“In January it will close its current site on the northern edge of San Francisco. In the spring, it will open a new $220 million facility on Piers 15 and 17 along the Embarcadero … Exhibit space will triple, to 330,000 square feet, and the focus will expand: New exhibits will delve into the environment, microbiology and social psychology.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Britain’s First Successful Black Composer
The son of a doctor from Sierra Leone and an English mother, Coleridge-Taylor was a favorite student of the influential composer and professor Charles Villiers Stanford and was championed by Edward Elgar. In addition to a career as conductor, professor and competition judge, he composed a number of successful chamber, orchestral and choral works, including the phenomenally successful (in its time) cantata Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast.
Pyotr Fomenko, Revered Russian Stage Director, Dead At 80
“In 1998, he founded the Pyotr Fomenko Workshop Theater that quickly grew into one of the country’s most renowned companies known in Russia and abroad for its sophisticated interpretation of the Russian and international classics.”
Lars Von Trier Wants You For His Crowdsourcing Project
“Leave it to Lars von Trier to find a connection between Nazi architect Albert Speer and Rat Pack singer Sammy Davis Jr. The controversy-courting Danish filmmaker has invited the public to reintrepret one or more of six great works of art for a community film project that will be unveiled at the Copenhagen Art Festival.”
The Suffix That Replicates And Spreads Like A Virus
“In the beginning, there was the genome. Then came the foldome, the phenome and the connectome, quickly followed by the secretome, the otherome and the unknome.”
The Magazine Sector That Flourishes Despite The Internet
“Courtesy of a (literally) captive audience and a seemingly endless well of advertisers eager for travelers’ eyes and wallets, the in-flight magazine has proved remarkably resilient, undiminished even as the Internet and a poor economy have crushed lesser print products.”
Publisher Withdraws The Jefferson Lies, Voted Worst History Book Ever
“Citing a loss of confidence in the book’s details, Christian publisher Thomas Nelson is ending the publication and distribution of the bestseller, The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You’ve Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson.” Many historians had excoriated the author’s research, and viewers of The History Network recently voted it The Worst History Book in Print.
San Francisco Museum Workers Vote To Authorize Strike
“Workers in the union that represents about 90 employees of the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor Museum in Lincoln Park completed voting last week to authorize their two-person bargaining team to call a strike if talks fail.”
It’s Here: The Merce Cunningham App
“Throughout his life Merce Cunningham came up with new ways to blend art and technology. … Now, three years after his death in 2009, Cunningham is again at the vanguard. On Friday the Aperture Foundation is to introduce its first interactive application for the iPad, ‘Merce Cunningham: 65 Years’.”
James Cameron Brings 3D Filmmaking To China
“Oscar-winning director James Cameron said on Wednesday that he will open a joint venture in China to provide 3-D filming technology, the latest move by Hollywood to secure a foothold in the country’s booming movie industry.”