If you've been living through the worst of the coronavirus pandemic for as long as the United States has, you might be pretty envious of the comparative calm just across the border in Canada.

Indeed, some Americans have even gone so far as to sneak into their northern neighbour, despite a border ban that's been in place since the pandemic began.

Many of them have been exploiting what has become known as the "Alaska loophole".

In March, Canada closed its borders to all foreign nationals.

But those who discovered the loophole have reportedly been telling authorities they're only passing through Canada on their way to the US state of Alaska.

Back in June for example, seven Americans were fined for illegally crossing into Canada to go on a hike.

Foreigners are also apparently arriving by sea, either on sailboats or luxury yachts.

It wasn't until the end of July that the border authority attempted to close the loophole, announcing that travellers heading to Alaska would need to take the most direct route to their destination.

"The border isn't actually fully closed, it's just closed to 'non-essential travel', which nobody has firmly defined," Colin Furness, an epidemiologist and professor at the University of Toronto, told the ABC.

"There are still something like 200,000 people crossing the border into Canada every week from the US. I wish that number was much lower, because people have to self-quarantine and our resources to enforce [and] monitor that are pretty weak."

Amid reports that this might be happening and that some Canadians were beginning to act out against American vehicles, premier of British Columbia John Horgan reminded Canadians to "be calm, be kind" at the end of July.

"With respect to those who have offshore [number] plates and are feeling harassed, I would suggest perhaps public transit," he said.

But the border ban has not just impacted those living outside Canada.

One Canadian news outlet reported that a couple who were both doctors hadn't seen each other since the COVID-19 border closure began because one of them worked in the US state of Michigan.

"My husband is missing out on this entire journey that we worked really, really, hard for," Dr Ashley Cook, who was pregnant at the time, told CBC News in May.

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Professor Furness believes the border will have to stay closed until at least March 2021, when either a vaccine or herd immunity in the US will cause cases to decline.

"A vast majority of Canadians support keeping the border closed," he said.

"There is pressure from Americans who want the border to open, however, their self-awareness about risk and mitigation of COVID-19 is a lot lower than ours."

It's no wonder why some might be trying to make their way across the border.

Canada has so far recorded more than 125,600 cases of COVID-19, compared to 5.6 million infections in the US.

According to assistant professor of social work at Canada's Dalhousie University Raluca Bejan, the public sentiment is that Canada did well in managing the coronavirus outbreak.

"Especially [given] that most comparisons are drawn with the US, since we are so close to them, geographically speaking," she told the ABC.

Even though coronavirus arrived in Canada at roughly the same time as the US, the country had a few natural advantages.

It has a much smaller population compared to its southern neighbour just 37 million people compared to America's 328 million residents.

"Population density matters too, which is why New York got hit so hard. Poverty is another major risk, and the Americans have much more of it than we do," Professor Furness said.

But he says Canada's culture, which prizes the collective over the individual, also played a crucial role in the country's success.

"There's an old joke: how do you get 50 Canadians out of a swimming pool? You say, 'Please get out of the swimming pool,'" he said.

"I don't know how to get 50 Americans out of the pool, and I'm not sure anybody could: some would get out, some would sue, and some would point a gun and say 'make me'".

While Canada also has an anti-mask movement, a recent study found that four out of five people happily abide by public health measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

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Canada also got an early glimpse into the damage an infectious disease could unleash two decades ago.

In 2003, SARS killed 44 people in Toronto the most deaths outside Asia after an infected woman travelled to Canada from Hong Kong.

That experience meant Canada was quick to react at critical moments of the coronavirus pandemic, according to experts.

As early as January, Canadian authorities started preparing testing and monitoring infrastructure and by the beginning of March, Canada had already carried out 3,000 COVID-19 tests.

Across the border, only 500 had been completed by the Centres for Disease Control.

"We were able to control the virus better than many of our allies including, particularly, our neighbour," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in June.

But experts have identified some issues with Canada's COVID-19 outbreaks.

Roughly one-fifth of Canada's cases and more than 80 per cent of its deaths have occurred in facilities for the elderly and disabled, according to government figures.

The outbreaks in homes in Ontario and Quebec were so severe that the Government had to send the Canadian military to help.

The military said it found malnourished residents in dirty nappies left to languish in their insect-infested rooms as facilities struggled to contain the outbreaks.

One of the other problems Dr Bejan has identified also lies in the conditions migrant labourers endure when they come to Canada to work on farms and in meat plants.

In June, Mexico became so concerned about the rapid spread of COVID-19 on farms in Ontario that it refused to send temporary workers there.

"The precarious living and working conditions that migrant workers are subjected to, combined with their lack of state protections, has resulted in COVID-19 outbreaks," she said.

Dr Bejan says as a strong welfare state, whose public system of healthcare provision is a symbol of national pride, Canada had an advantage when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

But she suggests after decades of government cutbacks, Canada was not as prepared as it could have been in terms of testing kit stockpiles, contact tracing and labs.

"The Windsor testing lab, [for example] was built in 1966, in the golden era of the Canadian welfare state," she said.

The lab, in the biggest province of Ontario, had the capacity to conduct tests for tuberculosis and the West Nile virus.

"Despite public outcry, the lab was demolished in 2010 and replaced with a new highway," she said.

Experts including Dr Bejan believe the facility could have had a great impact on the region, which has experienced relatively low testing rates.

"Only 2.5 per cent of the local population in Windsor-Essex was tested by May 2020."

As the northern hemisphere heads into winter, experts say a second wave of COVID-19 cases in Canada is "inevitable".

"I have no doubt about that at all. Whether it manifests as small flare-ups or something worse will depend heavily, I think, on our willingness to wear masks indoors in public," Professor Furness said.

But he believes that Canadians will rise to the challenge.

"Because Canadians are a pretty compliant bunch and because we have front-row seats to the disaster unfolding in the US to act as a horrible warning, I feel optimistic," he said.

Read the rest here:
As coronavirus COVID-19 rages next door in the US, Canada hopes to avoid disaster by keeping its border closed - ABC News

In this series, New Hope Network covers the ins and outs of accelerators and incubators across the United States that provide mentorship, funds and resources to help grow natural businesses. Here, Partner and Director Peter Bodenheimer shares about Food-X, which has been operating for six years and considers itslef the original omnifood investor.

What: Food-X, an investor-backed accelerator that includes $125,000 investment for 10% equity and participation in subsequent funding rounds. When: Typically an in-person four-month program; 2021 program to be virtual starting in January. Notable alumni: Abbot's Butcher, Millennia Tea, Uplift Food.

Applications for the 2021 Food-X program are currently open and will close at the end of October 2020. Applications are constantly being evaluating and initial interviews have already begun, so there is no time better than the present to apply.

Food-X invests in exceptional founders shaping innovation across the global food system. We cultivate unfair advantages for the next generation of founders through expert mentorship, network effects and access to capital. Food-X stands with founders building a more equitable, sustainable and inclusive food system to protect human and planetary health.

Food-Xwant teams with founders who embrace resilience, persistence, take initiative when building a business and can withstand the bumps and challenges of the long haul in building a company. We look for founders who demonstrate a deep understanding of their market, show self-awareness around their limitations and are also willing to learn and receive feedback.

Building a business alone significantly increases the difficulty, so Food-X looks to back founding teams, not solo founders. While it raises the bar for consideration, in the right circumstances we will consider solo founders that have the right team already in place around them and demonstrate the traits above.

I don't believe that there is a single piece of advice for all entrepreneurs, and often founders are so "in the weeds" in their business that the best advice tends to be the kind that after you hear it you say, "Duh, why didn't I think of that?" An example is when I was building one of my own businesses and I needed to swim downstream. I was so focused on a specific outcome that I was trying to brute force one solution where there were other options that created far less friction.

I have a few that I am excited about because they are tackling problems that I care about deeply. They are Rx-Diet, which is using AI to create a system for Medical Nutritional Therapy; Uplift Food, which is providing "Good Mood Food" by supporting prebiotic gut health; and Planetarians, which is upcycling defatted sunflower seeds into a platform for plant-based alternatives.

Originally posted here:
Food-X accelerator: When to apply and more - New Hope Network

As societys collective anxiety soars, another crisis looms. The CDC recently shared that people are already experiencing rising levels of anxiety and depression. Yet significant barriers exist when it comes to mental healthcare access. Thats why women all over the country are redesigning mental health and wellness resources to ensure previous barriers such as cost, time, location and stigma no longer prevent people from seeking the help they need.

The women I spoke to are focusing their efforts on four key areas: frontline workers, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), those suffering from workplace burnout, and working parents trying to balance it all.

Frontline Workers Battling The Pandemic

While frontline workers were applauded and lauded as heroes when the pandemic hit NYC in March,concerns arose about the lasting mental toll on those seeing the worst of the worst.

Thats why Caroline Webb and Kathryn Rose teamed up in March to build an initiative called Frontline Help, which offers free coaching services for healthcare workers. Webb shared, When the Covid-19 crisis broke, it was obvious that there was going to be a lot of strain on frontline staff like nurses, doctors, EMTs. I wanted to donate some of my time, and I knew many other coaches who were also ready to do the same. And Kathryn Rose stepped up as the partner able to make it happen she is the founder of a social enterprise called wiseHer, a platform that enables users to book calls with expert advisors around the world.

Kathryn Rose, founder of wiseHer and Frontline Help

Since then, several world-class coaching organizations (including the Institute of Coaching and Wellcoaches) joined in the effort to make it possible for Webb and Rose to do this at scale. Now the organization boasts more than 400 volunteer coaches who have raised their hand to help healthcare workers during the pandemic. The platform is now expanding to include teachers who face an extraordinary burden as the school year begins.

While the platform came together quickly, was free for users and easy to navigate, they were surprised to see a lack of signups during the onset of the crisis. Turns out, healthcare workers are less likely to seek care for themselves due to stigma.

Similar organizations are facing the same issues. Psychologist Nicole Andreoli helped create NYC COVID Cares, a network that matches volunteer therapists, coaches and spiritual leaders with healthcare workers and their families. A big learning for us was becoming aware of the pervasiveness of mental health stigma throughout hospital systems. We've heard that frontline healthcare workers can be reticent to ask for mental health support because they fear being penalized internally or viewed negatively, so having an anonymous place where they can come and ask for help and support has undoubtedly been beneficial.

Nicole Andreoli PhD

While NYC COVID Cares saw an overwhelming response from volunteers, enlisting over 3,000 mental wellness professionals in the first few days of existence, there has been a disparity in response of frontline workers interested in participating. Andreoli wonders if the mental health effects of being a frontline worker during this time will take on more of a trauma response, where negative symptoms really start to emerge several months down the line.

When your identity is tied to helping others, its not easy to admit that you might benefit from seeking support for yourself, says Webb. We try to emphasize that by taking a few minutes just to talk things through, youll be better able to help others because you're building your own resilience.

Frontline Health Founder Caroline Webb

There seems to be some level of success in recent years to try to destigmatize mental health services. In fact, Millennials are 2X more likely than older generations to see a therapist.Frame is trying to solve the accessibility issue. Kendall Bird left her job at Snap Inc. last year to join forces with her best friend, Sage Grazer, a licensed therapist who was struggling to build her business.

Bird is trying to combat the misperception that therapy is always high cost. She works with a network of therapists to find creative ways to provide affordable options. For example, she asked therapists to offer lower rates at off peak times. Everyone wants to do therapy in the morning and evening (outside of work hours) but barely anyone wants to do Wednesday at 2pm so we asked therapists to offer lower rates for those time slots.

In an effort to combat stigma, Frame hosts livestream sessions meant to mimic what an actual therapy session feels like. Bird says, Users can tune in from around the world anonymously. We pick a specific topic. Recently we hosted one centered around racism. We had a person talk to a therapist about how to explain racism to her two young boys. Therapy can be really scary and intimidating for people, so we wanted to create an environment that made it less scary.

Frame Founders Kendall Bird and Sage Grazer

Mental Wellness Resources for BIPOC

Organizations that focus on mental wellness resources for the Black community have always existed and in June 2020, saw unprecedented attention in the wake of recent civil unrest centered around police brutality and systemic racism. One of the most well known is Rachel Cargles The Loveland Foundation, whose therapy fund addresses barriers impacting access to treatment among diverse communities. Cargle has received attention for her The Great Unlearn initiative which seeks to educate both BIPOC and those who want to be allies about systemic racism through empathy, knowledge and action.

Dr. Christina M. Charlotin is a young, Black, LGBTQ+ identified licensed clinical psychologist who is currently building an organization called Therapy Pad with the goal of improving access to affordable mental health services. Set to launch in Fall 2020, TherapyPad is the first national mental health virtual group practice that only employs fully licensed clinical psychologists.

Dr. Christina Charlotin

When asked about some barriers that people face when seeking out mental health resources, she pointed to the lack of diversity in the therapists themselves. Some clients prefer and tend to respond better when services are being provided by a therapist who a client may feel better understands them as they share their same cultural/religious/ or racial background. For example, 80% of clients who seek me out are young adults, LGBTQ, or Black.

Charlotin also believes virtual therapy can also break down some of the access barriers to mental health resources. She did her dissertation on Telehealth in 2015, back when it was still considered a controversial topic. She encourages people considering virtual therapy options to ask, When it can be done from the comfort of your own home, why choose to continue suffering and being stagnant in areas of your life which dont align with the outcomes you want for yourself?

Parenting in a Pandemic:

Parents in 2020 are facing impossible challenges as they juggle full time work with childcare and distance learning. And with schools opening around the country, the choice between in-person or distance learning is often fraught with anxiety.

Dr. Angel Montfort is a licensed clinical psychologist and the founder of the Center for Maternal Mental Health in Wesley Chapel, Florida. Montfort offers the following advice to help parents who choose to continue distance learning maintain sanity. Acknowledge that you will not be able to recreate the exact environment that your child had at school AND that you will not be as productive at your job while you are managing child care at home. Building a routine rather than a rigid schedule is important. If the schedule for distance learning is already designated by the school, then allow for flexibility with the other parts of your day such as meal times, outdoor activity or bedtime.

Dr. Angel Montfort

Montfort also recommends finding moments of mindfulness amidst the chaos. I would recommend practicing a brief (1-3 minute) meditation and setting an intention for the day. Be mindful that your child may be struggling with the adjustment as well, and practice empathy if you are noticing increased behavioral issues. It can also be helpful to teach your children healthy coping skills which may include mindfulness, relaxation strategies, or a creative outlet. Remember what your child needs above all else: to feel love, closeness and security.

Dr. Michelle Casarella wants to break down the stigma associated with parents seeking mental wellness resources. She wants people to see therapy as necessary preventative care. All too often therapy has a negative association. People often wait until things get really shitty to talk to someone. I deliberately named my business Mental Wellness Mamas because I want to get the word out about the difference between mental wellness and mental health. The overwhelming majority of my clients are moms without diagnosable mental health disorders. They are just people trying to manage it all. (Disclaimer: the author of this piece is one of Casarellas patients who is desperately trying to manage it all)

Casarella notes that, Mental wellness is all about being proactive rather than reactive. Its in line with the concept of preventative care, which has been shown to reduce the rates of chronic illness, increase overall life satisfaction, and reduce expenses.

Dr. Michelle Casarella

Mental Wellness In The Workplace

Casarella also focuses on how parents can deal with workplace burnout. Companies with wellness programs usually include outlets proven to reduce stress and increase productivity: on site gyms, free access to meditation apps, rooms to take quick naps. These things are all fantastic, but the next piece is to focus on overall quality of life. Create a program that focuses on the needs of the modern working mom. Create a community for moms, flexible childcare support, tips on how to manage their energy rather than just their time, and how to deal with the constant pressure to do everything well.

Workplace stress extends beyond just working parents. With so many companies shifting to a work from home model, employees are finding themselves putting in longer hours and struggling more than ever to log off now that the physical distance between office and home no longer exist. Kathleen Stetson, founder of Rational Confidence, works with a group familiar with burnout: entrepreneurs. She offers a 12-week program to those participating in MITs delta v accelerator which helps them incorporate mental wellness and mindfulness into their companies as they build them. My hypothesis is that if founders care for their own mental wellness, their startups will be more successful. And the industry is catching up. This past year, 70% of entrepreneurs participating in the program were interested in mental wellness, meditation, coaching and more.

She notes that the pandemic has probably contributed to societys renewed focus on making sure people are caring for themselves. People during the pandemic are just forced to be with themselves in this whole new way. The power of learning self awareness tools can be very helpful during times that are already anxiety provoking.

Rational Confidence Founder Kathleen Stetson

Mental wellness experts overwhelmingly agree that the time investment in mental wellbeing is worthwhile, and theyre getting increasingly more creative about ways to solve the cost and stigma barriers. If you have any interest in being the most successful and healthiest version of yourself, you should make time for it, says Frame founder Kendall Bird. (Coaches and) therapists help you work through setting healthy boundaries. They help you identify whether some of your relationships are toxic. Its a tool that serves to make us all more well rounded.

Continued here:
The Women Shaping The Future Of Mental Wellness - Forbes

The tragic death of George Floyd and the ensuing civil unrest in our country has once again placed the spotlight on police use of force and the policies and practices that govern it.

There has been a demand for reform and defunding the police to effect drastic change within law enforcement culture. I wish to share my perspective on this paradigm, as a career law enforcement officer who has served the citizens of Atlantic County in two separate agencies for over 25 years.

As a retired lieutenant from the Atlantic City Police Department and as the sheriff of Atlantic County, I firmly support our police and can tell you from experience that the outstanding police officers far outnumber those who are unfit to serve in our communities.

However, we cannot continue to allow events like these to occur without taking meaningful inventory of our policies, tactics and training to enhance our efficiency and effectiveness as guardians and safe keepers of our communities. As sheriff, I am constantly looking for ways to improve our delivery of services and keep our officers and communities safe. This is a complex and layered issue that requires funding and commitment from local and federal governments to facilitate and sustain meaningful and positive change. Additionally, there are human factors that need to be addressed that will result in better policing. Here are some fundamental components that, in my opinion, would support systemic change:

Mandatory pre-employment screening, mental health wellness and resilience training: Psychological fitness should begin at the hiring stage and continue throughout an officers career to include mental health checkups and resiliency training. Officers will be exposed to repetitive trauma throughout their careers. It is paramount they are given the skills to adapt and overcome these experiences for the sake of their own mental health, to be present for their families and to view and serve their communities through an empathetic lens.

Standardize physical fitness requirements: Officers should be physically prepared to respond to any situation they may encounter. Physical stress is a huge part of the job that takes its toll on an officers overall health. The frequency of fight or flight in the typical officers experience is significantly higher than the average civilian. That stress response causes massive dumps of cortisol for the officer, which ultimately leads to numerous serious health concerns. Physical fitness is a critical requirement for longevity and adaptation to stress from the job.

Weekly tactical training: Training is also a crucial part of the equation to be an effective officer. They are expected to perform under high-stress, rapidly unfolding circumstances much like professional athletes. However, in most cases, they do not receive the support or time to build their skill set individually or in terms of team tactics. Standardized tactical training should be mandatory every week. Consistent training will result in increased officer confidence under pressure and improvements in overall performance.

Age and education restrictions: The emotional intelligence, life experience and education of an officer can impact his or her ability to deal with certain types of critical incidents. Science suggests the human brain is not fully developed until 24 years of age, yet there are no uniform hiring requirements to reflect these findings. A hard look should be given at establishing requirements raising the minimum age for new hires, creating higher education standards and placing limits on the maximum age of an officer, especially as it relates to physical fitness capabilities.

Community engagement: Community engagement falls squarely on the shoulders of the agency and should become part of every police organization. In other words, it should be part of the daily routine of every officer from top to bottom. This will allow the community to become familiar with their local police officers and form mutual respect for one another.

Leadership and accountability: There are many great leaders in our local and state police departments, but enhanced training and experience should apply to them as well. Professional development should be consistent and on-going to truly produce visionary leaders. Leaders who develop self-awareness inevitably create self-management skills and see personal and organizational accountability as a high priority. By implementing standardized and consistent self-assessment, training, and community engagement, we will create a greater police professionalism and community relationships built on trust and transparency which, ironically, will result in more support for the police and a healthier and safer community for all.

ERIC SCHEFFLER

Atlantic CountySheriff

View original post here:
County sheriff offers components for improved policing - Press of Atlantic City

Adrian, MI Adrian College President Jeffrey Docking officially welcomed an incoming freshmen class of 602 students on Monday, August 17, by offering words of encouragement and advice for a successful educational experience.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Adrian College was unable to hold its annual matriculation ceremony during freshmen move-in day. Instead, the class was divided into several smaller socially distanced groups and Docking spoke to them in Dawson Auditorium on Monday during Adrian Colleges Welcome Week.

Let me just begin with this, You have no idea how happy we are to see you. Really, I cant put into words how happy we are to see you, Docking said to the incoming students. Sixteen years Ive been doing this, saying hello to freshmen in groups coming in. Obviously, this one is different. Your class has climbed higher mountains, endured bigger storms, and you guys have been through a lot. Lets be honest. A lot. But, Im not going to talk about the disappointments of the past six months. You all know what they are What I want to do here is focus on the future, meaning the semester awaiting all of us. You, most importantly. Because, if we do this right, I am convinced that you will find this to be the most extraordinary time in your life, the most fun time in your life, the most amazing and intellectually rewarding, time in your life.

Coupled with last years class of 612 freshmen, this years class will push Adrian Colleges enrollment to more than 1,800 students going into 2021. The College has had an incoming class of more than 500 freshmen each year for the past 13 years. Graduate student enrollment is at a record level this year, as well.

What a fantastic class weve brought in, Frank Hribar, vice president for enrollment and student affairs at Adrian College said of the Class of 2024. We understand the desire of thesestudents to be educated in as normal a fashion as possible and were going to provide that in- person opportunity this fall.

According to Hribar, nearly 6,000 high school seniors from around the nation and the world hoped to attend Adrian College this fall, and the college selected only the most accomplished among them.

Hribar said it wont always be easy and will take some hard work for the students to succeed, but will be well worth the effort once completed.

Only one out of every four people you walk by on the street on any given day has a four-year college degree. This means that earning a degree is a bit of a rarity if you consider that 75 percent of people do not have a four-year college degree, Docking said. These new students chose the road to a better life. For one thing, on average, they will earn with a college degree, verses someone who just has a high school degree, 1.1 million dollars more throughout their life. A lot of them will make more than that.

Their professors will be stimulating, challenging and tough, Hribar added. Their classmates will partner with them, compete with them and teach them along with their professors. Their courses will take them on an intellectual journey they never imagined. The range of academic disciplines in our College is exceptional and the pathways they can lead to are infinite. It is the students job to make those connections. I encourage each of them to make academic achievement their highest priority.

Before Docking spoke, each student received a small, intricate globe marble as a token of their past achievements and acceptance to Adrian College.

This marble is symbolic of our desire to encourage you to understand our world and to make it better, Docking said to the students. You will notice on the cool little marble that the snowcapped mountains of Colorado are indeed snowcapped. The great rainforests of South America are lush green. Iceland is icy and wonderful rivers traverse through all lands. What you wont see on this marble, what is missing, are the borders that divide. No separations between countries, no lines to distinguish war zones, no boundaries, races, religions, cultures one planet, one human race sharing in the rich resources that God has given us.

Docking continued, Allow your education to build on this thought from Nelson Mandela, Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. As representatives of Adrian College, I hope this statement will be true of each you.

Docking told the students the day marked a life-changing experience, one that would begin at Adrian College. We love to see the wonder and anticipation in the eyes of all of our new students, as you anxiously await all of the amazing experiences that will define your college years, Docking said. You stand today on the threshold of a magical time in your life, a time of significant growth, introspection, self-awareness, challenge and opportunity a time that you will always look back on as special years. You will make incredible friends that you will cherish the rest of your life, and meet professors who will impact you so profoundly that you will make great efforts to come back for Homecoming year after year.

During Welcome Week, students check in and are able to meet faculty advisors and student leaders. Along with things like mandatory placement testing, a course scheduling session and various advising sessions on everything from financial aid to time management, the new students will participate in fun events scheduled on campus.

At the start of the week, the large freshmen class of 602 had a socially distanced group photo taken to commemorate their new beginning at Adrian College.

Several activities Adrian College usually plans for students were adjusted because of COVID- 19. This year, a majority of events were scheduled to take place on campus and all students received a COVID-19 test as soon as they arrived on campus, unless they submitted proof of a negative test result at home one week prior to arriving at the College.

Tune into our local and state newscasts, anytime day or night, for this story and more.

#wlenradio #wlennews #lenaweenews

*All media courtesy of Adrian College*

See more here:
Adrian College Class of 2024 Welcomed to Campus - WLEN-FM

The universe of speculative fiction is an ever-expanding monstrosity, often merging with horror, science fiction, fantasy, and similar realms of weirdness. These genres can cover everything from full metal gore and peculiar truths to hidden monsters and secret conspiracies.

But whether theyre dry and deadpan or gloriously maximalist, many of these stories are often born from small inspirations. Some of the most unnerving narratives are anchored in the familiarideas and objects that were comfortable with in day-to-day life. Some of the most unsettling books, films, and games share roots with one of the most fascinating fictional worlds on the internetone that uses the mundane form of a wikipedia community to draw readers into the fold.

The supernatural work of Marshall, Carter and Darka cabal of black market auctioneersis a fitting mirror for our current reality of capitalism and resource exploitation, where the rich and powerful reign supreme. MC&D controls ungodly amounts of money because of its iron grip on the political elite, who remain captivated by the groups specialty: buying and selling strange phenomena. They deal in vinyl records that place listeners into a telepathic coma, a collection of walking sticks with thaumatological properties, SpongeBob Squarepants wristwatches that alter limbs and bones, and a group of people who all claim to be the former Prime Minister of Australia, Harold Holt, who vanished in 1967.

Of course, Marshall, Carter and Dark isnt real. Its just one canonic element of the SCP Foundationa collaborative online fiction project whose name stands for Secure, Contain, Protect. Taking a page from the Victorian appetite to collect and classify, the Foundations mission is to secure, contain, and protect special (and sometimes dangerous) objects, as well as to document events and persons of interest.

The result is a vast repository of seemingly banal items, each exhibiting what the Foundation calls anomalous behavior. Each SCP object or skip bears a number and classification. SCP-145, for instance, is a cordless phone, described in the sort of clinically precise, detached language one would normally find in a research report. Each object also has a special containment procedure developed through rigorous testing by SCP staff.

SCPs earliest known beginnings were on 4chans paranormal /x/ message board in the form of SCP-173, a statue that came to life when it wasnt being observed. It was posted on June 22, 2007, around the same time that Doctor Who aired an episode about an almost identical concept, and spurred some chicken-and-egg discussion about plagiarism. And while SCPs origins lie in creepypastashortform online horror writing that has its own storied place in internet culturethe rise of the Foundation marked the beginning of a new, complicated relationship between the SCP and mainstream pop culture, touching on issues of authorship and inspiration.

There is no simple way in for new readers who stumble across SCP by accidentthe only way to get into SCP is to read and keep reading. The wikis cold, scientific style lends itself well to speculative fiction and horror readers who are already willing to suspend disbelief. Coupled with the replicative memetic nature of creepypasta, the wikipedia format has become a defining method of how we treat knowledge as a shared resource. Should writers cherry-pick ideas from SCP? Its a controversial, polarizing issue, but one that cant be definitively resolved.

Take, for instance, the novel Horrorstr by Grady Hendrix, which shares a similar basic premise to SCP-3008both involve a tainted, supernatural version of IKEA. Many urban dwellers have probably been to an IKEA, and probably made jokes about getting lost or encountering corporate Morlocks in the notoriously labyrinthine megastore. But the idea that IKEA might be a living nightmare rather than a place for cheap sheets and meatballs isnt unique to SCP, even though SCP-3008s fame has seeped out into the normal worldits been recreated in Roblox, a mobile game, and a standalone PC game. The kernel of a weird, bad IKEA has been floating in our collective consciousness for years.

Consider Bird Box, Josh Malermans 2014 novel about mysterious creatures that induced madness on sight. The book conjured elements of SCP-370 (a contagious memetic infection), SCP-053, (a child who could induce paranoia and homicidal behavior), and SCP-096 (an entity which cant be viewed or recorded). David Wongs John Dies at the End series has long been a topic of SCP discussion because of its bleak, deadpan absurdism and supernatural incidents. Beyond film and books, SCP was also a big influence on the 2019 video game Control, which revolves around a mysterious federal agency that functions much like the Foundation, and text-based games like Neurocracy and Unit 322 (Ambiguation); Pastes Holly Green even made a suggested reading list of popular SCPs for Control fans.

Even some of the most beloved SCPs are a nod to the sites wry sense of self-awareness, like SCP-055, a self-keeping secret that cannot be remembered, or SCP-1756, a DVD player that only plays corresponding episodes of Siskel and Ebert at the Movies instead of your chosen movie. TV shows like The X-Files and Warehouse-13 (perhaps a nod to SCP-1730, once home of Foundation Site-13) have also spread their own mythologies across pop culture.

Given the heavy intertextual nature of SCPs content, this is a community that knows and understands the power of reproduction and remixes. SCP uses the Creative Commons Sharealike 3.0 license, which lets anyone take its material as long as its attributed. This means that you can pluck stories and art from SCP and use them for profit. Last year, the sites rich hoard of material spurred a Russian named Andrey Duskin to file a Russian and Eurasian Customs Union trademark for the SCP name and logo to safeguard his own merchandise projects. This is the most drastic known attempt to seize control of the SCP brand, which would arguably change the way that the SCP would function.

Its impossible to overstate how important the concept of remixing is to the modern creative landscape, especially in writing, where turns of phrase and boilerplate story tropes are constantly being used, re-used, and re-invented across borders, genres, and languages. Anyone can take SCP story elements and riff off SCP ideas, which means that SCP transcends simple, straightforward fiction to become a new kind of lorefolk tales for a new generation in new medium. Its too simplistic to call this approach plagiarism or piracy, because it ignores the beauty of reinvention (and, arguably, our entire history of popular culture).

What makes SCP such a formidable entity is how well both its form and function satisfy our love of conspiracy. Even if you view the Foundation as a one-stop shop of memetic ideas or new boogiemen, its story elements come from an existing pool of urban folklore, dystopian thought experiments, and communal imagination, making SCP a priceless repository for the internets weirdest and most terrifying ideas; of course, these could easily end up as Hollywoods weirdest and most profitable ideas, told through different eyes. Still, the community remains a powerful testament to collaborative writing: a holistic, living piece of writing that needs to stay free.

Alexis Ong is a freelance culture journalist with weak ankles who mainly writes about games, tech, and pop culture. Her work has appeared in The Verge, Polygon, Kotaku, Rock Paper Shotgun, VICE, Dazed Digital, and more; soft spots include science fiction, internet archaeology, comics, boxing, and old games. You can find her at her website or on Twitter.

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The Unsung Muse of Speculative Fiction Is a Wikipedia Community - tor.com

A few words of orientation first: I am fully aware of the context and the self-awareness from which I have arrived at the following realisation. For years I too have been part of the growth system mentioned in this text. Consequently, I must also accept criticism for having benefited from this system. I completely stand by that. When growth tempts you, it is difficult to look beyond what lies directly in front of you. But I would like to at least have the chance to exercise constructive self-criticism from my current, most certainly privileged, position. After all, I am also starting to observe a change of heart among many current and former colleagues. And this change of heart, I believe, comes at the right time.

An unprecedented rescue parachute at high speed, and just like that?

Around the world, airlines have received more than US$85 billion in rescue funds. Otherwise, Covid-19 would have wiped them out. This way, jobs at the directly impacted airlines as well as within the entire ecosystem around airports will be saved. Connections to places and markets will remain secured. In our closely interlinked world, flight connections that provide these access points for people and goods are essential, especially in times of crisis.

On the other hand, $85 billion is by no means a petty little matter. Such significant sums are certainly linked to far-reaching conditions arent they? Not really. The conditions attached to the rescue packages have been minimal at both national and international level. Depending on how you look at it, this is either a fortunate or a rather strange development. Remember how banks and financial institutions in many countries were given tough requirements in connection to the money they had received during the financial crisis?

Is this correct? Shouldnt states and regulators take a different approach and a harder line with aviation? More precisely, shouldnt they demand a greater resistance to future crises, in other words, a more sustainable handling of the national wealth they have accumulated?

One thing is certain: the next assertion of systemic relevance in an exceptional situation will, as much as we would prefer it not to, come back to haunt us much sooner than expected. The time to act and to use the crisis as an opportunity for change is now. This way, the lead time until the next event might be long enough so that the begging bowl held out for state aid will not be quite as big. A big pro-active liberating blow, one might say. But how to go about it?

Higher equity ratios, improved risk coverage, new principles for liquidity management: in Switzerland, the Basel III framework, the BIS regulations on banking regulation, has become much more restrictive in the wake of the financial crisis. At the time, there was a relatively broad consensus that people and people in these cases always means all of us did not want to bail out the banks again with billions of dollars in government money. In most international financial centres similar systematic measures could be observed. I would also like to point out that a number of systemically important banks subjected themselves to even more far-reaching security requirements. And these have taken effect, not least in the current crisis.

The various payments that Greece, as a nation state, received from the EU from 2010 onwards to save the country from bankruptcy were also linked to the implementation of numerous reforms and budget consolidation measures. In many other places, the EU Commission, the IMF and the ECB also imposed tough conditions for financial aid.

However, in the case of airlines which in the past have already been dependent on government support on more than one occasion the terms imposed are minimal. Although, depending on who you talk to, opinions do differ: for the Swiss confederation, for example, it is chiefly important that the funds that are spoken do not go to Germany. Strict is different. Airline-related businesses are also supposed to make sure that any of the funds received will not flow abroad. In other countries, the conditions for bailout money are even less stringent. I fully sympathise with taxpayers who are surprised about this.

A little bit of the misery is self-inflicted

In recent years, many airlines have invested massively in their growth, buying (not leasing) aircraft, expanding connections and launching price wars not just in the short-haul segment. In doing so, we have become highly dependent on a very volatile mass segment, and, as a matter of fact, in the past ten years even used this segment as our growth-engine. The result: the golden decade of aviation. This, however, had one side effect: we all exposed ourselves, fully unprotected, to the risk of straining the supply-and-demand principle to such an extent that the enormous growth in demand was driven by an oversupply of capacity. This has further reduced the already low margins. Provisions were made only very cautiously, if at all. In recent years, US airlines have spent more than 90 per cent of their profits to buy back shares and thus made short-term investors happy. All of us could work out that this fixation on growth and low margins make the industry dependent on precisely this highly volatile demand. Unlike any other sector, the airline business is thus highly sensitive to economic and social developments. And it is so on a global level.

Of course, it cannot be denied that in times of crisis even large cash reserves will not last for a long period of time. The airline business is capital-intensive. And it is of course a little unfair to make these observations during a global pandemic. After all, Lufthansa chief executive, Carsten Spohr, is right when he recently stated in Neue Zrcher Zeitung: It is almost impossible to prepare for a crisis of this dimension, in which 99% of the business disappears over months. The necessary buffer would be so immense that no globally operating airline could cope with it.

A little restraint and common goals would be win-win

Nevertheless, now is the time to stop turning a blind eye: airlines must better secure their business. They need to ensure stability as best they can and draw up future-oriented, sustainable financial plans. Solid risk management and business continuity strategies are the tools of the trade now more than ever. Lufthansa and United Airlines are already more consistently leasing aircraft rather than buying them and have started adapting their route networks.

The same applies to business planning and cash, health and safety and climate and security standards. Here too, I have long been convinced that the industry would be better off regulating itself. Individual airlines are making a major effort to contribute to climate protection. Swiss, for example, is investing in a particularly fuel-efficient fleet. Singapore Airlines has modified the Trent 900 engines of its A380 aircraft to reduce CO2 emissions. KLM saves weight. Etihad is experimenting with flights without the use of single-use plastic. But demands are high, and the road is long.

The challenge, whether it is about environmental, safety or accounting issues, is as follows: if the industry does not develop uniform standards or at least sets uniform goals , then others will do it for them. And they certainly will not do it in a coordinated way. This should be clear to the chief executive as well as to the chief financial officer and the head of corporate social responsibility.

If different rules of the game apply in every country, they become incredibly demanding and complex to comply with. And it potentially distorts competition even more. States that support airlines are the only ones that could introduce particularly loose regulations. I fail to understand why there is no greater momentum behind industry-wide efforts to regulate this once and for all, and on a large scale. That would certainly be beneficial for everyone.

Together into the future

Corona shows us again that it is not just the eleventh hour time is literally running out. The industry, preferably our entire ecosystem, must react now. That self-regulation can work in close cooperation with the authorities is shown by a recent example of the European Aircraft Associations and the European Aviation Safety Agency. Together with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, they have compiled guidelines for airports, airlines, and operators to ensure that passengers can travel safely even in times of corona. Which will make life easier for all of us.

We can no longer close our eyes to the fact that the world with and after Corona is a different one. Let us face this challenge together and reposition the industry in a new and better way. We are better equipped than others to do this.

More Information

Aviation analyst Peter Baumgartner is the chairman of the board of directors and Metrocore Aviation Group.

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Breaking Travel News investigates: If you do not self-regulate, others will make the rules for you - Breaking Travel News

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Schools are reopening this fall with the hope of providing some normalcy to children stressed by changes due to the pandemic. But their return will be anything but normal. The world they are about to re-enter will look drastically different than the one they are used to as schools adapt to create a learning environment that meets the COVID recommendations put in place. These changes and adaptations will cause confusion and disconnect in some children who are returning to school with the hope of reestablishing a foundation of normalcy and predictability that sadly no longer exists.

So how do we as teachers and parents support their emotional needs during this transitive time? As a preschool teacher who has guided parents for over 20 years through the transition into kindergarten, I can see that the same rules apply as your child now returns to the uncharted territory of a post-quarantine classroom.

We spend weeks, even months, preparing our children emotionally for kindergarten by reading books, talking about the bus ride, boasting about kind teachers and new friends, and selecting the perfect lunchbox because we know that it is natural to have anxiety when something is unknown or unfamiliar. This school year will look different than anything your child has experienced before. Feelings of confusion from this change in dynamic are to be expected.

Each school district has created an individual plan that suits the needs of their community best. Be sure to check your schools website, social media page or call your administration directly to understand exactly how your school is redesigning their day to meet their local COVID response.

Speak candidly to your child about what the changes will be so they are prepared for what to expect on their first day as best as possible. Helping them visualize what is ahead of them helps to lessen confusion and build confidence. Break out those Barbies and Batman action figures to play out the sequence of their school day, create a map of their day, or draw a picture of what the classroom may look like to help your child engage and internalize what is about to happen.

It is natural for your child to have some fear or uncertainty as they adjust to their new school dynamic. One of the best things that mitigates this fear is creating a routine of predictability at home.

We have all become disconnected from our scheduled lives since the beginning of quarantine, and it will take some time to adapt back to a structured lifestyle. Start a few days before school returns and begin to establish a daily routine of waking up around the same time as your school starts, getting dressed (yes, its time to pack up those pajamas weve been wearing for months), eating breakfast, and adding activity time when they would be attending class. Use this time to read books together, go over some math flash cards, learn a new word from the dictionary; build, craft, or engage in any other brain building activity your child enjoys. Flex those brain muscles again! Establish an afternoon routine that includes some time outdoors and self-directed play. Eat dinner around the same time each night and have a routine for bed.

Keep this routine once school starts. There will be days where you are tempted or even too overwhelmed to keep this structure, and thats okay. We all need some days to let things slide but try to get back to the schedule when you can because, in the long run, consistency will manage your childs anxiety much more effectively.

There is a good chance that some of your childs learning will be virtual. Do your best to maintain a similar schedule of in-school days during virtual days, but maybe allow those pajama pants to resurface on these days. Design a learning space together by following your childs lead about where they think they will work best. Some children prefer to work in the center of chaos with activity around them, i.e. the kitchen counter. Some children prefer to have a quiet, isolated corner with headphones on. My child loved to work curled up in a ball on top of her play bench. Who is to say what environment is right or wrong if the work is getting done effectively? As long as expectations are being met, allow your child the opportunity to experiment with self-regulation knowing that they will need your support at times to stick with it as they develop these skills. Demonstrating this trust and respect in your child to self-promote and regulate will go a long way in developing their self-awareness and inner confidence.

Children are very intuitive to emotions and easily pick up on feelings from the adults around them. As a parent, you have every right to feel overwhelmed or fearful about your child returning to school, but it is important to do your best to minimize expressing these fears and frustrations in front of your child. Children will easily internalize these emotions for themselves and carry our worry for us instead of us helping them to relieve their own. Be honest with yourself and your child that this new dynamic will present challenges and obstacles and its ok to be frustrated or upset about them. But also be mindful to speak in reassuring and positive ways, the same way you did when they were nervous about kindergarten, to build confidence in your child.

You can model this positive language by saying things like, Your school worked very hard to put a good plan in place to learn safely. It will be wonderful to see your teacher and friends during the week. Remind your child that these new restrictions arent meant to make them unhappy, but are put in place because their school wants to care for them as best as possible. Children reflect what we model for them. When we model positive language, they will internalize that and do their best to think positively as well.

Be sure to listen to your child and help their feelings be heard. As a parent, it is important to try not to respond with dont statements like dont feel that way dont cry or dont be upset. These statements can invalidate a childs feelings and add to their confusion. Instead, use reflective speech to show that they have been heard. I hear that you are sad that you werent able to play with your friend at recess. Do you want to talk about it?

Oftentimes, they are too little to have the words to express what they are feeling, so reading books that focus on emotions are very helpful to extend their emotional vocabulary. When a child doesnt have the words or confidence to express themselves verbally, allow them the ability to express themselves creatively instead. Help them set up a supportive outlet like a LEGO corner, create a music playlist together, leave markers and paper available for free expression, set up an easel, offer a journal for writing or drawing, or go for a hike where your child takes the lead. Providing this level of emotional support and respect will be monumental in their emotional management.

Even with all these supportive measures in place, your child still may have days where their emotions will overwhelm them proving they are not yet able to manage their inexperienced minds effectively. Meltdowns are to be expected. The biggest challenge as a parent is to not internalize them as a failure on our part, but as the result of an overwhelmed, underdeveloped and often exhausted child who just needs to release their emotions.

Let them cry. Let them scream. Provide them space and safety while establishing that throwing, hitting, and other potentially hazardous behaviors are not allowed. These moments may happen right as they return from school or other unexpected times during the day.

If your child is having a reaction bigger than the situation presented (who hasnt had a child lose it over the color of their macaroni and cheese?) it may be a resulting build up from earlier in the day. If the meltdowns are occurring regularly, remember that you have a team of helpful resources at your aid. Speak with your childs teacher, pediatrician, school social worker or psychologist for further support in meeting your childs emotional needs. You are not in this alone.

Transitions into unknown territories are challenging and emotional. Give yourself and your child the time and patience to learn how to regulate, develop and build lifelong emotional skills that will carry you through this new school dynamic. You have successfully made it through the Kindergarten experience before, and you will be able to do it again!

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5 Kindergarten Strategies That Will Help Kids Of Any Age This School Year - Scary Mommy

Imani Ellis, Founder of The Creative Collective NYC and CultureCon

In the midst of a season where stay-at-home orders are in full effect, what does it look like to grow a community dedicated to curating events specifically for creatives of color? For Imani Ellis, Founder of The Creative Collective NYC and CultureCon, answering this question meant that the team behind what has become the go-to conference for creatives of color had to completely reimagine their core offerings.

Like so many, weve had to pivot and go back to the drawing board, said Ellis in our recent interview. Were constantly asking ourselves, What does our community need more of? and What are we going to do about it? With the help of these routine questions, The Creative Collective NYC (CCNYC) team has been able to reach an unprecedented breakthrough for their community. Ellis was kind enough to share here what their followers can expect next and how she and her team have been able to remain innovative, reaching higher heights during a time thats presented them with quite possibly their most unique challenge yet.

Remember Why You Started

Having in-person events has been a part of our DNA from day one, Ellis expressed referring to events like the annual CultureCon conference. What began as a Bible-study-sized brave space in Ellis Harlem, NY apartment had ballooned to nearly 2,500 attendees by 2019. Striving to keep the same vibe of intimate connection established from its inception, the NYC-based brand had still grown rapidly enough to have planned a much-anticipated expansion to Atlanta in the upcoming year.

Prior to the rolling shutdowns triggered by the rapid-fire spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, CCNYC had been hosting up to four in-person events per month. By CultureCons third year theyd welcomed some of the industrys most successful creatives of color to join the cause for their community like Will Smith, Tracee Ellis Ross, Regina King, Spike Lee, Lena Waith and Elaine Welteroth. They also had plans of creating a job fair and a market featuring Black-owned businesses. But just as things were beginning to pick up, the nation shut down, leaving Ellis and her team in the same boat as many other event-focused brands who needed to quickly figure out ways to reach and serve their communities.

CCNYCs solution had to be as creative as the thousands of loyal attendees who flocked to their community-hosted events each year. So when postponements quickly turned into cancellations, CCNYC stayed true to their mission of collective effort in service of their communities and wasted no time in reaching out to their community to see what they wanted most during this time.

Lean On What You Know

Recognizing that a large part of their community had begun to use the time during the pandemic as an opportunity to reimagine what their true interests looked like and improve their skill sets, the CCNYC team reached out across their increasingly busy social media channels for feedback on which direction they should move next. We polled about 5,000 of our community members and asked them what they wanted more of - virtual happy hours or skill-based workshops, Ellis recalls. 95% said they preferred a skill-based workshop, so we set out to build a digital platform that would deliver that and then some.

Once it was decided that they were creating a brand new platform, the colleagues that Ellis mentions as some of the most incredibly talented and hard-working people she knows, jumped right to work. We talked through course ideas and prioritized topics wed actually want to learn more about, then started identifying talent and building out curriculums. With an enduring mission to help those creatives who identify as POC to live and learn unapologetically as their full selves, CCNYC leaned on their 360-degree approach of catering to their audience by building the Creative Curriculum, a dynamic learning website curated specifically for creatives of color launching today.

Team photo, CultureCon & The Creative Collective NYC

Creative Curriculum originally began as short takeovers on the brands Instagram page that showcased helpful skills on a variety of topics. Today this space has transformed into a full-service digital suite meant for community empowerment and invaluable resource sharing. This new digital platform will be presented by the all-in-one website building platform, Squarespace. Catering to the specific needs and lifestyles of CCNYCs most curious and ambitious Black and Brown community members, the Creative Curriculum will feature four tailored tracks focusing on entrepreneurship, creative innovation, professional and personal development as well as financial health and literacy.

We're proud to partner and collaborate with The Creative Collective NYC to help develop their new Creative Curriculum program, which we see as an incredible digital resource for creatives of color looking for support in getting their projects off the ground, said Kinjil Mathur, Chief Marketing Officer, Squarespace. The Creative Collective NYC's mission of providing a hub to inspire and educate the multicultural creative community aligns perfectly with Squarespace's mission to equip anyone with an idea or dream the tools they need to succeed."

Employing keynote conversations and masterclasses given by larger-than-life creative minds like Gabrielle Union-Wade, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Grammy-Award winning artist Kandi Burruss, guests will have the option to follow suggested tracks of learning or combine their favorite courses to create a custom curriculum of their own. And with on-demand videos (workshops can be watched nonstop for up to 30 days) making it easier for creatives to learn on their schedules, its obvious how enthusiastic the CCNYC team remains when it comes to creating spaces that address the whole individual.

We believe that establishing these creative ecosystems can lead to real change and that over time, this can lend itself to an overall economic shift with an emphasis on the importance of ownership, shares Ellis.

Never Forget What Youve Been Working For

Through their focus on having the right people in the right roles, putting effective processes in place, and striving for excellent performance no matter the project, the CCNYC team has demonstrated the importance of both leadership in service as well as effective teamwork. No one is self-made - not even those who refer to themselves as such, Ellis asserts. Its the team behind the mission that moves the needle. Its the collective effort of many that makes it all possible. Theres a common misconception that as an entrepreneur youll finally get to work for yourself...WRONG, she emphasizes. Youre working for your team, for your community, and for the vision youve created.

For any entrepreneur whos just begun their journey or whos maybe even become an expert in their own right, during uncertain times its not at all out of the ordinary to question whether or not you were built for such an unpredictable season. But according to Ellis, whos shown remarkable resilience during this time, self-awareness is key to coming out on top. You shouldnt believe every thought that you have - especially when youre going through a difficult time, urges Ellis. I would advise every entrepreneur to constantly take inventory of how theyre doing personally and professionally, she explains. There is a difference between a difficult moment and a difficult life and you have to be honest with yourself [about what] youre experiencing.

Find Joy In The Journey

Entrepreneurship isnt for everyone and thats totally okay, continued Ellis. There is no shame in trying something new or closing one chapter to begin a new one. Mentioning how weve all begun to reframe what success looks like, Ellis hopes that Millennial creatives continue to pursue the things that they love; no longer glorifying burn out culture, but doing those things that make them happy. Taking to estate sales on the weekends, Ellis has kept her curiosity high and her stress low by digging through piles of historical artifacts in her free time. Viewing the joy shes gained from the activities shes grown to love as absolutely necessary for achieving and maintaining success, the thriving entrepreneur is committed to living a full life not entirely defined by business decisions and career highlights.

You truly have to live in your truth and do your best to step out of the shadow of the worlds expectationseverything else will follow.

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No Events, No Problem: How The Creatives Behind The Annual CultureCon Conference Are Leveling Up With New Digital Offerings - Forbes

In the second episode of Lovecraft Country, HBOs engrossing new pulp horror series, one character, George (Courtney B. Vance), keeps thinking about a book.

The book in question is the 1903 horror fantasy The House on the Borderland, and its plot is eerily similar to Georges present situation: Hes a Black man trapped in a strange mansion along with his friends, presented with various temptations and hallucinogenic visions including dancing with a woman he knows to be a figment of his imagination. Do the lovers stay together at the end? his ghostly date asks of the story. Yes, he responds but only because the giant house they're in collapses.

Theres an obvious metaphor in the scene about the work Lovecraft Country is trying to do. The shows story closely follows Matt Ruffs 2016 novel of the same name, about a Black community in Chicago that becomes entangled with an ominous occult society, all while fighting Jim Crow racism on a scale both everyday and cosmic. Ruffs novel was an attempt to grapple with the legacy of H.P. Lovecrafts writing, which is both towering in its influence and teeming with racism. As crafted by showrunner Misha Green, the story, therefore, is both a homage and a repudiation.

Its a homage in that it gleefully plays with many of the horror tropes its namesake popularized: terrifying otherworldly monsters, esoteric cults, scary American mansions housing obscure spellbooks and dark secrets.

And its a repudiation in that it also attempts to wrestle with those tropes and perhaps free them from Lovecrafts territorial grasp as a loud, vehement, unabashed white supremacist.

Its helpful to think of Lovecraft Country, then, as akin to a game of Jenga: Its aim isnt to collapse the house that genre built, but rather to slide a new layer of storytelling on top of century-old bones to find out if the entire structure can still hold. For the most part, it holds very well.

Our story opens as a troubled Korean war veteran named Atticus, a.k.a. Tic (Jonathan Majors), searches for his father Montrose (Michael K. Williams). Though theres no love lost between Tic and his dad, after Montrose goes missing in the New England wilds that his family calls Lovecraft country, Atticus, his uncle George (Vance) and his pal Letitia (Jurnee Smollett) set out on a road trip to search for him. But their plans quickly spiral, and soon theyre confronting monsters in Americas backwoods and small towns. Only some of those monsters are inhuman.

On another TV show, this basic plot might last for a full season, culminating in the group locating Montrose and a dramatic confrontation in a giant creepy mansion. But Lovecraft Country gives you the feeling its got no time to waste on such dramatics, so instead the story unfolds very rapidly, largely dealing with the aftermath of that road trip.

The groups brush with a white supremacist cult has left them entangled in the vague plots of a young witch, Christina (Abbey Lee, whose vibe is very Rory Gilmore meets The Craft), and her creepy pal William (Jordan Patrick Smith, whose vibe is very Draco Malfoy meets Skarsgrd). Soon, Georges wife Hippolyta (Aunjanue Ellis), her daughter Diana (Jada Harris), and Letties sister Ruby (Wunmi Mosaku) are all also becoming ensnared in the labyrinthine plots of the cult and its enemies all while having to deal with much bigger immediate threats like racist neighbors, job discrimination, and violent cops.

Lovecraft Country upfronts the realities of Jim Crow racism for its families. George actually edits a fictional version of a Green Book guide for Black travelers which Hippolyta hopes to join him in writing for one day, and they argue about how to tour the country safely while avoiding sundown towns and racist police. The series reminds us again and again that Black Americans have always had to rely on each other for information, help, and protection in a world that was built to ostracize them.

These are depictions usually reserved for the segregated South in 50s- and 60s-era storytelling; though Lovecraft Country is set within that period, most of it takes place in Chicago and Massachusetts, where racist division was very much alive and well but much harder to navigate because it was so often unseen. Its rare to see the Norths racism get such a harsh excavation, but its an effective use of literal racism as horror. Without the Souths more overt legalized racism, the storys Black characters have to constantly feel their way through every situation: Any town could be a sundown town, any cop could be a white supremacist, and situations that feel stable could become unstable at any moment. It all adds to Lovecraft Countrys permeating layer of dread.

Because Lovecraft Country is airing at a moment when its themes of police brutality and systemic injustice are unfortunately more relevant than theyve been in years, the hype that has built up around it is the type usually reserved for prestige TV. But while its aims are similar to those of Watchmen, Lovecraft Country is deliberately pulpy. Through the five episodes that HBO has made available for review, the show gambols between various pulp genres like supernatural fantasy la Lovecraft and Weird Tales, comic books with superpowered heroes and villains, and high tomb-raiding antics out of Edwardian adventure series (think Allan Quatermain or Prisoner of Zenda). Lovecraft Country isnt just coming for Lovecraft; rather, its reclaiming a century of pop literature for Black geeks who never got to be the heroes of those narratives.

The show is also repudiating the pompous dramatics of its silly cult full of white people trying to something something pure bloodlines, something something existential cosmic terror.

Lovecraft, however, remains the central topic of deconstruction. If Lovecraft is obsessed with the omnipresent specters of other races, foreign tongues, and madness, then Lovecraft Country shifts those fears into the point of view of mid-century Black America. Lovecrafts constant dread of The Other becomes the pervasive threat of whiteness. His terrifying, impenetrable languages become the changing rules and constant hurdles of systemic racism. The strain of avoiding madness becomes the stress of trusting ones own judgment and experience when reality bends to fit the preferred narrative of white society.

Perhaps most crucially, the characters themselves shift, too. Lovecrafts heroes were always men, usually erudite and educated, who nevertheless stood in terror of confronting the vast cosmic indifference of the universe and realizing they werent at the center of it. The plots of his stories always revolved around their unfolding of the mysteries they found themselves in, and often being driven mad because of it.

None of these concerns apply to our heroes. As Black men and women, theyre under no illusion that the universe was built for them. Theyre much more concerned with basic survival. But their self-awareness also gives them an edge that few of Lovecrafts characters traditionally possess: They know what kind of story theyre in.

Lovecraft Countrys protagonists instantly adapt to the bizarre nature of the supernatural elements around them. Atticus and George are huge fans of weird fiction and horror; they know exactly who and what Lovecraft is and what his stories are about. Georges daughter Diana likewise is a budding superhero artist and writer of comic book sci-fi. They and their families, however reluctantly, know that to survive tropes, you have to subvert them. That allows them to one-up and outwit the dangers that lie in wait for them, whether those dangers come in the form of racist cults, Indiana Jones-style booby traps, or lying cops. Theyre tricksters in the truest mythological sense: Their ability to turn the villains traps against those villains reveals the traps shaky construction.

The show finds its strongest moments when it layers realism atop metaphorical racism to induce a mounting, increasingly surreal two-fold horror. Its weaker in terms of connecting those moments back to its overarching plot. But that weakness also feels intentional and refreshing as if the show is also repudiating the pompous dramatics of its silly cult full of white people trying to something something pure bloodlines, something something sorcery, something something existential cosmic terror.

Instead, Lovecraft Country allows itself to be more interested in small stuff, like filming an entire scene mostly underwater because its really cool, or devoting an entire episode to routing the racists next door because thats vital to the main characters everyday realities. Its not quite a pastiche or an anthology show, but it has a similar irreverence for the sanctity of an epic drama. And that irreverence is especially valuable in the way it helps the show present in-your-face, omnipresent racism as part of the real landscape of America.

Lovecraft Country boasts clever, engaging storytelling, but it has less to do with the genres its playing with than one might hope. There are literal references galore to the weird fiction writers Lovecraft drew inspiration from and influenced in turn but although I recognize theres still plenty of room for supernatural expansion in future episodes, I found myself wishing the vision of the story was a bit broader. One of the biggest absurdities of Lovecraft is that for all he stood in dread of cosmic terror, the most frightening thing he could imagine emanating from that cosmos was basically a really big squid. By the same token, its more than a little disappointing that Lovecraft Country at least so far hasnt done more to expand its imagination about what lurks in the beyond.

In its early going, the story remains very faithful to Ruffs novel, and the encroaching horrors scale up nicely from episode to episode. But the show seems wary of getting too lost in its fantasies, at the risk of downplaying the fact that everyday life for its characters is rarely a daydream.

Particularly odd is Lovecraft Countrys squick about sex and sexuality, which is almost always shown as brutal and unpleasant, if not outright rape, a form of rough power play and violence. On a show where families and community are generally shown as the only safe and intimate harbor, however troubled, its a discordant note.

For the most part, however, Lovecraft Country stays honest and engrossing, the kind of show you trust to iron out its own kinks. And its more important, ultimately, that the show never lets its indulgence in fantasy overbalance its keen look at racism in America. The show shrewdly leans into a blunt emphasis on the latter that might have felt over-the-top and hamfisted a decade ago.

No matter what, Lovecraft Countrys opening episodes provide an overdue, much-needed perspective shift a constant reminder that America was always Lovecrafts country, and many of its citizens are just trying to survive it.

Lovecraft Country debuts Sunday, August 16, at 9 pm on HBO.

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HBOs Lovecraft Country: A spoiler-free review of the clever new series - Vox.com