Category Archives: Futurism

The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture will open an exhibition on Saturday that will showcase the works of 25 contemporary artists from North and South Carolina one of a few exhibitions in the centers history to feature such a large number of artists.

The exhibition, titled Visual Vanguard: An Exhibition of Contemporary Black Carolina Artists, was curated by North Carolina artists Stephen Hayes and David Wilson.

Plans for a show that features an all-Carolinas lineup of contemporary artists was first discussed last year, said Gantt Center President and CEO David Taylor.

The Gantt Centers timing was no coincidence. A preview of the exhibition revealed a number of works that seem to reflect the messaging and energy that fueled last years nationwide protest following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police office.

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Three contemporary portraits by North Carolina artist William Paul Thomas, each named to reflect a mother-son relationship, bear witness to the individuality and humanity that Black men in America too often are denied.

This exhibition gave the Gantt an opportunity to share the breadth of creativity in our region and embrace the full power of the arts to engage the community, Taylor told QCity Metro in a recent interview.

Its important that we lift up some of our emerging artists across the Carolinas who are doing amazing work, he added. We want to continue making sure that they are getting introduced to the art world.

The exhibition also features two works by Charlotte-born artist Marcus Kiser, whose murals, multimedia, and digital illustrations are often infused with Afro-futurism. The works on display in the Visual Vanguard exhibition, he said, takes an Afro-futurism approach with a focus on Black mental health.

They all revolved just around the mental space of young Black men, he said. I draw Black folks in the future. I put Black people in different scenarios, and that future theyre in, I link that to the past.

Christopher Johnson, who goes by the name KOLPEACE, said he used fire to create one of his featured pieces, which he titled Brothers and Sisters Sang. He said the piece gives viewers a glimpse at what he witnessed growing up in Columbia, South Carolina.

Its a symbolic meaning of what we saw in the cut, he said. There are houses boarded up without windows, clothes hanging from a linecars on bricks.

Winston-Salem photographer Endia Beals contribution to the exhibition is a large photograph of civil rights activist Rev. William Barber II at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh an image featured in Time Magazine as one of the Best Portraits of 2020.

When you see this portrait of Rev. Barber, you cant help but get a sense of his determination and his perseverance, Beal said.

Visual Vanguard will be the first Gantt Center exhibition to operate under a six-day schedule since the start of the Covid pandemic. The center will host its formal unveiling on August 28.

To protect visitors, the center is operating under the North Carolina Covid-19 guidelines. Visitors are asked to practice social distancing, and those not fully vaccinated are asked to wear a mask.

Heres a list of the artist included in the exhibition:

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At the Gantt Center, a new exhibition showcases 25 Black artists - all from the Carolinas - Qcity metro

Epstein revealing his connection to Gates "was absolutely a retaliatory move."Epstein Connection

Even now, months after it was revealed that Bill Gates relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was likely a driving factor in his divorce and a great source of personal turmoil, more troubling details about the duo continue to emerge.

New reporting from Rolling Stone reveals a greater insight into the disgraced financier and convicted sex criminals playbook for ingratiating himself to and leeching off of the wealthy and powerful elite especially the most prominent figures in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It also reveals that Epstein was notoriously petty: Boris Nikolic, the physician close to Gates who Epstein named as the substitute executor of his will days before his death in prison, says he fainted when he learned of the role Epstein had given him, adding that it was almost certainly a strategic move to bring Epsteins ties with Gates into the light.

The details uncovered by Rolling Stone suggest that Epstein very deliberately cozied himself up to Gates and other prominent figures in his sphere a move that Gates seemingly embraced, believing Epstein would be the key to securing more funding for the Gates Foundation. But then, red flags emerged when Epstein asked for a cut of foundation gifts given by whatever high-profile donors he brought in, which seems to be one of the reasons Gates attempted to sever ties with him.

So then, after Epstein found himself in hot water in recent years, people close to the situation told Rolling Stone that he seemed to want to bring Gates down with him.

It was absolutely a retaliatory move, Nikolic told Rolling Stone of being named executor.

Over the past few years, we have all learned that Epstein was a master deceiver, he added. I now see that his philanthropic proposals were designed to ingratiate himself with my colleagues and me in an attempt to further his own social and financial ambitions. When he failed to achieve his goals, he started to retaliate.

READ MORE: What Was the Real Relationship Between Jeffrey Epstein and Bill Gates? [Rolling Stone]

More on Gates and Epstein: Lawyer Slams Bill Gates for Connections To Jeffrey Epstein

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Bill Gates Associate Says He Fainted When Epstein Connection Was Revealed - Futurism

Down the road, your car might be able to determine when you've had enough.Engine Lock

In the near future, you may need to prove to your car that youre sober before youre allowed to take the wheel.

Buried on page 1,066 of the newest version of the infrastructure bill currently being debated by Congress is a provision, spotted by Motherboard, that says every new car built from 2027 onward would need to include some sort of monitoring system to catch anyone trying to drive with alcohol in their system. Its an interesting idea for how the automotive industry could take a more active role in preventing drunk driving, but as Motherboard notes, theres some reason to be skeptical of alcohol-detecting tech currently under development.

Right now, the breathalyzers that can be attached to drunk driving offenders cars have a low but non-zero error rate, Motherboard notes. If everyone in the country had to blow into one to start their vehicle, the publications back-of-the-envelope math suggests that there would be millions of false positives keeping people from where they need to go per day.

But that doesnt seem to be what the infrastructure bill is calling for. The draft legislation doesnt refer to any program or tech by name, but Motherboard notes that it does seem to imply future adoption of technology thats currently under development by the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety Program (DADSS), an amalgam of various government and industry agencies collaborating on the problem.

DADSS is working on two passive systems meant to catch drunk drivers in the act. One monitors the air inside a car for whiffs of alcohol, and the other measures blood alcohol levels through the drivers skin when they press the cars engine button.

Right now, DADSS breath sensor seems to operate on an all-or-nothing basis it detects the presence or absence of alcohol rather than being able to accurately determine whether the drivers blood alcohol concentration is above the specific legal limit. But the organization says its working on upgrades that will make the tech both more accurate and less intrusive, so hopefully it will be ready by the potential 2027 rollout date.

READ MORE: Every Car Made After 2027 May Have Drunk Driving Monitoring System [Motherboard]

More on drunk driving: Too Drunk to Drive? You Might Also Be Too Drunk to Ride in an Uber

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New Law Would Make Every New Car Verify That You're Sober - Futurism

"If we had lived upstairs in this house, wed be dead."Burning Batteries

Numerous carmakers have recalled their electric vehicles over the risk of them spontaneously catching fire while charging inside owners garages, The Washington Post reports.

Its a troubling development for a technology thats meant to banish gas-guzzling internal combustion engines from public roadways once and for all though, to be clear, electric cars are still largely safe and much better for the environment.

Charging electric cars parked in personal and public parking garages occasionally catch fire, even once fully charged. Chevrolet had to recall more than 60,000 of its Bolt EVs last month the second recall of its kind advising its customers that the cars could spontaneously combust.

When EVs do catch fire, the flames can be extremely challenging to put out, as several high-profile crashes involving Teslas have vividly demonstrated.

But how widespread the problem is remains to be seen. Theres still no evidence that EVs catch fire at higher rates than gas-powered vehicles, the Post points out though it didnt track down comprehensive data on the phenomenon.

But the potential for disaster is there. After all, a car battery is one massive store of potential energy ready to be unleashed.

In one particularly violent instance, a charging Tesla Model S parked inside a garage burned so brightthat it caused a neighboring vehicle to catch fire as well.

If we had lived upstairs in this house, wed be dead, owner Yogi Vindum, a retired mechanical engineer, told the Post. The fire burned so hot, firemen couldnt walk up the driveway.

Its a concerning trend that underlines the importance of regulation, even in green industries.

READ MORE: While they were asleep, their Teslas burned in the garage. Its a risk many automakers are taking seriously. [The Washington Post]

More on Tesla fires: Fire Chief: Reports of Fiery Tesla Crash Grossly Exaggerated

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Electric Cars Have One Problem: They Keep Lighting People's Houses on Fire - Futurism

IT careers are taking off, and even careers outside IT are demanding new computer skills, so what better way to jumpstart or boost your career than by earning an IT certification? For a limited time, you can save 60% off these ten courses designed to boost your IT career. Be sure to enter ANNUAL60 at checkout for your Semi-Annual Sale discount!

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Presented by Integrity Training and Total Seminars, these 22 courses contain everything you need to know to get a broad range of IT certifications. Whether youre just starting out, or exploring a new platform, each course details what you most need to know to pass the exam and get certified. And even better, youll learn how these different networking and cloud disciplines connect.

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Scott Duffy and Anand Nednur start with the basics of Microsofts cloud, at AZ-104, and take you right up to advanced certifications. Each course digs deep into important aspects of Azure you may not learn about studying for the exam, as well. By the time you finish, youll have a broad grounding in how this cloud platform functions in a business environment.

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Taught by the iCollege team, this bundle starts with the very basics of CompTIA certifications and then blossoms out to fifteen more certifications touching a wide range of IT career paths. Whether you want to go into cybersecurity, networking, or get a CIO job, this has the tools you need to get certified. Each course goes in-depth, so you can build your career as you progress through the bundle

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The iCollege team shows you the latest in cybersecurity, in 24 comprehensive courses. Each course gets into the nitty-gritty of an important topic, from protecting Linux systems to securing CompTIA certifications. Youll also learn how to stay in compliance with changing cybersecurity laws.

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Amazon offers much more than eCommerce. This DevOps bundle is taught by expert Amazon Web Services developers who get you hands-on with the code to learn how to build pipelines, automate tasks, and much more in the AWS cloud. The bundle closes with a complete overview of the certification exams you need to launch an AWS DevOps career.

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ITU Online breaks down Ciscos two key networking certifications in these two courses. The first course spends 46 hours looking at every detail of the CCNA exam and what it takes to become certified. The second builds on the first to secure the CCNP credential.

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Working in cybersecurity means youre constantly learning. Infosec4TC makes it easy to stay current with lifetime access to detailed courses on the latest topics. Furthermore, it has some of the highest pass rates of any certification authority, so staying current on your resume is easy as well.

Get an Infosec4TC Platinum Membership: Cyber Security Training Lifetime Access for $27.60 (reg. $999) with code ANNUAL60.

Read more:
Build Your IT and Ethical Hacking Career With These Training Packages - Futurism

Vevo announces the release of Doja Cat's Official Live Performance of "Need To Know" from her new album Planet Her, out now via Kemosabe/RCA Records. Vevo's Official Live Performances are the result of close creative collaboration with artists and their teams, resulting in a series of very special exclusive performances. "Need To Know" follows Doja's previous Official Live Performance of "Ain't s."

"It was such a privilege to be able to capture this new creative with Doja Cat after working with her on her Vevo LIFT campaign last year," says JP Evangelista, Vevo's SVP of Content, Programming & Marketing. "We really enjoyed being able to build off her new Planet Her aesthetic, creating a world perfectly suited for the album and her new era and sound. As always, collaboration is the key to success with these performances and that is truly evident with these videos. Doja's input was absolutely invaluable, and we're so proud of the finished product. We look forward to continuing to support Doja and being part of her artist story with this and upcoming releases."

Doja Cat previously worked with Vevo when she was named a Vevo LIFT artist in 2020, releasing exclusive performances of "Say So" and "Streets," as well as a short film, "The Tale of Becoming Doja Cat." For Doja Cat's Official Live Performances, Vevo and Doja worked closely together to build upon the themes on Planet Her: futurism, femininity and surrealism, all while showcasing her power and strength as a performer. Shot in California, " Need To Know" sees Doja Cat clad in all black, emerging from the side of a cliff while covered in shadow. Slinking out into the dusk as she sings, she commands shining golden orbs with her every move, in complete control of all things surrounding Planet Her.

Read more:
Vevo and Doja Cat Release Exclusive Performance Of Need To Know - Broadway World

Whether youre a podcast fan or need new earbuds for your workout, weve got all the audio you need. With this Semi-Annual Sale, you can save an extra 15% off these already discounted earbuds using code ANNUAL15. But act fast: These deals are only available for a limited time.

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These Totally Wireless Earbuds Are On Sale For Way Less Than Apple AirPods - Futurism

This is seriously terrifying.Fire Beach

New videos show how the devastating wildfires in southern Turkey are turning sandy beach resorts into a scene straight out of an apocalyptic movie.

One video shows residents evacuating a beach while a massive wall of fire shoots gargantuan clouds of dark smoke high into the sky.

Worldwide, wildfires have been devastating this year and these videos could be a grim foreshadowing of whats in store for us, as climate change leads toward drier and hotter conditions, year after year.

Regions across the entire globe are currently on fire, from the Bootleg Fire in Oregon to remote regions of Siberia that are spreading smoke all the way to the North Pole.

Some of the fires are large enough to create their own weather patterns, triggering freak lightning storms and allowing fire clouds to form.

Turkish authorities are now trying to gain control over a series of forest fires along the countrys Mediterranean coast and southern Aegean regions. Dozens of people were sent to hospitals, according to the Associated Press, and at least three people have been killed.

Its a scary new normal and should come as a stern warning.

More on wildfires: A Forest Fire in Oregon Is So Huge That Its Generating Freak Lightning Storms

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Videos of Turkish Wildfires Are Like a Vision of Hell - Futurism

But, she adds, nothing is inevitable.Right on Track

Earlier this month, sustainability researcher Gaya Herrington made headlines when sheexamined claims from a 1972 MIT study predicting the end of civilization and found that were indeed on track for a collapse around the year 2040.

Now, shes standing by her grim forecast. The moral of the story, Herrington told The Guardian, is that business as usual an approach thats worsened global climate change and largely failed to mitigate the resulting weather disasters will likely lead to economic and societal collapse.

However, she also feels its not too late to clean up our act.

Were totally capable of making huge changes, Herrington told the Guardian, and weve seen with the pandemic, but we have to act now if were to avoid costs much greater than were seeing.

The specific problems that the MIT scientists feared decades ago are a bit different than those facing us today. They were worried about a combination of resource scarcity and overpopulation, but as Herrington explained to the Guardian, the MIT researchers accurately guessed that resource scarcity would be solved through more innovative resource extraction technology.Unfortunately, that led to even more severe pollution.

The MIT scientists said we needed to act now to achieve a smooth transition and avoid costs, Herrington told the Guardian. That didnt happen, so were seeing the impact of climate change.

Herrington stands by her finding that the original 1972 prediction of civilization collapse seems to be on track. But, she added, nothing is set in stone, and theres still time to right the ship and work to build a more sustainable society.

The key finding of my study is that we still have a choice to align with a scenario that does not end in collapse, Herrington told the Guardian. With innovation in business, along with new developments by governments and civil society, continuing to update the model provides another perspective on the challenges and opportunities we have to create a more sustainable world.

READ MORE: Yep, its bleak, says expert who tested 1970s end-of-the-world prediction [The Guardian]

More on the 1972 prediction: MIT Prediction of Civilization Collapse Appears To Be on Track

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Researcher Stands by Prediction of 2040 Civilization Collapse - Futurism

An alarming new research study found a strong and growing correlation between smoking lots of weed and mental illness.

A team of scientists pored over health records of nearly 7.2 million people in Denmark and identified a link between cannabis use disorder defined as a heavy reliance on weed to the point of neglecting other aspects of their lives and the neurological condition schizophrenia, according to research published last week in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. While there are limitations to studies of this sort, its an alarming revelation that hints that weed may not be the comparatively safe drug many assume it to be, at least at heavy rates of consumption.

The sort of retroactive research that the scientists conducted cant actually determine a causal link between smoking weed and developing schizophrenia. There are plenty of other factors that could be at play, such as an unrelated increase in being able to diagnose schizophrenia, for example.

But the researchers told CNN that they do believe theres some degree of causation. They cited trends like the increase in cannabis use in Denmark, weed getting more potent over the years, and other studies suggesting that weed interacts with schizophrenia risk factors to argue that theres a real danger to smoking weed.

I think it is highly important to use both our study and other studies to highlight and emphasize that cannabis use is not harmless, study author Carsten Hjorthj from the Copenhagen Research Center for Mental Health told CNN.

Of course, our findings will have to be replicated elsewhere before firm conclusions can be drawn, Hjorthj continued. But I do feel fairly confident that we will see similar patterns in places where problematic use of cannabis has increased, or where the potency of cannabis has increased, since many studies suggest that high-potency cannabis is probably the driver of the association with schizophrenia.

As a Futurism reader, we invite you join the Singularity Global Community, our parent companys forum to discuss futuristic science & technology with like-minded people from all over the world. Its free to join, sign up now!

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Scientists Claim That More and More Schizophrenia Cases Are Linked to Marijuana - Futurism