“For the past five years, a nonprofit called Librivox has been giving away MP3 recordings of public-domain books read by volunteer narrators. … Last week [the service] announced the launch of Iambik Audiobooks, a company that sells recordings of select titles by independent small presses for the more-than-reasonable price of $4.99 apiece.”
Tag: 11.09.10
Is Punchdrunk Theatre Co. Selling Out by Helping Market Beer?
“Companies who choose to do corporate work are often criticised for selling out, but in a period when tough funding cuts are soon to desecrate the arts, is making an honest buck from one’s work – even from a major commercial brand – really such a crime?”
Einstein, Augustine, and the Nature of Time
“Augustine’s conception of God [was that He] had created time when He created the universe. To ask what God was doing before that great act is simply meaningless. … Einstein presented what is referred to as the ‘block universe’ – the notion that all times exist equally. … ‘The distinction between past, present and future is only an illusion, however persistent,’ the genius of relativity mused.”
How Cuban Audiences Watch Ballet
“The downside to the vocal enthusiasm of the Cuban ballet goers is their vocal enthusiasm. Ballet is as popular as sports there, and behavior in a theater can be as noisy, unruly, and contagious as in a stadium.”
Preserving the Knowledge of Balanchine’s Own Dancers
New York City Ballet veterans who learned Mr. B’s dances from the man himself are videotaping coaching sessions and interviews for the Interpreters Archive, an ongoing project of the George Balanchine Trust.
Bill T. Jones: The Step-by-Step Guide
“Jones draws on a range of techniques, including African dance, American modern and postmodern dance, and ballet, but an important formative influence was contact improvisation, a form of partner-work that enables people of different heights, weights and strengths to interact.”
Watching Slavoj Zizek Do a Book Signing
“‘Anna,’ said [one purchaser], ‘with two n’s. I’m from Denmark.’ ‘Denmark,’ said Mr. Zizek. ‘I like Denmark because secretly I am a fascist. Keep the trains running on time. It’s the only way to stop Hitler!’ … ‘Do you like the show Lost?’ asked the next in line. ‘No,’ said Mr. Zizek, ‘it’s too intellectual. I like 24‘.”
Trafalgar’s Fourth Plinth Art? That’s So Yesterday
“The fourth plinth has outlasted any excitement it originally caused. It has become a chore. The current exhibition of hopefuls for the next commission in the crypt of St Martin-in-the-Fields has something Mannerist about it.”
A Warhol For $63 Million? We Don’t Think So
“It was widely reported that on Monday night, at Phillips de Pury auction house, Andy Warhol’s 1962 portrait of Elizabeth Taylor and her lovers, Men in Her Life, sold for $63 million. Problem is, it’s not quite true. Because of a type of (legal) insider deals, the winning bidder may have written a check for less, even a chunk less, than $63 million to take the picture home.”
Amazon Raises Publishers’ Kindle Royalties to 70%
“Beginning December 1, Amazon said, publishers will be able to earn 70 percent of the retail price for each newspaper or magazine sold – a substantial increase over the 30 percent publishers reportedly previously received.”