Thursday 30 April 2020

This training includes more than 100 life skills for assuring career success

So what the heck is a soft skill, anyway? Well, by contrast, hard skills are teachable, quantifiable abilities like the basics you learned in school — reading, writing, arithmetic, and the like. They may not always be easy, but hard skills are usually fairly simple to identify and measure.

Which means soft skills are the talents that are often a lot tougher to grade. It’s your emotional intelligence. It’s your leadership ability. It’s how well you listen and understand what co-workers are telling you. With a name like soft skills, these attributes sound...well, soft. And maybe not as critical as hard talents.

But these intangibles are often the real difference makers in any organization — or in the course of a career. The Ultimate 2020 Soft Skills Career Hacker Bundle not only can help you shore up those areas of your professional game, but it’s as comprehensive and deep a training package as you’ll find anywhere.

This collection brings together a massive 128 courses that dig into every facet of improving your shot at a successful career, regardless of the industry. It’s all here -- nearly 2,900 lectures covering more than 150 hours of instruction.  

Business ethics and etiquette? Covered. Attention management and anger management? Covered. Courses to develop your office support skills, likability, problem-solving and critical thinking are all included. So are goal setting, coaching, customer relations, and communication strategies. And once you’re through with all those courses, you’ve still got dozens and dozens more, enough to keep you busy for months....literally.

The coursework has all been prepared by Stone River eLearning, one of the largest and most influential online teaching institutions anywhere with over 500,000 former students under its belt.

Access to all this training with the pedigree of Stone River would normally cost more than $6,600 in digital tuition, but all this coursework is available now with a lifetime of access for just $39.99.



Latest hoarding sim: Manic Toilet Paper Shopping Simulator

Too soon? By way of Donald Bell's Maker Update comes this game where you send a shopping cart into a market in search of TP.

The simulation was designed by Jelle Vermandere. You can either play the game in a browser or Jelle shows you how he used an Arduino Uno and motion sensing to create a shopping cart handle controller for that true invisible zombie apocalypse adrenaline rush.

Image: YouTube



Why tabloid reporters are like Donald Trump

Donald Trump has proudly proclaimed that he knows “more than anybody” about the economy, the US government, campaign finance, ISIS, social media, TV ratings, lawsuits, politicians, technology, infrastructure and drones, among his many talents.

He knows more than “any human being on Earth” about renewable energy, and more about taxes than anyone “in the history of the world.”

This week’s tabloids prove that like the president, reporters can know more than anyone about a subject without having to concern themselves with petty details like facts.

“Coronavirus Is Chinese Bioweapon!” screams the cover of the ‘National Enquirer,’ more than two months after its cover last featured the headline: “China created killer virus to destroy America.” Back then, an inside spread declared: “Coronavirus Is Chinese Bioweapon Gone Rogue!”

So why is the same old story back on their front page? Because last time they were just making it up, but now there’s actually a complaint that has been filed with the International Criminal Court in the Hague against the People’s Republic of China claiming that the coronavirus is a Chinese-produced bioweapon.

The complaint is coincidentally filed by the same American attorney who went to court in Dallas, Texas, to sue China for $20 trillion in damages for unleashing coronavirus. Good luck collecting that.

The only problem: none of the supporting “evidence” offered to the ICC in any way proves that coronavirus was a bioweapon, nor was released from a lab near Wuhan.

But who needs evidence when you’ve got a headline?

The British Royal Family, as ever, make easy targets for the tabloids who clearly know more about the Royals than anyone who ever set foot in Buckingham Palace.

“No More Kids For Heartbroken Kate!” reports the ‘Enquirer.’ "Why Queen Ordered William’s Wife to Stop At Three!”

Duchess Kate has allegedly “been forced to abandon her life-long dream of having six children!” Evidently Kate recently said, in a passing comment to a member of the great unwashed, that her husband doesn’t want more children, happy with the three they already have.

The ‘Enquirer' isn’t taking this lying down.

"The Duchess has been BANNED from adding to their brood,” claims an unnamed courtier, who would naturally be privy to any birth control advice given by the Queen to her daughter-in-law. It seems reasonable to assume that Her Majesty would be dispensing regular prophylactic advice to her grandsons’ wives.

But why has the Queen forbidden William and Kate to have any more children? Are the Royal coffers really so depleted that they cannot afford to support another aristocratic welfare case?

No. The all-knowing tabloids realize that the Royal Family is nothing more than an elaborate soap opera, and like the cast of any long-running show are more concerned with audience ratings and popularity,

As the ‘Enquirer’ explains: “Queen Elizabeth’s told them the family’s future survival rests on their shoulders - and Kate is so popular, they can’t afford her to be off the public stage for months n maternity leave.”

That’s the sort of insight you only get from reporters with years of true inside knowledge.

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan dominate the cover of this week’s ‘Globe,’ which reveals: “Harry’s New Nightmare! Meghan Divorce Ultimatum. Forbids him to make peace with the royals.”

The Royal renegades are famously self-isolating at their new rental home in a gated community in Los Angeles, venturing out only to walk their dogs and make charity food deliveries, and yet the tabloids, with Trump-like knowledge beyond normal human capabilities, can tell us of the drama unfolding behind closed doors.

Meghan has allegedly issued an ultimatum to Harry, who hopes to reconcile with his estranged Royal family: My Way or the Highway!” Harry is desperate to “make peace with the royal family,” but Meghan told him: “It’s me or them!” according to “a high-level source" (maybe a Venice Beach stilt-walker?) Prince Harry reportedly “fears she’ll take away his little boy!”

Just in case it’s unclear what the ‘Globe' thinks of the Duchess, the mag reports: “Queen Meghan’s in total control.”

It may sound like bullshit, but that’s exactly what the ‘Globe’ brings us with its next Royal story about Prince Charles’ plans for his British cattle ranch: “Charles’ Bullcrap Stings William!”

Charles reportedly has plans for a herd of 500 beef cattle, producing 4.8 million pounds of manure to use on his organic farm, which evidently “stinks” for William and Kate who live nearby, according to the ‘Globe.’

But as any farmer can tell you, an average 1,100 lb beef steer produces on average 106 lbs of manure daily, or 38,690 lbs a year, which means that 500 steer will produce 19.345 million pounds of manure annually - four times the amount that William and Kate are supposedly worried about. Who’s full of bull now?

“Meghan’s Mercy Missions Backfire!” reports the ‘Enquirer.’ "Duchess flaunts designer duds & fancy rides doing ‘charity’ gigs.”

The rag claims that Harry & Meghan’s “first charm offensive exposed them as phonies,” according to unnamed sources (i.e. whoever is in the ‘Enquirer’ break-room making coffee) because Meghan wore a designer shirt and shoes while distributing charity food and being driven in a luxury Porsche SUV. The nerve! As any self-respecting tabloid journalist knows, the appropriate form of dress when doing charity work is sackcloth and ashes.

Perennial tabloid victim Angelina Jolie is targeted by the ‘Enquirer’ with an unsubstantiated claim that she aims to write a book, reporting: “Angie’s Tell-All Rocks Hollywood!”

The ‘Enquirer,’ armed with the sort of insight and expert knowledge that is only acquired through decades of intimacy with the actress, concludes she must be planning to write about ex-husband Brad Pitt's boozy brawl on a private jet, her “best sex ever with a woman,” her “often bitter estrangement from her Oscar-winning dad, Jon Voight,” her “weight woes”and “cancer fears.”

How do they know that? Because Jolie couldn’t possibly be writing a book about her decades of humanitarian work, the joys of adopting children, or the environmental causes she espouses, could she?

The world’s media are in the dark (as of writing) about what precisely has happened to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, allegedly clinging to life after what has variously been reported as a heart attack or a medical procedure gone wrong.

But the ‘Enquirer’ has succeeded where the CIA has failed, and penetrated Ryongsong Palace to reveal to its geopolitically astute readers: “North Korea’s Kim Targeted For Death - By His Sister! Tyrant fights for life after poisoning.”

Thanks to the incredible ‘Enquirer’ undercover team of reporters embedded deep within the Royal Palace, we now know that: "Kim Jong Un is fighting for his life after an assassination attempt engineered by his cruel and calculating sister!”

Why does the US government waste billions each year on the CIA, when the ‘Enquirer' can do a better job at a fraction of the cost?

Surely if anyone deserves a Noble Prize for journalism, it’s these guys?

The ‘Globe’ promises readers the secret story of the "“Booze Horror Brian Dennehy Took To Grave.”

But the actor, who died on April 15, never took his hard-drinking past “to the grave” like some untold secret. In fact, Dennehy discussed his past alcoholism frequently, after revealing his struggles in an interview with Life magazine in 1990, and notably after quitting booze in 2001. Sober for almost two decades, it was one thing he certainly didn’t take with hm to the grave.

Thankfully we have the uncannily accurate ‘Globe’ team of guess-your weight reporters who know just by looking at celebrities how much they weigh, to the precise pound. And like Donald Trump, they’re never wrong.

Amazingly, the stars seem to love to weigh nice round numbers: Chrissy Metz - 300 lbs. George Wendt - 450 lbs. Lizzo - 250 lbs. Jack Nicholson - 350 lbs. Garth Brooks - 300 lbs. Trisha Yearwood - 200 lbs.

It’s as if the stars have all got together and are having a private bet on the side who can maintain their weight at the nearest round figure.

Not that they’re encouraged to have round figures if they’re celebrities.

The Globe isn't about to let anyone gain an extra pound or two, and hurls the headline: “Thunder Thighs” above a photo of Amy Poehler in black jeans. It’s accompanied by the equally sensitive caption: “There’s a fat chance skinny jeans will ever look good on pudgy Amy Poehler.”

No fat-shaming to see here, move along.

‘People’ magazine devotes its cover to “HGTV’s Ben & Erin Napier - Small-Town Sweethearts to Superstars.”

Seriously - Who are these people? Since when did restoring houses make one a superstar?

Fortunately we have ‘Us’ mag to bring us the inside scoop of one of Britain’s youngest royals in its cover story: “Louis Turns 2! Inside the Life of a Little Prince!”

Sex! Drugs!! Teletubbies!!!

No such luck.

Louis’s life is every bit as exciting as you’d expect from a two-year-old: "playdates, painting, baking with the Queen,” promises a headline, as if Her Majesty routinely settles down in the kitchen with a Magimix and a roll of Pillsbury dough.

Worse yet, the story is yet another of ‘Us’ mag’s trademark bait-and-switch stories, where the content hopelessly fails to match the enticing headline.

Despite its prime billing, the story amount to just one modest-sized paragraph, revealing next-to-nothing of the prince’s private life. Louis hasn’t even baked so much as a chocolate chip cookie with the Queen - it’s just something “Louis will be introduced to” once he’s old enough. Along with fox-hunting and pheasant shooting, though ‘Us’ somehow failed to include those in the list of Louis’s activities.

An actual fact somehow slipped into the story - probably an editing mistake - revealing that Louis has “been raised to eat healthy” but was allowed cake for his birthday on April 23. Like most two-year-olds, and a certain unnamed current occupant of the White House, Louis lives a life of blissful ignorance in the lap of luxury.

But despair not - we have ‘Us’ mag’s crack investigative team to tell us that Brooke Burke wore it best, that Nikki Bella sets out crystals beneath every full moon “to restore their beautiful energy,” and that the stars are just like us: they walk their dogs, take out the garbage, and clean the house. Three things that Donald Trump almost certainly never does, though I’d wager that he knows more about those subjects than any human that ever walked the planet.

Onwards and downward . . .



Animated short with the words of Alan Watts: UNTIL THERE WAS NOTHING [by Paul Trillo]

Enjoy this wonderful short animated film by Paul Trillo, based on the words of Alan Watts.

"Until There Was Nothing"

...or "How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Black Hole"

Someday this will pass and there will be nothing left. The inevitable spaghettification of it all. That's not something to fear "because we come from nothing" as Alan Watts puts it... and from nothing comes something new. Similarly to a much lesser degree, this project was pieced together repurposing old and unused material to create something new.

Watch full screen, volume up, la-z-boy reclined.

Film by Paul Trillo
Words by Alan Watts
Drone Pilot - James Sykes, Paul Trillo


[Thanks, Joe Sabia!]



American Airlines & Delta join JetBlue in requiring facial masks on U.S. flights

Two of the largest U.S. airlines, American Airlines and Delta, said Thursday they will require travelers to wear face masks on U.S. flights, joining JetBlue to address coronavirus.

Excerpt:

Delta’s new rules start May 4, while Frontier’s start May 8 and American’s requirements begin May 11. The policies exempt young children from wearing masks or other facial coverings. Other airlines like United Airlines (UAL.O) are providing masks to travelers, but not requiring their use. Many U.S. airlines are also requiring pilots and flight attendants to use facial coverings while on board aircraft.

(...) Delta said the airline will require face coverings “starting in the check-in lobby” and at “Delta Sky Clubs, boarding gate areas, jet bridges and on board the aircraft for the duration of the flight – except during meal service.”

Delta added their use “is also strongly encouraged in high-traffic areas, including security lines and restrooms. People unable to keep a face covering in place, including children, are exempt.”

American said the rules will prioritize “customer and team member well-being.”

Read more:

American Airlines, Delta to require facial coverings on U.S. flights

[reporting by David Shepardson, Tracy Rucinski]



Tesla faces lawsuit over another fatal 'autopilot' crash

A fatal Tesla Model X crash involving a "dozing driver" is blamed on the car's autopilot feature in a new lawsuit against the electric vehicle company led by Elon Musk.

Surviving family members of a 44-year-old Japanese man who was struck and killed by one of its electric cars in April 2018 filed the lawsuit in San Jose federal court on Tuesday.

Yoshihiro Umeda, who was 44 when killed in the auto crash, is described in the complaint as the first "Tesla Autopilot-related death involving a pedestrian," and claims the tragedy illustrates a "patent defect" in Tesla's technology.

From Newsweek:

Tesla, led by Elon Musk, is based in Palo Alto, California, and sells cars with automated driver assistance systems. The court motion, submitted by the victim's spouse Tomomi Umeda and daughter Miyu Umeda, was first reported by Bloomberg.

Yoshihiro Umeda was killed on April 29, 2018, after being hit by a Tesla Model X that "suddenly accelerated" when a car in front of it switched lanes, the filing says.

It adds that the Tesla vehicle crashed into a van, motorcycles and pedestrians that had stopped at the side of an expressway near Tokyo following an accident.

The documents allege the Tesla car, which had its Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC) feature engaged, sped up after the car in front moved, "rapidly accelerating from about 15 km/h to approximately 38 km/h" before striking the motorcycles and Umeda.

The driver was "found to have been dozing shortly before the crash," the filings note, adding plaintiffs expect the firm to "lay all of the blame" on that person.

Read more:
Tesla Faces Lawsuit after Model X on Autopilot with 'Dozing Driver' Blamed for Fatal Crash

Recently:
'What the f*ck' — Elon Musk coronavirus meltdown on Tesla earnings call, 'Give people back their god damn freedom'



Astronaut and artist Nicole Stott has advice for us about social distancing

Nicole Stott is a talented artist and retired astronaut who spent more than 100 days living in space on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. Stott is one of several astronauts who in recent days has been asked to share their advice on isolation and social distancing.

"Nothing beats that first hug after landing," Stott says.

From the New York Times:

[In the video above, Stott] reflects on the three months she spent on the International Space Station, far from her husband and 7-year-old son. Living on the space station, being alone on a spacewalk, watching lightning storms crisscross the planet — all these experiences taught her that we’re all inherently connected, even when we’re physically far away.



Comparing COVID-19 to other causes of death

As the number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States blows past 60,000 faster than officials predicted, STAT [statnews.com] compares the 2020 coronavirus outbreak to other causes of death for which we have historical data.

“With U.S. deaths from Covid-19 passing 61,000 this week, the question is as difficult as ever: Are these large numbers or small numbers?”

An excerpt:

As some models stumble, and many no longer even try to project more than a few weeks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added models to those it highlights on its website. One stands out for the fact that it is not associated with a big-name institution. Produced by independent data scientist Youyang Gu, it has been tracking actual U.S. cases and deaths better than many.

Gu’s model projects that U.S. Covid-19 deaths by early August could be as low as 88,217 and as high as 293,381, with a most likely toll of 150,760.

As with all the numbers swirling around the pandemic — more than 3.2 million cases and 230,000 deaths worldwide — these are challenging to grasp. Gu’s lower number is roughly the capacity of the Florida Gators’ stadium in Gainesville; imagine a homecoming game crowd all dying. It is the number of passengers in 360 full long-haul 767s. It is nearly double the number of U.S. combat deaths in the Vietnam War. And 293,318, of course, is nearly triple any of the above.

Go check out the entire piece for some good data vizualization that compares the only weeks-long coronavirus outbreak in the United States to the annual total causes of death in the U.S. from, for instance, cancer, or automobile accidents.

Read more:
Projecting Covid-19 death tolls is as difficult as ever. Comparing them to other causes of death is easier — and staggering
[www.statnews.com, reporting by Sharon Begley @sxbegle and Hyacinth Empinado @sayhitohyacinth, April 30, 202o]



Condoms sales are down because the pandemic is affecting people sex lives

Condom manufacturer Durex say sales are down because the Coronavirus lockdown is “having a toll on the number of intimate occasions," reports The Guardian.

The demand for rubbers will probably bounce back after the pandemic subsides, but manufacturers are concerned that current latex shortages could mean supplies won't meet the pent-up demands for condoms in the near future.

[Durex manufacturer] Reckitt Benckiser said it expected demand for condoms to recover when the lockdown ends, and said its condom factories would not scale back production. [Laxman Narasimhan, the chief executive of Reckitt Benckiser] added that in China, the slowdown in sex during its lockdown had recovered and condom demand was back at the same levels as before the crisis.

There have been concerns of a global condom shortage because strict lockdown rules in Malaysia, one of world’s top rubber producers and a major source of condoms, had made it difficult for condom factories to operate.

Karex, the world’s largest condom producer which makes one in five of all condoms, has warned of a global condom shortage after closing three of its factories. The firm said it expects to produce 200m fewer condoms than usual from mid-March to mid-April.

Photo by Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition on Unsplash



Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has coronavirus

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has been diagnosed with coronavirus, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Thursday, as seen in this screenshot from the social media app Telegram, used widely in Russia.



From the independent journalism site Moscow Times:

Mishustin, who was appointed prime minister in January, has played a leading role in Russia's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mishustin, who told President Vladimir Putin of his diagnosis, is now self-isolating and has temporarily stepped back from his work as prime minister, the state-run Rossiya 24 television channel reported.

Mishustin diagnosis was revealed on the same day the number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Russia surpassed 100,000 in a record one-day surge.

Source: TASS/RIA NOVOSTI

[📷 Dmitry Astakhov/POOL/TASS ]



Wall shelf converts into desk

I'm not usually a fan of furniture that converts from one thing into another, because it's usually better to just use the two different things you need rather than have to deal with one crappy transformer. But this wall shelf that converts into a desk looks pretty good!



Virtual library tourism: visit 7 of the world's most beautiful libraries

Atlas Obscura has rounded-up seven different libraries that offer online virtual tours.

There's Harvard University’s Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, the Klementinum library in Prague (which is like something out of fairy tale), the Puratos Sourdough Library (no, really), which only allows virtual visits, King’s College Library at Cambridge University (natch), the Admont Abbey Library in Austria, the Jerome Hall Law Library in Bloomington, IN, and the A.K. Smiley Public Library in Redlands, CA.

The Klementinum library
This baroque library in Prague, Czechia, was built in 1722 as part of a Jesuit university complex, and its ornate interior has changed little over the centuries. Step into its 360-degree tour and gaze at shelves of theological literature beneath a ceiling of frescoes. In addition to housing more than 20,000 books, the library includes a collection of terrestrial and celestial globes. You can also explore nearby chambers, such as a public reading room flanked by massive oil frescoes and an observatory in the astronomical tower.

The Puratos Sourdough Library

Founded in 2013 by the Belgian bakery supply company Puratos, this collection of sourdough starters in St. Vith is the largest of its kind. Although it is not open for public visits, you can virtually venture into its refrigerators, which collectively hold more than 100 blobs of yeast- and bacteria- laden flour in jars. After hearing a brief introduction from its sole curator, Karl De Smedt—who globetrots to acquire these glorious globs—check out short videos that spotlight varieties of yeast cultivated by bakers around the world, from Altamura to San Francisco.

See the rest of the Atlas Obscura piece.

Image: Klementinum Library, Prague. Bruno Delzant/CC BY 2.0



Newly released documents show that the FBI used standard FBI tactics on Michael Flynn

MAGA world is very up-in-arms about some newly unsealed court documents involving the case of Michael Flynn, the US Army Lieutenant General and former Trump national security advisor who pled guilty to lying to the FBI about his communications with the Russian government and also worked as a secret lobbyist for the Turkish government while he was in the White House.

The documents at the center of this flurry involve handwritten notes from an FBI agent about the handling of the case. "What’s our goal?" the agent scrawled on one document. "Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?” Another document shows the same agent expressing concern about the need to "Protect our institution by not playing games," noting that "If we’re seen playing games, WH will be furious."

Flynn's lawyers are trying to use this revelation to reverse his guilty plea and get the case thrown out, citing it as proof of a Deep State FBI something something. "Since August 2016 at the latest, partisan F.B.I. and D.O.J. leaders conspired to destroy Mr. Flynn," they wrote to the judge, "These documents show in their own handwriting and emails that they intended either to create an offense they could prosecute or at least get him fired."

President Trump has long defended Flynn's innocence, so it's no surprise that his lawyers would try to take advantage of this opportunity. But nor should it be surprising that the FBI was trying to make deliberate and strategic bureaucratic decisions. This has been the FBI's modus operandi since its founding in 1908. They've always relied on tactical, legalese approaches to law enforcement in order to defend the centrist equilibrium of the nation — for better, or for worse. It's how they infamously nailed Al Capone on tax evasion; it's also how they fucked with Black Panthers in order to crush their dissent regardless of the fact that they hadn't actually done anything dangerous or immoral. Michael Flynn has one of the first dominoes that went down in the massively wide-reaching Russia investigation; of course the FBI was trying to take a calculated approach to how to handle him.

The FBI frequently insists that it is apolitical, but a large part of that is actually its shrewd and cunning navigation of nonpartisanship — again, a tactic designed to uphold and defend the status quo of The American Institution. In that context, it makes sense that they wouldn't want to piss off the White House, particularly when the president himself was (to their knowledge at the time) possibly embroiled in the very same Russian-related scandal. It similarly makes sense that they would have to make conscious considerations about how to get Flynn to cooperate with them. Do they try to get him to flip and provide them with information? Do they assume he won't cooperate, so they just punish him, and hope it sends a message to the right people? And so on.

When it comes to white collar crime, PR and psychological manipulation are a part of the FBI's game. It has been this way for 112 years. They've certainly used these adroit entrapment methods to take down some bad people; they've also used it to terrible ends, screwing with innocent people and sometimes causing more dangerous through their reckless arrogance in knowing that they're so rarely held accountable for their own actions.

It's the same thing that happened with Carter Page — yes, FISA surveillance is largely terrible, but most of the FBI's behavior still fell within the established rules of that terrible system. While I would gladly see the end of such tactics, I also recognize that they're fairly in-line with more than a century of precedent now, and MAGA world is only mad now because it's being used against them, instead of against blacks and queers and Muslims and labor organizers.

Flynn Lawyers Seize on Newly Released F.B.I. Documents [Adam Goldman and Katie Benner / The New York Times]

Image: Gage Skidmore/Flickr (CC 2.)



Watch a video of my prison and opioids play "Streets Like This," performed by actors who have all dealt with incarceration

In 2018, I was commissioned by Civic Ensemble of Ithaca, New York to help devise and write a new play based on their ReEntry Theatre Program — a free arts initiative for people who've experienced incarceration and/or drug rehabilitation. The program participants developed the raw material through theatre games and writing exercises, which I then took and transformed into a full-length script.

Streets Like This originally ran for 3 sold out performances in May 2018, featuring a cast of program participants, whose personal stories of addiction and incarceration inspired the script. The people involved in this show from the start have gone on to make some tremendous policy changes for social services and criminal justice reform in Tompkins County, New York, and decided to remount the show again this spring.

Then the COVID-19 outbreak happened.

But the cast and company got together one last time and filmed their production without an audience. It's streaming now for free between April 30 and May 17, 2020; and since they can't raise any money through ticket sales, they're hoping the video will bring in some donations so they can keep this program going.

Working on this play and getting to know these actors was an eye-opening and inspiring experience for me, and I know it's had a positive impact on their lives, too. I hope you'll check it out, and if you're feeling generous, throw some money their way so they can keep doing good work in changing the ways our society deals with addiction and incarceration.

If you're still not sold, here's a brief synopsis of the play:

Inspired by real-life stories, Streets Like This follows the lives of five people dealing with incarceration, poverty, and addiction, whose lives overlap through the same social service programs. There’s Brian, a middle-class mama’s boy who spent four months in county jail over prescription pills, and now struggles to stay clean while helping out his widowed mother; Abby, a single mom and recovering heroin addict who’s trying to win her young son back from Child Protective Services; and Crystal, a survivor of domestic violence who’s been forced to turn to prostitution to keep a roof above her family while she navigates the bureaucratic maze of poverty. Their stories are framed by Deon and Dennis, the drunk elder statesmen of the social service block who’ve spent their lives trapped in system. Deon wants to help the audience understand the intersections of poverty, addiction, and incarceration, but disgruntled Dennis can’t see beyond the fourth wall (or his internalized misogyny). Together, they break through the fourth wall, and plead with the audience to understand their struggles and stories, and make a change to the system that has trapped them all.

The Ithaca Times also has a more in-depth article on the impact of the ReEntry theatre program. I've embedded the script below as well, if that's more your speed.

Streets Like This [Thom Dunn with A.C. Sidle in collaboration with members of the ReEntry Theatre Program / Directed by Sarah K. Chalmers for Civic Ensemble]

 



These cool prints are made from the soundwaves of songs, and the sales help COVID-19 charities

Soundwaves Art is the brainchild and handiwork of Austin-based visual artist Tim Wakefield, who creates digital prints based on the visualized waveforms of popular songs.

For example, here's one made from "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran that's signed by the band themselves:

"Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd:

"I'm Amazed" by My Morning Jacket

It's a pretty cool project overall, and Wakefield has also registered it as a 501(c)(3) non-profit:

Soundwaves Art Foundation's (501c3) mission is to find and collaborate with organizations that make a lasting impact on society's greatest challenges. The Foundation and its partners bring Tim Wakefield's truly unique and collectable artwork to music and art lovers alike. The work of the Foundation is made possible by collaborating musicians who give their time to sign artwork to benefit incredible causes.

The Soundwaves Art Foundation has previously worked with charities that provide services for displaced children, access to music education and music therapy in lower-income areas, and other important causes. But in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, they've shifted much of their benefit work to support the Sweet Relief fund for musicians who are facing medical and financial hardship.'

It's a pretty awesome cause for some pretty some pretty awesome artwork, and you can almost certainly find a band and song you love amongst their collection. If you're feeling generous and want to decorate your walls, it's worth checking out.

Soundwaves Art Foundation



Entrepreneurs are seeing mini-empires of Airbnb properties collapse

People who launched mini-empires of Airbnb rental properties are experiencing extreme financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, reports The Wall Street Journal. These are people who bought or leased residential property with the sole intention to list them on Airbnb. In March alone Airbnb lost $1.5 billion in canceled bookings.

From The Wall Street Journal:

Smaller players have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars each buying homes for short-term rentals. Jennifer Kelleher-Hazlett of Clawson, Mich., spent about $380,000 to buy two Michigan properties in 2018. She said she and her husband cashed out their financial investments and borrowed $100,000 from employers to furnish them.

The 47-year-old expected to net up to $7,000 a month from Airbnb after mortgage payments, supplementing her income as a part-time pharmacist and her husband’s as a schoolteacher. Before the virus struck, the couple was considering buying more homes. Now, they can’t make mortgage payments because no one is booking, she said. “We’re either borrowing more or defaulting.”

Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash



Cool-looking DIY synth

Otemrellik made this "100% homemade" nifty modular synthesizer. Here's his video about how he built it and how it works.

Image: YouTube



Outdoor pet cats kill more animals than wild cats do in the same size area

Wild cats certainly kill many more other animals than outdoor pet cats. After all, they have to hunt for their food instead of just bug their human companions. But a new study by North Carolina State University zoologists and their colleagues revealed that outdoor pet cats kill between two and ten times as many animals as wild cats in the same size area. Apparently, every year North American pet cats with outside access kill between ten and thirty billion birds and mammals. But according to the new data gleaned from GPS cat collars, our feline friends generally don't venture further than 100 meters away from their home. Still, their hunting can be a real problem when it comes to conservation. From Scientific American:

[...]In some places, including California, Florida, Australia, and elsewhere, cats were an important threat to some species that are already in trouble.

"On one hand, it’s kind of good news that the cats aren't going out further abroad, but it’s bad news that they're quite likely to have an impact on animals they share space with near their houses," [says North Carolina State University zoologist Roland Kays.]

With so much killing concentrated around people's houses, the positive impacts of urban wildlife—like the beauty of songbirds, or the way small lizards can control insect pests—could get washed away in precisely the areas where those benefits are most appreciated.

image credit: Stiopa (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Watch Queen's unreleased promotional video for the Flash Gordon theme (1980)

Flash Gordon (1985) is a fantastic and camptastic film thanks in no small part to Queen's wonderful soundtrack. Above is Queen's unreleased promotional video for "Flash." Stick around 'til the end for a Klytus cameo.



Social media platforms back off misinformation crackdown after Trump touts quack cures

At The New York Times, Sheera Frenkel and Davey Alba report that Trump's remarks about hydrochloroquine, injecting disinfectant and light therapy have made a sham of Facebook, Twitter and other sites' new policies against spreading medical misinformation. Promotion of quack remedies for Covid-19 has exploded on their platforms more broadly as a result, with little apparent effort to moderate or remove them.

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have declined to remove Mr. Trump’s statements posted online in video clips and transcriptions of the briefing, saying he did not specifically direct people to pursue the unproven treatments. That has led to a mushrooming of other posts, videos and comments about false virus cures with UV lights and disinfectants that the companies have largely left up.

A New York Times analysis found 768 Facebook groups, 277 Facebook pages, nine Instagram accounts and thousands of tweets pushing UV light therapies that were posted after Mr. Trump’s comments and that remained on the sites as of Wednesday. More than 5,000 other posts, videos and comments promoting disinfectants as a virus cure were also on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube this week.

Twitter has copped to a formal exemption for Trump from their policies, on the rationale that anything he writes is inherently newsworthy. But everyone senses the fear behind the exemption, that it's really about avoiding political and regulatory backlash, and morover that the "Trump Exception" has a penumbra that covers careful supporters and propogators who spread the word.

I think we all sense that it's not just Trump, too. There's a broader group that will never be shown the door no matter what they do. Elon Musk, for example, will never be banned from Twitter no matter how gross his tweets get. Thinking about the boundaries of this group seems a useful exercise in understanding the "who, whom?" of online media after all this is done.



The social distancing of Wes Anderson

For anyone who has ever dreamed of living in a Wes Anderson film, social distancing goes a long way toward making that a reality. Luís Azevedo edited this montage from Anderson's movies.

Inspector Gadget theme performed on 8 cellos

Here's Shuki Levy's theme from Inspector Gadget performed on an 8-pack of cellos by Samara Ginsberg. The gadget theme is a variation of the melody from Edvard Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King and a widely-sampled and borrowed motif in pop music.



New York cop had tow truck driver arrested for legally repossessing his car

In this segment from last year, CBS News reported on Jose Rodriguez, a tow truck operator arrested and charged with a felony while legally reposessing an NYPD detective's car. The owner hadn't made his car payments in months and the bank had issued a legal reposession order, but this deadbeat detective refused to let it go. According to CBS, he first attempted to illegally pay off the tow truck driver, then called over uniformed officers to have him taken to jail when he refused to take the cash. The cops also tampered with recording devices in the tow truck, but the stream was uploaded to the cloud and one officer's mugshot was captured by the camera.

The segment is going viral today without context, as they do, and in this case there's a less unhappy ending, at least for the tow truck driver: most of the charges against him were dropped after CBS News covered his case, leaving a single misdemeanor on the sheet. But after the detective sought Rodriguez out privately and harassed him in the street — at least according to Rodriguez — that charge was dropped too.

That detective makes at least $100k a year, can't afford payments on a $35k Nissan, yet has the cash on hand to bribe a tow guy and the desperation to have him arrested? Impunity is one thing, but this cop has another smell about him entirely.



Unemployment passes 30m with last week's 3.8m new filers

3.8m workers signed on for the first time last week, bringing America's unemployed headcount to 30m. The number of new filers was down from 4.4m last week, a slow dropoff that suggests layoffs will continue at an unprecedented scale for weeks to come.

Roughly 30.3 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the six weeks since the coronavirus outbreak began forcing millions of employers to close their doors and slash their workforces. That is more people than live in the New York and Chicago metropolitan areas combined, and it’s by far the worst string of layoffs on record. It adds up to more than one in six American workers.

With more employers cutting payrolls to save money, economists have forecast that the unemployment rate for April could go as high as 20%. That would be the highest rate since it reached 25% during the Great Depression.

They aren't even packaging charts with these stories anymore, because it's just a flat line that becomes a vertical line at the end and no-one wants to look at it anymore.



Here’s a truckload of Mother’s Day options for the Mom who loves her kitchen

If you usually find yourself a last-minute shopper when it comes to a gift honoring the woman who brought you into this world, this is probably a good year to give Mother’s Day a little added consideration. 

Between social distancing, home quarantines and a rampaging COVID-19, chances are your mom could use a real pick-me-up about now. And guess what, folks? Amazon Prime next-day delivery probably won’t save you this year. Instead, do some planning. To help, we pulled together 30 — yes, thirty! — different food, drink and kitchen items for the mom who enjoys the fine art of food prep, food and beverage consumption or both. Which is...well, pretty much all moms.

And because you’re such a good son or daughter and thinking ahead, you can get any of these days with an additional 15 percent off when you use the code MOMSDAY15 at checkout.

Hydrate

Just pop the lid off the Pressa Bottle ($24.49 after discount; originally $39.99), drop fruits or vegetables into some water, then use the patented Twist N’ Press features. Instantly, you’ve got a freshly infused beverage. Voted one of the best water bottles in 2020 by CNET, you get up to 24 ounces of water just the way you like it.

If function matters more to Mom than taste, then LIZ: The Smart Self-Cleaning Bottle with UV Sterilization ($55.24 after discount; originally $79.99) might win her approval. With a tap, LIZ blasts her innards with UV-C light, sterilizing all surfaces and destroying 99.9 percent of all harmful viruses or odor-causing bacteria in the empty bottle or clear beverage. 

Meanwhile, the Easehold Dual Speed 600W Juicer ($40.79 after discount; originally $62.99) offers up some serious juicing power, using BPA-free, food grade stainless-steel blades and a special 3-inch inlet to extract more juice, vitamins, and minerals faster than other juicers.

Caffeinate

For moms with an affinity for tea, the Chefman 1.7L Color-Changing Electric Kettle ($32.29 after discount; originally $49.99) makes the whole process incredibly simple. With a button push, the Chefman boils up water in about 60 seconds...and you’ll instantly know it’s ready when the entire stainless steel kettle transforms from black to red.

Sometimes, Mom needs a little more of a kickstart -- and the Alessi Pulcina 3-Cup Espresso Maker ($42.49 after discount; originally $120) is just the high-performance coffee maker to do it. This precision-designed appliance dispenses the drink at the right time before the coffee gets a bitter aftertaste, enhancing the full richness of your brew. 

Maybe a hot beverage isn’t in the cards...in which case, the FrankOne Cold Brew and Coffee Maker ($67.15 after discount; originally $99) has Mom covered, using patent-pending VacTec coffee brewing technology to accelerate the extraction process, producing an expertly-crafted cold brew in just four minutes. 

Only vino will do

Mom’s put up with a lot over the years...so forgive her if she doesn’t stop at coffee. With Winc Wine Delivery ($22.10 after discount; originally $52), she gets four bottles customized to her taste curated from around the world for less than $6 each delivered right to her door. Or if four bottles aren’t enough, the 50% Off World Wine Tour Collection ($137.70 after discount; originally $324) serves up 18 bottles with 12 different grape varietals from Spain, Italy, Chile, Argentina, France, California, Australia, and more. 

For serving exotic vintages like these, this self-cleaning Vita Saggia electric wine aerator and dispenser ($50.99 after discount; originally $79.99) infuses the wine with air as it’s poured, letting the oxygen bring out all the subtle flavors inside every bottle.

For moms who like to share on the go, the Vapur After Hours 750ml Vintage Wine Carrier ($10.19 after discount; originally $18.99) is like bagging your own vino — no more heavy bottles being toted around, ever. Fill it up and it holds a bottle of any variety and it’s designed to withstand everyday use and regular cleaning.

Mom, meet the hard stuff

When even wine won’t cover it, this set of two double-walled insulated martini glasses ($22.09 after discount; originally $29.99) holds 8 ounces at cold drink temperatures to keep your cocktails, whiskey, scotch, wine, and other liquors more enjoyable, crisp, and delicious.

If Mom has a touch of mixologist in her, she might appreciate an 11-piece stainless steel cocktail bar toolset ($29.74 after discount; originally $55.99), complete with an ounce cup, crushed ice hammer, ice clips, an ice filter, a cocktail shaker and more to help any amateur bartender feel like a pro.

The tiki-inspired W&P Copper Pineapple Tumbler and Shot Glass Bundle ($50.99 after discount; originally $135) elevates your game with this pair of fun, yet gorgeous copper 12 ounce tumblers and 2 ounce shot glasses.

But if Mom is a fan of south of the border fare, the INFUSE Tequila and Mezcal Infusion Kit ($67.14 after discount; originally $98) offers a decanter to infuse all kinds of fruity or spicy flavors into your tequila or mezcal, as well as four wide-mouthed jicara cups for a perfect sampling experience.

Snack it up

She may not be making your breakfast every morning anymore, but that doesn’t mean she can’t enjoy pancakes on her own. The Gotham Steel Pancake Bonanza ($13.59 after discount; originally $24.99) serves up big fluffy pancakes with just a pour of batter, a close of the handle and a quick pan flip. Of course, the Pancake Bonanza also serves up more than pancakes, including omelets, grilled cheese, chocolate chip cookies, and more.

For the health-conscious mom, lytepop Electrolyte Infused Popcorn ($15.25 after discount; originally $24.99) is an organic, high-fiber, low-calorie snack that’s also packed with electrolytes to prevent fatigue and keep muscles from cramping. With this package, you get four regular sized and six snack sized bags that’ll keep Mom both satisfied and more energetic.

The Thai for Two Cooking Kits Curry Sampler ($27.19 after discount; originally $35) are six-step, seven-minute Thai cuisine meals with fresh seasonings and herbs straight from a USDA-certified organic, sustainable farm in Thailand. Just add your own protein and veggies to these green, red and panang curry varieties and Mom will be eating well.

For dessert, she can even fire up the Betty Crocker Brownie Maker and Snack Factory ($29.74 after discount; originally $49.99) for delicious homemade baked goodies without a ton of prep or mess. In fact, she can whip up a batch of mini-brownies in just minutes.

Small kitchen aids

The Wolfgang Puck 3-in-1 Electric Power Spiralizer ($16.99 after discount; originally $54.99) can open up the meal prep options, with three different blades to slice fruits, vegetables and other foods into attractive, yet mouth-watering dishes. Mom can create zucchini noodles if she’s avoiding the carbs or add ribbons of colorful veggies to her fresh salads. 

For a little more food processing power, the Wolfgang Puck 7-in-1 Immersion Blender (Factory Remanufactured) ($55.24 after discount; originally $99.95) blends, whisks, chops, slices and more with a 400-watt motor, adjustable speed dial and 2-speed pulse that handles even the toughest tasks to produce up to 12 cups. 

And if Mom hates sitting on top of a pot just to keep the stir going, the StirMATE Smart Pot Stirrer ($42.49 after discount; originally $59.99) takes that task right out of her hands. This high torque automatic pot stirrer rotates, swings and even self-adjusts to the size of your pot, even hitting the bottom to make sure nothing sticks or burns down there.

Meanwhile, if you want to introduce Mom to pressure cooking, the Gourmia GPC419 4-Qt SmartPot Digital Multi-Function Pressure Cooker ($59.49 after discount; originally $139.99) is a perfect starter pot. With a 10-level safety system and 15 different cooking modes, she’ll be slow cooking, steaming, warming and more, all while reducing cooking time by up to 70 percent.

Bigger kitchen aids

With air frying all the rage right now, you’ve got a pair of options for Mom, including the Yedi Total Package Air Fryer ($76.49 after discount; originally $139.95). She can set the time and temp or just hit a built-in smart setting to cook fries, barbecue, chops, shrimp, chicken, steak or fish, all with up to 80 percent less fat. Or get her an air fryer and oven in the Gourmia 16-in-1 Digital Stainless Steel Air Fryer Oven ($110.49 after discount; originally $179.99), which uses FryForce 360° technology to deliver powerful heat circulation, cooking with little to no oil, perfect crips, and 30 percent faster cooking.

Or maybe she should take a shot at sous vide cooking with the SOUS°V Pot Precision Sous Vide Multi-Cooker ($94.35 after discount; originally $129.99). It’s as versatile as any appliance on the counter, able to saute, cook rice, steam, boil, or even make yogurt for endless meal options with precision cooking controls that make it incredibly easy. Or there’s the Mellow Sous Vide Precision Cooker ($169.99 after discount; originally $349), which combines jaw-dropping food with a 30-second setup, an in-app assistant chef, and built-in refrigeration.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/3rgrKN2-3VE

Since sous vide requires food in vacuum-sealed bags, the FoodSaver GameSaver Big Game Plus Vacuum Sealer ($89.24 after discount; originally $245) can preserve up to 240 pounds of vacuum-sealed product at once in 80 consecutive bags. You can customize bag size to prevent freezer burn, but it’s perfect for having just the right sized meal every night.

More for the kitchen

Since a great chef is only as good as their tools, the Bamboo Butcher Block with Juice Groove ($16.97 after discount) can give Mom the room she needs to truly create. Big enough for cutting and chopping meat, vegetables, salads, and even herbs, this cut-resistant block also has juice grooves to help avoid all that mess.

This Sukasu Osami 3-Pc Chef's Knife Set ($33.99 after discount; originally $99.99) are crafted with pakka wood handles and ultra-durable stainless steel, capable of making all the difference for your food prep. Not to mention that each blade is made with a stunning wavy pattern etched into the blade itself, making them as much art as a kitchen tool. 

Finally, the Dockside Bakeware 5-Piece Ceramic Stoneware Baking Set ($84.99 after discount; originally $149.99) is not only oven, microwave, and freezer safe, it’s also built for seafood recipes or transferring hot food during family gatherings or potluck dinners.