Have you ever had the experience of getting tantalisingly close to a big opportunity in your creative career a but not quite making it? Maybe it was a pitch, or a competition, a publishing opportunity, a senior role, or a funding application. Maybe you got really positive feedback. They said you were great, your work […]
The post Are You in the Ballpark? (finally, The 21st Century Creative on YouTube) appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
When the Covid 19 pandemic struck in 2020, human life on earth was massively disrupted. Not only the human tragedy of millions of lives lost, but also the social and economic damage caused by the virus and our attempts to control it. As a writer and a coach for creatives, I have been particularly concerned […]
The post Creative Disruption: How 12 Creatives on 5 Continents Rose to the Challenge of the Pandemic appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 10 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Itas been my most ambitious season yet, with creatives from 5 continents and probably the closest Iall ever […]
The post How I Created, Funded and Launched My New Podcast (while the World Was in Meltdown) appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 9 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. This week we are off to Tokyo, to meet Ichi Hatano, a wonderful artist whose work has deep […]
The post From Tattoos to NFTs with Ichi Hatano appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 8 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Have you ever had the idea for a creative project that youave never quite got round to starting? […]
The post Using Lockdown to Launch a Dream Project with Nicky Mondellini appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
If you work on your own a in your office or studio, or your bedroom or at your kitchen table a it can feel like no one is watching. So it doesnat matter whether you show up. If you skipped a day on your novel, who would know? If you didnat go to the studio […]
The post All Arts Are Performing Arts appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 7 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today weare focusing on a creative sector that is close to my heart, which was massively disrupted but […]
The post Taking Deep Work Online with Laura Davis appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
A few months ago I was listening to the DavidBowie: AlbumtoAlbum podcast, a terrific show about Bowie hosted by Arsalan Mohammed. In Season 3 episode 11 Arsalan spoke to Donny McCaslin, the leader of the jazz band that Bowie discovered in a New York club, and asked to work with him on what turned out […]
The post Sometimes You Have to Grind the Work Out appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 6 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today we are off to Australia in the company of Charlotte Abroms, a music manager based in Melbourne […]
The post Helping Musicians Through Lockdown with Charlotte Abroms appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Last week I suggested that if youare serious about achieving your creative ambitions, you need to think in terms of projects, not tasks. Because if you get up every morning and ask yourself aWhat should I work on today?a you risk making decisions based on what feels urgent right now, rather than what will make […]
The post Work on Multifaceted Projects appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 5 of the CREATIVE DISRUPTION season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today we are going to look at one of the biggest challenge for many people during lockdown, whether […]
The post Staying Creative as a Parent (Even in a Pandemic) with Kay Lock Kolp appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
When we think of productivity we typically think about tasks and to-do lists, working habits and routines. We focus on how to make the most of our time on a daily or at most a weekly basis. All of which is great, but if this is all we focus on, thereas a danger of getting […]
The post Focus on Projects, Not Tasks appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 4 of the CREATIVE DISRUPTION season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today we meet Amrita Kumar, the co-founder and CEO of Candid Marketing, an innovative marketing agency in India. […]
The post Launching a New Business in the Pandemic with Amrita Kumar appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Marketing is a word that strikes fear into the heart of a lot of creatives. Itas an area where a lot of us feel we donat have a natural talent a weare far more comfortable making work than telling the world about it, let alone trying to get people to buy it. One reason for […]
The post Make Your Marketing Personal with a Media Dashboard appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 3 of the CREATIVE DISRUPTION season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today we are looking at the world of film and TV production, which was massively disrupted by the […]
The post Rebooting Global Filming with Hometeam appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
A lot of creative professions involve submitting work to gatekeepers of various kinds: agents, editors, publishers, gallerists, funders, producers, studios and competition judges and so on. Yes, the 21st century gives us plenty of options for creating things without gatekeepers a you can sell direct, build your own platform, launch your own event, self-publish or […]
The post Why Rejection Doesnat (Necessarily) Mean Your Work Isnat Good Enough appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 2 of the CREATIVE DISRUPTION season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. This week we are off to South Africa, to hear from Earl Abrahams, an artist and filmmaker who […]
The post Lockdown Series: Windows on a Changed World with Earl Abrahams appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
aEat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day.a This quote is often attributed to Mark Twain. Apparently thereas no hard evidence linking it to him, but that hasnat stopped it from concentrating the minds of many people when they ask themselves […]
The post Eat that Frog (But Eat the Cake as Well) appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Today we kick off Season 6 of The 21st Century Creative, the podcast that helps you thrive as a creative professional amid the demands, distractions and opportunities of the 21st Century. The theme for this season is CREATIVE DISRUPTION. Every episode will feature an interview with a creator whose work was disrupted by the Covid-19 […]
The post The Rocky Road for Theatre through the Pandemic with Steven Kunis appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
I hope this finds you as well as can be. Here in the UK weare bracing for what we are assured will be a large wave of Omicron. I know things may be very different for you, depending on where you are in the world. But whatever the circumstances, I hope you are finding your […]
The post Video: Forget the Career Ladder a Start Creating Assets appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Today is the launch of my new podcast, and itas something Iave been planning and dreaming of sharing with you for years. Itas called A Mouthful of Air. And in several ways, itas the opposite of my 21st Century Creative podcast. I designed the two shows to work together from the start, although it’s taken […]
The post My new podcast (and why itas the opposite of The 21st Century Creative) appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Last night I was about to go to bed when I suddenly remembered an idea Iad had for an article a few months ago. Though I say so myself, it was a great idea, and I was keen to revisit it, so I opened up the Scrivener project where I had written it downa| and […]
The post Ideas Are Leprechauns appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Todayas guest on The 21st Century Creative is Michael Bungay Stanier, a returning guest whose interview way back in Season 1 proved very popular. And his book The Coaching Habit turned out to be even more popular, as it went on to sell three quarters of a million copies. Michael is back with some excellent […]
The post Avoiding the Advice Trap with Michael Bungay Stanier appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
A lot of productivity advice tells us that we need to stop procrastinating, beat Resistance, and get things done. The Americans like to talk about ashippinga, meaning finished and sent out for delivery. This emphasis on getting things done and out to market is part of their extraordinary entrepreneurial culture. Famously, Guy Kawasaki even said […]
The post Every Creative Project Is a Revolving Door appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Todayas guest on The 21st Century Creative is Krystal Lauk, an illustrator who took an unconventional path by creating illustrations for tech companies, and founded a studio that counts Google, Uber, Facebook and The New York Times among its clients. Itas a fascinating story of discovery and enterprise at what Krystal calls athe intersection of […]
The post The 21st Century Illustrator with Krystal Lauk appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Iave recently started taking one-to-one Japanese conversation lessons. It hasnat been easy. In fact, itas been a bit of a humbling experience. Between work and family responsibilities, I only have 30 minutes a day to study Japanese, and Iave spent this time every day for the past two years memorising kanji characters, vocabulary and grammar […]
The post You Have to be Bad to Get Good appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Todayas guest on The 21st Century Creative is Cynthia Morris, a coach for creatives who shares insights on the book-writing process, based on her latest book The Busy Womanas Guide to Writing a World-Changing Book. So if you are contemplating writing a book – whether itas your first one or your twenty-first – there is […]
The post Writing a World-Changing Book with Cynthia Morris appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
If you think about overhearing something, you probably think of listening to someone elseas conversation, whether deliberately or accidentally, and picking up a titbit of information that you would never otherwise have been privy to. It might be funny, or shocking or useful, or – as in the case of so many loud phone calls […]
The post The Art of Overhearing Yourself appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Todayas guest on The 21st Century Creative is Emily Kimelman, a thriller author who has travelled the world in a boat and criss-crossed the USA in an Airstream trailer while writing and publishing her books, and selling hundreds of thousands of copies in the process. Emilyas adventurous spirit shines through in her writing as well […]
The post The Adventure of Writing with Emily Kimelman appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Justices appeared unlikely to grant request for absolute immunity from criminal prosecution to former president
The US supreme court on Thursday expressed interest in returning Donald Trumpas criminal case over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election back to a lower court to decide whether certain parts of the indictment were aofficial actsa that were protected by presidential immunity.
During oral arguments, the justices appeared unlikely to grant Trumpas request for absolute immunity from criminal prosecution, with both Trumpas lawyer and the justice departmentas lawyer agreeing there were certain private acts that presidents would have no protection for.
Continue reading...Court rules judge who oversaw landmark trial was mistaken in allowing women whose accusations were not part of case to testify
The disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinsteinas 2020 conviction on sex crimes was overturned by a New York appeals court on Thursday, as prosecutors say they will retry the firestorm case.
In a 4-3 decision, the state of New York court of appeals ruled that the judge who oversaw Weinsteinas 2020 conviction prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with aegregiousa improper rulings and was mistaken in allowing other women whose accusations were not a part of the 2020 case to testify.
Continue reading...Ex-National Enquirer publisher emphasizing in testimony that he refused to pay off any more people for Trump when Stormy Daniels looked to sell her affair
aHe said she was a 12 out of 10,a David Pecker says the former editor in chief of the National Enquirer, Dylan Howard, told him about Karen McDougal after meeting with her.
Pecker says McDougal told Howard she didnat want her story about Trump to be published. He says:
She said she didnat want to be the next Monica Lewinsky a| She wanted to restart her career.
Dylan came to me in early June of 2016 and said that he received a call from one of his major sources, in California, that thereas a Playboy model who is trying to sell a story about a relationship that she had with Donald Trump for a year.
Continue reading...UK and US leaders among those calling for release, as families renew pressure on Netanyahu to restart negotiations
The leaders of 18 countries including the US and the UK have called on Hamas to free Israeli and dual-national hostages held in Gaza.
aThe fate of the hostages and the civilian population in Gaza, who are protected under international law, is of international concern,a they said. aWe strongly support the ongoing mediation efforts in order to bring our people home.a
Continue reading...Commerce department says gross domestic product growth decelerated to 1.6% at start of year as consumers slowed spending
Americaas leading stock indices came under pressure on Thursday after official data revealed that US economic growth slowed sharply to its weakest rate in almost two years.
But as high interest rates take their toll on the worldas largest economy, inflation continues to loom large.
Continue reading...Court ruled last month that Crystal Mason, initially sentenced to five years in prison, did not know she was ineligible to vote in 2016
A Texas prosecutor will appeal against a court ruling tossing out a five-year prison sentence for a woman who unintentionally tried to vote while ineligible in the 2016 election, an unexpected move that continues one of the most closely watched voting prosecutions in the US.
Last month, the second court of appeals, which is based in Fort Worth, threw out the 2018 conviction of Crystal Mason, a Black woman who submitted a provisional ballot in 2016 that ultimately went uncounted. Mason was on supervised release for a federal felony at the time she voted and has said she had no idea she was ineligible. The panel said prosecutors had failed to prove Mason actually knew she was ineligible.
Continue reading...A judge approved the warrant in investigation to determine if church hierarchy illegally covered up systemic child molestation
Louisiana state police went into the office of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans on Thursday to begin the process of collecting records from the organization spanning the history of its decades-old clerical abuse scandal, as troopers investigate whether the local church hierarchy illegally covered up systemic child molestation.
Troopers arrived at the archdioceseas headquarters at about 9.45am local time three days after a state court judge signed a search warrant authorizing them to take the entirety of the documents in question.
In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit its website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800; adult survivors can seek help at Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
Continue reading...aTransitional councila takes oath of office after prime minister formally resigns as gang violence continues to rock capital
Haitias prime minister, Ariel Henry, has formally resigned and a new provisional government has been sworn in during a secret ceremony at the presidential palace, nearly two months after a criminal insurrection plunged the capital into chaos.
The nine-person atransitional councila was officially established on Thursday during an event at the national palace in Port-au-Prince. As its members took their oaths, Henry, who is in the US having been locked out of Haiti by the gang uprising, announced in a letter that he was stepping down.
Continue reading...Before dying earlier this month, Larry Webb confessed to killing Susan Carter and her child and burying their bodies in his yard
A man confessed to killing a 10-year-old girl and her mother on his deathbed, closing a 24-year-old cold case in Beckley, West Virginia.
After the confession, officials found remains believed to be those of Susan and Natasha aAlexa Carter, her daughter, in Beckley on Monday.
Continue reading...The directoras 18-minute film ScA(c)narios will premiere at this yearas Cannes film festival accompanied by his 34-minute introduction
The final film from the French-Swiss director Jean-Luc Godard is set to premiere at this yearas Cannes film festival.
ScA(c)narios is an 18-minute short that the film-maker finished in 2022 the day before he died via an assisted suicide procedure in Switzerland. Godard also made an accompanying 34-minute introduction which is a combination of astill and moving images, halfway between reading and seeinga that will be screened alongside it.
Continue reading...Researchers also find zebra finches 20% less likely to hatch from eggs if exposed to noise pollution
Noise pollution from traffic stunts growth in baby birds, even while inside the egg, research has found.
Unhatched birds and hatchlings that are exposed to noise from city traffic experience long-term negative effects on their health, growth and reproduction, the study found.
Continue reading...Students react to schoolas invitation to president to speak while authorities crack down on campus protests across US
Morehouse College, a nearly 160-year-old historically Black college in Atlanta, announced on Tuesday that Joe Biden will be the keynote speaker for its commencement ceremony in May. Though Morehouse initially extended the invitation in September, Bidenas acceptance comes after a tumultuous week for the president, in which college students across the nation have engaged in sustained anti-war protests in solidarity with Palestine.
The Guardian spoke to Morehouse students who criticized the schoolas decision to host Biden, and others who had mixed feelings about the upcoming address.
Continue reading...Pro-Palestinian demonstrators are calling on universities to sell investments in companies they say are complicit in war in Gaza
As protests against Israelas offensive in Gaza are spreading throughout American campuses, one demand made by students across schools keeps coming up: divestment from Israel.
Universities rely on endowments to fund things like research and scholarships, and those endowments are typically invested in companies and alternative asset classes, such as private equity and hedge funds.
Continue reading...Mona Hanna-Attisha launched a program to provide funds during a newbornas first year a and wants to replicate it across the country
In 2015, Dr Mona Hanna-Attisha alerted the world that children were being poisoned by lead in the water of her home town of Flint, Michigan. Now, as Flint marks the 10-year anniversary of the crisis, sheas set her sights on another target: the underlying poverty that she says allowed it to all happen.
aFor a long time, I have literally wished for the ability to prescribe an antidote to poverty,a Hanna-Attisha said. Study after study has shown poverty-related stress and lack of resources can damage everything from babiesa physical health to childrenas abilities to learn and later thrive in careers. In Flint, which has a majority Black population, an astounding 47.6% of children live in poverty, according to a 2022 analysis of census data.
Continue reading...Strict rules have led to a wild west of rentals, with visitors choosing between huge hotel bills or word-of-mouth deals
Until recently, visitors to New York basically had two options: hotel rooms or short-term rental platforms like Airbnb. But in September 2023, the city started enforcing a 2022 law that banned people from renting their homes for fewer than 30 days (unless the host stayed in the home with guests).
Now the only legit option for people visiting the city is hotel rooms a and theyare unaffordable for many. Most of the Times Square hotels donat have rooms for less than $300 a night. A search for Thursday 2 May found the Muse at $356, Hampton Inn at $323 and the Hard Rock at $459 (although, because of dynamic pricing, these are subject to regular change). Theyare getting more expensive still. Hotel rates have increased between the first quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2023 at twice the rate of inflation, said Jan Freitag, an analyst at the real-estate data firm CoStar Group.
Continue reading...Muscular bodies dripping with sweat are all over cinema screens a and each other. But these films are very different from the sports romances of old
This spring is shaping up to be the season of the artful athletic romance in cinema. Rose Glassas Love Lies Bleeding and Luca Guadagninoas Challengers both offer up their own twisted queer romances set within the world of sport. Both film-makers share a preoccupation with their athletes, lingering over their bodies in ultra-closeup. Muscles ripple and swell like the powerful pulse of the tide. Perfect, glistening orbs of sweat form then drift off the body in slow motion. In these films, ripped, toned bodies become tantalising, treacherous landscapes, and itas on this physical terrain that we can see exactly how and why the charactersa internal desires play out.
Love Lies Bleeding opens with a pulsating montage in a grimy gym as Glass confronts us with running, cycling, lifting, pressing bodies in all of their sweating, straining vulgarity. Meanwhile, Lou (Kristen Stewart), the uninspired gym manager, is sticking her hand down the venueas perpetually clogged toilet. However, when Jackie (Katy OaBrian), a wannabe bodybuilder, rolls through town, all this grotesquery becomes a thing of beauty. They begin a romance. Lou pumps her lover full of steroids and constantly ogles her dense muscles.
Continue reading...These stunning, extremely relatable women, with nuanced facial expressions and sensible shoes, helped me outline success on my own terms
I love watching television a ideally in bed with a bowl of salt and vinegar potato chips and a bottle of Coke, zoning out for hours.
Iave always been like this. In my teens and 20s I watched back-to-back-to-back Law & Order and Law & Order SVU episodes. I loved the comfort and reliability of the form: the drama of a murder, investigation, plot twist and resolution, all in under 60 minutes. But several years ago, I stopped watching Law & Order; I grew uncomfortable with its uncritical portrayal of the police.
Continue reading...Beccy, 49, and Natalie, 60, became best friends after she visited Natalieas rescue farm in Ontario, Canada. They now run events together on the farm and love travelling together
When Beccyas cousin suggested they go to an open day at a local farm, she jumped at the chance. aWe live in a small rural area called South Glengarry in Ontario. She told me about this woman who rescues animals and was raising money through a visiting day,a she says. aWe got there and she had so many animals and beautiful gardens. I was impressed.a
They tried to find Natalie, the farm owner, to say hello, but she was nowhere to be found. Instead, Beccy looked up the rescue centre on Facebook to learn more. A few months later, in the autumn of 2017, she mentioned the farm visit to some friends. aThey told me they knew Natalie and suggested we all get together for dinner with her and her husband.a
Continue reading...The actor on tricking her tear ducts, being entertained as a child by Tom Cruise and legging it from dinosaurs while wearing stilettos
Hi Bryce! If two generations makes an acting family, does three make an acting dynasty? [Her father is director Ron Howard, both of whose parents were actors.] JohnHunt
I think a dynasty is five generations or more, so weare not even close. Weave got a way to go. Weave got three generations, so maybe Iall be around for it when the Howards cross that threshold.
When youare directing something thatas part of a larger collection, such as The Mandalorian, how do you find the balance between maintaining the tone and making something that reflects your own artistic vision? porcospino
Something like The Mandalorian is such an important story and piece of intellectual property. Itas dramaturgically essential to understand the essence of the creator and what inspired them to create that in the first place, so whatever Iam building on is an extension of their original vision. In the case of Star Wars, itas George Lucas, but I would feel that way no matter what the material is. Itas very important to have a deep, nuanced, compassionate and objective view when you take the baton.
A new exhibition at the New-York Historical Society looks back on years of radical change in the city for better and worse
In recent decades New York City has changed dramatically, transforming from the lows of the crime and drug epidemics that ravaged the city in the 1970s and 80s to the resurgence and optimism that typified the 90s and the surge in gentrification that has been a source of debate more recently. Amid all of this transformation, one might make the assumption that these are new forces that New Yorkers are being forced to grapple with a not necessarily so.
In fact, one of the points of the New-York Historical Societyas fascinating new exhibit, Lost New York, is that these forces have been transforming the city for a much longer time. The exhibit brings to light layers of history that have generally been forgotten, showing how landmarks, practices and communities have been integral to the cityas formation, even though they may not be remembered.
Continue reading...As Taylor Swift tops $1bn in tour revenue, musicians playing smaller venues are facing pitiful fees and frequent losses. Should the state step in to save our live music scene?
When you see a band playing to thousands of fans in a sun-drenched festival field, signing a record deal with a major label or playing endlessly from the airwaves, itas easy to conjure an image of success that comes with some serious cash to boot a particularly when Taylor Swift has broken $1bn in revenue for her current Eras tour. But looks can be deceiving. aI donat blame the public for seeing a band playing to 2,000 people and thinking theyare minted,a says artist manager Dan Potts. aBut the reality is quite different.a
Post-Covid there has been significant focus on grassroots music venues as they struggle to stay open. Thereas been less focus on the actual ability of artists to tour these venues. David Martin, chief executive officer of the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), says weare in a acost-of-touring crisisa. Pretty much every cost attached to touring a van hire, crew, travel, accommodation, food and drink a has gone up, while fees and audiences often have not. a[Playing] live is becoming financially unsustainable for many artists,a he says. aArtists are seeing [playing] live as a loss leader now. Thatas if they can even afford to make it work in the first place.a
Continue reading...Late-night hosts talk Trumpas all-caps rants, Kanye Westas new porn venture and Mike Johnsonas delayed Ukraine aid approval
Late-night hosts talked Donald Trumpas Truth Social rants, Bidenas potential TikTok ban and House speaker Mike Johnsonas acouragea.
Continue reading...With her husband on trial over hush-money payments a and desperate for cash a the ex-first lady isnat worried about optics
If your husband was a legally adjudicated sexual predator who cheated on you with an adult film star shortly after you gave birth to his son, and then allegedly paid her hush money to cover it up in an attempt to illegally influence the 2016 election, and then went on trial for those hush-money payments, while also facing a litany of other criminal charges, what do you think you would do?
In Melania Trumpas case, the answer seems to be: ignore all that hoo-ha and sell a $245 necklace to celebrate Motheras Day. On Sunday, the notably un-effusive first lady announced that she had adesigned the aHer Love & Gratitudea necklace to express immense gratitude and honor all mothersa. The necklace features a flower pendant made of gold vermeil (sterling silver with a solid gold plate) and can include a custom engraving. Best of all, every purchase comes with a limited-edition digital NFT collectible that is minted on the Solana blockchain. Just what every mother wants!
Continue reading...Idahoas law requires doctors to treat pregnant womenas health as disposable a and the loss of their lives as an acceptable risk
The risk of stating plainly what Idaho argued at the US supreme court on Wednesday morning is that it is so sadistic and extreme that people might not believe you. Idaho has one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country. Prohibiting all abortions at any stage of gestation, with no exceptions for rape or incest, the Idaho law allows doctors to perform abortions in cases where the life a but not amerelya the health a of the pregnant woman is at risk.
In practice, this has wound up being a ban on abortions needed to save womenas lives: according to Idaho hospitals, six pregnant women experiencing medical emergencies have had to be airlifted across state lines to hospitals in states with life and health exemptions in the months since Idaho began enforcing its abortion ban. One way to describe this state of affairs is to say that Idahoas abortion law has come into conflict with medical best practice. Another way to describe it is to say that the law has forced pregnant women to flee the state for their lives.
Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist
Continue reading...The safety and security of Palestinians and Jews are interdependent, so we should use language carefully
In reporting on the encampments springing up on college campuses across the US, the media seem to have convened a terminology confab and agreed on two descriptions: apro-Palestiniana and aanti-Israela. These labels oversimplify Americansa opinions on Israelas onslaught against Gaza, which marked its 200th day on Tuesday with no end in sight. But the error is worse than semantic.
aUniversities Struggle as Pro-Palestinian Demonstrations Grow,a says the New York Times. aColleges Struggle to Contain Intensifying Pro-Palestinian Protests,a reports the Wall Street Journal. In Minneapolis, the Star Tribune has the local news that the aUniversity of Minnesota police arrest nine after pro-Palestinian encampment set up on campusa. Some publications less shy about displaying their political biases take the opposite tack. A headline in the right-leaning New York Post, for instance, exaggerated the literally incendiary nature of the demonstratorsa tactics: aAnti-Israel protesters carry flares to march on NYPD HQ after over 130 arrested at NYU.a The accompanying video is cast in red. Ever evenhanded, CBS does both: aPro-Palestinian, pro-Israel protesters gather outside Columbia University.a
Judith Levine is a Brooklyn journalist and essayist, a contributing writer to the Intercept and the author of five books
Continue reading...While other comedians spend more time complaining than cracking jokes, the former Late Show host remains gloriously unhinged and hilarious
With every advance in human technology comes an advance in weird new emotional situations. For example, the Germans should invent a word for the specific drop in the stomach that occurs when you open X to see a celebrity you like trending globally. No one 20 years ago could ever have imagined this specific feeling. Depending on the person, my brain leaps to conclusions. If itas an older person, I worry theyave carked it. If itas Sydney Sweeney, I assume her breasts are up to something again (existing). And if itas a comedian Iave loved since childhood, I assume theyave been cancelled for doing something shitty (due to patterns).
A few weeks ago, I got a Tower of Terror-size gut drop when I saw Conan OaBrien, one of my biggest comedy heroes, trending. Luckily I didnat need to worry. He had gone viral for his appearance on the YouTube show Hot Ones, where a celebrity is interviewed while eating progressively hotter wings. Conan had given a completely unhinged and hilarious performance, including rubbing hot sauce on his nipples. In a sentence Iad never thought Iad say, thank God it was just more breasts discourse.
Continue reading...The overcrowded city is leading the way with a tax on day trippers. Surely other great European destinations should follow suit
Venice has had enough. It is sinking beneath the twin assaults of tourism and the sea and believes the answer lies in fending off visitors by charging them to enter. It is not alone. Tourism is under attack. Seville is charging for entry to the central Plaza de EspaA+-a. In Paris, the Mona Lisa is so besieged by flashing phones she is about to be banished to a basement. Barcelona graffiti shout, aTourists go home, refugees welcome.a Amsterdam wants no more coach parties, nor does Rome.
The Venice payment will be complicated. It will apply at specific entry points only to day trippers to the city centre, not hotel guests. It will be a mere five euros and confined to peak times of day over the summer. This will hardly cover the cost of running it. It is a political gesture that is unlikely to stem the tourist flow round the Rialto and St Markas Square, let alone leave more room for Venetians to enjoy their city undisturbed by mobs.
Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...Our former PM has a dire warning and a book to sell, but it isnat really cutting through. A bit more Brit-style bumbling might help
aI know the name,a texts a friend when I ask if she knows who Liz Truss is, but like most Americans canat quite put her finger on why. aLike 8%,a guesses another when I ask her to put a number on how many of her countrymen she imagines know of Truss. The standard response, in my extremely unscientific poll of Americans as to whether or not they know of Truss, however, was: aNo, should I?a a the answer to which, of course, depends entirely on whether you want to understand why the Tory party is polling around 20% or whether you happen to be Liz Truss.
Truss, the only one of us to suffer that particular misfortune, was in Washington DC this week trying, like so many minor British celebrities before her, to catch the eye of the Americans. At the Heritage Foundation, a rightwing thinktank that hosted the launch of Trussas book Ten Years to Save the West, she came bearing a awarninga. Not an ideal ice-breaker, perhaps, but one clearly tailored to an audience receptive to the frisson of the term aforces of the global lefta.
Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...Page took 4 seconds to load.