“Somehow, the old-school format of Stephenie Meyer’s vampire romance series hasn’t alienated the vast army of Twi-hards, most of whom, by the way, qualify as digital natives, the generation who supposedly have no patience for print. … Some even claim to find printed books a welcome break from staring at screens all day.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Plans For Barnes’ New Home Unveiled
“The Barnes Foundation’s new Philadelphia home will be a gracious, golden-hued temple – modern in style, yet almost classical in its repose – set in a tree-shrouded enclave on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, according to documents that … were made public only today,” after a spate of Freedom of Information Act requests.
How Bookies Set The Man Booker Odds
“The odds-on favourite is Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, a sweeping historical novel about Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s marriage fixer. Both William Hill and Paddy Power are offering odds of 4/5 (win £4 for every £5 staked).” Which raises the question: “Do bookies read the Bookers?”
Study: Anomalies Unsettle, But They’re Good For The Brain
“The brain evolved to predict, and it does so by identifying patterns. When those patterns break down,” it “gropes for something, anything that makes sense.” In doing so, “it may also turn its attention outward, the researchers argue, and notice, say, a pattern in animal tracks that was previously hidden.”
MTC’s Royal Family To Open As Scheduled
“Manhattan Theater Club plans to open its Broadway production of ‘The Royal Family’ on Thursday night despite the sudden illness of one of its stars, Tony Roberts.”
Losing Olympic Bid Was Good For Chicago Arts (Sort Of)
“Chicago, thank heavens, thrives on turning insecurity into artistic gold. But even a second city needs a global passion.”
When Hollywood Dips Into The Children’s Bookshelf
“Respecting the source, traditionally, is not what Hollywood does to children’s books. … But why should the studios treat classic texts with kid gloves when they’re rewarded so well for ‘modernizing’ them?”
Michael Arad’s Ground Zero Memorial Mockup
“No one would mistake the structure in Brooklyn for a toy. It is roughly fifty feet long and thirty feet wide, and includes an L-shaped portion of two low walls displaying the names. The mockup is mostly painted plywood, but a ten-foot-wide strip of one wall is made from the same bronze and granite that will be used in the memorial.”
Senator: ‘Nonsense’ Rules Nixed NY Phil’s Cuba Trip
“U.S. restrictions on travel to Cuba that led to the New York Philharmonic calling off a trip to the communist country are outrageous and should be ended, a senator who has long called for lifting trade and travel restraints said Monday.”
Pilobolus Isn’t Poor, But That Doesn’t Make It A Sellout
Dance purists love to decry Pilobolus, now 40, “for its commercials (horrors!) for cars and the National Football League,” work that is anathema to “those who feel that existing on the cultural fringes conveys a certain kind of quasi-moral merit, or is, at the very least, chic.” But the troupe’s art is hardly suffering from its financial success.