| Divisions Weaken Pakistan's Islamists
Five years after riding to power in Pakistan's critical border provinces on a wave of anti-American rage, Islamist parties are divided and in disarray ahead of crucial January elections. Their alliance is on the cusp of a bad-tempered breakup that could cut their influence - and help the next government tackle rising Islamic extremism. .
Contemporary African art is cosmopolitan and in vogue
Contemporary African art has become a force in the international art world, appearing in galleries, museums and prestigious global surveys. This past summer, for the first time in its 112-year history, the Venice Biennale included an entire pavilion devoted to African art. And so the timing of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art�s new "Tapping Currents" exhibit of top African talent, six of whom showed in Venice, is spot on. Organized by Leesa Fanning, the museum�s associate curator of modern and contemporary art, the exhibit features seven pieces by seven artists in the Bloch Building�s Project Space and two weekends of new media screenings. The show offers an illuminating introduction to African art today. Fanning�s selections steer clear of suffering AIDS patients, starving children, exotic animals and other longstanding clich�s that figure in Western perceptions of the continent Instead, these African artists probe the soul of their homeland, illumining its values, traditions, history and the influences that shaped it.
Monday wild card
Dad's home and doing better now, but he has quite a road to go for recovery. And in looking in that mirror, I have quite a road to go to myself - in more ways than one. MikeK
DFO: This is one of the finest posts made by a blogger on the North Idaho Blogroll. Simply terrific. .
Biltmore style comes home for Christmas
Hundreds of luminarias light the driveway and terrace. The home, in the style of a French chateau, is filled with nearly 100 beautifully decorated trees, more than 1,000 wreaths and bows, 1,500 poinsettias, 25,000 lights, 9,000 feet of fresh garland and thousands of ornaments.
Breathtaking? Yes. Daunting? You bet. The Biltmore, in Asheville, N.C., is one of those magical places that brings back the excitement of Christmas many of us have forgotten in the hassle of the holidays.
The magnificent estate, built by George W. Vanderbilt when he was a 27-year-old bachelor, was officially opened on Christmas Eve 1895, and it continues to welcome visitors decked out in its finest. This is the 33rd year it is decorated for the holidays.
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Bring down the price of cement
The failure of our policy makers to grapple with the new global economic order has driven cement price through the roof. A 50-kilogramme bag of the product which sold for about N1,200 now goes for between N1,700 and N1,900. The skyrocketing price is directly related to a cronyism-induced policy action, which placed a curious ban on the importation of cement. The cement import prohibition is wrong headed because at the best of times, the current total capacity of all the local cement factories can only satisfy 30 per cent of local consumption. Whereas national requirement is above 40 million metric tones per annum, the current local capacity does not exceed 5.15 million metric tonnes. Indeed, plagued by poor and erratic supply of electricity, the total output from all the nation's cement factories is not more than three million metric tones.
Spokane's Fox Theater reopens after $31 million makeover
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- The elegant Fox Theater, which was scheduled to be torn down for a parking garage seven years ago, will reopen this weekend after a $31 million makeover that restored its art deco glory. Opera star Frederica von Stade will open the theater Saturday night, and crooner Tony Bennett performs Monday. The decrepit theater, which had devolved into a budget movie house in a rundown part of downtown, was restored with a combination of private donations and $8 million in state funds and will be the new home of the Spokane Symphony Orchestra. It's part of a growing area called the Davenport Arts District that includes the restored Davenport Hotel, the 800-seat Bing Crosby Theater, The Big Easy concert hall, and numerous nightclubs and art galleries.
Thursday Marks 44th Anniversary of JFK Assassination
Thursday will mark the 44th anniversary of that fateful day in Dallas when Pres. John F. Kennedy was shot and killed by alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. The day is not marked in Dallas, although Dallas Morning News columnist Jacquielynn Floyd noted in a column this week it might be better to have some type of observance rather than the circus of conspiracy theorists that often gather at Dealey Plaza across from the former Texas School Book Depository, which now houses the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. The Sixth Floor Museum opened a new exhibit of home movies from the era of John F. Kennedy this month, from his inauguration to his death. Filming Kennedy: Home Movies from Dallas highlights the work of eleven amateur filmmakers. The movies are presented in their entirety, some for the first time.
Smithsonian previews flag's new home
No bright lights. No more exposure to dirt and debris from outdoors. But much more information about the flag that flew over Baltimore's Fort McHenry in 1814 and why it's such an important piece of U.S. history.
That's the way visitors will see the original Star-Spangled Banner when it goes back on public display next year as the centerpiece of the National Museum of American History on the National Mall.
After being out of view since September 2006, the flag will be featured in a new Star-Spangled Banner gallery when the museum at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue Northwest reopens after an $85 million renovation.
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