“Mayor Nutter said yesterday that five of the 11 library branches once scheduled to close permanently on Thursday are instead on track to be taken over by private foundations, wealthy individuals, companies, and community development corporations. … Though the services would vary from branch to branch, Nutter said the centers would likely retain book collections, computers, and perhaps even trained librarians.”
Tag: 12.30.08
Philly Mayor’s Orchestra Grant Has Echoes Of Politics Past
“Last spring … Mayor Nutter met privately with Harold Sorgenti, chairman of the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, and agreed to provide a $250,000 unscheduled grant to the city’s premier music ensemble.” The funding was taken from the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, some of whose board members “argue that the Nutter administration … has now undermined the integrity of an arts-funding process that was explicitly designed to steer clear of the muddying influence of politics.”
Children’s Book Based On False Holocaust Tale Is Recalled
“The children’s book based on the story of a Holocaust survivor who met his future wife when she tossed him apples over a concentration camp fence has been recalled. The move came a few days after the North Miami-Dade couple on whom the book was based admitted their love story was a lie. Angel Girl was written by Coral Gables children’s book author Laurie Friedman and illustrated by Israeli illustrator Ofra Amit.”
Live Nation Dumping Ticketmaster, But Prices Won’t Drop
On Friday, Live Nation ditches its longstanding relationship with Ticketmaster to launch its own ticketing service. Thus “some have floated the possibility that competition will drive ticket prices and extraneous service charges down. Live Nation has no firm plans to lower either….”
Would Oliver Twist Really Have Needed More Gruel?
“Six melancholic one-syllable words to summon all we know and feel about stark deprivation: ‘Please, sir, I want some more.’ But what if we coldly ask whether Oliver really needed any more — that is, was the Victorian workhouse diet sufficient for a 9-year-old boy?”
In 50 States For 24 Hours, Dancing As Meditation On War
“How about watching someone, blindfolded and wearing earplugs, move continuously in one space for 24 hours? How about doing it yourself? As of Monday afternoon there were still 19 spots open in ‘freedom of information 2008,’ organized by the choreographer Miguel Gutierrez in response to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Bush, Reader In Chief — But What Kind Of Reader?
“In what without a doubt is the most astounding op-ed piece of the year, Karl Rove reveals that his friend and former boss, George W. Bush, has read probably hundreds of books over the course of his presidency. … But the books themselves reveal — actually, confirm — something about Bush that maybe Rove did not intend. They are not the reading of a widely read man, but instead the books of a man who seeks — and sees — vindication in every page.”
Newbery Winners, Where White Boys Live In Intact Families
“Characters depicted in Newbery winners are more likely to be white, male and come from two-parent households than the average U.S. child, according to a Brigham Young University study. The trend has accelerated even as the U.S. has diversified, with fewer black and Hispanic main characters in the past 27 years than in the Civil Rights era of 1951-79.”
Before The Art Bubble Burst, It Was An Astonishing Year
“Art prices extended a seven-year surge for much of 2008, with a Claude Monet painting of water lilies, Lucian Freud’s portrait of a civil servant called Sue and a Francis Bacon triptych setting records. A 111.5 million pound ($162 million at current rates) sale of Damien Hirst works in September featured pickled unicorns, flying pigs and a golden calf with 18-carat hooves and horns.” Then, of course, everything changed.