Category: issues

Australian arts companies feared the Olympics would draw audiences away from their performances, but the opposite has proved true. Sydney’s arts audiences are booming. – Sydney Morning Herald 09/27/00

Artists are a hot commodity in London right now. Newspapers vie to put artists in their columns, and he or she who makes something outrageous is sure to get plenty of attention. But it’s all so very predictable… – New York Times 09/25/00 

in the trenches of the “culture wars” – where right-wing vigilantes once attacked theatres that put on “liberal” shows, ripping up their chairs and intimidating theatregoers – the political sea change has brought rebirth. Iranian films are increasingly winning plaudits and awards at international film festivals for their fresh treatment of humanist issues. – New Statesman 09/25/00

“How should an entertainment company balance the demands of profit-making versus good corporate citizenship? It’s no secret that we live in an era when the demands of Wall Street dominate entertainment company decision-making. The Oscars, Emmys and Grammys are a once-a-year gold medal for corporate responsibility. The rest of the year, we celebrate the corporate gunslingers who boost their company’s value – and we demand the heads of the losers who lag behind in profits.” – Los Angeles Times 09/25/00

A growing number of educators, child development experts, and doctors are beginning to speak out against early computer use, especially when coupled with regular television watching. Too much ‘screen time’ at a young age, they say, may actually undermine the development of the critical skills that kids need to become successful, diminishing creativity and imagination, motivation, attention spans, and the desire to persevere. – US News 09/25/00

Even in London’s current artboom, plans for redoing Southbank’s galleries and concert halls have hit yet another snag. “One famous architect after another has boldly set out to civilise its streaked concrete walkways and make sense of its flawed galleries and concert halls, only to see their schemes vanish without leaving so much as an oil slick on the Thames.” – The Observer (UK) 09/24/00

The German government proposes to initiate a fee on computer hardware makers that would be used to pay those whose intellectual property is distributed digitally. – IDG.net 09/24/00

Jean Kennedy Smith, the former U.S. ambassador to Ireland, is fined by the Justice Department for “soliciting a $1 million donation from the Irish prime minister to help fund a program at the Kennedy Center. Smith, who served as ambassador for five years and is a longtime member of the center’s board, violated a federal conflict-of-interest law by making the solicitation in August 1998, near the end of her appointment in Ireland.” – Washington Post 09/23/00

A small village in France ran out of room in its cemetery. So the mayor issued an edict: “It is forbidden for any person not in possession of a family vault to die on the village’s territory.” – Sydney Morning Herald 09/22/00

In Paris thousands roll through town once a week in an inline skate. The fad has spread to Amsterdam and now to London, where every Wednesday hundreds roll by Buckingham Palace with the now-traditional “Hi Queenie” greeting. – London Evening Standard