1. A Turn To The Traditional? Is a new aesthetic of traditional realist art gaining traction? Some "recent surveys show evidence of a very interesting mind shift among a number of young American painters living here or abroad. In general, a broad spectrum of older artists seem almost inevitably to include shock, angst, or politics in their works—an impulse to disturb articulated in The Shock of the New by Robert Hughes. On the other hand, a growing majority of American artists who today are under 40 years old seem more intent on creating paintings that are visually beautiful, rather than emotionally disturbing." NewBohemia 08/03
   
   

2. Reducing Ideas To Slides (The Quickest Way To Kill Ideas?) "Slideware -computer programs for presentations -is everywhere: in corporate America, in government bureaucracies, even in our schools. Several hundred million copies of Microsoft PowerPoint are churning out trillions of slides each year. Slideware may help speakers outline their talks, but convenience for the speaker can be punishing to both content and audience. The standard PowerPoint presentation elevates format over content, betraying an attitude of commercialism that turns everything into a sales pitch." Wired 08/03
   
   

3. Backtracking On The Mozart Effect "The 'Mozart effect,' which was first suggested in a study in 1993, showed that listening to 10 minutes of Mozart before a spatial skills test appeared to improve performance. Scientists soon reported a 'Schubert effect' and even a 'Stephen King effect'; hearing lively prose from the author before spatial tests also appeared to improve scores. Now researchers are discovering why the so-called Mozart effect happens, and they are finding that the benefits of music lessons may have been overstated." USAToday 08/19/03
   
   

4. Librarian To The Rescue An "action figure" company has come out with its latest doll - an action figure librarian based on Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl. "The company, which has produced a successful series of historical action figures that include Jesus, Moses and Benjamin Franklin, jumped at the idea. Nancy Pearl became the second installment in their newest line of action figures based on everyday people in everyday jobs." Baltimore Sun 08/17/03
   
   

5. Can The Whitney Be Saved? Hilton Kramer writes that the Whitney Museum was founded with high ideals but has sunk to "parlous condition." Kramer wishes new director Adam Weinberg good luck - "he returns to a museum that many artists now despise—for the right reasons, too—and the public has every reason to distrust. I wish him luck. He will certainly need it, if the recent track record of the Whitney’s board of trustees is any guide." New York Observer 08/20/03