The Cato Institute’s David Boaz made the argument this week at Yale. As a libertarian, Boaz argued for the protection of individual freedoms, and he asserted that when the government funds the arts, they are in danger of being limited by specific guidelines.
Tag: 09.20.07
Music Down The Middle
Michael Stern conducts the Kansas City Symphony. In an interview with NPR’s Alex Chadwick, Stern says he believes that Kansas City’s place in the middle of the country puts it in a unique position to do something significant. He sees it as an opportunity to fight for music and culture to be a part of our daily lives.
A Messy End To Dreamworks/Paramount?
“Less than two years after director Steven Spielberg and his partners sold DreamWorks SKG to Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures for $1.6 billion, a divorce seems inevitable.”
Paving Over The Matterhorn
“The once untouchable Alps are being turned into a huge and haughty playground for the rich, featuring luxury tower blocks, pyramids, and revolving hotels, as Switzerland’s cantons seek to produce ever bigger and better tourist attractions in a bid to outdo each other. Already home to the highest cable car in Europe, the smaller neighbour to the Matterhorn is soon to be topped with a 117 metre steel and glass pyramid which will take it to a height of 4,000 metres.”
Learning To Hate Literature In School
“It’s often suggested that the classics are bereft of any appeal to Youth Today, but perhaps the absence of breadth in some school reading lists does play a part – and it may be that students are simply too young to appreciate certain books.”
Brazilian Movie Is Hit Even Before It Gets To Theatres
“It wasn’t supposed to be released until Thursday, but for weeks already, pirated copies of the feature film ‘Elite Squad’ — about the shady workings of Rio’s Special Operations Police Battalion — has been a best-seller at street stalls across Brazil. What people have seen in the movie proved so controversial that police tried to keep the film out of theaters.”
Making Diamonds Out Of Beethoven’s Hair
“Some crazy ghouls have figured out a macabre marketing concept that they hope rich people with more money than brains will snap up, taking 10 strands of Ludwig van Beethoven’s hair and somehow turning them into a trio of half-carat fake diamonds.”
The Man Who Lives In A Theatre
Joe Patten was instrumental in saving Atlanta’s old Fox Theatre movie palace from demolitionin 1974, forming a nonprofit to buy the property from Southern Bell. Today, at 80, he lives in a “one-of-a-kind housing arrangement. He lives rent-free in a stately 3,640-square-foot apartment under the onion domes, with 20-foot ceilings, leaded glass windows and balconies overlooking Ponce de Leon Avenue.”
Harry Comes Through For Scholastic Profits
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came through for Scholastic in the first quarter ended August 31, helping to drive up revenue 75%, to $586.9 million. Hallows, along with the six previous Potter titles, contributed sales of $240 million in the period, propelling revenue in the children’s book publishing and distribution segment to $342.5 million from $112.6 million
Let Opera Be Opera
“Opera forever struggles to be cool, and will as long as its stars struggle with their weight. But Washington National Opera’s season-opening La Bohème, a new production that will be simulcast to educational institutions is such a fashion slave that it borders on apologizing for the art form… This production is so uncharacteristic of American opera, it’s a case of bait and switch. Operatic appreciation is fostered through opera. To love it is to accept its quirks – and chins.”