The British Museum turns 250 years old this week. “In its lifetime, the museum has acquired some of the most important archaeological objects, including the Rosetta Stone and the world’s oldest glass – Egyptian, dating from 1460 BC. And as the home of the British Library, which grew out of the royal library and now receives a copy of every book published in the UK, it has nourished the minds of Charles Dickens, Karl Marx and Lenin, to name a few.”
Tag: 06.06.03
Liverpool? Why Liverpool?
Liverpool isn’t the capital of anything, least of all culture. “Nobody can seriously hold that Liverpool has more ‘cultural assets’ than London, Edinburgh, Manchester or Birmingham. Its theatres, galleries and museums do not outrank theirs. Liverpool had The Beatles, the beat poets, a river front and fine buildings which the city fathers have so far failed to demolish. But everyone has left who was not screwed to the floor. Liverpudlians are legendarily cussed and given to drinking. That is not culture. Nor can London’s army of Scousers talk: why are they reading this and not back home saving their city and reading the Post?”
UK Film Audiences Forsake Brit Films, Buy American
More and more Britons are going to the movies. But British films are losing ground, says a new study. “Although younger people are flocking to the cinema in ever increasing numbers they are overwhelmingly watching films made by the big US studios. No solely British film reached the list of top 20 films released last year, nor the top 20 list for the past 10 years.”
Tonys – Predicting A Good Hair Day
“Ask anyone on Broadway what’s going to win best musical, best book and, yes, best score, and the answer is ‘Hairspray,’ the big favorite in many musical categories, a blockbuster hit that broke early from the gate — it opened in August — and never let up.”
Christo Project To Raise Money For Central Park
Christo and Jeanne-Claude have always raised money for their big projects themselves. But their Central Park project – due to take place in 2005 – might cost $20 million. And there are environmental concerns about protecting the park. “While the potential for marketing products related to these project is almost limitless, the artists have never allowed any licensing or taken any such initiatives themselves. Until now.” The artists have allowed a foundation to license worldwide marketing rights to the project, with all the proceeds going to protecting an restoring Central Park.
All About The Piano
It’s the 150th anniversary of the founding of the American Steinway company. Time was when pianos were a big status symbol. “By the end of the 19th century, about one in six New Yorkers worked in some piano-related job…”
Higher (Blogger) Education
Blogging is catching on with academics. “In their skeptical moments, academic bloggers worry that the medium smells faddish, ephemeral. But they also make a strong case for blogging’s virtues, the foremost of which is freedom of tone. Blog entries can range from three-word bursts of sarcasm to carefully honed 5,000-word treatises. The sweet spot lies somewhere in between, where scholars tackle serious questions in a loose-limbed, vernacular mode. Blogging also offers speed; the opportunity to interact with diverse audiences both inside and outside academe; and the freedom to adopt a persona more playful than those generally available to people with Ph.D.’s.”