Late last month, the Royal Spanish Academy launched the Observatory of Words, a web portal that discusses terms and expressions which are coming into regular use in Spanish but which the Academy isn’t ready to officially include in dictionaries. The media quickly noticed that among the words indexed in the new Observatory was elle, coined as a gender-neutral alternative to el/ella (he/she). Within four days, elle was gone. Here’s why. – Global Voices
Author: Matthew Westphal
Bruno Barbey, Famed War Photographer For Magnum, Dead At 79
He captured some of the most memorable journalistic images of key events of the late 20th century: the 1968 riots in Paris; the Troubles in Northern Ireland; the Biafran war in Nigeria; the Solidarity demonstrations in Poland; the first Gulf War and the burning of the Kuwait oil fields by retreating Iraqi troops. – The New York Times
Philadelphia’s Count-All-The-Votes Dance Party Was A Deliberate Plan To Avoid Street Violence
“It seemed impromptu. It wasn’t entirely. The undeniable joy before, on, and after Election Day was organic. But a coalition of Philadelphia progressive organizations, many of them Black-led, have for months planned for political tension and unrest, determined to turn down the temperature.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Here’s One Country Where Theatre Is Alive And Well Despite COVID
“When the second wave of [the pandemic] hit, theatres in South Korea remained open. How? By approaching theatre as a controlled event, says New York-based director Sammi Cannold, who observed Seoul’s approach first-hand.” – The Stage
How Big Is The New Find Of Ancient Egyptian Artifacts At Saqqara? This Big
“After hinting at a big announcement for days, the Egyptian antiquities ministry revealed the details this morning: more than 100 intact wooden coffins with brightly painted scenes and hieroglyphs, and well-preserved mummies inside.” – Smithsonian Magazine
Study: Americans Feel Positive About The Arts, But There Are Demographic Differences
“The extensive survey, coordinated by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’s Humanities Indicators project, … [found that] 80% of American adults hold a ‘very favorable’ or ‘somewhat favorable’ view of the arts … but only 11% of them said they visit art museums or attend arts events regularly, while another 29% said they do so ‘sometimes.'” Interestingly, Black and Latinx Americans are far more likely to attend poetry and literary events than are their white compatriots. – Hyperallergic
Another COVID Casualty: Toronto Company Dancemakers Closes Permanently
“Starting as a summer project in 1974, Dancemakers went on to curate award-winning Canadian and international performances and play host to a multiyear resident artist program, as well as many presentations and workshops. More than 4,000 audience members and artists passed through each year.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Met Opera’s Custom-Made Marc Chagall Stage Curtain Is Up For Auction
The artist — whose two murals for the opera house’s lobby, famously visible to passersby from well beyond Lincoln Center’s central plaza, were put up as collateral for a loan in 2009 and again in 2014 — created the 65′-by-48′ curtain for a 1967 staging of Mozart’s Magic Flute, the only opera production he ever designed. – The New York Times
Chinese Gov’t Is Cracking Down On Hong Kong’s Public Broadcaster
“Amid the political turmoil since the pro-democracy movement erupted last year and the national security law was enacted in July, [RTHK] has been under fire from various quarters as the government appears to tighten its grip.” Producers have been taken for questioning, programs have been cancelled, staffers (who are considered civil servants) are being made to take a loyalty oath, and the national anthem of the People’s Republic of China is now played every day before the 8 am news. – Global Voices (Hong Kong Free Press)
Israeli Opera Moves To Lay Off Its Entire Chorus
At least 55 of the chorus’s 62 members have received notice of the mandatory hearing that precedes layoffs in Israel; the singers have been on furlough since the spring. Their union reports that the company abruptly ended negotiations on a new contract and evidently plans to hire freelance choristers at cheaper rates. – The Jerusalem Post