“I tell you this to just let you know that an evening like last night was something I have been unable to give my wife but was one that now I know I have to no matter what.”
Tag: 12.18.12
Samuel L. Jackson Doesn’t Spare Directors, Other Actors – Or A.O. Scott
“It’s like, ‘Yes, motherfucker, I pay attention.’ Unlike other actors, I don’t lie and I don’t bullshit people. I read shit about me. I read everything I can about me. And if you say something bad about me and I agree with it, I’ll be OK with it. But if you say something that’s fucked-up … “
Kraftwerk Wins Anti-Sampling Ruling In Germany After 12-Year Case
“The question at the heart of the case is how far sampling the work of other artists – a mainstay of modern hip-hop and techno – is permissible when creating new music. The answer given by the Supreme Court is that it is only permissible if the same effect could not have been produced by the new artist himself.”
US’s Only Arts TV Network Dropped By Second-Largest Cable Provider
“Time Warner Cable plans to drop the small Santa Monica-based channel Ovation from its programming lineup at year’s end – a blow to the independent network that has attempted to elevate TV coverage of the arts and contemporary culture.”
Defending The Romance Novel
“Why is our devotion to this lovely, affirming storytelling something we should hide, or apologize for? Why this intellectual idea that romance is something to look down on? We know that many intelligent, educated women read it. They must: Romance continues to dominate the publishing industry, accounting for nearly $1.4 billion in sales in 2011, a full 14.3 percent of all consumer book sales.”
The Moral Ambiguity Of Mo Yan’s Work (And Shouldn’t We Celebrate It?)
“Am I being duped by pro-People’s Republic of China propaganda as Mo’s detractors might claim or did I discover the carefully crafted criticisms of the regime that my mother’s Taiwanese neighbor claims are there?”
Why Do People Get Upset About Grammar?
“What is annoying about people advertising their hatred of small grammatical errors is that it’s a fairly transparent status thing. Where once the aristocracy used to make a point of getting twitchy when others poured the milk in before the tea or had supper at 6 rather than 8, the intelligentsia now mark themselves out by being, by nature, “unable to stand” certain phrases. Why?”
LA Agrees To Finish Never-Opened Children’s Museum (As A Science Center)
“The never-opened Children’s Museum near Hansen Dam in Lake View Terrace has stood vacant since being completed in 2007. The Los Angeles City Council has cleared the way for the Discovery Science Center of Santa Ana to operate it.”
La Scala Ballet Dancers Declare Strike Over Raked Stage
“The heavily unionised dancers are fighting the use in a production of Romeo and Juliet … of a stage with a 10-degree slope which they say gives them backache, while chorus members are refusing to obey the choreographer’s request that they move in time to the music.”
Strike By Broadway Service Workers Averted
“Hundreds of theater workers, including bathroom attendants, porters and elevator operators – all represented by the 32BJ union – last week threatened to strike as their current contract speeds toward its expiration date on Dec. 30. On Monday, however, 32BJ reached a tentative agreement with theater producers of the Broadway League.”