Farhad Manjoo says that Amazon’s new newspaper reader “presents news as a list–you’re given a list of sections (international, national, etc.) and, in each section, a list of headlines and a one-sentence capsule of each story. It’s your job to guess, from the list, which pieces to read. This turns out to be a terrible way to navigate the news.”
Tag: 06.18.09
No More Tonys For ‘Special Theatrical Event’
“Once Liza Minnelli has been given an award, can anyone else truly win it? In the case of the Tony Award for special theatrical event, the answer is an unequivocal no. The Tonys will no longer bestow an award in that category starting with the 2009-2010 season, its press representatives said in a news release.”
Small Theatre’s Demise Leaves Needed Funding For Others
“A small Philadelphia theater company called Hotel Obligado folded in December – which ended up, oddly, being good news. After producing offbeat and new work for eight years, Hotel Obligado closed with a surplus of about $5,000 – which has become its legacy, funding the city’s newest theater prize, the Hotel Obligado Audience Choice Award for New Work. A $1,000 chunk of it will be given to one of five small local companies tomorrow night….”
Millennium Park’s Van Berkel Pavilion Is A Marvel
Fear not, traditionalists: Amsterdam architect Ben van Berkel’s temporary pavilion in Millennium Park “is at once thoughtful and delightful, packing just enough bling to stand up to the park’s star attractions — the spitting, oversize faces of the Crown Fountain and the mesmerizing sky and skyline reflections of ‘Cloud Gate.’ Like those two populist works of public art, it is thoroughly interactive.”
Tasha Tudor’s Children Clash In Court Over Burying Her
“A year after the death of famed New England illustrator Tasha Tudor, the family battle over her estate, which seemed like it could not get any uglier, has taken a turn for the worse. The artist’s grown children, already at odds over her will, are now fighting in Vermont Probate Court over whether and how to bury their mother. Tudor, who died a year ago today, said expressly in her will that she did not want a funeral.”
British Library Puts 19th-Century Newspapers Online
“Bad news is never new, but anyone overwhelmed by today’s political scandals, wars, financial disasters, soaring unemployment and drunken feral children can take refuge in the 19th century – and its wars, financial disasters, political scandals, soaring unemployment and drunken feral children. Over two million pages of 19th and early 20th century newspapers go online today, part of the vast British Library collection.”
Since When Does Prince Charles Not Have Right To Speak?
“Prince Charles can be incredibly irritating, and one can’t blame [architect Richard] Rogers for hating him; but it is hard to see what is unconstitutional about him expressing opinions, however misguided, on non-political matters. It would be unacceptable if he were already head of state, but he isn’t; and nobody is obliged to take any notice of what he says. Nor does anybody often do so.”
In Guy Season At Multiplex, Some Studios Bet On Women
“The studios hold competing theories over whether a surfeit of male-oriented movies helps drum up even greater interest in films for women. One camp says good movies will work regardless of what the competitive landscape looks like, while the other maintains that moviegoers (like nature) abhor a vacuum, that too many macho movies make romance, comedy and sobbing even more desirable.”
Intiman Names Ruined Director Whoriskey Artistic Director
“Intiman Theatre has named New York stage director Kate Whoriskey as its next artistic director,” succeeding Bartlett Sher. “[I]n an unusual process, she will work with Sher as his co-artistic director through 2010. … The Intiman board hired her at Sher’s strong suggestion, without a customary national search for other candidates — another rare move.”
Richard Rogers Vs. The Prince Of Wales, Explained
“Prince Charles, a vehement antimodernist, is up to his old tricks again. The row has now escalated, with an English Baron — Lord Rogers of Riverside, better known as the architect Richard Rogers — calling for an official tribunal to examine the role of Prince Charles in state affairs. Mr. Rogers is incandescent with rage, and no wonder.” A world-famous architect and “a political animal,” Rogers “knows the ropes and I suspect he knows he has support.”