Jan Timme

OPENINGS

LIKE MANY CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS, Jan Timme is committed to engaging the history of the discursive formations and practices that have shaped advanced art since the early twentieth century - but he does so on his own terms, without succumbing to nostalgia, academicism, or simple emulation. In his installations, photographs, sculptural objects, wall writings, films, and audio pieces, the Berlin-based artist often deploys the ironic attitude of the homo ludens to respond to the history of the readymade and to Conceptual and site-specific art of the 1960s and '70s. Take Sweeping the Desert, 2007, for example, for which Timme appropriated a black-and-white photograph of a …

Iraqi PM says security talks with US at impasse

Iraq's prime minister said Friday that talks with the U.S. on a long-term security pact are at an impasse over objections that Iraq's sovereignty is at stake, but he held out hope that negotiators could still reach a compromise.

In his strongest comments yet on the debate, Nouri al-Maliki echoed concern by Iraqi lawmakers that the opening U.S. proposals would give Washington too much political and military leverage on Iraqi affairs. He left open room, however, that a deal could be hammered out.

"The first drafts presented left us at a dead end and deadlock," he told reporters in Amman, Jordan. "So, we left these first drafts and the negotiations …

'King Tut' tour a true without-a-body experience

LOS ANGELES -- The highly touted King Tut comeback exhibition hasdrawn massive crowds its first six weeks -- and more than a fewcomplaints that his mummy isn't there.

The show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is the sequel tothe hugely successful King Tut tour in the 1970s. But many of the200,000 visitors have panned it because of the absence of mummies andother key artifacts, such as the sacred mask of King Tut, a highlightof the earlier show.

The new exhibition, titled "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of thePharaohs," features more than twice as many gold and jewel-encrustedartifacts as its predecessor. …

A SHORT HISTORY

A brief timeline of recent poetry-related books by black celebrities.

1999: lionne "T-Boz" Watkins, from the charismatic trio TLC, released Thoughts (HarperCollins, November, $19.95, ISBN 0-061-05183-7) a collection of poems, photos and essays.

1999: MTV Books posthumuosly published The Rose That Grew From Concrete (November, $21, ISBN 0-671 02844-8) Tupac Shakur's book of poems that he wrote at the age of 19, before he reached fame.

2002: Ashanti published a collection of poems and short essays entitled Foolish/Unfoo/ish: Reflections on Love …

UK: Jury sworn in for Saudi Prince murder trial

LONDON (AP) — A jury has been sworn in to try a Saudi Arabian prince accused of murdering his assistant in a luxury London hotel room.

The 34-year-old Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasir al Saud is accused of killing Bandar Abdullah Abdulaziz, also from Saudi Arabia, at the Landmark Hotel on February 15.

The prince denies murdering 32-year-old Abdulaziz and causing him grievous …

F1 mirrors set to be moved

Mirror placement on Formula One cars is expected to change after this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, putting the emphasis back on rear vision rather than aerodynamic advantage.

While no official announcement was made by F1 authorities, Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel and Williams' Rubens Barrichello both said Thursday that mirror placement would be changed for the following race in China.

"As far as I'm concerned its agreed that we need better visibility, so the change could come as early as the next race," Barrichello said.

"Everyone is having problems with the mirrors and hopefully we are going to get that changed quite …

Caribbean's spice island An aromatic visit to Grenada, land of beaches, history--and nutmeg

Gouyave, Grenada--Gliding into one of this island's many tranquilports, it's hard to imagine anything beyond the smell of the sea, thehum of boat engines and the rhythm of the fishermen. But away fromthe lap of the turquoise waters lies a lush interior of greenmountains, wooden houses, waterfalls and dense nutmeg-scentedforests, which give Grenada its nickname, "Spice Island." Grenadaoffers visitors white sand beaches in the capital of St. George's;posh hotels that overlook the bay; delicious Caribbean cooking;rugged hikes through mountains; charming guest houses; great scubadiving and history. Grenada, however, is perhaps best-known for thebloody 1983 coup that prompted the …