“Attempts to combat pseudoscience by branding it a secular form of blasphemy are illiberal and intolerant. They are also ineffective, tending not only to reinforce cynicism about science but also to promote a distrust for scientific and medical authority that provides a rallying point for pseudoscience.”
Tag: 05.23.10
Denver Theatre Center Attendance Plunges
“The total attendance of 142,606 was down more than 25,000 from 2008-09. But the theater company produced two fewer shows than the year before. Artistic director Kent Thompson is just glad it wasn’t worse.”
Cable TV Companies Struggle To Offer More As Competition Rises
“In 2006, cable TV companies had 68.5 million video customers. The number fell to 63.3 million in 2009, according to research firm In-Stat.”
Weinstein Bid To Reacquire Miramax Fails
“In a major blow to the brothers, whose own movie studio Weinstein Co. is facing financial problems, their negotiations with Miramax owner Walt Disney Co. broke down Friday, the same day that the Burbank media giant hoped final deal points would be worked out and long-running talks would come to a conclusion.”
A Backlash Against The Dude? (Dudamel Gets Some Critical Press On East Coast Tour)
“A backlash against Dudamel’s celebrity (“60 Minutes” caught up with him once more the previous Sunday) had been expected. It stung, but there were compensations. The halls have been alive with the sound of Dudamania.”
What UK Arts Support Might Look Like Under The Tories
“Cultural organisations have begun their own paper exercises looking at 20% cuts in public funding, and a very likely fall in local authority support. Choices will have to be made. Since people are quite expensive to get rid of, programmes and building projects will be the first to suffer.”
Another Big Art Theft – This Time In Marseilles
“In the latest theft, judicial police said two men managed to get past two security gates at the collector’s Marseille home and then knocked at the door, AP news agency reported. According to Reuter, the most important work taken was a lithograph of a woman’s face painted by Picasso.”
NY Phil Wades In To Contemporary Opera (Are They Crazy?)
“It is a risky gambit for the orchestra and its new music director, Alan Gilbert, who have invested a lot of resources and hopes in the production. They are framing the performances as the signature event of Mr. Gilbert’s first season and a harbinger of things to come.”
What This Year’s Cannes Looked Like
“If this festival were characterized by unlikely absences and a scattered quiet, it probably didn’t matter. The crop of films was as strong as ever, and it came not only from old-school fixtures such as France and Iran (the latter of which saw the premiere of Abbas Kiarostami’s acclaimed “Certified Copy”) but also from such newer powers as Korea.”
The Turnaround Artist And Women’s Project Theater
“The theater company, which has an average annual budget of $1.2 million, racked up a half-million dollar deficit in the 18 months before Ms. Crosby arrived; it was back in the black by the fiscal year 2007. Meanwhile audiences and critics began applauding. Ticket sales have nearly doubled since 2006.”