“Broadcast television will have 16 gay and bisexual regular characters in prime-time series this fall, more than double the seven of a year ago, a new study has found.” Leading the network pack is Fox, with five regular LGTB characters.
Author: Matthew Westphal
The Jefferson-Hemings Web Was More Tangled Than We Thought
“Sally was not just an enslaved woman; she was the half-sister of Jefferson’s dead wife… Trained for highly skilled and sensitive jobs, the Hemingses were granted tremendous autonomy, living in circumstances almost unique for Virginia slaves.”
HBO Finally Comes to Canada
Couch potatoes who have complained that the award-winning cable network ‘ isn’t available north of the border will get their wish starting Oct. 30. HBO Canada will offer the full HBO slate of programs, including Big Love, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Real Time with Bill Maher as well as repbroadcasts of older hits like Oz, Da Ali G Show and Angels in America. (Yes, of course there will be Canadian content.)
Michael Moore Gives It Away, Totally Free (and Online Only)
America’s wealthiest agitpropster is releasing Slacker Uprising, a documentary of his 2004 anti-Bush college tour, as a free download. “I prohibited [my agent] from contacting any studios to ask them whether they were interested. I just said straight up, ‘I want to give this away for free.’ He thought I should have my head examined.’
Covent Garden Considers Second Home in Manchester
“It’s an open secret that Tony Hall, chief executive of the [Royal Opera House], and Howard Bernstein, CEO of Manchester city council, are talking about bringing Covent Garden to the city.”
Rebranding Gone Wild: London Underground Lets Artists Play with Logo
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the subway system’s famous circle-with-bar symbol, the Tube has commissioned 100 artists to design posters based on the iconic emblem.
Bilbao Gets Another Architectural Attraction
“Its gleaming, angular facade makes it look – at a glance – like an enormous, glass version of a mangled tin can. But… this reflective giant could be about to displace the Guggenheim Museum as Bilbao’s main tourist attraction. Visitors to the Basque city are taking time out to make the 10-minute walk from Frank Gehry’s emblematic building to take in not an art museum, but rather the distinctly less glamorous headquarters of the Basque health department.”
So Next We Should Expect a Bollywood Hanna Mun Taana?
“A court in the Indian capital Delhi has rejected a lawsuit filed by Hollywood company Warner Bros. against the makers of a Bollywood film [titled] Hari Puttar.”
Covent Garden to Offer Don Giovanni Online
“A performance of the masterpiece, filmed at London’s Covent Garden earlier this month, will be put on the Royal Opera’s new site on 5 October… Archive material includes first night cast lists going back to 1946. The website also features trailers, interviews with artists and documentary footage.”
Madison’s Overture Center Loses Endowment Fund to Wall Street Turmoil
“The fund, refinanced three years ago, was originally intended to produce enough income to pay off the building’s debt service as well as help fund its maintenance and operations. However, it failed to perform well in the volatile markets since Sept. 11, 2001 and reached the point at which the controlling banks said they would liquidate it this week.”