“It seems obvious that a publication that claims to offer independent critical opinion on a production can’t also serve as that show’s producer. But this is just what Time Out is doing, writes Alistair Smith.”
Tag: 09.06.12
UK Plan To Outsource Heritage Protection Process Draws Fire
“Faced with a diminished role in the listed-building consent process, there are fears that planning departments will choose to divert funds away from conservation completely.”
Facing Cash Crisis, America’s Largest Black Theater Company Suspends Programming
“Penumbra Theatre, the nation’s largest and most esteemed African-American theater, is suspending its programming and will offer no plays this year. Citing what it called ‘an immediate cash-flow challenge,’ the St. Paul-based company said it has laid off six of its 16 full-time employees, including associate artistic director Dominic Taylor, to help trim $800,000 from its $2.7 million budget.”
Actresses In Kabul Are Knifed, Imprisoned
Three performers, feeling pressured to move out of their neighborhood, were packing their possessions into a van when six men attacked them with knives. One died; the other two were taken from hospital to prison. And these are far from the only actresses in Afghanistan to be attacked.
US Federal Judge Approves Settlement In E-Book Price Fixing Case
“Among other things, the agreement requires the publishers – Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster – to abandon the pricing system that they had conceived with Apple before it released its iPad tablet in 2010. The change is supposed to come within the next week.” Apple and two other publishers reject the settlement and will go to trial.
Susan Sarandon Says She Had Death Threats For Speaking Out On Iraq War
“[C]ertainly leading up to the Iraq war, when I was asking unpopular questions, there were lots of attacks from the hate radio jocks asking for something to be done about me. I had death threats. There were people who felt, thanks to the right-wing papers, I was un-American.”
Do Birds Hold Funerals?
Well, it depends on what exactly one means by “funeral”, but they do respond in groups to the death of their fellows.
Is Lap-Dancing Art? (For Tax Purposes, That Is)
“New York State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, is used to considering weighty issues, like same-sex marriage and the death penalty. But on Wednesday, its august chambers entertained a debate of perhaps less significance but far more prurience: whether lap dancing constitutes a form of art.”
When Politics And Showbiz Collide (And That’s A Good Thing)
“What happens in the United States during a presidential election year is a thing to behold. The popular culture becomes enmeshed with the political culture. And that’s good. In Canada we tend to shy away from such coverage, being all earnest and sober about election coverage. And that’s bad.”
What If You Could Digitally Delete Actors You Didn’t Like?
“If you can use computer-generated imagery to insert actors into films, why not use it to remove them as well? Just think of how many movies would be improved by the process.”