Want to be a literary star? Lit Idol is based on the format of TV’s Pop Idol. “Writers must submit up to 10,000 words from the opening chapters of their novels and a synopsis. Professional readers will choose a shortlist of five following the competition closing date on 14 January. The final five will then have to read their work in front of judging panel. A public vote will also take place, which will account for 25% of the final decision.”
Tag: 11.22.04
An Alternative Universe View Of The New MoMA
“We just had an election that turned, in part, on cultural values—and we Blue Staters lost! Now we have a new modern art museum with a $20 admission fee to divide us further. The paper called MoMA ‘indispensable to our shared cultural legacy,’ but there’s nothing ‘shared’ about the culture on view inside. If the dominant institution in the Red States is the church, then welcome to MoMA, where the Blue States pray! And what a cathedral to Blue State values it is! Looking around the new MoMA, all I saw was sex, death, longing, misery, anguish—and that’s just the café menu.”
Italy Returning Obelisk To Ethiopia
Italy is finally sending a stolen obelisk back to Ethiopia. “The monument is one of a group of six obelisks erected at Axum when Ethiopia adopted Christianity in the 4th century A.D. It was stolen by the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in 1937 and turned into a symbol of fascist power during his short-lived efforts to revive the grandeur of imperial Rome. Despite signing various agreements that promised to return the 1,700-year-old monument, the Italian government showed no signs of doing so until the obelisk was badly damaged by lightning in a thunderstorm in 2003.”
US Senate Passes New Copyright Bill
“The US Senate passed a scaled-back version of a controversial copyright bill Saturday, keeping a provision that imposes severe penalties on people caught with camcorders in movie theaters but scrapping other provisions that copyright-reform activists had criticized.”
The Software Art Connoisseur
A group of Dartmouth researchers have developed software they say can detect whether artwork is authentic or not. “There are properties in an artist’s pen and brush strokes that aren’t visible to the human eye, but that are there nonetheless. And we can find them, through mathematical, statistical analysis.”
The British TV Crisis
British television is in trouble. “Everything about British broadcasting at the moment points to too much television relying on the unsustainable business model of the 30-second ad slot. The current industry woes are mere detail against the broader ongoing issues of imminent analogue switch-off, BBC Charter renewal and the droning cultural lament about the general depravity and worthlessness of current screen fodder. We know from experience that crises are a cyclical part of the business, but the changes in technology, audience behaviour and the expectation society has of its linear media mean that we are now at a turning point for our great broadcasting institutions, some of which, at least, will not survive the next decade.”
America’s Top Arts Private Fundraisers
Which American arts organizations raised the most money from private donors last year? Carnegie Hall came first, bringing in $82.7, and the Met Opera was second with $68.6 million. But No. 7 was the Nashville Symphony?
Signals – The Death Of VCR’s
Britain’s largest electronics store will no longer sell VCR’s. “The final nail in the coffin for VCRs is the low price of DVD players, which can now be bought for as little as £25. The cost of DVD recorders are also falling to a level within reach of many consumers.”
Greeks Threaten To Sue Stone Over Alexander
Greek lawyers are threatening to sue Oliver Stone over his depiction of Alexander the Great as bisexual. “The lawyers have already requested that a credit is added to the start of the film to make it clear it is pure fiction. Warner Bros and Stone have not made any direct comment about the request.”
The Honorable Terry Teachout
AJ blogger Terry Teachout has just been confirmed by the US Senate as a member of the National Council on the Arts. As the most voracious consumer (and connoisseur) of art we’ve ever met, the honor is well deserved. Congratulations Terry.