Depression is a subject the theatre is obliged to confront. The big question is how you dramatise it. In Reasons to Stay Alive, based on Matt Haigs book, April De Angelis set up a dialogue between the heros two selves. In this new American play, Jacob Marx Rice shows what happens when a manic and a depressive fall for each other; the result, while highly watchable, rarely shocked me into a new awareness.

Rice presents us with two characters. Steph is a long-term depressive who, having dropped out of Brown University, works in a bar. Jamie is a high-flying Washington-based student of foreign affairs who experiences unipolar mania that leads him to obsessive overwork. The pair meet at a psychiatrists office, are instantly attracted to each other and start dating. But when Jamie tells Steph he is in love with her, she warns him Im a destructive person its who I am and that their relationship can only end in one way.

The play, in Alex Howarths production, shows how a couple on different rhythms can bond physically and, at times, complement each other: when Steph senselessly breaks 200 glasses in her bar, Jamies management skills allow him to quickly repair the situation. Rice makes you like and care about the couple but never fully explores the treatment they are getting, and works on the assumption that depression is inherently incurable. It doesnt help that much of the clinical information is gabbled into hand-held mics by the performers and is not easily comprehensible.

When they are not rushing their fences, the two actors are very good. Caoimhe Farren shows how Steph slides from being a sharp, witty, self-aware figure, who announces she grew up in a family of chemical imbalances, into a woman who suffers from a paralysing inertia. James Mear captures equally well Jamies determination to conquer his mania and his guilt-ridden powerlessness in the face of his partners depression. But at heart the play is a love story more remarkable for its tender compassion than for what it reveals about mental illness.

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Chemistry review a warm story of love in the face of mental illness - The Guardian

Mackenzie Davis, the future soldier of our dreams. Photo: Kerry Brown/Paramount Pictures

In the decades since James Camerons Terminator 2: Judgment Day premiered, the man behind the machines has been sitting back, watching as a trio of lackluster sequels failed to capture the imagination of audiences in the way the originals did. Salvation is probably best remembered for the leaked audio of Christian Bale yelling at someone on set, and if youve spent any time thinking about Genisys, it was likely to ponder that criminal use of a y in the word Genisys. But this weekend, the sixth Terminator arrives naked and in a ball of electricity to remind us all that this franchise is still kicking.

In Terminator: Dark Fate, Mackenzie Davis stars as a future soldier sent back in time to protect another key to humanitys future rebel alliance against the machines. Her name is Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes), who eventually gets an explosive introduction to Linda Hamiltons Sarah Connor, and together, the three must fight to save everyone from obliteration by robots in the future. It all sounds a little familiar, but I assure you this sequel isnt like the others. Dark Fate is actually a T2 follow-up, meaning it intends to wipe all the pieces off the board that have been placed since (and during) Rise of the Machines. What does that mean for Terminator continuity? Conveniently, that you can forget most of it! But just in case youve got questions, weve got answers. Heres what you need to know about the Terminator franchise ahead of the sixth installment, Dark Fate:

So, how is James Cameron involved with this movie?The franchise creator is returning to Terminator lore after nearly 30 years of no involvement; again, he didnt have anything to do with the sequels that came after Judgment Day. But when the head of Skydance Media, David Ellison, pitched a 2019 revival that would retcon all the films that went on without Cameron, the filmmaker agreed to start breaking a new story alongside director Tim Miller and Ellison. Early on, they also decided they wanted Sarah Connor back, but only if Hamilton agreed to reprise the role. To help persuade her, Cameron (also a producer on the movie) wrote a long, rambling email begging for her participation. And it worked.

Tim Miller directed Dark Fate? Isnt that the Deadpool guy?It sure is!

Edward Furlong is back in this movie, too, so what does that mean for John Connor?Do you want to watch the movie, or do you want the whole thing just spelled out for you ahead of time? Youll see!

What do I need to know about John Connor?That he is the son of Sarah Connor, and that historically he is the leader of the human Resistance fighting back against the machines. This is why Sarah has to keep running from and killing Terminators that get sent back in time to wipe out their opposition before it even starts: John is why Sarah is in the fight, but Sarah is why John lives to fight another day!

What do I need to know about Sarah Connor?Pretty much the same answer as the John Connor question, but well just add that: Shes been through absolute hell. Existing as one of the only people on Earth who knows about and is trying to prevent the apocalypse is a stressful way of living.

What do I need to know about Arnolds Terminator?Just that he tried to kill Sarah in the first movie, but he was defeated, and then the same model was sent back from the future to be Johns protector in the second Terminator film. T2 Arnold was melted to death in the end, and well leave his new role up for your discovery in Dark Fate. You can just ignore whatever he did in the third and fifth movies.

Can you explain how time travel works in this universe?We cannot and we will not. Just accept the energy bubbles and the nakedness. Thats the way it is.

Is this movie kinda gay? The trailers make it seem kinda gay.Its not really a sexual movie, unless the dramatic height difference between Mackenzie Davis and Linda Hamilton does it for you, which it might! But Dark Fate is very butch, and thats one of the absolute best things about it. File Davis swinging a sledgehammer under Scenes That Elicit Step on My Neck Levels of Thirst.

Is it as good as T1 and T2?This is the worst way to think about Dark Fate, and as such I dont even want to entertain the question.

What do I need to know about Skynet?You need to know that it exists, but you dont need to get in the weeds of the mythology. But here are the broad strokes anyway: Skynet is an artificially intelligent computer system that became the worlds first Automated Defense Network. As Skynet learned, it decided that humans were a threat to its existence (fair enough), and when it achieved self-awareness (i.e., reached the singularity) at 2:14 a.m. EST on August 29, 1997, system operators at its parent company, Cyberdyne, tried to shut it down. In self-defense, Skynet started a nuclear war, and since it could control everything with a Cyberdyne CPU in other words, everything made by the worlds largest supplier of military computer systems humanity was pretty well fucked. After Judgment Day, Skynet eventually started making Terminator robots to wipe out what remained of humanity. That is more information than you need to know, but if youve missed all the other Terminator movies and want to know the scope of the future devastation that Sarah Connor and company are fighting to stop, thats the overview.

How similar is it to Terminator 2: Judgment Day?I mean, how different are heros journeys in most huge-budget studio action films? This feels like a bad-faith question. Are you one of those people who is going to watch every minute of Dark Fate grading it against how a canonical action movie made you feel when you first watched it at a formative age? Does the existence of Halloween render all other slasher films poor knockoffs, or did a really good movie create a template for other filmmakers to build off of and succeed within a previously established structural framework?

Do I need to know anything about legacy characters like Kyle Reese or Miles Dyson?Only if you like extra backstory. Kyle is Johns dad and Miles Dyson is hugely responsible for building Skynet. But thats more for trivia. It wont really factor into Dark Fate.

How many Terminators are there this time?Technically there are two but functionally there are three. The new model from the future, the Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna), has a matte-black endoskeleton that looks similar to the classic T-800 (a.k.a. Cyberdyne Systems Model 101), but it has a liquid-metal skin like the T-1000 from Judgment Day. The two elements can separate and fight autonomously, which is rude. And then theres Arnold, too.

So, Mackenzie Daviss character isnt a Terminator?Shes an enhanced human, and shell tell you what that means.

Do I need to know what happened in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator Salvation, or Terminator: Genisys?No. Dark Fate picks up after the events of Judgment Days timeline. But Kristanna Loken was a good Terminator in T3.

What about that show? Do I need to know anything about Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles?Only that it was a great show canceled too soon, and that Lena Headey was an excellent heiress to the Sarah Connor legacy.

If I dont like Dark Fate does that make me anti-women?That would be a sweeping generalization about the subjective experience of cinema. But obviously yes it does, and you should be ready to reckon with your internalized misogyny. Just kidding. Or am I? Have fun!

Continue reading here:
Heres What You Need to Know About Terminator Before You See Dark Fate - Vulture

Is it possible to make great art without an intense and profound sense of self-awareness? I can think of no human I would rather have this conversation with than Donald Trump Jr: artist, critic and large adult son. Or as his own Twitter bio has it: EVP of Development and Acquisitions at the Trump Organization, Father, Outdoorsman. And: In a past life, Boardroom Adviser on The Apprentice. It is quite simply THE great American rsum, easily clearing the likes of Thomas Edison or Roman Roy.

Anyway, back to Don. I wish my name was Hunter Biden, this bearded, faux-jawlined meritocrat told Sean Hannity on Fox News on Wednesday night, discussing Joe Bidens son. I could go abroad and make millions off my fathers presidency. Id be a really rich guy.

Preach. Thing about Don Jr, though, is hes got way too much integrity to do that. Hes not about taking leg-ups, selling out, sucking globalist dick and playing to stadium crowds hes about the small venues. Hes about what got him into this gig in the first place. Which is to say: hes about the music.

And so to the US presidents sons review and promotion of Kanye Wests new album one of those sentences that would have been inconceivable to type four years ago, but which now is one of the more normal occurrences in any given news cycle. And yes, this column will feature a separate item about Lindsay Lohans platonic and respectful friendship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

But for now, we hold our focus on Don Jr, who has a huge amount of time for Kanye. And why wouldnt he, given Kanye is a dedicated supporter of his fathers presidency? Last year, Kanye used an entertainment show appearance to wear a Maga hat and suggest that slavery was a choice. He has since rowed a little way back on that one, apologising for the way some people felt about it, although not for the comments themselves. But as he said of President Trump: I feel that he cares about the way black people feel about him, and he would like for black people to like him like they did when he was cool in the rap songs and all this. You know, THAT time.

But Kanyes still wearing the Maga hats and vocally supporting Trump. And he has a new album out, entitled Jesus Is King, which has a pronounced Christian bent. Unfortunately, this latest creative offering has received something of a tepid response from the critics.

Or, I should say, from most critics. Because it takes a strong guy of true integrity to stand alone, and that guy is Don Trump Jr. As the presidents son wrote of the opus: Kanye West is cracking the cultural code. Wow. I dont know what it means, but it genuinely sounds exactly like a lot of music criticism. Maybe weve found the one thing Don Jr can do? I dont know a whole lot about the industry standard, but I do know he already reads like Paul Morley.

Anyway, Don, go on. Kanye Wests new album, Jesus is King, is the epitome of fearless creativity, Little Trump continued, and dangerous, unapproved ideas. Crikey. Are those quotation marks around dangerous, unapproved intended to denote a certain irony? I certainly took them as heavily sarcastic, to the point of having to make the airquote gesture while I was reading.

But closer analysis of Dons writing style suggests he reaches for random quotation marks like his daddy reaches for random capital letters, or random pussies. So well have to take Don at his word: namely, that an embrace of Christianity is dangerous, unapproved in America even if it is a country the rest of the world mostly views as comically, auto-parodically God-bothering. So much so that Donald Trump DONALD TRUMP has to pretend to be religious to be president of it.

Leftists always try to silence those who are speaking truth, Don Jr continues about Kanye West, a man famously stifled by the oxygen of publicity. Languishing in the obscurity of multiple media platform appearances and marriage to cultural unknown Kim Kardashian, West must somehow fight the system that battles daily hourly to censor and withhold recognition from him. Anyway, back to these leftists. Theyre waging a war on our family and our culture, Don concludes. Kanye is a pioneer.

So there you go. Not only is Don Jr the most groundbreaking and important music critic since Lester Bangs, he is the very best son since Jesus who did, lets face it, kind of benefit from nepotism himself.

The number of nations to which Lindsay Lohan has added to the gaiety thereof continues to grow. The latest beneficiary is Saudi Arabia, in the Hollywood stars ongoing expansion into the Middle East. According to several reports, now confirmed by Lohans father, she has a close and mutually respectful friendship with noted local dismemberment fan, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Like many other important players in the region Israel, Iran, Qatar Lohans most recent gig was running a Mykonos beach bar for an MTV show. Before that, she was resident on our own shores, enlivening the night of the EU referendum with a series of tweets lambasting places she thought had made the wrong electoral decision. Sorry #Kettering, ran one of these gems, but where are you? Local MP Philip Hollobone was so angered about this that he raised the matter in the House of Commons. It fell to Chris Grayling to respond from the dispatch box. Linday Lohan, said Grayling, as a star of teen and child movies a very entertaining actress at the time hasnt necessarily fulfilled her professional potential.

Takes one to know one, Chris.

Indeed, who should be on the backbenches now, while Lohan is being private-jetted around the world by MBS, who reportedly gave her a gift-wrapped credit card? Please dont get the wrong idea, though. As Lohans endlessly grasping, deadbeat dad Michael explained to the New York Post at a charity ball this week: They are just friends. Lohan has a lot of powerful friends in the Middle East, because she is huge out there. Lohan met MBS because of the work she has been doing in the Middle East. She is working to help people in the region, particularly refugees.

Right. Is this the thing where she said she wanted to have LOHAN-branded spas and refugee camps? Or is this the thing where, in the course of her work as an energy-drink ambassador, she handed out cans of said drink in a refugee camp in Turkey? Or is it the thing where she proposed wrapping the needy in $3,525 Herms blankets?

Its unclear. What her father will say is: She has a platonic and respectful relationship with MBS, nothing more. Asked if he was concerned about his daughter spending time with someone who, barely a year ago, was responsible for the kidnap, murder and dismemberment of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi embassy in Istanbul, Michael was dismissive. None of that has been proved to be true, he stated. Inaccurately.

Still, maybe we seek out qualities in our friends that we ourselves lack. For instance, Lindsay Lohan has done community service in a morgue. And Prince Mohammed definitely should have. Meanwhile, he has imprisoned members of his own family. And Lohan must have wished she could have. Looked at that way, it makes total sense so whats not to adore about this unlikely buddydom?

See the article here:
Hallelujah, lets hear it for Donald Trump Jr, the only music critic with integrity - The Guardian

All 50 U.S. states require schools to have a bullying prevention policy.

But a policy, alone, is not enough. Despite the requirement, theres been a slight uptick in all forms of bullying during the last three years. Bullying can look like experienced basketball players systematically intimidating novice players off the court, kids repeatedly stigmatizing immigrant classmates for their cultural differences, or a middle-school girl suddenly being insulted and excluded by her group of friends.

Bullying occurs everywhere, even in the highest-performing schools, and it is hurtful to everyone involved, from the targets of bullying to the witnessesand even to bullies themselves. October is National Bullying Prevention Month, so its a good time to ask ourselves: What are the best practices for preventing bullying in schools? Thats a question I explored with my colleague Marc Brackett from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, in a recent paper that reviewed dozens of studies of real-world bullying prevention efforts.

As we discovered, not all approaches to bullying prevention are equally effective. Most bullying prevention programs focus on raising awareness of the problem and administering consequences. But programs that rely on punishment and zero tolerance have not been shown to be effective in the U.S.; and they often disproportionately target students of color. Programs like peer mediation that place responsibility on the children to work out conflicts can increase bullying. (Adult victims of abuse are never asked to work it out with their tormentor, and children have an additional legal right to protections due to their developmental status.) Bystander intervention, even among adults, only works for some peopleextroverts, empaths, and people with higher social status and moral engagement. Many approaches that educators adopt have not been evaluated through research; instead, educators tend to select programs based on what their colleagues use.

We found two research-tested approaches that show the most promise for reducing bullying (along with other forms of aggression and conflict). They are a positive school climate, and social and emotional learning.

School climate can be difficult to define, though possible to measure. It is the felt sense of being in a school, which can arise from a greeting, the way a problem is resolved, or how people work together; it is a schools heart and soul, its quality and character. Schools with a positive climate foster healthy development, while a negative school climate is associated with higher rates of student bullying, aggression, victimization, and feeling unsafe.

The elements of a positive climate may vary, but may often include norms about feelings and relationships, power and how it is expressed, and media consumption. Social norm engineering is a conscious process that builds a positive culture among student peers and school adults that becomes self-reinforcing. Like a healthy immune system, a positive school climate promotes optimal health and reduces the chances of dysfunction or disease.

Leadership is key to a positive climate. Is bullying minimized as a normal rite of childhood, or is it recognized as the harmful peer abuse that it is? Do leaders understand that uninterrupted, severe bullying can confer lifelong negative consequences on targets of bullies, bullies, and witnesses? Are school leaders committed to promoting all childrens positive psychological health, or do they over-rely on punishing misbehavior? Can they discern between typical developmental processes that need guidance versus bullying that needs assertive intervention? Are educators empathic to their students, and do they value childrens feelings?

Next, are teachers prepared to deal with bullying? Students consistently report that teachers miss most incidents of bullying and fail to help students when asked. A majority of teachers report that they feel unprepared to deal with classroom bullying. Some teachers bully students themselves, or show a lack of empathy toward children who are bullied. Teachers report that they receive little guidance in classroom management, and sometimes default to the disciplinary strategies they learned in their own families growing up.

However, reforming school climate should involve all stakeholdersstudents and parents, as well as the administrators and teachersso a schools specific issues can be addressed, and the flavor of local cultures retained. School climate assessments can be completed periodically to track the impact of improvements.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is well known, and involves teaching skills of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, responsible decision making, and relationships management. (Full disclosure: Brackett and I are affiliated with the SEL program RULER.)

Evidence-based SEL approaches have been shown to deliver cost-effective, solid results. Numerous meta-analyses, research reviews, and individual studies of hundreds of thousands of K-12 students show that SEL improves emotional well-being, self-regulation, classroom relationships, and kind and helpful behavior among students. It reduces a range of problems like anxiety, emotional distress, and depression; reduces disruptive behaviors like conflicts, aggression, bullying, anger, and hostile attribution bias; and it improves academic achievement, creativity, and leadership.

A study of 36 first-grade teachers showed that when teachers were more emotionally supportive of students, children were less aggressive and had greater behavioral self-control, compared to the use of behavior management, which did not improve student self-control. One meta-analysis showed that developing emotional competence was protective against becoming a victim of bullying; social competence and academic performance were protective against becoming a bully; and positive peer interactions were protective against becoming a bully-victim (one who has been bullied and bullies others). A series of longitudinal studies showed positive effects into midlife (e.g., fewer divorces, less unemployment) and even cross-generational effects of early SEL. Compared to a matched control group, the children of the adults who participated in the Perry Preschool Project had less criminal involvement and higher educational and employment achievement. A cost-benefit analysis of six SEL programs found them to be good investments, with $11 saved for every $1 spent.

Teachers also benefit from SEL. Those with emotional and social skills training have higher job satisfaction and less burnout, show more positive emotions toward their students, manage their classrooms better, and use more strategies that cultivate creativity, choice, and autonomy in their students. Teachers report that they want more SEL support to cultivate their own emotional and social skills, and to better understand their students feelings. But few teacher training programs focus on growing the teachers emotion regulation skills.

SEL approaches should be developmentally wise, since what is salient and possible for children changes at different ages.

For example, preschoolers are expelled from school at the highest rates of all, but the neurological hardware for their self-control is only just developing. Only then are the connections between the emotion circuitry and the more thinking regions of the prefrontal cortex beginning to be myelinated (insulated for faster connectivity), something that will take until the mid 20s to complete. An SEL program like PATHS or RULER that teaches young children language for feelings, and strategies for thinking before acting, can develop better self-regulation.

Sometimes, adults confuse normal developmental processes with bullying. For example, children begin to reorganize their friendships midway through elementary school, something that can naturally create hurt feelings and interpersonal conflict. It should not be misconstrued as bullying, though, which involves intentional, repeated aggression within an imbalance of power. Normal development also includes experimenting with power, and these normal dynamics should be guided safely toward developing a healthy sense of agency, rather than a hurtful exertion of power over someone else.

Finally, the onset of puberty marks the beginning of heightened sensitivity to social relationships, an especially important time to cultivate skills for kinder, gentler relationships. Unfortunately, this is the period when bullying spikes the highest. And while some strategies work well for younger children (for example, advising them to tell a trusted adult), this option may fail with teens, and the breakpoint seems to be around the eighth grade. Older teens require approaches that are less didactic and leverage their need for autonomy, while affirming their values and search for meaning. Physiologically, the brain changes during puberty confer a second chance for recalibrating their stress regulation system. That opportunity should be constructively seized.

Approaches should also take into account individual differences between children. Even SEL programs can stumble here, over-relying on just one or two emotion regulation strategies, like breathing or mindfulness. But children vary in their temperaments, sensitivities, strengths, and vulnerabilities. The best SEL approaches guide students toward discovering strategies that work best for themstrategies that are emotion- and context-specific, personalized, and culturally responsive. This approach requires unconventional flexibility on the part of the educators.

And, finally, approaches work best if they are not standalone pedagogies or from kits that end up in the classroom closet at the end of the year. In order to be effective, skills should become fully embedded across the curricula and the entire day, in all settings, and implemented by all adultsin other words, infiltrating the ecosystem. Only approaches used and taught as intended are successful.

Families matter, too. Bullying in schools sometimes arises from harsh parenting practices or sibling bullying at home.

Even parents workplaces matter. Adults experience bullying in their workplaces at about the same rate as children in schools, and its even found among teachers and in senior living communities. In other words, bullying is not just a childhood problem; it is a pervasive human problem. And children are not buffered from the wider social worldbullying of children who belong to groups targeted in the national political discourse has spiked on playgrounds nationwide.

Ultimately, we need a substantial shift in our mindsets about the importance of children and their feelings. Children are more likely to thrive when we nurture their humanity, and offer them language and strategies and values to help them identify, express, and, thus, regulate their feelings. When parents, teachers, and administrators gain new awareness into the complex roots of bullying and adopt new strategies for addressing it, schools can lead the way. The kids are counting on us.

See the rest here:
What Are the Best Ways to Prevent Bullying in Schools? - Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley

On Tuesday, Nov. 5, we look forward to enjoying a deeper conversation that explores how practicing selflessness and incorporating service to others is one of the greatest forms of self-care.

Bimonthlywe choose a different topic or theme to discuss. We start our exploration using short selections from the Bah teachings. The conversations aim to uplift, inspire, and give expression to the human spirit; the conversations benefit from participants viewpoints. UAFS students of all ages, backgrounds, and beliefs are invited to contribute to elevated conversations, inquiry, consultation, and learning. As we grow together and learn from one another, we hope to build bridges of unity and respect for all humanity.

Join us in from 12:15-1 p.m. inVines 235as weexplorethis topic with a selection of passages from the Bahai Writings.During thisconversationwe will consult together onthe following questions:

Is self-awareness just the first step of a longer spiritual journey?

What does it mean to be connected to others spiritually?

What is the link between personal andsocietal transformation?

If a mans thought is constantly aspiring towards heavenly subjects then does he become saintly.

Sponsored by the Baha'i Club. For more info., please contact Club President Rebecca Drummonds rdrumm00@g.uafs.edu, Vice President Leena Durkin ldurki00@g.uafs.edu, Treasurer Lynn Lukas Lynn.Lukas@uafs.edu or Secretary Tristan Harris tharri07@g.uafs.edu.

Read more:
Meaningful Conversations: Avoiding the Self-Help Trap - UAFS News

Grade: 4.5/5.0

Coming off of the box office success of Thor: Ragnarok, director Taika Waititi had a lot to prove going into his next project. He could have easily fallen deep into the clutches of Marvel and Disney, producing only high-profile, cash-grabbing blockbusters that resonate with larger audiences. But instead, he created one of the most intimately empathetic and wonderfully youthful films of the past decade: Jojo Rabbit.

Based off of the novel Caging Skies by Christine Leunens, Waititis film Jojo Rabbit follows the story of Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis), a young boy in the Hitler Youth in Nazi Germany. Guided by his own imaginary embodiment of Hitler (Waititi), Jojo discovers his mother (Scarlett Johansson) has been hiding a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their house, leading to a personal journey of self-discovery for young Jojo, as he confronts the nationalist ideologies he has grown up with. Blending together the whimsical comedic themes embedded in Waititis writing with the freeing nature of Davis portrayal of Jojo, the film takes on relevant themes of self-identity and individual morals in a time and setting where this was almost impossible.

With a subject as dark and sorrowful as World War II, Waititis film takes major risks, as it is guided mainly through dark humor and satire. Yet, somehow this works in its favor. The films self-awareness and innocence through the eyes of young Jojo makes Waititis portrayal of an imaginary, bumbling and goofy version of Hitler feel natural rather than uncomfortable to audiences. It doesnt feel forced or arbitrary because of the tone Waititi establishes from the very beginning of the film.

What is so striking about Jojo Rabbit is its inability to fit into a definite category. Although it has been marketed as a comedic take on these events, Waititi is able to balance the films humor with incredibly tear-inducing drama. When the film wants to be comedic, it pulls it off effortlessly. When it wants to be serious, it doesnt feel out of place.

Fans of Wes Andersons Moonrise Kingdom and Mark Hermans The Boy in the Striped Pajamas will fall in love with the youthful innocence and beauty that parades around the mind of young Jojo. This is easily one of the most sincerely beautiful depictions of childhood and friendship in cinema in the last couple of years all thanks to the performance by Davis.

Davis performance as Jojo is largely what makes this film so captivating and poignantly touching. He brings such a beautifully innocent, yet powerful, presence to the screen that is extremely impressive for his debut role. Davis strays away from a cookie-cutter interpretation of Jojo. Instead, he provides an emotional performance that makes Jojos attempt at understanding the world around him feel extremely personal and raw.

The biggest problem facing this movie is the way it paces itself toward the end. This film is surprisingly gut-wrenching, yet emotional moments can sometimes lose their luster when cuts and tonal shifts are made too quickly. Nevertheless, the performances of Davis, Johansson and McKenzie make up for the abruptness of these moments, drawing the viewer in and making them reach for their tissues.

Jojo Rabbit is easily a must-see of 2019. It is so rare to find a film that possesses the amount of heart that this one does. In a time as politically divided and hardhearted as today, it is refreshing and rewarding to witness a film that accurately portrays the power of love and acceptance in a place corrupted with hate and isolation.

Jojo Rabbit is a reminder of what it means to display empathy in a society that aims to crush every ounce of feeling one may possess. It is a reminder that one does not have to fall into the traps of mechanically malicious hate. Instead, they can find courage by telling themselves to be the rabbit.

Contact Sarah Runyan at [emailprotected]/

View original post here:
'Jojo Rabbit' is surprisingly hilarious, emotional satire of growing up in Nazi Germany - Daily Californian

Technology is entering every aspect of our lives and it's unstoppable now. Yet women are still underpresented in the technology industry. What's more, the gender pay gap is getting wider instead of getting smaller.

However, it doesn't mean that women don't exist in the technology industry. They successfully exist just as they exist in other sectors.

One of the interesting fields that technology is front and center is in fashion. Turns out there are very successful women in the fashion tech industry. We can even say that women are far more successful in this sector than men.

With that in mind, here's a look at 9 inspirational women who successfully integrated technology into fashion.

Berzowska thinks that the future is wearable. She's the founder and research director of XS Labs which is a design research studio that develops innovative methods in electronic textiles and responsive garments. Berzowska told Quartier de l'Innovation "Theres a great potential to achieve deeper insights into our bodies. Using biometric garments will allow us to see more carefully when we are tired, when we are stressed, when we are excited and to reach new levels of self-awareness and understanding.Once the new interactive textiles that Im developing become consumer products, I think there is going to be a real fashion revolution.

Kate Hartman has many titles, she's an artist, technologist, and educator and her work mostly focuses on the fields of physical computing, wearable electronics, and conceptual art. She's the co-creator of Botanicalls which is a system that lets thirsty plants call for human help via phone and the Lilypad XBee which is a sewable radio transceiver that allows your clothing to communicate.

Kristi Kuusk is a designer-researcher whose work is focused on the direction of crafting sustainable smart textile services. She's searching for new ways for textiles and fashion to be more sustainable through the implementation of technology.

In her last project Magic Lining collaborated with the scientists from the areas of human-computer interaction, psychology, and neuroscience. The team's project is focused on the possibilities of altering people's self-perception through the garment's inside.

Madison Maxey's areas of interest are materials and creative technology. She's the Founder and Technical Lead at LOOMIA, where she focuses on bringing flexible and robust circuitry (e-textiles) to scale. For five years, Maxey researched the flexible and drapable circuitry layer that comprises LOOMIA's core technology. She has developed e-textiles prototypes for companies such as North Face, Google, and Adidas.

Maggie Orth is an artist, writer, technologist and creator of electronic textiles and interactive art. Her work focuses on textiles that change color under computer control, interactive textile sensors and light artworks, and robotic public art.

SEE ALSO:THE FASHION WORLD WILL LOOK VERY DIFFERENT IN THE DISTANT FUTURE

She's also experienced in different fields such assustainability, technology, design-thinking, interface design, usability, product development and design, entrepreneurship, brain-storming, standards, intellectual property, wearable computing, storytelling, and verbal communication. She worked with many companies to develop wearable and technology products.

Papadopoulos is a designer, researcher, and teacher. She has been developing wearables and experimenting with e-textiles. She has been involved in many social functionalities, tools and making and mapping systems. She's the founder of Principled Design which is a design and development studio based in New York City specialized in wearable technology and e-textile solutions.

Francesca Rosella is the co-founder of CuteCircuit, the first wearable-technology fashion brand in the world, which is a merging futuristic fashion design with advanced technologies and smart fabrics aiming to create a new fashion style with magical interactive capabilities.

In 2010, Katy Perry wore a CuteCircuit dress with LED lights to the MET Gala. And in 2012, Nicole Scherzinger wore the world's first haute couture Twitter Dress on the red carpet for the launch of the EE network in London.

Yuchen Zhang is a creative technologist who specializes in branding, interaction design, and technology. She created Project Reefstonewhich is a data-generative garment that visualizes the dramatic change of global temperature in the last 40 years. The form of the clothes resembles the bleached coral reefs, and are decaying due to the rise of global temperature.

She also has another project called Wearable Media which is a fashion brand. She works with the creative director, Hellyn Teng, and they produce clothes blended with technology.

Lara Grant is a designer, prototyper, researcher and educator. Her work is focused on wearable electronics, crafting techniques, process and how concepts of sustainability can apply to fashion, technology, and their combination. She's integrating new technology and materials with fashion and textiles.

She created musical shoes that make sound according to the movement of the shoes and many other projects in which she combined fashion and technology together.

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9 Inspirational and Creative Fashion Tech Designers - Interesting Engineering

When you think of the word assertiveness, who comes to mind? Yourself, your colleague, your boss or maybe your best friend?

Once you have imagined that person, what did they do that you would relate to assertive behaviour? The most common definition of assertive behaviour is simply the ability to say no to someone. But is that it? Can we say yes and be assertive at the same time?

If assertiveness is pushed too far, it turns into aggressive behaviour. The other end of the spectrum is submissive behaviour. Assertiveness is finding the balance between these two ends of the spectrum. In other words, how do we say no without being aggressive or how do we say yes without being submissive?

In order to be truly assertive, we need to understand not only our position (what do we want, what do we need) but also the position of our counter-partner (what are their expectations towards us, what do they need). Only by being able to put ourselves in their shoes can we rely on the fact that we will act assertively and not aggressively.

It is rather obvious that there is not enough space for empathy when we talk about aggressive behaviour. People who act aggressively want to determine the outcome;not only for themselves but also to push others to do what is important for them, without asking themselves if there is a win-win situation possible.

When we are being submissive, we are more sensitive to being liked by our partner (boss, colleague) or putting their needs before our own.

The key to assertiveness is expressing your own wishes and needs or saying no in such a way that it does not offend the other party. Once we respect others and see their point of view, the chance thatwe will offend them is small.

But again, as in the case of empathy, it is a double-edged sword. In order not to be perceived as aggressive, we need to respect others. However, in order to not be submissive, we need to respect our own needs and wishes as well.

Which brings me to the third point self-awareness. We can only be assertive if we know what we actually want. Sometimes, we think that we know, but we dont. We often want others to like us, so we change our own thoughts and convince ourselves that things are good for us, even if they are clearly not.

Assertiveness is the art of consistently behaving in a way that is in line with our deeper self. And this deeper self is defined by our values, desires, needs and personality. In my previous article, you can find valuable tips on how to identify your own values.

Although many of us still think that assertiveness is only about caring about your own agenda, I strongly disagree. During one of my recent communication training sessions, the participants role-played many difficult dialogues between themselves and their boss, colleague, subordinate or client. In some of these dialogues, the participants were able to observe the key elements of assertive behaviour.

Next to the points mentioned above, one thing came across very strongly in this workshop, which is that people who are assertive care about their relationship with the other person, but not in a matter of undermining their own needs and position, but in a matter of searching for a win-win solution for a higher good of both parties, the company, the project, etc.

Since we care about our relationship, even when we have to say no, the main point is to find potential solutions. Solutions are constructive and bring us allies instead of enemies. Solutions show that we care.

Imagine the following situation. Your boss is asking you to work on an additional project and they underline that you are the employee with the most experience in the matter and they really want you onboard.

But you are already involved in a couple of other projects next to your daily job and youve decided that for the coming year, you are actually going to care more about your health and work-life balance. How do you say no?

Understand the situation of your boss, put yourself in their shoes for a moment and acknowledge that. So, you could say: Thanks for presenting me with this opportunity. I truly appreciate it. I understand how important the project is to you.

Voice your own needs / wishes whilst respecting the perspective of the other person. Talk about your own perspective too. This year, I have taken on three new projects already and I have promised myself that for now, I won't take on any new projects.

Think of what is important to you and why. I feel that in order to be fully involved in any new project, I want to give only my best self (value = excellence / quality), since I have mentioned that I am involved in other projects as well, my time and energy is limited at the moment (value = health / life balance), therefore I need to say no to this project.

Think of a solution, to maintain a good relationship with your boss. There are two other great colleagues from my team that I would love to recommend for this project. I know that they would be very interested in participating, it would be a great chance for them to gain more experience and they are really motivated to learn something new. And of course, if they have a question during the project, they can always ask me. What are your thoughts on this?

Assertive behaviour is definitely not a walk in a park and requires work on oneself, insight and willingness to take a risk. There is no guarantee that once you say no to your boss it won'tbackfire, but there is a certainty that if you always say yes, you eventually will lose yourself. This will impact your relationship with your boss, as you will most probably withdraw yourself from the relationship or become bitter.

So, now back to you. Do you find it easy to be assertive? What do you value about assertive behaviour? Feel free to share in the comments above.

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What does it mean to be truly assertive? - IamExpat in the Netherlands

In these febrile times, a new book on arguing with empathy is essential reading.

Many of us have seen relationships with friends, family members and work colleagues jeopardised or even destroyed by political differences. In the divisions that have arisen in the wake of the EU referendum vote, or the election of Donald Trump, such concerns are more pressing than ever. Our political climate has reached a point where to disagree politely is seemingly a lost art.

Authors Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay have tackled this problem in their latest book, How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide. Their concern, quite simply, is how to communicate effectively with people who hold radically different beliefs. In an era of increasing polarisation, this book could hardly be timelier. Even prominent political commentators now routinely resort to ad hominem attacks and the kind of mischaracterisations of their opponents views that would see them fail the most basic course in critical thinking. Rather than just lament the woeful state of discourse, political or otherwise, Boghossian and Lindsay seek to do something about it.

Civil discussion is a skill like any other; it requires a grounding in the basics. Each chapter of How to Have Impossible Conversations moves us forward to potentially thornier encounters from straightforward disagreements with friends all the way through to rows with closed-minded ideologues. I have long been of the view that trying to reason with racists is futile, because theirs is a fundamentally irrational position. Boghossian and Lindsay have given me cause to reconsider through their meticulous analysis of how such conversations might go in practice. They offer the example of the musician Daryl Davis, who has successfully talked Ku Klux Klan members out of their delusions; they point out that he has a closet full of their relinquished hoods to prove it. And although I lack the ability or patience to achieve such feats, they have persuaded me that there are those for whom the effort is worthwhile.

For the majority of readers, the most valuable aspect of this book will be how to resolve conflicts of a more quotidian kind. How do we retain friendships in the face of seemingly irreconcilable differences? How do we begin to reinstate the value of discourse when so many prominent figures in the media and the political commentariat are so adamant that their opponents views are outside the Overton Window? Having read Boghossian and Lindsays cogent guide, I am now more convinced than ever that many of societys problems could be resolved if we simply learnt how to talk to one another.

First and foremost, we need to consider what we are arguing for. Do we really expect our intervention to prompt some kind of Damascene conversion? Is our intention to persuade or to demean? Boghossian and Lindsay are keenly aware that the purpose of argumentation isnt always to prove that we are right. There is considerable value in sowing the seeds of doubt in the minds of others. And even the most necessarily robust conversations can be stymied by a lack of empathy or compassion.

The capacity to guide others to the point of introspection is one well worth honing, but we are unlikely to achieve this if our approach is adversarial. This is why the authors offer numerous examples of how conversations with partners (rather than opponents) might be derailed, and how we can best avoid falling into traps. They draw on their own experiences Boghossian, for instance, has worked with prison inmates to help improve their critical-thinking skills and are not afraid to cite their own mistakes as examples of what not to do. As they point out, virtually everyone formulates most of their beliefs first and then subsequently looks for supporting evidence and convincing arguments that back them up. Having the self-awareness to recognise our own flaws is the first step to improving our ability to participate in civil discussion.

The authors advocate a return to the Socratic Method, a drawing out of ideas through the dialectical process. Too often we are guilty of treating an argument as an opportunity to enhance our status, to humiliate our rival, to convey a message, when we should be listening. The sociologist and philosopher Herbert Spencer begins his First Principles (1860) with a reminder that when passing judgment on the opinions of others, we should be on the lookout for the nucleus of reality that lies within even the most flawed proposition. In other words, we have something to gain from listening. This is what Boghossian and Lindsay mean when they suggest that there are times when it is best to switch the conversation to learning mode and ask questions.

One of the most important lessons of How to Have Impossible Conversations relates to our natural inclination to assume the worst motives in those who do not share our views. Boghossian and Lindsay draw on Platos Meno to reaffirm Socrates observation that people do not knowingly desire bad things. We all appreciate how frustrating it can be to have opinions and ideas we do not hold attributed to us by our detractors, so we would do well not to make the same error. If you must make an assumption about your partners intentions, Boghossian and Lindsay write, make only one: their intentions are better than you think.

This tendency to intuit motive is most commonly showcased on social media, which is as good a reason as any to avoid such platforms when it comes to contentious topics. On a public forum such as Twitter we are essentially performing to an unknown audience, and so disagreements can often escalate into a clash of egos. In such circumstances, emerging as victorious becomes more important than refining our ideas. Boghossian and Lindsay remind us that interactions on Twitter with those who have thrown insults, or who have refused to take ones arguments in good faith, are rarely productive. The amount of attention you owe anyone who insulted you on social media is zero, Boghossian and Lindsay tell us. Let them waste their time. Stop playing their game. Block or mute their accounts. That is to say, knowing when to walk away is just as important as knowing when to engage.

In lesser hands, this kind of self-help guide could so easily have become an instruction manual for the disingenuous and the manipulative. The authors acknowledge as much in chapter six when they offer advice to the reader whose conversational partner might also have read this book. How to Have Impossible Conversations avoids this pitfall through a continual emphasis on the importance of empathy. By reframing disagreements as collaborative, and urging us to reflect on our mistakes, Boghossian and Lindsay show us the benefits of mutual understanding and sober persuasion. There are few of us who would not profit from reading this superb book. In a febrile political climate, its always worth reconsidering our tactics.

Andrew Doyle is a stand-up comedian and spiked columnist. His book Woke: A Guide to Social Justice (written by his alter-ego Titania McGrath) is available on Amazon.

How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide, by Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay, is published by Lifelong Books. Buy it from Amazon (UK).

Picture by: Getty.

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How to have impossible conversations - Spiked

Rat

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Birth years of the Rat: 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008

Next year of the Rat: 2032

According to TravelChinaGuide.com, the Chinese zodiac is ruthlessly ironic in the fact that the sign whose year it is tends to be the most out of luck. Since 2020 is the year of the Rat, people under this sign may feel like they have a dark cloud hovering over their heads. However, it is important to note that this is largely a matter of perspective. The year of the Metal Rat is filled with opportunities for success for everyone, so dont let anxiety or negativity ruin it for you. Feeling down on your luck? Try keeping these 11 lucky things in your home.

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Birth years of the Ox: 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009

Next year of the Ox: 2021

Those born under the Ox sign are dependable and strong, but sometimes their steadfastness makes them a bit stubborn. This can pose a problem during a year that is ruled by the Metal element since Metal is also tough and unwavering. Success and luck are still ready and waiting for the Ox in 2020, but people of this Chinese zodiac sign will need to be more flexible in order to attain great things this year. They may also want to make these 13 life-changing resolutions.

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Birth years of the Tiger: 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010

Next year of the Tiger: 2022

Described by Horoscope.com as powerful, adventurous, and passionate, the Tiger should enjoy great fortune in 2020. This year is all about the willingness to take the jump into new, unexplored territories, and the Tiger is ready to pounce. It will be a rock-star year for this sign, as long as they dont get involved in too many high-risk scenarios and get in over their heads. Find some more ways to boost your luck in the new year with these 20 lucky traditions.

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How 2020 Will Go Based on Your Chinese Zodiac Sign - Reader's Digest