West Virginia senator Jay Rockefeller on Thursday introduced legislation that would allow regulators to follow through on a new rule that says expletives uttered on broadcast television are a violation of TV decency standards.
Tag: 07.12.07
Traditional Recording Companies Blast Prince
Big recording companies are furious at Prince for giving his new music away free in copies of an English newspaper. “The giveaway has been roundly criticized as a major blow for an industry already facing rapidly declining CD sales. It has led Sony BMG U.K., Prince’s local label, to pull the plug on its own sales release of the CD in Britain.”
Did You Catch That New Art Show In Terminal 3?
“Airport terminals are increasingly the go-to places for contemporary art. Today’s mega terminal continues to morph toward something more akin to the modern upscale mall, theme park or play world. In all of its mammoth made-up quality, it’s a world existing almost entirely apart from the host country, a kind of glowing, Never Never Land of a non-place. Yet it is in constant contact with other airports worldwide, in a private world of high functioning connectivity. It is, of course, the perfect mirror to the world of the contemporary artist, now with studios, dealers and backers worldwide.”
Pavarotti’s Condition Stabilizes
“Luciano Pavarotti’s wife, Nicoletta Mantovani, has told Italian daily La Stampa that the renowned singer is finally ‘doing well’ in his fight against pancreatic cancer… Ironically, his wife said, he hasn’t shown two of the side effects of radiation therapy: ‘Despite the heavy treatment, he has not lost weight – which, by the way, he would have liked – or his hair.'”
Columbo Takes On Broadway
A new Columbo murder mystery is ready for its national debut, but you won’t see it on television. Nope, Columbo is coming to Broadway, rumpled trench coat and all. Peter Falk will not play the role he made famous, but the producers hope to recreate the same absent-minded spirit that made the character a hit over multiple decades on TV.
A Theatre Legend Who Never Set Foot On Stage
“With the death yesterday of Edwin Mirvish, 92, Canada and England lose a man who played a modest but pivotal role in late 20th-century theatre. But in Toronto, the theatres the Mirvish family supported, the productions they mounted – and above all, Ed’s populist touch – shaped a cultural ecosystem.”
Only One Szarkowski
Alan Artner writes that the death of photography curator John Szarkowski calls to mind anew how unique his talents were. “Everybody is lesser than Szarkowski, for no one active at an art museum today has come close to his record of nearly 30 years of defining contemporary photography or 45 of reapproaching masters of the medium through eye-opening writings and lectures. Without any exaggeration, it can be said that, at Szarkowski’s death at age 81 last Saturday, he left no heirs with comparable acuity of vision, liveliness of wit and elegance of expression.”
Tintin The Racist?
A British commission on racial equality is calling for a Tintin comic book to be banned from UK bookstores over complaints that it is transparently racist. The graphic novel, entitled “Tintin in the Congo,” includes stereotypical caricatures of Africans, who frequently speak in embarrassingly imbecilic style. Tintin’s author, Herge, “continued to revise his books after their publication, and admitted embarrassment over some of the views they expressed.”
Harry Breaks A Midnight Record
“The new Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, has taken a record-breaking $12m at midnight screenings in the US. The figure is the most made at the box office for a Wednesday opening midnight run.”
Superstar Music, Up Close And Personal
One of the great frustrations of being a fan of a wildly popular band or musician is the necessity of seeing them live only in grossly oversized venues with terrible acoustics and no sightlines. So it’s getting attention that a number of high-profile performers are mounting shows this summer in decidedly scaled-down venues. On the plus side, those in attendance will get a much more personal performance. On the down side, not many tickets are available, and the ones that are will surely cost you…