Abdul Rahim Muslim Dost says he wrote 25,000 lines of poetry while he was a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay. Now that he’s out, he wants it returned…
Tag: 04.04.06
A Sick Little Musical (We’ll Make It Better)
They’re making musicals about everything these days. Next up? How about Britain’s national Health Service? Really: “Featuring such toe-tapping numbers as The Morning Song of the Poor Hard-Pressed GP and The Great Hospital Sweepstake, NHS The Musical! is described as a “living autopsy” by its director.”
Fake Sheik Sentenced For Faux Rembrandt
A man who admitted posing as a Saudi sheik as part of a scheme to sell a fake Rembrandt painting for $2.8 million, was sentenced Tuesday to 10 months in confinement in St. Louis.
Netflix Takes Blockbuster To Court Over Online Biz
The online movie company Netflix is accusing Blockbuster of stealing its ideas. “The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, focuses largely on the online wish lists that prioritize the DVD desires of about 5.4 million people who subscribe to either Netflix or Blockbuster’s Internet service. Netflix also believes its patents cover perhaps its most popular feature — the option of renting a DVD for an unlimited time without incurring late fees.”
A Unique Time In Human History
“Late tonight — specifically, 123 seconds after 1:00 a.m. — the time and date, for the first time in all of humanity, will be 01:02:03 04/05/06.”
Is Melbourne Losing Its Sense Of Humour?
“The success of the annual Comedy Festival — now in its 20th year and one of the world’s Big Three — has become the starting point for most aspiring comics rather than the objective it once was for those who had spent years proving material and building confidence in rough-and-tumble rooms that ran year-round. Has Melbourne lost its reputation for funny bones?”
Studios Leave Critics Out In The Cold
Hollywood movie studios rae increasingly shutting critics out of advance screenings of their movies. “The practice does not sit well with critics, who either must do without or scramble to catch the movie on opening day and dash something off if their outlets want to have a review over opening weekend. But it makes business sense for studios, which may presume the drawbacks outweigh the benefits if critics are likely to hate a movie.”
Cancelling Out – Disaster Wrapped In Opportunity
There’s been a rash of cancellations in the classical music world this year. A cancelling artist sends an orchestra into a frenzy of looking for a replacement. But it can also be an opportunity; orchestras plan seasons in advance, and a sudden opening can be a chance to check out someone new or hot.
Returned Art – What Are The Obligations?
Maria Altmann successfully sued the Austrian government for return of paintings by Gustav Klimt. Now she’s loaned them to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. “The three-month loan to LACMA of a textbook painting is partly a gesture of gratitude to the city where Altmann emigrated. But it’s also a holding action. With the seven-year legal battle over title to the art now settled, the heirs face a daunting question: What obligations — if any — does the family have in determining the ultimate fate of a painting of monumental cultural significance?”
The Digital Music Corner Store
“In the digital world, small record shops have to find creative ways to market their service. Sometimes, that means giving away their product for free in order to build traffic. Consider Tight Tunes—where, since July 2005, Queens natives Matthew Warren and James Reixach have been building a MySpace where artists can conduct monetary transactions.”