Here’s what’s been catching my eye online recently (links plus opening snippets):

Some Interesting Classical Music Facts Via Harper’s Index – from The Collaborative Piano Blog by Chris Foley

From a search for “classical music” on Harper’s Index:

6/84 Annual earnings, including overtime, of a Carnegie Hall stagehand: $90,000

12/87 Donation required for the opportunity to name a “grand staircase” at Carnegie Hall: $500,000

Week 07 of year 2009 on the double bass – from PY by oceanskies79

The 7th week of year 2009 was declared as a week of break from attempting to achieve my regular target of practising four days per week. Anyway, I did practise a bit and ended up practising four days per week anyway.

9 Feb 2009, Mon: I did not expect myself to practise, but I did. I was given medical leave for the day, and after much rest, I needed some practising to while my time productively. I worked through selected passages from Schumann’s First Symphony and Berkeley’s Introduction and Allegro.

Rosenthal does it all… – from Cellomania by Guanaco

Paul Rosenthal once again brought his violin and the Sitka Summer Music Festival’s Winter Concert series to town last night. Joining him were cellist Armen Ksajikian and pianist Arnulf Von Arnim. Arnulf and Armen have played here with the festival before, but not together. I was sure pleased to hear them again. Paul and Arnulf started off with Paul’s composition “Bravura Variations on ‘Alaska’s Flag'” which he premiered 25 years ago in honor of our state’s then 25th anniversary.

we made a difference! – from daily observations by Charles Noble

I just received an email from the arts advocacy group Americans for the Arts:

Just moments ago, the U.S. House of Representatives approved their final version of the Economic Recovery bill by a vote of 246-183. We can now confirm that the package DOES include $50 million in direct support for arts jobs through National Endowment for the Arts grants. We are also happy to report that the exclusionary Coburn Amendment language banning certain arts groups from receiving any other economic recovery funds has also been successfully removed. Tonight the Senate is scheduled to have their final vote, and President Obama plans to sign the bill on Monday – President’s Day.

Blogging – A Dangerous Profession?

These next couple of stories have me rethinking the wisdom of my blogging!

Has Blogging Taken a Toll on Your Health? – from Performancing.com – Helping Bloggers Succeed by J Angelo Racoma

A few weeks back I had a severe bout of hyperacidity. Prior to that I had developed this habit of consuming about five to six cups of coffee per day. And that wasn’t your usual creamy, sugary coffee, as I often prefer my coffee black. And with two heaping tablespoons of ground beans in every cup I brew, one would think that’s a recipe for disaster eventually.

Blogger Stabbed in Stomachfrom The Blog Herald by Andrew G.R.

One of China’s most influential bloggers, Xu Lai, who writes under the pseudonym Qian Liexian, was stabbed at a bookstore after a public reading.

The incident allegedly occurred in the store’s bathroom by two men who fled the scene.

The victim’s blog, “Qian Liexian Wants to Speak,” offers satirical observations on society and politics. Among topics Lai has recently covered include government corruption and the recent scandal of milk contaminated with an industrial chemical. However, at this time, it is unknown whether the attack was related to the blog.

Twitter Stories

I seem to find myself becoming more of a Twitterholic these past couple of months (follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/jasonheath), and all sorts of Twitter-themed stories have been catching my eye:

Twitter is a Stage – Be Careful What You Say – by Darren Rowse on February 13, 2009

Would you say what you say on Twitter if you were face to face with the person you were saying it to or about?

This is a question that I asked a couple of days back but one that I pondered last night as I lay in bed (sad…. I know) after witnessing a conversation between two Twitter users (that I didn’t really know and don’t think I’ve had any interaction with before) talking about me.

Who the participants in the conversation were and what they were saying isn’t the point of this post – so I’ll leave out the details – except to say that they were ‘critiquing’ the way that I do what I do and that they then started to move onto my character and got a little personal.

National Post reporter has total Twitter melt down (warning – language)

National Post technology reporter David George-Cosh let loose on a marketing consultant from Toronto today. Apparently feeling snubbed April Dunford, an experienced marketing professional hadn’t called him back on time for a story he was working on; he took exception to her annoyed Tweet after their phone call:

At just about 1:00 pm EST, April Dunford tweets: “Reporter to me “When the media calls you, you jump, OK!?” Why, when you called me and I’m not selling? Newspapers will get what they deserve”

The Do’s and Dont’s of Promoting Your Business on Twitter – from eMoms at Home by Amber Watson-Tardiff

If you have an online business, you’ve probably been told at least once to get on Twitter. Maybe you’re already on Twitter but don’t feel like you’re getting anything out of the space.

Truth be told—Twitter can be great for promoting your small business. And while proponents of social media like to say “anything goes, there really are no rules”—that’s not necessarily the case.

There are a few unspoken etiquette rules when promoting your business on Twitter and if you don’t pay attention to some of the tips mentioned below, it can cause people to ignore your friend requests or unfollow you all together.

Twitterville Notebook: Next 4 Chapters – from Global Neighbourhoods by shel

I’m just about as far from the finish line as I am from the start. I’ve submitted half the words that will go into the book. Before edits, the first 10 chapters contain about 41,000 words. My experience is that the second half of the book will go faster and be less painful than the first. When you start a massive project like a book, you have your toes to the mountain and it is daunting. Now can see the end.

There are four more chapters to the first–and longest–section of Twitterville, called “What’s Happened.” I’ve made a lot of changes to the Table of Contents, mainly because the story keeps evolving as I try to write it–a dangerous situation in a book that will hopefully have at least a three-year shelf life.

What’s the best new productivity tool you’ve adopted in past year? – from Scobleizer – Tech Geek Blogger by Robert Scoble

Here’s another Twitter test. I just asked my Twitter followers this question: What is the best new productivity tool you’ve adopted in the past year?

Within a couple of minutes TONS of answers came in.

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