In a statement issued the afternoon before the Fourth of July holiday, the troubled bookstore chain announced that Demos Parneros had been terminated without severance pay for unspecified “violations of the Company’s policies.” (The statement did say that Parneros’s dismissal had nothing to do with financial malfeasance or fraud.)
Month: July 2018
Comics Legend Stan Lee Drops $1 Billion Lawsuit Against Company He Co-Founded
“In May, the 95-year-old Marvel superhero creator launched the suit against [Pow! Entertainment’s] co-founder Gill Champion and its CEO, Shane Duffy, after it was alleged Lee had been tricked into signing a document giving away rights to use his name and likeness.” In his statement announcing the end of the suit, Lee said, “The whole thing has been confusing to everyone, including myself and the fans.”
Composer Oliver Knussen Dead At 66
“Few musicians have broken free of the questionable tag ‘child prodigy’ as completely as Knussen, who transformed himself from the nervous teenager who conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in his own symphony at the age of 15 to a consummate musician: a composer, conductor and teacher who became one of the most respected figures in contemporary music.”
U.S. Court Of Appeals Rules Artists Aren’t Owed Royalties When Their Work Is Resold
“On Friday, the Ninth Circuit of the US Appeals Court essentially struck down a California state law that required fine artists to be paid royalties when their work is resold. The three-judge panel said that the law, called the 1977 California Resale Royalties Act (CRRA), is pre-empted by the federal Copyright Act. The decision brings to an end a seven-year legal battle.”
Henry Butler, 69, Pianist Who Took New Orleans Jazz ‘To The Brink Of The Avant-Garde’
“Mr. Butler’s music was encyclopedic, precise and wild. He was acclaimed as a member of a distinctively New Orleans piano pantheon alongside Jelly Roll Morton, James Booker, Tuts Washington, Professor Longhair, Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint and Dr. John. He was also a forthright, bluesy singer who often used New Orleans standards as springboards for improvisation.”
French And UK Governments Sign Agreement For Loan Of Bayeux Tapestry
“The Bayeux Tapestry is a step closer to returning to the UK after the British and French governments finalised a deal earlier this week. … The 70-metre-long tapestry tells the story of the Norman victory over the English at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The Bayeux Museum in Normandy, where the work is kept, is due to close for renovations and reopen spring 2024. The historic embroidered piece has not left France since the 11th century.”
Iran’s Latest Protest Meme: Selfie Videos Of Women Dancing
An Iranian teenager had thousands of Instagram followers with videos of herself dancing – without a hijab – to pop music. Last week she was arrested, and on Friday state TV aired her “confession.” In response, many young people are now posting to social media videos of themselves dancing; the hashtag is Persian for “Dancing is not a crime.”
George Clooney Briefly Hospitalized After Motorcycle Crash
The 57-year-old actor, who is in Sardinia shooting a TV adaptation of Joseph Heller’s novel Catch-22, was riding a scooter when he was hit by a car that failed to yield right-of-way at an intersection. He has reportedly been discharged from a local hospital with only minor injuries.
From Today’s AJBlogs 07/09/18
- The Dark Magic of Ottessa Moshfegh
IT’s not often that I pick up a book and get a new favorite writer. But that’s pretty close to what happened when a story collection called Homesick For Another World, by a young … read more - Tab Hunter, 1931-2018
Tony Perkins, Tab Hunter. Is that glass about to crash? Tab Hunter passed away Sunday, it was announced by his husband. The 2005 autobiography Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star was filled with … read more - Min Xioa-Fen brings Jazz to the Chinese Pipa and Ruan
I have always been impressed with Howard Mandel’s musical choices for the annual Jazz Journalists Association awards gala. This year was no different, with a major awards nod to women in jazz. The show … read more
How The Tech Economy Has Bred An Increasingly Impenetrable Caste System In San Francisco
The pessimist in me, however, thinks San Francisco can only continue further down this path, with the old-money propertied class dying or cashing out, the non-techies getting squeezed, and everyone getting pushed into the four-level hierarchy. In case there’s any doubt, I find the growth of this rigid caste system horrifying, and antithetical to both liberal democracy and the American project. It also seems that, at least in San Francisco, we’re close to a point of no return.