Among them: “Sherlock Holmes’s first screen appearance in 1914’s A Study in Scarlet; the first HG Wells science fiction film, The First Men in the Moon (1919); and The Last Post, made by Dinah Shurey…, who sued Film Weekly over a column suggesting the movie made it ‘pathetically obvious’ that women could not direct (she was awarded £500 damages).”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Classical Nerds, Rejoice! BBC Proms Archive Goes Online
“As well as the statistician’s joy in finding how many performances there have been of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony (56), Bruckner’s Ninth (15), of Ligeti’s Requiem (er, one),” the archive provides “a historical cross-section of how tastes have changed over more than a century of Proms-going, and how concert formats have transformed.”
Cautiously, Scholastic Translates Kids’ Books Into Arabic
“The education ministers, who came from Bahrain, Lebanon and Jordan, drew up a list of 27 ‘no-nos,'” a Scholastic VP explained. “‘No dogs, no pigs, no boys and girls touching, no magic,’ she said, naming a few. They liked values and talk of honesty and cooperation among children,” but not “overly independent children or religion.”
The Hidden Cost Of Slashing Library Budgets
“We won’t miss a third of our librarians and branch libraries the way we’d miss a third of our firefighters and firehouses, the rationale goes … but I wonder.”
It’s Summer 2010, So The Kids Must Be At Glee Camp
“Inspired by the overwhelming popularity of the musical comedy-drama on the Fox network, dozens of theater groups and arts organizations in Chicago and across the country have created ‘Glee’ summer camps for kids using music and choreography from the hit show. ‘Glee’ camps have formed in North Carolina, Florida, Arizona, Indiana and Utah.”
What Makes A Patriotic Song?
“Such songs speak to us as only music can, evoking feelings of national fervor despite — or perhaps because of — their sometimes commonplace-to-cornball lyrics. It’s no coincidence that patriotic music has accompanied virtually every war the U.S. has been involved in, save perhaps for the Afghan conflict.”
In Major Orchestras, Many Prime Job Openings
“Next season the New York Philharmonic will have a rare 12 openings, or roughly 12 percent of its instrumental work force, thanks to a confluence of retirements, departures for better jobs and long-unfilled positions. The Boston Symphony Orchestra has 10 vacancies, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra 9, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic 7.” They’re not alone.
Director Israel Hicks Dies At 66
The artistic director of the Ebony Theatre in Los Angeles, “Hicks made history with the Denver Center Theatre Company in 2009, when he became the first director anywhere to helm August Wilson’s entire 10-play, 10-decade exploration of the black experience in America for the same theater company.”
Paperless Tickets Are More Convenient For Whom, Exactly?
“Since a paperless ticket buyer has to show up at the door at the same time as the rest of his or her party, it’s almost impossible for a grandma living at one end of the country to buy a paperless ticket as gift for a grandchild living at the other end.” And groups “can be shut out if the person who bought the tickets on the group’s behalf fails to show up for some reason.”
Edward Albee At His Crotchety Best
Q: Which artists do you most admire?
A: Good ones.
Q: Would you like to give any examples?
A: Nope. They know who they are.