“Is there the merest hint of movement in the world’s most intractable restitution drama? That is, the issue of the Elgin — or, if you prefer, Parthenon — Marbles, which has flared up at intervals since Lord Elgin removed them from the Acropolis at Athens in the 19th century. Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, appeared to open the door to compromise in an interview with Bloomberg News, but only by a fraction of an inch.”
Tag: 04.17.07
San Francisco’s Best Buildings: An Experts’ List
“Put any group of 20 architects in a room and ask them to choose the buildings in their city that are of special significance, and I’ll wager no two lists will be alike. But when that opinionated mob is also the board of directors of the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects, its verdict is delivered with a certain gravitas. So say hello to the semiofficial list of San Francisco’s top 25 buildings…. And let the second-guessing begin.”
One Thing To Do With A Pulitzer: Direct Ford Ads
“In an effort to get more people to notice its new vehicles, Ford Motor Co. has enlisted the help of filmmaker and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet to direct some of its commercials.”
Ballet Russe Principal Natalia Clare, 87
“Natalia Clare, an American-born principal dancer with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and an important Southland ballet teacher and arts advocate, has died. … She studied ballet with Bronislava Nijinska, one of impresario Sergei Diaghilev’s stable of choreographers, and made her professional debut in 1940 dancing for Nijinska at the Hollywood Bowl.”
Pulitzer Winners An Atypical Bunch (Sort Of)
“A contentious drama pick, an apocalyptic novel by one of the nation’s most reclusive writers and one of the first awards to a jazz musician were among the arts Pulitzers announced Monday. … To skeptics, the Pulitzers have a long history of stodgy arts choices, especially in music.”
As Internet Access Increases, So Do Library Visits
“An explosive rise in Internet access at the nation’s public libraries has also led to a solid increase in the number of visitors, according to a study released Monday by the American Library Assn.”
LA Names New Head Of Cultural Affairs
“Pending the approval of the City Council, Mayor Villaraigosa has named Olga Garay to head the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs. Most recently, Garay, 54, has been a New York-based independent producer and performing arts consultant.” A former program director for the arts at the Doris Duke Foundation, Garay said “that the mayor’s commitment to increasing cultural funding was part of the package.”
Feds Have ‘Character Qualifications’ For Broadcasters?
“The Federal Communications Commission has renewed the license of Los Angeles Spanish-language television station KAZA-TV Channel 54, denying an unusual protest brought by rival broadcaster NBC Universal. In November, NBC Universal … asked the FCC to deny the license renewal by invoking a rarely used morals clause,” arguing that the station’s management “was corrupt and thus lacked ‘the character qualifications’ required by federal law.”
If We Are What We Watch, Many Are Cheeseheads
A large round of cheddar, ripening in England, “has not been impeded in its rise to fame by the modest nature of its accomplishments. As the star of Cheddar-vision TV, a Web site that carries live images of its life on a shelf (www.cheddarvision.tv), the cheese has been viewed so far more than 900,000 times. … Compared with the cheese-cam, the old Yule Log on television was a roiling hotbed of nonstop commotion.”
Amnesia Isn’t Only An Author’s Device
“Every so often, seemingly normal people suddenly walk out of their lives and disappear, with no recollection of who they are, where they are from or what their previous life was like. It is the stuff of fiction, but it happens in real life too. … On the fictional side is a play called ‘Fugue,’ now on stage at the Cherry Lane Theater in New York.” So what is fugue, really?