“‘It’s such an ingrained part of fantasy and science fiction that I’m a little surprised when those kind of characters don’t speak in British accents,’ says [critic] Matt Zoller Seitz, who suggests one reasonable explanation.
Month: April 2012
How Playwright Enda Walsh Depicts His Homeland
“Basically, I wanted to do a rural Ireland that looked like somebody had taken a hammer to it.”
America’s Greatest Art Forger Gets April Fools’ Day Exhibition
“Mark A. Landis, who has dressed as a Jesuit priest or posed as a wealthy donor driving up in a red Cadillac, apparently never took money for his forgeries and has never been arrested. Now his ‘works’ have been collected into their own tongue-in-cheek exhibit, called Faux Real and opening on April Fools’ Day at the University of Cincinnati.”
Publishers Say Amazon Is Muscling Them Over Prices
“Although publishers rarely criticize companies they do business with, some say they’re speaking out against Amazon partly because they’re offended by its tactics. They describe Amazon’s demands — made in email, with no personal-contact information provided — as overly aggressive and leaving almost no room for discussion.”
American Education Is In Great Shape. So Why Don’t We Know That?
“By many important measures – high school completion rates, college graduation, overall performance on standardized tests – America’s educational attainment has never been higher.”
Sylvie Guillem, Superstar Dancer
“Unlike almost any other ballet dancer — only Mikhail Baryshnikov, and to some extent Nureyev, come to mind — she not only went on to have a superstar career as an interpreter of the classics but also made an apparently effortless transition into works by contemporary choreographers while remaining a big-name box-office draw.”
CBC’s Golden Era (And The Threats To Its Future)
“If there ever was a Golden Age for the CBC, it is now. And yet, in the full sunshine of its success, shadows are appearing everywhere. The federal budget cut the CBC by $115-million. This is roughly 12 per cent of the approximately $1-billion that it receives annually from the federal government.”
Canada’s Culture Minister – High On The Arts, But…
“He’s respected by the arts community because he’s one of the only voices in government at any level that seems to be able to articulate the arts case and the argument for public investment in the arts. But the support from the community is wary because of the company he keeps.”
Suffering For Art? Who Needs It?
“I have been trying to write for at least a quarter of a century, and I can say very firmly that in my experience, suffering is largely of no bloody use to anyone, and definitely not a prerequisite for creation. If an artist has managed to take something appalling and make it into art, that’s because the artist is an artist, not because something appalling is naturally art.”
Music Royalties For Online Play Soar, But…
“Online royalties soared 45.3% year on year last year, although the total remains relatively small at £38.5m. By contrast, recorded media royalites – payments stemming from CD sales – tumbled 13.3% to £101.6m in 2011, a steeper decline than 2010’s 8.8% fall.”