Sex and Character by Otto Weininger, published in 1903 has had an outsized influence. It is a weird and great book. “The appearance next month of a definitive English translation, published by Indiana University Press, is a major cultural event — one that is, arguably, at least several decades overdue.”
Tag: 03.15.05
Chicago Pub Radio To Grow Muscles
Chicago Public Radio plans a major expansion of programming. It will “operate two full-time services, turning WBEZ into a 24-hour news and talk station and launching a second 24-hour format of music programming. The ambitious plan, which has been approved by the non-profit station’s governing body, would end the “split personality” that has plagued WBEZ throughout most of its 63-year existence. It now airs 16 hours a day of public affairs (encompassing news, talk, arts, culture and National Public Radio information programming) and eight hours a day of music (mostly jazz during evening and overnight hours).”
Bollywood Actor Caught In Sex-For-Career Sting
“Indian film makers called on Tuesday for a ban on actor Shakti Kapoor after he was filmed offering a woman help with her acting career in exchange for sex and later implying the practice was common.”
State Of The Movie Biz
Movie industry officials say the US movie industry is healthy. “2004’s U.S. and Canadian ticket sales reached $9.54 billion, marking the third straight year they topped $9 billion. Admissions in the United States and Canada, or the number of people purchasing tickets, dipped slightly to 1.54 billion, but 2004 was the third consecutive year admissions topped 1.5 billion — a number unseen since 1959. ‘The bottom line is the industry is healthy. It’s not radical growth, but the trends are positive’.”
Sydney Dance Company On the Edge
The Sydney Dance Company is on the verge of insolvency, and the company is fighting to save the jobs of half its dancers. The current deficit is more than $600,000 on an annual budget of only $1.56 million. “Unless new funding arrangements are secured in the next two weeks, its board will have to decide whether the company can continue.”
Seattle’s Theatre Scene Wilting
While Seattle’s ACT Theatre has had well-publicized financial problems, “Intiman, Seattle’s other midsize theater, has been fighting for its life in private. It has an accumulated deficit of $800,000 and expects to add $150,000 to that this year. This midlevel crunch is the most dire sign of contraction in a theater scene once hailed among the nation’s most promising. The bedrock formed decades ago is showing serious cracks beneath the top layer. ‘We’re not seeing this as a mecca of theater anymore. We’re losing our ability to keep master artists in the community. I see very few actors coming’.”
Church Speaks Out Against Da Vinci Code
The Catholic Church in Italy has spoken out against The Da Vinci Code. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Archbishop of Genoa and a possible successor to the Pope, plans a series of debates on issues raised by the novel. “It astonishes and worries me that so many people believe these lies. The book is everywhere. There is a very real risk that many people who read it will believe that the fables it contains are true.”
LA County Museum To Expand
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has announced a $156 million expansion. “About $130 million will be spent for the first phase of the project, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, to expand, upgrade and unify the sprawling facility.”
Montreal Orchestra Tensions Rise
“The management of L’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal saw red over the weekend, saying that unless the players stop wearing red union T-shirts on stage, cancellation of four concerts with music director-designate Kent Nagano later this month “may be inevitable.”
Opera And The Newbies
A group of people goes to the opera for the first time. And what do they think? A few don’t make it past the intermission at Covent Garden. But one: “You can put this in your piece: I was moved to tears and I’ve just signed up to become a member. That should tell you how much I enjoyed it. It was the best thing I ever did.”