” ‘Once’ was written and directed by John Carney, 35, who was a bass player with the Irish band The Frames, between 1990 and 1994. The film tells the story of an Irish street musician who lacks the confidence to perform his own songs and who finds a muse in a Czech flower-seller and pianist he meets on the streets of Dublin. Having been made for only £75,000, Once has taken almost $7 million (£3.5 million) at the box office in a few weeks.”
Tag: 08.21.07
El Sistema In The Flesh
“Whatever you have read about the Simón BolÃvar Youth Orchestra – and the astonishing Venezuelan system of musical education that brought it into being – can’t convey the brilliance and disarming exuberance of their playing, or the importance of Dudamel’s role in channelling that energy. There are some great youth orchestras around today, but none of them is as exciting to behold as this.”
And What Would You Like To be When You Grow Up?
“A YouGov poll has found that almost 10% of Britons aspire to being an author, followed by sports personality, pilot, astronaut and event organiser on the list of most coveted jobs.”
The Myth Of Of Dying Libraries
So multimedia is taking over and books are out? “If that’s the case, why are libraries everywhere thriving? (Or, at least, thriving when the bureaucrats running them aren’t despoiling them by hiding the books and filling them with DVDs.)”
TV – Good For Women?
“A new study shows that television is having a distinctly helpful effect on women, at least in rural India, which admittedly doesn’t have America’s half-century of experience with the medium, or 300 channels to surf through. The words female empowerment and television in the same sentence may bring to mind Star Jones extolling tummy tucks on The View. But for millions of women in developing countries, the benefits of TV may be substantive rather than frothy.”
Giant Book Retailer Passes On OJ
Superstore bookseller Barnes & Noble says it won’t stock OJ Simpson’s book. “Citing a perceived lack of customer interest, the chain said the book would only be available by special order or for purchase online through Barnes & Noble.com.”
Citing Shakespeare For Bush’s Purpose
“The Washington Post recently featured a column in praise of Shakespeare’s plays,” written by former Bush speechwriter and current Bush adviser Michael Gerson. “In a way, Shakespeare has hovered over this administration from the beginning. After the 2000 recount, plenty of us hoped – we really had no choice – that Bush would turn out to be Prince Hal in Henry IV, the layabout brat who, on succeeding to his father’s throne, finds the maturity to lead. His presidency has indeed turned out to be like Henry V, but in reverse.”
Where The Twain Do Meet: Theatre In Religious Spaces
“Churches and theaters have been at odds for most of the last 500 years. So why are so many Dallas theaters moving into churches?” Not, of course, that “theaters designed to bolster faith” are unusual. “What’s different about the current crop of church-housed theaters is that they aren’t specifically religious in their programming. You can now put on your Sunday best, go to church, and see a play that doesn’t preach.”
S.F.’s Planned Skyscraper: Good Or Bad? Discuss.
“Now this is exquisite timing: Barry Bonds’ 756th home run and the unveiling of rival designs for San Francisco’s tallest tower and a new transit station came just 28 hours apart. Voila! Bay Area residents have something new to debate in what otherwise would be the doggiest days of summer. … Does San Francisco really need a modernistic ‘icon’ as tall as the Empire State Building?”
Van Gogh Letters Deny Genius-Madness Link
“A new collection of Vincent van Gogh’s letters casts doubt on the popular notion that his mental illness was also the source of his artistic genius. A curator at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Leo Jansen, and two Dutch colleagues are working on a complete annotated edition of the artist’s more than 800 extant letters. The new edition will also include around 2,000 illustrations, artwork by van Gogh himself and by other artists that he refers to in his letters.”