Culture
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Culture No Overabundance of Cheer in Final Report on Rivers' Holiday Market
Posted by George Prentice on Wed, May 9, 2012 at 8:40 AM
Boise developer Mark Rivers, who created and helped fund a $750,000 Holiday Market for the city of Niagara Falls, N.Y., turned in his final report to city officials of the Upstate New York city this week, indicating that the inaugural event "achieved its principal goals," but at least one official, Niagara Falls Council Chairman Sam Fruscione, an outspoken critic of the event, said the final audit did not provide enough specifics and that "the organization was terrible."
The Niagara Falls Gazette reported that the final accounting showed that the 37-day event, which ran between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, grossed $750,656 but event expenses totaled $792,422.
Rivers wrote in the report that the event brought "activity, commerce and holiday spirit" to the honeymoon capital.
But according to this morning's Buffalo News, Fruscione "accused Rivers of using public money for his own gain and even suggested he could face civil or criminal penalties."
Fruscione said he opposed a 2012 verson of the market, but Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster said the market drew thousands of people to a an area that had been desolate in wintertime and was generally open to the idea of another market.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Culture Burning Man to Appeal BLM Probation for Exceeding Crowd Limits
Posted by George Prentice on Sun, Apr 22, 2012 at 10:02 AM
The 2013 edition of Burning Man, the counterculture gathering that attracts tens of thousands of partiers, is under threat of having its license pulled if it continues to exceed the capacity of its permits on federal land.
The Associated Press reports that the Bureau of Land Management is upset because last year's offbeat gathering in the Nevada desert drew crowds of more than 53,000 attendees, exceeding its permit, which allowed no more than 50,000. According to the AP, it's the first time Burning Man has been placed on probation since moving its event from the San Francisco area to the Nevada desert.
Burning Man representatives said they'll appeal the probation, because if the probation stands for two straight years, the BLM could suspend or cancel future permit applications.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Culture Activists Rally to End Sexual Abuse
Posted by Andrew Crisp on Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 3:05 PM
On the steps of the Idaho State Capitol Friday morning, activists turned out to commemorate Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month. The cold, windy morning set dozens of blue and silver pinwheels spinning.
"We love wind," said Roger Sherman, executive director of the Idaho Children's Trust Fund, "because we love pinwheels."
The Pinwheels for Prevention, as they're called, are a symbol of Prevent Child Abuse America, aimed at keeping the issue of childhood sexual abuse in the minds of everyone. The attendees cheered Sherman as he talked about the problem of abuse in American society.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Culture Britannica Stops Printing Encyclopedias
Posted by George Prentice on Wed, Mar 14, 2012 at 9:21 AM
Being the go-to resource for more than two centuries, Encyclopaedia Britannica is about to stop the presses. Its 2010 edition will be its last printing.
Volumes of the encyclopedia were a fixture in American living rooms through much of the 20th century, but the realities of the digital age have sometimes made the books irrelevant. According to The New York Times, the last print version, from 2010, was 32 volumes and weighed 120 pounds. It had a price tage of $1,395. Only 8,000 set were sold.
Sales of the Britannica peaked in 1990, when 120,000 sets were sold in the United States. But today, 85 percent of the company's revenue comes from selling text books on math, science and the English language.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Culture Most Overused Words of 2011?
Posted by George Prentice on Sun, Jan 1, 2012 at 10:14 AM
Among the year-end lists of "bests," "worsts" and "mosts" comes the annual list of words most overused.
Students at Michigan's Lake Superior State University come up with the list each New Year's Eve, and previous winners have been "shovel ready" in 2010, "battleground states" in 2005, "24/7" in 2000 and "family values" in 1995.
Leading the list in 2011 was "amazing," with nominees pointing to Martha Stewart, Anderson Cooper and most reality television hosts as regular abusers of the word.
Other nominees this year were "occupy," "shared sacrifice," "blowback" and "mancave." Other vote-getters included "the new normal" and "ginormous."
The school began its list of words proposed for banishment in 1976, when it named "at this point in time" as a linguistic dud.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Culture Top 10 Banned Books
Posted by George Prentice on Sat, Oct 1, 2011 at 10:57 AM
As it does every year at this time, the American Library Association is marking Banned Books Week with its list of the top 10 most frequently challenged books of the year. The list includes vampires, sexually-curious teens and vampires.
1. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
3. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
4. Crank by Ellen Hopkins
5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
6. Lush by Natasha Friend
7. What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
8. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
9. Revolutionary Voices by Amy Sonnie
10. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
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