“The best answer seems to be that, yes, such events can be important. But there is a major caveat: They matter when both governments involved want them to matter. In this case, the evidence suggests that both Washington and Havana are interested in better relations. So this visit is likely to have a small place when the history of U.S.-Cuba rapprochement is written.”
Tag: 05.27.15
Justice? Instagram Artist Appropriates Artist Who Appropriated Her Work And Undercuts His Price By 99.9%
“Selena Mooney, who founded the website SuicideGirls, which has sold online access to erotic images for more than a decade, wrote on Tuesday that she would sell nearly identical copies of one of the pictures chosen by Mr. Prince. She offered a steep discount, though. Her versions, five different inkjet prints on canvas at the same size as Mr. Prince’s, cost just $90. Proceeds will go to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group, she said.”
Music Festivals Are Big Business These Days. Can A Festival Boost Spain’s Economy?
“In the midst of a country with a 23.7% unemployment rate, the growing festival is a notable bright spot in contemporary Spain. Even as the country’s young indignados demand major reforms, Primavera is proof that a well-run music festival can be an anchor for a recovering economy and a central element of its tourism.”
How Nostalgia Can Fuel Creativity
“Weirdly, nostalgia used to have a bad reputation—psychologists interpreted it as people avoiding the present, and it was even classified as a psychiatric disorder at one point. But recent research has shown that nostalgia can have positive effects, like making people more optimistic about the future and more willing to set new goals.”
New Book: Rex Harrison Was Not A Nice Man
“There he was, with all these endearments at the top of his voice. He treated us like dirt, we were nothing. We didn’t have anything to do with his film career.”
UK Court Orders ISPs To Block Access To Book Piracy Websites
“Our members need to be able to protect their authors’ works from such illegal activity. Writers need to be paid and publishers need to be able to continue to innovate and invest in new talent and material.”
How Doing Theatre For An Audience Of One Changes The Experience
“Acting is often spoken of as a narcissistic pursuit, but it seemed much more humble at Theatre for One. Why crave the attention of multitudes when the most we can ask for is to be seen—fully, if momentarily—by just one person? Being an audience of one started to feel less indulgent, too. When I stepped out of the booth, the line was twenty deep.”
Bartok – The 20th Century’s Loneliest Composer?
“Two careers, as composer and ethnomusicologist, would be more than enough for most, but Bartók managed a third, as travelling concert pianist. Finances were always tight, his relationships with women were complicated, and looming over it all were the tumultuous political upheavals of the first half of the 20th century.”
Rethinking The Museum Building So It Protects The Art From Natural Disaster
“Buildings now have to be designed like submarines. Do we have to completely rethink our infrastructure? Do we have to completely rethink everything?”
Havana Biennial Opens, But Cuba Arrests, Detains Artist For Doing Her Work
Tania Bruguera was once again detained by the authorities on Sunday afternoon after staging a performance at her Havana home, in which she and others read passages from Hannah Arendt’s “The Origins of Totalitarianism.”