Gee, Maybe This Could Have Stopped Prop 8

“A gay version of the Bible, in which God says it is better to be gay than straight, is to be published by an American film producer. New Mexico-based Revision Studios will publish The Princess Diana Bible – so named because of Diana’s ‘many good works’, it says – online at princessdianabible.com in spring 2009. A preview of Genesis is already available, in which instead of creating Adam and Eve, God creates Aida and Eve.”

The Library Of The Future

While municipal spending on libraries (along with everything else) is down these days, spending on CDs and DVDs is rising. Rem Koolhaas’s new Seattle Public Library “showed that good design and new services could make the library an attraction to rival galleries and cinemas.” The old Whitechapel Library in London was replaced by the Whitechapel Idea Store, which “boasts a crèche, CD and DVD lending and, most essentially, free internet access. Is calling it an ‘Idea Store’ a piece of New Labour marketing or a genuine attempt to demystify the library and make it open to new users?… Librarians now find themselves having to act as guides not just to information itself, but to the myriad ways of accessing it that are available.”

Charleston Stage Cuts Staff and Salaries

The South Carolina Lowcountry’s largest theater company has laid off three staff members (out of 13) and instituted an across-the-board 6% pay cut for the remaining employees. (In addition, company founder Julian Wiles is deferring one-fifth of his salary for a year.) Charleston Stage’s fundraising is down by nearly half from last year, and the shortfall comes at a particularly bad time: the company has had to lease temporary venues while its home, the Dock Street Theatre, is being renovated.

Lost Cantors Of Rome, Found

Last year composer Yotam Haber was nosing around some archives in Rome when he found some historic recordings of cantors from Roman synagogues, which maintained a distinct chant style through the centuries. He has incorporated some of those recordings in his new score, death will come and she shall have your eyes.

$300K Sculpture Crushed, Ruined En Route To Art Miami

“Carole Feuerman’s artwork, Survival of Serena, is a haunting, vivid sculpture of a woman clinging for dear life to an inner tube. But Survival of Serena, which traveled to Venice and Beijing, did not survive the trip to Miami. The sculpture, estimated at $300,000, was destroyed and crushed into pieces on its way from Venice to Miami International Airport, where it arrived Wednesday.”

Is England’s Free-Ticket Initiative Brilliant Or Barking Mad?

“Later this month the Arts Council will announce which theatres across the country will be giving away a million free tickets to under-26-year-olds to every show in their programmes, starting in February.” Britain’s youth must be delighted. “And with a government subsidy of £2.5 million to deliver the free ticket scheme, theatres themselves must be feeling equally festive. Or are they?”