“Nuclear weapons aren’t only good for leveling cities, they’ve also been used throughout the last 50 years for a variety of civilian purposes like stimulating natural gas production – and all kinds of innovative proposals have been slapped on the table to harness the awesome power of the nuclear blast for economic benefit.”
Tag: 04.10.09
Unpublished Stories By Vonnegut To See Print
“Kurt Vonnegut’s longtime publisher, Delacorte Press, has announced it will issue 14 never-before published short stories by the author, who died in 2007, in a new collection, Look at the Birdie, slated for publication in November 2009.”
This Year’s Theatre Pulitzer Contenders?
“Widely said to be on the short list are “Ruined,” Lynn Nottage’s riveting look at a brothel owner navigating the treacherous politics of the Congo; “Becky Shaw,” Gina Gionfriddo’s sharp satire of love and money among the 30-something set (which recently ended its run at Second Stage); and “In the Heights,” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s dopey, infantile, hopelessly sentimental, excruciatingly peppy, pleased-as-punch-with-itself celebration of life in the barrio, where everybody sings and dances and rhymes.”
Musicians Increasingly Invite Fans In On The Creative Process
“As CD sales decline, advances from record labels dwindle and audience demographics break up into smaller niches, more and more artists from all levels of popularity are seeking to retain fans by including them in the creative process.”
Italian Earthquake’s Destruction Of Culture Is Incalculable
“Italy is not like America. Art isn’t reduced here to a litany of obscene auction prices or lamentations over the bursting bubble of shameless excess. It’s a matter of daily life, linking home and history. Italians don’t visit museums much, truth be told, because they already live in them and can’t live without them. The art world might retrieve a useful lesson from the rubble.”
Miami’s Arsht Center To Start Ambitious New Classical Music Series
“The loss of the Concert Association along with the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra going bankrupt in 2003, left the Arsht Center without two of its major classical resident presenters, with only Florida Grand Opera and the Cleveland Orchestra, which presents just six concerts a season.”
Orchestras: Reports Of Our Death Have Been Premature
“Taken in a broader context, pronouncements of the unsustainability of our business model (and if history is any guide, there will be many more of these in the coming months) are more or less entirely contradicted by the self-evident ability of most orchestras to adapt to changes in our specific economies. The headlines trumpeting layoffs and salary givebacks aren’t evidence of the failure of a business model. They’re a demonstration of how the model bends without breaking.”
Corcoran Gallery In A Financial Mess, Lays Off Staff
“The Corcoran Gallery of Art announced yesterday that it is eliminating 18 positions from the museum and the Corcoran College of Art and Design’s administration but still expects to end the fiscal year with a $3.5 million deficit.”