TV is bad for you, right? Or is it? “Critics ceaselessly point out television’s alleged faults. The growing girth of the nation is blamed on it; increased violence; higher levels of teen sexual activity; and finally, we are assured, the idiot box is generally dumbing us all down. But we have plenty of reasons to doubt that bill of indictment on television.”
Tag: 12.29.04
The Mystery Of Bunuel’s Ashes
Where are the ashes of Luis Buñuel? The mystery is as surreal as the surrealist film maker’s life…
Cleveland Institute Gets Into The Radio Game
The Cleveland Institute of Music is launching a new weekly radio show on WCLV. ‘Each show will explore the work of an artist or delve into a musical topic in-depth. CIM described the series in a news release as a combination of great music, interesting guests and slightly off-the-wall commentary.”
Standards About Sex (On European TV)
In general, Europeans think American attitudes about sex in media are a bit uptight. But Europeans are themselves having some debates about what standards ought to be set for what is seen on TV…
Big Brains At Warp Speed
The human brain was not a gradual product of evolution, says a new study. The new research suggests that “humans evolved their cognitive abilities not owing to a few sporadic and accidental genetic mutations – as is the usual way with traits in living things – but rather from an enormous number of mutations in a short period of time, acquired though an intense selection process favouring complex cognitive abilities.”
Broadway’s Boffo 2004 Box Office
Broadway had a healthy year at the box office in 2004. Productions took $748.9 million, up from $725.4 million the previous year. One of the big reasons: “Overseas tourists are now back at the same numbers as they were prior to September 11. Overseas visitors accounted for 12% of ticket sales, double that of last year.
Steinbeck’s Hometown Shuts Libraries
John Steinbeck’s hometown of Salinas, California has decided to close down its libraries. “Earlier this month, council voted to shut down its three libraries by spring 2005, after residents rejected in November a number of tax increases aimed at funding city services.”
The Intellectual As Superstar
Susan Sontag was that rarest of modern intellectuals, a deep thinker who had no qualms about embracing the 20th century’s often superficial definition of fame. Sontag “had the gift of fame, which is to say she possessed charisma, which may be why she ended up being called overrated, the fate of charismatic people. I had read more about her than by her.”
New York’s Aesthetics Czar
The directorship of New York’s City Planning Department is not ordinarily a high-profile position, but Amanda Burden is taking a stab at making it one. “She has not only repeatedly sent architects back to the drawing board, but also spurred commercial development in once-dormant neighborhoods… Compared with a Robert Moses, the think-big public works czar who imposed a sweeping vision on highways and parks across the city from the 1930’s to the 60’s, Ms. Burden might be considered an aesthetic watchdog,” imposing an unfamiliar discipline on development projects in a city whose style has always been “bigger, not better.”
Cooperation = Success
Canadian museums have been struggling in recent years to create exhibitions that will both generate an immediate buzz and have the longevity to make their mounting worthwhile financially. In 2004, a number of major exhibitions hit the mark, and the key to future successes may be in the trans-Atlantic partnerships which were forged this year. By joining forces with European institutions, Canadian museums “were able to split the costs of research and development of the loan list, the shipping, the catalogue production and a host of other costs that could have sunk the exhibition.”