“Hanifa Alizada, a photo-artist and art teacher at Kabul University, has been refused a visa to enter Canada to deliver a speech about life for Afghan women and to exhibit her work at a symposium [in Ottawa] Jan. 22-25.” No reason has been given.
A Literary Love Letter, With Despair And Grief, To Moscow
“The nature of the Russian regime did not change when Peter the Great made his subjects shave their beards and moved the seat of government from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Nor did it change when Lenin moved it back to Moscow. Nor has it changed since; it still ‘wants everything to tremble before it.'”
How Did West Virginia Deal With Its First Queer Film Fest?
“Historically, both Appalachians and LGBTQ folks have been disenfranchised by society. Both have preconceptions that people believe about them that are largely untrue or at least unfounded. So we wanted to bring these two groups of people in the same space to recognize the similarities between themselves and create a conversation using film as the vessel.”
So Why Did Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Archives Go To Texas?
“The Ransom Center already has extensive archives on writers Jorge Luis Borges, William Faulkner and James Joyce. Other Nobel laureates included in its collection are Samuel Beckett, T.S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck. Monday’s announcement had raised eyebrows in Colombia.”
Study: Link Between Mental Sharpness And Cultural Activities In Seniors
“Internet use and engagement in various social activities, in particular cultural activities, appear to help older adults maintain the literary skills required to self-manage health.”
Venezuela Presents A Hugo Chávez Ballet
“The state-sponsored work, Ballet of the Spider-Seller to Liberator, is to show at a Caracas theater on Saturday in homage to Chávez’s life from poor boy selling homemade spider-shaped sweets in his rural hometown to president for 14 years.”
Shakespeare First Folio Discovered In Small-Town French Library
“The book – one of only 230 believed to still exist – had lain undisturbed in the library at Saint-Omer in the north of France for 200 years.”
Chris Ofili’s “Holy Virgin Mary” Doesn’t Seem So Shocking Anymore – Why?
You may remember that when the Nigerian-British artist’s rendition of the Madonna was exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum in 1999, following uneventful showings in Europe, all hell broke loose (as it were). Now the piece is back in New York, attracting no particular controversy. Alastair Sooke considers what’s changed over the past 15 years.
Happy People Aren’t Always Great At Empathy
“Recent research … suggests that people who are generally cheerful are not so great at reading other people’s negative emotions, though what’s especially interesting is that they think they’re very good at it.”
Jian Ghomeshi Drops Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Against CBC
After a month of allegation after allegation of the popular radio host’s aggressive or violent behavior toward women – not to mention leaks from within the CBC about its decision to fire Ghomeshi and the difficult working environment for his staff – he has given up his $55 million suit and agreed to pay the CBC’s legal bills.
Barnes Foundation Thriving In Philadelphia, Despite Empty Leadership Posts
“As 2014 winds down, the Barnes has no permanent director. There’s no permanent chief curator. The spotlight is hot and unblinking. So how’s it going after 2½ years?” Rather well, it seems – for several reasons.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 11.25.14
Ani DiFranco and New Orleans Jazz
AJBlog: CultureCrash Published 2014-11-25
Once Upon a Time, Ginsberg Kept City Lights Humming
AJBlog: Straight|Up Published 2014-11-25
Lookback: Hitler, the murder artist
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2014-11-25
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Judge Denies NY City Opera An Extension For Bankruptcy Reorganization
“The ramped up pressure on City Opera came from Gene Kaufman, an architect and businessman who has been angling to buy the company’s assets, which consist primarily of a $5 million endowment, currently controlled by the State Attorney General. Kaufman argues that the company has been stalling and has failed to “pull the trigger” on a sale proposal.”
Study: Children Are Watching Half As Much TV As Adults
“Ofcom’s Children’s Digital Day research shows that children aged 11 to 15 are watching one hour and 32 minutes of live TV per day. Adults watch two hours and 58 minutes per day, the survey revealed.”
A New National Newspaper Starts Up In UK (And People Are Buying It!)
“Richard Walker, editor of The National, said the first day’s 60,000 print run was a sell-out, and digital subscribers were joining up on Sunday at the rate of 20 a minute.”
Broadway Box Office Up, But New Musicals Fail To Connect With Audiences So Far
“Over all, Broadway musicals and plays grossed $26.7 million last week, compared to $23.4 million for the same week last season. Attendance was 262,452 for 36 productions, compared to 233,393 for 32 productions last year.”
Alex Poots Named To Lead NYC’s New Culture Shed (So What Is Culture Shed?)
“The center plans to commission, program and present innovative work from around the world, across the arts and the creative industries, including film, fashion, video, performing arts, culinary arts, music and publishing. It is expected to become the new home of Fashion Week and a possible anchor for the Tribeca Film Festival.”
How Has “Star Wars” Made $37 Billion??
“The Star Wars universe now comprises a vast array of products, from movies and TV shows to videogames and toys. But it all started with one movie, Star Wars (later Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope), whose modest $11 million budget was less than the average studio comedy at the time.”
That Henry Mancini Sound: Here’s Where It Came From
“From the “Pink Panther” and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” to “Gunn” and “Charade,” Mancini’s film scores went beyond background music. They expressed a new American modernism that embraced simplicity, sleekness and space. Free of heavy classical motifs found in many earlier film scores, Mancini’s music was streamlined for sensuality, with many of his soundtracks becoming more memorable than the films’ actors and plots.”
A History Of Highbrow Versus Lowbrow
“The antagonisms between highbrow and lowbrow aren’t new, and have arguably even diminished somewhat in comparison with the Astor Place riot. Highbrow has long sneered at lowbrow, and lowbrow has long sneered right back. What’s different is not the conflict, but the fact that the antagonism occurs in a landscape where highbrow and lowbrow have split into more clearly defined camps.”
Bollywood Actresses Are Big Box Office. So Why Aren’t They Getting Paid Like It?
“Top male stars, such as the three Khans — Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir — and action star Akshay Kumar, earn around 400 million rupees ($6.7 million) per film on average, apart from a share of the profits, according to industry experts. A-list actresses such as Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif get paid a tenth of that per film.”
A Working Formula For Selling Books In LA
“We used to sell books,” Cecilia Ng says. “Now we’re more like 7-Eleven for Chinese people.”
Stage Directions: How Much Of Them Should Playwrights Include?
Ibsen and Shaw included lots of them; Eugene O’Neill wrote so many that they’ve been made into a play by themselves. Sinmon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), on the other hand, says his play couldn’t have become what it is if he had written out how he thought it should look and sound. Lyn Gardner considers the issue.