Category Archives: Culture

It is impossible, today, to experience a work of art the same way as it would have been experienced 100 or 200 or 400 years ago. Orchestras can play baroque music on original instruments; churches can display the same altarpieces … Continue reading →

The ongoing debate over Google Print Google Book Search is yet another manifestation of a more fundamental debate over intellectual property rights. But one thing has been nagging at me for a while, and it’s based on the whole idea … Continue reading →

I haven’t posted here since mid-September; it’s now November. I have a couple of excuses (I got married, had a honeymoon, am moving house, have been posting at MemeFirst), but it’s still a very poor show. Maybe all the goings-on … Continue reading →

I had this very conversation just yesterday, when my friend Ephrat came over at lunchtime with a tailcoat she’d embroidered for my upcoming wedding. But today Lindsay has nailed it with a bile-filled stream-of-consciousness rant which I sympathise with 100%. … Continue reading →

The New York Times can’t compete with the Wall Street Journal on general business and finance stories. But it does have aspirations to own one particular beat: media, that most New York of American businesses. So when Lachlan Murdoch resigned … Continue reading →

I’ve just got back from London, after an absence of about a year in which time I bought a New York City apartment. I don’t know if that’s why, but this time was my first visit ever where I didn’t … Continue reading →

Yesterday, I was unhappy, because my computer had to make a trip to the emergency room. Today, I am happy, because it is back and shiny and happy and has a Tiger in the tank. With any luck, this development … Continue reading →

Dia: Chelsea is relocating to become Dia: Meatpacking, anchoring the southern end of the High Line redevelopment. The New York Times quotes Michael Govan, Dia’s director: Plans call for building a simple two-story museum with 45,000 square feet of gallery … Continue reading →

Sometimes the wall between the news and opinion pages at US newspapers is mildly exasperating. Last Sunday, the opinion page of the City section of the New York Times ran an interesting editorial about the Ground Zero Freedom Tower, saying … Continue reading →

Imagine it’s still 2000: during the bubble, before Spitzer. The market’s white-hot, and IPOs from hyped young companies are hugely in demand. The broker-dealers deliberately underprice the IPOs they get, guaranteeing mark-to-market profits for their favoured customers – the ones … Continue reading →