“Photographs obtained by The Independent reveal how workers with drills and mechanical diggers have started demolishing some Ottoman and Abbasid sections on the eastern side of the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. … One column which is believed to have been ripped down is supposed to mark the spot where Muslims believe Muhammad began his heavenly journey on a winged horse.”
Tag: 03.15.13
Which Came First, The Pedestrian Or The Liberal?
“Could it be that those who chiefly experience the world around them by car simply don’t think the same as those who get around by foot? In other words, do sidewalks actually produce Democrats?”
The Decline Of The American Alt-Weekly
“Like its daily newspaper counterpart, the alt-weekly has enjoyed a terrible half-decade of plummeting revenues, circulation and page counts in the 100-plus markets currently served.”
My Book Cracked The Amazon Bestseller List – So Why Didn’t I Make More Money?
“In the end, I bought my wife a pretty dress to say thank you for putting up with me and my fiscally idiotic quest to write books. I also did the most rock star thing imaginable for a stay-at-home-dad/recipient-of-a-famous-cease-and-desist: I used the money to send my kid to daycare two days a week so I can have more time to write.”
The Copyright Law That Imperils Preserving Our Cultural Heritage
“Just as DRM-based copy protection prevents unauthorized users from making copies of digital goods, it also prevents cultural institutions from making copies for archival purposes. Every encrypted cultural work is locked, and to get the key, you have to pay the content owner.”
What Do You Think Happens To All That Art Donated To Museums That Never Gets Seen?
“In virtually all cases, families with such heirlooms would be better off passing them on to family heirs or selling them. (Donate the cash to the museum and save a lot of trouble for everyone!) Many buyers would be thrilled to have the not-quite-museum-quality art on their living room walls. At least it would be seen.”
Nashville Symphony Will Default On Loan Used To Build Its Home
“This week, the organization took an unusual step that will trigger a technical default on $102 million in bonds that were used to build Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the state-of-the-art performance hall that opened in downtown Nashville in 2006.”
Is The Way We Staff The Arts All Wrong?
“For a ‘creative’ industry such as the culture sector, we have very uncreative workplaces. Many of our organisations have high core costs because they employ a lot of people in large offices with high overheads.”
We Built This Civilization On … Hops?
“We needed something that, on occasion, would let us break free from our biological herd imperative — or at least let us suppress our angst when we did. We needed beer.”
Everywhere He Looks, He Sees A Playground
“Peter Heuken sees a hillside and thinks of a slide. He spots a stand of trees and envisions a climbing forest. A bridge, to him, looks like a perfect place to hang a swing.” But, says the architect, it’s not all child’s play: “Creativity is hard work.”