Only 46 percent of teens surveyed by Harris Interactive showed any interest in watching the Olympics. And if teens are indeed abstaining, it’s not because they think that the Olympics are a crass, greedy commercial enterprise — in fact, 71 percent of those polled “were likely to agree that the games are about more than merely medals and marketing,” according to Harris Interactive. So why won’t they watch? Because it’s not convenient for them.
Tag: 08.11.08
Museum Association Releases New Guidelines On Artifact Ownership
“The American Association of Museums is also recommending rigorous research into the history of any new acquisition. It would allow anonymous donations, but only where the donor can provide a full history of the work. The association released a set of guidelines for its 3,000 members Monday, after working on them for two years.”
Jumbled Senses – When Movement Makes You Hear Music
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have for the first time found synesthetes who hear sounds when they watch certain motions.
Georgia Ballet Star/Director Speaks Out About Russian Fighting
“Nina Ananiashvili, 45, is slated to become her country’s culture minister. The internationally renowned ballerina took over as artistic director of the company at the personal invitation of Georgia’s president Mikhail Saakashvili in 2004 and is married to Georgia’s deputy foreign minister.”
A Thriving Industry In Obama Books
Interest in the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is so strong that even an upcoming policy book, usually the toughest of sells, is catching on.
FBI Finds Trove Of Stolen Paintings In Dead Dealer’s House
“The FBI says pieces from an extensive art collection found in the New York home of a dead dealer were stolen in the 1960s and ’70s. Investigators said Monday that at least 20 works of art in William Kingsland’s collection were stolen.”
Literary Virgins (There Were More Of Them Than You Think)
“Literary or art history without ‘quite of bit of sex’ is, it would seem, fries less the tomato ketchup. It won’t sell, they think, unless they put some naughty bits in – even if they have to invent the naughty bits. Why cannot we accept that there is sexless greatness as well as hyper-sexual greatness?”
After All This, How Does Theatre Shock?
“Theatre and performance have always played a vital role in breaking down society’s taboos and kicking against the status quo. And in this respect the desire to shock is an entirely laudable one. But there are good ways and bad ways to do this, and too often the work on the fringe falls in to the latter category.”
Why The Edinburgh Festival Should Leave The Fringe
“Edinburgh has shed its decorum and become as raucous, filthy, drunken and commercialised as everywhere else. When people talk of the Festival they mean the Fringe – which this year consists of more than 30,000 performances of 2,000 shows – leaving the ‘official’ or ‘International’ programme of high culture as isolated and marginal as an atoll in the Pacific. The Fringe may be supremely democratic, a uniquely free market. Yet it is also a monster devouring its own children.”
Beijing’s Spectacular Opening Ceremony – Does It Mean Anything?
“The 2,008 percussionists with illuminated drums, the 29 separate sets of fireworks, the 14,000 musicians, acrobats and trapeze artists performing pageants representing 5,000 years of Chinese history, the dramatic lighting of the Olympic torch by a gymnast suspended from a wire. Of course, the lighting of that flame in Beijing may precede the passing of political power from West to East. On the other hand, it might not.”