Are the so-called “flash-mobs” springing up in cities around America a serious movement or a quick-to-pass fad? “Whether one views them as part of a serious social movement or a form of quirky entertainment (or both), flash mobs are perfectly appropriate for this town. Historically, San Francisco has been rife with pranking and performance art organizations. Loosely organized groups of merrymakers – including the Amateur Press Association, the Church of the SubGenius, Survival Research Laboratories, Billboard Liberation Front, the edgier Suicide Club, Santarchy, and the still-kickin’ Cacophony Society – have been tugging San Francisco’s pigtails since the turn of the 20th century.”
Month: July 2003
BBC Radio1 Ratings Down
The latest ratings show that BBC Radio 1 is losing great numbers of listeners. “Radio 1 is now listened to by fewer than 9.9 million people per week – the lowest since a new method of counting was introduced in 1999. Under a previous counting method, it attracted 16.5 million 10 years ago.”
The Software Stuntman
Many movie stunts are dangerous and take days or weeks of set up and planning. But a software company has “developed a simulation system that lets them swiftly generate action sequences that would ordinarily demand the skills of a stuntman. The AI system controlling the bodies of the simulated stuntmen means they fall, run, move and react like real people.”
When Special FX Leave You Numb
With each year movie special effects get more and more sophisticated. Indeed, in Hollywood some believe that CGI effects are a realistic substitute for reality. And yet, all the whiz-bang has overloaded audiences to the point that many are immune to technical wizardry. The bottom line? There’s still no substitute for a good story…
Arts Students Die At An Earlier Age?
“A study of thousands of former students of Glasgow University found that arts and law students were most likely to die early. Arts students were most likely to die from lung cancer or other forms of respiratory disease.”
From Books To Art
Evansville Indiana has a beautiful old 1931 Art Deco central library which is due to be vacated after the library moves into a new home next year. So what to do with the vacant building? One plan is for a new mixed used community cultural center…
Puppet Masters
“Long relegated to children’s birthday parties, puppets are no longer considered strictly kiddie fare. At venues like New York’s P.S. 122, St. Ann’s Warehouse, and HERE Arts Center, puppeteers are tackling Rossini operas, Shakespearean tragedies, and Ionesco tales. Puppets are also a growing presence on Broadway.
Developer: NY City Opera Still In Runninbg For WTC Site
Developers deny a story that ran in the New York Times earlier this week that the new hall to be built as part of the performing arts center at the World Trade Center site would be too small for New York City Opera.
Arrest In Fake Ossuary Case
An Israeli art dealer has been arrested and charged with faking an ossuary that was thought to be the resting place of Jesus’ brother. “The limestone box is inscribed in Aramaic with the words “Ya’akov (James), son of Yosef (Joseph), brother of Yeshua (Jesus).”
Gutenberg On The Web
The University of Texas is the latest to digitize and post a copy of the Gutenberg Bible on the internet. “Just as Johann Gutenberg made knowledge more accessible with the invention of the printing process, this digitization project continues that legacy.”