“But what most readers don’t know is that Murakami himself inhabits parallel realities, and not just at his writing desk. One is inside Japan; the other is nearly everywhere else, but especially in the United States. And in each, his behavior and reputation, and perceptions of both, are in many ways starkly divergent.”
Category: people
Ai Weiwei Goes ‘Gangnam Style’
“Ai Weiwei understands the Internet. So while the highly influential Chinese dissident and artist may have larger concerns on his mind than the latest world-conquering meme from the world of K-pop, it was perhaps only a matter of time until he took a few moments to demonstrate his estimable ‘Gangnam Style’.” (Reader comments explain the video’s implied political content.)
Paul Allen, Billionaire Art Collector
“This legendary nerd (although Allen bridles at a “pocket protector” image) is also an artsy who spends a fair part of his $15 billion fortune on cultural goods–both as treats for himself and for others.”
Montserrat Caballé Hospitalized Following Minor Stroke
The Spanish soprano, now 79, was in Yekaterinburg, Russia to give a benefit concert when she suffered a minor stroke, falling and breaking her arm. She declined treatment in Yekaterinburg and flew home to Barcelona, where she is in stable condition at the Sant Pau hospital.
Two Members Of Pussy Riot Exiled To Remote Prisons
“Two members of the anti-Putin band Pussy Riot have been sent to remote prison colonies to serve their sentences for hooliganism, according to supporters of the group.”
Soprano Monserrat Caballe Suffers Stroke
“A Sant Pau hospital spokesman said Tuesday that the 79-year-old soprano has been in intensive care since arriving from Russia on Saturday. He said she was responding favorably to treatment and has not lost consciousness or suffered paralysis.”
The Art Of Disability
“I called upon my artist-self during those darkest hours. My fingers were the first part of my body to experience any functional return.”
Russell Means, 72, Actor, Musician, And Native American Activist
“He rose to national attention as a leader of the American Indian Movement in 1970 by directing a band of Indian protesters who seized the Mayflower II ship replica” and went on to lead the famous 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota. “Over two decades he appeared in more than 30 films and television productions,” as well as recording CDs and penning a memoir.
Comedian Wins £54K Libel Judgment From Daily Mirror
Frankie Boyle “won £50,400 after the jury’s verdict on an article that described him as a ‘racist comedian’. Jurors awarded the comedian a further £4,250 over the claim in the article that he was ‘forced to quit’ the BBC2 show Mock the Week.”
Collector Finds Lost Kurt Weill Recording
“He answered an ad on Craigslist offering old books and records for sale and found four 78 r.p.m. acetate discs of a Kurt Weill work that even Weill scholars did not know had ever been recorded. The find, it turned out, was just the start.”