“Authorities in Italy suspect that up to 100 treasures from ancient Rome were looted and have asked the Japanese government to help secure their return.”
Tag: 01.11.07
Why Do We Care So Much About Plagiarism?
“Our distaste for plagiarism is usually framed in terms of our affection for originality. Obviously, originality does have something to do with all the fuss: Most of us expect writers–especially novelists and poets–to have a distinctive voice and literary style. But the rhetoric of creative originality doesn’t fully explain our preoccupation with footnoting and credit–or the recent accusations.”
Wanted: A Culture Of Philanthropy
“There are enormous differences in culture, structure and attitude between Great Britain and the United States regarding philanthropy. If the government wishes to encourage a more active culture of giving in this country, it should study these differences – particularly as a new generation of wealthy donors in England is now seeking to leave its mark on the public sphere.”
Stepping Out
“The mainstream rarely has heard of stepping. It’s a real subculture in the sense of the American psyche.”
Study: Violence On TV Is Epidemic
“The study by the Parents Television Council, titled ‘Dying to Entertain,’ said the 2005-06 season was the most violent since the group began tracking the issue in 1998. There were an average of 4.41 violent incidents each prime-time hour last season, based on the group’s analysis of the first two weeks of the ratings sweeps periods.”
Christie’s Sales Soar in 2006
Christie’s says its auction sales were up 36 percent last year to $4.7 billion. “Christie’s and its rival Sotheby’s are benefiting from low interest rates and a 10-year trebling of contemporary prices that have made art an attractive investment for billionaires from Ronald Lauder in the U.S. to Hong Kong’s Joseph Lau. Sellers have been lured with promises of benefits such as minimum prices.”
Cuban Intellectuals Protest Officials’ Return
“Recent public appearances by three former Cuban officials linked to harsh political purges in the cultural sector during the 1960s and ’70s has aroused the ire of some of the island’s intellectuals and artists.”
DC Area’s Signature Theatre Gets A New Home
For years, the Washington-area’s Signature Theatre has performed “in a retrofitted bumper-plating factory, on a solitary strip in Arlington.” The company has “won national recognition, particularly for its revivals of the musical works of Stephen Sondheim. It’s also done original plays and won critical acclaim for productions of work by Cameron Mackintosh and Terrance McNally.”
Carter Center Advisors Resign To Protest Book
Fourteen board members of Jimmy Carter’s human rights group have resigned to protest Carter’s new book. “The resignations at the Carter Center are the latest backlash against the former president’s book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” The book has also drawn fire from Jewish groups and fellow Democrats, and led to the resignation last month of Kenneth Stein, a center fellow and a longtime Carter adviser.”
Survivor – An Online Book Contest
The ‘First Chapters’ contest seeks aspiring first-time authors and members of www.gather.com to post manuscripts on the social-networking Web site. “If online readers like the manuscript’s first chapter, the author is voted through to the next round. Two more chapters are posted and the public narrows the field in the same fashion.”