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Art

Art investment funds are expanding into "emerging markets" outside the U.S. and Europe - such as the Middle East, India and Asia - in an attempt to ride out the economic slowdown. /// Construction is happening at Arthouse at 700 Congress Avenue. The renovations will begin in 2009, will be completed in 2010, and will cost $6 million. The plan is to triple the existing usable space. Arthouse currently only uses the first floor of the two-story building. /// In southern California, the U.S. housing crunch is starting to have a negative effect on cultural institutions. Will this effect pop up elsewhere across the country?

Books

Bookstore chain Borders Group is in deep financial trouble and might get bought out. /// Sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke died earlier this week at the age of 90. The NY Times discusses the role that religion may have played in Clarke's writing. /// The guy that runs the satirical website Stuff White People Like just sold a book to publisher Random House for at least $350,000. The book will use some material that's already appeared on the website, "though two-thirds of it will be new." Topics to be covered: "Whole Foods, Wes Anderson, Starbucks, graduate school, kitchen gadgets, Barack Obama, Apple products, the movie Juno, expensive sandwiches, and vintage t-shirts, to name a few."

Film

Dutch right-winger Geert Wilders is planning to release an anti-Islam film that will depict "the intolerant and fascist nature of the Koran." Politicians across the globe are falling over each other trying to prevent the flick from screening anywhere due to concerns about provoking widespread violence. Wilders personally believes that the Netherlands has been "taken hostage" by "well-intentioned people on the left," and that the Koran and Hitler's Mein Kampf should be banned in his country because they "incite people to commit acts of hate and violence." /// More news on the Villa Muse project: A grassroots movement of sorts has arisen in Austin's film community, urging Austin's City Council to reconsider Villa Muse's request to have its proposed construction site released from Austin's extraterritorial jurisdiction (this was recently denied). The development is still planned for groundbreaking this year, yet where it will be built in this state is anyone's guess. Apparently Bastrop and Fort Worth are being considered, though Villa Muse keeps this information close to the vest. /// iTunes' movie rental downloads library - opened last January - has fallen short of its projected inventory of 1,000 titles. The online store only has 399 movie titles available for download on Mac computers. Netflix, meanwhile, has about 6,000 titles available for download on PCs.

Music

Highly disruptive technology: Arrr! The dreaded "black box" cometh, ye pirates! The concept of infinite digital storage appears to closer than we all thought. This one ought to really cause some trouble. /// Apple considers giving customers free access to its entire iTunes music library "in exchange for paying a premium for its iPod and iPhone devices." Apple has reached out to all the Big Four record labels, and negotiations are currently ongoing. This radical move is not without its critics, many of whom believe Apple's suggested strategy to be against U.S. antitrust laws. /// The University of Texas School of Music will receive a $55 million gift from wealthy philanthropists Dr. Ernest and Sarah Butler. This is the largest single gift ever bestowed upon a music school at a public university. It's also the second largest single gift in UT's history.