The old pulp ‘n paper book is fated to be short-lived. The Association of American Publishers predicts that in five years 28 million people will be using electronic devices to read books. – Washington Post
Tag: 04.25.00
I LOVE MY BOOKS, DAMNIT
Movie critic Roger Ebert knows all the hype about e-books, but it doesn’t matter. “Let’s assume ClearType looks terrific and that Microsoft makes good on its prediction that by 2010 its e-books will weigh 8 ounces, run for 24 hours, and hold as many as a million titles. Do I want one? No. I treasure my books with a voluptuous regard.” – ZDNet
“WE’VE LOST OUR GREATEST POET”
Canada’s Al Purdy dies. “If there’s a heaven and a hell, Al has a foot in both camps as he argues first with God and then with the Devil. I think I know who’s winning the argument or, if not winning, at least breaking even in eternity. – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
THE TAXMAN COMETH
Italian tax officials are after Luciano Pavarotti again. Three months after the 64-year-old singer – reportedly worth £300m – agreed to pay £1.6 million in back taxes in 36 monthly installments, the Italians want another £3 million in taxes they say the tenor avoided paying by claiming Monaco as his permanent residence. – BBC
DAILY RITUAL
There is no other 20th-century painter quite like Balthus. At the age of 92 he still paints, still in his own way, as always, resolutely ignoring the art-isms of his time – “I was never interested in other modern painters because I had my painting, which preoccupied my mind more than anything else.” – Financial Times
LAUGHING FOR ART
Martin Mull’s first and abiding love is painting. It’s the TV and movie work that pays for the canvases and paint. – Los Angeles Times
HEAD HUNTERS
Thieves are literally chiseling off the heads of statues at Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, built some 1000 years ago. The trade in international cultural artifacts is hot – an epidemic that is irreparably ruining some of the world’s cultural treasures. – CNN
ART OF POLITICS
Do you know what your senator has hanging on his walls? Does it tell you anything about him or her? The Canadian Government’s Art Bank provides art to members of parliament. Too bad more of them don’t take up the offer. – National Post (Canada)
DIGITART
- Does putting art on the internet change the meaning of art? Students at Berkeley and Sonoma State Universities are posting and critiquing art to explore how the medium changes the process of art. “We are using the Net as our medium instead of print.” – Wired
DAILY RITUAL
There is no other 20th-century painter quite like Balthus. At the age of 92 he still paints, still in his own way, as always, resolutely ignoring the art-isms of his time – “I was never interested in other modern painters because I had my painting, which preoccupied my mind more than anything else.” – Financial Times