“When you see the critics at the theater,chatting up the ushers, signing autographs for all who want them, we seem like a mild-mannered bunch; if you tickle us, do we not laugh? But underneath, we’re vicious, vicious! We’re sworn members of a secret organization, a vast writing conspiracy. Compared to the New York drama critics, the Masons look like the Girl Scouts. And this season’s bad reviews are just the beginning.”
Blog
American Natural History Museum Cutbacks Lead To Questions About Its Mission
“After a decade in which it doubled both its staff and its operating budget, the American Museum of Natural History is now retrenching. Faced with a drop in visitors and financial support, including a $1.4 million cut in funding from the city, the museum has shed 300 full- and part-time employees since the fall of 2001, bringing its staff down 17 percent, to 1,400. A hiring freeze was put in place after Sept. 11, 2001.”
Klezmeriffic
Klezmer is big right now, and becoming more popular. “It is now not only respectable, becoming an academic discipline and the beneficiary of generous Lottery funding through the Millennium Commission, it is also a flourishing part of our new, spiritual age.”
See-Through Toilet Is A Work Of Art
A public art toilet made of one-way glass is being installed across from Tate Britain. “Sitting on this lavatory you can see everything outside; pedestrians and, across the road, Tate Britain. This has been achieved by surrounding the lavatory with glass that allows you to see out but no one else to see in. This £30,000, not-so private privy was created by Italian artist Monica Bonvicini.”
Is This The Worst Writing About Sex?
“The Literary Review’s Bad Sex Prize, which reaches the parts other prizes can only moan about, was won last night by the Indian author Aniruddha Bahal, for his novel Bunker 13. His publishers, Faber and Faber, flew him in from Delhi to receive his statuette.”
Community Complains About Portrayal In Booker-Nominated Tome
Bangladeshis in East London are complaining that Monica Ali’s Booker-nominated first novel, Brick Lane portrays their neighborhood unfairly. “It is a completely stereotypical view of Bangladeshis living in Brick Lane and one we simply do not recognise. The book says we got here by jumping ships and it says we have lice and live like rats in their holes. These comments are simply untrue and hurtful.”
Music The Over-40 Wants (Not Just Nostalgia!)
So older people are buying more music. But what are they buying? Nostalgia. “Truth is, I can name at least 25 albums released in 2003 that would please any seasoned rock and pop listener who thinks of music as something more than a soundtrack for dinner with undiscerning guests. But most rock fans my age won’t find it easy to hear them because the major labels have concluded we’re an unadventurous lot and won’t bother to try to reach us. Instead of congratulating themselves on finding ways to sell the same old same old, record execs should realize there are thousands, maybe millions, of us who want it rough, raw and risky, brash, bold and beautiful, as exciting as New Year’s Eve.”
Wanna Run For President? Start Writing Now.
There are nine announced contenders for the Democratic nomination for president, and as of this week, all nine have either written a book or had one written about them. “Some are good, some are bad. Some are thick, some are thin. Some are short, some are shorter. Some are direct, some are long-winded. And that goes for their books, too.” But seriously, when exactly did published authorship become a necessity of a serious presidential campaign? And what makes them think that we’re interested in reading their largely predictable tomes?
Sundance Lineup Star-Heavy, Racially Diverse
“The competitive categories of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival will be characterized by big-name actors appearing in films by relatively unknown directors, projects influenced by Sept. 11 and a record-breaking number of projects from black filmmakers. Festival director Geoff Gilmore and director of programming John Cooper made those assessments on Monday as they unveiled three sections of the fest — the Dramatic and Documentary competitions and the American Spectrum program.”
Everybody Wants A Piece
“Just like any dedicated arts group, Loose Moose Theatre, a 26-year-old improv company in Calgary, has been going against the grain and bucking a trend — although certainly not on purpose.” The company was forced out of its home in a thriving Calgary neighborhood last winter, and has been searching for a new home ever since. Meanwhile, other theater companies around town have been moving into new spaces with significant help from provincial and federal arts funding programs, and a further influx of public money into Calgary’s theater revival seems certain. There may even be some for Loose Moose.