“A ‘passionate argument’ about [the] 18th-century Enlightenment philosopher … ‘deteriorated into a fistfight’ between two men waiting in line for beer during an outdoor City Day event in the southern Russian metropolis of Rostov-on-Don, police said Monday. The argument ended when one of the debaters pulled out an air gun and shot the other in the head.”
Tag: 09.16.13
Giller Prize Longlist Announced
“The 13 titles were selected by jurors Esi Edugyan (who won the Giller in 2011 for Half Blood Blues), Margaret Atwood and U.S. author Jonathan Lethem – from 147 submissions.”
We Collectively Write The Equivalent Of 520 Million Books Online Every Day
“What makes this explosion truly remarkable is what came before: comparatively little. Before the Internet, most people rarely wrote for pleasure or intellectual satisfaction after graduating from high school or college.”
Study: Reading For Fun Improves Student Test Scores
“Reading for pleasure was linked to greater intellectual progress, both in vocabulary, spelling and mathematics. In fact, the impact was around four times greater than that of having a parent with a post-secondary degree.”
National Book Awards Try To Become More Relevant
“In recent years, the National Book Awards have been criticized for nominating obscure authors whose books don’t sell as well as winners of the Pulitzer Prize or the Man Booker Prize. Thus the changes instituted this year: nonwriters such as librarians, book sellers and critics have been included in the judging panels.”
Signs Of Movement In Minnesota Orchestra Lockout
Musicians’ spokesman Blois Olson: “It appears the other side has returned to the mediator and is again talking to us through the mediator. We had conversations with the mediator today, and it appears that new board members have stepped forward, and we are grateful for that.”
Joffrey Gets Nureyev Foundation Grant For Story Ballets
“The [$500,000] grant, large by the foundation’s standards, is meant to launch an endowment for the creation, production and performance of full-length story ballets. The Rudolf Nureyev Fund at the Joffrey Ballet will be the first endowment in the company’s 57-year history.”
When The Young Vic Rescued The Belarus Free Theatre
“Natalia Kaliada, co-founder of the Belarus company, explains how Jude Law and the London theatre helped her underground group find a home after the ill-fated presidential elections of 2010.”
Japan’s Praemium Imperiale 2013 To Gormley, Coppola, Domingo
“The tenor and conductor Plácido Domingo and the film director Francis Ford Coppola are among the 2013 winners of the [$150,000] Praemium Imperiale arts awards from the Japan Art Association.” The Other winners include “Michaelangelo Pistoletto for painting (Italy); Antony Gormley for sculpture (Britain); and David Chipperfield for architecture (Britain).”
L.A. Philharmonic Players Get 1% Annual Raises In New Contract
“At the end of four years, the minimum yearly wage for the Phil’s more than 100 musicians will be $154,336, up 3.8% from the $148,700 minimum in the contract that expired Sunday. The minimum wage scale had risen 17% over the previous four-year contract.”