Arts, Briefly: Mothballing a Critic- June 24, 2008 In the wave of buyouts and layoffs hitting newspapers this season, The Kansas City Star has decided it can no longer afford a classical music critic. Paul Horsley, who took the critics job eight years ago, was quoted on the Web site MusicalAmerica.com as saying, I think it was a very corporate decision. He added, I think they eliminated the beat they thought they could most easily farm out. Kansas Citys orchestra, opera and ballet companies are said to be organizing a formal protest. The...http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/arts/24arts-MOTHBALLINGA_BRF.html?partner=rssnyt&emc... Arts, Briefly: Borat, in Good Company- June 24, 2008 Who said you cant get anywhere being rude and obnoxious Sacha Baron Cohen, below, the irreverent creator of Borat, was one of 105 people asked to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday, Agence France-Presse reported. Also on the list was Marion Cotillard, who won an Oscar this year for her portrayal of dith Piaf in La Vie en Rose; Josh Brolin, who starred in No Country for Old Men and is playing President Bush in Oliver Stones forthcoming film W; the martial arts master..http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/arts/24arts-BORATINGOODC_BRF.html?partner=rssnyt&emc... Arts, Briefly: The Olympics Compete- June 24, 2008 NBCs coverage of the United States Olympic Trials gave the network a boost in the ratings on Sunday, making it No. 1 for the night among adults 18 to 49. But that was not enough to pull NBC ahead among total viewers. According to Nielsens estimates, the womens gymnastics contenders put NBC in the lead in the 18-to-49 demographic during the 7 and 8 p.m. hours despite averaging only a modest total audience of 6.2 million. That tally fell short of CBSs programming in those time slots: 60 Minutes...http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/arts/24arts-THEOLYMPICSC_BRF.html?partner=rssnyt&emc... Arts, Briefly: More Closing Doors- June 24, 2008 Regional theaters arent the only cultural places falling on hard times. Codys Bookstore in Berkeley, Calif., a literary lighthouse for more than 50 years, closed for good on Friday. Yohan Inc., a Japanese distributor and retailer, bought the store in 2005, and Hirosho Kagawa, Yohans president, said in a statement posted on the bookstores Web site, codysbooks.com: Unfortunately, my current business is not strong enough or rich enough to support Codys. Of course, the store has been suffering from.http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/arts/24arts-MORECLOSINGD_BRF.html?partner=rssnyt&emc... Arts, Briefly: An Author Enters a Fray- June 24, 2008 The prizewinning British author Ian McEwan has caused a minor uproar by saying that he despised Islamism because of its intolerance of homosexuality and its limits on womens freedom, The Telegraph of London reported. Mr. McEwan, right, known for his many novels including Enduring Love and Atonement, made the comments to the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera while defending his friend the writer Martin Amis from charges of racism. Mr. Amis has written that people who look as though they are..http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/arts/24arts-ANAUTHORENTE_BRF.html?partner=rssnyt&emc... Music Review: A Seductive Urban Sound Hushes Carnegie Hall- June 24, 2008 In the hands of Joo Gilberto, who returned to Carnegie Hall for a JVC Jazz Festival concert on Sunday, Bossa nova is very clearly an urban music.http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/arts/music/24gilb.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Books of The Times: A Familiar Tale of a Man Losing Himself in the Wild- June 24, 2008 While David Guterson has created an engaging enough voice for his narrator, Neil Countryman, much of his novel feels derivative and overly familiar.http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/books/24kaku.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Dan Brown Tourists: Next Stop, Rome- June 24, 2008 Will the film version of Dan Browns novel Angels and Demons help relaunch American tourism in Romehttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/movies/24ange.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss |