|

Hulk, Iron Fist and Spider-Man artist and creator of The One %,Kaare Andrews returns to the AWA comic book E-Ratic, for a new volume, now part of the AWA shared universe of superhero stories, including The Resistance, Moths,Knighted, andThe Joneses We also get a new Lesser Evils comic, Ginn #1 by Ian Grody, Justin Fair and Yishan Li, which I am not sure what will happen to this after Bill Jemas' departure. All in the AWA September 2022 solicits and solicitations.

E RATIC RECHARGED #1 CVR A ANDREWSAWAJUL221319JUL221320 E RATIC RECHARGED #1 CVR B DEODATO JR 3.99(W) Kaare Andrews (A / CA) Kaare AndrewsRecharge complete! The teenage hero with superpowers that only work for ten minutes a day is back to save the world again as he navigates even more pressing perils: young love, bullies, a broken family and the gauntlet that is high school. This time, young Oliver Leif is teamed with a barbarian princess who claims to be from another dimension. Spinning fromthe pages of The Resistance, E-Ratic combines electric action, teen drama, and pure comics fun.In Shops: Sep 07, 2022SRP: 3.99

GINN (LESSER EVIL) #1AWAJUL221327(W) Ian Grody, Justin Fair (A) Yishan Li (CA) Jonathon BartlettAfter his master sets him free, a hard-drinking, foul mouthed genie spirals into an existential crisis, until he falls for a human who works for the Make a Wish Foundation-and for once in eons-finds meaning. However, when his former master has a change of heart, and threatens to put the hurt on Ginn's girl, unless Ginn recommits to serving him-our troubled genie has to make an impossible choiceIn Shops: Sep 28, 2022SRP: 3.99

SACRAMENT #2 (MR)AWAJUL221321(W) Peter Milligan (A / CA) Marcelo FrusinThe Exorcist meets Alien in this sci-fi/horror story. In the year 3000, Mankind abandoned Earth and fled into outer space. Now, a disgraced priest, called into action to perform an exorcism on a remote space colony, is about to discover that no matter how far you run, you can't escape your demons, and the Devil is, in fact, real.In Shops: Sep 14, 2022SRP: 3.99

ABSOLUTION #3 (MR)AWAJUL221322(W) Peter Milligan (A) Lee Loughridge (A / CA) Mike DeodatoNina Ryan was a hired killer who brought nothing but pain and suffering to the world. Now, she has a month to prove that she can change. A month to make up for her crimes and find absolution, or the bombs that have been implanted in her head will explode, killing her instantly. As her journey of atonement is live-streamed to a fickle public, Nina is about todiscover that the road to redemption might be splattered with blood.In Shops: Sep 21, 2022SRP: 3.99

DEVILS HIGHWAY VOL 2 #5 (OF 5) (MR)AWAJUL221323(W) Ben Percy (A) Brent Schoonover, Nick Filardi (CA) B. SchoonoverA truck stacked with bodies is discovered along the US/Canada border, and Sharon Harrow and Quentin Skinner are on the case. Their mission: figure out how all of these corpses are connected. And when they uncover the terrifying truth, they will unearth a murder syndicate that has infiltrated the walls of the very institutions meant to protect us. Now our heroes areon the run-hunted by law enforcement and the trucking community-framed for crimes they didn't commit. In this actionconclusion, Sharon comes face-to-face with her most powerful adversary yetIn Shops: Sep 28, 2022SRP: 3.99

NEW THINK #4 (OF 5) CVR A RAHZAAH (MR)AWAJUL221324JUL221325 NEW THINK #4 (OF 5) CVR B CHOI (MR) 3.99(W) Gregg Hurwitz (A) Keron Grant (CA) RahzzahThis Black Mirror-style anthology examines the rapid proliferation of technology, the cultural and political polarization of the country, and the technocrats that have driven us to such extremes of thought that we need to present the present as somethingfuturistic. In this issue, people throughout history dream of a better tomorrow, filled with life-saving medicine,instant communication, and methods of travel that bring humanity closer together. Surely a world with such wonders should be a utopia. Right?In Shops: Sep 28, 2022SRP: 3.99

HIT ME TP VOL 01 (MR)AWAJUL221326(W) Christa Faust (A) Priscilla Petraites, Marco Lesko (CA) Jeff DekalA high-octane crime thriller from Christa Faust (Bad Mother, Redemption) and Priscilla Petraites (Chariot). Lulu has a very unique profession. When she is witness to the execution of one of her regular clients, she escapes into the night with a briefcase filled with diamonds and a pack of killers on her trail. Navigating the dark underbelly of decaying, early-90's Atlantic City, one step ahead of her pursuers, Lulu must call upon every one of her street-born instincts and underworld connections in what will be the longest and possibly last night of her lifeIn Shops: Sep 14, 2022SRP: 9.99

More:

Kaare Andrews Returns To E-Ratic In AWA September 2022 Solicits - Bleeding Cool News

Tucker Carlson: Politicians created inflation

Fox News host Tucker Carlson weighs in on the state of the American economy and inflation as he says companies pay for women to travel and get abortions on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.'

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

We're coming to you all week from Brazil. You may not have noticed we didn't actually but Brazil is the last significant country in the Western Hemisphere that has a pro-American government. And in a lot of ways, Brazil isn't that different from the United States. It's an enormous place, bigger landmass than the continental U.S., huge population, beautiful, rich in natural resources and suddenly, like the United States over the last 15 years, Brazil has found itself dangerously dependent on China.

So, what exactly are the Chinese government's aims here in Brazil, and why isn't the Biden administration doing anything to stop the Chinese military from establishing a threatening new beachhead in our hemisphere? They seem to be abetting it. What is that exactly? We're investigating all of it for a brand-new documentary we're making now.

We'll have it for you soon, but one of the reasons that so few people in the United States noticed that China is colonizing formerly independent country so close to our shores is that we have, as they used to say, problems of our own here in the United States the American economy, primarily, which is in real trouble right now, and it's not something we can fix with a cleverly crafted bailout, as we've done before.

The problem here isn't that a few reckless quants on Wall Street did crazy things with credit default swaps. The problem feels deeper than that. It feels systemic, and you see it in what you buy, everything. The prices of everything are shooting beyond reach for a lot of people in the United States. That would include energy, food, durable goods, housing, education, credit, all of it is a lot more expensive than it was just recently. Why? Why has median rent in Manhattan jumped by 25% in a single year? Why is your grocery bill going up by hundreds of dollars a month? Why can't you afford to fill your car anymore?

JESSE WATTERS CALLS OUT LIBERAL MEDIA OVER ABORTION PROTEST COVERAGE: 'THEY WON'T TELL THE TRUTH'

Those are fair questions. It's not like we've run out of the commodities we need. The United States has a lot of them. It's a continental country. It stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific. So we've got plenty of room for housing. We've got more than enough oil and gas within our own borders to be completely energy independent with some left over.

We've got more fertile farmland than any country on the planet. Food should be cheap. So, the problem is definitely not our resources. Our resources in the United States are abundant. The problem is our leaders. The things you need are too expensive to buy because politicians created inflation, and they did it for a simple reason. They'd racked up so much debt, buying votes and enriching themselves and their families because they had no choice but to weaken the U.S. dollar in order to make the payments on the loans they took out. It's that simple. And then once inflation arrived, ideologues in the Biden administration immediately understood how it could be used.

So, since you can no longer afford to drive your car, you will have no choice but to accept their green energy scams and that means their donors who run those scams will get richer, and they will get control over the US economy. So, everyone wins except you. It's perfect. None of it happened by accident. This is a manufactured disaster. Now, in a normal country, few leaders would dare to pull off something this brazen and destructive. They'd be afraid to. They would be to be flirting with revolution. It'd be too risky. And the people who run our country are fully aware of the risks, and they're very worried about it.

WISCONSIN GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES CHALLENGE TO STATES LAW BANNING ABORTION IN WAKE OF ROE RULING

If you're wondering why they're hyperventilating about January 6th, that's why. They seem afraid, because they are afraid. To them, a crowd of angry people at the Capitol looks a lot like a foretaste of things to come. That's exactly why they're so desperate to take your guns away. It's why they're screaming at you about trans rights and systemic racism and the all-encompassing evil of the president of faraway Russia. Huh? Why are they talking about these things? It seems confusing at first. What does any of that have to do with our actual problems here and improving your life?

Well, none of it has anything to do with improving your life and that's the point. They're hoping that if they keep screaming at you, you'll be too bewildered and too off-balance to notice what is happening to the country around you, much less able to fight back against it. And just to make sure you're too bewildered to act as they scream, they shift the blame from themselves to you. So, they're now pronouncing you guilty for the crimes that they committed. You've watched this happen with the economy.

First, they told you that inflation wasn't real. "You're imagining that," but you weren't. So, then they explain that actually inflation is happening, but it's a good thing because you deserve it. You deserve to pay more for the things you buy. Why? Because your expectations were way too high. You pampered first-world Karen. You expected to eat meat for dinner and take an annual vacation on commercial airliners that departed on time. What were you thinking? You expected to fill your tank or buy a sheet of plywood for less than 75 bucks. Huh? Talk about out of whack. You expected to be able to send your children to the public schools you pay for with the expectation they might learn something. You thought you could load your car in the Safeway parking lot with groceries you could afford without being shot to death by armed robbers.

BECERRA UNVEILS BIDEN HHS ABORTION 'ACTION PLAN,' RIPS 'UNCONSCIONABLE' SUPREME COURT RULING ON ROE V. WADE

You imagined you could live in a country that resembled the place you grew up in, where people spoke English and didn't throw trash out the window or smoked fentanyl on the sidewalk. But it turns out, Mr. or Mrs. America, you expected too much, and that's your fault. In Nigeria, all of this is normal, so stop whining and eat your bugs. Bloomberg News actually wrote a column on this. Their recommendation was, if you want to save money, let your dog die. Seriously, they really said that, and they meant it too. But apparently you didn't get the message. You love your dog.

So, now they've gone further than that. Now they're telling you that you cannot have the one thing that most people want more than anything else, the one thing that biological instinct drives all of us to want and that's children. The most reliable source of meaning and joy in human existence, a family, is now out of reach for the American middle class, and you should accept that is inevitable. In fact, you should embrace it. Our economy can no longer support your family. Sorry. Actually, that's wrong. They're not saying sorry. They wouldn't think of apologizing for that or anything else. What they want to do is force you to reset your unrealistic expectations and that's what MSNBC did all this weekend. Watch.

KATY TUR: What does it cost to have a baby? On your body, on your livelihood, and not just you, but your states in this country?

ONE MORE BLOCKBUSTER SUPREME COURT DECISION COULD STILL BE COMING EVEN AFTER FRIDAY'S ABORTION RULING

JO LING KENT, NBC REPORTER:Many economists and social scientists are telling us that the economic consequences of abortion restrictions are devastating for both individuals and wider society. According to the Institute for Women's Policy Research, at the national level, state level abortion restrictions cost $105 billion per year because basically it reduces the labor force participation rate, how many people are in the workforce, and drives down earning power.

So, it turns out many economists and social scientists have concluded that having kids is selfish and way too expensive and that's your fault. So, dial back your expectations of ever having a family. Thanks for telling us, MSNBC and Jo Kent. Notice that no one in MSNBC ever blames the powerful for where we are. Apparently, the US government had no role in "reducing the labor force participation rate, say by shutting down the entire U.S. economy and firing anyone who didn't get their vax or turning cities into war zones or devaluing the U.S. dollar. None of that actually happened. It's not their fault. Wall Street and the Fed are blameless. The problem is you. The problem is that you selfishly want to have children, and children are bad for GDP." All the big corporations now agree on that. They're all now against human reproduction. Watch, Jo Kent, explain more.

JO LING KENT, NBC REPORTER: But the other important financial question is if the birthing parent is able to travel and if they work for the right company and are seeking an abortion, more individuals we're seeing are going to need to rely on their employer, right, for that financial support to carry that out. Now, for example, Dick's Sporting Goods is now telling us they're promising $4,000 for any employee or family member on their insurance plan to access an abortion and there's a long list of companies that are doing the same thing. You've got Levi's and Starbucks, Yelp, JPMorgan and many others, but the point here is, Katie, is that these benefits are provided because these companies are willing to do it, not just because of their philosophy as a corporation, but because it makes financial sense for them.

REPUBLICAN SENATORS INTRODUCE PRO-LIFE RESOLUTION CELEBRATING SUPREME COURT ABORTION CASE: 'HISTORIC VICTORY'

Dick's Sporting Goods will pay you $4,000 to abort your baby. How great is that? How great is Dick's Sporting Goods? You're going to have a baby, and now they're giving you four grand, not two and as Jo Kent just told us, that makes financial sense for corporate America. Well, yes, it does. Thanks, MSNBC. We lost our calculator and couldn't do the math on that. It turns out the companies have done the math and they'd rather pay female employees $4,000 for every abortion they have. That's cheaper than footing the bill for, say, parental leave or adding new dependents on the company health care plan. Babies are expensive. It's a lot cheaper to get rid of them, has concluded the H.R. Department of Dick's Sporting Goods, but keep in mind, this is a highly progressive movement. When you have to bribe employees not to have their own family, what you're really doing is liberating them and if you doubt that, here's corporate America's spokesman Andrew Ross Sorkin of CNBC with the message once more.

ANDREW ROSS SORKIN:The real challenge is going to be for the smaller companies that can't afford to do this and for the employees of those companies that are unable to get access that way and so there's going to be a tale of two worlds. If you work for a Fortune 500 company in America today, you very well may get this type of health care as a benefit. Smaller companies may not, and I asked the question over the weekend to a lot of executives and CEOs about this, would you leave the state? Would you leave those states where those trigger laws are in effect? And the answer is no. The view is that this is, dare I say, a cost of doing business and I was, I have to admit, disappointed that there was nobody that I spoke to over the weekend who said, you know what, we have a moral issue about this.

Yeah, it's very disappointing that all companies aren't paying their employees to abort their children. It's a sign of love, really, because when you love someone, your main concern is if they never reproduce, that they never create more human beings just like them. That's a sign of love. So according to Andrew Ross Sorkin, corporations (and this is not ghoulish or creepy so settle down, chuck, back to your gag reflex) corporations in states that outlaw abortions are unethical. The CEOs of those companies are immoral because they're not paying for enough abortion. Andrew Ross Sorkin judges them. You know who he doesn't judge his friend, Janet Yellen.

INFLATION 'POLICY ERRORS OF THE 1970S ECHO IN OUR TIMES,' FINANCIAL TIMES COLUMNIST WARNS

Now, Janet Yellen isn't blameless. She lied to Americans for years about the inflation that she created. She single-handedly destroyed our economy more than any other single American, but that's not a problem for Andrew Ross Sorkin. It's not like she wasn't paying for employees abortions and we're quoting, "You know, if you're Janet Yellen, she's in a political job and they wanted to run the economy a little hot." That's what Sorkin said recently and by running it a little hot, he meant destroy it and make the U.S. dollar worthless. Just a little mistake. It's not a big deal. It's not immoral. Making you poor was a mistake and don't worry, Janet Yellen has never even considered apologizing for it. No. What she's telling you is now that you're poor, shut up and abort your child because times are tough and you've got to get back to work. There's a war going on. Do your duty.

JANET YELLEN: I believe that eliminating the right of women to make decisions about when and whether to have children would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades.

Yeah, very damaging to the economy, having all those children, all that new life. This is the America that Janet Yellen has created with the help of her friends in the media. So, you can't afford to get married or buy a house or have children, much less raise them yourself in a two-parent family on a single income, as every generation of Americans did for hundreds of years in this country, but for you, none of that is possible. Only private equity people, people like Janet Yellen, Andrew Ross Sorkin can afford normal families now, but for you, things are very different for you. Life is low paid, thrown work at some soulless digital company punctuated only by brunch on the weekends and Netflix and white wine at night forever until you die alone with no descendants to remember you.

HILLARY CLINTON POST ASSERTING AN ABORTION SHOULDN'T BE HARDER TO OBTAIN THAN A GUN DECLARED DUMBEST TWEET

FILE PHOTO: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen attends the House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, U.S., September 30, 2021. (Al Drago/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo)

Does the prospect of that fill you with joy? Does it make you a little anxious? If it makes you feel anxious, no problem because we have Xanax. Also, we've legalized weed so you can consider yourself liberated. What we just described is not an overstatement. That is the life that millions of college-educated young people in this country are living right now and are facing for the foreseeable future, which is to say forever, but our leaders don't seem concerned in the least about it.

They don't detect a spiritual crisis in America or a lack of inherent meaning. Suicide spike. They have no idea why. They don't want to know. They don't even notice the dramatic drop in birth rates in America, which you think they would care about since they run the country and that's the clearest sign of societal health. If people aren't reproducing, maybe something's wrong, but no, it doesn't bother them. In fact, they're for it. Don't have kids and if you do make certain they can't reproduce themselves. Why don't you go ahead and chemically castrate them? That's what they're now telling you. Watch the admiral.

RACHEL LEVINE, ASSISTANT HEALTH SECRETARY: Gender-affirming care is life-saving, medically necessary, age-appropriate, and a critical tool for health care providers. As a pediatrician, when it comes to making sure kids are healthy and happy, I know how important care that affirmed someone's true identity can be.

ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: JANET YELLEN, FED 'GOT IT WRONG' ON INFLATION, WERE 'A LITTLE POLITICAL' IN THEIR RESPONSE

So you made the mistake of having children, your own family, but there is something you can do. You can make sure you never have grandchildren. You can pump your children full of farmer-derived poison that make certain they can never reproduce and you should, because that's life-affirming care.

So, why are they telling you this? Well, simple. The more atomized and unhappy American society becomes, the easier it is for them to control. Fewer marriages and babies and family-owned homes means more ruthless and dissatisfied people. It means an entire nation of desperately unhappy grad students. Sandy Cortez could become the queen of a country like that. So, bring it on: more solitude, less human connection, less meaning, fewer babies. That's what they want, obviously. Here's what they don't want. They don't want more Christie Pauls. This weekend, Christie Paul announced that she's quitting her job because family is more important than serving corporate America. Here she is.

ECONOMIC EXPERT ARGUES FED IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CURBING INFLATION: 'THEY NEED TO GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER'

CHRISTI PAUL: I just could not be who I needed to be for my family is what it really came down to. I was tired of being tired, and I told him, "Look, let's be honest, the work we do is important. The work you do is important. Wherever you go, whatever you do every day, it's important work, but at the end of the day, somebody is going to sit in this seat and I'm going to leave and the show will go on as it should, but nobody else is going to be my kid's mom, and nobody else is going to be my husband's wife or my parents' children and I need to be fully, fully present there."

Nobody else is going to be your kids, mom. Have you noticed her immigration levels recently when bringing people in to be your kids mom? And by the way, shouldn't she be working for Facebook? Do your duty. That's we're telling young people, we're telling them we're not going to do a thing to make it easier for you to have your own children or your own family because families are for the rich and the poor. Families are for the tech tycoons now. They've got a ton of kids and for the Haitians huddled underneath the bridges at the border in south Texas, they've got a ton of kids, too, but for you, a middle-class American, sorry, your deepest desires are far beyond reach.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Citibank will pay you not to reproduce so you can remain alone in your cube and if you're not fortunate enough to work at Citibank, Sandy Cortez will step in and for the first time in her life, build something. In this case, you build government-funded abortion camps on federal land just to make sure you never have to experience the burden of holding your own baby or being unconditionally loved by your own children. You're liberated now. Let's celebrate with brunch.

You have to wonder how long before Democrats sponsor legislation to distribute free cats to young people in the cities, placebos to replace the families they can no longer have. That's coming along with SSRIs in the water supply. You don't have to think too much about it. We're finally getting to see what their utopia looks like. Hope you feel better.

Tucker Carlson currently serves as the host of FOX News Channels (FNC) Tucker Carlson Tonight (weekdays 8PM/ET). He joined the network in 2009 as a contributor.

See the rest here:

Tucker Carlson: The problem is not with our resources, but our leaders - Fox News

This article was featured in One Story to Read Today, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a single must-read from The Atlantic, Monday through Friday. Sign up for it here.

Within days of the sudden disappearance of every last earthly bearer of XY chromosomes (fetuses included), things are pretty much back to normal. Trash collection in Los Angeles is up and functioning again. Cross-country flights are soon available, the subways run, and in one small town, things are even better than normal: A seemingly unlimited supply of pizza dough keeps people happily fed. The remaining XXers are so capable that they overcome, lickety-split, what might seem like fundamental obstacles to life without half the populationlearning to operate new machinery, reupping the power grid and water filtration, and, though its never mentioned, presumably hauling in the years harvest. A few weeks later, Zillow creates a brand-new function to pair left-behind citizens with now-vacant houses; the CMS works like a charm, with excellent functionality and zero error messages. And that is how we know this is science fiction.

The left-behind women of Sandra Newmans novel The Men can do it all. Who run the world? Girls. How do they do it? With an uncanny aptitude for systems management and an unlikely ability to maintain the amenities of modern life with 50 percent of the, er, manpower.

Such is the world Newman constructs in the gap where half of humanity once dwelled. When Jane Pearson comes down a mountain in Northern California after searching for her missing husband and son for 10 days, she hears a faint, sweet clamor of voices in the air They werent angels or children. It was the sound of a hundred women with no men. The women are drinking Bud from cans and sunbathing in underwear while little girls are dancing to Elton John; the trauma of losing husbands, fathers, sons, and friends in an unexplained cataclysmic event isnt enough to get in the way of a good time. In that moment, Jane thinks, I was struck by how profoundly a scene was changed by the removal of the masculine element. It felt very sweet and fantastical: a world of lambs with no wolves.

Relieved from the terror of prowling, howling beasts, these soft, delicate, no-longer-helpless women take back the night, and the streets, and the dark alleys, and all the places where they might have once clutched cans of pepper spray. Far-off problems occasionally float into viewtruckers ambushed as they move supplies across the country, towns running out of food and resorting to violencebut this world of fluffy little lambs is billed as a paradise, if only its inhabitants would embrace it.

Except, for this reader, paradise is boring. (Theres a reason we relish Dantes Inferno so much more than his Paradiso.) The defining feature of The Men, a snappy premise in search of a novel, is the utterly flat reality it imagines for its women. Building an entirely new world order of this sort ought to puff up dramas great and small. But pfffffft. Why does the air seem to go right out of them?The Men launches women into positions of uncontested power but entirely underestimates their complexity. It makes you long, against all your better instincts, for the men to come back.

Theres a big, ugly problem built into the foundation of The Men. The novel slices a clean chromosomal line through the middle of humanity, XX on one side, XY on the other, as if biology were destiny. Trans characters appearthough they dont speakbut their presence is a moral badge for those who reminisce about disappeared trans friends or watch, with horror, while trans men are beaten in the street. Before publication, the book met with some controversy, based on some early readers and, in some cases, its premise alone. Goodreads reviewers showed up to one-star it, often admitting they hadnt read the book. The essayist Lauren Hough was removed from contention for a Lambda Literary Award after she defended Newman and The Men on Twitter. But the novel isnt transphobic as much as sadly ill-considered and unoriginal. Newmans world isnt binary, but her mechanism is, and no amount of shoehorned asides can shore up that rotting mooring. The history of feminist utopias in literature is long and fitful, with squabbles among renowned novelists and calls for a more expansive view of gender identity, but The Men lazily fumbles back toward simplicity.

Art is not required to be moraland shouldnt strive to bebut good art is never this careless in its conception. Utopias are ripe for wild imagining. Why not reckon with the reality of gender, especially when decades past have already seen this sort of utopian premise time and again? It appears the answer is that the gender-war narrative is too convenient to give up.

Novelists have been banishing men from the planet for at least a century, and Newman clearly nods to her experiments precursors in The Mens acknowledgments. (Always read the paratext.) Thanks to writers of feminist utopias who came before, she notes, especially Joanna Russ, Alice Sheldon, and Sherri Tepper, women brave enough to say, unapologetically, in a far more patriarchal world, that there should be no men. Each of these writers built little paradisesRuss most ruthlessly with The Female Man, a 1975 time-hopping, rage tornado aimed directly at testicleswhere women could live in harmony if not for the men who parachute in to observe, dissect, and, in some cases, try to destroy their idylls.

If I can offer an understatement: Theres a lot for women to be pissed about. Simmering resentment at our still-second-class existence is the de facto emotional state many of us exist in from moment to moment. Gender dystopias, in which men find new and creative ways to explicitly oppress women, have become outlets for that fury; theres a Look what theyll do to us if given the chance! snarl beneath every line of The Handmaids Tales descendants. Dystopian schemes grant men enough license and the right circumstances to keep women as if they were pets. Worst-Case-Scenario Fiction can feel like its doing the same work as worry, like we can ward off theocracies and maternal penal colonies by imagining them ahead of time.

The allure of the feminist utopia is that it dispenses with existential anxiety just as readily as it dispenses with men. In Charlotte Perkins Gilmans Herland, the original American feminist utopia from 1915, citizens have achieved perfect health; theyre a clean-bred, vigorous lot, having the best of care, the most perfect living conditions always. The family units in Ursula K. Le Guins story The Matter of Seggri mete out child-rearing and domestic duties in harmony with larger governance work. On Whileaway, the single-gendered planet in The Female Man, the workweek is 16 hours; the planet is a place so pastoral that at times one wonders whether the ultimate sophistication may not take us all back to a kind of pre-Paleolithic dawn age. Women organize into efficient and congruous guilds. They get shit done, they have it all, they live out wellness mantras and T-shirt slogans. But their interpersonal struggles never seem to be enough to launch great stories. Men always appear, intervene, stir trouble. Once novelists create female bliss, theyre hard-pressed to do much with it.

The men of The Men are gone only for a short while. Weeks after their August 26 flash disappearance renders the first law of thermodynamics moot, videos begin to appear online that show the recently departed gathering in prison yards and by dried-up riverbeds. The setting looks like Earth, but it cant be; its too apocalyptic. The men appear as if underwater, moving their lips in the jerky, stylized speech motions of Claymation, cognitively tasered and on a different plane of consciousness.

The clips spawn branches of academia, cults of dedication, and righteous protestations that they certainly are or are not a hoax. If this is a rapture, the women wonder, why have the men been taken instead of them? If miracles were happening, Jane posits, there must be gods. Might it be punishment, after all the wars, the pollution, the rapes? Women doggedly watch The Men, as the clips come to be called; they host viewing parties and hole up with their laptops, more immersed in the surreal digital version of the missing men than the tangible presence of other women. The integrity of the videos becomes a key talking point for the women running for president of the United States, including Evangelyne Moreau, Janes former best friend and almost-lover. The men are just as present when theyre missing as they were when they walked the earth.

Here is where the tension dry-rots. Rather than pivot toward the women, to the rush of possibility for a world full of ambitious, complex, at-odds women; rather than push sci-fi heurism to a new dimension by investigating the thrilling, unbearable prospect of a world now populated by the grieving, formerly oppressed class; rather than defy the cruel banality of a binary gender apocalypse, Newman gives men the narrative. She even gives them the title.

Because the men show up from the past too. As placidly as the women livesome in a lush, communal Los Angeles mansion, others on the road with an erudite girl gangthe histories of their violent and power-engorged relationships with men break through. In retrospect, some spot minor flaws that now loom larger: Blancas father brought home scores of women and barked at her to mind her business. Ruths son Peter, experiencing some variety of mental illness, perhaps made her life worse, and not better? Jane, the woman at the center of this story, reunites with Evangelyne, but then splices her peaceful and joyous time during Evangelynes rise to political dominance with the story of Alain, the grimy little ballet administrator who coerced her, as a teenager, into having sex with underage boys while he watched.

Its only secondhand, through Jane, that the most vivid character of The Men comes to life. Evangelyne, raised in a bookish, small-time cult, has an intriguing back story: When she was 16 she killed two police officers who were involved in a raid on her community. She landed in prison, rather than Cornell, where she had just been accepted. This magnet of a woman, the preposterous hope of the world, writes a best-selling treatise on commensalismher political theory, akin to communism, that wealth should be more evenly redistributed, where eating the rich is a natural processfrom behind bars, and hopscotches through academic, artistic, and political circles. With the men gone, her ideas rip through masses of women eager to see power radiate through circles, rather than up ladders. She fast-tracks toward a nomination for president. Her story, a gay Black womans glorious risebuoyed by an apocalyptic raptureis the novels standout twist against convention. But Ill let you guess what end Evangelyne meets. Heres a hint: Its at the hands of angry men.

Follow this link:

The Boring Utopia of a World Without Men - The Atlantic

Movies

Zendaya has demonstrated on several occasions how multifaceted she can be when it comes to acting. No role is too big for her. Judging by her upcoming projects, there is no doubt that her career will continue to rise.

By Ariadna Pinheiro

June 18, 2022 03:04PM EDT

June 18, 2022 03:04PM EDT

Zendaya's career has been on the rise for a few years now. She can be credited with great roles such as MJ from Spider-Man, Rue from Euphoria and Marie from Malcom &Marie. In each of her projects she has been able to make us forget about her previous characters to find a new drama.

Thanks to her role in Euphoria, the actress has been awarded an Emmy in 2020. Her theatrical taste comes from a young age, as she spent all day at her mother's job, who used to be the house manager for the California Shakespeare Theater in Orinda. Which implies that she has always been surrounded by art.

According to the actress' website, outside of acting, Zendaya is a prominent fashion icon. In spring 2019, shelaunched her first fashion collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger, titled Tommy X Zendaya.In 2021, she received the CFDA Fashion Icon Award, becoming the youngest recipient of this award in history.

Challengers

It is a romantic drama set in the world of professional tennis. Zendaya will play the role of Tashi, a player-turned-coach who helps her husband Art get closer to the level of a professional circuit tournament.

Megalopolis

Francis Ford Coppola has had his eye on Zendaya for quite some time. The acclaimed director's film will follow an architect who wants to build a future utopia where people do what they want, when they want and how they want.

Euphoria: Season 3

The acclaimed series has catapulted many actors in its cast to the top. As one of the most important projects in Zendaya's career, it will continue the story of Rue and her friends as they try to ignore life's temptations.Thanks to critics and audiences, Euphoria is HBO's second most watched series of all time.

Finest Kind

In addition to Zendaya, it will also star Jake Gyllenhaal and Ansel Elgort. The story tells how two siblings get dragged into the muck of a Boston crime syndicate. It is not yet clear which role the actress will play but it will most likely be one of the main ones. It will be directed by Brian Helgeland.

Be My Baby

The upcoming biopic will be about the late Ronnie Spector, former lead singer of The Ronettes. According to Deadline, Zendaya will step into Spector's shoes and the film will be released by studio A24 (In charge of The Lighthouse, The Witch, Mindsommar and so on).

Dune: Part Two

The award-winning first part of Dune was a hit. It was arguably one of Zendaya's best films, even if she only appears in Paul Atreides' dreams. In Villenueve's sequel, the actress could bring out her acting chops, because if the director is faithful to the book, her character Chani will be much more relevant this time around.

Read the original here:

Zendaya's upcoming movies: All new her new projects - Bolavip

Utopia is never in the future or airy-fairy. It always here with us. It's always concrete.

That said, dystopia tends to be more concrete (and, sadly, more compossible) than utopia. Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reports that the QFC on Broadway has added a new dystopian level to the "modern grocery shopping experiences..." This has taken the form of "plexiglass barriers installed inside across the front entrance area of the Broadway Market store that show a new maze-like structure for shoppers to channel through when entering or leaving the store." The only hope for this development is that it's so extreme that actually draws tourists.

This is truly remarkable. This weekend will be cold. We are in the second half of June. You can still wear a sweater. In the words of Roxy Music: "There's nothing more than this."

On August 1, the former executive of KEXP, Tom Mara, will become SIFF's new executive director. Seattle Times has this story.

Local soccer fans learned today that Seattle will be one of 10 US cities to host the 2026 World Cup. Kansas City was also picked. (Sorry, I have almost no interest in socceror, correctly, football. Human feet have none of the intelligence, the sophistication, the conceptual power of our hands.)

Cancelled is a gun show that was to take place this Friday at Everett's Angel of the Winds Arena. The reason? The location is also hosting "multiple Everett Public Schools graduations." Herald Net: "Gun show [and graduations] were to be held in the building at the same time." The organizers decided to reschedule the gun event because 'of the potential for bad optics and conflict.'"

"Wetsuits, helmets and lifejackets" were not enough to protect the lives of two people who fell into Nooksack River while rafting earlier this week. Their bodies were caught by the furious water. It sent them to their deaths. Their bodies have been recovered.

The Trump-mad wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, is apparently eager to "appear before the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol." She is under the impression that her testimony will "clear up misconceptions" like that. Those emails and texts that tried to kill what remains of American democracy? You got it all wrong. Try to see it her way, America.

The rat to cat: Let me explain why I'm in the kitchen.

The lawyer who wrote the script for the coup, John Eastman, also sought a pardon from Trump after the January 6 coup failed and it was clear Trump had run out of options to keep power. Eastman and Ginni Thomas also exchanged emails.

Meanwhile in Georgia: This is so on-brand for a Republican.

10-year-old son of Mr. Walkers with whom he is not in contact.

Herschel Walker, the Republican nominee for Senate in Georgia, who has been a frequent critic of absentee fathers, especially in Black households, has acknowledged that he is the father of a second son he had not previously mentioned publicly, as well as an adult daughter who was born when he was in his early 20s.

Walker, who wants a universal ban on abortions, has had no contact with his 10-year-old son. He also has a secret daughter. The GOP. The GOP.

Clouds, rain, cool temperatures, June. Let's end PM with Loscil's utterly gorgeous and utterly Pacific Northwest "Fern and Robin":

More here:

Slog PM: QFC Introduces Plexiglass Maze, Virginia "Ginni" Thomas Eager to Explain Her Seditious Texts to Jan. 6 Committee, Cold Weekend...

Julia May Jonas

Picador, 14.99 (ebook 12.99)

Vladimir is an interesting take on the #MeToo movement - told not from the perspective of the survivor or victim, but from someone else. Our narrator is an English professor at a small college in New England, who - despite having an open relationship and knowing about the affairs - is grappling with her husband coming under investigation for historic relationships with students. Things become even more complicated when a new, young professor joins the college, and the unnamed narrator becomes increasingly obsessed with him. While the book initially feels edgy and nuanced, by the end, it veers into melodrama - which somewhat takes away from the realism, and it ultimately feels like Jonas hasn't quite decided what she wants the book's message to be. While it's an interesting, readable and prescient take on issues society is still dealing with, it perhaps could've done with a lighter touch and a clearer vision.

7/10

Ungrateful

Angela Chadwick

Dialogue Books, 18.99 (ebook 7.99)

Ungrateful tells the story of Cat, a woman who missed out on university as a teenager, and now, in a relationship that is comfortable but unfulfilling, finds herself trying to make up for lost time. This is a book that tries to be many things - a tale of second chances, relationships and a social commentary. At times it feels bogged down in unnecessary detail. Cat is a complicated, flawed and interesting protagonist, but some of the secondary characters could do with further exploration. While the reader feels for the plight of some, such as Cat's alcoholic mother Bernice and her colleague Laura, there is a sense of wanting to know more about their backstories. The novel is readable, but unlikely to stay in the reader's mind after it is finished.

6/10

The Men

Sandra Newman

Granta Books, 14.99 (ebook 14.99)

Feminist science fiction has long been gripped by the concept of a utopian society without men. Sandra Newman's latest novel, The Men, explores just that. When all of the men suddenly and inexplicably vanish from the face of the earth, a new society emerges, and is unnervingly enthralled by an evolving series of video clips that show the men acting peculiarly in a strange alternate world. Focused on the harrowing, intertwining past and present of Jane Pearson and Evangelyne Moreau, Newman ambitiously delves into disturbing themes of racism, sexual assault, police violence, and coercive control. Yet her wonderful prose is let down by a meandering narrative that seems lost in its own confusion. Jane and Evangelyne aren't especially likeable, and the purported feminist utopia is thwarted by female violence against trans men and a morally questionable emerging political entity. Add to that a mind-bending conclusion, and you're left wondering whether you should feel offended, terrified, or beguiled.

5/10

Non-fiction

Black Sheep: A Story Of Rural Racism, Identity And Hope

Sabrina Pace-Humphreys

Quercus, 16.99 (ebook 9.99).

From growing up feeling out of place in a small town, to becoming pregnant as a teen, battling bigots and running ultramarathons, Sabrina Pace-Humphreys's anti-racist manifesto is deeply personal. A blend of storytelling and direction, Pace-Humphreys shares the darkest lows of her life and the incredible ambition she had to push through them, overcoming her circumstances in a world that tried to marginalise her - while also clearing the way for other black women along the way. This is a brilliant exploration of what it means to be mixed-race in Britain, and how our trauma shapes us. Although sometimes overcrowded, and often too fast-paced, it is an excellent non-fiction debut.

8/10

Children's book of the week

Escape To The River Sea

Emma Carroll

Macmillan Children's Books, 12.99

(ebook 7.49).

Escaping the Nazis before the Second World War was never going to be enough adventure for Rosa Sweetman. Living in an English stately home with a group of other evacuees, she craves fresh excitement - and she gets rather more than she bargained for when she comes across the Nazis again, this time in the South American jungle. Escape To The River Sea weaves together the hopes and fears of a young girl, giving a fascinating insight into the life of the indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest and the deadly world of international espionage. It takes the reader on a colourful and thrill-packed journey, as Rosa and her young friends battle to thwart the bad guys. The book pays fitting homage to the late Eva Ibbotson, whose own work and life inspired this story.

8/10

See more here:

Books: From fantastical children's books to heart-rending memoirs, take a look at what's new this week... - HeraldScotland

Express News Service

In the Tamil epic Ramavataram, the 12th-century poet Kampan lists the various emperors attending Rama and Sitas weddings. Along with the Cholas, Marathas, and Sindhis, there are also Chinese and Muslim kings! This is one of the many instances where Kampans work diverges from Valmikis Ramayana, on which it is based.

Blake Wentworth, who has translated the epics first section Balakandam into English as Youth, writes: Kampan was the first to compose a Ramayana in an Indian vernacular... If the poem is not read with the Tamil political landscape in mind, we cannot appreciate all that Kampan achieved.

He notes that the text was so influential that it transcended religious lines, serving as a model for Muslim poet Umaruppulavars 17th-century epic Cirappuranam (The Prophets Holy Life). While stories from the Ramayana have permeated pop-culture through folk retellings, plays, TV, schoolbooks, etc., reading source texts is a remarkably different experience. Besides, as a North Indian, I have mostly encountered Valmiki and Tulsidas versions of the epic, so Kampans rendition is a revelation.

The epics first section is as much about the common folk and landscapes as the Ramayanas protagonists or mythological tales. It begins with a rhapsody on Kosala kingdoms rural idyll, where fertile fields, fresh produce, ponds, vegetation, and animals abound.

An account of Ayodhyas grandeur follows: its soaring mansions and turrets that scrape the clouds, golden walls higher than a snowy mountain range, firm as the truth, and residents with blooming smiles and endless joy. Reading between these hyperbolic lines gives insights into how people lived, the land they inhabited, what they ate, and what they idealised.

Kampans utopia is remarkably egalitarian. Since no one is singled out as unlearned, he writes, there are no masters of knowledge, and no one there to judge them. Since everyone possesses every treasured wealth no one goes without, and there is no class of owners. Yet, this egalitarianism does not extend to women. Is there anything more foolish than a woman, sweet words like ambrosia, long eyes like poison? he declares. He does not laud Ayodhyas citizens as brave and truthful.

Instead, he says, No enemies challenge the land in war, so bravery is never clear, lies are never told, so the value of truth is never plain. Kampans metaphors are equally elaborate and interesting. He claims that in the land of Videha, womens eyes resemble fish, prompting herons to peck at their reflections as they pluck weeds in flooded rice fields. His descriptions are often lush with sexuality. He compares dancers breasts to soaring peaks which press so close together they could crush a single thread and womens love-mounds to cobras hoods and chariot daises.

There are elaborate accounts of lovers courting, making love, fighting, drinking toddy, and having a good time getting high. Amid the sundry descriptions, plot points like the wedding of Rama and Sita, slaying of the demon Tataka, Rama turning the cursed Ahalya from stone to flesh, and Parashu Rama testing Ramas strength seem like interludes. But these are no less evocative. In the Balakandam, there is barely a hint of the exile, wars, and tribulations that Rama and his family will eventually endure. Wentworths introduction to the translation contextualises the work, its influence, and the socio-political dimensions of Kampans world well. However, it can be academic and dry at times. In contrast, his translation is accessible and engaging. The endnotes, rich with annotations and context, helped me better appreciate the poem and its nuances.

Read the original post:

'Youth: The Balakandam of Kampans Ramayana' book review: Beyond kings and sages - The New Indian Express

FANS are all saying the same thing after watching the first two episodes of Sherwood - they cant get enough of the shows truly stellar cast.

Gosh. #Sherwood. What a cast! So many familiar faces! one keen viewer tweeted.

6

6

6

Wow, #Sherwood is brilliant multi-layered, thoughtful, mature, and such a great cast. Best thing Ive seen in ages, another gushed.

A third viewer commented that the show is brilliantly cast and gripping and full of dread.

Great first episode of #Sherwood and the cast is a whos who of the cream of British talent, should be a good few weeks! a fourth fan added.

Another viewer praised the shows impressive cast while also pointing out the shows Notts County blunder in the first episode.

The BBC thriller began airing on Monday this week. It took the prime 9pm slot with the second episode following suit on Tuesday.

The six-part series follows a small-town constabulary in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, which has been tasked with solving two unexpected and seemingly unconnected killings. The deaths rock the local community and soon lead to a large-scale manhunt.

The thrillers large ensemble cast includes David Morrissey, who leads the series as Detective Chief Superintendent Ian St Clair. Viewers might recognise him from Doctor Who and The Walking Dead.

Off to a great start; almost anyone Ive seen so far could lead the cast, but thrilled to see David Morrissey. #Sherwood, one fan tweeted in support of the actors casting.

Spooks actor Robert Glenister plays Detective Inspector Kevin Salisbury from the Metropolitan Police, and hes leading the investigation alongside Ian St Clair. However, the pair must put aside their decades-long rivalry to uncover the truth about these deaths.

The detective duo is joined on screen by The Crowns Leslie Ann Manville, Utopia star Adeel Akhtar, New Tricks alum Alun Armstrong and Lewis actor Clare Holman.

Wow, thats a lot of British talent, but its not all.

Rounding out Sherwoods star-studded cast are two Downton Abbey main-stays: Joanne Froggatt and Kevin Doyle. The duo were most recently seen on the big screen in Downton Abbey: A New Era.

Sherwoods plot is a fictionalised retelling of a true story and comes from the award-winning playwright and dramatist James Graham.

It means the world to have this opportunity to bring the voices of a community I grew up in to BBC One, James said.

He continued: So much is spoken about the divisions and difficulties in these Red Wall towns, but theyre not always understood.

I feel so honoured to be able to tell a fictionalised story about a very real trauma, but with the humour and heart and resilience of the people I know and love there.

6

6

6

We pay for your stories!

Do you have a story for The Sun Showbiz team?

Read the original:

Sherwood viewers all say the same thing about new BBC thrillers cast... - The Sun

West Cork and unsolved crimes have become international televisions hot new trend. In 2021 there was a head to head between two true-crime documentaries about the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, Jim Sheridans Murder at the Cottage: The Search for Justice for Sophie and Netflixs Sophie: A Murder in West Cork. And this year ITV aired its adaptation of Graham Nortons Holding, about a fictional cold-case killing in the 1990s.

Now the Obamas are getting in on the action. Cameras start rolling next week in the fishing village of Union Hall and around Glandore on their latest production, Bodkin. Described as a darkly comedic thriller, it will chronicle the adventures of a motley crew of podcasters investigating the disappearance of three strangers in an idyllic Irish coastal town.

With West Cork Noir a well-trodden genre, the concept does not sound particularly originalbut it represents new ground for Barack and Michelle Obama and their Higher Ground production company. Since striking a multimillion-dollar deal with Netflix, the former US president and first lady have focused on nonfiction. Barack was last seen channelling his inner David Attenborough with the natural-history documentary Our Great National Parks; Michelle has popped up hosting Waffles + Mochi, where she shared the screen with a sentient Japanese rice cake and a talking waffle. (This is in contrast to the Trump presidency, when the talking waffle was in the White House.)

Bodkin sounds like a lot of things. A Hobbit on the sex offenders register. A forthcoming Nintendo Switch platform game. A brand of English cider. What it doesnt suggest is a village in west Co Cork

But Bodkin is something different: a scripted series that might struggle to feel any better designed to cash in on the global craze for west Cork and true(ish) crime. It stars Will Forte, the Saturday Night Live comedian, as Gilbert Power, an American podcaster on the hunt for his next big story. Gilberts family emigrated from Cork, we learn, and he is hoping to discover his Irish roots.

The cast also features Siobhn Cullen, last seen in as a truth-seeking Dublin journalist in The Dry, Element Pictures rip-roaring comedy about an alcoholic Irish woman from a family of typically Irish heavy drinkers, which for some reason has yet to air in Ireland, and Chris Walley, of Young Offenders, who plays a typical Irish country lad feckless, up for a laugh.

Wait. What? Feckless and up for a laugh? The more you read about Bodkin, the less it sounds like west Cork true-crime redux and the more it sounds like Amy Adamss Leap Year, aka Darby OGill: The Relationship Years. Alarm bells clang further as we discover that Bodkin is the name of the village in which the show is set.

Which leads you to wonder if the closest anyone involved in the series has been to Cork is a true-crime-podcast feed. (The credits of Bodkins co-show runner Alex Metcalf include Amazons dreadful reboot of the conspiracy thriller Utopia.) Bodkin sounds like a lot of things. A Hobbit on the sex offenders register. A forthcoming Nintendo Switch platform game. A brand of English cider. What it doesnt suggest is a village in west Co Cork.

We've been here before: Johnny Depp in Ireland in 1995. Photograph: INM/Getty

Weve been here before, of course. Or at least some of us have. When I was a student living at home in Midleton, the nearby village of Ballycotton received the Hollywood treatment after the news that Marlon Brando and Johnny Depp were to shoot a movie there.

One late afternoon my friends and I went down to see the set for ourselves (having first driven around on the lookout for Depp, whom wed heard was drinking in a local boozer). Ballycotton had been turned into a twee Neverland, with toe-curling signposts and shopfronts that made the town look as if it had come straight from the 1890s rather than the 1990s.

Divine Rapture was, notoriously, derailed by funding issues. That wont be a problem in the case of Netflix and the Obamas. Still, you have to wonder, will Bodkin be a love letter to west Cork, or will the Obamas instead be party to the pumping into the world of more OBlarney? Perhaps we should hope for the bestand brace ourselves for the diddley-dee worst.

Read more:

The Obamas' new TV series is about to start filming in Ireland. Brace yourself for the diddley-dee worst - The Irish Times

The Independent Photographer, an international network of photography enthusiasts and photographers, has announced the winners of its Street Photography Contest, which took place in May 2022.

Whether the subject was the photographers own urban environment or as they explored other territories and cultures, we were looking for those spontaneous and fleeting moments and it is our great pleasure to present the work of these incredibly talented artists!

The competition judge: Bruce Gilden. A member of Magnum Photos since 1998, Bruce Gilden is one of the most iconic street photographers of our time. Known for his graphic and often confrontational close-ups made using flash, Gilden has received many awards and grants for his work, including National Endowments for the Arts fellowships and in 2013, a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship. Since the seventies, his work has been exhibited in museums and galleries all over the world.

We are delighted to present the images of 10 artists whose work shows an exceptional level of talent. All full captions can be found on The Independent Photographers winners page, as well as the feedback from the competition judge, Bruce Gilden.

Congratulations to all winners and finalists!

More info: independent-photo.com | Instagram | twitter.com | Facebook

Oktoberfest Munich, Germany.

The shot is taken during the world-famous beer festival, the Oktoberfest.

Boy Scouts Paris, France.

I was walking around Paris when I heard from far away some kids chatting and laughing. I saw that it was a group of scout kids and I knew that there was an interesting shot there. So, I placed myself in the middle of the street so that they were facing me. All of a sudden, one kid takes his friend by the shoulder and shouts look over there! and I quickly took the shot as he was raising his arm to point at something behind me.

Hand and Cigarette Leicester Square, London, UK.

A Fragile Utopia 72

I began A Fragile Utopia with the belief that I was creating a project where I would document my daily life in Brooklyn. Understanding at the time that this city was a refuge for me culturally and politically as I grew up in a rural small town. Ive come to realize that A Fragile Utopia is instead a construction of a world that I want to see in my mind.

People of Paris Paris, France.

I imagine hes lived in Paris most of his life. How many times has he been photographed?! I want to guess not many. But now theres at least one.

Look to the Future India.

I was at the bus station, and this girl on her way to school caught my attention. She had a very intriguing personality, a form of pride and modernity, which is in direct contrast to the reality of living in India.

Gel Doy Berlin, Germany.

A night shot was taken on a snowy winter night on the streets of Berlin, Germany.

Coffee and Cigarette Manhattan, New york City, USA.

Candid photograph taken on 47th Street, NYC.

Street scene Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Young boys looking for dropped fishes at the fish market in Chittagong, Bangladesh.

See the rest here:

Spontaneous And Fleeting Moments: The Independent Photographer Has Announced The Winners Of Its Street Photography Contest, 2022 (10 Pics) - Bored...

Luis Hurta at the newly opened Once Bitten Donuts on Broad Street.(Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Need donuts? A vintage camera? Soul-soothing crystals, toys or housewares? Late spring has brought a bouquet of new businesses offering these goodies and more in downtown Red Bank.

Read all about them in this cusp-of-summer edition of redbankgreens Retail Churn.

Jeff Gross and Amanda Snell have opened Camera Culture at 24 Monmouth Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

Earth Spirit New Age Center, betting a pandemic-triggered boom in sales of crystals, candles and more will continue, has relocated to 18 Broad Street.

The 31-year-old business, owned by Chris Midose, had been at 25 Monmouth for the past 17 years. Earth Spirits new home is a massive room that features 14-foot-high ceilings and a rear entrance directly from the English Plaza parking lot, as well as a front door on the busiest block of Broad Street.

Last occupied by:Haute Maven, but for more than 130 years was home to a series of shoe stores, culminating withIf the Shoe Fits, which closed in 2014.

Once Bitten Donuts has opened at 86 Broad Street. The shop shares a name with one on Long Island, but this one is solely owned by the married couple Luis and Jim Hurta, and its their first retail venture together.

Last occupied by:Alfonsos Pastry Shoppe, which closed in June, 2020, and before that, Carlos Bake Shop.

Toy Utopia, at 19 East Front Street.

Mira and Bruce Brach created the business after Bruce retired from the landscaping business. An avid toy collector since childhood, Bruce has put some of his most treasured pieces on display for sale, along with new products.

Last occupied by: Currant, a coffee and clothing store.

Amanda Snell and Jeff Gross have opened Camera Culture opened at 24 Monmouth Street.

Cameras? When every cellphone now has one built in? Yes. The market remains strong, said Snell and Gross, a married couple.

We have actually seen a change where people want to try things out before they buy them, said Snell.

Grosss family has owned the Photo Center in Brick Township, one of the shores largest camera business, for decades.

Camera Culture offers cameras and accessories. The shop also buys vintage cameras, does print-to-digital conversions and more image-related services.

Last occupied by: Carbones, a clothing shop.

Washington General Store, has openedat 35 Broad Street.

Based in Hoboken, the shop sells home decor and gifts.

Last occupied by: Jay and Silent Bobs Secret Stash, the Kevin Smith-owned comic book seller, which relocated to 65 Broad Street.

Two non-retail businesses have also opened in the downtown district:

Pilates Plus, owned by serial entrepreneurs Donald Clarkin and Jason Daniels, has debuted at 23 West Front Street.

Daniels and Clarkin, of Staten Island, own multiple businesses individually, and Pilates Plus is their first venture together, Daniels said.

Somewhat ironically, when they went looking for space in Red Bank, they quickly found an appealing storefront, and were surprised to learn that it was being vacated by a similar business, Danielle BuccellatosRenaissance Pilates. They wound up buying Buccellatos equipment as well as taking the space, Daniels said.

Soul Focus, a wellness center, has relocated from Eatontown to73 Broad Street.

Last occupied by: OceanFirst Financial.

Coming soon:

Tatum Gallery, opening in the formerChetkin Galleryspace at 9 Wharf Avenue.

Tracy Hagger acquired the business from Carol Lynn and Don Chetkinand rebranded it with her maiden name.

An immigrant from England who now lives in Colts Neck, Hagger tells Churn she frequently shopped at Chetkin Gallery, and was quite upset when she leaned the owners were retiring and planning to close the business. So she bought it, launching her first gallery venture.

Hagger said she plans to rehang the Chetkins extensive collection of traditional paintings, which she acquired, and supplement it with contemporary works.

As previouslyreportedbyredbankgreen, Denholtz Properties, the towns busiest buyer of real estate, acquired the building from the Chetkins in December.

Shedhead Vintage, offering vintage clothes, shoes and accessories from the 1960s through the 1990s, plans to open at 93 Broad Street.

Fired by a passion for environmental sustainability and keeping clothing out of landfills, Hallie Endresen and Hailey Grillo started the business online in 2017, when they were still in high school, Endresen tells Churn.

Now, theyre relocating their brick-and-mortar to Red Bank from Avon-by-the-Sea.

Last occupied by: Mike Quons pop-up Quon Art Gallery 93, and before that,Midtown Authentic.

Paris Baguette, a bakery franchise with stores nationally, has plans to open a shop at 128 Broad Street. (Perhaps by opening day theyll realize that Red Bank is two words, not one.)

Last occupied by:Caf Loret.

If you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen, please become a financial supporter for as little as $1 per month. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.

Read the original:

RED BANK: DONUTS, TOYS AND MORE IN CHURN - redbankgreen

A Psychic Deck in Rush Duels that makes full use of Fusion! An Ogdoadic Deck that makes full use of a new Magikey Ace! And Dinomoprhia uses Dyna Base and Duel Academy!

[RUSH DUEL] Psychic Fusion Summon Deck

2 CANReD1 CANMeloD1 CANSpD2 Prima Guitarna the Shining Superstar1 Esperade the Smashing Superstar1 Folder Blitz the Infinite Dream3 Psyphickupper3 A.I. Bear Can3 Romanpick2 Progress Potter3 CAND3 Ama Lilith3 Amazing Dealer2 Priestess of Star Salvation

3 Fusion2 Star Restart3 Ship of Seven Treasures1 JAMP1 Graceful Charity (LEGEND)

3 CAND LIVE3 CAND ALL3 Omega Guitarna the Supreme Shining Superstar3 Princess Omega the Supreme Shining Superstar3 Endless Romance Blitz

New Product Deck: Ogdoadic Deck Featuring Magikey Avatar Astartu

1 Aron, the Ogdoadic King1 Aleirtt, the Ogdoadic Dark1 Keurse, the Ogdoadic Light1 Amunessia, the Ogdoadic Queen3 Nunu, the Ogdoadic Remnant3 Nauya, the Ogdoadic Remnant2 Flogos, the Ogdoadic Boundless2 Zohah, the Ogdoadic Boundless3 Ahrima, the Wicked Warden1 Ogdoabyss, the Ogdoadic Overlord1 Pharonic Advent1 Darkest Diabolos, Lord of the Lair

3 Ogdoadic Water Lily1 Ogdoadic Origin1 Ogdoadic Serpent Strike2 Raigeki3 Snake Rain3 Lair of Darkness1 Galaxy Cyclone1 Foolish Burial1 Monster Reborn

1 Metaverse1 Ogdoadic Hollow1 Call of the Haunted1 Crackdown

2 Magikey Avatar Astartu1 The Zombie Vampire1 Number 90: Galaxy-Eyes Photon Lord1 Galaxy-Eyes Full Armor Photon Dragon1 Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon1 Galaxy-Eyes Cipher X Dragon1 King of the Feral Imps1 Number 60: Dugares the Timeless1 Drill Driver Vespenato1 Reptilianne Echidna1 Alien Shocktrooper M-Frame1 Knightmare Phoenix1 Barricadeborg Blocker1 Beat Cop from the Underworld

New Product Deck: Dinomorphia Deck Featuring Dyna Tank

3 Dyna Base3 Dinomorphia Therizia3 Dinomorphia Diplos1 Souleating Oviraptor1 Dinowrestler Pankratops1 Overtex Qoatlus1 Ultimate Conductor Tyranno3 Lord of the Heavenly Prison

2 Duel Academy2 Double Evolution Pill3 Fossil Dig3 Forbidden Droplet1 Foolish Burial1 Harpies Feather Duster

3 Dinomorphia Frenzy3 Dinomorphia Domain1 Dinomorphia Sonic3 Gravediggers Trap Hole2 Trap Trick

2 Dyna Tank3 Dinomorphia Kentregina3 Dinomorphia Stealthbergia3 Dinomorphia Rexterm1 Number 39: Utopia1 Number C39: Utopia Ray1 Number S39: Utopia Prime1 Number S39: Utopia the Lightning

Master Duel (Limit 1 Festival):

Traptrix Deck

Insect Deck

Heraldic Beast + Time Thief Deck

Swordsoul + Tenyi Deck

Shaddoll + Despia + Invoked Deck

Lightsworn + Danger! Deck

Destiny Board + Witchcrafter Deck

WATER Deck

Instructor Event Deck:

HERO Deck

Rokket Deck

Read the original post:

The Organization | [Deck Recipes] June 16th, 2022 - YGOrganization

The revolution began with an argument over a crate of bananas and two crates of pears. Like each morning, local authorities had arrived at the market in the small Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, telling unlicensed vendors to vacate the street. Like most mornings, some had responded with arguments and taunts. The municipal police responded by confiscating one young mans fruit and weighing scales. Now what should I do, the man shouted, should I weigh my fruit with your breasts?

Fayda Hamdi, the officer at whom the taunt was directed, wasnt intimidated: She was long used to dealing with aggressive men, and responded with a slap to his face.

Later that day, the fruit vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, doused himself with paint thinner and set himself alight. He would die eighteen days later, in a military hospital. The fire he lit that day in 2009, though, still rages across the region.

This week, Indians watched as mobs of young menenraged by the Narendra Modi governments decision to recruit soldiers on four-year contracts, with sharply-reduced benefitsburned down buses, trains and public buildings. Earlier this year, riots broke out over recruitment to the Indian Railways.

Economic conflict is just part of a larger mosaic of youth violence: ethnic-religious extremism, organised crime and sexual assault are all growing parts of Indias political landscape.

Little is needed to see whats driving the conflict. Less than one in four Indians aged 15-24, World Bank data shows, now participate in the labour force, and twenty-five per cent of youth job-seekers cant find work. The situations been getting steadily worse for decades, in a country where over half the population is now below 25. India needs to be creating a million jobs a month; its economy has never come close to meeting that demand.

The main occupation of many young Indians, as anthropologist Craig Jeffrey put it, has been waitingfor life to happen.

Also read: BJPs divide-and-rule plan is working Hate is now fully automated, led by youth

Like India today, the Middle East, on the cusp of the Arab Spring, was also in the midst of a demographic crisis. Throughout much of this century, policy expert Nader Kabbani has recorded that youth unemployment in the Middle East was the highest in the world, touching 30 per cent. Even though educational access improved dramatically, the jobs on offer didnt. Large numbers of those seeking work, economist Ragui Assaad and Ghada Barsoun observed in Egypt, could find only low-wage opportunities in the informal sector.

Anthropologist M Chloe Mulderig has perceptively pointed out: The most basic of societal contractsthat children will one day grow up, begin to contribute productively to society, and then raise families of their ownhas been broken for an entire generation of youth in the Arab world. Instead, Mulderig notes, their generation was living in an undignified, liminal state of pre-adulthood.

In many societies, the state of pre-adulthood has helped grow a toxic culture of gender aggression. Hamdi, the Tunisian police officer, made this insightful observation: Had a man hit him, none of this would have happened.

Large-scale ethnic violence in Kenya from 1991 to 1993, scholar Colin Kahl noted, was similarly rooted in demographic pressures. The ability of the economy to absorb a rapidly growing labour force, Kahl has observed, declined as the private sector slumped and the number of jobs in the public sector, Kenyas largest source of employment, stopped growing.

Political scientist Ted Gurr observed, in a 1981 study, that cities with high youth populations had crime rates higher than in times and places where the population is older. The coming of age of the post-war generation of youths, Gurr recorded is closely related to the onset of major increases in personal and property crime in the United States and Britain.

In a 2005 paper examining violent conflict in India, researcher Henrik Urdhal concluded that the risk of armed conflicts and riots had a significant statistical association with youth bulges. The risk of armed conflict, he noted, is particularly pronounced when youth bulges go together with great male surpluses. A review of the global evidence assessed that relatively large youth cohorts are associated with a significantly increased risk of domestic armed conflict, terrorism and riots.

Also read: Armys Agnipath plan is ambitious but has flaws. Heres how it can be made more attractive

Economic historians have long noted that demographic shifts underpin crises in history. The collapse of the English state in 1640-1641 came because of factional feuds amongst the lite, fiscal crisis, and economic distress. Each of these, sociologist and political scientist Jack Goldstone has proposed, was precipitated by a surge in population. Indeed, similar demographic pressures underpinned multiple European crises through to the revolutions of 1848from which the Arab Spring got its name.

Youth have played a prominent role in political violence throughout recorded history, Goldstone has written, and the existence of a youth bulgean unusually high proportion of youths 15 to 24 relative to the total adult populationhas historically been associated with times of political crisis.

Academic and historian Norm Cohns work has shown that young people were, through history, drawn to millenarian movements, which promised a post-apocalypse utopia. Social histories of the First Crusadeduring which large-scale pogroms against Jews were conductedaccord young people a central role in shaping events.

That was also true for many of the crises that shaped the modern world. The high proportion of young adults in pre-Nazi Germany, Herbert Moller has suggested, helped lay the foundations for the rise of fascism. Fascisms rise in Germany came about just as the historically-unprecedented cohort born between 1900 and 1914 came on the job market. The Great Depression, and the closure of immigration opportunities to the United States, sealed their fateand that of the world.

Also read: Voters can be convinced China is defeated, but how do you convince jobless theyre earning?

Even when nation-states succeed in crushing youth-led violence, experience shows it finds new languages in which to express itself. Tunisia was hailed as a model of democratic reform after the Arab Spring but proved to be the largest single provider of jihadists to the Islamic State, as well as of illegal immigrants to Europe. In countries like Syria and Libya, the Arab Spring led to a searing civil warfuelled, just like the revolutions themselvesby a youth cohort easily seduced by violence.

For many in India, the prospect of large-scale, Middle-East style uprisings might seem implausible: the Indian State structure, after all, has survived protracted insurgencies and civil conflicts.

Theres no shortage of examples, though, where the State has been swept aside by violent youth mobilisations. Former police officer Prakash Singhs official investigation of the Haryana violence of 2016 showed the police force itself disintegrated along caste lines. Largely under-resourced, Indias police system already struggles to enforce the law in large swathes of the country. The ability of the system to withstand new challenges is open to question.

From the work of social scientists Raheel Dhattiwala and Michael Biggs, there are suggestions that youth cohorts might be feeding the growth of Hindu nationalist violence. In Kashmir and the North-East, youth mobilisation has played a key role in precipitating ethnic-religious violence. There has also been a growth in youth-related gang culture, as well as violent crime.

Engaging with Indias youth crisis should be the biggest single task of Indias national security systembecause the alternatives, history shows, are murderous coercion or chaos.

The author is National Security Editor, ThePrint. He tweets @praveenswami. Views are personal.

(Edited by Srinjoy Dey)

Link:

India's increasingly violent young cohort is its biggest national security problem - ThePrint

Inaugural participants are Andrew Burrows-Trotman, MOTION and Ian Iqbal Rashid

CBC, BIPOC TV & Film and the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) today announced at the Banff World Media Festival the creation of a new accelerator program, the CBC-BIPOC TV & FILM SHOWRUNNER CATALYST, which will support the career advancement of senior writers who identify as Indigenous, Black or People of Colour through hands-on and personally tailored on-set experience. The Catalyst offers a high-level professional coaching opportunity, designed through an anti-racist and equity-focused lens, and provides participants with additional tools and support systems necessary to reach a showrunner level in the Canadian film and television industry. CBC, BIPOC TV & Film and the CFC have made an initial commitment of three years to the program, with the opportunity to renew.

It is imperative that while we are opening doors at entry-level for BIPOC creatives, we are simultaneously creating pathways for mid-level and senior BIPOC writers to have the opportunities to bring their careers to the next level, said Kadon Douglas, Executive Director, BIPOC TV & Film. The Canadian industry needs to see BIPOC writers as showrunners leaders who can helm the vision of a show, from both the creative and business standpoint.

Within our industry, there are limited opportunities for equity-deserving senior writers to take on a leadership role, and we are honoured to work with Kadon and the dedicated team at BIPOC TV & Film in partnership with the CFC to help bridge that gap with the Showrunner Catalyst, said Sally Catto, General Manager, Entertainment, Factual and Sports, CBC. By launching this tailored and practical program, we help to ensure that the future of Canadian storytelling reflects the changing face of our country. We offer our sincere congratulations to this years talented participants, who have already made great strides in their careers.

Were thrilled to work with BIPOC TV & Film and CBC on this new initiative to help catalyze change inthe Canadian film and television industry by including and growing Black, Indigenous and racializedcreators in leadership positions, added maxine bailey, Executive Director, CFC. This shift is required totruly reflect todays Canada, and the CFC is excited to be part of this change.

The first part of the Catalyst will consist of a series of substantive and hands-on masterclasses covering topics related to the role and responsibilities of a showrunner, including anti-oppressive leadership, people management, mental health, building relationships with network, studios, creative and crew, and all facets of bringing a show to life, from the writing room to prep, production, post and delivery.

Through the context of a senior writing and producing role on a CBC series, the second part of the Catalyst will see each participant building upon their foundational skills in showrunning by working with an experienced showrunner and participating in all key elements of production: from prep meetings to running the floor, managing set, taking a block of episodes through to post. Throughout the process, each participant will also be paired with an external showrunner, who will serve as a mentor. The program will be highly tailored for the needs of each writer and participating production, offering wellness and advocacy support through an anti-racism, anti-oppression lens. The inaugural year will run through the summer and fall of 2022.

The 2022 inaugural participants are as follows:

*Participant headshots can be found here.*

Andrew Burrows-Trotman (ABT) earned a Double Honours degree in English and History at the University of Toronto before attending the American Film Institute's Screenwriting MFA programme. Upon graduation, ABT wrote a feature screenplay based on the Valley Manor Retirement Home scandal entitled, If We Left. It was shortlisted for the prestigious San Francisco Film Society's Hearst Grant. ABT subsequently joined the writing staff of Frankie Drake Mysteries, writing episodes for the first three seasons of the popular CBC series. His other TVcredits include Diggstown (CBC/BET+), Utopia Falls (Hulu/CBC Gem) and ThePorter (CBC/BET+).

Television production is more than a profession, it is how I share my soul with the world and let them know I was here. No matter how the rest of my career pans out, I have already lived the dream. Every day I wake up brimming with gratitude that I get to tell stories for a living. I am dedicated to a life of service and mentorship, dutifully holding whatever doors are opened for me so others can enter. - Andrew Burrows-Trotman

MOTION is a screenwriter, playwright, poet and emcee, fusing word, sound & drama for the screen and stage. She is co-writer of the award-winning feature Akillas Escape with director Charles Officer, which debuted at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, and garnered five Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Original Screenplay. An alumna of the Canadian Film Centre, she is also the writer of A Mans Story, which won the Impact Award for Best Short Film at the ReelWorld Film Festival, going on to screen in London, Ghana, Belgium, and Zanzibar. In television, MOTION is a CSA-nominated writer and supervising producer on hit drama series Coroner (CBC/CW), The Porter (CBC/BET+) and Diggstown (CBC/FOX). She is also a writer and co-executive producer on the new digital series Revenge of the Black Best Friend (CBC Gem). Her most recent productions for stage and screen include the Dora-nominated Oraltorio: A Theatrical Mixtape with DJ L'Oqenz (Riser/Obsidian/Soulpepper), and Rebirth of the Afronauts in the award-winning anthology series 21 Black Futures (Obsidian/CBC Gem).

I am passionate about the creative process of developing unique, often unseen and impactfulstories, opening a stage for diverse talents in front of and behind the camera, to reach bothnew and diverse audiences nationally and worldwide. I also am passionate about initiatingopportunities for BIPOC and new generations of writers, as well as other creatives and crew.By bringing new voices to the writers rooms, spearheading creative projects and creatingseries that resonate and reflect those that still need to be heard, Im excited by the chance towork with others to amplify, collaborate, create, and change. - MOTION

Ian Iqbal Rashid is a creator, writer, director and producer known for the series Sort Of (CBC/HBO Max) and This Life (BBC) as well as the feature films Touch of Pink (Mongrel/Sony Picture Classics) and How She Move (Mongrel/Paramount). Born in Tanzania of Muslim Indian ancestry, Ian holds dual British/Canadian nationality. His awards include the Writers Guild Award of Great Britain for Series Writing and the Aga Khan Award for Excellence in the Arts. He is the author of three books of poetry, has curated exhibitions and film programmes, and was the founder and first director of Desh Pardesh, Canadas seminal festival of South Asian diasporic culture.

"In recent years I have led development rooms and created series for Sienna, CBC, Lionsgate, Showtime, and Mark Gordon Productions. And while I have yet to run a produced show, I think my experience and expertise reveal that I have exactly the right skill set and sensibility for that role." - Ian Iqbal Rashid

Catalyst participants are nominated by showrunners, producers, production companies or broadcasters, in consultation with BIPOC TV & Film and the CFC, based on their experience and readiness to further progress in their career. In order to qualify for participation, each potential candidate must be a Canadian Citizen or permanent resident of Canada (as recognized by CAVCO), and a Writers Guild of Canada member in good standing with a minimum of three episodes of written by credits on 30 or 60-minute prime time television or streaming platform productions in the last seven years, and at least one co-producer credit in the last three years, or equivalent experience. For more information on the qualification and nomination process, visit bipoctvandfilm.com/showrunner-catalyst.

-30-

About CBC/Radio-Canada

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canadas national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canadas trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.

About BIPOC TV & Film

BIPOC TV & FILM is a national nonprofit organization advocating for racial equity and justice for Black, Indigenous and Persons of Colour in Canadas screen media industry. From professional development training to mentorship to wellness support and community engagement initiatives, we ensure that BIPOC creative professionals have the necessary resources, access and opportunities to fully participate in our industryat all levels in front of and behind the camera. BIPOC TV & Film also operates HireBIPOC.ca, a bilingual online database of above and below-the-line crew and creative professionals in Canada. Launched in October 2020, the digital database hosts over 7,500 usersincluding crew, creative talent, and employersand more than 200 production roles.

About the CFC

The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable cultural organization that drives the future of Canadianstorytelling. Our intensive, hands-on programs in film, television and entertainment technologiesempower, shape and advance opportunities for Canadian creators and entrepreneurs working in screen-based industries. Learn more at cfccreates.com.

Media Contact:Tanya Koivusalo, CBC PR

tanya.koivusalo@cbc.ca

Read more:

CBC, BIPOC TV & FILM AND CFC ANNOUNCE NEW SHOWRUNNER CATALYST TO SUPPORT THE ADVANCEMENT OF DIVERSE CANADIAN CREATORS - CBC.ca

Dr Jacqueline Rowarth. Photo / Supplied

Opinion: Futurists present Utopia for New Zealand in the next 20 years, yet how to achieve this vision is hazy and the execution steps are almost non-existent, Dr Jacqueline Rowarth writes.

It is the time of year when trends for the 12 months ahead are announced, goals are vocalised, and visions are created.

Fitting the pattern is the Utopia being presented to us by futurists, who promote the idea that - "This is what the world/NZ could look like, and this is how it would be achieved. All you have to do is"

The next word might be "believe".

There are certain similarities to political visions and, just like many, political or not, the strategy on how to achieve the vision is hazy and the execution steps are almost non-existent.

A recent vision, designed to inspire change, involves New Zealand being a world leader in natural infrastructure, clean hydrogen energy, engineered wood and high-quality low-emissions food within the next 20 years.

The change required to achieve this Utopia was acknowledged as challenging but thought "worth it" because the economy would be prosperous.

This last bit is the hiccup for at least some scientists, engineers and economists. Not all (stereotyping the whole of the professions would result in a whole lot of social media claims about "completely wrong"), but certainly some.

"Natural infrastructure" aligns with the "nature-based solutions" proposed by some pundits. Both sound great but meanings are variable.

The former might mean wooden buildings, as proposed for the rebuilding of Christchurch by then CEO of Scion (the forestry Crown Research Institute) Dr Warren Parker.

28 Oct, 2021 01:00 AMQuick Read

12 Oct, 2021 12:45 AMQuick Read

28 Sep, 2021 12:30 AMQuick Read

15 Sep, 2021 03:03 AMQuick Read

Concrete, glass and steel dominated, however, and the economy of Canterbury and New Zealand thrived as the building industry boomed.

Wood was not considered seriously and Sir Bob Jones' plan for the world's highest wooden office tower (a 25 storey, 52m-tall building with laminated timber columns), announced in 2017, hasn't yet opened.

Other infrastructure such as roads, bridges and rail (which does appear in the new Utopia, with more people using public transport) also require concrete and steel.

The raw ingredients for both require mining, and in New Zealand, that means gaining approvals.

The environmental case for sand being mined for building and other infrastructure off Pakiri Beach, north of Auckland is already the subject of debate.

The application for mining off the South Taranaki Bight has been through several court processes and failed in the High Court last year.

The Utopian concept of natural infrastructure turns out to be an "emerging term to include native forests, wetlands, coastal environments and other ecosystems that store and clean water, protect against drought, flooding and storms, boost biodiversity and absorb carbon."

In the past (last year) natural resources and ecosystem services might have been used as descriptors.

These ecosystems are extremely important. They are part of life and add value through their very existence.

Ground-breaking work has attempted to quantify that value, and erudite as well as practical research papers have been written. The actual value of Natural Capital remains hard to quantify, however, and when people are asked to pay for it, the value changes.

"Who pays?" remains the issue. Most of the areas do not generate income per se. Many require income for maintenance.

As part of her doctoral studies, Dr Estelle Dominati (with supervisors Dr Alec Mackay from AgResearch and Dr Murray Patterson from Massey University) calculated the value of the ecosystem services provided by soil on a Waikato dairy farm.

Listen to Jamie Mackay interview Dr Jacqueline Rowarth on The Country below:

To replace the services given by the soil (such as food production, flood mitigation, filtering of contaminants etc) would have cost $16,390 per hectare per year in 2014.

The value of the milk produced per hectare was $4,757.

This leaves $11,000 per hectare which, if added to the cost of milk, would treble the base price.

The farmer manages the ecosystem services of the land to produce the milk and provide income to invest in the maintenance of the soil and enterprise, as well as pay taxes and rates so that national and local government can manage infrastructure and services as well.

The Utopian vision for 20 years hence involved the high quality, low emissions food which farmers already produce but in the future doing so will involve organic and regenerative agriculture.

This perpetuates the myth that organic and regenerative approaches produce fewer emissions and create fewer contaminants than conventional agriculture.

They don't. Per unit of food they usually have a greater impact. Again, research papers and reports are available to provide the information.

Green hydrogen, also suggested, is equally problematic.

It sounds good, but the energy required to create it currently outweighs the energy created. Hence the concept of "green" but it hasn't yet been proven: more research is necessary.

All of this means that Utopia is still a long way off but doesn't mean that sensible steps can't be taken. Scientific research and futurists agree that reducing fossil fuel use is vital.

The nose-to-tail holiday traffic over the holiday period indicates that rethinking the use of private cars hasn't yet featured in resolutions for the New Year.

There is still time to change and making the change is urgent. Scientists and futurists agree on that, too.

- Dr Jacqueline Rowarth, Adjunct Professor Lincoln University, is a farmer-elected director of DairyNZ and Ravensdown. The analysis and conclusions above are her own. jsrowarth@gmail.com

Continue reading here:

Dr Jacqueline Rowarth: Why Utopia is still a long way off - New Zealand Herald

Colgate-Palmolive portfolio mainstay Irish Spring will make its Super Bowl debut at this years big game, today releasing a trailer for its utopia-inspired ad. In parallel with the advertising effort, the brand has announced it is rebranding with new formulas and packaging meant to appeal to young consumers.

Irish Spring, the classic soap brand born in 1970 Germany, today announced it will join heavy hitters Frito-Lay, Google, Taco Bell, Toyota and others at Super Bowl LVI on February 13. It will be the brands first-ever Super Bowl ad though not the first time that the brand has caused a football-related stir (a Georgia grocery store famously pulled the product from its shelves ahead of a University of Georgia game against Notre Dames Fighting Irish).

Irish Spring today unveiled a teaser for the spot that depicts an imagined utopia where everyone and everything smells fresh and clean. In the film, a middle-aged man in a graphic tee shirt arrives on a raft to a land of beautiful waterfalls and a community of white and beige-clad residents living in harmony. The land is dubbed Irish Spring, naturally. London-based TEN6 assisted in developing the creative.

Were all about nice smells and have dreamt up the magical nice-smelling world of Irish Spring to express that," Colgate-Palmolive's general manager of personal care for North America Emily Fong Mitchell tells The Drum. "To highlight our commitment to totally modernizing the brand, we wanted to create a TV spot that pays homage to the Irish Springs history and association with humor, nature, freshness and scent, while bringing it to life in a new way that explicitly shows Zillennial guys what were all about. And thats good smells.

The brand plans to run the full-length video in a 30-second in-game spot a move that will run it around $6.5m.

In tandem with its big game debut, the soap brand, owned by New York-based Colgate-Palmolive, has announced it is updating some of its formulas and will roll out new products in newly-designed packaging. The new packaging features a streamlined shape, a modernized logo and new graphics.

The new products will reportedly hit select shelves on Super Bowl Sunday, with additional rollouts slated for the weeks following the event.

Despite suffering supply chain challenges alongside countless other manufacturers and retailers, Colgate-Palmolive has fared relatively well in recent months. Though its latest earnings indicated mixed results, year-over-year revenue was up more than 6% year-over-year, from $4.15bn to $4.41bn. Rebranding and advertising efforts like those underway at Irish Spring could help the company accelerate this growth.

For more, sign up for The Drums daily US newsletter here.

Originally posted here:

Irish Spring debuts first-ever Super Bowl spot and cleans up with a fresh rebrand - The Drum

A lockout has been extended in Alice Springs and the remote communities of Amoonguna, Yuendumu and Yuelamu for a further seven days, the NT Health Minister has announced, as Central Australia's COVID-19 case numbers remain at a "concerning" level.

"What is concerning is the movement of [people]," Natasha Fyles said.

"We're seeing small case numbers popping up in large numbers of communities we know that we have a very transient community, and we're seeing that with our case numbers."

Under lockout restrictions, unvaccinated people can only leave their homes for essential reasons, while people who are fully vaccinated can live as normal with a mask mandate.

A lockdown has also been extended for another week in Galiwin'ku in East Arnhem Land.

Gunyangara (Ski Beach) will enter a seven-day lockdown, as will Utopia in Central Australia and Wurrumiyanga on the Tiwi Islands.

It comes as the NT recorded 314 new COVID-19 cases,more than two-thirds of which were detected using rapid antigen tests.

Sixty-three COVID patients are in hospital, with six receiving oxygen, and one is in intensive care.

It's the ninth day in a row the number of COVID-19 hospitalisations in the NT has increased.

Of the 4,048 active coronavirus cases in the NT, she said about 1,500 were in the Top End, 500 in Central Australia, 70 in East Arnhem Land, 200 in Big Rivers and about 30 in the Barkly.

The community of Utopia's lockdown began from 2pm on Saturday, Ms Fyles said.

"This is a community of concern for us," she said.

"There were 22 new cases in Utopia, and these cases were across four outstations."

Ms Fyles said the double-dose vaccination rate in Utopia was around 40 per cent.

"We really need the residents of Utopia to come forward and get vaccinated," she said.

"It is not too late. Our health teams will not be asking you questions they simply want you vaccinated."

Eight new cases were recorded at Amoonguna, and one new case was recorded at Yuelamu.

No new cases were recorded in Yuendumu, but Ms Fyles said, "the situation there remains concerning".

"Certainly we believe that COVID is present in that community, and people need to be very vigilant," she said.

Three new COVID-19 cases were recorded at HartsRange, all of whom are believed to have been infectious while in the community.

One new case was recorded at Docker River in a busy household with a large number of people, while another was recordedat Mount Leibig,one at Hermannsburg and one at Ti-Tree.

Ms Fyles said she understood coronavirus cases were present in all the town camps in Alice Springs.

Five new cases were recorded in Mataranka in the Big Rivers region.

Ten new cases were recorded in Galiwin'ku in East Arnhem Land,bringing the total number of cases there to 62 across 24 households.

On the Gove Peninsula, two new cases were recorded at Yirrkala, bringing that total cluster to 13, and five new cases were recorded at Gunyangara (Ski Beach).

One new case was recorded at Milingimbi, and on Groote Eylandt, five new cases recorded at Umbakumba and two new cases at Angurugu.

On the Tiwi Islands, one new case was recorded in Wurrumiyanga, which also entered a seven-day lockdown at 2pm.

"We have got strong concerns from the community, that they're worriedjust with some social unrest," Ms Fyles said.

"I understand that there's a large funeral that was intended to be held soon."

Ms Fyles said the lockdown was intended to limit movement and help authorities boost testing numbers in the community.

Of the new cases identified in Darwin, Ms Fyles said one was recorded at the Darwin prison and one at a Salvation Army hostel that was identified by Danila Dilba Aboriginal health service.

Nine new cases were recorded at the Batten Road accommodation centre, in Marrara, all of whom have been transferred to the Howard Springs quarantine facility.

Ms Fyles said315 people were currently isolating at Howard Springs.

She said there was"plenty of capacity" for coronaviruspatientsto isolate there if they felt well enough to be transferred from Royal Darwin or Palmerston hospitals to free up some beds.

"But if we've got a highly vaccinated population, if we can slow that spread, our health resources and our services can match the demand."

NT Acting Chief Health Officer Marco Briceno said coronavirus cases in the NT had stabilised over the past few weeks, with about 400 to 450 new cases on average recorded per day.

"We have seen in recent days a slight increase in our hospitalisations, and that is to be expected," Dr Briceno said.

"Hospitalisations tend to be late in the onset of the disease, and then to present later on and peak later."

He said the Territory's hospital admissions now represent 1.6 per cent of active cases across the Territory.

Hesaid many of those COVID patients were in hospital forreasons unrelated totreatment for coronavirus.

Dr Briceno also said health authorities in remote Aboriginal communities were prioritising patients that required a higher level of care due to pre-existing health conditions, followed by people who cannot safely isolate at home, followed by general community members.

Loading form...

See original here:

Lockout extended in Alice Springs, Amoonguna, Yuendumu and Yuelumu as the NT records 314 new cases - ABC News

Along with attracting record inflows in 2021, the exchange traded fund universe also enjoyed a record expansion in total number of offerings last year as well.

According to Morningstar data, a total of 1,503 ETFs and exchange traded commodities were launched in 2021, compared to the previous record of 873 recorded in 2018, the Financial Times reports.

Meanwhile, 264 ETFs were liquidated or shuttered, which was lower than the 510 closed down in 2020 and the lowest number of removed products since 2014, when the industry was only a fraction of its current size. The low closure rate also translated to net growth in the ETF count to 1,239, or almost twice the previous record of 656 set in 2010.

The boom in listed ETF offerings also came when the ETF industry attracted over $1 trillion in net inflows for the calendar for the first time over the course of 2021, bringing the total assets under management to over $10 trillion.

The market and the [ETF]structure just seems to be getting hotter as a destination for money, Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, told the Financial Times.

[In the U.S.]flows were 80 per cent beyond their old record last year and launches 60 per cent. That is definitely correlation/causation, Balchunas said, adding that the strength of both flows and net ETF launches were driven by strong financial markets.

Kenneth Lamont, senior fund analyst for passive strategies at Morningstar, also highlighted varying drivers that backed the specific launches in different markets.

In Europe most new launches have been ESG [environmental, social, and governance]and/or thematic. In the US, the story is different where more than half of launches have been active ETFs, Lamont told the Financial Times.

Last year also stood out for the lower number of shuttered ETF strategies, especially in the second half of the year when only 102 ETFs closed down.

Balchunas attributed the sticking power of ETFs to markets being so agreeable last year, borderline utopia, with the S&P 500 rising 27% over 2021. In the U.S., 70.4% of ETFs brought in money over 2021, according to Bloomberg data, the highest percentage in the modern era.

It wasnt just the one thing that was working, Balchunas said. It was almost like the fish were jumping into the boat last year. It was just such a favourable year that there was no reason to close anything.

For more news, information, and strategy, visit ETF Trends.

Link:

The Growth in Number of ETF Strategies Also Hit a Record in 2021 - ETF Trends

In Star Trek: First Contact, Captain Picard explains to a 21st-century visitor, The economics of the future is somewhat different. You see, money doesnt exist in the 24th century.

Yusaku Maezawa, a multibillionaire who recently traveled to space, could double for just such a visitor. He recently echoed Picards idea in a press conference he gave from the International Space Station, saying,

Someday, money will disappear suddenly from this world. . . . my bank account will be zero. Everyones bank account will be zero. And everything in stores [will be] free. So, everyone can take everything for free from stores. If you love cars, you can ride a Ferrari as soon as you wantfor free.

The fashion tycoon added that capitalism is not sustainable and should be replaced with a money-free society as soon as possible, a view he promises to explain in a film he plans to make (which no doubt will cost a small fortune to produce). Is this a truly futuristic ideaone we should strive for? Or is it actually rather primitive and unworkable?

Capitalism, to the extent it has existed, has been incredibly successful at lifting most of humanity out of poverty, incentivizing the creation of incredible, life-enhancing technologies, such as those Maezawa used to make his fortunenot to mention, travel to space. But its long had its critics, and he is far from the first to propose a sort of Garden-of-Eden world where everything is plentiful and free. Karl Marx envisioned a similar utopia. Communism, he said, ultimately would bring about a world without money:

In the case of socialised production the money-capital is eliminated. Society distributes labour-power and means of production to the different branches of production. The producers may, for all it matters, receive paper vouchers entitling them to withdraw from the social supplies of consumer goods a quantity corresponding to their labour-time. These vouchers are not money. They do not circulate.

And although society distributes labour-powermeaning government planners tell people what to do to ensure that things (such as free Ferraris) get madeworkers could also all pursue whatever hobbies or occupations strike their fancy. [I]n communist society, Marx explained,

where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, to fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner, just as I have in mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, shepherd or critic.

Because, in such a world, society regulates the general production, only social planners would need to worry about how all of this somehow adds up to meet everyones needs. The worker need not concern himself with producing in-demand goods that he can trade for others. As a modern utopian and self-described social engineer, Jacque Fresco, explains:

all goods and services are available to all people without the need for means of exchange such as money, credits, barter or any other means. For this to be achieved, all resources must be declared as the common heritage of all Earths inhabitants. Equipped with the latest scientific and technological marvels, humankind could reach extremely high productivity levels and create an abundance of resources.

In other words, a handful of technocrats would somehow make possible a couch potatos paradise. Thats not an idea that resonates with me or with the ambitious young people I know. On the other hand, burned-out Chinese workerswho recently launched the lying flat movement to popularize opting out of Xi Jinpings continual struggle toward tech dominancelikely would welcome the respite. Ironically, though, the Chinese Communist Party views this widespread acknowledgment of fatigue as subversive childishness, evidencing the individuals supposedly immoral desire to put his own selfish interests above those of the nation.

Under communism, a handful of technocrats would somehow make possible a couch potatos paradise. Thats not an idea that resonates with me or with the ambitious young people I know.

But, if not in the heart of communism, might Marxs Eden be workable elsewhere?

Although Marx considered himself a social scientist and economistand although his ideas are still some of the most widely taughtthey arent much taught in social science or economics departments, except as foils. Thats because virtually all of Marxs hypotheses have been debunked. For one, whos going to build the free Ferraris that Maezawa has dreamed up, never mind tackle more mundane tasks, with no incentive? But for those who dont find such commonsense thought experiments convincingor who think, as Marx did, that human nature will somehow mysteriously changethe impracticality of Marxs moneyless state was demonstrated by what Austrian economists have come to call the calculation problem. Ludwig von Mises once explained the problem as follows:

If a hydroelectric power station is to be built, one must know whether or not this is the most economical way to produce the energy needed. How can he know this if he cannot calculate costs and output?

We may admit that in its initial period a socialist regime could to some extent rely upon the experience of the preceding age of capitalism. But what is to be done later, as conditions change more and more? Of what use could the prices of 1900 be for the director in 1949? And what use can the director in 1980 derive from the knowledge of the prices of 1949?

The paradox of planning is that it cannot plan, because of the absence of economic calculation. What is called a planned economy is no economy at all. It is just a system of groping about in the dark.

In short, without prices, people have no relatable, quantifiable means of comparing and contrasting options about how to spend time and capital, which is vital for determining how best to use these naturally scarce resources. New Scientist magazine reported that in the future, cars could be powered by hazelnuts, said comedian Jimmy Fallon, in a skit that captures this point hilariously. Thats encouraging, considering an eight-ounce jar of hazelnuts costs about nine dollars. Yeah, Ive got an idea for a car that runs on bald eagle heads and Faberg eggs.

The paradox of planning is that it cannot plan, because of the absence of economic calculation. What is called a planned economy is no economy at all. It is just a system of groping about in the dark. Ludwig von Mises

But theres more. As has been shown with so many of Marxs ideas, a moneyless society is not only impractical, its also deeply immoral. Marx often grumbled about greedy capitalists alienating workers from their labor. The focus on efficiency, he said, reduced the worker to a mere extension of a factorys machines, rendering him a brute tool of capitalist exploitation.

Of course, workers chose industrial jobs because they paid better than those in agriculture and the like. And even if boring, such jobs rarely were so backbreaking as life on the farm. Far from alienating workers from their labor, the capitalist arranged new modes of production that vastly increased the value of that labor, not only for himself, but for workers, too. Whereas a slave truly is alienated from his laborhe works but is deprived of the fruits of his effortthe industrial worker could count on greater returns from his labor than ever before. Over the course of the Industrial Revolution and the following centuries, those returns have grown immensely and reduced the percentage of people living in extreme poverty from more than 80 percent to less than 20.

Money stores the value of ones effort. Its made possible by the legal protection of property rights. In the words of Francisco dAnconia from Ayn Rands Atlas Shrugged:

Money rests on the axiom that every man is the owner of his mind and his effort. Money allows no power to prescribe the value of your effort except the voluntary choice of the man who is willing to trade you his effort in return. Money permits you to obtain for your goods and your labor that which they are worth to the men who buy them, but no more. Money permits no deals except those to mutual benefit by the unforced judgment of the traders.

Just as the worker owns himself, he owns the values he produces, on which his life depends, either directly or indirectly via the sale of those values. Without money and the property rights that underlie it, we all would be truly and fully alienated from our labor, left without enforceable claim to the values we spend our timeand thus our livescreating.

"Money rests on the axiom that every man is the owner of his mind and his effort." Ayn Rand

Thats an idea hardly fit even for science fiction, one best relegated to the dystopian genre.

This piece is republished with permission from The Objective Standard.

Continue reading here:

Is Star Trek's Dream of a World Without Money Utopian or Dystopian? | Jon Hersey, Thomas Walker-Werth - Foundation for Economic Education

One time, the fishermen of Chelm brought their problem to the town council. To understand their problem, you have to know that the favorite fish of Chelmers (people of Chelm call themselves Chelmers, just like people of New York are New Yorkers, people of Dublin are Dubliners, and people of Cincinnati areOK, back to the story)was herring: herring in vinegar, herring pickled, herring in wine, herring in sour cream, smoked herring. The craving was greatest when onions were harvested in late summer and early fall. But there was no herring in the Chelm River. The herring had to be brought downriver by barge. Chelms fishermen had an idea, but they needed the help of the town council. The fishermen reported that other towns on the river improved their fishing by raising lots of baby fish and releasing them into the river. This, the fishermen said, was called salting the river.

Never miss the best stories and events! Get JewishBoston This Week.

Naturally, the town council immediately fell in love with this idea. The mayor even suggested that salting the river might help the local fish become more like herring. The council met for seven days and seven nights, trying to place a Chelm twist on the idea, to improve it as only the wise folk of Chelm can improve every idea. In the end, they dismissed the necessity of raising baby fish from scratch. Too much time. Too much bother. Instead, they sent Chelms fishermen upriver to Brisk to buy barrels of pickled herring. When the barrels arrived, the herring was tasted by members of the town council, approved, chopped by volunteers and thrown into the river. Thats right! The Chelm River was salted with thousands upon thousands of bits and pieces of pickled herring. The fishermen of Chelm happily look forwardin a year or soto raising their nets chock full of herring.

Of course, there was a real city of Chelm where a few Jews lived from medieval times onward. They tell me that the town does not move, but it is sometimes located in Russia, sometimes in Ukraine, sometimes in Poland. Right now it is in Poland, but with Putin on the move, if you blink, you might miss its next location.

In the 16th century, the Jews of Chelm hired a rabbi named Elijah Baal Shem who came close to making them famous. His grandson later claimed that his holy Grandpa Elijah created a golem and brought it to life. This was not the famous golem of Pragueit was the nearly-famous golem of Chelm. Other than that, the Jews of Chelm were just like Jews in many other non-Jewish towns. Most of Chelms people were Ukrainian and the name Chelm comes from the Ukrainian word for plateau since the town is on a little rise. This is not the Chelm of the Chelm stories.

Even now, scholars are debating where the name Chelm came from our Jewish stories, but while I was sleeping one night after a rigorous day of writing comedy, an angel came and revealed it to me. The name Chelm comes from the Hebrew and Yiddish word for dream. Chelm is chalom. Chelm is also a place where everybody knows your name. But Chelm is not the first city in the history of the world to be inhabited entirely by fools.

Cicero, whose name almost nobody remembers these days, said that one ancient Greek village called Abdera was a town full of fools. Of course Cicero was a Roman politician and he could have made the same remark about Rome a hundred years earlier when the Emperor Caligula appointed his horse to be a Roman senator. But by the time Cicero came around to talk about the foolish ancient Greeks of Abdera, Caligulas horse had been removed from the Roman senate because the other senators objected that it could only vote neigh.

Another town of fools popped up around 1200, when King John of England was looking for a place to build his new hunting lodge. He sent out scouts to scour the countryside for a good spot. The people of Gotham did not want the king hunting in their village, so they conspired to behave as imbeciles when the kings scouts were about. Some Gothamites pretended they were building a wall to keep a bird penned in. Some Gothamites tumbled wheels of cheese downhill in hopes the cheese would deliver itself to the market at Nottingham. Some Gothamites pretended to be trying to drown an eel. When King John heard about the fools of Gotham, he decided to build elsewhere. The wise men of Gotham then boasted that more fools pass through Gotham than remain in it.

The stories of the wise men of Gotham are just as famous as the stories of the wise folk of Chelm. Talk about lost opportunities: When it came time for choosing a city for Batman and Robin, the inventors of the Joker, the Penguin and Mr. Freeze decided on Gotham because they did not think anyone in Hollywood could pronounce the ch in Chelm. But just imagine for a moment Chelm with its own chaped chrusader.

So far, we have cities of fools in ancient Greece, Rome and England, but it is not over. In 1516, Sir Thomas More wrote Utopia, a book about folks on an island he claimed was in the newly discovered New World. The book was in Latin, but in Greek, the word utopia literally means nowhere. In Germany, scholars read Utopia and thought Sir Thomas was foolish. An anonymous German gathered a bunch of stories about an imaginary town called Schilda. In Utopia, people of good sense, left on their own, solve problems and build a perfect society. In Schilda, people of good sense, left on their own, indulge in group-think and manage to mess up everything. They were a dystopia, a true city of fools.

Utopia was popular among scholars, but the Schilda stories, written in German, were wildly popular among all Germansnon-Jews and Jews alike. German Jews heard about the stories and wanted to read them. They could speak and understand German. They could read Hebrew. But few Jews back then could decipher the German alphabet. The obvious answer was to publish the in transliteration, sounding out the German in Hebrew characters. So the first Chelm stories were stories of the wise men of Schilda.

Press ahead 200 years and the Schilda stories were still being told and retold, printed and reprinted by Germans and Jews, but the Jewish versions had become more and more Yiddish. As Jewish variations crept into the stories, Jews discarded the town name of Schilda (no Jews lived there) and, by 1867, one version of the stories used the town name of Chelm for the very first time.

You know the rest. You saw it on Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof. In the 20th century, a bunch of Yiddish writers grabbed the Chelm stories and they became the Jewish Gone with the Wind. People like Shalom Aleichem and Mocher Seforim and Isaac Bashevis Singer lengthened the stories, took away a lot of the simple humor and added a lot of pathos and bathos to turn out nostalgia for the great days of Jewish Eastern Europe. Altogether, it has to be said, between the pogroms and the Holocaust, there were probably 40 or 50 great days in Eastern Europe to remember and Yiddish literature milked them for all they were worth.

Unfortunately, by this time, all that was left of the classic Chelm canon were a choice few stories that children easily understood. For decades, the same few stories were retold and re-illustrated as childrens books portraying the 40 or 50 good days of Eastern Europe. Increasingly, Chelms biting satire and social commentary was blunted.

You know what they say? Nostalgia is just not what it used to be. For me, Chelm is humor that Jews share with non-Jews; in fact, humor that Jews learned from non-Jews, before the 19th century. Chelm is either the Jewish version of or the creative spur for the town of Missitucky in Finians Rainbow. Chelm is the slapstick inspiration for the Marx brothers and the three stooges. Chelm is the derivation of the comedy of Burns and Allen and Jack Benny and Phil Silvers. You just need to read these stories as pure humor, slapstick humor and classic tales of the folk. Of course, if you read my book, The Wise Folk of Chelm, thats what you get.

The most repeated Chelm story of all time sums it all up. The rabbi of Chelm was asked, Which is more important? The sun or the moon? He replies, The moon. The sun shines in the day when there is plenty of light and we hardly need it at all. But the moon shines at night when we cant see much without it.

Never miss the best stories and events! Get JewishBoston This Week.

This post has been contributed by a third party. The opinions, facts and any media content are presented solely by the author, and JewishBoston assumes no responsibility for them. Want to add your voice to the conversation? Publish your own post here.MORE

See more here:

What You Always Wanted To Know About Chelm Before You Ever Knew About Chelm - jewishboston.com