“The US is currently in the grip of a demographic change the like of which has not been seen since the 19th century. A mass immigration is taking place that dwarfs the flow of Irish, Germans, Jews and Italians that, 100 years ago, saw America rise to a superpower. That change has had a huge impact on what it means to be American. From politics to the economy, sport and the arts, the US is changing.”
Tag: 11.04.07
What’s Wrong With The King Tut Circus
The Tutankhamun blockbuster is attracting record crowds. But “the spirit of the theme park – queues, noise, spooky music – is upon me and, however hard I concentrate, I just can’t shake it off.”
Surprise – CBC Radio Chief Quits
“A major force in Canadian radio, Jane Chalmers said Friday she is simply tired and felt it was time for her to leave the hectic job.”
Iraq War Movies Are Different From Those Old War Movies
“The war in Iraq, the one where the prosecuting myth keeps changing, has reached our movie screens with record speed, faster and more critically than in any previous conflict, and far faster than the war it’s most often compared to, the quagmire in Vietnam.”
Chicago Theatre On The Move
“There’s always been a lot of great stuff in Chicago, But I think the difference now is that we’re better able to get people in from out of town to see it. More and more people are identifying Chicago as the place that generates work.”
Judge To Consider Fisk U’s Share-Art Plan
“A Tennessee county court has scheduled a three-day trial to begin 19 February 2008 to determine whether Fisk University in Nashville may accept a $30m offer from Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton for a 50% share in the university’s Stieglitz Collection of modern American art and photography.”
Redefining The Quintessential American Worker
It’s the “newest pop culture archetype: the reluctant, ironic hero plucked from the endless aisles of the big-box store.” And why not? The big box stores “are replacing the office cubicle as the quintessential workplace.”
Lewis Lapham, Drawn And Quartered
“Few literary heavyweights cast their wit about like Lewis Lapham, 72, and fewer still are capable of publishing an independent historical journal that wears its anachronisms so gleefully. The journalism legend and erstwhile Harper’s editor is launching a new print journal, Lapham’s Quarterly.”
Why Hollywood’s Writers Are Striking
“The Writers Guild of America is asking the mega-corporations that own the entertainment industry in America and the galaxy to compensate its members fairly for this highly desired product they create. Just a piece, that’s all. More than nothing. And without sounding greedy, more than nineteen cents.”
Dubai’s Astonishing Transformation
The city is undergoing a makeover, and everything’s a construction site. Here’s a gallery of images…