Legendary hiphop group Public Enemy has a new single out, "March Madness." But it's not about basketball — it's about gun violence. Here's co-founder Flavor Flav's story for Newsweek about why he is campaigning for stronger gun protection laws. "America is being built on fear. You have people who are scared. And these people are fighting for gun rights to protect themselves. They wouldn't have to protect themselves if all guns were banned," he writes. "Fear is a powerful, short-term motivator. We need to flip it so it can break through to be a positive and valuable resource. Let our fear of losing our children be more powerful than our fear of our next-door neighbor." At the second link, learn more about "March Madness" from the Quietus. Profits from the song will go to The Black Music Action Coalition Human Rights Fund and the anti-gun-violence organization Everytown.
#USNews #USPolitics #GunControl #FlavorFlav #PublicEnemy #ChuckD #Music #HipHop
Of the 4,000 Indigenous languages worldwide, one dies every two weeks and Michael Running Wolf, founder of Indigenous AI, says most Native American languages will be lost within the next decade. Running Wolf leads First Languages AI Reality, where he and his team are building speech recognition models for more than 200 endangered Indigenous languages. nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpqa3kdh5kykk4jcwt50z0n4tgwe8r2qgnhfjlugludh4xrlu4vgh3q448c5m talked to him, student engineers Kyra Kaya, who is Native Hawaiian, and Madeline Gupta, who is Chippewa, and Lakota artist Suzanne Kite about their AI projects to preserve and restore the languages, stories and culture.
#IndigenousHeritage #NativeAmericanHeritage #Language #Culture #ArtificialIntelligence #AI
When a website listed a Halloween parade in Dublin at which Cristiano Ronaldo and MrBeast might appear, social media hype began to build. And last night, thousands of Dubliners showed up from Parnell Street to Christchurch Cathedral, waiting for the three-hour event that would "[transform] Dublin into a lively tapestry of costumes, artistic performances, and cultural festivities." They waited in vain — the listing was, according to Defector, "a combination of classic SEO bait tactics and newfangled AI slop content." Here's more.
#Culture #Dublin #Halloween #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #AISlop
When software company Salesforce hired comedian John Mulaney to do some standup at their Dreamforce event last week, they may have got more than they bargained for. The corporate gig turned into something of a roast, with Mulaney telling the crowd: “If AI is truly smarter than us and tells us that [humans] should die, then I think we should die,” looking out to the crowd from center stage. “So many of you feel imminently replaceable.” He concluded the 45-minute no-mercy set by thanking attendees “for the world you’re creating for my son … where he will never talk to an actual human again." Here, more highlights, courtesy of the San Francisco Standard.
#Tech #Technology #Comedy #Salesforce #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #SanFrancisco #JohnMulaney
Remember the Oscar-nominated 2004 feature documentary “Super Size Me?"
Its director, Morgan Spurlock, died Thursday in upstate New York due to complications of cancer. He was 53. Variety has his obituary: https://flip.it/emMZIy
#MorganSpurlock #Documentary #Film #Cinema
In an Instagram post today, Sufjan Stevens dedicated "Javelin" to his late partner, Evans Richardson, who died in April. “He was an absolute gem of a person, full of life, love, laughter, curiosity, integrity, and joy. He was one of those rare and beautiful ones you find only once in a lifetime —precious, impeccable, and absolutely exceptional in every way.” Out magazine has more.
#Music #SufjanStevens #LGBTQ #Pride
Book bans are spreading "like a fungus," according to high-school librarian Martha Hickson, who has been the victim of smear campaigns and received hate mail because of the reading material she provides for students. She talked to Reader's Digest about how she and her fellow librarians are fighting back.
#Books #BookBans #Bookstodon #Libraries #Culture
The film about Donna Dear and Paulette Greene is called "The Aunties." On Oct. 14, they will be hosting a screening at Mt. Pleasant Acres Farms in Preston, Maryland, titled Soulfest X We Will Be Elders. The event will also include meditations with the “Witness Tree," a poplar tulip where those escaping slavery would pray. The gathering will take place from 3-8pm, with the screening beginning at sunset.
#Documentary #History #Film #LGBTQ #BlackMastodon #ClimateJustice
Looking for some new music to check out? From Chai to Eartheater, here are nine new albums Pitchfork recommends: https://flip.it/_t7PS8
#Culture #Entertainment #Music #NewAlbums
Japanese comedy drama "He's Expecting" imagines a world in which a small number of cis men have become pregnant. Its hero quickly experiences some of the scenarios we're used to seeing pregnant women navigate, from marginalization at work to patronizing information that minimizes the risks of childbirth. In this long read for Electric Lit, Jane Dykema takes a critical look at the TV show's insights and shortcomings.
#TV #Culture #Netflix #TuneIn
150 years ago, British explorer Isabella Bird traveled the world, writing for magazines and becoming one of the first female fellows elected into the Royal Geographical Society. Smithsonian Magazine's Laura Kiniry followed in the footsteps of her famous expedition through the Rockies, of which Bird wrote: “Everything suggests a beyond."
#Women #Travel #History
19 million Americans, at least half of whom are of Latino or Hispanic descent, live in the southern border region of the U.S. NBC talked to some "frontizeros" about the unique culture, patois, food and music that comes from living in the "places between places."
#Culture #HispanicHeritageMonth #UnitedStates
"Margaritaville" singer Jimmy Buffett, who turned beach-bum life into an empire, dies at 76.
AP writes: "'Margaritaville,' released on Feb. 14, 1977, quickly took on a life of its own, becoming a state of mind for those 'wastin’ away,' an excuse for a life of low-key fun and escapism for those 'growing older, but not up.'"
If you were a fan, please share your favorite song or concert memory.
#JimmyBuffett #Music #Pop #Parrothead
Whatever happened to comedy blockbusters like "The Producers," "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Anchorman?" Writer Saul Austerlitz says there hasn't been a genuine one since "Bridesmaids," which came out 12 summers ago. In a new book and this article for LitHub, he examines why.
#Movies #Entertainment #Comedy #Culture
In response to transphobic comments by Alice Cooper and Carlos Santana, culture expert Niko Stratis writes for Paste about how trans people are "always the topic, never the voice." "I am not surprised that Santana doesn’t like trans people because I am rarely surprised by such facts anymore," she says. "There is no easier path to a headline than making baseless comments about trans people into whatever microphone will have you."
#Music #LGBTQ #TransRightsAreHumanRights
Etsy sellers are primed for the release of Donald Trump's mugshot. Vendors that cater to both Trump's detractors and fans told Semafor they are already preparing designs for new mug-shot-themed apparel, and are expecting a crush of demand.
#Trump #Mugshot #PopCulture
nostr:npub1xta59clgylwh0ne2nk6vu2djmaalsmua2l3tlxtq7av4mf5g5pyq5tnurz It should be there if you click the "flip.it" link but just in case, here you go! https://www.npr.org/2023/08/17/1194139737/omar-montes-tiny-desk-concert
Jordan Peterson is in trouble for his latest book's blurbs. Quotes from reviews published in the Times and the New Statesman were used on his "Beyond Order" paperback edition, but out of context. For example, columnist James Marriott was quoted as saying the book was "a philosophy of the meaning of life" but he also described that philosophy as "bonkers" — an adjective that didn't make the cover. The BBC has all the details.
#Books #Bookstodon #JordanPeterson
Update: Sean Tuohy has responded to Michael Oher's allegations, calling them "insulting" and contesting Oher's claim that the family made money from "The Blind Side. "“We didn’t make any money off the movie,” Sean Tuohy told The Daily Memphian. “Well, [author] Michael Lewis gave us half of his share. Everybody in the family got an equal share, including Michael. It was about $14,000, each."
#Sports #Movies #Celebrity #MichaelOher
nostr:npub16q2526xgshxywrsq6k3lyrztn79pqd764u77s90ne2666sc43rcqz0e7ya "While the deal allowed the Tuohys to profit from the film, the petition alleges, a separate 2007 contract purportedly signed by Oher appears to 'give away' to 20th Century Fox studios the life rights to his story 'without any payment whatsoever.' The filing says Oher has no recollection of signing that contract, and even if he did, no one explained its implications to him."