“Although Reginald Robinson — a self-taught pianist — has toiled mightily for all he has achieved, he’ll have to struggle to make a living in ragtime. Yet few are better positioned to do so.”
Tag: 01.24.10
Haiti Culture In Ruins
“Its vibrant arts scene celebrated the country’s creation, and its public buildings sought to capture the elegance of a past that Haitians held onto though political trauma, staggering violence and a string of natural disasters. That alone has made the depth of the destruction of Haiti’s heritage hard to fully capture.”
Performance Art Gets Its Own TV Channel
OntheBoards.tv, is “the first online, pay-per-view series dedicated to presenting progressive contemporary performances from around the world.”
How Dumb – Protecting Kids From The Movies
“Social scientists doggedly pursue evidence of correlations between on- and off-screen behavior, while some commentators insist that no such connections could possibly exist. The rest of us know perfectly well that we don’t play with anvils and dynamite just because we see Wile E. Coyote do it, though perhaps those Looney Tunes are cautionary tales.”
What Ails Us – Overly Complex Technology
“Inoperable cellphones. Impenetrable Web sites. Neurotically overstyled objects. Too much packaging. Digital versions of this, that and the other. Things with esoteric functions that we’re unlikely to ever be able to pronounce correctly, let alone to want to use. We’ve all tussled with them from time to time. There’s nothing new in this.”
Has Sweden Turned The Corner On Illegal Music Downloading?
“Sweden, long considered one of the world’s most welcoming havens for digital piracy, is now showing signs of turning back toward legal, licensed music, both online and in stores. Music sales in Sweden rose 10.2 percent last year, according to the recording companies’ international trade group, even as they fell by nearly 10 percent worldwide, continuing a nearly decade-long downward spiral.”
The Gleaming New Acropolis Museum
“The new Acropolis Museum is proof — at last — that Greece has a safe place to display the hotly contested artworks. For Athenians who live and work near the Acropolis, the looming modern structure at the southeastern base of the hill is a mixed blessing.”
The Leno/O’Brien Affair – A Misunderstanding Of Demographics
“Over the 16 years from O’Brien’s first appearance on late night to his taking over “The Tonight Show,” Leno didn’t change his nice guy persona and O’Brien didn’t get any more comfortable on stage. They remained pretty much the same. It was the culture that changed around them. And that’s where demographics came in.”
Suit Settled On Hollywood Age Discrimination
“A long and winding legal battle that raised uncomfortable questions about Hollywood’s treatment of middle-aged and older TV writers was settled Friday, a decade after a class-action lawsuit alleged they were the victims of widespread age discrimination.”
Interactive Theatre Hits Big In Boston
“After struggling in recent years, the ART has created a splash on the cultural scene this season. Under new artistic director Diane Paulus, the company’s first two productions – both immersive, interactive, unconventional takes on Shakespeare – are selling out and attracting many who rarely go to the theater.”