Category: issues

“The Spanish government is conducting a vendetta against the national film industry in an attempt to destroy the creative heart of a once vital sector, according to senior industry figures, who see it as the latest round in the culture wars between right and left.”

“Carnegie Hall made the announcement on Thursday afternoon, saying that the labor dispute had not been settled, and that talks with the union were continuing. As for future performances, a statement from the hall said that ‘all other performances remain on the schedule pending further updates’.”

“Job titles and roles [at Creative Scotland] will be tightened up in the eight-strong senior leadership team reporting to new chief executive Janet Archer and they will be augmented with a new director of strategy for an initial year-long appointment.”

“A couple of lessons: Places that serve us well every day serve us best when disaster strikes. Health and safety go hand in hand with lively urban spaces. Invest in one, and you aid the other. Also, disasters can be opportunities.”

“For the generation that developed their political identities in the wake of 9/11 it appears that their political attitudes have been shaped more by the privacy they were asked to give up after the attacks than by the attacks themselves.”

Once again, Malraux’s oracular pronouncements come to mind, as does his unverifiable, though inspiriting, notion that the first caveman who felt compelled to draw a bison on the stone wall of his cave knew that both he and the bison were mortal but that the act of depicting the perishable animal was somehow a way “to negate our nothingness.”

“For over a century, Local One has been collective-bargaining the life out of New York’s performing arts. Just how much does this union of carpenters, electricians and prop masters bleed from city arts organizations? Carnegie Hall’s tax returns for its 2010 season, its most recent publicly available records, suggest an answer.”

“Touting an intoxicating blend of Woodstock and Bollywood, the gatherings” – Holi parties, complete with colored powders to throw at your friends – can draw more than 10,000 people. But all that amity and togetherness has sparked a fight between the leading commercial Holi festival organizers. While revelers cavort in colorful joy, their hosts are dickering over profits, festival names and even the ingredients of the powders they sell.”

“The relationship between intellectuals and the public is changing. Thanks to advances in social media and communications technology, the extent of the public has grown. And this public is able not only to receive information, but also to furnish it.”

“His new book translates works by Karl Kraus, whose misgivings toward technology mirror Franzen’s own.”