“Poland’s supreme court has issued a landmark judgment against a heavy metal musician who tore up a Bible at a gig in 2007. Although the judges conceded that Adam Darski, AKA Nergal, did not intend to offend his audience, they ruled that he could still have ‘offended religious feelings’, violating Polish law.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Glyndebourne Cancels Performance Following Death Of Singer
“Robert Poulton, a baritone with Glyndebourne opera, was tragically killed in a car accident in Sussex late last night. He had been due on stage tonight at the Theatre Royal, Norwich in Dvorak’s Rusalka as part of the company’s 2012 tour. But as a mark of respect to his family and colleagues the performance has been cancelled.”
How Complicated Is It To Build An Organ? Even More Than You Think
Wendelin Eberle, head of the Austrian firm Rieger Orgelbau, talks about everything from the metal content of pipes to what kinds of trees to use for wood (it varies according to climate and conditions at the organ’s location) to how to suspend a 37-ton instrument from a ceiling. (Then there was the time they were trapped at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem by Palestinian militants.)
Lebbeus Woods, 72, Visionary Conceptual Architect
“The last of the great paper architects, Woods achieved cult-idol status among architects for his post-apocalyptic landscapes of dense lines and plunging perspectives.”
New Piece Added to Puzzle of Truman Capote’s Answered Prayers
“A small piece of Truman Capote’s famously unfinished novel Answered Prayers has come to light. The six-page story, ‘Yachts and Things,’ found among Capote’s papers in the Manuscripts and Archives Division of the New York Public Library, is published in the December issue of Vanity Fair.”
The Artwork That Big Coal Declared War On
Chris Drury’s Carbon Sink: What Goes Around Comes Around, installed at the University of Wyoming in late 2011, “consisted of a 36-foot-wide circle of logs from beetle-killed trees, arranged in a whirlpool pattern around a pile of coal. … In May 2012, however, just after most students left campus, Carbon Sink quietly disappeared.”
Real-Life Mayans To The Rest Of Us: Knock Off The Doomsday Calendar Nonsense!
“Guatemala’s Mayan people accused the government and tour groups on Wednesday of perpetuating the myth that their calendar foresees the imminent end of the world for monetary gain. ‘We are speaking out against deceit, lies and twisting of the truth, and turning us into folklore-for-profit. They are not telling the truth about time cycles,’ charged Felipe Gomez, leader of the Maya alliance Oxlaljuj Ajpop.”
Will Ferguson Wins Canada’s $50K Giller Prize
“Though best known for his humour and travel writing, the Calgary writer won for his dark novel 419 … a provocative tale of an email scam and a woman who sets out on a wide-ranging search for those she believes responsible for her father’s death.”
Arts Council England To Slash Staff By One-Fifth
“Arts Council England is cutting 21% of its workforce – more than 100 posts – under its latest organisational restructure. Chief executive Alan Davey has warned that the changes will mean that the arts council will ‘do less and we’ll do it differently’ but has insisted that the organisation will still be effective.”
Still No Settlement In Spider-Man Lawsuits, Despite Deadline
“A legal settlement has still not been signed in the court fight between the producers of the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and their former director, Julie Taymor, despite a late-October deadline set by a federal judge overseeing the case.”