The Da Vinci Code writer filed a brief with the court hearing plagiarism charges against him. “At first glance, the document bears the giddy signatures of a Dan Brown novel. It’s chopped into staccato chapters; the language is awkward (“I quite literally woke up one morning and decided to write a thriller that delved into NSA”); and its hero is a simple man who is being pursued by evil forces he doesn’t quite understand. Educated at Amherst and Phillips Exeter Academy, Brown had an unusual literary awakening.”
Blog
Tate Britain – Fighting For Identity
“Tate Britain drew a record 1.73 million visitors last year with shows such as ‘Turner Whistler Monet.’ Yet many overlook its permanent display of Turners and Gainsboroughs, and forget that it hosts the Turner Prize contest and other contemporary-art events. As the museum turns six this month, it seeks to shed its dowdy image as a venue reserved for old-master shows.”
Pio Leyva, 88, Of Buena Vista Fame
“Leyva shot to international fame late in life along with his Buena Vista bandmates after recording an album in 1996 with blues legend Ry Cooder in Cuba. The Grammy-winning 1997 Buena Vista Social Club CD introduced the world to traditional Cuban “son” music.”
Booker: We ‘Da Man
The Booker Prize has renewed its affiliation with financial company Man Group. “The five-year agreement means the UK’s most prestigious literary award will continue to be branded as The Man Booker Prize.”
Museum Attendance Up/Down In UK
“Since scrapping entrance fees, the national galleries and museums that used to charge have attracted 5 million extra visitors. There were celebrations yesterday at the 67 per cent increase in numbers through the doors of institutions from the Science Museum in Manchester to the National Maritime Museum, London, since they axed their admission fees. But of all the national museums and galleries in England – those regarded as so significant they receive funding direct from Government – seven which had never charged have experienced a fall in visitors during the last four years. Overall attendance has risen by only two per cent since 2001 at the museums and galleries that were always free.”
Is St. Luke’s Orchestra A Model For The Future?
The orchestra is flexible in its numbers and its management. “This flexibility — borne of necessity — has become a great asset, enabling us to sustain a financially viable model with no deficit. As the orchestra world grapples with top-heavy, inflexible, deficit-ridden organizations — many of which no longer respond to the changing needs of their communities — we believe the distinctive structure we have created could end up being a model for the orchestra of the 21st century.”
Going To The Movies, Without All The Baggage
As Hollywood continues to puzzle over the mystery of the shrinking multiplex audience, private “film clubs” are gaining traction in some cities across the country. “Organizers of film clubs — cliques in which film lovers can bond over movies in a more controlled environment than the neighborhood multiplex — say their associations are growing in popularity. It’s particularly so with those who prefer their film fare served up with respect, and minus the endless commercials, chatter and crying babies.”
Architecture Students To Get Urban Exposure
Ohio’s Kent State University will move its entire graduate program in architectural studies to its Cleveland outpost “as soon as possible,” according to the school’s dean. “KSU has operated the Urban Design Collaborative in Cleveland since 1999,” and the school wants all of its architecture students to work in an urban environment. Kent State’s main campus is located 40 miles southeast of Cleveland.
NY Hispanic Museum To Move Out Of Wash. Heights
“The Hispanic Society of America, home to one of the largest collections of Hispanic cultural material outside Spain, has decided to move downtown [in Manhattan] from Washington Heights to draw more visitors and acquire the space it needs to display its art and artifacts… A proposal to move ahead with relocation plans received unanimous support from trustees at a meeting last month at the Prado Museum in Madrid. The two institutions have a close association.”
TV Networks Running Scared Following FCC Fines
In the wake of last week’s record FCC fines levied against CBS for supposedly “indecent” programming, the WB Network is self-censoring the pilot episode of a new program, and offering up the uncut version on its website, for viewers who wish to see what had to be removed from theover-the-air version. Among the scenes removed by the network are “one that depicted two girls in a bar kissing on a dare and another of a girl unbuttoning her jeans.”