Let’s look at the used-book business. Since 1993 the used-book business has grown substantially. But “between 2000-2002, there was a 4.8% decrease in the number of open shops.” Why? Though the business continues to grow, the internet is accounting for more sales.
Tag: 01.03
Pocket Guide To The Intellectual Property Wars
Having trouble sorting through competing claims in the intellectual property wars? The Electronic Frontier Foundation issues a report called “Unintended Consequences” that documents the harm to the public interest since passage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in 1998. Among the documentation are examples of the chilling of free speech and scientific research, jeopardization of fair use, and the choking of competition and innovation.”
The New Yorker’s New Fiction Editor
Deborah Treisman has taken over as fiction editor of The New Yorker. So how is her style different from Bill Buford, who just left the job after nine years? “We—probably 80 percent of the time— agree. And so in those 20 percent of stories it feels as though there’s a different reason for each one. But it’s never that he likes men writers and I like women writers. We both are drawn to different things in different stories. So I’m sure that things will start to feel a little different. But I’m actually looking forward to finding out how. And also, you know, neither of us works alone. There’s a whole department and we do sit around and discuss things endlessly and argue about them.”
Curators – The Season Of Their Discontent
Curators are not a happy lot these days. Indeed, they’re “the embodiment of demoralization, resentment, anxiety, stress, and alienation over what was happening in his or her museum.” There is a mounting chorus of voices “articulating this critical disconnect in art museums. The gap is not necessarily between curators and their directors—though in some institutions that exists as well. Mostly the conflict is between the dramatically changing role of the art museum and the mounting pressures imposed by those changes on the people who have traditionally been the custodians, students, and interpreters of the art objects inside their institutions.”
Thoroughly Modern Jazz?
Is jazz “modern”? “There has been no systematic discussion of jazz as a branch of artistic modernism, and jazz’s own ‘modernity’ has for all intents and purposes been taken for granted.” A new book tries out definitions of modern jazz. Alfred Appel “believes that if modernism itself is to survive as an idiom of continuing interest, it will only be through the work of those artists who sought to be ‘accessible’ and ‘tonic’ rather than inaccessibly abstruse and hermetic, who drew their inspiration from vernacular culture, and who endeavored to speak not merely to the ‘insular, marginalized’ world of ‘enthusiastic fans’ but to a popular audience.”
Explaining The Younger Generation
The young-20s attitude is something of a puzzle to older people. “This generation created a new definition of ‘smart.’ Intelligence lies in one’s ability to spin pop-culture references in order to show how others have fallen prey to the media and are stupid. This cynical, reactionary response serves as a basis for ‘intelligent’ humor and entertainment. This construct validated our apathy because we felt smarter than the system and, thus, unmotivated to be a part of it. As media stories became more and more ridiculous and commercialism became more and more oppressive, this construct seemed to work. But, now, we are at war…” And we’re paralyzed.
Help Give California The Quarter It Deserves!
No kidding. The state of California is trying to choose a design for the quarter that will represent it in the American money supply. The Chair of the California Quarter Committee (again no kidding) has summoned help in choosing. The field of quarter designs has been narrowed to 20, and you can vote for the quarter of your dreams on the quarter website. Maybe it’ll be one of the eight – count ’em, eight – that depict the Golden Gate Bridge…
All Things Familiar – That Public Radio Sound
Why do the voices on National Public Radio sound so much alike? “If you listen to a lot of NPR, you realize how similar it all sounds: no matter who is talking, or what they’re talking about. There’s a simple reason for the homogeneity…
Architecture’s Wrong Turns And Faulty Values
Philip Langdon is angry about the current championing of architecture that puts people and context in subordinate roles. “Unfortunately, the spirit of the ’60s is returning in building design; the tragedy of architectural arrogance is now being replayed as farce. Across North America, a rash of anti-social architecture is erupting. Public participation in design decision-making has blocked some of the worst ideas, but alienating buildings are rising in significant numbers. Indeed, advocates of ‘progressive’ architecture proclaim many as instant landmarks, and portray their designers as stars.”
Changing The Complexion Of Symphony Orchestras
Symphony orchestras are overwhelmingly white. But a Detroit organization is trying encourage minority musicians with an annual competition “Since the Sphinx Organization was founded in 1996, its annual competition–the only nationwide classical music competition open exclusively to minority string players from junior high through college ages–has rewarded participants with cash prizes, scholarships, master classes, and instrument loans.”