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Art

Well-hung: After an unsuccessful attempt to enter the current U.S. Presidential race, everyone's favorite pseudo-archconservative pundit, Stephen Colbert, got his portrait hung in the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery last week. The portrait is dangling in an "appropriate place" - between the public bathrooms near the exhibit of American Presidents. The "showing" is temporary and will last for only 6 weeks. /// "Beirut" - a play depicting a dystopian American future in the midst of a destructive plague - ends its current run at The Vortex Repertory Theatre this Sunday. The play has a long history with The Vortex, originally showing in the early '90s and attracting strong critical acclaim.

Books

Slate article discusses the growing involvement of the publishing industry in "customer reviews" of books on Amazon.com. /// The "Uncle Tom's Cabin" of India? Indian author Kancha Ilaiah will publish his book "Turning the Pot, Tilling the Land: Dignity of Labour in Our Times," the first children's book to openly challenge the Indian caste system. The book's goal is to "raise youthful awareness of the injustices" prevalent in this 3,000-year-old social hierarchy. /// SharedBook Inc. - a site that allows users to create books from web content - has just partnered with Random House. Customers will now be able to create personalized versions of their favorite Random House books. "The Poky Little Puppy" (remember?!) is first on the chopping block.

Film

A nice little recap of current events in the WGA Strike in Hollywood. You know a story's become a phenom when you're capitalizing the "S" in "strike." /// In lieu of declining box office sales for indie films in 2007, director Michael Moore is spearheading an initiative to get more film screens for indie films like documentaries and foreign flicks. "My New Year's resolution is to sit down with the heads of exhibition chains and have them devote one screen in their multiplexes to nonfiction and foreign films," sayeth Moore.

Music

Bob Lefsetz - surly old coot that he is - has released his "Music Industry Power Top Ten" list. The list purposefully excludes Austin's SXSW Music Conference, referring to it as a "circle jerk." /// The IFPI - champion organization for the recording industry - releases its "Digital Music Report 2008," in which it lays the responsibility for combating digital piracy at the feet of Internet Service Providers. /// The Great Gig in the Sky (literally): Internet radio site Last.fm launches the world's largest worldwide free-on-demand music service. This move makes Last.fm the first music site to offer "free, global, on-demand access" to the world's largest-ever licensed catalog of digital music, thanks to partnerships with...well, just about everyone out there. The new site is ad-supported.