“Nadia Nerina, an enchanting and virtuosic ballet dancer who inspired choreographer Frederick Ashton’s enduring comedy La Fille mal gardée and outperformed Rudolf Nureyev, died Oct. 6… [she] was one of the major classical ballet dancers of the 1950s and ’60s and a reigning presence in the Sadler’s Wells company, which became the Royal Ballet.”
Tag: 10.09.08
Report: Consumers Cutting Back On Movie Consumption
“A new Jupiter Research report found that 32% of online adults say they’re cutting back on going to the movies. That’s fewer than people who say they’re doing less driving (63%), shopping (60%) and vacationing (44%), but nonetheless should sound some alarms in Hollywood.”
Cut Traffic? Close Roads
“In a counterintuitive study released last month, three scientists have discovered that drivers choosing between multiple routes to reach their destination the fastest can actually end up slowing everyone down. Limiting their options by closing off certain streets could actually reduce congestion.”
The Love Life Of Emily Dickinson (Really!)
In the popular imagination, Emily Dickinson “is forever the lovelorn spinster, pining away in her father’s mansion on Main Street in Amherst, Mass. … Her exile on Main Street has seemed a necessary part of the Dickinson myth, so necessary, indeed, that contrary information–which happens to have been piling up lately–has often been discounted or ignored.”
Amid the Bombs, Political Satire Plays Baghdad
Playing to determined crowds who travel to the National Theater after dark, Ali Hussein’s cabaret-style two-act Bring the King, Bring Him “portrays Iraqi politicians as petty, corrupt and detached from the people they govern. […] So out of touch is one politician that he proposes (just like a real-life legislator) erecting a huge Ferris wheel ‘so people can cool off in the summer heat’.”
Let the Punishment Fit the Crime
“Andrew Vactor was facing a $150 fine for playing rap music too loudly on his car stereo in July. But a judge offered to reduce that to $35 if Vactor spent 20 hours listening to classical music… [he] lasted only about 15 minutes.” The idea of the sentence “was to force Vactor to listen to something he might not prefer, just as other people had no choice but to listen to his loud rap music.”
Was the Roman Polanski Trial a Miscarriage of Justice?
A new BBC documentary argues – with agreement from both the defense and prosecuting attorneys – that the director’s notorious trial for statutory rape was distorted by an ambitious judge. “It really isn’t about whether Polanski is likeable or not. It’s about whether he was treated fairly under California state law. And clearly he was not.”
‘The Most Unreliable Food Book Ever!’
Writer Barry Foy has produced The Devil’s Food Dictionary: A Pioneering Culinary Reference Work Consisting Entirely of Lies. A sample definition: “Comfort food: 1) Any type of food that you would prefer your friends did not see you enjoy; 2) the fortifying, familiar, and satisfying fare that killed your grandparents.“
Da Vinci in 3-D
The Detroit Science Center’s exhibition “Leonardo da Vinci: Man, Inventor, Genius” features 60 of the Renaissance man’s inventions in wooden models – some of which, like the fly-wheel, you can actually play with.
Children’s Literature for a Financial Meltdown
“A review of popular American children’s books of the past century reveals a recurring theme in the children’s publishing industry: When times are tough, cue the stories about times that were even tougher.”