New statistical research “reports a strong correlation within First World democracies between socioeconomic well-being and secularity. In short, prosperity is highest in societies where religion is practiced least. … Of particular note, the U.S. holds the distinction of most religious and least prosperous among the 17 countries included in the study.”
Tag: 11.24.09
Pompidou Centre Shut Down By Strike
“Staff at the Pompidou Centre decided Tuesday to extend their strike over planned job cuts at the Paris mecca of modern and contemporary art. Museum staff and security guards walked off the job on Monday and after meeting with aides to Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand, they decided against going back to work.”
Atlanta Ballet Names New Chief
“The Atlanta Ballet is set to announce its new executive director: Arthur Jacobus, former boss of Seattle’s Pacific Northwest Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet.”
When Humanities Researchers Study Thanksgiving
Miller-McCune “gather[s] together some of the more provocative papers of recent years, which are guaranteed to enliven the dinner table by providing fresh fodder for family squabbles.” (Sample finding: “The stuffed turkey represents the Native Americans, sacrificed and consumed in order to bring civilization to the New World.”)
Borders UK Stops Taking Orders
“Borders, which also has the Books Etc brand, was thought to be in discussions with rivals including Waterstone’s-owner HMV about selling the business, but concern is now growing that the retailer is on the brink of collapsing into administration.”
Google To Put Iraq National Museum Collection Online
“Some 15,000 artefacts and antiquities were stolen from the museum when it was ransacked after 2003 US-led invasion. … The museum, which only re-opened in February, nevertheless still holds countless relics from the Stone Age to the Babylonian, Assyrian and Islamic periods.”
As Online Sponsors, Advertisers Take Cue From The Past
Many webisodes “are being created specifically for advertisers, borrowing a strategy from the early days of radio and television when shows like ‘The Kraft Music Hall,’ ‘The Bell Telephone Hour,’ ‘Lux Radio Theater’ and ‘Schlitz Playhouse of Stars’ entertained Americans while selling cheese, phone service, soap and beer.”
Is This The Time For A Serial-Novel Renaissance?
“The potted history of the serial novel is well-documented, dating back to The Thousand and One Nights” — and, of course, Dickens. “So does the serial novel in 2009 feel anachronistic, or thoroughly modern – a way of reading literature facilitated by technology?”
Pittsburgh Libraries Get A Stay Of Execution
“Pittsburgh City Council yesterday gave its unanimous, initial approval to a transfer of $600,000 to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, a first step in avoiding, through next year, the closure of the Lawrenceville, Hazelwood, Beechview and West End branches and the merger of the Carrick and Knoxville branches.” But that’s only half of the needed funding.
North Shore Music Theatre Appears To Have A Buyer
The owner of Theatre by the Sea in Matunuck, R.I., has signed a purchase-and-sale agreement on the 54-year-old North Shore Music Theatre, whose financial troubles forced its closure in June. He says he’d like to “have a show sometime in the spring” but promises “major changes or else we’d end up the same way they did.”