Illustration#animals#cats#drawing

Wonderfurryland (2020), 25 x 37 inches. All images Kamwei Fong, shared with permission

According to long-held superstitions, a horde of black cats certainly indicates impending misfortune, but for Kamwei Fong, a mass of the furry creatures is actually a fluffy utopia. Containing felines in various emotional and physical statesdrowsy, peeved, and deep in slumber Wonderfurryland features a diverse kitty population defined by their rotund bodies, splayed limbs, and puffed tails. Fong even inked cat-shaped environmental fixtures, like a moon, sun, and mountain, into the black-and-white landscape.

Having an idea for the delicately rendered illustration for years, the Malaysian artist (previously) tells Colossal that it took him more than a month to detail the proper density for each animal. Despite the long hours of effort and exhaust(ing) tons of micro-pigment ink pens, Kamwei finds the working process therapeutic and enjoyable, to see every bit of his creations being added day by day to complete the whole painting, a statement about the project says.

To follow Fongs upcoming kitty-centered illustrations, follow him on Instagram.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

Continued here:

A Furry Utopia is Overrun with Delicately Rendered Cats in Kamwei Fong's New Illustration - Colossal

The month of August is here, and Utopia Foot & Shoulder Massage is bringing Atlanta the most irresistible specials yet. Head over to Utopia and get ready for a month full of well-deserved relaxation, rejuvenating add-on massage specials and discount deals.

Refresh and reflect on the summer with Utopia Foot & Shoulder Massage. As a new business, Utopia is celebrating the month of August with a variety of different promotions, accommodating all different schedules. Visit Utopia on Mondays and get two massages for two guests for $60. If its another manic Monday, dont fret. Utopia customers that book a 60-minute massage for either Tuesday or Wednesday can receive a ten-minute foot or leg massage using Utopias Peppermint Rosemary Exfoliating Salt Scrub, free of charge.

Utopia is also offering discounts for all Grady Health System, Atlanta Police, Fire, and EMS employees, pricing a one-hour foot and shoulder massage at $35. All other Utopia pricing and services are still available, and Utopia invites guests to take advantage of all their August offerings. Schedule a 30-minute massage for $30, a 60-minute massage for $45 and a 90-minute massage for $60. Unwind, take a break, and give relaxation a whole new meaning with Utopias add-ons like a 15-minute scalp massage, a 10-minute Peppermint Rosemary Exfoliating Scrub foot/leg massage, or add CBD for just $10. First-timers can also get their first one-hour massage visit for just $40. Utopia strives for all of its clients to leave with a refreshed mentality and a rejuvenated spirit after a visit full of pampering.

Located at 465 Boulevard SE Suite 106A, Utopia Foot & Shoulder Massage is the first business of its kind in the Grant Park community and is easily accessible for residents of Grant Park, Ormewood Park, Cabbagetown, Reynoldstown, Glenwood Park, East Atlanta and more. For more information, visit https://utopiaatlanta.com and stay connected on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/utopiaatl and Instagram at @utopiaatl.

Read the original here:

Recharge Mind, Body, and Spirit with Utopia this August - Patch.com

Twelve years ago on Christmas Day I moved from New York City to Anchorage. Id been desperate to get back to Alaska after visiting several times and spending a summer up here, and I was thrilled to be finally moving permanently.

Permanently, that is, until I moved to Reno, Nevada, nine years ago, to be with my then-boyfriend/ now-husband. I thought that move was permanent at the time, and I was at peace with that because I really liked the high desert (and the guy).

But then seven years ago, after a shift in custody and visitation with my husbands daughter, we moved back up to Alaska. It was a little like whiplash for me. But the move back felt very good, if completely unexpected.

I remember well the thrill I had arriving mid-summer from hot and sunny Reno to lush and verdant Alaska. This deep tie I have with Alaska came rushing back when I was running in Kincaid Park recently. After years of living in the Valley, memories of the Kincaid trail system hit me as I ran through the woods.

I tried classic skiing in Alaska for the first time at Kincaid. I rode my bike up from the Coastal Trail to the chalet countless evenings. A friend held the bocce ball portion of her Tour de Anchorage bachelorette party on the same field I skied through when I finished the Tour of Anchorage.

And that summer seven years ago when we moved back up to Alaska, I went running through the same grassy trails, careful to watch for moose and bears, often getting completely drenched by rain or recently-rained-on-vegetation, or both.

There are so many facets of home for me when I think about Alaska. Even though I dont live in Anchorage anymore, the trails through Kincaid hold all of these amazing and deeply visceral memories.

This made me wonder as someone who is originally from Massachusetts, lived in New York, hopscotched to Alaska, then to Reno and back again how much of this feeling of home is unique to Alaska, and how much is simply about the rawness and accessibility of nature here, coupled with the remoteness and extreme climate that forces people to rely on one another?

If my hometown of Framingham were less dominated by parking lots and big box stores, would I have a stronger affinity for it? If Reno felt more isolated from the rest of the Lower 48, would it cultivate the same kind of strong communities I have found here in Alaska?

Growing up I struggled with a pull to polar opposites: the center of everything (read: New York City) and the middle of nowhere (arguably the Butte neighborhood of Palmer, where I currently live).

New York City had its own center of gravity. When I was in it and I was, for four years during college I couldnt conceive of being anyplace else. The city itself, in all of its noises, rhythms, smells, yells, signs, foods and barely organized but somehow synchronized clamor, was completely immersive.

I knew I wanted to exist someplace else though, so I chose Alaska, which represented and actually was the middle of nowhere. Scene: me on that Christmas flight from NYC hurtling toward my chosen home, absolutely over the moon and thrilled to arrive in snowy, sleepy and arguably gloomy Anchorage.

I had room to breathe here. But even more than simply taking in the extreme environment in Alaska, I liked the isolation from the rest of the United States. I bemoaned the distance from my family and close friends down south, but the truth was, I liked the limited choices.

Being so far away forced me to be present where I was. And, the collective feeling of isolation seemed to breed a kindness and interdependence that, while far from being a hand-holding type utopia, was a world away from the stubborn, lonely independence Id witnessed in the Lower 48. I found community here.

Ive heard anecdotally that most Americans settle down in the vicinity of where they were born. A 2015 study reinforces that, showing that few Americans live farther than a few hours drive from their parents. So I guess I should be putting my roots down somewhere within a stones throw of Framingham. But here I am, a homeowner in Palmer.

I love it here, truly. When Im not here, I miss it and when I return I take an enormous breath of relief. Its visceral. The air is so good. The mountains are striking, and right there.

But beneath all that concrete in Framingham there is also beauty. New England is congested, but the natural environment there is beautiful and rugged in its own way. If I had grown up more connected to that natural world, would it feel more like home? If there had been more outdoor opportunities not in a cultivated, heres a garden path through the woods kind of way, but in a true, wild, immersive and accessible way would I feel a stronger sense of affinity for that place?

Alaska has so much going for it as a place so remote and still so, comparably, wild. Even if thats the only reason I consider it home, I do.

[Because of a high volume of comments requiring moderation, we are temporarily disabling comments on many of our articles so editors can focus on the coronavirus crisis and other coverage. We invite you to write a letter to the editor or reach out directly if youd like to communicate with us about a particular article. Thanks.]

More:

After leaving the center of everything for the middle of nowhere, an Alaska transplant feels right at home - Anchorage Daily News

Tyler Mitchells first monograph is an ode to Black freedom

Sensuous images of carefree Black youth in I Can Make You Feel Good articulate the American photographers vision of utopia

Tyler Mitchell, the brilliant young mind best known for photographing Beyonce for Vogue US 2018 September issue, has released a monograph titled I Can Make You Feel Good. Chronicling his work over the past few years, the book is an ode to Black freedom, rest, dreams and play.

Eschewing the traditional format of an art book, Mitchell instead opted to fill the pages with uncaptioned full-bleed images, with no concern for chronology or any formalised organisation. We wanted to immerse the reader in this world and an important part of that was not giving a hierarchy to the images, Mitchell explains. The book articulates Mitchells vision of Black Utopia, one that is too expansive to be restricted by the rigid categories of a Western, white canon.

In I Can Make You Feel Good, Mitchell presents roughly 100 images, with occasional visual breaks in the form of abstracted close-ups and solid blocks of colour. The title of the book came to him through a Shalamar song playing at the airport in Atlanta (Mitchells hometown). It cuts straight to the bone of Mitchells goal and his works importance. The sentiment is very direct, he says. The collection of images under this title are paired with an introduction by Tyler and four essays by art theorists who have played important roles in his professional and creative development. Mirjam Kooiman, the curator at the Foam Photography Museum in Amsterdam (where Mitchell recently had a solo show of the same title as his book), offers a meditation on the importance of creating and circulating images of Black bodies, created by Black people, and starts her essay off with a poignant Frederick Douglass quote. The abolitionists work in the 19th century is meaningful to Mitchell in that it is an early (perhaps the first) example of a Black American man using his own image to disseminate a very clear moral demand and to elicit empathy from an otherwise unfeeling public.

Tyler Mitchell, I Can Make You Feel Good (Prestel, 2020)

Isolde Brielmaier offers a formal analysis of Mitchells work and suggests the reader/viewer consider the power of the mundane. Deborah Willis, who taught Mitchell while he was studying photography at NYU, speaks to absence as a driving force in Mitchells call to create. Like any teenager in the early 2000s, Mitchell spent hours on Tumblr. This is where he first saw the images that would later influence his work. They were basically images of youth, sensuous youth, enjoying themselves and being free. I really like that vision of young people [living] without any anxiety or stress. I was interested in centering a new protagonist within that narrative, he shares.

I really like that vision of young people [living] without any anxiety or stress. I was interested in centering a new protagonist within that narrative

An interview between curator Hans Ulrich Obrist and Mitchell at the end of the book highlights the fluidity of Mitchells practice, which seamlessly traverses the worlds of fashion, art and film. Mitchell unpacks the importance of imagination and how it can bring about new realities. He reinforces this belief in our own conversation: The imaginary is incredibly important. The Black imagination is the biggest superpower we have [as a group]. Through the imagined spaces and scenes in I Can Make You Feel Good, Mitchell expands the possibilities for existing as a Black youth.

The chosen photographs span Mitchells short, but relatively prolific career to date, including work from the glossies as he refers to them high fashion print magazines as well as personal projects and commissions. They are vibrant, colourful and saturated, pulling the viewer into Mitchells world. A world where young Black people can play without disturbance, explore without restrictions and display affection without the fear of ridicule. His universe is a salve for the frayed nerves and state-sanctioned exhaustion that frequently overwhelm the Black community, from childhood to old age.

Tyler Mitchell, I Can Make You Feel Good (Prestel, 2020)

Mitchells cast of characters is carefree. Not performative in any way. Existing for themselves and their brethren. In one image, two Black male presenting figures lie in a yin yang like formation, one mid toss with a gummy bear in hand. The treats are scattered around the heads and chests of both people, wasted and enjoyed. Scarcity doesnt exist within this world. In another image, a trio lie outfitted in neutrals, on a traditionally red and white gingham picnic blanket. They look satiated and at rest, perhaps post-meal. Their slightly formal, but rumpled, attire suggests that public and untimed rest is the norm for them. Elsewhere in the book we see Black youth in the midst of various games or exercises, keeping a hula hoop balanced at mid-waist, dancing, swinging, jump roping (a particularly nostalgic nod to Black childhood) and skateboarding (which Mitchell grew up doing).

Though not his first book, I Can Make You Feel Good is perhaps Mitchells most important and gorgeous. His vision of a Black Elysium is suspended somewhere between past, present and future a desperately needed reprieve from the difficulties of modern life, enjoyable from wherever you stand, somehow uplifting, playful and serious all at once.

See the original post here:

Tyler Mitchells first monograph is an ode to Black freedom - Wallpaper*

Provided by People Amazon

Your home has likely transformed into an office, gym, and chefs kitchen over the past few months. While businesses around the nation have lifted coronavirus stay-at-home orders, many people are still being cautious and spending time indoors. If you need some help making the most out of your space, Amazon recently curated a storefront with all the essentials you need to make your home as comfy and organized as possible.

The retailers New Home Essentials storefront focuses on the new normal of doing almost everything from home. Whether you need to zhuzh up your makeshift office space, want to expand your workout regime, or keep kids occupied, Amazon conveniently put anything you might be looking for in one place.

The storefront is divided up in several sections depending on your needs. Simply click through what kind of products youd like to see, and youll be taken to an expanded list of items in that category. The best part? Most of the product recommendations are best-sellers or highly rated, so you dont have to worry about scouring for the very best yourself.

Buy It! Utopia Bedding Premium Summer Cotton Blanket, $26.99; amazon.com ; Levoit Air Purifier with HEPA Filter, $99.99; amazon.com

Spending more time indoors means youre probably cleaning up after yourself and household members more often. Amazon has tons of cleaning recommendations that will make tidying up a breeze, like a multifunctional steam mop (with 7,000 positive reviews!) and a powerful stick vacuum that wont break the bank.

Buy It! PurSteam Steam Mop, $89.99; amazon.com ; Moosoo Cordless 4-in-1 Vacuum, $101.99 with coupon (orig. $109.99); amazon.com

Youll also find dozens of organizing tools , from the popular Oxo pantry containers (which have Khloe Kardashians stamp of approval) to a pack of velvet hangers that will change your closet forever.

Buy It! AmazonBasics Slim Velvet Non-Slip Clothes Hangers, Pack of 50, $25.49; amazon.com ; Oxo Good Grips 4-Piece Mini Pop Container Set, $19.95; amazon.com

Amazon also threw in tons of items to help grow any new hobbies you may have picked up while spending time at home, like crafting , coffee-making , and plant collecting (of course). If you happen to be interested in a new exercise routine, theres even an entire section dedicated to home fitness , which includes workout equipment, clothes, and accessories.

Buy It! BalanceFrom GoFit Adjustable Ankle Weights, $12.99; amazon.com ; BalanceFrom GoYoga+ Thick Yoga Mat, $29.37; amazon.com

With so much to browse through, we have a feeling youll be thinking of all kinds of new ways to spruce up your space. Check out the entirety of Amazons New Home Essentials storefront here .

Do you love a good deal?Sign up for PEOPLEs Shopping newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest sales, plus celebrity fashion, home dcor and more. Andcheck out PEOPLEs Coupons page for even more discounts.

Gallery: Shop Walmart Back-to-School Sales on School Supplies (Good Housekeeping)

Read the rest here:

Amazon's New Home Essentials Storefront Has Everything You Need to Keep Your Space Organized, Comfy, and Clean - MSN Money

Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell is published in hardback by Sceptre, priced 20 (ebook 10.99)

A meandering grind of a music opus, it's the 1960s and Utopia Avenue - aka ethereal Jasper, folksy Elf, lippy Dean and laidback Griff - are trying to make it big as a band, scrapping over song credits and struggling with their individual demons as they go. Each bandmate has a certain spark to them, but this latest book from David Mitchell - author of the mesmeric Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks - is off-puttingly long, peppered with many a forced, awkward celeb cameo (Bowie, Nina Simone, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin...), alongside Mitchell's usual nods to his other books (characters that overlap his literary worlds). Even harder to square though is the way it's structured; chunky paragraphs alternately flit back and forth in time, not in a way that's disorientating, but in a way that slows and halts proceedings frustratingly. This is hampered further by the lengthy inclusion of song lyrics - which you may find yourself skim reading... Snatches of Utopia Avenue contain soul, but it takes some getting to.

ELLA WALKER

Olive by Emma Gannon is published in hardback by HarperCollins, priced 14.99 (ebook 6.99)

I was hooked straight away by the topics writer and broadcaster Emma Gannon covers in Olive, her first foray into fiction; particularly, how it's still a 'taboo' for a woman to say she doesn't want children. The story follows the eponymous character and her three best friends, Isla, Cecily and Bea. Moving between their 20s and present-day - as they navigate their early 30s - we see how their lives have taken very different paths. Gannon's characters feel comfortingly familiar, and their various struggles many women will be able to identify with. I loved the exploration of how messy friendships can get, and how much warmth, empathy, and understanding Gannon displays throughout. My only criticism would be some plot developments felt a little rushed, the writing a little hurried. However, that doesn't take away from how enjoyable it is; the fact I devoured it in one weekend says it all.

GEORGIA HUMPHRIES

If I Had Your Face? by Frances Cha is published in paperback by Viking, priced 12.99 (ebook 7.99).

If I Had Your Face is the debut novel from Frances Cha, which follows four women who live in the same apartment block in Seoul, South Korea. All of them placing unrealistic expectations of beauty, success and romance upon themselves. Plastic surgery devotee, Kyuri, works as a 'room salon girl' where she entertains the ludicrously wealthy men of the city, Miho is an artist with connections to the upper echelons of Korean society, K-Pop obsessed mute, Ara, is a hairdresser and their pregnant neighbour, while Wonna, is stuck in an uninspiring and underpaid office job with fears over how she will afford to be a mother. Each chapter alternates between the four protagonists, told in the first person, the trouble is I had a hard time distinguishing whose voice I was hearing. All of them are struggling to get by in modern day Korea; a place where birth, marriage and unemployment rates are at an all-time low. They are looking for a life as far away from their disadvantaged beginnings as possible and the lengths they are willing to go to achieve that are ruthless. The book ends a little prematurely and with multiple loose ends left hanging. Ultimately, this is an entertaining book you won't struggle to get through, but it might leave you feeling slightly unsatisfied.

FRANCES WRIGHT

The Hungover Games by Sophie Heawood is published in hardback by Jonathan Cape, priced 14.99 (ebook 9.99)

Unexpectedly pregnant in Los Angeles, where she has been living in a bubble as a celebrity journalist, Sophie Heawood returns to the UK to have the baby she had not planned for. What follows next is a frank memoir about shedding one's old life to nurture another, trying to date and hold down a freelance career while bringing up a newborn, with a few big-name interviews thrown in along the way. The brutal precision in which she describes prolonged singledom is so accurate it leaves the reader winded; the love for her daughter, sublime. This is in turns gorgeous, unflinching, tender, sad, affirming and cackle-worthy. You don't need to be a mother, have one in your life or hope to become one, for the razor-sharp observations chronicled here to ring true.

JEMMA CREW

Children's book of the week

The Wild Way Home by Sophie Kirtley is published in hardback by Bloomsbury Children's Books, priced 6.99 (ebook 4.02)

Sophie Kirtley's debut is a thoughtful and gentle musing on how to cope with change, and control the feeling of fear when it floods your system. It's Charlie Merriam's 12th birthday, and his new little brother Dara has just arrived, but the baby is poorly, and Charlie doesn't know how to love him just yet. So, Charlie runs away to the forest, where he and his friends have built a whole world of their own. Except this time, the forest feels and looks different - and then Charlie finds a boy in animal skins face down in a stream. There are broad echoes of David Almond's Kit's Wilderness, but The Wild Way Home is not so darkly complex and tangled. Charlie's adventures lack a certain amount of peril, while the lives of those he encounters in this ancient version of his forest could do with more fleshing out. However, it's a solid story about facing what terrifies you, feeling your feelings (however tough that may be) and protecting the ones you love. Plus, it will make you desperate to get out into the forest.

ELLA WALKER

View original post here:

Books: Five new books to read this week - HeraldScotland

Ilana Tel-Oren August 6th, 2020 - 4:47 PM

Todd Rundgrens tour, titled The Individualist, A True Star has been rescheduled from 2020 to 2021 and hell be stopping at the Wiltern on January 16, 2021. Rundgren is one of the most prolific artists of his time, and is known for his innovations in music, technology and catchy pop songwriting.

Rundgren is multi-faceted and multi talented. Hes known for being a pioneer in electronic music and prog rock, and also in his music video productions and web streaming. When he wasnt performing and making music with this band, Utopia, Rundgren also released albums as a solo artist and produced highly acclaimed records for acts including Badfinger, Meatloaf, Grand Funk Railroad, The New York Dolls and XTC.

His music was most successful in his earlier years, from 1970-1991, which is still an impressive 20-year peak. Songs like 1971s We Gotta Get You A Woman climbed to the Top 20 songs of the year, and his popular ballad Can We Still Be Friends reached the Top 30 in its year. Around 1984, Rundgren pulled the plug on his band Utopia and focused on his producing and computer science career. He even later worked on film soundtracks including the Farrelly Brothers movie and Dumb and Dumber. In the late 90s Rundgren toured with Ringo Starrs All-Starr Band, and returned to tour with them in 2017. After over a decade, Rundgren returned to his solo music with 2004s Liars. Hes continued his solo career, with no signs of stopping in sight.

Dive into Rundgrens massive discography and get excited to catch the performance of an Individualist, A True Star.

Location: The Wiltern

Address:3790 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90010

Tickets available starting at $39

Read the rest here:

See the Legendary Todd Rundgren Live at The Wiltern 1/16/21 - mxdwn.com

(Pictured: Todd Myers' TEDx talk on smart phone environmentalism)

There is an impending economic collapse coming. This collapse is not in doubt. It is certain and the only question is whether or not we should return to a capitalist system based on endless growth.

This is the claim of the General Secretary of the Transit Riders Union and Crosscut columnist Katie Wilson. In three columns Wilson discusses the question, Can capitalism survive? Not surprisingly, the General Secretary makes it clear she thinks the answer is no.

Her arguments, however, show how weak the case against free markets is. As an alternative she offers vague rhetoric, because any effort to describe the alternative would require her to veer into the dangerous waters of a century of failed socialist mandates.

The arguments she outlines against markets are based not on data, but on talking points that are assumed to be true, but which are, in fact, demonstrably false. Ultimately what the three columns demonstrate is that when socialist systems try alleviating poverty, saving the planet, and respecting human dignity, politics are more important than results. With free markets, results are more important than political rhetoric. The evidence is there for those who care to look.

For example, Wilson claims capitalism requires more natural resources and energy but offers no evidence. The data demonstrate this is incorrect. During the last 50 years, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the United States has nearly quadrupled. Despite that amazing growth, consumption of key minerals like aluminum, copper, nickel, steel, and gold are nearly identical to their level in 1970. Additionally, per capita energy use is six percent lower than it was in 1970.

Americans are more prosperous than we were 50 years ago, but we are using fewer minerals and less energy per person.

Developed countries are also increasing the amount of forestland. Between 2000 and 2015, forestland in the Northern Hemisphere grew by 69 million acres, larger than the size of Oregon. Deforestation is occurring not in wealthy, market-based countries, but in poor countries, where trees are cut down to cook food and stay warm.

These data are widely available but not well known because opponents of markets simply assume more prosperity means more environmental harm pitting the prosperity of people against the planet. Nowhere is this data-free assumption more obvious than in the discussion of climate change.

Wilson says the climate crisis requires an end to capitalism. A crisis mentality, however, blinds her and many on the left to the reality that the government approaches they support have consistently failed.

Seattle has missed every one of its CO2-reduction targets. So, too, has Washington state. The Kyoto Protocols targets were missed and the countries that have signed the Paris Climate Accord are falling well short of their own promises, let alone the targets they loudly announced in press releases. Politicians talk a big game and many on the left fall for the pleasing rhetoric, even as the data clearly show the results to be abysmal.

By way of contrast, the worlds largest corporations are setting and meeting aggressive environmental targets. Walmart set a goal of reducing 20 million metric tons of CO2 in its supply chain. The company overshot its goal by 40 percent, reducing 28 million MT. Microsoft has pledged not merely to reduce its CO2 emissions, but to offset all past emissions. Amazons commitment to cutting CO2 is emblazoned on the top of an arena, which I think is kind of silly, but it is as big a public statement of commitment as there can be.

Ironically, the same left-wing climate activists who praise failed politicians, attack corporations whose goals are not only more ambitious but are actually being met. Politics, not the planet, is the left-wing activists priority. People acting voluntarily in the free market, on the other hand, consistently find ways to do more with fewer resources, reducing environmental impact even as people have more to eat, more leisure time, better health, and better living conditions.

Fundamentally the politically directed society Wilson favors is deeply immoral. It concentrates power in the hands of politicians who promise to do good but have a history of misusing it. Like todays cancel culture, Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s used his political power to blacklist and silence political opponents. It was capitalism that ultimately foiled his plan. Blacklisted Hollywood screenwriters found work (under assumed names), with one even winning an Academy Award. Capitalism destroyed McCarthys cancel culture.

Politically imposed rules like occupational licenses, a high minimum wage, and redline zoning all had overtly racist origins and continue to impose disproportionate harm on minorities. The hero of Wilsons piece, Franklin Roosevelt, adopted the most openly racist policy of the 20th century, sending Japanese American citizens to camps while they lost their land and businesses.

Advocates of government power argue that government will deliver environmental justice. Tell that to the people of Flint, Michigan. When the government switched the public water supply and then lied about the problem, residents found no protection from the Environmental Protection Agency. When it was proposed that EPA fund water filters for residents, EPA staff argued against it, writing, I dont know if Flint is the kind of community we want to go out on a limb for.

Private citizens, not politicians or government, found and, ultimately, solved the problem. It was a private company that stepped in and donated the clean, bottled water that people needed. A small company took the used plastic bottles and turned them into eyeglasses, using the profit to help the people of Flint, where politicians had failed them.

The response from those on the left to these arguments is to point to various economic problems. Poverty. Inequality. The need for improved healthcare. These are real problems, problems that are worth paying attention to. Important problems, however, require serious practical thinking, not just gauzy political rhetoric.

Wilson and others on the left assume that politicians can successfully create a new bureaucracies to solve these challenges, despite a long record of failure. This time it will be different, they are quick to retort, without explaining why.

Clearly, government has a role in providing vital public services. I worked at a state agency first-hand experience that many who trust implicitly in government solutions dont have. I saw the good work that can be done. I also saw the limits. Ignoring those limits is why King Countys ten-year plan to end homelessness ended up doubling homelessness instead. It is why government officials are missing many of their own environmental goals.

One of my favorite sayings is the man who says it cant be done should get out of the way of the woman who is doing it. The left claims the free market cant help people and the planet even as markets empower people and actually protect the environment.

Wilson laments what she and others on the left call late-stage capitalism. Their socialist alternative, however, is anything but new. It is a tired ideology and a failed approach that is well beyond its late stage. It was dead and buried in the last century. Their hope is to dig it up and revive it, but the result will be more like Frankensteins monster than the utopia they portray in their rhetoric.

Read more here:

For people and the environment, markets achieve what politicians can only promise - washingtonpolicy.org

CLEARFIELD UTOPIA Fiber is coming to Clearfield.

On Thursday, UTOPIA announced a $13.8 million agreement with the city to build a fiber-to-the-home network, giving the city's 32,000 residents access to some of the nations fastest internet speeds.

The first home is expected to be connected in late 2020. Clearfield will be the 15th Utah city to have residential service through the inter-local agency. UTOPIA started as a group of 11 cities that joined together in 2004 to bring fiber internet to residences and businesses in their areas. The group lays down fiber optic cables, then leases the infrastructure to local internet service providers so residents can choose from a variety of providers.

Its already been a busy year for UTOPIA. In February, the company announced West Point would be getting residential service; in April, it finished the infrastructure build for Morgan; and in July, it announced a project to help fight wildfires. And thats all with internet demand surging. UTOPIA saw sign-ups actually grow from June to July a pattern that has been consistent since the pandemic took hold.

Clearfield Mayor Mark Shepherd said the citys population is expected to increase by nearly 50% by 2040, and he believes the agreement with UTOPIA is key to a successful economic growth in the city.

"Our residents require better internet options, the freedom to choose from multiple providers, faster speeds, and affordable prices," Shepard said in a statement. "UTOPIA Fiber has been delivering that for our business community and were excited to expand fiber access to every home in the city."

Once the network is constructed, residents can choose between 13 service providers via UTOPIA Fibers open access model. Prices begin at $65 per month.

With the coronavirus pandemic driving internet usage to record levels, UTOPIA executive director Roger Timmerman said in a statement the new infrastructure will help Clearfield residents better adapt to a world that is going more and more online.

"Clearfield residents will now have the power to work remotely, participate in distance learning, access telehealth, and stream video on multiple connected devices, without the slowdowns or buffering of a typical network, Timmerman said.

The $13.8 million projects is being financed through revenue bonds issued through UTOPIA Fibers sister agency, UIA, and backed by the city. Like all UTOPIA Fiber projects since 2009, the Clearfield build will be paid for by subscriber revenues.

Original post:

Clearfield will be next city to bring UTOPIA Fiber internet to residents - KSL.com

By Jennifer Huberdeau, The Berkshire Eagle

WILLIAMSTOWN A black panther rises from a river; a lioness, at its edge, dips a toe into the water as a lion stands guard. Behind them, myriad animals roam a hillside that leads, in the distance, to the ruins of a city, where only broken skyscrapers remain.

The panther gazes into the distance, beyond the viewer, who is of no importance; of no consequence, anymore. Is this a dystopian view of the future, or a non-human animal utopia?

"Animals will return to the vacuum left by humans," we are told by artist Lin May Saeed, in the minimalist text accompanying "Panther Relief."

In this wall relief, as in all of her work, animals non-human animals as she refers to them are always front and center. Saeed's work, seen in her first solo museum exhibit, "Lin May Saeed: Arrival of the Animals," on view at The Clark Art Institute's Lunder Center through Oct. 25, centers around the lives of animals and human-animal relations.

"She is a storyteller who takes narratives from mythology, from theology, from different stories and she thinks about what would happen if humans weren't at the center of every single narrative and if we weren't so anthropocentric," said Robert Wiesenberger, associate curator of contemporary projects at The Clark. "As she tells these stories, you'll see subjects about animal subjugation and oppression; animal liberation; cohabitation with humans as a kind of utopian possibility for the future. All of that is done, I think, with a lightness of touch and even a sense of humor. I think in all of those ways, she's a really distinctive artist. I don't know of any other artist today who focuses on animals with this particular commitment to them."

The materials Saeed uses to create those stories are as distinct as the subjects of her artwork. The Berlin-based artist of German-Jewish and Iraqi descent, prefers to sculpt with a readily available material: polystyrene foam, better known as Styrofoam. The non-biodegradable plastic, easily salvaged by the artist, not only lends itself to carving, but is for the artist, a reminder of the impact of humans on the environment.

"She's very aware that its very environmentally disastrous. She's interested in transforming it. She is interested in it for several reasons," Wiesenberger said. "It's easy to get. It's cheap. It's much easier to sculpt than stone. For her, the history of sculpture is such a man's world, very masochistic. It's about who has the strength to make huge sculptures of heavy materials; who has the funds to have a studio and to have assistants. The fact that she can do all of this on her own is very important to her; very empowering.

Article Continues After Advertisement

"On the other hand, the history of animal welfare and animal rights is overwhelmingly a women's world. For Lin May Saeed, it is maybe one explanation of why the history of art and the history of animals have rarely overlapped and when they do, its very unfavorable to the animals. So for her, she's trying to create a new iconography of interspecies solidarity. We are all animals; our fate is intertwined."

The unfavorable intersection of art and animal histories begins Saeed's career-spanning show, in a cave-like entry way filled with art of past artists woodcuts by Niccolo Boldrini and Albrecht Durer and studies and drawings by Felix Bracquemond, Theodore Chasseriau and Michael Snyders that use animals as window-dressings, secondary subjects and food. Only two drawings, one by Eugene Delacroix and Rosa Bonheur, both 19th-century French artists, feature their animal subjects, a tiger and a lioness, predominantly in their images.

Article Continues After These Ads

The retrospective begins in the next gallery, introducing Saeed to the audience with some of her more easily accessible works steel gates that depict parables and other tales. Here, she, like many artists before her, tells the tale of St. Jerome and the lion. But, unlike those before her, in Saeed's "St. Jerome and the Lion," the man does not dominate the space or command the viewer's attention. The lion is not subjugating itself, as in Durer's "Saint Jerome in His Cell" in the previous gallery, but an equal in placement, height and prominence.

In another gate, "Toreador," Saeed flips the traditional narrative of the bullfighter and bull. Here, her gate shows the bull triumph over its would-be assassin. And yet, the story changes again, in "The Liberation of Animals from their Cages XXIII/Djamil Gate," in which a masked human is breaking the bonds of a camel.

The gallery moves on to her Styrofoam reliefs and sculptures, where in the center of the room two sculptures, "Calf" and "Pangolin" stand upon their shipping crates, as if celebrating their liberation. "Pangolin," newly created for the exhibit, is Saeed's latest commentary on the treatment of animals.

The pangolin the only mammal completely covered in scales and often called "the world's most-trafficked animal in the world you've never heard of" accounts for at least 20 percent of the illegally trafficked animals in the world. Although the sale of pangolins is illegal, the mammal is still highly sought out for its scales, which are used in Chinese medicine, and for its meat, which is considered a delicacy.

Article Continues After Advertisement

"It's also believed to be one of the original hosts of the coronavirus," Wiesenberger said, referring to studies that suggest COVID-19 likely emerged from recombination of viral genes in bat and pangolin coronaviruses that resulted in the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and its jump to humans.

Both liberated non-human animals gaze awestruck upon the brightly-colored "Hawr al-Hammar/Hammar Marshes," a bio-diverse marshland utopia in which reed islands float by water buffalo. The real marshes exist in southeastern Iraq, part of the Mesopotamian Marshes, which are thought to be the basis for Eden. The marshes have seen their share of human intervention. Drained by Saddam Hussein, they were restored in 2003, but by 2015 had seen their waters recede again, prompting a shift from farming and fish to a tourism economy.

In the next gallery, Saeed's work envisions an uprising of non-human animals in her drawing "War," and examines the consequences of human dominance with "Cleaner," a humanoid figure in hazmat-like clothing, holding an animal covered in oil.

The show ends in another cave-like atmosphere, this time, with Saeed's interpretation "Seven Sleepers," a Christian and Islamic parable in which seven men escape religious persecution in a cave. They break bread and fall asleep for 300 years, reawakening in a time when their faith is the major religion and they are persecuted no more. In some versions of the story, the seven are accompanied by a dog in the cave or guarded by a dog.

Saeed, in her sculpture "Seven Sleepers," makes the dog one of the seven, moving past the idea that all seven sleepers were humans.

"Once you start scratching on this topic of animals and animality, you quickly get to almost every issue we're grappling with today, whether its environmental, human rights, or the pandemic we're experiencing. It's all there but it's in stories that are accessible to people and relatable. A lot of us love animals, but it's hard for us to square our love of specific animals with the way we treat non-human animals as a whole. It's just really tough to explain. But, in this utopian world [created by Saeed], we move beyond that. It might seem like a crazy world, but it might be the only answer we have."

If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.

Here is the original post:

What if humans weren't the center of every narrative, but instead animals were? - Berkshire Eagle

- Advertisement -

Putting apart for a second the premise of Amazon Prime Videos new authentic series,Utopia, the spotlight of the teaser trailer that dropped through the shows [emailprotected] panel was the looks of 80s-film everyman John Cusack alongside Rainn Wilson ofThe OfficeandStar Trek: Discovery. What a mixture! Add to that the truth that the series comes from best-selling writer and award-winning screenwriter Gillian Flynn ofGone GirlandSharp Objectsfame. Its clear thatUtopiahas an unimaginable pedigree proper off the bat.

Utopiais impressed by the British series of the identical title and is described as a twisted and ironic thriller about saving the world whereas looking for your home in it. Cusack talked about within the panel that he was drawn to the remake regardless that his character is just not current within the UK model. I used to be conscious of the show within the UK, however not tremendous conversant in it, he admitted. It was simply such superb writing and likable characters. And actually a world and take that I hadnt seen earlier than I used to be simply all in as quickly as I learn the scripts.

Below is the trailer, which is eerily related to the present COVID-19 local weather, particularly after we hear Wilsons voice describe only a sliver of theUtopiastory: Basement scientist inserts himself into a viral pandemic. The teaser additionally ends with a basic release date of Fall 2020, which implies potential viewers receivedt have long to wait.

The series follows a gaggle of comic book followers who obsess collectively on-line a couple of graphic novel sequences, additionally known asUtopia, that tells a darkish story of conspiracies, rogue scientists, and nuclear warfare. All through the course of the eight episodes, they uncover hidden messages throughout the pages of the comic, predicting very actual threats to humanity. Ian (Dan Byrd), Becky (Ashleigh Lathrop), Samantha (Jessica Rothe), Wilson (Desmin Borges), and Grant (Javon Wanna Walton) discover that they will be the sole ones who understand the reality and got down to save the world.

- Advertisement -

See original here:

Utopia Trailer Features John Cusack alongside Rainn Wilson of The Office and Star Trek: Discoves - World Top Trend

By InYourArea Community

Submitted by Jenny Duff

A new exhibition by Daniela Flowerdew asks what do we use for Utopia now? and do we have a use for Utopia?

Through her work, she examines how the optimism of modernism sits with present day consumerism.

The textural paintings combine the strangely beautiful shapes and designs of packaging with unwanted art found in charity shops.

In Use for Utopia, Dani employs a visual language which draws on mid century design, landscape, expressionism and abstraction to create something entirely new.

The exhibition will also feature music by Celloman, composed around some of the exhibition themes.

It runs from Friday, August 7 to 18 at Pie Factory Margate, Broad Street, Margate in Kent.

The Old Town gallery is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 5pm and Sunday 11am to 4pm, with Friday night lates from 6pm to 9pm.

To find out more visit Pie Factory Margate.

Follow this link:

Margate exhibition questions if we still have a use for Utopia - In Your Area

Last week marked the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the legislation that guarantees disabled Americans protections under U.S. law. What seemed at the time to be ground-breaking legislation may actually be a late arrival to the accessibility party. A new article on the archaeology of ancient healing centers argues that thousands of years before the ADA was passed, the ancient Greeks were already providing accommodations for those with mobility impairments.

Though the landscape of Greece is dotted with ancient temples, and ruins, visitors to the country often make their way to the shrine dedicated to the healing god Asclepius in Epidaurus. This magnificent UNESCO site in the north-eastern Peloponnese was one ofif not themost important healing sanctuaries in ancient Greece. People would come from far and away looking for the kind of miraculous healthcare that only a deity can provide. Modern tourists might wonder, however, how people with mobility impairments managed to navigate the large multi-stepped temple complex.

In a recently published article in Antiquity, Dr. Debby Sneed, an archaeologist at California State University, Long Beach argues that many ancient healing centers catered to the needs of pilgrim-patients. While her article interweaves an analysis of ancient architecture, inscriptions, artwork, and literature, in the end her evidence is remarkably simple: ramps. Fixed stone ramps are rarely a feature of ancient temple complexes even if the famous Acropolis in Athens, for example, had a large lengthy ramp that led up to its entrance. The Sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus, however, had at least 11. In general, Sneed observes, healing sanctuaries had more ramps than non-healing sanctuaries.

In the past when scholars have examined these ramps they have often assumed that they were used to transport animals or other sacrificial apparatus. Theres a problem, though. The thing about sacrifices, Sneed told The Daily Beast, is that the animals did not go into the temples or buildings: animals were sacrificed on altarsoutsideof the temple, and many of the buildings were just too small to host livestock. Animal sacrifice, therefore, cant explain why it is that the buildings have ramps. Similarly, its unlikely that they were used just to help transport heavy items, because treasuries (which housed heavy items dedicated to the god) didnt have ramps attached. Instead, Sneed proposes, just as in the present, these ancient ramps were multifunctional: they allowed those with mobility impairments, the elderly, and those transporting goods to access the buildings more easily.

Sneeds arguments make sense because there was so much disability in the ancient world. Even if we only consider mobility impairments, there are many stories of wartime injuries that necessitated amputation or caused permanent injury. Vase paintings show the elderly using crutches; the name Oedipus (swollen feet) is a pun based on the ankle injuries he sustained as an infant; and even one of the 12 gods of OlympusHephaestuswalked with a limp and sometimes used a cane (according to Homer he also had a cadre of golden female robots to wait on him). Excavations at a cemetery in Amphipolis in northern Greece have revealed that between the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. 60 percent of skeletons showed evidence of conditions that could have affected mobility.

Beast Travel Digest

Get the entire world in your inbox.

More specifically, many of the fourth century B.C. inscriptions found at the Sanctuary of Asclepius refer to visitors with mobility impairments. Now, as Sneed readily acknowledges, not all of the inscriptions are accurate reports of peoples physical condition. One well-known and fantastical inscription relays a story of a woman named Kleo who had been pregnant for five years asking to give birth. Her multi-year pregnancy ended when she left the temple precinct and gave birth to a little boy who immediately got up and started walking around. This doesnt mean that all of the inscriptions are fanciful. One such believable inscription from Epidaurus mentions a man who was carried in and out of the abaton (the building where suppliants would sleep and hope to receive an instructive dream from the Asclepius) by enslaved attendants.

Stories like this, Sneed told me, suggest that those who had mobility impairments could be carried to the shrines on wagons or litters. Just as the paralytic healed by Jesus in the Gospels or Militiades, a hero of the Battle of Marathon, were carried on litters by others. Others used canes or crutches to get around. There were no wheelchairs, she added, but ramps would have been helpful for a lot of these situations.

This isnt to say that ancient Greece was a progressive utopia that cared about inclusivity. These architectural details, Sneed said, reflect an ancient mindset that people were used where they could be. An anecdote about the famous Athenian statesman Pericles recalls that one day Pericles saw an enslaved man fall out of a tree and break his leg and drily remarked that this man was going to become a tutor (a childrens teacher). The point of the not-at-all-true story is both that tutors are those who can be put to no other use, and that people who are impaired can be employed in different ways.

Though they were not disability activists, the ancient Greeks were interested in designing buildings that served their use. Even without the framework of civil rights as we understand them today, Sneed argues, the builders of these sites made architectural choices that enabled individuals with impaired mobility to access these spaces. Just as in the present, how the ancient Greeks designed buildings says a great deal about who they intended to use the spaces. Certainly, the principle of design for use has all kinds of applications when it comes to modern architecture. Sneed told me, It isnt a favor to make buildings accessible, it isnt something that anyone should feel grateful for, we should do it because we intend the buildings to be used by everyone and that includes people with disabilities.

Read the original post:

Were the Ancient Greeks ADA Compliant? - Daily Beast

The much-hyped new Batsuit is deployed in action, proving itself to be perfectly equipped to take down one of Batman's classic foes.

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman #96, by James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey and Clayton Cowles,on sale now.

One of the most surprising elements teased in the lead-up to the crossover event "Joker War" was that a new Batsuit would make its debut. Shimmering and chrome, with a prominently lit Bat symbol emblazoned across its chest, the new Batsuit looked like a cross between the silver armor from the climax of Batman & Robin and something out of Tron. And as "Joker War" escalates, readers finally have seen the new Batsuit in action, revealing that it fully equipped and ready to take on one of Batman's oldest foes: Mister Freeze.

The latest issue of "Joker War" opens with an idyllic look decades ahead into Gotham City's future. No longer the dark, grimy metropolis filled with shifty characters and rampant crime and corruption, Gotham is now a bright, technological utopia. This vision of an urban paradise is quickly interrupted by Victor Fries, back in action as Gotham's most cold-hearted villain, now with two children of his own following in their father's footsteps as icy antagonists -- complete with their own advanced hardware to flash freeze targets to absolute zero.

RELATED:Batman: How DC Fans Actually KILLED Jason Todd's Robin

Batman shows up on the scene in the nick of time, now sporting a new, futuristic vehicle matching the striking, platinum Batsuit. Freeze and his children all hit Batman simultaneously with their respective freeze rays, stopping the Bright Knight cold in his headlong charge. This proves to only be a temporary setback of course, as the upgraded Caped Crusader's arsenal now comes with a heating component that quickly thaws out Batman, with the superhero leaping back into the fray as if he hadn't been delayed at all. To subdue the supervillain family, the Dark Knight unleashes Heatarangs -- Batarangs specifically designed to neutralize the Fries family and their signature weapons, with unerring accuracy.

Of course, this vision of a utopian Gotham nearly free of its need for a Batman is nothing but a dream -- one alluded to by series writer James Tynion IV when first asked about the new suit. While a version of the suit had indeed been discovered by the Joker in the previous issue, the sequence of Batman using it to battle Mister Freeze in a possible future were all revealed to be an extended dream, brought about by the Dark Knight being poisoned by a new, powerful strain of Joker toxin at Punchline's hands. This becomes apparent as Bruce Wayne's dreams of a happy ending are horrifically transformed into a vivid nightmare; his recent failings surface, snapping Batman back awake in a city that has been completely overrun and reshaped by the Clown Prince of Crime using the Wayne family fortune.

RELATED:Batman: Wait, When Did Bruce Wayne Become a BRAIN SURGEON?!

What capabilities the prototype Batsuit may have, if any, in the real world, has yet to be seen but Bruce's dreams of a more peaceful future illustrate that he has installed contingencies for his recurring antagonists into it -- specifically to take them down. This level of obsessive preparation is hardly a new development for Batman but shows a more stylish, forward-thinking approach to the Caped Crusader's crimefighting strategy than usual. And with the prototype Batsuit teased to possibly play a role beyond "Joker War," Batman's dreams of a better tomorrow may not be that far off, provided he and the Bat Family can endure the Joker's most devastating scheme as Gotham burns all around them.

KEEP READING:DC's ORIGINAL Supervillain Just Took Control of One of Its Greatest Heroes

Black Cat Brings Back a MENACING Spider-Man Villain

Sam Stone is a 10th level pop culture guru living just outside of Washington, DC who knows an unreasonable amount about The Beatles. You can read his work in the pages of Image+, follow him on Twitter @samstoneshow, and listen to his podcast Geek Out Show on iTunes and Google Play.

Link:

Batman's Dream Suit Is the IDEAL Weapon Against Mr. Freeze | CBR - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Disney+ByMichelle Hannett|August 7, 2020

PHINEAS AND FERB THE MOVIE: CANDACE AGAINST THE UNIVERSE is coming to Disney+ in three weeks on Friday, August 28, 2020.

Catch the new trailer now.

Voice talent reprising their roles from the original series and movieinclude: Ashley Tisdale as Candace Flynn; Vincent Martella as Phineas Flynn; Caroline Rhea as their mom, Linda; Dee Bradley Baker as Perry the Platypus; Alyson Stoner as Isabella; Maulik Pancholy as Baljeet; Bobby Gaylor as Buford; Olivia Olson as Vanessa Doofenshmirtz; Tyler Mann as Carl; and Povenmire and Marsh as Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz and Major Monogram, respectively. David Errigo Jr. joins the cast as Ferb Fletcher.

Stepbrothers Phineas and Ferb, their older sister Candace, Perry the Platypus and the Danville gang are back together again in Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Candace Against the Universe, an out-of-this-world animated adventure from Disney Television Animation. Executive-produced by Dan Povenmire and Jeff Swampy Marsh (creators and executive producers of the long-running Emmy Award-winning series Phineas and Ferb), the movie centers on Phineas and Ferb as they set out across the galaxy to rescue Candace, who after being abducted by aliens, finds utopia in a far-off planet, free of pesky little brothers.

View original post here:

PHINEAS AND FERB THE MOVIE: CANDACE AGAINST THE UNIVERSE Coming To Disney + In 3 Weeks - August 28 - We Are Movie Geeks

As San Francisco enjoyed the Summer of Love in 1967, Londons Swinging Sixties were already in motion, allowing the citys young residents to live their utopian dream. The capitals downbeat post-war image was eclipsed by the bright colours of fashion and Pop Art. This new era also paved the way for political protest, set to a psychedelic soundtrack featuring the likes of Cream and Pink Floyd.

My Canadian editor once said: I know what youre doing, Mitchell. Youre making your own Middle Earth, arent you?

Although the counterculture revolution later drew criticism, it nevertheless helped to shape the collective consciousness and proved that creating a better society was achievable. This vibrant yet turbulent period in modern history is the setting of Utopia Avenue, the highly anticipated new novel by Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell, in which a band of the same name climb rock stardoms precarious ladder.

Utopia is otherworldly, says the 51-year-old, speaking via Skype from his home in County Cork, Ireland, where he lives with his wife and two children. Its only really a place you can glimpse, but those glimpses are crucial and without them, you are in a dystopia. Even if by some chance you do get there, it rarely stays that utopia for long. Utopia Avenue is in the real world its an impossible thing alongside a very mundane, suburban thing, so the band and I like the name because its an oxymoron.

Mitchell was born in Ainsdale, Southport in 1969, where he has fond childhood memories of playing in the sand dunes. He moved to Worcestershire with his family, aged six, and later graduated from Kent University with a masters in comparative literature.In 1994, after a year in Sicily, he moved to Hiroshima, Japan, where he worked as an English teacher. There, he met his wife, Keiko, before writing his debut novel, Ghostwritten, which was released in 1999 and awarded the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. A further six novels followed, including his seminal work Cloud Atlas, which was adapted into a motion picture starring Tom Hanks. Was being a writer always an aspiration?

It would have been a bit of a stretch at times to call it an aspiration, or even a daydream, but even if I couldnt always express it, I think Ive always had an affinity with language, explains Mitchell, a proud patron of the British Stammering Association an affliction he has himself suffered with throughout his life.

I also got pleasure from world-building, narrative building and imagining people who werent real. I noticed that long before I ever formulated it in a sentence.

The novel pays homage to the 1960s timeless sounds as the fictional band rub shoulders with real-world artists. Like his latest characters, music has shaped Mitchells life immeasurably.

The biopic of your life has its own soundtrack, he says.There are songs from your youth that licensed you to act and think in certain ways. Songs that contain different versions of yourself and songs that you play for their mood-altering properties. The marriage of lyrics and music can alter how you feel in life-enhancing ways and I wouldnt want to live in a world without that.

Over eight novels and counting, Mitchell has created a multiverse within his ever-expanding ber novel. He is masterful at interlocking stories often across continents, genres and time periods earning him a loyal fan base. It is also a favoured trait to introduce past characters into someone elses tale.

Shakespeare did it, so I cant claim to have invented this and I wouldnt, admits Mitchell, whose previous novel, Slade House, originated from experimental storytelling on Twitter.

When a character in an earlier novel walks on stage in a new novel they come with luggage and associations. The prime directive has always been that if this book is the only thing by me that you ever read, then it must make complete sense as a standalone novel. But if you have a popular character in an earlier book, then why not use the luggage theyre bringing in the present book? Its kind of irresistible.

Mitchells body of work is akin to the popular fantasy of JRR Tolkien and George RR Martin in terms of its ambitious worldly scale.

My Canadian editor once said: I know what youre doing, Mitchell. Youre making your own Middle Earth, arent you? laughs the two-time Booker Prize nominee.I began to dispute it, but then I thought about it and they were essentially right. I want to write this cathedral-sized literary undertaking bigger than Westeros in terms of world size and I also dont want to do that, because if I tried to, it would be at the expense of everything else. The ber novel lets me do both.

Following shows in Europe, Utopia Avenue travel Stateside on tour, bridging their utopian dream with the American Dream. Such journeys mirror Mitchells globetrotting, which was vital to his early novels before starting a family.

The days where I could put everything I owned in a backpack and go off for six months, living as cheaply as possible, are pretty much long gone now, but I have brilliant memories of those days, he reflects, having had his planned book promotion schedule affected dramatically by Covid-19.They were really important in terms of replenishing the compost heap of experience that I could draw from. I like to visit a place as if Im a location scout, thinking, what use could this place be for narrative? There are good valid reasons to do things, in and of themselves, but theres often a secondary, more novelistic reason for going to a place or saying yes to an invitation.

When his son was diagnosed with autism at the age of three, Mitchell came to understand the challenges faced by those living with the condition, who often find the modern world overstimulating and difficult to navigate. To think of it as a disability, much less an illness or a curse, is a grave disservice, he says, after co-translating two novels on the subject by Naoki Higashida from Japanese to English with his wife.

It can be hard, but often these hardships come about by the neurotypical world not knowing how to make the world more friendly for autistic people. If I could spare my son the hassle, pain and future problems, I would remove those obstacles. However, I am very grateful to him and autism for teaching me about neurodiversity.

Beyond its central focus on music, one of Utopia Avenues wider themes is the collision between idealism and reality.

[In the late 1960s] it was believed by a critical mass that if you willed it strongly enough, you could change some of the foundation blocks upon which society is built, says Mitchell, of movements including civil rights, the CND and feminism.

Many of the organisations that have an influence on the world, such as Greenpeace or Amnesty International, can trace their roots back to this exciting time. Any institution we value including the NHS, universal suffrage or the welfare state was at some point somebodys dangerous, subversive and utterly unrealistic utopian dream, viciously suppressed by the powers that be.

Despite this period sparking much-needed progress, Mitchell believes that society has continued to neglect the disadvantaged over subsequent decades.

Our society assumes that youre healthy and middle class and if you dont fit into those categories then youre in trouble. Thats not a society. A society only deserves to call itself that if it is taking proper care of those who need it, he says passionately. I know everything costs money, but the levels of inequality are so pharaonic they make the Victorians look fair. Its despicable, its wrong and the answer is not revolutionary. The answer is just fair taxation or a fairer idea of fair that would do so much. Why does it make you a raving, drooling Marxist for saying: We can do better than this?

Mitchell considers the issue of homelessness. If you have a roof over your head and food in the fridge then youre already one of the lucky ones. One stroke can take your life off script suddenly you need other people and having a decent income isnt enough anymore. If you have a kid who will need help when youre no longer around, you start thinking about this more.

Against the backdrop of a global pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests, societal inequalities continue to be put under the microscope. The utopian dream of the Swinging Sixties has been replaced by an all-encompassing movement for a permanent change to the longstanding status quo. Although divides remain, recent surges in community spirit and increased government scrutiny by the press have done much to unite society. Mitchell contemplates whether the tide is turning.

I am hopeful. Our better angels are there in the newspapers and media. They are there in the behaviour of many of our neighbours too, especially right now.

As long as this is not exterminated, snuffed out or misappropriated by murky forces, then there is no reason to believe that this hope cannot be nourished into something much stronger.

Its important to believe, but you cant stop there either. Hope is not enough. You need hope and action.

Utopia Avenue out now (Sceptre Books, 20)

A Day in the Life by The Beatles from Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

The Beatles in a single song: groundbreaking yet grounded, dream-like yet quotidian, edgy Lennon and melodic McCartney, ending with one of the all-time great final chords.

I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl by Nina Simone from Nina Simone Sings the Blues

A sumptuous two minutes 32 seconds in praise of sensuality and bluesy longing. Curvaceous sax solo thrown in for free.

All Along the Watchtower by Bob Dylan from John Wesley Harding

A windswept harmonica, urgent bass and drums, and lyrics that project feverish flickering images from stories or visions.

My Back Pages by The Byrds from Younger Than Yesterday

A crackling, yearning, soaring Dylan cover. Busier than the original, this version serves the lyrics better. Roger McGuinns 12-string guitar solo is brief but heart-breaking.

White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane from Surrealistic Pillow

In 1967 psychedelic songs were 10-a-penny and five-a-cent: psychedelic songs as irresistible, catchy and sinister as this were rare. The song itself, like Alice in Wonderland, has become a cultural touchstone.

Montague Terrace (in Blue) by Scott Walker from Scott

A prose poem of seedy bedsitland belted out by a heartthrob-turned-chanson powerhouse, set to a lush orchestral arrangement. Astonishing. They dont make em like this anymore. They didnt make many like em back then, either.

Ruby Tuesday by The Rolling Stones from Flowers

An evergreen portrait of a woman with an elegant melody, coloured by Brian Jones on recorder. Vulnerable and curiously un-Stones-like.

Im Waiting for the Man by The Velvet Underground from The Velvet Underground & Nico

This jangling two-chord song about scoring drugs sounds as fresh, listless and immediate today as it did half a century ago when, surely, it must have sounded like a song from another planet?

A Change is Gonna Come by Aretha Franklin from Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You

The Queen of Soul fully inhabits Sam Cookes song, buoyed by piano and organ. For as long as prejudice and injustice exists, the song will be not only moving and beautiful, but relevant.

Little Wing by The Jimi Hendrix Experience from AxisBold As Love

Tender lyrics and an intricate guitar part that interweaves with the vocal like a backing singer. I wish Little Wing was three times as long.

Go here to read the rest:

Heaven and the mundane - Big Issue North

A scene from "Dispatches From 2120." Art by Josh Kramer.

The cherry blossom trees are dead. The federal government is moving to Colorado. But theres good news for anyone pining for statehood for the District of Columbia: It will happen! In 100 years.

Thats the setting for Dispatches From 2120, a speculative fiction newsletter from the terrific local things-to-do newsletter 730DC that debuted Thursday. A new 2120 newsletter will appear weekly, as will a related comic on Instagram. Both will be created by Josh Kramer, a freelance journalist and artist whos lived in DC on and off (mostly on) since he enrolled in American University in 2005. Kramers fascinated by transportation and urban infrastructure, and last year he created a comic for CityLab about how a commute might look in a dystopian future.

While the newsletter will describe happenings in the new commonwealth of Douglass (whose citizens rejected the names Washington and Columbia because of their namesakes troubling histories), the comic will tell the story of a resident who works for the Department of the Interior, has a relationship, and has to decide whether to move to Colorado to keep his job.

Theres a couple of things that are just like mentioned, literally in one or two lines in the newsletter, Kramer says, and they end up being a huge setting for an entire chapter of the comic. If that sounds like a fictional universe to you, youve understood the project, he says. He compiled a bible of things that are canonically true about the world in Dispatches From 2120, but he hopes people will want to contribute sanctioned fanfic in whatever form they like. For someone who is really invested in sports or local music or food, he says, there would be so much that they could do here.

Technology is often where fiction about the future stumblesnot every sci-fi author imagined that wed all would walk around with a powerful computer in our pockets, for instance. There is a lot of technology in there, he says. But it is specific to certain areas that were talking about. For example, in the first newsletter, theres an event (sorry, its sold out) where an arborist will present a plan to bring cherry blossoms, which died out due to climate change, and a reference to the Governor-elects remarks on public messaging, AKA that notification you couldnt swat away yesterday.

The idea is I bet there will be notifications of some sort, he says. And you can dismiss them or not.

Douglasss governor to be is named Angela Beal, and if that last name sounds familiar to you, theres a reason why: Kramer constructed a name generator for the project using the names of DC ANC commissioners, the Washington Mystics, and the Washington Wizards. Some characters are referred to with they/them pronouns, as well: In the future, Kramer reckons, around a third of the population will prefer such forms of address.

If that sounds like progress, please note that in the future of Dispatches From 2120, ANCs still exist. We definitely early on decided that we did not want this to be a full on utopia or a full-on dystopia, he says. People around the US dont always understand that DC is a city with its own culture and government, an issue Kramer doesnt expect time to erase. I wanted to see a version of the future that grappled with that.

The Washington Post still exists in 2120, and theres a publication called CHEERS that Kramer views as similar to the now-shuttered Express.I was curious whether my employer might exist a century from now, something Kramer says he hadnt considered. After a few moments of discussion, we decided that it would, but its name would have to change, too. I do hope my descendants will enjoy working at Douglasstonian.

Dispatches From 2120 will appear every Thursday until September 10. Current subscribers will already receive the newsletter and you can alsosign up here and look for comic updates on 730DCs Instagram. Kramer will appear in a live Q&A on 730DCs Instagram at 7:30 PM on August 17.

Join the conversation!

See the original post here:

730DC Has Launched a New Newsletter About Events. They Take Place 100 Years in the Future - Washingtonian

Nintendo sales are still soaring.

The Japanese company posted another round of blockbuster earnings Thursday, proving that its hot streak from the pandemic is far from over.

The company said it made 145 billion yen ($1.37 billion) in operating profit for the quarter ended June, marking a 428% surge compared to the same time a year ago. That blew away expectations from analysts, who had estimated about 62 billion yen of profit, according to data provided by Refinitiv.

Nintendo also doubled sales from a year ago, taking in about 358 billion yen ($3.4 billion).

The results show that months into the pandemic, people are still turning to the Nintendo Switch game console in droves. Nintendo sold about 5.7 million of the devices from April through June, marking a 167% increase year-over-year.

The runaway success of Animal Crossing: New Horizons continued to be a boon for the company. The game, which is set on a relaxing virtual island utopia and allows users to fish, catch bugs and play with friends on the beach, runs on the Switch and has been in high demand since people worldwide started staying home because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Nintendo sold 10.6 million copies of the game in the most recent quarter.

Sales of this title continue to be strong, with no loss of momentum, the company said in a statement. It added that the game was its bestseller this quarter, contributing greatly to the overall growth in software sales.

Nintendo has sold 22.4 million copies of Animal Crossing overall, putting it just under Nintendos best-selling game of all time, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. That title has racked up 26.7 million sales.

The Switch, which was first released in 2017, sold out on various websites earlier this year as customers scrambled to find new forms of home entertainment.

This spring, the Kyoto-based company ran into supply issues with the Switch as factories were shut down in China. Those closures triggered some component shortages and slowed output at factories in Vietnam.

Now, the overall production situation has almost recovered, the company said.

Nintendo also took the opportunity to tease its pipeline of games. This fall, it plans to release a new title, Pikmin 3 Deluxe, as well as offer some new content for Pokmon players. The company released another new Switch game, Paper Mario: The Origami King, last month.

We will work to keep the platform active with new titles and by reinforcing sales of popular titles that have already been released, the company said.

Kaori Enjoji contributed to this report.

Continued here:

Nintendo profit jumps more than 400% thanks to the Switch and 'Animal Crossing' - KTVZ

intro by Andrew Sacher and Erin Christie

With protests against racism, police brutality and other injustices happening all across the country this year, protest music has been hitting even harder than usual, and Little Rock, Arkansas band Terminal Nation's new album Holocene Extinction is 35 minutes of in-your-face, abrasive, cathartic, really fucking good protest music. They pull from early death and black metal as much as they pull from hardcore punk, and their songs exist within a thrilling middle ground that never fits neatly into any of those genres.

Lyrically, the album takes on the failings of the prison industrial complex, the pharmaceutical industry, and the war machine. It turns the mirror back around on those in power, and those who claim "patriotism." It's a record that asks not for reform, but an entire dismantling of the system. It resonates especially strongly right now, and it will continue to until there's some real change.

Holocene Extinction officially comes out Friday (8/7) via 20 Buck Spin (pre-order), but you can stream the whole thing right now. Vocalist Stan Liszewski also gave us a breakdown of each song on the album, so click play right here and then scroll down to see what Stan had to say...

1. "Cognitive Dissonance"Admitting you are wrong is an incredibly difficult thing to do. It's a humbling experience, to say that you once had an awful mindset, but you've changed and now think differently. That shows growth. There are some hard-headed, obtuse types who use all sorts of mental gymnastics to justify their wrong and antiquated views, rather than just take their L and move on. I think, deep down, they know that they're wrong, but they're stuck on a sinking ship and committing to their bit until the end."The line in the sand's been drawn. Which side will you be on?"

2. "Arsenic Earth"The planet is dying. This track is a frustrated and rage-filled perspective from the sidelines while we watch our home being destroyed. This is me screaming into the void, "How did we let this happen?," and because we let this happen, maybe we deserve what's coming."After 200 years humanity has stolen two million years off of the life of the Earth. Mother nature, I beg that you show us no mercy, just as we have to you."3. "Holocene Extinction"If "Arsenic Earth" is me being frustrated with humanity, "Holocene Extinction" is the rebuttal to that, and my frustrated self-reflection at that mindset. It's not humanity as a whole that's at fault for this current climate crisis, but rather, capitalism. Those in power have too much money at stake for things to ever be allowed to change. The almighty dollar is at the bottom of this all and, as it stands now, we have crossed the point of no return."You cannot save a world that refuses to be saved. Holocene Extinction."

4. "Master Plan"This track is about various American institutions like the prison industrial complex, the police, the use of immigration camps, etc., and how people often refer to them as 'broken systems.' Many think that these programs have potential to be reformed. I'd disagree with that; to advocate for reform of these institutions implies that they have failed, but they have not failed. These are not 'broken systems;' they are functioning exactly how they were intended to. They were made to inflict harm, gain control over, and profit off society's most vulnerable and marginalized people. This was always their Master Plan."To advocate for reform of these violent institutions implies that they have failed, but they have not failed. This is exactly what they were always meant to be. The system is not broken, this is their master plan."

5. "Revenge"This is a fun throwback. The frame of this track was used in our first EP, Waste. It was the heaviest track on that record and it was deserving of a redo. We beefed it up production-wise and added a few new interesting parts. Simply put, this track is about the desire to exact revenge on those that have harmed you and harmed those that you love."Fuck around and find out."

6. "Thirst To Burn"To piggyback on "Revenge," sometimes taking the high road means whoopin' some ass. Sometimes people absolutely need to be taken down by force. There is often privilege in saying 'violence isn't the answer.' Those saying that 'violence doesn't solve anything' usually don't have to live in fear of being on the receiving end of violence. There can be a great deal of risk involved in standing your ground, but sometimes, there is no other option."I would risk it all, just to see them fall."

7. "Orange Bottle Prison"The pharmaceutical industry in the United States is a scam. I think we all know someone, or perhaps at one time or another, have personally avoided taking a particular drug that was deemed necessary by a physician because we couldn't afford it. I know I have. It's unfortunate, but making life-saving medicine affordable isn't something that fits within the scope of their current business model."If the drugs don't kill me then the price of them will, price-gouging the sick, pay or be fucking killed."8. "Leather Envy" Some people love the taste of that leather boot a little too much. Death to all bootlicking."Those who bow to their own oppressor are the weakest link in the chain of being."

9. "Expired Utopia"This is the first time Terminal Nation has experimented with an instrumental track. It starts off with one riff, and if you listen closely, every 2 measures or so, you'll hear another riff layered on top of the previous one and it stacks up well. Even without lyrics, this song tells a story. Similar to "Holocene Extinction," this is a somber melody about the helpless feeling of knowing things are probably too far gone to be fixed. You often hear that once things get better, future generations will look back on this time and view it as a dark period, but what if there are no future generations? What if things won't get better? What if they only get worse? Any redeeming possibility for a peaceful utopian future has all but expired.

10. "Death For Profit"War is extremely profitable and no one partakes in the business of war quite like the United States of America. American imperialism has run amuck for generations now, and the indoctrination of blind patriotism is what fuels that imperialism."The smell of money is used to hide the stench of death. Death toll rising or strategic ratings boost? Blinded by the concept of patriotism this is the empowerment of imperialism. Death for profit to the highest bidder, when will we ever learn?"11. "Caskets of the Poor"Military recruiters view poor, marginalized, and underprivileged youth as fodder. They prey on young, poor folks with pipedreams of a better life and send them to die to benefit the old, powerful, and rich. It's a tale as old as time."I pledge allegiance to perpetual war and the flag that blankets the caskets of the poor."

12. "Disciple of Deceit""Disciple of Deceit" is about these right-wing politicians and political types who use their cherry-picked version of Christianity as a means to infringe upon the existence of others. They'll go after things like marriage equality, other religious beliefs, trans rights, abortion rights, and more, taking stabs at some of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in the US, yet, upon meeting any resistance to their regressive way of thinking, they develop a persecution complex and act as if they are the ones that are the oppressed."You wouldn't know oppression if it nailed you to the fucking cross."

13. "Age of Turmoil" The closing track on the LP is a culmination of all of the topics that are previously touched on, but from a perspective that's a bit more hopeful. Who knows exactly what the future holds for us, but in the interim, we've got to look out for one another and weather through this age of turmoil."No pasarn!"

See the original post:

Terminal Nation discuss every track on their killer new album (which is streaming) - Brooklyn Vegan

Apple Arcadelaunched with close to 100 titles and the service is seeing new games added regularly. Follow along with our guide on the latest from Apples gaming service.

You can learn more about and downloadall the new games by heading to the Arcade tab in the App Store, then swipe down to the very bottom and tap See All Games. The newest games are listed at the top.

If you havent signed up yet, Apple Arcade is available free for the first month, then $5/month for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, and Apple TV. PS4 and Xbox wireless controllers are also now compatible with Apple devices and select titles.

8/7: Apple Arcade gainsGame of Thrones: Tale of Crowsas the newest title taking players back 8,000 before Jon Snow.

In the shadow of the Wall, your watch begins. Eight thousand years before Jon Snow took the Black, the Nights Watch was formed to secure the Wall and defend the border of Westeros against the perils of the North, and all that lies beyond. Into these untamed wilds, sworn brothers and their allies set out on rangings to face the dangers that would threaten the realm. But the Wall is a blade that cuts both ways.

Guide the decisions of Lord Commanders through the seasons and mount expeditions beyond the Wall. As ravens travel to and from your expeditions in real time, their messages are delivered to you throughout your day. Respond with your command right away, or whenever you see fit.

Long is the history of the Nights Watch, and many are its stories forgotten. Its time the realm remembers them.

7/24:Landing on Apple Arcade today isThe Lullaby of Life, an adventure game with a focus on music, relaxation, and agility.

In The Lullaby of Life you are the catalyst for change in a universe currently inert but filled with potential.

Explore this amazing world that combines relaxation, dexterity and agility, and help it reach its maximum splendor using the power of music to make life bloom.

This adventure has no textual elements, and wearing headphones is highly recommended. Lets write together a new story about the origin of life!

7/17:Necrobaristais the newest addition to Apple Arcade. Heres the description of the new dark adventure title:

In a back-alley Melbourne cafe, the dead are granted one last night to mingle with the living.For Maddy Xiaobarista, amateur necromancer, and new owner of the Terminalthings couldnt be better, as long as youre not reminding her of the fact that shes got an enforcer from the notoriously uncompromising Council of Death breathing down her neck.

7/10:New to Apple Arcade today is a dark and eerie adventure puzzler called Creaks.

The ground starts shaking, light bulbs are breaking and something rather unusual is happening right behind the walls of your very room. Equipped with nothing but wit and courage, you slowly descend into a world inhabited by avian folk and seemingly deadly furniture monsters.

From the creators of indie classics Machinarium and Samorost comes Creaks, a new puzzle adventure game that delights the senses with its hand-painted visuals, precise animation, eerie sounds, and an eclectic original score from Hidden Orchestra. Proceed at your own pace at figuring out the solutions to dozens of carefully designed puzzles, explore the mansion for hidden paintings, and uncover the great secret.

6/25: A big release today on Apple Arcade is the futuristic adventure thriller and sequel to the popularBeneath a Steel Sky,Beyond a Steel Sky.

From Charles Cecil, creator of the Broken Sword series, with art direction by Dave Gibbons, legendary comic book artist behind Watchmen, comes Beyond a Steel Sky, the long awaited sequel to the cult classic Beneath a Steel Sky.

You are Robert Foster. A child has been abducted in a brutal attack. You have vowed to bring him home. But the trail has led you from your community of desert wasteland dwellers, to Union City, one of the last remaining mega-cities in a world ravaged by shattering wars, and political meltdown.

Fortified and impenetrable, it is a utopia in which people live happily under the surveillance and control of a benign AI. But all is far from what it seems

Beyond a Steel Sky is a dramatic, humorous, cyberpunk thriller in which engaging puzzles drive a fast-paced narrative set in a dynamic gameworld that responds to and is subverted by the players actions.

An adventure set within a dynamic world, populated by willful characters driven by motivations that the player can subvert. In combination with a unique hacking tool, multiple solutions to puzzles emerge from player choices. Unravel dark conspiracies, defeat a terrifying antagonist in this dramatic, humorous, cyberpunk thriller, which explores contemporary themes: social control, AI, and total surveillance. Intelligent puzzles are interwoven with an intriguing dramatic narrative to deliver a compelling gameplay experience. A beautifully detailed, comic-book styled world, from the mind of legendary comic artist Dave Gibbons.

Thanks, Sigmund!

6/12:A new side-scrolling adventure game has arrived today on Apple Arcade calledLittle Orpheus.

The year is 1962 and NASA are trying to put a man on the moon. In a remote corner of Siberia, a Soviet cosmonaut is heading in the other direction. Comrade Ivan Ivanovich is dropped into an extinct volcano in his exploration capsule, Little Orpheus, to explore the center of the earth. He promptly vanishes.

Three years later he emerges claiming to have saved the world. He has also lost the atomic bomb powering the Little Orpheus. He is taken to a top secret bunker deep below the Ural mountains to be debriefed by the fearsome General Yurkovoi, a man so frightening even Stalin wont buy him a drink. The General rolls up his sleeves, fixes Ivan with a steely glare and say So where have you been comrade? And where is my bomb?And Ivan looks him right back in the eye and says Well General, you might not believe what happened to me, but Ill do my best. Because it happened like this

Join our bold yet hapless hero as he explores lost civilizations, undersea kingdoms, prehistoric jungles and lands beyond imagination. Gasp as he battles the subhuman tribe of the Menkv and escapes the clutches of dreadful monsters! Cheer as he triumphs over impossible odds and brings socialism to the subterranean worlds!

Little Orpheus is a technicolor side-scrolling adventure game inspired by classic movies like Flash Gordon, Sinbad and The Land that Time Forgot. Delivered in eight bite-size, commute-friendly episodes, Little Orpheus is simple enough for casual players but rich enough for seasoned adventure fans.

If youre a fan of old school family blockbusters, want a rollercoaster story thatll take you to the Earths core and beyond, or are just in some need of ideologically correct entertainment, join the most unlikely hero to hit Apple Arcade on an adventure beyond belief. With stunning visuals, brilliant acting and a world-class score, Little Orpheus is a pocket-epic youll never forget.

Comrades, to the center!

6/4:It doesnt look like were getting a new Apple Arcade title this week but there is a major update for the popular RPGOceanhorn 2 with the Golden Edition today (via CNET). The expansion marks a great time to replay the game or jump in for the first time.

Introducing the Golden Edition!

Theres never been a better time to start your RPG adventure or to jump back in! The Golden Edition update is packed with new, exciting content, and its the best version of the game to date!

5/28: Apple Arcade has added a new game from Nickelodeon called SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit. Heres how its described:

Trouble has come to Bikini Bottom! The evil mastermind Sheldon J. Plankton has once again hatched a plan to steal the secret Krabby Patty formula. This time he has enlisted his army of cousins to capture all of SpongeBobs friends! Play as SpongeBob on his epic, most side-scrolly quest through Bikini Bottom ever! Explore, collect coins and spatulas, and crush obstacles as SpongeBob races to rescue his friends, defeat Planktons minions and take back the formula. Keep an eye out for your favorite Bikini Bottom residentsyou never know who you might run into!

5/22:Apple Arcade sees the arrival of a new dungeon crawler RPG,Towers of Everland.

Lets go on a dungeon crawl as Towers of Everland seamlessly brings together exploration, combat and RPG elements to take the player on an amazing adventure within the world of Everland. On your epic journey, test your skills in battle against the hordes of fiendish monsters you encounter, conquer all the towers you can and amass weapons and armor from hundreds of unique pieces.

5/14:Launched today on Apple Arcade is a fun new puzzle journey calledWinding Worlds.

Youre far from home. Youre not sure how you got here. But you do know one thing: its your calling to help your new friends, however you can. But not all of them are being cooperative

From the award-winning studio that brought you GNOG comes Winding Worlds, a finger-wiggling puzzle-adventure about a girl, a Wurm, and how to say goodbye.

Willow just wants to mind her own business. But after she finds a broken magical necklace, she is transported on a spellbinding journey to a network of strange planets, each with a different inhabitant. Hired and guided by a mysterious cosmic Wurm, Willows task is to find out how to help her new friends heal and move on. In Winding Worlds, join a cast of characters, big and small, in a heartwarming tale of grief, love, truth, and acceptance.

5/8:Apple Arcade has gainedThe_Otherside, a new turn-based RPG.

Otherside is a turn based RPG and strategy board game where you will control four survivors who hope to push back the shadowy threat. Make your way through each level solving puzzles, fighting monsters, and destroying the spirit anchors that threaten our dimension.

Do you have what it takes to restore the town back to normal and save the day?

5/1:The latest addition to Apple Arcade is the adventure titleNeversong.

Upon waking from a coma, Peets girlfriend is nowhere to be found. Investigate the screams coming from the heart of Neverwood, the increasingly bizarre behavior of the zombie grownups, and the strange truth about Peets past in this hauntingly dreamlike fable.

From Red Wind Field to the haunting halls of Blackfork Asylum, explore six moody, illustrative levels.

Take on bosses, monsters, and zombie grownups with your trusty baseball bat.

Immerse yourself in a breathtaking piano-centric soundtrack.

Join your quirky childhood pals and trusty pet bird on an adventure to discover the truth about your recent coma.

4/17:Apple Arcade has gained two new titles today with Beyond Blue and A Fold Apart. The former is a deep-sea diving adventure game and the latter is a love story in a paper world puzzler.

Beyond Blue takes you into the near future, where youll have the opportunity to explore the mysteries of our ocean through the eyes of Mirai, a deep sea explorer and scientist. You and your newly-formed research team will use groundbreaking technologies to see, hear, and interact with the ocean in a more meaningful way than has ever been attempted. The game features an evocative narrative, exploration of an untouched world, and adventure that challenges the player to make high-stakes decisions during the crews expedition.

And heres the description ofA Fold Apart.

After career choices force them along separate paths, a Teacher and Architect vow to make their long-distance relationship work at any cost. Experience both sides of their story as the couple navigates the complexities of (mis)communication and the emotional ups and downs that separation brings. By flipping, folding, and unfolding the paper puzzles in their handcrafted worlds, you can help the couple overcome the emotional barriers of their relationship but will love endure?

4/10:The new side-scrollerScrappers is now available on Apple Arcade.

In Scrappers, up to 4 players can team up to clean up the streets of a futuristic city teeming with garbage and trash anyone who gets in their way!

You take on the role of the Scrappers, a squad of robot garbage collectors working to clean up a grimy city of the not-so-distant future. Time is money in Junktown, and team tactics like stacking trash and passing it to teammates much like in basketball can boost your efficiency for bigger rewards!

But garbage collection is only part of the job. Rival teams will attack and interfere, and its up to you to dispose of them while staying on schedule!

Teamwork is key to maximizing efficiency and achieving high scores, which in turn unlocks new characters and customization options!

4/3:Legend of the Sky Fish 2, a new RPG has landed on Apple Arcade.

A hundred years have passed since the hero known as Little Red Hook ended the reign of terror of Skyfish, the Lord of the Deep Seas and now the peace that civilization struggled so much to build is in danger again.

As the last Red Hook guardians, you and your master must use the atypical tool of your clan the Combat Fishing Pole as both a weapon and a grappling hook to face the rising threat.

Unveil an exciting story as you journey in a world full of intriguing characters and devious traps. Explore gorgeous landscapes and mysterious dungeons while defeating mutant abyssal creatures.

3/20: Spyder is out as the latest Apple Arcade title:

Save the world with Agent 8 in this Spy-on-The-Wall adventure.

Set in a retro universe, British Spy Agency EP-8 has created Agent 8, the most sophisticated miniature robot spider on earth! Built using experimental technology, this itsy-bitsy superspy is equipped with all the gadgets and gizmos youll need; cut through panels, overload terminals, flip switches, and open valves as you scurry about sabotaging the heinous plans of evil doers.

3/13: New today is the bouncy dungeon crawlerRoundguard.

Roundguard is a bouncy dungeon crawler with pinball physics, lots of loot, and a randomized castle full of oddballs. Press your luck against hordes of dangerously cute monsters and challenging roguelike elements in this all-round bouncy adventure!

If you love roguelikes & Peggle, then Roundguard is for you.

2/27:The makers of the highly popular Crossy Road are back with Crossy Road Castleas an Apple Arcade exclusive.

Bring your friends and see how far you can get in this endless spinning tower of arcade fun!

Keep climbing as high as you can. Every run is different.

2/14:Apple Arcade gets a new strategy game this week, Loud House: Outta Control from Nickelodeon.

2/7: This weeks new title isCharrua Soccer. It features retro 3D gameplay and features three modes: Friendly Match, Competitions, and Penalty Match.

You can choose player vs computer or player vs player.Charrua Soccerfeatures simple controls with fun and challenging gameplay.

1/31: Secret Oops!has arrived, a multiplayer AR party game.

Secret Oops! is an innovative cooperative local multiplayer Augmented Reality game where players try to make sure that the worlds dumbest spy isnt detected.

1/24: The newest title for Apple Arcade is Butter Royale, a Buttery food fight, battle royale style!

Have the food fight of your life in Butter Royale, a multiplayer battle royale game, and be the last one standing on Butter Island. Play against 31 other players in fastpaced food battles (under 5 minutes) with the help of sauce-shooting, baguette-blasting kichen tools!

1/17:Kings of the Castlehas launched today on Apple Arcade.

Speed to the rescue in this fun, multiplayer fairy tale. Save the prince before anyone else using your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV. But watch out for their spells.

View post:

These are the latest Apple Arcade games for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, and Apple TV - 9to5Mac