Two men have convicted of illegal music filesharing in the UK. They are the first to be charged in Britain. “High Court judges ordered two men to pay the British Phonographic Industry between £1,500 and £5,000 for making thousands of songs available online.”
Tag: 01.27.06
The Sundance Disconnection
“To appreciate the Sundance Film Festival, 10 days winding up Sunday, as it is, you must embrace its contradictions. Here, the most high-minded artistic and moral aspirations coexist with hype, corporate self-congratulation and a ravening hunger for money and attention. All the values and pathologies that define the movie industry, — and perhaps American culture in general — are concentrated into a bitter, dizzying espresso shot.”
TV Without The TV… A Good Idea?
” ‘TV on demand’ is a hot new buzzword. Between iTunes, digital video recorders like TiVo, cellphones and PDAs that play movies, and countless streaming options over the Internet, it’s becoming a reality, wresting the power of TV programming from network executives, putting it squarely in viewers’ hands. Consuming TV shows in this way takes a bit of effort, as it turns out.”
Anonymous Buyer Goes Dutch (BIG Dutch) At Sotheby’s
An anonymous buyer goes on a spending binge at Sotheby’s Thursday, spending “$4.27 million for a much-watched Rembrandt portrait and another $1.87 million for a Jan Steen and a Gerrit Dou.”
Marilyn Horne Fights Cancer
Last month, Ms. Horne, 72, was immersed in preparations for the yearly festival when, as she explained recently, she was “blindsided” by the news of her illness. “I heard the words ‘pancreatic cancer’ and thought the worst, as most people do,” she said. “But I’m taking a drug that was approved just this November. It’s the latest treatment, and I have a very hopeful situation.