Category Archives: Evolution

Everyones favorite Animal Crossing is a social simulator. Players get all the freedom in the world to just interact with other players. And whats more interactive and fun than sending letters to other villagers/players? With this in mind, different Animal Crossing titles have had a post office.

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Since its approximately 21 years old now, it has seen a fair share of changes. From changes in furniture, decoration, and even the mailman, the post office has been evolved quite a lot since its debut.

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Moreover, the post office is much more than just a mere building for Animal Crossing players. As it turns out, players just love to visit a post office to receive letters from other players as it serves as a center to communicate and just freely interact with other villagers and players without any issues.

Players can send letters to other villagers, players, or even themselves for that matter. Earlier, the post office used to be randomly located on the island. However, in New Leaf, the post office was moved to Main Street and has been there only since then.

WATCH THIS STORY: Toughest Video Game Bosses of all time

Well, as far as in-game conversation/interaction technique goes, this one surely tops the list. With this in mind, lets have a look at the major changes the post office has seen in the Animal Crossing universe.

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Speaking of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the post office has mainly become a standalone mail kiosk after the 2.0 update. That means players wont be able to interact with Pelle as she doesnt work there anymore. Since its a kiosk, players can still save their letters using their own mailboxes, but the charm and popularity of the old post offices are unbeatable.

Well, it seems like the fan-favorite location has gone through quite a lot of changes since 2001. While some players are thrilled with the changes, the majority of the players really miss the pelicans: Phyllis, Pelly, and Pete. According to some players, their go-to favorite place has now lost its charm.

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Whats your take on this evolution? Also, whos your favorite character from the franchise? Let us know in the comment section below.

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Animal Crossing: Evolution of the Fan Favorite Post Office - EssentiallySports

Practically ubiquitous, and seen nearly every single day, denim has come a long way. From being part of work apparel in the 1700s to attaining iconic fashion-item status in modern times, no other piece of clothing has been worn as long as denim jeans. The humble jean, despite its diversity and longevity, is one of the most intricate but frequently worn pairs of clothing.

A good denim jean is more than just an article of clothing; it's often a comrade and a mood booster. Its so versatile that it adapts to the ever-changing fashion trends, and remains a wardrobe staple, even though a lot of these trends may come and go. Our treasured piece of simple denim has undergone multiple transformations over the past several years, sometimes seeing a spike in baggy jeans and other times seeing a surge in tight, low-rise, or mom and boyfriend styles.

Although jeans are often associated with North America, the material they are made from - denim - actually originates from the southern French city of Nimes. In the 18th and 19th Centuries, France was home to large textile factories producing many different fabrics and many of these fabrics were exported to North America, including serge de Nimes, which caught the eye of a businessman in the 1860s who used this new fabric, re-baptized as denim, to create what became known as blue jeans.

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Denim was first used by workers because of its high durability. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, miners, cowboys, and labourers wore jeans as workwear, particularly in the American West, but it wasn't until Hollywood's Western films brought the fad on the big screen that jeans became the it" piece of clothing. In the 1950s, jeans became a symbol of "hip" as they rattled the mainstream costumes seen worn in cinema. So it was only a matter of time before rebellious teenagers hopped onto this fashionable whim. Some schools retaliated by prohibiting the students from wearing them as they believed these pieces of couture to be "anti-establishment." The following decades, the 1960s saw a rise in bellbottoms with floral patterns and stayed popular all through the 70s. It was during this period that the OG founders of Denim, France reclaimed their ingenuity by offering iconic high-street denim brands such as Celio. The brand presented trendy and chic denim offerings that took the populace by storm, as their favourite piece of la mode clothing was now affordable too!

The evolution of denim underwent even further changes in the following years, with the 1980s showcasing the first designer denim wear, which became extremely renowned in pop culture. The 1990s saw the rise of straight-legged mom jeans, and high-waisted denim followed by the 2000s witnessing the popular ultra-low-rise jean, which was commercialized by fashion icons Destiny's Child, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera. As a result of advancements in denim stretch technology, skinny jeans became the most striking trend to emerge in the recent decade and became the go-to style to wear during the week, on the weekend, and even on a date night. The increasing usage eventually paved the wave to the present day comfort as the most sought-after style factor for purchasing jeans, be it high or low-waisted, straight or boot-cut fit. Understanding the needs of the consumers, the French menswear label Celio ensures to keep comfort at the heart of the design and drives innovative new styles such as the powerflex jeans, which brings cat-like agility to the table without any wear or tear, or soft touch denim, which is created with a unique combination of yarns, a specific weaving and the finishing, making it the softest denim on the market. Even the stay-dark jeans which dont give into fading upon being washed repeatedly, justifying its position as the French leader in mens jeans.

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Denim jeans upon becoming popular, served to blur societal inequalities by allowing everyone - from the suit-wearing affluent to the manual laborers - to own durable pairs of long-lasting denim pants. Denim, as we know and love today, is not only a chic and elegant piece of garment, but it is also a slice of history that continues to reign supreme in our closets. Today, over a century later, we may choose from a variety of styles, sizes, washes, and colours in our favourite denim, and find ourselves visiting stores and malls, going back for more!

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The World of Denim: (R)Evolution of jeans - Livemint

Photo: Hempnettle , by Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.

Editors note: We are delighted to present a series by biologist Jonathan Wells on the top scientific problems with evolution. This is the seventh entry in the series, excerpted from the new bookThe Comprehensive Guide to Science and Faith: Exploring the Ultimate Questions About Life and the Cosmos.Find the full series so far here.

We know that speciation has occurred because many new species have appeared in the history of life. Evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr wrote, Darwin called his great workOn the Origin of Species, for he was fully conscious of the fact that the change from one species into another was the most fundamental problem of evolution.1According to evolutionary biologist Douglas Futuyma, speciation is thesine qua nonof diversity required for evolution. Speciation stands at the border between microevolution the genetic changes within and among populations and macroevolution.2

Part of the problem is that the termspeciesis notoriously difficult to define. A definition applicable to plants and animals wont necessarily work for bacteria, and definitions applicable to living things wont necessarily work for fossils. As of 2004, several dozen definitions were in use among biologists and paleontologists.3The definition most often used by evolutionary biologists is the biological species concept, according to which species are groups of interbreeding natural populations that are reproductively isolated from other such groups.4

If species are defined this way, then in one sense speciation has been observed in the laboratory. Normally when two different species hybridize, either naturally or artificially, the hybrids are sterile because the maternal and paternal chromosomes are too dissimilar and cannot pair up in cell division. Occasionally, however, the hybrid undergoes chromosome doubling, orpolyploidy. With matching sets of chromosomes that can undergo cell division, the hybrid may then be fertile and constitute a new species under the biological species concept. In the first decades of the 20th century, Swedish scientist Arne Mntzing used two plant species to make a hybrid that underwent chromosome doubling to produce hempnettle, a member of the mint family that had already been found in nature.5

Speciation by polyploidy is calledsecondary speciationto distinguish it fromprimary speciation the splitting of one species into two. According to Douglas Futuyma, polyploidy does not confer major new morphological characteristics[and] does not cause the evolution of new genera or higher levels in the biological hierarchy.6So although secondary speciation by polyploidy has been observed in flowering plants, it is not the solution to Darwins problem. The solution would be primary speciation by variation and selection, which has not been observed.

In 1940, geneticist Richard Goldschmidt argued that the facts of microevolution do not suffice for an understanding of macroevolution. He concluded, Microevolution does not lead beyond the confines of the species, and the typical products of microevolution, the geographic races, are not incipient species.7

Darwin used the termincipient speciesto refer to a variety of one species he thought was in the process of becoming a new species: I believe a well-marked variety may be justly called an incipient species.8But how can we possibly know whether two varieties (or races) are in the process of becoming separate species? Saint Bernards and Chihuahuas are two varieties of the dog species (Canis lupis familiaris) that, for anatomical reasons, do not interbreed naturally. Are they on their way to becoming separate species? The Ainu people of northern Japan and the !Kung of southern Africa are members of the human species (Homo sapiens sapiens). Although people from both groups could undoubtedly interbreed, without modern technology, which affords mass movement of people around the globe, they would be (for all practical purposes) reproductively isolated geographically, linguistically, and culturally. Are they therefore incipient species? Clearly, Darwins termincipient speciesis a theoretical prediction, not evidence.

We sometime read in the news media that scientists have finally observed the origin of a new species. Such cases, however, are invariably either examples of incipient speciation, or cases in which scientists have inferred from already-existing species how they might have split in the past.9Observational evidence for primary speciation is still missing.

In 1992, evolutionary biologist Keith Stewart Thomson wrote, A matter of unfinished business for biologists is the identification of evolutions smoking gun, and the smoking gun of evolution is speciation, not local adaptation and differentiation of populations. Before Darwin, Thomson explained, the consensus was that species can vary only within certain limits; indeed, centuries of artificial selection had seemingly demonstrated such limits experimentally. Darwin had to show that the limits could be broken, wrote Thomson, and so do we.10

In 1996, biologists Scott Gilbert, John Opitz, and Rudolf Raff wrote:

Genetics might be adequate for explaining microevolution, but microevolutionary changes in gene frequency were not seen as able to turn a reptile into a mammal or to convert a fish into an amphibian. Microevolution looks at adaptations that concern the survival of the fittest, not the arrival of the fittest.

They concluded, The origin of species Darwins problem remains unsolved.11

English bacteriologist Alan Linton went looking for evidence of primary speciation and concluded in 2001:

None exists in the literature claiming that one species has been shown to evolve into another. Bacteria, the simplest form of independent life, are ideal for this kind of study, with generation times of twenty to thirty minutes, and populations achieved after eighteen hours. But throughout 150 years of the science of bacteriology, there is no evidence that one species of bacteria has changed into anotherSince there is no evidence for species changes between the simplest forms of unicellular life, it is not surprising that there is no evidence for evolution from prokaryotic [e.g., bacterial] to eukaryotic [e.g., plant and animal] cells, let alone throughout the whole array of higher multicellular organisms.12

In 2002, evolutionary biologists Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan wrote, Speciation, whether in the remote Galpagos, in the laboratory cages of the drosophilosophers [those who study fruit flies], or in the crowded sediments of the paleontologists, still has never been directly traced.13So evolutions smoking gun is still missing.

Next, the concluding entry in the series, Darwins One Wrong Argument.

Continued here:

Top Problems with Evolution: Speciation - Discovery Institute

A white dwarf. Researchers have discovered a new star type, believed to be the result of the merging ... [+] of two white dwarfs.

Klaus Werner, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Tbingen, believes we are in a golden age of stellar astrophysics. And he has reason to, because he just helped uncover a pair of peculiar and exciting stars previously misclassified by astronomers.

In a recently published paper, Werner and colleagues announced their discovery of the previously unknown star type. Another paper published alongside the finding suggests the stars the researchers found were created by the merging events of two white dwarfs, a type of small, hot and dense star believed to be at the end of its life cycle.

This is a very rare event in nature, said Werner.

The stars, officially named PG1528+025 and PG1654+322, were first observed by astronomers in the 1980s. Revisiting the stars decades later to perform spectroscopic analysis a way to look at the objects chemical makeup Werner and his team realized that the stars werent the fairly normal dwarf stars mainly composed of helium that they were originally thought to be. Instead, the stars contained an unusual amount of carbon and oxygen.

Looking at the overabundance of carbon and oxygen in the object Werner thought, that is very strange, very peculiar. Then, he wondered, what can cause this chemical composition?

To help answer that question, Werners team sent their findings over to Marcelo Miller Bertolami, a theoretical physicist at the Institute of Astrophysics in La Plata. At the time, Miller Bertolami just happened to be working on a theoretical scenario involving the merging of two stars to explain some types of pulsating stars. When Miller Bertolami got Werners findings, he realized the strange new object fit his models even better than the pulsating stars did. I thought, Oh, this is beautiful, he said.

The chemical composition of the stars couldnt be explained by any current model of stellar evolution. Miller Bertolami, along with colleagues in La Plata and at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, believe the type of star found could be created by a helium-rich white dwarf spiraling into and merging with a less massive carbon- and oxygen-rich white dwarf.

They created a model which simulated how the merger would create a scenario where the carbon- and oxygen-rich star would end up on top of the helium-rich one. The less massive star would then tear the more massive helium-rich star apart. The result would be a helium burning star with an abundance of carbon and oxygen, just like the newly discovered stars.

Steve Kawaler, a professor of physics and astronomy at Iowa State University who was not involved in the research, invokes the Jamie Lee Curtis movie Freaky Friday to explain the event. Youre seeing a young star put on the guts of a senior citizen.

Youve got this formerly old star, which is evolutionarily younger, surrounded by a formerly young star, explained Kawaler. And its ripping that evolutionarily older star apart and wrapping it around its outside.

Miller Bertolami said the model he built is still primitive and that further research is needed to resolve remaining uncertainties.

Simon Jeffery, an astronomer with the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium who was also not involved in the research, said Werner and Miller Bertolamis combined research puts another piece in the jigsaw puzzle.

If [the research is] right, then it strengthens not only the theory for these stars, but it will strengthen the theory for other stars as well, said Jeffery.

Still, Jeffery agrees theres mysteries yet to be uncovered in the scientific communitys understanding of dwarf stars. For one, theres pulsating helium-rich dwarfs that appear not to be rotating at all. Thats a challenge because, if youve got two white dwarfs and they merge, you would expect the result to be rotating very fast.

Luckily, with all the data that will be coming in over the next decade from both recently launched and upcoming observatories, Werner believes there will be much for young scientists to discover. Just standard computer models alone will not be enough to wade through all the discoveries, he predicts.

[There will always be] freak stars and weird stars which cannot be analyzed by standard pipelines, said Werner. Theres always some human involvement that you need.

The rest is here:

Newly Discovered Freak Star Challenges Ideas Of Stellar Evolution - Forbes

Most of us think of sentience and cognition as propertiesof individual organisms, yet the authors of a provocative new study suggest that intelligence actually exists on a planetary scale and that all life on Earth acts as a unified conscious system.

Outlining their theory in the International Journal of Astrobiology, the researchers say that humankind is currently out of sync with the overall planetary intellect, and that our future survival may depend on our ability to harmonize our actions with the global mind.

In contrast to the classic view of evolution as a process of conflict and competition between individual species, the model proposed by the authors implies that life is in fact a singular, cooperative network. Rather than existing to compete against one another, therefore, each species emerges in order to play its role in maintaining the balance of the biosphere.

Our approach follows the recognition among researchers that the correct scale to understand key aspects of life and evolution is planetary, as opposed to the traditional focus on individual species, write the researchers.

The study of life from this perspective is referred to as Earth systems science a discipline seeking to illuminate howdifferent species work together rather than against each other to help sustain planetary systems.

Examples include the underground fungal networks enablingforest plants to communicate and exchange nutrients, ensuring the health of the overall ecosystem. Similarly, huge populations of microbes work together to regulate critical biospheric feedbacks, ensuring stable atmospheric conditions that are conducive to life in general.

However, such flawless cooperation takes time to develop, and species must evolve to integrate into this planetary consciousness. In a statement, study author Adam Frank explained that planets evolve through immature and mature stages, and planetary intelligence is indicative of when you get to a mature planet.

Expanding on this point, the researchers outline four stages of planetary evolution. The first is represented by an immature biosphere,involving the emergence of life forms that have not yet developed the ability to work together to regulate planetary systems.

This is followed by the mature biosphere, whereby all species on a planet cooperate seamlessly to maintain the perfect conditions for life to proliferate. Next, however, comes the immature technosphere, characterized by the development of technologies that influence the planet but are not integrated with the rest of the biosphere, and ultimately work against it.

It is this stage that humankind currently finds itself in, the authors say. Only by moving to a mature technosphere whereby our industrial activities begin to support the planet can we become part of the planetary intelligence and secure our future as a species.

We dont yet have the ability to communally respond in the best interests of the planet, says Frank. The million-dollar question is figuring out what planetary intelligence looks like and means for us in practice because we dont know how to move to a mature technosphere yet.

Extending their theory to other planets, the authors say the apparent scarcity of technologically sophisticated life elsewhere in the galaxy may reflect the fact that civilizations that fail to mature dont tend to last very long.

In other words, as Frank explains, the only technological civilizations we may ever see the ones we shouldexpectto see are the ones that didnt kill themselves, meaning they must have reached the stage of a true planetary intelligence.

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Planetary Intelligence May Drive The Evolution Of Life, Researchers Argue - IFLScience

Representative Image.

Indian researchers have traced the tectonic evolution and the nature of the Greater Maldive Ridge (GMR)a very crucial geodynamic feature in the western Indian Ocean, whose origin has been the centre of many scientific debates.

The study can help reconstruct the original Gondwanaland break up and dispersal that led to the present-day configuration of continents, continental fragments, and formation of ocean basins in the Indian Ocean, a Science and Technology Ministry statement said on Thursday.

The Maldive Ridge is an aseismic ridge that is not associated with earthquake activities. This ridge, located in the western Indian Ocean, southwest of India, is not well investigated but is of paramount importance to gain knowledge on the structure and geodynamics of aseismic ridges (as it provides valuable inputs towards understanding the evolution of ocean basins).

The study by the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Mumbai, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, has chalked the possible geological cross-sections along the GMR for the first time with the help of satellite-derived high-resolution gravity data.

"The researchers postulated that the GMR may be underlain by an oceanic crust. The results from their study can provide additional constraints in understanding the plate-tectonic evolution of the Indian Ocean, better," the statement said.

The research work, carried out by Dr Priyesh Kunnummal under the guidance of Dr S.P. Anand, provides the crustal architecture and the state of gravitational equilibrium between Earth's crust and mantle (isostasy) of the Greater Maldive Ridge segment of the larger Chagos-Laccadive Ridge (CLR) system.

Their study, based mainly on the interpretation of gravity anomalies (small differences in the pull of gravity caused by the lateral variations of density within the subsurface) with broadband seismic and refraction seismic data, provided, for the first time, a three-dimensional picture of the variation of Moho along the Greater Maldive Ridge and the adjoining ocean basins.

The depth to the boundary between the earth's crust and the mantle or the Mohorovicic discontinuity (Moho) over the GMR was systematically mapped along with the finer variation of an effective elastic thickness (Te) at the place. The research related to the variations and isostatic compensation has been published recently in the journal Gondwana Research.

The IIG team found that Moho is deeper over the Maldive Ridge (MR) segment and shallows southwards in the Deep Sea Channel region (DSC). However, the effective elastic thickness (a proxy for the strength of the lithosphere) values were lower over the MR compared to the DSC region. Maldive Ridge and the Deep Sea Channel region may probably be oceanic in nature with the presence of under-plated materials associated with the Reunion hotspot volcanism.

The research suggests that Maldive Ridge might have formed in the close vicinity of the Mid-Oceanic Ridge (where the creation of a new ocean floor occurs due to divergent motion of lithospheric plates or spreading centre). Meanwhile, the DSC region was under a long transform fault (offset between the spreading centres, which neither create nor destroy lithosphere), which hindered melt production and gave rise to the gap between Chagos and Maldive Ridge during the Plume-ridge interaction.

Satellite-derived gravity anomalies are very helpful in deciphering the crustal architecture, where traditional ship-borne geophysical data are either not available or scanty.

"The study provides new insights into the crustal architecture, isostatic compensation mechanism, and the tectonic evolution of the Greater Maldive Ridge," said Dr Kunnummal.

**

The above article has been published from a wire agency with minimal modifications to the headline and text.

Originally posted here:

Indian Researchers Trace Tectonic Evolution and Nature of Greater Maldive Ridge in Western Indian Ocean | The Weather Channel - Articles from The...

There are a million ways to frame this. Nothing gold can stay, if youre feeling poetic. Turn! Turn! Turn! if youre feeling musical. A vibe shift is coming, if youre feeling like a particularly logged-on denizen of the internet this week. However you express it, the gist is the same: things change. Which brings us, of course, to sneakers.

The value of the sneaker resale market jumped from $6 billion to $10 billion between 2019 and 2021, according to research firm Piper Sandler, as reported by Grey Journal. It might grow to $30 billion by 2030, according to Cowen Equity Research. And as anyone with a SNKRS account knows, the boom time for limited-edition sneakers is still very much booming. Scoring a W on a particularly coveted release at retail remains rare, which sends people in droves to spots like StockX, eBay, and GOAT to buy those releases at a handsome markup.

But after a couple of pandemic years and the tentative feeling that were reemerging into a world thats fundamentally shifted, it should come as no surprise that some folks predict changes in the general cultureentertainment, food, fashionare not only coming but already underway. And when it comes to shopping, GOAT may just be showing us a glimpse of what the future of the secondhand marketplace will look like.

I think its really transcended the sneakerhead, honestly, says Eddy Lu, co-founder and CEO of GOAT. We dont even use that term in the office, because for us its about this new generation of shopper whos fashion forward. Hes forthright about the role sneaker resale plays in the platforms success; it was the foundation of the business when it launched, and still represents the lions share of revenue. But the idea now is to really tap into people who care about fashion and just care about what they wear.

Courtesy

Thats just plain good business. After all, as The New York Times reported, the secondhand clothing market could go from $36 billion in 2022 to $77 billion in 2025, according to ThredUp, a resale platform, and GlobalData, an analytics firm. But the move also represents, if not a major reappraisal of the way one of the biggest sneaker marketplaces out there does business, at least a blurring of the lines between two customer bases (sneakerheads and fashion fans) who were once considered separate. Lu points to game-changers like Virgil Abloh and the increasingly porous relationship between streetwear and high fashion as big influences. But it also might come down to something as simple as an evolving customer base thats finally realized, in defiance of peak NikeTalk-era jokes about poorly dressed sneakerheads, that putting together a whole fit is something worthwhile.

I mean, it's just so complementary, Lu says. Thats why we're seeing such quick growth because apparel completes the whole look. We don't just sell apparel. We sell accessories as well. So we're selling sneakers and we know what sneakers you buy, so it's like, Hey, this is the apparel that will look amazing with the sneaker that you buy.

Courtesy

That said, its not just sneakerheads flocking to GOATs seemingly endless scroll of items for inspiration. Its young heads newly enamored of 90s and 2000s fashion. Its people in search of an in-season item thats sold out at department stores. Its deal-hunters looking to save a few bucks (Lu says about 30-40 percent of GOAT transactions are for items below retail price). And more than anything, its people who, perhaps exhausted by digital homogeneity, want to put together a look that feels a little different, a little less cookie-cuttera little more like themselvesand want a platform that sells things both old and new, mass-market and rare, to help them put it together.

All the toys and all that stuff are digital now, Lu says. But when you go out, the stuff that you wear really represents who you are and what you're about.

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GOAT Is Showing Us the Next Evolution of Secondhand Fashion - Esquire

Clevelands Museum of Contemporary Art, also known as moCa, has had a reputation for going against the grain for more than a half century.

When a racial reckoning spread across the country in the spring of 2020, moCa faced its own sort of reckoning.

We had various things that happened in moCa that were problematic, said Joanne Cohen,board co-president atmoCa.

Questions were raised about the museums past openness to its non-white staff and visitors. The museum canceled an exhibition depicting police violence against people of color. And its longtime director Jill Snyder resigned to make way for cultural change at moCa. Many museums are facing similar issues, here and across the country.

Art institutions, it goes without saying, they've had a reputation, said Stephen Sokany,board co-president atmoCa.

The museum is rolling out several changes to evolve its reputation.

Audra T. Jones, the moCa boards third co-president, said that the museum needs to promote a feeling of diversity and inclusion.

It's important for people to feel welcome in coming into these doors, she said. And how is that? What do we do? We make certain that people that are being exhibited in this space are representational of that in the community.

Criticism of moCa even hung from gallery walls, as part of an exhibition by former curatorial fellow La Tanya Autry, called Imagine Otherwise. Alongside a collection of paintings, film loops and other images were signs that read, in part:

Autry envisions possibilities beyond moCa Clevelands consistent antiBlack practices

and

Imagine Otherwise is a limited, yet hopefully, significant prodding for an authentic, community-led institutional reckoning of moCa Cleveland

Curator La Tanya Autry's "Imagine Otherwise" exhibition statement [David C. Barnett / Ideastream Public Media]

That critique was part of the concept of the show, said Megan Lykins Reich, executive director at moCa. And so to not have shared it would have been to not have offered the curators full vision.

Reich took on interim moCa director duties in the wake of Snyders departure and has since been officially named executive director.

She's such a quick study, super smart, said Joanne Cohen. She understands what it takes to be a leader. I mean, she had been doing that and illustrating that so well in the past 18 months.

Joanne Cohen,moCa board co-president [Jean-Marie Papoi / Ideastream Public Media]

Reich actually started at the museum as an intern in 2001, and she worked her way up through a variety of positions, culminating in her new appointment.

There was a fair degree of soul searching, to use a kind of cliched term, but also a lot of very hard, honest conversation among a variety of individuals to understand where we needed to go and how we might approach getting there, Reich said.

Antwoine Washington was one of the artists in the exhibition La Tanya Autry curated last year. He called his installation And Yeah, About That Seat at the Table.

LaTanya first believed in the work that I was doing as an artist, Washington said.

Washingtons piece was installed in an offsite gallery on Clevelands West Side. As it turns out, the work was the victim of a bit of controversyitself.

The piece explored the struggle of underrepresented artists to have a voice in the mainstream art world. The work was installed in a room painted white, with illustrations and personal objects from Washingtons life hanging on the walls. The centerpiece was a table with a single seat. That seat was covered with scattered $100 bills, carrying the message that only those with privilege get to sit down.

Antwoine's installation 'And Yeah, About That Seat at the Table.' [Field Studio]

I wanted to tell a story about exactly what's going on, Washington said. It was me telling that story from such a personal standpoint and also just me like bearing the history of how Black folks have been able to, still, through all of these different roadblocks, we are still able to rise through it all. It doesn't matter if they don't let you in, go build your own damn table.

The exhibit was displayed in an apartment space that was occasionally used as an Airbnb. As the show was about to open, Washington stopped by to check on the installation and was shocked by what he saw.

Literally, it was socks, underwear, clothes, equipment, crumbs, napkins and just like someone ate at the table. And also, just threw the stuff all over the place.

The show was quickly relocated to an East Side gallery, where the exhibition finished its run.

After being vandalized, Antwoine Washington's exhibition was moved to Vince Robinson's East Side gallery[Antwoine Washington]

When Megan Reich heard about the incident, she reached out to Washington.

And so, we began talking about what it might look like to consider a partnership where they could program within our building, she said. And then we could collaborate on joint programing and learn from one another about the ways in which we approach making exhibitions, working with the community, supporting youth. So, it was it was a really organic process.

Megan Lykins Reich, moCa Cleveland executive director, and Antwoine Washington, MOCHA co-director, discuss their collaboration [Jean-Marie Papoi / Ideastream Public Media]

And it certainly was a new experience for Washington. He saidhed only stepped inside the museum a few times.

Nothing against the people who were curating shows before, but there was nothing to draw me as a Black person to come, he said.

In fact, that was one of the reasons he created his own arts organization, the Museum of Creative Human Art (MOCHA). He started the non-profit two years ago with longtime friend Michael Russell in order to give voice to underrepresented local artists and to mentor a new generation.

He said there has beensome confusion over the MOCHA nickname of his organization and moCa Cleveland.

"We've always called it MOCHA for short," he said."It was a coincidence.

Michael Russell and Antwoine Washington are co-directors of MOCHA [Antwoine Washington]

Washington and Russell were given full autonomy of their own space at the museum. They are curating the gallery with the work of other local artists and providing art education workshops for young people.

In addition to MOCHAs institutional stay on moCa's second floorand further residencies offered to individual artists around town, moCa is working to diversify the museums board of directors, including splitting the board presidency among three people. Development expert Stephen Sokanyfrom greater Clevelands LGBTQ+ community is one of them.

Stephen Sokany,moCa board co-president [Jean-Marie Papoi / Ideastream Public Media]

We're in this very critical time right now, he said. So, how do we develop programs that engage those historically overlooked constituencies to come in and feel welcome? With Megan's leadership, with the boards crystal focus on that, I think our best days are ahead of us.

The museum is focused on operating in a new world, Reich said.

A new world thats looking for more than a seat at the table. Board co-president Audra Jones said, for her, theres a lot more to diversity, equity and inclusion than rearranging furniture.

Just having a seat at the table doesn't always mean that you have the opportunity to make decisions and to have input into decision-making, Jones said. We find that in many areas, not just in the arts. And so just having a seat at the table doesn't mean you get to pick up the spoon and eat, okay? Being in a leadership role helps you get to the dessert phase.

Washington saidhis goal is to pay theresidencyexperience forward and exhibit the work of other local artists in his gallery. For Megan Reich, this MOCHA-in-moCa experience is part of a larger lesson that her 52-year-old museum is learning.

"Sometimes an institution needs to figure out how to get out of the way or back off, or step down or step away or get quieter, so that we can be realizing our mission and delivering on our values as best as possible," she said.

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Evolution of moCa includes making space for Cleveland artists to decide what's on the walls - ideastream

During his recent interview with the Wrestling Observer former AEW world champion Kenny Omega spoke about the evolution of top NJPW superstar Jay White, and how he would love to have a rematch against this version of the Switchblade after losing to him back in 2018. Highlights can be found below.

Thinks White was unfairly compared to himself and others when he got thrust into the main event scene in NJPW:

I really feel that he was sort of unfairly compared to me and or others when he was given this incredible responsibility of being a top guy when maybe it was really soon, too soon.

Says he would love to have a rematch with White:

He was able to transform his look, his character, his wrestling style to really be something unique and something that fits him. So I would love to have that rematch with Jay (White), but the current version of the new Jay.

(H/T and transcribed by Wrestling Purists)

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Kenny Omega Discusses Jay Whites Evolution In Wrestling: I Would Love To Have That Rematch - Wrestling Headlines

There are some wines whose reputations are so well-established that they exist in the realm of the iconic. Exploring them through the lens of a number of vintagesboth older and more modernis an important exercise: It allows us to work through the reputation thats built up over the decades and hope to understand what has made them so special in the first place. Back in the summer of 2020, I explored a deep vertical of the Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and wrote about it here. Next month, Ill be doing the same with the great Chappellet Pritchard Hill, and have another on Chateau Montelena coming up, too. Today, however, I want to look at Stags Leap Wine Cellars, specifically their S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine thats as inextricably tied to the history of Napa Valley as any.

It was their 1973, after all, that won the red-wine category at the Judgment of Paris, the 1976 wine tasting competition that pitted the best of California against the top wines of Franceand that, famously, was swept by the Americans. (The winner among the white wines was the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 1973; that legendary producer, as I mentioned, will also be the focus of an upcoming deep dive.) Ever since, the Stags Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. has been considered a benchmark among Napa Valley Cabs.

And with good reason: Over the course of a remarkable six-vintage tasting that I attended this past October at Stags Leap Wine Cellarsit was part of the activities around the Judgment of Napa that I covered here late last yearI was beyond impressed with the expressiveness, longevity, accuracy, and flat-out deliciousness of these wines. The vertical was led by winemaker Marcus Notaro, who has been at the helm since 2013, and the wines ranged from the magnificently age-worthy 2018 all the way back to the floral, savory, haunting 1987.

The Stag's Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon is a legend among Napa Cabs, often capable of ... [+] aging gracefully for decades.

On March 10ththough online bidding for the Heritage Auctions Signature Fine and Rare Wine Auction starts today, February 18thconsumers will have the chance to acquire wines from a stunning selection of approximately 4,000 bottles pulled from more than 40 vintages, part of what Stags Leap Wine Cellars calls their Legacy Collection. Wine from between 1972 and 2017 will be represented, including, according to their press materials, Almost all the vintages Stags Leap Wine Cellars has ever made of its Estate-Grown Cabernet Sauvignons (FAY, S.L.V. and CASK 23), as well as ARTEMIS Cabernet Sauvignon and the Napa Valley Merlot. Some of the highlights of this auction include CASK 23 from 1979 to 2017; S.L.V. from 1972 to 2017; FAY from 1990 to 2017; ARTEMIS from 2001 to 2015; and Napa Valley Merlot from 1977 to 2005. Lots will include 12 bottles of 750ml, six 1.5L magnums and a handful of 6L, 12L and 18L wines.

In other words, this is an unprecedented opportunity to acquire and experience some of the most important wines that have been produced in Napa Valley in the past several decades. In addition, one of the most historically important bottles in modern American history will be on the block: One bottle of the 1973 Stags Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon, the red that was judged to be the the best at the now-famous Judgment of Paris in 1976, topping such icons as Chteaux Haut-Brion, Mouton Rothschild, and more. This wine is so special, the press materials note, that the Smithsonian Institutes NationalMuseum of American History has a bottle in its permanent collection. And because all of the bottles up for auction come directly from the cellars at Stags Leap, their provenance cant be questioned.

These caves at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars hold highly sought-after wines.

When I personally had the opportunity to taste through a vertical of S.L.V. last autumn, it was an opportunity to not just savor some fantastic wines, but also to contextualize them each in relation to one another, and to their neighbors. There are countless benefits to tasting through multiple decades of a single wine, not least of which is the ability to understand how a particular vineyard site expresses itself over the years and through all kinds of vintage conditions, as well as how the guiding philosophy of a particular producer does or does not change over the years and decades. In the case of this wine, experiencing these specific vintages accomplished both with exuberance and profundity.

I found the S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon, across vintages, to be appealing in their youth and have the ability to age with grace. Theres an old clich that says you should never meet your heroes, because disappointment often ensues. In the case of this particular winecertainly a hero in the American wine firmamenttasting through these incredible vintages had the opposite effect: If anything. it raised my level of respect. I had been fortunate enough to enjoy a glass or three of older S.L.V. over the years, but considering these half-dozen wines side by side threw everything that makes it so extraordinary into shimmeringly sharp relief. Here are my impressions.

Stags Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

All of the generosity and grace Ive come to expect of this spectacular vintage is on display here, with cassis and crushed blueberry aromas joined by a subtly floral lift before rich, energetic flavors of cassis, blueberries, vanilla, caramel, cedar, and cafe mocha. The long, mineral-flecked finish is ever-so-subtly lifted with the suggestion of candied violets. Enjoy this one now with air, or lay it down for the next 30 years.

Stags Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

The ripe, rich nose here is more exuberantly spiced than the 2018: Allspice, star anise, and clove dust brambly berry aromas and set the stage for a palate layered with blackberries, cherries and cherry pits, woodsy spices, cigar tobacco, and a hint of brown sugar. At more than six years of age, this is really starting to resolve nicely, and promises to keep on deepening for the next 20 years.

Stags Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

The spice and energy of the Stags Leap Vineyard shimmers through on this wonderfully subtle expression, the flamed orange oils, cedar, and tea framed by slightly more savory tannins that will benefit from a bit more time, or a good stint in the decanter. With air, the wine gains weight, texture, and lift, as well as notes of cocoa powder, sappy cherries, black currants, and flowers, all of it riding through the graphite-kissed finish. If you can wait, this wine will continue to offer greater and greater rewards through the early-2050s.

Stags Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Too often, its tempting to hold onto a wine until the end of the recommended drinking window provided by whatever review youre referencing. But thats not necessarily a good idea unless you prefer fully mature wines. Deciding when to pop the cork from an older bottle is just as much about personal preference as it is about the potential longevity of a particular vintage. I kept on think about that while savoring this 2003, a wine that, while it certainly has another 15 years of life in it, is drinking so brilliantly right now that I wouldnt recommend waiting. Its at a beguiling phase of evolution nearly 18 years on, with a concentrated yet silky palate that carries notes of blackberries and brandied cherries as well as more balsamic notes, singed sage, cigar tobacco, and a floral and cedar lift hovering above it all. The fruit is still singing yet the more mature characteristics have really come through, making this a fantastically balanced, uniquely delicious wine right now.

Stags Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon 1993

This is starting to approach its fullest aromatic expression of maturity, the black plums anchored by scorched earth and licorice before flavors of brambly berries, currants, cocoa powder, pencil shavings, and a deep cut of mineral. The tannins, while mature, are still surprisingly present, and the core of acidity keeps every sip fresh and vibrant. This is another S.L.V. that can certainly age a bit more, but that is so balanced and long right now that, if I had a bottle in my collection, Id consider opening it in the short-term.

Stags Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon 1987

This is wonderfully generous as soon as you smell it, with wild strawberries, graham crackers, and flowers shimmering with a hint of camphor. That lift serves as a beguiling counterpoint to the fabulously generous palate, whose plums and sappy cherries are both impeccably spiced and anchored by a serious tug of umamimeat, soy saucethat, as the finish resolves, finds a counterpoint in the subtle lift of springtime flowers. The acid is still so fresh and balanced here! This wine, even at close to 35 years after the grapes were harvested, is a true testament to the vineyard, to the winery, and to the ability of the best producers to produce wines that stand the test of time, and that stand as testaments to the greatness that animates them.

After the formal vertical tasting, I also had the opportunity to enjoy the Stags Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon 1995 from a five-liter bottle. Larger-format wines tend to age far slower than wines in standard 750ml bottles, but far fewer of them are generally made. This, then, was a rare opportunityand a thoroughly profound one when I took my first sip: The wine rolled over the tongue with expansive, expressive fruit, despite its age. Precise notes of cedar and cocoa powder flashed through flavors of cassis and candied violets, all of it carried along by balanced, brilliant tannins.

Large-format bottlings, like these from Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, tend to age far more slowly than ... [+] their standard 750ml counterparts.

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Tasting History: The Evolution Of Stags Leap Wine Cellars, And An Auction Of Its Legacy Collection - Forbes