StupidiNews! On A Sad Note

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- [As Zandar reported yesterday] the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra, long considered one of the best in the nation, will be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection - an apparent first in recent history for a major U.S. orchestra.

Board chairman Richard Worley said members made a nearly unanimous vote Saturday to file for reorganization in a federal bankruptcy court in Philadelphia after a "long meeting, thoughtful meeting, emotional meeting."

One of the Big Five, the Philadelphia Orchestra has been famous for a century.  Their history includes some of the most played performances of all time, and soundtracks for movies such as Disney's Fantasia.  Musicians have agreed to pay cuts in the past, and are being asked to take yet another while the board tries to gather the funds necessary to keep the doors open.


Practically speaking, the arts don't hold up to food and shelter in the hierarchy of needs.  However, that isn't to say they aren't important.  We are at the beginning of a long, slow recovery.  Over the next decade or two, our priorities are going to be reorganized.  While it is inevitable that these cuts must take place, it is equally important that we do so in a way that allows us to preserve what was so important in the first place.  Museums, small attractions, nonprofit historical landmarks, all of these must be remembered and not abandoned completely during lean times.  Think of the losses we have mourned from history, the documents and artifacts that have been lost.  We have an opportunity here to avoid the mistakes of our ancestors.