Tag: 11.17.02

Little Evidence Violent Games Harm Adults:

Governments around the world have been considering legislation regulating sale of violent and pornographic computer games. Australia recently banned two controversial games. But social scientists say “more careful research before we can reach a definitive conclusion, (but) I know of no scientific evidence that the interactive nature of computer games makes them more harmful than other popular media.”

How Will Radio Evolve?

Does webcasting help promote recordings in the expectation that listeners will go out and buy? Or is it just theft of free music? Should webcasters have to pay substantial royalties for the privilege of using recordings? Have big corporations consolidated the life out of traditional radio stations? These are questions confronting those trying to determine the future of music-casting.

An Arts Mayor Has Difficulty Delivering

When Atlanta’s new mayor was elected last year, hopes were high in the cultural community. “She not only understood the arts, she consumed them, championed them and lived with them long before she reached the top job at City Hall. The business of running Atlanta, however, has stifled the artistic muse. The city’s financial mess and archaic sewer system have prevented her from making arts and culture more of an official priority.”

Peel Back The Screen

It’s the art of worrying over the study or explanation of something. Suddenly ” ‘Meta” is a liminal term these days; it’s creeping more and more into everyday conversations, even if it’s not nearly as widespread as, say, ‘irony’. Some people talk about meta all the time…

The Real Dave Eggers – Who Knows?

Dave Eggers has a way of polarizing opinions about him. Is he a brilliant writer, a lone wolf who has gone his own way and eschewed Big Publishing? Or is he a shrewd PR guy who’s figured out how to play the fame game? “Eggers can’t lose: he will either be remembered as one of the leading American writers of the twenty-first century, or as someone who discovered, nurtured and galvanised those who are.”

San Jose Debut

San Jose’s new symphony orchestra to the stage this weekend. “Symphony San Jose’s success or failure will go a long way in determining the course of symphonic music in the South Bay. Some donors, patrons and musicians are still bitter over the bankruptcy of the 123-year-old orchestra. And even those most enthusiastic about the new orchestra are limiting themselves to a cautious embrace. `If this doesn’t happen, it’s never going to happen in San Jose ever again’.”

Vanska In The Wings

What is it about Finland and music these days? Some the best, hottest young conductors are Finnish, and they’re taking oversome of the world’s leading orchestras. “There must be more conductors of international class per capita in Finland than anywhere else in the world.” Is Osmo Vanska, recently appointed music director of the Minnesota Orchestra, the next Finnish star?

Suing Over A Lost Strad

The Dallas-based Cremona Society is suing a New York violin dealer after he lost a rare 288-year-old Stradivarius violin made in what is known as Stradivari’s “Golden Period.” The Society had consigned the instrument to dealer Christophe Landon in February, and in April Landon reported it missing. “I do not remember putting it back into the vault,” Landon said last week. He said he has tried hypnosis to jog his memory for possible clues.