Mamma Worldwide

The ABBA compilation musical “Mamma Mia” has become a global phenomenon. There are now “11 productions in six languages around the world. The show has grossed more than $1.4 billion since it opened in London in April, 1999, and some 24 million people have seen it.”

Bush Declares War On Porn

“The Administration has launched a broad assault on sexual content that targets the entertainment industry from Hollywood producers to hotels. The offensive includes creation of a Justice Dept. Obscenity Prosecution Task Force and an anti-porn squad at the FBI, a crackdown on indecent programming by the new Federal Communications Commission chairman, and a wave of indecency legislation. The push aims to pressure companies involved in films such as Wedding Crashers, TV shows such as Hot Properties and Nip/Tuck, and soft-core cable porn to tone down or face a backlash. But while Christian conservatives cheer, business is gearing up to take on the Smut Squad.”

Robert Louis Stevenson, Composer

Turns out that Scotland’s celebrated author Robert Louis Stevenson was also a composer. “Members of the Edinburgh-based Robert Louis Stevenson Club have been presented with the jaunty piece, titled Aberlady Links, and have now had it recorded for the first time. The short composition, thought to be the only one Stevenson invented, was written in Samoa, where he died, for flageolet – a traditional recorder.”