ARTS

PASSINGS: LOOMPANICS

FILMMAKER MAGAZINE - In a time in which plans for building a nuclear
bomb or engineering a bio-terrorism attack are scarily available on the
internet, let's take a moment to note the closing of Loompanics, the
Washington state publisher run by Mike Hoy whose titles were once deemed
downright dangerous. Now, however, as the company announces a going out
of business sale, Loompanics's books seem, paradoxically, like quaint
mementos of a more innocent time. I say "paradoxically" because there's
no doubt that the publisher, which experienced its share of First
Amendment battles, suffered after passage of the Patriot Act when people
reading books about homemade bomb production were suddenly the public's
business.

Loompanics, which sold their books in underground bookstores, novelty
shops, and through mail order and the internet, may have disseminated
some questionable information, but their main stock in trade was a more
generalized notion of societal rebellion. For those who felt that there
was something wrong about modern living, Loompanics seemed to offer hope
that something could actually be done about it -- and on one's own
terms. (That "something" often had to do with offshore banking accounts,
phony birth certificates, or tanks of methane gas.)

Here's what writer Claire Wolfe has to say about Loompanics on her blog:
"Loompanics has long called its book catalog the best in the world. And
in a weird way, it is. It's certainly been the bravest and most eclectic
book catalog. If you wanted to know how to change your identity, build a
meth lab, cook with cannabis, or find kinky sex in Thailand, Loompanics
would sell you a book about it. (Some of these books were of dubious
reliability, while others were the real deal; but that was part of the
fun. Caveat emptor. Freedom doesn't come with guarantees.) Loompanics
would also sell you books on living off the grid, homesteading on a
budget, or protecting your privacy. Truly useful stuff. And then there
were the books that simply seemed to reflect Mike Hoy's own wide-ranging
interests. Books of little-known facts, religious controversies,
political conspiracies, and historical oddities.

The Loompanics catalog itself was often as fun to read as the books it
offered. Then came 9-11. And the Patriot Act, with its threat of
monitoring everyone's reading. Then came crackdowns on merely possessing
information about explosives or drugs. Then came the fear. In droves,
Americans quit buying controversial books. It became dangerous even to
sell some certain books. People feared to possess others. . .

This country is going to be a poorer, sadder place when Loompanics
closes next month. Freedom is going to be poorer. Even when some of the
books in Loompanics' catalog personally made me uneasy or grossed me out
(as quite a few did), I was delighted to live in a country where such a
publisher and such a free market of ideas could thrive.

The Patriot Act may battle those who disseminate dangerous directives,
but a look through the Loompanics catalog reveals the publisher to be
something of a paper tiger, albeit a richly entertaining one. Using a
piece of typewriter to construct a prison shank, or seeking revenge
against a rude bellboy -- much of Loompanics's advice has a charmingly
dated quality. I'm sad to see Loompanics go, but mostly I mourn the
friendlier, old fashioned attitude towards rebellion it represented.

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/blog/2006/04/loompanics-rip.php

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

GETTY MUSEUM RETURNS SCULPTURES TO GREECE

BBC - The J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has agreed to return a pair
of disputed ancient sculptures to Greece following renewed calls for
their restitution. The artifacts in question are a 6th Century BC relief
from the island of Thassos and a 4th Century BC tombstone from the
ancient city of Thebes. Negotiations continue over the return of two
more antiques, said Greek culture minister Giorgos Voulgarakis. Greece
has offered a long-term loan of antiquities to the Getty in return. . .
The Getty is currently involved in another dispute over items allegedly
trafficked from Italy. Its former curator Marion True has denied
criminal charges of conspiracy to receive stolen goods and illegal
receipt of archaeological artifacts.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5165596.stm

THE ITALIAN ANTIQUITIES CASE
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0607/S00085.htm

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS IN BAD SHAPE

TYLER GREEN, LA TIMES - The Smithsonian Institution, our national museum
and also a scientific research complex, is at a crisis point. Many of
its 20 venues, such as the National Museum of Natural History and the
National Air and Space Museum, need tens of millions of dollars in work.
Desperate for funds, the Smithsonian has made arguably improper
arrangements with big business, and it has accepted funding from
corporations with an all-too-obvious interest in what goes on view in
the institution's museums. But the real crisis is this: Congress seems
to have barely noticed.

How bad is the situation? Last year, the Government Accountability
Office, a bureaucracy not given to hyperbole, found "major structural
deterioration" in Smithsonian buildings and "chronic leaks." At least
two historic aircraft at the Air and Space Museum have been
water-damaged. Several buildings are rife with mold. Water has flowed
into at least four museums, well before last month's rains.

The Smithsonian recently reopened its American Art Museum and the
National Portrait Gallery after a $283-million renovation. That's a good
start, but nearly every other Smithsonian museum requires some level of
attention. According to the GAO, the Smithsonian will need at least $2.3
billion for building costs, anti-terrorism protection and scheduled and
deferred maintenance by 2013. The problems extend beyond capital
improvements to the day-to-day as well: In an attempt to lower energy
costs, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden recently restricted
hot-water use in its building.

The budget pressures have apparently weakened the Smithsonian's ethical
foundations too. The Smithsonian's leaders and their congressional
overseers are allowing too much of our national museum to be transformed
into a series of pavilions where, in exchange for sponsorship money and
other deals, corporations may determine what parts of the American story
should be told.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-green10jul10,0,1323715.story?
coll=la-news-comment-opinions