“For a start, there’s no orchestra. The singers are accompanied only by marimbas.” The company, “recruited from all over South Africa, they are distinguished by two things: musical talent and poverty.”
Tag: 11.15.07
Dutch Police Arrest Teen For Stealing Virtual Furniture
He was playing a game in a virtual world. “The 17-year-old allegedly stole $5,800 worth of imaginary furniture. Real police arrested him. They suspect other teens of receiving the stolen goods.”
Great Mailer’s Ghost Hovers Over National Book Awards
“Throughout the evening, tales of Norman Mailer continued to surface. Accepting the poetry award, Hass described his first poetry reading. “It was at Norman Mailer’s house,” he said, to surprised laughter, “he had a group of young poets over to read. It was the most terrifying experience of my life.”
Protesting “Libel Tourism”
An author defends against what she calls “libel tourism,” a “chilling effect” of the English law of libel and its use by wealthy “foreign tourists”. She’s got the support of organisations that represent a majority of the world’s media.
Colleges Decides To Write/Sell Its Own Textbooks
“The result, in what could be the first institution-wide initiative of its kind, will be a savings to students of up to 50 percent, the college estimates, as well as a savings of time to faculty, who often find themselves revising course materials to keep pace with continuously updated editions.”
TV Strike Makes People Read More?
A full 42 percent of Americans said that “if the networks have to resort to reruns to fill their schedules they would read more. Interestingly, the study says, women were more likely than men to pretend, er, answer that they would read more if the TV landscape becomes littered with repeat programming.”
Artwork About Art Donations Raises Questions
“An installation at the New Museum intended to chart the dollar amounts given to cultural projects in 2006 by a variety of entities, including corporations such as Ikea and Target, is raising questions about the accuracy of the information used.”
Vonnegut Tops Mailer, Styron In Popularity
“While Vonnegut’s passing last April led to a significant jump in sales for his books, the change was far smaller for the works of Mailer and Styron, both of whom, unlike Vonnegut, won Pulitzer Prizes. Books by all three writers are still used in classrooms, but Vonnegut’s are read more both on and off campus.”
Congressman Urges FCC To Delay Media Ownership Regs
“Amending media ownership regulations, including a rule that has been on the books for more than three decades, is a grave matter that deserves the Commission’s full and fair consideration,”
Steinway, Wyeth, Paul To Get Arts Medals
“Les Paul, the guitar innovator; Henry Ziegler Steinway, whose family handcrafted thousands of pianos; and Andrew Wyeth, the master painter of American scenes, will receive the National Medal of Arts today.”