“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.”
Tag: 12.01.08
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.”
At Least One Of Saddam Hussein’s Palaces To Become Art Museum
“The British Army is offering to help create a museum in Basra, which would be set up by the Iraqi authorities in one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces,” set by an artificial lake in the Iraqi port city.
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.
Odetta Stricken With Kidney Failure
The revered African-American folksinger, now 77, was hospitalized in late October in New York City as her kidneys gave out. Doctors stabilized her condition and she is on dialysis; she remains determined to perform at the inauguration of President Barack Obama in January.
$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?”
Economic Watch: Save $$$ By Reading Your Own Books!
“My self-imposed challenge this week was to save money by reading a book that I own but have never read. … Try it yourself and see how many pitiful excuses you can find for not reading a book you own.”
NEA: Women Artists Earn Less Than Men
“As a follow-up to its report ‘Artists in the Workforce, 1990-2005,’ released in June, the National Endowment for the Arts is releasing today the results of a closer examination of the gender pay gap between men and women artists discovered by the original study. Surprise — women artists earn less.”