Compass A&E

If you’re already sick of singing “Happy Birthday” twice while you wash your hands, there’s a new and better way.

At a website called www.washyourlyrics.com, you choose a song that matches your mood. Type in the name of the song and the singer or composer/songwriter.

Sir Philip Pullman, a master of the fantasy genre, has come into his own this year with the trifecta of a new novel, the debut of an HBO series based on his earlier trilogy, and a knighthood in Britain’s New Years Honours.

James Barron said the response to his “Evite” invitation to a show at his Kent, Conn., gallery featuring work by Italian artists has been unprecedented.

“I cannot remember getting such a big response to an Evite as this,” he said, adding that, “Italy touches so many. It’s really a moving experience.”

Katherine Almquist promises that the Sherman Playhouse will not close down during this month’s run of three one-act plays by Tennessee Williams.

“Even if there’s only one person in the audience, the show will go on,” she vowed, with the grit of a true theater person. 

If we all end up in a COVID-19 quarantine, we will of course have lots of time to catch up with our reading and viewing.

Here are a couple topical suggestions. I haven’t actually read these books or seen  one of these two films, but maybe now is the time when I will at last.