“This is most probably because the increase in neural activity weakens the fly’s life-support systems, they speculated. This would explain why flies, like most other animals, have hardly developed their neural capacities.”
Tag: 06.04.08
What Defines A Copy?
“What exactly is an exhibition copy? If the artist oversaw its creation, why isn’t it an original? The Cai exhibit, which drew huge crowds to the Guggenheim, raises questions that many museum goers have probably never considered. And when we’re talking about contemporary art made from common or mass-produced materials, how do we know when a work of art is the ‘real thing’?”
Conductors On TV (But Not This)
“It is about time television shone a light into the conductor’s rostrum. No musical function involves so much mystification. Why is it that two men, making the same gesture, obtain a completely different sound, and why do they almost always have to be men. Is it a suspension of disbelief on the part of musicians and listeners, or is there some inscrutable transmission between baton and orchestra that eludes neutral observation?”
The First Download To Top The Classical Charts
“For the first time ever, a download-only release has topped the Billboard classical chart. The DG Concerts release of Gustavo Dudamel conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic (where he will soon be musical director) features Berlioz’s Symphonie fantatastique. Billboard just changed its rules to allow downloads, so this is not only the first such recording to top the charts — it’s the first to appear at all.”
Art Fairs Everywhere (And A Downside)
“When art fairs work, and they often do, news of a beautiful painting or a ground-breaking sculpture flashes through a crowd with the excitement and urgency of the first few notes of a Jimi Hendrix guitar solo at Woodstock. But the art-fair explosion has a real dark side, and a real downside.”
Idaho Library Removes Sex Ed Books
The public library board in the Idaho town of Nampa has “voted to permanently remove two sex education books from library shelves, storing them instead in the library director’s office and making them available only on request.”
New James Bond Book A Hit
“Waterstone’s alone sold over 19,000 copies, with the £100 special souvenir edition selling out in one morning. Queues began outside the chain’s Piccadilly store from 4.30pm the previous day. A luxury edition, designed by Bentley and costing £750, also sold out its 300-copy print run in under two hours in the UK.”
Can You Build A Ballet Audience With Celebrities?
Traditional dance isn’t drawing crowds. So some companies have been offering celebrity productions to up the comfort factor. But “pretending that ballet isn’t really ballet, that it’s just an upmarket sister to Strictly Come Dancing, won’t lure any new viewers into the theatre the next time the Kirov dance Balanchine.”
Authors Protest Plan To Classify Children’s Books
“Publishers’ plans to introduce age ranging guidance onto children’s books have met with fierce opposition from authors including Philip Pullman, Anne Fine and Michael Rosen, following a report of the growing protest last week on guardian.co.uk.”
Wait – The Downloads Cost More Than DVDs?
“British customers will be able to buy films from Apple’s iTunes website, in a move that is expected breathe new life into the digital download market. From today, Britons will be able to download new release films from iTunes for £10.99 – about £1 more expensive than buying a DVD version on Amazon.”