Category Archives: New Utopia

It's been 11 years since Horacio Pagani unveiled a new car model, and boy has the world changed. Pagani, on the other hand, has not. The all-new Utopia eschews the electric in favor of V12 theatrics, light weight, and a typically steampunk interior.

This is only the third car Pagani has built, after the Zonda in 1999 and the Huayra in 2011. Not that you'd know it these small-run supercar factories sure know how to squeeze a lemon. Wikipedia lists no fewer than 12 model variants of the Zonda, as well as 34 different special editions. The Huayra gets away with just seven variants and a much less jubilant 14 special editions. So the casual observer could be forgiven for thinking these guys release new cars like they change their underpants.

Not so. The pace is hand-built and glacial. So to dyed-in-the-wool Paganisti, today is a big day, even if the rest of us might have to squint to make sure we're not looking at another tarted-up Huayra. The positive way to spin this would be to say that Pagani has settled on a strong design language, and that the Utopia is "unmistakably Pagani." Which it certainly is.

Pagani

"The alchemy of pleasure, the equation of beauty ... What would be important for the next Pagani hypercar," asks a florid press release. "Horacio Pagani certainly had his own ideas, but he asked his closest clients, those who eagerly await each of his creations, to express their wishes. They already had exceptionally fast and beautiful cars, what were they still missing?"

Cup holders, that would've been my guess. Either those, or simpler times when supercar makers weren't always trying to get them on the phone asking how best to bilk more millions out of them for additional garage jewelry. But no! While some might imagine their only lack is of lack itself, these fabulously rich survey respondents made their heady desires crystal clear: "simplicity, lightness and the pleasure of driving."

Really? That's all? Pagani could've offered these people an Ariel Atom, smashed this brief out of the park and knocked off for a ciggy. But he didn't. That's why he's Horacio Pagani, and I'm just Loz Blain, and you, dear reader, are (hopefully) neither of those things. No, Pagani knew what he had to to. He had to go against the grain. With the world zigging toward electrification, the truly brave would have to zag. Batteries? Those aren't simple, or lightweight, or pleasurable well, depending on what you put them in, I suppose.

Pagani

No, the new car was going to need the simplicity and lightweightness of a 5.9-liter, twin-turbo, 60-degree Mercedes-AMG V12 engine, its thousands of delicately synchronized, but assuredly very simplistic, moving parts capable of spinning its crank some 6,000 times per minute. This motor makes 864 horsepower (635 kW) and at least 1,100 Nm (811 lb-ft) from 2,800 rpm upwards. And none of your fancy dual-clutch transmissions, either. Pagani would have none of this witchcraft. Pure manual, or a 7-speed "automated manual," that's what you'll get, and by gum you'll like it.

It's got electronic suspension. It's got a "carbo-titanium" and "carbo-triax" monocoque chassis. It's got big Brembos and big forged rims, 21s at the front and 22s at the rear. It's got a cabin as aggressively complicated as a Roland Iten belt buckle, featuring an aesthetic that's just a few copper tubes and valves shy of steampunk. It's got a four-port exhaust that would've been edited out of the theatrical release of Cats.

Pagani

Let's be serious for a moment. Naturally, you can't have one. Heavens no. Pagani's only making 99, and they're all already sold, at prices somewhere north of US$2.5 million, to people who were informed about this trinket long before you were. Instead, you'll have to wait for the inevitable gaggle of special editions to drop, at which point you can't have those either. So all the lofty lyricism of Pagani's press release can probably be distilled into the phrase "nerny nerny ner ner," or the Italian equivalent.

Still, much like the proprietor of a gentleman's club, Pagani is happy to allow you to look at Utopia, as long as you don't touch it, via the photo gallery and the video below. Very sporting of him.

Source: Pagani

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Pagani thumbs its nose at electrification, unveiling all-new V12 Utopia

Paganis peers may be moving towards electrification, but the Italian marque has no intention of changing lanes anytime soon.

The automaker unveiled its latest hypercar, the Utopia, on Monday. The companys third distinct model isnt equipped with an electrified powertrain. Instead, it features the same kind of internal combustion engine thats been in all the brands vehiclesa monstrously powerful V-12.

Paganis latest shares a name with Thomas Mores 1516 book Utopia. The slim tome was the philosopher and statesmans attempt to imagine an ideal world, where people lived together in peace and harmony. The automotive Utopia is theboutique automakers founder Horacio Paganis attempt to design and build the ideal hypercar. To that end, he surveyed some of his most valued customers to find out what they felt was missing from their vehicles. Three things kept coming up: simplicity, lightness and pleasure of driving.

Pagani

And based on what weve seen so far, it seems like the brand was listening. The Utopia doesnt look wildly dissimilar from its predecessors, the Zonda and Huayra, but its easily the brands most streamlined effort yet. It still looks like a futuristic racecar, with its bubble cockpit and giant fenders, but theres a smoothnessand an attendant lack of ornamentationthat sets it apart. These subtle changes result in a car thats more elegant and aerodynamic than the brands past offerings.

Butterfly doors open to reveal a cabin that is as bold as its lightweight carbon-fiber exterior. Theres a nice retro-futuristic feel to the space, with the brand opting for individual analog gauges and dials rather than a massive touchscreen infotainment display atop the center stackthough there is a digital display in the drivers cockpit next to the speedometer. The steering wheel has also been fashioned from a single aluminum block.

Pagani

Powering the Utopia is an AMG-sourced 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-12. The beastly mill can be mated to either a 7-speed manual or 7-speed automated manual transmission. Whichever gearbox you opt for, itll deliver 852 horses and 811 ft lbs of twist to the rear wheels. All that grunt rides on a set of striking alloy wheels21 inches on the front axles, 22 inches on the rearthat have turbine vanes that help cool the brakes. We dont know what kind of numbers youll be able to put up in the car just yet, but the automaker says its powerplant is clean enough to meet even Californias stringent emission standards.

The hypercar also features a monocoque chassis made from Carbo-Titanium, a unique mixture of composite and high-strength metal that was developed by Pagani, as well as front and rear subframes made from chrome alloy. Its also equipped with a quad exhaust, a double-wishbone suspension and carbon ceramic brakes with six-piston calipers in the front and four-piston calipers in the back. Pagani has done everything it can to reduce excess weight wherever possible, resulting in a car that tips the scales at just 2,822 pounds.

Pagani plans to build just 99 examples of the Utopia. The automaker hasnt announced a price or timetable for the vehicle, but Car and Driver reports that the entire production run is already spoken for. We imagine at least a couple of those vehicles will end up on the auction block at some point in the not-so-distant future. Just be prepared to spend well into six figures for one.

Clickhereto see all of the photos of the Pagani Utopia.

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Paganis New Utopia Is an Ode to Old-School Hypercars With a V-12 and Manual Transmission - Robb Report

First Gyi and Conrad dig through the giant heap of legal marketing news that somebody left here since the last episode. Then, the guys help you avoid over-investing in every cool new thing right before they encourage you to invest in Googles cool new thing.

Second Life! Pokemon Go! Clubhouse! (gasp) Whatever other nonsense you think might work to market your firm. Yes, theres always cool new tech to play with, and maybe you feel like you can be early to this new thing, but sometimes its important to step back and make sure youre not over-investing in the next nothingburger. DO: keep up with the latest trends and tech. DONT: be a sucker for the next shiny thing.

And, weve all seen it in the movies; a delightful future of humanity where everywhere you walk there is a personalized hologram trying to sell you the latest, hottest new thing or turkey dinner in a cup. Well, good news! Google is taking the first steps to that utopia with their new offerings with Out of Home ads. The gents share their takes on our bright future, brought to you by Google, and how (and why) youd use Out of Home to promote your law firm.

A Giant Pile of News:

Special thanks to oursponsors , , , and .

Gyi Tsakalakis: Wed love to hear from you so we can make our show better.

Conrad Saam: Please share five minutes with us at legaltalknetwork.com/survey.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Be sure to tell them you love LHLM most of all.

Conrad Saam: Well choose five respondents wholl get selected among three great prizes: air pods, Beats and the solo stove firepot. That would be awesome. From our survey sponsor Nota by M&T Bank.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Before we get started, we want to thank our sponsors: Clio, Lawyaw, Posh Virtual Receptionist and Nota. Conrad, I made some ribs this last weekend and I understand maybe you also made ribs.

Conrad Saam: I made ribs. I think you have to end out the summer season with ribs. Right? Or some barbecue just to pretend the kids are back in school but youre just elongating the summer just a little bit better. You know the other cool thing I did is my favorite, not that this is a parenting show, but I also bought which is shockingly inexpensive a blow-up projector screen to do movies outside. So as the days have gotten shorter, were now showing movies outside for the neighborhood kids and so we have a bunch of kids coming over every Saturday night to watch movies with ribs.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Are you charging admission?

Conrad Saam: As far as you know, the admission is just a love and adoration of their parents for me taking kids off your hand on a Saturday night.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Very nice.

Conrad Saam: No. But its a really fun way to so I wanted something COVID safe that we could do outside with a bunch of friends back to school and so, its been a good little community gathering that weve been able to create.

Gyi Tsakalakis: What movie did you play?

Conrad Saam: We are going to play Napoleon Dynamite next weekend which might none of my kids know about so Im excited about that. But we watch Spider-Man into the spider-verse which bluntly I was never a comics guy and Im guessing I didnt get 90% of the movie. I was also cooking ribs.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Not a raving review from Conrad.

Conrad Saam: No, no. Everyone loved it except I. Everyone loved it but I was busy cooking ribs.

Gyi Tsakalakis: So what else were going to talk about today besides Spiderman and ribs?

Conrad Saam: Oh boy. This is actually going to be pretty jam-packed. We typically try and jump through the news quickly. Theres a lot of news coming out of the holiday weekend so theres a lot to catch up and then were going to dig a little bit deeper into some of those news items. And the next thing for our first segment, Im really excited to talk about this. This is the dangers of chasing the shiny new toys for your marketing, right? And the importance of actually experimenting with a shiny new toys. And then speaking of shiny new things, were going to end up talking about Googles poorly named out-of-home advertising product that they just talked about this week. Before that, were going to listen to some tunes.

[Music]

Male: Welcome to Lunch Hour Legal Marketing teaching you how to promote market and make fat stacks for your legal practice here on Legal Talk Network.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Welcome everyone to another episode of Lunch Hour Legal Marketing. We hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend as were recording just after Labor Day. Its great to be back here with you. Conrad, lets dive in to this giant pile of news.

Conrad Saam: I wasnt trying to end that sentence, giant pile of news. So the big thing that we were talking about last time that I still think is interesting is the Google helpful content algorithm. My experience with our clients, I suspect you are seeing the same, is a bit of a yawner in terms of any changes. Is that accurate for you?

Gyi Tsakalakis: Yes. Its a big to-do about nothing, you know. I dont want to turn this into a negative rant but this is what the no SEO industry does. This is what the SEO industry does. By the way, Googles doing this too. They know exactly what theyre doing as well.

So, Google has this fancy algorithm, all this stuff going on to try to sort through the mess that the web is. And Google, you know, the actual search engineers, they make updates to the algorithm to make the results better you know. What better is, well let the search engineers decide or now the AI decide. But I digress Google announces, Hey, we made an update. If you have unhelpful content on your site, this classifier might make it not rank as well.

And of course, the SEO industry, because this is how they make their money. It goes out and says, Oh, new update from Google. You better hire us to fix it. Your contents, everythings broken, everythings bad. Your sites going to disappear from search results. You better hire us. And then with some exceptions, with some notable exceptions. And guess what? The stuff that when it does happen, it happens on ginormous websites, not small law firm websites, not the local pack, it might be like your old blog post or your keyword stuff, this or the million plurals like thats unhelpful. Maybe some of that gets filtered.

(00:05:10)

But to your point Conrad, we havent seen a ton. Most major people who spend their days staring at search console and Google Analytics havent seen a ton. They did some I think Barry Schwartz at Roundtable did a survey and said about 20% of people saw something happen and its still rolling out so you know, its still too early to even talking about this. But what is the helpful content update Conrad?

Conrad Saam: Well so, very quickly it is a site-wide adjustment based on how much, what Google considers helpful content. Theyre calling it helpful content to make it sound innocuous and theyre not calling it a penalty specifically to make it sound innocuous. The interesting thing for me is that they talked about this so much, they named it ahead of time and Im going to give a counterpoint to the nothing happening, a counterpoint perspective on this because I actually all of the signals suggest that this will be a big deal.

The last time when Panda rolled out, it hits something like 22% of the web if you have a massive site. And because its site-wide, this is important. If you have a very large volume of pages on your website and a lot of them are garbage, it will actually have a negative impact on your good content, right? And thats what it means by site-wide algo update.

There is a great post. Joy Hawkins brought this to my attention this morning. Its a great post by Marie Haynes and what she writes about is her expectation that this, even though nothing really big is going on right now, she says the last time there was a major rollout, the changes happened at the end of the rollout. So the variability in search results didnt happen until the very end of the rollout and her hypothesis is that its going to happen again. I think that is highly possible but well see, right? Like she could be wrong. This is just a kind of her theoretical perspective. I tend to agree with her because Google has made such a big deal of it which is out of the ordinary for how they typically operate.

Gyi Tsakalakis: So lets say you and Dr. Haynes are right, then what would you do? What do you do? What do you tell a small law firm website clients to do to their websites to prepare to have a great helpful content update?

Conrad Saam: Dont do anything. Henny Penny. The sky is not falling and we dont know if its falling until youve got at least two weeks of data posts update. So you need to sit tight and strap in and watch the data, right? So none of this meant like Gyi and Conrad prognosticating and disagreeing over this. Who cares? None of it matters. What really matters is how your traffic changes, how you are converting traffic changes if your traffic changes and so you need to sit and wait until youve got enough data to actually make that assessments.

Gyi Tsakalakis: And by the way, even with that data, there are hundreds of other updates going out of Google that they dont even talk about and so try to distinguish between helpful content update and the hundreds of other algorithm updates that might be causing the same problem.

Conrad Saam: And finally, we will move on from global content. The smaller your website traffic is, the less scientific this is just basic statistics but the smaller your website traffic is, the less scientific any study is going to be because you simply lack the sample size to ascertain whether or not your site is getting hit or if its just natural variability in behavior.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Statistical significance, such a pain.

Conrad Saam: You know, my .

Gyi Tsakalakis: Data scarcity.

Conrad Saam: I try not to talk about my kids too much but my oldest kid is taking AP stats in high school and that makes me very happy. Its one of I think the best classes you could take in high school to prepare you for real life. Okay, moving on.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Best tip.

Conrad Saam: My case, document automation and accounting. Whats going on with my case Gyi?

Gyi Tsakalakis: Well, the race to be the platform operating system universe, whatever metaverse, who want to go there, whatever you want to call it, for legal is on and my case is definitely in that fight. And so, theyve integrated their document automation and accounting similar to what Clio is doing and some of these other major platforms but you know they want to be one stop shop, right? Like run your firm so its your whole firm. Payments accounting intake, whole consumer journey right there in that app.

Conrad Saam: And not a surprise, right? Like people look at the complexity of all these different systems its difficult.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Who wants to open two different systems?

Conrad Saam: Yeah, zero, right?

Gyi Tsakalakis: Not me.

Conrad Saam: Speaking of the my cases of the world, Clio conference is coming up in October. Weve got the Crisp Summit November 2 and 3. I also noted like theres some crazy people showing up at conferences. Obama is going to HubSpot inbound. Hes the keynote at HubSpot. I will confess, I did actually apply to speak at HubSpots in town conference, probably 90% for the slight opportunity to actually meet Barack. That would be super cool.

(00:10:05)

Gyi Tsakalakis: Well, they got to bring Obama and because no one wants to go to conferences anymore and so .

Conrad Saam: Well thats an interesting thing. Were seeing a really interesting shift in the conferences. Its those in-person conferences, right?

Gyi Tsakalakis: Yeah.

Conrad Saam: Also Gyi, you are the kiss of death for Amazon medicine. It was canceled before our episode. We talked about it last session, Amazon medicine. We talked about whether or not that is a hint that Amazon might be prognosticating or thinking about or toying with the legal industry. Before the episode went live, they had canceled it. So theres an article in the Washington post about Amazon. A kiss of death Gyi for Amazon medicine.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Well, you know, Bezos is a big LHLM guy and so, when hes sitting there, hes just cant help himself. But interestingly, the Washington Post article that I will cite is actually talking about how they are still very keen on doing health. Anyway, take a look, decide for yourself. I still think and we know this. I mean you worked at the company that I was thinking like this many years ago.

Conrad Saam: Yeah.

Gyi Tsakalakis: But a site where you go for lawyers, right? And Amazons the site where you go for everything so, look, theyre not there yet, theres a lot to do. But even if its not Amazon, someones going to be that.

Conrad Saam: Someones there. Its already happening, right?

Gyi Tsakalakis: Yeah.

Conrad Saam: The different models. And thats why we bring it up because I think its really important to think well outside our typical construct of what practicing law means in order to think about what the future looks like. Speaking of what the future looks like, youll be able to delete your racist tweets in Twitter now by editing them. Twitters opened up an editing feature so you can erase your stupidity from the past. Good or bad Gyi.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Do you have the other functionality on your app? Do you even have Twitter? Are you on Twitter?

Conrad Saam: I used to be such a heavy Twitter operator. Twitter. And I have found honestly that the you will find me nowhere on TikTok yet although and were going to talk about the importance of this. The lurking on these things is really, really important, right? Because there are so much to learn just by lurking. You dont have to engage but lurking and were going to get into the shiny object thing but lurking on these different platforms is important. Yeah, I do not have the Twitter edit functionality on my Twitter account.

Gyi Tsakalakis: I dont either and I dont know if maybe .

Conrad Saam: I think they may be rolling it out to people who say stupid things all the time.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Yeah, they dont care. I cant get a blue check so they dont care about me.

Conrad Saam: All right. You said TikTok.

Gyi Tsakalakis: I did.

Conrad Saam: TikTok is really changing the way Google is thinking about how the next generation is finding information. There is a great TechCrunch article on this. Well put this in the show notes but Gyi, can you talk about how the success of TikTok and Instagram is shaping and Googles response to the successive TikTok and Instagram but shaping the way younger generation is actually looking for information?

Gyi Tsakalakis: Yeah. The short version is that people are actually going to TikTok and Amazon to find like places to eat. I think thats like the big example. But the point is, is that the users are now using social platforms more in the context of search, right and discovery.

And you know its funny. I dont know if you and I talked about it. I remember this conversation long ago and Facebook was originally pushing like their search functionality. It never really was a thing because no one went there to do that. But now, these users are. So theyre going and they want to see, theyd much rather see like somebody, one of their influencers or a friend or somebody talking about with a video about the place, the food, all that kind of stuff, the ambience. And so, Googles like while were losing searchers to social platforms, we need to start thinking about how we can learn from TikTok and Instagram to make search results more visual and image-driven, video-driven. I think thats the gist.

Conrad Saam: And Im going to come back to this lurking concept. You will not get this unless you start lurking and playing in some of these different platforms because you will see. Its so real when youre there and its reading it on TechCrunch is nice but actually experiencing it is really important. Theyre going to talk about the new thing and how to approach that.

Gyi Tsakalakis: You know I got to this is a show about bashing the legal profession. Usually, we say about lawyers, theyre so slow to adopt this stuff. Somethings changed. I dont know. Something lawyers need to dance or something but there are lawyers all over TikTok and all over Instagram like its going out of style. And Ill tell you, its not just agency idiots like us that are pushing them there because a lot .

Conrad Saam: Its not agencies like us. The agencies will get it.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Yeah. Theyre taking this on themselves. I dont know. Maybe its the performance aspect of it but someone has convinced the legal profession to be on (00:14:53) and Instagram.

(00:15:05)

Conrad Saam: And theyre all over. This is to me, this is a pure supply and demand thing. Dean Blachford of Ottawa, hes a tax lawyer out of Ottawa. I did a great session with him the other day and he said he was talking about the amount of time that he puts into his charity event and how that is kind of leveraging online to make that really, really successful. And he literally said, I dont spend money on Google ads. I do this instead and its so much more effective. And whats happened is, pure supply and demand, Google ads so expensive, everyones playing in that game. Youve got to find blue ocean strategies for that. SEO, god help you if you are starting out, right?

And so people are looking for different resources that are going to drive business and you and I both started as SEOs but theres so much out there that is not SEO and Google ads. And so, people are finding that. Its just economics. All right, lets take a break. Were going to pay some bills and when we come back, weve got the Legal Trends Report minute as well as talking more and more about the new, new thing. This is thematically coming across quite well in the session.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Its almost like we planned it.

Conrad Saam: Its almost like its in the show notes.

[Music]

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Gyi Tsakalakis: And now for the Legal Trends Report minute brought to you by Clio.

So many legal professionals see practice management software is a key area for investment. And in fact, according to the Legal Trends Report, it accounted for a moderate or large expense and 67% of survey respondents, more than any other category. You all cant see this because youre just listening to me and Im not hearing the scream. But in the Legal Trends Report, there is a chart that talks about expenses among lawyers who are very involved in finances.

And the reason that I wanted to really zero on this is that if you look at the number one category, practice management software, its viewed as a large expense. It doesnt mean it actually is, its just the perception of. And then you come down and you see marketing website and domain which is an odd way of saying it but it is what it is. And thats a much lower perceived expense and I dont know what to make of it. I was kind of thinking about this and in preparation, it just strikes me. I think about practice management software and you know may be excused for different sized firms but like thats the significant expense? Thats the major expenses practice management software, not marketing? In fairness staff was up there. Associate lawyers were up there.

Conrad Saam: No but I mean, not in fairness. Im looking at the graph that youre talking through right now just so I can describe it for everyone. Practice management software is considered a large or moderate expense by more people, the non-lawyer staff and associate lawyer staff, right? So youre spending, and this is again perception.

Gyi Tsakalakis: You think? You think. Yeah. You think youre setting more on practice management.

Conrad Saam: So youre pretty annoyed about your practice management. So I would much rather spend money. I would rather see, this is inverted, right?

Gyi Tsakalakis: Right. I mean, staff and staff, I get that one but I dont know. I dont know. A part of me thinks that maybe it just skews for this particular service runs. But draw your own conclusions. Go download the Clio Trends Report to learn more about these opportunities and much more for free. Download Clios Legal Trends Report at clio.com/trends. Thats Clio spelled C-L-I-O.

Conrad Saam: Now Gyi, we started this session off talking about the new new thing and chasing the new, new thing and you and I are both technology people.

(00:20:00)

Theres always a new, new thing coming out, right? So we were talking about TikTok and Instagram and the effectiveness of that which seems surprising. Theres lots of other new, new things that kind of crash and burn, right? And so, I know how I handle this for the agency, its probably very similar to how you handle it for your agency. But how do you think lawyers should be thinking about the new, new thing and how do you balance staying abreast of changes with technology with not going bananas on things that are never really going to take off?

Gyi Tsakalakis: Well thats part of our job, right? Its our job as the agency experts to stay on top of this. I think thats part of the value we bring to the table thats self-fulfilling. When we started planning for this segment, it was funny because it was really bash chasing shiny objects. Like thats really how we started. But as we started talking, I think you made the point of how important it is as to balance the shiny object syndrome with keeping informed about what is new.

Conrad Saam: Yeah.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Anyway, I think that its a much more of I think balanced construct than just like, its so easy to be like oh, youre silly for chasing shiny objects?

Conrad Saam: I think the problem that we get to is that some of the shiny objects actually hang around, right, not most of them, right? Not most of them. Those of you who are really big on meerkat a long time ago, those of you who were just all over Clubhouse and the mindset

Gyi Tsakalakis: Oh, no. Now I know youve made somebody angry thats listening. Youre about to bash Clubhouse. Oh, boy.

Conrad Saam: Well, by the way, and I genuinely mean this because I would love to have the conversation if you have found Clubhouse, if you still find Clubhouse effective for you from a business perspective, we would love to talk to you. In preparation for this pod today, Gyi and I looked up lawyers on Clubhouse and I sat in on a Lawyer Clubhouse session last night. That was all of the reasons why shiny objects that why we were making fun of shiny objects like A, I couldnt believe it that seven people were actually spending half an hour a week with the same group of inane conversations. B, maybe its just a really bad data point that I had here, but if Clubhouse is still working for you, we would love to know about it and where Im going with this is I played with Clubhouse heavily when it came out. My gut was it was going nowhere because of the way it was set up and I think I was right. Im happy to be wrong. Im happy to have someone walk in and tell me how it is driving their immigration law firm practice and I just dont understand that would be amazing. Wed love to have that conversation.

But my point is not that like hey I called Clubhouse for being that flash in the pan, it was Im happy to be wrong about that and you have to play in the game to understand whether or not this works, right? And you have to play in the TikTok game to understand whether or not it works. You have to play in the Instagram game to understand whether or not it worked. It doesnt mean you have to pick the right tech and I think thats often the case. Oh, you know youre a great tech person because you saw Clubhouse coming and you thought it was amazing and you got everyone on involved. Its knowing whats going to work or whats not going to work. I think thats the deal.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Yeah, I guess my thing about all this stuff is what works for some people doesnt work for everybody and what doesnt work for a lot of people does work for a few because I think about this and Im sure there are people that are using Clubhouse to have conversations and build connections and maybe theres look bottom line is this, forget about the example, you are in, if seven of my closest business advisors, referral sources, professional contacts. We are getting together on Clubhouse once a week and we were referred business to each other and talking shop. I would find that tremendously valuable now. Does it have to be our own Clubhouse? I think thats part of the question too is, its like its not about the technology, right? Its about like where the people are that you want to connect with. Ill tell you, Im on Facebook for that very reason. I dont want to be on Facebook, and I, we all have our personal preferences of like the different social media that we like, but a lot of people I know both personally and professionally are there. Theyre not on Twitter which I guess I tend to prefer despite all these problems. I dont know, so.

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Whats That Shiny New Marketing Toy Youve Got There? || Googles Out Of Home Ads - Legal Talk Network

MIXED SIGNALS New Englands final primaries were as much a test of former President Donald Trumps hold over the GOP as they were a barometer for whether a dying breed of more moderate, less partisan Republicans could keep their way of politicking alive.

The results were mixed.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is through to a general election fight against Democrat Tom Sherman that forecasters say the incumbent is likely to win. Moderates also have hope in Rhode Island, where centrist former Cranston Mayor Allan Fung will take on Democratic state Treasurer Seth Magaziner in the 2nd Congressional District.

But Massachusetts Republicans handed Trump-endorsed conservative former state Rep. Geoff Diehl the partys gubernatorial nomination last week over a more moderate businessman backed by Sununu. Moderate Gov. Charlie Baker, who declined to seek a third term, is refusing to weigh in on the race in which the Democrat, Attorney General Maura Healey, is the overwhelming favorite. And while Diehl has parted ways with adviser Corey Lewandowski, a former Trump campaign manager, since the primary, he continues to face questions from the press and attacks from Healey over the former president.

Trump didn't endorse in New Hampshire. But the GOP race to take on Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas ended in a face-off between two Trump administration alums who divided party leaders. Karoline Leavitt won, beating out Matt Mowers and Gail Huff Brown, a former WCVB reporter and wife of former Massachusetts senator and Trump-nominated U.S. ambassador Scott Brown. Leavitt, who could become one of the youngest people ever elected to Congress, champions the former president's false claims that the 2020 election was "rigged." The former assistant in the Trump White House press office has also embraced his brash style.

And in the Granite State's closely-watched Republican Senate primary, retired Army Gen. Don Bolduc, who's also echoed Trump's election conspiracies, holds a slim lead over Sununu-backed state Senate President Chuck Morse. Morse appeared to concede the race in a post-2 a.m. tweet, though The Associated Press had not called the contest as of 7 a.m. Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan is already blasting Bolduc's "radical, backward-looking agenda."

GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. We're not the only ones with petty primaries.

The Democratic contest for Rhode Island governor ended with Gov. Dan McKee telling an adviser to hang up on rival Helena Buonanno Foulkes on live television. Foulkes, who was trying to concede, said she was unhappy with that development and declined to tell WPRI whether shell support McKee in the general election.

McKee stood by his decision to publicly decline Foulkes call, telling WPRI: Would you take a call as youre celebrating a victory like this? They knew I was on stage. We'll see if they can bury the hatchet by this Sunday's "Unity Dinner" Democratic Party fundraiser in Warwick.

TODAY Baker attends the Pavilion Field at the Riverwalk opening in Lawrence at 10 a.m. and the opening of BMCs Brockton Behavioral Health Facility at 4:30 p.m. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito chairs a Governors Council meeting at noon. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu participates in the Boston Globe Summit kickoff at 9:30 a.m. at WBURs CitySpace and speaks at the WorldBoston 13th Annual Consuls Reception at 6:15 p.m. in Roxbury.

Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email me: [emailprotected].

Advocates raise concerns about sports betting, by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: On Tuesday, the state Gaming Commission heard from academics and advocates for responsible gambling groups who cautioned that the state's foray into betting on professional sports comes with the risk of increasing problem gambling.

Wu voted for Arroyo in DA primary, by Gia Orsino, GBH News: In an appearance on Boston Public Radio on Tuesday, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu revealed that she voted for Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo in the Suffolk County District Attorney primary, despite withdrawing her endorsement after the Boston Globe published an interview with a woman who alleged sexual assault. Politics and policy, Wu said, were the most important consideration in the messy election with conflicting evidence of assault presented in redacted police files. According to released police reports, Arroyo was never charged with a crime.

Boston challenging 2020 Census count, by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: Boston might end up in the 700,000 club yet. Mayor Michelle Wu formalized what the citys been making noise about for the past year or so: challenging the 2020 Census count for Boston and claiming that the 675,647 official count misses significant numbers of college kids, prisoners and immigrants.

Most Mass. primary voters voted early, by Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: Of the more than 1 million voters who cast ballots in the Massachusetts state primary last week, fewer than half actually voted on election day. According to Secretary of State William F. Galvin, 50.2 percent of ballots were cast before Sept. 6, with 45.6 percent cast by mail and 4.6 percent cast in person during the early voting period. The only other time most voters cast ballots before a primary election day was the 2020 state primary, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic when 60 percent of ballots were cast outside of polling places. In terms of total ballots cast, the 2022 primary election also saw the second-highest turnout for a state primary since 1990, surpassed only by the 2020 state primary. The percent of registered voters who cast primary ballots this year was 21.8 percent, matching the 2018 state primary election, elections officials said.

There were stark differences in how voters cast their ballots between the Democratic and Republican primaries:

Of 777,819 ballots cast in the Democratic primary: 52 percent were by mail, 4.7 percent were through early in-person voting and 43.2 percent were cast on primary day.

Of 276,158 ballots cast in the GOP primary: 27.4 percent were by mail, 4.2 percent were through early in-person voting and 68.3 percent were cast on primary day.

Springfield sees lowest voter turnout in Massachusetts 2022 primary, new state election data show, by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: Only 10.4% of registered voters cast their ballots in Springfield, though the overall statewide turnout notched nearly 22%, according to official election data released Tuesday by Secretary of State Bill Galvins office and shared with MassLive. Sturbridge, meanwhile, logged the highest voter turnout of 43.3%, according to Galvins office. Boston saw a voter turnout of 19.2%.

DEBATING DEBATES, GENERAL ELECTION EDITION: Geoff Diehl wants to debate Maura Healey three times in the governors race. Anthony Amore wants to debate auditor rival state Sen. Diana DiZoglio five times, in a mix of TV, radio and digital debates across the state. And Jay McMahon wants to debate attorney general rival Andrea Campbell a whopping seven times.

Democrats hold the upper hand here, so how are they reacting? Healey agreed to one debate in October and will consider others. DiZoglio looks forward to participating in multiple debates as she did for the Democratic primary, a campaign spokesperson said. Campbell told GBH earlier this week: Well see.

POST-NEAL PREP: A group of primarily Democratic activists in Rep. Richard Neals district has launched a website critiquing his record on health care, national defense, trade and more. Its not an attempt to aid Neals Republican opponent, Dean Martilli, in November. Instead, its an effort to highlight issues of concern for when the race to succeed [Neal] happens, Matt Barron, a former Chesterfield Democratic Town Committee chair involved with the website and its associated MA-1 PAC, told Playbook. Some western Massachusetts political observers and operatives speculate that Neals eventual departure from the House could come sooner rather than later should Democrats lose the chamber this fall and the powerful House Ways and Means chair loses his perch.

Federal judge wont intervene in Tran prosecution, by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: A federal judge has declined to intervene to stop Attorney General Maura Healeys prosecution of congressional candidate Dean Tran. Tran, a Republican former state senator who is challenging Democratic US Rep. Lori Trahan in the 3rd District, was indicted on six counts related to his alleged attempt to steal guns that had belonged to an elderly constituents late husband. Tran pleaded not guilty and challenged the prosecution in federal court. He argued that the prosecution by Healey, a Democrat running for governor, was politically motivated and asked a judge to pause court proceedings in Worcester Superior Court until after the November election and prohibit Healey from participating. On Tuesday, US District Court Judge Leo Sorokin dismissed Trans complaint and let the state criminal case proceed.

DPU trying to double size of its MBTA oversight staff, by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: The state Department of Public Utilities, which is coming under fire for its poor oversight of the MBTAs safety practices, appears to be trying to double in size. In a statement, the agency said it currently has eight positions, three of which are vacant. It also appears to be recruiting seven additional staffers, including new postings for a director and assistant director of rail oversight. The staffing issue is likely to be a major topic at a legislative oversight hearing scheduled for Wednesday that is expected to focus on the safety practices of the MBTA and the safety oversight of the T provided by the DPU.

More: Feds decline invite to testify at MBTA oversight hearing, by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: Joint Committee on Transportation Chairs state Rep. William Straus and state Sen. Brendan Crighton said the Federal Transit Administration informed the committee Monday that it would not participate in the Wednesday hearing, which is scheduled for 10 a.m. In a statement, Straus and Crighton said they are disappointed, but expect the feds will reconsider the committees request for help in assessing the context and recommendations of the FTA safety report in time for the future oversight hearings.

Orange Line shutdown: MBTA reports 82% of work completed with days to go before scheduled reopening, by Chris Van Buskirk, MassLive: MBTA officials on Tuesday said 82% of work on the Orange Line is complete days before it is slated to reopen to the public after a monthlong shutdown for major repair work.

Partial Green Line closure planned days after Orange Line reopens, by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: The D Branch of the Green Line, from Riverside to Kenmore, will be closed for a total of 27 days, between Sept. 24 and Oct. 30, to allow for track upgrades and the implementation of train-collision prevention equipment.

SJC Could Cut in to Rule on Dismissal of Holyoke Soldiers Home Prosecution, by Matt Szafranski, Western Mass. Politics & Insight: The legal drama around the criminal indictments arising from the Holyoke Soldiers Home COVID-19 outbreak has flown under the radar since the appeal began. Last December Attorney General Maura Healey filed notice that her office intended to appeal the dismissal of charges against the facilitys former leaders. That appeal arrived at the Appeals Court in April. The arguments on appeal have been under seal, ostensibly because they contain info from grand jury proceedings. The case, however, jolted a bit in public view again as Healeys office sought direct review from the Supreme Judicial Court.

Holyoke police call on councilor to apologize for gang comments, by Brian Steele, Daily Hampshire Gazette: The citys police officers and supervisors unions on Tuesday called for At-Large City Councilor Jose Maldonado Velez to publicly apologize for referring to the department as a gang or recuse himself from any vote involving the citys police.

Lavar Click-Bruce selected as the next Ward 5 City Councilor, by Jonah Snowden and Patrick Johnson, Springfield Republican: Lavar Click-Bruce defeated Edward Collins by 44 votes in yesterdays special election to claim the vacant Ward 5 seat on the Springfield City Council.

Pam Laliberte-Lebeau steps down as Council president amid criminal charges and scandal, by Jo C. Goode, Herald News: Just a few hours before she was to convene a City Council meeting on Tuesday, fourth term Councilor Pam Laliberte-Lebeau resigned from her position as City Council president as she faces pending criminal charges of harassment and obstruction of justice in a case unrelated to city matters.

"Analysis: McKee comes out on top as Foulkes surge develops too late," by Ted Nesi, WPRI: "As the results of this years gubernatorial primary rolled in Tuesday night, it briefly looked as if [Gov. Dan] McKees luck might have run out. Former CVS executive Helena Foulkes took a small lead in the initial results, confirming she had received a burst of late momentum following her well-received performance in last weeks televised WPRI 12 debate. But McKee clawed back ground as the night wore on, and he moved firmly into first place when mail ballots were added to the totals."

For this New Hampshire family, Live Free or Die is more than a motto, by Brian MacQuarrie, Boston Globe: Tyler and Sara Brown are proud members of the Free State movement, transplants from New Yorks Hudson Valley who moved here with three young children, joining thousands of other people from around the country who want to create a libertarian utopia in the Granite State. The Browns, who relocated in November, are part of the most recent influx of Free Staters to arrive in New Hampshire, and their embrace of the movement offers a glimpse into its appeal for people who believe that liberty and modern government are incompatible.

Brandeis names former Boston Globe, Washington Post editor Martin Baron as 2023 Richman Fellow, by Katie Mogg, Boston Globe.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Roger Lau, Ted Gup, Julia Murray and Alex Pratt.

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The future of New England Republicanism is... - POLITICO

Pinocchio is this years first live-action remake from Disney. The company has continued the trend of transforming its wonderful catalog of animated classics into star lead live-action features directed by noteworthy directors. This film in particular was directed by Robert Zemeckis, who has spent the last two decades incorporating ambitious computer-generated imaging, or CGI, effects into his filmmaking.

Toy maker Geppetto (Tom Hanks) creates a puppet boy named Pinocchio (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) to help fill the void in his lonely heart. After Geppetto makes a wish on a shining star, a fairy comes to grant his desire and give life to the puppet boy. Pinocchio wants to become a real boy to please his father and his newfound conscience, Jiminy Cricket (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Pinocchio embarks on an adventure and meets multiple colorful characters along the way as he learns the values of an honest boy.

Disneys newest version of Pinocchio struggled to give the audience anything of value for the entirety of its run time. It told the exact same story as the original film while making everything worse. Half of the cast is portrayed through CGI, so its difficult to even call this a live-action film.

Zemeckis was once a master of storytelling with classics like Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but now he makes lifeless films that lack any sort of soul. There is nothing visually interesting or innovative with his filmmaking craft in this movie. It highlights the sad trajectory of this mans career ever since he began dabbling in computer-generated visual effects starting with The Polar Express in 2004.

Tom Hanks, who has collaborated with Zemeckis in previous films played Geppetto for this remake. I would love to say that he was a highlight of the film, but his performance comes off as stale and lazy. Hanks did nothing new or interesting, which only solidifies how empty this film is as a whole.

Pinocchio himself looks like a toy you would find at a Disney store. No effort was made to make the design feel new or more realistic. He looks like an uncanny cartoon character that doesnt belong in the world this film is set in.

The journey of this puppet boy feels more underwhelming and tragic than ever before. He is an optimistic lad that gets beaten down by the world time and time again. Pinocchio encounters villains who wish to use him for their own benefit, and its difficult not to associate that behavior with the Disney executives who keep remaking these beloved classics.

Halfway through this film, Pinocchio and a bunch of rowdy kids are taken by the Coachman (Luke Evans) to a place called Pleasure Island. Its an amusement park utopia that allows the kids to do all the things that their parents and elders disallowed. Like the original film, the kids are horrifically transformed into donkeys for acting on their impulses. The Coachman sells off these donkeys as slaves and then proceeds to round up more kids.

Just like the brats on Pleasure Island, we have become slaves of the stories we once loved. Disney+ continues to pump out content almost exclusively based on pre-established franchises. Much of this content feels half-baked and mediocre, but since we are already attached to these characters and stories, we feel obliged to watch them even if they are consistently bland and uninspired.

Pinocchio is just another remake that falls short in bringing anything new or substantial to a timeless tale. It proves that not every classic needs to be remade, especially when it comes to beautiful animation being sacrificed for ugly CGI. Pinocchio is a pure waste of time and talent, and deserves nothing more than a two out of 10.

Disney is continuing their downward spiral by reusing their old successes to get more eyes on these products, with little to offer the viewer as a result. They parade around these film properties like puppets on a string, with no regard to the artistry or worth that was once present long ago. Disney isnt trying to sell you their movies anymore, they only need to sell you their brand.

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Disney continues to botch their animated classics with Pinocchio - Shield

Private homes in Poundbury, on the western edge of the town. Photo:View Pictures/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

POUNDBURY, England If you follow the Queen Mothers gaze, youll find that it lands on the Duchess of Cornwall pub, where a 17.45 Venison Bourguignon or 17.95 Roasted Barramundi awaits you. Too pricey? Perhaps youd prefer the hummus flatbread, at a princely 9.50. Or, if none of those sound appetising, youre in luck theres a posh supermarket just across the road.

This is the geography of the centre of Poundbury, an experimental planning project in southern England that lies within the Duchy of Cornwall, a huge estate that up until last week was owned by King Charles III. A huge statue of Queen Elizabeth IIs mother, after which this square is named, stands at one corner of what is essentially an enormous car park flanked by a wine shop and Waitrose, a high end supermarket chain loved by Britains middle classes.

When West Dorset District Council decided to expand the town back in the 1980s, Charles, then the Prince of Wales, became its champion. Poundbury would be an example of New Urbanism this should not be yet another soulless housing estate with a business park tacked on, he said.

Flowers laid at the statue of the Queen Mother following the death of her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. Photo: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images

On the train to Poundbury, I read that New Urbanism essentially means city planning around walkable neighbourhoods, but standing in this square between the pub and the statue, I could not say it feels especially walkable, as I was nearly run over twice by cars who are guided not by traffic lights or road markings, but simply by all of the bends that are supposed to slow vehicles down. It might be a town planned for pedestrians, but a lot of these pedestrians seem to be driving to where they want to walk from.

Elsewhere, pavements are huge and protective; covered walkways are expansive and feel European, far from the urban sprawl that the former prince so clearly disapproves of. Poundbury is not unpopular if you read the local press, and there is the sense of an attempted utopia to it as you try to unpick Charles vision. Roads spiral in pentagons around squares this walkable town was apparently inspired by Venus orbit, flowers and Islamic art.

About one third of the housing in Poundbury is affordable housing for rent or shared ownership, and the idea is that the social housing is indistinguishable from the private properties. But the chiropractor, the hearing care centre and the exercise classes for over-50s strongly imply that this is not a young persons town. Poundbury Magazine, published by the local community trust, advertises luxury car travel and wealth management advice. Census data from 2011 says 51.4 percent of residents here are 16-64 years old, and that 32.9 percent of them are over 65.

The then Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Camilla pictured before the Queen Mother's statue was unveiled in 2016. Photo: Justin Tallis - WPA Pool/Getty Images

I bumped into two locals from Poundburys neighbouring villages, who did not want to be identified because they thought what they had to say was too controversial. The town is equidistant between them, so they come here for strolls, but they would never live here: You have to be a certain type, one of the women said.

The then Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Camilla pictured before the Queen Mother's statue was unveiled in 2016. Photo: Justin Tallis - WPA Pool/Getty Images

They told me about the woman who was rebuked for having too many flowers in her front garden, and that they think many of those who buy private properties here are retired, eager to move away from cities. They think a lot of the workers here do not live in Poundbury, which might explain several of the cars, and ultimately this was not the aim of a town that was supposed to house homes next to businesses in the same street, self-sustainably providing work for its people.

A woman watches coverage of the Queen's death at a pub in Poundbury. Photo: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images

There was once a factory here, they said, that provided over 100 jobs, but that it had moved further away to the town of Poole. One of the women rather ominously urged me to, look at the house prices here, and find out what the rules are for living here.

Prices vary, but I saw a bunch of properties advertised above 700,000. A local estate agent gave me a 52-page booklet on the guidelines for living and building in Poundbury, where I learned that chimneys arent allowed to be inappropriately stout or dumpy, and that a lot of the ones I could see are in fact not remotely functional but are there for the traditional silhouettes.

The Duchess of Cornwall pub. Photo: Samir Hussein/WireImage

Paving over lawns or artificial grass in front gardens will not generally be approved, and it is advised that things like doors and windows are repaired, rather than replaced. In some cases very specific material which is not the cheapest to maintain or renovate is advised, such as leadwork, which must not only be expensive for private homeowners but for the council paying for all the social housing.

A general view of Poundbury, which is due to be completed in 2025. Photo: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images

You cant deny that Poundbury is pretty, but its pretty in the way the suburbia of Edward Scissorhands suburbia would be if it had been filmed in England. Its twee and makes you feel like you cant talk too loudly. Poundbury has been described as a feudal Disneyland, but the monarchical references are heavily muted besides Queen Mother Square. Most of the road names have in-the-know royal references to the familys race horses or the Dorset Regiments battles in the 19th century but other than that, the only things here that suggest monarchist feelings is a lone union flag I found flown at half mast, bouquets of flowers for Queen Elizabeth II at the feet of her mothers statue, and the condolences sign outside Waitrose.

In the 52-page rulebook I learn that solar panels arent allowed if theyre visible from the street, and that emerging eco-friendly technology involving changes to external appearance or potential nuisance to other residents will require the consent of the Regulator. It does not click with the climate-change-fighting, renegade-royal Charles is known to be.

A playground being built in Poundbury earlier this year. Photo: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images

Poundbury is unfinished; construction still rumbles on near the edge of the town which is expected to be finished by 2025. New housing is advertised in the local magazine. But this is no longer King Charles concern, as his son Prince William has now inherited the Duchy of Cornwall, and Poundbury with it. What Charles has inherited from his mother in turn is vast, and which he will not pay any inheritance tax on.

You dont see Charles name anywhere, and curious visitors might be disappointed; some German tourists lingered by the Queen Mother statue taking pictures, half to observe the period of national mourning in the UK, but half because theres not really anything else to take pictures of here, apart from the roads without markings, fake chimneys, and an incomplete vision.

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Inside the Experimental Town That King Charles III Created - VICE

A sheet of blue light slices through the cavernous interior of Berlins Halle am Berghain. A handful of visitors move around spellbound, their faces illuminated in blue. Ducking beneath the pristine plane of light,disembodied legs appear to wander in the smoky dust of the world beneath. The ambient noise moves to a crescendo and you follow a series of thrilling, fast-moving spotlights to a cinema screen beyond

Imagine a future in which the internet could be enmeshed with our nervous systems, allowing us symbiosis with technology capable of living our lives more flawlessly than we, as imperfect humans, ever could.Set in a great anomic era, Ian Chengs Life After BOB invites us to envision a time in which AI cohabits our consciousness, exploring the perils and potential of artificial intelligence, mental health and existential fitness in the future century. The immersive exhibition is built around the first episode of the artists latest real-time narrative animation, allowing visitors an experience the atmosphere of the film while also interacting with potential-enhancing NFT-generating technology.

Episode one, The Chalice Study, tells the story of Chalice, a ten-year-old child who was implanted with an experimental AI named BOB (Bag of Beliefs) at birth by her neural engineer father, Dr Wong. Its a world where people get this implant like a neural link and, suddenly, you could experience a flow of data in and out of your brain and nervous system directly, Cheng tells Dazed. BOB can appear in Chalices head, like a dream or an inner voice. And Chalice can play these inner video games, while BOB is doing what we call droning her physical body doing tedious things for her in her life like dealing with conflict with her dad, walking up a flight of stairs that shes too lazy to walk up. So she can just escape and check out.

Cheng who first studied cognitive science before becoming an artist created this complex, beautiful film using the Unity game engine which is an unprecedented feat. Nobody has produced a film of this kind before, using Unity to produce the building blocks for an entire cinematic universe, explains Amira Gad, Head of Programmes at LAS (co-commissioner ofLife After BOB: The Chalice Study) and curator of the exhibition. Screened live in real-time in the exhibition, the film uses a specially conceived algorithm to generate and randomise details of the onscreen world, conflicted feelings about technology, and whether he anticipates a future dystopia or utopia.

I wonder if you could maybe begin by just introducing with, in your own words, the world in which the story takes place?

Ian Cheng: It started with the idea, What if we were in a world where the internet goes to your nervous system? I could share my dreams with you, or maybe half a dream, a sensation of my finger, some fragment of a thing from my memory. I could share them with you and you could share them back, it could be this kind of telepathic dream language. So started from this crazy premise, in terms of the world, and then that became fertile enough for me to situate all the characters and imagine father-daughter scenes, but set in this new world in a much more tricky way.

I love the way you allow the possibilities and perils of this technology to play out in the story. Could you tell us what you feel is the purpose and the value of storytelling?

Ian Cheng: So much of what we experience in terms of ingesting information or news or just understanding the world is non-narrative, its just talking to the conscious part the left side of your brain. I think our attraction to storytelling is its ability to allow us to become unconscious. Watching Netflix or at the theatre, its so joyful to become unconscious for a moment, because it bypasses the conscious part of your brain and suddenly youre able to accept and dream about really complex stuff and its easier to digest.

You can tell a story about something complex and you can actually argue it out. When you have to write factually about something complex, you almost have to have made up your mind about it already, or feel like you understand it before you can start writing. The characters help get you there, the way a dream kind of helps get you somewhere. And so I think this is a very important form of technology that weve cognitively developed. Moviemaking and storytelling are more a kind of mediation of your dream world and trying to actually make it coherent.

What if we were in a world where the internet goes to your nervous system? Ian Cheng

I found the experience of the exhibition was so much like a dream. In your introduction to the film, you invoked the idea of Disney World as an inspiration when you were thinking about how to present the screening in an exhibition context. Could you tell us more about that?

Ian Cheng: So many of the movies I loved growing up things like Spirited Away, you watch it and its a coming of age story but the world its set in also seems like a great place youd just like to hang out in. I wish someone would create a theme park of it.

I was so struck by that movie because I wanted to revisit it for all those details that are non-dramatic. I saw it again recently with my daughter and theres a gang of little fat ducks having a bath you only notice maybe the fifth time watching it, but you can track them across the film and they are doing something coherent. Its so beautiful to discover this detail.

I think theres so much potential now for a story to really unfold the world and not just use it as a background or scaffolding. There are probably people in the audience who want to explore that, like me. And its a different temporality, its not so dramatic. It's not so adrenaline filled, you dont feel the stakes are very high. And I think that activates a different part of you thats happy to watch ducks having a bath but find it really thrilling.

Without wishing to sound too essentialist, to what extent do you feel the world you have created is dystopian or utopian?

Ian Cheng: Writing a story about the future of AI, naturally, my mind when its in storytelling mode wants to argue both sides. So you create a character that is overly interested in AI, like Dr Wong. He wants an instrumental reason for AI its going to help you with your future, its going to parent you. Then you have Zee whos into it for all these tangential possibilities.

So I had to argue these different positions about AI and create dramatic tension. And so, naturally, youre forced to argue all sides of a very complex topic. I dont know how articulately I did it or how persuasively by a new in writing, I had to touch on every single point of view that I could imagine about AI. Who wins? Im curious to know your response.

I went in with more of a dystopian outlook but now, after having been to the exhibition, the whole issue of AI feels more complicated than before. To what extent do you think your work might be prophetic?

Ian Cheng: I think it might be too arrogant to say that its prophetic. Maybe the most hopeful outcome as an artist I would have is the reaction you had, where it becomes greyer. I havent necessarily changed your mind with this film, but maybe Ive shifted you and youre less certain in your original belief. As an artist, I couldnt hope for more.

I think theres so much potential now for a story to really unfold the world and not just use it as a background or scaffolding Ian Cheng

For people like myself who are slightly unfamiliar with the technology you use, I wonder if you could explain why its pioneering to use Unity?

Ian Cheng: Unity is used for building mobile app games or video games. Angry Birds is a super popular game built in Unity.Its unusual to use Unity to try to make narrative films. Before this, I think the longest Unity film has been like 10 minutes. And so it was a huge challenge for us to try to do something like this.

Despite being a pioneer in this field and doing something relatively new, I wondered if there are any particular artists you look to for inspiration?

Ian Cheng: I used to work for a French artist called Pierre Huyghe, I loved his work. Like, hell create an aquarium with species that really don't belong with each other in the same ecosystem, yet somehow hell make it work. Or an entire ecosystem for a huge park. I was so struck by this ethic of allowing things to be entropic and chaotic. His sculptures get overrun with grass or weeds. He had a sense of aliveness in his work and I wanted so much to achieve a sense of that too, but through visual means.

So much art is very static painting and sculpture. As an artist, it tends to make you become a perfectionist because youre moving toward a very fixed thing. Id prefer to approach it more like a gardener, tending to something and maybe it's not perfect. For me, this is a very liberating way to work, it stopped the perfectionist in me and activated a kind of parenting instinct. And I suppose thats why Unity really lends itself to that process and being able to dive in there and change things. Its like movie-making becomes a form of software with new updates released all the time. I love the idea that software is an evolving object. It can become kind of endless for me, yes. But the trade-off is that you can make really alive work.

Ian Chengs Life After BOB (co-commissioned by LAS) is running at Berlins Halle am Berghain until November 6 2022

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Ian Cheng imagines a world where the internet inhabits our nervous systems - Dazed

In recent years, tributes to Shaker culture have also found the form of a collective celebration that, cultivated over time, has taken on the value of an immersion in the legacy of the American sect. This is the spirit in which Furnishing Utopia, a group of 28 international design studios, launched a series of exhibitions from 2016 to 2018 that offered a comprehensive reinterpretation on various scales of the Shakers corpus of artefacts. Offsite, the first debut at New York Design Week in 2016, tackled the restyling of some pieces through the use of updated lines and colour keys. Also exhibited at Hancock Shaker Village, the museum site of an old and now extinct Shaker community, Furnishing Utopias collection expanded the following year to include storage furniture, textile creations and series of objects often reinterpreted as an exploration of a given typology. Hands To Work, from 2018, explored the metaphor and value of household cleaning objects, whose instrumental function is combined with the idea of a tool for spiritual elevation and enlightenment.

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The aura of Shakers, the influencers of good design - Domus

The children of 12th Street from 60-12 Club, the streets newsletter | Courtesy of the Trachtenberg family

The word utopia, coined by 15th-century English writer Thomas More, is based on the Greek words eu-topos, which means a good place, and ou-topos, which means no place.

The term was meant to show the idealized, just-out-of-reach nature of a perfect place. Certainly, a place that appeared so faultless could not possibly exist without a catch or shortcoming.

Some of the former residents of East Oak Lane would beg to differ. Hugged between North 11th and Camac streets on one side, and Marvine and 13th streets on the other, the 6000 block of North 12th Street was home to about 50 families, most of them Jewish, in the 1940s and 50s.

The residents remember the neighborhood the same way: Children addressed adults as aunt and uncle; no one locked their doors; everyone had a part in the annual Chanukah performance; and the street on a hill was transformed into a sledding haven in the winter, when the streets fathers stood at the top and bottom to block off incoming cars, and the children spent the later afternoons and weekends treading through mounds of snow.

Eighty years after the cohort of residents moved to North 12th Street, the surviving children, now septuagenarians and octogenarians, will gather for a reunion on Sept. 10 in Rittenhouse. The meet-ups theme, 12th Street: Myth or Reality, puts the neighborhoods utopic status to the test.

All of us think that everything wonderful happened on 12th Street, said Joan Cohen, 79, a former 12th Street resident. Anything bad or negative that happened in our lives happened after 12th Street.

The group of 30-40 surviving residents last convened in the early 2000s, and the cohort believes that the upcoming gathering will be one of the last opportunities to meet and share stories of a unique upbringing.

We are all brimming over with memories, Cohen said.

Cohen and her sister Alice Fisher both were born and grew up on 12th Street, the children of young parents looking to settle down during a tumultuous time in United States history. On the eve of World War II and following the Great Depression, many couples found refuge in the less-developed East Oak Lane section of North Philadelphia and had children at around the same time.

As the children grew, the trees grew that kind of thing, Cohen said. It was a new street, and I think they all wanted to be friends. Most of them had lived in different neighborhoods, whether it was South Philly or Kensington. They came from many different neighborhoods as single people prior to getting married.

The neighbors, according to former 12th Street resident Steve Trachtenberg, were relatively homogeneous in age and religious and cultural backgrounds. The commonalities laid the groundwork for the kids and parents to grow close.

There was going to be interaction from the beginning, from 2-year-old birthday parties up to bar mitzvahs X number of years later, Trachtenberg explained. The result was that associations, for whatever sociological reasons, were formed, and they just happened to be particularly close. Whether or not the war brought them together, the Jewish background brought them together, the common age brackets, the common socioeconomic brackets it wound up producing a series of people who sought and got the company of the rest of the street.

Fisher remembers playing hopscotch and jump rope with the other neighborhood children. She recalls a mother in the neighborhood who was musical and wrote an annual Chanukah show, giving each child a small part, and fondly remembers the annual Memorial Day picnic at what is now Breyer Woods. Cohen still remembers her neighborhood talent show performance of Im Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair from the Broadway show South Pacific.

In their childhood naivete as well as in the streets culture of not speaking ill of others Cohen and Fisher were raised to believe that any differences among the streets children were inconsequential.

Growing up, in our house we never talked about anybody, Fisher said. I didnt know who was old, who was young. I didnt know who was rich, who was poor. Everybody was the same. It was like a family.

What surprised the surviving 12th Street residents most about the neighborhood connections was that all the parents got along, particularly the men.

The parents had an unusual association, Trachtenberg said. The men played cards every Friday night, alternating between the homes. The woman played their card game; they were playing once or twice a week. The street, as a whole, did things together.

The adults maintained a newsletter 60-12 Club, which included weather forecasts, letters to the editor and results, with photos, of the streets Halloween party and costume contest. Men took their wives on vacation to Grossingers or Concord in the spring. On Shabbat, though families belonged to different synagogues, many would walk substantial distances to attend services together.

On the High Holidays, extended family would move in; the neighbors would still have personal connections with others aunts, uncles, cousins and grandmothers, who would cook the Rosh Hashanah meals for each household.

The whole street smelled like brisket one time, Fisher said.

In hindsight, however, Fisher and Cohen did notice some financial differences among the families that were not clear to them when they were children. While some households had a new Cadillac parked in their driveways, others had old cars.

Im safe in saying that nobody knew or cared enough, Trachtenberg said. It just was the way it was.

Though the former residents of 12th Street unanimously remember their time in the neighborhood fondly despite socioeconomic differences, they were not untouched by tragedy or troubles.

The polio epidemic of 1952 pervaded the summers of Cohen and Fisher, who attended sleepaway camp at Kittatinny. One year, the campers had to stay on the campgrounds for 10 extra days; a 14-year-old girl from the neighborhood had died of the virus.

The sisters knew of a couple in the neighborhood who would argue with one another. In one instance, Fisher and Cohens next-door neighbor became upset with them one summer day when Cohen was 6. With the windows and screens in all the homes open, the woman sprayed her hose into Fisher and Cohens living room window.

That was like the worst thing I ever remember, Fisher said.

However, the neighborhood children, though their memories are self-admittedly softened by time, endured real hardship.

Fisher and Cohens mother died young at age 50. Steve Trachtenberg and his brother Drew lost their father when Drew was 4.

Though they remember the sadness of the losses, Fisher, Cohen and Trachtenberg also remember how the families lifted each other up in times of devastation.

My mother was a very strong person internally. She had a strong sense of family, Trachtenberg said. Everybody recognized she was as capable as anybody would be at handling the loss. The amount of support that she got from the neighbors throughout that period of time was just extraordinary.

Nobody was alone in their troubles, Fisher added.

Though tight-knit for about two decades, the golden era of 12th Street came to an end in the 1960s, when the children of the neighborhood left for college, though many ended up staying in the city and continued to keep in touch over the years.

The parents, more financially comfortable and with emptier houses, relocated to the suburbs, with many families moving to Wyncote.

The conclusion to the cohorts time in the neighborhood felt natural, with everyone going their separate ways, though the time left a lasting mark on the residents.

I never mourned in any way or grieved at all about the passage of 12th Street. I never did, Cohen said. I always felt that it had endowed me with tremendous strength and warmth and understanding and caring and just relationships that seasoned during my whole life It was my foundation.

Those two decades on 12th Street remain even more anomalous because of the period in which they existed.

Today, Trachtenberg said, the grandchildren of the residents want to attend college outside of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.

Nobody stays in one place anymore, he said.

As young people move around more to seek out economic opportunity, theres less of a chance of a group of people, especially majority Jewish, settling into a neighborhood and collectively raising their children there. Recreating the environment of 12th Street is near impossible, Trachtenberg believes.

For now, the 12th Street of the 1940s and 1950s will likely remain as a memory for the few dozen who lived in the idyllic neighborhood. Though Sept. 10 will likely be one of the last times a large group of former residents meets in person, the reunion attendees can take solace in sharing stories, knowing they didnt take their upbringings for granted.

Even the 8-year-olds and 12-year-olds were aware, at some level, of the fact that not everybody was going to a Chanukah party at some restaurant that was attended by virtually everybody on the street, Trachtenberg said. And not everybody was going to have a street where all the parents went to the Poconos for a weekend during the summer.

We had a sense of the uniqueness then that was a valuable part of the memory, he added.

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Utopia Revisited: Residents Reunite to Share Stories of 12th Street Childhood - Jewish Exponent

Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.

Socrates

A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

If wonder is the beginning of wisdom, lets listen to all that inspires. Coming into spring, as the southern hemisphere blossoms, so should our sense of awe bracing ourselves for all the possibility that is yet to flourish. We say salut! with Salut and their trackAir, which feels like we are being carried like blossom on a breeze into Roger DoylesSpring is Coming with a Strawberry in the Mouth, a pleasant reminder to eat more fruit and that above all else, [we] want to be loved.'

Once mechanical synths have decayed away, we are grounded by more the more organic guitars of Half Japanese, in their wonderous world of wonderous wonder, giving us a brand new start for a brand heart. Cass McCombs follows with his take on a new earth, birds return to their homes and junkies are reborn as a new utopia comes to us after a very, very bad day. We fall into theMoonshineof Nightlands and visit Paris in 1985. HAAi embraces the wonder of bodies of water, whilst Puro Instinct remind us of the subjective nature of awe after all, its whatwesee that give us a sense of all-encompassing beauty.

From the magnetic fields of Alex Chiltern, to the Mother of Pearl of Scribble, then to the Wild Flowers of Mark Lanegan, this playlist should promote diverse sensations, speaking to all aspects of amazement. Angel Olsen takes us to a fascinatingDream Time,followed closely by Poly Styrenes version of a surreal and lo-fi dreaming.

As we ground ourselves in a spring that is being sprung, we realise that Louis wasnt wrong, as we think to ourselves, its a wonderful world.

Looking for more 'Wonder' content? Get to know our 'Wonder' cover star Yilan Hua.

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'Wonder' Playlist: The sounds that inspired our new issue - RUSSH