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May 10 mge commented on Hansen Ups Offer for Sacramento Kings. Again..

Also @25, re. "take a fucking economics class:"

"empirical evidence suggests quite strongly that sports do not create many jobs or generate much economic growth. And such evidence has proven to be quite persuasive. In fact, a survey of economists by Gregory Mankiw noted that 85% of economists agree that local and state governments should not subsidize professional sports." (source)

May 10 mge commented on Hansen Ups Offer for Sacramento Kings. Again..

@25 I generally support this arena deal, but it is simply not true that no arenas have been built with private funding. The Pepsi Center in Denver and Staples Center in LA were both privately financed. And people who are in favor of massive arena subsidies consistently overstate the benefits to a city in terms of new jobs and tax revenues. There is an impact, but it's not as phenomenal as you're making it out to be.

Apr 18 mge commented on Swan Lake Is So Goddamned Boring.

@31 is your standard that any performance "bombs" if it doesn't turn a profit? I might have some unfortunate news for you about the non-profit arts world, if so.

Apr 18 mge commented on Swan Lake Is So Goddamned Boring.

Yes, large arts organizations should challenge audiences to see new works. That said, I don't recall reading anything from The Stranger last fall when PNB had four world premieres playing to half full houses. I'm pretty sure "that PR machine" got cranked up for those, too. What else do you suggest be done to help push audiences toward those?

If "Swan Lake" regularly played to empty houses, or "A Christmas Carol," or the "Ring" cycle, or Beethoven's 9th, they wouldn't keep getting trotted out. I think it's great to talk about how to get more people into dance and theater, but a lot of people are only ever going to be interested in coming out occasionally to see something they're already familiar with, and I think that's perfectly ok. #35 has it right: there are different constituencies among arts patrons, and there is, thankfully, room enough for people with many different tastes in this city.

Feb 26 mge commented on Sound and Fury: The Controversy Over "A Piece of Work" at On the Boards.

@9 what are you talking about unpublished? I read your "review" on their blog alongside the others on Friday.

Jan 18 mge commented on The Fun Stops for TSA Employees.

@4, maybe they just terribly misunderstood their assignment when the government asked them for "see sharp" software.

Jan 14 mge commented on The Beginning of the End?.

@15 you're correct about the battery, but it is in fact quite simple to remove a SIM card from an iPhone. All it takes is a paperclip.

Oct 23, 2012 mge commented on "I May Sound Cunty, but I'm Doing It Fondly".

@16 Recycled how? Care to expand? The Mark Morris piece that will debut at PNB in November is a world premiere. He's in town rehearsing it with the PNB company right now. The other three pieces in the same show are also world premieres. So is the Paul Gibson piece coming up in March, and so is the Christopher Wheeldon piece next June. Perhaps you couldn't be bothered to know that, since you're apparently horrified by the notion of actually experiencing something before you criticize it. Or maybe you're just too busy coming up with brain-dead zingers like "squalidly traditional." Seriously, what was the last ballet you saw at PNB, and what about it seemed dirty to you?

I find your scratch-an-itch I-fancy-myself-an-artist-so-I'm-entitled-to-shit-all-over-everything commentary obnoxious and, as usual, grossly under-informed.

Jun 29, 2011 mge commented on Today in Idiotic Ideas from Local Candidates (and Too-Long Posts from Exasperated Stranger Writers): Save Arts Education by Cutting Arts Funding.

@12 I read the letter, and I think the anger is completely justified. Regardless of her focus, this position clearly comes from a place of such ignorance and tired cliche that it's difficult to take her seriously. The continued existence of 4Culture was secured this year after a groundswell of grassroots support. The bill, which had bipartisan support in the legislature, was signed by the governor less than 2 weeks ago. For Ms. Toledo to come out now, claiming to be pro arts but complaining about the "cultural elites" and the "artist-lifestyle" is completely tone deaf and nothing short of infuriating to those of us who worked so hard to save the best arts organization in the state. I won't even start on this completely baseless garbage about favoritism and quid quo pro. Increasing arts funding for the schools is an admirable issue, but lobbing insults and making things up is the wrong way to go about advancing it.