“In the end, after days of controversy that reverberated in India, the lot sold for $1.8 million to Vijay Mallya, an Indian liquor and airline magnate who owns the company that makes Kingfisher beer.” Such was the happy ending to an eventful afternoon that included attempts by the Indian government to intervene and by the current owner to stop the sale.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Wait, Isn’t The Books Biz Supposed To Be Shrinking?
“Just a month after announcing a restructuring that led to layoffs and the shuttering of an entire division, HarperCollins Publishers hopes to jazz up its book lists by opening a new imprint.” It Books will focus “on pop culture, sports, style and content derived from the Internet, like a planned collection of Twitter posts called Twitter Wit.“
Now We Know That Comics Have Made The Mainstream
“[T]oday The [New York] Times introduces three separate lists of the best-selling graphic books in the country: hardcover, softcover, and manga. We’ll update those lists weekly in this space, and offer a few observations along the way.”
A Kiri A Day Keeps The Riff-Raff Away
Once again, classical music proves its usefulness: “New Zealand opera star Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has been credited by a local mayor with keeping vandals away from his city centre because they find her singing ‘bloody hideous’.” (In Christchurch, NZ, officials are planning to use Barry Manilow for a similar purpose.)
A Berlitz For The Neanderthal Era
“A ‘time traveller’s phrasebook’ that could allow basic communication between modern English speakers and Stone Age cavemen is being compiled by scientists studying the evolution of language. Research has identified a handful of modern words that have changed so little in tens of thousands of years that ancient hunter-gatherers would probably have been able to understand them.”
Yerba Buena Center Raffles Off A House
“The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is raffling a $2.4 million dream house, making it the most expensive home ever raffled off in California. The charming Edwardian home, [4,000 square feet] with detached guesthouse, is located just steps from Golden Gate Park in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset neighborhood.”
Here’s A Choreographer Who Can Draw A Young Audience
“Last week, at the Roundhouse, choreographer Hofesh Shechter pulled off a coup. For years, pop stars have been turning their gigs into dance spectaculars. What he now did, in large part at least, was to transform a contemporary dance show into a rock gig… [T]he standing area was packed with teenagers snapping the stage with their phones.”
Heath Ledger’s Last Film Can’t Get US Distributor
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus “is struggling to find a buyer, despite the huge amount of publicity surrounding its big-name cast, and its links to Ledger. […] The film, directed by former Monty Python star Terry Gilliam, tells the story of a travelling circus magician who makes a series of pacts with the devil.”
Portraits Of Constable’s Parents Identified
“Anne Lyles, Tate curator and authority on the work of Constable, and writer and critic Martin Gayford, have confirmed that a portrait of Ann Constable, Constable’s mother, is by the artist. They have also provisionally re-identified a portrait of Constable’s father, Golding Constable that was previously thought to depict his schoolmaster.”
New Theatre Planned For Site Of Shakespeare’s Playhouse
“Plans are underway to build a 400-seat, state of the art theatre on a graveyard just metres from the site of Shakespeare’s original playhouse in London. The £5 million venue will be built on land attached to St Leonard’s church in Shoreditch.” Opening is expected in 2012.