“Facebook and Google say they have complied with an Indian court directive and removed ‘objectionable’ material. They are among 21 web firms, including Yahoo and Orkut, facing a civil suit in Delhi accusing them of hosting material that may cause communal unrest. A criminal case of similar allegations is due to be heard next month.”
Month: February 2012
Stripped-Down, High-Def Ballet Video Becomes Internet Hit
Says National Ballet of Canada principal Guillaume Côté, who, with videographer Ben Shirinian, created In the Zone, “I wanted to get the tights off and I wanted to get the costumes off, and just show the sheer physicality of classical dance.”
Iranian Actress Barred From Homeland For Posing Topless; Supporters Start Topless Facebook Protest
“A fleshy rebellion is spreading hot and fast across the cybersphere, as a growing number of activists are stripping down in support of Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, who was reportedly banned from her homeland after posing topless for French magazine Madame Le Figaro.”
Verizon And Redbox Join Forces To Compete With Netflix
“Verizon Communications Inc and Coinstar’s Redbox unit have formed a joint venture to sell video services aimed at competing against video rental giant Netflix Inc. The venture will combine the Redbox DVD rental kiosk business with an Internet video offering from Verizon, including mobile offerings, in the second half of the year.”
Meanwhile, Netflix Is Morphing Into A TV-Streaming Company
“More than 60% of the 2 billion-plus hours of video streamed by Netflix subscribers during the fourth quarter of 2011 originated on the small screen.” So the company is quickly adding content to its streaming library, including old, now-cancelled programs as well as a made-for-Netflix series.
The Artist Who Got Paid With Facebook Stock
“The graffiti artist who took Facebook stock instead of cash for painting the walls of the social network’s first headquarters made a smart bet. The shares owned by the artist, David Choe, are expected to be worth upward of $200 million when Facebook stock trades publicly later this year.”
Should Replicas Of Destroyed Sculptures Be In A Museum Show?
“That knotty question arises in the case of Jack Goldstein, an admired artist whose sculptures are currently included in” a Pacific Standard Time show at Pomona College. Goldstein, known mainly as a painter, made a few sculptures which were shown at Pomona 40 years ago. They don’t survive, so Pomona recreated two of them. Is this enterprising? Or unethical?
The Famous Bosnian Film Director Who Turned Serbian
Emir Kusturica, who won the Palme d’Or at Cannes twice, for When Father Was Away On Business and Underground, renounced his Muslim roots in 1995, at the end of the Bosnian War, and was baptized Serbian Orthodox. (He hasn’t returned to Sarajevo since.) He now lives part-time in Paris and part-time in a recreated 17th-century Serbian town where he has founded an international film festival.
Chunky Move’s New Director Slips Into Place
Anouk van Dijk doesn’t officially start her new job – replacing founder Gideon Obarzanek at the helm of Melbourne’s top modern dance company – until July, but she’s already in town off and on, auditioning dancers and making plans.
Japanese Resort Town Tries Reviving Art Of The Geisha
In a program that combines cultural preservation and economic development (i.e., tourism), the seaside city of Shimoda is using public money to train some young ladies in the traditional song, dance and instrumental music in which the city’s geishas once specialized.