and where citizens have some choice in how they live."
Los Angeles Times 12/09/05
Posted: 12/09/2005 7:04 am

2005: Where Science And Culture Met "The developments of the past year show that the 'accepted wisdom' on science isn't as quickly or as widely accepted as perhaps it once was — partly because of a skeptical political climate, and partly because the Internet provides wider access for dissenting views. Those societal challenges are sparking the rise of a new breed of scientists: media-savvy folk who aren't afraid to join the fray themselves." MSNBC 12/08/05
Posted: 12/08/2005 6:17 pm

I'm 206. Live With It! "Thanks to advances in medical technology, an overall improvement in working conditions and a better understanding of how nutrition and exercise affect longevity, the average biped can reasonably expect to hang around for 80 years or more. But 80 years is a trifle. Why not live 150 years? Why not 200? Why not forever? Some people think this is not only possible, but that it's a good idea." Wired 12/08/05
Posted: 12/08/2005 6:07 pm

  • Living Longer (But Living Healthier?) "Life expectancy in the U.S. has been rising almost without interruption since 1900, thanks to several factors, including extraordinary advances in medicine and sanitation, and declines in some types of unhealthy behavior, such as smoking. Those trends may allow life expectancy to continue to inch up despite the increases in obesity and high blood pressure." Wired (AP) 12/08/05
    Posted: 12/08/2005 6:03 pm

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Ideas stories submitted by readers
Baghdad Bric-a-Brac Wonkette 12/06/05
Truth vs. Theory City Journal 11/05
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Visual Arts

SF Mayor: Architecture Matters San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom wants to make quality architecture a priority in his city. "He takes potshots at predecessors who allowed "a dumbing down of quality." He says developers should be held responsible for how their buildings look, and he wants the city to be known for new landmarks as well as old favorites -- even if some people cringe at what they see." San Francisco Chronicle 12/09/05
Posted: 12/09/2005 6:41 am

The Biggest Art Fraud Of The 20th Century "Between 1986 and 1994, Myatt churned out more than 200 new works by surrealists, cubists and impressionists, passing them off as originals with the help of an accomplice, John Drewe, an expert at generating false provenances. Despite the fact that many of Myatt's paintings were laughably amateurish (they were executed in emulsion, not oil), they fooled the experts and were auctioned for hundreds of thousands of pounds by Christie's and Sotheby's. It was, said Scotland Yard's art and antiques squad when they finally caught up with Myatt in 1995, bursting into his Staffordshire studio at the crack of dawn, 'the biggest art fraud of the 20th century'." The Guardian (UK) 12/08/05
Posted: 12/08/2005 6:44 pm

Digitally Detected - A Computer That Can Spot Fakes? Dan Rockmore, a professor of computer science at Dartmouth College, wants to "bring digital technology to the art of authentication. Using hi-res digital cameras and software that he wrote himself, Rockmore aims to examine the brushstrokes from Flora and 24 other works to reveal Rembrandt's unique mathematical fingerprint." Wired 12/08/05
Posted: 12/08/2005 6:10 pm

Seattle's Stealth Entry Into Basel Miami Seattle galleries were shut out of official selection for the Basel Miami art fair. So a group of Seattle galleries got together and "booked an entire motel in Ocean Beach, a short walk from Basel/Miami. Then they crossed their fingers and asked 35 galleries to join them." The idea was a hit... Seattle Post-Intelligencer 12/08/05
Posted: 12/08/2005 5:26 pm

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Music

Publishers Push For Jail Time For Illegal Downloaders The head of the Music Publishers Association wants to escalate its war on illegal downloading. He says the group does "not just want to shut websites and impose fines, saying if authorities can 'throw in some jail time I think we'll be a little more effective'." BBC 12/09/05
Posted: 12/09/2005 6:22 am

La Scala's Big Opening Success After much conjecture about it, La Scala's opening night went off as a success, and English conductor Daniel Harding proved himself. Thursday's headline in the Italian daily La Repubblica read, "Harding, the Boy Maestro, Opens the Era for the New Scala." And in Corriere della Sera, the headline was, "Harding Conquers La Scala." The New York Times 12/09/05
Posted: 12/09/2005 6:16 am

Blame For French Riots? How About The Rappers? "For more than a decade, French rap has been the voice of the banlieues, the poor suburbs, and it has long been full of warnings of violence to come in those areas. Last week, 200 politicians backed a petition by MP François Grosdidier calling for legal action against several hip hop musicians for their aggressive lyrics." The Telegraph (UK) 12/09/05
Posted: 12/08/2005 9:18 pm

Rutter: Carols Rock John Rutter has written many a Christmas carol and he knows they're not "serious" music. But. "The carol repertoire is the richest and most varied collection of folk art: a wonderful historical ragbag of doggerel, some inspired poetry, much memorable melody and a few of those irritating ditties that lodge unwanted in the brain." The Guardian (UK) 12/08/05
Posted: 12/08/2005 6:48 pm

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Music stories submitted by readers
The Times They Are A-Changin' Symphony 12/10/05
A Music File by Any Other Name Wired 12/09/05
The mystery man who changed my life The Telegraph (UK) 12/09/05
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Arts Issues

MacDowell Colony's Non-Profit Status Challenged "At stake is a $50,000 tax bill — a portion of the colony's total tax bill on its 450-acre compound — and MacDowell's status as a tax-exempt organization. That status, which the colony has had since it was founded in 1907 as a community of artists, has long been affirmed by the town's selectmen. The town recently changed its mind on that score, however." PND News 12/08/05
Posted: 12/08/2005 11:28 pm

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People

Venice Biennale Director To Join Philadelphia Museum Curator Robert Storr is joining the staff of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Storr, a graduate of Swarthmore who has taught at Tyler School of Art, the University of the Arts, and the University of Pennsylvania, will continue to teach at New York University's Institute of Fine Arts and hold his position as director of the 2007 Venice Biennale." Philadelphia Inquirer 12/09/05
Posted: 12/09/2005 6:56 am

Predock Wins Architecture Gold Medal Architect Antoine Predock wins the 2006 Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects. In announcing the award yesterday, the AIA saluted the New Mexico architect for an approach "born out of his geographic surroundings, the American West, an open desert full of history and expansive space."
Washington Post 12/09/05
Posted: 12/09/2005 6:36 am

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Theatre

Another Year Of Declining Audience For Stratford Fest Canada's Stratford Theatre balances its budget, but "paid attendance for its 15 productions was 540,000, down 5 per cent from the 568,715 patrons it drew in 2004. In fact, this was the third consecutive year that attendance declined, after reaching an all-time high in 2002 of almost 673,000." The Globe & mail (Canada) 12/09/05
Posted: 12/09/2005 7:09 am

Why America's Regional Theatres Are Dying "The sun is setting on America’s regional theaters, as they’ve existed for the past half century. There are also other reasons — cultural and technological, leading to the reality that putting on shows can no longer be the primary purpose of theater. Such a purpose — as a sole purpose — is unsustainable for either profit or nonprofit theaters in an era of funding cutbacks when the Internet, iPods, cell-phone cameras and flat-screen TVs have added to the already tempting distractions of California’s beaches, mountains and amusement parks." LAWeekly 12/08/05
Posted: 12/08/2005 9:25 pm

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Publishing

So-What Factoids... (Should You Care?) "So-what books have been proliferating. A lot. Some reasons: They're light and user-friendly. They require no attention span. They supposedly make good gifts, although 78 percent of recipients will glance at this kind of book exactly twice before consigning it to oblivion. That's not a real statistic. Neither are most of the statistics that show up in these things." The New York Times 12/09/05
Posted: 12/08/2005 9:15 pm

Brits To Investigate Waterstone Acquisition Deal The British Office of Fair Trading will investigate Waterstone's proposed purchase of rival Ottakar's. "The OFT received more than 350 letters from consumers, publishers and authors opposed to the £96m deal, which was announced in September. Yesterday the watchdog said that the weight of opinion was a key factor in its decision to send the proposed deal to the Competition Commission for scrutiny." The Guardian (UK) 12/07/05
Posted: 12/08/2005 6:52 pm

Time For The Non-Profit Newspaper? Arguably, American newspapers are badly-served by the publicly-owned profit model. But aren't newspapers as institutions more important than their business model? "The St. Petersburg Times, with its Poynter connection, is a rare example of a nonprofit. How could other newspapers be liberated from the for-profit world to concentrate on their mission? There are two tax-favored models before us: public broadcasting and real estate investment trusts." Editor & Publisher 12/08/05
Posted: 12/08/2005 6:37 pm

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Media

Study Suggests Video-On-Demand Cable Viewers Rent Fewer DVDs "More than half of the nearly 500 users surveyed -- even among those who described themselves as medium to light users of Starz on Demand -- said that they rented and purchased fewer DVDs because of the availability of films on the on-demand platform. Of the roughly 14 million Starz Encore subscribers, about 3.6 million regularly access the Starz on Demand service." Yahoo! (Reuters) 12/08/05
Posted: 12/08/2005 6:28 pm

Comcast To Consider Offering Family TV Package Comcast Corp., the top U.S. cable operator, says it will consider offering a family tier of cable programing to address indecency concerns raised by lawmakers and media regulators.
Yahoo! (Reuters) 12/08/05
Posted: 12/08/2005 6:26 pm

Star Indie Station Struggles Behind The Scenes? Seattle indie station KEXP has been a huge hit since being adopted by billionaire Paul Allen a few years ago. The "station has grown exponentially into a $3 million enterprise that attracts fervent listeners all over the world and serves as a tastemaker for an eclectic mix of new, alternative, and international music. The total weekly audience has almost doubled since 2000, to roughly 100,000 listeners. Each of the past few years, the station has raised vastly more money than the previous, surpassing ambitious goals. Revenue from membership has more than doubled in two years, to $1.5 million. Beneath the surface, though, KEXP has been under financial strain." Seattle Weekly 12/08/05
Posted: 12/08/2005 5:31 pm

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Dance

A Messiah Done Modern "Only in recent years has Handel's piece — composed in 1741 and long associated with Christmas, though it was intended, one biographer wrote, 'as a timely thought-provoker for Lent and Easter' — been interpreted by choreographers. Schroeder points out that it has often been difficult for dance companies, including hers, to find willing collaborators among classical musicians, many of whom believe "Messiah" is strictly for voice and orchestra." Atlanta Journal-Constitution 12/08/05
Posted: 12/07/2005 10:30 pm

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Dance stories submitted by readers
Ailey premiere offers safe spirituality Miami Herald 12/08/05
Dance Review | Sasha Waltz The New York Times 12/07/05
All-Balanchine Program Challenges Farrell's Dancers New York Observer 12/01/05
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