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Depressed? Here’s Why You Should Cut Back On Social Media

The curated images of other people’s lives we see on the screen can leave us feeling like we’re comparatively inadequate. The often spoken of “fear-of-missing-out” is a real thing. When you have dozens of people doing something once, with continual updating it can appear like everybody is doing something all the time. The political aspects of social media can make things worse. Even when people agree with you, the slew of information can be too much, says Dr. Erin Elfant, a clinical psychologist working out of California. – Big Think

Andrew White, Versatile Musician And Jazz Scholar, Dead At 78

“Mr. White, who played the oboe, saxophone, bass and other instruments, performed and recorded for more than five decades” in classical and rock as well as jazz. … “He self-produced more than 40 albums of his music, encompassing contemporary jazz, classical oboe, funk, and rhythm and blues. He self-published [an] autobiography … as well as treatises on music, educational manuals and his original compositions and transcriptions.” – The Washington Post

Groundbreaking: “Wonder Woman” Will Be Released Online And In Theatres Simultaneously

The decision to forgo a traditional theatrical release is surprising because “Wonder Woman 1984” was expected to be one of the biggest films of 2020 and had the potential to surpass $1 billion in ticket sales. The $200 million-budgeted movie was originally supposed to hit theaters this past summer. However, it was delayed time and time again amid the coronavirus crisis. – Variety

Neighborhood Dance Studios Struggle To Survive Pandemic

From the small operations that give youngsters their first lessons (especially in lower-income areas) to big establishments like the Broadway Dance Center in Manhattan, dance studios, and the skilled pros who run and teach in them, still have to pay the rent and other expenses even as income has plummeted since COVID-19 struck last spring. Here’s how a few of them are trying to avoid closure and keep dance available to their neighborhoods. – The New York Times

For The Second Time, D.C. Director Is Ousted From A Theatre Company He Founded

“Complaints by staff members and months of internal conflict have led to the ouster of Mosaic Theater Company Artistic Director Ari Roth. … The end to Roth’s tenure at the company he set up in the final days of 2014 is a bitter close to what had seemed a successful revitalization of his career as a theater leader in Washington. Just before creating Mosaic, in December 2014, Roth was fired as artistic director of Theater J, the company he ran for 18 years as part of the DC Jewish Community Center.” – The Washington Post

Art Dealers Are Making Buyers Commit Not To Flip The Art. Are Such Contracts Enforceable?

“Contractual terms preventing buyers from reselling works at auction for a fixed period of time — which have become increasingly popular as dealers seek to stamp out speculation that can damage young artists’ prospects — as well as agreements granting galleries the right of first refusal on resales may violate consumer rights, according to Martin Wilson, chief general counsel at [auction house] Phillips. … Fellow lawyers in the UK and US largely agree.” – Artnet

Unknown Da Vinci Sketch Of Jesus Discovered, And Scholar Says It Proves ‘Salvator Mundi’ Is Not By Leonardo

“[This] is the true face of Salvator Mundi,” said Annalisa Di Maria of the UNESCO Center in Florence. “[It] recalls everything in the drawings of Leonardo: it is his language, and speaks loud and clear.” Di Maria argues that this sketch is the study for the real Salvator Mundi by Leonardo; the painting under that title which was sold three years ago for the highest price in history ($450 million), and whose authorship is still debated, looks very different. – Artnet

2020 National Book Awards Winners Are Most Diverse Crop Ever

“Charles Yu’s Interior Chinatown, a satirical, cinematic novel written in the form of a screenplay, has won the National Book Award for fiction. Tamara Payne and her father the late Les Payne’s Malcolm X biography, The Dead Are Arising, was cited for nonfiction and Kacen Callender’s King and the Dragonflies for young people’s literature. The poetry prize went to Don Mee Choi’s DMZ Colony and the winner for best translated work was Yu Miri’s Tokyo Ueno Station, translated from Japanese by Morgan Giles.” – AP

Poland Freezes Its COVID Arts Bailout After Celebrities Are Caught Receiving Millions In Funding

“The ministry of culture released the names of more than 2,000 beneficiaries of its 400 million złoty ($106 million) support fund [last] Friday. Soon after, critics began scrutinizing the list, which included not only cultural foundations, orchestras, theaters, entertainment venues, and arts schools, but also several successful singers and actors.” A big backlash ensued, with accusations of corruption and cronyism flying. – Artnet