What’s happened to Los Angeles? It suddenly has a center. “Downtown LA, previously considered a cultural wasteland, has emerged as a cultural centre: an arena for the more mature works of some of LA’s, and the world’s, finest architects, as well as for the architecture of the next generation.”
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Try Anything… Orchestras Reinventing
Symphony orchestras look desperate to pull in new audiences. “As audiences seem to grow older and the public turns its attention away from concertgoing, orchestras around the country are adopting a wide array of methods, from the trivial to the thoughtful, to bring more people into the concert hall. They are hunting for the neophytes, the dabblers and mainly the ungray. This fall, a slate of innovations will be on display for the first time…”
Amazon Sells Short Stories
Amazon has started selling short stories online for 49 cents. “The new program, called Amazon Shorts, is starting with 59 authors, which include well-known names such as Danielle Steel and Terry Brooks. Their submissions range in length from about 2,000 to 10,000 words, which the company expects to translate into an average about seven pages each. Customers who purchase a piece can read it on the Web, download and print a copy, save it in a digital locker, or send the story to an email address.”
Governor Rescues Soprano
Part way thyrough a performance of Handel’s Laudate pueri Dominum in Sydney Saturday night, soprano Miriam Allan suddenly colllapsed onstage. “A doctor jumped on stage and took charge, one witness said. The doctor was none other than the NSW Governor, Professor Marie Bashir, a psychiatrist. Allan had been sick with flu all week, but did not want to miss Saturday night’s Musica Viva 60th anniversary concert.”
CBC’s Ragtag Labor Dispute Lineup
With Canada’s CBC employees locked out of their jobs, the network is filling air with a ragtag lineup of reruns and shows produced by management. Oh yes, and apologies for the disruption in regular service. “By Thursday, the tone had shifted, as had the voice, to a young woman offering her regrets the way your grade school teacher might have offered juice and cookies.”
Danto: Critic Of Post-History
“The same year he declared art history to be over, Arthur Danto became The Nation’s art critic. With no dominant movement to champion or art-historical future to prophesize, he redefined art criticism as the ‘first post-historical critic of art’.”
Summer Concert Ticket Prices Down
Last summer’s low concert attendance at American pop concerts caught the eyes of promoters. So ticket prices came down a bit this summer. “From May through July, the median ticket price at shows seating more than 5,000 was $25, according to an analysis of data from Billboard Boxscore. That price, based on the least expensive seats at each show, was $2.75 less than the same time last year. Prices for the most expensive tickets dropped by $3.50 (median $49.50).”
The Top 30 TV Ads Of All Time
ITV and Marketing magazine compiled the list. “Food and drink companies dominate 18 of the 30 commercials. The advertising industry still reveres the ten commercials filmed between 1978 and 1983 which featured Leonard Rossiter decanting his glass over Joan Collins. Also in the chart is the Carling Black Label spoof of the Dambusters’ bouncing bomb raid and two entries from John Smith’s beer.”
Marginalized Thinking?
The BBC is getting protests about its decision to move the daily “Thought for the Day” program to 6:50 in the morning. Protesters say the move will “marginalise” the program.
Unemployed Aussie Artists Feel Left Out
Unemployed Australian artists complain that they’re discriminated against by government unemployment programs because they’re artists. “The fundamental problem was that there was no box to tick that said ‘I am an artist’. So right from the outset people were made to feel invisible.”