Participants present their projects during the poster discussion session of the second annual Sustainability Symposium held in the Discovery Building on Oct. 25, 2023. Photo by: Bryce Richter

Mo Abbasian (left), research associate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, talks with attendees about hydro-climate extremes research during the poster discussion session. Photo by: Bryce Richter

Jon Starfeldt, student of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences & Data Science, talks with attendees about UWMadison potential rooftop solar energy potential. Photo by: Bryce Richter

Christina Treacy, sustainability chair for the Associated Students of Madison (ASM), talks with attendees about the work of the ASM Sustainability Committee. Photo by: Bryce Richter

Hien Vu, a third-year PhD student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, talks with attendees about sustainable dairy farming using wearable technology for heat stress detection. Photo by: Bryce Richter

Travis Blomberg, Campus Resource Coordinator in the Office of Sustainability, talks with attendees about UWMadisons food scrap collection pilot program. Photo by: Bryce Richter

Saurabh Gupta, research assistant in mechanical engineering, talks with attendees about flex fuel vehicles in large machines. Photo by: Bryce Richter

Over the course of the second annual Sustainability Symposium, nearly 400 students, faculty and staff gathered at the Discovery Building to engage in exciting conversations about research, education and the advancement of sustainability at UWMadison.

From a keynote address on improving food security through a circular economy, to lightning talks on campus sustainability initiatives and poster sessionson research projects across UWMadison, enthusiastic attendees learned, swapped ideas and inspired one another.

The keynote address was given by Weslynne Ashton, a professor of environmental management and sustainability at Illinois Institute of Technology. She focused on a theme that carried throughout the symposium: real world applications of research.

Keynote speaker Weslynne Ashton, a professor of environmental management and sustainability at Illinois Institute of Technology, spoke about a community project to create love fridges, which she described as a form of mutual aid, where neighbors help neighbors in times of need. Photo by Lauren Graves/UWMadison

What if our food system was organized around principles of love, justice and circularity, rather than money, exploitation and consumption? she asked.

Ashton, who works on increasing sustainability and equity in urban food systems, spoke about a community project to create love fridges, which she described as a form of mutual aid, where neighbors help neighbors in times of need.

People are invited to take what they need and leave what they can, she said. They are an expression of solidarity, not charity.

Ashton described how she collaborates to develop food waste prevention and management strategies for the City of Chicago. In the city, the predominantly white and affluent north side of Chicago produces more waste and enjoys more access to food than the predominantly Black and brown south and west sides.

To confront the citys mounting inequities, Ashton gathered food providers, food rescue organizations, food waste recyclers and policymakers to devise a more cohesive strategy.

This example helped introduce her argument for a circular economy. A linear economy, she said, carries the belief that the Earth holds unlimited resources, with enough space to accommodate the millions of tons of food Americans waste each year. But in reality, Ashton said, that pushes against the limits of our planets biogeochemical functions.

A circular economy on the other hand, is restorative and regenerative by design. She said the new economic model can respect the planets boundaries through recycling and waste reduction.

Our food system and food waste is a complex challenge thats affecting both people and planet, she said. We have to confront the values that are inherent in our linear economy and find creative ways to navigate the tensions that are required for our food systems transformation to make space for justice, for equity and for circularity.

Matt Ginder-Vogel, an environmental chemistry and technology professor at UW, spoke during the lightning talks round about a new initiative for sustainability research. Photo by Lauren Graves/UWMadison

During the symposiums lighting talks, Matt Ginder-Vogel announced the start of the Sustainability Research Hub, a Nelson Institute and Office of Sustainability initiative to make the University of WisconsinMadison a preeminent destination for sustainability research. The hub will facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration toward sustainability, bringing researchers together to apply for large, interdisciplinary grants and coordinating the proofreading, editing and graphic design of their projects.

We want to add to the body of research that is already happening at the university and bring people into sustainability research that dont have the chance to participate now, said Ginder-Vogel, who will oversee the program.

Other presentations detailed ongoing sustainability projects on campus like tracking the volume and cost of food waste in dining and culinary services, the financial and environmental benefits of opting to use water-based cleaning systems on campus and the solutions resulting from efforts to connect local government partners with UWMadison student researchers.

Like last year, the Sustainability Symposium welcomed a major UWMadison decisionmaker who voiced support for sustainability initiatives and research. Provost Charles Lee Isbell Jr. described the symposium attendees work as both essential and the living embodiment of the Wisconsin Idea. He added that the university needs to embrace this work and continue to strive to be a leader in sustainability.

What is the world were going to create if we act and behave in the right ways, and what is the world if we do nothing 25 years from now? he asked.

Provost Charles Lee Isbell Jr. described the symposium attendees work as both essential and the living embodiment of the Wisconsin Idea. Photo by Lauren Graves/UWMadison

The future is on Isbells mind and the minds of the hundreds of symposium attendees who feel compelled to work thoughtfully, urgently and collaboratively to prevent the worst results of climate change.

I care about immortality, Isbell concluded. When I was young, I wanted to live forever.

To Isbell, immortality means, that you somehow touched not just this generation but the generation that follows and the generation that follows that. You do work and have change and make impact. Thats the closest most of us will ever come to immortality, and its the kind of immortality thats worth having.

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Sharing discoveries and imagining the future at the second annual ... - University of Wisconsin-Madison

Twitching Tongues is celebrating Halloween with a brand new Misfits covers EP, appropriately titled . The EP was engineered and mixed by Taylor Young at (sadly now doomed) The Original Pit Recording Studio, mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, and can be streamed in full below.

"Bittersweet because it's our last recording ever at the OG The Original Pit Recording Studio, where everything we've ever done has been made, but this was my first time 'singing' on a full record in 6 years and it was the most fun I've ever had playing music," said Twitching Tongues' Colin Young. "Records available for 138 hours. Happy Halloween"

Twitchfits Vol. 1 also has a limited vinyl run available here at Twitching Tongues' website. Interestingly, the vinyl run of Twitchfits Vol. 1 isn't limited to a number of pressings, but instead only available for pre-order for the next 138 hours obviously a reference to Misfits' "We Are 138". So get one quick!

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TWITCHING TONGUES Celebrates Halloween With MISFITS ... - Metal Injection

After 52 years in North Texas, the Rangersfinallywon the World Series.

I always suspected Id write that sentence someday, just as I presume Ill eventually do so for the Cowboys and the Super Bowl. It is awfully difficult for big-market franchises with any modicum of brain power, spending power, and star power to stay down forever, and the Rangers have spent good chunks of the last quarter century flush in all three. Sooner or later, they were bound to get theirs.

But absolutely no part of me imagined that we would be here, now, watching this team do what five decades worth of other Ranger squads could not. Not one year after losing 94 games and two years year after dropping 102 in the clubs first triple-digit-loss season since 1972. Not yet. The 2023 Texas Rangers were supposed to be several injury breaks and several more relievers away from achieving baseball immortality. They were supposed to be too inconsistent to win big. Too light on playoff seasoning and all the steel that provides.

This year was the prelude, not the full concerto.

Except it wasnt.

The Rangers ascent from baseballs depths to its absolute pinnacle felt equal parts instantaneous and painstaking, a fast sprint to complete a long marathon. This was an exhausting baseball team, but an incorrigible one, too, which is how no setbackhowever daunting, frustrating, and occasionally self-inflictedproved too big to overcome.

And so, they did.

And now, everything has changed.

The Rangers are no longer the lesser child among the regions big four teams, not after theynot the big, bad Cowboys, nor the Luka Doncic-led Mavericks, nor the perpetually contending Stars, but the historically hapless Rangersare the team to end North Texas 12-year championship drought. They are the kings of North Texas, the new measuring stick for on-field excellence.

Corey Seager is on the fast track to becoming one of the best Rangers of all time. Adolis Garca is a North Texas playoff legend. Bruce Bochy, until proven otherwise, is infallible. Jose Leclerc, fallible at the very worst moment against Houston, is redeemed. So, too, is Marcus Semien after the insurance homer in Game 5 and that bombastic Game 4, which, thanks to one of those lovely improbabilities that makes baseball so wonderful, will nevertheless be known as The Andrew Heaney Game. Jordan Montgomery and Mitch Garver are about to get paid. Evan Carter, who now has almost as many career postseason plate appearances as regular-season ones in his two-month-long career, will soon enjoy one of the most anticipated rookie years in decades around here. Nathan Eovaldi, signed to be Jacob deGroms understudy in the rotation, is now deGroms benchmark for how spectacular a thirtysomething coming off a second Tommy John surgery can be.

A week ago, I wrote that the key to understanding this group and its many, many twists and turns was to examine them less through trends than possibilities. Why not the Rangers, I wondered, before winding down with the following:

Why not the Rangers, who have spent seven months defying, disproving, and disabusing every notion that an obviously flawed team cannot also be a great one, a special one, perhaps even a transcendent one?

Why not the Rangers?

Why not now?

The answer, we know now, is that there was no answerno stopping this team that, for so many reasons and on so many occasions, seemed destined to become like the other 51 Texas Rangers teams who never knew November baseball. This was not the most talented Texas Rangers team of all time, and it damn sure wasnt the healthiest or the least calamitous.

But it was the most determined, the most resilient, the absolute toughest to kill.

The hottest team in baseball through the All-Star break couldnt solve the 2023 Texas Rangers.

A 100-win team couldnt scratch them.

Their archnemesis couldnt outlast them.

An even more improbable World Series foil couldnt shock them.

If all of that doesnt make this the best Rangers team of all time, it undoubtedly makes it the greatestalthough, it should be noted, the competition for that first title didnt employ a hitter as good as Seager or a manager on par with Bochy, either. And they are certainly the benchmark for all the Texas Rangers squads to come, ones that could soon be even more talented once uber prospect Wyatt Langford bursts onto the scene and if deGrom returns to full form.

Come next spring, baseball will regard the Rangers as predators, not prey. This is the gravitas, the respect, theyve earned by outlasting 29 other teams. They will never again be grouped with clubs like Seattle, Colorado, Tampa Bay, Milwaukee, and San Diego in the cloister of franchises yet to taste World Series glory. They will never again be seen as less than.

Someday, perhaps someday soon, a different Rangers group will surpass this one. A bigger, badder bunch, with no fewer than two relief pitchers who dont make everyone queasy. But that team wont be the first team, the catalyst. Only one group of players could carry the idea of Texas Rangers, Championship Ball Club, into reality. You just finished watching them withstand an ocean of Arizona Diamondbacks baserunners before drowning themselves in confetti and cheap champagne.

One team had to go first. And at long last, one team has.

Be the first to know about Dallas' best events, contests, giveaways, and happenings each month.

Mike Piellucci is D Magazine's sports editor. He is a former staffer at The Athletic and VICE, and his freelance

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The Texas Rangers Are World Series Champions - D Magazine

Chad Stahelski, known for his creative direction and stunt work in Keanu Reeves John Wick franchise, is helming the much-awaited Highlander reboot with Man of Steel star Henry Cavill in the lead. The director signed to spearhead the project in 2016, while the Superman actor joined the team in 2021.

Based on the 1986 fantasy action film, Highlander will explore the hidden world of immortals from centuries ago. It was directed by Russell Mulcahy with Christopher Lambert as the mystical Russell Nash.

RELATED: Director Hints 4 Other Stars Other Than Jackie Chan We Could See In John Wick 5 Opposite Keanu Reeves

In an interview with Screen Rant, former stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski revealed his passion for the upcoming reboot of Highlander and the reason behind his desire to explore more of its mythology. He stated:

If youre a fan at all, you know about the TV shows and the mythology there, the things that worked in the feature aspect of the franchise, what didnt. I would like to think that it has I guess, I hope Im bringing to it the realization of the potential that we all see in that franchise. Now, we probably dont love all the other ancillary stuff thats come out of it, but we love the potential of it.

Stahelski felt there could be more to the franchise because of the vastness of its potential. He wants to touch on some aspects that could be relatable to people:

For whatever reason, 20 years later, I want more Highlander. I think that franchise with the mythology of people going through the centuries, and the burden of immortality as much as the wish fulfillment of immortality, you know, how you relate to people you love and dont love, both mortal and immortal, and what you can do with that is some of the most romantic, interesting, existential stuff Ive ever seen.

He also noted how the franchise would be an experimenting ground as well as a new avenue to channel his other artistic vision because it is far from what he worked on in the famed John Wick series. Stahelski further added:

I think its a playground for everything that I love about the John Wick series and everything that I cant do in the John Wick series because Im dealing with mortals, so it gives me another realm to play in. So, I just look at it as a natural evolution of world building and potential behind that is more than any other property that Im attached to.

The director hopes to devote more time to the upcoming project and assures fans that he will use all of his talents to bring this long-overdue reboot of Highlander to life.

RELATED: Chad Stahelskis Ridiculous John Wick Plot Proves Keanu Reeves Anti-Hero Deserves His Own Place in Looney Tunes

The Highlander reboot will be the most significant work of Chad Stahelski after Keanu Reeves John Wick films. Receiving a production budget of over $100 million, fans could expect this is going to be one epic tale of adventure.

Speaking with Digital Spy, the Rainbow Six director shared his love for the original film and how he wants to keep its vibe while bringing a fresh take on it. He confessed:

Were still in early development, and finding the right people to develop the script. I love the original. I know its dated in certain ways, but I love the vibe and the mythology. So, my take on it would be to somehow maintain the vibe and mythology and feeling of the first movie.

He further vowed to make a faithful remake that would capture the fascinating world of the immortals:

Not go off the rails with too much plot, and really develop the world of the immortals. I dont care what the mortals are doing. I want to be invested in the immortal world and hold true to the original as much as I can.

Highlander is one of the most loved franchises in the world, with five Highlander films already made, two TV series, one animated series, ten original novels, and nineteen comic book issues to date.

RELATED: Chad Stahelski Claims Keanu Reeves Falling Down 200 Stairs in John Wick 4 Was Peak Comedy Due To An Incredibly Clever Plot Device

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Henry Cavills Highlander Reboot is Everything that I cant do in the ... - FandomWire

The article contains major spoilers for Chucky season 3, episode 4, "Dressed to Kill."

Chucky creator Don Mancini teases the titular characters mindset in the forthcoming season 3 part 2. Based on the Child's Play movie franchise, Chucky follows Jake Wheeler, a teenager who finds a Good Guy doll he intends to use for his school art project for Halloween. Unfortunately for Wheeler, the doll is inhabited by the murderous spirit of Charles Lee Ray, a.k.a Chucky, who relentlessly torments him. With season 3 wrapping the first batch of episodes, the biggest twist was that the once-immortal killer doll is aging and dying, making attempts to stop the process without much success.

In a recent interview with Variety, Mancini explains that the stakes are higher for the titular doll following the recent conclusion of Chucky season 3, part 1. The creator explains that for the first time, Chucky is pretty vulnerable as he battles legitimate contenders who threaten his place in the pop culture world. Read his full comments below:

There are four episodes to go. Yes, Chucky has the upper hand now, but as you see from the very last scene and last shot of Episode 4, he is more vulnerable than he has ever been. Chucky is aging and dying. The stakes are completely different now.

He really has to contend with legitimate new contenders to the throne like M3GAN and Annabelle. He has to deal with that place for himself in the pop culture world and thats how we really touch the ground with Chucky. We give this off-the-wall character a crisis that has the sting of real pain and real life. But it just makes him angrier and you know what happens when Chucky gets angry.

In season 3, episode 3, "Jennifer's Body," Chucky visited a voodoo specialist, revealing the cause of the killer doll's unexpected aging. As a result of the exorcism at the School, the spirit Damballa, who animated Chucky, is no longer attached to him. As a result, Chucky must sacrifice six people in evil locations to regain the spirit's conviction and restore his immortality. Despite two ritual attempts at a house in Amityville and the White House, his attempts failed, and the final moments of episode 4, "Dressed to Kill," showed a heavily aged Chucky getting closer to death.

As a result of the events at the White House, the second half of season 3 will likely explore more of Chucky's aging and his attempts to accept his possible fate as indicated by the creator. As a result, the big questions for the remaining episodes will likely focus on Chucky's next moves and whether he has any chance of overcoming such obstacles. The outcome could be crucial to the slasher show's future, especially if USA Network and Syfy plan to continue the series. If season 4 is in the cards, this may improve Chucky's chances of survival by the end of season 3.

As of writing, there is no official confirmation of a season 4 renewal. If Chucky gets renewed for season 4, it most likely wont arrive until 2025 at the earliest. Regarding the cast members who could feature, its difficult to predict that until after season 3's conclusion, as multiple characters may die before the finale. However, Chuckys main cast will likely include Brad Dourif, Zackary Arthur, Bjrgvin Arnarson, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Teo Briones, and Devon Sawa. For now, Chucky must handle the situation regarding his aging, which seems to be taking a huge toll on him.

Source: Variety

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More Vulnerable Than He Has Ever Been: Chucky Season 3 Part 2 ... - Screen Rant

Mercyful Fate is celebrating 40 years of Melissa with the first-ever stream of the album's 2005 remaster by Ted Jensen of Sterling Sound. The 2005 remaster has previously only available physically, and can now be found across all digital platforms.

To further celebrate the 40th anniversary of Melissa, Mercyful Fate also worked with their merch company Bravado to create a new line of Melissa themed items that are now available to fans worldwide. Get the merch line here and get the digital version here. This is all in addition to a slew of recent vinyl represses, all of which you can check out here.

As for new Mercyful Fate, vocalist King Diamond said in an interview with The Electric Theater With Clown this past July that it's still in the works.

"There's a lot in the works right now," said Diamond. "I'm writing with Hank [Shermann, guitar] for Mercyful Fate and writing with Andy [La Rocque, guitar] for King Diamond and writing on my own for King Diamond. For King Diamond, it's an album that's gonna be called The Institute, which is part one of two; there'll be two full albums that will be completing that full story. As the title says, it's gonna be some creepy, weird stuff. And for Mercy, I also have the title, but I'm not giving it out to anybody at the moment. We have the front cover for the new Mercy too. It's very correct, very right for Mercyful Fate. It's very back to basics.

"For my part with both Mercy and King Diamond even more King Diamond, I would say all vocals are gonna be lead vocals again, like they were in the old days for me. It didn't matter if it was a choir singing on the right or the left side or whatever; they would still go in and pick up parts of the lyrics to progress the story and so on. So it's gonna be anything goes with the vocals, for sure back to the old style. And for Mercy too; it's gonna be very old-fashioned. Hank is writing very much like the old days. And it's nice to feel that we can capture that again.

"So that's the two albums that are being worked on, that will be done by the time we go out on tour again, I'm sure."

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MERCYFUL FATE Streams 2005 Remaster Of Melissa For The First ... - Metal Injection

What will last of all our toils?

The things distant historians will "remember" about us are likely to be pretty random. So much of what we know of the pastor think we know, anywayis based on stuff that happened to survive, despite time's attempts to shave it away.

Your blog or well-curated social media? Unlikely to make the cut. Think more along the lines of Ikea dishes, car parts, lawn gnomes, Legos, Barbies ... probably every piece of plastic you've ever touched that hasn't been slowly broken down into plankton food.

Then there's the statues: of General Custer, George Washington, that horrible gynecology man, various iterations of Medusa and Perseus, the Stock Market Bull, Fearless Girl. We take this habittrying to chisel some aspect of ourselves, symbolically or otherwise, into stone, praying immortality meets us halfwayfrom the many civilizations that came before us. We don't always know why they immortalized the people, stories or entities they did, but we know whywedo it.

You know what posterity could use? Statues of ad people. Ad people doing ad things: Staring at computers, eating pizza, "brainstorming." For its new global brand platform, "Ads That Work as Hard as You Do," Amazon Ads and Anomaly have created the Museum of Modern Advertisers, a neoclassical attempt to immortalize "the hardworking heroes of marketing and the seemingly ordinary moments that lead to extraordinary work."

See the gallery below:

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These Statues From Amazon Immortalize Ad-Biz Heroics - Muse by Clio

Throw away the anti-ageing serums and stop worrying about your wrinkles because scientists might have found a way to stop the ageing process!

Okay, maybe don't throw away the serums just yet - they're expensive, and the science does have some way to go.

Researchers have made progress, though, as they've uncovered elements in our DNA which have the ability to destabilise genetic codes and cause ageing.

By conducting research on worms, scientists have also found a potential way to control these elements.

The discoveries came from researchers Dr dm Sturm and Dr Tibor Vellai, from Etvs Lornd University in Budapest, Hungary.

The team looked at parts of our DNA known as transposable elements (TEs), also known as 'jumping genes', which can move around in our genetic code.

When TEs move too much, the researchers found they can destabilize the genetic code and disrupt cell function, which in turn leads to ageing.

However, there are some cells which do not age, including cancer stem cells, and scientists have identified a certain process at work in these particular cells, known as the Piwi-piRNA pathway.

In their previous articles, titled 'The mechanism of aging: primary role of transposable elements in genome disintegration' and 'The Piwi-piRNA pathway: road to immortality', Dr Sturm and Dr Vellai theorised about the relationship between the Piwi-piRNA system and the concept of 'immortality'.

Taking their theories to the next level, the scientists sought to strengthen the Piwi-piRNA pathway in a worm called Caenorhabditis elegans, by using techniques to 'downregulate' the activity of the TEs.

When carried out on specific TEs in worms, the creatures showed signs of ageing more slowly.

And when multiple TEs were controlled simultaneously, the effects multiplied to increase the worms lifespan by up to 30 percent.

Controlling TEs also resulted in changes in the way genes worked in the DNA of the worms as they aged.

Commenting on the findings, which have been published in Nature Communications, Dr. Sturm said: "In our lifespan [experiments], by merely downregulating TEs or somatically overexpressing the Piwi-piRNA pathway elements, we observed a statistically significant lifespan advantage.

"This opens the door to a myriad of potential applications in the world of medicine and biology."

The researchers added that the study could inform ways to extend life and improve health for humans in later years, with Dr Vellai adding: "This epigenetic modification may pave the way for a method to determine age from DNA, providing an accurate biological clock."

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Scientists discovered a way to potentially slow or even halt the ... - UNILAD

In folklore, animals are depicted as messengers, symbols, or omens. Many of these stories are similar in cultures throughout millennia and featurefolk beliefs brought on by fear of death, illness, and the unexplained. The animals mostly related to symbols or omens of death are scavengers, nocturnal, or associated with negative events.

"So generally, in folklore, animals that are associated with death are the ones that are omens of death," says Sabina Magliocco, a folklorist and professor of anthropology at the University of British Colombia Vancouver.

Animals are associated with symbolism because they are part of the natural world. When we started looking at nature to learn about the environment, we began to look at the natural world for omens. "There's a tradition of people looking to nature and interpreting signs in nature as though [they] were speaking directly to them," says Magliocco.

Dogs, as symbols of death, go back thousands of years. One of the most known depictions isAnubis, the ancient Egyptian god of funerary practices, mummification, and protection of the dead.

(Credit: Shutterstock/Jirik V)

Also known as Inpu or Anpu, Anubis is depicted with the head of ajackal and the body of a male human. According to theRosicrucian Egyptian Museum, Egyptians imagined Anubis this way because jackals often roamed cemeteries feasting on the flesh of the deceased. In this ancient civilization folklore, they thought the depiction would protect the bodies against the wild jackals.

In Egyptian mythology though, Anubis, the Egyptian god of death, would guide souls and dead Pharaohs into the afterlife. Anubis was also known as the guardian of the dead, so mummies wereburied with amuletsadorned with a jackal.

Aside from protecting the dead, Anubis wouldweigh the hearts of the deceasedagainst a feather and ensure a fair judgment, according to the folklore. Anubis was one of the earliest funerary gods in ancient Egypt and was aprominent figure for more than 3,000 years.There were alsoseveral other jackal-like godsin ancient Egypt.

(Credit: Shutterstock/Creative_Bird)

Another ancient depiction of a dog assisting the dead is Mexico's Xoloitzcuintli, or "Xolo" for short, also known as the Mexican hairless dog. This psychopomp, or a spiritual guide, is associated with the Day of the Dead.

(Credit: Shutterstock/Photo Spirit)

According to Mexica or Aztec mythology, the canine assists the dead in reaching their final resting place and helps them cross an uncrossable river. Cynthia L. Vidaurri forAmerican Indian Magazinewrites that humans go through several levels of Mictln to reach the last resting place and endure various challenges.

Vidaurri also writes that in these creation stories, humans and Xoloitzcuintli were created from the same Bone of Life. The dogs were created to guard humans in life and guide humans once life ended.

(Credit: Shutterstock/Agami Photo Agency)

Bats are associated with darkness, obscurity, and creatures of the night. Their connections with symbols of death began with their links to blood-sucking vampires in Western literature. In Christianity, they are known as "the bird of the devil," or the embodiment of the devil, according to theUniversity of Michigan's dictionary of symbols.

Like black cats, bats are connected to black magic and witchcraft because they appear at dusk. In Dante Alighieri'sInferno, Satan is described with bat wings that freeze hell over with a simple flap of the wings.

Read More: Bat Faces Are Vast and Varied

(Credit: Shutterstock/Eric Isselee)

In Chinese culture, cicadas are associated with a range of meanings. Some intertwine the cicada as a symbol of rebirth and immortality. The insects are linked with symbols of resurrection because of their life cycle, according to theSmithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Soon after hatching, cicadas will bury themselves into the ground and live on tree roots for 13 to 17 years before rising from the ground again.

(Credit: Yale University Art Gallery/ Hobart and Edward Small Moore Memorial Collection, Gift of Mrs. William H. Moore)

Chinese cultures see the insect's process of emerging from the ground as an analogy of the dead rising into eternity. According to the National Museum of Asian Art, during the Han dynasty, cicada-shaped hade amulets were placed on the tongues of corpses.

Read More: The Cicadas Are Coming

(Credit:Shutterstock/Tahmid Hasan Sobuj)

In ancient Greece, the word for butterfly isPsyche, whichmeans the soul of the dead. The mythology of Psyche, a mortal woman released from death by the god Zeus, who gave her immortality inspired the meaning. On Greek pottery and in mythology, Psyche has butterfly wings.

The butterfly is thought to represent freedom from death, where the soul can fly after it emerges from the constraining chrysalis, according to a paper published inArquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria. A butterfly's transformation from a caterpillar into a winged insect can also symbolize the soul's exit from the body.

Symbols of a chrysalis have been found on ancient sarcophagi in Patras, Greece, and in Greek, chrysalis ornekydallonmeans "the shell of the dead."

Read More: How the Smallest Butterfly in North America Travels Using Gusts of Wind

(Credit: Shutterstock/Trevor Partridge)

Owls make various appearances in the stories from North American tribes. Depending on which tribe, Owls can be a good or bad omen. For example, Apache tribes fear great horned owls and consider them a bad omen. Whereas other tribes believe owls are messengers and are a guardian spirit, perThe Pueblo Chieftain.

"The owl is generally not a good sign, it is associated with death," says Magliocco. "If you've ever heard a screech owl cry out in the night, it's a very eerie sound. So, you can see how you can see how people develop this belief."

Some Mediterranean folklore also has stories about women who could turn themselves into screech owls and, at night, suck out the breath of babies.

Read More: An Extinct Owl Once Hunted by Day

(Credit:Shutterstock/Rudmer Zwerver)

Crows often get associated with death. As scavengers, they were found in battlefields, cemeteries, and around dead bodies. In literature, circling crows above sites where humans or animals are expected to die soon represent omens of death or foreboding.

Swedish folklore sees the birdsas ghosts of those murdered without a Christian burial. At one point, humans blamed the birds forspreading the Bubonic plague.

Calling a group of crows a "murder" stems from a folk tale that said crows would come together,hold a court, and decide the fate of another crowthat committed offenses against the flock. The fate could end in a 'murder' of the accused.

While most of the symbolism explained in these fauna is dark, many also have positive connotations of hope, renewal, intelligence, and destiny.

Read More: The Term 'Spirit Animal' Means More Than Your Favorite Animal

Original post:
Why Do These 6 Animals Represent Death in Cultures Around the ... - DISCOVER Magazine

This view that humanity is essentially a destroyer leads from Anthropocene antihumanism to Kirschs other main topic: transhumanism. The corruption of our species that makes our destruction as a result of climate change inevitable goes hand in hand with the transhumanist view that the human species must be replaced.

In his analysis of transhumanism, Kirschs presentation goes even further to make its adherents seem more convincing than they actually are. Some readers may be attracted to the antihumanist idea that our inherent corruption has led us to the brink of disaster but repelled by their embrace of extinction. Transhumanism seems to offer a more hopeful option. Instead of simply letting humanity go, transhumanists propose to replace us with something better. Their embrace of technology that can create a new, posthuman species makes them look like saviors compared to the Anthropocene antihumanists. As Kirsch writes, according to transhumanists, Its true that humanity has reached a point where our technological power threatens to destroy us. But if that power continues to grow at the same pace it has over the past two hundred years, it will become the means of our salvation.

There are two big assumptions involved here that Kirsch helpfullyfor transhumanismfails to unpack. The first is that technological progress from the past to the present can be projected into the future. This makes predictions of the posthuman seem logical rather than ideological. The second is that replacement is our salvation. Transhumanists assume that technological progress will culminate in a new step in human evolution where the posthuman wont really replace us but will instead improve usextend our existence in a new and better form. In other words, transhumanism requires that we can remove our identities, conceived basically as software, from our bodies and simply move them onto new hardware.

Kirsch does point out that transhumanism has an innate tendency to overpromise and that the big breakthroughs always seem to lie just over the horizon. But he then immediately defends the prognostications of transhumanists by claiming that they are extrapolating from developments that are undeniably real.

Many of these developments, however, are both deniable and not real. For example, without citing evidence, Kirsch echoes transhumanist claims that we know that the human mind has a completely material basis and that the brain itself is a computer. This means that we can have an uploaded mind in the virtual reality of the metaverse where we will need our physical bodies as only a substrate for our virtual ones. Alternatively, through laser porting, we can free our consciousness to explore the galaxy or even the universe at the speed of light. Kirsch doesnt treat these claims with enough skepticism.

Philosophers have long aimed to overcome this kind of simplistic Cartesian mind-body dualism. Even Descartes did not think the mind could actually be separated from the body. He denied that the relationship between mind and body is comparable to that between a sailor and a ship. Our minds cannot be reduced to our brains, and our brains cannot be reduced to computers. What has come to be known as the hard problem of consciousness (explaining how something entirely physical can possibly be conscious) remains unsolved. And it may remain so, despite the confidence of some scientists and philosophers. Similarly, the hard problems of the metaversethat no one has legs, for example, or that no one seems to want to use itmay remain unsolved as well. Mark Zuckerberg, it seems, has already gotten bored and pivoted to something else.

Yet it must be recognized that whether or not these developments are currently real, or even possible, is less important than whether they sound plausible to investors. Even more tempting and persistent than mind-body dualism is the idea of immortality. And there is perhaps no one for whom it is more tempting than the aging billionaires nowhere near done spending their money and enjoying their lifestyles. Transhumanist tech companies promising digital immortality are, therefore, attractive investments. Of course, were such mind uploading to become possible, only the wealthiest would be able to afford it. Still, investment in digital immortality might eventually begin to sound reasonable, especially if Anthropocene antihumanism has made it seem futile to use that money to combat climate change instead.

Anthropocene antihumanism and transhumanism do not just involve a revolt against humanity, but a revolt against responsibility. Combined, they make the CEOs of tech companies look like our saviors rather than our destroyers. Those who have become wealthy by destroying the planet in the name of technological progress can use that destruction to justify their pursuit of further technological progress, which now appears as the only solution to the crisis they helped to cause. Kirsch suggests that ultimately, transhumanists and antihumanists could converge on an ideal of extinction, with rapacious humanity making way for wiser virtual beings who tread more lightly on the planet, but this vision reinforces the fantasy that tech companies are a solution to climate change rather than among the drivers of it. The creation of virtual beings requires massive data centers and massive amounts of electricity, and so the pursuit of transhumanism reinforces Anthropocene antihumanism, much like Anthropocene antihumanism reinforces transhumanism.

Fittingly, given the nihilism behind both Anthropocene antihumanism and transhumanism, Kirsch concludes by discussing Nietzsche. Nietzsche railed against the ascetic priests he thought offered nothing but cures to the diseases they were spreading. In the same way, he would have rejected both Anthropocene antihumanism and transhumanism for not only seeing humanity as fundamentally sick, but for offering solutions that can only serve to make humanity sicker. Kirsch worries that these views are convincing enough to have an impact on society whether or not they are correct, but too often he is unwilling to point out basic flaws in these views or the interests they serve. Anthropocene antihumanism and transhumanism are dangerous not only because they might stop people from caring about the destruction of the planet, but because they embolden the people actually destroying it.

This piece was published as part of a symposium aboutThe Revolt Against Humanity. For more of the symposium, read:

To see the full collection, click here. To listen to an interview with Adam Kirsch on theCommonweal Podcast, clickhere.

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Posthumanisms Revolt Against Responsibility - Commonweal

For National Authors Day on Nov. 1, the University of Mary Washington is sharing a few of the latest books from faculty authors.

From fields as diverse as English, physics and political science, these professors have penned a new collection of poetry, an expos about the most brilliant of minds and a text that traces the evolution of late-night political humor.

Read on!

Award-winning poetry by Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing Laura Bylenok.

An exploration of transformative thinkers by Professor Emeritus of Physics Bulent Atalay.

A look at late-night political humor co-authored by Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth.

Living Room

By Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing Laura Bylenok Published by University of Nebraska Press, Oct. 1, 2022

Bylenoks most recent book, Living Room, won the Backwaters Prize in Poetry. The text explores life at a cellular level, coaxing readers to slow down and use their senses. The network of poems explores such themes as grief, motherhood, mortality and self by weaving scientific ideas together with ethereal language.

Poems in the collection describe the lived reality of various types of life, including animals, plants and bacteria conjuring lessons in biology, genetics and neurochemistry and also such things as buildings and rocks in a poignantly poetic way.

Language becomes solid, palpable as fruit, reads the books description. Long lines propel breath and push past the lungs capacity.

I wroteLiving Roomas an act of empathy, an attempt to understand being human by trying to put myself into nonhuman experience, Bylenok said.

Language is a tool for understanding our world, and I experiment with perspective and metaphor to get to some sense of self human, non, genetic, generational, fractioned, fragmented that allows being multiple and simultaneously always incomplete. Its a book full of grief and family trauma and a book of forgiveness and self-forgiveness. I wrote it to get at that, to practice listening to the parts of my brain and the world that dont make narrative sense but constitute us nonetheless.

Bylenok also is the author of Warpanda/0. Her poetry has appeared in the likes of Crazyhorse, Guernica, Ninth Letter,Arts & Letters andDIAGRAM. She holds a bachelors degree from the University of Washington, an MFA from the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University, and a Ph.D. in literature and creative writing from the University of Utah.

Beyond Genius: A Journey Through the Characteristics and Legacies of Transformative Minds By Professor Emeritus of Physics Bulent Atalay Published by Pegasus Books, Nov. 7, 2023

In his most recent book, Beyond Genius, Atalay explores the life and works of Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, Ludwig von Beethoven and Albert Einstein, all considered transformative geniuses who redefined their fields or introduced new realms of thought.

The book examines the elusive concept of genius and how these five masterminds seemed to leap effortlessly from one monumental achievement to another. In dissecting their habits and traits, however, Atalay maps their paths to immortality, revealing patterns in their lives and legacies, and finding that the men fit more of a mold than one might imagine.

Where did these masters draw inspiration to produce some of the most stunning achievements in human history? the books description on Amazon asks. Were their brains wired differently than ours?

Atalay is also the author ofMath and the Mona LisaandLeonardos Universe. He was a professor of physics at UMW and, concurrently, an adjunct professor of mathematics at the University of Virginia and a member of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton.

Late-Night in Washington: Political Humor and the American Presidency By Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth Published by Routledge, Sept. 1, 2023

With co-authors S. Robert Lichter and Farah Latif of George Mason University, Farnsworth continues his quest to explore late-night political humor in his most recent book, Late-Night in Washington.

On the heels of his 2019 publication, Late Night With Trump: Political Humor and the American Presidency, Farnsworths new book continues to investigate this celebrated comedic genre and its relation to the United States commander in chief.

Late-Night in Washington cites everything from Richard Nixons appearance onLaugh-Into Donald Trumps avatar onSaturday Night Live, considering also how late-night comedy treats Joe Biden, who arguably offers less comedy fodder than his predecessor.

Using content analysis, public opinion surveys, and other quantitative and qualitative research, this book is for students and scholars of politics and media, as well as political pundits and the general public.

Farnsworth also has authored or co-authored The Nightly News Nightmare: Media Coverage of U.S. Presidential Elections, 1988-2008; Presidential Communication and Character: White House News Management from Clinton and Cable to Twitter and Trump; Spinner in Chief: How Presidents Sell Their Policies and Themselves; The Mediated Presidency: Television News and Presidential Governance and The Global President: International Media and the US Government. He is director of UMWs Center for Media and Leadership Studies.

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Cold-Weather Reading: Cozy Up With UMW Faculty Members' New ... - University of Mary Washington

Ahsoka hasdone the maximum to expand the Star Wars canon. Through Ahsoka, Dave Filoni has brought many ideas and characters that previously existed only in books and animation to live-action, ensuring that the franchise moves forward with endless possibilities for the future.

While the Mortis Gods play a significant role in The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, the wider Star Wars audience that hasnt seen the animated series has little to no knowledge of their existence. Ahsoka changed this and opened a door of possibilities by introducing the Gods of Mortis on Peridea. However, The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels have only introduced 3 of the Morits Gods: the Father, the Son, and the Daughter. That might change in Ahsoka Season 2 as all signs point to the series bringing yet another powerful divine entity from Star Wars Legends to the canon: the Mother.

And whats more, the Mother could be Shmi Skywalker, a character were all very familiar with.

Shmi Skywalker is an important name in Star Wars, and for good reason. Shes Anakin Skywalkers mother, but according to a new theory, there may be more to Shmi Skywalker than we thought. Shmis home planet is unknown, but she and her parents were sold into slavery in 66 BBY. She spent most of her life as a slave on Tatooine and gave birth to Anakin Skywalker in 41 BBY. According to Shmi, Anakin had no father, and she raised him on her own.

Years later, Anakin, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano were called to the realm of Mortis by the Father. The Father is the keeper of balance between his children, the Son and the Daughter, both of whom represent the two sides of the Force. The Fathers wish was for Anakin to take his place as he was getting too old for the job. Anakin refused, and after a harrowing ordeal in which all three of the Mortis Gods perished, Anakin and his Jedi friends all escaped Mortis. But according to a new theory, the Father may have called on Anakin because Anakin was his son, and Shmi Skywalker may have been the Mother, or Abeloth, a character from the Star Wars Legends novel Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse.

In Legends, Abeloth was a mortal who became a powerful dark Force entity to achieve immortality. Abeloth was a servant to the 3 Mortis Gods, and as a result of her bond with them, she came to be known as the Mother and completed their family. However, due to her mortality, Abeloth grew fearful of losing her family, which led her to bathe in the Pool of Knowledge and drink from the Font of Power. Her actions corrupted her, and she became so evil that the Father abandoned her and took his children with him. While the Mortis Gods died in the Star Wars Canon, perhaps Abeloth is still out there. Many fans believe that its Abeloth whos calling out to Baylan Skoll on Peridea, and her return could be bad news for the galaxy.

Both Shmi and Abeloth spent most of their lives serving others, and both were abandoned by their families. Both are mother figures, though only Shmi has a biological child. But the question is, whos Anakins father? Did Darth Sidious manipulate the midi-chlorians to create Anakin, or is Anakin someone elses son? Perhaps the Father called Anakin to Mortis because Anakin is his son and, therefore, a demi-God. How could this be possible?

Shmi Skywalker was sold repeatedly and may have ended up on Mortis at some point in her life. However, just like Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka, she has no memory of what happened to her on Mortis. Shmi might have visited Mortis and conceived a child with the Father, but after losing all memory of events there, she started to believe that Anakin had no father.

If true, this explains the importance of Anakin Skywalker as The Chosen One beyond just his role of bringing balance to the Force. Perhaps Anakin wasnt only meant to bring balance to the Force but meant to keep that balance as well. He was the Fathers natural successor because the Father is more than just a divine entity, but family. This completes the family of Mortis Gods, with Shmi representing the missing piece as the Mother or Abeloth. At the end of Ahsoka, Anakin may be doing more than just fulfilling his duties as Ahsokas master. Anakin may also be doing what the Father asked of him and keeping the balance between the dark and light sides of the Force, and this is a role Anakin may have to fulfill for a long time to come.

Whether Shmi has any connection to Abeloth is something only time will tell. However, Abeloth may soon join Star Wars Canon and pose the biggest threat to peace in the galaxy since Darth Sidious.

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Theory: Is Shmi Skywalker actually Abeloth from Legends? - Dork Side of the Force

Fate plans to take revenge on Hado by letting him find him so that he can kill him at last. Berserk of Gluttony Episode 5 will continue Fate's story and reveal how his revenge plan unfolds. The new episode is set to premiere this week.

The final release date of the next episode of the anime will be November 2, 2023, as per the schedule of Crunchyroll. All the episodes of the anime will be found only on the official pages of Crunchyroll. We will be sure to update this section as soon as there is any more detail on this.

The title of the fifth episode of Berserk of Gluttony will be 'To Galla.' In the next outing, Fate may finally confront Hado and exact revenge for his past wrongdoings. Roxy embarks on her perilous mission, facing danger in Galia. Gluttony's hunger for powerful souls could pose a growing threat. Aisha's impending death weighs heavily on Fate's shoulders as he attempts to support Roxy.

Meanwhile, Rafale and Memil continue their quest for immortality, delving deeper into mysterious forces. The future holds uncertainty and danger for the characters in this unfolding story.

The title of the previous episode of Berserk of Gluttony was 'Crowned Beast.' In this episode, we see Fate, known as the Corpse Lich, meeting Roxy at the Hart vineyards, where her mother senses an attraction between them. Kobolds threaten the vineyards, and Fate encounters a mysterious Galian girl. Roxy leads a hunt, unaware of the presence of a deadly Crowned Kobold.

Fate kills the Crowned Kobold, but Gluttony's hunger becomes uncontrollable. Roxy suspects the Galian girl. Aisha, terminally ill, secretly entrusts Fate with supporting Roxy. Gluttony craves more powerful souls, turning one eye red. Hado hunts Fate, and Roxy, manipulated by the Vlericks, accepts a dangerous mission. Rafale and Memil seek immortality in Tenburn. Unable to stop corruption, Fate plans revenge on Hado.

It will be interesting to see what the story brings to the table. At last, keep an eye on Pinkvilla for more intel on this.

ALSO READ:6 Time Travel anime to watch if you can't get enough of Marvel's Loki Season 2 on Disney; Tokyo Revengers, and Steins;Gate are a must watch

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Berserk of Gluttony Episode 5: Fate's revenge; release date, where to watch and more - PINKVILLA

Just outside the city of Clemson, South Carolina, on a two-lane bypass around the main highway into town, stands Macs Drive-In, a Clemson touchstone for more than half a century. Its tiny, not much bigger than a high-school classroom, and every free surface is covered in Clemson Tiger memorabilia, from glossy photos to autographed pants to a goal post that wraps around one corner.

The Dabo Swinney years have presented a welcome new challenge to the nearly 60-year-old diner: How to fit piles of new championship merchandise into an already-stuffed diner. A championship banner hangs in front of the goalpost. Over in one corner, a photo of a gloating Swinney next to an ACC champion trophy leans against a plastic tiger atop a Toy Taxi claw machine. But the odds are very good that there wont be many relics of the 2023 Tigers adorning the walls of Macs anytime soon.

Theres a sign that hangs throughout Clemsons football palace, too: Best is the Standard. In Swinneys tenure, theyve hit that standard more often than not. Clemson has exactly one losing season: his second, in 2010, when the Tigers finished 6-7. Since then, Clemson has won double-digit games every single year, captured two national championships and seven of the past eight ACC championships.

But the Tigers are now in a full-on headed-for-the-guardrails skid. As recently as last year, Clemson was 8-0 in the ACC, but losses to Notre Dame and South Carolina cost the Tigers a chance at the College Football Playoff. Clemson this year is 4-4, just 2-4 in conference play, and looking as lost as it ever has under Swinneys illustrious reign. Those two ACC wins came against Syracuse and Wake Forest, which have a combined conference record of 1-8. Clemsons other two wins have come against 4-4 Florida Atlantic and Charleston Southern of the FCS.

On the field, quarterbacks D.J. Uiagalelei and Cade Klubnik havent matched the national championship standard of Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson. Turnovers have brutalized the Tigers, who can now only watch as Florida State, Duke, North Carolina and NC State race past them up the ACC standings.

Rage and frustration have been simmering for a while now in Clemson, and everything boiled over on Monday night, when Tyler from Spartanburg called into Swinneys radio show and launched himself into college football fan immortality. Tyler needled Swinney into a defensive, defiant five-minute rant both justifying his own accomplishments and ripping those who would doubt him and his team.

"The expectation is greater than the appreciation. And that's the problem, Swinney seethed. "We've won 12 10-plus-win seasons in a row. That's happened three times in 150 years. So if you wanna know why. Clemson ain't sniffed a national championship for 35 years. We've won two in seven years. And there's only two other teams that can say that: Georgia and Alabama. OK?"

Its a long, hard fall for a school that was trading haymakers with kaiju like Alabama and Ohio State so recently that its current seniors were freshmen. Put it this way: At this point in the season, nobodys paying attention to the 10th-place teams in the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 or Pac-12 anymore. Yes, Clemson is now in the company of Auburn, Northwestern, Texas Tech and Cal. Maybe the Pride of Spartanburg did Clemson a favor, or maybe Tyler just reminded everyone of how far from grace this years squad now stands.

Its entirely possible that Swinney used Tyler from Spartanburg as a handy motivational catapult, much like a baseball manager getting himself thrown out of a game to fire up his team. Consensus seems to have coalesced on the idea that Tyler was pretty harsh given the woeful state of Clemson before Swinney but also that its perfectly fine to expect better than 4-4 out of a coach with an eight-figure annual salary.

Assessments of whats gone wrong with Clemson center on a few key facts: Swinneys reluctance to look outside the Tiger family for help, his deep aversion to the transfer portal, the programs failure to produce stars who can achieve greatness out of the gate the way Lawrence, Watson and Travis Etienne did. Swinney is like a poker player who once held a mountain of chips and is now down to a handful; he can play his way back into the game, but hell have to be smart, disciplined and opportunistic in a way hes never been before.

In the wake of Mondays spectacle, this weekends game takes on a whole new meaning. Notre Dame arrives in Death Valley a three-point favorite in a matchup that surely looked a whole lot more appealing a few years ago when it was scheduled. Now its just a chance for two dented blue-chip programs to burnish their reputations at the others expense.

When someone writes the story of the Swinney Years at Clemson, the Tyler from Spartanburg Incident might be the spark that gets Clemson fired up again, or the last splash of water that doused whatever flickering flame was left. We wont know for a while yet, but well get a sense over the next few games; after the Irish, Clemson faces Georgia Tech, North Carolina and South Carolina with a bowl bid and self-respect still on the line.

The question now is whether Clemson under Swinney will have more high points to look forward to or whether it will have to be content with all the memorabilia of past glories.

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Dabo Swinney and Clemson have our attention again, but can they ... - Yahoo Sports