Category: today’s top story

“Authors who did not wish their books to be part of Google’s revised settlement needed to opt out before 28 January, in advance of last week’s [anticipated] ruling from Judge Denny Chin over whether to allow Google to go ahead with its divisive plans to digitise millions of books. … [M]ore than 6,500 authors, publishers and literary agents” did so.

“In an interview Sunday evening Mr. Wheeldon said there was not enough of a cadre of full-time dancers to work with. … The company’s executive director, Lourdes Lopez, a former principal dancer at New York City Ballet who danced for George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, said on Monday that Mr. Wheeldon did not give enough time to his company.”

“While many publishers have offered customized print textbooks for years — allowing instructors to reorder chapters or insert third-party content from other publications or their own writing — [Macmillan’s] DynamicBooks gives instructors the power to alter individual sentences and paragraphs without consulting the original authors or publisher.”

Terry Teachout calls out the leadership of the Lincoln Center Festival for going to the expense of bringing the Royal Shakespeare Company to New York for six weeks (and assembling an entire theater for their use) while there are numerous first-rate classical troupes in the U.S. which need that kind of support and exposure.

The harpsichordist-turned-conductor, who founded her own period-instrument band, Le Concert d’Astrée, had been scheduled to lead a revival of Idomeneo at the Opéra last month; about a week before opening, she withdrew. It turns out that the pit orchestra had mutinied against Haïm, finding her beat impossible to follow – and they’ve said so publicly.

“Amy E. Ryan, the [Boston Public Library’s] president, said yesterday that because of steep budget cuts the only alternative to closings would be slashing hours at 18 library branches, with the smallest facilities open only one to three days a week.” The BPL has 26 neighborhood branches.

“Yesterday the arts center dismissed 15 staffers – including its chief artistic voice, the vice president for programming and education, as well as the vice president of marketing and communications. Artistic offerings next season will be cut [as well]. … One aim of the cuts … is to trim the budget and, in turn, reduce the rent the Kimmel charges its resident companies.”

“One arts leader accused me publicly of living in a parallel universe. He was quite upset that his artistic director and his unionized artists threw my advice in his face when he felt he had to make programming cuts. … He was not amused that his artists kept saying, ‘Michael Kaiser says this, Michael Kaiser says that.'”

“In this ‘Wonks Gone Wild,’ researchers [find that] … ‘A practice that seems to be mere debauchery … is an expression of moral commitment to the market economy, as well as conventional notions of gender and hierarchy.'” (Seriously.)

“Not only does it signal that the plutocracy believes it successfully eluded financial Armageddon. At a stroke, the sale made clear that the rich are back in their rightful place at the apex of the world.”