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Friday, July 21




Ideas

Moscow - Queen Of The Night 'There's a reason you need a visa to come to Russia. Moscow has the best nightlife in the world. Leave etiquette and moderation to everyone else. Leave "the beauty of an hour" to the Russians, especially to those with money, those in their 30s, the last generation raised under the old regime, who can't stop toasting their good fortune, all of it with the fine style you read about in those novels the size of bricks. They'll crack your chest and massage your heart, and we'll see if you can keep up.' Vanity Fair 07/06
Posted: 07/20/2006 10:09 pm

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Visual Arts

Speculators Buy In To Chinese Art "In a rocketing economy where government owns the land but is curtailing rampant speculation with new regulations, art is the new real estate in China. But, longtime observers bemoan speculation, saying it artificially warps the prices, and even affects the form and quality of the art. Yet China offers a one-of-a kind, forward-racing, ever-morphing art scene, a heady stew stirred by artists, speculators, critics and curators. Buyers are also playing a role in molding the new faces of Chinese art." San Francisco Chronicle 07/21/06
Posted: 07/21/2006 6:30 am

Bad Summer For LA's Murals "Thursday, attorneys representing artist Kent Twitchell filed a claim against the U.S. Department of Labor in connection with Twitchell's large-scale mural "Ed Ruscha Monument" — a six-story portrait of fellow artist Ruscha on a building owned by the federal agency — being painted over in early June. Twitchell said he received no notice, as required by law, that the paint-over would take place.Within the past few days, two more downtown murals, Frank Romero's "Going to the Olympics" and Willie Herrón's "Luchas del Mundo" (Struggles of the World) were partly covered with mud-colored paint, an apparent error by a Caltrans work crew cleaning up graffiti." Los Angeles Times 07/21/06
Posted: 07/21/2006 5:49 am

Celebrating Louis Sullivan's 150th Chicago is celebrating the 150th anniversary of architect Louis Sullivan with the restoration of the historic cornice of one of his iconic city buildings - the Carson Pirie Scott. Chicago Sun-Times 07/21/06
Posted: 07/21/2006 5:30 am

Artifact Looters Adapt As Greece, Italy Clamp Down "Home to an estimated 34,000 archaeological sites, Greece is viewed as Europe's biggest open-air museum. Along with Italy, it has attracted tomb raiders since before its foundation as a nation state in 1830. But Athens is toughening its stance, homing in on the dealers, curators and collectors that are the source of demand." So the looters? Why they're just moving on to easier pickings... The Guardian (UK) 07/21/06
Posted: 07/20/2006 7:06 pm

Dealers May Lose Out In Berry-Hill Bankruptcy "Dealers whose pictures were consigned to and sold by Berry-Hill Galleries before it filed for bankruptcy, risk losing the proceeds from their sale, unless Berry-Hill can raise enough money to make a first payment to its secured creditor by 2 August. The amount of money they will get back is uncertain." The Art Newspaper 07/20/06
Posted: 07/20/2006 5:34 pm

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Music

Dallas Opera's Good Year Ticket revenues were down, but total attendance was up slightly. New partnerships and outreach programs brought in nearly 3,000 first-time patrons. Dallas Morning News 07/20/06
Posted: 07/21/2006 5:40 am

Shostakovich Over Prokofiev? But Why? "It is striking to contrast the rise and rise of Shostakovich with the more ambiguous status of the Soviet Union's other major composer of the 20th century, Sergei Prokofiev. While Shostakovich has managed, in death, to break free of Stalinism's shackles, Prokofiev remains caught up by them." Th Guardian (UK) 07/21/06
Posted: 07/20/2006 8:49 pm

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Arts Issues

Getty To Publish Internal Governance Info The Getty Trust, which has been embroiled in staffing and governance issues in the past year, says it will publish detailed finance and governance information online. “Part of our intent is to increase the transparency of the Getty, to make sure people understand that the Getty is committed to being a leader among non-profit [organisations] in terms of governance,” The Art Newspaper 07/20/06
Posted: 07/20/2006 5:30 pm

KC PAC Selects "Fundraising Powerhouse" As Its CEO "The Metropolitan Kansas City Performing Arts Center has made its most important personnel decision since selecting architect Moshe Safdie to design the facility in 2000. On Tuesday the center’s board announced the appointment of Jane Chu, 48, as president and chief executive officer of the facility... Locally Chu is known as a fund-raising powerhouse with research-based knowledge of performing-arts facilities. Toward her doctoral dissertation she is examining the finances and staffing of nearly 100 centers around the United States." Kansas City Star 07/18/06
Posted: 07/20/2006 6:59 am

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People

Critic Henry Hewes, 89 "Henry Hewes, a longtime theater critic for The Saturday Review and the founder of the American Theater Critics Association, died at his home in Manhattan on Tuesday. He was 89... A past president of the New York Drama Critics Circle and the Drama Desk, and the editor from 1960 to 1964 of the “Best Plays” anthology, Mr. Hewes was also proud of his suggestion to Tennessee Williams that he turn a certain short story into a play; the play was Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." The New York Times 07/20/06
Posted: 07/20/2006 6:38 am

Creating Monsters Filmmaker Lee Daniels has built his career on his own terms, tackling controversial plots and taboo subjects that most producers and directors would think twice about loosing on an unsuspecting public. But somehow, the man behind Monster's Ball and The Woodsman has convinced moviegoers that his twisted plots and startlingly imperfect characters are worth the price of admission. The New York Times 07/20/06
Posted: 07/20/2006 6:30 am

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Theatre

Plan To Move The Guthrie Nixed Now that Minneapolis' Guthrie Theatre has moved into a new home, what's to become of the old one? It will be demolished. A local college had suggested moving the building to its campus, but the idea proved not to be feasible. "We were really excited about saving the Guthrie and putting it up there for retirement. It would fit on that campus, which was built in the same period," The Star-Tribune (Mpls) 07/20/06
Posted: 07/21/2006 6:09 am

How The Los Angeles Theater Center Got New Management "Ethnic favoritism has been a part of city politics ever since there were cities. Furthermore, 98 percent of L.A.’s theaters are run by Caucasians, who are now a statistical minority of the local population. What was announced as an open-bid process had become, by the final act, a tainted and disturbing story of the power of political connections." LAWeekly 07/20/06
Posted: 07/20/2006 9:17 pm

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Publishing

Publish-On-Demand Goes Mainstream "The print-on-demand business is gradually moving toward the center of the marketplace. What began as a way for publishers to reduce their inventory and stop wasting paper is becoming a tool for anyone who needs a bound document. Short-run presses can turn out books economically in small quantities or singly, and new software simplifies the process of designing a book." The New York Times 07/20/06
Posted: 07/20/2006 10:54 pm

New Method Teaching Deaf Improves Literacy Rates "Advocates say a phonetically based technique called cued speech can improve literacy rates among deaf students even if not used primarily for speaking. They point out that the average 18-year-old deaf high school graduate reads on a third- or fourth-grade level. The system is gaining popularity with new research, a grass-roots movement and new funding aimed at improving reading scores under the federal No Child Left Behind Law." Yahoo! (AP) 07/20/06
Posted: 07/20/2006 6:55 pm

The Pynchon Is Coming! As usual, the release of a new Thomas Pynchon book is shouded in mystery. "This much is known about the new book: It's called "Against the Day" and will be published by Penguin Press. It will run at least 900 pages and the author will not be going on a promotional tour." Yahoo! (AP) 07/20/06
Posted: 07/20/2006 6:53 pm

Who's Blogging Now? A new survey of the online blogosphere, as it's come to be known, reveals that fully 8% of Internet users now keep a blog of some description, and that bloggers in general are "a mostly young, racially diverse group of people who have never been published anywhere else and who most often use cyberspace to talk about their personal lives." The New York Times 07/20/06
Posted: 07/20/2006 6:28 am

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Media

A Fight Over Cable Competition And Regulation "Consumers are complaining about their steadily climbing cable TV bills - up 86 percent in the past 10 years, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Their local officials agree, but with a caveat: That's not all that's at stake, they say. The municipalities' ability to enforce cable operators' customer service standards, control rights of way and take a cut of their revenue is at risk. State or federal bills would allow would-be cable operators to bypass local franchise agreements." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 07/21/06
Posted: 07/21/2006 6:22 am

Increasing Signs Hollywood Production Is Downsizing "Disney's firings, which started at the top with the studio's production chief, are the latest in an industrywide contraction that has cost more than 2,000 jobs worldwide. In Los Angeles, particularly, the economic effect is being widely felt. Here, in an industry built on bravado, people are suddenly talking openly about being afraid." Los Angeles Times 07/21/06
Posted: 07/21/2006 5:54 am

In Hollywood - Firing Is An Art Form "In show business, an industry that's all about relationships, the ways people get tossed can resonate louder than box-office grosses. Keeping score of who's up and who's down dominates workplace conversations because the latest pecking order determines the fate of projects. Still, Hollywood seems to have a knack for the memorable pink slip." Los Angeles Times 07/21/06
Posted: 07/21/2006 5:52 am

Will Disney Cuts Move Through The Industry? So what do Disney's cutbacks signal for the movie industry? "Nothing seems assured or certain. Everything is insanely expensive. Pictures that you think are going, suddenly get pulled. The rules aren't being followed. There's a sense that the way things happen is up for grabs. You have to ride with these strange tides." Yahoo! (HR) 07/20/06
Posted: 07/20/2006 6:49 pm

The 30-Second Ad - That Didn't Work... Now What? The 30-second TV ad is becoming less and less effective, and advertisers are trying to invent nw ways of getting through to consumers. "Today's consumer, especially the under-35 generation raised on computers and cellphones, demand interaction with a product and prefer to do their own research prior to purchase. Advertisers are scrambling to adapt." Christian Science Monitor 07/20/06
Posted: 07/20/2006 6:39 pm

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Dance

Atlanta Ballet Fires Its Orchestra The company says it can save $400,000 a year by ditching musicians an using recorded music. "Ballet officials told members of the company's orchestra Thursday that they won't renew the musicians' three-year contract, which expires at the end of August. The ballet plans to offer a severance package to the 48 union musicians in its orchestra. Atlanta Journal-Constitution 07/21/06
Posted: 07/21/2006 6:36 am

Many Problems May Close Ohio Ballet "If there were just one problem, there might be one clear solution. But lengthy interviews with more than a dozen people, including Deputy Mayor Dave Lieberth, who conducted a comprehensive study of the company, revealed a quilt of overlapping reasons, the kind faced by dance companies across the country." Akron Beacon-Journal 07/17/06
Posted: 07/20/2006 11:50 pm

Sydney Dance Directors Resign "Having seen dance blossom in the past 30 years increases the sadness we feel at seeing it enter a less dynamic phase. Potential for new adventures is greatly diminished in these cash-strapped times. The exciting new undergrowth has never been sparser and old growth (we consider the Sydney Dance Company as such) has never been more threatened." PlaybillArts 07/20/06
Posted: 07/20/2006 10:32 pm

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