“Buildings once strove for solidity–not merely to be stable but also to look stable, hence the optical corrections in ancient Greek architecture such as entasis, a subtle tapering of columns that makes them appear more settled to the human eye.” That’s now a rule architects are eager to break.
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Released Into The Wild, Tagged Books Disappear
“I’ve been experimenting this year with a new book-sharing network called BookCrossing. … The idea, conceived by Ron and Kaori Hornbaker in 2001, is seductive: You sign up for free on their (annoyingly busy) Web site and register as many books as you’d like. Each book is assigned a unique 10-digit ID. Then you leave your books around … and track their travels from reader to reader across the globe.” Unless, of course, no one reports their whereabouts.
Child-Porn Charge For Longtime Children’s Theatre Staffer
“An employee of Seattle Children’s Theatre was arrested early Tuesday at his home in Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood and charged with possession of child pornography. … A statement from the theater said the man had been placed on administrative leave and that no theater children were involved.”
In Japan, The Arts And Creativity Evolve On Mobile Phones
“There was a time when mobile phones were used simply to communicate. In high-speed Japan, where more than 100 million people own mobile phones, they are not only a platform for novelists, but for all forms of artistic expression. Manga – comic art – is a major part of the Japanese publishing industry” and a presence on mobiles, while “street artists also create designs specifically for mobiles.” There’s also the pocket film.
Fanny Howe Wins $100K Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
“Fanny Howe has just won the Poetry Foundation’s Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, which brings with it an award of $100,000. Howe, now 68, has published many works of poetry; poet Mark Doty calls her book ‘The Lyrics’ ‘a richly meditative collection.'”
Ticket Sales Poor, Stratford Festival Puts 30 Perfs ‘On Hold’
“Thumped by the uncertain economy, Ontario’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival has removed 31 performances from the season’s schedule. One April performance of West Side Story has been officially cancelled, while 30 other performances that were selling poorly are ‘on hold’ as the festival’s administration waits to see if ticket sales pick up and economic conditions improve. Ticket sales are down 15 per cent from last year at this time.”
As More Nonprofits Merge, The Stigma Fades
“Those involved in the nonprofit sector say [mergers] have increased in the last decade, but are accelerating now as organizations face a drop in donations and cuts in funding due to the recession.” In the past, “there was the perception that nonprofits merged simply to stay afloat, signaling that their business practices might not be sound. … That attitude seems to be changing.”
Listening To Seamus Heaney, And To Silence
“In a recent interview, Heaney said he was often asked what the value of poetry was during times of economic recession. The answer, he explained, is that it is at just such moments of crisis that people realize that they do not live by economics alone. ‘If poetry and the arts do anything, they can fortify your inner life, your inwardness,’ Heaney said.” And if we did fortify our inner lives? “What a turn that would be,” Tim Rutten writes, “a process that would involve periods of silence and moments when we turn things off.”
Librarian Judith F. Krug, Foe Of Book Banning, Dies At 69
“Judith F. Krug, who led the campaign by libraries against efforts to ban books, including helping found Banned Books Week, then fought laws and regulations to limit children’s access to the Internet, died Saturday…. As the American Library Association’s official proponent of the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech since the 1960s, Ms. Krug (pronounced kroog) fought the banning of books, including ‘Huckleberry Finn,’ ‘Mein Kampf,’ ‘Little Black Sambo,’ ‘Catcher in the Rye’ and sex manuals.”
Fairey’s Lawyer: Proof Lacking, Some Charges Dismissed
“Citing a lack of evidence, a Boston Municipal Court clerk-magistrate yesterday rejected some of the vandalism charges Boston police are trying to bring against celebrated graffiti artist Frank Shepard Fairey, Fairey’s lawyer said. The clerk-magistrate said that seven of the 17 charges police wanted to bring … should not go forward in criminal court because there is not enough proof he committed the acts of vandalism, said Fairey’s lawyer, Jeffrey Wiesner.”