Nuclear scientists in France have unveiled a 21st century tool for unmasking counterfeit vintage wines, by zapping them with ion beams from a particle accelerator.
Tag: 09.03.08
Authoritarianism And The Russian Lit Boom
“Literary critics feared that after the Soviet collapse, the easy availability of popular romance novels and thrillers would seduce Russian readers away from deeper works. Now they attribute a literary revival to the country’s new authoritarianism.”
Library of Congress Awards Stevie Wonder Its Gershwin Prize
“The 26-time Grammy winner to receive the second-ever Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, which was established to honor the career achievements of singers, songwriters and composers whose work has helped champion popular music as an art form while serving as a cultural touchstone that unites disparate groups around the world.”
The Survey Says: Tivo Saves Relationships
“Some 79 percent of 1,000 DVR owners reported that the technology has improved their relationship, according to the NDS DVR Report. DVRs were cited as the second most essential household technology item they can’t live without, second only to the mobile phone. Among non-technological household items, DVR was beaten out only by washing machine and microwave oven.”
Rogers And Hammerstein Music Up For Sale?
The Rodgers and Hammerstein Org is keeping mum on rumors and reports that its catalog of classic showtunes is up for grabs.
Getty Cuts Back Hours, Hikes Parking Fees
“The J. Paul Getty Trust is announcing today that it is reducing the Getty Center’s operating hours and increasing parking at both the Getty Center and the Getty Villa from $8 to $10. The changes are part of the Getty’s strategic planning process begun earlier this year to streamline the institution’s operations.”
A Glut Of Hollywood Movies Faces A Shortage Of Theatre Screens
“These days, scores of films are finding there’s no room at the multiplex. The reason: Hollywood is flush with roughly $13 billion to $18 billion in financing for movies that poured in over the past few years, vastly expanding the number of pictures getting made. That dynamic has turned movie distribution into a free-for-all, with too many films vying for too few slots in theaters each weekend.”
Opera In The Clubs
“The idea of presenting classical music in clubs has gained traction in recent years, particularly since cellist Matt Haimovitz played gigs at the now-defunct CBGB in New York. This fall a new club, Le Poisson Rouge, located on the site of the old Village Gate in Manhattan, becomes the principal location for ‘Wordless Music,’ a two-year-old series that puts rock and electronic players together with classical musicians and features the work of contemporary composers.”
Theatre That Makes Great Movies
In varying degrees of planning stages are screen versions of this year’s Tony award-winning August: Osage County, a three-act, three-hour-20-minute epic that may make for quite a lengthy celluloid sit. It’s natural for acclaimed shows to beget films, or so you might think.
The Most-Abandoned Books In Britain’s Travelodges
Aside from the Top 10, the list throws up some fascinating facts: for example, there were 10 copies of the Kama Sutra abandoned in the Peterborough Travelodge, which is the basis for a short story all in itself.