“Reporters, stars on the red carpet and good food have been replaced by BlackBerrys, which, in turn, have made the opening-night ritual of reading aloud the good reviews (and keeping the pans out of the parties) as yesterday as an Al Hirschfeld cartoon.”
Tag: 10.23.09
The Enduring Thesaurus (Tribute To Enduing Scholarship)
Last week the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary was published. “This two-volume work is a monumental feat of scholarship, the fruit of more than 40 years’ labour. In a world infatuated with speed, it is a testament to the value of patiently accumulated learning.”
Should College Museums Be Allowed To Sell Their Art?
“The roles of museums on campuses are not like those of museums downtown, since the former exist to serve the specific needs and interests of a campus’s students and faculty. I’d rather those museums were reclassified as galleries. To be sure, the provisions of deeds of gift must be scrupulously observed; but assuming that to be the case, let them sell their works of art if the funds thus gained will better serve the institutions’ educational mission.”
The New Art DIY – Painting On Your iPhone
“Brushes,” which allows users to paint on the white digital canvas of an iPhone screen or iPod Touch using their fingertips, hit the app store in August 2008. Sales soared earlier this year after artist Jorge Colombo designed The New Yorker’s June 1 cover art using the application.
Kindle Software Will Expand To PCs
“Dubbed Kindle for PC, the free software will enable readers to view full-color photos and use touch screens to browse books, turn pages and adjust font sizes for digital books purchased at Amazon’s online bookstore.”
To Boost DVD Sales, Hollywood May Delay Rental Dates
“Under the plan, new DVD releases would be available on a purchase-only basis for a few weeks, after which time companies such as Blockbuster Inc. and Netflix Inc. would be allowed to rent the DVDs to their customers.”
Young Video Artist Wins $150K Wolgin Prize
“Ryan Trecartin, a young Philadelphia painter and sculptor whose psychedelic, desultory, kitschy video work has found love among critics and collectors, has been given the first $150,000 top award in the Wolgin International Competition in the Fine Arts – one of the richest art prizes in the world.”
Vanessa Redgrave Talks About Revisiting Magical Thinking
Keeping a promise to Unicef, Vanessa Redgrave will give a benefit performance of “The Year of Magical Thinking,” Joan Didion’s play about the grief of losing her husband and daughter. Redgrave lost her own daughter, Natasha Richardson, last spring, shortly before the performance was originally to have taken place.
Philip Roth On Acting, His New Book And Shopping Online
“I buy from FreshDirect,” Roth says. “I also use Amazon, and I buy a lot of used books from AbeBooks and Alibris. It’s wonderful when you want to find something obscure and there it is for $3.98. It’s the greatest book bazaar that has ever existed.”
El Sistema USA Launches At New England Conservatory
“The plan is for the conservatory to train at least 50 people, starting with the first class of 10, over five years to open music educational centers, or ‘núcleos,’ in parts of the United States where children couldn’t normally afford instruments.”