“Art experts say it’s the equivalent of stumbling upon a surprise Shakespeare play or a lost Homeric epic. At this point, we have only a tantalizing mystery — perhaps the unspooling of a new Da Vinci code — dangling on the slender thread of secrets and a handful of clues….”
Tag: 12.31.09
Cleveland Orchestra May Strike
“On the eve of 2010, the orchestra’s administration announced that the musicians had terminated the month-to-month extension under which they’ve been playing since September, and that as of midnight, no plan would be in place to pay the artists for work scheduled to begin Tuesday.”
An Idea To Make E-Books Sing
“Books are the indivisible sum of their parts, and an e-reader will never make reading accessible in the manner that the iPod has made music. But perhaps there is more to the notion of the playlist than first meets the eye.”
The Neurology Of Reading
“Reading is a relatively recent invention, dating to some 5,000 to 10,000 years ago. Our brains didn’t evolve to read.”
UK Government Children’s Reading Plan Called “Dumb”
“Clearly it’s trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator and recommending popular books concerning popular culture is not the best thing for young people at all.”
Lists – The 00’s Top-Selling Culture
“There is a striking theme. All of them are adaptations – of a novel, of a musical or a theme park ride.”
U2 Was 2009’s Top-Selling Concert Band
“U2 was the only act to cross the $100-million mark last year, and its nightly average at the box office pummeled the competition, at nearly $7.7 million per show. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which tallied nearly $95 million from 58 shows, follows U2 at No. 2 in Pollstar’s ranking.”
Rules Of Order – As English Evolves
“Too often, the mavens and pundits are talking through their hats. They’re guilty of turning superstitions into rules, and often their proclamations are nothing more than prejudice representing itself as principle.”
David Levine’s Genius: He ‘Brought Sobriety Back To Caricature’
“It’s useful to recall that when he came onto the scene the dominant mode was a lighter, comic illustration, and Al Hirschfeld was the reigning master.” At The New York Review of Books, “Levine harked back to the loftiest ambitions of great 19th-century illustration. He wanted to be biting but at the same time searching.”