Muse

Cezanne, Feininger Works Lead Sotheby's Biggest Art Auction in 17 Years A record $23.3 million for a painting by obscure American-born artist Lyonel Feininger and $25.5 million for a Paul Cezanne watercolor helped Sotheby's chalk up its biggest sale in 17 years.

Phil Spector, Tycoon of Pop Music, Mopes, Lies, Drinks Manischewitz in Bio In the late 1960s, when his famed ``wall of sound'' was already going out of fashion, Phil Spector was sitting alone in his Los Angeles mansion -- isolated, alienated, paranoid, dysfunctional -- watching Orson Welles's ``Citizen Kane,'' who was in about the same shape in Xanadu.

Gaza Rappers, Shot At by Israelis, Kidnapped by Palestinians, Keep Singing D.R. is no ordinary hip-hop star. His fans have been attacked and even abducted by an armed, masked gang trying to stop his music. Yet D.R. doesn't see himself as brave.

Serpentine Gallery's Hans Ulrich Obrist Livens London's Art, Skips Sleep Hans Ulrich Obrist pops a fizzy vitamin tablet into a water glass. ``It's my substitute for coffee,'' says the curator, as the tablet noisily floats to the surface.

Before Ralph Lauren, There Was King Paul Poiret of Paris: Linda Yablonsky To be Denise Poiret must have been heaven. The wife and muse of Paul Poiret (1879-1944), leading couturier of Belle Epoque Paris, never had to fret over what to wear. For the 1913 premiere of Stravinsky's ``Rite of Spring,'' it was an ivory silk damask and tulle gown, with rhinestone waistband.

Rembrandt's Ties to Amsterdam's Jewish Community Are Focus of Paris Show ``Rembrandt and the New Jerusalem, Jews and Christians in Amsterdam's Golden Age'' is a learned and stimulating show at the Jewish Museum in Paris.

Natalie Portman, AIG Promote Finca's Microcredit Work Among Global Poor On a recent trip to Uganda, the actress Natalie Portman met a woman who lived on 80 cents a day 10 years ago and now runs a local restaurant.

Blind Dynamo, Feverishly Curious, Risks Dangerous Sight-Restoring Surgery When Michael May, who had been blind since the age of 3, was offered the chance to see again, the decision to go through with the operations wasn't an easy one. Success was pegged at only 50 percent. The procedures could backfire and rob him of what light perception he still had. The required medicine could give him cancer.

Met Opera Mingles With Hollywood, Wall Street in $1.8 Million Auction The worlds of visual art, opera, finance and film converged for an auction that raised $1.8 million for the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The proceeds will help pay for new productions for the 2007-2008 season.

Moneybox's Gross Goes Counterintuitive, Calls Bubbles Good: Caroline Baum Every asset bubble leaves a new collection of bubble literature in its wake.