Category Archives: New Utopia

New images from orbit and from Mars surface show the Zhurong rover on the move. Chinas National Space Administration (CNSA) released new pictures and video this week, and NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has followed the rovers movements from above.

The image above shows wheel tracks left behind by the Zhurong rover.

As of the morning of (June) 27th the Zhurong rover has been working on the surface of Mars for 42 Martian days and has traveled 236 meters in total, CNSA said in a press release. The orbiter and the rover are in good working condition. (They are) reporting safety from Mars to the Party and the motherland, sending distant blessings at the time of the Communist Party of China centennial.

July 1 will mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.

You may recall that on June 1, Zhurong moved to place a wireless camera on the ground, and then went back to take a self-portrait of itself and the lander. That movement is now shown and documented in footage of the rover reversing, and seemingly backing itself into the sunset, and maneuvering into place next to the lander.

The Tianwen-1 mission is Chinas first Mars mission, and consists of an orbiter, and lander and the rover. The spacecraft successfully entered Mars orbit in February, after a seven-month flight following the launch in July 2020.

In May, Zhurong, drove off a landing platform and onto the surface of Mars. The surface mission is expected to last about three months.

Meanwhile, from orbit, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiters HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera has seen evidence of the rovers movements. In this false color image, the landing site remains distinctly colored from removal of Martian dust during landing and movement of the Zhurong rover toward the south can be seen, the HiRISE team wrote.

HiRISE has taken images a couple of times (this one on June 11, the other on June 6) and with those two images the team was able to create a create a three-dimensional stereo view of the lander. This image should be viewed with red/blue glasses to reveal the lander, as well as the gently rolling plains in southern Utopia Planitia on Mars.

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New Photos and Video Shows Chinas Zhurong Rover on the Move - Universe Today

Imagine a nightmarish future in which the essentials of life are ruthlessly supplied to allone where each citizen is brutally denied the cliffhanging entertainment of recurrent life-and-death crises, and where there is not even a single genetically engineered hyper-intelligent carnivorous flightless parrot roaming daycare facilities. Benevolent providence has so far protected us from such hellishly stable futures, but it cannot prevent authors from imagining them. But once such utopias are imagined, how is the poor author to squeeze an interesting story out of a world lacking everything that makes life precious (as well as precarious)?

I previously reviewed a series in which this challenge was successfully met and found myself wondering how other authors have handled the problem. Here are a few such worksdoubtless there are more, which readers may feel free to suggest in comments.

Tanith Lees classic duology Dont Bite the Sun and Drinking Sapphire Wine is set on a desert world hostile to unprotected life. Not that this matters, because all of its human inhabitants live in one of three domed cities: Four BEE, Four BAA, and Four BOO. Within those cities, virtually every need and desire is met. Even death is only a momentary inconvenience before one is incarnated in a new designer body.

The nameless protagonist, offered material paradise, commits the unforgivable sin of realizing that while the options offered are pleasant, none of them are meaningful. That realization is the border between life in paradise and life in a cossetted hell. Unfortunately for our hero, the Powers That Be in the three cities are determined to maintain the status quo of their cozy societies, keeping them just as they arewhich means crushing (by any means necessary) any pesky aspirations for personal fulfillment.

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Pacific Edge is that rara avis, a Kim Stanley Robinson book about which I will make favourable comments. Set in a utopian world in which the excesses of capitalism and environmental degradation have been brought to heel, its a setting in which most people can expect to enjoy perfectly acceptable middle-class lives of placid ambitions and ecological moderation. Aside from people with burning desires to build strip malls or dark satanic mills, Pacific Edges world seems one where it would be easy to be happy.

Except, of course, if one is an essentially unlovable prig like the novels lead, Kevin Claiborne, whose steadfast adherence to the ethic that makes his world the quasi-utopia that it is does not make him one iota more desirable to Ramona, the woman with whom he is smitten. Convinced that he is in a romantic triangle, Kevin contends mightily against the man he sees as his rival. Its a romance with a happy ending, although not for Kevin.

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Hitoshi Ashinanos Yokohama Kaidashi Kik is set not long after the end. Events never fully explained led to rising sea levels and the inexorable decline of the human species. Despite this, the era in which protagonist Alpha lives seems to be a tranquil one, in which one day is much like another. It helps that Alpha is not a human, but rather one of the immortal androids who will inherit the Earth once were gone.

Nothing much happens in YKK, and what does, happens slowly. The series eschews drama for depictions of lifes quiet moments, moments of melancholy (for the humans, who to be honest do not seem all that bothered by their coming extinction), shared happiness, and (of course) lavish scenery porn. Which gets us to

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Amano Kozues Aria is set on 24th-century Mars. Implausibly effective terraforming has turned the dead world we know into an ocean-covered garden world now called Aqua, one across which energetic humans have sprinkled works of impressive civil engineering. One of its jewels is the city of Neo-Venezia, which is as close to a one-to-one scale model of Venice as its architects were able to create. It seems likely that the process of transforming Mars involved many dramatic moments, but all of that is in the past. Modern Aqua cares not for plot-enabling drama.

Instead, the manga follows Akari and her friends as they struggle to master the skills needed to join the upper ranks of Aquas Undines (or gondoliers). All that stands between the teenaged girls and the positions they desire is years of hard work. This slice of life futuristic tale is, like YKK, about the quiet moments in life, illustrated by lavish scenery porn: Come to Mars for the gondolas, stay for the exquisite submerged ruins.

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Terrestrial humanity is entirely extinct in Arthur C. Clarkes The Songs of Distant Earth. No doubt awareness of the Suns impending nova provoked all manner of drama on Earth. For the people of the exoplanet Thalassa, settled centuries before by a sub-light seedship, the nova is barely a historical footnote. Ocean-covered Thalassa offers its island-dwelling population of decent, sensible people satisfactory small lives punctuated only by small-scale, non-threatening interesting events.

This tranquil existence is disrupted by the sudden arrival of Magellan, the last starship from now-expunged Earth. Forced by mishap to pause briefly at the backwater world, the crew of Magellan appeal to Thalassa to allow them to orbit and rebuild their debris shield from Thalassas abundant water. Briefly is still enough time for the Thalassan woman Mirissa to notice just how attractive strangers can be (in a world thats normally entirely lacking in strangers). As the ensuing romance and its repercussions unspool, the Magellans crew must decide whether to continue to their intended destination or to stay at Thalassa.

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Mods (body modifications) grant the characters that populate walkingnorths webcomic Always Human nigh-perfect health and virtually any appearance they desire. These beautiful folks live in a peaceful world filled with ample opportunities for rewarding work. Mods and other high technology also facilitate humanitys inexorable spread across the Solar System (even if the mods are not yet as powerful as John Varleys null-suits, as featured in his Eight Worlds books).

When VR designer Sunati encounters university student Austen while riding the lavishly funded public transit, Sunati is intrigued by Austens bold decision to not use mods. In fact, Austen has a disability that prevents her from using mods; the excruciating conversation provoked by Sunatis misapprehension is the meet-cute that kicks off the romance that forms the central plot line of the webtoon. Along the way, walkingnorth illustrates all the challenges that even people in quasi-utopian worlds will inevitably face, from crippling self-doubt to impossible work-life balance challenges. There are moments of gentle dramatrue love does not always run smoothbut in the end, all is love and kisses.

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All those are from recent reading. What about you?

Originally published in September 2018.

In the words of Wikipedia editor TexasAndroid, prolific book reviewer and perennial Darwin Award nominee James Davis Nicoll is of questionable notability. His work has appeared in Publishers Weekly and Romantic Times as well as on his own websites, James Nicoll Reviews and Young People Read Old SFF (where he is assisted by editor Karen Lofstrom and web person Adrienne L. Travis). He is surprisingly flammable.

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6 Stories That Find Drama in Utopian Settings - tor.com

Ingenuity Studios has just shared with AWN their work on Spotifys Todays Top Hits campaign, launched June 24, that highlights the streaming music platforms largest, most international playlist.

Produced in collaboration with Spotifys in-house creative team, Ingenuity Studios completed 65 shots across five unique, stylized CG environments, one for each of five starring musical acts. The studio delivered 90-second, 60-second & 15-second edits.

In the campaign, viewers fly through fantastical worlds where their favorite artists find inspiration to create music. Ingenuity Studios built all the environments in CG, integrated with live-action, on-set footage shot completely on greenscreen or bluescreen. They also produced previs to help to provide a sense of framing for the on-set virtual environments and better prepare for the VFX production.

Take a look!

Ingenuitys initial task was to create a fantastic hit station on which the world's greatest artists could discover new inspiration and create amazing music, notes studio owner and VFX supervisor Grant Miller. Everyone was keen to make the environments amazing, unique, and reflective of each artist's sensibilities."

"We shot for three days here in LA plus one remotely supervised day in Korea, he continues. The crew for both greenscreen shoots was relatively small, roughly 40 people total. We started on the previs soon after the job was awarded, completing a full pass on the edit as we worked with the director to refine the spot. Our focus was on the timing of large beats, general environment layout, and getting the actions of the various artists locked in."

In breaking down the spot, Miller shares, "Just after viewers are immersed in the anti-gravity chamber, they are treated to a wild transition of the chair flying out of the chamber, where they fly across the moon and zoom in on the final environment, which begins with a magical tree perched atop the moon. So, we have one environment situated within another environment.

The transitions from one world to the next were among the more technologically challenging aspects of this campaign, he continues. The team wanted to drive home that all of these environments were inside the same ship, so it was a challenge to ensure transitions felt seamless. These are really big worlds. Creating the utopia and tree environments was also quite an undertaking, just due to the sheer size and asset count. We see the tree both at a macro and micro scale, which required a pretty intense amount of detailing work. The utopia set was absolutely massive but needed to be an easy read visually, making the concept and composition really crucial."

While transitioning from environment to environment was technically challenging, placing one environment inside the other proved especially complex. For example, the largest scene that Ingenuity handled was made possible by Solaris inside Houdini, a new USD system, and by rendering with Renderman, Miller reveals. Prior to Houdini USD, and when faced with incredibly large scenes, the studio would have to split up pieces of the scene and reassemble them. Now, working with USD, were able to hold the entire scene in one file, rendering everything together for better lighting and interaction.

Tech used on the project included Houdini (Solaris/USD), Nuke, Maya, After Effects, Premiere, 3DEqualizer, Renderman, and Alexa LF camera.

Credits:

Client: Spotifys In-house Creative Team

Partizan:Warren Fu - DirectorWhitney Jackson - ProducerLisa Tauscher - Executive Producer

Supershop:Tino Schaedler - Art Director

Ingenuity Studios:Grant Miller - VFX Supervisor and PartnerDavid Lebensfeld - VFX Supervisor and Founding PartnerKieley Culbertson - Executive ProducerJumanah Shaheen - Senior ProducerNick Turner - CG LeadKrisztian Csanki - Compositing SupervisorEthan Zhao - Compositing Supervisor

Source: Ingenuity Studios

Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.

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Displaying Great Ingenuity on Spotify's 'Today's Top Hits' Campaign - Animation World Network

The Australian premiere of Destinations by acclaimed Taiwanese-Australian pianist Belle Chen is one of three shows providing a sneak peek at Adelaide Festival Centres OzAsia Festival 2021.

At the forefront of UK new wave classical music, Chen is as uncategorisable as her music is captivating. Her compositions retain the beauty of classical piano while traversing avant-garde and electronica to embody the worlds natural wonders.

Using electric keys, synthesizers and visual installations, Destinations will see Chens arrangements brought to life in vivid colour at Her Majestys Theatre on October 21.

Tickets are also on sale today for Adelaide exclusive The Special Comedy Comedy Special featuring an exciting line-up of Asian Australian comedians including host Jennifer Wong (from ABCs Chopsticks or Fork?) and Adelaides own Jason Chong, along with Suren Jayemanne, Triple J Drive host Michael Hing and TV personalities Lawrence Leung (Offspring, Maximum Choppage), Alex Lee (The Feed) and Nina Oyama (Utopia).

Rounding out the early release is the Adelaide premiere of Sydney Theatre Companys White Pearl. Written by Thai-Australian playwright Anchuli Felicia King, the play is a blisteringly funny satire about a skincare company whose new TV commercial goes viral for all the wrong reasons.

With the rest of the program to be revealed in August, this will be the first full-scale OzAsia Festival under the leadership of new Artistic Director Annette Shun Wah:

For OzAsia Festival 2021, we are thrilled to be presenting the most significant showcase of contemporary Asian Australian artists thats ever been seen before. We have so many world-class performers right here in Australia, and these first few shows that were announcing today are just the tip of an iceberg that includes world premieres and collaborations featuring some of Australias most respected artists alongside exciting new voices.

Adelaide Festival Centre CEO & Artistic Director Douglas Gautier AM:

We cant wait to share the full program for this years OzAsia Festival, and this early release is just a taste of what audiences can expect. In addition to theatre, music and comedy, well have a wonderful selection of dance, film, visual art and community events all providing unique interpretations of the cultural engagement between Australia and Asia.

In another exciting development, OzAsia Festival 2021 will present In Other Words a new writing and ideas program featuring a range of talks, workshops and performances from November 5 to 7.

In Other Words will bring together some of Asia and Australias most inspiring contemporary writers as they engage in vital conversations about their past, present and future.

Led by former Adelaide Writers Week director Laura Kroetsch, the program boasts acclaimed authors Benjamin Law and Roanna Gonsalves as guest curators.

In Other Words Program Curator Laura Kroetsch:

The thing I have most enjoyed about reading and thinking about this event is that it has given me a chance to experience a sensibility not my own. I have so thoroughly enjoyed travelling around Australia and the Asia-Pacific through stories. The experience has been utterly enlightening.

Guest Curator Benjamin Law:

OzAsia Festival is a brilliant celebration of Asian Australian culture and a community whose presence here pre-dates white arrival. Its also a brilliant opportunity to take stock of Australias place in the Asia-Pacific and have some of the most urgent conversations about our shared futures.

Guest Curator Roanna Gonsalves:

Everybody needs good neighbours. But what if the neighbours are also family, united and divided by two continents, two oceans and one big virus? In Other Words brings together the worlds most exciting contemporary writers who live and love in Asia and Australia as they engage in vital conversations about the churn of our histories, our present longings and our interdependent futures.

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Sneak peek at OzAsia Festival 2021 reveals new writing and ideas program, comedy night, Australian premiere concert and more | News - Aussie Theatre

Houston rap superstar Travis Scott promises a shift in his signature sound for a highly-anticipated Utopia album. Cactus Jack has teased more details on what day ones can expect from the long-awaited follow-up to 2018's ASTROWORLD.

The rap star known for his reverb soaked bars plans to serve up psychedelic rock influenced tracks and visuals in his upcoming album. In a new interview, Scott hinted at what the LPs shaping into becoming.

Im in this new album mode where its like psychedelic rock, La Flame explained. So even just like the field of cactuses and mushrooms, you might get tripped out. (WWD)

In addition to this interview, Travis Scott recently teased snippets of his unreleased music at his Dior x Cactus Jack fashion show and in a Spotify commercial he was recently featured in.

In late May 2021, there was a massive twist to Scott and his daughter Stormi Websters mom Kylie Jenner hooking back up. Apparently, the duo was fine with each other but far from exclusive.

Sources with direct knowledge and connection to both Kylie and Travis tell TMZ they have rekindled the old flame and are dating again, but theyre also free to date other people. To be blunt they are in an open relationship. Were told ever since the 2 broke up in late 2019, Travis has been enjoying the bachelor lifestyle and all that comes with it but he also wanted to get back with Kylie and be a strong family unit. So, were told theyve agreed to get back together but with a non-exclusive couple arrangement and both are cool with that. (TMZ)

In early May 2021, Travis shared some heartwarming and rare new photos of Stormi Webster and Kylie together. Along with the rare pics, Cactus Jack included a message expressing how special he thought a mothers love was for their child.

Of all the special things in life. The big ones and small. A mamas love and rage and tenderness. Is the most special of them all.

Recently, Jenner hit up Instagram to keep things 100 on being criticized for asking people to donate money to her makeup artist. Kylie provided full context and shut down the idea of not doing her part of makeup artist Samuel Rauda.

I feel its important for me to clear up this false narrative that Ive asked fans for money and am not paying for my makeup artists medical bills.Sam isnt my makeup artist and unfortunately we dont have a personal relationship anymore but I have worked with him a few years ago and think hes the sweetest.

She also explained the reason for making headlines after donating $5,000.

I saw my current makeup artist and friend Ariel post about Sams accident and his familys GoFundMe and I called Ariel immediately to see what happened to Sam. After learning inmate detail about the accident it compelled me to visit his GoFunMe which was set at $10K. They had already raised $6K so I put in $5K to reach their original goal and thought Id post on my stories to gain more awareness if anyone felt so compelled to share or donate. I dont know how all of this got so twisted but this family has reached out through Ariel and are very appreciative of all the donations, prayers and love towards Sam.

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Travis Scott Vows To Rock Out Like Never Before W/ New Album - SOHH

Here are the latest promotions, appointments and departures, as well as notable awards and accomplishments, from the last month.

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui has been named director of Ballet du Grand Thtre de Genve, beginning June 2022. He will remain with Royal Ballet of Flanders until the close of its 202122 season.

Cathy Marston will become the next director of Ballet Zurich, succeeding Christian Spuck in summer 2023.

Matthew Robinson has been named artistic director of National Dance Company Wales, beginning this fall.

Oregon Ballet Theatre artistic director Kevin Irving and resident choreographer Nicolo Fonte have parted ways with the company. Peter Franc will serve as interim artistic director.

Lauren Snelling has been named artistic director of YoungArts, Rebekah Lanae Lengal deputy director.

At San Francisco Ballet, Kelly Tweeddale has stepped down as executive director. Danielle St. Germain-Gordon has been named interim executive director.

Theresa Remick has been named executive director of DANCECleveland.

Legacy Russell has been named executive director and chief curator at the Kitchen, succeeding Tim Griffin in September.

Connie C. Chin has been named executive director of Global Arts Live, effective July 26. Current executive director Maure Aronson will become director of artistic programs.

Clarissa Soto Josephs has been named executive director of Pentacle.

Jody Gottfried Arnhold has been nominated board chair of 92nd Street Y.

Mandy-Jayne Richardson has joined Sarasota Ballet as ballet mistress, Lindsay Fischer as assistant education director and principal company teacher.

Gillian Murphy has been named artistic associate at American Repertory Ballet.

At the National Ballet of Canada, Koto Ishihara, Siphesihle November, Tina Pereira and Ben Rudisin have been promoted to principal, Jeannine Haller and Calley Skalnik to first soloist, and Brenna Flaherty, Noah Parets and Genevieve Penn Nabity to second soloist.

Steven Loch has joined Miami City Ballet as a principal. Damian Zamorano has been promoted to soloist.

Sae Eun Park in Rudolf Nureyev's Romeo et Juliette

Agathe Poupenay, Courtesy POB

At Paris Opra Ballet, Sae Eun Park has been promoted to toile.

At the Mariinsky Ballet, Olesya Novikova has been promoted to principal.

At Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Chenxin Liu, Alanna McAdie and Yue Shi have been promoted to principal, Peter Lancksweerdt and Jaimi Deleau to second soloist.

Principal William Yin-Lee and soloist Leah Merchant have departed Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Ellen Overstreet and Katelyn May have departed Sarasota Ballet.

Beatriz Stix-Brunell will leave The Royal Ballet at the end of the current season, in July.

Pennsylvania Ballet has been renamed Philadelphia Ballet. Likewise, the second company is now Philadelphia Ballet II, and the academy School of Philadelphia Ballet.

Elisa Monte Dance has changed its name to EMERGE125.

Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts has rebranded to Penn Live Arts.

Dormeshia received the 2021 Jacob's Pillow Dance Award, which includes a $25,000 unrestricted cash grant.

Reginald "Reggio the Hoofer" McLaughlin was named a 2021 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow, which includes a $25,000 award.

Freestyle Love Supreme, David Byrne's American Utopia and the Broadway Advocacy Coalition will receive special Tony Awards at this year's ceremony, set for September.

Winners of the 2021 Prix Benois de la Danse included Yuri Possokhov (Best Choreography, for Anna Karenina), Amandine Albisson (Best Female Dancer), Ekaterina Krysanova (Best Female Dancer) and Jess Carmona (Best Male Dancer). Anthony Dowell received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Svetlana Zakharova received the Russian-Italian Prize Benois-Massine.

Bril Barrett, Ayako Kato, C. Kemal Nance and Jenn Freeman were among the recipients of Illinois Arts Council Agency's 2021 Artist Fellowship Awards, which includes a $15,000 grant.

This year's research fellows at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' Jerome Robbins Dance Division are Tommie-Waheed Evans, Petra Kuppers, zav martohardjono, Ariel Nereson, Jason Samuels Smith and Huiwang Zhang. Each will receive a $7,500 stipend.

Anthony Huxley received a Clive Barnes Dance Innovation Award, which includes a $5,000 prize, for his performance in Justin Peck's SOLO for Anthony Huxley.

Corey Baker Dance's "Swan Lake Bath Ballet" received the 2021 Prix Italia for Web Fiction.

Still from "Swan Lake Bath Ballet"

Ryan Capstick, Courtesy The Space

MSG Entertainment won a Shorty Award in the category of Video PlatformInstagram Live for the Rockettes' series of Instagram Live dance classes.

New York Foundation for the Arts is administering one-time, $5,000 City Artist Corps Grants to 3,000 artists. Applications for the second cycle of grants, for works planned for Aug. 20Oct. 31, open July 6 and close July 20. The third cycle, for works spanning Sept. 3Oct. 31, opens July 27 and will close Aug. 10.

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News of Note: What You Might Have Missed in June 2021 - Dance Magazine

Kids and teens

BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, 536 Fifth St., Columbus. Scheduled: Rockin Storytime with Mr. Dave, 10 a.m., July 1, 15, 22, 29; Teen Nintendo Switch Fun Friendship Time, 2 p.m., July 1; Virtual Super Smash Bros Tournament, 3:30 p.m., July 2; First Saturday of Utopia, 1 p.m., July 3; Patio Storytime, 10:30 a.m., July 6, 13, 20, 27; Teen STEAM: Natures Notebook, 12:30 and 4 p.m., July 6; Drama Club for Ages 3-6, 1 p.m., July 6, 13, 15; Trails and Tales, 10:30 a.m., July 7, 21; Teen DIY Pet Toys for Bartholomew County Humane Society, 3 p.m., July 7; Cardio Drumming: Grades 1-6, 4 p.m., July 7, 14, 28.

DONNER CENTER, 739 22nd St., Columbus. Scheduled: Camp MVP, 9 a.m., July 5 to 9; Star Wars: Younglings Camp, 9 a.m., July 5 to 9; Noon Kids Concert-Adzooks Puppets, noon, July 8; Fun Days: A Galaxy Far Far Away, 1:30 p.m., July 9; So you think you can dance, 9 a.m., July 12 to 16; Magic Camp, 10 a.m., July 12 to 14; Just Dance, 1:30 p.m., July 12 to 16; Family Feast, 6:30 p.m., July 14; Under the Big Top, 9 a.m., July 19 to 23; The Greatest Show, 1:30 p.m., July 19 to 23; Fun Days: Carnival Time, 1:30 p.m., July 23; Movie in the Park: Onward, 8 p.m., July 24.

BUILDERS GUILD, online. Join the Bartholomew County Public Librarys Builders Guild and participate in building challenges, exchange ideas, and share creations in the virtual headquarters. All building materials and formats welcome. This is an ongoing program, so participate whenever you like. Email lbailey@mybcpl.org to join or visit the kids page of the BCPL website for more information.

PAINT AND SKATE, 9 to 10:45 a.m., July 14, Hamilton Community Center & Ice Arena, 2501 Lincoln Park Drive, Columbus. Ages 6 to 12 will paint a canvas from 9 to 10 a.m. Skating will be 10 to 10:45 a.m. Only 12 painters allowed.

Talks, lectures, classes

NOURISH YOUR DIGESTIVE SYSTEM, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., July 2, Mill Race Center, 900 Lindsey St., Columbus. Digestive systems are often taken for granted until there is a problem. Learn how address issues even before they start. For more information call 812-379-1665 or email armstrh@purdue.edu Presenter: Harriet Armstrong. Join either in person at Mill Race Center or via Zoom. Register by calling Mill Race Center, 812-376-9241 or go to https://bit.ly/3uOGTfK

HOME CANNING-BOILING WATER BATH, 6 to 9 p.m., July 15, Columbus East High School, 230 S. Marr Road, Columbus. Take time to learn the recommended research based methods and have hands on time to try them. Class will be offered by Purdue Extension with limited space available with a cost of $15 per person. Pre-registration is required one week prior to the scheduled workshop. For more information call the Purdue Extension OfficeBartholomew County, 812-379-1665 or email, armstrh@purdue.edu

Doing Home Canning Right Pressure Canning, 6 to 9 p.m., July 22, Columbus East High School, 230 S. Marr Road, Columbus. Take time to learn the recommended research based methods and have hands on time to try them. Class will be offered by Purdue Extension with limited space available with a cost of $15 per person. Pre-registration is required one week prior to the scheduled workshop. For more information call the Purdue Extension OfficeBartholomew County, 812-379-1665 or email, armstrh@purdue.edu

VET-TO-VET DISCUSSION, 5:10 p.m., Mondays, Mill Race Center, 900 Lindsey St., Columbus. Hour-long, facilitator-led group discussions with others who have served in the military. Attendees are able to share experiences with fellow veterans.

Sports, exercise, wellness

YOGA BASICS ON THE PLAZA, 9 a.m., Mondays, Thursdays, Bartholomew County Public Library, 536 Fifth St., Columbus. Explore the practice of yoga and its philosophy and benefits with registered yoga teacher Jenn Willhite. These are free sessions. Bring your own mat and remember to social distance. Rain cancels the class.

PLAZA YOGA, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., Wednesdays, Bartholomew County Public Library, 536 Fifth St., Columbus. Explore the benefits of yoga and how it connects breath, body, and spirit as one. Free sessions led by registered yoga teacher Sonia Aponte-Alberts.

SWIMMING FOR EXERCISE, Foundation for Youth, 405 Hope Ave., Columbus. Lap swimming, water aerobics, and public swim are available seven days a week. You must pre-register for current swim sessions. Information: foundationforyouth.com.

MASTER SWIM/DEEP WATER WALKING, Monday through Friday from 12 to 2 p.m. and Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., May 27 to Aug. 15, Donner Center, 739 22nd St., Columbus. Deep water walking for adults is offered in the diving well daily. This is a self-directed program outside and participants must provide their own flotation devices. Masters swimming is great for fitness and stress relief. Also take advantage of lap swimming for adults (18 and over). Three lanes of the pool are available during swim lessons. Cost is $3.

DONNER AQUATIC CENTER PUBLIC SESSION, Monday through Friday from 1 to 6 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from 12 to 6 p.m., May 27 to Aug. 5, Donner Center, 739 22nd St., Columbus. Admissions: Ages 2 and under are free, ages 3 to 5 years are $3, ages 6 to 17 years are $5, and ages 18+ are $6.

PRESCHOOL SWIM TIME, 10 to 11 a.m., Saturdays from May 29 to Aug. 14, Donner Center, 739 22nd St., Columbus. Cost: $1 per person. The leisure pool will be open for parents and their children (6 and under). Enjoy the water and play features without the crowd of older kids.

LEARN TO PLAY HOCKEY, 4:15 to 5:15 p.m., Saturdays, Hamilton Community Center & Ice Arena, 2501 Lincoln Park Drive, Columbus. Kids ages 4 to 10 can join us on Saturdays to learn how to play hockey. The drop in costs $5 and free equipment is available to use.

Seasonal

COLUMBUS FARMERS MARKET, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Saturdays, city hall parking lot, Columbus City Hall, 123 Washington St., Columbus. The Columbus Farmers Market is held every Saturday through Sept. 18 behind city hall at the corner of First and Washington streets. The market averages more than 100 full- and part-time vendors offering a range of produce, plants, foods, and crafts.

Miscellaneous

BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, 536 Fifth St., Columbus. Scheduled: First Saturday of Utopia, 1 p.m., July 3; Indy Split, 6 p.m., July 6; Skill Builders, 1:30 p.m., July 7; Landscaping with Natives, 6 p.m., July 7.

DEMOLITION DERBY, 7 to 11 p.m., July 3, Bartholomew County Fairgrounds, 750 W. County Road 200S, Columbus. The 2021 Bartholomew County Demolition Derby. On July 3, the show will finish out with Full Size Gut-N-Go, Mini Car Gut-N-Go, Youth Compacts, Full Size Stock, and Power Wheels. Information: http://www.ToastPromotion.com

FIRST FRIDAYS CRUISE-IN TO HOPE, 5 to 8 p.m., July 2, Hope Town Square, State Road 9, Hope. Free and open to the public. Bring a chair and support local musicians and businesses. Lots of amazing cars and trucks with to-go food available from restaurants on the square. Prizes are for oldest vehicle, peoples choice, and musicians choice. Food and money donations will be accepted to support the Hope Food Bank and Cruise-In event expenses.

OLD FASHIONED INDEPENDENCE DAY, 6 to 10 p.m., July 2, Hope Town Square, State Road 9, Hope. Open to the public with crafts, games, and contests. Little Mr. and Miss Firecracker for ages 3 to 10. Bike, trike, or stroller parade for kids under 12. Fireworks are at dusk. Hosted by the Yellow Trail Museum.

CYCLING FOR BRIGHTER DAYS, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., July 17, Community Church of Columbus, 3850 N. Marr Road, Columbus. Come join for a community bike ride fundraiser for Love Chapels Brighter Days Homeless Shelter. Check-in starts in the CCCs parking lot at 8:30 a.m. with the ride beginning at 9 a.m. Multiple course routes: 11 miles, 31 miles, and 62 miles. Registration is $25 with 100% of proceeds going to the homeless shelter. For information and/or to register online go to bit.ly/BrighterDays2021. The event is hosted by Crossroads Association of Realtors. Information: 812-314-1195.

CAR SHOW, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., July 24, Sandy Hook United Methodist Church, 1610 Taylor Road, Columbus. Free admission for event, fee for entering car for show ($15 pre-registeration and $20 day of show). Goody bags for first 25 cars, foods, music, t-shirts, games and door prizes. Judging for trophies closes at noon. For info, contact Nancy Johnson at 812-372-7118 or email nancy.johnson@usc.salvationarmy.org.

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK WITH BROWN BOX THEATER, 8 to 10 p.m., July 25, Mill Race Park, 50 Carl Miske Drive, Columbus. Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps. Upon their return from war, a group of soldiers are reminded that life and love are not so black and white. Trickery, jealousy, deceit, and masquerade each play a role in challenging Benedict and Beatrices scorn for love (and each other) as well as the seemingly unassailable love of Claudio and Hero. Through witty banter and dastardly deception, Shakespeares beloved comedy, Much Ado About Nothing debates the preconceived notion of how to love and the value of trust. Event is for all ages.

ELKS LODGE BINGO, 6:30 p.m. Fridays and 12:30 p.m. Sundays, Elks 521 Lodge Bingo Hall, 4664 Ray Boll Blvd., Columbus. Doors open at 5 p.m. on Fridays and 11 a.m. on Sundays. The first game is at 6:30 p.m. on Fridays and 12:30 p.m. on Sundays. Open to the public. Information: 812-379-4386.

VFW POST 1987 BINGO, VFW Post 1987, 215 N. National Road, Columbus. Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 to 9:30 p.m. (doors open at 5 p.m.), Saturdays from 2 to 6 p.m. (doors open at 12:30 p.m). Open to the public.

COLUMBUS CHESS CLUB, 5 to 9 p.m., Thursdays, Lewellen Chapel, corner of Middle Road and Grissom Street, Columbus. Equipment is furnished. Open to chess players 18 and older. Information: 812-603-3893.

COLUMBUS AREA RAILROAD CLUB OPEN HOUSE, noon to 4 p.m., third Saturday of the month. Trains will be operating layouts in four scales HO, N, O, and On30. The club is located at the Johnson County Park headquarters building adjacent to Camp Atterbury. Information: Greg Harter 812-350-8636, columbusarearail road.com, or on Facebook at Columbus Area Railroad Club.

AMERICAN SEWING GUILD NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING, 9 to 11:30 a.m., July 3, first Saturday of the month, Bartholomew County REMC, 1697 W. Deaver Road, Columbus. Each monthly meeting focuses on learning a new sewing/creative skill or group sewing on a philanthropic project. Bring an interest in sewing and your latest project to show and tell. Sewing enthusiasts of all ages and skills are welcome. Contact Marilyn designed@aol.com with questions.

GRACES TABLE DRIVE-IN FREE MEAL, 6 to 7 p.m., second Sunday of the month, July 11, East Columbus United Methodist Church, 2439 Indiana Ave., Columbus. Drive-in free meal as well as music and storytelling. Enter the church parking lot on Indiana Street. Tables are available for walk-ups.

Galleries, museums, exhibits

BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 524 Third St., Columbus. Open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. BCHS hosts two permanent exhibits that share the history and heritage of Bartholomew County. Most recently, an Early Industrialists exhibit was installed. The historical society also hosts rotating exhibits throughout the year featuring items from their extensive collection. Currently they are featuring a quilt exhibit, The Great Cover Up, which celebrates the societies centennial and county bicentennial through its quilts and coverlets. Coverlets will be on display from June 8 through July 29. Information: 812-372-3541, http://www.bartholomewhistory.org

GALLERY 506, Columbus Indiana Visitors Center, 506 Fifth St., Columbus. Open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed on Sundays. Bobbie K Owens 32/200, an exhibit of Bobbie K Owens work that includes past and new creations and series. Exhibit continues through Aug. 15.

YELLOW TRAIL MUSEUM/VISITOR CENTER, west side of Hope Town Square at 644 Main St., Hope. The museum is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Contact the museum at 812-546-8020. Follow their Facebook page Yellow Trail Museum/Hope Visitors Center for updated information.

YELLOW TRAIL MUSEUM SUNDAY SOCIALS, 2 to 4 p.m., first Sunday of each month. All are welcome to have coffee and join in discussions about various topics from the communitys past, including stories about growing up in the communities of Hope, Hartsville, Clifford and St. Louis Crossing. Folks are encouraged to bring news articles and photos. All topics are welcome, but any special stories about businesses around the square will be highlighted for the historic walking tour. Information: 812-371-7969.

ATTERBURY-BAKALAR AIR MUSEUM, located at Columbus Municipal Airport, 4742 Ray Boll Blvd., Columbus, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Special tours may be scheduled by calling 812-372-4356. The museum preserves the history of the former Atterbury Army Air Field which was later named Bakalar Air Force Base. Free admission. Visit the museum online at atterburybakalarairmuseum.org and on Facebook.

T.C. STEELE STATE HISTORIC SITE, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. Due to COVID-19 and social distancing requirements, staff is offering special indoor tours each with a maximum of 10 people Wednesday through Sunday. These tours are included with site admission, but preregistration is recommended by calling 812-988-2785. Information: https://indianamuseum.org/tcsteele.

IVY TECH GALLERY OF FINE ART & DESIGN, 4475 Central Ave., Columbus. Gallery hours: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fridays. Information: 812-374-5139 or rbrooks12@ivytech.edu.

TRI-STATE ARTISANS, 422 Washington St., Columbus. Handmade retail gallery of more than 60 local artisans. Unique gifts, fine art, art classes for youth and adults, youth art programs, art parties and home parties. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. Information: tsartisans.com.

JENNINGS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND MUSEUM, 335 Brown St., Vernon. Information: 812-346-8989, jenningscounty.org.

BROWN COUNTY ART GUILD ANNUAL PATRON & YOUTH EXHIBITS, Brown County Art Guild, 48 S. Van Buren St., Nashville. Offering a wide variety of art from both talented patrons and the next generation of artists. Visits are by appointment Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays.

THE REPUBLIC BUILDING GALLERY, 333 Second St., Columbus. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

411 GALLERY, 411 Sixth St., Columbus. The gallery is open by appointment by sending an email to Susana Villegas at svillegas@artsincolumbus.org. A virtual tour of the current exhibit In-Depth is also available online at https://bit.ly/2N195rk.

HOOSIER ARTIST GALLERY, 45 S. Jefferson St., Nashville. Hoosier Artist Gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Masks are required. Information: hoosierartist.net.

BROWN COUNTY ART GALLERY, 1 Artist Drive, Nashville. Open daily, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Free admission and parking. COVID-19 protocols are in place, with masks required. A special exhibit now features the entire Indiana collection by Gustave Baumann. Paintings by more than 60 Indiana artists are also for sale. Information: 812-988-4609, brncagal@att.net, browncountyartgallery.org.

INDIANA ARTISAN IN COLUMBUS, 4522 Central Ave., Columbus. Open Monday through Thursday, 7 am. to 8 p.m., and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays. Experience the extraordinary and explore Indianas heritage at Indiana Artisan IN Columbus, an exhibit of some of the states best paintings, art glass, stoneware, fiber art, woodworking and more thats on display at the Columbus Learning Center. The exhibit, which received recognition from the Columbus Area Bicentennial, will run until mid-August and is free and open to the public.

Ongoing

FABULOUS FIRST FRIDAYS WITH MISS POLLY, 12:15 p.m., the first Friday of each month. Viewpoint Books, 548 Washington St., Columbus. Information: 812-376-0778.

FOUNDATION FOR YOUTH BOYS & GIRLS CLUB, 405 Hope Ave., Columbus. The Boys & Girls Club is open to children ages 5-18. Information: 812-372-7867.

KIDSCOMMONS, 309 Washington St., Columbus. Ongoing activities are all free with museum admission. Information: 812-378-3046.

Help update the listings

We understand that many events are in flux during this time. If you have updates or information to add, send listings to editorial@therepublic.com.

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Go! Guide July 1 - The Republic

Vladimir Putin, who famously complained that the destruction of the Soviet Union in 1991 was the greatest political disaster of the 20thcentury has, in the fourth term of his Presidency of Russia, significantly reversed thattragedy, as if rewinding a film. The grip of the state, the power of the Kremlin and the suppression of civil society all increase, it seems almost daily. And much of the society is pliant: half or more of the population say they miss the Soviet times, even if many hardly knew them.

Lev Gudkov, director of the independent Levada polling organisation (designated as a Foreign Agent, but still working) told a Russian interviewer that the country was still moving towards totalitarianism, and thatthe space of freedom, culture, enlightenment, religion, morality, science is shrinking, not to mention the complete disappearance of politics as an institutional realmthe masses continue to liveby the idea of state greatness.

Expressions of hatred of the west are part of this reversionironic, thinks Gudkov, since Russian society perceives the west as a utopia, the embodiment of ideas and values. This is doublethink: the cultural historian Irina Prokhorova told the Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung that you meet someone on the street and they talk about the damned West: then they spend their last savings on sending their child abroad for an education.

The return of Soviet values has seen the return of the most necessary: public hypocrisy. This is what the Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz called ketman (a term borrowed from the 19thcentury French writer Arthur de Gobineau), meaning a state ofbeing in which public embrace of a prevailing ideology was shadowed by private revulsion and hidden dissidence.

In a landmark essay for the Medusa websitenow based in one of the Baltic states like much of Russian contemporary dissidenceMaxim Trudolyubov, finest of the oppositionist commentators, writes that the Kremlin leaders must cultivate a constant state of crisis caused by the threat of war, natural disasters, or the activities of saboteurs and other domestic enemies. The nation must be in peril, and its leaders must act in accordance with the logic of national salvation. Its no coincidence that Russian political rhetoric is riddled with talk of threats.

Moscows political analysts echo Lev Gudkovs pessimism. Tatyana Stanova, head of the consulting firm R Politik, says that it seems that today the political advantagein the fight with the opposition is now completely on the side of the ruling power. Epithets like Foreign Agents, Undesirable Organisations, Extremists an NGO infringing theprivacy and rights of a citizen are used, says Stanova,to suppress both individuals and civil society institutions, rendering them unable to take part in politics at any level. This would include the Duma, the national legislature, which goes to the polls on or before 19th September this year.

The Kremlin has succeeded in one large task: it has largely silenced Alexei Navalny. Having failed to poison its most prominent political opponent last August, it took advantage of his extraordinary courage in returning to Russia,after recovering in Germany, by sentencing him to two and a half years in Pokrov, one of its most severe prison camps, and by closing down his national network of offices. He is, says Andrei Kolesnikov,Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Centre (one of the very few western institutes still open) now receding from public view.

In the first of a series of essays published earlier this year on contemporary Russian politics, Kolesnikov writes that Navalnys return and imprisonment appears to have increased the Russian publics distrust and disapproval of him. Why? Couldnt be more banal. Its a case of shooting the messenger the passive majority would prefer to block out unfavourable andcompromising information about their country.

Navalnys call for Russia-wide demonstrations, his tireless revelations of corruption (including drone videos of a vast, newly-built palace on the Black Sea, presumed to have been ordered by Putin), his endless skewering of Putins United Russia party (the majority in the present Duma) have beenabruptlyterminated. But protest, Kolesnikov tells me, is notexcised. We must see what is happening in the regions. Navalny concentrates on central power: reasonably, since historically all change has taken place in the Kremlin. But in the regions, people care about their local rights.

Even if most Russians prefer to shoot the rebel messenger than acquaint themselves with his message, protest now has a larger ground on which to spread itself than in Soviet days

Last year, in the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk, the arrest of a popular governor got thousands out in the streetswith, at first,little resistance from the police. In the province of Bashkortostan, ecological protests also attracted crowds of supporters: ashad, in 2019, thousands protesting the building of a church in the middle of a much-walked park in Yekaterinburg (church attendance in Russia, quite free, indeed encouraged, is low. Though the beauty of Russian Orthodox services, their hymns and chants, remains, the church hierarchy is in an embrace with political power which recalls the days of Tsarism).

The crackdown on dissent, new rules which creep closer to defining thought crime and the flight from Moscow of the regimes opponents, are all sharply increasing. Dmitri Gudkov (no relation to Lev Gudkov),a prominent opposition member of the Duma, left Russia in June, saying he had been warned of arrest on trumped up charges if he stayed.

Andrei Soldatov, who with his partner Irina Borogan, has written penetrating books on Russian securitythe latest of which is The Compatriots, on the lethalforeign travels of secret police assassins since the 1917 revolutionsays that the regime strives to bringthe younger generations, most likely to rebel, into the shelter of the state. Propaganda in education has intensified, loyalists placed in leadership positions: Lev Gudkov notes that 92of theheads of the top100universities are associatedwith United Russia. The army has sponsored the Army of Youth in schools.

Everyone can get swept up, even the apolitical people get taken in, says Soldatov, whose own father, a scientist and a pioneer of the Internet in Russia, was briefly arrested. The pact between Putin and the middle class is broken, the government is so oppressive. People distrust everyone. People dont trust the Covid vaccine: in the regions, people just refuse it. The figures for vaccinations are greatly exaggerated.

In his last essay, Kolesnikov quotes Levada polling evidence which shows that where 59 per centof the over 55s wish Putin to remain President after 2024when he should face re-election57 per cent of the 18-24-year olds want him to go. More than a third of the young believe the poisoning of Navalny was an attempt to rid the state of this turbulent rebel, while only 9 per cent of the 55+ cohorts do. Far more of the former have watched the video of Putins Palace, and generally believe it to be the presidents folly.

Arkady Ostrovsky, born into the Soviet intelligentsia, now Russia Editor of The Economist, believes Navalny, whatever his fate in the notoriously violent Pokrov penal colony 60 miles east of Moscow,has forced the regimeinto its hard line stance, because hes made it hard to say youre neutral. His message was simple: lets live for ourselves in a free state.

He will be in the camp for more than two years: a Reuters report based on the testimonies of former prisoners pointed to severe, prolonged abuse, mainly at the hands of other prisoners,and to withdrawal into silence on the part of many after only a year, with long physical and psychological effects after release. Ahunger strike, now over, has weakened Navalny: the last images were of a gaunt figure. However he bears it, the state murder attempt and the two and a half year sentence (for violating bail conditions while he was recovering) have deprived the regime of what remnants of justice and morality it possessed.

Protest and dissidence now have no single leader. But even if most Russians prefer to shoot the rebel messenger than acquaint themselves with his message, protest now has a larger ground on which to spread itself than in Soviet days. That may be because, as Ostrovsky believes, Navalny has seeded that ground over the past decade. It is visibly the case that young Russians will be the tinder for any future blaze: even Gudkov, wary of optimism, says that the youth of today is markedly different from previous generations (with) new communications practices, new behavioural models, a more pronounced orientation towards the west, a more noticeable intolerance of violence. The shuttering of Navalny is not the end of dissent: it may indeed encourage a broader base of protest, an intolerance not just of violence, but of an entire society bound together only by its threat.

Yet however tempting is the parallel with Brezhnevs USSR (1964-1982), Russia is no longer Soviet. Travel, relatively free speech, a so-far unsuppressed web are now past being novelties: they are seen as birth rights by the 18-25s. Confining them, the countrys future, would, in the absence of the gulag and nightly executions in the bowels of the Lubyanka, hurry the destabilisation of the state itself.

Despair co-exists with a stubborn sense that this authoritarianism, too, will pass. Kolesnikov rejects an easy likening of Russia with China: it was a democracy. Soldatov points to young pupils in school using their smart phones to record abusive teachers, and sees a rising generation with a different, much less constrained mentality than those who had years of Soviet schooling. Just as Winston Smith, in1984,believed that If there is hope it lies in the proles, so those who seek change in Russia see hope as lying in the youth.

Trudolyubov writes Of course, arrests, prison sentences, fines, and being labeled agents are thoroughly real, and it would be both impossible and wrong to dismiss this as a mere hassle. The authorities can take things far, but they will never go all the way. There are too many interactions and processes in Russian society today to make total control possible. Achieving a complete administrative singularity is impossible simply because the state would need to manage everything all at onceThe theological logic of power relies on the publics willingness to accept it on faith, but society isnt a congregation and the authorities arent the only ones active in Russias complex, highly organized public life. The passivity needed for managed administrative utopia just isnt there.

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After Alexei Navalny the opposition to Vladimir Putin has no single leader - Prospect

The Arroyo Seco River begins its life far atop the Santa Sierra Range of Monterey County where its headwaters rapidly flow downward through gorges of solid rock cut deep by millennia of erosion then wends its way eastward along beaches lined by sycamore and oak, slowly moving through deep pools and then dropping rapidly in long stretches of swift water currents before finally finding level ground of the Salinas Valley where it joins its sister river and flows northward to the Pacific Ocean.

I wrote those words many years ago in a college creative writing class, they come to mind as I type this part of the column while sitting on a rock in the middle of the Arroyo Seco River. I am no meteorologist, but surely the temperature is over 100 degrees and seems to be getting warmer by the hour. The river today is not the full flowing watercourse of early season, it is now a dwindling stream waiting for a revival that only comes with the release of water from the millions of trees that run the full length of its twisting course to the Valley floor. But that will not happen for weeks, and so for now many small springs that feed the river are its only source of freshness.

But the river will be especially important for a few days as it will be a source of retardant, via helicopter, for another wildfire now burning within the forest to the west of the Valley. How long this fire will burn and how much it will burn and how many people it will displace are ever-changing statistics; but King City will be part of the event as the forestry station and the fairgrounds will, as they did last year, see increased activity until the forest is once again safe. I have seen no reports of firefighting personnel hurt, and lets hope that stays that way. Those living in the vicinity of the fire I wish well but also hope they are well out of the way of those trained to extinguish large conflagrations.

***

We now have a new national holiday, and I am sure there are discussions rampant upon the merits of such a commemoration, but they are not for me, although I would submit suggestion for what should be the first two-day national holiday: Summer Solstice, June 20-21. This date, or time of year, has been celebrated by the ancient Greeks, Chinese, Romans, Vikings and many American Native tribes, mostly signifying renewal, or newness of life.

I am not so spiritually minded; I think it should be a national holiday chiefly because I detest the short, cold days and long and even colder nights of Winter. I rejoice in the long days of the Solstice, the longest day of the year with conversely the shortest night; that is how life should be lived. If there is a downside to the day it is that, thanks to Spaceship Earth being atilt 23-plus degrees off its axis, from that day onward the days only get shorter. Well, Utopia was always a just a dream, but Ill enjoy the hours of sunshine while I can get it. I hope you all do the same.

With a look at some of the city business, it would seem we will soon have a cannabis shop here in King City in the Broadway Circle, becoming new neighbors to a coffee house and sandwich shop. Some months back at a city council meeting, I stated that while I was not against the business on any moral or legal level, I just thought it wouldnt last in a town where many can, and do, legally grow their own product. A recent visit to such a shop in Salinas has me rethinking that stance; the place was packed regardless of high prices, and a few of the faces I saw there live closer to Broadway Circle that they do to John Street.

Also, it would seem that Lateral Reverse Parking is not a big hit with residents and so city will direct the paving and striping of Broadway with traditional nose-in parking retained. I had noticed during the week the 12 spaces used as a test model were usually sparsely filled and that usually by the owners of adjacent shops, while across the street all spaces would be used. Sundays saw increased use, but apparently not enough to merit a change. With that decision made, it will be good to see repaving work begin as the main street in town has taken a bit of a construction beating lately and needs a facelift.

Until we see paving workers on Broadway, though, they will be busy a few blocks north of the downtown vicinity in a sizable area. I see curbside barricades all along King Street going west from Mildred Avenue to North Russ Street and on a two-block section of Collins Street and on North Russ Street down to Lynn Street. A one-block section of Patterson Street is already paved, and for a bike rider is a little slice of heaven free of the often-bumpy asphalt found around town. But streets are a constant work-in-progress situation for all cities, and here in town we have seen a lot of street improvement in the past five years, so we are fortunate in that respect.

And heres a little bit to add to a piece above: it was yesterday, Saturday, that I wrote how the town would likely see increased activity due to the wildfire in the forest. Well, it took about 24 hours for that to happen as SVF is now a fully operating fire camp complete with HQ and living trailers, fire trucks, bull dozers, water trucks, sleeping trailers and tents, chuck wagons and all the other paraphernalia associated with fighting a fire. Oh, yeah, and firefighters from a half dozen different agencies.

May they stay safe. May you stay safe. Peace.

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Funny Papers Again Column | The Long, Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer - King City Rustler

Here we are in my dreams, sings a figure in glowing, purple light. Her voice, lilting over a chorus of low electronic tones, is filtered through vocal effects that tune her voice to an uber-high octave, like an angelic bionic woman. Shes dressed in all white, wearing a leather corset, lace-up platform boots, a petticoat, and a visor face shield with metal points. Androgynous dancers wearing medical masks and precious little else revolve around her. Here we are in my dreams. Nothing ever as it seems. I can be who I want here.

This is the creative world of p1nkstar in her live music video, Girls Like Us. Its a vision of boundary-pushing pop that centers trans women, non-binary folks, and trans artists of color. p1nkstar, a fixture of queer nightlife in Austin, is known for events where she invites audiences to join an otherworldly party and bask in a queer utopia. Girls Like Us, her latest release, was livestreamed in January as an hour-long concert with a high production quality but a low budget. The video featured her music, and that of six other young trans artists from across Texas.

Since moving to Austin from Mexico in 2014, p1nkstar has become an LGBTQ+ icon in town. Her music proposes a science fiction-inspired future in which trans people live freely and joyfully. In addition to making music, p1nkstar, along with her main collaborator and life partner, Y2K, advocates for queer and trans artists of color and inclusive spaces within Austins predominantly white and straight music scene. By producing her own events, pushing promoters for better pay for performers, and bolstering more bookings for trans and POC artists in Austins venues, p1nkstar has pioneered a sort of advocacy work thats as scrappy and DIY as her productions. Sometimes, when she hosts an event, she pays musicians out of her own pocket, she says.

Fans flock to her because shes a spectacle; a maximalist; a fun, exciting performer. Her music is difficult to categorize, bouncing between American pop, electronic music, reggaeton, underground Latin pop, and hyperpop (an increasingly popular genre exemplified by artists like Charli XCX, Dorian Electra, and SOPHIE). And her persona has always been an ambitious experiment: Becoming an icon was part of the plan.

While her stage presence can be a force, p1nkstar, 26, is bashful and giggly off stage, with her eyes often cast downward and her mouth in a constant soft smile. Ever since she transitioned, her friends simply call her Pinky. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2018, where she designed her own honors bachelors degree called Queer Performance and Online Media. She was still mostly experimenting with digital and performance art within the classroom when a mentor, performance artist Emily Lowe, encouraged her to start performing at parties. During her last two years of college, she says she was living a double life: school during the day and performances, DJ sets, and raves at night. Thats when she crystallized the persona and style of p1nkstar.

I had always been interested in stardoms, she says. She bills herself as ur fave electr0nic pop superstar, and says ur is the key word there. Especially in American pop culture, the pop superstar is like a saint or an icon, almost superhuman, she says. How would a hyper-queer pop star exist in the world as an everyday person? She wanted to know what that person would do, where they would go, what they would wear. So she stepped into the role. Things just kind of happened, and I became a pop star.

The persona was initially a rebuke to her community and culture in her hometown of Tampico in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, a port city about 300 miles south of the Texas border. At the beginning it was a big fuck you to all these values and standards I grew up around, she says. [People] thought it was pretty scandalous. Rebelling against homophobic and transphobic machista values, p1nkstar says the new persona felt like a form of protection from a harmful ideology. I was using the idea of the pop superstar whos beyond human as a shield, she explains. Its art, its pop, its not interacting in the same world as other people.

Over time, however, as p1nkstar got to know more creatives and queer people in the Austin area, her new community became her primary audience. That didnt happen overnight, and it happened out in the city more than within UTs walls. It was hard for professors to understand what I was doing, she told me, noting that she never had a Latinx professor and had few queer professors. I was speaking to a culture that no one in the department understood except for me.

Yet in other areas of academia, the rich tradition of queer nightlife is considered an entire subject of study. p1nkstars work is part of the research of Mac Irvine, a PhD candidate at Tufts University who received their masters degree in gender studies from UT Austin. Queer spaces are so important to peoples lives and peoples livelihoods Pinky is really invested in making those other spaces, and puts in the work to do it, Irvine says. According to Y2K, A lot of our work is creating these whole new worlds where we [trans folks] thrive and you really see that in her work.

The sudden halt of live music in Austin last year because of COVID-19 was tough. I spent like six months mourning, p1nkstar says. I get so much inspiration from seeing all these beautiful queer people celebrating each other and spending time with other, and this vibrant community that we have in Austin. Its hard to not have that.

Before the pandemic, p1nkstar sported a mustache, which she described as an intentional visual nod to gender nonconformity. But in the last year, she says shes been sticking to more traditional gender norms. If you go to the club, and youre gender nonconforming and beautiful, people appreciate it, but if you go to Wal-Mart, people dont appreciate it, she explains, laughing. Masks, since they obscure her face, sometimes help her feel safe. I just want people to not stare at me when Im buying groceries, like, its fine, yall!

Being noticed in public can be dangerous for trans folks, and is the reason queer spaces have historically come to life after dark. Trans people, and specifically trans women, have always been living at night, just because its safer, she says. Im a person who doesnt really exist in daylight.

Currently in the middle of her own transition, she hasnt minded hibernating a bit this year, though. Shes hoping to release new music in 2022. For the rest of this year, her main goal is to keep working on technical skills with sound, and she jokes, to get really hot.

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Austin Performer p1nkstar Is Creating New Worlds as a Trans Musician - The Texas Observer