“Signs on the doors of two Coolidge Corner bookstores told a tale challenging the conventional wisdom. The one at Barnes & Noble said ‘Closed.’ The one on the independent Brookline Booksmith welcomed the chain’s customers and solicited their suggestions. Now, three months after Barnes & Noble departed, Booksmith savors modest growth in the midst of a recession that’s battering most retailers.” And it’s not alone.
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
A Month Before Premiere, Pirated Wolverine Goes Online
“In a case of piracy that some analysts called unprecedented, untold thousands of people watched a version of ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ online Wednesday, a full month before its scheduled theater release. The film’s distributor, 20th Century Fox, said it did not know how the unfinished copy of the comic book adaptation was leaked onto the Internet.”
Ronstadt: El Sistema, Dudamel Are Models For Music Ed.
“In a remarkable testimony by Linda Ronstadt to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment & Related Agencies Tuesday, the pop singer made an impassioned plea for government support of the arts. And Gustavo Dudamel, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s soon-to-be music director, was her poster boy.”
If Shakespeare Was Sexy … Well, So What?
Heavy breathing over the handsome man in the might-be-Shakespeare portrait reflects our culture of celebrity and no more than that. “There’s nothing wrong with speculating about what Shakespeare looked like nor about what he might have gotten up to in bed. … The problems begin when baseless speculation about the life is used to interpret–and, more often than not, misinterpret–the work.”
Experts Conflict At Hearing On Asbestos At Smithsonian
“James August, an independent occupational health and safety consultant, said past policies for dealing with asbestos-containing materials had ‘serious deficiencies. . . . Smithsonian Institution safety policies have in all likelihood resulted in significant, albeit avoidable, asbestos exposure to building service workers.’ Daniel O. Chute, a certified industrial hygienist, said the institution’s asbestos control policy was sound.”
Bill Cosby Wins Twain Prize
“Bill Cosby, the enduringly familiar funnyman, has been selected to receive this year’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the Kennedy Center announced yesterday.”
Gehry To Design D.C.’s Eisenhower Memorial
“Frank O. Gehry, one of the world’s leading architects, has been selected to design a national tribute to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a memorial commission announced yesterday morning. The memorial is planned for a four-acre site on Independence Avenue between Fourth and Sixth streets SW. … This would be Gehry’s first project in the heart of Washington.”
Disney Notices It’s Expensive To Take Kids To The Theatre
“Disney Theatrical Productions announced a new ticket-discounting strategy on Wednesday to boost sales for its three Broadway shows, offering a $15 companion ticket to any theatergoer who buys a regularly priced ticket this spring. The promotion will apply to ‘The Little Mermaid,’ which has lost considerable ground compared with a year ago, as well as ‘Mary Poppins’ and ‘The Lion King.'”
When Libraries Fill In For Social Services
“Libraries across the country are seeing double-digit increases in patronage, often from 10 percent to 30 percent, over previous years. But in some cities, this new popularity — some would call it overtaxing — is pushing libraries in directions not seen before, with librarians dealing with stresses that go far beyond overdue fines and misshelved books.”
Diaz, Leavitt Shortlisted For Dublin’s Lavish Lit Prize
“Junot Diaz’s ‘The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,’ winner of a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Critics Circle award, was selected as one of eight finalists in the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, worth 100,000 euros ($132,200). Diaz joined David Leavitt and a mix of authors born in countries as diverse as France and Pakistan in the final round of the contest, billed as the world’s richest prize for a single work of fiction published in English.”