Tag: 12.02.04

Lord Of The (Copyright) Jungle

“Edgar Rice Burroughs Incorporated, the estate of Tarzan’s creator, has demanded that Victoria University Press stop selling copies of the humorous novel Tarzan Presley. Written by New Zealander Nigel Cox, it tells the story of Presley ‘raised by gorillas in the wild jungles of New Zealand, scarred in battles with vicious giant wetas, seduced by a beautiful young scientist’ who gets a record deal with Elvis Presley’s producer and has 30 No 1 hits.”

Winnipeg Royalty Storms LA

Winnipeg’s Royal Art Lodge is an artist collective that’s getting some big traction outside the Coldest City In The World. “Usually one artist will start a drawing, throw it in a pile, and then others contribute, amend, appropriate, thus embarking on an ongoing dialogue until either a work reveals itself or is appropriately disposed of. ‘At the beginning of a meeting, I generally like to start drawings or paintings and then later on when my mind is working better I switch to finishing them. For me, there’s definitely more satisfaction in finishing. The works develop in a lot of different ways, but usually it is a lot easier to start a work than to finish one’.”

Ah, The Writing Life (What Life?)

“There are many pitfalls in a literary career, including convincing folks you have one. Writers, like Pavlov’s dogs, actually do learn, and after jettisoning all that romantic baggage that books are about what’s between the pages, they see with clear eyes the genius of the marketplace. The book business has never been more about moving units, though hawking novels, even the big ones, can be much harder than selling wet dog turds.”

Buenos Aries Regains Its Groove

Buenos Aries had one of the world’s great cultural scenes in the 1960s and 70s, seemingly pointing to better times ahead. “But the world did not take the turn they were all expecting for it to take. The times that followed were hard and painful. Dreams were trashed by the world’s powerful. The following decades to this cultural impasse can be described as the entering into the system’s main flow of mass production and consumption.” Now there are signs that Buenos Aries is regaining its groove.

Milwaukee Symphony Posts Another Deficit

The Milwaukee Symphony had another bad financial year. The orchestra reports an “operating deficit of $2.9 million and a $169,000 decline in ticket revenue for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31. The accumulated debt now stands at $9.8 million. It could have been worse. The orchestra was projecting a $3.5 million operating deficit last January,” but office staff was reduced by 17 positions, about 30%, to save the bulk of the $600,000 difference.

A Loss For Copyright Challenge

Internet archivists have lost a case in American courts challenging recent copyright laws. “”The plaintiffs claim that removing registration and renewal requirements and expanding the term of copyright have made it virtually impossible for works to enter the public domain. Now, out-of-print albums and books — many of which are not commercially viable — are simply rotting away unused, but are still protected by copyright.” The activists promise to appeal.

What Audiences Saw What In Australia Last Year

“A report released by the Australia Council shows the Melbourne Theatre Company topping the list of the 10 biggest ticket-sellers in 2003, with 322,000 tickets sold. Opera Australia came second, with 284,000 tickets, and the Sydney Theatre Company third, with 274,000. Last year’s report on 2002 ticket sales had Opera Australia at the top of the list, with 263,000, and the MTC second with 251,000.”