“A picture emerges of a crisis that began on November 29, when in the course of a performance for a class taught by visiting instructor Ron Athey, a graduate student entered a classroom at UCLA’s Warner building where roughly thirty other students were gathered. The student, wearing a coat and tie, produced either a gun or a convincing replica of one, put what looked like a bullet into the weapon, spun the cylinder, and held it to his head, Russian-roulette style. He pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire. The student then left the room; while he was out of view, a shot was heard, at which point he returned, now apparently unarmed.”
Tag: 01.20.05
The Next Superstar Violinist/Supermodel/Spokesperson?
Seventeen-year-old violinist Nicola Benedetti is about to become a household name and one of the highest-paid performers of her generation after agreeing a £1 million-plus, six-album record deal with Universal. Last May she became the first Scot to win the BBC Young Musician of the Year award. “Between modelling, advertising and other personal appearances, she has been booked for a series of UK and US performances this year.”
The DVD Wars (Coming Soon To A Player Near You)
The next generation of DVDs will set off a war in your player. “The advent of Blu-ray and HD DVD may give rise to a format war reminiscent of the Betamax-VHS contest in the early days of videocassette recorders. At stake are potentially billions of dollars in hardware and discs as the demand for high-definition content grows.”
Victorian Sci Fi That Accurately Predicted The Future
A little-known Victorian book book of science fiction published in 1892 appears to have predicted many of the technological advances that in fact happened. “Entitled Golf in the Year 2000 or What Are We Coming To, it follows the tale of avid 19th-century golfer Alexander J Gibson, who falls into a deep sleep on 24 March 1892 and wakes up Rip Van Winkle-style on 25 March 2000 to find a world transformed. Television, superfast trains, digital watches and female emancipation are all predicted in the tale, which envisages a world of leisure where golf is paramount.”
Will Casting Agents Strike Shut Down Hollywood?
“America’s 500-or-so casting directors and associates—the unsung people-brokers who select actors for a film’s director or producer—are threatening to strike if the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) refuses to grant them union recognition and health and pension benefits.”
China Online – More Netizens Than US?
Within three years China will have more internet users than the US. “China’s net users number 100m but this represents less than 8% of the country’s 1.3 billion people. Market analysts Panlogic predicts that net users in China will exceed the 137 million US users of the net by 2008.”
A Drink A Day…
… helps keep you mentally sharp. At least, that’s what a new study suggests. Researchers found that women between the ages of 70 and 81 “who had the equivalent of one drink a day had a 23% lower risk of becoming mentally impaired during the two-year period, compared with non-drinkers. It made no significant difference whether they drank beer or wine.”
Washington Ballet Dancers Get To Vote On Union
The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that dancers of the Washington Ballet should be allowed to vote on whether to unionize. “In its decision, the NLRB rejected the company’s argument that the dancers were seasonal workers who could not unionize, noting that “the bulk of the dancers stay with the company multiple years.” The agency also found that two dancers/rehearsal assistants and two apprentices had the right to vote in the election. The company had argued that the rehearsal assistants were supervisors, and that the apprentices did not have a “community of interest” with other dancers.”
Dorian Goes Bust, May Liquidate
Dorian Recordings, one of the last record labels truly devoted to classical music, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this month, and things may be even worse than that bit of news would make it seem. “Typically, companies that file under the code plan to negotiate a settlement with their creditors, and continue to operate. But language in court documents suggests the classical recording label might be planning a liquidation, a move seen more frequently under a Chapter 7 filing.”
Paris Review Editor Out
The Paris Review is not renewing the contract of editor Brigid Hughes, who succeeded George Plimpton as the magazine’s top editor last January, four months after his death. “The resignation is a stunning development for the quarterly, which current and former employees say is struggling to adapt to a formal management structure and to being overseen by a board of directors that, for the first time, is trying to influence its editorial direction.”