Category Archives: Evolution

AT FIRST GLANCE there was nothing out of the ordinary about the call Philadelphia 76ers general manager Elton Brand received a few minutes before 7 p.m. on Monday night. Agent Rich Paul was on the line, for probably the third time that day.

That had become standard as the Sixers and Paul's client, Ben Simmons, played out one of the longest, most frustrating games of poker between a franchise and its disgruntled superstar the NBA has seen in years.

After months of a mostly unproductive staredown, Brand received a call and text message from Paul, informing him that Simmons had ended his two-week, unpaid staycation in Los Angeles and was outside the door of the team facility, reporting for a COVID-19 test.

Simmons had shown up to face an organization and a city he'd let down in the playoffs last season -- something many in the organization doubted he'd ever do.

"I don't know if he can face the team or the fans after everything that happened last year," one source close to the situation puts it.

But there he was in Philadelphia on Monday night, this transcendent player whose confidence had unraveled to such an extent he has sworn all summer he'd do just about anything except face the people who witnessed it.

The Sixers didn't have time to ask questions. They had to hastily arrange for the testers to come back to the facility, according to sources close to the situation.

Simmons wasn't giving away any answers, either.

Was he actually back? Or was he just reporting to stem his financial losses?

Simmons' side had been dealt a blow the previous week when the NBA and players' union issued a memo stating a player without a "reasonable excuse" will not be paid for games he does not play. Previously, the collectively bargained league memos had used slightly softer language, like "would not" be paid, which Paul's agency believed left room to argue Simmons could ask to be paid for the salary he lost if and when he was traded, sources said.

That memo -- issued while Simmons was across the country, hunkering down for a protracted absence he thought would create leverage, or at least incentive for the team to trade him -- had felt like the kind of small event that could have a giant ripple effect.

But in a meeting with Brand, head coach Doc Rivers and president of basketball operations Daryl Morey on Tuesday, Simmons offered little insight -- and has offered his teammates even less.

The only explanation he has offered them throughout this process came months ago, when Paul invited everyone to his house in Beverly Hills.

Much has been made about that August meeting. Snippets of the Sixers' message to Simmons have been revealed and dissected.

But it's what Simmons said to them that mattered most.

Link:

Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers: The evolution of the offseason's most complex saga - ESPN

This article contains spoilers for the new Bond movie. You have been warned

Bond purists have criticised No Time To Die for its portrayal of Craigs Bond. How can it be, they say, that Bond sleeps exclusively with one woman, or that he dedicates much of his energy to protecting a child? I argue that the emotional and paternal 007 we see in Craigs final outing is actually one rooted in the original novels and does well to resist the macho tropes of the last films.

Bond first showed his partiality for monogamy in Ian Flemings 1963 novel On Her Majestys Secret Service. Choosing to dedicate his future to Tracey di Vicenzo, her subsequent death was a landmark moment in the series because it was the first moment we see Bond distraught by loss.

Fast forward a year with Flemings final full-length Bond novel You Only Live Twice, upon which aspects of No Time To Die are heavily based (Safins Garden of Death), and we realise that Bond has gotten Kissy Suzuki pregnant, just as he does with the new films Dr Madeleine Swan. However, we can have no doubt of Bonds natural paternalistic instincts, highlighted through previous films in his relationship with younger women, for example Melina Havelock.

In their cinematic form, Craigs emotional Bond is often tied in with the storylines that question his role and necessity in the modern world. This vulnerability is also a natural progression within the storyline of No Time To Die. Having retired from service, Bonds mellowing feels very natural. However, when he does re-enter the murky world of espionage, his retired status affords his character a sense of confidence and ease previously unseen.

Bond, famous for short quips, talks more than any previous film in No Time To Die, and gives us a glimpse at the person behind the secretive killer. This enables tender moments such as at the grave of one-time love Vesper Lynd and references a similar moment in For Your Eyes Only when Roger Moore visits his deceased wife Tracey.

All in all, Bonds increased vulnerability represents a positive shift in the series, but one that is not as unfounded as some purists have argued. This shift engenders a far more thoughtful film in which the losses of Bonds previous years are finally recognised.

Written by Alex Mcloughlin.

Read more:

The Evolution of an Emotional Bond - The Mancunion

The Ripon Channel Control Room sits ready for a broadcast. Ripon Channel has expanded into internet streaming and has forged partnerships with local organizations to provide coverage.

Question:

Has the pandemic helped Ripon Channels evolution into streaming?

Answer:

Those visiting the Ripon Channels YouTube page may notice more coverage of sports, school musicals and community events than they would have in 2019 as the cable access channel has solidified its pivot into the world of streaming.

Prior to the pandemic, Ripon Channel was covering high school concerts, sports, local government meetings and other community events, according to Ripon Community Media Committee Coordinator Riley Icenogle.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Icenogle says Ripon Channel took baby steps toward streaming that content on social media, but the pandemic helped propel the network into pursuing streaming with a full steam ahead mindset.

Our expanded streaming program has been successful because were really doing exactly what weve done in the past, he said. Except now, were livestreaming everything. That means our social media outreach and our YouTube channel are having the desired effect of reaching many more people.

Icenogle said the decision to expand into streaming was motivated by more people dropping their cable subscriptions and a desire to stay relevant in a changing media landscape.

We thought that it would help expand our viewership, he said. We were fortunate to have some good timing with it, starting that program and having some of the equipment and some of the skills in place when it became necessary because of COVID. Id say that overall its been a great success.

In fact, Ripon Channels YouTube channel has expanded so quickly that it gained enough subscribers to create a dedicated URL for the webpage, Icenogle noted.

There have been lots of people whove said, Holy cow, we didnt even know youre here and where did this all come from? he said, noting many people use their phones to find content both for educational and entertainment purposes.

Icenogle added that Ripon Channel has developed an advertising partnership with Hometown Broadcasting, where ad revenue from sports coverage is split between the two entities as Hometown provides the commentary during games and Ripon Channel provides the video.

So far, Icenogle said the fledgling partnership, which is less than a year old, is going well.

After we get to about a year and get through basketball season, well evaluate it and see how we are moving forward, he said. But I think, for the time being, its working pretty well.

Beyond sports and community events, Ripon Channel provides video of city government proceedings, free of commentary or punditry.

Icenogle says those services have become more important in an era of increasing pressure on local media.

The things that happen in local government are the things that most directly affect our lives, he said of covering local government meetings. The Common Council decides what sorts of ordinances to act on or not to act on. And government committees decide what sorts of programs they will or will not have in their particular areas.

What this means:

Video coverage of local sports, school and community events in the city of Ripon is more accessible than ever before.

Icenogle added that Ripon Channel plans to continue evaluating its programming and looking for new ways to offer a diverse array of viewing experiences for local residents.

Were going to continue to try to find appropriate non-school music events that we can provide some programming with, he said. We hope to, in the relatively near future, begin to focus some more programming on the activities here at City Hall, and possibly have the city administrator more directly speak to people through our channel, and maybe get some closer looks at departments.

Were working out details on how we might be able to accomplish those things.

How to submit: If you have a question, we want to give you an answer. Send a question, name and contact information to:

Mail: 303 Watson St., Ripon WI 54971, P.O. Box 262, Ripon WI 54971

Email: news@riponpress.com

Read more from the original source:

FAQ: Has the pandemic helped Ripon Channel's evolution into streaming? - Ripon Commonwealth Press

This article is produced in partnership with L.A. TACO

"Invisible people, the truth is we're all the same/The concept of race was implanted inside your brain

It's time to start all over/You best believe we're taking over"

Bardo Martinez, lead singer of Chicano Batman, sings these empowering lines on the band's album release, "Invisible People" (2020). Using their musical creativity and their alchemy of indie, soul, psychedelic, funk and rock, Bardo (vocalist and keyboards) along with his bandmates Eduardo Arenas (bassist), Carlos Arvalo (guitarist) and Gabriel Villa (drums) are taking listeners on a quest for a sound that pays homage to their Chicano musical ancestors, but also moves it beyond those traditions.

Bassist Eduardo Arenas says the band came of age on the sounds of hip-hop, cumbias, salsa along with various forms of rock, not just simply Chicano music but sounds from all over the globe. When the band formed in 2008, Arenas and Martinez were members of the student organization MEChA, "We were progressive students, looking to further the Latino agenda," recalls Arenas. From those ideas, the two friends started Chicano Batman to make space for members of their community to celebrate the notion of expressing themselves creatively, outside of the suffocating confines of a racist system that places more importance on certains sounds and communities.

Chicano Batman's origin story struggling to be seen and acknowledged in a racist society is one that seems to replay itself again and again with each epoch of Chicano rock. As each group of artists break down barriers, more challenges present themselves to be overcome. "As Chicano Rock artists, we carry that on our shoulders but as day today, the way we live, the way we voice our opinions, the way we see the world through the lens of progressive, that carries the banner of what it is to be a Chicano in this world of music," says Arenas.

For this reason, Chicano Batman is not alone in trying to make their mark. There is a new era of Mexican American musicians who have created their own original lane, and their musical output stands on the shoulders of generations who have come before such as Los Lobos, Alice Bag, El Chicano to name a few.

The origins of the Chicano rock sound begin in part with The Eastside Sound from the city of Los Angeles occurring in the late 1950s through the 1960s. It began when young Mexican Americans were looking for new ways to express themselves and feeling a need to be seen. Young Mexican Americans who were either born in the U.S. or were brought to the country at an early age were eager for their own creative outlet as previously had little to no means to do so. The world was closed off to them and Mexican Americans frequently found themselves treated as second-class citizens, denied a good education, fair wages, frequently drafted in U.S. wars, and unwelcome in predominantly white spaces. As a result early Chicano musicians began to form bands, recording their own music and putting on their own shows. Playing car shows where members of the community would organize local events showcasing classic cars (and later on low-riders), not mention high school dances and anywhere they could perform allowed many of these musicians to create names for themselves and provided a sustainable income.

Despite the extensive segregation of the time, within rock 'n' roll circles white, Black and Latin cultures co-mingled. They all listened, made music, and were inspired by Richard Valenzuela a.k.a. Ritchie Valens from the neighborhood of Pacoima. Valens tragically passed away in the late winter of 1959 at the age of 17, but in a short period of time, he represented what was possible to a generation of musicians who would come after. His ability to sing in English and Spanish provided a sense of representation and validation for who Chicanos were and could be.

In San Antonio, Texas, a young Sunny Ozuna took a similar trajectory. He recorded in both languages and his music would be influenced by many forms ranging from soul music to Tejano to bolero. His iconic LP "Smile Now...Cry Later" released in 1966, would solidify his place in the Chicano rock and soul music lexicon. Ozuna was also one of the first Chicano artists to appear on Dick Clark's American Bandstand in 1963 with the billboard hit "Talk to Me." One year later another Tejano, Trini Lopez, also performed on the program. Though not a resident of L.A.'s Eastside, teen musical prodigy Rosalie "Rosie" Mndez Hamlin was also making her mark by forming Rose and the Originals in San Diego when she was in high school. She penned the lyrics to her seminal classic song "Angel Baby" at 14 years old. Recorded in 1960 before becoming a Top 40 hit, the song made Hamlin the first-ever Latina appointed to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The song's lasting legacy is proven with numerous covers throughout the years, some of the most notable being John Lennon to Jenni Rivera.

Today, Joey Quiones, a leading member of the outfit, Thee Sinseers, is arguably one of the architects of the modern Chicano Soul movement. As a student of the genre, he cites the ever-changing nature of the style of music. "It all ties into the R & B sound. It meshed all together," says Quiones. Historically, nationally recognized rock acts such as Chuck Berry, Johnny Otis, Ike and Tina Turner, and Ray Charles played venues such as El Monte's Legion Stadium, and local musicians from the surrounding communities would serve as their backing band. El Monte, in particular, marks a special place in the Eastside sound. Art Laboe would broadcast his radio show live from Legion Stadium, alternately playing records and live performances of local artists such as Don & Dewey and Rosie & the Originals, Sam Cooke and Ritchie Valens. Later on, a compilation "Art Laboe's Memories Of El Monte: The Roots Of L.A. Rock And Roll'' would epitomize this point in musical history when concerts were non-segregated events, aimed at audiences of all backgrounds and walks of life, seeking to come together celebrating the music they loved. Released in 1968, the compilation's title track featured the group The Penguins (previously known for their hit "Earth Angel'') along with a young Frank Zappa.

Zappa's affinity to the Eastside sound was a result of growing up as a Southern California resident. This exposure to Chicano music would later lead to collaborations with Chicano musician Rubn Funkahuatl Guevara. While at an informal get-together, Guevara and Zappa would cross paths. At that point, Zappa had already released his "Cruising Ruben & The Jets" record, which referenced a fictional Ruben and the Jets. As a way to nudge the iconoclast musician, Guevara told Zappa that he was a doo-wop singer and that his name was Rubn. This strange coincidence led Zappa to offer Guevara that opportunity to make Zappa's fictional Rubn real. With Zappa's support, Guevara created his version of the group Ruben and the Jets. The group released two LPs, "For Real '' (1973) and "Con Safos" (1974). As a touring act, the group opened up for the Mothers and other groups such as Tower of Power and Azteca.

The music of Ruben and the Jets reflected a shift in sound for Mexican American artists who sought to dig deeper with R&B and soul. As the Chicano Movement continued to build, there was a social and political awakening that occurred within the artists themselves. More and more would claim "Chicano," a derogatory term that was reappropriated as a term of empowerment and expressing pride towards their Indigenous descent.

Con Safos

This reclamation would be most apparent in the music of El Chicano. The group epitomized the feelings of the Chicano civil rights movement, which culminated with the Chicano Moratorium march on August 29th, 1970, when tens of thousands took to the streets of East Los Angeles boycotting the Vietnam War.

El Chicano's blend of soul, jazz, rock, blues and salsa was totemic and is seen as in sync with what Chicanos and Chicanas felt at the time. The mixing of musical genres sounds more natural and organic to the process and uniting people who felt a commonality in the struggle and pride in their Mexican American identity. These sensibilities were also apparent with other musicians at the time, such as Carlos Santana and Linda Ronstadt, who would release "Canciones de mi Padre," a landmark album of traditional mariachi songs, which still holds the record for the best-selling non-English language album in U.S. history.

A Tribute to Linda Ronstadt at The Soraya

This sense of pride and unity in the struggle is still felt today with the current crop of musicians. "The experience of being a Chicano is unique because you are away from the motherland, but you aren't accepted in the land that you're born in. So my parents had a sense of pride when listening to that music because it represented them. It was an expression that was theirs, which was being a Chicano in America," comments Tony Martin, bassist of the soul/jazz/funk trio Brainstory.

For Martin, the music represents a unification felt across different races. He cites the example of Long Beach's own War. Most of the group members were African Americans but still maintained a kinship to the Chicano sound and its people. At the time, War was also sharing the stage with two ex-members of El Chicano, brothers Rudy and Steve Salas, forming the group known as Tierra. Tierra would be the first Latino band to have four songs on the song charts at one time, two of them in the top 100. The group produced a version of The Intruders' hit "Together," which remains essential listening in the Chicano/Mexican American songbook, not only for its message but also for how it expanded the vision of the Eastside sound to a cinematic level.

In the 1970s Chicano rock was again rebirthed with the emergence of punk rock. Groups such as Plugz, Bags, Los Illegals, The Brat dominated the scene. To some Chicanos, punk represented a medium that they could make their own. Punk rock "makes it okay to be weird or different," says Tony Abarca, guitarist and the lead vocalist of the South Central L.A.-based Generacion Suicida. His attraction to punk came from the feeling of being an "outsider" feelings no doubt shared by other artists in the early years of the scene

Abarca and others chafed within the traditional male-dominated Latin American, and by extension, Chicano cultures, that celebrates machismo "When you're punk, and you're colorful and wear tight pants as a guy. It gets almost dangerous in a way," says Abarca, "Everyone wants to fight you. Your dad doesn't like the way you look. Everyone questions your sexuality, and that's like a big deal within the community."

To be punk as Chicanos provides a sense of freedom to express yourself via certain artistic and creative sensibilities. "It eliminates any kind of boundaries that we may place on ourselves," says Abarca. It is easy to see the parallels between today's punk rock attitude and those of the scene's early days. It is philosophy that can even be found in musical forms outside of that "genre."

No other group embraced this spirit of creating sound without borders or boundaries during the mid-to-late 1970s as Los Lobos, who managed to artfully connect both traditional Mexican music along with their brand of East L.A. rhythm and blues. Songwriter and guitarist Adrian Carmine cites Los Lobos as a strong influence on his sound and musicianship, which he describes as a "melting pot of genres." After seeing Los Lobos recently in the summer of 2021, Carmine remained impressed by the group's ability to incorporate various styles. "They were playing anywhere from rockabilly to norteo to boleros to rock and roll." Carmine, with his music both a solo artist alongside one of the current female innovators of modern Chicano Trish Toledo , celebrates the same type of music that Los Lobos pioneered. "I feel like that's what the word 'Chicano' does for the genre. You "automatically know this is our sound," says Carmine. Watching Los Lobos to Carmine felt as if it was like watching a family member pass down a recipe.

Listen to the sounds of Chicano Rock, curated by writer Gab Chabrn

It is a musical recipe that continues to be passed down with a group like Los Lobos, whose influence continued throughout the 1980s and the '90s when other artists applied those lessons to their style of music. Ozomatli and Quetzal for example are taking that border-blurring central message and expanding it on their specific terms. Ozomatli represents the blending of both Latin and rock sounds but also adding hip-hop to the formula, operating in step to a cadre of Chicano MCs who came about during the '80s and '90s. Kid Frost, Lil Rob, Lighter Shade A Brown to name only a few. Updating the sound beyond the confines of any genre, Ozomatli provided a new wave of energy that would continue to make nods to the previous iterations of Chicano rock but also help define the next chapter.

Quetzal uses the traditional sounds of son jarocho, a regional folk music which originates from the Mexican state of Veracruz and a genre known for the mixing of Spanish roots music originating highlighting both Andalusian and Canary Islander melodies, and pairs it with the striking vocals of Martha Gonzalez. Their lyrics tackle a range of social and political themes honoring traditional styles of music while passing along a Chicano activist message as well.

Since the 2000s, Chicano rock has grown and expanded, continually opening doors and paving the way for younger generations. "As we keep empowering ourselves to push that limit, then we'll be opening doors for the next generation and the next generation," says Arenas, bassist for Chicano Batman. "And because we have Instagram and Bandcamp we have the self-starter tools for musicians to really put their business out there, then we can all create our own destiny."

See the original post:

The Evolution of Chicano Rock, From Ritchie Valens to Chicano Batman - KCET

Its 2050 CE. History, on this front, has never been more eventful. Or enriching. Or massively transformational. Child's play now - feeding the world's 10 billion population, not merely in calories but in calibrated nutrition too. We often need to trim back our nutrient production to keep supply finely tuned with demand, all in real time.

Food (read nutrition) was demonetised rapidly in the last 30 years; the percentage of disposable income spent on nutrition fell globally from 35 percent in 2000 CE to less than 5 percent today - a dramatic decrease, and still falling.

The impacton human wellness therefore has been a 'never before' story. Science historians are united in their opinion that to reach this state required the decimation of the self-imposed boundaries between the sciences - chemistry, physics, biology, genetics, IoT, robotics, AI, software, all pulling together.

Active collaboration between these disciplines has doubled global output of nutrition per square metre in this period with a quadrupling of income yields to the nutrient entrepreneur (the farmer as he was then called). All this in spite of releasing massive land tracts to house a population 50 percent larger.

Essentially what man has sensed through eons that food was essentially the medium of transmitting solar energy via photosynthesis to run a human's microchemical processes (essentially life) is now unarguably a finely established science.Exceedingly inefficient thus far - butno more.

While this efficiency graph has been exponential, this real magic was caused by a few fundamental mind shifts.One was to treat agriculture as a production unit of nutrition (land as a factory of food, so to speak), with much the same engineering or management rigour, if not more than applied to the generation of nuclear power.

The second major mind shift was to treat nutrition as medicine with the avowed objective to maximising global wellness - parallelly, to relegate medical science, as we knew it, to a rarity of application. The third was to use up each part of the crop for nutrition - no space for waste here.

And then, in a bespoke manner and at every humans cellular level, usingAI to balance nutrition demand and supply. Lastly, genetics was another fundamental shift to take evolution by natural selection to evolution by human direction. Gene editing provided the pathway for plant breeding and nutrient production.

This unlocked our capability to modify crops to shifting environments, eliminating common allergens from crops to create a frictionless nutrient cycle - striking at the very root of what was "disease". Deregulation of genetically engineered material becamea veritable mega opportunityfor entrepreneurs and technology makers in the last three decades.

As to the pace of change, agriculture picked up speed in the last 10,000 years from man's early dexterity in managing crops, through a period where 80 per cent or so of the world's population tilled the field for sustenance, to about 2020 CE when advanced economies barely consumed 2 percent of a nation's 'horsepower' to grow food.

The last 30 years marked the collaboration of technologies - networked elegantly with AI and software, to create an unimagined growth curve in universalising tech application on nutrition. Society's push to release land to a burgeoning population also caused nutrient production to move vertically.

Housed in soaring glass complexes of millions of kilometres ofpipes, insulated from the challenges of uncertain weather, pestilence, generating unimagined capabilities in nutrition capacity and quality, 'soilessly'.

And then there was the three decades of delocalised farming - vertical farms brought nutrient production closer to major consumption centres such as Shanghai and Mumbai, juicing out production and logistics costs to such an extent that made high quality nutrition available uniformly to the entire global population.

Today it sounds mind boggling to recall that in 2020, one-third of earths non-ice land mass was used to raise livestock to meet the global demand for meat as protein. The breakthrough was a simple thoughtto enjoy a steak, we need not to grow an entire cow.

Backed by super wealth creators like Branson, Bezos, Musk and Gates, technology strove to produce real meat from animal cells rather than from whole animals. Within a few years local factories of beef, chicken and duck from cultured cells mushroomed, even delighting traditional taste buds.

Alt-protein ('factory engineered' protein) is now so yesterday. We are now accelerating the massification of alt-carbohydrates.Not difficult to imagine how this inexorable and exponential rise in technology application has created a 'today' for us that is super abundant in nutrition - and has never been more inexpensive for every man, woman, and child on the planet.

Last year, the median age was 125 years. Targeted and bespoke nutrition for each of us 10 billion has been the key to our enhanced life span. Just 50 years ago, in 2000 CE, this median was a mere 66 years!

(The writer is an ex-corporate honcho and organisational yoda andnow an entrepreneur and stargazer. He can be reached atrohtash.mal@gmail.com)

Read the original post:

A History of Nutri-Evolution - The New Indian Express

PHILADELPHIA - If anyone can take you inside the development of a young NFL offensive lineman, it's Jason Kelce, the well-spoken center of the Eagles who arrived in Philadelphia as an undersized sixth-round pick in 2011 and has since built a strong case for a potential future in Canton.

One of the more surprising developments for the Eagles early this season has been Andre Dillard's work at left tackle since receiving a second opportunity due to the sprained right knee of Jordan Mailata, the popular one-time football novice who routed Dillard in a much-ballyhooed training camp competition before signing a big-money extension on the eve of the regular season.

As a fill-in, Dillard, the Eagles' 2019 first-round pick, held his own against Dallas and Kansas City even if Nick Sirianni's team wasn't quite ready to compete against playoff-level foes.

The context to Dillard's success, though, was that the Cowboys were minus star defensive end Demarcus Lawrence, and the Chiefs played without talented pass-rusher Frank Clark.

By this past Sunday in Carolina, Mailata was back but Lane Johnson was out with a personal issue so the decision was to move the more versatile Mailata over to the right side and allow Dillard to play LT again where he stymied a star edge rusher in Brian Burns.

MORE:Nick Sirianni Extends Short Week, T.J. Edwards Earns NFC Player of Week Award

In three games, Dillard has gone from perceived bust to No. 20 of 74 OTs graded by ProFootballFocus.com this season with his toughest test looming Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Super Bowl star Shaq Barrett.

The ever-thoughtful Kelce was asked about the evolution of Dillard as a player Wednesday and offered a deeper context of what makes great players great.

I played with guys that havent realized their potential and certainly have played with guys who have and probably the biggest thing that most of the guys that realize their potential or continue to get better is they have a very realistic assessment of who they are as a player and where they are, Kelce explained.

Self-scouting is a prominent buzzword among coaches in the NFL but not everyone looks in the mirror and can identify what they need to improve.

Some are even insulated by those around them who provide echo chambers instead of constructive criticism and always remember nearly everyone in the NFL was once a star, be it at the high school or the college levels.

Their confidence isnt so bad that they dont think they can do it and its not so great that theyre not aware of how bad theyre playing," Kelce said. "So I think awareness is really where its at and you have to really truly know as a player, was that good or was that bad? Was that what I was supposed to do on this play or was it not?"

According to Kelce, it's the players who are honest with themselves who can then marry work ethic and the need to improve to a talent level that got them to the NFL in the first place.

I think that most of the players that continue to get better are able to have that very realistic assessment while watching the film of, OK, thats not correct, OK thats correct, OK, thats not correct, and you put your ego aside," said Kelce.

MORE:Special Day for Special Teams in Carolina and Michael Clay Had Much to Say

It's a fine line, though, because you also can't beat yourself up and destroy your own confidence.

"Youre also not destroying yourself for every little thing that you have no confidence whatsoever," he said. "Youve got to kind of be in the middle of both of those.

It's a perfect description of the fine line that basically serves as a tightrope.

In the NBA, enablers in an echo chamber turned Ben Simmons from a generational talent into stagnation while the lack of self-confidence is the quickest way to destroy any career.

For the first time, Dillard is carefully traversing the tightrope from the platform of a promising prospect to the foundation of an established contributor.

"Andre has always had the physical attributes," said Kelce. "I think weve touched on that for a couple of years. His foot quickness, his suddenness, his size. Hes got some really good things, positive things to go on as a player.

"I think hes just naturally progressed. The technique has gotten better. The knowledge of the game, the awareness. ... Hes had a lot of strengths and ability, and now its starting to become more natural, and executing on a higher percentage of plays."

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on Birds 365, streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.coms Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at http://www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or http://www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.

Read more:

Jason Kelce Takes You Inside the Evolution on Andre Dillard - Sports Illustrated

HoYeon Jung: Photos Of The 'Squid Game' Star's Style Evolution | HuffPost Life

Part of HuffPost Style & Beauty. 2021 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved.

By now, youre probably familiar with Squid Game. The South Korean survival drama premiered Sept. 17 on Netflix and quickly became an international sensation reaching more than 111 million viewers by Oct. 12, according to the streaming service.

A few clear fan-favorite characters have emerged from the series, including Sae-byeok, played by model and actor HoYeon Jung. While Squid Game marked her acting debut and introduction to most American audiences, the 27-year-old was already quite famous in her native country.

Jung first hit the designer runways as a teenager, and she was a finalist on the fourth season of Koreas Next Top Model in 2013. She made fashion headlines in 2016 thanks to her fiery red hair and captivating style.

The breakout star clearly continues to capture peoples attention. Earlier this month, she reportedly became the most followed South Korean actor on Instagram. She was also announced as Louis Vuittons newest global ambassador.

If you cant get enough of Jung, weve rounded up 30 photos of her style evolution over the last eight years.

2013

Han Myung-Gu via Getty Images

HoYeon Jung at a New Balance event in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 27, 2013.

2015

Han Myung-Gu via Getty Images

Jung at the photo call for the South Korean launch of GILT on March 26, 2015, in Seoul.

2015

Han Myung-Gu via Getty Images

Jung at the launch party for the Acne Studios flagship store in Seoul on Sept. 18, 2015.

2016

Han Myung-Gu via Getty Images

Jung at the photo call for the launch of Eyeye on Feb. 18, 2016, in Seoul.

2016

Han Myung-Gu via Getty Images

Jung at the opening event for the Miu Miu Cheongdam Boutique on July 20, 2016, in Seoul.

2016

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Jung after a Marc Jacobs show on Sept. 15, 2016, in New York City.

2016

Jamie McCarthy via Getty Images

Jung at the Marc Jacobs #MarcTheNight event on Nov. 17, 2016, in New York City.

2017

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Jung during London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2018 on Sept. 17, 2017.

2017

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Jung during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2018 on Sept. 23, 2017.

2017

Mireya Acierto via Getty Images

Jung during Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2018 on Oct. 2, 2017.

2017

Noam Galai via Getty Images

Jung at the CR Fashion Book celebrating the launch of CR Girls 2018 at Spring Place in New York City on Dec. 12, 2017.

2018

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Jung during Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2018/19 on Feb. 23, 2018.

2018

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Jung in Paris on Feb. 28, 2018.

2018

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Jung in Paris on March 6, 2018.

2018

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Jung after the Schiaparelli show during Couture Fall/Winter 2018 Fashion Week in Paris on July 2, 2018.

2018

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Jung during Couture Fall/Winter 2018 Fashion Week on July 4, 2018, in Paris.

2018

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Jung after the Tory Burch show during New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2019 on Sept. 7, 2018.

2018

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Jung during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2019 on Sept. 21, 2018.

2018

Rosdiana Ciaravolo via Getty Images

Jung and model Nina Marker ahead of the Sportmax show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2019 on Sept. 21, 2018.

2018

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Jung during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2019 on Sept. 22, 2018.

2018

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Jung after the Poiret show during Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2019 on Sept. 30, 2018.

2018

Ben Gabbe via Getty Images

Jung at the Marc Jacobs Redux Grunge Collection event and the opening of Marc Jacobs Madison on Dec. 3, 2018, in New York City.

2019

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Jung and model Yoon Young Bae after the Kenzo show at Jardin du Tuileries during Paris Fashion Week Menswear Fall/Winter 2019 on Jan. 20, 2019.

2019

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Jung after the Tod's show during Milan Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2019/2020 on Feb. 22, 2019.

2019

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Jung after the Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini show during Milan Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2019/2020 on Feb. 23, 2019.

2019

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Model Maisie Dunlop and Jung after the Cdric Charlier show during Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2019 on March 2, 2019.

2019

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Jung after the Beautiful People show during Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2019 on March 4, 2019.

2019

Han Myung-Gu via Getty Images

Jung at the launch party for CHANEL X PHARRELL Capsule Collection on March 28, 2019, in Seoul.

2019

Melodie Jeng via Getty Images

Jung after the Redemption show during Couture Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2019 on June 30, 2019 in Paris.

2021

NBC via Getty Images

Jung during an interview with television host Jimmy Fallon on Oct. 6.

Newsletter Sign Up

An essential daily guide to achieving the good life

Subscribe to our lifestyle email.

Visit link:

HoYeon Jung: Photos Of The 'Squid Game' Star's Style Evolution - HuffPost

Halloween is my favorite holiday. Its a lot of other peoples too, considering Americans spend around $6 billion every year on it, making it second only to Christmas commercially.

While Halloween as we know it is more of a (relatively) modern concept, it has a long and, frankly, fascinating history going back more than 2,000 years.

We really have the Celts to thank for Halloween. They celebrated their new year on Nov. 1 (heralding harvests end and winters beginning) and held their Samhain (pronounced sah-win) festival the night before (Oct. 31).

It was also believed that on this night, the veil between the living and dead was thinner and spirits returned to earth.

There were bonfires, costumes in the form of animal skins (and heads), crop burning and animal sacrifices to their pagan gods and the priests attempted to gain insight to the future through fortune telling.

Enter the Roman Empire and the Catholic Church, which, in an attempt to Christianize the heathens, blended the Celts ritual celebrations with theirs. The Celts New Year became All Saints Day (or All-Hallows), and Samhain became All-Hallows Eve (or, as we know it, Halloween).

Flash forward to Colonial America, where Halloween was really more celebrated in the southern colonies than those in the north (due to their strict religious beliefs).

These celebrations, though, really didnt resemble what we know today, focusing more on public events, ghost stories, and fortune telling.

It wasnt until later in the 19th century and the influx of Irish immigrants that the idea of Halloween really took off. Even then, it wasnt until the early- to mid-20th century that the Halloween as we know it now really took shape.

Trick-or-treating dates back to the Middle Ages. As it was widely believed that ghosts roamed the earth on Samhain, people dressed in costume to repel the spirits. Poor children would go door to door offering prayers for food (in the form, usually, of soul cakes and ale), a practice known as souling or going a-souling, and this morphed much later into our candy-begging tradition, only really gaining traction as recently as the 1950s.

Halloween costumes, once again, have origins dating back to the ancient Celts, who, as mentioned, would wear animal skins (and heads) during the Samhain festival. And, because of the predominating belief that spirits were able to break through the earthly veil, people would don masks when leaving their homes in the hope that they would fool the spirits into believing they were spirits themselves.

By the Middle Ages, those who went a-souling typically dressed as saints. It wasnt until the 1920s that commercial costumes really became available; these were made of paper, and were essentially aprons with images such as pumpkins and black cats printed on them that could later be discarded.

I would be remiss if I didnt mention one of the most widely recognized Halloween masks, from the appropriately named 1978 movie Halloween. The mask that the psychotic slasher Michael Meyers wears was, in actuality, a $2 William Shatner-Captain Kirk mask that had been spray-painted white, lending to its creepy air and leading to the production of Michael Meyers masks in their own right that are still popular today.

Jack-o-lanterns have an interesting backstory, as well, though they only go back a few centuries, beginning with the legend of Stingy Jack, a piece of Irish folklore that has its roots in the 18th century.

Stingy Jack loved his booze, and once invited the devil to share a drink with him. He didnt want to pay (he was Stingy Jack, after all), so he convinced the devil to turn himself into a coin. Jack instead kept the coin and placed it near a silver cross, preventing the devil from reverting to form. Jack agreed to release the devil only if he was left alone for a year and that if he died the devil wouldnt claim his soul.

After a year, Jack tricked the devil again, with the same stipulations, to which the devil agreed. Jack died shortly thereafter. The devil was upset over the way hed been tricked, but had given his word to leave Jacks soul unclaimed; there was no place for such a devious, manipulative figure in Heaven, either, and so Jack was sent off into the night with only a burning coal to light his way, which he placed inside a carved-out turnip. He has been roaming the earth ever since, becoming known as Jack of the lantern, eventually shortened to Jack-o-lantern.

In an effort to ward Stingy Jack away (and other spirits), people in Ireland and Scotland made their own versions of Jacks lantern by carving faces into root vegetables (such as turnips and beets) and potatoes. The tradition came with them when they immigrated to America, and the vegetables were later replaced by the native North American pumpkins that we use today.

So this Halloween, curl up with a scary movie, don a William Shatner mask, raid your kids Halloween candy and carve yourself a turnip to ward away Stingy Jack. Youll be carrying on long (and fascinating) traditions.

Stephanie Ratts GRISSOM is a Herald correspondent.

Read more:

Halloween has a long history; its evolution is fascinating - The Killeen Daily Herald

A new study reveals that snakes experienced a magnificent burst of evolution from unassuming insectivorous ancestors to diverse genealogies after the demise of dinosaurs. The new families of reptiles that evolved incorporated newly available birds, fish, and small mammals in their diets.

Snake diversification was similar to the extraordinary diversification of mammals and birds that occurred after the extinction of dinosaurs 66 million years ago, according to research by Michael Grundler of UCLA and Daniel Rabosky of the University of Michigan.

The experts report that the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs combined with the long-term physiographic changes created new habitats that provided an ecological opportunity for various species to evolve and diversify.

The K-Pg mass extinction event occurred 66 million years ago and resulted in the extinction of 75 percent of all species, including all non-avian dinosaurs. The event heralded the start of the Cenozoic period and created a plethora of unfilled niches for the remaining species to exploit. Snakes, like mammals and birds, diversified fast during the Cenozoic era, ultimately yielding around 4,000 species that live today.

The study authors combined primary natural history observations with stochastic model-based comparative methods to explain the evolution of complex ecological phenotypes. The researchers compiled published data on the diets of 882 surviving snake species and employed advanced mathematical models to reconstruct how their ancestors diets altered and diversified since the K-Pg boundary. The models helped the researchers in understanding the pace and sequence of this phenomenon.

The experts discovered that the most recent common ancestor of surviving snakes was an insectivore. However, following the K-Pg boundary, the snakes modified their diets rapidly to include birds, fish, and small mammals vertebrate taxa that were also prospering in the aftermath of dinosaur extinction.

The research investigated the explosive adaptive radiation that resulted in creating the snake diversity we witness today. After the first radiation, diet diversification in snakes decreased, but some lineages underwent additional bursts of adaptive evolution. For example, Colubroid snakes diversified when Old World ancestors colonized North and South America.

According to the scientists, the findings from the study suggest that major extinctions and new biogeographic opportunities can stimulate evolutionary change.

Much of the stunning ecological diversity in snakes seems to result from evolutionary explosions triggered by ecological opportunity, said Grundler. We find a major burst of snake diet diversification after the dinosaur extinction, and we also find that, when snakes arrive in new places, they often undergo similar bursts of dietary diversification, he added.

The study is published in the journal PLOS Biology.

By Ashikha Raoof, Earth.com Staff Writer

Read the original here:

Snakes had an evolutionary explosion after dinosaur extinction - Earth.com

Engines revved up along Thompson Bay as people watched powerboat racings return in Lake Havasu City on Saturday.

The Nautical Beachfront Resort hosted the Lake Havasu Classic Outboard Championships a contemporary version of the Outboard World Championships that used to occur annually in the early days of the city. The World Championships was once known as the premiere outboard race in the world.

The event had 39 racers across three classes Formula 1, Formula Lights and Tri-Hull. Saturday featured heat races for all three classes. Finals for each class will take place on Sunday.

Compared to endurance racing during the events heyday, the revived event features more fast-paced action. The original event served as more of a showcase for boat engine manufacturers whereas now its about entertainment for the spectator.

Back then, the course was bigger and longer and it was a marathon race, NGK Spark Plugs Formula 1 Powerboat Series Director Tim Seebold told the News-Herald in June. They would race four hours at a time and have co-drivers and switch and then theyll come back the next day and do the same thing.

What we do now is the course is more condensed. Its about 8/10 of a mile and its all in one spot and it's fast action, and theyre quickie races. You see several races in the day rather than one long one.

Saturdays action was indeed fast-paced for attendees, who watched from various areas at the resort. The Formula 1 class raced in two different groups, with each cohort driving in two heats. Each race lasted around five to six minutes.

Even though powerboat racing has changed over time, competitors from this years event have great respect for legends who paved the way during the historic World Championships.

They made history, really, Wyatt Zoeller said. They flew around in those classic F1 boats and they didnt have the Tri-Hull class back then, obviously, they had the F1s and those guys are the greatest. They really are. Theyre the guys who invented this sport.

Zoeller drives in the Tri-Hull class and is fairly new to the sport, as this weekends event serves as his third race. Zoeller, who is from Texas, said he drove over 16 hours to Havasu to compete this weekend.

The Texas racer, who drives the No. 42 vessel in his class, hopes to be back in Havasu next year, as Havasu Mayor Cal Sheehy announced Friday at the London Bridge Beach Party that the event is set to become a recurring annual event. The original World Championships used to serve as an annual Thanksgiving tradition in Havasu, taking place during that weekend.

Im hoping to be here repeatedly, Zoeller said. Its a beautiful place. A lot of people out here, they seem to enjoy this stuff. So were just here to give them a good show.

Troy Zoeller, who owns the No. 42 Tri-Hull vehicle, commented on the style of todays racing, saying the technology has come a long way.

Now its more of time and speed, Troy said. Its crazy watching these guys. Its just totally different.

Troy didnt want to take anything away from past drivers, as he described them as tremendous racers. When he arrived in Havasu, Troy noticed the historical significance of the event with pictures of past racers displayed at the Nautical.

Its tremendous looking at those pictures, Troy said at Fridays beach party. A lot of those people I met today, theyre in those pictures. This is also an old racers reunion. I met some of those guys and its crazy to talk to them.

Grant Schubert, who is one of this weekends youngest drivers at 17, said the fast-pace races today are dramatically different compared to the endurance format years ago.

You dont have to make the fastest lap every lap because youre trying to make it over a period of four hours, Schubert said about endurance racing. But with the sprint races, you have a guy right next to you, racing as hard as you can for like 20 minutes. So it makes it more competitive and more deck-to-deck, as I like to call it, and it makes it more entertaining for viewers and even the racers in the boat.

Schubert came in second Saturday during his Tri-Hull heat race, behind Cory Walker. The 17-year-old is also competing in the Formula Lights class this weekend. Hes another driver from Texas, hailing from Richmond, a town near Houston. Schubert, who has raced since he was 11, drives the No. 13 vessel in both classes.

Sundays action of the Lake Havasu Classic begins at 10 a.m. with the third heat for the Formula Lights class. Finals in each class will take place Sunday starting with the Formula Lights at 2:30 p.m. A 20-lap final for the Tri-Hulls and a 17-minute race for the Formula 1 finals will follow.

Awards will immediately begin after the conclusion of the final race at the Nautical. Full results can be viewed online at ngkf1.com.

Continued here:

Evolution of powerboat racing showcased in Lake Havasu Classic - Today's News-Herald