“A cavalier attitude toward piracy has made it mainstream behavior in Spain. … It’s no surprise why average Spaniards think it’s not a big deal: Unlike in the U.S., France and, under proposed legislation, Britain, piracy isn’t against the law in Spain unless it’s done for profit.” Because of all the illegal downloading, movie studios may stop selling DVDs there.
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Producers Shun Off-B’way For Broadway’s Prestige, Profits
Plays and musicals that once might have had long off-Broadway lives now set their sights on Broadway. “Today the money — and there’s a lot of it floating around just now — is going exclusively to Broadway, where investors will roll the dice for a chance to stand on the stage with a star or two during the broadcast of the Tony Awards.”
Photos Seized By Zimbabwean Police Returned To Gallery
“Police said the images [depicting human rights violations] were not fit for display because they showed nudity and injuries, and because the show’s organisers could not prove they had consent from all the subjects. But human rights activists won a high court ruling to have the pictures sent back for the exhibition’s opening….”
‘Dear Poppa,’ A Pre-Catcher Salinger Writes To Hemingway
“Writing from a hospital in Nuremburg, Germany, Salinger offers that nothing is wrong with him except ‘an almost constant state of despondency,’ and that his purpose in writing was ‘to talk to someone sane.'” In the 1946 letter, about to go on view at Boston’s JFK Library, Salinger implores Hemingway “not to sell [his latest novel] to a movie producer.”
One-Third Of Americans Go Online At Public Libraries
“The finding confirms what public libraries have been saying as they compete for public dollars to expand their services and high-speed Internet access: Library use by the general public is widespread and not just among poor people.”
Is Listening To Music Really A Multitasking Activity?
“I’ve been experiencing a creeping sense of dread recently when it comes to iTunes, a dark hunch that technology has impoverished the actual experience of listening to music.” As a kid, “I considered listening to an album an activity in and of itself. It was not something I did while working on homework, let alone while checking e-mail or thumbing out text messages.”
Karaoke Industry Is Singing The Blues
“On top of the slow economy, live karaoke clubs are losing some of their bread-and-butter wannabe pop stars and off-duty office workers to living room video games and online streaming services. At the same time, karaoke record companies are struggling with sky-high licensing fees while the traditional karaoke CD market is being throttled by illegal online downloads.”
How To Keep LA’s Neighborhood Arts Centers Open?
“Among the most promising ideas: changing current law to tap into a fund of $5 million created by the city’s charging itself a 1% arts fee for every government-funded capital construction project. Rules call for that money to be used to buy artworks for public spaces and to pay for new cultural facilities.”
Gehry’s Eisenhower Memorial Won’t Look Like A Gehry
“The memorial, which will be built on a four-acre parcel just south of the Mall near the National Air and Space Museum, will be a mix of traditional and contemporary elements, but none of them scream Frank Gehry.” While the design “was the most elaborate of three proposals submitted by Gehry … it stands to the side of Gehry’s popular curvilinear style.”
Opera Is Hurting Everywhere — Except In London
“[T]he British opera scene – or at least its London flagships – boasts a dirty little secret. Quietly and cautiously, it is actually doing rather well. Houses are often full, reviews are glowing – and money continues to flow in. Instead of collapsing, donations to opera houses by individuals went up by 10 per cent in 2009, with donations by businesses rising 7 per cent.”