“In the age of [James] Patterson, [Harry] Potter and Game of Thrones, Indian authors have brought their own special flavours to the table: mass-market fiction based on reinterpretations of the two great Hindu epic narratives, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.” Readers are devouring it, and it’s becoming very big business.
Tag: 11.26.16
Was James Booker The Best New Orleans Pianist Ever?
“Booker on a good night was a wonder of the world… Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, and other peers had huge admiration for Booker’s talent; but his long battle with drugs, the mystery of the missing eye beneath the star-emblazoned black patch and the stark swings of mood suggesting bipolar disorder gave him the reputation of a crazy. A loveable crazy, sometimes, but he was also prone to darkness and unpredictability.”
David Hamilton, Long-Controversial Photographer, Dead In Apparent Suicide Following Rape Allegations From Former Child Models
His soft-focus nudes of 12- and 13-year-old girls were for many years at the center of “Is it art or is it porn?” debates. Last week, one of his former subjects, now a radio presenter in France, publicly accused him of raping her and claimed that other former models of his had similar stories.
The Most-Downloaded Christmas Songs Of All Time
A caveat: downloading is a fairly recent phenomenon, so the results might surprise you. “As researched by Billboard, the answer lies within Nielsen Music, which began tracking all digital-music sales in 2003.”
The Holiday Shows That Pay For Everything Else
Sure, you might be tired of A Christmas Carol – but if you’re the theatre putting it on (or the ballet company putting on The Nutcracker, or … ), it can help pay for those experimental plays you produce the rest of the season. And a holiday show “sparks multi-generational sales, with families taking in the show together, bringing the average up to five tickets per sale. You don’t have to be a marketing wiz to see how such math benefits the organization.”
The Revenge Of The Video Store
No, not everything is available on streaming (as a matter of fact, most things are not). The few indie video/DVD/Blu-Ray stores that survived the 2000s are coming back strong. “Saving the video is sort of cultural stewardship. …If you want to see stuff from 15, 20, 30 years ago, you have to do deep detective work if it’s not a famous movie.”
A Modern Temple Of Brutalism That Not Only Actually Works, But Sets A Gold Standard
The Louis Kahn-designed Jonas Salk Institute has turned 50, but it’s holding up better than most buildings its age. Plus, it works beautifully: “‘I would say this is the best way to build a laboratory building,’ says Thomas Albright, a neurobiologist who has worked at the Salk for three decades.”
What Do Hollywood Moguls Do When They Get Laid Off?
Of course, they have a lot of money, so that’s not the stressor. Instead, it’s the perception of power that they miss. “Sure, cue the tiny violins if you want. … Show business is a small, incestuous and, in some cases, cruel club.”
Disney’s Archivist Devoted His Life To Documenting Everything In An Industry That Tries To Forget Everything
The archivist “is perhaps the most respected, if unheralded, member of a small clique of in-house Hollywood historians, someone who has quietly dedicated his life to assiduously documenting, preserving and cataloging all facets of America’s most iconic entertainment company.”
Some Seattle Residents Are Upset At Plans To Renovate And Expand The Asian Art Museum
A community meeting brought out forces of opposition – because, they say, park space in the city is limited, and the museum should expand downtown instead.