“Grand Central Terminal, the main building on Ellis Island and the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden – all among the greatest New York City landmarks – look better today than they have since their earliest years. Many hands were responsible. John Belle was the common denominator. Mr. Belle, the retired founding partner of Beyer Blinder Belle, … died last week at 84.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Dropping The Naked Ladies Was A Good Move For ‘Playboy’
“Americans are liking what they are not seeing in Playboy. The 63-year-old men’s magazine has seen newsstand sales jump 28.4 percent in the first six months after its decision to drop nude photos from its pages, industry statistics show.”
The Coming V&A Branch Museum In Scotland
“On the north bank of the River Tay, Scotland’s new museum of design is taking shape. Designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, it resembles a beached ship. The first major project by a London museum in Scotland, the V&A Museum of Design Dundee represents an opportunity to show the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) to a new audience in the UK. The process has not been without bumps.”
She’s Almost As Curvy As The Venus Of Willendorf, And She’s At Least 7,500 Years Old
“The marmoreal stone object, with such details as hip creases and an indented navel in a protruding stomach, weighs 1kg and is 17cm in length. Its uniqueness is due to its material (while this is stone, most figurines are clay), its skillful carving and its intact condition.”
L.A.’s The Wallis Finally Gets Its Artistic Director
“[Paul] Crewes, formerly the head of the innovative, Tony-nominated U.K.-based company Kneehigh Theatre, is something of a ‘get’ for the Wallis [Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills] … When it opened in 2013 after more than a decade of fundraising and planning, the more than $70-million startup got off to a bumpy start . While its campus was tricked out with two theaters, costume, wig and prop shops, an educational wing, a spacious promenade terrace and sculpture garden, it didn’t have an artistic director until now.”
With Contract Expired, Pittsburgh Symphony Musicians And Management Agree To Talk-And-Play
“The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s musicians and management have agreed to continue the private negotiations about the musicians’ expiring contract. The pact was already extended by two weeks on Sept. 4 and was set to expire at midnight tonight.”
Newly-Discovered Beethoven Manuscript Goes Up For Auction
“A newly-discovered sketch leaf by Beethoven for one of his greatest works, the ‘Emperor’ concerto, is heading for auction at Sotheby’s. The manuscript is one of the earliest for this piece, possibly containing Beethoven’s first draft of its famous themes. It is undocumented, unpublished, and new to auction.”
$104,000 For Taxis: Auditors Blast Benjamin Millepied’s Paris Opera Ballet For Spending
“On Thursday, France’s state auditors, the Cour des Comptes, lambasted 10 directors for running up nearly €93,350 [$104,281] in taxi bills between them in 2013 and 2014 … [as well as meals worth] about €52,000 [$58,000] in 2014 by just four members of staff.”
On The Competitive Pro-Am Ballroom Dance Circuit
“Couples are everywhere, moving fast and vying for the judges’ attention. You have no control over the music – please, you think, just let it have a discernible beat. You’re counting – ‘1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8’ in your head, and your teacher is hissing in your ear to get your head back out of her space and keep your frame up.”
Eight Diversity Takeaways From The 2016 Emmys
“Last night, as Rami Malek, Courtney B. Vance, Regina King, and Sterling K. Brown all won major acting awards, Alan Yang and Aziz Ansari picked up recognition for their writing, and Key & Peele won for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series, the inclusiveness of the ceremony really did seem worth celebrating. But how diverse were this year’s winners, really? And how did they compare to years before?”