Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”, one of the most covered songs of the last two decades, has been chosen as the winner’s song for this year’s edition of “X Factor,” the UK answer to “American Idol.” It seems an odd choice: “While it’s not like they’ve chosen Nirvana’s Rape Me, it still seems a bit odd that [the show’s producers] would choose a Biblical-referencing song about David shagging Bathsheba.”
Author: sbergman
A French Art Oasis In The Midst of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s ruling family keeps a fairly tight grip on society, and one result is a chilling effect on artistic freedoms in a country that holds to strict Sharia law. Things have been improving for artists, though, and the French Embassy in Riyadh has become an important site for art shows that might not pass muster on Saudi soil.
Bollywood Reacts To Mumbai Tragedy
Indian movie stars are speaking out against the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, where Bollywood is based. “My pain has been the sight and plight of my innocent and vulnerable and completely insecure countrymen, facing the wrath of this terror attack,” one action star wrote on his blog. “And my anger has been at the ineptitude of the authorities that have been ordained to look after us.”
Teen Lit, Without The Whole “Teen” Thing
Author M.T. Anderson doesn’t buy the notion that literature aimed at teen readers should be less sophisticated than books meant for adults. “Anderson’s attitude helps explain Octavian Nothing, an ultra-challenging, two-volume young-adult novel that runs 900-plus pages and asks teen readers to contemplate the American Revolution from a wildly unfamiliar point of view.”
William Gibson, 94
“William Gibson, a playwright who had a gift for creating strong, popular female characters and wrote The Miracle Worker, died on Tuesday in Stockbridge, Mass. He was 94.”
The Obama Effect: Hollywod Edition
Will the election of Barack Obama have an effect on the way Hollywood casts movies and TV shows? “After years of ensemble dramas sprinkled with nonwhite supporting actors, the excitement surrounding the election… could help to open doors for more minorities in leading dramatic roles, executives from television production studios said.”
A French Cultural Legend Reaches The Century Mark
“Claude Lévi-Strauss, who altered the way Westerners look at other civilizations, turned 100 on Friday, and France celebrated with films, lectures and free admission to the museum he inspired, the Musée du Quai Branly.”
Don’t Want To Preserve It? Knock It Down Faster.
In New York, preservationists are fuming over what has become a pattern of behavior among those who view preservation as an impediment. “A property owner… is notified by the landmarks commission that its building or the neighborhood is being considered for landmark status. The owner then rushes to obtain a demolition or stripping permit from the city’s Department of Buildings so that notable qualities can be removed, rendering the structure unworthy of protection.”
Getting Noticed
For aspiring opera singers, it can be a very tough road to the front of the stage. “Auditions are tense business. Singers dressed to the nines, lugging the omnipresent water bottles, are ushered into a rehearsal hall to face” judges who have little mercy, and few spots to fill.
The International Art Bust Comes To Canada
“Paintings by some of Canada’s most venerated artists – among them Tom Thomson, Emily Carr, Jean-Paul Lemieux and A.Y. Jackson – failed to find buyers Tuesday night at the Joyner Waddington’s auction in Toronto.”