Category: issues

“If in the end, the center got a less flashy makeover, it also got a more substantial one. The architects have lightened and enlivened the space, opened it up to the city and added touches of humor and eccentricity that suggest both a subtle aesthetic and a playful one. The redesign of Lincoln Center isn’t just about remaking 1960s monumentalism for a new era; it offers a compelling alternative to cities that place fear above dynamism.”

“No, you’re not stuck in some goofy concept album by The Moody Blues. Steampunk is a fantasy made physical, made of brass and wood and powered by steam, born of the Industrial Age and inspired by the works of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne.”

“Kentucky’s state-backed $150 million creationist theme park, The Ark Encounter, will allow visitors to explore a literal interpretation of the Bible’s story of Noah and the ark” – an interpretation that, according to spokesmen, should include dinosaurs and unicorns.

A convulsion may happen in a couple of years when Canadian Heritage, which accounts for about $2 of every $5 spent by all levels of government on arts and culture, will have to cut at least $60-million to help Prime Minister Stephen Harper achieve his goal of a balanced budget by 2015. For the time being, though, if one disregards the significant whacks to culture initiated by provincial governments in British Columbia and Alberta, there’s a feeling of “holding steady” across the land.

“Before the Civil War, the flag served mostly as a military ensign or a convenient marking of American territory, flown from forts, embassies, and ships … But in the weeks after Major Anderson’s surprising stand [at Fort Sumter], it would become something different. Suddenly, the Stars and Stripes would fly – as it does today – from houses, from storefronts, from churches; above village greens and college quadrangles.”

This past summer, Rutgers University announced plans to convert the Walt Whitman Arts Center, on its satellite campus in downtown Camden, into classroom space. The center’s administration promptly sued the university. “A settlement reached this month will turn the building into a hybrid classroom-theater.”

“How much do we love Auto-Tune? Enough that “Auto-Tune the News” went from YouTube sensation to the Billboard Hot 100. Enough that Glee Karaoke, with pitch correction, was reportedly the No. 1 music app in 21 countries.”

“There are many similarities between now and the 1930s. Not just economically. Both periods saw shifts in global power and instability. The response to the economic depression came not just in escapism, but also anxiety and psychological depression.”

Wayne Clough’s “defense of a decision that will almost certainly mark the nadir of his tenure has been limited to internal memos. By withdrawing from the public debate about what has been tactically, strategically and historically a disaster for the institution, he has called into question whether he shares the fundamental values of openness and engagement that should define the Smithsonian.”

“The Druids started it. Mistletoe, a hemi-parasitic plant that grows on trees, has long been considered a cure-all with special properties. … It wasn’t until the 18th or 19th centuries, though, that the British started hanging mistletoe as part of Christmas celebrations.”