“The winning bidder on a Qing Dynasty cloisonne censer and cover failed to pay ‘despite repeated requests and demands,’ Sotheby’s said in a copy of its Jan. 30 filing to [Hong Kong]’s High Court…. The U.S.- based auction house is also pursuing another buyer who won five antique paintings and wouldn’t pay.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
UK’s Indie Bookstores Shuttering At Rate Of Two Per Week
“With independents blaming increased competition from the internet, supermarkets, a declining British high street and the credit crunch for their troubles, figures from the Booksellers Association show that 102 independent stores closed in 2009, leaving just 1,289 left in the UK – a decline of 27% since 1999.”
Dave Eggers: The Real McSweeney Has Died
“McSweeney’s was told by Timothy’s family that he passed away after a ‘long struggle with illness’ on 24 January, aged 67. ‘As a young man, Timothy was an artist of tremendous talent. The canvasses he leaves behind are … filled with a palpable desire – to be heard, to connect, to be understood better by others and himself.'”
Why 3-D Movies Make Some Viewers Queasy
“The problem, studies indicate, is that the films often cause unnatural eye movements. … [A] 3-D object flying off the screen causes sensory conflict. The eyes rotate inward to follow it, but they must also maintain a fixed focus on the display surface.”
Cuban Ballet: A Paradise Of Sorts, Trapped In Limbo
The school of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba “is now world-famous, gathering its students from the island’s rural poor and urban delinquent,” and its training “is also world-class.” But while ballet is “a national entertainment” in Cuba, the country’s “political, economic and cultural limbo” means its astounding dancers have very few choices.
Canada’s National Ballet Reschedules To Avert Kirov Clash
“After discussions with the Sony [Centre] and attempts to have Toronto city hall officials intervene, the ballet company created a later slot for its own Russian program,” though it still worries that the Kirov’s visit in March of next year will be a drain on its box office.
At Berklee, Prodigy With Autism Becomes Serious Musician
“[A]fter years of specialized therapies and dietary changes, [Matt] Savage navigates a daily maze of classes, practice sessions, homework assignments, and dorm life at Berklee,” and he fits in performances when he can. “[T]he Matt Savage story is rapidly evolving from youthful prodigy with a disability to seasoned performer with a bright future.”
Tea Party Convention: Altman’s Nashville Come To Life?
The populist platform embraced by the presidential candidate in Robert Altman’s 1975 movie “included forbidding lawyers from serving in Congress (‘Did you ever ask a lawyer the time of day? He told you how to make a watch, didn’t he?’), taking on oil companies, abolishing the Electoral College and eliminating farm subsidies.”
In Japan, Cellphone Novels Find Their Way Into Print
“[L]ast year, 15-year-old ‘Bunny’ became one of Japan’s top authors of a genre called keitai — cellphone — novels.” Likened to “Harlequin romances for young girls,” keitai novels aren’t great literature, but the audience for them is passionate, and it seems to be quite large.
The Curtain Has Descended On Pasadena Playhouse
“‘Tonight we are closing this theater,’ Executive Director Stephen Eich told the crowd of over 600 audience, board members and well-wishers from the stage on a night that also saw the closing of the Playhouse production of ‘Camelot.'” He said the theatre is “absolutely optimistic that it will in fact reopen.”