Category Archives: New Utopia

I have to say here and now, that no artist like Skeng will ever come again into this country.

Thats the word from Guyanas Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn, who has effectively banned the Protocol deejay and many other Dancehall artists from performing publicly in the country. The Minister said he has directed his Ministry and the Guyana Police Force to withhold their consent and approval for any future public performances featuring Skeng or any artist, whose lyrical content promotes the type of behavior seen at the Baderation show held in May.

Benn was speaking at the opening of the Community Relations Department of the Guyana Police Force on Friday morning when he made the announcement.

If they want, they can go into a private club and behave as badly as they want. But we will not sign off on any such artist or any artist who has a record of promoting vulgar and lawless behaviour including the firing of gunshots in public places. We reject it completely, Benn declared.

Benn has also indicated that he intends to get Skengs music taken off the airwaves in Guyana, after the artist supposedly called the countrys capital Gun Town.

I was sent this morning a video of the fellow putting out a new line about Georgetown as the Gun Town, Benn said. Im going to move to have it taken off the airwaves and removed from social media. We want to hand over to our children a better country and better life than we have had. That is what we want.

Skengs latest song is Gang Bang, the video for which was shot in Trinidad.

We are ambushed by situations where people take advantage of opportunities provided for them, for the entertainment business, where they bring in artists into this country and put on a public stage, disgraceful music, words, and behaviour. And it engenders perhaps the only type of behaviour, one would expect from what was seen on the stage from one called Skeng, recently, the Minister had also said.

Besides Skeng, the Minister did not name any other artists.

However, Crocodile Teeth deejay Skillibeng is reportedly expected to perform in Berbice, Guyana in August, according to News Room Guyana. We are going to try to put systems in place for persons who are carrying licensed firearms to have those firearms secured at a convenient location where they can be retrieved after the event, Regional Commander Kurleigh Simon said earlier this week.

We have taken note of the last public show they had at the National Park and what transpired and we dont want to be caught up in that, so we are putting systems in place to ensure the region is policed before, during, and after that particular event (Guyana Cup), Commander Simon explained.

On May 27, 2022, Skengs Baderation Dancehall concert at the National Park came to an abrupt end after several patrons began recklessly firing gunshots in the air and throwing bottles.

Shaneil Muir and Young Bredda also performed at the show, which was organized by Hits and Jams Entertainment as part of their lineup of Genesis X Utopia events.

According to videos that made the rounds on social media, Skeng, whose given name is Kevaun Douglas was performingProtocolfor the sizable crowd, which influenced supporters to buss literal shots to show their approval. The Jamaican entertainer, who was fully immersed into his set, was then whisked away by members of his entourage as some patrons scampered for safety.

The Police Force reported that they had launched an investigation into the incident and one person was arrested with an illegal firearm at the event. Following the show, the promoters met with other stakeholders and changes were implemented for future concerts including a ban on glass bottles and the use of security scanners.

Skeng is not the first Jamaican artist to be banned in Guyana.

In 2008, Mavado was briefly blacklisted based on his then association with Bounty Killer, who had headlined a show at the National Park that was marred by sporadic gun salutes, two weeks prior.

In 2011, Vybz Kartel was forbidden from being played on the local airwaves for some of his more obscene and hardcore lyrics. In retaliation, Kartel said he would never return to the country.

I refused to go there before the ban was imposed so that ban wasnt necessary. I banned myself. Big up the Guyanese Gaza fans but I would sooner tour Iraq than go to Guyana, Kartel was quoted as saying by the Jamaica Star.

Read this article:

Skeng And Many Dancehall Artists Are Now Banned In Guyana, Says Minister - DancehallMag

This years Tony nominations have already made history. On May 9, 2022, Lynn Nottage became the first playwright ever nominated for Best Play and Best Book of a Musical in the same season (for Clydes and MJ); L Morgan Lee became the first openly trans performer to be nominated with her performance in A Strange Loop; Adam Rigg became the first agender nominee, recognized for their scenic design of The Skin of Our Teeth; and Toby Marlow became the first nonbinary composer to earn a nod with SIX just to name a few trailblazers. Still, the 2022 Tonys have the chance to break even more records during the live June 12 broadcast on Paramount+ and CBS. Here are the milestones and potential record-breaking wins to watch for on Broadways biggest night.

A Little ContextThe Tony Awards turn 75 this year. In April 1947, the inaugural celebration of Broadway took place as an intimate dinner at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. Back then, there were only seven categories and none of them were competitive, meaning there werent nominations prior to the ceremony. Over the seven and a half decades since, the Awards have evolved into 26 competitive categories plus special honors like the Isabelle Stevenson Award for service (this year going to the Shubert Organizations Robert E. Wankel), the Lifetime Achievement Award (going to the legendary Angela Lansbury), a Special Tony (New York Theatre Workshops artistic director Jim Nicola) as well as a few choice Tony Honors (being presented to the Asian American Performers Action Coalition, Broadway for All, Emily Grishman, Feinsteins/54 Below and United Scenic Artists Local 829). An Excellence in Theatre Education Award will be presented to drama teacher Roshunda Jones-Koumba of Houston, Texas. In less than a week, the industry will celebrate the honorees and reveal the results of the competitive categories.

Production MilestonesOn the books, 2007s Coast of Utopia is the most Tony-winning play in history with seven trophies. This year, The Lehman Trilogy enters the race with eight nods and for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf comes in with seven. Its unlikely Lehman will break the record, as three of its eight noms are in the Leading Actor in a Play category (there would have to be a three-way tie to beat Coast of Utopia or a typical two-way tie to equal the record). However, for colored girls could match the total for Utopia if it wins every award for which it is nominated.

On the musical side, 2008s South Pacific leads as the revival with the most Tonys, at seven. The current reimagining of Company boasts nine nominations. There would have to be a tie between Featured Actress in a Musical nominees Patti LuPone and Jennifer Simard for Company to take all nine, but it could nab eight and still beat the record.

Speaking of ties, there have been 10 in Tony history the most recent in 2009 between Billy Elliot: The Musical and Next to Normal for Best Orchestrations. The timeline reflects that there has been at least one tie per decade since 1958, so it seems the Tonys are overdue for one. Will this be the year to mark the 11th?

The Strange Loop of It AllThe big show to watch this year is A Strange Loop. Leading the pack with 11 nominations, the Michael R. Jackson musical won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2020. Including A Strange Loop, only 10 musicals have ever won the Pulitzer for Drama in the honors 105-year history. Of the nine preceding Strange Loop, six took home the Tony Award for Best Musical: South Pacific (1950), Fiorello! (1960), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1962), A Chorus Line (1976), Rent (1996) and Hamilton (2016). A Strange Loop will either join those ranks or be the fourth to earn the Pulitzer without the Tony, joining Of Thee I Sing (1932, prior to the establishment of the Tonys), Sunday in the Park with George (1984) and Next to Normal (2009).

To date, there are only five Tony winners for Best Musical that have book, music and lyrics written by the same person: Meredith Willsons The Music Man (1958, with a shared story credit for Franklin Lacey), Rupert Holmes Mystery of Edwin Drood (1986), Jonathan Larsons Rent (1996), Lin-Manuel Mirandas Hamilton (2016) and Anas Mitchells Hadestown (2019). If Strange Loop takes home the top prize, Michael R. Jackson will be the sixth solo author to win this prestigious prize.

The list of artists who wrote the book, music and lyrics for their show and won Best Book of a Musical and Original Score is similarly slim. To date, Holmes, Larson, Miranda, Mel Brooks for The Producers and the trio behind The Book of Mormon Robert Lopez, Trey Parker and Matt Stone are the only ones to do it. If Jackson walks away with Book and Score, he will be the eighth member of this club.

LGBTQIA+ HistoryWhen it comes to individuals, this years prizes might shatter precedent. If Lee, Rigg or Marlow win in their respective categories, any one of them would be the first non-cisgender person to win a Tony Award.

BIPOC RepresentationIt could also be a landmark year for Black artists. If for colored girls helmer Camille A. Brown collects Best Choreography, she will be the ninth woman to win, the ninth Black choreographer to win and the first Black woman (though Sonya Tayehs victory for Moulin Rouge! The Musical cemented her as the first female choreographer of color to win in the category). A win for Brown would also mark the first time a play, rather than a musical, triumphs in this category.

Brown is also contending for Best Direction of a Play. She and Lileana Blain-Cruz (The Skin of Our Teeth) as well as Lucy Moss (SIX), nominated for Direction of a Musical are in contention to become the 11th woman to score a statue for direction. Marianne Elliott is the other female directing nominee, but she has prevailed for direction previously (the only woman to win twice). If Elliott comes out on top, she will be the first woman to accept three Tonys for direction and the sixth director overall, regardless of gender. A trophy for Blain-Cruz or Brown would mark the first win for a Black female director and the third Black director of any gender to win (Lloyd Richards and George C. Wolfe were the first two, respectively.)

Of note: The aforementioned Jackson and Nottage, or Christina Anderson (of Paradise Square) would be only the second Black winner to take home Book of a Musical after Stews victory for Passing Strange (2008). Jackson would be only the second Black winner for Original Score after Charlie Smalls for The Wiz (1975).

In 2016, Daveed Diggs, Rene Elise Goldsberry, Leslie Odom, Jr. and Cynthia Erivo made history as their trophies marked the first time a performer of color conquered all four musical acting categories. The same could happen this year for musical as well as play acting categories.

While representation for Black artists is at a high among this years nominees, there is much room for improvement with regards to representation for Latinx artists, Indigenous artists, artists of Asian descent and more. Still, if either Jiyoun Chang (for colored girls) or Yi Zhao (The Skin of Our Teeth) earns a statue for Lighting Design of a Play, they would be the first lighting designer of Asian descent to win a Tony.

Age MarkersThis seasons Tonys ceremony could also be a record-breaker when it comes to age. Currently, Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen) holds the record as the youngest performer to win Best Leading Actor in a Musical on his own. (The three Billy Elliots David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish won the award together in 2009.) At 23, Strange Loop star Jaquel Spivey could match Platts record; but if Myles Frost prevails for MJ: The Musical, the 22-year-old will replace Platt for the title of youngest solo winner in this category.

Nonprofit BreakthroughThe Tony Awards could also be significant for a theatrical institution. A Best Play prize for Clydes or Best Revival of a Play victory for Take Me Out would put Second Stage Theater on the board of Tony-winning New York nonprofits. The longtime off-Broadway company only began producing on Broadway four years ago. (Peer nonprofits Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club and Roundabout Theatre Company have all garnered Tonys for past productions.) Whats more, if Take Me Out wins, it will be the fifth play in history to win Best Play for its original outing and Best Revival for a subsequent production. Only Angels in America, Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Death of a Salesman and Fences can say the same.

No matter the results of this years honors, the 2022 ceremony will mark the first Tony Awards returning to Broadways usual June schedule since 2019. That alone is a milestone worth celebrating.

Correction: A previous version of the article misstated the number of Tony winners for Best Musical that have book, music and lyrics written by the same person.

Read this article:

The records that could be broken at the 2022 Tony Awards - Broadway News

Gene Roddenberrys Star Trek offered a glimpse at an optimistic future where humanity came together to take to the stars in the name of exploration and discovery. As time has gone on, however, the beloved sci-fi series has moved further and further from Roddenberrys idealistic vision.

Its curious then that For All Mankind, a series set not just in the future but during the days of the Cold War and in an alternate timeline to boot seems to be taking up the abdicated mantle of the most optimistic science fiction TV series. In case youve somehow missed it, For All Mankind tells the story of Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman), a NASA astronaut living on a world similar to our own but also radically different.

In Eds timeline, the space race played out very differently, with the Soviet Union beating the Americans to the Moon. This galvanised the two superpowers and made space the newest front in the Cold War. The first season dealt with NASA trying to establish the first settlement on the Moon. Meanwhile, the second saw tensions rise between the US and Soviets culminating in a historic meeting of cosmonauts and astronauts that helped avert nuclear disaster.

That superficial description may make it sound like For All Mankind is set in a chaotic dystopia where the Cold War escalated to the point that humanity was fighting wars on the Moon. But as the show moves out of the 80s and into the 90s, as well as its third season, things have started to change.

The show makes clear that the escalating space race has led to new, clean energy technologies, space travel far in advance of what were capable of, and, best of all, a coming together of different people just like in the future Roddenberry envisioned.

Ahead of the For All Mankind season 3 debut on June 10, we spoke to several cast members about the future presented by the show and asked them how they felt about the comparison with arguably the best sci-fi series of all time.

From the very beginning, Ron Moore (one of the shows creators) wanted it to have this aspirational feel, said Shantel VanSanten, who plays Karen Baldwin, Eds ex-wife. Now, that doesnt mean that everything goes as planned. There is a reality within it. But I think theres more of an awareness of civil issues, womens rights and diversity. In many ways, its quite a few steps ahead from where we find ourselves today, even as the show is set in the 90s.

Blast off: Best science fiction movies

While VanShanten played down the notion that the shows set in some sort of utopia or in any way preachy an accusation sometimes levelled at Trek she was clear in her hopes that people walk away from season 3 seeing that progress is a huge possibility.

That sense that tomorrow can be better than today and that despite our differences, were at our best when we work together is, of course, central to Star Trek, but its also a subtle theme that runs through the course of For All Mankind.

When we pointed out this clear link between Trek and For All Mankind to VanSanten, she was delighted, admitting she often gets so wrapped up in her character Karen that she doesnt see the similarities between the show.

Thats a very beautiful comparison. Thank you so much. I think we do feature a humaneness, she said. Even with a character like Karen, were not afraid to make choices that people are uncomfortable watching, or that are difficult to see But the one thing is its always redemptive. Theres always a way through where you learn, grow, and youre able to take that and build something better. I think that theres a real resilience to the human story. And that, for me, has always been inspirational and aspirational.

Among the stars: Best alien movies

While VanShanten was pleased by the comparison between the two shows, her onscreen ex Kinnaman took things a little further, saying For All Mankind could be a very unsanctioned prequel to the Star Trek we know and love. Yeah, I think [the comparison is] really accurate, Kinnaman said. I think that there will be a very unofficial handover from where we are [in For All Mankind] to a kind of Star Trek-style future.

We suspectKinnaman was probably being a little tongue in cheek, further confirmed when he laughed at us asking if he just wants Ed to be the next Captain kirk. However, he thinks that the two series fundamentally share a common optimism for the future. I think our show is inherently optimistic, he said. You know, its not perfect, but definitely optimistic. I think For All Mankinds future is one that I would definitely like to live in.

Even Wrenn Schmidt, who plays one of For All Mankinds more down to Earth characters, NASA engineer Margo Madison, agrees that despite the show exploring a version of history where the West lost, it drives humanity on to bigger and better things.

I think the excitement of discovery and seeing how far humans can go is inherently optimistic, Schmidt said. Theres so much science in season three, and in all of our seasons, that its hard to kind of drill down to one thing in particular, but I do think [the science explored] in the show especially is optimistic.

Bold new future: Best feel-good movies

Ultimately, though, the thing that makes For All Mankind such a strong show is its humanist spirit. The show is fundamentally about people reaching their full potential and although they may stumble (or make it to the Moon second), For All Mankinds central thesis is that its in coming together be that as individuals or nations that we can achieve miracles. We think thats a message Roddenberry could have got behind.

For All Mankind season 3 airs weekly on Apple TV Plus from June 10.

View post:

For All Mankind is the natural successor to Star Trek - The Digital Fix

By: Sean Zak June 7, 2022

Want to fall in love with St. Andrews? Walk the Old Course at dusk.

Sean Zak

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland As you walk through town, here in St. Andrews, the accents begin to change. The closer you get to the Old Course, the more Americans you hear. More Australians, and Kiwis. Canadians, too. Everyone visiting, it seems, is pulled by golf gravity toward Tom Morriss greatest artwork.

For the same reasons tourists feel compelled to visit Mona Lisa in Paris, St. Andrews visitors feel compelled to encroach upon The Old Course, and often for the same purpose: just a look. Its a natural thing to do in a town of about 20,000, but its also the smartest thing you can do as a visiting golfer. Stop here first and spend at least an hour, but maybe six. Ive made it a daily duty. You can learn a lot just by watching.

Things as simple as your intended target off the 1st, the loneliest gorse bush there ever was, out in the distance. Your target on 18, some four hours later, is the big clock behind you, atop the R&A building.

The R&A just had its exterior railing re-painted in time for The Open,with that classic navy blue. The Old Course Shops balcony facade, about 50 yards away, was getting a facelift, too. In-between duties, workers snuck glances at approach shots into 18, because golfers cant help but watch other golfers play. Its the same reason when you hit a bad shot on the range your first instinct is to peek around to ensure no one was watching. People are always watching.

Its tradition on its own that golfers watch golfers on the Old, but unlike other courses where this might be normal, I watched golfers watch golfers at 6:40 a.m. And I watched golfers watch golfers at 10 p.m. At any given point in between, dozens stood along the fence line, or plopped down for a golfy lunch on the grassy hill. An audience of 20 or so, aimlessly tuning in as amateurs grind over 6-footers for bogey.

Not only is it okay for golfers to drink this view in, its best served with a drink in hand. The pro move is clearly grabbing to-go pints from the nearby Dunvegan Bar. No one visits Pinehurst or Pebble Beach just to watch.

Spectators line the green fence along the 18th all day long.

Sean Zak

The most popular spot to watch is the seats behind the 18th green.

Sean Zak

A couple weeks ago, if you watched into the night, you would have caught Euan Smiths magical 71 and the tee-ball on 18 that bounced three times on the road before somehow trickling back onto the course. He made par from there, for his first under-par round on the Old. It took him 91 tries to do it, as a four-year student at St. Andrews University. I almost cried, he said, when that ball came back into play. Do the golf gods live on The Links road? They just might. Tom Morris basically died there, falling down the steps of The New Club.

Its from those bay windows inside The New Club that lies one of the best views of the action at the Old. Spend an afternoon in there and youll realize just how frequent tee shots do end up on the road. You can basically stumble and Im sure many have out of the New Club right onto the 18th fairway. Same for the St. Andrews Golf Club and the St. Rule Club (ladies only).Their members are the lucky ones who possess a Links Ticket, and can make tee times mostly uninhibited year-round. Theyll tell you about the switch that flipped the first week of May, when St. Andrews turned from a college town, once again, to golf utopia. Students moved out of the dorms and golfers move in.

In the run-up to the 150th Open Championship, demand for tee times couldnt be greater. The course has been hosting more corporate outings than usual, which last week meant a group of influencers. TikTok-ers, as one course marshal called them, taking parkour leaps and twirls over the Swilcan Burn.

But even with 12 hours worth of tee times, the search for one of them is a bit chaotic in the final 11 days before it shuts down for a month. Visitors are lining up earlier than ever the night before to sleep comfortably on the pavement or in the parking lot just to ensure a tee time. Whereas it might normally be a midnight or middle of the night commute, one golfer began waiting at 7 p.m. last week. A father and son joined him at 8 p.m., followed by another two at 8:30. They snuck comforters and pillows out of their hotel rooms, and laid sleeping bags down on top of yoga mats. I found the bunch at 5:30 a.m., sheltered from the wind whipping off the sea. Temperature: 45 degrees.Feel: a lot colder.

This crew of committed golfers all arrived before 9 p.m. the night prior, ensuring a tee time on the Old Course the next day.

Sean Zak

Thirteen hours later, I walked the Old for the first time since I arrived, and despite having seen it in 2018, I was surprised how much I had forgotten about the property. Like how massive the shot-rejecting hump in the 2nd green is. Or how pins tucked back right on 3 sit in a tiny bowl. Or how theres a wicked gully before the 5th green, youd better carry it. Or that, on 12, no matter how many bunkers you think are in the fairway, there are definitely more. You cant see them from the tee, one caddie reminded me, so just wail away with driver, he said. Act like they arent even there. All great notes for a course I wont play for another 10 days. Now that theyve been published, perhaps Ill even remember them.

Id like to commemorate this trip with biweekly appreciations of tinier things in town that help explain life in St. Andrews, some of its simplicities, intricacies, and things youd otherwise miss (when pulled toward the golf). For starters, we have these dynamic street signs.

Sean Zak

Sean Zak

Now youve seen it the very first photo I took upon arrival: a pic of the Elderly People sign that I lovingly sent to my parents. A few things I love:

1. The words Elderly People is not enough. We must make these people look elderly.Give the man a cane! The figures are way more animated than their rigid American counterparts.

2. This feels like the equivalent of the SLOW, Children Playing signs found in residential neighborhoods across the States. Only these feel more bustling. More lively. They certainly get the point across more.

In fairness, the signs do feel necessary. Roads are skinny here, with cars parked everywhere. My neighborhood is on the outskirts of town, where many elderly locals and families live.I hope theyre reading along.

Read the rest here:

In St. Andrews, you learn a lot just by watching - Golf.com

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (voc) released to the public on May 24 what it calls the to-date largest and most significant leak of internal documents from directly within Xinjiang police networks. Dubbed the Xinjiang Police Files, the leak was made to voc by an anonymous third party who hacked into Chinas Public Security Bureau. voc verified the information contained in the leak. The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded by the United States government in 1993.

Xinjiang is a region in western China populated by Uyghurs, a Muslim Turkic people, who have lived under Chinas rule since the mid-18th century. Many want independenceand Beijing has been doing all it can to stop that. To do so, the Chinese government has turned Xinjiang into one of the strictest police states in the world.

China has launched mass detentions of Uyghurs into reeducation facilities (concentration camps) where they are subjected to torture, brainwashing and other inhumane treatments. Uyghur women have received forced sterilizations and even forced abortions. Families whose men have been imprisoned have received ethnic Han Chinese husbands to take their place. What China is doing to the Uyghurs qualifies as genocide. (You can read more about Chinas treatment of the Uyghurs in What Happened to Never Again? and They Want the World to Bow Down to China.)

Much of this information has been hard to verify. China, as a Communist state, maintains a tight flow of information even in normal times. Xinjiang is in the far northwest of the country, far away from the more populated cities on the coast. The Xinjiang Police Filesavailable for anybody to look throughprovide a rare window inside the inner workings of the police state. The files have corroborated many of the allegations surrounding Chinas treatment of the Uyghurs.

Among the files were 2,884 mugshots of detainees. The photographs contain associated data, including why they were detained. The mugshots were all taken in 2018.

The youngest person in the files is Rahile Omer. She was 14 when detained and about 15 when photographed. The oldest, Anihan Hamit, was 73 in 2018.

Some of the reasons listed for Uyghurs internment show how intense Chinas persecution is. Abdurrahman Abaz, age 50 in 2018, was detained for reeducation because he wore a beard and his wife wore a headscarf. Memtili Hoshur, age 23 in 2018, was apparently detained simply because of his family connections. Dawut Jume, age 32 in 2018, received 10 years because he studied the [Koran] illegally from his mother Bilikzi Toheti for seven days. Reshit Ehet, age 20 in 2018, had written for his reason of internment: Category 5 | People who do not trust.

The Xinjiang Police Files also contain photographs of contraband items confiscated by authorities. These include objects such as Islamic prayer rugs, hijabs (head coverings) and quotations from the Koran.

Photographs were not all the Xinjiang Police Files contain. They also contain transcripts of key speeches delivered by major Chinese government figures. These demonstrate some of the heavy-handedness of Chinas Xinjiang policies.

For example, a 2017 speech from Xinjiang Party Secretary Chen Quanguo (which voc has only draft translated) has these instructions for people who flee arrest: Shoot him dead if he run a few steps. You see, in such a situation, if they run, just kill them. There will be no problem, because we have already authorized this a long time ago. In Xinjiang, running a few steps for avoiding arrest on account of your beard means you could be shot.

In Xinjiang, to quote Mao Zedong, political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.

Some of the documents also show how involved Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping is with what is going on in Xinjiang. A 2018 speech by Minister of Public Security Zhao Kenzhi cites the following quote from Xi to set public policy: Xinjiangs ethnic separatist forces have religious extremism as their ideological basis. [F]irst of all, we must cleanse the source and carry out de-extremification work. Zhao reiterated the importance of Beijings involvement in Xinjiang affairs: fully reflecting the great importance, concern and support of the [Chinese Communist Party] Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core for the work in Xinjiang.

None of this is new. Chinas crackdown on the Uyghurs started after Xi gave the orders in 2014. But the documents show how personally invested Xi has continued to be in Xinjiang years later.

The documents also show some of Xis motives for cracking down on the Uyghurs. Zhao quotes Xi: Doing a good job in Xinjiang matters for the overall situation of the whole country, it is definitely not just a matter of Xinjiangthis one regionbut a matter of the whole party and the whole nation. Chen quoted Xi in a different speech: Only when Xinjiang is stable will the whole country be stable.

When motivated by national survival, its hard to get dictators like Xi to change course.

The Xinjiang Police Files are a wealth of information, but they dont actually reveal much that wasnt known or at least suspected. The world has had some knowledge of all of this for years now. They havent done much about it. The Xinjiang Police Files bring Beijings crimes into sharper clarity than ever before, but its unlikely anybody will do anything about it. Corporations from some of the worlds largest economiesthe United States, Germany and many othershave lobbied support for Chinas actions in Xinjiang. Theres too much money to be made in China for many to take a stand. And even if there werent, China has one of the worlds most powerful militaries. In all likelihood, nothing short of war could get Beijing to stop its genocideand nobody at the moment is brave enough to attempt that.

After Nazi Germanys defeat in World War ii, the world woke up to the horrors of the Holocaust. World leaders pledged they would never again allow crimes like genocide to happen. Yet China is accomplishing a genocide on a comparable scale to the Holocaust. In the era of the Internet, we have greater information access than the Allies did in World War ii. Yet the world is content to shove never again under the rug to placate the Chinese dragon.

China is doing everything it can to blot out the Uyghur nation from existence. And despite the growing levels of evidence to Chinas genocide, the Uyghurs have no helper.

Many in authority may try to forget about the evils happening in Xinjiang. But there is one leader who refuses to forget.

Centuries ago, the ancient Israelites were oppressed under Egyptian slavery. The Bible records that the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage (Exodus 1:13-14). In their bitterness the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried (Exodus 2:23).

There was a God in heaven who heard their cry. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land (Exodus 3:7-8). The book of Exodus shows how God supernaturally intervened to force the Egyptians to free the Israelite slaves.

Its true that God freed the Israelites partly because of a promise He made to their ancestors (Exodus 2:24-25), but that doesnt mean He doesnt hear the sufferings of other people around the world. 1 Timothy 2:4 states that God wants all men to be saved. Isaiah 61:1 shows that God wants to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. God hears the cries of the Uyghurs. Andin His timeGod promises to give them real freedom.

You dont have to believe it! late theologian Herbert W. Armstrong wrote in The Wonderful World TomorrowWhat It Will Be Like. It will happen, regardless. It is surethe worlds only sure hope. This advance good news of tomorrow is as certain as the rising of tomorrows sun. Humanity wont bring it aboutit is going to be done to us.

Utopia? Why not. Why should it be an imaginary or impossible pipe-dream? There is a cause for todays world chaos and threat of human extinction. That cause will be supplanted by that which will bring a utopia that is real, that is successfully functioning!

Many people associate Bible prophecy with doom and gloom. There are many prophecies foretelling disasters hitting the world not unlike what the Uyghurs are already experiencing. But the same Bible prophesies of the conclusion to those world troublesa world giving liberty to the captives. A world where they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Micah 4:3).

To learn more about this soon-coming worlda world of freedom for the Uyghurs and all mankindplease request a free copy of The Wonderful World TomorrowWhat It Will Be Like.

Excerpt from:

The Xinjiang Police Files: The Nuts and Bolts of Genocide - theTrumpet.com

It wouldve been so easy for The Orville not to come back. Over two brief seasons, the spacefaring comedy-drama had generated solid but unremarkable reviews and ratings. Its creator and star, Seth MacFarlane, had other irons in the fireFamily Guy, American Dad!, a TV adaptation of the Ted movies. Fox had already shuffled two seasons around the calendar, and plans for a third were put on hold when the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted production. And in 2020, MacFarlane, whose animated shows had been tentpole programming at Fox for decades, split with his longtime corporate bosses and inked a $200 million deal with NBC.

But like its plucky namesake starship, last seen dodging laser beams during a climactic set-piece battle, The Orville has survived for a third season.

Its the most fun writing job Ive ever had, MacFarlane told me recently over Zoom. I love telling these stories, and its a wonderful group of people I love working with.

The forthcoming season, which premieres on Hulu June 2 and is subtitled New Horizons, marks a bit of a shift for the series. The crew composition continues to evolve, with Anne Winters joining the cast as a young navigator. And MacFarlane says the move to Hulu comes with a more cinematic visual style. But the biggest adjustment comes not from within the shows universe, but in the real worlds streaming TV landscape.

When The Orville, which mimics the style and many of the conventions of Star Trek, premiered in 2017, there had been six official Star Trek shows released in the previous 51 years. In less than five years since, CBS All Access and Paramount+ have aired six more, including four that premiered in the three years since The Orville finished Season 2. And the Star Trek shows have had to compete against a constellation of socially conscious spacefaring dramas: big streaming swings like For All Mankind, The First, and Away, and later seasons of The Expanse, among others.

Given all that, the biggest question for The Orville entering its third season is this: Is there still a place for this show when spaceand Star Trek in particularis busier than its ever been?

The Orville, in its premise, setting, visual language, and choice of subject matter, is a Star Trek show in all but name. Even some of its senior creative figures, like executive producers Brannon Braga and David A. Goodman, are Trek veteransthough they often try to soft-pedal the similarities between projects. When I asked Braga and Goodman what theyd learned from their previous experience, Goodman laughed and said, Wait, Brannon worked on Star Trek?

The last time MacFarlanes Captain Ed Mercer and his crew signed off, they held an interesting place in that wider universe. The history of Star Trek has many fault lines and watershed moments, but one of the biggest came between Star Trek: Enterprises ending in 2005 and the J.J. Abramsdirected Star Trek reboot four years later. Before that point, Star Trek had mostly revolved around one premise: Presented with a problem, how would the best of humanity react? The original series and The Next Generation got hundreds of hours worth of mileage out of this setup. And because of creator Gene Roddenberrys intractable opposition to serialization, these shows became mind-bendingly successful in syndication.

After Roddenberrys death in 1991, the writers of the various Star Trek series got a little more freedom to experiment, particularly on Deep Space Nine and Enterprise, which began to portray a darker, more cynical side of humanity over longer story arcs. Deep Space Nine introduced an organization called Section 31, which in small doses hinted at a hidden and mostly unremarked-upon cost to maintaining Roddenberrys sometimes cartoonishly optimistic secular humanist utopia.

The rebooted movies, and particularly Paramounts new crop of TV shows, took Deep Space Nines spicy twist and embraced itjuiced it, more likeuntil Star Trek was just like any other sci-fi franchise. If Deep Space Nine added much-needed seasoning to a classic dish, parts of Discovery and especially Picard made the entire meal out of salt.

Against that context, The Orville was a refreshing return to the original premise: mostly episodic, overwhelmingly hopeful, socially conscious middlebrow sci-fi.

The thing I think was important to bring in [from Star Trek] was the type of storytelling, Braga told me, which was stand-alone stories, well told, driven by this high concept, with a certain optimistic spirit and a certain depiction of the future.

When I reviewed The Orvilles first few episodes five years ago, I confronted it as a combination of parody and homage, the work of a comedian playing with beloved storytelling conventions. But MacFarlane and Braga never intended The Orville to be a parody; two seasons in, its become more of a pastiche.

We never approached it as a satire or a parody, which I think would have been the immediate assumption, seeing Seths name on it, Braga said. The story always came first and the comedySeth says its comedy frostingwas part of it, but it wasnt the main driver.

That was part of the paradigm from day one, MacFarlane said. The story has to work as a story, and then you can hang a bunch of jokes on it and youre fine. With this show, it was really about finding the tone. The tone, to me, started to really come together at the end of Season 1, and then developed even more fully in Season 2.

The tone MacFarlane refers to is an intriguing mix of old-school Star Treks resolute moral seriousness and a heavy dollop of goofy humor. The crew of The Orville, especially Captain Mercer, are well-intentioned but definitely not the best and brightest. They bicker over inane problems, they play pranks, they go to work hungover, and they carry out multiyear running gags about having to pee.

In one of the best episodes of Season 2, Sanctuary, the crew encounters a colony of female aliens from a heavily patriarchal species. Mercer invites the alien leader to peruse the ships collection of art created by the women of Earth, and she immediately seizes on Dolly Parton as Earths great feminist poet, who speaks with the might of 100 soldiers. This is the voice of our revolution. Minutes later, theres a climactic gunfight set to 9 to 5.

Its silly, but the jokes are in service of a narrative and a message. And while MacFarlane admits the show struggled to strike the right balance between story and humor early on, he cited the most recent episode of Black Mirror, Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too, as an inspiration for The Orville going forward, praising its blending of serious sci-fi and rompish comedy.

The idea in Season 3 was to really lean into that, MacFarlane said. That tone is to not lose whats funny about these characters, but make sure that its also real, that were not writing a sci-fi story and then surgically looking for spots to add jokes, which was kind of what we were doing at the beginning of Season 1. We stopped pressuring ourselves to do that and really let the story take precedence.

That turned out to be the key to unlocking The Orvilles potential and the key to appreciating it for what it is: a drama, occasionally interrupted by jokes.

I was known as the king of torture on 24, said Jon Cassar, who directed, among other Orville episodes, last seasons two-part Identity and the Season 3 premiere Electric Sheep. Comedy wasnt at the forefront. I think I said that: Really? You really want me to do this show? This is a Seth MacFarlane show. And I remember them saying, Drama first. We want to play this like a straight-up one-hour drama. Thats the most important thing.

As MacFarlanes show filled a lane left open by the Abrams movies and Discovery, though, Paramount delivered a rapid-fire response with several new Star Trek series. They dug Anson Mounts Captain Pike and the Enterprise out of the vault for Strange New Worlds, which returns to the franchises original episodic format and wide-eyed tone. And because theres so much humor to be mined from watching C+ students deal with problems of galactic importance, Paramount+ has ordered two additional seasons of the animated series Lower Decks to go with the two that have already aired. For two seasons, The Orville gave Star Trek diehards something they couldnt get on first-run TV. Now theres competition.

Up until very recently, we were the only show that was occupying anything near that space and tone in sci-fi, MacFarlane said. I think even now The Orville is very much in its own space. Its got its own vibe. But [how the show holds up to the competition is] not decided by us. Thats decided by the viewers.

Even among all that noise, MacFarlane still believes The Orville offers something unique. And at the end of our conversation, he touched on the quality that makes the show work.

It really is still about these people, MacFarlane said. On any show you tune in to watch the people. Are these people I want to hang with each week?

For all the aliens and special effects and wild makeup youd expect from Star Trek, what makes these shows successful is that viewers like spending an hour a week with the crew. Many years ago, my colleague Brian Phillips praised The Next Generation by writing, the show offers a fantasy of smart friends working together and supporting each other thats designed to make you want to join them. Thats true of every successful Star Trek show, and why the Kirk-Spock-McCoy trio is one of televisions most beloved friendships, or why Avery Brookss portrayal of Ben Sisko still resonates a generation later.

The crew of The Orville is mostly not that smart, but theyre still a part of that tradition. And Season 3 promises to test that family dynamic as the crew deals with the aftermath of a war with the robotic Kaylon. Among the survivors is The Orvilles science officer, Isaac, who after being sent to study humanity, decided to side with his flesh-and-blood friends against his people. Winterss character, by contrast, comes to The Orville after suffering immense personal losses in the war and struggles to adjust to sharing the bridge with a Kaylon.

As much as The Orville chimes in on contemporary political issues through allegory, though, its always been at its best when the original question of the serieshow do normal people stand up to extraordinary circumstances?is at the forefront.

The very first time we all met together collectively, Seth said were doing a science-fiction piece, but what we are is people who happen to be in space, said Penny Johnson Jerald, who plays Dr. Claire Finn. Weve always been people first, and its on the page. We lift the words and emotions off the page so viewers can enjoy and be a part of it. It truly helps to like your fellow cast.

We have a group chat, said Adrianne Palicki, who plays first officer Kelly Grayson. We are always constantly in contact with each other, which is a rarity on any show, especially after youve wrapped.

That chemistry gives the crew of the Orville an unexpected warm and fuzzy tone, almost reminiscent of Ted Lasso. (Perhaps if American TV viewers had latched onto this band of endearingly semi-competent work buddies instead, internet discourse wouldnt be so hysterical. Dare to dream.) And they somehow manage to portray that earnestness without coming off as cloying or phony.

A lot of television I see is a lot more dark and gritty in its interpersonal relationships and depictions thereof, MacFarlane said. I live in a pretty intense industry. I dont go to work every day and fight with my coworkers and get into spats and deal with high drama. Its actually pretty pleasant. So I dont think its that unrealistic.

Thanks to streaming and a bucket-of-crabs-type scramble for corporations to gobble up franchises and squeeze every last drop of blood from every stone, the viewers that MacFarlane defers to have never had more options for spacefaring drama and action. But watching a TV show is ultimately a question of time commitment. In terms of storytelling and visuals, The Orville holds its own with any of its contemporaries. But what makes an episodic TV show stickincluding the older Star Trek seriesis whether the characters are worth spending time with. Here, The Orvilles band of weirdos and misfits sets itself apart. You can go boldly wherever you want, as long as you like who youre going with.

Visit link:

The Orville Is Back. How Does It Fit Into a New Space TV Landscape? - The Ringer

EXCLUSIVE: It looks like a homecoming parade may be in order for Conrad Green: Deadline hears the veteran reality show producer is in advanced talks to return toDancing with the Stars as its executive producer.

Green was the EP/showrunner of the competition show when it first launched on ABC in 2005. He was also part of the original BBC Worldwide Prods. team of Dancing that pitched the format to ABC.

ABC 2022 Fall Schedule Has Bachelor In Paradise, Abbott & Big Sky Move, AMLT & Wonder Years Held

He departed DWTS at the end of the 18th season to exec produce the Fox reality series Utopia. Altthough the show was short-lived, he signed an overall with the network in 2015.

Green would replace executive producer Andrew Llinares,who parted ways withDWTS before a 31st season of the show was ordered. In April, DWTS received a two-year pickup for Seasons 31 and 32 to debut exclusively on Disney+ this fall in the U.S. and Canada. It will bethe first live series to debut on the service.

Fall 2022 Primetime TV Grid: No Fox (Yet) As Nets Play It Safe With Much More Of The Same

Deadline hears that some of the DWTS pros and judges alreadywere told about Greens possible return and are elated about the news.

Greens recent credits include exec producing ABCs remake of The Gong Showand Ultimate Tag on Fox. He earned nine Emmy nominations during his stint onDancing with the Stars.Previously, hewas an executive at BBC in London, where he developed and produced new entertainment formats. Green also served as a series editor for the first season of the UK version of Big Brother,and the series producer of Popstars.

Green is repped by ICM Partners.

Loading comments...

Read this article:

Dancing With The Stars: Conrad Green In Advanced Talks To Return As Exec Producer - Deadline

Everywhere one looks in Africa, theyll notice a new planned city cropping up that promises to be a utopia not plagued by the challenges the continents cities currently face.

Kenyas Konza Tecnocity which promised to be the biggest smart city south of the Sahara is still struggling to prove to investors why they should inject capital in it nine years after it was conceived.

In 2010, Nigerias Eko Atlantic City promised to house 250,000 citizens on land reclaimed from the sea but it is still empty.

Ghanas Hope City and Ethiopias Wakanda City aimed to transform urbanization. Akon city in Senegal promises to run on Akoin cryptocurrency, despite unsupportive government regulations around crypto. None has made tangible progress.

Last week, 11,000 delegates from 100 countries including 53 African countries gathered in Kenyas western lakeside city of Kisumu to rethink the feasibility of elevating Africas major towns into cities.

The ninth edition of the Africities Summit prodded this idea which, according to policy experts, would create more jobs and unlock economic potential in the continents rural zones.

In his opening remarks, Kenyas president Uhuru Kenyatta urged participants to make the conference a questioning forum on how national governments can support a mobilization of resources to unlock effective delivery service in intermediary cities.

Time is ripe for scaling up the role of intermediary cities as the next frontiers of African urbanization and development, said Kenyatta.

But is time actually ripe for more African cities?

He added thatan unprecedented rate of urbanization has seen 1,086 intermediary cities become home to 174 million people representing 36% of our continents total urban population and contributing about 40% of our continents GDP.

While the overarching message was that the continent needs to upscale its towns to be at par with the rest of the world, the problem with that narrative is that deep within Africas existing cities there are enormous hurdles.

From Lagos to Dar es Salaam, Dakar to Mogadishu, Windhoek to Asmara, Africas cities are grappling with the challenges of poor sanitation, disorganized and unsafe public transport, insufficient water, pollution, dirty energy sources, insecurity, unemployment, corruption, poor drainages and expensive housing.

Even as delegates spoke on intermediary cities potential to create business opportunities, the snags in the big cities are already making Africa score low in the global index of ease of doing business. Many cities score high on the global corruption index chasing away foreign investors.

Combating the threats of radicalization, terrorism, armed robbery, and petty theft in Africas urban areas has been one of the toughest tasks for governments.

With little progress to show in tackling these constraints, Africas march into making intermediary cities the new centers for economic development will only end into a stumble.

While the idea of decongesting large cities is a commendable one, making life in existing cities better should be at the forefront of the discourse especially now that Africa has the highest population growth rate in the world.

Africa needs $170 billion per annum to meet its infrastructure needs but has a deficit of about $110 billion.

The danger is that the structures in the capital cities will be replicated in new cities.

In the whole of Africa, only one cityKigaliseems to understand the whole concept of sustainability of cities as it has shown real efforts in addressing the muddle. This is a model the rest of the nations can follow because it also takes into account what future cities may look like. But no country is taking notes from the Kigali Innovation City.

Most cities dont even do an Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) audit to control pollution and carbon emissions, but will be fast to construct skyscrapers and expressways that only raise city temperatures as they use high-carbon cement in their construction.

When hit by the sun, carbonated cement emits carbon dioxide (pdf) which raises the temperatures of the surrounding environment. Most carbon capture technologies have failed.

Globally, cities produce between 71% and 75% of total greenhouses gas emissions (GHG) and the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), a global umbrella of organisations that defends the interests of cities says the battle against climate change will be lost or won in cities.

Former President of Seychelles Danny Faure spoke of the need for bankable strategic infrastructure based on data.

It is important that we back up our interventions based on facts and data that shows us where we are in terms of development. Most city public transport in Africa is yet to go cashless, causing traffic congestion where petty thieves thrive.

By 2040, two-thirds of the people who move to urban areas will be moving to intermediary cities. Amid growing investment needs, the challenge for Africa will be how to guarantee basic social services and higher quality of life that is already lacking in main cities.

And then there is the challenge of Google mapping. Peri-urban areas in Africa are not well mapped on Google Maps meaning online car hailing companies like Uber, Bolt, Tag Your Ride, Little, Yookoo Rider, Lefa and Smart Cab cannot operate in intermediary cities.

Again, how can Africa finance all that is needed to improve its existing cities? African Union High Representative for Infrastucture Development Raila Odinga says Africa needs an African Infrastructure Fund to fund the monetary deficit needed to build Africas infrastructure.

Africa needs $170 billion per annum to meet its infrastructure needs but has a deficit of about $110 billion dollars, he said at the summit. There is money in the form of sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and insurance funds, but most governments have shown low commitment in stamping out corruption which eats into every round of project financing.

Africa needs to first focus on improving its existing cities, before it begins creating new ones.

More:

Here's the problem with the narrative of creating more cities in Africa - Quartz Africa

Summer is coming, and mystery and thriller lovers are looking for that perfect beachy read to savor with an umbrella drink in hand. How about a story set in paradise?

Suspense novelists have long been attracted to idyllic settings. What is it about the concept of paradise that inspires dark fiction? Is it the vicarious joy of writing about white sand beaches and shimmering blue water? Is it the irresistible lure of an escape from reality? Or maybe we writers like the diabolical appeal of inflicting mayhem on a cast of unsuspecting tourists.

To me, the most appealing aspect of a writing a suspense novel set in paradise is the challenge of creating a story world where nothing is as it seems. Seaside vacation settings provide an immediate contrast between the sparkly promise of utopia and the sinister forces that inevitably throw someones best laid travel plans off course.

So if youre looking for something to toss in the beach tote, the following suspense novels will take you from the white sands of the Caribbean isles to the windswept cliffs of New Zealand. Adventure awaits, but dont expect a smooth trip.

They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall

When Miriam Macy gets a surprise invitation to participate in a reality show on a luxurious private island in the Sea of Cortez, she jumps at the chance to get away from the mounting legal problems that have followed her messy divorce. She has barely stepped off the boat, however, when her dreams of fame and fortune are dashed, and she realizes she will be lucky to make it off the island alive. Guests begin turning up dead one after another. Isolated from help and with only her ingenuity and some ever-shifting alliances to save her, Miriam must figure out who is behind the murders or end up becoming the next victim.

Halls Anthony Award-nominated story is told with wit and dark humor, and her vivid writing makes you feel the steamy walls of the jungle closing in as the heroine struggles to make it through the survival game from hell.

The Beach by Alex Garland

The novel opens with Richard, a young backpacker in Thailand who stops at a low-budget guest house and discovers a map to a mysterious destination known as the Beach. Curious about the tropical utopia that is a legend among backpackers, Richard sets out with a young French couple to locate the forbidden island. They arrive to find pristine beaches, turquoise lagoons, and an idyllic community of other wayward travelers. The illusion of paradise is shattered as Richard discovers toxic relationships among the communes inhabitants and deadly forces lurking in the surrounding rainforest.

Dubbed by the Sunday Oregonian as Generation Xs first great novel, The Beach inspired the 2000 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh

When a teen girl vanishes while jogging near New Zealands soaring cliffs, the quiet rural community of Golden Cove wants answers.

After returning to her coastal hometown, Anahera Rawiri gets pulled into the investigation of the girls disappearance by Will Gallagher, a veteran cop. Together, they unearth a string of secrets and deceptions that some Golden Cove residents desperately wanted to keep buried.

This noir mystery showcases Nalini Singhs twisty prose and her talent for writing about the rugged beauty of New Zealands South Island. A Madness of Sunshine is a page-turner until the last shocking revelation.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reids novel revolves around an end-of-summer party in Malibu. The year is 1983, and everyone who is anyone among Southern Californias sun-kissed elites wants an invitation to the annual blowout at the cliffside home of the famous Riva family, whose members include a famous surfer, photographer, and supermodel. In a story deftly told through flashbacks and multiple viewpoints, Reid builds layer upon layer of suspense until the reader knows that when the fateful evening finally arrives, each key guest is on a collision course and the legendary party is destined to go up in flames.

Filled with eighties vernacular and throwback fashion, Reid gives us an entertaining glimpse into the storied Malibu surf scene of decades past.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

In another novel centered around a party, the characters in Lucy Foleys The Guest List gather on an island off the coast of Ireland. There to celebrate the wedding of a magazine publisher and her TV celebrity groom, the guests are at first dazzled by luxury party favors and expensive booze. But the festive atmosphere evaporates when someone turns up dead and the guests find themselves cut off from outside communication and isolated on an island with a murderer.

Like a classic Agatha Christie novel, The Guest List is a locked-room mystery, complete with shifty characters, salacious secrets, and subtle clues for the seasoned mystery reader to piece together.

The Reef by Nora Roberts

If you like a dash of romance with your mysteries, dive into The Reef, a novel set in the azure Caribbean waters near St. Kitts.

Marine archaeologist Tate Beaumont embarks on a real-life treasure hunt, determined to find a jeweled amulet known as Angeliques Curse. Despite her initial misgivings, Tate reluctantly teams up with salvagers Matthew and Buck Lassiter. As they get closer to finding the priceless artifact, their plans are thwarted by shady people and long-submerged secrets from the Lassiters past.

With its dramatic island backdrop, The Reef is a classic romantic suspense novel by the wildly popular author who helped invent the genre.

Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen

Carl Hiaasens Skinny Dip opens with Joey Perrone plunging off the deck of a luxury cruise ship while cursing her husband. Joey survives her meticulously planned murder andwith the help of jaded former cop Mick Stranahanembarks on a mission to get revenge that takes her to the Florida Everglades. On her quest, Joey encounters one zany twist after another until she finally gets her chance to even the score with her homicidal husband.

Hiaasens trademark dry humor and ecological story turns make this the perfect book to read on a lounge chair in the sand.

***

See the original post:

Seven Suspenseful Novels In Which Paradise Is Not What It Seems - CrimeReads

Experience the natural beauty of the Paznaun-Ischgl region with this new MTB trail in the Austrian Alps

The Paznaun region is a utopia for mountain-bike enthusiasts, with more than 754 km of mountain bike trails across the entire region with unrivalled natural beauty and stunning views along the way.

This summer, experience the new Dias-Kappl Flow Trail. Beginning at the top station of the Dias cable car, the Flow Trail winds its way down a length of 3.7 kilometres to the Egger Chapel. The first section leads along beautiful forest and meadow paths to gently get into the flow before descending into thicker woodlands. From the valley station of the Gongall cable car, the nature trail begins with rapid approach curves and bouncing waves through the Kappl forest area.

A total of 333 metres of depth, divided into 38 curves, extend to a longitudinal gradient of almost 10 % and put bikers in a state of flow. From the Egger Chapel, a well-signposted path leads along the municipal road to the valley station of the Dias cable car.

The trail is classed as easy and is suitable for all mountain bike abilities, ideal for families or beginners.

For more information on Ischgl

Read more here:

New MTB trail in the Austrian Alps - InTheSnow