“Movie theater owners faced with falling attendance are considering asking federal authorities for permission to jam cell phone reception in an attempt to stop annoying conversations during films…”
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Wanted – New Media Plan To Pay Actors
The advertising industry is looking for a new formula for paying actors. “The payment structures in the current collective bargaining agreements with SAG/AFTRA were originally developed to meet the needs and problems of the early 1950s. As different means of broadcasting were developed, new payment streams were added on to the contract, creating enormous administrative complexity, distortions in the allocation of compensation, and the potential for out-of-control costs. For example, talent payments for broadcasts that reach very small audiences can today exceed the actual cost of the media.”
Trying To Understand The Cult Of Creativity
“They say a creative organisation does not depend on individuals but on people working within an organisation where creativity is simply part of the expectation. Internal structures are understood and changed; boundaries (to understanding) are treated similarly and new domains are formed.”
Needed – A Political Theatre For NY
The uproar over New York Theatre Workshop’s cancellation of “My Name is Rachel Corrie” “shows that New York needs a theater free from the prejudices of its funders and subscribers, one immune to special interests…”
The Case Of The Melting Orchestra
An orchestra playing instruments made out of ice has to stop their performance when one of the flutes melted. “Instrument maker Tim Linharts has been able to transform frozen water into functioning flutes, violins, and a double bass out of ice. The instruments were played for the first time at a concert in a gigantic igloo that was deemed a complete success aside from the early melting of the flute.”
Costco – Home Of The Fake Picassos?
Costco recently sold a Picasso drawing on its website for $39,999.99. But it looks like the authetication of the drawing was faked, and the incident has sparked questions about the company’s online art purchases.
Brown: I drew On Many Sources For Da Vinci
Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown spends a third day in court defending himself against plagiarism charges. “Brown’s cross-examination has been dominated by detailed questions about punctuation, spelling, and to what extent the language and ideas of The Da Vinci Code mirror those of the Holy Blood. At times showing signs of impatience, Brown sighed, shook his head and joked that his eyesight had deteriorated during the case as a result of the minutiae he had been forced to study.”
Brown Defense: Your Book Was Only One Of Many
Dan Brown continued to insist in court, defending himself against plagiarism charges, that he and his wife, Blythe, had not bought or even read a copy of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail until a late stage of the research, long after he had submitted the synopsis for his own proposed book. He said the “clear point of evidence” was he had not included HBHG in the bibliography in his synopsis for the publishers. “I was very eager to impress my publishers with a longer list of bibliography … if I had read it I would have included it.”
Is “Fake” Violence Rotting Us From The Inside Out?
“Violence no longer informs me. It no longer has the power to teach. It is a one-note song I’ve heard so many times it has lost its power to stun or impress or delve deep. It now merely tears at the fabric of the soul, punches holes in the anima, scrapes its knuckles on the pavement of hate, and you can shrug and roll your eyes and go watch The Hills Have Eyes or Saw II or even play some hi-res shockingly ultraviolent video game and enjoy the brutal escapism and wallow in the bloodshed while pretending it’s not slowly, quietly blackening your world view like a smoker sucking down another carton of Marlboro Reds, but deep down, where the meanings are, I think maybe, just maybe, you might be seriously mistaken.”
Cleveland Museum To Add Condos?
“The Cleveland Institute of Art may soon build the most highly visible address for the wealthy in Cleveland since the demise of Millionaires’ Row in the early 20th century. The art institute’s board is thinking seriously about replacing an aging, outmoded classroom building opposite the Cleveland Museum of Art with a luxury condominium tower. The building would overlook the museum and the Case Western Reserve University campus, making it one of the most desirable addresses in the region… The condominium tower project, which could also include a ground-floor art gallery or other cultural facility, could generate income to help pay for college operations.”