The pathology of inventing illnesses in order to gain attention and sympathy – named for the 18th-century nobleman once said to be the world’s most notorious liar – has found a new outlet: Internet support groups for the terminally ill, which are occasionally infiltrated by hoaxsters.
Tag: 11.08.10
A ‘Missing Link’ in Symphonic History Gets Its Modern Premiere
“The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment will perform Méhul’s Fourth Symphony – and herald it as a long-lost prototype for the 19th-century romantic cyclic symphony, but written 20 years before Berlioz took up the form in his Symphonie Fantastique.“
Will Ai Weiwei Become the Next Great Communist Dissident?
Jonathan Jones says that the Chinese artist “is threatening to become a cultural figure of serious global importance in the mould of Vaclav Havel and Alexander Solzhenitsyn.”
Ian Fleming Estate Takes James Bond eBook Rights From Penguin
“Last week, in a highly significant move whose implications will have repercussions throughout the industry, the Fleming estate announced it was licensing the ebook rights to the Bond books not to Penguin (which distributes the paperbacks) but to Ian Fleming Publications.”
Sculptors Design New Water Fountains for London’s Parks
Two designs won an international competition to create new water fountains for London’s eight royal parks: “Trumpet, a slender bronze by Ben Addy intended to be cast in one piece at a traditional bell foundry, and Watering Holes, a pierced Cornish granite standing stone created by Rome-born Robin Monotti and Mark Titman.”
Governing Body Tells BBC It Should Take More Risks
The BBC Trust’s review of BBC1, BBC2 and BBC4 found that the channels have been performing well overall, but said BBC1 should “harness its scale and size by becoming more ambitious and taking more creative risks in peak time”.
The Humana Festival At 35
Every year, nearly 1,000 scripts vie for the privilege of being included in what the New York Times called “the nation’s best-known new-play festival.”
Studies Of The Humanities Are Down. What Can Colleges Do?
“If, because of cutbacks and lack of support from the federal government, literature and the arts and other aspects of the humanities become just parlor musings of the wealthy, we would have made a huge mistake.”
Detroit Symphony Contract Talks Stall, But Players’ Concerts Find Audiences
Like all of the players’ concerts so far, Sunday’s performance was jammed. A church official said the sanctuary holds some 700 to 750 people, and there were only a smattering of empty seats.
Art Thought To Have Been Destroyed By Nazis Is Found
“Artwork deemed ‘degenerate’ by the Nazis and believed to have been destroyed has been unearthed during construction near Berlin’s city hall and is going on display.”