In Europe, final touches are being put on a next-generation portable MP3 application known as tunA, which will not only function as a playback machine, but has the potential to turn every user into a walking radio station. The application “employs Wi-Fi to locate nearby users, peek at their music playlist and wirelessly jack into their audio stream… tunA is being designed for wireless PDAs, cell phones and even its own hardware device.”
Month: December 2003
Ups And Downs At City Ballet
New York City Ballet’s 100th season is underway. “How Balanchine is performed is the central issue at City Ballet, and for years now the record has been worse than spotty. Last season, things were looking up—when they weren’t looking grim. Gala night perfectly symbolized both the ups and the downs. Some of the self-congratulation was justified—there were times when the spirit of Mr. B did come through—but there was trouble, too; Bugaku, one of Balanchine’s most singular ballets, which has been lingering on the endangered-species list, may actually now be extinct.”
Businessman/Actor Named To Head New Scottish National Theatre
Richard Findlay, a trained actor and respected businessman who runs a media empire, has been named as the Scottish National Theatre’s first director. “The Scottish Executive this year set aside £7.5 million in funding for the theatre over two years. It is to operate on an entirely untried model – with no building of its own, commissioning productions from existing theatres and companies.”
Crowe Warns Aussie Movie Industry
As Australia considers cutting off funding to its film industry, actor Russell Crowe warns that to do so would damage the industry.”I don’t think the structure that we have in place should become a social welfare system for people who can’t compete,” he said. “But he said the industry should concentrate on making improvements and becoming internationally competitive rather than consider withdrawing funding.”
Who Owns What After We’ve Bought It?
This idea that companies ought to be able to control music after we’ve bought it is a flawed one. “The issue is one of who owns, or has rights to use our common culture. That means stuff we created ourselves, and only we can decide is worth sharing. And as many of you pointed out, what we call the ‘entertainment industry’ today is merely a distributor, much like the Victorian canal owners were in the last century, in Britain. The smarter Bridgewaters bought into the upcoming railways, while the dumber canal owners didn’t, and died a natural death. Today’s pigopolists don’t “own” the culture simply by claiming that their exclusivity is based on technology – that’s a social contract we don’t buy, and history, in most cases, is on our side.”
Time Out In Chicago
“The publisher of Time Out New York and Time Out London said Tuesday it would start printing Time Out Chicago in September 2004. Aimed at the urban hipster, Time Out’s weekly magazines feature listings of concerts, club shows and other events, as well as articles on the urban arts scene.”
The Secret Lives Of Critics
“When you see the critics at the theater,chatting up the ushers, signing autographs for all who want them, we seem like a mild-mannered bunch; if you tickle us, do we not laugh? But underneath, we’re vicious, vicious! We’re sworn members of a secret organization, a vast writing conspiracy. Compared to the New York drama critics, the Masons look like the Girl Scouts. And this season’s bad reviews are just the beginning.”
American Natural History Museum Cutbacks Lead To Questions About Its Mission
“After a decade in which it doubled both its staff and its operating budget, the American Museum of Natural History is now retrenching. Faced with a drop in visitors and financial support, including a $1.4 million cut in funding from the city, the museum has shed 300 full- and part-time employees since the fall of 2001, bringing its staff down 17 percent, to 1,400. A hiring freeze was put in place after Sept. 11, 2001.”
Klezmeriffic
Klezmer is big right now, and becoming more popular. “It is now not only respectable, becoming an academic discipline and the beneficiary of generous Lottery funding through the Millennium Commission, it is also a flourishing part of our new, spiritual age.”
See-Through Toilet Is A Work Of Art
A public art toilet made of one-way glass is being installed across from Tate Britain. “Sitting on this lavatory you can see everything outside; pedestrians and, across the road, Tate Britain. This has been achieved by surrounding the lavatory with glass that allows you to see out but no one else to see in. This £30,000, not-so private privy was created by Italian artist Monica Bonvicini.”