A trove of Arthur Conan Doyle’s papers – including a record of the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes – has been uncovered. “The archive, which contains more than 3,000 items, including letters, notes, manuscripts and artefacts, disappeared more than 40 years ago during legal disputes over his estate.”
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Order Of Phoenix Wins People’s Choice Award
JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has won this year’s WH Smith People’s Choice Book Award. “Some 148,000 readers cast votes via book stores, the internet and libraries to select winners in eight categories.”
Why You Can’t Understand Sopranos
Why is it so difficult to understand what sopranos are singing when they sing high notes? “Acoustical physicists have carried out an experiment that demonstrates why different vowel sounds are almost impossible to distinguish when sopranos are singing in the highest octave of their range. The experimental subjects were eight professional operatic sopranos.”
TV’s High Definition (Worry) Lines
“Although high-definition television promises to bring sporting events into the nation’s living rooms in unequaled clarity, it’s also delivering something else to the television business: worry lines. With HDTV — which provides images five times sharper than those on a regular TV set — makeup cannot be caked on to hide acne scars because the heavy layers are plainly evident. Too much powder looks obvious.”
Florida Legislature Considers $21 Million In Arts Funding
A bill providing $21 million in state funding for the arts is being considered by the Florida legislature this week. “It marks the end of a one-year funding hiatus begun when the Legislature emptied the state’s arts trust funds, leaving no money for cultural grants. Florida’s museums and other arts centers have more than $8 million in private donations from as far back as 1999 that they can’t touch, awaiting matching state money.”
Waltz With Me
“Sunday marked the 200th birthday of Johann Strauss I, a hugely popular composer of nearly 300 works, whose legacy lives on long after his death in 1849. Strauss’ music, along with that of a contemporary named Joseph Lanner, sparked what became known as the Viennese waltz, a faster, more elegant and more intimate version of the rigid box-step that preceded it. Originally dubbed the “forbidden dance” because couples touched while twirling about, the Viennese version was highly controversial when it first emerged in Austrian ballrooms and dance halls.”
Miami PAC Construction “Spiralling” Out Of Control?
Miami’s new Performing Arts Center is in trouble. The $255 million project is late and over-budget. “With construction costs threatening to spiral ‘out of control,’ the Performing Arts Center’s completion date has been pushed back about another six months to the summer of 2006. Change orders from the builders requesting more money are pouring into Miami-Dade County at the rate of $1 million a week. County officials fear cost overruns could reach close to $100 million.”
Rapped Attention – Is Police Scrutiny Of Rappers Proper?
Across America “police have been secretly keeping tabs on dozens of visiting rap artists such as 50 Cent, Ja Rule and P. Diddy. At issue: Are investigators violating constitutional freedoms by gathering dossiers and taking pictures of artists in public places — merely because they’re part of a hip-hop industry that has been tainted by murderous violence?”
Big Brother And The Rappers
Revelations that American police officers nationwide have been tracking rappers’ movements have shocked some. Using a police network “to track rappers takes Big Brother tactics to a new, ”onerous” level. ‘This is, from what I can tell, unprecedented. There’s been nothing on that scale.”
Vagina Monologues Banned In Madras
A production of The Vagina Monolgue starring Hollywood actresses Jane Fonda and Marisa Tomei has been banned in the Indian city of Madras. The show, which has been a controversial sell-out around the world, explores female sexuality and strength through individual women telling their stories through monologues. Madras police refused permission to stage the show after finding certain portions of the script ‘objectionable’ and warning it could pose a threat to public order.”