Attorney General Janet Reno said Tuesday that organized crime’s intellectual property infringement should be prosecuted as vigorously as other serious crimes like drug trafficking and money laundering. Recent busts (like last week’s in New York in which 35,000 counterfeit CDs were seized) have shown organized crime’s turn from drugs to software for profits. – Wired 09/12/00
Author: Douglas McLennan
WHAT MEANING ART?
Divisions between high and low culture (or “art-” and “popular-” culture) are increasingly irrelevant. “How are we to judge what more powerfully influences us and, hence, what is stronger or better? See Schoenberg’s ‘Moses and Aaron’, ‘Madam Butterfly’, ‘Phantom of the Opera’ or Elvis Presley at Las Vegas, and how do we set about judging differences? The cultural diktat of our day still tells us that Schoenberg is superior to Presley; many people go along with that. But is this any more than obedience to hierarchies laid down before popular culture gave itself a true chance to be compared? – The Guardian 09/12/00
MORT? NO!
A pair of Finnish scholars have scored success with a weekly worldwide radio newscast broadcast in Latin. “Based on the 15 to 20 letters the program receives every week from listeners, the producers say Nuntii Latini listeners also include Latin scholars and students around the world as well as the residents of various monasteries, who almost all, naturally, keenly scrutinize the show’s word usage and grammar.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada) 09/12/00
FIGHTING BACK
Independent bookstores have discovered that the internet offers them a way of fighting back against the big superstore retailers. Turns out personal service counts on the web as well. – Wired
FCC LOOKS AT KIDS’ PROGRAMMING
A day after a federal report excoriated Hollywood for marketing violent content to children, the FCC urged the television industry to adopt a voluntary code to ensure children’s programming is age-appropriate during the hours they’re likely to watch. On Thursday the FCC will discuss advertising practices during children’s programming. – Yahoo! News (Reuters)
THE COSTS OF NOT WORKING
The 19-week strike by actors against commercial producers has cost the Los Angeles economy $200 million, says an economist. – Variety
TORONTO IS TOPS
“Other events may have made their mark by being snobbish, elitist, difficult. Not Toronto. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and generally considered the top festival in North America and the most important in the world after Cannes, Toronto has become the destination of choice for filmmakers and journalists largely by being appreciative, hospitable and sane.” – Los Angeles Times
PRANKSTERS OR GUERRILLA ARTISTS?
Described variously as art terrorists, opportunists, or “gimmicky” provocateurs, Chinese performance artists Yuan Cai and Jian Jun Xi say they’re trying to “fuel artistic debate and celebrate the spirit of modern art.” How, exactly? Recent pranks include urinating on Duchamp’s famous urinal and vandalizing Tracey Emin’s “My Bed” installation at the Tate. – CNN
STONE BLAME
A British member of parliament has attacked Suzanna Taverne, director of the British Museum, over the use of the wrong stone for a new museum portico. “It amazes me that Ms Taverne is now saying they were ‘mugged’. It seems as if those responsible for the scheme are trying to pass the blame.” – London Evening Standard
SECOND CITY
Edinburgh has traditionally been a net exporter of artists. “But now, just as fledgling artists have always flocked to ply their trade in Paris, New York or Florence, some of today’s young talent is beginning to head for Edinburgh. It is now a city which holds more publicly funded art galleries than any other outside London.” – The Scotsman