Playwright Herb Gardner, who wrote hit Broadway comedies such as ‘A Thousand Clowns’ and the Tony-winning ‘I’m Not Rappaport,’ has died of lung cancer. He was 68.”
Tag: 09.25.03
On The Same Page – Paper That Can Show Movies
Paper that can display electronic “ink” is now advanced enough that it will be able to show video images. A single sheet looks pretty much like ordinary paper. But the ink can be rearranged electronically fast enough to show video movies.”
Dell To Embrace Downloading
With Apple having proven beyond a doubt that legitimate companies can turn a profit and please music consumers with pay-per-song download services, other companies are looking to get into the act. Dell, which grabbed a huge share of the personal computer market in the 1990s, has announced that it will launch its own downloading service to compete with Apple’s iTunes, and will also develop several consumr electronics products, including a digital music player.
Bellevue Museum Closes After Moving Into New Building
The Bellevue Art Museum outside Seattle, which opened in a new Stephen Holl-designed building less than three years ago, has closed after failing to attract an audience. “The architectural community gave Stephen Holl’s building a solid thumbs-up, but the visual arts community was considerably less impressed. In essence, the building is full of personality and high style, yet it is a difficult place to display art.”
Hillary, Abridged
Hillary Clinton’s memoir is making a huge splash in China, where a translated version of the book is topping bestseller lists. But New York’s junior senator is furious with Chinese authorities for censoring the book, removing all passages critical of the Chinese government before releasing it for domestic consumption.
Stowell & Russell: What We’ve Learned
“In a seemingly short span of time, Kent Stowell and Francia Russell went from being the international ballet circuit’s ambitious and talented new kids on the block to its distinguished statesmen.” Stowell and Russell have jointly run the Seattle-based Pacific Northwest Ballet for more than a quarter-century, and they are among the longest-tenured arts leaders in the world. Such longevity is unusual in the arts world, and even rarer among dance companies, where frequent financial woes often lead to burnout among managers.
Porn Goes Mainstream
When exactly did pornography become a mainstream product? A scant few years ago, porn was the elephant in America’s bedroom: constantly present, but rarely, if ever, spoken of in polite society. Today, the porn industry is crossing over with mainstream Hollywood like never before, and no one is blinking an eye. What’s changed? Well, “the adult-film industry is bigger than ever, making some 6,000 movies a year and grossing more than $4 billion – roughly as much as the National Football League. Money like that attracts other business people.”
Nixon, The Closet Bookworm
There is a long tradition, on the American political right, of taking potshots at academics, professors, and other assorted “eggheads.” In fact, mistrust of the academic elite is practically gospel amongst conservative opinion leaders, and former U.S. president Richard Nixon was no exception. Nixon was famous for his conviction that the “so-called intellectuals” were plotting against him. But Nixon had a decidedly intellectual side himself, as it turns out. Always resentful of the second-class education he had received, Nixon was a voracious reader throughout his life, and even struck up friendships with some of the “eggheads” he so publicly reviled.
The Truth About Illegal Downloading
File-trading is unquestionably illegal. It is very clearly an act which closely approximates stealing. So why can’t the recording industry get any support for its efforts to stop the piracy? Simple, says Russell Smith. Corporate slimeballs who ignore good music in favor of brainless pap don’t deserve any sympathy, and everyone knows it. “File-sharing is a rejection of the social power of bland culture. Why should we pay for crap?”
There Are Other Dead Playwrights, You Know
Why is it that the world of “classical” theater in the U.S. has been reduced to a single name? William Shakespeare was a brilliant playwright, yes, but he was not the only guy to put quill to paper over the last millenium, and frankly, Michael Kilian is getting a little sick of him, particularly the comedies. “If we are to have classical theater in this country — and certainly we must — why keep dragging out the Bard’s tired old comedies, which seem always to do with mistaken identities and mass marriages? Why not treat audiences to some actual classical fun, with rip-roaring Restoration romps such as Sheridan’s The Rivals?”