Are crime shows influencing real-life juries? US prosecutors are seeing “an increasing desire on the part of juries for the kind of certainty shown on television programs such as “Crime Scene Investigation,” in which crimes are solved conclusively in less than an hour. Across the country, prosecutors say, juries are demanding more from them.”
Tag: 03.22.05
Cartoonist Faces Greek Jail
Cartoonist Gerhard Haderer finds himself facing jail time in Greece over his “depiction of Christ as a binge-drinking friend of Jimi Hendrix and naked surfer high on cannabis.” “Haderer did not even know that his book, The Life of Jesus, had been published in Greece until he received a summons to appear in court in Athens in January charged with blasphemy. He was given a six-month suspended sentence in absentia, but if he loses his appeal next month his sentence could be increased to two years.”
Axelrod To Jail
New Jersey philanthropist Herbert Axelrod has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for tax evasion. “Once called the Medici of the Meadowlands for his patronage of the arts, he was praised just a year earlier for his sale of 30 Stradivarius, Amati and Guaneri violins, violas and cellos to the orchestra. He and some experts had valued the collection at $50 million, but the symphony was able to buy the collection for $18 million.”
Musicologist Stanley Sadie, 75
“Sadie’s greatest achievement was the 20-volume The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, which he edited from 1970 onwards, along with a number of companion titles including The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. He also worked on its successor, published in 2001, having been made emeritus editor in 1999.”
World Recording Sales Down, US Up
“Worldwide sales of recorded music declined 1.3 percent to $33.6 billion last year as the U.S. market grew for the first time since 1999 and consumers bought more concert and video DVDs. The figures released on Tuesday, which reveal the fifth straight year of falling sales for the record industry, do not include digital downloads or mobile phone ringtones, which music companies say would have made 2004 sales flat against 2003.”
French Canadian Sweep At Genie Awards
French Canadian movies dominated the prizes at this year’s Genie Awards. “The bitter irony of the night is that English Canada’s most ardent film buffs have likely never heard — let alone seen — many of the francophone winners, which are hugely popular in Quebec but virtually ignored in the rest of Canada. Ma vie en cinemascope and Mémoires affectives, for instance, don’t even have release dates yet in English Canada.”
Brits Top Music Consumers
Brits buy more music than anyone else, according to new sales figures. “The UK music industry recorded an overall 3% increase in volume sales, mostly due to its robust albums market. However, world music sales declined by 1.3% to $33.6 billion (£17.7 billion). The UK CD albums market grew by 4.5% in 2004 with a record 174.6 million units sold. On average every Briton buys 3.2 CDs per person per year.”
Back To Vinyl
Damian Thompson has abandoned digital music for the real vinyl experience. “After nearly 20 years of exclusive loyalty to compact discs, I have bought a record player – partly out of nostalgia, partly to test the theory that they produce a better sound than CD players, and partly out of irritation at the cult of the iPod. The experience has been ridiculously exciting.”
This Year’s Beck’s: The Anti-YBA’s?
Artists on this year’s Beck’s Futures prize shortlist have a show. “If there is anything that connects the six artists here it can be seen, as much as anything else, as a refusal of the market-affirming object-based practice of the YBAs.”
Outsider Comes In
“People still debate the relative value of art made to be used (crafts and design), and art made to be contemplated (painting, drawing and sculpture). It’s the utilitarian versus the high art tradition. But why must high mean better? Why can’t it just describe a certain history of techniques and practices? Given the adulation and money poured into the high art world by collectors and corporations, the notion of art for art’s sake seems pretty passé.”