“[T]he image of President Obama in Heath Ledger Joker-face is especially disturbing because it is completely devoid of context – literary, political or otherwise. The image seems to have emerged from nowhere and was created by no one. Deracinated from authorial intent, Obama-as-Joker becomes a free-floating cipher that can be appropriated and re-appropriated by everyone.”
Tag: 08.05.09
A.O. Scott And Michael Phillips Move Into Siskel’s And Ebert’s Chairs On At The Movies
“A.O. Scott, co-chief film critic of The New York Times, and Michael Phillips, film critic of The Chicago Tribune, will take over the seats made famous by Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel on At the Movies, the Chicago-based syndicated television program.”
Take Your Pick: E-Books Will Revolutionize/Destroy/Simply Alter The Publishing Industry
“Many in the book industry believe that paper books are destined to go the way of compact disks, made obsolete by a new, much cheaper digital platform.” Others argue that “E-books will take their place as a format … but there’s no reason for e-books to replace paper books. There are always going to be a large number of people who don’t want to read a screen, no matter how good it is.”
Regie-Ballet Comes To Korea: A Seoul Giselle Features Incest And Prostitution
In James Jeon’s She, Giselle, “The characters are the same, but the story takes a turn when Giselle realizes that her lover, Albrecht, is actually her half-brother … [and then] runs away without telling Albrecht that she’s pregnant. The lonely Giselle … ends up in a brothel … and finally dies of AIDS.”
Drabinsky Sentenced To 7 Years For Livent Fraud
“Livent founder Garth Drabinsky has been sentenced to seven years in prison for an accounting fraud that propelled the theatre company onto the global stage before leading to its collapse. Drabinsky’s business partner and co-defendant Myron Gottlieb was sentenced to six years. … Prosecutor Alex Hrybinsky had asked for prison terms of eight to 10 years, noting that neither man has shown remorse.”
To Convey A Serious Message, Al Franken Taps The Brakes
When you’re a smart person who’s made a high-profile career as a funny, caustic performer, how do you recalibrate your tone for a serious setting? It’s a question celebrities have long confronted, and Al Franken faces the same problem as he gears up for his maiden speech in the Senate. The issue isn’t only what he says; it’s that his audience has been conditioned over decades to expect humor from him.
Suspect In La Guardia Bomb Scare Is A Classical Pianist
The man arrested in Saturday’s bomb scare at La Guardia Airport “was a regular at Beethoven Pianos on W. 58th St., turning up weekly over the last year to rent one of the $15-an-hour instruments, according to shop employees. ‘He’s always welcome here,’ said Perry Fellwock, marketing manager at the store. ‘His piano playing is brilliant. He plays mostly classical music.'”
In Copyright Battle, Canadian Writers Land A Powerful Ally
“With the issue of copyright reform at the forefront of the federal government’s agenda once again, the Writers’ Union of Canada has scored a major coup by enlisting Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff as its newest member. ‘I’ve been a working writer since I got out of university and earned my living as a freelance writer for 18 years … so I have a strong identification with the struggles of writers,’ said Ignatieff, who has been a member of the union in the past.”
Sony Drops E-Book Price, Matching Amazon’s $9.99
“Book publishers have worried about the $9.99 flat price ever since Amazon.com introduced it for its Kindle reader in 2007, fearing that it could cannibalize sales of higher-priced hardcover books. … Sony is also introducing two new electronic reading devices: the Reader Pocket Edition and Reader Touch Edition. They will sell for $199 and $299 respectively,” substantially less than the devices they replace.
Art Market Has Found Bottom, Sotheby’s CFO Says
“Sotheby’s Chief Financial Officer William Sheridan said art prices and sales have stabilized, after the New York-based auctioneer reported a worse-than- expected 87 percent drop in second-quarter earnings. ‘Unless there’s some external event we’re not aware of, we believe the market has bottomed out,’ Sheridan said in an interview last night. … Yesterday, Sotheby’s reported its first quarterly profit in a year.”