Category Archives: New Utopia

By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Drones will not be allowed to fly in the exclusion zone of Supertechs illegal twin towers when they will be demolished on August 28, officials said on Wednesday. They added that drones will be allowed beyond the exclusion zone only on the basis of permission from the police.

The nearly-100 metre tall structures taller than Delhis iconic Qutub Minar in Noidas Sector 93A would be razed to the ground on Sunday. While all residents of two adjoining societies Emerald Court and ATS Village would be evacuated, an exclusion zone has been marked around the twin towers where no person, vehicle or animal would be allowed during the demolition process, theofficials said.

The exclusion zone will include an area of 450 metres in front side of the twin towers overseeing a road and a city park. On the other sides of the towers, the exclusion zone will be till 250 metres, said Gautam Buddh Nagars Deputy Commissioner of Police (Headquarters) RamBadan Singh.

The exclusion zone will be a no fly zone for drones. However, drones could be used beyond the exclusion zone but for that a permission would be required from the local police well in advance, he said.The exclusion zone also includes a patch of Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, where vehicular traffic would remain halted from 2.15 pm to 2.45 pm on August 28, he said.

The measures are being taken as safety precaution, according to officials, who said around 3,700 kilograms of explosives has been rigged into the skeletal structures of the twin towers for implosion.

The demolition of Supertechs twin towers in Noidas Sector 93A comes in pursuance of a Supreme Court order that found the structures to be illegal and built in violation of norms.

People living in residential complexes around Supertech's twin towers here will be relieved that the skyscrapers no longer cast a shadow on their homes.

But as the demolition day approaches, there is a palpable anxiety.

The nearly 100-metre tall towers, which came up illegally in Emerald Court's premises, will become India's tallest structures to be safely demolished by implosion technique in pursuance of a Supreme Court order.

Around 5,000 residents of the neighbouring Emerald Court and ATS Village societies will be the most impacted when the structures go down at 2.30 pm on August 28, leaving behind a whopping 55,000 tonnes of debris.

Emerald Court's Rajesh Rana (63), whose flat in Aster 2 tower is just nine metres from the twin towers, said these days the demolition is the only topic of discussion for them and it has been like this since the last few weeks.

"Of course, there is anxiety among people but we are more happy than worried about the demolition. It's a result of a long struggle for us,"Rana told PTI, expecting the demolition process to be successful.

ATS' residents' group president Atul Chaturvedi, a retired central government bureaucrat, said, "Considering that it's an unprecedented event with not much documentary evidence of such demolitions except for the Maradu complexes in Kerala, there is a fear of the unknown among residents."

According to officials overseeing the evacuation preparations, all residents of Emerald Court and ATS Village in Sector 93A, along with more than 150 pets, will have to vacate their homes by 7 am while the security staff of these societies will also be moved out at latest by 12 pm on Sunday.

Around 2,700 vehicles from both societies will also be removed.

The residents would be allowed to return after 4 pm only after safety clearance from officials.

Uday Bhan Singh Teotia (75), the president of Emerald Court residents' association said, "The adjoining Parsvnath Srishti, Parsvnath Prestige and Eldeco Utopia have offered to provide space in their community clubs to anyone from our societies who want to go there for the demolition period."

While some residents are considering the offer, a large number of them are planning to move to their relatives' homes in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, and Ghaziabad even as some have planned to go on a vacation to places like Uttarakhand and Rajasthan among others, ATS' Chaturvedi told PTI.

Sabiqa Abbas of Emerald Court said the anxiety among residents is palpable and been part of their daily discussions of late.

"The support of our residents' groups and flow of information regarding the do's and don'ts for the evacuation on August 28 has been good,"she said, standing on her ground-floor apartment's balcony with the soon-to-be-demolished towers in sight.

She and her family members, including her husband, an infant and parents-in-law, will be going to their relatives' place in Noida on August 28.

Meanwhile, nearby private Felix Hospital announced reserving 50 beds on the day of demolition in case of any emergency.

"There is a likelihood of huge dust from the demolition causing health-related issues for the next seven to 90 days among the nearby residents,"Felix Hospital's Dr D K Gupta said.

The hospital's advisory urged residents in nearby areas to wear masks, eyeglasses, avoid going out in the wake of the demolition, use skin moisturisers and consult a doctor in case of irritation in the eyes.

(With PTI Inputs)

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Demolition of Noida Twin Towers: No fly zone for drones on August 28; mixed feelings among residents - The New Indian Express

TOTALPROEKT. The Invisible Architecture of Modernity Exhibition

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TOTALPROEKT. The Invisible Architecture of Modernity is a reappraisal of Bulgarian postwar architecture

A solid and strong 200 kg oak door with bespoke detailing and a gratifying oversized half-round timber door knob. A re-creation of coloured glass flickering over a CNC-cut 1:1 rendition of a concrete screen. The silhouette of a little girl from the balustrade of a 1950s kindergarten. These are only part of the artefacts adding materiality to the multiple stories in the exhibition TOTALPROEKT. The Invisible Architecture of Modernity - a co-production of the New Architectural Heritage Foundation and the Regional Centre for Contemporary Art Toplocentrala, which can be seen from 29 June to 21 August 2022 at Toplocentralas White Cube gallery, the newest multifunctional art space in Sofia.

At times of war and trouble in Eastern Europe yet again, this exhibition is intended as a ray of hope. It captures the collective spirit of the postwar era telling the unknown story of Bulgarian architectural modernity. The past can bring not only divisions and destruction, but also optimism, says the team behind TOTALPROEKT.

The exhibition aims to portray the modernization spirit and the total art of architecture in socialist Bulgaria following World War II. This is captured through 6 case studies, consciously chosen to be relatively obscure but that signify the ubiquity of the postwar reconstruction effort: the airport in Ruse, the art gallery and museum in Kazanlak, a housing estate and a kindergarten in Sofia, the pedestrian areas in Shumen, the central square of the small town of Loznitsa, Razgrad province. All case studies vary in use, typology and location and demonstrate the total, holistic consideration of design and architecture across a series of colour-coded layers: from urban planning through space and structure, to detail and art in the designs.

The total visual excess in the main hall is countered in the small white room at the end, where you see no images, but read only words - all the words buzzing about this architecture in the collective mind of our present-day horizontal society - from Instagram comments to newspaper headlines and scholarly analysis.

The keywords for the exhibition design are immersion, totality and surprise, achieved by large-scale photographic prints across the walls and floor and by showcasing artefacts or extensive re-creations of key design features of each case study. The exhibition encourages play and discovery and works with various scales of visual information. They offer a different and, in their own way, new focus on the urban environment - on the excitements and ideals of that time, on the economic and political constraints and, at the same time, on the quality of thought and work that we can learn from even today. All these places tell different stories and together they assemble the ideal city of the postwar modern utopia.

More photos are available here: drive.google.com/drive/folders/1u1jvuHpiD6siDAv7ZYsZcS7SvjKqOjFb?usp=sharingCredits: STUDIO BLENDA

Download the information related to this event here.

This event was submitted by an ArchDaily user. If you'd like to submit an event, please use our "Submit a Event" form. The views expressed in announcements submitted by ArchDaily users do not necessarily reflect the views of ArchDaily.

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TOTALPROEKT. The Invisible Architecture of Modernity Exhibition - ArchDaily

The festival gates open at midday across the weekend and close at 10.30pm, with a host of acts playing such as Idles, The Twilight Sad, Self Esteem, Little Simz, The Chemical Brothers as well as Idlewild, Ride, Bombay Bicycle Club, The National, Admiral Fallow and Mogwai.

With so many amazing acts, those attending will need to plan their days out so as not to miss any of their favourites, as well as trying to avoid the dreaded festival clash.

The list below focuses mainly on the bands playing and not the other activities on site.

For more information on stages, other acts, activities and secret sets - download the Connect App.

Friday August 26th

Maeve 12:40 - 13-10Pocket - 13:00 - 14:00Lvra - 13:25 - 13:55Future Utopia - 13:35 -14:10Kilimanjaro - 14:00 - 15:00Jealous of the Birds - 14:25 - 14:55Charlotte Adigery and Bolis Pupul - 14:40 - 15:15Taahliah - 15:00 - 16:30Cloth - 15:25 - 16:00The Mysteries - 15:45 - 16:25Nimmo - 16:00 - 19:30Hammer - 16:30 - 18:00Lyra - 16:30 - 17:05Jessie Buckley and Bernard Butler 16:55 - 17:40CMAT - 17:35 - 18:15L Jordan 18:00 - 19:30Josh Grant - 18:10 - 19:00Moses Boyd - 19:00 - 19:45Idles - 19:30 - 21:00Optimo - 19:30 - 21:30Joesef - 20:45 - 21:45Jon Hopkins - 21:30 - 22:30

Saturday August 27th

Opus Kink - 12:30 - 13:00Lucia and the Best Boys - 13:00 - 13:40The Joy Hotel - 13:25 - 13:55Push It - 14:00 - 15:00Chloe Moriondo - 14:10 -14:50Swim School - 14:20 - 14:50Holly Humberstone - 15:20 - 16:05Dance System 16:30 - 18:00Willie J Healy - 16:30 - 17:10Caribou - 16:35 - 17:25Matt Maltese - 17:50 - 18:30The Twilight Sad - 17:55 - 18:45Krystal Klear - 18:00 - 19:30Bonobo - 19:20 - 20:20Ride (Playing Nowhere) 21:00 - 22:00The Chemical Brothers - 21:00 - 22:30

Sunday August 28th

Kathleen Frances - 12:30 - 13:00Karma Kid - 13:00 - 14:30Rae Morris - 13:00 - 13:45Porij - 13:25 - 13:55Black Country - New Road - 14:15 - 15:00Lizzie Reid - 14:25 - 14:55Rebecca Vasmant - 14:30 - 16:00Hamish Hawk - 15:25 - 15:55Self Esteem - 15:30 - 16:15Barry Cant Swim - 16:00 - 17:30DEHD - 16:35- 17:15Little Simz - 16:45-17:35Sam Gellaitry - 17:30 - 19:00Bombay Bicycle Club - 18:05-19:05Jamz Supernova - 19:00-20:30Admiral Fallow - 19:15 - 20:00Mogwai - 19:35 - 20:35Horse Meat Disco - 20:30 - 22:30Idlewild (Playing The Remote Part) - 21:00-22:00The National - 21:15 - 22:00

Go here to see the original:

Connect: Stage times for Idles, Twilight Sad, Self Esteem, Little Simz, Idlewild, The National and more - The Scotsman

The Blackheart Orchestra release The Tide video. The song is taken from their forthcoming album Hotel Utopia, released by Ceandar Records on 23 September.

The Blackheart Orchestra are Manchester based multi-instrumentalists Chrissy Mostyn and Rick Pilkington who take a wide range of influences from artists such as Sigur Ros, Bat For Lashes and Bjork.

Together they combine contemporary rock with electronica, atmospherics and classical styling to create a unique brand of ethereal art-rock that is laden with pop hooks and poetry, raw emotions and philosophy. They are frequently compared to such diverse artists as Cocteau Twins, early Pink Floyd, Portishead and Kate Bush as well as contemporary composers such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass.

The bands 2019 album Mesmeranto reached #16 in the UK Indie Chart, #18 in the UK Rock Chart, #4 in the USAs Big Takeover Albums of the Year and was voted twice in the Rock Writers Top 20 Albums of the Year.

The album received unanimous praise from the likes of Louder Than War, PROG magazine, RnR and No Depression as well as gaining them recognition and applause from musical peers including Genesis Steve Hackett and Motrheads Phil Campbell. They won Best British Duo.

They were voted #4 Best New Band in the UK. Chrissy was recently voted #5 Best Female Vocalist in PROG Magazines Readers Poll, and their lockdown online concert series The Big Armchair Concerts was voted #10 in Most Important Rock Events of 2020.

Now, following a recent, successful 17-date UK tour, the band announce details of their new album. Hotel Utopia which finds them at their most mesmerizing, haunting best.

Never afraid to take on the most daunting subjects, Mesmeranto was based on the concept of death, inspired by Mostyns mother who was nearing the end of her life. Now Hotel Utopia takes a musical look at the afterlife.

The 13 songs discuss the one mystery that has troubled every human animal that ever lived. What happens after life? Whether we believe in God with a capital G, with a small g or believe in no g at all, Hotel Utopia is a collection 13 songs that discusses our fear of the mystery of the moment the light goes out. Or does it?

Its a record that doesnt attempt to answer that question but provokes the listeners thoughts while holding their hand along a musical journey that meditates on our fears and fantasies of heaven stopping off en route at murder, suicide, the end of the world and reincarnation as we all approach the unknown mystery of our own personal Hotel Utopia.

Opening song The Tide deals with the end of a loved life, a song Chrissy wrote about her mothers passing and the impact the subsequent grief had on her body and spirit. Under The Headlights sees every life as part of something bigger and features a historic recording of the voice of 1960s British philosopher Alan Watts.

Amplifying the thought, the video was shot just three feet from the edge of the 531ft high cliffs at Birling Gap, South Downs, sadly the worlds third most popular suicide location. The Warning looks at the death of the earth, and is a melancholic call to arms to a species seemingly dedicated to self-destruction, whilst Astronaut is a childs nave vision of life ahead ultimately replaced by reality.

Continuing with these themes, songs such as Alive, A Dangerous Thing and Dust examine the sanctity of life, love, the mystery of death and the pain of bereavement. Whilst Casting Spells playfully asks is someone keeping a tally on our behaviour and is the afterlife a spin of the wheel based on our track record? Atlantic illustrates a fantasy journey of reincarnation, an underwater dream state of the subconscious mind.

Whilst the final track, The Flood, is about apocalyptic endings, yet rebirths and new beginnings. It is the perfect closing to extraordinary album The Blackheart Orchestras most mesmerizing and ambitious to date.

Based on Chrissy Mostyns track by track guide, available on request.

Were extremely excited to announce our three years in the making album Hotel Utopia. Hotel Utopia is 13 songs about the afterlife. It holds the listeners hand along a musical journey that meditates on our fears and fantasies of heaven stopping off en route at murder, suicide, the end of the world and reincarnation.

Hotel Utopia is an audio movie for the listeners mind, emotions and imagination. The album will be supported by an 18 date tour of the UK.

Track list:

The TideUnder The HeadlightsSafeThe WarningAstronautAliveA Dangerous ThingCasting SpellsDustAtlanticTranslucentRaise Your HeartThe Flood

Hotel Utopia will be available on 23 September.

Buy Link:https://store.theblackheartorchestra.com

The album release will be immediately followed by a 18-date promotional UK tour:

Sept 1 OSWESTRY Hermon ChapelSept 4 HULL AdelphiSept 6 MASHAM Town HallSept 9 LEEDS Seven ArtsSept 11 EDINBURGH BannermansSept 15 WIGAN Old CourtsSept 17 OUNDLE Victoria HallSept 18 LICHFIELD The HubSept 22 SUTTON Sound LoungeSept 24 WINCHESTER The RailwaySept 25 SOUTHAMPTON Hanger Farm ArtsSept 29 PENZANCE Acorn ArtsOct 1 CREDITON Arts CentreOct 8 LEDBURY Market TheatreOct 12 CHELMSFORD A CanteenOct 13 BRIGHTON BrunswickOct 16 POOLE Sound CellarOct 20 BANBURY The Mill Arts CentreOct 23 SHEFFIELD Greystones

Download / stream herehttps://linktr.ee/theblackheartorchestra

Originally posted here:

The Blackheart Orchestra announce new album 'Hotel Utopia': a meditation on death and the afterlife - Metal Planet Music

Few rappers in the game in history, even have been able to generate hype quite like Houstons own Travis Scott. Whether its sold-out live experiences, mobs of fans lining up for his McDonalds meal, or ridiculous resale prices for his sneaker collabs, Traviss sound and aesthetic have amassed a legion of listenerswho, in turn, transformedhim a gargantuan pop cultural figure.

Its no surprise, then, that fans have been foaming at the mouth for any and every bit of information about La Flames next move. Were currently in the longest waiting period between albums in his entire career, as the highly anticipated and critically acclaimed ASTROWORLD dropped four years ago (twice as long as the gap between2016s Birds In The Trap Sing McKnightand his 2018 magnum opus). There have been plenty of teasers and interesting revelations about Traviss next album UTOPIA, and weve compiled some of the most important pieces of the puzzle.

Before getting into what the 31-year-old rager has said about the project, its important to note that the album rollout took a tragic turn in November 2021 when 10 attendees died and over 300 were injured at his Astroworld Festival in Houston. As such, Travis has been quite silent as far as media and music, and many fans have stopped listening to him as a result.

Whether or not you think Travis is responsible for the tragic event, his Instagram video apology disappointed many whofelt it was phoned-in and ingenuine. UTOPIA is now Traviss chance to address the incident on a larger scale. It will be most interesting to see to what lengths the Goosebumps star will go to talk about his thought process following the incident. Will he honor the memory of those lost? Will he avoid the topic entirely? Or will he move his music into a new, less rage-heavy direction?

Only time will tell, but for now, heres what we know.

Talking about UTOPIA is interesting, because while no tracklist has been officially confirmed, a few leaked tracks like LOST FOREVER with Westside Gunn and James Blake, NIAGARA FALLS with 21 Savage, as well as BLUNT TALK with Bryson Tiller, have given fans an idea of what UTOPIA may hold. However, we do have at least one official single that will likely make it on the new album: FRANCHISE, Scotts glitchy banger with Young Thug and M.I.A. Wed also be remiss not to mention HIGHEST IN THE ROOM, a hit single he dropped in 2019 that, despite being three years old at this point, mightve been a part of his plan to promote UTOPIA.

With these newly teased tracks, it seems Travis is pulling apart his psychedelic approach to hyper-energetic trap in two directions: FRANCHISE has punchier drums and less use of reverb than most songs in his catalog, whereas LOST FOREVER is one of Traviss most ethereal beats and one of the rare occasions where he uses traditional flows and percussion patterns. Both sound incredibly futuristic which is appropriate for the albums title, yet not far off from what Travis is known for.

La Flame himself made a few comments on the albums new sound and what he aims to create.In a June 2021 interview withWWD, he told fans: Im in this new album mode where its like psychedelic rock. So even just like the field of cactuses and mushrooms, you might get tripped out."

He previously spoke to i-D Magazine about his excitement over crafting a new sound. "I never tell people this, and Im probably going to keep it a secret still, but Im working with some new people and Im just trying to expand the sound. Ive been making beats again, rapping on my own beats, just putting everything together and trying to grow it really. Thats been one of the most fun things about working on this album. Im evolving, collaborating with new people, delivering a whole new sound, a whole new range. I want to make a f**king new sound. I might spend days banging my head against a wall trying to figure it out, but once I do it, its like ultimate ecstasy.

He also provided some insight into the UTOPIA album title inan interview with CR Men.

Medicine, nursing, being a better person, talking, language, communicationyou know, a utopian state. Thats what my album is about. You think utopia is a society where everything is good: health, buildings, architecturenah. Its just about proper lines of communication. Because thats the dystopian sh*t were in right now. Its all hate, hate, hate, and all of that is drawn from what? Miscommunication, non-communication, non-understandable communication, ignorance to communication. I dont like this person. Why? Because somebody told me something to not like this person? Because in history I read to not like this person? Why?

With all the Houston native has said about UTOPIA, fans might notice theres one part of the equation missing. Travis announced a prelude mixtape titled DYSTOPIA as a companion piece, akin to how 2014s Days Before Rodeo gave fans a taste of what was to come on his studio breakout, 2015s Rodeo. La Flame dropped two singles off of the mixtape: the woozy yet energetic ESCAPE PLAN and the elegantly nocturnal MAFIA with a surprise feature from J. Cole.

It seems DYSTOPIA may be no more, as the Astroworld Festival in 2021 was meant to promote the project. While these tracks were more standard La Flame fare compared to some more experimental leaks, they were still well received by fans. Audiences are curious tohear what form DYSTOPIA will take: a scrapped project with a few singles, or perhaps, it integrates itself into Traviss larger vision for his upcoming studio album.

Maybe UTOPIA will be the psych-rock epic that fans have always seen in Travis Scotts career trajectory, or maybe its a continuation of the sounds he crafted on ASTROWORLD. No matter the case, leaks and singles indicate that whatever direction he chooses, were sure to find innovative songwriting and production from the SICKO MODE hit-maker.

As far as release dates go, Travis confirmed in a recent interview with i-D Magazine that the album will definitely drop in 2022 and spoke on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted his creative process. He said its made him way more productive, despite the drawbacks of free time that the pandemic brought us all.

You in the crib, and I got the studio at home and I have the peace to record all day, you know? Obviously like, you lose a little bit by not being able to travel and, you know, just see the earth.

Travis began teasingUTOPIAas early as July 2020. On July 8th, 2020, he posted a picture of himself with a simple caption: Utopia.

Then in August of that year, on the two-year anniversary of ASTROWORLDs release, Scott released a letter thanking his fans and ending with the note, See you in Utopia. He also wrote a letter in October to his DJs and staff thanking them for their hard work and support,promising to see them in Utopia, as well.

When the Astroworld crowd tragedy occurred, Travis became silent on social media out of respect for those affected. It wasnt until December that he once again added Utopia to his Instagram bio, a small step to regear the albums rollout.

In April 2022, fans spotted billboards around Los Angeles suggesting the album was near completion. While its taken longer for UTOPIA to drop than expected, the billboardshelped divert theconversation from the Astroworld tragedy to Travis Scott's next artistic moves.

Its also worth noting that La Flamebegan performing again recently.He performed LOST FOREVER and MAFIAand the 2022 Billboard Music Awards. Travis also made his first festival appearancesince the Astroworld tragedy as a guest at Futures Rolling Loud Miami 2022 set in July. Most recently, it was announced that he would have a Road To Utopia nightclub residency at Las Vegass Zouk Nightclub.

This residencyseven-night residencybegins on September 17th, with an additional date on October 15th. He alsohinted at debuting newmusic at his shows at The O2 Arena in London. With a string ofconcert dates announced for the coming weeks, it seems like Travis will be releasing Utopiavery soon. We predict itll drop sometime in late October, which would coincide with the final dates of his Road to Utopia shows, buthopefully, it drops even sooner.

All thats left now, unfortunately, is to wait. Stay tuned to HotNewHipHop for more news on UTOPIA, Travis Scott, and the next steps in his rollercoaster of a career.

Read the original here:

Here Is Everything You Need To Know About Travis Scott's "UTOPIA" - HotNewHipHop

Katie Holmes and musician Bobby Wooten III are still going strong and look pretty smitten.

The two were photographed out together in New York City again just before the start of the weekend, and both were all smiles as they walked hand-in-hand. Katiewore a tan sleeveless jumpsuit and black sneakers while the Broadway starsported a gray T-shirtover a pair ofkhakis and black shoes as they strolled through Washington Square Park in Manhattan.

Their outing comes more than two months after they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the Moth's Silver Ball in the city. The event honoredsinger-songwriterDavid Byrne, who Bobby worked with on the BroadwayrecordingofAmerican Utopia.

Katie, 43, and Bobby, 41, took their romance publicin April, when they were photographed showing PDA in New York City. During their day out, the couplestrolled through Central Park andvisited the Guggenheim Museum. They also spent time withthe actress'momKathy Holmes.

In May, Katie and Bobby were seen again out in New York City over Mother's Day.

Read this article:

Katie Holmes and Bobby Wooten III Are All Smiles on Romantic NYC Stroll - E! NEWS

Imagine a world where plants evolved and became walking, talking creatures.

Thats director Anand Rajarams invitation to audiences in As You Like It, one of the headline events in this summers Dream in High Park series. Rajarams 90-minute version of Shakespeares comedy officially opens on August 4 and runs through September 4 at the High Park Amphitheatre.

Rajarams goal is to make the production accessible to the widest possible audience and that meant starting from a place where children will understand it, as well as those for whom Shakespeare is foreign or English is a second language, or anyone who just understands cinematically, visually, by pictures, he said.

The idea that the characters are more than human came out of discussions with Anne Barber and Brad Harley of Shadowland Theatre, who are designing sets, costumes and props for the show. I told Shadowland that I dont want there to be human beings onstage because I want the audience to be in a place of What is this? said Rajaram. And Shadowland said, Well, what if everyones a plant of some kind?

He believes audiences will buy into the conceit quickly because weve got Pixar, weve got Monsters, Inc., weve got Cars, weve got Toy Story. Weve got all these things that are heightened reality, said Rajaram. Theres a very strong cartoon esthetic to the show. The idea is its a live cartoon.

Shakespeare aficionados who come in expecting something close to published versions of the script might initially be disoriented. But the people who approach it with an open mind, I think, will see it very differently, said Rajaram. The show features new music by five contemporary recording artists, including Serena Ryder, Kiran Ahluwalia, Lacey Hill, Maryem Tollar and an anonymous contributor.

This is a full-circle moment for Rajaram, whos never directed a major production before. His first professional acting job was in a High Park production of A Midsummer Nights Dream in 1996, a gig he pursued doggedly because the Shakespeare in High Park productions he saw in high school were the only ones in which he felt there could be space for him onstage. Because of the openness of the space and the openness of casting, (High Park) was the first place I went to when starting his career, said Rajaram.

As You Like It is a story of overturnings and reinventions: Duke Senior and his daughter Rosalind are banished from the court by Duke Frederick, Seniors brother. Before leaving, Rosalind falls in love with Orlando, who pursues her to the Forest of Arden. In the forest there are multiple and overlapping romances, including Rosalind dressing as a boy and inviting Orlando to woo her as if she were Rosalind (which of course, she is). Meanwhile, Duke Senior tries to remake his life in a new setting.

When approaching the play, Rajaram started with the title: What does As You Like It mean? I think it means the world as you would like it to be, he said.

He turned to Thomas Mores book Utopia, published in the mid-16th century, which proposes another land which has different rules than the present and shows some things that are good and some things that are bad, but just shows alternate ways of living, said Rajaram.

So if its As You Like It and we start in a place where everybodys destabilized, everybodys trying to find stability, peace, whatever, then when they get to the forest, then thats their opportunity to figure that out.

Rajaram found contemporary resonance in the idea of trying to rebuild a society without duplicating existing power structures. Were in a time of great destabilization, financially and socially, and all the paradigms that we knew are kind of crumbling and new ones are arising. We are actively seeking utopia but tearing down a statue doesnt attain it, he said. The building after is the hard part and thats where all the characters are.

To reinforce this idea of breaking down hierarchies, Rajaram came to rehearsals with a gold crown on his head, wearing a costume: a big velvet peacock puppet with its head in front of him and tail behind.

Ive seen directors who will show up at rehearsal wearing a suit because its a mark of authority, he said. This is kind of a playful upturning of the idea. Im the king in the room, but Im also riding a peacock. Its to maintain a sense of play in the room and maintain a sense of not taking things too seriously.

Everyone responds differently to his costume, Rajaram added, but nobody has a negative response.

Working on the show has allowed Rajaram to explore the concept of utopia in depth.

When we go to the forest, its all things dying and decaying and mushroomy and fungusy, and thats scary. But thats where the richness of everything really is, where its free and abundant, he said.

Utopia ultimately is reconciling mortality. Once you arent afraid of death anymore, thats when you achieve utopia. Thats what love is, fundamentally, is when its timeless and theres no fear of death.

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Shakespeares As You Like It is reimagined as a utopia with talking plants for the Dream in High Park - Toronto Star

Published: August 4, 2022

MSNBC Op-Ed Proposes New Kind of Atheism Will Solve Americas Moral Woes

By Movieguide Staff

According to Zeeshan Aleem, not only are women across the country being held hostage by a conservative Christian conception of life, but the solution is a new style of Atheism.

In a new op-ed Why America needs a new kind of atheism right now,: Aleem posits that an energetic, organized atheist movement would help guard against intensifying religious extremism on one end, and the atomizing social consequences of a plunge in conventional religiosity on the other.

Aleems motion towards communitarian atheism, as he calls it, was spurred on by the recent Supreme Court Ruling that overturned the landmark abortion case, Roe v. Wade.

Aleem, a former Muslim, said that his conversion to atheism enlivened him:

Some people think of atheists as rudderless and living in a cold, meaningless world. My experience was the opposite. Atheism enlivened me and spurred me to develop a broader skepticism of all manner of received wisdom. The displacement of heaven inspired me to think about achieving utopia on earth; my reading skewed in a radically left-wing direction, and I pivoted toward political activism.

While Aleem claims that his new atheism offers a gateway for many Americans to contemplate important questions, form community, and think about how to collectively better the only world we can be sure we have, mere contemplation is not enough to find purpose.

The central pitfall of atheism, even the new version that Aleem proposes, is that it lacks any moral basis that can be used to establish a purpose to live.

Movieguide founder Dr. Ted Baehr wrote on atheism:

Atheism is the disbelief or denial of the existence of God or a supreme intelligent being. Atheism is a ferocious system that leaves nothing above us to excite awe, nor around us to awaken tenderness.

Because the atheist rejects any belief in the supernatural, he must view man as an evolutionary creature with no objective basis of morality. Ethics can only be subjective and self-defined, leading to the survival of the strong and destruction of the weak.

Aborting babies in the womb, infanticide, euthanasia, and totalitarianism are common practices in an atheistic culture.

Popular podcaster and political pundit Ben Shapiro echoed this in a recent statement: It is no coincidence that the most militantly atheistic governments communist and fascist governments of the 20th century have been far more murderous and tyrannical than any religious theocracy in history. Atheism promotes a vision of mankind entirely at odds with the building of a productive society.

As the former atheist turned theologian C.S. Lewis once said: A man can no more diminish Gods glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word darkness on the walls of his cell.

David addresses the same idea in Psalm 14:1, which simply reads: The fool says in his heart, There is no God.'

More here:

MSNBC Op-Ed Proposes 'New Kind of Atheism' Will Solve America's Moral Woes - Movieguide

The superstar author of Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks is finally coming to Christchurch kind of.

In a parallel universe where the Covid-19 virus did not rearrange the human world in 2020, my novel Utopia Avenue was published in the regular manner and I visited New Zealand and Australia to appear at literary festivals. I was especially looking forward to the Word Christchurch Festival. Its director, the writer Rachael King, had suggested a joint event with a musician to complement UtopiaAvenues musical themes. To my surprise and delight, Hollie Fullbrook of the combo Tiny Ruins accepted our invitation to appearin anodd gig presenting her songs and my readings from my novel. I met Hollie and her music on my last visit to New Zealand in 2016 and divined something truly special in her ethereal, grounded, witty, yearning songs.

In this universe, alas, the virus did its grimworst. Flights were grounded, quarantine barriers went up and few of us went anywhere. Rachael and I agreed to see how next year looked when it arrived. When it did, we agreed that my coming to Christchurch in August wasnt going to happen. But could I attend virtually? If so, how? We werent sure, but we both felt it would be worth Zooming with Hollie to see if any ideas emerged.

All I knew, going into that conversation, was what Ididntwant to do. During my virtual book tour for Utopia Avenue, I discovered with countless other authors that reading scenes from novels doesnt really work the way it does when youre reading live on stage. Its as if the presence of the author is needed to compensate for the episodic nature of that exercise. Without that authorial presence, readings excised from a bigger narrative feel a bit flat, truncated and meh. What works better, I believe, are short, complete narratives with their own beginnings, middles and ends. These look and feel more like visual audiobooks or even story time, when youre a kid.

During Hollies and my long and winding Zoom, pieces of a new idea for a half-virtual, half-corporeal show emerged. First, I would send Hollie a few unpublished stories to see if they might give her ideas for some new songs. Second, Id go metal-detecting in Tiny Ruins discography for ideas for possible stories. If stages one and two went well, we would film me reading my new Tiny Ruinous Stories as well as the stories Hollie had chosen to respond to musically. These videos of me reading would form the words half of a words and music event on stage where Hollie sings the songs live and in person, interspersed with me reading the stories not live and not in person, but kind of. Like a ghost.

Id never tried anything like this before. I dont really know how I write stories, but They just sort of come is the best description of the process Ive ever been able to muster. Which is less of a description and more of an evasion. Certainly, Ive never tried foraging for stories in other peoples songs without their permission, it would feel like a bit of a liberty. How would I go about it? I began with One Million Flowers off Tiny Ruins Olympic Girls LP of 2019, just because it is impossibly beautiful and makes me glad to be alive so I can listen to it. I asked myself two questions: If the narrator of this song was a fictional character, who would they be? and Under what circumstances might this character think the lines and experience the emotions present in this song?

By answering those two questions, by using clues in the songs, my story One Million Flowers came pretty quickly. It felt natural to embed fragments of song lyrics into the story, so I did. Attentive listeners will be rewarded, Easter egg-like, by flashes of recognition when Hollie sings the song alongside my reading of the story. Since this method worked I think I repeated it for other Tiny Ruins songs that weave a particular bewitchment: Carriages, Priest With Balloons and Bird in the Thyme. The stories have to be concise prose tends to take longer to read than songs take to sing and as a writer, I go on a bit. (Try editing me: Im a nightmare.)

So I arranged my four stories into a connected quartet. Like batteries in a row feeding voltage into the next battery along, my hope is that the four add up to more than the sum of the parts. The narrator of each story is the same woman a pianist, as it happens and the stories track her relationship with love, music and reality at four different stages in her life. My hope is that, when combined with Hollies songs, the Tiny Ruins Quartet (as I called the folder on my laptop) will be the strangest mini-musical ever witnessed on the venerable boards of The Piano in Christchurch.

How Hollie went about growing songs out of the compost of my stories is a question for Hollie to answer, as, when and if. At the time of writing this, however, she had shared the demo of a song responding to a story I wrote called Lots of Bits of Star and I love it. Im excited by her choices of the stories I sent. She has chosen narratives that are close to my heart.

My stories are recorded against a suitably trippy backdrop (youll see what I mean) at the De Barras Folk Club in my hometown of Clonakilty, Ireland where, with pleasing symmetry, Hollie has performed in previous years during the Clonakilty Guitar Festival.

Covid did us in again in 2021, but its finally happening in 2022. I wish I could be present in Christchurch on September 1 to see Hollies and my 12,000-mile collaboration in person. Then again, if I could be present in person, what Hollie and I have imagined into being a 90 minute trip through a landscape of songs and stories that reflect, echo, amplify, harmonise with and above all, trust eachother would not have happened in the first place. Even a global pandemic can bring gifts, and the chance to work with and learn from Hollie is a gift I cherish. So. Ill be present at The Piano in spirit, in story and onscreen, and Ill hope to visit Christchurch the next time I publish. In this universe. Please.

Go raibh maith agat, kia ora and thank you to De Barras owner Ray Blackwell and recording team John Fitzgerald and Sean Phair, plus the Irish Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, and APRA AMCOS in New Zealand.

David Mitchell appears in two events at Word Christchurch Festival(31 August 4 September): hes in conversation with Rachael King for The Faraway Near, followed by the collab with Tiny Ruins, If I Were a Story and You Were a Song, both on 1 September.

See the article here:

David Mitchell on his extraordinary collab with Tiny Ruins' Hollie Fullbrook - The Spinoff

This August, the theme of NHK WORLD-Japan is Idealism+AI=Utopia? Is.

Also on the show: the science fiction drama Three Reigns, the English language version of which celebrated its world premiere at the Nippon Connection Film Festival this year.

Teenage Reign Japan is in deep stagnation. To revive the country, the government is relying on the Utop-AI experiment, in which the selection of new leaders is left to an artificial intelligence.

The program aims to combine the idealism of the youth with the wisdom of the past provided by AI. Ultimately, the choice of artificial intelligence falls on a 17-year-old boy who leads a management team of other youngsters.

Miracle: Sunday August 21 Episode 1 Sunday August 28 Episode 2

Subtitles 2:10 / 14:10 . with Sync version 8:10 / 20:10

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Artist Against War

The new episode of the Artists Against War series follows Japanese contemporary artist Morimura Yasumasa and his reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Known for his own paintings, the internationally acclaimed artist has clear ideas on how artists should react to recent events.

Miracle: Wednesday August 3rd at 3:30 AM / 8:30 AM / 2:30 PM / 7:30 PM / 12:30 AM

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Daily Life in Time of War

The documentary Daily Life in Times of War is about young peoples diverse efforts to preserve the knowledge of those who survived World War II for generations to come. They interview survivors to learn what it was like to be in the war. To prevent their stories from being forgotten, they ban it, for example, in video games or animations.

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Miracle: Saturday August 6th at 2:10 am / 8:10 am / 2:10 pm / 8:10 pm

Sharing the Future

Sharing the Future is a collection of inspiring stories about the people of Japan trying new ideas and efforts to support communities in developing countries around the world.

Talent Wednesday August 3 at 4:30 AM / 9:30 AM / 3:30 PM / 9:30 PM

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NHK World-Japan: Focus In August - Nation World News