A lot of things went on outside the bubble of Tech in the past week. Here are a few important events taking place throughout the nation and the world.
On April 14, a plane carrying the Polish president and several other government officials crashed in Russia, killing all aboard. When the plane attempted to land, it did not make it on to the runway and instead hit the treetops. Not only was President Lech Kacynski one of the casualties, but also the deputy foreign minister, the chiefs of the army and the navy, the president of the national bank and several members of the country’s Parliament. The official casualty count given by Russian officials was 97 people.The timing was also unfortunate since Russian and Polish officials had taken some steps forward in coming to terms with the incident where 20,000 members of Poland’s elite officer corps were killed 70 years ago. Several relatives of victims of the massacre were also aboard the plane when it crashed.
The High Museum of Art received a gift of 47 works of art from Atlanta collectors Irene and Howard Stein. Many of the works are by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
The Steins have given the High Museum works by Toulouse-Lautrec in the past. Those and the works in the gift will make up a collection centered on Toulouse-Lautrec’s works will open in Jan. 2011.
Conan O’Brien has signed a contract to return to television in Nov. on TBS to host a late-night variety show. It will run Monday through Thursday and he will likely stay in Los Angeles. He is currently on the road in the “Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television” tour. Like the title implies, his settlement with NBC dictates that he is not allowed his show on another network until the fall. O’Brien claims that he will retain much of his former staff like executive producer Jeff Ross.