Using a famously nasty evisceration of Keats’s Endymion as a starting point, Robert Pinsky reminds us of the three prime directives – and observes how rarely all three are followed.
Tag: 07.21.11
Rehearsing Outdoor Opera During A Heat Wave – How Wolf Trap Copes
“Staff members were scouring supermarkets for electrolyte-replenishing Gatorade: lemon-lime flavor, which the costume department figured would cause the least problematic stains. An assistant was sent out to buy a large box of condoms, to serve as protection for the microphone transmitter packs worn on the backs of singers.”
Is It Time To Start Charging Again Admission For UK Museums?
“If you visit the British Museum this summer the sheer crowd numbers startle. How about turning that popularity into money? We can’t let recent progress in our galleries and museums be destroyed by a cost-cutting mentality that first freezes, then rolls back, everything that has been achieved.”
“Fan” Advocacy Group Is Really Front For LiveNation
“The Fans First Coalition was unveiled this week with a mission of protecting 
consumers from predatory ticket scalpers and with support from the likes of 
R.E.M., the Dixie Chicks, Maroon 5 and Jennifer Hudson, according to the
 paper. But it is financed by Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster.”
National Slavery Museum Imperiled
“The museum’s director has departed, its board no longer meets, its offices are abandoned, and the museum’s state license to solicit donations has lapsed. Some people who donated artifacts to the museum years ago have demanded them back.”
Study: Minorities Under-represented On UK TV Dramas
“Black and Asian representation in major UK drama stands at only 8.3%, according to the most up to date research into ethnic minority representation on television.”
Remembering The Destroyed Afghan Buddhas
“In March, international teams of experts and Afghan officials at a Unesco meeting in Paris announced that a total reconstruction of either sculpture is not being considered. And while participants agreed to leave the larger niche empty to highlight the Buddhas’ violent destruction, a feasibility study may be conducted at a future date regarding a partial reconstruction of the smaller Buddha.”
Stephen Colbert As A Cultural Force
“The Colbert Bump. Some know its influence, some crave its generosity. But each has seen its power.”
Study: The Internet Is Our New “Hive” Mind
“Historically, people have relied on physical hive minds made up of friends and colleagues to help them remember specific details, a phenomenon social psychologists call transactive memory. The study authors propose that the Internet now fills this role, becoming the ultimate know-it-all friend whom we can access anytime.”
Why Is The Music Industry So Willing To Give Up On CDs?
“It’s as if nobody wants to talk about CDs for fear of sounding like a dinosaur. But while 90% of discussion about the music industry concerns digital consumption and how to monetise it, actual sales show the majority of music fans are, in fact, such dinosaurs.”