MORE ON CRITICISM

posted to Cue Sheet by James Reel

Violist-blogger Charles Noble provides some interesting statistics linking newspaper and orchestral demographics, and critic Justin Davidson, one of the few who does still have a job in the mainstream media, offers a solution to the decline in professional arts criticism in American communities: online arts bulletins funded by consortia of local arts organizations. I’m not sure how a critic’s editorial independence would figure into this—the critic would be paid, indirectly, by the very institutions being reviewed—but it’s worth some thought.

DAVINCI PLAYERS

posted to Cue Sheet by James Reel

My contribution to the Tucson Weekly this weekend is a look at the Da Vinci Players:

In a recent lunchtime chat about his work, the only word Robert Encila used more than "community" was some variant of "connection." It's even in the name of his arts-education organization: Studio Connections. Consider his choice of namesake for Studio Connections' acting troupe, the Da Vinci Players: "Leonardo was the inspiration, because he worked in almost every artistic and scientific discipline in the Renaissance," he said. "The Da Vinci Players and Studio Connections are about integrating disciplines. We're making connections with artists in a lot of different fields."

You can read more and find out about the group’s production of Barefoot in the Park, opening this weekend, here.

BIOS SCHMIOS

posted to Rappaport's Notebook by Robert Rappaport

This website soon will have long-overdue bios about the on-air staff. For those of you who actually care what we look like and where we come from, you dreams will come true, but there is a caveat...

Management is asking us to write our own bios, so you might not want to put full faith in what you read. I'm not saying they'll be dishonest, but there's a fine line in making yourself not come off like a snooty, overqualified gift to broadcasting or a Joe Blow who simply fell into a good job.

One of the tricky areas in a bio is making your hobbies sound interesting. Sure, it's fun sitting at home watching pro wrestling and reruns of Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond, but do you really want to say that? It sounds a bit classier to say you enjoy reading Shakespeare, attending the symphony and listening to classical music.

After many years of reading and hearing bios of others, only one really sticks in my memory. It's from an "icon" in broadcasting and starts like this...

"It all started at a 500-watt radio station in Fresno, California."

If you don't know who said that, drop me an email and I'll tell you. Until then, stay tuned!

NOTHIN' BUT PROBLEMS

posted to Delivering the Impossible by Joseph Leingang

We here at ONM definitely pride ourselves at doing the "impossible." Right now the impossible is getting 10 website powered by a massive database, and using several hundred gigs of media to run on the same box. You may have noticed some weirdness with the site(s) lately -- this is because we basically ran out of memory and capacity. This definitely happened a lot sooner than expected, but we hadn't anticipated the early and often demand for things like searching schedules (arguably the heaviest task performed). Heretofore we have remained rather obsequious in our efforts to prevent any slowdowns, but we have never taken the time to inform you why they may be happening. For the rest of the week and next we will be testing more aggressive performance measures that will hopefully bring us back up to snuff.

A BUGGY PROBLEM

posted to Rappaport's Notebook by Robert Rappaport

Are you being "bugged" by pest these days? If so, you're not alone...and it will only get worse.

Pest control companies in Tucson say they've been working overtime during the monsoon, helping people whose homes are being overridden by bugs. Experts say the insects leave their normal homes in the ground during the rainy season and seek shelter inside, to do things such as mating and laying eggs in your home.

You can minimize infestation by eliminating any clutter around your home that may provide hiding places for the pests, seal any gaps around your doors and windows and remove standing water. Mosquitoes and other little critters can use that water for breeding purposes.

I've also found that it's a good idea to keep your outside lights off when it gets dark, or you'll have those crunchy June bugs throwing themselves into your screens. Ah, what a life...crawl, throw, shoe, splat!

"CAR TALK" GUYS GO ANIMATED

posted to Rappaport's Notebook by Robert Rappaport

Oh my, NPR's "Car Talk" is going to PBS...as a cartoon!

Beginning tomorrow, PBS tries to tap into the popularity of "Car Talk" by putting a new spin on the show, a cartoon called "Click & Clack's As the Wrench Turns." The stars of the Boston-based radio show, Tom and Ray Magliozzi, reportedly own the new television show, which will air mostly during Prime Time hours.

I'm not sure this is on the same caliber as "The War" or "Carrier," but I guess PBS may be trying to appeal to a different audience than those who like shows about history, nature and "Britcoms." Let's wait and see if it works.

Show's website

Click here for AZPM air times for the new show.

Read AP Article about the show