Wednesday, April 19
Mix Up - The Culture Export "Though the world's diverse societies are continuously interacting, the process is producing a variety of hybrid regimes rather than convergence on a single model. Yet a belief that a universally accepted type of society is emerging continues to shape the way social scientists and public commentators think about the contemporary condition, and it is taken for granted that industrialization enables something like the way of life of rich countries to be reproduced everywhere." New York Review of Books 04/27/06
Posted: 04/18/2006 9:42 pm
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Trying To Unravel Greek Antiquities Seizure Last week Greek authorities seized 300 illegally acquired artifacts on a remote island. "Last week's discovery was one of the biggest illegal antiquities cases in recent years, and police suspect international smuggling rings were involved, Greek culture minister Giorgos Voulgarakis said. However, he said there was no evidence yet supporting media reports of a link between the police raids and a dispute between Greece and the Getty Museum. Greece is seeking the return of four ancient artifacts from the museum, arguing that they were illegally exported." San Diego Union-Tribune (AP) 04/19/06
Posted: 04/19/2006 7:40 am
Greeks Investigating Antiques Smuggling Greek authorities say they are investigating a suspected conspiracy to smuggle antiquities hidden on a remote island to major museums and other buyers abroad. The New York Times 04/19/06
Posted: 04/18/2006 9:28 pm
The Barcelona Solution It was not very long ago that the enormity of the 9/11 tragedy united New York City in ways that surprised even the idealists. But hard-bitten observers of the development scene predicted from the beginning that hope, crystallized in architects' renderings of soaring towers and austere landscapes of grief, would need to be tempered by 'reality.' They've gotten their way. At Ground Zero, design is distrusted and shunted aside at every turn in favor of the same enervating commercial product that can be erected and rented for a fraction of the cost elsewhere." But maybe Barcelona offers a better way? Bloomberg News 04/13/06
Posted: 04/18/2006 3:53 pm
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Organ-Makers Run Afoul Of New European Union Laws "Two European Union directives, which come into force in the 25 EU countries in July, ban the manufacture of 'electrical equipment' containing more than 0.1 percent lead. The statutes are intended principally to reduce the volume of lead seeping back into the environment mainly from discarded mobile phones and other disposable modern technologies. But the 1,000-year-old art of organ-building appears to have been swept up in the legislating zeal." Christian Science Monitor 04/17/06
Posted: 04/19/2006 7:08 am
Is Reggaeton Fading? Today's big music? Well, it was supposed to be reggaeton. But then again, maybe not. "In at least three markets -- Las Vegas, Dallas and Miami -- stations that gambled on the music's growing popularity have since switched back to more traditional formats. And in perhaps the most worrisome sign yet, turnout was disappointing for a reggaeton concert last month at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., headlined by Daddy Yankee, the genre's superstar, and rapper Snoop Dogg." Chicago Tribune 04/19/06
Posted: 04/19/2006 7:05 am
Chicago Music Fans Angry At Pub Radio Decision To Drop Music "Chicago Public Radio's recently announced decision to gut music programs from all three frequencies it controls -- most notably WBEZ-FM 91.5 -- has unleashed a torrent of criticism. Listeners who for decades have tuned in to WBEZ's jazz, blues and world-music programming are incensed at the plans, which will go into effect in early 2007." Chicago Tribune 04/16/06
Posted: 04/18/2006 6:02 pm
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Smithsonian Investigating Sales Division Salaries "The Smithsonian's Office of the Inspector General is looking into the executive compensation and accounting practices of Smithsonian Business Ventures, the division of the institution that operates its retail and publishing enterprises." Washington Post 04/19/06
Posted: 04/19/2006 7:58 am
Does A Culture Minister Matter In Canada? Another spring, another culture minister. "Veterans of the culture wars have seen a bewildering number of ministers come and go, both federally and provincially. Virtually all of them have stood up and proclaimed their deep respect, admiration and concern for the arts. But how many of them have actually delivered on their promises? And in the end, does it really matter who the culture minister is or what the minister says in speeches to the Canadian Club?" Toronto Star 04/18/06
Posted: 04/18/2006 6:08 pm
Why Must We Always "Explain" Art? "As humans, we have a constant discussion going on in our brains. On our right sides we have instinct, emotion, intuition; on the left, intellect, language, reason. As an artist, I feel that it is from this dialogue that inspiration comes. If a decision about how to proceed with a work is a toss-up between watertight concept and sensual intuition I tend to give in to intuition because of its track record." The Times (UK) 04/18/06
Posted: 04/18/2006 6:08 pm
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"Graduate" Author To Be Evicted The author of the book of used for "The Graduate" is about to be evicted from his home. "Novelist Charles Webb, 66, and his partner have only days to pay two months' overdue rent, totalling nearly £1,600, on their flat in Hove. Mr Webb wrote the book on which the 1967 movie starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft was based. The Californian author accepted a one-off payment of £14,000 for the novel, while the film made £60m." BBC 04/18/06
Posted: 04/18/2006 3:56 pm
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Not Good Enough For Pulitzer? Why did the Pulitzer board decline to name a winner for drama this year? More than a few playwrights feel snubbed. Adam Rapp, who was among the three finalists for his play "Red Light in Winter," said Tuesday that the lack of a drama award was like "a year without a Santa Claus" for playwrights. Los Angeles Times 04/19/06
Posted: 04/19/2006 7:31 am
US Funding For Deaf Theatre Ends The funding, which came from the Department of Education, was canceled in late 2004 when an earmark for cultural experiences for the deaf was struck during the reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities in Education Act. The money itself stopped coming to deaf theater groups last year. "We don't know exactly why it was removed," a department spokesman, Jim Bradshaw, said Tuesday by e-mail. "An explanation does not appear in the legislation's report language. About all we can tell you is that since it was an earmark outside of the department, we defer to Congress' judgment on this." Los Angeles Times 04/19/06
Posted: 04/19/2006 7:21 am
Broadway Fans Starstruck Over Julia Julia Roberts' appearance on Broadway has caused anightly scrum of fans outside the theatre. "Each night, as the performance ends, fans gather behind barriers and across 45th Street from the Jacobs to catch a glimpse and get playbills autographed. The theatre's security team has set up an exclusive pen for ticket-holders, who can line up on one side of the stage door." The Globe & Mail (AP) 04/18/06
Posted: 04/18/2006 6:04 pm
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ReganMedia Departs NY For LA Publisher Judith Regan is moving her operations to Los Angeles next month: "New York is like a bad relationship that you can't get out of, because you still think the sex is good. Well, I think the sex is pretty good in L.A. too!"
Los Angeles Times 04/19/06
Posted: 04/19/2006 7:24 am
Fuzzy Future For Canadian Almanac? "On March 27, The Canadian Almanac and Directory sent a letter to what its staffers termed 'famous Canadians in the arts, sciences, sports, government and media' asking them to contribute essays on Canada, the land, the peoples, and so on, for the publication's 160th edition. A week later, the 159-year-old publication's U.S. owner, ProQuest Co. of Ann Arbor, Mich., announced that it was laying off staff at the Toronto office. Workers still in place were told to cancel those requests for essay contributions." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 04/19/06
Posted: 04/19/2006 7:14 am
Books On Your Phone Simon & Schuster is launching a publishing service for mobile phones. "The deal, which will target 18 to 34 year-olds, will allow the imprint to market a number of its current and forthcoming titles through a subscription-based service that sends text messages, excerpts, previews and cover art to cell phone users. There will be "a nominal fee" for the content, with a portion of the revenue going to S&S." Publishers Weekly 04/18/06
Posted: 04/18/2006 9:56 pm
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Today's TV: Show Me The Money! The most popular TV shows in America right now are all about money. "Some media observers say these shows succeed, in part, by exploiting the economic anxiety in society today. Shaky pensions, mounting medical co-payments, rising gas prices and seemingly endless downsizing in the American workplace can leave consumers — and TV viewers — longing for a show-me-the-suitcase-of-cash solution." Los Angeles Times 04/19/06
Posted: 04/19/2006 7:27 am
Will Podcasts Et Al Kill Local Broadcasters? "The rise of the on-demand world has local suppliers of content everywhere unsettled. In one sense, it's the classic tale of old-guard businesses struggling to withstand a disruptive technology. (Think Napster and the record industry.) But it's also a lesson in how media are benefiting by embracing the new broadcast landscape of content without boundaries." Christian Science Monitor 04/17/06
Posted: 04/19/2006 7:11 am
Next Year's Oscars Move Back To February For its 79th Annual Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is moving back to the last Sunday in February, a spot the Oscar show occupied in 2004 and 2005 before moving back a week -- to the first Sunday in March -- this year in order to avoid going head-to-head against NBC's broadcast of the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. Backstage 04/18/06
Posted: 04/18/2006 5:57 pm
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SF Ballet Loses Some Stars San Francsico Ballet is losing some of its biggest stars. This week, principal Yuri Possokhov, a "towering figure on the Opera House stage since 1994", said he will retire from the company in July. "They are dropping like worn-out toe shoes over on Franklin Street. Two of the most memorable members of the corps are also leaving this year -- Amanda Schull and Megan Low."
San Francisco Chronicle 04/19/06
Posted: 04/19/2006 7:53 am
A Pocket History Of Ballet "Ballet's origins are more diverse than its image suggests, however, and a look at the art form's history shows its reputation for elitism to be surprisingly undeserved." New Statesman 04/17/06
Posted: 04/18/2006 5:02 pm
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