#Digital Issue - Aug - 2019

[molsons112000]

So you know what's coming down the pipeline, so you can retrain and reallocate your workforce, and that means maybe they need to relocate to another company doing another job!!! But there's ways to mitigate this and you can do this way in advance, and this way there is no displacement and you can work with unemployment truly and there is a temporary loss of position as they move to unemployment and through unemployment, they do training, they take the map grant. And the pell grant, and they use this to do training, and then there's other government subsidies, as I showed you to reallocate businesses or relocate businesses and to relocate employees and also to do job training!!!

https://youtu.be/rwD7aZcxKvc?si=8K7nm9pzYDzgs7oa

FreedomGPT

https://www.freedomgpt.com › wiki

Job displacement due to technology | Wiki

Potential solutions to mitigate job displacement include retraining and education programs for workers who have been displaced

MIT Sloan

https://mitsloan.mit.edu › ethics-an...

Ethics and automation: What to do when workers are displaced

Jul 8, 2019 — Digital technologies are transforming the nature of human labor, enriching some workers, but leaving others behind.

Missing: train ‎| Show results with: train

Singularity Hub

https://singularityhub.com › 3-pra...

3 Practical Solutions to Offset Automation's Impact on Work

Mar 11, 2019 — Solution 1: Capture New Opportunities Through Aggressive Investment · Solution 2: Address Increased Rate of Change

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-comcast-us-rvc3&source=android-browser&q=How+to+train+and+re+elocate+labor+related+to+technological+or+automation+displacement+the+to

Expand or relocate, here are some subsidies, but also you could be relocating to expand and you can use both relocation subsidy and the expansion subsidy!!!

Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (.gov)

https://dceo.illinois.gov › relocatean...

Expand or Relocate

The Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity offers many programs to help your business expand or relocate to Illinois

Governments offer a variety of subsidies to encourage businesses to relocate, including:

Grants

These can be discretionary funds negotiated directly with the company, or economic development grants offered by the state.

Tax credits

These can be a percentage of the taxes paid on the increase in the tax value of a business's real property, machinery, and improvements.

Other incentives

These can include:

Cash grants

Free land

Free job training

Low-interest loans

Loan guarantees

Ability to issue bonds paying tax-exempt interest

"Free" (taxpayer-funded) infrastructure

Utility rate reductions

Expedited permitting or reduced permitting requirements

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity offers programs and services to help businesses expand and relocate to Illinois, including:

Tax credits

Exemptions

Job creation

A searchable database of commercial and industrial sites, buildings, and community profiles

One-on-one assistance to help businesses start, operate, and grow

Reforming State and Local Economic Development Subsidies

Sep 19, 2024 — Business incentives are subsidies offered by state and municipal governments, ostensibly to induce companies to move to, expand in, or remain in a c...

Cato Institute

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-comcast-us-rvc3&source=android-browser&q=Government+and+state+subsidies+to+relocate+a+business

Relocation incentives to relocate workers!!!

OPM.gov

https://www.opm.gov › pay-leave

Fact Sheet: Relocation Incentives

An agency may pay a relocation incentive to a current employee who must relocate to accept a position in a different geographic area.

Defense Finance Accounting Service (.mil)

https://www.dfas.mil › Relocation-...

Relocation Income Tax Allowance (RITA)

Aug 20, 2024 — The RITA reimburses an eligible transferred employee substantially all of the additional Federal, State, and local income taxes incurred as a result of ...

IRS (.gov)

https://www.irs.gov › individuals

Moving expenses to and from the United States

Aug 20, 2024 — Use Form 3903, Moving Expenses, to figure your moving expense deduction for a move related to the start of work at a new principal place of work ...

American Trucking Associations

https://www.trucking.org › relocatio...

Relocation Mobility Coalition

The deduction is a vital tax relief tool that makes relocation for work more affordable and supports worker mobility – the lynchpin of a strong economy.

Tax Foundation

https://taxfoundation.org › Blog

These States Will Pay You to Move. Does That Strategy Make Sense?

Apr 30, 2021 — These states will pay you to move there. See how the rise of remote work is driving a trend in state relocation incentives.

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-comcast-us-rvc3&source=android-browser&q=State+in+federal+credits+relocate+workers

Here are different charities and organizations. As I said, you can use to above with charities to help with moving expenses to help with all kinds of things related to relocation, even psychologist and sociologist helping him to deal with the transition and they can be signed a psychologist. To help them transition in career truly help him deal with the transition from an n f l player to their next stage, dealing with their personal and and then a sociologist that helps them acclimate into their new environment!!!

While there isn't a single widespread charity dedicated solely to covering moving costs for relocating workers, several organizations might offer assistance depending on the specific circumstances, including: local social service agencies, government programs like the USDA Rural Housing Service, veterans assistance programs through the VA, and some employer-sponsored relocation packages; always check eligibility requirements before applying.

Key points to consider:

Local social service agencies:

Many communities have local charities or social service agencies that might provide limited financial assistance for moving expenses, especially for low-income individuals or families facing hardship.

Government programs:

USDA Rural Housing Service: Offers programs for individuals relocating to rural areas, potentially including moving cost assistance.

State and local relocation programs: Some states or localities may have programs to assist individuals displaced due to construction projects, which could include moving assistance.

Veteran assistance:

VA Housing Assistance: Veterans and their families may be eligible for relocation assistance through the Department of Veterans Affairs, which can help cover moving costs.

Employer-sponsored relocation packages:

Some companies, particularly in industries requiring frequent relocation, might offer relocation assistance packages to cover moving expenses for employees.

Important factors to check before applying:

Eligibility requirements:

Each program will have specific criteria regarding income level, employment status, geographic location, and reason for relocation.

Application process:

Understand the necessary documentation and application procedures to access assistance.

Funding limitations:

Be aware of the maximum amount of financial aid available for moving costs.

Ultimate Guide to Finding Help with Moving Costs - GoFundMe

3 days ago — USDA Rural Housing Service The various programs offered by the USDA's Rural Housing Service aim to improve housing and facilities in rural areas. Fami...

GoFundMe

So in the images, there are different charities that will help with this relocation, different parts of it, moving costs, housing and so on, and so they can give housing vouchers for temporarily bridging the gap until they get up and running and then they take over and pay for their own housing!!!

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-comcast-us-rvc3&source=android-browser&q=Charities+that+help+cover+moving+costs+for+workers+to+relocate

here is the pell grant helping with job training!!!

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-comcast-us-rvc3&source=android-browser&q=Charities+that+help+cover+moving+costs+for+workers+to+relocate

So this means your burrito place and you're waiter or waitress, they can take certain training like going to bartender school. Your bartenders say a weight staff wants to become a bartender. You can send them to bartending school, and they can use these different government grants that Cover the cost of bartending school!!!

SHRM

https://www.shrm.org › news › pel...

Pell Grants for Workforce Training Have Significant Support

Feb 26, 2024 — Pell Grants are need-based education grants for low-income and working students. Currently students can only use Pell

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-comcast-us-rvc3&source=android-browser&q=Charities+that+help+cover+moving+costs+for+workers+to+relocate

Here is skill training grants!!!

U.S. Department of Labor (.gov)

https://www.dol.gov › agencies › eta

Skills Training Grants

The Department's Employment and Training Administration administers skills training grants, including: Critical Sectors Job Quality Grant

Illinois State Board of Education

https://www.isbe.net › CTE-Grants

Grants

The Career and Technical Education (CTE) & Innovation Department offers numerous grant opportunities funded by State CTE and federal PerkinsV monies.

Illinois workNet

https://www.illinoisworknet.com › F...

Funding Opportunities - WIOA

This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by ...

Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (.gov)

https://dceo.illinois.gov › jobtraining

Job Training

Illinois Works is a program that provides construction pre-apprenticeship training and apprentices to state-funded projects. Workforce Development. The Office ...

Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership

https://chicookworks.org › funders

Funding

The Partnership is designated by Cook County and the City of Chicago to receive state and federal funds to administer job training and

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-comcast-us-rvc3&source=android-browser&q=Using+state+educational+grants+for+job+training

Here's the safer foundation.It does skilled training for workers to reenter the workforce!!!

Safer Foundation

https://saferfoundation.org

Safer Foundation: Comprehensive Reentry Assistance

Safer Foundation is one of the nation's largest nonprofits providing reentry assistance, job placement and training, and educational

Cara Collective

https://caracollective.org

Cara Collective: Home

EQUIPPING JOB SEEKERS. We provide free workforce training, job placement, and personal and professional coaching to pave the way for gainful employment.

Missing: workers ‎reenter

Illinois.gov

https://ides.illinois.gov › programs

Re-Entry Employment Service Program - IDES - Illinois.gov

National Reentry Resource Center The National Reentry Resource Center provides education, training, and technical assistance to states, tribes, territories, ...

Missing: Charities ‎| Show results with: Charities

Skills for Chicagoland's Future

https://www.skillsforchicagolandsfuture.com › ...

Community Resources | Skills for Chicagoland's ...

The workforce development center provides eligible clients with labor market counseling, career coaching, interview skills training, and resume development.

Missing: Charities ‎workers

The Center for Workforce Inclusion

https://www.centerforworkforceinclusion.org

The Center for Workforce Inclusion: Workforce Development for ...

The Center for Workforce Inclusion has been at the forefront, pioneering employer-driven, forward-thinking solutions for workforce development.

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-comcast-us-rvc3&source=android-browser&q=Charities+that+do+skilled+training+workers+to+reenter+the+workforce

here's also every state has state grants that can be used for job training!!!

Illinois Student Assistance Commission

https://www.isac.org › students

Monetary Award Program | MAP Grants

MAP grants, which do not need to be repaid, are available to eligible Illinois residents who attend approved Illinois colleges and demonstrate

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-comcast-us-rvc3&source=android-browser&q=Using+the+map+grant+for+job+training+in+illinois%2C+I+think+the+watching

Oh, cargo ships have to work with every port. Knowing what's going to be offloaded, but what's going to be unloaded in the ports? And they need to put the heaviest loads at the bottom, so they have the lowest center of gravity possible, so they're the stabilist in the water, so they have to figure out When they first mowed the ship starting the heaviest must be at the bottom and then they have to move things accordingly on and off the ship to try to keep the heaviest cargo.At the lowest point in the ship!!! This matters when you're doing a plane. It's not only evening out the load, but it's where the load goes in. The baggage compartment in the plane affects stability. But you know, even the plane that let's go of a bombload or shoots its gun changes the waiting of the plane, and so you have to figure out how to reallocate, even a plane has to take on ballas. To re offset!!!

United States Navy (.mil)

https://www.history.navy.mil › ab...

Ship Abbreviations and Symbols

May 12, 2016 — AKR -- vehicle cargo ship. AL -- lightship. ALCo -- American ... PY -- patrol vessel converted yacht. PYc. -- Patrol vessel converted

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-comcast-us-rvc3&source=android-browser&q=Shipping+tanker+cars+on+cargo+ships+the+py

Yes, placing the heaviest container cars at the lowest point on a ship will indeed lower its center of gravity, making it more stable and less prone to rolling over, as the weight is distributed closer to the waterline.

Explanation:

Center of Gravity:

The center of gravity of an object is the point where all its weight is considered to be concentrated.

Stability and Weight Distribution:

When heavier items are positioned lower on a ship, the center of gravity is lowered as well, enhancing the ship's stability by reducing the "moment arm" (the distance between the center of gravity and the point of buoyancy).

Key points to remember:

Cargo placement is crucial:

Proper cargo placement, especially for heavy containers, is vital for maintaining a low center of gravity and optimal stability.

Ballast tanks:

Ships often utilize ballast tanks to adjust their center of gravity by filling them with water depending on the cargo load.

Impact of high center of gravity:

If heavy cargo is placed high on a ship, the center of gravity rises, making the ship more susceptible to rolling in rough seas.

Check your understanding

Feedback

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-comcast-us-rvc3&source=android-browser&q=Keeping+the+heaviest+container+cars+at+the+lowest+point%2C+gives+a+ship%2C+a+lower+center+of+gravity

But ships need exoskeletons so they can handle tanker cars from semis in trains, and it can be loaded into this box skeleton, and then this box skeleton has to have covers on the side. Once it's loaded in, it can't be open air. If it is, then they can place them as open air to allow wind to pass through the containers. And they can use it like a building and then, yes, you can leave it open there. If you need to use it strategically, then press these empty skeletons in the center of the load just to create air passage through the cargo ship, so you don't get a straight wall where the wind shear pushes the ship. All around!!! So these are spacing skeletons taking pressure off the side of the ship to allow airflow to pass through under the cargo containers and truly, it will actually give the ship lift as well. Cause that air is lighter and it will push-up. And the above cargo containers, again. You don't want too much left, but it will lighten the load of the ship in a way and if you place it right. It can control the center of gravity correctly...

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-comcast-us-rvc3&source=android-browser&q=Keeping+the+heaviest+container+cars+at+the+lowest+point%2C+gives+a+ship%2C+a+lower+center+of+gravity

Also, it shipping places they will need exoskeletons for the worker. First of all it helps them move, but it also protects them from getting hurt. The exoskeleton puts their body on the inside and the exoskeleton's body on the outside, and it protects them from getting hurt as well in the workplace!!! And eventually in construction, construction, workers are going to start wearing exoskeletons, protecting them from being crushed, helping them do their job, but also protecting them from injury!!!

Nxtbook Media

https://read.nxtbook.com › spectrum

This Exoskeleton Will Obey Your Brain

With the ability to move dynamically, using neurocontrol interfaces, these exoskeletons will allow users to balance and walk without the

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-comcast-us-rvc3&source=android-browser&q=So+putting+exoskeletons+that+are+hollow+on+ship+container+cars+to+allow+wind+flow+to+pass+through

So on container ships, they have to figure out how they harness the power of the wind and minimize the negativity of wind chair, and not only wind share waves. If the waves are going against them, do they have the waves going with them? Or are they going into the waves or the waves coming across the ship from left to right or right to left? This is shear, not wind share, but it's the same effect as wind share. When the ship gets hit with crossways or cross current, it causes the shift to drift!!! Also can cause great instability in the ship to maintain its vertical!!!

So yes, a ship might have to take an s route... Where at times they're moving parallel to where they're going and then they're moving vertical and then parallel again, and they're maneuvering in not in a straight line... But if they're using it, the waves are helping them move across the ocean correctly, and they're maintaining stability!!! But ships are even worse than buildings because they have current moving under them and hitting their sides and then they have the wind, they have two things, causing issues and they can use the waves to offset wind shear, so the waves could be hitting the ship on the right.The wind share, hitting the ship on the left, which technically doesn't really happen.Because waves in airflow tend to go in the same direction!!!

To handle wind shear on a building, architects and engineers can implement strategies like optimizing building orientation, utilizing aerodynamic shapes, incorporating wind deflectors, strategically placing openings, using wind-resistant materials, and employing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to analyze and mitigate wind forces before construction begins.

Key strategies to manage wind shear on a building:

Building orientation:

Align the building with the prevailing wind direction to minimize wind loads and reduce the impact of shear forces.

Aerodynamic design:

Shape the building with streamlined profiles, rounded corners, and smooth surfaces to minimize wind turbulence and vortex creation.

Wind deflectors:

Incorporate design elements like canopies, awnings, or louvers to deflect wind away from pedestrian areas and reduce wind shear at ground level.

Façade openings:

Carefully design the placement and size of windows, balconies, and other openings to control airflow and mitigate wind shear effects.

Setbacks and spacing:

Create appropriate setbacks between buildings to allow for smoother airflow and reduce wind concentration at corners.

Wind-resistant materials:

Select building materials with high wind resistance properties to withstand wind loads and minimize damage.

Bracing systems:

Utilize structural elements like shear walls and cross-bracing to distribute wind forces evenly throughout the building and enhance stability.

Tuned mass dampers:

For tall buildings, consider incorporating tuned mass dampers to counteract wind-induced vibrations.

CFD simulations:

Use computational fluid dynamics software to analyze wind flow patterns around the building and identify areas of high wind shear, allowing for design adjustments to optimize wind resilience.

Important factors to consider when addressing wind shear on a building:

Local wind conditions:

Understanding the prevailing wind direction, wind speeds, and potential wind shear occurrences in the building's location.

Building height and shape:

Tall buildings are more susceptible to wind shear, requiring careful design considerations.

Pedestrian comfort:

Design strategies should also prioritize minimizing wind discomfort for pedestrians around the building.

Building codes and regulations:

Ensure the building design complies with local wind load requirements and building codes.

Shaping buildings to reduce wind loads | Designing tall buildings ...

Nov 17, 2020 — as there's really low maintenance and it will work whether you have electricity or not these generally form in forms of giant pendulums. or water ta...

YouTube ·

Brendan Hasty

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-comcast-us-rvc3&source=android-browser&q=Different+strategies+to+handle+wind+shear%2C+related+to+a+building

Oh yes, sometimes they can use the waves to offset wind shear, so they don't always move in the same direction and you need to understand this which way the waves are going in which way the airflow is going to create a better pathway for the ship!

No, waves and air currents (like wind) do not always move in the same direction; while wind can generate waves, the waves themselves can travel in different directions depending on factors like the fetch (distance wind travels over water) and can even move in a slightly angled direction compared to the wind itself due to the Coriolis effect; essentially, waves can propagate in different directions even if the wind creating them is blowing in a single direction.

Key points to remember:

Wind creates waves:

Wind blowing over water generates waves, but the waves can travel in a different direction than the wind itself.

Wave direction vs. current direction:

While wind can influence currents, currents (movement of water particles) can also move in different directions compared to the waves.

Coriolis effect:

The Earth's rotation can cause both waves and currents to slightly curve in their movement, further affecting their direction relative to the wind.

Check your understanding

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-comcast-us-rvc3&source=android-browser&q=Do+waves+and+air+current+move+in+the+same+direction

But as I said, ships have to take containers, these circular containers and put them into these exoskeletons, so they fit correctly on a ship....

Also, the exoskeleton can allow these tinker cars to be carried on a normal semi As well...

So it's different than a field truck container, where they need to move it via a field truck.... Because they have these attachments into the container itself... These are to move containers of milk, say or containers of water or containers of chemicals... So this allows you to move bulk of liquid or of natural gas. So they would be put in these protective exoskeletons, protecting them from getting hit, and then they can be loaded on a tanker ship. The circular container in the rectangular exoskeleton can be loaded on the tankership, and load it off the tankership onto a train or a semi... And then yes, it can be move from there into a field truck. But the container, the circular container could have nipples placed on it where you can insert, so it's just like the male and female organ. You can insert a pipe into it and then you can use it on tinker truck... and that reminds me how much I need a girl.... Because I don't understand alternative lifestyle men. There are a bunch of f****** pieces of s*** in my life and pieces are s*** in general!!!! That's why I love my friend. Who had the tattoo above his butt? Exit only violators will be condemned!!!!! I think they should put that on the back of a prison uniform.Exit only violators will be condemned!!!!

So it needs to be a global network between shipping ports, so they know what containers are pending to be loaded on a ship and also what containers are coming off a ship and what containers are remaining on the ship, it may need to be repositioned. So the ship can maintain the best to build the possible!!!!

Shipping ports communicate about pending container loading and unloading through a combination of digital platforms, standardized messaging systems, and dedicated communication channels where they share detailed information about container details, arrival times, and desired positioning on the ship, allowing for efficient scheduling and container placement on the vessel; this often involves the use of electronic data interchange (EDI), port community systems (PCS), and vessel management systems (VMS) to facilitate smooth communication between the ship, port authorities, and terminal operators.

Key aspects of this communication:

Container manifest:

A detailed list of all containers on a ship, including their size, weight, destination, and special handling requirements, is sent by the shipping company to the port in advance of arrival.

Port call schedule:

The ship's expected arrival and departure times, along with the planned berthing location at the terminal, are communicated to the port.

Container positioning instructions:

The port terminal operator provides information on where each container should be placed on the ship based on its destination and loading sequence.

Real-time updates:

Using automated systems like Automatic Identification System (AIS), ports can track a ship's position and adjust loading/unloading plans as needed.

Technology used for communication:

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange):

A standardized system for exchanging information electronically between different parties involved in shipping.

PCS (Port Community System):

A centralized platform where all stakeholders can access and share relevant port operational data.

VMS (Vessel Management System):

A system on board the ship that allows for real-time communication with the port regarding cargo details and operations.

RFID tags:

Radio Frequency Identification tags attached to containers can be used to track their location and status within the port.

Benefits of coordinated communication:

Optimized loading/unloading times:

Efficiently planning container placement minimizes crane movements and reduces waiting time at the port.

Reduced congestion:

Better coordination helps avoid bottlenecks at the terminal and on the ship.

Improved operational efficiency:

By sharing information proactively, ports can anticipate potential issues and take corrective actions.

Container Port Automation: Impacts and Implications

Landside operations ... This check of containers and trucks is carried out at the port gate. The essential data to be identified, checked and transmitted are da...

itf-oecd.org

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-comcast-us-rvc3&source=android-browser&q=How+shipping+ports+can+talk+to+each+other+about+pending+loading+and+unloading+containers+to+the+container+ship+to+schedule+out+container+positioning

So watch the youtube video above from wall street and the person doing the video is from Bloomberg Television .....

By the way, the wall street journal can be partners with bloomberg because they don't have a tv station and bloomberg doesn't have a newspaper!!!! So they can be perfect strategic partners... by the way, this will make the bloomberg machine stronger and the wall street journal stronger with their information and so a strategic partnership.If not, a merger, either will work.....

Overseas, they can work with the different financial times.... Unless the wall street journal is expanding into each of these countries... Then the financial times can work with c n b c, because cnbc doesn't have a newspaper..... And then the financial times doesn't have a domestic paper, and they can work with barons, and then they can work with a magazine called the economist... So there's natural partnerships, if not mergers, partnerships are perfect...

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › L...

List of business newspapers

India · Business Standard · The Economic Times · Financial Chronicle · Financial Express · The Hindu Business Line · Mint. Indonesia. edit

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-comcast-us-rvc3&source=android-browser&q=List+of+the+different+financial+newspapers

[tigerstrikesasteroidnetwork]

LA / Stephanie Deumer: A Diamond is Forever

A Diamond Is Forever, 2023 Digital video 21 min 36 sec

Stephanie Deumer: A Diamond is Forever August 12 - September 3, 2023 Opening Reception: Saturday, Aug 12, 2023. 7-10 pm

Tiger Strikes Asteroid Los Angeles is thrilled to present the premiere of Stephanie Deumer’s most recent video installation A Diamond is Forever, completed in 2023. Through a carefully calibrated and seamless montage of sourced videos culled from commercials, films, TV shows and other video sources, Deumer takes the viewer on a hypnotic journey that raises complex questions about the relationship of women and diamonds, among other topics. From a critical and theoretical perspective no stone is left unturned, and Deumer deftly manages to explore a wide range of issues subtly yet powerfully. The clips evoke an emotional rollercoaster of wonder, disgust, heartbreak, grief, laughter and hope. In the end, the sum of the parts is much greater than the whole, or in this case the isolated video fragments, and the work parses through the many complex and nuanced ways that women and marginalized communities have suffered in the name of diamonds, as well as the complex process of objectification and attendant subjugation.

In the artist's own words: “A Diamond Is Forever explores the fractured and multitudinous enigma of ‘woman’ created by the diamond industry and mass media. Consisting entirely of found footage, including but not limited to commercials, films, and TV shows, the work condenses representations of the extraction, production, circulation, and marketing of precious stones. Diamonds figure literally in the work as well as figuratively, revealing how concepts of nature, commodity, colonialism, and patriarchy are used to both validate and scrutinize women in relation to diamonds.”

This work was generously supported in part by Prospect Art’s New Work: Focus on LA grant and a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant.

Stephanie Deumer (b.1989, Oakville, Ontario, Canada) is a visual artist currently living and working in Los Angeles, California. Her films and multi-media installations highlight interrelations between different kinds of reproduction—including biological, visual, mechanical, and social. More particularly, the exploration of feminine constructs is a crucial through-line in Deumer’s practice. Complexities of female identity formation figure prominently, specifically in relation to language, media, science, and technology. Deumer holds a BA from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada and an MFA from California Institute of the Arts. She was a fellow at the Whitney Independent Study Program in New York from 2018-2019, and has been awarded grants from Canada Arts Council, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and Bar-Fund LA. Her work has been shown internationally in Canada, the United States, the UK, Ecuador, and Saudi Arabia. @stephaniedeumer

photos by Gemma Lopez

[lands-of-fantasy]

All STAR WARS Entertainment Weekly Print Covers

1997-2022

>> Press for Episode I: The Phantom Menace: 1. JAN 1997 - Photo from Episode VI: A New Hope 2. JUN 1997 - Cast Photo 3. MAR 1999 4. MAY 1999 - Cast Photo

>> Press for Episode II: Attack of The Clones: 5. APR 2000 - Cast Photo 6. JUN/JUL 2000 - Cast Photo 7. APR 2002 - Cast Photo 8. MAY 2002 (2 Covers)

>>  Press for the new DVDs 9. SEP 2004 - Photo from Episode VI: A New Hope

>> Press for Episode III: Revenge of The Sith 10. APR 2005 – Star Wars Special Edition             6 Covers, 1 from each Episode 11. MAY 2005

>> The Empire Strikes Back 30th Anniversary 12. APR 2010 – Behind The Scenes Photos

>> Disney announces deal to acquire Lucasfilm and plans for new movies 13. NOV 2012 – Original Trilogy montage

>> Press for Episode VII: The Force Awakens 14. AUG 2015 15. NOV 2015 (4 Covers)

>> Press for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 16. JUL 2016 17. DEC 2016 (2 Covers)

>> Press for Episode VIII: The Last Jedi 18. AUG 2017 (2 Covers) 19. DEC 2017 (4 Covers)

>> Press for Solo: A Star Wars Story 20. FEB 2018

>> Press for The Mandalorian 21. OCT 2019

>> Press for Episode XIX: The Rise of Skywalker 22. DEC 2019 – 3 Covers: Montages of characters from the Prequels, OT and from The Rise of Skywalker

>> Press for The Mandalorian (Season 2) 23. OCT 2020 (2 Covers) 

>> Press for Obi-Wan Kenobi 24. APR 2022 – This was the last print issue from EW, with the magazine going digital-only from then on

[konmics-n-stuff]

Everyone who has ever, even slightly, been Robin

*In official, DC-endorsed media 

Total: 105 (and counting)

FYI:

my definition of a ‘Robin’ is extremely vague. For example, I’m counting Lois Lane because she went to a costume party as Robin, and I’m also counting ‘Boy’ from Batman: the Return of Bruce Wayne because he had the domino mask paint and was clearly a stand-in for Robin. Et cetera.

They’re organized chronologically by their first appearance as Robin

Also this is heavily dependent on DC Fandom Wiki, so please let me know if I missed anyone or if anything is inaccurate

KEY

Red = actually Robin for a significant portion of time (more than a few in-universe days & more than one issue/episode/movie/etc)

Italics = was never Robin in main continuity (i.e. Earth Two [before Earth One existed], Earth One, New Earth, and Prime Earth)

Bold = I actually acknowledge them as Robin in my heart

Dick Grayson (Apr 1940)

Julie Madison (Mar 1941)

Ricky (Dec 1944) [possible future]

Mary Wills (Apr 1950) [Earth-Two]

Bruce Wayne (Dec 1955)

Vanderveer Wayne (Jun 1962)

Alfred E. Neuman (Sep 1966) [Mad Magazine]

Lance Bruner (May 1969)

Jimmy Olsen (May 1970)

Jason Todd (Mar 1982)

Boyd, the Robin Wonder (Apr 1983) [Earth-C-Minus]

Carrie Kelly (Jun 1986) [Dark Knight Returns]

Tim Drake (Oct 1989)

Robert Chang (Apr 1990) [Digital Justice]

Redbird (Jan 1993) [The Blue, the Gray, and the Bat]

Thomas Wayne (Jan 1993) [Robin 3000]

Bane (Apr 1993) [rejected elseworlds]

Robin Redblade (Jun 1994) [Earth-494]

Tengu (Sep 1994) [Narrow Path]

Alfred Pennyworth (Feb 1996) [Batman: Dark Alligiances]

Jubilation Lee (Apr 1996) [Amalgam Universe]

Tris Plover (Jun 1996) [Legends of the Dead Earth]

Darkbird (Jul 1996)

Bruce Wayne Jr. (Feb 1997) [Earth-3839]

Lois Lane (Oct 1997)

Rodney the chimpanzee (Nov 1997) [Batman: Dark Knight Dynasty]

Marya (1998) [I, Joker]

Barbara Gordon (Feb 1998) [Earth-37]

Robin the Toy Wonder (Nov 1998) [DC One Million]

Rochelle Wayne (Feb 1999) [Reign of Terror]

Kon-El (Mar 1999) [Hypertension]

Clark Wayne (Mar 1999) [Earth-3839]

Squid Wonder (Aug 1999)

The Robin (Mar 2000) [Earth-40]

Robin Drake (Feb 2002) [Riddle of the Beast]

Stephanie Brown (May 2004)

Nosyarg Kcid (Aug 2004) [Teen Titans (2003 show)]

Koriand’r (Jan 2005) [Teen Titans (2003 show)]

Garfield Logan (Jan 2005) [Teen Titans (2003 show)]

Rachel Roth (Jan 2005) [Teen Titans (2003 show)]

Victor Stone (Jan 2005) [Teen Titans (2003 show)]

Robbie the Robin (Jun 2005) [Krypto the Superdog]

Control Freak (Oct 2005) [Teen Titans (2003 show)]

Damian Wayne (Nov 2006)

Robin Olsen (Oct 2007) [Earth-8]

Bizzaro Robin (Nov 2007)

Unnamed penguin (Jun 2010) [Tiny Titans]

Boy (Jul 2010)

Robin Robin (Jul 2010) [Tiny Titans]

Unnamed son of Damian Wayne (Nov 2010) [Batman: the Brave and the Bold]

M’gann M’orzz (Nov 2010) [Young Justice (2010 show)]

Jericho (Dec 2010) [Tiny Titans]

Kid Devil (Dec 2010) [Tiny Titans]

Wildebeest (Dec 2010) [Tiny Titans]

Kroc (Dec 2010) [Tiny Titans]

The Joker (Jan 2011)

Lance Heart (Feb 2011)

Fransisco Ramirez (Feb 2011)

Christopher Ward (Feb 2011)

Robin John Blake (Jul 2012) [Dark Knight Trilogy]

Helena Wayne (July 2012) [Earth 2]

Robin’s Egg (Jan 2013) [Farm League]

Super Robin (Jul 2013) [Teen Titans Go!]

Selina Kyle (Mar 2014)

Damien Wayne (Jun 2014) [Infinite Crisis Video Game]

John Thomas Grayson (Dec 2014) [Earth 2]

Nibor (Jan 2015) [Teen Titans Go!]

Daxton Chill (May 2015)

Dre Cipriani (May 2015)

Riko Sheridan (May 2015)

Duke Thomas (Jul 2015)

Troy Walker (Jul 2015)

Kat-R-ina (Aug 2015)

Isabella Ortiz (Aug 2015)

BlackDomino (Oct 2015)

Darkestdawn (Oct 2015)

SideKicker (Oct 2015)

Yellowcape (Oct 2015)

Shug-R (May 2016)

Robinbot (May 2017)

Dinesh Babar (May 2017)

Rabid Robins (Oct 2017) [Earth -22]

Cult Member Robins (Apr 2018)

Rosie (Apr 2018)

Matt McGinnis (May 2018) [Futures End]

Harley Quinn (Apr 2019)

Michelangelo (Jul 2019) [Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]

Jarro (Oct 2019)

Billy Batson (Oct 2019)

Six of Hearts (Dec 2019)

Maps Mizoguchi (Dec 2020)

Talia Kane (Feb 2021) [Earth 11]

LeBron James (Jul 2021) [Space Jam: A New Legacy]

Drake Winston (Oct 2021) [Batman ‘89]

Anita Jean (Oct 2021)

Kiki (Nov 2021)

Son of Don Mitchell Jr. (Mar 2022) [The Batman (2022 movie)]

Gan (Mar 2022) [Batman: White Knight]

Cassandra (Jun 2022) [Dark Knights of Steel]

Jon Kent (Jul 2022) [Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League - Superman]

Amish Boy Wonder (Nov 2022) [The Last Harley Story]

Darcy Thomas (Nov 2022)

Dexter Dent (Dec 2022) [Flashpoint Timeline]

Elizabeth Prince (Jan 2024) [Possible Future]

Bruce Wayne clone (Jul 2024)

[itsjustmarle]

Let’s talk about samples!

I return from the Easter break 🐣 with some food for thought to explore. I wondered for a long time whether I should come up with something striking or related to past core content, but since I would like to revisit my Erasmus, I decided to put together my experiences and insights from my colleagues' blogs and from course lectures tied to this project. 

GUERRILLA DESIGN is the first shot

I came across this concept while scrolling through the course material and would like to bring it into a declination of examples chosen to mix my personal experience with its relevance in a social and cultural context. 

We can barely try to define this extremely varied practice:

“Unsanctioned, unscripted, and seemingly “undesirable” activities have long appropriated urban spaces in routine and sometimes unexpected ways, bringing new meanings and unforeseen functions to those places.”

This special issue aims to advance our understanding of urban design by situating it in a broader social, economic and political practice that includes formal and informal practices performed by a wide variety of individual and collective actors.

Expressiveness can be demonstrated by many nuances:

Street vending

When vendors take over street corners and sidewalks on a daily basis to provide basic and necessary services to city dwellers.

Here some cool, cutting-edge and Italian-vibes examples:

Graffiti

Gardening

Knitting

Skateboarding

Coming across the Graffiti thing I feel in the mood to share with you, tongue firmly planted in cheek, the most relevant model of resistance in street art beliefs: Banksy.

He has built a celebrated body of work, both permanent and impermanent, that uses satire, subversion, black humor and irony to create social, political and humanistic messages that resonate with the masses on a popular and public level. He is credited with catapulting guerrilla work into the mainstream as a viable art form.

I had the opportunity to see a very well curated exhibition here in Vienna, which was extended until 16th of April, with a substantial portion of his artwork, and my attention was stolen by the material applications pasted into the public and collective environment. 

That was my closest contact with Banksy's art and I really enjoyed all the provocative works, especially material and architectural ones, such as the following:

October 2013, Banksy undertook a month-long residency in New York entitled ‘Better Out Than In.’ 

Summer of 2015, Banksy opened the dystopian theme park Dismaland in the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare. Prepared entirely in secret, the project unveiled 10 new works by Banksy as well as works from 58 other artists.

Banksy went on to participate in the designing of the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem in 2017, opposite the Israeli West Bank Barrier.

To show you more:

[kublog154]

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[contemporaryartreflectionljmu]

Rachel MacLean: Modern Day Master

,‘Sickly sweet’ and ‘coloured with an absurdist comedy’ (Brown, 2018). ‘Tacky, kitsch and utterly repellent’ (Saunders, 2018). ‘A constant back and forth between the seductive and the unsettling’ (Couston, 2016). These are just a few ways the saccharine colour schemed work of artist Rachel MacLean has been described.

Rachel MacLean. Image: David Bebber, 2019

Possibly the most pertinent contemporary artist of our time, MacLean’s works are predominantly digital videos (Couston, 2016). Born in 1987, Maclean has gained attention in recent years, even going on to represent Scotland at the 2017 Venice Biennale (Saunders, 2018).

I first discovered the work of Rachel MacLean when she curated Too Cute (2019) at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. The exhibition, alongside an explanation video by “Dr Cute”, played by MacLean, drew me in, in a way no exhibition had before.

For Too Cute, MacLean had juxtaposed ‘contemporary objects and art with those from the Nineteenth Century’ (King, 2019). The questions the exhibition aimed to raise were one factor that intrigued me. Have people always had a compulsion to all things cute and lovely? Has the idea of cuteness changed over the generations? At what point does cute cross the line into scary and repelling?

Still from Dr Cute video. Image: Art Fund, 2019 https://www.artfund.org/whats-on/exhibitions/2019/01/26/too-cute-exhibition

The other factor was the way these questions were presented to the viewer. While Dr Cute’s video touched on serious themes such as escapism from our daily lives and the excesses of consumerism, it was almost masked by the candy colours, exaggeration, reference to pop culture and satirical element. ‘Cuteness is a huge part of contemporary life: advertising, filters, emojis, memes, fashion’ and so on (King, 2019). Therefore, while MacLean’s art seemed absurd, it was, as with much of her work, ‘at once entrancingly strange and disturbingly familiar’ (Langley, 2016).

So, what exactly does Rachel MacLean do? Within her videos the artist uses green screen technology to display digitally created imagined backgrounds (Couston, 2016). Alongside digital editing, MacLean’s aesthetic is marked by a continuous reference to pop culture and mass media tropes. For example, Feed Me (2015) includes ‘X-factor style auditions, skin cream ads, Disney style sing-alongs and a soap opera’ (Couston, 2016). However, MacLean takes the merging of the real and the imagined one step further; her films are ‘collaged from found objects’ (Langley, 2016) and often contain found audio sources, ranging from Britain’s Got Talent to David Cameron’s speeches (Couston, 2016).

Still from Feed Me. Image: Frieze, 2016 https://www.frieze.com/article/focus-rachel-maclean

MacLean’s characters are distinct art works in their own right. Her characters, ‘taken from Disney animations and fairytales or inspired by commercial advertising,’ (Couston, 2016) are made up of found objects such as wigs, masks, and ‘elaborate candy-coloured costumes’ (Brooks, 2018). With MacLean a fan of caricature (Saunders, 2018), it is no surprise that her characters possess jarring features, whether accentuated teeth or melting skin. As MacLean explains in an interview, “there’s a strange power in the grotesque,” it can be easily and purposefully achieved, as opposed to today’s beauty standards that aim to keep you buying (Brooks, 2018).  

Still from Spite Your Face. Image: ArtRabbit, 2018 https://www.artrabbit.com/events/rachel-maclean-spite-your-face-chapter

Among her influences MacLean counts Cindy Sherman particularly her portraits; “it feels very relevant now to the age of social media… people representing themselves in photographs as their idealised self” (Brown, 2018). Additionally, she is inspired by video artists Shana Moulton and Ryan Trecartin (Langley, 2016). Comedy has impacted MacLean’s work, evident by the satirical nature of her films; “you can talk about serious ideas without it feeling too weighty… laughing at systems of power is quite a powerful thing” (Brown, 2018). However, perhaps somewhat unexpected at first glance, MacLean’s work is steeped in Art History.  A fan of Bosch’s Renaissance triptychs and Hogarth’s eighteenth-century cartoons (Saunders, 2018), the influence of the past on MacLean’s work can be seen in Spite Your Face (2017) with Piero della Francesca’s one point perspective, and the ‘crowded, flattened world of a Giotto fresco’ (Brown, 2018), and in Make Me Up (2018) in which MacLean challenges ‘the male oriented art canon’ (Brown, 2018).

Still from Make Me Up. Image: Rachel MacLean, 2018 http://www.rachelmaclean.com/make-me-up-film/

MacLean’s works encapsulate a range of themes and ideas paramount in today’s society. She ‘presents a critical and satirical view of the excesses of consumerism,’ even touching on the commercialisation of happiness and wellbeing (Couston, 2016). During filming for Channel 4’s Artist in Residence series, MacLean was able to delve deeper into this, after living inside Birmingham’s Bull Ring shopping centre. Of consumerism, she stated, “it’s an entire culture that necessitates dissatisfaction,” and thus was born a new character; the Satisfaction Bunny (Brooks, 2018). MacLean also discussed the hidden level of censorship in what are seemingly public spaces, after not being able to film in shops or interview staff; “the only way was to make art about the level of censorship around these brands” (Brooks, 2018).

MacLean outside the Bullring as the Satisfaction Bunny. Image: The Guardian, 2018 https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/aug/05/rachel-maclean-artists-in-residence-channel-4-birmingham-bullring

MacLean has touched on various types of identity within her work; The Lion and The Unicorn (2012) and A Whole New World (2014) engages with Britain’s national identity and colonial past while Feed Me explores the class divide (Langley, 2016). Make Me Up, on the other hand, explores women’s suffrage and male fear at female empowerment (Saunders, 2018). The recurring presence of technology and reliance on smart phones is another identifier of MacLean’s work, with the ‘unnervingly cutesy aesthetic’ (Langley, 2016) being compared to that of social media filters (Brown, 2018). Throughout all of this, characters within the films speak directly to the camera; MacLean is confronting us, urging the audience to directly engage with issues presented to them (Langley, 2016).

Still from A Whole New World. Image: BBC, 2013 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p052dh8s

Rachel MacLean isn’t the first or only artist to analyse these themes. However, the aesthetic she uses and the continuous references to the modern day make her works difficult to ignore, and her ideas more easily accessible and understood. This is furthered by the range of influences she draws on, ‘from Baroque architecture to Korean pop videos’ (Saunders, 2018). I am fascinated with how MacLean is able to reflect modern society in her works, using satire to get us to subconsciously question it ourselves. As Frieze sums it up, MacLean ‘exaggerates pop culture in order to reveal its underlying absurdities, heightening our awareness of reality rather than providing fanciful distraction from it’ (Langley, 2016).

Rachel MacLean. Image: The Herald Scotland, 2016 https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14481256.meet-rachel-maclean-candy-coloured-nightmare-world-artist-represent-scotland-venice-20

Sources:

Brooks, L. (2018) Rachel MacLean: My month in hell as the Bullring bunny [Online] Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/aug/05/rachel-maclean-artists-in-residence-channel-4-birmingham-bullring (Accessed: 5th March 2021)

Brown, G. M. (2018) Rachel MacLean: Satire for the Age of Snapchat [Online] Financial Times. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/a6cb6d0a-bfee-11e8-95b1-d36dfef1b89a (Accessed: 7th March 2021)

Couston, E. (2016) Five Minutes on Rachel Maclean [Online] Tate. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/articles/rachel-maclean-art-now (Accessed: 7th March 2021)

King, J. (2019) Too Cute! What happens when sweet gets sinister? [Online] Art UK. Available at: https://artuk.org/discover/stories/too-cute-what-happens-when-sweet-gets-sinister (Accessed: 5th March 2021)

Langley, P. (2016) In Focus: Rachel MacLean [Online] Frieze. Available at: https://www.frieze.com/article/focus-rachel-maclean (Accessed: 5th March 2021)

Saunders, T. F. (2018) Rachel MacLean interview: ‘There’s a fear that if women makes jokes they’re going to start laughing at men’ [Online] The Telegraph. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/artists/rachel-maclean-interview-fear-women-make-jokes-going-start-laughing/ (Accessed: 7th March 2021)

[msclaritea]

“The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts has been extraordinarily friendly turf for corporations. It has been more than four years since the Court has reversed a lower court decision favoring corporate interests, according to a new analysis by the Constitutional Accountability Center, a progressive think tank.

Now, with the clock ticking for Senate Republicans to confirm President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, federal judge Amy Coney Barrett, the groups that helped push through Trump’s two previous nominees are again ready to spend tens of millions of dollars on advertisements to ensure Barrett receives the lifetime appointment.

With 53 Senate Republicans in this soon-to-end 116th Congress, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell needs to prevent no more than three defections to confirm Barrett with a simple majority. Two Republicans have publicly expressed disapproval of confirming Trump’s nominee so close to the election, Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, though it is not clear they have unequivocally committed to voting against Barrett—and the developing coronavirus outbreak among Republican senators is changing the vote count and confirmation timeline.

The conservative groups spending millions on television, digital, and direct mail ads hope to shore up GOP support for a nominee who is expected to be anti-abortion, socially conservative, and favorable to corporate interests.

All signs indicate that a potential Justice Barrett would continue the pro-corporate tilt of the Court. According to an analysis by the nonpartisan watchdog group Accountable.us, Judge Barrett sided with corporations over people 76% of the time on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, in 44 of 55 cases reviewed. For example, in the 2018 case of Bruce Betzner and Barbara Betzner v. The Boeing Company, Barrett voted to reverse a district court’s decision to send a personal injury lawsuit back to state courts, the outcome Boeing was seeking. In August, Barrett delivered a ruling that could block gig workers from suing when tech companies deny them overtime pay, according to a report from The Daily Poster.

The Roberts court has been stuffing its docket with cases in which lower courts ruled against corporate interests—fully 91% in the 2018-2019 term. Already on the docket for the term that starts on Oct. 5 are a number of cases that involve state rulings: Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court, which could limit where individuals can pursue personal injury suits; Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, on whether states can regulate pharmacy benefit managers; and Carney v. Adams, on whether states can require judges to be affiliated with one of the two major political parties. Other cases to be heard by the Supreme Court will feature deceptive commercial activities, arbitration agreements that limit peoples’ ability to sue corporations, and even the enforcement of IRS reporting requirements.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

Many of the top funders of groups backing Barrett, including many Republican megadonors, are billionaire corporate executives—in industries like manufacturing, transportation, shipping supplies, and private equity financing—whose economic outlooks could benefit from Barrett being confirmed to the vacant seat.

Here are the top donors to conservative groups spending on the Barrett confirmation, according to FEC data from Jan. 1, 2019 to Aug. 31, 2020:

Club For Growth

The right-wing Club For Growth, known for backing far-right candidates against moderate Republican incumbents and a past recipient of funding from the Koch-linked Center to Protect Patient Rights, recently pledged to spend $5 million on ads to back Trump’s nominee. The group’s nonprofit arm received nearly $6.8 million from undisclosed donors from July 2017 through July 2018, according to tax documents. Its super PAC, Club For Growth Action, has reported receiving nearly $56 million in the 2020 election cycle, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Club For Growth President David McIntosh said in a statement praising Barrett, “This choice will shape America’s future, as the Court considers cases relating to issues like the constant unconstitutional growth of government and whether federal agencies should have free rein to enact arbitrary rules without Congressional approval.”

Club For Growth has had huge support this year from Republican megadonor Richard Uihlein, the right-wing founder of shipping supplies company Uline, whose donations total $26.5 million this election cycle. Uihlein contributed $10 million to Club For Growth Action, the group’s super PAC, on Jan. 12, then $4 million on April 21 and another $10 million on August 8, according to FEC records.

Right-wing billionaire Jeff Yass, co-founder of financial firm Susquehanna International Group, donated over $17.5 million to the super PAC this cycle. Yass, a Pennsylvania-based options trader, has also contributed over $4 million to the conservative Protect Freedom PAC this cycle, making up the vast majority of its funding as reported in FEC records.

Also in this cycle, Club For Growth Action received over $2.1 million from the late Republican megadonor Richard Gilder, who died in May of congestive heart failure at the age of 87, and his ex-wife Virginia James. James has donated to the conservative Wisconsin state judge David Prosser in a 2011 recount battle and other Koch-related causes.

Richard and Barbary Gaby contributed over $1.6 million to Club For Growth Action. Barbara Gaby is the youngest child of Amway co-founder Jay Van Andel, who, with the DeVos family, has been a major funder of the the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a nonprofit that helps Republican legislators collaborate with corporate lobbyists, and the Center for International Private Enterprise, a non-profit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

America First Action

The pro-Trump super PAC America First Action is also promising ad buys totaling $5 million to promote Barrett in national television, digital and direct mail. Its nonprofit arm, America First Policies, took in $22 million in 2017 from donors whose identities it was not required to publicly disclose, while the PAC has received nearly $83 million this cycle, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

The leading donors to the Trump super PAC, at $10 million apiece, have been Republican megadonor Timothy Mellon, the majority owner of transportation holding company Pan Am Systems, and Kelcy Warren, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of pipeline company Energy Transfer Partners whose Dakota Access pipeline has been mired in court battles over its potential to pollute key water sources in South Dakota.

Geoffrey Palmer, a Republican donor and billionaire real estate developer based in Los Angeles, has donated $6 million to America First Action. Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein threw in over $2.7 million. Three more familiar Trump megadonors have chipped in: Linda McMahon, the former pro wrestling executive who is now the super PAC’s chairwoman, with over $3.5 million; Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, with $3 million; and Diane Hendricks of Wisconsin, chair of a roofing supply company and a Republican megadonor, with $2 million.

Richard DeVos, co-founder of Amway and husband of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, has contributed $400,000 to America First Action. GOP megadonor Marlene Ricketts, wife of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, has given half a million dollars to the PAC.

Americans For Prosperity

Through a standalone website and by mobilizing its membership, the Koch brothers-founded libertarian advocacy group says it has sent 200,000 letters in support of Barrett to U.S. senators in the past week. The group’s super PAC has spent over $20 million this cycle in independent expenditures.

The majority of that amount has come from $7 million from Charles Koch’s fossil fuel conglomerate Koch Industries and close to $6.5 million from the Koch network’s Freedom Partners Action Fund, but several more corporate megadonors have given to Americans For Prosperity Action this cycle. Major GOP donor Ron Cameron, president of the Little Rock, Arkansas-based Mountaire Corporation, a chicken products producer, has contributed $3.5 million. Richard “Dick” Haworth, the former CEO of an eponymous office-interiors manufacturer company, and his wife Ethelyn contributed $1.5 million to AFP Action. Haworth attended an exclusive Vail, Colorado retreat convened by the Koch Brothers for donors who had given over $1 million to right-wing causes. Trucking executive Clarence L. Werner, a previous million-dollar donor to the Kochs’ Freedom Partners super PAC, kicked in $1.5 million on July 1. Individuals from several energy, timber, pipeline, and coal companies have given at least $100,000 each to the PAC.

Judicial Crisis Network

The Judicial Crisis Network’s leading role in the communications push to confirm Trump’s nominees has been funded recently through some $30 million received between July 2018 and June 2019, led by a $15.9 million donation from an anonymous donor, according to IRS records reviewed by the Daily Poster. JCN is organized as a “social welfare” nonprofit and is not required to disclose the identities of its donors.

In 2017, a secret donor behind a $17 million gift readied JCN for the Kavanaugh confirmation showdown, providing over three-fourths of the total amount it received that year. Together in the efforts to confirm Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch in 2017, JCN was estimated to have laid out $22 million.

Three additional groups on the right have said they’ll be spending money on efforts to confirm Barrett: anti-abortion nonprofit Susan B. Anthony List, conservative nonprofit Catholic Vote, and conservative, anti-LGBT nonprofit think tank American Principles Project. The Susan B. Anthony list has reported raising a bit over $1 million to its PAC this cycle from hundreds of donors giving $5,000 and below, while its non-profit arm received over $12 million in funding according to its most recent Form 990, for 2018.

Millions More Spent on State Judicial Races

While the Supreme Court hears cases involving lower courts’ rulings on consumer lawsuits and government regulations, the conservative groups pushing Trump’s nominees have also spent millions to influence state judicial races.

A December 2019 report by the nonpartisan policy institute Brennan Center for Justice, titled “The Politics of Judicial Elections, 2017–18,” noted that JCN quietly spent $3.8 million on state elections in those years. After JCN donated nearly $1 million last year to the Republican State Leadership Committee, a national 527 group dedicated to electing Republicans to state office, the RSLC transferred $1.2 million to the Judicial Fairness Initiative, which works as an effort under the RSLC to elect conservative state judges. In the 2018 election cycle, the Judicial Fairness Initiative received over $4.3 million from RSLC, according to IRS records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

The Brennan Center tracked how in 2013-14, JCN sent half a million dollars to Wisconsin Club for Growth, which spent money that cycle for the successful reelection campaign of conservative Justice Patience Roggensack. In May, during oral arguments in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court regarding a stay-at-home order issued by the state health department, Justice Roggensack appeared to downplay the importance of some cases by contrasting the workers at a meatpacking plant who had been exposed to a coronavirus outbreak with “the regular folks in Brown County.” She then joined the majority on the state Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision to strike down the order, which was supported by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

The Judicial Ads Act, introduced in the Senate on July 2 by Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), would bring transparency to secretive groups like those that blasted out ads promoting Kavanaugh’s confirmation. The bill would require any group spending at least $50,000 in a year on federal judicial nomination advertisements to disclose the identity of any donor giving $5,000 or more. Recently introduced in a House version as well by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), the measure is supported by the nonpartisan watchdog Campaign Legal Center. It could be taken up by Congress next year—most likely, if Democrats take control of the Senate—as part of the next version of H.R. 1, the For the People Act, a sweeping ethics package passed by the Democratic House in March 2019 that is not supported by any Republicans in Congress.”

[lands-of-fantasy]

STAR WARS Entertainment Weekly Covers

Part 2: 2015-2022

>> Ahead of the Sequel Trilogy:

14. AUG 2015 – Fall Movie Preview - Star Wars: The Force Awakens Kylo Ren (masked)

15. NOV 2015 – Star Wars! The Force Awakens (4 Covers) Han Solo Rey Finn R2-D2 & C3PO

>> The Force Awakens premieres on Dec. 2015

16. JUL 2016 – Star Wars: Rogue One First Look Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor, K-2SO (also featuring 2 AT-AT units and the Death Star)

17. DEC 2016 –  Star Wars: Rogue One (2 Covers) Jyn Erso (feat. the Death Star) Jyn Erso and Darth Vader

>> Rogue One: A Star Wars Story premieres on Dec. 2016

18. AUG 2017 –  Star Wars: Who Is The Last Jedi? (2 Covers) Luke Skywalker Rey

19. DEC 2017 – The Untold Story Behind Star Wars: The Last Jedi (4 Covers) Rey & Kylo Ren Finn, Rose Tico & BB-8 Poe Dameron & Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo Luke Skywalker & Leia Organa

>> The Last Jedi premieres on Dec. 2017

20. FEB 2018 - When Han Met Chewie Han Solo and Chewbacca (Solo: A Star Wars Story)

>> Solo: A Star Wars Story premieres on May 2018

21. OCT 2019 - A New Hope For TV: The Mandalorian Din Djarin (masked)

>> The Mandalorian premieres on Nov. 2019

22. DEC 2019 – Star Wars: Untold Stories from every episode and Secrets from The Rise of Skywalker (3 Covers) Montages of characters from the Prequels: Anakin, Obi-Wan, Queen Amidala, Darth Sidious, Darth Maul OT: Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, Darth Vader, R2-D2, C3PO, an Ewok Sequels: Rey, Kylo Ren, Finn, Poe, Rose, Jannah, Chewbacca, BB-8 (The Rise of Skywalker)

>> The Rise of Skywalker premieres on Dec. 2019

23. OCT 2020 – Fall TV Preview - The Mandalorian Strikes Back (2 Covers) Din Djarin (masked) & Grogu Grogu (standing next to Din Djarin)

>> The Mandalorian (Season 2) premieres on Oct. 2020

24. APR 2022 – Return of a Jedi: Obi-Wan Kenobi Obi-Wan Kenobi

This was the last print issue from EW, with the magazine going digital-only from then on

>> Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres on May 2022

[solacekames]

(This is a great serious study with a lot of data, which is the only way to fight this online disinformation shit. 

I’m already accustomed to us Japanese-Americans being almost completely unable to have online public conversations because we get trolled to the point of nausea by creepy fetishists, fakers and just plain racist trolls. But it could get worse. It IS getting worse. 

While a lot of the article may sound very “water is wet” please don’t be dismissive of it. It’s very important.)

Members of vulnerable groups such as the Latino, Muslim, and Jewish communities are being disproportionately targeted online with disinformation, harassment, and computational propaganda — and they don’t trust big social platforms to help them, according to new research by the Palo Alto–based Institute for the Future’s Digital Intelligence Lab shared exclusively with BuzzFeed News.

Researchers found that online messages and images on platforms such as Twitter that originate in the Latino, Muslim, and Jewish communities are co-opted by extremists to spread division and disinformation, often resulting in more social media engagement for the extremists. This causes members of social groups to pull away from online conversations and platforms, and to stop using them to engage and organize, further ceding ground to trolls and extremists.

“We think that the general goal of this [activity] is to create a spiral of silence to prevent people from participating in politics online, or to prevent them from using these platforms to organize or communicate,” said Samuel Woolley, the director of the Digital Intelligence Lab. The platforms, meanwhile, have mainly met these complaints with inaction, according to the research.

Woolley said he expects strategies like fomenting division, spreading disinformation, and co-opting narratives that were used by bad actors in the 2016 election to be employed in the upcoming 2020 election. “In 2020 what we hypothesize is that social groups, religious groups, and issue voting groups will be the primary target of” this kind of activity, he said.

The lab commissioned eight case studies from academics and think tank researchers to look at how different social and issues groups in the US are affected by what researchers call “computational propaganda” (“the assemblage of social media platforms, autonomous agents, and big data tasked with the manipulation of public opinion” — i.e., digital propaganda). The groups studied were Muslim Americans, Latino Americans, moderate Republicans, immigration activists, black women gun owners, environmental activists, anti-abortion and abortion rights activists, and Jewish Americans.

In one example, immigration activists told researchers that a “know your rights” flyer instructing people what to do when stopped by ICE was photoshopped to include false information, and then spread on social media. A member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the hashtag related to the organization’s name (#CAIR) has been “taken over by haters” and used to harass Muslims. Researchers who looked at anti-Latino messaging on Reddit also found that extremist voices discussing Latino topics “appear to be louder than their supporters.”

Jewish Americans interviewed by researchers said online conversations about Israel have reached a new level of toxicity. They spoke of “non-bot Twitter mobs” targeting people, and “coordinated misinformation campaigns conducted by Jewish organizations, trying to propagandize Jews.”

“What we've come to understand is that it's oftentimes the most vulnerable social groups and minority communities that are the targets of computational propaganda,” Woolley told BuzzFeed News.

These findings align with other data that reinforces how these social groups bear the brunt of online harassment. According to a 2019 report from the ADL, 27% of black Americans, 30% of Latinos, 35% of Muslims, and 63% of the LGBTQ+ communities in the United States have been harassed online because of their identity.

BOTS

While bots were generally not a dominant presence in the Twitter conversations analyzed by researchers, automated accounts were used to spread hateful or harassing messages to different communities.

Tweets gathered about the Arizona Republican primary to replace John McCain in the Senate and his funeral last year showed that bots tried to direct moderate Republicans to america-hijacked.com, an anti-Semitic conspiracy website. (It has not published new material since 2017.) Researchers also found that Twitter discussions about reproductive rights saw anti-abortion bots spread harassing language, while pro–abortion rights bots spread politically divisive messages.

Researchers used the Botometer tool to identify likely automated accounts, and gathered millions of tweets based on hashtags for analysis. They combined this data analysis with interviews conducted with members of the communities being studied. The goal was to identify and quantify the human consequences of computational propaganda, according to Woolley.

“The results range from chilling effects and disenfranchisement to psychological and physical harm,” reads an executive summary from Woolley and Katie Joseff, the lab’s research director.

Joseff said people in the studied communities feel they’re being targeted and outmaneuvered by extremist groups and that they don’t “have the allyship of the platforms.”

“They didn't trust the platforms to help them,” she said.

In response to a request for comment, a Twitter spokesperson pointed to the company's review of its efforts to protect election integrity during the 2018 midterms elections.

"With elections taking place around the globe leading up to 2020, we continue to build on our efforts to address the threats posed by hostile foreign and domestic actors. We're working to foster an environment conducive to healthy, meaningful conversations on our service," said an emailed statement from the spokesperson. (Reddit, the other social platform studied in the research, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.)

Joseff and Woolley said more extreme and insular social media platforms like Gab and 8Chan are where harassment campaigns and messaging about certain social groups is incubated. Ideas that begin on these platforms later dictate the conversation that takes place on more mainstream social media platforms. “The niche platforms like Gab or 8Chan are spaces where the culture around this kind of language becomes fermented and is built,” Woolley said. “That’s why you’re seeing the cross-pollination of attacks across more mainstream social media platforms … directed at multiple different types of groups.”

Co-opting

Researchers found that several of the communities studied are dealing with hashtag and content co-opting, a process by which something used by a group to promote a message or cause gets turned on its head and exploited by opponents.

For example, immigration activists interviewed for one case study said they’ve seen anti-immigration campaigns “video-taping activists and portraying them as ICE officers online, and reframing images to represent immigrant organizations as white supremacist supporters.”

Those interviewed said the perpetrators are tech savvy, “use social media to track and disrupt activism events, and have created memes of minorities looting after a natural disaster.”

The researchers found that messages initially pushed out by immigration activists were consistently co-opted by their opponents — and that these counter-narrative messages generate more engagement than the original, as shown in this graphic representing one example:

“In all cases but one a narrative was consistently drowned out by a counter narrative,” the researchers wrote.

Another case study about Latino Americans gathered data from Reddit. It found that members of r/The_Donald, a major pro-Trump subreddit where racist and extremist content often surfaces, were hugely influential in organizing and promoting discussions related to the Latino community. By filling Reddit with their content, as well as organizing megathreads and other group discussions, they drowned out Latino voices. Researchers also wrote that trolls have at times impersonated experts “in attempts to sow discord and false narratives” related to Latino issues.

Old Tropes

The specific disinformation identified by researchers was often connected to long-running conspiracies or false claims. The case studies about online conversations about women’s reproductive rights and climate science found that old tropes and falsehoods continue to drive divisive conversations.

In the case of women’s reproductive rights, researchers studied 1.7 million tweets posted between Aug. 27 and Sept. 7 last year to coincide with the timing of the Kavanaugh confirmation hearing. The two most prominent disinformation campaigns identified were false claims about Planned Parenthood. One false claim was that the founder of the organization started it to target black people for abortions. This is based on a deliberate misquote of what Margaret Sanger actually said, which was in fact to warn against people thinking the organization was targeting black Americans.

“Recurrence of age-old conspiracies or tropes occurred across many of the case studies,” Joseff said.

Key to the spread of hate, division, and disinformation online is inaction from social media companies. Many of those interviewed for the studies said that when a harassment campaign is underway they have nowhere to turn, and the tech giants don’t take any action.

“There is just so much, it can't be a full-time job,” the director of a chapter of CAIR told researchers when asked about muting or blocking those who send hateful messages.

When platforms do take action, they sometimes end up banning the wrong people. One interview subject who participates in online activism related to immigration issues said that Twitter removed the account of a key Black Lives Matter march organizer last June.

“Subsequently the march was sent into disarray and could have been avoided would major voices of social rights activist organizers have been present in the conversation,” the researchers wrote.

The case studies also identified the fact that algorithms and other key elements of how social media platforms work are easily co-opted by bad actors.

“Their algorithms are gameable and can result in biased or hateful trends,” the executive summary said. “What spreads on their platforms can result in very real offline political violence, let alone the psychological impact from online trolling and harassment.” 

[jgthirlwell]

2019 year in review

This year I also invited some friends and colleagues to reflect on 2019

JG Thirlwell

Composer Foetus Xordox Manorexia Steroid Maximus Venture Bros Archer

www.foetus.org

30 Albums of 2019 (although not all of them came out in 2019) Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble Where Future Unfolds (International Anthem) Le Grand Sbam Vaisseau Monde (Dur et Doux Caravaggio Caravaggio 2 & Turn Up (La Buissonne) Swans Leaving Meaning (Young God Records) 13 Million Year Old Ghost (Chaykin) Ben Frost Dark Cycles 1 & 2 (Invada) Sote Parallel Persia / Sacred Horror In Design (Diagonal) 33EMYBW Arthropods (SVBKVLT) Anna Meredith Fibs (Moshi Moshi) Kelly Moran Ultraviolet (Warp) Thom Yorke Anima  (XL) Hildur Guðnadóttir Joker Soundtrack (Water Tower Music) Lingua Ignota Caligula (Profound Lore) Igorr Savage Synusoid (Metal Blade) Oli XL  Rogue intruder Soul Enhancer (Blo-onm) Red Fang Murder The Mountains (Relapse) Michael Kiwanuka Kiwanuka (Polydor) Richard Dawson 2020 (Weird World) Idiot Flesh Fancy / The Nothing Show / Tales Of Instant Knowledge and Sure Death (YouTube) Ikarus Echo / Mosaiasmic (Ronin Rhythm Records) Poil Sus / Mula Poil (Dur et Doux) Orange Goblin A Eulogy For The Damned (Candlelight) Nivhek After its own death / Walking in a spiral towards the house (Yellow Electric) Ni Pantophobie (Due et Doux) Andrew WK You’re Not Alone (Sony) Rustin Man Drift Code (Domino) Kishi Bashi Omoiyari (Joful Noise) Liturgy HAQQ (YLYLCYN) Croatian Amor Isa (Posh Isolation) Schnellertollermeier Rights / X /  Zorn einen ehmer üttert stem!! (Cuneiform) Scandinavian Star Solas (Posh Isolation) Synth Sisters Euphoria (EM records) JPEGMAFIA Veteran + All My Heroes Are Cornballs (EQT)

Notable Concerts I went to dozens of concerts and events in 2019. Here are some of the most notable. All in NYC except where noted.

Jan 8  Matt Marks Tribute at  Protoype Festival. Roulette Jan 19  Lemon Twigs MHOW Jan 26  Julia Wolfe /  NY Philharmonic Fire In My Mouth Lincoln Center Feb 16  Lucretia Dalt Issue Project Room Feb 23  Willliam Basinski  Ambient Church Mar 13  Lou Reed Drones St John The Divine Mar 18  This Heat LPR + July 31 at Elsewhere Mar 20  Oran Ambarchi  Fridman Gallery Mar 28  Fire! at Zurcher April 11  Aphex Twin Avant Gardner May 4  Zombi El Cortez May 11  Lawrence English Knockdown Center May 13  The Who + Orchestra Madison Square Garedn May 15  Alva Noto Metropolitan Museum June 11  Andrew Cyrille Marathon Roulette June 13  Christeene / Nastie Band Brooklyn Bazaar June 26  Simon Hanes National Sawdust July 27  Nick Zinner 41 Strings Rockefeller Center July 30  Flaming Lips / Lennon Claypool Delirium Capitol Theater Portchester Aug 2-4  Bang On  A Can LOUD Festival Mass MOCA Notth Adams Aug 27  Pharmakon St Vitus Sep 5  JD Emmanuel Issue / First Unitarian Church Sep 18  Lingua Ignota St Vitus Set 21  King Crimson  Radio City Oct 10  Melvins Warsaw Oct 19  Helm Cafe Oto Nov 1  Marc Almond Brooklyn Bazaar Nov 6  JPEGMAFIA Bowery Ballroom Nov 23  Caterina Barbieri Unsound Fest, Knockdown Center Nov 30  Knower Bowery Ballroom

Film & TV These films were flawed but resonated with me.

Chernobyl Ozark Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Joker Midsommar The Irishman Uncut Gems

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Matt Johnson

The The https://www.thethe.com/

Looking back on 2019 I decided to list a handful of political / alternative news websites rather than films, albums or books. In the UK the corporate media stooped to shocking new lows during our recent General Election campaign. Such dirty tactics are to be expected of conglomerates owned by the likes of Rupert Murdoch and his fellow right wing billionaires but this time around, previously ‘liberal’ outlets such as the BBC and Guardian also fully participated in the outrageous lies, smears and character assassination against the leader of the opposition Labour Party. The British population were now being forced fed the Establishment’s propaganda du jour from every possible direction. Personally I try to gather my information from as many alternative outlets as possible to contrast with the 24 hour corporate brainwashing we’re subjected to these days. I’ve listed just five sites from the dozens I regularly visit and although I certainly don’t agree with everything expressed on these sites I do feel that it essential that in supposed free and democratic societies we are at least exposed to a variety of viewpoints and opinions - rather than being trapped inside social media echo chambers in an Internet that is increasingly controlled and censored by sophisticated algorithms and where politically correct digital lynch mobs accuse anyone with an opinion that contradicts the official narrative of being a Russian agent! Anyway, a Happy New Year to you all and here’s hoping 2020 sets the new decade off in roaring style!

https://www.medialens.org/

https://www.truthdig.com/author/chris_hedges/

https://www.corbettreport.com/

https://thesaker.is/

https://thoughtmaybe.com/about/

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Tristan Perich

Composer www.tristanperich.com

Here is a rather random selection of 10 of my favorite tracks of 2019, mostly courtesy Spotify recommendations over the year...

Full playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6OUSFLqLsAwhRQRF44yxWN?si=r33XRUuGR_iIOZHg4thuyA

Lechuga Zafiro: Para Abajo feat Matmos & Seba TC https://open.spotify.com/track/2xMnSTIBNZ8AT6w6TdZyU9

Kelpe: A Year and a Day https://open.spotify.com/track/4ANoLzEjtGOBl5qCvEiLov

Shida Shahabi: All In Circles https://open.spotify.com/track/5qMnq88JPMJQ81x5szpN3t

The Vernon Spring: Strength of a Young Man https://open.spotify.com/track/0zQUqR1UcXoPRSrTt0WuPs

Dessert: Thunderbird https://open.spotify.com/track/5rAguSvXxyo5zBq9a5RQWd

Yves V w/ Icona Pop: We Got That Cool (Robert Falcon & Jordan Jay Remix) https://open.spotify.com/track/1lEtudJvZNiibWzXc5m4mh

Selena Gomez: Look At Her Now https://open.spotify.com/track/4yI3HpbSFSgFZtJP2kDe5m

Masahiro Sugaya: Umi No Sunatsubu https://open.spotify.com/track/43egCanD1UNNvoCo2K4veC

Konradsen: Baby Hallelujah https://open.spotify.com/track/6TBnYhxTzSiiVmMBjpZ3gH

Slow Magic: Girls (DJ Clap Remix) https://open.spotify.com/track/31Sdj7aF1h4emCJtkxdy1A

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James Ilgenfritz

Composer https://infrequentseams.com/

James Ilgenfritz's favorite witnessed events, by month:

Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future (January, Guggenheim) Anaïs Maviel: who is this ritual for and from? (February, Roulette) Roscoe MItchell, SPACE, Wavefield Ensemble (March, Park Avenue Armory) Blank Forms: Nadah El Shazly (April, Brooklyn Music School) Barre Phillips Solo (May, Zurcher Gallery) Heiner Goebbels: Everything That Happened And Would Happen (June, Park Avenue Armory) Zodiac Saxophone Quartet: Charles Waters, Ras Moshe Burnett, Claire Daly, Lee Odom (July, Scholes St) Tie: Judith Berkson: Partial Memories & Juho Laitinen: Robert Ashley's The Wolfman (August, Ostrava Days, Czech Republic) Zeena Parkins / William Winant / Ikue Mori (September, The Stone) Vinnie Golia / Bobby Bradford Quartet (October, Edgefest in Ann Arbor) LA Philharmonic: Wubbels, Macklay, Sabat, Smith, Perich (Los Angeles, November) Art Ensemble Of Chicago (December, Washington, DC)

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Carl Michael Von Hausswolff

Artist / Composer

https://cmvonhausswolff.net/

10 special artists of 2019 in no specific order: • Hildur Guðnadóttir - her film music • sunn o))) - their Life Metal and Pyroclasts albums • Ilpo Väisänen - his concert in Stockholm • Cindy van Acker - her choreographic work • Jónsi & Alex - their old Riceboy Sleeps album and 2019 tour • Swans - their leaving meaning album • Flowers Must Die - their Där Blommor Dör album • Bigert & Bergström - their climate awareness art • Vanessa Sinclair & Carl Abrahamsson - all their work during 2019 • Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Tim Story - their Lunz 3 album

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Ryan Martin

Label Boss, Dais Records

www.daisrecords.com

Richard Youngs & Raül Refree "All Hands Around the Monument" Sarah Davachi "Pale Bloom" James Hoff "HOBO UFO (v. Chernobyl)" Wojciech Rusin ‎"The Funnel" Caterina Barbieri "Ecstatic Computation" Solange "When I Get Home" Kali Malone "The Sacrificial Code" Deathprod "Occulting Disk" Vatican Shadow "Kuwaiti Airforce" Ben Vida "Reducing The Tempo To Zero" JPEGMAFIA "All My Heroes Are Cornballs" Dean Hurley "Anthology Resource Vol. II: Philosophy of Beyond" Sean McCann "Puck" Oren Ambarchi "Simian Angel" Tyler, The Creator "IGOR" Helm "Chemical Flowers" JAB "Erg Herbe" Emptyset "Blossoms" E-Saggila "My World, My Way" Jacob Kirkegaard "Black Metal Square" Boy Harsher "Careful"

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Weasel Walter

Composer/performer / label head https://weaselwalter.bandcamp.com/

2019 was far from my favorite year. Regardless, I managed to release not one, but two new double albums by The Flying Luttenbachers (as well as two European tours with the unit) in addition to the usual slew of improvised music gigs and releases, and co-ordinating and producing an archival release of vintage NYC weirdness (Ozone). I also rocked Mexico City with Lydia Lunch Retrovirus, played a ridiculous gig with Encenathrakh, and disbanded Cellular Chaos (for now, at least).

When I become obsessed (or re-obsessed with something), it usually leads to a ton of proselytizing Facebook status posts. Combing my 2019 posts, it seems that my musical obsessions this year weren't very highbrow. Ha ha ha. Yes, I'm super into Xenakis, Cecil Taylor and whatever else, but dumber music can supply great creature comfort, and I guess I needed that in large amounts, so that's what it was. Sometimes badass modernists have to take time out to stay in bed all day and read comics because it's a hard cold world out there.

Weasel Walter top 10 musical obsessions of 2019 1. Kid Creole and the Coconuts (1980-1985 era) 2. Redd Kross 3. The Saints "I'm Stranded" 4. Jane Aire and the Belvederes 5. Miles Davis 1972-1975 6. Khanate "Things Viral 7. Mandy Zone & Ozone "Live at Max's Kansas City 1981" 8. Mayhem "Grand Declaration of War" 9. Comedy Bang Bang Episode #554 w/ Middleditch, Sanz 10. Weezer "Pinkerton"

Weasel Walter worst thing about 2019

1. Windows 10

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C.Spencer Yeh

Composer / Performer https://twitter.com/cspenceryeh?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Ten live music highlights of 2019 - The Brandon Lopez Trio (Lopez/Steve Baczkowski/Gerald Cleaver) at Fridman Gallery, June 18 - DeForrest Brown Jr., Pennies From Heaven series at CONTROL, January 15 - Charmaine Lee, Nothing Changes at Saint Vitus, January 30 - Bloodyminded at Apartment 202, December 14 - Longmont Potion Castle live QnA, Spectacle Theater, March 23 - Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society, Roulette, July 1 - Helm, Elsewhere, September 21 - Korn, Radiohead, Red Light District, October 26 - Mdou Moctar, Max Fish, September 1 - Mayo Thompson plays "Corky's Debt to His Father," Le Poisson Rouge, December 8

Speed round – five various still on the mind at the end of 2019 - Charlotte Moorman / Nam June Paik long sleeve t-shirt, Boot Boyz - Acacia leaf omelet and shrimp in sour curry, Jitlada, Los Angeles - Lynnée Denise, presentation for Omniaudience (Side Two) presented by Triple Canopy/Nikita Gale/Hammer Museum at Coaxial Arts, May 4 - PARASITE (2019) - ANIARA (2018)

Also, Spectacle Theater turns ten in 2020 and you should really come visit us.

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DJ Food

Artist / composer / DJ / curator

www.djfood.org

Music / podcasts: Pye Corner Audio - Hollow Earth LP (Ghost Box) Various - Corroded Circuits EP 12" (Downfall Recordings) Chris Moss Acid - Heavy Machine 12" (Balkan Vinyl) King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Fishing For Fishes LP (Flightless) Pictogram - Trace Elements cassette (Miracle Pond) Vanishing Twin - The Age of Immunology LP (Fire Records) Big Mouth podcast (various) (Acast) Beans - Triptych LP (Gamma Proforma) Roisin Murphy - Incapable single (Skint) Ebony Steel Band - Pan Machine LP (Om Swagger) People Like Us - The Mirror LP (Discrepant) Coastal County - Coastal County LP (Lomas) Adam Buxton podcast (various) (Acast) Ghost Funk Orchestra - A Song For Paul LP (Karma Chief) Jon Brooks - Emotional Freedom Techniques LP (Cafe Kaput) King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Organ Farmer (from Infest the Rat's Nest LP) (Flightless) Jane Weaver - Fenella LP (Fire Records) Polypores - Brainflowers cassette (Miracle Pond)

Design / packaging: Pepe Deluxé - The Surrealist Woman lathe cut 7" (Catskills) Various - Science & Technology ERR Rec Library Vol.2 (ERR Records) DJ Pierre presents ACID 88 vol. III LP (Afro Acid) Mark Ayres plays Wendy Carlos - Kubrick 7" (Silva Screen) Tomorrow Syndicate - Citizen Input 10" (Polytechnic Youth) The Utopia Strong - S/T LP (Rocket Recordings) Jarvis - Sunday Service LP (ACE records) Andy Votel - Histoire D'Horreur cassette (Hypocrite?) Sculpture - Projected Music 5" zoetrope picture disc (Psyché Tropes) Lapalux - Amnioverse LP (Brainfeeder) Hieroglyphic Being - Synth Expressionism / Rhythmic Cubism LP (On The Corner Records)

Film / TV: Sculpture - Meeting Our Associates (Plastic Infinite) This Time with Alan Partridge (BBC) Avengers: Endgame (Disney/Marvel) Imaginary Landscapes - Sam Campbell (Vinyl Factory) What We Do In The Shadows (BBC2) The Mandalorian (Disney+)

Books / Comics / Magazines: Beastie Boys Book - Mike Diamond & Adam Horowitz (Spiegel & Grau) Cosmic Comics - A Kevin O'Neill Miscellany (Hibernia Books) Electronic Sound magazine (Pam Com. Ltd) Moebius - 40 Days In The Desert (expanded edition) (Moebius Productions) Rock Graphic Originals  - Peter Golding w. Barry Miles (Thames & Hudson) 2000AD / Judge Dredd Megazine (Rebellion) Silver Surfer Black - Donny Cates/Tradd Moore (Marvel) Help - Simon Amstell (Square Peg) The Scarfolk Annual - Richard Littler (William Collins) Wrappers Delight - Jonny Trunk (Fuel)

Gigs / Events: Vanishing Twin @ Prince of Wales Pub, Brighton Stereolab @ Concorde 2, Brighton People's Vote March 23rd March, London Wobbly Sounds book launch @ Spiritland, London Confidence Man @ The Electric, Brixton, London Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul Festival, Moseley, Birmingham Bluedot Festival, Jodrell Bank, Manchester HaHa Sounds Collective play David Axelrod's Earth Rot @ Tate Exchange, London School of Hypnosis play In C @ Cafe Oto, London Palace Electrics, Antenna Studios, London The Delaware Road, New Zealand Farm, Salisbury Breaking Convention closing party, Greenwich, London Jonny Trunk & Martin Green's Hidden Library @ Spiritland, Southbank, London Negativland / People Like Us @ Cafe Oto, London HaHa Sound Collective plays the David Axelrod songbook @ The Church of Sound, London, Sculpture, Janek Schaefer, Mariam Rezaei + the 26 turntable ensemble @ The Old Baths, Hackney, London Vanishing Twin & Jane Weaver's Fenella @ Studio 9294, Hackney Wick, London

Exhibitions: Sister Corita Kent @ House of Illustration, London, Augustinbe Kofie @ Stolen Space, London, Victor Vasarely @ Pompidou Centre, Paris, Mary Quant @ V&A Museum, London, Stanley Kubrick @ The Design Museum, London, Tim Hunkin's Novelty Automation Museum, London, Keith Haring retrospective @Tate, Liverpool, Nam June Paik, Tate Modern, London, Takis @ Tate Modern, London, Shepard Fairy @ Stolen Space, London, Damien Hirst 'Mandalas' at the White Cube, London, Bridget Riley @ The Hayward, London, Museum of Neo-liberalism, Lewisham, London.

[georgiaprelawland]

The United States And The Law Of Digital Currency

By Chris Louis-Jacques, Kennesaw State University Class of 2021

October 6, 2020

The demise of physical currency is among us. The United States is gaining interest in a national digital currency; positive outcomes from such a monetary altercation are apparent through the successes of China with their own application of a digital currency - the DCEP, which will be included in popular applications like WeChat and AliPay[3]. On June 30th, 2020, the United States’ Senate Banking committee held a hearing to delve into the logistical implications that such a prodigious rendition would yield[3].

The idea of a national digital currency spawns from disputes pertaining to CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg’s introduction of a new potentiality: the Libra congress hearings, where Facebook introduced a new form of digital units backed by a basket of currencies and commodities[3]. Zuckerberg implored his Congressional audience to understand that Libra was a decentralized currency. Nonetheless, regulators were not persuaded and rebuked the long-term threat to the traditional financial system. On July 9, 2019, regulators requested a moratorium on the project[3]. Despite the ambitious efforts of Zuckerberg, the event introduced a logical possibility that would mitigate monetary distributions during this unprecedented period of a global pandemic.

In regard to the distribution of the $1200 COVID stimulus checks, the effectiveness of a digital dollar would yield a more efficient core of distribution amongst American citizens. A vast number of citizens have yet to acquire their pandemic relief funds while over $1.4 billion has been distributed to dead people [3]. Thus, a national digital currency would alleviate all of these futile errors and invite a properly structured system of distribution with universal systemic functions.

Politicians have scrutinized the aptitude of such monetary revisions and Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.)deemed the following at the Senate Banking Committee, “The U.S. needs a digital dollar...The U.S. dollar has to keep earning that place in the global payments system. It has to be better than bitcoin … it has to be better than a digital yuan”[3]. Moreover, Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) proposed a new stimulus proposal of $2,000 per month to residents through the Automatic BOOST to Communities Act (ABC Act). Under the ABC Act, Congress would permit the Federal Reserve to create “FedAccounts,” or “Digital Dollar Account Wallets,” which authorizes U.S. residents and business to access financial services through an app on their phone [3]. Therefore, by bringing our monetary platform to phones and applications, economic relief would follow in suit by eradicating the colossal bewilderment that torments contemporary society in the closing and re-opening of many prominent banking systems. A plethora of U.S. citizens have also yet to receive their unemployment benefits and thus their monetary plights merely amplify.

Furthermore, in order to eliminate physical currency, one must examine how much still lingers within the society at hand.  As of the 12th of February2020, over $1.75 trillion worth of paper cash circulates through the United States [1]. This quantitative inference does seem quite large, although, in comparison to the digital existence of the latter amount, it is evidently inferior. Interesting enough, nearly 90% of US dollars have no physical existence – they are purely digital. But this is not just for the USA; world-wide, only 8% of currency exists as physical cash[1]. Thus, the bulk of the world’s monetary vault exist within checking and savings bank deposits, money market funds, and similar cash-equivalents [1].

In light of the logical potentiality intertwined with a digital currency, the Federal Reserve gained interest into a possible legitimacy of the concept. Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard presented a vague description of the Fed’s ongoing research and plans in the potential development of a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC), also described in the U.S. as a Digital Dollar [2].Brainard, in her speech to during Federal Reserve ‘Innovation Office Hours’ at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, declared, “Given the dollar's important role, it is essential that the Federal Reserve remain on the frontier of research and policy development regarding CBDCs. As part of this research, central banks are exploring the potential of innovative technologies to offer a digital equivalent of cash...We are continuing to assess the opportunities and challenges of, as well as the use cases for, a CBDC, as a complement to cash and other payments options”[2].Thus, even the Federal Reserve heeds the ingenious efforts of a central bank digital currency.

Brainard elaborates by deeming ‘in-house experiments’ at the ‘Board Technology Lab’ occurred, where a multidisciplinary team of application developers from the Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland, Dallas, and New York helps support a policy team at the Board studying the “implications of digital currencies on the payments ecosystem, monetary policy, financial stability, banking and finance, and consumer protection” [2]. Moreover, Brainard contends that the bulk of current research is to understand safety and efficiency of digital currency systems, including ‘private-sector arrangements’, and provide hands-on experience to understand the technologies available for central bank money [2].Brainard further clarifies that the U.S. is participating in the CBDC coalition of central banks on lessons learned, jointly conducting experiments, to understand the threats to cybersecurity, counterfeiting and fraud, and anti-money laundering [2].Brainard sheds the most paramount concern by announcing the foremost goal of “increasing the ease and efficiency of cross-border transactions,” Brainard also forewarns on avoiding a ‘poorly designed CBDC’ that could create financial stability issues elsewhere [2].

Ultimately, the likelihood of a CBDC is plausible considering the logical implications such an action would yield. In a period where unemployment distributions are at unprecedented time of disarray, digital currency invites anamiable alternative. Whether alleviating monetary plights during our pandemic, introducing a user-friendly cellular application to comprise all monetary savings, or a technological platform with heightened security protocols, a central bank digital currency affords immeasurable monetary stability for the bulk of American citizens.

________________________________________________________________

[1] Black, David B. “Who Needs Cryptocurrency FedCoin When We Already Have A National Digital Currency?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 1 Mar. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/davidblack/2020/03/01/who-needs-cryptocurrency-fedcoin-when-we-already-have-a-national-digital-currency/.

[2] Brett, Jason. “Federal Reserve Reveals Research Plans For Digital Dollar.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 13 Aug. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2020/08/13/federal-reserve-reveals-research-plans-for-digital-dollar/.

[3] Koffman, Tatiana. “U.S. Moves Closer To Digital Dollar.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 4 July 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/tatianakoffman/2020/07/01/senate-moves-closer-to-digital-dollar/.

[jaymebeetus]

Kameelah Janan Rasheed

Kameelah Janan Rasheed is an artist, writer, educator, and researcher from California and currently based in New York. More than anything, she considers herself a learner who creates projects to make her learning visible to others. She has a Masters in Secondary education from Stanford University and a BA in Public Policy and Africana Studies from Pomona College. She has taught elementary and high school students, as well as published several books and exhibited artwork nationally and internationally. Rasheed has also founded a digital archive compiling interviews, photographs, video, and memorabilia which documents religious experiences of black Americans in the US called Mapping the Spirit. Rasheed’s work “engages with both figurative and literal language to explore how we narrate the connections between the past, present, and future” through “immersive text-based installations, large-scale public text pieces, publications, sound projects, and discursive programming” (smackmellon.org). She focuses on history, race, memory, literacy, archives, spirituality, and visual culture.

How To Suffer Politely (And Other Etiquette) (see: R1) is a large-scale text-based piece from Bristol that satirizes the informal, traditional guides of etiquette that exist for black communities. The work is a response to the violence and oppression that black communities face in the United States, and the self-monitoring that is expected of them in the face of this violence. It challenges the “expectations placed on these communities to police their reactions while maintaining restraint and civility” (arnolfini.org.uk). The billboards read aphorisms such as “Lower the pitch of your suffering”, “Tell your struggle with triumphant humor”, “Purchase the proper boots with which to pull yourself up by the bootstraps”, and “Take it like a man but don’t take it up with the man” (mothershipla.org). How To Suffer Politely (And Other Etiquette) is a powerful installation piece which brings awareness to the policing of how black communities react to trauma caused by oppressive systems.

Perhaps There is no Sequel is a interdisciplinary public art installation on the Rice University campus that “grapples with concepts of futurity, certainty, and underscores critical issues of exclusion and vulnerability through lyrical yet unequivocal words” (moody.rice.edu). The main part of the installation is made up of four large vinyl banners that can be read by students walking past. The installation is meant to invite viewers to create their own meaning and elaborate on the text. The first banner (see: R2) makes a statement: “a better future awaits us.” The second banner (see: R3) uses poetic prose to explain Rasheed’s complication’s with the first statement. The third banner (see: R4) takes each word from the statement and expresses a different perspective on how they could be interpreted. The fourth banner (see: R5) repeats the statement with a new perspective and meaning attached to it. This installation also incorporates a set of cards with instructions and prompts that were dispersed in strategic locations across Rice University’s campus.

I really connected with Kameelah Janan Rasheed’s artwork in their design, meanings, and methods. In relationship with my art and ways of working, I also enjoy using text-based works, photography, found objects, and poetic phrases. I appreciate Rasheed’s way of thinking about things. The instability of meaning, the process of learning as an evolving practice, and the multiplicity of voices and perspectives are all ideas that intrigue me. I’d like to think of myself as a learner much like Rasheed and I aspire to create works as meaningful as hers.

R1: How To Suffer Politely (And Other Etiquette)

R2: Perhaps There is no Sequel- First Banner

R3: Perhaps There is no Sequel- Second Banner

R4: Perhaps There is no Sequel- Third Banner

R5: Perhaps There is no Sequel- Fourth Banner

Works Cited:

“INSTALLATION: KAMEELAH JANAN-RASHEED - HOW TO SUFFER POLITELY (AND OTHER ETIQUETTE).” Arnolfini, 10 Jan. 2020, arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/installation-kameelah-janan-rasheed-how-to-suffer-politely-and-other-etiquette/.

“Kameelah Janan Rasheed: How to Suffer Politely (And Other Etiquette).” Mothership LA, Kale, 30 Sept. 2016, mothershipla.org/2016/09/30/kameelah-janan-rasheed-how-to-suffer-politely-and-other-etiquette/.

“Kameelah Janan Rasheed.” Smack Mellon, 7 Mar. 2019, www.smackmellon.org/artist/kameelah-janan-rasheed/.

“Platform: Kameelah Janan Rasheed.” Moody Center for The Arts, 1 Aug. 2020, moody.rice.edu/exhibitions/platform-kameelah-janan-rasheed.

[f4liveblogarchives]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #157

Fri Aug 09 2019 [07:28 PM] Wack'd: FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 1 NO 157 [07:29 PM] Bocaj: OH WHOA FANTASTIC FOUR [07:29 PM] maxwellelvis: Don't need no more! [07:29 PM] Wack'd: First I need the restroom [07:29 PM] maxwellelvis: (That's ungrammatical!) [07:32 PM] Wack'd: INTRODUCING THE GOLD GOLIAT--wait. Doomsman? You're going with Doomsman?

[07:32 PM] Wack'd: Well okay, it's your comic [07:34 PM] Wack'd: This single motion line on Doom's face makes it look like he's got one hell of a booger

[07:35 PM] maxwellelvis: "And YOU!! Why the Hell are you reading this?! What is your DEAL?!" [07:36 PM] Wack'd: Somewhere in New York, Alicia's stepdad feels an overwhelming urge to file for trademark violation

[07:37 PM] Wack'd: Meanwhile, Shalla-Bal snaps out of it, very slowly [07:38 PM] Wack'd: Based on 1970s data transfer speeds they're going to need to make out for at least five days

[07:38 PM] maxwellelvis: Well, who am I to argue with 70's tech? [07:38 PM] Umbramatic: that's crazy PDA right there [07:39 PM] Bocaj: Personal Digital Awwyeeeaaah [07:39 PM] Wack'd: I dig this joke. Not so much how Wein, based on the past few issues, seems to have decided Medusa's personality is "humorless scold"

[07:40 PM] Bocaj: Boo [07:41 PM] Umbramatic: boo [07:42 PM] Wack'd: Ben is a pretty good prophet given he's referencing a show that won't premiere until 1995

[07:42 PM] Wack'd: Unless he's watching the Irish version with Gay Byrne [07:43 PM] maxwellelvis: I think he means the late night movie. [07:43 PM] Wack'd: Reed slides into the cracks to stop the room from collapsing [07:44 PM] Wack'd: HEY WHAT THE FUCK

[07:44 PM] maxwellelvis: Sounds painful [07:44 PM] maxwellelvis: Now, this was back when OJ was JUST a football player and not, y'know, a murderer. [07:44 PM] Wack'd: Ahhh [07:45 PM] maxwellelvis: That didn't happen until the 90's. [07:45 PM] Wack'd: ...confession time: up until this moment I assumed OJ Simpson was a musician [07:45 PM] maxwellelvis: Wow. [07:45 PM] Umbramatic: lel [07:45 PM] Wack'd: I literally knew nothing about him besides the murder stuff [07:45 PM] Bocaj: He was better before season 30 [07:45 PM] maxwellelvis: Boo [07:45 PM] maxwellelvis: Boo! Boo! Boo! [07:46 PM] Bocaj: Are you saying boo or Boo Boo? [07:46 PM] Wack'd: hahahahahahahahahaha

[07:48 PM] Umbramatic: pffffffft [07:49 PM] Wack'd: If you're wondering what's up with the original Doomsman, he's never been in a Fantastic Four. He's from Astonishing Tales. But apparently he later changed his name to Andro and achieved some degree of immortality in the *Machines of Doom* expansion pack of the Marvel Super Heroes ttrpg. [07:50 PM] maxwellelvis: Apparently he also wants you to know that, despite his artificial origins, he's all man, baby [07:51 PM] Wack'd: He looks like a zombified version of Watch and/or Ward from Venture Bros [07:52 PM] maxwellelvis: That's why I couldn't keep up with that show; of all the characters to share a name with on a parody show... [07:52 PM] Wack'd: This is how the Power Cosmic works, right? You have more of it the bigger you are? That's why Galactus kicks so much ass

[07:53 PM] Wack'd: Meanwhile--Shalla-Bal isn't Shalla-Bal, sadly. Just a Latverian Doom brainwashed to think she was Shalla-Bal to trap Norrin [07:54 PM] Wack'd: I'd question how he found someone who looks just like her, or even knew what she looked like, but, uh [07:54 PM] Wack'd: *flashback to the time Puppet Master was deceived because Alicia looks just like Sue* [07:54 PM] Wack'd: Some things are better left unresolved [07:55 PM] Aleph Null: textual sameface syndrome [07:55 PM] Bocaj: pfft [07:55 PM] Wack'd: Anyway with his personal drama resolved Norrin stops moping and gets out of the power-draining chair [07:55 PM] Wack'd: Which I should point out Doom trapped him in with the power of MOPING [07:56 PM] Bocaj: The best worst thing about the whole Alicia looks just like Sue apparently plot point [07:56 PM] Bocaj: IS THAT JOHNNY MARRIES HER IN THE FUTURE [07:56 PM] Wack'd: Doom was literally like "yeah if I give him a chair and refuse to give him his wife back he'll just sit there moping in the chair while I snap his power" [07:56 PM] Bocaj: Oh my god [07:57 PM] maxwellelvis: Sure it turns out it wasn't actually Alicia he married, but Johnny didn't know that at the time [07:57 PM] Bocaj: Quasi incestual just the way keeps happening in comics all the time disturbingly [07:58 PM] Bocaj: Madelyn Prior once hit on Cable. And to be clear Cable is her son [07:58 PM] Bocaj: Or X Man [07:58 PM] Bocaj: Where X Man isn't strictly her son but he has the same genetics as if she were [07:58 PM] Bocaj: And Nightcrawler was thrilled to learn that his girlfriend was his foster sister [07:58 PM] Wack'd:

Norrin: There are other matters that must take precedence, for I fear that, even now, the Fantastic Four may be encountering difficulties. Wein: Yeah...you might say that! *cut to Reed, Johnny, Ben, and Medusa getting their asses kicked*

[07:58 PM] Bocaj: *X Men why are you like this*? [08:00 PM] Wack'd:

Ben: Well waddaya know? It's the blasted cavalry on a surfboard! Now all we need is John Wayne! Norrin: I am not certain, Ben Grimm, that I fully understand your reference to one of your culture heroes.

[08:00 PM] Bocaj: Peter Quill intensifies. He doesn't exist yet but he sure is intensifying [08:01 PM] Wack'd: The fact that Ben is a piñata you beat and pop culture references fall out is an aspect I feel like most people forget [08:01 PM] Bocaj: (Wait he was introduced in 1976 what year is it?) [08:01 PM] Wack'd: *107.1 FM 10-at-10 echo voice* 1974! 1974! 1974! [08:02 PM] Bocaj: Ok so he doesn't yet [08:02 PM] Wack'd: Fuck I need to find some recordings of 10 at 10 so I can make this reference and have it be understandable [I DID, HERE’S THE LINK] [08:04 PM] Wack'd: I have no idea what the fuck Doom is saying but it sure sounds cool

[08:04 PM] Wack'd: Anyway not!Shalla-Bal puts an end to the fighting [08:05 PM] Wack'd: By pointing out that this castle is full of priceless cultural artifacts [08:05 PM] Wack'd: And Doom's like "fuck, you're right, I can't risk wrecking this place with a fight" [08:05 PM] Bocaj: "Oh no my sweet merch!" [08:06 PM] Wack'd: Oh my god [08:06 PM] Wack'd: SO IT TURNS OUT [08:07 PM] Wack'd: MEPHISTO BRAINWASHED SHALLA-BAL INTO THINKING SHE WAS A LATVERIAN [08:07 PM] Wack'd: AND THEN DOOM BRAINWASHED HER INTO THINKING SHE WAS SHALLA-BAL [08:07 PM] Umbramatic: ...oh [08:07 PM] Wack'd: AND THIS WAS ALL A LONG GAME OF MEPHISTO'S TO MAKE NORRIN SAD [08:09 PM] Wack'd: Mephisto then proceeds to spend half an hour laughing at how fiendish this all is

[08:09 PM] Bocaj: god damn dude, literally [08:10 PM] Wack'd: I guess all this nonsense is relevant to people who read Silver Surfer [08:10 PM] Wack'd: But not to me! ONWARDS [08:10 PM] Bocaj: I only read the volume 2 of his series when he hung out with Mantis [08:10 PM] maxwellelvis: All I know is that Mephisto has been tormenting Silver Surfer like this for almost a decade at this point. [08:13 PM] Bocaj: its because silver surfer is space jesus [08:13 PM] Bocaj: angsty space jesus [08:14 PM] Bocaj: WITH A PURE SOUL who led lowercase doom to millions or billions of souls [08:14 PM] Bocaj: So the devil as an adversary makes a kind of sense