#obama in braids

[itszonez]

Michelle Obama | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2022)

[peaceofkrys]

Love love love, Michelle’s hair!

[zombyjuice]

INSECURITIES AND SHOPPING! ✧(σ๑˃̶̀ꇴ˂̶́)σ wonbin🎀❄️🦷🐰

In which wonbin is finally yours and he’s been learning things about you he thought he would definitely know by now.

Bf!wonbin x poc!reader

kinda sad idk and cute and smutty!! kindaaa pt.2 from this!

Wonbin knows you, inside and out he knows you yet he’s still learning new things about you.

He knew growing up was tough I mean growing up foreign anywhere in fact is tough and he knew how strong you were but he didn’t know all the racism you encountered.

You’ve discussed it once before “Well a lot of people here are just arrogant and I can’t put a big say in it I’m like Obama black to them but Koreafyed”.

But he just learned that the girls were brutal and the boys were pervs, them ruining your self-esteem.

The day you came with your hair done in box braids he could see you turning over into yourself, he could tell you didn't know if you liked it or not “You look so pretty my love, matches you so well” he saw your entire mood shift, it broke his heart.

“Really?! I was so nervous it wouldn't match me or I'd look dumb as fuck, oh em Gee or people would think I'm just some Korean girl trying to be black” You dramatically fell into his arms squeezing him tight, fake sniffling.

He smiled with so much love he thought you were so silly “I don't think anyone would've thought that nobody cares about cultural appropriation in Korea” you laughed out loud.

Waking up to him slipping his pretty cock in you and giving you a good fuck is not usually how you'd start the day.

He’d move you on top of him letting you hug him while he fucks you with his sloppy thrusts and whimpers, grabbing at your ass and giving light slaps not forgetting to finish inside you with multiple whiny “I love you”s. he would keep you stuffed till he got the energy to get up. “So pretty baby so pretty”.

“Wanna go out? I'll buy you some stuff I saw you were running out of concealer,” he'd bear hug you from behind moving his hands all along your front pinching at your tummy and squeezing at your boobs you stifle a giggle trying to concentrate on brushing your teeth “Could get all pretty together take pictures and stuff” he mumbled in your neck.

“Mhmm of course I love that” you smile spitting out whatever remains in your mouth and cleaning it off, turning to your beautiful boyfriend and giving a kiss on his lips.

He thinks you're just so lovely and he's gonna make sure you know.

[venuscnjunctpluto]

Observations Pt 7.

Credits: @venuscnjunctpluto

* Jesse’s Lilith is in Billie’s 12th house. This is such scary synastry to me because you don’t see how the Lilith person can be manipulating you or even trying to seduce you.

*scorpio risings have something noticeable about their ‘glabella’ (space in btw the eyes specifically the smooth area above the nose I had to Google it lol) I notice Scorpio risings have glabella’s that protrude which makes their eyes even more noticeable and intense. And it makes them look like a skunk lol (ex: Taylor swift, dita von teese, Natalie Portman, Chaka Khan, and Sydney Sweeney)

*moon square Venus people are the epitome of Candy Heron in mean girls. They end up in friendships and relationships that worse their emotional well-being. It’s usually summed up to them not being able to be themselves around their “friends” or partners.

*libra risings have pudgy noses with smaller nostrils while Aries risings have defined noses with larger nostrils. You can usually guess these two by their noses

*Capricorn rising women 🤝 elaborate ponytails, long braids, bangs idk their hair gives off power puff girl vibes

*the way Pisces placements get talked to is ridiculous to me. People will talk to them like literal children which is very demeaning.

*simone biles just got married congrats to her! Her husband has so many prominent cancer placements and 0 degree libra mars. Civilized cardinal placements have such big husband/wife energy it’s insane. Very romantic and taking the time you learn you as a person. They also have Venus trine Venus, mars conjunct mars, moon conjunct moon synastry 💕

*kelis is the perfect example of a Leo dominant. She wears so many vibrant colors, dyed her hair often, and always carried confident aura.

*I notice Scorpio Venus women defend plastic surgery and those who get it. I know three of them who defend the kardashians like crazy (even though ppls problem is the lying about surgery but anywho). I think it’s bc they would get plastic surgery as well if they could.

*venus-uranus/aqua Venus placements make friends so easily it’s insane. They’ll get reposted on social media a lot as well.

*Ik this guy with cupido conjunct mars and he’s a huge flirt and player. I have cupido conjunct mars and I think it attracts players towards me it’s been so many situations a guy has tried to hide his player tendencies but I always found out eventually. I think this is a red flag placement🚩🚩🚩🚩

*i have cupido in the 8th so does Barack Obama, Ryan gosling, Rihanna, Monica Bellucci, Elizabeth Taylor, Cardi B. This might be a very seductive placement these ppl probably go all in when they’re attracted to someone. Or they might use their sexuality to get their crushes.

*zoe kravitz playing Selina Kyle and having Venus conjunct pluto makes sense. She can pull off darker looks and I notice women w this look like cats. Ryan destiny is also a good example of this.

* a lot of my celeb crushes I have their Venus in my 1st. Matthew Gary gubler, Rob Lowe, Prince, Johnny depp, Cillian Murphy etc…the house person can admire the Venus persons’s style.

*uranus-asc have something unique about their appearance and usually it’s a cleft chin (ex: Ben Affleck, Troian Bellisario, Adele) I have this aspect as well and I have one

*virgo venuses 🤝 wearing black clothes and glasses

*sag venuses 🤝wearing goofy graphic t-shirts

*hilaria baldwin has a sag venus and obviously that’s a indicator of being into other cultures. I notice ppl who tend to be fixated on or appropriate other cultures have sag or aqua venuses *insert timothee chalamet’s rap video lol*

*in defense of Austin butlers sexy voice…a lot of Taurus risings have voice changes or issues. Miley Cyrus’s voice has gotten incredibly deeper as well because she developed a condition. Unpopular opinion I think his voice just changed😭

* Saturn-asc and people thinking you’re older bc you are reserved. They’re the kid who sat down quietly and read books or knitted while everybody else was running around. Even when we have other carefree placements our Saturn-asc makes them barely noticeable at all during first impressions. We also love vintage clothing (ex: Keith powers) I saw a similar post but I agree that this can make someone’s rising traits develop more as they get older. As an Aries rising I didn’t start working out or asserting myself more until I got older.

Stars with Venus-asc tend to be really charismatic and funny during interviews. (Ex: Rihanna, keke Palmer, Megan the stallion, and lizzo)

*saturn-sun people have very strict fathers or male figures who tried to control them a lot growing up. This can make them very hard on themselves as they get older and I notice a lot of lawyers have major Saturn aspects.

* two prominent stem malfunctions (challenger explosion and the Columbia explosion) happened during Aquarius season

[bitchesgetriches]

oh boy. I'm sure you mean well (and I'm saying this assuming that you are not black), but telling that anon to take the pics with pink braids was not good advice. while a few non black liberals may see no problem with unnatural hair colors and ethnic styles on black women, the typically traditional, conservative, powers that be will judge her negatively immediately. Think about all the elite, successful bw that exist in the world, they all look similar-- palatable (Oprah, Michelle, Condi Rice, Meghan markle, kamala). Hell, Michelle Obama recently said that the US couldn't handle her natural hair/braids and has only changed her style recently. If the First Lady of the United States, a woman who has proven herself as intellectually capable several times can't wear plain, black, micro braids, the everyday black woman is definitely going to be judged even worse.

This answer is going to be long, so settle in, my dear.

Something not a lot of people know about me is that my grandfather is black. In fact, I didn't even know this myself until fairly recently. This is because in his twenties, he made a decision. He was lighter skinned, with loose curls. He could pass as white. So he did.

He went to Europe when he was in the army, married an Italian woman, and brought her back to the U.S. He told her he was "mulatto" and swore her to secrecy about it. They didn't tell their children for almost 70 years. For 70 years my grandfather denied his heritage and his community and who he was... because it was safer. He made the choice to pass as white because he thought it would give him and his children better opportunities in life. He was so afraid of the systemic racism inherent in our country that he made a decision to hide who he was because he thought it would make him and his family safer.

And he was right. It's fucking heartbreaking that he was right. Because of his choice, I am dripping with white privilege. I have never, EVER felt what it's like to be on the receiving end of racism. And I never will. I'm horrified and ashamed that the history of our country is such that my grandfather thought he had to take his light-skinned privilege and run into the arms of white supremacy to survive.

All of which is to say: thank you for sharing your insight and personal experience with the controversy over black women's hair. Because of my personal experience, I think this is a blind spot for me. I don't want black women to be ashamed of their hair, and I don't want them to be discriminated against in the workplace because of it.

My emotional reaction was to say "Let your gorgeous braids fly and fuck the haters!" because I want the world to hurry up and move into the time in which racism in the workplace is a thing of the past. I don't want anyone else to feel like they need to make the same choice my grandfather did: to hide their true selves, their natural hair and skin color, for the opportunities available in a racist country.

I appreciate your message because it makes me step back and realize that this ain't about me. So I'm not going to judge anyone who feels like they need to remove their braids, or dye their hair back to a natural color, to secure a job. Do what you feel safest doing. Trust your instincts. And share the lessons you learn with us so we can pass on information that will help others.

(Also this is Piggy, aka Jess, if that wasn't obvious.)

[kvtnisseverdeen]

suzanne collins when she writes about overconsumption and capitalism in the capitol while the districts are starving meanwhile in our world we literally have met gala's, fast fashion, and funding for wars all while people are starving to death

suzanne collins when she writes about how reality tv shows and the media distracted the capital citizens from the hunger games/political violence while we're witnessing the same thing happen in real time with palestine and the media and not to mention how the hunger games movies themselves become memes

suzanne collins when she writes about how the katniss and peeta love story was a distraction from the political violence in panem at the hands of the capitol meanwhile the hunger games movie released and people focused on the katniss/peeta/gale love triangle, how to get the katniss braid, and "which district are you?" quizzes instead of focusing on the politics/violence of it

suzanne collins writing about how snow used his charm and charsima to get ahead while people are putting political figures on pedestals like making thirst trap tiktoks of volodymyr zelenskyy and barack obama when both have done some awful things but people won't look past their "looks and charm"

[199ninelives]

A pair of older ladies told me I’m oh so handsome

Allergies got me looking like I was puffing Obama Runtz

Braids so immaculate

[jacksprostate]

boss pls elaborate on the songs you used.!!!

- superfan anon

Warning: under the cut is a lot of rambling with only mild incoherency!

So like I said it's sort of chronological...

How to Boil an Egg is very much her discontent building up in her current life. All the lyrics are spot on lol it was an easy pick I stole from my friend. Most of these songs I stole from my friend

Cubicle is again that sense of displacement and upset that drives her to develop someone that gets her... She wants someone to do anything. Push tacks in her eyes. Bring her into their nest and regurgitate worms in her mouth. She wants to be led somewhere, away from the void of fucking nothing that is her life right now

And Breeding is also so spot on haha. Only edit required is change Barack Obama to your president of choice during her lifetime. Trying to procreate without fucking and breeding <- trying to make Tyler, tbh. And of course the opening brings to mind the space monkey and 30 yr old boy thing. That in itself I have thoughts on how it would get inverted for female fight club but that's neither here nor there.

Pedestrian at Best is them living together.... Pretty much the verses are the narrator, self critical and lost and a mess, and the chorus is Tyler — all that but confident and a bit of a shithead.

It won't be with me on my deathbed, but I'll still be in your head

Put me on a pedestal and I'll only disappoint you

Tell me I'm exceptional, I promise to exploit you

Like. It hits that aspect of Tyler so well. In contrast, verse:

I'm resentful, I'm having an existential time crisis

What bliss, daylight savings won't fix this mess

Under-worked and over-sexed, I must express my disinterest

The rats are back inside my head, what would Freud have said?

So. Yes it's Them :) (and of course, something to be said about how Tyler parts are really just the narrator's grown projections etc)

Wonderful Hell — Oh you wanna start a revolution and destroy the world so bad haha fight club fight club perhaps even Project Mayhem.. in an idealistic way

Dogma literally just sounds like Tyler lecturing lol

Chamber for Sleep (Part Two) OK so THIS one I feel is a little more opaque in the connection but also works REALLY well if I explain a little. It's the narrator... Especially during Projrct Mayhem, when she's losing Tyler's attention. She wants Tyler's attention so bad. She wants it like she died and Tyler cares. Grieve as if I died and I'll become a fragment in your mind <- she does not know Tyler is a fragment in hers... She wants so bad to mean more. I'd like to love me like you seem to, how do you hang this heaven over me <- Ok fundamentally even though Tyler treats the narrator shitty sometimes, even in base novel like... what Tyler does is ultimately all for the narrator. Creating this heaven for the narrator. No matter how twisted. Even in the book, Tyler's big martyr thing — it's because the narrator wants to die and doesn't want consequences. With feamle fight club, too, a big part of my little canon for it is that Tyler really invests in the narrator developing her own strength. Tyler wants her strong. Hungry. Tyler feeds her meals with protein and carbs and cares for her like a lover. But Tyler also abandons her. Tyler has close little conversations with Marlon that the narrator just barely can't hear but sre loud enough to keep her awake all night hearing how Tyler's relationship with someone in this house is deepening, and it's that undeserving fake, Marlon, not her. She wants to be more important to Tyler SO bad. 'Braid my hair to yours and drag us blind' come on. No matter how short Tyler's hair is that's Them. + Nail me to the bed

Relating to a Psychopath — a lot like Pedestrian at Best's chorus... sort of making Tyler into this extremely confident and charismatic heavily flaky and flawed idol. Constant back and forth between the narrator being good company and mocking the narrator for caring about her so much.

Glass House — god, this song. As my friend said, 'the narrator after realizing Tyler is basically a brain parasite'. Obsessed with this song in general and also specifically for them. I have nothing to say you can only experience it

This Tornado Loves you <- like I said earlier... everything Tyler does is really for the narrator, at the end of the day. Even if it hurts. Like a tornado. But also, reflectively, the narrator now feels this way about what she's done to everyone around her.

Horseshoe Crab is her in the psych ward.... She's unfamiliar to herself. She's learned, but god. Nothing is the same. Especially not her. Wishes she could do it better. Be better. For her? Tyler? Marlon? The women in fight club? Probably all of the above. She's dissociated from herself.. a bit lost. So much learned, but lost. This is the song that inspired me to make the playlist.

And then you cycle back.

[bookclub4m]

15 Gardening & Plants Non-fiction Books by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

The Sakura Obsession: The Incredible Story of the Plant Hunter Who Saved Japan's Cherry Blossoms by Naoko Abe

The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities by Will Allen

Medicines to Help Us: Traditional Metis Plant Use by Christi Belcourt

The Color of Food: Stories of Race, Resilience and Farming by Natasha Bowens

Wild at Home: How to Style and Care for Beautiful Plants by Hilton Carter

Luschiim’s Plants: A Hul′q′umi′num′ (Cowichan) Ethnobotany by Luschiim Arvid Charlie

The New Plant Parent: Develop Your Green Thumb and Care for Your House-Plant Family by Darryl Cheng

The Medicine Wheel Garden: Creating Sacred Space for Healing, Celebration, and Tranquillity by E. Barrie Kavasch

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature by J. Drew Lanham

Lessons from Plants by Beronda L Montgomery

American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America by Michelle Obama

Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land by Leah Penniman

Grow: A Family Guide to Plants and How to Grow Them by Riz Reyes

Freedom Farmers: Agricultural Resistance and the Black Freedom Movement by Monica M. White

[urrone]

my five star reads

The year is not over yet and I'm kind of determined to make it to 150, but I'm currently sitting on 144 reads for the year. Here's every book I gave five stars to and the format in which I consumed the media, in no particular order:

World War Z by Max Brooks - audio

The Missing Piece Meets the Big O by Shel Silverstein - hardback

The Fellowship of the Ring - audio by motherflippin Andy Serkis

The Two Towers - same

The Return of the King - same

Troubled Waters by Sharon Shinn - hardback

Jeweled Fire by Sharon Shinn - hardback

Unquiet Land by Sharon Shinn - hardback

All Systems Red by Martha Wells - ebook

Becoming by Michelle Obama - audio

11. Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas - paperback 12. How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi - audio 13. The Sum Of Us by Heather McGhee - audio 14. The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels - audio 15. The Past Is Red by Catherynne Valente - ebook 16. We Are the Light by Matthew Quick - hardback 17. Into the Wild by John Krakauer - audio 18. I'm Still Here by Austin Channing Brown - ebook 19. Noor by Nnedi Okorafor - audio 20. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy - audio 21. Black Joy by Tracey Michae'l Lewis-Giggetts - hardback 22. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen - audio by Rosemund Pike 23. Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett - hardback 24. Evil Eye by Madhuri Shekar - audio 25. Pet by Akwaeke Emezi - hardback 26. Too Bright To See by Kyle Lukoff - hardback 27. The Adventure Zone vol 4: The Crystal Kindgom - paperback 28. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann - audio 29. Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore - ebook 30. We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu - audio 31. The Midsummer Bride by Katie Wilde - ebook 32. The City We Became by NK Jemisin - hardback 33. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer - audio 34. Falling Bodies by Rebecca Roanhorse - audio 35. Network Effect by Martha Wells - kindle 36. Get in Trouble by Kelly Link - audio

[drs3x]

i havent had hair long enough to braid since obamas first term in office and ive just plaited my hair back before bed to keep it from tangling in the night like im some kind of fucking damsel in a tower. what is happening. gn

[novumtimes]

Michelle Obama means business in navy power suit as she calls on Democrats to fight for Kamala at DNC

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Michelle Obama took power dressing to the next level at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night. The former first lady appeared on stage in a deconstructed, sleeveless navy blue suit by Monse paired with matching silver earrings and an elegant braided hairstyle. According to WWD, Obama’s look was from the brand’s Resort 2025 collection, which Fernando Garcia, Monse’s co-creative director, explained was inspired by sci-fi and aliens. The brand, founded in 2015 by Garcia and Laura Kim, has long counted Obama as a fan. The former first lady previously wore a black-and-white Monse dress at the 2017 opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Giving a speech in her native Chicago, Obama solidified her position as one of the most popular and powerful voices in the Democratic party, in trademark polished look. On X, social media users praised her chic DNC look, with many noting her ability to turn out look after look throughout her post-White House style. “Michelle Obama’s post-White House fashion game is so consistently on point,” one person wrote. “I don’t care what your political opinion is, Michelle Obama’s outfit at the DNC is next level,” someone else noted. “That dress Michelle Obama has on is just gorgeous,” another commented. open image in gallery Former First Lady Michelle Obama took the DNC stage on 20 August to give a speech in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign for president (Reuters) (REUTERS) “Michelle Obama out here looking like the absolute queen that she is,” someone else praised the former first lady. “That dress is *chef’s kiss*. SLAY Queen. SLAY.” Some people took to the social media platform to demand who designed the former first lady’s gorgeous outfit. “Social media person: drop the dress designer. Please,” another commented, while someone else added: “I NEED TO KNOW WHO MICHELLE OBAMA IS WEARING IMMEDIATELY OH WOW.” At the DNC this week, there has been no shortage of inspiring fashion moments. open image in gallery Michelle Obama greets her husband former President Barack Obama on the DNC stage on 20 August in Chicago (Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images) On Monday, First Lady Jill Biden paired a lilac double-breasted blazer by Ralph Lauren with elegant white trousers and later on, stunned in a sparkling blue gown by the same designer. By wearing Lauren’s designs, she patriotically highlighted American creativity and talent. Later that the night, Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage in a chic, “coconut brown” Chloé two-piece suit. The tan shade references Harris’ infamous speech, in which she quotes a proverb her mother often said to her growing up. “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” she said at a May 2023 White House swearing-in ceremony. “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.” Harris’s decision to wear a tan suit also harkens back to 2014 when then-President Barack Obama received swift backlash from conservatives for wearing a suit in a similar color. At the time, many pundits claimed that his tan suit was “inappropriate” and displayed his unfitness for office. Source link via The Novum Times

[sunaleisocial]

School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences welcomes nine new faculty

New Post has been published on https://sunalei.org/news/school-of-humanities-arts-and-social-sciences-welcomes-nine-new-faculty/

School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences welcomes nine new faculty

Dean Agustín Rayo and the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences recently welcomed nine new professors to the MIT community. They arrive with diverse backgrounds and vast knowledge in their areas of research.

Sonya Atalay joins the Anthropology Section as a professor. She is a public anthropologist and archaeologist who studies Indigenous science protocols, practices, and research methods carried out with and for Indigenous communities. Atalay is the director and principal investigator of the Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science, a newly established National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center. She has expertise in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and served two terms on the National NAGPRA Review Committee, first appointed by the Bush administration and then for a second term by the Obama administration. Atalay has produced a series of research-based comics in partnership with Native nations about repatriation of Native American ancestral remains, return of sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony under NAGPRA law. Atalay earned her PhD in anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley).

Anna Huang SM ’08 joins the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and Music and Theater Arts as assistant professor. She will help develop graduate programming focused on music technology. Previously, she spent eight years with Magenta at Google Brain and DeepMind, spearheading efforts in generative modeling, reinforcement learning, and human-computer interaction to support human-AI partnerships in music-making. She is the creator of Music Transformer and Coconet (which powered the Bach Google Doodle). She was a judge and organizer for the AI Song Contest. Anna holds a Canada CIFAR AI Chair at Mila, a BM in music composition, a BS in computer science from the University of Southern California, an MS from the MIT Media Lab, and a PhD from Harvard University.

Elena Kempf joins the History Section as an assistant professor. She is an historian of modern Europe with special interests in international law and modern Germany in its global context. Her current book project is a legal, political, and cultural history of weapons prohibitions in modern international law from the 1860s to the present. Before joining MIT, Kempf was a postdoc at the Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law at UC Berkeley and a lecturer at the Department of History at Stanford University. Elena earned her PhD in history from UC Berkeley.

Matthias Michel joins the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy as an assistant professor. Matthias completed his PhD in philosophy in 2019 at Sorbonne Université. Before coming to MIT, he was a Bersoff Faculty Fellow in the Department of Philosophy at New York University. His research is at the intersection between philosophy and cognitive science, and focuses on philosophical issues related to the scientific study of consciousness. His current work addresses questions such as how to distinguish entities with minds from those without, which animals are sentient, and which mental functions can be performed unconsciously.

Jacob Moscona PhD ’21 is a new assistant professor in the Department of Economics. His research explores broad questions in economic development, with a focus on the role of innovation, the environment, and political economy. One stream of his research investigates the forces that drive the rate and direction of technological progress, as well as how new technologies shape global productivity differences and adaptation to major threats like climate change. Another stream of his research studies the political economy of economic development, with a focus on how variation in social organization and institutions affects patterns of conflict and cooperation. Prior to joining MIT, he was a Prize Fellow in Economics, History, and Politics at Harvard University. He received his BA from Harvard in 2016 and PhD from MIT in 2021. Outside of MIT, Jacob enjoys playing and performing music.

Sendhil Mullainathan joins the departments of EECS and Economics as the Peter de Florez Professor. His research uses machine learning to understand complex problems in human behavior, social policy, and medicine. Previously, Mullainathan spent five years at MIT before joining the faculty at Harvard in 2004, and then the University of Chicago in 2018. He received his BA in computer science, mathematics, and economics from Cornell University and his PhD from Harvard.

Elise Newman PhD ’21 is a new assistant professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy. Her forthcoming monograph, “When arguments merge,” studies the ingredients that languages use to construct verb phrases, and examines how those ingredients interact with other linguistic processes such as question formation. By studying these interactions, she forms a hypothesis about how different languages’ verb phrases can be distinct from each other, and what they must have in common, providing insight into this aspect of the human language faculty. In addition to the structural properties of language, Newman also has expertise in semantics (the study of meaning) and first language acquisition. She returns to MIT after a postdoc at the University of Edinburgh, after completing her PhD in linguistics at MIT in 2021.

Oliver Rollins joins the Program in Science, Technology, and Society as an assistant professor. He is a qualitative sociologist who explores the sociological dimensions of neuroscientific knowledge and technologies. His work primarily illustrates the way race, racialized discourses, and systemic practices of social difference impact and are shaped by the development and use of neuroscience. His book, “Conviction: The Making and Unmaking of The Violent Brain” (Stanford University Press, 2021), traces the evolution of neuroimaging research on antisocial behavior, stressing the limits of this controversial brain model when dealing with aspects of social inequality. Rollins’s second book project will grapple with the legacies of scientific racism in and through the mind and brain sciences, elucidating how the haunting presence of race endures through modern neuroscientific theories, data, and technologies. Rollins recently received an NSF CAREER Award to investigate the intersections between social justice and science. Through this project, he aims to examine the sociopolitical vulnerabilities, policy possibilities, and anti-racist promises for contemporary (neuro)science.

Ishani Saraf joins the Program in Science, Technology, and Society as an assistant professor. She is a sociocultural anthropologist. Her research studies the transformation and trade of discarded machines in translocal spaces in India and the Indian Ocean, where she focuses on questions of postcolonial capitalism, urban belonging, material practices, situated bodies of knowledge, and environmental governance. She received her PhD from the University of California at Davis, and prior to joining MIT, she was a postdoc and lecturer at the University of Virginia.

[jcmarchi]

School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences welcomes nine new faculty

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/school-of-humanities-arts-and-social-sciences-welcomes-nine-new-faculty/

School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences welcomes nine new faculty

Dean Agustín Rayo and the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences recently welcomed nine new professors to the MIT community. They arrive with diverse backgrounds and vast knowledge in their areas of research.

Sonya Atalay joins the Anthropology Section as a professor. She is a public anthropologist and archaeologist who studies Indigenous science protocols, practices, and research methods carried out with and for Indigenous communities. Atalay is the director and principal investigator of the Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science, a newly established National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center. She has expertise in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and served two terms on the National NAGPRA Review Committee, first appointed by the Bush administration and then for a second term by the Obama administration. Atalay has produced a series of research-based comics in partnership with Native nations about repatriation of Native American ancestral remains, return of sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony under NAGPRA law. Atalay earned her PhD in anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley).

Anna Huang SM ’08 joins the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and Music and Theater Arts as assistant professor. She will help develop graduate programming focused on music technology. Previously, she spent eight years with Magenta at Google Brain and DeepMind, spearheading efforts in generative modeling, reinforcement learning, and human-computer interaction to support human-AI partnerships in music-making. She is the creator of Music Transformer and Coconet (which powered the Bach Google Doodle). She was a judge and organizer for the AI Song Contest. Anna holds a Canada CIFAR AI Chair at Mila, a BM in music composition, a BS in computer science from the University of Southern California, an MS from the MIT Media Lab, and a PhD from Harvard University.

Elena Kempf joins the History Section as an assistant professor. She is an historian of modern Europe with special interests in international law and modern Germany in its global context. Her current book project is a legal, political, and cultural history of weapons prohibitions in modern international law from the 1860s to the present. Before joining MIT, Kempf was a postdoc at the Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law at UC Berkeley and a lecturer at the Department of History at Stanford University. Elena earned her PhD in history from UC Berkeley.

Matthias Michel joins the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy as an assistant professor. Matthias completed his PhD in philosophy in 2019 at Sorbonne Université. Before coming to MIT, he was a Bersoff Faculty Fellow in the Department of Philosophy at New York University. His research is at the intersection between philosophy and cognitive science, and focuses on philosophical issues related to the scientific study of consciousness. His current work addresses questions such as how to distinguish entities with minds from those without, which animals are sentient, and which mental functions can be performed unconsciously.

Jacob Moscona PhD ’21 is a new assistant professor in the Department of Economics. His research explores broad questions in economic development, with a focus on the role of innovation, the environment, and political economy. One stream of his research investigates the forces that drive the rate and direction of technological progress, as well as how new technologies shape global productivity differences and adaptation to major threats like climate change. Another stream of his research studies the political economy of economic development, with a focus on how variation in social organization and institutions affects patterns of conflict and cooperation. Prior to joining MIT, he was a Prize Fellow in Economics, History, and Politics at Harvard University. He received his BA from Harvard in 2016 and PhD from MIT in 2021. Outside of MIT, Jacob enjoys playing and performing music.

Sendhil Mullainathan joins the departments of EECS and Economics as the Peter de Florez Professor. His research uses machine learning to understand complex problems in human behavior, social policy, and medicine. Previously, Mullainathan spent five years at MIT before joining the faculty at Harvard in 2004, and then the University of Chicago in 2018. He received his BA in computer science, mathematics, and economics from Cornell University and his PhD from Harvard.

Elise Newman PhD ’21 is a new assistant professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy. Her forthcoming monograph, “When arguments merge,” studies the ingredients that languages use to construct verb phrases, and examines how those ingredients interact with other linguistic processes such as question formation. By studying these interactions, she forms a hypothesis about how different languages’ verb phrases can be distinct from each other, and what they must have in common, providing insight into this aspect of the human language faculty. In addition to the structural properties of language, Newman also has expertise in semantics (the study of meaning) and first language acquisition. She returns to MIT after a postdoc at the University of Edinburgh, after completing her PhD in linguistics at MIT in 2021.

Oliver Rollins joins the Program in Science, Technology, and Society as an assistant professor. He is a qualitative sociologist who explores the sociological dimensions of neuroscientific knowledge and technologies. His work primarily illustrates the way race, racialized discourses, and systemic practices of social difference impact and are shaped by the development and use of neuroscience. His book, “Conviction: The Making and Unmaking of The Violent Brain” (Stanford University Press, 2021), traces the evolution of neuroimaging research on antisocial behavior, stressing the limits of this controversial brain model when dealing with aspects of social inequality. Rollins’s second book project will grapple with the legacies of scientific racism in and through the mind and brain sciences, elucidating how the haunting presence of race endures through modern neuroscientific theories, data, and technologies. Rollins recently received an NSF CAREER Award to investigate the intersections between social justice and science. Through this project, he aims to examine the sociopolitical vulnerabilities, policy possibilities, and anti-racist promises for contemporary (neuro)science.

Ishani Saraf joins the Program in Science, Technology, and Society as an assistant professor. She is a sociocultural anthropologist. Her research studies the transformation and trade of discarded machines in translocal spaces in India and the Indian Ocean, where she focuses on questions of postcolonial capitalism, urban belonging, material practices, situated bodies of knowledge, and environmental governance. She received her PhD from the University of California at Davis, and prior to joining MIT, she was a postdoc and lecturer at the University of Virginia.

[motherartistsmakingart]

Hey MAMArtist* Sumana Sen Mandala!

What are the ages of your child(ren), and where do you live? Sumana Sen Mandala,  সুমনা , children ages: 18 and 22, physically on the lands of the onk akimel o'otham and xalychidom piipash known also as Scottsdale, AZ.

How do you describe your art practice?

Collaborative dance arts with a foundation in bharata-nrityam.

Who is your artistic crush?

My artistic crush: my students.  Every time I ask them to make something, however small, their bright and open minds and hearts give birth to beauty that fills me with joyous wonder.

Can I mention another?  The vocalist with whom I work for my productions...It's quite amazing to be working with someone who can see deeply and then use their musical instincts to give my dance vocal support.  At the same time, they also say that they sense my response to their music and so the symbiotic process continues.

What is a superpower Mother+Artists have?

Being mothers, we see and experience the joy of learning again and again and again.  And being mothers, we grow our capacity for grace through our love for our children and realization of our own challenges.  So, superpower:  Gracious learning!

You have something exciting coming up! PLEASE SAY MORE ABOUT IT! Changing Bodies Shifting Landscapes is a dance work about changes that happen in the female body throughout life. It's part of a larger production and grew out of my conversations with my young female students in studio classes. They are on the precipice of or just started puberty, and we talk about our experiences of the first menstrual period, with even mothers sharing. Using our bharata-nrityam, we created small dances from typical lessons on puberty, from experiences of exclusion in cultural settings and from stories about boys in school finding ways to support girls who are going through their periods. Then we invited movers from diverse backgrounds, genders and disciplines to join us and discovered our stories, customs of shame and celebration, and resulting social inequities are not unique to any one culture. Through this work we know more than ever that changing the hushed narratives to open conversations is what we need to create a safe and thriving environment for everyone.

How did motherhood directly, indirectly, oppositionally or integrally influence this project? Healthy relationships and respect for girls and women have always been at the top of my mind. When I became a mother of two boys, I felt that responsibility grow heavier on my shoulders.  To be able to advocate normalizing the open conversations such as in Changing Bodies, Shifting Landscapes is directly and integrally related to my motherhood, raising two boys at home, and supporting the young girls in my classes.

What are you currently reading or listening to that is giving you thoughts, feelings and reactions?

I am currently listening to students across our country and the world. This gives me feelings of hope in the energies that spring eternal in youth and feelings of frustration in the maddening cycle of memories lost and re-made when it comes to justice.

I am reading the words of Michelle Obama in "The Light We Carry" and rereading "Braiding Sweetgrass" through the young adult version with all the cool call-out boxes and graphics, and lots of poetry, including Faiz Ahmad Faiz's "Hum Dekhenge" and Tagore's "Fireflies". 

Any message for Mother+Artists reading this?Our increasing years are our greatest asset...they give us secret knowing, open confidence, and deep patience.

BEST LINKS to find you and your work!

https://www.dansense.org/

IG:  @dansensenrtyabodha

Photo credits: Top Row: Naini Mandala Bottom Row, L to R: Ri Lindegren, Kritin Mandala

[m39]

Doom WADs’ Roulette (2008): Introduction

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Ladies. Gentlemen and Others, welcome, to the Doom WADs’ Roulette, where I review the best WADs according to Doomworld’s Top 100 WADs of All Times and (now) Cacowards. Today, we are starting to check out the “Cacowards” BEEP “2008” BEEP roster. Here are the rules:

#1 We are playing on GZDoom (ver. 4.10.0 4.11.3).

#2 We are playing on “Hurt Me Plenty”.

#3 Vertical aiming is on.

#4 No infinitely tall monsters.

#5 The WAD will be downloaded from the archives unless it’s not there among other reasons.

#6 We are playing WADs shown on a current roster from top to bottom split into three leagues (other WADs, runners-up and honorable mentions, and top 10).

#7 Lighting is set on modified Classic along with modified fog effect.

#8 Deathmatch/Multiplayer only WADs and the winners of the Worst WAD award do not count.

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And so, we reached 2008; a year where I went to middle school (and was more unhinged than the elementary); a year where Obama became the president of the USA; this year was the birth of Trollface, the release of Dark Knight (widely considered the best Batman movie) and, of course, the release of Iron Man and the beginning of the MCU. a cinematic universe that would become a punching bag of the Internet in the future.

2008 was also a year of game releases such as Braid, Dead Space, Fallout 3, Left 4 Dead (Valve’s another GOAT), and World of Goo.

As for Doom itself, 2008 was the first game’s 15th anniversary. It was also when id itself announced that yes, they’re making another Doom game.

Cacowards 2008 was different from the previous award ceremony in that it had not one, but two additional writers to assist Scuba Steve - Patrick Pineda (Metacorp) who would in the future create Beyond Sunset, a GZDoom-based game, and Darknation, of whom I have no real idea. Alex Pritchard (pritch) meanwhile, temporarily replaced Bill Kotch as foreword man of Cacowards.

I have mixed feelings about this roster. I know it definitely has bangers (I mean come on, it’s Cacowards), but at the same time, I can see sequels/spiritual successors to Deus Vult (this one will make me tired), Eternal Doom (screaming), Operation Overlord (crying), and not to mention, another WAD by Espi (look, I know he was important for the Doom Community, but I’m not a big fan of his work, okay?!). But then again, three WADs from Eternal and Chex Quest 3 to play. It would be a sin not to try those.

But their time will come later. For now, let’s take a look at the first gameplay mod that was awarded in Cacowards.