Just What does the infamous SAT test measure? “Just before the SAT undergoes another of its periodic transformations — a new version of the exam, referred to as the ‘New SAT,’ will be unveiled next spring and will include, for the first time, a writing portion — a study published in the June issue of the journal Psychological Science claims to prove that the current SAT is, in the end, an IQ test.”
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Reform Bug Hits Non-Profit Management
After Congress passed legislature tightening accountablity on corporations, non-profits are looking at their management operating standards with an eye to reform. “Efforts at philanthropic self-policing have been launched across the nation. They aim to counter public perceptions that financial abuses may be widespread at charities and to deflect lawmakers’ calls for more federal regulation.”
Ready For My Close-up? Awww, Forget It!
The new generation of movies has abandoned the close-up. “This trend towards wide shots is in part explained by the landmark technological changes which cinema is undergoing. Those who doubt that the digital revolution is significant should consider the fact that the two previous occasions on which film “went wide” and turned to stories set in classical times were the 1950s – after the switch to the various widescreen processes such as CinemaScope – and the very first decades of filmmaking, when audiences were still agog and directors such as Cecil B DeMille presented frieze-like tableaux of classical excess. Both were formative moments, and so is the present one. In each of these three periods, producers and directors who were faced with a new technology fell back on primitive, likeable, pre-cinematic ideas of showmanship.”
Bioterrorism Fumble Against Artist Is Worrisome Sign
So the Steve Kurtz “bioterrorism” case has been resolved, and Kurtz has been cleared of terrorism suspicion. “His case is the latest ‘whoops’ as America tries to regain its legal balance post-9/11. The government is walking the line between prosecution and persecution. In Kurtz’s case, it stumbled. Pre-9/11, that’s where it would have ended. Those days are gone. The FBI was called. Kurtz was arrested, his neighbors evacuated and a hazmat team in spacesuits picked through his trash. With the (Joe) McCarthy era, it was a Communist in every corner. Now it’s a terrorist lurking everywhere.”
Say Goodbye To Frankfurt Ballet
The Frankfurt Ballet gave its final performance Sunday night. “After many curtain calls and a few tears, the Frankfurt Ballet ceased to exist. One of the most exciting chapters in contemporary dance was over. As one troupe dies, however, another is taking shape, because a new Forsythe Company should be born in January. And it too will be based in Germany. Unlike the Frankfurt Ballet, which worked from the Frankfurt opera house, the Forsythe Company will have two homes.”
Are Documentaries The Next Big Thing?
With the success of Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, critics are wondering if documentaries are going to be the next big thing in movies. “Are documentaries going to be taken more seriously? The short answer is yes. But Michael Moore is still a special case. He’s become a star, almost like any other star. That said, I do think audiences are getting used to going to documentaries in a way they haven’t before.”
Neruda – The Examined Life
Pablo Neruda “would have turned 100 on July 12. Today he is the emblem of the engaged poet, an artist whose heart was consumed by passion — for people and politics. García Márquez called him “the greatest poet of the 20th century, in any language.” While the homage might have been overinflated, there is little doubt that Neruda is among the most enduring voices of the last, tumultuous (in his own words, “the saddest”) century.”
Coffee Table Architecture
The gorgeous new Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture Is a grand proposition.”At a total of 824 pages, the Atlas includes entries on 1,052 buildings built over the last six years by 656 architects in 75 countries. The text is accompanied by 62 maps and 7,000 illustrations. The book comes in its own clear plastic carrying case, and is a foot and a half tall and 12 inches wide and weighs about 18 pounds. At $160 plus tax, it also comes with sticker shock. Though it’s priced in reference-book territory, most copies won’t ever see the inside of an architecture firm or library.”
Relatives Protest Auction Of Joyce Letter
Descendants of James Joyce are condemning a plan to auction an intimate letter he wrote. “In the letter, missing for nearly a century until it was found tucked inside a book, Joyce writes to his lover, Nora Barnacle, of a sexual encounter similar to the couple’s first on 16 June, 1904, when Nora opened his trousers and ‘made a man of him’.”
Introducing… The No-Frills CD?
Attempting to combat the lure of piracy, Betelsman is offering three different “classes” of CD’s. “The no-frills version will look virtually identical to a pirate copy, with only the title printed directly on the disc. It will cost €9.99 – about £6.70. The regular version will cost €3 more. It will include a cover and lyrics. A “luxury” version with additional material and video clips will cost €17.99.”