With the city of Los Angeles in severe financial trouble, Mayor Villaraigosa’s proposed austerity budget calls for the staff at El Pueblo de Los Angeles to be reduced by nearly half, with lost positions including one of two historian-curators.
Tag: 05.06.10
Eli Broad States His Preference For Location Of His Museum
“‘Santa Monica we haven’t ruled out, by the way,’ Broad said after outlining how a Grand Avenue museum” – very near Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Museum of Contemporary Art – “would help fulfill his longstanding vision of building up downtown L.A. as a magnet for economic growth and cultural tourism.”
Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness, Or So The Cleanly Insist
“Research suggests hand washing does more than rid you of dirt and germs. It may help you emotionally disconnect from past decisions as well as heighten feelings of moral superiority.”
The Cleanly May Be Right: People Behave Better In Clean Environments
“In her work, [social psychologist Katie] Liljenquist has found that being in a clean environment makes people more likely to behave ethically and generously. Her studies also show that using an antiseptic wipe absolves people of some moral guilt and that the simple act of cleaning gives people a sense of control, liberation and clarity of mind.”
YouTube Turns On Musical Theatre
“There was a time, not so long ago, when if a Broadway diva – say, Carol Channing or Patti LuPone – wanted to watch somebody else singing her signature songs in her signature style, she had to leave her dressing room and find a drag show. Now she need only turn on her computer and settle in at that 24-hour virtual piano bar called YouTube.”
This Year’s Big Europop Hit Is About Existential Angst
The song is “Alors on danse” by Stromae, a Rwandan-Belgian rapper. “Its blend of French flow, trance stabs, ravey sax and la-la-la vocals offer no less than four melodies perfect for drunken chanting while wiping sick off yourself, so it’s going to be massive. And yet, it’s about the awfulness of existence.”
Can Architecture Really Help Cancer Patients Heal?
The man behind a cancer charity whose facilities are designed by high-profile architects “has come under fire from both the scientific community, who question the validity of his claims (or media distortions of them); and the design community, who wonder if Maggie’s Centres aren’t injecting more architecture into small healthcare facilities than they strictly need.”
Examining Enron‘s Crimes Against Broadway
“Its alleged transgressions are, of course, rather less heinous than the real Enron Corporation’s multibillion-dollar fraud, which led in 2001 to the collapse of the once-mighty company. According to Matthew Byam Shaw, one of the producers, Enron the play was guilty of confusing and upsetting conservative Broadway audiences.”
The Twitter Archive’s Value To Historians
“Although the [Library of Congress’] acquisition might seem to be a capitulation to frivolity and short attention spans, historians say, it’s actually about how digital archives such as this are shaping the future of history.”
On The Unnecessary Blandness Of Comic Book Movies
“If the Hollywood studio assembly line is high school in a John Hughes movie, superhero films are the jocks — benighted beneficiaries of grade inflation and reflexive fan boosterism.”