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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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? [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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. [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 itâs taken [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 [â¦]
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 â whether itas your first one or your twenty-first â there is [â¦]
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 â as in the case of so many loud phone calls [â¦]
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 [â¦]
The post The Adventure of Writing with Emily Kimelman appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
General gives clearest confirmation yet that Israel will hit back but it is unclear what form response will take
Israelas top general has said the country will respond to Iranas missile and drone attack, but it remains unclear what form that response will take and whether it will be so forceful that it could tip a worsening spiral of violence into a full-scale regional war.
US officials said on Monday that some form of counter to Iranas attack, which involved more than 300 missiles and drones, was almost inevitable, but the Biden administration was still hoping it would be a limited counterstrike and not aimed at Iranian territory.
Continue reading...The US seems so preoccupied that officials are barely keeping track of shipments they last week said were a priority
Iranas attack on Israel tested the countryas air defences, but repaired a at least temporarily a Tel Avivas fractured relationship with Washington, and pushed the war and the looming famine in Gaza out of the headlines and down the diplomatic agenda.
In Gaza, where almost all the civilian population is displaced and hungry after more than six months of war, this shift in attention has been felt acutely.
Continue reading...A red line has been crossed from an Israeli security standpoint but none of the options for retaliation are without risk
Israelas war cabinet a Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister; Yoav Gallant, the defence minister; and Benny Gantz, a former defence minister and centrist Netanyahu rival a have spent the last two days deliberating how to respond to Iranas first ever direct attack on the Jewish state.
The salvo involved more than 300 missiles and drones, the majority of which were intercepted with the help of the US, the UK, France and Jordan.
Continue reading...Amman and allies insist Jordanian actions were self-defence after public anger at home and across region
Jordan has found itself caught in the crosshairs of the confrontation between Iran and Israel, facing public anger at home and in the region for its role in downing dozens of Iranian drones targeting Israeli territory on Saturday night.
Underlying its precarious position, Amman summoned the Iranian ambassador on Sunday over comments from Tehran that appeared to threaten Jordan for joining the US-led effort to support Israel in shooting down the incoming salvo. The diplomatic summons came after Iran seemed to warn Jordan that it would face an attack of its own if it continued to defend Israel.
Continue reading...Former president complains of apolitical persecutiona as jury selection gets under way in criminal trial involving 34 counts
The first day of Donald Trumpas Manhattan hush-money trial came to a close on Monday afternoon with jury selection under way, marking a notable moment in American history: the first criminal trial of a current or former president.
Throughout the day, Trump appeared at Manhattan supreme court court in New York City flanked by his lawyers to face 34 felony counts involving a catch-and-kill scheme.
Continue reading...Speaker rejects pressure to approve package sent over by Senate, leaving its path to passage deeply uncertain
Mike Johnson, the US House speaker, has unveiled a complicated proposal for passing wartime aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, rejecting pressure to approve a package sent over by the Senate and leaving its path to passage deeply uncertain.
The Republican speaker huddled with fellow GOP lawmakers on Monday evening to lay out his strategy to gain House approval for the funding package. Facing an outright rebellion from conservatives who fiercely oppose aiding Ukraine, Johnson said he would push to get the package to the House floor under a single debate rule, then hold separate votes on aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and several foreign policy proposals, according to Republican lawmakers.
Continue reading...Underwater infrastructure vulnerable to Russian threats, says V Adm Didier Maleterre, after suspected sabotage of gas pipelines
The security of nearly 1 billion people across Europe and North America is under threat from Russian attempts to target the extensive vulnerabilities of underwater infrastructure including windfarms, pipelines and power cables, a Nato commander has warned.
V Adm Didier Maleterre, the deputy commander of Natoas Allied Maritime Command (Marcom), said the network of underwater cables and pipes on which Europeas power and communications depend were not built to withstand the ahybrid warfarea being pursued by Moscow and other Nato adversaries.
Continue reading...Supreme court ruling left more than 90% of stateas surface waters with no pollution protections, since they donat run continuously
New Mexicoas rivers, which include the Rio Grande, Gila, San Juan and Pecos, are Americaas most threatened waterways, according to a new report. This is largely due to a 2023 US supreme court decision that left more than 90% of the stateas surface waters without federal protections from industrial pollution, according to state officials.
aVirtually all the rivers in New Mexico are losing clean water protections,a said Matt Rice, the south-west regional director of American Rivers, the conservation group that publishes the annual list. aIt has the most to lose, and the threat is particularly acute there.a
Continue reading...BH3 spotted when scientists chanced upon star in Aquila constellation awobblinga under its gravitational force
Astronomers have discovered an enormous black hole which formed in the aftermath of an exploding star a mere 2,000 light years from Earth.
BH3 is the most massive stellar black hole yet found in the Milky Way and revealed itself to researchers through the powerful tug it exerts on a companion star that orbits the object in the constellation of Aquila, the Eagle.
Continue reading...The assertion followed the launch of a website attacking the independent presidential candidate calling him a aleftist radicala
Robert F Kennedy Jr, the prominent conspiracy theorist and independent presidential candidate, claimed on Monday he had turned down an offer from Donald Trump to be his running mate for the White House.
The assertion followed the launch earlier in the day of a website attacking Kennedy, published by a pro-Trump political action committee called Make America Great Again Inc (Maga Inc).
Continue reading...Patrice Runner, 57, of Canada was convicted in June of multiple counts of defrauding amillions of older and vulnerable Americansa
A Canadian conman, who swindled more than US$175m (C$241m) from his North American victims through aa massive psychic mass-mailing fraud schemea has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Patrice Runner, 57, who holds citizenship with both Canada and France, was convicted by a jury in June of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, eight counts of mail fraud, four counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was found not guilty on four counts of mail fraud.
Continue reading...Use of portal to flag safety and quality issues aexplodeda, executive says, amid intense scrutiny following Alaska Airlines incident
An internal service for Boeing employees to raise safety and quality concerns has aexplodeda this year, an executive claimed, after a whistleblower said he endured retaliation for speaking up.
The planemaker has come under intense scrutiny since a terrifying cabin panel blowout in January prompted fresh questions about the production of its bestselling commercial jet, the 737 Max.
Continue reading...Order allows ban to stand while lawsuits proceed, in decision critics call aan awful result for trans youth and their familiesa
The supreme court is allowing Idaho to enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth while lawsuits over the law proceed, reversing lower courts.
The justicesa Monday order allows the state to put in a place a 2023 law that subjects physicians to up to 10 years in prison if they provide hormones, puberty blockers or other gender-affirming care to people under age 18. Under the courtas order, the two transgender teens who sued to challenge the law still will be able to obtain care.
Continue reading...Organisers of the Beijing half marathon are investigating the menas race after two Kenyans and one Ethiopian runner appeared to deliberately allow Chinaas He Jie to win.
Footage of the final few hundred metres of the race seemingly shows Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat of Kenya and Ethiopiaas Dejene Hailu Bikila slow down and gesture in front of them, encouraging He to pass and take the lead.
Continue reading...Nine states are hashing out bills to protect minors online. Tech companies are fighting the laws with everything theyave got
On 6 April, Maryland became the first state in the US to pass a aKids Codea bill, which aims to prevent tech companies from collecting predatory data from children and using design features that could cause them harm. Vermontas legislature held its final hearing before a full vote on its Kids Code bill on 11 April. The measures are the latest in a salvo of proposed policies that, in the absence of federal rules, have made state capitols a major battlefield in the war between parents and child advocates, who lament that there are too few protections for minors online, and Silicon Valley tech companies, who protest that the recommended restrictions would hobble both business and free speech.
Known as Age-Appropriate Design Code or Kids Code bills, these measures call for special data safeguards for underage users online as well as blanket prohibitions on children under certain ages using social media. Marylandas measure passed with unanimous votes in its house and senate.
Continue reading...Procedures that played out in New York courtroom were banal, but their significance was historic: the first US president facing a criminal trial
Jury duty in America can often be a banal affair, a day spent in a courthouse filling out forms and telling lawyers when you scheduled your next vacation.
But for those New Yorkers summoned to the state courthouse on Monday it was a day when the ordinary had become extraordinary. They arrived to a frenetic scene of loud protest and high security in downtown Manhattan a a sure sign that Donald Trump is yet again in court.
Continue reading...The former prime minister spent just 49 days in office but wants to stay on the world stage. Her attacks on Biden and praise for Trump are aimed at the populist right
In her new book, the former British prime minister Liz Truss directs scathing attacks and mockery at Joe Biden, president of her countryas closest ally. Biden was guilty of autter hypocrisy and ignorancea, Truss writes, when the US leader said he adisagree[d] with the policya of acutting taxes on the super wealthya in the mini-budget Truss introduced in September 2022, shortly after taking power.
aI was shocked and astounded that Biden would breach protocol by commenting on UK domestic policy,a Truss adds. aWe had been the United Statesa staunchest allies through thick and thin.a
Continue reading...It is taking fast fashion to ever faster and ever cheaper extremes, and making billions from it. Why is the whole world shopping at Shein?
For another five hours and 47 minutes, I can buy a Royal Blue Twist Front Cloak Sleeve Slit Back Dress for $5.90, a Striped Pattern High Neck Drop Shoulder Split Hem Sweater for $8.50, or a Solid Sweetheart Neck Crop Tube Top for $1.90. When todayas 90%-off sale ends at 8pm, the crop top will revert to its original price: $4. There are 895 items on flash sale. On todayas aNew Ina page, there are 8,640 items (yesterday there were 8,760). The most expensive dress of the nearly 9,000 new arrivals a a floor-length, long-sleeved, fully sequinned plus-size gown, available in five sparkly colours a is $67. The cheapest a a short, tight piece of polyester with spaghetti straps, a cowl neckline and an all-over print of Renaissance-style flowers and cherubs a is $7.
I can buy casual dresses, going-out tops, workout leggings, winter parkas, pink terry-cloth hooded rompers, purple double-breasted suit jackets with matching trousers, red pleather straight-leg pants, cropped cardigans with mushroom embroidery, black sheer lace thongs and rhinestone-trimmed hijabs. I can buy a wedding dress for $37. I can buy clothes for school, work, basketball games, proms, funerals, nightclubs, sex clubs. I see patchwork-printed overalls and black bikinis with rhinestones in the shape of a skull over each nipple designated as apunka. I can buy Christian-girl modesty clothing and borderline fetish wear.
Continue reading...Mary Dispenza spent years as a nun and working in the church before her buried memories rose to the surface. It was the start of her long journey towards justice and peace
Mary Dispenza was almost 50 when she experienced her first flashback. At the time, she was in a workshop entitled Sexual Misconduct on the Part of the Clergy, which she had been asked to attend as part of her job in pastoral support for the Roman Catholic archdiocese in Seattle. To this day, she isnat sure what words unleashed that memory.
She recalls only how clammy her hands became and how the room suddenly started spinning as she saw her seven-year-old self being lifted on to the lap of a priest in a dark, empty auditorium. She knew in an instant who he was.
Continue reading...Correspondents in Port-au-Prince face danger as they play a vital role in chronicling cityas state of siege
Each day, Makenson RA(c)my wakes in the hush of the night to tell the story of his shattered home town, Port-au-Prince. Each day, he fears he might die. aI am very worried for the city. I am worried for my family. I am worried for myself too, because at any moment I could go out and never come back,a said the Haitian journalist who is responsible for the crack-of-dawn radio broadcasts that help the capitalas jittery residents stay alive.
RA(c)my uses a motorbike to move around the city, which a gang rebellion six weeks ago has almost entirely cut off from the outside world, gathering information on where is and isnat safe to tread. As he slaloms through barricaded streets under the cover of darkness, he has witnessed spine-chilling scenes.
Continue reading...More than 80,000 Nigerian women died from pregnancy-related complications in 2020, a statistic activists say reflects a lack of political will to fix a broken medical system
Despite having the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria also loses more women to death in childbirth than most other countries in the world. In 2020, about 82,000 Nigerian women died due to pregnancy-related complications, a slight improvement on the previous year, but an increase on previous decades.
The causes of death included severe haemorrhage, high blood pressure (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia), unsafe abortion and obstructed labour. Doctors and activists say high maternal mortality rates reflect a lack of trust in a broken public healthcare system and little political will to fix it.
Lawal Arinola being brought up to surgery at Lagos Island maternity hospital
Continue reading...Justine Kurlandas images capture her unique life raising a child on the road a and offer up a joyous escape from the traditional family photo album
Continue reading...Hollywoodas pioneer of androgyny inspires labelas latest catwalk show at New Yorkas Brooklyn Museum
Christian Dior probably did more than anyone in the history of fashion to make an hourglass figure a symbol of the perfect woman. The tiny waists and exaggerated curves of his 1947 New Look collection were not just a fashion sensation but a cultural one. Dior cut a visual template for femininity that ruled unchallenged for the second half of the 20th century.
So Marlene Dietrich, the pioneer of androgyny who seduced Hollywood in a suit, tie and top hat, was an unexpected muse for Dioras latest catwalk collection, staged at the Brooklyn Museum in New York on Monday evening.
Continue reading...Ticket sales might have lagged for the once-unbeatable double weekender but an array of crowd-pleasing female acts made it a worthwhile journey
It takes a lot of time, money and willpower to make it to Coachella: the desert locale sits three hours from Los Angeles on a good day (five in the case of my drive) and general admission passes for the festival start at $499. Then thereas the cost of lodging, food and booze to consider a no small expense, considering a cup of black coffee at the food court costs $10, a large pizza set campers back $65, and White Claws went for $16. In this economy? Not everyone can do it, and maybe thatas why ticket sales lagged this year amid a less-than-buzzy lineup. In the lead-up to the festival, fans and press alike dubbed 2024 a flop year, with the Daily Beast going so far as to publish a curtain-raiser obit last month with the headline, aIs this the end of Coachella?a
As someone who attended (for free, as press a| though I did succumb to the call of the $16 Claw), I can confirm that rumors of Coachellaas demise are a little premature. Yes, there were fewer people. But the diehards still showed up a with a notable exception being the so-called Queen of Coachella, Vanessa Hudgens, who skipped out this year due to her pregnancy.
Continue reading...A book its author awould much rather not have needed to writea ranges far beyond his attempted murder and recovery
A couple of nights before he was almost killed by a stranger with a knife, Salman Rushdie dreamed about being attacked by a Roman gladiator with a spear. Head had similar dreams ever since Ayatollah Khomeinias fatwa following publication of The Satanic Verses, back in 1989, imagining amy assassin rising up in some public forum or other and coming for mea. When on the morning of 12 August 2022, in Chautauqua in upstate New York, on stage to talk about (of all things) the importance of keeping writers safe from harm, he saw a figure in black rushing towards him, his first thought was aSo itas you. Here you area, and his second, more bemused, was aReally? Itas been so long. Why now, after all these years?a
In his 2012 memoir Joseph Anton, Rushdie expressed his post-fatwa disorientation by writing of his experiences in the third person, as if the trauma were happening to someone else. Here, as he says, itas an I-story (and also, since he lost his right one, an eye-story): aWhen somebody wounds you 15 times that definitely feels very first person.a Joseph Anton (the Christian names of his literary heroes Conrad and Chekhov) was the codename he adopted in hiding to avoid using his own name. Here itas his attackeras name he avoids using a he refers to Hadi Matar as athe Aa, short for Assailant or would-be Assassin. Or, for Ass: like the Islamist terrorists who have attacked and even murdered people associated with Rushdie, Mataras knowledge of The Satanic Verses was negligible a he said that head read just a couple of pages. After being charged with attempted murder and assault, Matar pled not guilty. Bail was denied, and trial will be held in due course.
Continue reading...If criminally convicted in New York, Trump will face legal humiliations of the sort he loves when applied to other people
The People of the State of New York v Donald J Trump will conclude, according to long-established court procedure. The former US presidentas defense attorney will make a closing argument. He will assert that his client is not guilty of the charges of bribery and business fraud to manipulate the 2016 election. Judge Juan Merchan will issue his instructions to the jurors. They will deliberate. When they emerge, the foreperson will read the verdict in open court. If Trump is found guilty, Merchan will adjourn to a later date for sentencing.
If Trump is found guilty on all 34 felony counts, he could theoretically face a maximum of 136 years in prison. Post-conviction, the major question would be whether his sentencing involves actual imprisonment, probation, a fine, or some combination, along with various parole arrangements. To be sure, Trump would then almost certainly file an appeal, but this would not forestall his immediately incurring certain civil disabilities. Above all, he would instantly lose his right to vote.
Continue reading...The world does not know whatas been unleashed in the tit-for-tat attacks. But it is unlikely to be anything good
It is troubling that what started with Israelas attack on Iranas consular building in Syria on 1 April may not end with Tehranas Operation True Promise. The bombing in Damascus, which killed at least two top Iranian generals, resulted in the first-ever direct strikes launched against Israel from Iranian territory. For the Islamic regime, unpopular at home, crossing the Rubicon would have been very hard, if not impossible, to avoid. As British foreign secretary, David Cameron, admitted, the UK would atake very strong actiona if a hostile power had flattened one of its consulates.
This is a defining moment in the Middle East. The world does not know whatas been unleashed here. But it is unlikely to be anything good. That is why it is right for world leaders to urge Benjamin Netanyahuas government to show restraint. The wise choice for Mr Netanyahu would be, in US president Joe Bidenas words, to atake the wina of having seen off the strikes and not respond militarily. Israelas prime minister could then turn his attention to the on-and-off talks with Hamas to free Israeli hostages and seek an end to the fighting in Gaza. Trading military restraint for international support might appeal to Mr Netanyahuas opportunism.
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...An all-out conflict, dragging in other regional powers, may be someoneas idea of anational securitya. As an Israeli citizen, it isnat mine
Israelis woke up on Sunday morning with a tentative collective sense of relief. For the first time ever, Iran had attacked Israel directly, sending a barrage of more than 300 drones and various missiles intended to rain down on Israel. Instead, Israel and a coalition of its allies intercepted 99% of the threats, according to Israeli authorities a mostly before they reached Israeli territory. Those that arrived caused only limited damage.
Many Israelis felt the country had dodged a bullet. But members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuas government want to fire back, which would add one more front to a war that is already dangerously overstretched. The ultra-nationalists in Netanyahuas cabinet insist that the only way to achieve fear and admiration in the Middle East is to ago berserka, in the words of Itamar Ben-Gvir, an extremist minister who holds the portfolio, ironically, of national security. He is joined by a posse of fanatical men running the government who are beating war drums.
Dahlia Scheindlin is a Tel Aviv-based political analyst and the author of The Crooked Timber of Democracy in Israel
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.
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