Book: We find it interesting how quickly authors nipped this text-to-speech thing on the Kindle 2 in the bud. Any SAG members paying attention? [Guardian]
Dance/Opera: An “opera about the history of opera as the most important genre in European culture” ends up being “banal and pretentious, not an easy combination to bring off.” But if you go to see Vita Nuova, you will get to hang out in the pretty new Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center… [NYT]
Design: “When I build on a site in nature that is totally unspoiled, it is a fight, an attack by our culture on nature.” Pritzker-winning Norwegian architect Sverre Fehn dies at 84. [Newsday]
Film: Hollywood delegation to Iran — which randomly includes Annette Bening and the guy who directed Akeelah and the Bee — discovers that Tehran has less traffic than L.A. Awesome. [LAT]
Music: Grizzly Bear + the Brooklyn Philharmonic = “icing on an already delectable cake.” [EW]
Television: Only inherent geekiness can save Jimmy Fallon from late night Carson Daly-esque doom. [Defamer]
Theatre: Tony Kushner’s upcoming play — The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures — gets a cast. We predict this one will be more popular with locals than tourists. [Variety]
Visual Arts: “Preserving Trust: Art and the Art Museum Amidst Financial Crisis,” a panel discussion among famous lit types about the Rose Art Museum crisis led by poet Robert Pinsky, will be webcast at 6:30 p.m. tonight. [LAT]
Web: Would you rather battle an addiction to World of Warcraft or coke? [Fimoculous]