The British actors union Equity is protesting decisions by two retail chains to stop selling DVDs of “Jerry Springer, The Opera.” “Equity strongly supports artistic freedom and equally strongly opposes censorship in all its forms, however offended any individual may feel themselves to be by a particular piece of dramatic art.”
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My Life Online
The generation coming of age today straddles life between online and the physical world. “Although social networks are still in their infancy, experts think they’re already creating new forms of social behavior that blur the distinctions between online and real-world interactions. In fact, today’s young generation largely ignores the difference. Most adults see the Web as a supplement to their daily lives. But for the most part, their social lives remain rooted in the traditional phone call and face-to-face interaction. The MySpace generation, by contrast, lives comfortably in both worlds at once.”
The Metropolitan Museum’s Problem Antiquities Donor
“The Levy-White collection could prove a complicating factor in discussions between the Met and the Italian Culture Ministry, which says it has evidence that more than 20 objects that the Met already owns were illegally removed from Italy. As the case has unfolded, the Italians have issued subpoenas to the Met through the United States Justice Department.”
Viacom Gets Dreamworks
Viacom has bought Dreamworks SKG Studio. “DreamWorks had been in advanced talks with the NBC-Universal unit of General Electric, but told Universal on Friday that if it could not meet Viacom’s price, DreamWorks would break off negotiations.”
Another Year Of Declining Audience For Stratford Fest
Canada’s Stratford Theatre balances its budget, but “paid attendance for its 15 productions was 540,000, down 5 per cent from the 568,715 patrons it drew in 2004. In fact, this was the third consecutive year that attendance declined, after reaching an all-time high in 2002 of almost 673,000.”
Urban Sprawl Bad? Maybe Not
“Sprawl has been as evident in Europe as in America, and can now be said to be the preferred settlement pattern everywhere in the world where there is a certain measure of affluence and where citizens have some choice in how they live.”
Venice Biennale Director To Join Philadelphia Museum
Curator Robert Storr is joining the staff of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. “Storr, a graduate of Swarthmore who has taught at Tyler School of Art, the University of the Arts, and the University of Pennsylvania, will continue to teach at New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts and hold his position as director of the 2007 Venice Biennale.”
SF Mayor: Architecture Matters
San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom wants to make quality architecture a priority in his city. “He takes potshots at predecessors who allowed “a dumbing down of quality.” He says developers should be held responsible for how their buildings look, and he wants the city to be known for new landmarks as well as old favorites — even if some people cringe at what they see.”
Predock Wins Architecture Gold Medal
Architect Antoine Predock wins the 2006 Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects. In announcing the award yesterday, the AIA saluted the New Mexico architect for an approach “born out of his geographic surroundings, the American West, an open desert full of history and expansive space.”
Publishers Push For Jail Time For Illegal Downloaders
The head of the Music Publishers Association wants to escalate its war on illegal downloading. He says the group does “not just want to shut websites and impose fines, saying if authorities can ‘throw in some jail time I think we’ll be a little more effective’.”