“Prosecutors in Naples said two more people had been arrested on suspicion of taking part in a ‘premeditated, organised and brutal’ sacking of the city’s 16th century Girolamini library … where thousands of rare and antique books were last year found to have disappeared.”
Month: January 2013
The Robert Frost We Didn’t Know About
Think he was an aloof and thoughtful but cheerful rural New Englander? He was born and raised in San Francisco, son of a boisterous former Confederate and local politician, and Robert spent his youth riding on parade floats and tacking up his old man’s placards in saloons.
Aaron Sorkin Drops Out Of Hugh Jackman Broadway Musical Houdini
Sorkin was to write the book (his first) for the show, expected to open next season, and had already put in considerable work, but he is withdrawing for scheduling reasons – i.e., he says he can’t juggle the musical with writing the scripts for his TV series The Newsroom and his Steve Jobs biopic.
Can Humans Know What It’s Like To Be A Bat? No, But We Can Come Closer Than You’d Think
“This amazing skill – echolocation – is like a whole new sense, distinct from our experience of sight, hearing or touch. So what is it like?” Thanks to technological advances and some research out of Berkeley, we’re beginning to find out.
When Salvador Dalí Illustrated Alice In Wonderland
“It was a match made in psychedelic Heaven.”
Kennedy Center Announces A Makeover
“Today, the center is back with a consolation prize, and there is substantial consolation in the plan, even if it doesn’t come close to solving the center’s architectural and urban design woes.”
The Problem With NYC’s Public Library Plans
“The value of an institution isn’t measured in public square feet. But its value can be devalued by bad architecture. And here we get to the schematics Mr. Foster finally unveiled last month.”
What Should Broadway Be?
Mixing pragmatism with imagination, Wall Street Journal critic and columnist Terry Teachout, who made his debut as a playwright in 2012, cited the oft-repeated figure that 75% of all Broadway shows fail financially. Then “why do people produce on Broadway?” Teachout asked. “Because it’s fun.”
Report: Naples’ Historic Buildings Are Being Destroyed
“The report revealed an alarming statistic: Naples has around 200 closed and abandoned churches. Some have been stripped of all their furnishings including works of art, some never received the funds they had been promised, while others received them but never embarked on the agreed conservation projects.”
Bolshoi Ballerina Cites Danger, Seeks Refuge In Canada
“Leading Bolshoi ballerina Svetlana Lunkina declared on Tuesday that she is abandoning Russia for the sanctuary of Canada, a move reminiscent of the Cold War, when dancers routinely made headlines by defecting from the harsh political climate of the Soviet Union for greater personal and artistic freedoms in the West.”