WASHINGTON – The massive economic stimulus bill moving through Congress is being watched closely by arts groups across the country, including the Massachusetts Cultural Council. If the House version becomes law, the National Endowment for the Arts would get $50 million – and the council’s federal funding would soar by nearly 50 percent.
Preparations for the inauguration ceremony tomorrow for the 44th President of the United States of America have been taking place for months now. Security, transportation, logistics, sanitation, everything you can think of to accomodate the predicted millions of attendees descending on Washington, D.C. President-elect Obama arrived in Washington by train, starting in Pennsylvania, passing through Wilmington and Baltimore. Here are some photographs of the various events and preparations taking place heading into tomorrow.
Wendy Cadge is fascinated by the intersection of religion and medicine. The 33-year-old Brandeis University sociologist has spent years walking the halls of hospitals, interviewing physicians, nurses, and chaplains, and analyzing the offerings, often written on scraps of paper, that people tuck into hospital prayer books – she calls them snippets of the intimate conversations people have with God. Cadge’s …
Why do we teach the arts in schools? In an educational system strapped for money and increasingly ruled by standardized tests, arts courses can seem almost a needless extravagance, and the arts are being cut back at schools across the country.
May 9th was observed as “Victory Day” in Russia and (to varying degrees) many former Eastern Bloc countries. Commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany 64 years ago, in 1945, Victory Day is both a day of remembrance and recently, for the Russian government, an opportunity to revive the nation’s armed forces and global clout. Upwards of 27 million Soviets, both military and civilian, lost their lives in World War II, between 1941 and 1945, and the impact of that conflict still reverberates strongly. Collected here are photos of the recent Victory Day Parade in Moscow, and several other observances in former Eastern Bloc countries.
General Electric Co.’s agreement to buy out the portion of NBC Universal it doesn’t already own paves the way for the sale of a controlling stake to Comcast Corp. in a deal that promises to reshape the entertainment industry.
Michael Jackson’s stunning death made him Yahoo’s biggest star this year. The quest to find out what happened to Jackson in his final hours on June 25 and celebrate his legacy elevated the late entertainer to the top of the Internet company’s annual breakdown of the most frequent online search requests.
Media companies wishing to thrive in the digital age need to persuade consumers to pay for news online by providing compelling information in any form they want, News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch said Tuesday.
The federal government is wading into deliberations over the future of journalism as printed newspapers, television stations and other traditional media outlets suffer from Americans’ growing reliance on the Internet.
BillShrink, the startup that looks to help users save money across verticals including cell phones, credit cards, and savings accounts, has just announced that it has grown to 1 million members since its launch in April 2008. Alongside the milestone, the site is also announcing that it has found “$1 billion in savings on everyday bills”.
That second statistic is a little confusing. BillShrink basically means that if its users had signed up for the top matches generated by its cost cutting tools, they would have saved a total of $1 billion. Of course, not everyone who uses the service decides to change their cell phone carrier or credit card, so the total amount of money saved isn’t that high. That said, this is the first time BillShrink has disclosed the size of its userbase, and it’s clear that the site is getting some solid traction.
