Have a listen here.

Tough economic times are forcing symphony orchestras across the country to cut budgets and lay off staff, and in some cases shut down entirely. Labor Policy Counsel Vinnie Vernuccio, who coauthored a recent op-ed in the New York Daily News, finds that labor unions, by resisting necessary changes and limiting organizations’ ability to adapt to hard times, are doing more harm than good for the arts.

Headline: Logger hauls away sculpture mistaken for wood pile

The sculptor told CTV, “I think I’ll have to have a sign put up, but part of the art is to work in harmony with nature surrounding it.”

Fortunately, he seems to have taken the incident in good humor.

Today is the International Day of Slayer.  I’ve been a fan for almost twenty years now — but not quite on the level of this guy.

To celebrate, here is the video for 1990′s “Seasons in the Abyss.” This is the song that introduced me to Slayer, and remains one of my favorites. Unlike much of the music I listened to back then, it has aged quite well. See for yourself:

And just for fun, here is a gospel version of 1986′s “Angel of Death.”

If you like the heavy stuff, and haven’t gotten into Slayer, they have a rich and rewarding catalogue. Everything from 1986′s “Reign in Blood” up to 2006′s “Christ Illusion” ranks with the best of the genre.

And just to tie this in to the immigration issue, drummer Dave Lombardo is Cuban, and singer/bassist Tom Araya is Chilean. Both moved to the Los Angeles area at a young age. If the U.S. had a closed border policy as some conservatives now favor, an entire genre of music might never have been born.

A Los Angeles couple recently paid an artist to paint a mural on the wall in front of their house. As you can see from the picture, it is filled with cute, cuddly forest creatures.

Now the city is threatening the couple with half a year in jail and $1,000 in fines for violating outdoor advertising regulations.

It is worth noting that the mural is clearly not an advertisement. Tacky, maybe. But definitely not an advertisement.

John Stossel has more.

NPR recently stuck Robbins in the same room as Chris Walla from Death Cab for Cutie, and gave them two days to write and record a song. The result is worth hearing. You can listen for yourself here.

Robbins should have sung lead. His voice is easier on the ear, and at the same time far more expressive than Walla’s nondescript tenor. But the music is good. The main riff is catchy. The rhythm section is sparse yet tight, and provides the perfect staccato contrast to Walla’s legato, almost trance-like guitar lines.  Robbins and Walla combine for some lush vocal harmonies where appropriate. And drummer Darren Zentek (Robbins’ Channels bandmate) shows once again that he is master of the 16th note — just listen to the ghost notes he lays into his snare drum.

And for someone like me who used to put quite a bit of time into writing music and playing in bands, it brings back some good memories of what practice was like.

Could a revival be underway? Historian Paul Johnson (The Birth of the Modern, The Renaissance, etc.) has a short article, worth reading, about Charles Cecil’s attempt to revive the lost art of portraiture.

While I wish Cecil well, and would love to see some of his work, I think his revival of the masters’ techniques is ultimately a lost cause. The future of art will probably have more to do with the pixel than the paintbrush.

Most digital artwork out there is dreck, true. But its sheer quantity almost guarantees that quality work will emerge. Good art will have life after its ironic postmodern death.

Before the show, I ordered a medium soda. The lady behind the counter pulled out a behemoth 44 oz. cup, and I started laughing. “That’s the largest medium soda I’ve ever seen,” I said.

“Yeah, we hear that a lot,” she replied, looking decidedly unamused.

Once we settled in our seats, we got to watch about 15 minutes of commercials before the lights dimmed and the parade of previews floated by.

Now, on the tv, there are a lot of commercials for movies. But at the movies, most of the commercials are for tv shows. It’s a nice bit of symmetry, I think.

So — on to the movie. It’s been getting mixed reviews. Some people liked it, and some didn’t.

I didn’t.

I’d go into detail, but it’s late and I don’t feel like it.

I prefer short reviews, anyway.

The end of the video is actually pretty cute.

I should probably also disclose that hanging on my wall is a painting by a bonobo. The proceeds went toward research and conservation efforts, so I like to think I’m not a total sucker.