With “Fahrenheit 9/11,” “The Day After Tomorrow” and the remake of “The Manchurian Candidate,” it has been a summer of political relevance at the multiplex. But will any of that have an impact on the presidential election? Not likely, Jon Margolis contends. “Let’s face it, the number of times a movie has altered public opinion on any issue can be counted on the fingers of no hands.”
Blog
For Harlequin Readers, The Romance Is Fading
Romance publisher Harlequin Enterprises intends to woo them back, but for now many readers have strayed from the genre, irresistibly attracted to other kinds of books. “Explosive growth in the market for women’s fiction, particularly in newer genres like chick lit and women’s thrillers, has been drawing readers away from traditional romance novels, those formulaic bodice-rippers stocked with hunky heroes and love-conquers-all endings.”
A Novel Attempt To Dissuade A Third Bush
With time being of the essence, a Canadian novelist intent on skewering the various George Bushes (H.W., W. and P.) turned to an online publisher, which is serializing his “Too Many Georges” online.
A Renaisance In Christian Fiction
As the quality of Christian fiction rises, readers are following. “Moving beyond prose that reads like either a Bible study or a dime-store romance, Christian writers have started a literary renaissance by exploring serious religious themes in everything from futuristic thrillers to historical epics.”
Peter’s Bad Day At The Art Museum
Cartoonist Peter Baage goes to a Seattle gallery and has a (figurative) shouting match with the contemporary art there. “95% of what they’re hyping is pure crap, yet if you say as much out loud you’ll be looked upon as a clueless Philistine!”
Miramax Downsizes
Miramax has cut 13 percent of its employees. “The company said it is laying off 65 staffers because it had too large a staff given that its output has shrunk. This is not a reflection on anyone’s performance, it was simply an effort to bring our staff levels in line with a smaller release slate’.”
Playing Now – Hadrian’s Wall
A new play about Hadrian’s Wll is being performed… along Hadrian’s Wall. “They will step out along 84 miles of the Hadrian’s Wall path, a national trail opened last year, while the lucky stage manager will ride the route in comfort with the baggage in the company van. The day after each show in communities along the wall, the six actors plus the playwright will don boots and waterproofs and give another kind of blistering performance, striding 10 miles to the next venue.”
Shoot The (Journalist) Comic. Please!
Guardian journalist Paul MacInes figured he’d seen enough bad stand-up comedians do their thing. So he decided to give it a try himself at the Edinburgh Fringe. “As it turns out, few of them are as rubbish as me. Fired into the bearpit of Edinburgh’s most notorious stand-up spot, I was to leave clawed, gouged and with a tenderised groin. I wasn’t expecting the mauling I got. Indeed, I may never get over it.”
Study: AM Radio Causes Cancer
A new Korean study finds that “regions near AM radio-broadcasting towers had 70 percent more leukemia deaths than those without. The study also found that cancer deaths were 29 percent higher near such transmitters. Two years ago an Italian study found death rates from leukemia increased dramatically for residents living within two miles of Vatican Radio’s powerful array of transmitters in Rome.”
Pipe Dreams – Why Are Concert Hall Organs So Seldom Used?
Dallas’ Meyerson Hall has a terrific organ. But after some initial concerts after the instrument was first installed, it’s had little use. “Organ fans here and beyond are frustrated that it’s used so little. Similar stories are cropping up in other cities with glitzy new concert-hall organs; $2 million instruments are becoming expensive décor accessories.”