Bogota Colombia’s mayor had an unusual approach to getting citizens to behave. He hired mimes to “follow, imitate and mock citizens who committed public incivilities like jaywalking, picking pockets and driving recklessly. So successful were the first mimes that 400 more were trained as “traffic mimes” to monitor pedestrians at street corners. Just how the good citizens of Bogotá responded to mimes holding up signs chiding their manners, I cannot say. To my knowledge no mimes met an untimely end. But the experiment was successful enough to be replicated in Lima, Peru.”
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Casino Bill = Philly Design Disaster
Philadelphia is to have casinos under a new measure passed last week. The deal, writes Inga Saffron, is a potential design disaster for the city. “The slots bill, which was rushed through the legislature without the usual opportunities for public comment, strips Philadelphia of planning and zoning powers over its future casinos. Instead, a seven-member, state-run gambling control board will decide the big design issues, from the location of the casinos down to the location of their garage driveways.”
Report: Why Americans Don’t Read
A National Endowment for the Arts report documents the decline of reading in America. “The NEA, like many other observers of trends, blames technology. In 1990 consumers spent 6 percent of their leisure spending on audio, video, computers and software. Now, according to the report, those items account for 24 percent of recreational spending. Book-buying hasn’t done that badly, standing at 5.7 percent in 1990 and 5.6 percent in 2002.”
US House Rejects Limiting Patriot Act Library Searches
The US House of Representatives has defeated a measure that would have limited the Patriot Act. “On a vote of 210 to 210 — a roll call that GOP leaders extended for more than 20 minutes to sway dissident Republicans — the House rejected an amendment that would have limited the Patriot Act by preventing the Justice Department from searching library and bookstore records to probe individuals’ reading habits.”
Legendary Tosca To Close
A legendary Royal Opera House production of Tosca is finally seeing its final curtain. “The production was first staged 40 years ago in 1964, starring the legendary Maria Callas as Tosca and Tito Gobbi as the police chief Scarpia. Directed by Franco Zeffirelli, it has returned to Covent Garden year on year and been staged more than 230 times.”
Diana Museum To Close?
The Eral Spencer has denied reports that the museum dedicated to his sister, Diana, Princess of Wales, will close because of declining visitor numbers. “Last year, an estimated 80,000 people turned up to visit the tribute. Accounts in 2003 showed the 450-acre Althorp estate had made a loss for the past three years. It is said to need 120,000 visitors annually to break even.”
Europe: Rethinking Work
With 35-hour work weeks and two months annual vacation, Europeans work much less than Americans. “From the 1970’s until recently, Europe followed a philosophy of less is more when it came to labor, with the result that Europeans work an average of 10 percent fewer hours a year than Americans.” But the realization is dawning that less work might not be working. “We have created a leisure society, while the Americans have created a work society. But our model does not work anymore. We are in the process of rethinking it.”
State Arts Funding Stabilizing?
US state budgets are in better shape this year, and so arts funding may not be targets of cuts this year in most parts of the country. One survey sees “state expenditures growing by a national average of 2.8% during the next fiscal year. And one of the primary reasons why state legislatures and governors have cut arts funding so deeply — deficits — appears to be cresting and perhaps even receding a bit.”
Spamalot Gets A Cast
The new Monty Python musical Spamalot is due to open on Broadway in February 2005. “Based on the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, it will star Frasier actor David Hyde Pierce, alongside Tim Curry and Simpsons star Hank Azaria. Python star Eric Idle wrote the book for the musical, and collaborated on music and lyrics with John Du Prez.”
Philadelphia Orchestra, Musicians Union Far Apart In Contract Talks
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s contract with its musicians expires in September, and negotiators seem to be far apart. “Deficits are nothing new at the orchestra, but this season’s shortfall is unusually large: $4 million. In response, management has already implemented a number of surprising cuts, asking music director Christoph Eschenbach to take a 10 percent pay cut, reducing fees for guest soloists and conductors by 10 percent, and asking administrators to take a week’s unpaid vacation.”