“A last minute campaign to try and halt the refurbishment and upgrade of Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms is gathering support from performers and audiences who have used the iconic Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue over the last 30 years.”
Tag: 12.07.10
Why Religious People Tend to Be Happier
“It’s not their spirituality, belief in heaven, or even the ritual act of praying or going to a house of worship that leads the pious to happiness. Rather, the study found, it’s the close friends people gain through their religions that makes a difference.”
Hockney in Pixels
“David Hockney thinks his current exhibition may be the first one that’s ever been 100 percent e-mailed to a gallery.” All the paintings in the show were made on – and are displayed on – iPhones and iPads.
Protests At Smithsonian Over Removal Of Wojnarowicz Video
“In 1989 Senator Jesse Helms demonized Robert Mapplethorpe’s sexuality, and by extension, his art, and with little effort pulled a cowering art world to its knees. His weapon was threatening to disrupt the already pitiful federal support for the arts. And once again, that same weapon is being brandished, and once again we cower.”
Bookselling In Distress? Maybe Not…
“Three items of current, unrelated book news suggest that now – as never before – the printed word remains in rude good health, despite the merchants of doom.”
Google Teams Up With Indy Bookstores
Google is allowing merchants to sell its inventory of 3 million electronic books through their own sites and bring in more money as they scramble to adjust to the rising popularity of e-readers such as Amazon’s Kindle and computer tablets such as Apple’s iPad.
Charting The Decline Of Classical Music
“Following a trend that can be traced back to the 1990s and beyond, classical music is confronting an increasingly unsustainable combination of escalating costs, sagging philanthropy, aging audiences and declining attendance.”
London Announces Cultural Olympiad Lineup
“More than 1,000 events – some ticketed, some free – will make up the UK-wide cultural celebration, running from 21 June to 9 September 2012.”
Wikileaks – A Challenge For Historians
“As confused as the early analysis of the WikiLeaks cables has been, it is in the long term that their effect will be most negative for political scientists and diplomatic historians.”
An All-Too-Predictable Culture War
“Against this remarkable backdrop of landmark civil rights advances, long thought impossible, came last week’s Smithsonian dust-up. The public had registered no complaints about the show, but a small, familiar cast of voluble anti-gay pressure groups, politicians and media did. They have read the civil rights handwriting on the wall, and they threw a tantrum. The Smithsonian acquiesced.”