Postings this week might be a bit spotty because of a recent loss in our family. Our youngest of two cats, Gizmo, was stricken late Sunday Monday night by a catastrophic blood clot which within the space of about 10 seconds caused him to lose the use of his hind legs. [Read more →]

Douglas McLennan has written a very interesting blog entry about his take on the state of the fine arts in this country, which might include the fact that classical music and/or the fine arts might be the next mass cultural phenomenon. Far fetched? Maybe, but his decidedly non “the sky is falling” approach to the subject is laudable and encouraging. A brief sample:

In 1950 there was only one full time orchestra in America. In 1965, there were only three state arts commissions. Now there are 18 full 52-week orchestras, and more than 3,000 arts commissions at the local and state levels. The 1990s were the biggest expansion of arts activity in American history; we went on a construction binge, building more than $25 billion worth of new museums, theatres, concert halls and cultural centers. Since 1990, almost one-third of all American museums have expanded their facilities. Major American museums such as the Met and the Museum of Modern Art are now so crowded the experience of visiting them has degraded.