‘Meeting Jim’ (Who’s Having the Time of His Life)
I’ve never met Jim. We’ve only corresponded by email about the strange case of Orwell’s typewriter. But I know that Jim Haynes is a man for all reasons — pleasure, food, sex, mind, books, theater, life … read more
AJBlog: Straight|Up Published 2018-05-28
Author: Matthew Westphal
The Incredibly Prolific Lawyer Who’s Making Media Companies Nervous – And Photographers Hopeful That They Might Get Paid
“Our story starts with Geno Smith getting punched in the jaw by a teammate, as most good stories about copyright law do.” Justin Peters introduces us to “the scourge of the media industry, the shame of many in the copyright bar, and the salvation of the underpaid photographer” — Richard P. Liebowitz, who, “in the past 2½ years, … has filed more than 600 federal lawsuits on behalf of photographers who believe their copyrights have been infringed by entities that have used their pictures without license or permission. That number averages out to roughly five lawsuits per week.”
Giuliani Vs The Holy Virgin Mary: How Chris Ofili And MoMA Won And Hizzoner Lost
“After a tumultuous stay in the United States, a stint in Tasmania, and three years in the art collection of Steven A. Cohen, the hedge-fund billionaire — whose company, in 2013, paid a fine of $1.8 billion after pleading guilty to charges of insider trading — The Holy Virgin Mary, the British artist Chris Ofili’s painting of a black Madonna, adorned with elephant dung, is soon to be installed in the Museum of Modern Art.” Tyler Foggatt recounts the story and suggests a reason why the artwork went the places it did.
Why Alexa Recorded That Couple’s Private Conversation Without Warning And Sent It To A Contact Of Theirs
Reporter Jason Del Rey followed up with Amazon on the scariest of the recent Alexa mishaps and got the company’s explanation of what exactly went wrong. (He doesn’t seem 100% convinced.)
MoMA Sues A Tea Shop For Trademark Infringement
“Momacha, a small matcha café on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, is fighting back against a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by the Museum of Modern Art, otherwise known as MoMA. On Monday, the café — whose name was originally styled MoMaCha — moved to dismiss MoMA’s claim of trademark dilution.
The Secret To Great Old Violins’ Sound? Human Vowels
Extensive research by Taiwanese scientists – who tested singers and Stradivari, Guarneri, and Amati violins with spectrometers – found that the old violins emit sets of frequencies that match those that form particular human vowel sounds. (The sound of Amatis matches the vowels of basses and baritones; Strads match tenors and altos.)
What Do Ballet Dancers Really Think Of Ballet Movies?
Pia Catton talks to members of American Ballet Theatre about their reaction to films from The Red Shoes to The Turning Point to Center Stage to (yes) Black Swan.
Why There’s Still A Debate Over Returning Looted Art Treasures To Ethiopia
The Victoria and Albert Museum’s new show of items taken by British soldiers from the court of Emperor Tewodros after the 1868 Battle of Maqdala had led to renewed calls for the valuable art objects and manuscripts to be repatriated. Reporter James Jeffrey looks at the history of the loot (there have been calls for its return from within Britain ever since it was taken) and the reasoning behind the British Library’s reluctance to relinquish the objects.
A Standard 7 PM Curtain Time Would Make Theatre Better For Almost Everyone
The trend has started with Matilda the Musical in the West End, and Mark Shenton makes the case that it should spread.
Was This Tribute To Sausage Robert Indiana’s Last Sculpture?
“The odd, isolated end of Robert Indiana’s life included a lawsuit filed in his final days that accused two associates of taking advantage of the elderly artist in his later years by churning out inauthentic works under his name. … That conversation is likely to escalate with the discovery Thursday that Mr. Indiana’s last monumental sculpture was a tribute to bratwurst. It was commissioned by the owners of Johnsonville Sausage, in Wisconsin, that is one of the country’s largest producers. Mr. Indiana appears to have taken to the task of designing ‘BRAT’ with (sorry) relish.”