“Whatever non-Christian aspect of Christmas you treasure (maybe it’s your mom’s shortbread), you needn’t feel guilty. Even though this is the time of year when many people say our society has lost sight of the true meaning of the season, there’s no reason you shouldn’t enjoy all of the magnificent secular infrastructure that now surrounds Christmas. It’s too good to pass up.”
Tag: 12.22.05
Where’s Our Sense Of Utopia?
“There is no doubt that we’re living in anti-utopian times. The political imagination is, if not dead exactly, certainly in a coma. Politics today is about fiddling, making a tweak here or there but not changing anything much. We can’t conceive of a future much better than the present. Perhaps we imagine that computers will be quicker and mobile phones cleverer, but there is little notion that human beings could live vastly more fulfilled and improved lives than our own. There is no sense that history holds possibilities that we haven’t yet imagined. Utopian impulses persist, of course, but these impulses are for the most part expressed in banal ways.”
Africa Ponders Cultural Policy
African ministers of culture met in Kenya this week to talk about the need for cultural policy. “The meeting with the theme Culture, Integration and African Renaissance’ was quite relevant at a time when the impact of the globalisation on the African continent and its culture can no longer be ignored. This was therefore a watershed conference that gave direction to the member states of the African Union on the need to curve out common approaches to cultural matters within the international cultural forum.”
Judge Strikes Down California Restrictions On Sales Of Violent Video Games
“A federal judge has blocked a California law that would have made it illegal to sell or rent violent video games to minors, saying he doubted whether such sales could be banned even if the games were proved to cause violent behavior among children.”
Washington Ballet’s Confusing Labor Woes
“The dispute over whether the dancers had declared a strike last week (management’s view) or were locked out by management (as the dancers claim) has been given a new twist. For the past two days, when the dancers have shown up for their previously scheduled rehearsals, they have been turned away by Artistic Director Septime Webre. Money is not the primary issue. The thorny questions involve how much control Webre should have. Can he hire and fire without restrictions? Can he change the size of the company? Should there be limits on how he conducts rehearsals to prevent injuries?”
NY Gallery Declares Bankruptcy
From the outside, New York’s Berry-Hill Gallery looks prosperous. “But two weeks ago, Berry-Hill filed for bankruptcy in federal court, listing more than 100 creditors, debts ranging as high as $50 million and assets of $50 million to $100 million. And its directors, James and Frederick D. Hill, are at the center of a scandal that has been the focus of whispers in the art world since an ill-fated auction at Christie’s in May.”
Latino Theatre Gets LA Theatre Center Lease
The Los Angeles City Council has voted to award the Latino Theater Company a 20-year lease to manage the Los Angeles Theatre Center, the municipally owned complex on Spring Street in downtown L.A.
Nielsen To Measure DVR Usage
The TV ratings company Nielsen will begin measuring viewing habits of those who use digital recordered like Tivo. “Responding to the requests of clients who wanted to know how DVR use affected viewing, Nielsen will now offer three ratings per program and network: Live, Live/Same Day (which includes same-day playback via DVR) and Live+7 Day Ratings (live along with time-shifted viewing up to 168 hours after airing). The first overnight ratings with live and same-day sets of data will be Wednesday; the first Live+7 streams will be available two weeks after the Monday-Sunday cycle.”
Soprano Cancels Carnegie Debut
Russian soprano Anna Netrebko has canceled her Carnegie Hall debut. “After much thought, I have asked Carnegie Hall for permission to postpone my recital on March 2, 2006, to a future season. I have sung very few recitals in my career, and I do not feel artistically ready yet to present a recital program on the great stage of Carnegie Hall.”
Largest Russian Gallery Opens
The Yakut Gallery – 100-square metres large – is “located in an early 20th-century factory behind the Kursky train station in the centre of Moscow. To reach it, visitors must first pass by scowling Soviet-style guards and then walk down a decrepit path, past dilapidated buildings, to get to the cylindrical red-brick gallery, which was built as a natural-gas cistern 100 years ago. This stands in sharp contrast to most Moscow galleries, which are located in upmarket neighbourhoods. None of this seems to bother art collectors in Moscow. In fact, they seem to positively enjoy the poverty of the area.”