“Pompeii is not a fragment of lost time. It is lost time thrust into the present, wholesale. This is disconcerting, to say the least. There is no buffer in Pompeii, no visible signal of decay as there is in the normal ruin.”
Why The Priests In Movies Are Good
“Given the scale of the revelations of the occurrence and covering-up of sexual abuse by priests, you might assume that the same would be true of sincere and celibate Roman Catholic clergy. Yet, in these bad times for the Vatican, good priests are surprisingly in evidence on-screen.”
‘Noah’ vs. ‘Son of God’: The Twin Pitfalls of Biblical Films
“Whether directors accept the text on its own merits or add their own creative spice, the end product will never be wholly satisfying for any audience.”
‘Blue Is the Warmest Color’ Attacked in Russia Under Gay Propaganda Law
“The local organization League of Safe Internet (LBI), has sent complains to the prosecutor’s office and to the culture ministry, accusing the film of gay propaganda among minors and containing elements of child pornography.”
Humanists And The Meaning Of Stories
“Humanists have paid a heavy price for their shrinking act. We are more or less ignored now by both the general public and our colleagues in the natural sciences, whose disciplines, of course, make no sense at all outside of universal observations, and who often work from bold cosmic visions, wildly counterintuitive models (think ghostlike multiverses and teleporting particles), and evolutionary spans of time that make our “histories” look insignificant and boring by comparison.”
China’s Largest Private Museum Opens in Shanghai
The second branch of the city’s Long Museum – this one in the West Bund – contains 33,000 square feet (about half of which is exhibition space) and took just over one year to complete.
Ted Hughes Estate Cuts Off His Biographer
“The Shakespeare scholar Jonathan Bate, who began working on a biography of the former poet laureate in 2010, said he was surprised that the estate has barred him from private archives, asked that he return photocopies of privately held documents, and withdrawn his right to quote extensively from the poet’s work.”
Thailand Discovers the Joys of Intellectual Property Law Enforcement
“The land of fake Rolex watches, knockoff DVDs and counterfeit Viagra is now discovering copyright, and it is coming as a bit of a shock for many Thais.”
Intellectual Property and Jokes
No, this isn’t about a sub-genre of lawyer jokes. Comedians and civilians alike steal each other’s laugh lines. “Does anyone actually own a joke, after all? What legal recourse, if any, does that owner have when some hack swipes his best material?”
A Guy Who Only Buys Art For Its IPO Value (Ugh)
Jerry Saltz: “There’s a saying in the poker world that, if you don’t know who the sucker is at the table, it’s you. Any gallerist or editor who thinks that Stefan Simchowitz puts art first — or is anything more than an opportunistic speculator — is handing him money.”
Hollywood Is Buying New Scripts On Spec Again
In the 1990s, as studios stockpiled scripts “they were buying so much material that they didn’t make that they began to think, why are we doing this?” By the mid-2000s, the spec market was in decline — with studios rolling the dice less often on screenplay purchases, relying instead on relatively safer projects.
Illusion Of Truth: The Internet Has Made It A Relative Thing (Illusion?)
“The thing is, the very idea of knowing the truth is now elastic. While we think that the digital age has moved us forward in terms of communication, it has, in fact, driven us back to something closer to medieval culture.”
Report Blasts Former American Academy President on Pay and Résumé
“The American Academy of Arts and Sciences issued a report on Monday condemning its former president, Leslie Cohen Berlowitz, for inflating her résumé and influencing the academy’s procedures in order to increase her pay far beyond that of leaders of similarly sized organizations.”
Spike Lee Goes After A.O. Scott For Piece About Brooklyn
“Since you are a New York Times Film Critic this should be very easy for you. According to your logic I should not have Written and Directed JUNGLE FEVER because I have never lived in HARLEM and BENSONHURST. I should not have Directed CLOCKERS because I have never lived in Boerum Hill and the Gowanus Projects. I should have not Written and Directed HE GOT GAME because I have never lived in CONEY ISLAND.”
Humans Have 20 Different Ways to Make Faces
“For years, scientists studying facial expressions have focused their research on six primary emotions: happiness, surprise, anger, sadness, fear, and disgust.” But Ohio State University researchers “suspected that there’s more to the human condition than these six simplest states of being.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 03.31.14
Music funding announced for fellow-primates
AJBlog: Slipped Disc | Published 2014-03-31
Want to hear some achingly beautiful ringtones?
AJBlog: Slipped Disc | Published 2014-03-31
Definitions: Two Experts Opine On What Museums/Directors Should Do
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts | Published 2014-03-31
‘Women conductors? It’s not getting any better, only worse’
AJBlog: Slipped Disc | Published 2014-03-31
Help, I’m Breaking Up!
AJBlog: Dancebeat | Published 2014-03-30
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Music As Unique Object: Band Will Release Only One Copy Of Its New Album
The band is Wu-Tang Clan. “Like the work of a master Impressionist, it will truly be one-of-a-kind—in lieu of a traditional major label or independent launch, the iconic hip-hop collective will make and sell just one copy of the album. And similar to a Monet or a Degas, the price tag will be a multimillion-dollar figure.”
The Perplexing Events That Led To Shutting Down San Diego Opera
“The vote took some board members by surprise. In past meetings, plenty of discussions about fundraising troubles and shrinking audiences occurred, but no talk of an immediate shutdown. Just two weeks before the vote, Ian Campbell attended a regular board meeting to talk up the 50th anniversary season in 2015.”
Why Hire One Music Director When You Can Hire Two?
The Westchester Philharmonic: “While the leadership arrangement is unusual, its contours have become clearer in recent weeks as next season’s programming takes shape. Mr. Laredo and Mr. Sperling will each conduct two concerts — a fifth conducting slot will be filled by a guest — and both will have substantial sway over the choice of material and soloists.”
Dancer Wendy Whelen To Leave NY City Ballet After 30 Years
“It’s exactly like a 30-year circle,” said Ms. Whelan, 46, who joined City Ballet as an apprentice in 1984 and went on to become a prima ballerina and to create roles in new ballets by choreographers including Christopher Wheeldon, Twyla Tharp and Alexei Ratmansky, among others.
This Year’s Winners Of The Met Opera National Auditions
This season more than 1,500 aspiring singers participated in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, thought to be the most prestigious voice competition in the field.
Glenn Gould Foundation Salutes Robert Lepage
The Glenn Gould Foundation congratulates Robert Lepage, Tenth Glenn Gould Prize Laureate. Director, playwright, actor – he is one of the world’s most honoured theatre artists. Your brilliance inspires us. [read more]