A bookstore is many things that Amazon’s Kindle store is not: “‘a miniature city,’ a centre of resistance and a battlefield where commercial value and authorial prestige are contested every day. It’s ‘a condensed version of the world,’ and a ritual space for ‘a community of believers.'” Does anyone believe in the bookstore anymore?
On Cultivating A Sense Of “Aliveness”
“Think of the way that life really can become lifeless. You know what it’s like: rise, commute, work, lunch, work some more, maybe have a beer or go to the gym, watch TV. For a while the routine is nurturing and stabilizing; it is comfortable in its predictability. But soon the days seem to stretch out in an infinite line behind and before you. And eventually you are withering away inside them. They are not just devoid of meaning but ruthless in their insistence that they are that way. The life you are living announces it is no longer alive. There are at least two natural, but equally flawed, responses to this announcement: constantly seek out newness or look for a stable, deeper meaning to your existing routine.”
Pakistani Film About Rape, Politics, And Impunity Sparks Unlikely National Conversation
“In the film, Verna, Pakistan’s most popular and highest-paid actress, Mahira Khan, plays a teacher who is abducted and raped repeatedly by the son of a regional governor. After failing to get justice from the police or the courts, the teacher takes matters into her own hands. Pakistan’s Central Board of Film Censors banned the film for its ‘edgy content,’ which the board said was ‘maligning state institutions.’ But a public outcry, fueled by extensive news coverage and a social media campaign, #UnbanVerna, bore fruit when an appellate board lifted the ban.”
How Dance Can Change The Person You Become
“What I know is that dance has made me aware of both emotional and physical empathy. I never fathomed that playing such a wide array of parts in ballet would be a kind of unexpected “cognitive behavioral therapy” that would change patterns in my relation to the real world by forcing me to constantly reevaluate myself and update my perceptions.”
Let Go Of The Guilt – Science Has Officially Approved The Practice Of Re-Gifting
Kate Wheeling: “It’s that time of year again: The day after Christmas. The holiday-season stress is over; the only thing to worry about now is what you’re going to do with that pair of Sauna Pants from Aunt Midge, who, bless her heart, still hasn’t grown out of her as-seen-on-TV phase. I’m here to tell you that science says you can just give them away. You’re welcome.”
Flooded Stage On Christmas Eve Causes Cancellation Of Berlin’s ‘Nutcracker’
“The Deutsche Oper announced the last-minute cancellations on Twitter, saying that a ‘technical defect’ in the opera house’s fire sprinkler system caused the stage to flood.”
The Church Of Bookstores
“Unless you’re just about to board, bookshop browsing can be a deeper and more untethered exercise than other kinds of shopping. Just opening a book and reading a few lines can draw you partly into another world, one you might not have planned to visit. According to Vancouver publishing consultant Thad McIlroy, only 40 percent of bookstore purchases are premeditated. All the rest are decided on impulse.”
Canada Faces A Reckoning Of Its National Cultures
“Blithe celebrations of a national birthday in the art world turned into a fury of self-critique, a rupture in the status quo through which all manner of marginal histories came flooding. Indigenous art in particular came to dominate the scene with major institutions nationwide joining an earnest, long-overdue effort to acknowledge not only its remarkable breadth and power, but the ugly, long-waged, government-sponsored effort to erase it from our national life.”
The Singer Soars After Two Double-Lung Transplants
“Diagnosed at age 20 with pulmonary arterial hypertension, or high blood pressure in the lungs, Charity Tillemann-Dick’s heart was more than three times larger than normal. But she couldn’t imagine a life without song. As her career flourished, Tillemann-Dick’s body deteriorated until a 2009 lung transplant saved her life. She was 26.”
If Our Artists Can’t Speak To The Powerful, Then?
Sarah Ruhl: “In dictatorships, the artists are often the first to go. Or maybe they are the third to go, after the press and the intellectuals. The refusal of the president to celebrate them is a chilling and clear departure from American values. Perhaps the Trumps didn’t want to compete with the Obamas, who at the 2016 Kennedy Center awards received the longest standing ovation of the evening.”