Category Archives: Hedonism

Liam and Noel Gallagher serve as executive producers for director Jake Scotts Oasis Knebworth 1996 (Paramount+), a chronicle of the Britpop rockers record-setting two-night stand at the historic open-air venue, a previous host to legendary sets from the likes of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. In 1996, Oasis were quite possibly the worlds biggest thing, and this doc aims to capture the euphoria of 250,000 fans getting to see their favorite band at its performative zenith.

The Gist: After taking the UK charts by storm in 1994 with Definitely Maybe, their Creation Records debut, Oasis had stomped all over the worlds consciousness with their sweeping 1995 follow-up, the multi-Platinum seller (Whats the Story) Morning Glory? and its representative singles: Wonderwall, Some Might Say, Dont Look Back in Anger, Some Might Say, and the epically faded psychedelic pop of Champagne Supernova. Led by the combative Gallagher brothers, vocalist Liam and guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Noel, Oasis combined four-chord rock music hedonism with a lifestyle to match, and spun up a spat with their fellow Britpoppers and perfect stylistic rivals in Blur just to keep things interesting. Britpop itself was having its moment in mid-1990s Great Britain, alongside the hit film Trainspotting, the rise of Tony Blair and New Labour, and UEFA Euro 96 overtaking the countrys sports venues, and its into that environment that Oasis announced its biggest concerts ever. Oasis Knebworth 1996 chronicles the announcement, the ticket scramble, the preparation, the expectation, and ultimately the cathartic release of the quartets record-setting two-night stand before 250,000 fans.

As directed by filmmaker and veteran music video helmer Jake Scott, Knebworth 1996 weaves an oral history told exclusively in voiceover by fans who were there together with archival photos and footage from attendees, prime access to the professionally shot performances, and re-enactments tinged with the aesthetic of the era. (Noel Gallagher and Oasis rhythm guitarist Paul Bonehead Arthurs reflect on the Knebworth shows, too, but theres no input from Liam.) An early segment centers around the band bashing out a ripping soundcheck version of Its Getting Better (Man!) to a collection of roadies, concert techs, and a smattering of early arrivals, but soon enough the vast green of Knebworth is churning with concertgoers, and Oasis starts cranking out the classics: Supersonic and Roll With It, Some Might Say and Cigarettes & Alcohol. Its not a straight, as-it-happened playlist, and some numbers fade out midway through. And as such, Oasis Knebworth 1996 isnt a straight concert film. It instead offers a snapshot of a particularly important moment in time, seen from many perspectives and soundtracked by some of its most iconic music.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Pulp and its fearless leader, Jarvis Cocker, offered a wholly different take on Britpop than Oasis ever did. But just as Knebworth 1996 celebrates those landmark concerts 25th anniversary, Pulp: A Film About Life, Death, and Supermarkets took Cocker and his band back to their hometown of Sheffield for a final sonic goodbye, 25 years after it all began. Meanwhile, the 2003 doc Live Forever: The Rise and Fall of Brit Pop offers a sound overview of the genre along with the interviews of all the heavy hitters, Liam and Noel included. Oasis superfans have likely already seen the 2016 doc Supersonic, which chronicles the same period of world domination that this film revels in.

Performance Worth Watching: Liam Gallagher, the loutish geezer who always gets the last word, has his whole bag of tricks handy in Knebworth 1996: bucket hats and goofy walks galore, clown prince crowd toasting, roguish brotherly bickering, and every bit of the live vocal power and onstage magnetism that made him the rock n roll frontman his brother Noel knew Oasis needed in order to be the biggest band in the world.

Memorable Dialogue: My favorite song ever, Acquiesce, was number two, a fan recalls in voiceover of Oasiss Saturday night performance at Knebworth. Life couldntve gotten better. Your arms are waving, Ive got my boyfriend to my left, a lukewarm semi-flat plastic beaker full of lager, and Im singing my heart out. Rawk and fookin roll!

Sex and Skin: A drunk lad moons the camera, and there are one or two blurry shots of topless women on shoulders. But compared to something like the debauched Woodstock 99, Knebworth 96 is utterly tame.

Our Take: We were a pretty decent band the night before I wrote Live Forever, muses Noel Gallagher about an hour into Oasis Knebworth 1996. But we were indie music. The day after I wrote Live Forever, we were gonna be the biggest band in the world. I knew it. And Noels usual self-congratulatory tone aside, Knebworth goes a long way toward proving his assertion. The quartet was at its creative and performative height in 96, their infamous boozing and drugging and bickering having not yet broken the bands back, and appropriately, numbers like Live Forever, Masterplan, Columbia, Acquiesce, and all of those huge singles put into sharp focus the Marshall Stack-propelled crunch, the soaring kiss-off choruses, and distinct vocal bray of the Gallagher boys combined voices. It all sounds so vital, its easy to hear these emblematic Oasis moments anew. Noel goes on to say the band was at its peak because Liam was at his peak. The way he sounds, the way he looks a band is only as good as its frontperson, and Oasis had the pick of the litter in Liam.

Its also valuable to hear the experiential side of Knebworth 1996, a concert stand from a bygone era. Fans recall how they even heard about the gig in a pre-Internet, pre-mobile phone age from a newspaper clipping, or radio live read, or archaic listserv announcement. When tickets went on sale on a Saturday morning, 2.7% of Englands total population flooded the nations phone lines in a mad dash for access. Knebworth also details the strain on motor coach service to the show area. As for the members of Oasis themselves, the band is captured from inside the helicopter that ferried them to the site, gazing down at the hundreds of thousands gathered, and later Liam careens around soundcheck in a golf cart. The doc is full of access moments like this that help color in the margins around what Oasis was accomplishing on stage. And when John Squire from the then just recently broken-up Stone Roses joins the quartet on stage for an epic reading of Champagne Supernova, the fan voiceovers and recollections of Noel merge in communion with the torch of rock n roll being passed.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Its been 25 years since Oasis was the biggest band in the world. But Knebworth 1996 puts the ringing of the amps and resounding of those choruses right back into the rock consciousness.

Watch Oasis Knebworth 1996 on Paramount+

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Stream It Or Skip It: 'Oasis Knebworth 1996' on Paramount+, A Chronicle Of The Quartets Finest Live Moment - Decider

This week, were pleased to bring you a different version of Futurism, containing stories from the horizon of hedonism. Welcome toThe Science of Pleasure.In collaboration with our friends over atMEL Magazine, this week, well be bringing you stories from both publications about the pleasures of tomorrow, today.

Earlier this year, UK-based dominatrix and model Adreena Angela became a beta tester for an intriguing new sex toy.

The gadget is called a SEN, made by a company called Zveotec. Physically its much like a regular strap-on dildo, except that it contains sensors, clitoris and g-spot vibrators, and a small computer that hooks the two together. Algorithms translate input from the SENs sensors into proportionate, and hopefully pleasurable, vibrations. In other words, the idea is that you could strap it on, engage in sexual activity with somebody, and actually feel what the SENs bionic dick does a tantalizing attempt at emulating the experience of having a penis for someone who wishes to explore their sexual or gender expression.

I use strap-ons a lot and whilst I psychologically find it stimulating, even with most insertable strap-ons, I dont feel much myself, Angela told Futurism. Being able to feel response to the toy means that you feel more engaged with your play partner, making the experience more intimate and connected, rather than there being a passive and an active partner.

A sex toy that attempts to mimic a biological penis, even if this first attempt isnt perfect, has the potential to chart fascinating new frontiers in the future of pleasure.

Im used to strap-ons being something thats more for [my partners], and something you almost do to them rather than with them, Angela said of the device, which is scheduled to hit the market later this year and is now available for preorder starting at $169. Most peoples pleasure comes predominantly from seeing their partners response, so I know my clients love that Im more actively involved and am part of the experience too.

Others remarked on the same intriguing dynamic the possibility that a high tech sex toy could bring people closer to together.

In these systems like arousal its all about positive feedback, sex educator Calandra Balfour told Futurism. When were having sex or being intimate with somebody else, theres this constant unconscious feedback that were getting from the things were doing with them or to them. So slight moans, squirming in the body, etc are all nonverbal communications that let us know that the person is enjoying it. And so this toy fits quite nicely in that process.

Its worth noting that the cofounder of Zveotec was almost comically secretive about the project, declining to tell us specifically what sensors it contained or even his last name, citing connections in the medical technology industry, and asking to go just by James.

However, James did show us a prototype of the device in action, even providing a brief glimpse inside the SEN, where an array of wires and microchips peeked out from underneath its sleek exterior. As he rubbed the gadget in a videocall, its vibrators reacted with increasing degrees of stimuli, seemingly matching the intensity as a lover might.

This is the phenomenon where the brain incorporates a prosthesis as part of the body so long as there is intuitive feedback, he told us. Its hard to describe, but its the sense of feeling like youve been touched as opposed to feeling when something is touched.

The SEN also raises the interesting possibility, for those who are trans or gender nonconforming, of being able to experience sex in new, and perhaps gender affirming, ways. It might even be a rudimentary step in the direction toward a genderfluid future in which, if you were so inclined, you could choose which genitals you wanted on any given day or situation.

At the same time, of course, gender identity is as unique as each persons relationship with their body. Something thats gender affirming for one person could cause dysphoria for another, and the SEN is no exception.

If were looking at the trans and gender affirming aspects of this choice, or having a strap-on, you would think it would be incredibly gender affirming for a trans guy or a trans masculine non binary person, trans sex blogger Quinn Rhodes told Futurism. But I think theres definitely a subset of trans guys who would feel dysphoric by putting something in their vagina, even if its to get the sensation that they have a dick.

You can tell its not a trans person developing this toy, because I think that would have come up, Rhodes added.

Although James did confirm that no trans people were consulted or involved in the SENs design, he did stress that it was designed with both male and female anatomy in mind.

The goal is biomimicry, to mimic the experience of an orgasm through male sexuality, he said. In that sense, and by pursuing that goal, SEN is perfectly designed for a trans male, as much as it is for a cis woman in bridging the gap between male and female sexual experience.

However, while a lot of thought has gone into the adaptability of this toy, the language its creators use still deal in binary absolutes, which again seems to reflect that lack of queer input in its creation.

Of course, the gadgets potential market is much larger than just people who are trans, although James said the device had made a bit of a buzz in some online trans forums.

And, to be fair, some trans people are indeed excited about the device. Isabell, for instance, told us that shed already preordered the SEN for use by her partner, a non-binary individual who leans towards transmasculine.

Basically this is a way for them to fuck me in a way that is a much better approximation of penis in person sex than what silicon can offer, said Isabell, who is herself a trans woman. Weve toyed around with strapless strapons before and have had, mixed, results. I orgasm really easily, they do not. So just relying on pitifully weak vibrations on their clit while the more intense vibrations are going off inside of me is, pardon the pun, sub-optimal.

Being able to more accurately simulate sex as a penis owner for someone who doesnt have their own home grown penis is kind of a big deal, she continued. The transmasc men that Ive been with have had a constant annoyance of never feeling like they have a cis penis. This [the SEN] is a step in that direction. As well as it being able to genuinely answer the question of if I had a dick and fucked someone, would it be a good time?

Obviously, the SEN hasnt shipped yet. Hardware development is notoriously challenging, and its perfectly possible that itll be underwhelming, just one more failed adult product in a crowded market. And its creators secrecy about their identities and the devices technical details feels strange, almost as though theyre equating sex with shame, or promising too much.

But at the same time, the concept behind it is unquestionably intriguing. It raises canny questions about the future of gender and pleasure not to mention the potential, in an era of ubiquitous connectivity, for technology to serve as an intermediary between people that enriches the relationship rather than driving it apart.

And, just maybe, itll be the next big thing: either a commercial success, an indie hit, or an influential concept that paves the way for more mind-bending experiments in the future of humans, machines, and everything in between.

More on sex:Unsettling Sex Robot Looks Almost Exactly Like a Real Person

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New Sex Toy Aims to Emulate the Experience of Having a Penis - Futurism

Favourite of A-gays from LA and NYC, the Mexican mega-capital is the next step on from Tulum for escape with a side of party. Cheap and chic, Roma Norte and Condesa provide tree-lined streets, a mass of bars and restaurants, and boutiques for daytime mooching. One of our number called the club Bon Bon one of the best nights theyve ever been to, Domingo Santo Rooftop Bar is best for a bougie mezcal, Fifty Mils at the Four Seasons for cocktails and club institution Patrick Miller for disco balls and out-out dancing. You know what they say: first come the gays, then the girls, then the industry

According to locals, the party never really stopped for Miami: pandemic or no pandemic. But now Bungalow 8 founder Amy Sacco who for more than two decades was literally the key to NYC says its having a moment. Miami is a vibe, she says, and the Faena Hotel is a scene in itself. Superclub Space has also been spinning tunes for over 20 years, Soho House Miami is still serving a scene and for pool party fans, Nikki Beach says its Miami club has the brands most elite party scene with A-listers dropping in regularly. Time to drink all day, play all night, Miami style.

French fancy: La Parouse

The city is alive again and it feels so good, a Parisian told me recently. And when even Parisians are excitable about Paris, its time to follow their lead. For decades the French capital has felt very much establishment, only post-pandemic theres a fresh wind blowing through the city. New It hotspots include multifaceted-caf-cum-club-space Bambino; Forest, a restaurant or post-modern refuge at the Museum of Modern Art; and quayside landmark La Perouse, opened in 1766 and now suddenly white-hot again. Hotel-wise theres a lot on, too: from Madame Rve and Mimosa at Hotel de la Marine to the old-school Parisian grandeur of Maison Russe and the new Soho House.

Verbier

The snow-capped scene of many a Royal ski photo-call is dusting off the establishment fust in favour of some pure luxe hedonism. Alpine ski resort Experimental Chalet as well as Farm Club reopen this winter perfect for hot Eurospotting as well as the launch of 67 Pall Mall Verbier, which will be the first European opening of the members club founded by wine lovers for wine lovers. It will feature over 5,000 wines, making it the biggest selection in the Alps. The resort also hosts the very cool Polaris Festival, plus theres always the chance to bag an invite to dins at James Blunts or the Branson gaffs. Good luck skiing home from that one

The party destination for the festive season? According to travel and lifestyle specialist Urban Junkies its Joshua Tree. Its proximity to Palm Springs and LA means you have a diverse crowd, they say, and theres something about the contrast of a night out at the Wild West-style Pappy & Harriets an open-air saloon in Pioneertown with live acts and then staying in one of the contemporary architectural rentals from Homestead Modern that feels so right at the moment. Add to that outdoor dinner and dancing (Kitchen in the Desert is a must-visit), sound baths, hot springs, hikes and star-gazing and youve got something approaching peak haute hippy in the high dez.

Medellin Metro

Travel concierge company Remote Year, which takes care of your vacation arrangements and curates community-based travel programmes including remote workspaces, has identified Medelln in Colombia as the new hipster party haven. Known for having fun with a capital F, locals head to main party district Parque Lleras for its notoriously hedonistic nightlife and famous rooftop bars. Taxi to El Poblados Barrio Provenza for a one-stop street filled with live music, a relaxed atmosphere and a perfect balance of locals and tourists. Other party hubs are disco spot Barrio Colombia, and local favourite La 33, one street west of the river where tourists are few and far between. Yes, Medelln has its Escobar history; these days its a long way from Time magazine calling it the most dangerous city on earth 30-odd years ago.

Hungarys capital is currently the go-to filming spot for Hollywood blockbusters (Dune, Midsommar and Black Widow to name but a few), while Covid rules mean many actors have three or four days break between scenes. Luckily there are more than a few options to fill the time. Try lingering over a signature cocktail at Muzsa bar within the Four Seasons, before upping the tempo at an iconic ruin bar. Meanwhile Sparty, the EDM night at Budapests oldest thermal baths, is ideal for visitors looking to get wet n wild. Head to Alter Ego Club for a spot of Hungarian drag, then on to bar Mazel Tov for a nightcap. And, if you see Timothe Chalamet sipping on Grey Goose in the corner, just act cool.

Eduardo VII Park in LIsbon

The Portuguese capital is the perfect party destination for those in middle youth. A city of rooftop bars (Entretanto at Hotel do Chiado is the best), foodie destinations and interiors shopping make it a go-to for those who need a bit of time off in between nights on the tiles. Nuno Mendes (of Chiltern Firehouse fame) has returned to re-open the Bairro Alto Hotel restaurant, Sky Bar at Tivoli Avenida Liberdade is sleek and chic, while Praia no Parque, a beach-themed bar overlooking the lake in Eduardo VII Park, is one of the citys hottest spots. The opening of Mama Shelter Lisbon in December promises to be quite a sceney spot, but for now Casa Independente has east London club vibes and Lux Fragil, co-owned by John Malkovich (yes), is the place to go for proper out-out dancing the clubs rooftop terrace is a fine place to watch the sun come up. Hello.

Often called the hidden gem of the South, the small Texan town of Marfa (population 1,831) is well-known within the art scene, and an alt party go-to for the super chic and rich. Put on the map by the acclaimed artist Donald Judd, who headed west from New York and founded the Chinati Foundation art museum in 1979, the town has subsequently become a haven for magnate minimalists, with more millionaires making homes there per square mile than Mustique. Rumour has it that one of their favourite pastimes is to take shrooms and gaze upon one anothers art collections, but if that doesnt tickle your fancy theres always Marfan stalwart The Hotel Paisano (an old James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson favourite), a meal at LaVenture at chic Hotel Saint George, bar Capri and its killer hibiscus Margaritas, or classic Texan watering hole Planet Marfa. Cowboy cool, and then some.

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The wildest party destinations to escape to for a weekend - Evening Standard

Hedonism, alcoholism, feminism, and political radicalism a combination of these enables The Great to humorously explore the life of Catherine the Great. Created by Tony McNamara, the show is a colorful examination of how Catherine takes the throne from her vain, violent, and villainous husband, Peter III. The series stars Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult, Phoebe Fox, Sacha Dhawan, and Douglas Hodge in central roles.

Featuring fabulous costumes, lavish sets, and a fantastic cast, the historical drama is lauded for its boldly absurdist take on the royals and common folk of 18th Century Russia. Catherines burning desire to bring the Enlightenment to Russia is inspirational and emerges as the focal point in part due to her husbands horrifyingly idiotic behavior. Peter, with his immense ego, constant debauchery, and all-consuming indifference, is the exact opposite of Catherine. However, despite it all, he manages to be endearing as well. Understandably, fans are curious about whether Peter is based on a real person. Lets find out!

Yes, Peter is based on a real person. However, the show, which calls itself an occasionally true story, generously mixes fact and fiction in order to exaggerate Peters initially repulsive and ultimately complex nature. In the series, Peter is shown as the son of Peter the Great. However, the real-life Peter III was the son of Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, and Anna Petrovna making him the grandson of Peter the Great.

Despite its heavy use of imagination, the show does base Peters ludicrous behavior on some historical truths. The real Catherines memoirs tell us that Peter was an idiot and a drunkard. Hers was a loveless marriage; Catherine even hinted that Peter was impotent. Thus, the pair may not have consummated their marriage after all. This contrasts with the plotlines in the show, wherein Peter has an enormous sexual appetite and is obviously the father of Paul.

Additionally, the real Peter was not the ruler when Catherine first landed in Russia; it was his aunt Elizabeth who sat on the throne. According to the annals of history, Peter ascended the throne after his aunts death, ruling for six months. When he threatened to divorce Catherine and lock her away in a convent, she, with the help of her supporters, organized a military coup to seize control. On July 10 (June 29 in the Julian calendar), 1762, Peter formally abdicated the throne. He was imprisoned and died a few days later. Some reports claim that he killed himself, whilst others suggest that Catherines supporters did away with him.

Unlike the shows Peter, whose essence is aggressively Russian, the real Peter was pro-Prussian and quite scornful of Russian institutions and traditions. The country didnt like him either and, thus, he was massively unpopular. His inability to govern was noticed by Catherine, who quickly realized that she should be the ruler instead. On that note, however, the show does accurately capture Peters infamy and bad leadership, creatively blowing up his flaws. Thus, we see Hoults Peter focusing solely on sex, food, mindless violence, and narcissistic tendencies whilst those around him suffer at hands of his impulsive nature. However, the real Peter did not keep his mothers mummified corpse in the palace.

In the true spirit of absurdist satire, the show conjures up fascinating little quirks to make Peter repulsive and strangely pitiable. He is violent but madly in love with Catherine. He kills men for fun but also forgives them in an instant when his mood is cheerful. He [Peter] is horrible on so many levels but I think he still has to be fun to be around. You start off thinking, what a tyrant, what a monster and then you see all the clues of what its like trying to rule a country in your fathers shadow, stated Hoult. Having all these people around you who you dont trust, and who never say no to you, and the effect of being able to do whatever you want. It has created this monster.

Peters character is deliberately larger-than-life, as it is a satirical exploration of powerful men seen in both historical and contemporary times. I created Peter to be a good antagonist to Catherine and to let me talk about men who inherit power and dont know quite what to do with it, revealed McNamara. I was interested in how she responded to the fact that she had married the wrong man. Now she has to decide whether to kill him. Additionally, his character attains depth when he tries (weakly, but it counts!) to become a better man for his wife and confronts his traumatic childhood.

Peter III is based on a real person, but the historical dramedy amps up his flaws and tones down the duller facts in order to consciously bring forth an anti-historical caricature of Catherines husband. Through his character, we see the perils of unchecked power and the damaging effects of cruel parenting.

Read More: Is Marial in The Great Based on a Real Person?

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Is Peter in The Great Based on a Real Person? - The Cinemaholic

Job insecurity, student debt and political polarization are also contributing factors to Gen Zs chronic stress.

Additionally, the slew of traumatic historical events that have unfolded in the short lifetime of Gen Zers, like 9/11, mass shootings and the coronavirus pandemic have rendered young people incurably nihilistic.

Scott is just one of the many artists that rose to stardom by capitalizing on this disillusionment and aligning himself with anti-establishment, anti-traditional and anti-lawfulness. His songs resonate with so many people because they offer an escape from the drudgery of school or a nine-to-five.

Listeners dont have to strain their imagination to picture the utopia Scotts music temporarily transports them to, as his latest album concept does it for them.

Astroworld, named after a Houston-based theme park the rap artist would frequent in his youth, conjures images of an alternate dimension, rampant with sex, drugs and money. In this dimension life is a carnival of chaos and hedonism.

Lyrics such as, And it aint a mosh pit if aint no injuries/ I got em stage divin out the nosebleeds, which can be heard in Scotts 2018 single called STARGAZING. also reinforce the notion that violence is necessary to disrupt the quotidian, a symptom of social conformity.

Scotts music preaches hyper-materialism, anarchy and substance abuse as essential to a life worth living. Attending his concert is sitting one pew from the pulpit.

Its not unimaginable that seeing their idol in the flesh, reciting a gospel thats fed to them in their daily life, would incite a crazed reaction from radicalized fans and cause inappropriate, oftentimes barbaric, festival conduct.

A similar phenomenon has occurred at the concerts of artists such as Tyler the Creator, Playboi Carti and XXXTentacion, all of whom experienced rioting during their performances in recent years.

In 2015, the University of Queensland conducted a study that concluded listening to extreme music, or chaotic, loud and energetic vocals that contained themes such as anger and depression, might soothe listeners by giving them a healthy, nonviolent outlet to process complex emotions.

Thus, the practice of extreme moshing, which is one aspect of raging, might have become normalized among the younger generation because it allows them to physically express the anger they feel toward society.

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Astroworld tragedy exposes cultural shift in the music industry - The Ticker

Hulus The Great dives deep into the chaotic, inspiring, and mildly scandalous life of Catherine the Great, Empress of All Russia. A historical comedy-drama created by Tony McNamara, it follows the series of events that unfold when Catherine, with the help of supporters, tries to take the throne from her ruthless and idiotic husband, Peter III.

Season 2 focuses on the events that shape Catherines personal and political life during and after the coup. She faces tricky obstacles in her quest to bring the Enlightenment to Russia and reform the countrys socio-political landscape. With the heir to the throne growing in her belly, Catherine is aware that she is safe only up until the birth of her son, Paul.

Season 2 episode 1 looks at the unexpectedly long coup and its aftermath, highlighting the messy struggle for power between Catherine and Peter, which involves a horde of royal subjects. Heres everything you need to know about the recap and ending of this episode. SPOILERS AHEAD.

The episode opens with Catherine, Orlo, and Velementov searching for Leo in the forest. However, even though his body is missing, Orlo and Velementov believe that he is dead. Later, we discover that the bloody coup has been ongoing for four months, with Peter and his supporters trapped in the east wing of the damaged palace.

However, Peter is having a gala time eating and partying; he ignores Svenskas military plans and takes the entire situation very lightly. Marial and the Patriarch/Archie too are trapped with Peter and the others. On the other hand, Catherine invents the molotov cocktail, determined to smoke out her husband and his people.

In a surprising move, Peter uses the doctor, Vinadel, to go and see his wife. At the same time, the molotov cocktail attacks begin. Peter, enjoying the bloodshed, asks Catherine to give up the throne for the sake of their love and baby. Elsewhere, Velementov shoots Svenska dead. Peter escapes the palace with Grigor and Georgina.

Marial shows up in Catherines chambers, determined to be by her side. The empress forgives her best friend. Catherines inner council keeps reminding her that the coup continues because she was unsuccessful in assassinating Peter. Meanwhile, in their hideout in the countryside, Peter grows hungry for luxurious foods.

Later, Aunt Elizabeth visits Catherines chambers and talks about her pregnancy. Marial finds Archies hiding spot and brings him food; he praises Marials cunning betrayal, but she believes her treason was the only way to save the empress life. However, she promises to try and save him.

At night, Catherine sees Peters chef and his mothers mummified corpse being taken away stealthily. She follows them and finds his hideout; her army quickly surrounds the area. Aunt Elizabeth begs Catherine to spare Peters life, highlighting how killing him would make people suspicious of her. She suggests that the empress make him abdicate the throne instead. Meanwhile, Catherines pregnancy makes her want to eat dirt.

Grigor grows angry when he sees Peter and Georgina continuing to engage in sexual acts. The next morning, Catherine makes Peters chef cook delicious dishes, using their mouth-watering scent to lure him out. Overwhelmed by hunger, Peter agrees to talk terms. He states that he will abdicate the throne if Catherine allows him 20 minutes a day with her and Paul. The husband and wife then debate the terms of his house arrest.

Peter finally signs the document of his abdication, and Catherine legally attains the throne as the Empress of All Russia. She revels at the moment, with her supporters cheering. Thus, the coup ends, having successfully attained its goal. However, Peter casually brings up the topic of Leo and hands Catherine his head in a sack. Later, when Peter, Grigor, and Georgina are returning to the palace, Peter reveals that he does not intend to give up his power and has a plan.

Throughout the episode, everyone is convinced that Leo is dead even though his body remains unfound. When Peter gives Catherine Leos mummified head in a bloody sack, she does not open it to check the heads identity, too fraught with grief. Although it is possible that Leo was killed by Peters guards after Catherine decided to choose Russia over his life, the fact that his body is not shown even once is an indication that perhaps he may be in hiding somewhere. However, after seeing the sack, everyone now believes that Leo is truly dead.

Peter and Catherine heatedly debate the terms of his confinement after his loss of power. Whilst Catherine wants him to move away from the palace, Peter suggests a house arrest within it. He tells her she can run Russia as long as he gets to spend time with her and his son. He asks for regular sex as well, but the empress refuses. Finally, she agrees to the palace house arrest and grants him 20 minutes a day with her and Paul during breakfast. She also gives him his chef.

Their negotiations point out how deeply Peter loves his wife. Additionally, despite despising him, Catherine has a tender spot for him as well, unable to treat him like scum even though she believes he deserves it. It is also likely that she agrees to most of his terms because of what Aunt Elizabeth told her about his childhood. Plus, the empress knows theres a political advantage in keeping Peter satisfied, if not happy, as he will then be less likely to harm her.

Grigor makes Peter promise to stop sleeping with his wife, Georgina, and the emperor agrees to do it only twice a year. However, when Grigor sees them together again, he loses his temper. He has been upset about their affair for years but loves them both too much to oppose it outrightly. Meanwhile, Georgina gets angry at Grigors feelings, stating that she will sleep with either of them whenever she wants to. Additionally, we know that Georgina is using Peter to maintain her social status in court.

Thus, although Grigor is loyal to both his best friend and his wife, he is traumatized by their affair as it makes him feel worthless and excluded. Peter, however, brushes Grigors concerns aside in his characteristically indifferent and delusional way. The emperor is simply unable to see that others have issues with him because he is extremely flawed.

Aunt Elizabeth wishes to keep Peter alive because she promised his parents that she would. Additionally, she loves him like a mother and is able to see the troubled heart behind his veil of hedonism and cruelty. Although she is loyal to Catherine and genuinely wishes for her well-being, she believes in preserving the royal bloodline and thus is unwilling to dispose of Peter. She also tells Catherine about Peters traumatic childhood and her own drowned son, Igor. Clearly, she does not wish to lose another loved one and believes that Catherine should control Peter because he loves her.

Read More: The Great Season 2 Filming Locations

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The Great Season 2 Episode 1 Recap and Ending, Explained - The Cinemaholic

Heres a rather pretty space, on the top floor of the Bank, a small condo tower near the corner of Biscayne Boulevard and NE 79th Street that, as the name suggests, used to be a bank. Listed for $750,000 and the biggest penthouse in the building, it was probably once a normal 1,600-foot apartment you know, with bedrooms and stuff, but at some point converted into just one big room. Its a huge studio.

What stands out most in the listing, however, is the gigantic table smack dab in the middle. Its so big, it seats twenty, with room to spare. On one end theres a futon. You know, for guests. Then, if you squint your eyes, at the far end of the loooong space, you can make out the bed, separated from the rest of the apartment by two very sheer curtains. And from the photos, its hard to judge what side of the curtains the bathroom is on, but either way, theres pretty much no privacy.

What kind of fascinating party animal entertains enough to require a big ol dinner table like that, with no need for a little privacy in the bedroom ever? It boggles the mind a little. However, on the other hand, this is Miami, the land of decadent hedonism where everyones already used to seeing lots of skin, right? Whoever they are, the place is rented for $4,000 a month until the end of the year, and then its all yours.

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Giant Miami Studio Has a Dining Table That Seats Twenty, a Bed in The Corner, and a Futon - The Big Bubble Miami

The Wu-Tang Clan exploded on the music landscape in the 90s, and by 1997, theyd released two critically-acclaimed group albums alongside a number of iconic solo projects and other releases. Wu-Tang really was an Army. Then, in November of 1998, the RZA (who is seen as the Abbott or, as Method Man put it, if the Wu forms like Voltron, RZA happens to be the head) did the unthinkable: he dropped a solo album for his alter-ego, Bobby Digital, who came straight out of a(n adult) comic book titled Bobby Digital In Stereo. The sound was different (hed not abandoned samples altogether, but it was keyboard-heavy), and the vibe was hedonism on 10, but it was uniquely RZA, and won critics and fans over, hitting a Gold RIAA certification in Feb. of 1999.

Now, 23 years later after the debut ofBobby Digital in Stereo, the RZA links up with Z2 Comics (who released the Noah Callahan-Bever-pennedCypress Hill: Dos Equisearlier this year) forBobby Digital and The Pit of Snakes, a graphic novel that will brings the character into the medium which he was born from. Out of all my creative personas and alter egos, the RZA says in a press release,Bobby Digital is probably the best fit, for comics and graphic novels. Its a pleasure for me to collaborate with Z2 Comics and bring this lush world of creativity into the comic space.

Promising readers that they will be given things theyve never seen, the RZA links with writerRyan OSullivan (Void Trip,A Dark Interlude) and artistVasilis Lolos (Sound & Fury: The Graphic Novel) to give us Bobby Digital like weve not seen before. RZA has always shown himself to be a Swiss Army Knife of creativity,Z2 Publisher and CEO Josh Frankel says, elevating every medium he touches, and to be able to help bring an already existing comic/music hybrid such as Bobby Digital to the page is amazing.

You can check out the synopsis forBobby Digital and The Pit of Snakes, which is set to drop June 2022, and is up for pre-order right now, and images from the project, below.

Who are you, what is real? This is the question Bobby Digital is seeking to answer. Embracing his id, ego and superego he embarks on a quest to figure out the nature of his reality and himself. He will be ambushed by enemies unknown, he will be tried in ways most men cant endure. Will he be victorious? Most of all, will he survive the Pit of Snakes?! From the mind of the legendary RZA, Bobby Digital and The Pit of Snakes will coincide with the relaunch of the iconic character and be synced to music that will melt your mind.

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Exclusive: Bobby Digital Returns in Graphic Novel RZA and Z2 Comic 'Bobby Digital and The Pit of Snakes' - Complex

These remarkable photos show scenes from inside Coventry's Eclipse Club when it was the UK's first all-night 24-hour club.

The photos, taken by photographer Tony Davis in 1991, are part of a collection that captures the rave scene in Coventry and across the Midlands.

Coventry's Eclipse Club made history in October 1990 as it played host to the first legal all-night rave.

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Coventry played a pioneering role in the explosion of house music, with a music and cultural revolution taking place in the city from 1985 to 1993.

Huge acts played at the Eclipse, including The Prodigy and drum and bass stars Fabio and Jumpin Jack Frost.

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These incredible pictures depict a time of pure hedonism, uninterrupted by social media, phones and selfies.

There was a sense of freedom and spirit amongst the generation pictured in these photographs.

A regular staple of the nightlife circuit, the club welcomed regulars from across the country, all eager to experience a rave at the Lower Food Street hot spot.

Creating the first buzz and first genuine movement since 2-Tone, the Eclipse was vital in putting the Coventry nightlife scene on the map.

Look through Tony Davis' photos of rave culture in Coventry and beyond, below:

People were recruited as far afield as Colchester, Yorkshire and South Wales to sell tickets to people who would flock to the city for these legendary club nights.

CoventryLive readers have previously flooded the comments on our Facebook page singing the praises of the venue.

Adam Rogers said: "Best nightclub as in 2am finish was Busters, best club ever in Coventry is without no doubt the Eclipse. A venue that people travelled from all over the country to attend, no other club in Coventrys history has ever drawn that amount people from far and wide."

Sarah Clarke echoed his words, saying: "The Eclipse, Coventry - was so lucky to have this legendary venue."

Despite closing its doors many years ago, it has still had a lasting impression on some, with Clare Clare saying: "ECLIPSE!! It was mindblowing. I'm still not over it."

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All you need to do is sign up here.

The emails come out twice a day with the latest news and what's on stories from across Coventry.

Tony Davis' photos will go on display at Coventry's former IKEA building as part of an immersive exhibition called 'House is a Feeling'.

House is a Feeling "multi-sensory" event that celebrates Coventry's role in the house music revolution.

Adi Dowling, who has curated the exhibition, said: This is a historical documentation of one of the most important cultural movements of the 20th century and maps the journey of a youth revolution that took over the world. The amazing thing was this was brought together by black, brown and white street kids who had nothing but each other.

Tickets can be bought from the Coventry 2021 website here.

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Pictures show all-night raves at Coventry's Eclipse Club in the 1990s - Coventry Live

Since Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg previewed his plans to develop and launch a metaverse, an immersive, interconnected virtual reality that one could feasibly spend all their time living in, reactions have largely been harsh. The metaverse looks like hell, said one commentator in New York magazine. Dystopian and terrifying have also been oft-repeated descriptors from all corners of society, as opposition to the metaverse seems to be at least one issue capable of uniting socialists and conservative Catholics alike.

But the near-universal condemnation of Facebooks latest venture meshes uncomfortably with another fact: Theres apparently a significant demand for what the metaverse offers, big enough to compel Zuckerberg and Co. to push through the backlash and move forward with plans to hire 10,000 metaverse-dedicated employees and invest $10 billion this year alone.

This news isnt surprising to Megan Fritts, a professor at St. Scholastica, a Catholic college in Duluth, Minnesota. The Episcopalian philosopher has already had some shocking insights into peoples preference for virtual reality over real life, revealed, of all places, in her classroom.

As part of Fritts course on ethics, she regularly teaches The Experience Machine, a thought experiment put forward by the American philosopher Robert Nozick. The premise is simple: If you could be hooked-up to a machine that gave you simulated experiences of pleasure or whatever other mental state you desired would you prefer this Experience Machine to real life?

Writing in the 1970s, Nozick took it as a matter of fact that nearly everyone would answer, No. People would not prefer to be hooked up to the Experience Machine and all its pleasant sensations, he reasoned, if it would mean they wouldnt be in contact with reality. Nozick used the thought experiment as an argument against hedonism, the ethical view that happiness consists solely in pleasurable experiences. The Experience Machine, he argued, showed that, when push comes to shove, people value more than just good feelings.

But when Fritts asked her students if theyd be willing to enter the Experience Machine e adding the caveats that they wouldnt know theyre in the machine nor would their loved ones be adversely affected by their decision she got a dramatically different result than what Nozick wouldve expected.

All but one student were immediately and unreservedly in favor of entering the [Experience] Machine for life, she shared on Twitter after the lesson. Never had that happen before, rather threw off my lesson plan!

The Register spoke with Fritts to get her further reflections on what that classroom experience suggests, how it might relate to the metaverse and significant societal changes, and how people can begin to unplug from the Experience Machine.

What do you make of your students responses?

I teach the Experience Machine at least once a year, and Ive never gotten that large a percentage of students wanting to enter the machine. I dont know entirely what to make of it yet.

One thing that I think is true is that people are very tired. Theyre kind of miserable right now. And I got a lot of responses that were like, Well, as long as it wont make anyone worse off, then it seems better than real life. I think theres a desire to not have to deal with everything that theyre dealing with right now.

I dont know for sure if this implies that they accept hedonism or not. It doesnt necessarily mean that they dont value anything besides [pleasurable experiences]. It could just mean that the exhaustion with life right now is so overwhelming that it crowds out other values.

As you noted, the responses you got seem dramatically different than what wouldve been expected in Nozicks day. People then, he thought, didnt want to enter the Experience Machine as a matter of principle. So what changed? Have we practically said yes to little Experience Machines along the way?

Yes, certainly. We have little Experience Machines like social media or gaming, which have really taken on a life far beyond just turning on a console and playing some Donkey Kong or whatever. Gaming has become this whole virtual community.

But the obvious big difference between these things and the actual Experience Machine is that there are still real relationships with real others happening, even through these virtual mediums not with the Experience Machine. And that difference that relationships in the Experience Machine arent real gets the most amount of students to rethink things.

So after students initially say Yes to the Experience Machine, theres some reconsideration when you press that point?

When I pressed that point, there were at least a few of them that did reconsider and ultimately change their views. But it was still with the caveat that, Well, maybe if my life was really miserable, Id still enter the machine that even sort of having all of those experiences being fake or illusory is still better than living a miserable life.

How do you think what you found in the classroom regarding your students and the Experience Machine fits into the discussion on Facebooks metaverse?

One interesting thing is that the technologys changing: not just how we communicate or relate to people, but also how people think. Its changing the structure of consciousness itself. A lot of evidence points to the fact that human thinking is becoming more and more machinelike and more computational as we engage with technology on a more constant basis. So the effects are both ways: We are making technology more lifelike, but also technology is making us more machinelike.

And that change in our mental makeup could be another plausible contributor as to why something like the metaverse could be taking hold today: that theres not that big of a disconnect nowadays between the way we think and the way machines think, at least not as big as there was five decades ago. Maybe this makes the prospect of what we might call escapism not really look escapism, like leaving one reality and entering another, but just a normal way of making life better. If virtual reality doesnt seem different than regular reality, than it might just strike us as a kind of improvement.

So youre saying that these kinds of technologies arent really neutral, right? That theyre not just being used by us, but are sort of conditioning us based on their own interior logic?

Yes, absolutely. Changes to attention-span length is the one that gets the most attention, but also reading styles. Humans today skim for certain key words rather than actually reading. Theres a lot of data on this thats really sort of interesting, but in a kind of terrifying way.

Whats terrifying about it?

It seems worse to me to think in a more machinelike way. Theres something unique about how humans think that we cant replicate mechanically, no matter how hard we try, which is why these robots or A.I.s that are cutting-edge still look really kind of silly to us and say very silly things. For instance, theres a brand-new ethics bot. Its supposed to tell you whats right or wrong based on a question you asked. And it pulls from really weird sources, like online forums on Reddit. Thats one of its sources for determining what things are okay.

The ability to think abstractly is this really extremely unique human thing. It requires a different, non-computerized way of approaching information. So it does worry me that, as typical human cognition styles change, that that will become harder and harder to accomplish.

Okay, to broaden things out beyond just cognition to whats at stake here, I want to go back to happiness. Because a lot of moral systems other than utilitarianism, like Aristotelian virtue ethics, maintain that happiness is the aim of life. But maybe thats a different understanding of happiness than just experiencing pleasure. You mentioned before how virtual reality has conditioned us to view these things like the metaverse not as escapism, but as just a normal way of making life better. So are we really talking about a redefinition of what a better life is? And if so, how is it being redefined?

I think maybe not a total redefinition, because my students who were willing to enter the Experience Machine wanted to make sure that they werent just experiencing feelings of euphoria all the time. They thought there needed to be highs and lows. There needed to be accomplishments and challenges. The difference is they just didnt care if it was real or not as long as they experienced it.

So, in one sense, they seemed to accept an aspect of Aristotelian ethics, that happiness is more like flourishing and requires not just feeling contended all the time, but really working hard and overcoming challenges and accomplishing things. Or at least they think its true that we need to feel as though those things are happening.

But, yes, a redefinition in the sense that, for Aristotle for instance, reality matters far more than what we feel. Thats why he thinks that someones life can be made worse even after they die, if their children go on to ruin their reputation or something. How life goes is a completely objective thing for Aristotle, totally rooted in real events rather than just how we perceive a thing. So, yes, a redefinition in one sense. But still some awareness that euphoria is not all that matters.

From a Christian perspective, why is this sort of disconnect from reality problematic?

Oh man I mean

Yeah, sorry, thats a huge question. (Both laugh.) But, if we believe that God is being itself, and he created everything in reality and became incarnate to redeem created reality, why is this disconnect from reality so problematic?

In one sense, the answer is so big its almost hard to say. Reality matters because its the only thing that matters.

But if hedonism is right, and pleasurable experience is all that matters for making a life good, then most peoples lives would be absolutely awful. And this is where we see the rise of whats called anti-natalism: that its actually gravely immoral to reproduce, to bring children into the world. And I think thats rooted in a kind of hedonistic picture of what the good life is that a life that involves more suffering than happiness isnt worth living. Its a net bad. Anti-natalists think most lives are like that, and maybe theyre right. I think they are probably right that life generally includes more unhappiness than happiness, if were just counting up the instances.

But if hedonism is right, then all of these things that are typically considered good, and especially considered good in the Christian worldview for instance, that life itself is an intrinsic good, and therefore reproduction is a good arent actually good. In fact, in the hedonistic view, they might be the opposite.

It reminds me of how ancient Gnostic ethics took one of two extremes: ascetic anti-natalism, or caprice and self-indulgence. Also similar to Gnosticism, contemporary hedonism seems to be equating happiness to some sort of non-real or at least non-incarnational sense or experience. But, in Christian morality, happiness is intimately connected with being faithful to created reality not just to an abstract set of rules or spiritual realities, but to the truth of our human nature, and also to the context and relationships and responsibilities we find ourselves living in. There is no happiness apart from being faithful to reality. How do you help your students see that?

I think theres definitely a limitation of language about happiness, at least when it comes to talking with my students. Happiness doesnt mean anything else to them than just a feeling of pleasure or relief or contentment. So defining what Aristotle is talking about as happiness has routinely kind of backfired for me. (laughter)

I tend to go for different words like flourishing, because then you can get students to acknowledge that theres something good about not going into the Experience Machine. Even if its not happiness, its something else.

For instance, if they watch The Matrix, and you ask them what they think about Neo [the protagonist], they generally think hes doing something praiseworthy, admirable something good. Would they say his decision led to his happiness? Probably not, because, again, happiness means something very specific to them.

I think, rather than getting hung up on the word, one thing to do is to show young people that there really are values beyond a hedonistic version of happiness. They admire people who will put aside their own happiness in the hedonistic sense for some other good that doesnt appear to be related to happiness at all. Maybe its related to truth or fidelity or something like that. So there is a limitation to language, but I do think there can be inroads to this deeper truth by helping them see and reflect upon their admiration for these kinds of characters.

So, as a society, if weve kind of gradually dipped our toe into the Experience Machine, such that now weve reached a point where were willing to say we would get into it and even prefer it to engaging with reality, what are some practical recommendations you have for how people can begin to take a step back?

An interesting thing about my students is that theyre on social media all the time, but a lot of the statistics show they dont really want to be. For instance, in studies where there is a group of students who have their social media restricted but also a control group, some of the students will actually request to be put in the group that has their access restricted. They dont feel like they can really do that on their own, because their friends are on social media, and they have a kind of fear of missing out on stuff. But they dont want to be in the virtual realm all the time.

That makes sense. So the first step would be to give them tools and help to restrict social media use, to really make it a very small part of the day, rather than a very large part of their day. I also try to make a lot of my classwork on paper, not online. This is a big thing: Professors are being pushed to use more and more technology, and I just dont think thats a good thing. So, honestly, I use as little as possible and try to make sure that the time were in front of a screen and immersed in a virtual world is kept to a minimum.

Thats really revealing, because it sounds like although we can recognize that true happiness isnt found in these virtual forums, we also dont have the power on our own to hold back from them. Were addicted. So if our freedom is so compromised, to what extent do we need some kind of radical change to restore it?

I think theres a huge need for dramatic change. Im also very pessimistic that that will ever happen. Data right now is the most valuable commodity on Earth. Its more valuable than oil and has been for years. Social-media sites are where just a huge and unbelievable amount of that data comes from. The amount of money to be made via social-media sources is so eye-watering large that I am pretty pessimistic that those things will ever go away or be regulated with any kind of efficacy, unfortunately. I hope Im wrong.

One takeaway from this conversation is that our society is almost becoming like a collective Experience Machine. And while there is pushback on something like Facebooks metaverse, its also clearly another step along the way. As a Christian philosopher, what are your final thoughts and recommendations on the topic?

I think we need to take seriously that theres a unique sort of misery that college students are experiencing right now. I get the reaction in the opposite direction, because life in general is so much easier today than it has been at other times. Theres much less suffering than there was 100 years ago. And thats right, in one sense, but it also doesnt make sense of the statistics we see regarding self-harm and suicide and mental illness and everyone just feeling miserable and doomed.

Part of this is that I think people can deal with a lot of suffering if they think theres a future for them. Our students are kind of thinking there isnt. So it makes it much harder to bear even what would otherwise be a small suffering if they really dont think theres a point, if they dont think theres a future. Thats something that everyone, not just educators, but everyone who is interacting with young people, needs to take seriously.

I dont have any suggestions for how to make it better. But I do think that with the students Ive had over the years, theyre definitely getting more pessimistic and more hopeless. And that makes me sad.

This conversation was edited for clarity and length.

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Dystopian or Not, Theres a Market for the Metaverse and Its Growing - National Catholic Register