The Royal Ontario Museum has finally opened its long-awaited gallery focusing on the history of native peoples in Canada. The gallery seems primed for success, but it brings up an uncomfortable irony for North America’s aboriginals: having been forced from their land, mistreated for centuries, and generally denied the opportunity to reestablish their native culture, native peoples are now forced to view their history through the prism of the white man’s museums. “How can the museum transcend the guilty legacy of cultural vandalism that haunts it?”
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Rings Engagement Will Be A Costly One, But Sales On Track
“The final cost of the long-awaited stage adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, which begins previews at Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theatre on Feb. 2, may exceed its projected budget of CAN$27-million… [Still,] the most ambitious and expensive stage show in history seems to be on track. As of this week, advance sales were closing in on $15-million.”
Does Dishonesty Power The Publishing Industry?
As much fun as it may be to debate the seriousness of James Frey’s literary crimes, it’s really not as big a deal as many are making it out to be, says Simon Caterson. In fact, America’s literary history is chock full of scandals and hoaxes, and sometimes, it even seems that the entire inustry is powered by near-constant controversy.
The Changing Face Of Mozart
“More nonsense has been written about Mozart than almost any historical figure except Jesus Christ.” He was poisoned by a jealous rival, he was a musical manifestation of God, he was an offensive and boorish idiot savant – the myths abound, and they are all demonstrably false. “Every generation has admired Mozart, but some more than others and in remarkably different ways. The changing perceptions of the man and his music are themselves almost a small social history.”
Google Declines To Turn Over User Info
“Google is rebuffing the Bush administration’s demand for a peek at what millions of people have been looking up on the internet’s leading search engine — a request that underscores the potential for online databases to become tools for government surveillance… The government wants a list of all requests entered into Google’s search engine during an unspecified single week — a breakdown that could conceivably span tens of millions of queries… Yahoo, which runs the internet’s second-most used search engine, confirmed Thursday that it had complied with a similar government subpoena.”
Sony Gets Into The E-Book Game
E-books have been touted for years as the next big thing in literature and technology, but they’ve never caught on with the reading public in a big way. Later this year, though, Sony will attempt to succeed where others have failed with a new generation of electronic readers featuring a high-tech screen utilizing tiny “microcapsules… that look far more like ordinary paper than a liquid crystal display… The E Ink technology also conserves batteries because current is used only when pixels need to change their color — between virtual page turns, the Reader consumes no current at all.”
Police Recover $60 Million Stolen Salt Shaker
“Austrian police have recovered a $60m 16th Century figurine stolen in 2003 called Saliera, or salt cellar, after a suspect turned himself in. Experts established it was an authentic work by Florentine master Benvenuto Cellini… It was found on Saturday, buried in a wooden case near Zwettl, a town about 55 miles north of Vienna.”
PBT To Bring Back Orchestra On A Limited Basis
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre has reached an agreement with its 47 musicians to restore some live music to its performances for the 2006-07 season. PBT laid off its orchestra last summer and has been using recorded music this season – the musicians filed an unfair labor practices complaint in retaliation. “PBT leaders have promised to hire the musicians for two of the company’s five productions during its 2006-07 season, which will be announced in two weeks.”
Arts Leaders Warn Scotland
Arts leaders across the UK are lining up to slam the Scottish government for its decision to fund several of Scotland’s largest arts groups directly, rather than going through an independent arts council, as has been the norm. One observer called the move an “erosion of the ‘arm’s length’ principle,” and the head of the Arts Council of Wales described himself as “gravely concerned” by the development. There is no sign, however, that the Scottish Executive is reconsidering the plan.
Garden State Growing Grass Roots
Everyone knows how big symphony orchestras and prestigious theatres get funded. But how do smaller arts groups, whether professional or amateur, come up with the cash and venue space to do what they do? The answers can be as varied as the groups themselves, and many organizations are constantly scrambling to make use of available resources, and generate new ones. In New Jersey, a new plan from the state arts council aims to channel money and resources to local, grass-roots arts groups more efficiently, and to assist the recipients in how to best direct their efforts.