“Borrowing a page from patent trolls, the CEO of fledgling Las Vegas-based Righthaven has begun buying out the copyrights to newspaper content for the sole purpose of suing blogs and websites that re-post those articles without permission. And he says he’s making money.”
Tag: 07.22.10
Another StoneHenge Discovered
“Archaeologists said Thursday they have discovered a monument similar to Stonehenge near the ancient stone circle, dubbing it the most exciting find at the site for 50 years.”
The Fine Art Of Book Recommending
“Recognizing that book recommendation may as yet defy science, a couple of literary types are currently offering artisanal advice.” But “what about accountability, the great quality-control monitor for word-of-mouth recommendations?”
George Soros Gives $11M to NYC Arts Orgs (But Don’t Expect Another Eli Broad)
Does this mean Soros, whose politically liberal, social-activist giving mission in the U.S. has not previously included the arts, is now getting into the arts philanthropy game [long-term]? The answer, alas, is ‘no’.”
Recreating Petipa’s Copiously Documented Original Ballets (It’s Still Difficult)
“Master restorer” Sergei Vikharev talks about the myriad challenges – cultural and psychological as well as scholarly – in reconstructing Marius Petipa’s original works from the notated “scores” made under his supervision at the old Imperial Theatre of St. Petersburg.
Where Mel Gibson’s Tirades Are Really Damaging His Business: Overseas
“Mel Gibson’s recorded rants, now part of a domestic violence investigation here [in L.A.], are taking a toll where it can hurt an aging action star the most: among foreign film buyers.”
Egypt’s Dance Company for the Deaf
“Founded in 2005, Ferqet el-Samteen (commonly known as the Egyptian Deaf and Mute Modern Dance Company) is the first performance group of its kind in the world.” The company’s 30 dancers “may not be able to hear the music, but they can feel it … dancers react to the changing tempo of vibrations running through the floor from the speakers.”
Why We Feel Guilty, Even If There’s No Such Thing As Free Will
There’s a line of logic – we do what we do because of how we are; we are how we are because of heredity, early experiences and happenstance, none of which were under our control – which concludes that “ultimate, buck-stopping moral responsibility is impossible, because it requires ultimate responsibility for how one is.” So why do we (except for sociopaths) still feel morally responsible for what we do?
The Things A Theater Critic Can Learn By Doing His Homework
Charles Isherwood: “One of the pleasures of a life of theatergoing, I’ve discovered, is the serendipitous dips into wildly diverse areas of culture it can provide…”
The New Rehearsal: Skype
Michael Tilson Thomas: “I regularly rehearse with people on Skype. Usually it’s the first time they’ve ever done it, but I have my computer right over my piano keyboard, and we work out whatever we need to work out.”