150 Artists Amplify Demands for Reform at New Orleans Museum of Art
The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) with Roy Lichtenstein’s “Five Brushstrokes” in 2015 (via Wikimedia Commons) In June, a group of former staff members at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) accused the institution of enabling a “plantation-like culture” in an open letter that described instances of surveillance and discrimination of Black and LGBTQ workers at the museum. Backed by hundreds of supporters, they launched the initiative #DismantleNOMA which calls on the museum to fundamentally reform its work environment and to immediately separate itself from its current leadership. These demands are amplified in a new open letter released today, October 12, by a wide group of artists, art workers, and organizers from across the country. The letter, signed by more than 150 supporters to date, calls on NOMA to “take the first step toward restoring its relationship with the New Orleans community it claims to serve by immediately…
Across From the New York County Criminal Court, a Public Statue Reimagines the Myth of Medusa
Luciano Garbati’s “Medusa With The Head of Perseus” being installed at Collect Pond Park today (courtesy of MWTH Project) Greek mythology recounts how Medusa earned her distinctive appearance: after she was raped by Poseidon in Athena’s temple, the goddess of war punished her with a head of snakes and the curse of petrifying any man who held her gaze. In Ovid’s Metamorphosis, Medusa was then hunted and beheaded by the epic hero Perseus, who brandished her bust as a trophy on his shield. While predating modernity by thousands of years, the story of a woman who was blamed, chastised, and shamed for her assault is unfortunately timeless. A new public sculpture in New York City seeks to reimagine the myth amid the #MeToo era by shifting the power to women. In “Medusa With The Head of Perseus,” a seven-foot-tall nude bronze by artist Luciano Garbati, the serpent-coiffed protagonists stands tall…
Waxwork Records brings Universal Monsters portfolio to the toys and collectables market – Toy News
The US underground and pop culture company Waxwork Records has made its first foray into the toys and collectables market with the launch of Spinatures that kicks off with a partnership with Universal and the studio’s classic horror portfolio. Aimed at the adult collector market, the new Spinatures launch is a collection of highly detailed turntable-spinner mini busts featuring iconic characters from pop culture, horror movies, and more. Each Spinature is fitted with a hole in their base to easily attach to the spindle of a turntable. They will then spin along with their collector’s favourite vinyl records. Waxwork Records has grown a cult following of fans from its base on New Orleans, where the record label has made a name for itself specialising in the release of classic cinema, horror, cult, and sci-fi film scores in high quality LP packages. Waxwork revisits the original source master tapes for each…
Collectibles Go Digital with DigiCol, Multi-functional Infrastructure for the Next Wave of NFT adoption – AiThority
The hype in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) quickly dissipated as DeFi-related assets recorded sharp reversals in their price. DeFi users that were overleveraged observed their wealth evaporate as the value of their collateral diminished. As DeFi interest subsides, NFT interest has been piqued. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are distinct token types that derive their utility from being diverse and unique from other tokens. Data is suggesting that we are approaching the next wave of NFT adoption. NFTs can be considered to be digital collectables which are traded and secured on a blockchain infrastructure. They are commonly tied to non-fungible ERC721 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. Google data shows record-high search volume for the term “NFT”. DigiCol will provide the infrastructure for the next wave of NFT adoption. NFT users have previously faced stiff technical barriers to creating and using NFTs. It typically requires advanced coding knowledge and a deep familiarity with third-party…
AI and Creativity
The release of GPT-3 has reinvigorated a discussion of creativity and artificial intelligence. That’s a good discussion to have, primarily because it forces us to think carefully about what we mean when we use words like “creativity” and “art.” As I’ve argued in the past, each time we have this discussion, we end up raising the bar. Each time an AI system does something that looks “intelligent” or creative, we end up deciding that’s not what intelligence really is. And that’s a good thing. AI is likely to teach us more about what intelligence and creativity are not than about what they are. I’m not terribly interested in whether AI can imitate human creativity. “Can an AI create a ‘new’ poem that reads as if it were written by Keats, or a new piano sonata that sounds like Beethoven” isn’t a question that’s worth asking. Of course it can—if not…
¿POR QUÉ MASLOW?, Como usar su Teoría para permanecer en el Poder para Siempre
¿POR QUÉ MASLOW?, Como usar su Teoría para permanecer en el Poder para Siempre de Juan Rodulfo Disponible en: juanrodulfo.com Abraham Maslow era un psicólogo preocupado por la naturaleza de la experiencia humana, un psicólogo humanista. En 1943 propuso una teoría que describía las diferentes necesidades que tienen todos los humanos y la jerarquía en la que se organizan esas necesidades. Según Maslow, las necesidades de nivel superior no pueden satisfacerse a menos que se hayan satisfecho las necesidades de nivel inferior. Desde la base de la jerarquía hacia arriba, las necesidades son: fisiológica, seguridad, amor y pertenencia, estima y auto realización. Cada persona es capaz y tiene el deseo de ascender en la jerarquía hacia un nivel de auto realización. Desafortunadamente, el progreso a menudo se ve interrumpido por el hecho de no satisfacer las necesidades de un nivel inferior. Las experiencias de vida, incluido el divorcio y la…
Democrats introduce legislation to strengthen anti-sexual harassment protocols at State Department – CNN
Reps. Joaquin Castro, Jackie Speier and Eliot Engel unveiled the State Harassment and Assault Prevention and Eradication (SHAPE) Act of 2020 to “facilitate stronger anti-harassment and discrimination policies, survivor care, and accountability at the State Department.” The legislation comes nearly three years after more than 200 women who work on national security issues raised the alarm about sexual harassment and assault in their field and months after an April US Commission on Civil Rights report recommended the State Department institute a number of changes to its sexual harassment protocols. The SHAPE Act would require the department “to develop a comprehensive policy on the prevention of and response to harassment, discrimination, sexual assault, and related retaliation,” establish an “Office of Employee Advocacy” to assist victims and provide a 24/7 hotline, and require both semiannual surveys of the department’s workplace culture and an annual report to Congress “on claims and disciplinary action…
Current and former soldiers speak out about Fort Hood sexual assault, harassment – PBS NewsHour
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Maria Valentine says she was just months into her training at Fort Hood, a U.S. Army base in Texas, in 2006 when a sergeant with a history of alleged harassment toward other soldiers wrote her up after she complained that she didn’t want him touching her during body mass measurements. She said authorities promised the disciplinary report would be wiped from her record if she didn’t make a formal complaint. Valentine’s decision not to file one would haunt her years later when she learned another woman had accused the same sergeant of rape. Valentine is one of five women — two active duty soldiers, two veterans and one civilian — who spoke to The Associated Press about experiencing harassment, assault or rape by soldiers at Fort Hood, the other four since 2014. Current and former soldiers have taken to social media with their own accounts of…
4 Tips For Proudly Introducing Kink Into Your Relationship, According to a Sexologist – Well+Good
If during this time in quarantine, you’ve done some sexual exploring about what gets you going—great. Maybe you’ve dedicated some self-care sessions to self-pleasure, had some mind-blowing staycation sex, or taken the BDSM test to explore your NSFW interests. And just maybe, all the sexploration has you wanting to learn how to introduce kink into your relationship as well. If what’s stopping you is a sense of feeling overwhelmed or even embarrassed, stop right there: Sex educators agree that kink is a perfectly healthy and safe form of sexual expression and pleasure, and talking about it with a partner is the first step for removing any level of stigma that may surround it so everyone involved can get to the important part of enjoying it. Of course, the first step is understanding what kink is. Kink can be construed as a wide variety of consensual sex acts that aren’t vanilla,…
6 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Cleaning Your Sex Toys, According to Sexologists – Well+Good
Like doing laundry and loading the dishwasher correctly, cleaning sex toys is a necessary skill to learn, and one that most could stand to exercise more often. After all, the devices get extra-intimate with the genital region (an area definitely worth keeping clean), and many mistakes can be made in the process of sanitizing them. Since these mistakes can lead to a decidedly yeasty ordeal, it’s important to make sure you’re clear on the best methods to go about it. And that begins with truly committing to cleaning your sex toys. “You should clean your sex toy after each use to prevent bacteria from collecting,” says Rebecca Alvarez Story, sexologist and founder of Bloomi. “Sex toys made with 100 percent medical grade silicone, stainless steel, or glass can be washed with hot water and mild, unscented soap. It’s best to let them air dry on a clean surface and then store…
