“Whereas patent drawings from the 1800s and even early- to mid-1900s featured artistic techniques like shading, multiple perspectives and texture, today’s patent drawings are often embarrassing doodles at best.”
Tag: 08.01.12
Stradivarius Lost On Train Shows Up In Lost And Found
“The violin turned up Sunday in the lost-property office at Bern station. Police did not disclose the names of anyone involved, nor the value of the instrument.”
It’s Official: Philadelphia Orchestra Is Out Of Bankruptcy
A federal judge “approved the association’s reorganization plan June 28, but with the writing of checks and completion of other administrative matters Monday and Tuesday, the curtain officially has come down on perhaps the most perilous episode in the history of the organization that supports and presents the storied ensemble.”
Gore Vidal, 86
“Few American writers have been more versatile or gotten more mileage from their talent. He published some 25 novels, two memoirs and several volumes of stylish, magisterial essays. He also wrote plays, television dramas and screenplays. … And he could always be counted on for a spur-of-the-moment aphorism, putdown or sharply worded critique of American foreign policy.”
Indian TV Network Sues Nielsen For Billions Over Alleged Ratings Fraud
“The Indian network, New Delhi Television, or NDTV, says the manipulated data cost it nearly a billion dollars in advertising revenue, and the suit is seeking several billion dollars in damages.”
Author Maeve Binchy Dead At 72
“[She wrote] 16 novels and several collections of short stories, most of which were built around the sometimes-awkward problems of women and families coming to terms with a changing Ireland in the second half of the 20th century. Although highbrow critics were not always kind to Ms. Binchy, her books sold more than 40 million copies worldwide and were translated into 37 languages.”
Chris Marker, 91, Avant-Garde Filmmaker
“His films resembled literary essays or epistles more than traditional documentaries, finding room for quirky personal observations, wit and seeming irrelevances. … His one brush with fiction was a 29-minute sci-fi short called La Jetée (1964) … [which] came to be regarded as Marker’s masterpiece, more for its form than its content.”