“Not only is dance big in TV and film, but membership in the United States Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association has doubled in the last decade, to 22,000, and dance studios are thriving across the country. Inquiries are up 35 percent since the start of the year, and attendance at group classes is up 10 percent.”
Tag: 08.14.05
Stereophonic History (Well, That’s Two Ways To Look At It)
The Society for Historians of the Early American Republic has a decidedly different take on American history than the popular historians. “Whereas popular historians like David McCullough and Richard Brookhiser turn out bios of the old white guys who stare back at us from our money, SHEAR members present papers with titles such as “Self-Help and Self-Determination: Philadelphia’s African American Community and the Abolitionist Challenge”, and “Hawking Hallowed Ground: Utopianism and its Discontents in Philadelphia’s Rural Cemeteries”. Is this a happy form of stereo – on one side, the founders, founders and more founders mantra of the media; on the other, the from-the-bottom-up social history of professional scholars? Or is it sheer dysfunctionality in the field of early American history?”
A History Of Architecture In Denver Branch Libraries
Want an architecture tour of Denver? You could do worse than tour the city’s branch libraries. “Virtually from the beginning of Denver’s library system, its leaders have believed that form was as important as function, more or less consistently investing in high-quality architecture.” It’s “a surprisingly comprehensive lesson in 20th and 21st century architecture from arts and crafts and other historic styles through modernism and post-modernism.” Radical or not, all the libraries have been accepted by patrons, and most have become local landmarks.
Chicago’s Corkscrew To The Sky Catches On With Public
Architect Santiago Calatrava’s proposed twisty spiral skyscraper has caught the imagination of the public. “Whatever it expresses, the twisting tower clearly has struck a chord with the public. Consider the nicknames already given to Calatrava’s skyscraper — the drill bit, the big screw, the twizzler, the birthday candle. The twisting tower also is a hot topic today among architects and architecture students. As designers explore new ways to break out of the old box, they prize buildings that suggest motion and feeling. Calatrava’s design promises to bring to the skyscraper the same Baroque exuberance with which Frank Gehry has infused fresh vitality into the once-staid world of art museums and concert halls.”
From SASE To The Steppenwolf Stage
Unsolicited plays never make it to the Steppenwolf stage, even though thousands of scripts get submitted each year. But John Wells’ play did. “In a matter of months, Wells’ play “Men of Tortuga” has gone from “self-addressed return envelope enclosed” to a gripping full production, currently running through Aug. 28 as part of Steppenwolf’s new First Look Repertory festival in the Garage Theatre. There, Wells’ first play sits alongside “The Sparrow Project” by the nationally established author Melanie Marnich and “A Blameless Life” by Joel Drake Johnson, a fairly prominent Chicago scribe known for his warm humanism. Actually, “Men of Tortuga” doesn’t just sit. It blows its companion pieces out of the garage.”
The Subtle Art Of Literary Hoaxes
“In recent years, scholars have begun pursuing a more nuanced approach to discussing literary hoaxes than the knee-jerk disgruntlement of a reader scorned. Instead, literary scholars like Ohio State University professor Brian McHale and the Australian critic K.K. Ruthven are concentrating on the productive and beautifully unpredictable effects of hoaxing. Are all hoaxes the same? Should they all be judged by the same ethical standards? Do some hoaxes rise above being trifling pranks or bogus facsimiles to become serious acts of cultural criticism? What of an author’s intentions?”
A Seismic Shift In Entertainment
There are fundamental changes taking place in the ways we’re getting our entertainment. “We are our own entertainment navigators now. We don’t need a middle man to figure out and present entertainment for us. We can create entertainment ourselves. That’s not a fad — that’s a fundamental shift. We are our own directors and our own producers now. That’s especially becoming a reality in home entertainment. We now can get a comparable moviegoing experience — quality picture and surround-sound effects — without going to the theater.”
Anne Landers On Stage
A new play about Anne Landers makes its debut, but the stars aren’t the actors. “It’s the darn letters. Many of the famous ones are here: ‘Would it be possible for me to be buried in my 1937 Dodge instead of a casket?’ ‘I like to do my housework with no clothes on. . . . ‘ What could be more apt? Such is the dirty little secret of the advice biz. Pick the letters well, stick ’em in print, and people will flock to the column. After all, nothing is more soothing for the ego than reading about someone else’s crisis. Oprah Winfrey and her post-Landers ilk, you could argue, merely take those Ann Landers-type letter writers and stick a camera in their faces.”
Art Of Random Selection
A couple of big festivals – one carefully chooses what art gets in as recommended by a jury. The other throws names into a hat and it’s luck of the draw. It’s not that one way is about quality and the other isn’t. “The thinking is that a nonjuried show is the one place where everyone has an equal opportunity. The other thinking is that this is supposed to be something that gets away from this tradition of sitting back with arms folded and judging something based on its quality.”
Seattle Radio For Pod People
A really unusual radio station that’s prospering? “Seattle’s 720-watt KEXP, partly funded by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen, last month became the first station in the U.S. to offer a “podcast” of full-length songs from albums for Apple Computer Inc.’s iPod music players. Podcasts typically are free broadcasts delivered via the Web to computers, allowing users to transfer the digital audio and listen anytime. In the next few weeks, KEXP says it will become the first to make its live radio broadcasts suitable for cellphones and handheld organizers.”