“Carrying debt during turbulent economic times continues to cloud the financial picture for the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, which on Tuesday saw Standard & Poor’s Financial Services downgrade the investment outlook on its $232.5 million in construction bonds from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’.”
Tag: 03.10.11
The Delicate Matter of English Verb Tenses (and Aspects)
“‘I smoke,’ for example (simple present), has different implications from ‘I am smoking’ (progressive present) or ‘I do smoke’ (intensive present). All those are present tenses. And so is ‘I have smoked.’ … If you say ‘I have smoked,’ it refers to your present state – you are now in the state of having smoked.”
New York’s Latest Publishing Technology Is (At Least) 500 Years Old
“In the brave new era of digital self-publishing, an unknown mystery writer in New York is managing to make headlines for him or herself by using a form of technology in use since Martin Luther’s 95 Theses were posted on the door of a Wittenberg church in 1517. Pages of a novel entitled Holy Crap are being plastered on lampposts up and down Manhattan’s East Village – helpfully numbered, and with directions as to where to find the next instalment.”
The Auteur Who Hates Having His Film Called ‘Accessible’
Denis Côté: “That word was created by TIFF programmer Martin Bilodeau. He wrote it in the catalogue and it seems to be following me everywhere. What does accessible mean? I’ve made five films since 2005 and three were partly improvised and made in 10 days.”
Private Feelings, Public Art (Hmnnn)
“It seems a misunderstanding of public art to place decisive emphasis on the private feelings of one group, however potent their victimhood.”
Mapping British English Against US English (There Are Differences, You Know)
“It is a pronunciation that is changing in the UK but not in America. It is good evidence to show that British English is diverging from American English, and scotches the myth that we’re all sounding more like Americans. It seems British English speakers are changing the way they speak and Americans aren’t.”
What Accounts For The Executive Carnage At NPR?
What makes the executive culture at nonprofit NPR so murderous? There are as many bodies on display here as in a production of Hamlet. Would you apply for one of these high-level jobs after witnessing the carnage?
Philip Glass At 74
It is that companionable aspect of Glass that has no doubt been most responsible for the trajectory of his career. One of the founders of hard-core, anti-establishment Minimalism in the 1960s, the 74-year-old composer has entered the mainstream, be it big-box opera, big-budget movies or, the ultimate pop-culture accolade, having your style ripped off by television commercials.
Are There Alternatives To Public Funding For Public Broadcasting?
If it comes to a final vote on funding, supporters should at least move to bifurcate the question and have lawmakers vote separately on public support of the troubled mother ship and on public support for local affiliates. I suspect it would be much harder for even budget hard-liners to vote against their local public radio and TV stations.
Egyptian Treasures Being Left Unprotected
In the past few weeks, looters have removed inscribed blocks from tombs at Saqqara, Giza and Abusir, and even tried to cut into pieces a colossal red granite statue of the 19th Dynasty king Ramesses II at the southern quarry of Aswan.