The Catholic Church is launching a new website to dispute The Da Vinci Code. “The Catholic Church’s website includes biographies of the saint and contains numerous links to sites disputing The Da Vinci Code’s assertions.”
Tag: 07.22.05
Kantor Leaves NYT Arts & Leisure Job
New York Times Sunday Arts & Leisure editor Jodi Kantor is leaving the job after 2 1/2 years to be a reporter at the paper. “After a couple of years in the building, I’m dying to actually get out and report some stories myself.”
SF Ballet: Dancin’ In The Rain
The San Francisco Ballet ran into some bad luck on its European tour, courtesy of Mother Nature. Cold, rainy weather cancelled two performances in the first week alone, and the opening night, before an audience of ultra-knowledgable Parisians including the wife of President Jacques Chirac, was very nearly rained out. Still, the tour has by all accounts been a success, and French audiences have been very receptive to the company’s traditional approach to dance, despite the unpopularity of the cancellations.
Transition of Power
Replacing a legend is no easy task, but as William Griswold prepares to take over the small but prestigious Minneapolis Institute of Arts from longtime director Evan Maurer, he will face immediate questions about how he plans to build on Maurer’s considerably legacy. “Griswold will inherit many of Maurer’s ambitions, the most significant of which is a current $100 million capital and endowment campaign. The physical centerpiece of that campaign is a 117,000-square-foot addition scheduled to open next spring that will add 40 percent more gallery space and upgrade the existing museum building. The expansion wasn’t Griswold’s idea. But figuring out how best to make the expanded facility work will be his job.”
Downloads Triple; Industry Credits Rise of Broadband
“The number of digital music tracks legally downloaded from the Internet almost tripled in the first half of 2005 as the use of high-speed broadband connections surged around the world, the international recording industry said Thursday. The International Federation of Phonographic Industries said that 180 million single tracks were downloaded legally in the first six months of the year, compared to 57 million tracks in the first half of 2004 and 157 million for the whole of last year. The federation credited the increase to a 13 percent rise in the number of broadband lines installed around the world, along with an industry campaign to both prosecute and educate against illegal downloading.”
The Gehrification Of Everything
“We’ve entered an era in which ambitious developers are not just open to the notion of working with architecture’s boldest talents but, in certain high-profile cases, are desperate to avoid working without them. So-called ‘starchitects’ have become too valuable now, as urban alchemists and as marketing vehicles, for developers to ignore.” It’s merely an extension of the overpowering star quality architects like Frank Gehry have brought to bear on the world of urban planning, but the embrace of the starchitects’ often-unusual visions by the general public has served to change the entire face of building design in the U.S.
Brave New Waves
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s efforts to create a third national radio network aimed at young people and playing the hottest new music seemed to wither on the vine before it even began, but after several years and countless reimaginings (none of which included actual radio broadcasts,) the so-called “Radio 3” seems ready to take off on the wings of the new phenomenon known as podcasting. A partnership with Apple’s iTunes music store, which is driving the podcasting craze, and CBC’s own ability to cut deals with cutting-edge bands, add up to a potentially important new service. Radio 3 will even be getting an actual radio presence this fall, when it launches a channel on the Sirius satellite network.
Art In A Land Of War
The Gaza Strip is not a pleasant place to be at the moment, and certainly not the type of locale in which you would expect to find a vibrant cultural scene. “Extreme poverty prevents potential audiences from paying to attend theater performances, which in turn has forced the closure of many small troupes. Existing film and theater groups struggle daily to survive. Despite the many frustrations, however, the Palestinian theater and film scene is remarkably vibrant; this summer even saw successful film and theater festivals held in both Ramallah and the Gaza strip.”
Critical Conversation: Critics Under The Stars
As the critics’ blog wraps up, Fiona Maddocks wonders whether the “star system” forced on many critics by their employers (in which each performance is rated numerically, rather than merely being thoughtfully reviewed) doesn’t encourage more extremist views in the critic. “It discourages exploratory debate or, perish the thought, subtlety. It’s just another demonstration of the trend to treat reviews chiefly as a consumer service.”
Cuban Troupe Wins Right To Asylum
“Ending an arduous yearlong journey, 50 Cuban performers were granted political asylum this week after what is believed to be the largest group defection of Cubans in American history. The musicians, singers and dancers of the ‘Havana Night Club’ revue, which recently changed its name to the ‘Havana Night Show,’ celebrated the official statement on Thursday and planned to appear together in another venue on Friday, the local Social Security office. There they hope to begin the process of becoming permanent residents and, ultimately, United States citizens.” Their push to defect began when Cuban authorities raided their Havana headquarters and deported their founder. After finagling a U.S. travel visa, the whole troupe defected in November 2004, while performing in Las Vegas.