The sale of print books over Christmas was the strongest in over three years, signalling a fightback against digital ‘ebooks’.
Category: today’s top story
Brazilian Conductor Beaten By Spanish Police In Alleged Racial Incident
Israel de França, a violinist in Granada’s main orchestra and a local conductor, alleges that he and a (white) friend were sitting in a Granada bar on Dec. 23 when he was detained by city police and beaten. The police department maintains that the bar’s owner called them about two patrons arguing noisily and that they addressed the situation without violence.
Why English Spelling Is So Difficult
“Why is English spelling such a tangle? It all started when Latin-speaking missionaries arrived in Britain in the 6th century without enough letters in their alphabet.”
Charles Durning, 89, King Of The Character Actors
Renowned for “his ability to inhabit almost any role, from everyday workingman to politician to priest, … [he] appeared in almost 200 movies, countless television shows and dozens of plays, portraying a range of characters from Shakespearean fools to crooked cops to military veterans haunted by the past.”
Composer Richard Rodney Bennett, 76
“Over the course of a distinguished career he has been equally at home writing music for the concert hall and performing cabaret at the Algonquin Hotel; as enthusiastic about Cole Porter as Pierre Boulez.”
California Taxpayers Don’t Go For Money For The Arts
“The state law that added the grant-making Arts Council to the mix for the two years specified that the box would vanish if the option didn’t bring in at least $250,000 from tax returns filed for the 2011 tax year.” And that’s not going to happen.
Vandals Destroy 35 Sculptures In Washington State Art Park
“An overnight vandalism attack devastated at least 35 sculptures at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center. The sculptures in Webster’s Woods, a 5-acre outdoor art park, were broken or pulled from their stands.”
La Scala Ballet Strike: Dancers Back Down, But Chorus Forces Cancellation
The corps de ballet members who were demanding hazard pay for performing on a stage with a 10-degree rake withdrew their strike threat at the last minute, but the choristers – who insist on extra money for memorizing their music and moving in time (the way they do for opera) – continued their walkout, forcing cancellation of the ballet season’s opening night.
La Scala Ballet Dancers Declare Strike Over Raked Stage
“The heavily unionised dancers are fighting the use in a production of Romeo and Juliet … of a stage with a 10-degree slope which they say gives them backache, while chorus members are refusing to obey the choreographer’s request that they move in time to the music.”
Ohio Drama Teacher Fired Over Legally Blonde Musical
“A high school production of the musical Legally Blonde in [suburban Cincinnati] has been deemed by administrators to be inappropriate for its audiences, resulting in the apparent dismissal of a drama teacher.”