“Mao Zedong tried to change Beijing into an industrial and governmental center, putting up factories and ponderous administrative buildings. But now Mao’s Beijing is nearly as much a part of the past as the Forbidden City. The factories are being pushed to the outskirts, and in their place the city has developed a skyline.”
Month: June 2008
First Take: 3D Movies Seem To Be Good For Movie Biz
“Theaters that exhibited the November 2007 release “Beowulf” in 3-D saw a 65% sales increase in total boxoffice over comparable theaters that exhibited it in 2-D, according to a new study from the Nielsen Co.’s Nielsen PreView.”
Needed: Better Laws To Combat Art Forgery
“An art industry forum in Melbourne yesterday heard stories of some commercial galleries, dealers and auction houses attempting to pass off questionable paintings as authentic.” Solutions? “Uniform national legislation, an art-crime register, education about fraud for artists and collectors, and industry guidelines.”
How Take Me Out To The Ballgame Became A Baseball Icon
“The story of how the song first captured the public’s attention, later became a part of the game and then became an enduring hit, is as fascinating as a knuckleball is frustrating.”
Nelson-Atkins Museum Sees Attendance Upgrade With New Building
“Almost half a million people visited the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art since the opening of the new Bloch Building a year ago. But the museum’s attendance figures–465,000 visitors between June 1, 2007 and June 1, 2008–falls 185,000 short of its goal of 650,000 visitors.”
Chicago Public Library Gets A Tech Upgrade
“Library patrons can now renew and reserve books from their home computers and download audio books and digital music, thanks to an $11 million technology expansion almost entirely paid for by largesse generated by the Chicago Skyway lease.”
Iowa Museum Cleans Up After The Floods
Now the meticulous work of cleaning and restoring begins…
A Spike In CD Sales
CD sales are down 10 percent this year. But finally some (temporary) good news. In the past two weeks, it’s been like the old days, with a couple of mega-seller albums…
Star Charts Date Odysseus’ Adventures
Using clues from star and sun positions mentioned by the ancient Greek poet Homer, scholars think they have determined the date when King Odysseus returned from the Trojan War and slaughtered a group of suitors who had been pressing his wife to marry one of them.
Arts Council England’s “Damaged Brand”
Arts Council England “has haemorrhaged talent in the last few years. It now has a staff lacking in confidence, working for an organisation whose own chief executive recognises as a “damaged” brand. Not surprisingly the Arts Council is facing difficulty recruiting new high-calibre staff. Only a genuine change of culture will enable the kind of two-way exchange of talent and expertise between the Arts Council and the theatre sector that is needed if damaged relationships are to be repaired and aspirations and ambitions fulfilled.”