How One Theatre Tried To Make Waiting In A Georgia Voting Line A Little More Fun

The theatre chosen as a polling place wanted to make sure first-time voters had a good time just the way they tried in non-Covid times to make sure first-time theatregoers enjoyed their time. So: Snacks, apolitical music, “line-warming” activities, a slideshow, and more. “One of the women working with me day of said, ‘More theaters should run voting. This is what the voting experience should be.'” – Slate

As A New Potential Lockdown Looms, Canada’s Indie Bookstores Are Doing Surprisingly Well

Personalized book and wine deliveries, a mix of weekly children’s online reading clubs, subscriptions services, and a heavy uptick in the use of the internet – all are helping Canadian independent bookstores survive. But another lockdown may be coming before buyers can get their holiday shopping finished, a make or break proposal for small indies. – CBC

Social Media’s Promise Was All About Connection

Instead, it’s turned us into separate – and sometimes extremely hostile – factions. “Particularly when we’re scared, we regress further into tribalism and tend to trust the information relayed to us by our tribe and not by others. Normally, that’s an evolutionary advantage. Trust leads to group cohesion, and it helps us survive.” Not so on social media. – Fast Company

Life Might Just Find A Way

That is, biological organisms may be making choices with goals in mind. This is a big change in the mindset of biology researchers. “The latest research suggests that it’s wrong to regard agency as just a curious byproduct of blind evolutionary forces. Nor should we believe that it’s an illusion produced by our tendency to project human attributes onto the world. Rather, agency appears to be an occasional, remarkable property of matter, and one we should feel comfortable invoking.” – Aeon Magazine

The Washington Ballet’s Plan For Ballet During Covid-19

They went fully digital for 2020-2021, making a deal with Marquee TV for four performances. The dancers were split up into 10-person pods, with tests before rehearsal and before filming. Composers Zoomed into orchestra rehearsals. It wasn’t easy, but: “Dancing in a mask and the restraints of the protocol, I mean, nobody loves it. But in comparison to not dancing, really, it’s nothing.” – Washington Post

Google Arts And Culture As An Agent Of Ethnic Cleansing

In early November, Azerbaijan declared victory over Armenia in the area of Nagorno Karabakh, known as Artsakh to Armenians. “There are thousands of unprotected and inadequately documented ancient Armenian monuments in the recently conquered territory. … These include khachkars, monasteries, and churches that have been in use longer than almost any religious buildings in the world.” They’re at risk of being destroyed. And Google Arts & Culture’s info about the area appears to have been written by Azerbaijan.  – Hyperallergic