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Reports that a Charles Saatchi show called "The Triumph of Painting" will be opening at his London gallery in celebration of the gallery's 20th year. Thoughts on all the new media being used by modern artists and defense of new art from the author; How painters have been trying to reassert the supremacy of their form; Assurance that despite the new media being used, painting will never be dead; Simultaneous admission that painting will never hold on to its past dominance.

Presents the annual Christmas quiz on who said the dumbest things over the past year. Multiple choice questions on comments by public figures on class; Questions over statements concerning the arts; Who said what in America; Famous people and their comments on books; Famous quotations from sports players; Questions on technology.

This article is an interview with actress Kathleen Turner, the star of "Body Heat" and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" She discusses her lifelong desire to play Martha in the play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" She also airs her views on plastic surgery and on the Hollywood taboo against aging. She voices her opinions on the Democratic Party, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, and her views on abortion and Planned Parenthood. Turner mentions that she is the star of the film "Monster House."

The article presents an interview with photographer Juergen Teller. Teller in known for both his art and fashion photography. His recent work has left the world of fashion behind and focused on his family. Teller features in his own photography, often nude. He discusses his German heritage, which can be seen in "N&udiaresis;rnberg," on show at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, in Paris, France.

The article offers the author's thoughts on contemporary art in post-Communist Russia. Artists who are mentioned include Oleg Kulik, Gosha Ostretsov, and Leonid Tishkov. The article also mentions two exhibitions in London, England. The "Moscow Breakthrough, which runs from November 4-18, 2005, ties in with a conference at Courtauld Institute. "Ilya and Emilia Kabakov: the house of dreams" is at the Serpentine Gallery until January 8, 2006, and has a concurrent exhibition at the Albion Gallery.

Focuses on the Eurovision Song Contest as a political statement. History of the Grand Prix of European Song following World War II as a way to unite Europe through friendly competition; Role of Terry Wogan as the presenter of the live broadcast of the contest for the British Broadcasting Corporation; Claim that politics is at work in Eurovision every time a nation votes for its neighbor, as when Germany votes for Turkey.

Comments on government policies toward the arts in Great Britain. View that politicians disregard the importance of funding and promoting artistic and cultural events and facilities; Argument that Great Britain's Arts Council must be preserved; Critique of the art education available to average citizens in Great Britain; Challenges to developing sufficient fine arts collections in Great Britain's galleries and museums; Cultural and social impact of art; View that Great Britain should encourage the development of the arts in British culture.

Offers a discussion about differences between men and women when it comes to private art collections and art auctions. Claim that most art collectors are men; Lack of single women collectors in the art market; Reference to the book "Market Matters," by Louisa Buck; Differences between men and women when buying art for their collections.

Offers a look at the influence of women motion picture directors in shaping public opinion. Ways in which film influences culture and collective behavior; Description of Birds Eye View, a platform for women film-makers; Comments made by producer Sarah Radclyffe regarding the greater likelihood that women will take on roles in film production rather than in direction; Discussion of the balance between work and family for women directors.

Reports on the difficulty of raising money for the arts in Scotland. Comments from Timothy Clifford, director of the National Galleries, on raising money to repair the Royal Scottish Academy building which was falling down; How he had to raise £12m from a population much smaller than that of most major cities; How being removed from the power center of Great Britain also makes it hard to raise funds; Scottish nature which makes people reluctant to help make someone else's house better; Public relations efforts to raise money; The cost of purchased art works; Money raising in the United States for the Scottish project.

The article presents a year of British theater in review. Large-scale, old-fashioned musicals were popular, with "The Sound of Music" and "Cabaret" winning audiences. "The Seagull," directed by Katie Mitchell at the National Theatre was a success. New plays folded early, with the exception of Peter Morgan's "Frost/Nixon," and Tom Stoppard's "Rock 'n' Roll. " Pantomimes are trying too hard to be clever, a trend exemplified by Mark Ravenhill's "Dick Whittington and His Cat. "

Focuses on the situation of classical music in the United States. Governing of classical music's fate by the market place; Plight of U.S. orchestras and opera houses, which hope to obtain marketing experts in order to sell more tickets; Lack of an American equivalent to Europe's Beethoven and Wagner, though early American orchestras and opera houses rivaled any in Europe; Profile of Theodore Thomas, leader of the Thomas Orchestra.

Focuses on the accidental discovery of two statues known as the Riace Bronzes. Lack of information about who made them; How neither of the statues is anatomically correct; Details of the statues, which are on display in the archaeological museum in Reggio Calabria in Italy; History of the human form in art; Way that certain features of the body are often exaggerated or distorted in art.

Reviews the film "9 Songs," starring Kieren O'Brien and Margot Stilley, and directed by Michael Winterbottom.

Reviews the theatrical production of "Billy Elliot: the musical," directed by Stephen Daldry with a musical score by Elton John, at London's West End theater in England.

Profiles British actor Corin Redgrave. Comments of Redgrave on theater criticism; Views on the significance of the audience to his performances; Role of Redgrave in the play "Tynan," in London; Significance of Redgrave to British theater.

Discusses marketing strategies in radio broadcasting. Report that radio broadcasters often target their programming to a specifically targeted listeners; Description of program development at Great Britain's BBC Local Radio; Impact of corporate radio station ownership on programming.

Focuses on David Hockney, who is acting as curator for a Robert Mapplethorpe photography exhibit at the Alison Jacques Gallery in London. How Hockney came to be the curator for Mapplethorpe, an old friend of his who died of AIDS in 1989; Highlights of Hockney's photographic style, from male physique photographs, to photographs of his travels and photographic collages; Details of the exhibit, featuring portraits of leading creative figures known to both Hockney and Mapplethorpe.

Focuses on Germany's "Der Spiegel" magazine. Appeal of the magazine's hand-drawn illustrations; Origins of this current affairs weekly, which has a tradition of sophisticated illustrations that comment on world events; The weekly's reputation for investigative journalism; Cover images; Illustrators, including Hermann Degwitz and Ursula Arriens; Examples of the magazine's imaginative use of the cover.

Presents an essay on contemporary artists and their art. Belief that contemporary art is the negative image of mass culture; Frequently held belief that contemporary art exists in a zone of freedom set apart from the real world with its rules and restrictions; Suggestion that the art market is becoming increasingly integrated into the general run of capitalist activity; How this is forcing art to be more useful; How art's lack of convention has become conventional; Ways to protest against the use of art as a servant of business and the state. Comments on art by Sylvie Fleury and Guillaume Bijl and Zbigniew Libera.

Focuses on whether awards ceremonies help or hinder in assessing contemporary culture. Proliferation of motion picture awards ceremonies including the British Independent Film Awards, the Golden Globes, the Independent Spirit Awards, and the Oscars; Problems with pitting various film genres and contrasting artists against each other; Awards given at the Booker to Alan Hollinghurst for his novel "The Line of Beauty" and to Yann Martel for "Life of Pi"; Impact of being nominated for, or receiving, an award on an artist's career.

Presents an excerpt of the book "A Brief History of the Smile," by Angus Trumble.

Offers a look at how the mass media portrays gay culture. Reference to various television programs about gays including "Fairy Godfathers," "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," "Brian's Boyfriends" an "Camp Jim"; Claim that the effeminate made homosexuality palatable to the masses by making it entertaining; Report that some heterosexuals believe they are experts on gay culture.

Argues that despite growing attendance figures, the Edinburgh Festival is dead. How the Festival has grown in size since its inception; Belief of the author that commercialization has killed off the quality of the offerings; Background on the Festival; How the Festival is pandering to commercial tastes over artistic value; Example of "Jerry Springer: the opera" which played last year; Offerings this year which include "Jeffrey Archer's Prison Diary - Hell," "Killing Paul McCartney," and "Hitler Sells Tickets."

Discusses the impact of radical refurbishments of traditional Victorian playhouse on the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in London, England. Reason for the radical refurbishments of traditional Victorian playhouse; Statement from RSC artistic director Michael Boyd about the refurbishment of the company's theater.

Discusses the insatiable need for sponsorship and donors at the Tate Modern museum in London, England. Examples of sponsorship, including the donation of the toilet paper in bathroom stalls; Role of museum director Nicholas Serota; Effects of the sponsorship on the museum's patrons; Returns to the sponsoring companies.

Offers a look at the history of rock 'n' roll as a social movement and cultural phenomenon that began in 1954. Release of Elvis Presley's first single by Sun Records; Statement that Presley borrowed sounds from rhythm and blues music; Claim that rock 'n' roll began as a statement of freedom, subversion and self-expression; Discussion of the lack of social conflict expressed by rock music in 2004; Statement that what separates modern rock music from that of previous decades is not quality but the idea that music could be a revolutionary and revelatory experience; Reference to documentary films such as "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "The Corporation" as the new tools of revolution.

Mentions music theater in London, and discusses three musical productions in the West End. "The Woman in White," from Andrew Lloyd Webber and starring Michael Crawford; "The Producers," starring Richard Dreyfuss and Lee Evans; "Mary Poppins," written by Julian Fellowes, directed by Richard Eyre and starring Laura-Michelle Kelly.

Focuses on the career of performer Cliff Richard. Mention of the actions of radio disc jockey Tony Blackburn, who refused an order to stop playing "Summer Holiday" by Cliff Richard on his radio program for Classic Gold; Discussion of the popularity of Richard among some popular music fans; Details of Richard's drama "Heathcliff," a theatrical adaptation of the book "Wuthering Heights," by Emily Brontë Work of lyricist Tim Rice on the musical; Comparison of Richard with singers Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney.

Comments on estate agents in Great Britain, Belief that the housing market has supplanted religion as the national faith; Results of an opinion poll that says 1/4 of British residents are fed up with estate agency; Contention that estate agents are the closed thing to pure capitalism in action; Author's survey of 10 things that most annoyed estate agents which the leader being the fact that home owners are greedy.

A personal narrative is presented in which the author describes taking the public education Grade 5 piano examination in Great Britain.

In this article the author describes a movement in photography called "Lomography," named for the inexpensive Lomo camera that was produced in the Soviet Union. A global union of "lomographers" is attempting to document all of daily life by taking snapshots of everyday objects and occurrences almost continuously.

A personal narrative is presented in which the author describes her visit to a British fast food restaurant serving a menu overseen by a celebrity chef.

A personal narrative is presented in which the author discusses running in the 2008 London, England, marathon and meeting singer Rick Astley.

The article review the plays "Sizwe Banzi is Dead," by Athol Fugard, starring Winston Ntshona and John Kani at the Lyttelton Theatre, London, England and "Nothing But the Truth," by John Kani, starring Kani, Motshabi Tyelele and Rosie Motene, at the Birmingham Rep, Birmingham, England.

The article reviews the theatrical production "Boeing-Boeing," directed by Matthew Warchus, starring Roger Allam, Mark Rylance and Tamsin Outhwaite.

The article reviews the theatrical production "The Seagull," by Anton Chekhov, directed by Ian Rickson, starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Mackenzie Crook. The play was performed at the Royal Court Theatre, London.

The article reviews the theatrical productions "Blasted," directed by Jenny Sealey, starring Gerard McDermott at the Soho Theater, London and "There Came a Gypsy Riding," directed by Michael Attenborough, starring Imelda Staunton at the Almeida Theater, London.

This article recounts the author's attempt at a home aquarium for tropical fish. Time after time the fish she purchased wound up dead. She changed fish shops, followed all the professionals' advice, cleaned and detoxed their tank, but to no avail. Finally, after weeks of trying any tactic imaginable, she gave up and dispensed with the aquarium.

A review is presented of the play "Rock'n'Roll," written by Tom Stoppard and starring Sinéad Cusack, which is appearing at the Royal Court Theater in London.

The article reviews the theatrical production of "Market Boy," starring Freddy White and Paul Anderson and directed by David Eldridge.

The article focuses on the rehung collection of Tate Modern museum in Great Britain, which had an opening party sponsored by the Union Bank of Switzerland. The impressive decorations of the party are discussed, as well as its corporate atmosphere. Vicente Todoli, director of the museum, was not seen at the party. The art display is briefly described and reviewed.

In this article the author announces that, in her opinion, it must be very difficult to be a contemporary artist in France, given the enormous cultural and artistic patrimony of that country. She describes "Paris Calling," a series of exhibitions of French contemporary art taking place in London in 2006, and quotes Marc-Olivier Wahler on the British, American and French art scenes.

In this article the author compares the play "Enemies," by Maxim Gorky with "The Voysey Inheritance," by Granville Barker. Both plays, written in 1906-07, were playing in revival in London in 2006. "Enemies" was considered a radical work in its day, while "Voysey Inheritance" was thought to be a drawing room comedy. The author considers "The Voysey Inheritance" to be the more modern, timeless work, while "Enemies" is a period piece.

In this article the author muses on whether art is intended for the masses or for the formally trained. She also wonders if children should be allowed in art galleries. She recounts the disruptive behavior of her own children when taken to the Serpentine Gallery in London to see an exhibition of paintings by Ellsworth Kelly.