East German Proletarian Art, Saved By The Web

“East German works of art that have largely been kept in store since German reunification are emerging from obscurity. Thanks to the online database Bildatlas: Kunst in der DDR (Picture atlas: art in the German Democratic Republic), 20,000 works have been catalogued and made publicly accessible. The project sheds light on a period that many had relegated to the dustbin of art history.”

More Music, Less Cash For Musicians

“The numbers are in. Subscription services such as Rdio and Spotify, free video streaming on YouTube and customized Internet radio stations such as Pandora are growing much faster than music downloading. But there’s not a lot of money there yet for your average recording artist. As a result, second-tier acts are struggling to find ways to make a living from their music.”

Did Peter Jackson Betray The Message Of The Hobbit?

“Bilbo’s decision not to use violence is at the heart of the quasi-Christian moral order of Tolkien’s world … [yet] the rest of [Jackson’s] film undercuts it – and, indeed, almost parodies it. The scene where Bilbo spares Gollum in the movie comes immediately after an extended, jovially bloody battle between dwarves and goblins, larded with visual jokes involving decapitation, disembowelment, and baddies crushed by rolling rocks.”