India’s supreme court has refused to ban “The Da Vinci Code.” “The two judges in the court argued that no predominantly Christian country had banned the film. Christians comprise about 2% of India’s billion people. Indian censors have cleared the film, but seven of 28 states have banned it.”
Blog
Colm Toibin Wins IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
His book “The Master” explored the tortured soul of the 19th century American novelist Henry James — received the $125,000 prize and a Waterford crystal trophy during a ceremony in Dublin City Hall. The 11-year-old prize is one of the world’s most lucrative for fiction writers.”
Christie’s Withdraws Artifact
Christie’s has removed an ancient Egyptian vessel from sale over concerns about how it was taken out of Egypt. “Upon receiving information which led us to believe that the object had possibly been improperly taken out of Egypt, we contacted the appropriate U.S. authorities and withdrew the item from the sale,”
ArtBasel Brings Out The Buyers
Collectors have been on a buying spree as ArtBasel begins. “The quality this year is very high and so are the prices. People always say great material is hard to find, but we’re seeing it here–because right now, this week in Basel, is an excellent time to sell.”
ArtBasel’s Irrational Exuberance
“With 55,000 visitors to 300 stands, the world’s biggest modern- and contemporary-art fair is part of a $1.5 billion spring sale cycle, from New York’s May auctions to London’s this month. Early reports from dealers indicate buyers aren’t yet deterred by stock-market jitters from the U.S. to Russia.”
Coming Soon – An Explosion Of TV Channels?
“As America careers toward its much-touted conversion to the all-digital transmission of television signals — the digital switchover is now set in stone for February 2009 — the debate over multicasting is looking like another shining example of the law of unintended consequences when technology comes into play.”
Why Did History Boys Win Tonys?
“For me, it’s still surprising that The History Boys should make it to Broadway at all, let alone pick up six awards from the 750-odd theatre professionals, critics and odd bods who constitute the Tony voters. But serious plays, especially foreign ones, seldom do well on Broadway. Serious plays, even witty ones, are what closed yesterday.”
Has America Lost Its Educational Edge?
A new paper “argues that declines in U.S. participation rates in higher education, particularly among younger students, combined with misguided political priorities, have put U.S. higher education in position to fall behind global competitors — perhaps dramatically so.”
Staging The “Difficult” Musicals
“There are plenty of so-called ‘difficult’ musicals, where ‘difficult’ actually refers to the sorts of challenge that raise the creative bar. Three of the most challenging musicals are about to open in Britain, two of them from the authorial pen of Oscar Hammerstein II.”
Product Placement… In Books?
“By now, television and movie viewers have become used to this kind of thing: when they see sneakers or cars on a show or in a film, they generally assume that these appearances have been paid for by the companies that make the brands. But product placement in books is still relatively rare. The use of even the subtlest of sales pitches, particularly in a book aimed at adolescents, could raise questions about the vulnerability of the readers.”