The Hero's Journal Team Releases New Journal, Istoria Magic Academy, on Kickstarter [Video Included]

The Hero's Journal - A filled out journal

The team behind the popular The Hero's Journal today announced that its newest offering, The Hero's Journal: Istoria Magic Academy, is now live on Kickstarter, where they reached 100% of their funding goal in under 9 minutes.

The Hero's Journal launched in 2019 via a successful Kickstarter campaign. Over the past two years, a vibrant community of journalers has formed organically on social media to share stories and seek advice.

"Thanks to our first Kickstarter, The Hero's Journal quickly transformed from a simple idea to a community of 25,000 journalers," said Nick Vitellaro, the 27-year-old co-founder.

He added: "During the past year, we learned a lot about what our fans like about the Journal and how it helps them achieve their goals. Today, we're excited to go back to Kickstarter, where it all started, to release a new edition that incorporates feedback and suggestions from our amazing community."

During 2020, the team witnessed firsthand how the Journal is helping people cope during the pandemic. For example, one community member commented: "I've been feeling pretty scatterbrained since quarantine started, but this journal has really helped create more structure in my daily life, in the most fun and thoughtful way."

Daily Artwork Helps Inspire the Imagination and Make Every Day of Journaling Unique

The Hero's Journal: Istoria Magic Academy is based on a story about magic. The process of learning something new, working through failure, and discovering the ordinary magic of changing the world around you through words and actions.

"We expect that the new edition will resonate with our current community as well as with a new group of journalers who are looking to embark on a new adventure during a uniquely challenging time," said Nick.

The Video:

About The Hero's Journal:

Stories are the oldest form of human communication. From the earliest books ever written to the latest box office hit, humans are hardwired to communicate in the form of narrative. And there is no narrative more important to the core of each of us than the story we tell about ourselves. We set out to create a journal that would combine the power of self-narrative with the psychology of goal setting. The result? The Hero's Journal—now used by thousands of heroes around the world. From brainstorming the journal in 2018 to launching a kickstarter in 2019 to quitting our full-time jobs in the beginning of 2020, we've been blown away by the support of a community that keeps selling out every single one of our production runs. 

• To learn more, visit www.theherosjournal.co

SOURCE: The Hero's Journal

Happy 85th Anniversary, Green Hornet!

Britt Reid - The Green Hornet (by marvelmania)

The last day in January 2021 marks the 85th anniversary of the first appearance of The Green Hornet. A year-long virtual celebration to one of America's earliest superheroes, his most powerful sidekick Kato, and the world's first supercar, the Black Beauty.

George W. Trendle wanted a timely, relevant, hero character on the radio at WXYZ-Detroit to appeal to voting age Americans, as opposed to his earlier creation, The Lone Ranger, created for children.

In an era without television or internet, news traveled slowly, primarily printed in a newspaper. Britt Reid, the alter ego of The Green Hornet, published such a newspaper, The Daily Sentinel, where he receives inside information about corruption and organized crime from his reporters' sources. With his sidekick Kato, The Green Hornet uses his non-lethal weapons to subdue the criminals and leave them for law enforcement to arrest and prosecute. Because police see The Green Hornet as a vigilante, therefore a criminal, both sides of the law are after him, which forces him to wear a mask, so no one discovers his true identity.

The Green Hornet (by StevJVaz72)

Whether it is an original radio broadcast, one of the serials, a tv episode, an issue of a comic book or a movie; the plot usually consists of corrupt government officials or organized crime leaders who seem innocent and above reproach.

George W. Trendle's creation of The Green Hornet introduced many firsts to the American audience. The masked avenger in a modern city, Bruce Lee as a martial arts sidekick, and a black stealth supercar to keep Americans safe.

The Green Hornet:(by voyageYOUKOH )

More About The Green Hornet:

(Via Wikipedia)

Though various incarnations sometimes change details, in most versions the Green Hornet is the alter ego of Britt Reid, wealthy young publisher of the Daily Sentinel newspaper by day. But by night, clad in a long green overcoat, gloves, green fedora hat and green mask, Reid fights crime as the mysterious vigilante known as "The Green Hornet," and is accompanied by his loyal and similarly masked partner and confidant, Kato, who drives their technologically advanced car, the "Black Beauty." Though both the police and the general public believe the Hornet to be a wanted criminal, Reid uses that perception to help him infiltrate the underworld, leaving behind for the police the criminals and any incriminating evidence he has found.

In the original radio incarnation, Britt Reid is the son of Dan Reid, Jr., the nephew of John Reid, the Lone Ranger, making the Green Hornet the grand-nephew of the Ranger. The relationship is alluded to at least once in the radio shows, when Dan Reid visits his son to question him on why Britt has never captured the Hornet. On learning the truth behind his son's dual identity, Dan Reid recalls his days riding in Texas with his uncle, as the William Tell Overture plays briefly and softly in the background. [Click here to read more....]

Green Hornet - Inked (by zanthiel)

Trivia:

(From IMDb)

A poster for The Lone Ranger can be seen in Britt Reid's room. In the original radio program, Reid was the The Lone Ranger's grandnephew. His father rode with The Lone Ranger on some of his adventures, and they shared the family name of Reid. Both radio programs were created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker. [Click here for more trivia...]

The Green Hornet: TV logo

SOURCE: The Green Hornet, Inc.

Hip Hop Public Health Launches #CommunityImmunity Vaccine Literacy Effort

Hip Hop Public Health Launches #CommunityImmunity Vaccine Literacy Effort (PRNewsfoto/Hip Hop Public Health)

Hip Hop Public Health (HHPH) the national nonprofit organization dedicated since 2004 to fostering positive health behavior change through the power of science and hip hop music, today launched Community Immunity: A Rap Anthology about Vaccines. A suite of free resources aimed at increasing COVID-19 vaccine coverage in communities of color by fighting fear with facts, this animated rap anthology deconstructs vaccine literacy in a series of five animated videos, beginning with What Are Vaccines and Why Do They Work?. Featuring the voice of Grammy-winning rapper and HHPH Advisory Board member Darryl DMC McDaniels of Run-DMC, with award-winning producer Artie Green and singer-songwriter Gerry Gunn, Community Immunity: A Rap Anthology About Vaccines is the latest COVID-19 public information campaign from Hip Hop Public Health. The organization's trilogy of high-impact music video PSAs – 20 Seconds or More, 20 Segundos o Más and Behind the Mask – have been viewed and shared by millions, and become a part of the vernacular around the coronavirus with universal messages of love and safety since launching at the height of the pandemic in New York City in spring 2020.

What Are Vaccines and Why Do They Work? - The Video:

Each 60-second video in the Community Immunity anthology features a common underlying hip hop track with a unique rap verse that incorporates vaccine literacy content and a universal hook about the benefits of community immunity, which is repeated and sung in each video. The goal of the series is not only to inform, but also to turn receiving the vaccine into a social norm. 

• Each video in the series will be launched over the next several weeks through March 2021, beginning with What Are Vaccines and Why Do They Work? (launching 2/11), followed by Are Vaccines Safe and How Do I Know This? (launching 2/18); What are the Common Vaccine Myths, Misperceptions? (launching 2/25); What Can I Expect if I Take the Vaccine? (launching 3/4); and, Getting a Vaccine is Better than Getting Infected with COVID-19 (launching 3/11).

"COVID-19 is the most urgent global challenge we face today, and if we can encourage 80% of the population to get vaccinated, we can achieve the community-wide immunity we need for social activities to return to normal" says Dr. Olajide Williams, Founder of Hip Hop Public Health, tenured Professor of Neurology at Columbia University, and Chief of Staff of the Department of Neurology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. "As the coronavirus continues to ravage communities of color, the long-standing distrust that many feel towards medical science has proven to be an even greater challenge. Our goal with the Community Immunity anthology is therefore to increase vaccine literacy by demonstrating three critical points of fact: one, the vaccine is safe; two, no scientific shortcuts were taken in the development of the vaccine; and three, being vaccinated is an act of community service."

"While we must work to fill knowledge gaps, we also recognize that knowledge alone does not motivate behavior change. To meet the challenge of COVID-19, we need to truly connect, culturally and emotionally," adds Dr. Williams. "This is why HHPH developed the Multisensory Multilevel Health Education Model, which leverages the power of culture and art to motivate people to live healthier lives."

"Hip Hop Public Health is committed to providing accessible, culturally relevant resources, free of charge to empower underserved communities about critical health issues ," says Lori Rose Benson, Executive Director and CEO of Hip Hop Public Health. "With recent studies showing that more than half of African American adults are hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine, it is essential that we create and widely disperse messages to dispel myths and reduce anxiety around the vaccine with the goal of creating Community Immunity as the ultimate act of love – love of self, love of family and love of the community – to inspire and drive action."

A recent national study (Szilgayi et al, JAMA December 2020) revealed that the self-reported likelihood of getting a COVID-19 vaccine declined from 75% in April 2020 to 56% in December 2020, despite extensive media coverage beginning in November showing high efficacy for both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The lowest likelihood of vaccination was found among Black individuals and those with lower educational backgrounds, two groups that bear the highest burden of illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19. The APM Research Lab has found that Covid-19 has killed 1 out of every 645 Black Americans, and according to the journal PLOS Medicine, Black people, ages 35 to 44, have been dying at nine times the rate of white people the same age.

"These findings make HHPH's novel approach to vaccine hesitancy a critical item on the menu of initiatives designed to increase vaccine coverage," Dr. Williams concludes.

Hip Hop Public Health Launches #CommunityImmunity Vaccine Literacy Effort

Plans to roll-out Community Immunity include a series of community mobilization events in partnership with the State of New York's Vaccine Equity Taskforce, HeartSmilesMD, The New York City Department of Education's Office of School Wellness Programs, and others. 

The videos will also be widely distributed across multiple social media channels in collaboration with local faith-based organizations, community media outlets and national and local radio platforms. In addition, Community Immunity will be part of a larger program used in company settings as a tool to educate essential workforces and answer pointed questions about the vaccine. In partnership with 40 West Advisors, HHPH's innovative and customized tools will allow direct access to the answers employees need to make informed decisions about the vaccine. Finally, the public is invited to engage directly with Dr. Williams and Dr. Monique Hedmann-Maxey, HHPH Advisory Board member who also appears in the videos, through #AskTheHipHopDocs. This interactive social media initiative is designed to answer questions and help dispel misperceptions when tagged in real-time. 

• Answers will appear on www.hhph.org

"Communities of color carry the heaviest burden from the pandemic, and in order to stop the virus in its tracks, we need to increase vaccine literacy, change behavior and get vaccinated," says Darryl DMC McDaniels. "By harnessing the power of hip hop, we hope to connect with communities of color in a way they can relate to and encourage folks to get vaccinated. I am honored to lend my voice to this vital campaign – get the shot y'all!"

Hip Hop Public Health Launches #CommunityImmunity Vaccine Literacy Effort (screengrab)

The five videos in the Community Immunity series are focused on the following topics:

• What Are Vaccines and Why Do They Work? Highlights the power of vaccines, which have all but eliminated diseases that once sickened, crippled or killed millions of people every year, including smallpox and polio. The two current COVID-19 vaccines are more than 90% effective at protecting the recipient (9 of 10 people won't get sick if they get both doses of the vaccine).

• Are Vaccines Safe and How Do I Know This? Despite the speed of vaccine development (which has prompted many to question whether a vaccine for COVID-19 is safe and effective), very strict science, regulations, and transparency was enforced during vaccine development and data safety monitoring. Even after a COVID-19 vaccine is approved, the FDA, CDC, healthcare systems and vaccine developers will continue to monitor the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine for years.

• What are the Common Vaccine Myths, Misperceptions? Addresses misinformation and how this has affected people's trust, and addresses fears with facts. "This is not just a moment of truth; it is a moment for truth."

• Getting a Vaccine is Better than Getting Infected with COVID-19 Which puts you at risk of severe infection, protracted illness, and death. This video also emphasizes that one of the most important tools to save Black lives right now is vaccination.

• What Can I Expect if I Take the Vaccine? Describes transient reactions to vaccination and emphasizes the importance of returning for the second shot (for the two currently approved Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in the United States) for community immunity. Defines herd immunity as community immunity. Getting both shots is not just about me, it is also about us.

"We have been locked in a life or death battle against COVID for nearly a year, and with the vaccine now in hand, we finally have the weapon that will win this war, but it will only be as effective as our willingness to use it," said New York Secretary of State and Co-Chair of New York's Vaccine Equity Task Force Rossana Rosado. "The sad truth about COVID is it hasn't only attacked our health, it's brought to light the structural racism, injustices and inequities that have contributed towards the distrust and skepticism people feel towards the health care system and the vaccine itself, especially in communities of color. The fact is it is safe, it is reliable and if we are truly to get back to normal, we need everyone to have confidence in it – that's why the work Hip Hop Public Health is doing is so important. By finding new and creative ways to instill confidence in the vaccine, they are getting information about the vaccine's efficacy to those who need it in an easily digestible and understandable format. Hip Hop Public Health has been a tremendous partner to New York's Vaccine Equity Task Force from the very beginning and on behalf of Governor Cuomo and all New Yorkers, I thank them for this critically important public service."

The Community Immunity: A Rap Anthology about Vaccines series was produced by Artie Green. The video animation was created by Mylo The Cat and Cartuna. Medical oversight was provided by HHPH Founder, Dr. Olajide Williams, Dr. Melissa Stockwell and HHPH Advisory Board member Dr. Monique Hedmann-Maxey. Philanthropic support for the initiative has been provided by The Skoll Foundation, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Dalio Center for Health Justice at NewYork-Presbyterian, and Columbia Community Service. 

• To learn more, please visit www.hhph.org 

Related Videos:

About Hip Hop Public Health:

Based in New York City, Hip Hop Public Health was founded in Harlem in 2004 with the mission to empower youth around the country – and the globe— with the knowledge and skills to make healthier choices, reducing preventable health conditions and the rising tide of childhood obesity.

Through a research-driven developmental process created by Columbia University Neurologist Dr. Olajide Williams (a.k.a. the "Hip Hop Doc"), Hip Hop Public Health works with socially conscious artists and musicians to create scalable, highly engaging, culturally relevant music and multimedia "edutainment" tools designed to improve youth health literacy and promote health equity. HHPH used validated models of behavior change and evidenced-based research to develop original content and are committed to an iterative cycle of program evaluation, academic research and resource refinement. We aim to make the healthy choice the cool choice.

The Hip Hop Public Health team, led by physical education veteran and public health leader Lori Rose Benson, is a collective comprised of not only health and education professionals (including nutritionists, public health researchers, teachers, physicians, behavioral scientists, and a student advisory board), but also proven-successful multi-media professionals and A-list iconic rap stars and pop artists including Doug E. Fresh, Chuck D, DMC of Run DMC, Ashanti, Jordin Sparks, as well children's television writers/producers (formerly of Sesame Street).

HHPH is proud to partner locally, regionally and internationally to empower health focused organizations and stakeholders to adopt and adapt Hip Hop Public Health resources and infuse them into youth health and wellness programming and initiatives. All HHPH music, videos, comic books, video games and guidance documents are available for free and can be accessed on its online resource repository.

SOURCE: Hip Hop Public Health

Related Stories:

• Hip Hop Public Health Launches 20 Seconds or More Initiative Harnessing the Power of Music to Encourage Hand Washing and Other Safety Protocols Amongst Young People to Battle the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Hip Hop Public Health Completes Trilogy Of COVID-19 Music Video PSAs With Release Of #BehindTheMask [Video & Lyrics Included]

Steven Spielberg Announced as the 2021 Genesis Prize Laureate [Video Included]

Steven Spielberg Announced as the 2021 Genesis Prize Laureate (screengrab)

The Genesis Prize Foundation today announced film director, producer, and philanthropist Steven Spielberg as the 2021 Genesis Prize Laureate.

• The annual $1 million Genesis Prize, dubbed the "Jewish Nobel" by TIME magazine, honors extraordinary individuals for their outstanding professional achievement, contribution to humanity, and commitment to Jewish values.

The award recognizes Spielberg's outstanding achievement as one the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema; his social activism and prolific philanthropy; and his principled stance against anti-Semitism and all forms of intolerance. 

The Prize also recognizes his extraordinary work to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and prevent future genocides through film, public advocacy and philanthropy.

For the first time in the history of the Genesis Prize, the voice of global Jewry was a major factor in Laureate selection. Two hundred thousand Jews on six continents cast their votes for the 2021 Laureate; millions more engaged on social media. While the Prize Committee had the ultimate discretion about the selection of the recipient of this prestigious award, the fact Spielberg received the most votes was a major determining factor.

"The Genesis Prize celebrates Steven Spielberg's unique talent, his commitment to making the world a better place, and his unparalleled contribution to teaching the post-war generations about the horrors of the Holocaust," said Stan Polovets, Co-Founder and Chairman of GPF. "We are delighted to welcome Steven Spielberg to the distinguished family of Genesis Prize honorees, which includes such luminaries as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Natan Sharansky, and Michael Bloomberg."

This is the latest in a series of prominent awards bestowed on Spielberg, which among others include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the United States; Legion d'Honneur, the highest order of the French Republic, and Germany's Federal Cross of Merit.

"Spielberg is a great Jewish visionary and storyteller," said the legendary human rights activist Natan Sharansky, who was awarded the Genesis Prize in 2020. "Key Jewish themes are often woven into his narratives: importance of identity and belonging, maintaining humanity in a ruthless world, caring for the other, and honoring the moral obligation to do the right thing. His talent makes them universal: told by Spielberg, these stories come alive in people's hearts across the globe."

Steven Spielberg becomes the 9th Genesis Prize honoree. All previous Laureates chose to direct the $1 million Prize award to philanthropic causes about which they were passionate. Sharansky, who preceded Spielberg as the Genesis Prize Laureate, directed his $1 million award to support individuals and organizations working to alleviate the Covid-19 health crisis and prevent future pandemics.

"Congratulations to Steven Spielberg on this important Jewish award," said Isaac Herzog, Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel and Chairman of the Genesis Prize Selection Committee. "He is an example of great Jewish talent, whose extraordinary work in film and philanthropy is infused with the values of his people – a quest for justice, compassion, humanism, and a heartfelt desire to make the world a better place."

2021 Genesis Prize Laureate Steven Spielberg. (Credit: WFPA / Alamy Stock Photo)

About the 2021 Genesis Prize Laureate:

Steven Spielberg is widely considered to be the most successful film director in the history of cinema. His films grossed $10bn and his imagination has captivated tens of millions of people around the world. After establishing his reputation with blockbuster films such as Jaws, ET, Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones, he began to explore serious topics such as justice, slavery, women's rights, corruption, and morality of war in films such as Saving Private Ryan, Lincoln, The Color Purple, The Post, Munich and Bridge of Spies.

His films also have delivered compelling narratives of Jewish history and present day events – the Holocaust, terrorism, and the maturing of the State of Israel. Spielberg's 1993 masterpiece Schindler's List has had a profound impact on humanity's perception and awareness of the Holocaust. Fifty years after the Shoah, Spielberg's film fostered a strong emotional connection with this tragedy for a vast, global audience – touching the post-war generations in a way that no other medium could. Spielberg channeled all of his proceeds from Schindler's List to fund philanthropic causes – both Jewish and non-Jewish. In 1994, he established the USC Shoah Foundation, dedicated to preserving Holocaust survivor testimonies. Concerned with prevention of genocide, the Foundation also works to preserve the memory of other 20th century genocides – in Cambodia, Armenia and Rwanda. Over 55,000 survivor testimonies have been recorded to-date.

• Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw founded the Righteous Persons Foundation, which has made more than $100 million in grants to various Jewish organizations. Through the Wunderkinder Foundation, Spielberg has given extensively to health, arts, youth and education.

About the Genesis Prize and Prior Laureates:

The Genesis Prize is a global award that celebrates Jewish achievement and contribution to humanity. Launched in 2013, the Prize is financed through a permanent endowment of $100 million established by The Genesis Prize Foundation.

Previous Genesis Prize laureates are former New York City Mayor and philanthropist Michael Bloomberg (2014); actor, producer and peace activist Michael Douglas (2015); Itzhak Perlman, virtuoso violinist and advocate for individuals with special needs (2016); sculptor and advocate for the rights of refugees Sir Anish Kapoor (2017); Oscar-winning actress and social activist Natalie Portman (2018); owner of New England Patriots and founder of the leading foundation to combat anti-Semitism Robert Kraft (2019); and legendary Jewish leader and human rights activist Natan Sharansky (2020). In 2018, the Genesis Prize Foundation honored U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with its inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution to social justice and equal rights.

SOURCE: The Genesis Prize Foundation

15th Annual Festival of the Arts Boca to Reach Global Audience with Star-Studded Virtual Performances & Interactive Discussions with Award-Winning Authors

15th Annual Festival of the Arts Boca to Reach Global Audience with Star-Studded Virtual Performances & Interactive Discussions with Award-Winning Authors

Festival of the Arts Boca will go forward in 2021, with virtual performances by Florida-based artists from iconic locations throughout Boca Raton from March 6 – 14, 2021. Each program will stream once only on the Festival of the Arts Boca website.

• Access is free with advance registration.

"Our 15th installment will celebrate the tremendous talent in South Florida, showcase the beauty of Boca from various venues and honor the legacy of our co-founder, Charlie Siemon," said Joanna Marie Kaye, Executive Director of Festival of the Arts Boca. "Charlie would have been thrilled to see that paradoxically, we have the opportunity to reach our biggest audience ever in 2021 with all of our events filmed and broadcast worldwide.

 Nadine Sierra

• The Festival will open on Saturday, March 6 with Boca native and Metropolitan Opera star soprano Nadine Sierra and friends, in concert at Signature Flight Services at the Boca Raton Airport.

James Ehnes

• On Sunday, March 7, the Festival will welcome Grammy Award-winning Florida-based violinist James Ehnes, from the Boca Raton Innovation Campus.

• On Saturday, March 13, tune in for an evening with the Festival All-Stars featuring Constantine Kitsopoulos, Festival Music Director, and musicians from the Festival Orchestra.

• The Festival will close on Sunday, March 14 with Grammy-Award winning South Florida favorite, jazz flautist Nestor Torres, and his band at the Boca Raton Resort and Club.

This season's Authors & Ideas program will include interactive discussions with three authors, Admiral James Stavridis, Sonia Shah and Bruce Feiler, via Zoom.

• On Monday, March 8 at 7 p.m., Admiral James Stavridis author and retired four-star U.S. Naval officer, will talk about leadership.

• On Tuesday, March 9 at 7 p.m., Bruce Feiler will discuss his latest book, a top 10 New York Times bestseller, Life Is In the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age, a collection of hundreds of life stories, exploring how we can navigate life's growing number of transitions to live with more meaning, purpose, and joy.

• On Thursday, March 11 at 7 p.m., the Festival will welcome Sonia Shah, science journalist and prize-winning author of the heavily lauded, The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move, that explores our centuries-long assumptions about migration through science, history, and reporting, predicting its lifesaving power in the face of climate change.

• For more information visit festivalboca.org or call (561) 571-5270

SOURCE: Festival of the Arts Boca

Streaming Now! Patrick Page's "All The Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented The Villain" [Trailer Included]

 Patrick Page's "All The Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented The Villain"Now Streaming

All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain, written by and starring Tony nominee Patrick Page, begins streaming today. It's the first ever online-only production from Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C.

In the show, Page traces the evolution of Shakespeare's most diabolical characters, through a series of monologues and scenes. Filmed under strict health and safety protocols onstage at Sidney Harman Hall by Joo Kno Media, All the Devils Are Here illustrates the growth of Shakespeare's characters from stock archetypes to fully developed three-dimensional characters unlike anything that had come before.

Patrick Page, (Credit: Nathan Johnson)

About Patrick Page:

Beloved on Broadway and in Washington, D.C., Page has portrayed an astonishing array of bad guys. In 2019, Page was nominated for a Tony Award for his role as Hades in Hadestown. Other notable Broadway credits include Julius Caesar (with Denzel Washington), Saint Joan, Casa Valentina, Spring Awakening, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Lion King, and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical. At STC he received a Helen Hayes Award for his portrayal of Iago to Avery Brooks' Othello, and has also starred as Claudius in Hamlet, Prospero in Tempest, and the lead roles in Macbeth and Coriolanus.

"Patrick understands Shakespeare's works as only a seasoned actor can," STC Artistic Director Simon Godwin shares. "Shakespeare was a playwright and an actor, and Patrick can get under the skin and into the minds of the most devilish creations ever to grace a stage."

The Trailer:

• Tickets are priced at $25 for this limited engagement and may be purchased here

All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain is sponsored by KPMG. CoStar is the streaming sponsor for the 2020/21 season. This production is a component of Shakespeare Everywhere, which is made possible by the visionary support of the Beech Street Foundation.

Related Video:

SOURCE: Shakespeare Theatre Company

Glass Portrait of Vice President Kamala Harris at Lincoln Memorial Celebrates Her Shattering of Historic Glass Ceiling

Glass Portrait of VP Kamala Harris Presented by National Women's History Museum, Chief & BBH NY Celebrates Her Shattering of Historic Glass Ceiling. (Photo by Shannon Finney /Getty Images for National Women's History Museum & Chief)

A dramatic glass portrait honoring Vice President Kamala Harris has been unveiled in front of the Lincoln Memorial today, celebrating Harris as America's first woman vice president.

The exhibit, which will be on display through Feb. 6th, commemorates this seminal achievement for women in America and celebrates an incredible woman leader with many "firsts" to her name – including the first woman vice president, first Black vice president, first South Asian vice president and first vice president to graduate from a Historically Black College and University.

The installation to honor Harris' shattering of this monumental "glass ceiling'' is presented by the National Women's History Museum – the nation's leading women's history museum and the most recognized institution dedicated to uncovering, interpreting, and celebrating women's diverse contributions to society, in partnership with Chief, a private network focused on connecting and supporting women leaders.

The one-of-a-kind broken glass medium used by the artist Simon Berger to create the portrait uniquely embodies Harris' glass-shattering achievement. The installation was created by creative agency BBH New York, with production partnership from M ss ng P eces.

"Representation matters, especially at the ballot box, and the inauguration of Kamala Harris as the first woman, and first woman of color, to serve as vice president of the United States is a landmark moment in American history," said Holly Hotchner, President and CEO of the National Women's History Museum.

"Today's progress is built on the legacy of the women who came before – the trailblazers, like Kamala, who raised their voices, marched for their rights, and ran for elected office; the women who cracked glass ceilings so that other women could shatter them," Hotchner said. "It is a true honor to join BBH and Chief as partners in this remarkable installation honoring this critical turning point in the fight for representation, Vice President Harris, and the numerous women throughout history who demanded a seat at the table."

"Chief's mission is to drive women into positions of power and keep them there – we exist to support ascendant women to break glass ceilings, retain their seats at the table, and create lines of succession for future women leaders," said Lindsay Kaplan, who co-founded Chief in 2019 with Carolyn Childers. "This artwork not only celebrates Vice President Kamala Harris, a woman who embodies this mission, but it recognizes the women who came before her and those who'll come after. Today, only 23% of executive roles are held by women. We hope this exhibit will show women of all backgrounds that they can change that percentage, assert their voices, and open doors as they shatter barriers."

• Set against the historic and scenic backdrop of the reflecting pool and Washington Monument, the installation will include a plaque featuring a QR code which viewers can scan to take them to an Instagram Spark AR. This will provide an augmented reality experience that immerses the observer in Harris' glass-breaking moments. 

• The campaign also includes a companion website and film.

"We hope that women – of all ages and backgrounds – will see their own strength and potential reflected in the portrait of our first woman vice president," said Amani Duncan, President of BBH New York. "This incredible work of art featuring interactive elements is a rallying moment for all organizations to work together to advance gender equity and address the issues facing women and other marginalized genders."

• Based on a color photo of Harris taken by photographer Celeste Sloman (represented by ATRBUTE, New York), the artwork measures 6.5 feet x 6.5 feet and was crafted by artist Simon Berger (represented by Artstübli Gallery, Basel). To create these unique works of art, Berger delicately taps a hammer on large sheets of laminated safety glass, making tiny cracks and fissures that, when viewed together, coalesce to create an incredible, 3-D-style likeness .

Glass Portrait of VP Kamala Harris Presented by National Women's History Museum, Chief & BBH NY Celebrates Her Shattering of Historic Glass Ceiling. (Photo by Shannon Finney /Getty Images for National Women's History Museum & Chief)

About National Women's History Museum:

Founded in 1996, the National Women's History Museum is the nation's leading women's history museum and the most recognized institution dedicated to uncovering, interpreting, and celebrating women's diverse contributions to society. A renowned leader in women's history education, the Museum brings to life the countless untold stories of women throughout history, and serves as a space for all to inspire, experience, collaborate, and amplify women's impact—past, present, and future. The Museum is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)3. 

• Follow the National Women's History Museum on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Chief:

Chief is the future of women in the workplace. Created to drive more women into positions of power and keep them there, Chief is a private network designed specifically for women executives to strengthen their experience in the C-suite, cross-pollinate power across industries, and effect change from the top-down. Co-founders Carolyn Childers and Lindsay Kaplan launched in Chief in 2019, and have grown to nearly 4,000 of the most formidable senior leaders in the United States, representing over 3,000 companies. Chief is headquartered in New York City, with membership open in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco. 

• Learn more at chief.com.

About BBH NY:

Helmed by the trio of President Amani Duncan, Chief Creative Officer Rafael Rizuto and Head of Planning Tom Callard, BBH NY "zags" where other agencies "zig," making ambitious ideas for ambitious clients. Leveraging the power of creativity for outsized impact on culture and business growth, BBH NY works with some of the most innovative marketers in the world, including Google, Marvel, Brighthouse Financial, and Samsung. 

• For more information, visit bbhny.com.

About m ss ng p eces:

m ss ng p eces is the new wave production and entertainment partner for content and immersive experiences that inspire culture. As the industry shifts and evolves through new mediums and new demands, we bring the missing pieces to the table to make content and immersive experiences with diverse creatives across storytelling, technology and physical experiences – all supported by world-class integrated production. With offices in NY & LA, we produce globally recognized work for agencies, brands, and studios, and have been named to the Ad Age Production Company A-List for the past 4 years in a row.

SOURCE: Chief

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The Cat Fanciers' Association, ZYMOX & Oratene Present: TrapKing's "From Feral to Fancy" TNR Fundraising Cat Photo Contest

Cat owners can enter their cats in the competition beginning Sunday, February 7. Spectators can vote on their favorite cats from February 14 through 26 and the judges will announce the winners on Facebook February 27 and 28.

What do you get when you team up rapper-turned-trapper Sterling "TrapKing" Davis with the world's largest cat organization, two top pet healthcare brands, and 10 well-known internet purrsonalities? A CFA Virtual Cat Competition destined to turn 11 lucky kitties into mini-celebrities!

Davis is an African American cat rescuer dedicated to Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), widely considered the only humane way to stop cat overpopulation. It's endorsed by the Humane Society of the United States, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the American Humane Association, and many other progressive animal welfare organizations.

Sterling "TrapKing" Davis (Photo via vcc.cfa.org)

TrapKing's From Feral to Fancy TNR Fundraising Cat Photo Contest offers cats everywhere the chance to compete for 100 prizes with their photos. "I love how CFA realizes that rescue, shelter and feral cats are just as beautiful as the fancy pedigree ones," said Davis recently. Top winners in each of the competitive categories will enjoy photo appearances in New York City's Times Square! 

• Proceeds from the event will go to Davis' nonprofit, TrapKing Humane Cat Solutions, which will use the money to teach cat rescuers the basics of TNR.

CFA is partnering with Davis because of his exemplary work in bringing diversity to the animal world. "It's no secret the cat scene is dominated by white women, and Sterling brings a message of acceptance and compassion. He's trying to bridge the racial divide between the cat world and the black community," says Desiree Bobby, CFA's Marketing Director. Davis is known for his motto, "You don't lose cool points for compassion." 

• The show is also sponsored by the brands ZYMOX and Oratene, veterinarian recommended solutions that have been helping pets have healthy ears, skin and mouths for over twenty years.

The event is part of CFA's Companion Cat World Program, reflecting the organization's mission to enhance all cats' lives. 

Kitty contestants can choose from 11 categories, including: 

• Main Event
• Me & My Cat Lady/Cat Daddy
• Beautiful Eyes 
• Gotcha! Day,
• Cats in Costume
• Outdoor/Adventure
• Cats Looking for Fur-ever Homes. 

The judging lineup includes well-known cat influencers NathanTheCatLady, SunglassCat, Adventure Cats, "Catification" designer Kate Benjamin, Two Crazy Cat Ladies and Pet Behavior Expert Arden Moore, plus many more. 

• The fun starts Sunday, February 7th, and you can learn more at vcc.cfa.org/trapking2021.

SOURCE: The Cat Fanciers' Association, Inc.

Education Policies in England Overlook Bullying of LGBT+ Pupils

Education Policies in England Overlook Bullying of LGBT+ Pupils (photo via spixel)

Nearly half of LGBT+ pupils are bullied in school because of their gender or sexual orientation. In fact, LGBT+ bullying is the most common type of bullying in schools. Just 27% of secondary school pupils believe it would be safe to come out as LGBT+ in their schools.

Despite this, a 2020 report shows that only one-fifth of secondary school students report learning about LGBT+ identities and homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.

While schools are now required to teach LGBT+ content as part of Relationships and Sex Education, guidance from the Department of Education leaves it up to schools how and when they approach this content. There is no specific mention of the need to tackle bullying aimed at LGBT+ pupils as part of the curriculum.

The content of LGBT+ education needs to be standardised across schools, and a more explicit stance needs to be taken against anti-LGBT+ bullying.

Taking care

Protecting the wellbeing of young people is hugely important, and teenagers from sexual minorities are more likely than their peers to suffer from mental health problems. The experience of discrimination at a young age can have long-term implications for people’s mental health. In the short term, being bullied in school affects pupils’ attendance and educational performance.

Bullying can affect students’ school performance. (photo via wavebreakmedia)

However, funding for LGBT+ anti-bullying projects in English schools, provided by the Government Equalities Office, was withdrawn in March 2020. Since September 2020, Relationships Education is a compulsory subject in primary schools, while Relationships and Sex Education is compulsory in secondary schools. Schools are required to teach “LGBT content” as part of this new curriculum.

The explicit reference to LGBT+ content is laudable, given that the previous curriculum does not mention this at all. But the curriculum guidance leaves it up to schools to determine how and when they teach LGBT+ content. The only specification is that it must be taught at a “timely point”. The guidance continues to make allowances for religious schools to teach in accordance with their faith perspectives.

In principle, then, a school could get away with teaching very little about LGBT+ inclusivity, on the basis that it was not timely nor appropriate to do so with their pupils. For example, the Catholic Education Service’s Model Curriculum for Secondary Schools, which has been cited as an example of good practice by Nick Gibb, the minister of state for School Standards, merely discusses the need to teach about diversity in sexual attraction and developing sexuality, but makes no mention of LGBT+ content.

We cannot assume that all schools will offer comprehensive teaching on LGBT+ identities, especially when the guidance is vague. A further issue is that some teachers still feel they need more support to teach LGBT+ inclusive relationships and sex education.

A missing focus

Also, while the new curriculum guidance makes some reference to anti-bullying education, the emphasis falls mainly on cyberbullying, rather than LGBT+ bullying. Schools are required to identify any homophobic incidents and to deal with them appropriately. But beyond this, there is no specific mention of the need to tackle homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying as part of the curriculum.

The Government Equalities Office has claimed that it is “misleading” to state that the government has de-prioritised anti-LGBT+ bullying, because the Department for Education has awarded £750,000 to three charitable organisations for anti-bullying projects. The three organisations are the Diana Award, the Anne Frank Trust and the Anti-Bullying Alliance, none of which are LGBT-specific.

This is misleading. The Government continues to fund anti-bullying projects. @educationgovuk announced £750k funding in June for three anti-bullying organisations, including a project for victims of hate-related bullying https://t.co/4ZYS754QVS

— Government Equalities Office (@GEOgovuk) November 19, 2020

The lack of suitable emphasis on LGBT+ content, coupled with the withdrawal of funding for anti-bullying projects in schools that are specific to LGBT+ students, reflects a deliberate stance on the part of the government to sit on the fence, perhaps due to the contentious nature of the subject matter.

In 2019, parental protests erupted over the “No Outsiders” programme – which aimed to teach children about the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 (including, but not limited to, sexual orientation). The government’s lack of clarity on their expectations for schools’ teaching on LGBT+ topics was highlighted by the National Association of Head Teachers.

LGBT+ anti-bullying projects are needed alongside LGBT+ education under the new relationships and sex education curriculum in order to truly embed short and long-term positive changes for the LGBT+ pupils. The government can no longer afford to take a back seat on this

About Today's Contributor:

Rachel Heah, Lecturer in Law, Lancaster University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

We’re Teaching Robots To Evolve Autonomously – So They Can Adapt To Life Alone On Distant Planets

In the future, robots we’ve programmed may evolve and multiply on distant planets.(SquareMotion)

It’s been suggested that an advance party of robots will be needed if humans are ever to settle on other planets. Sent ahead to create conditions favourable for humankind, these robots will need to be tough, adaptable and recyclable if they’re to survive within the inhospitable cosmic climates that await them.

Collaborating with roboticists and computer scientists, my team and I have been working on just such a set of robots. Produced via 3D printer – and assembled autonomously – the robots we’re creating continually evolve in order to rapidly optimise for the conditions they find themselves in.

Our work represents the latest progress towards the kind of autonomous robot ecosystems that could help build humanity’s future homes, far away from Earth and far away from human oversight.

Robots rising

Robots have come a long way since our first clumsy forays into artificial movement many decades ago. Today, companies such as Boston Dynamics produce ultra-efficient robots which load trucks, build pallets, and move boxes around factories, undertaking tasks you might think only humans could perform.

Despite these advances, designing robots to work in unknown or inhospitable environments – like exoplanets or deep ocean trenches – still poses a considerable challenge for scientists and engineers. Out in the cosmos, what shape and size should the ideal robot be? Should it crawl or walk? What tools will it need to manipulate its environment – and how will it survive extremes of pressure, temperature and chemical corrosion?

An impossible brainteaser for humans, nature has already solved this problem. Darwinian evolution has resulted in millions of species that are perfectly adapted to their environment. Although biological evolution takes millions of years, artificial evolution – modelling evolutionary processes inside a computer – can take place in hours, or even minutes. Computer scientists have been harnessing its power for decades, resulting in gas nozzles to satellite antennas that are ideally suited to their function, for instance.

But current artificial evolution of moving, physical objects still requires a great deal of human oversight, requiring a tight feedback loop between robot and human. If artificial evolution is to design a useful robot for exoplanetary exploration, we’ll need to remove the human from the loop. In essence, evolved robot designs must manufacture, assemble and test themselves autonomously – untethered from human oversight.

Unnatural selection

Any evolved robots will need to be capable of sensing their environment and have diverse means of moving – for example using wheels, jointed legs or even mixtures of the two. And to address the inevitable reality gap that occurs when transferring a design from software to hardware, it is also desirable for at least some evolution to take place in hardware – within an ecosystem of robots that evolve in real time and real space.

The Autonomous Robot Evolution (ARE) project addresses exactly this, bringing together scientists and engineers from four universities in an ambitious four-year project to develop this radical new technology.

Robotic hardware will undergo natural selection in this cradle-to-grave facility. (Emma Hart, Author provided)

As depicted above, robots will be “born” through the use of 3D manufacturing. We use a new kind of hybrid hardware-software evolutionary architecture for design. That means that every physical robot has a digital clone. Physical robots are performance-tested in real-world environments, while their digital clones enter a software programme, where they undergo rapid simulated evolution. This hybrid system introduces a novel type of evolution: new generations can be produced from a union of the most successful traits from a virtual “mother” and a physical “father”.

As well as being rendered in our simulator, “child” robots produced via our hybrid evolution are also 3D-printed and introduced into a real-world, creche-like environment. The most successful individuals within this physical training centre make their “genetic code” available for reproduction and for the improvement of future generations, while less “fit” robots can simply be hoisted away and recycled into new ones as part of an ongoing evolutionary cycle.

Two years into the project, significant advances have been made. From a scientific perspective, we have designed new artificial evolutionary algorithms that have produced a diverse set of robots that drive or crawl, and can learn to navigate through complex mazes. These algorithms evolve both the body-plan and brain of the robot.

The brain contains a controller that determines how the robot moves, interpreting sensory information from the environment and translating this into motor controls. Once the robot is built, a learning algorithm quickly refines the child brain to account for any potential mismatch between its new body and its inherited brain.

From an engineering perspective, we have designed the “RoboFab” to fully automate manufacturing. This robotic arm attaches wires, sensors and other “organs” chosen by evolution to the robot’s 3D-printed chassis. We designed these components to facilitate swift assembly, giving the RoboFab access to a big toolbox of robot limbs and organs.

Waste disposal

The first major use case we plan to address is deploying this technology to design robots to undertake clean-up of legacy waste in a nuclear reactor – like that seen in the TV miniseries Chernobyl. Using humans for this task is both dangerous and expensive, and necessary robotic solutions remain to be developed.

Looking forward, the long-term vision is to develop the technology sufficiently to enable the evolution of entire autonomous robotic ecosystems that live and work for long periods in challenging and dynamic environments without the need for direct human oversight.

In this radical new paradigm, robots are conceived and born, rather than designed and manufactured. Such robots will fundamentally change the concept of machines, showcasing a new breed that can change their form and behaviour over time – just like us.

About Today's Contributor:

Emma Hart, Chair in Natural Computation, Edinburgh Napier University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license

We’re Teaching Robots To Evolve Autonomously – So They Can Adapt To Life Alone On Distant Planets (Photo via Pixabay)