Hi! I know dating and the timeframe for being married is a highly debated subject in Christianity, but I’m wondering if anyone here has had any success in a marriage with someone they knew for less than a year?
edit: headline should be “Marriage in under a year- thoughts?”

I shared this story elsewhere on this sub but thought it deserved its own post. Tires are one of my favorite Boomer triggers. For some reason they get absolutely irate and can't understand them at all. So heres how my parents escalated buying used tires to holidays being canceled. Yes, its outrageous:
Before I went no contact, my parents had taken to hiding stupid shit they did from me to avoid any helpful comments that conflicted with the twisted reality they live in. Doing this was totally unnecessary. The only thing I ever really got on them about was them mistreating their dog.
In this case, my dad let some neighbor who knows someone convince him that he needed 17" wheels on his truck instead of the stock 16" wheels to improve his trailer towing. So he ended up paying this third removed connection way too much for set of 17" wheels and tires. They then put the tires in the back shed instead of fitting them so I wouldn't see them. (I still get stuck on this one. Like what good are tires that they wont install because they want them to be kept as a secret. What was the end-game here?)
I happened to be visiting to help with yard work and happened to see the tires when I went to get a tool from the shed they were hidden in. I asked about them because Im into cars and thought this was an opportunity to connect with my parents over a shared interest (my mistake). They knew I just did a whole bunch of tires/wheels/suspension work on my truck, so I was wondering why they didnt talk to me about them, regardless of their purpose.
Their response was "Oh we didnt want you to see those". I was still totally confused, and thought they got me a weird gift or something that was supposed to be a surprise. So I asked why. They just came right out and said it was because I always act like an expert on everything and they didnt want to hear about it.......
Im like okay. I share my informed opinions on some things because you know I do a ton of research on things I am interested in. You know I just did all this stuff on my truck, because I tried to start conversations about it with you. Why didnt you ask so I could help? Like how does that make sense?
Their response was instant outrage and a bunch of weird remarks about how they dont need my permissions to do anything and they can handle things themselves because they have been alive long enough to know what they are doing.... Okay. This isnt a personal attack on anyone's autonomy. Just a chance to share some common interest.
I let this go. I dont want drama. I went back to return the tool and look over what they bought, with my parents already saying shit like "Here is comes". "Cant wait to hear how dumb we are".
Turns out the tires were new looking, but 12+ years old. So I told them what they bought was worth about $350 and the tires are objectively unsafe to drive on. Like seriously unsafe. Told them this is what killed Paul Walker, etc.
Then I get yelled at (legitimately screamed at) about how they are brand new, $800 was a "damned good deal" blah blah blah and I dont know what Im talking about. I just showed them the date stamp, explained what that meant, then sent them a link to the manufacturers statement on tire age and sent them a few links to how dangerous old tires are..... More yelling of course. Deescalation doesnt work ever. So I leave. Cue texts about "Who do you think you are". "Respecting elders" etc.
My next visit, in early November, I see my dad had installed the tires anyway. I ask if he read the links. He yells back that the manufacturer is just trying to fuck people over and he knows tires. Okay. So I drop it.
So that brings us to the main event. Thanksgiving a few weeks later: My brother, his wife, and his daughter are there. My partner is there..... None of us really want to be there but are trying to make sure our parents are not alone on Thanksgiving.
Ill skip to where shit really hit the fan. We needed something from the grocery store to cook with and my dad said we should all go and take his truck. There was something about this that seemed manufactured, so suspected this was a ruse to get us in his truck to "prove" the tires are fine. (Hyper-vigilance is great). Not wanting drama on a holiday, I suggested we take my car instead. He insisted and I told him that me nor my family is getting in his car with those dangerous tires. Its no big deal, lets just take a different car. Of course that wasnt a reasonable option........
He started yelling and insisting I was I being a coward, that Ive always been afraid of everything etc. In front of everyone. Then started in on my partner, about how they can leave me at home and she can go with him. Awkward AF. She sheepishly agreed with me, and suggested we take my car as well. My mom is just salivating at the drama, like my dad is winning the headliner cage match of the year or something.
Im guessing they had been plotting this for weeks to prove a point about the tires because they catastrophize things like this all the time. They have set up screen-play like ambushes like this before. My brother and his wife are just sitting there, like "WTF is this about tires."
Then came the boomer ultimatum... "Get in my car or this holiday is OVER!". My brother now jumps in saying that this is unnecessary and we dont need to go there. Just take a different car, etc. My dad says, "You really taking his side on this? Thats really what you want to do here? BAD MOVE!". With more yelling.
Okay. So I just left. My brother and his family went with us because they understand boundaries. We went to my house and had our own thanksgiving. I spent 30 seconds explaining about the tires, which my brother understood because we're both engineers. Then we forgot about it and had a good time.
They didnt talk to any of us until Christmas and that was just to ask why I hadnt planned anything with them and demand an apology for ruining their thanksgiving.....
For the next year, literally EVERY time I saw them, the first comment was: "So those tires turned out just fine, didnt they. Still havenet died. Pretty embarrassing you made such a big deal out of it." I respond with "Nothing has changed. You are still an idiot. And youre going to kill yourself or someone else. Please get new tires. Whats embarrassing is you canceled two holidays over tires and still obsessed over this". At this point we are low contact and only see each other at family events. But... this was the only words exchanged between my dad and I AT MY BROTHERS WEDDING.
As you can imagine, other things happened too. But this constant bullshit about the tires shut down just about all communication between us. My dad thinks this is some check-mate moment where he finally put me in my palce or something and just would not let it go. My brother and I are now no contact with my parents. Unfortunately for humanity, my dad is probably out there driving on the same tires to this day.

Yeah, it's too early for this but I feel like fantasy booking some more. We don't know who will already be on tour, who will already play in the Daytona/Orlando area, who may be recording, etc. but that's not gonna stop me from compiling a list. I think I did pretty good with my 2024 guesses, so here's an anticipated pool of who I think they will reach out to. For the term "headliner," I'm considering the top 2-3 bands on the Apex/Octane drift stages.

• Aerosmith: adding them to the list, but I don't see it happening.
  
• Alice in Chains: legends. Cantrell solo got cut short in 2022, would love to see them at WTR. Haven't played since, what, 2013?
  
• The Black Keys: surprisingly haven't done much with DWP outside of B&B
  
• Blink-182: has historically stuck with Aftershock for DWP events, but I think their price may be coming back down based on where they're billed in festivals such as ACL this year.
  
• Bring Me the Horizon: worthy of headlining the Octane Drift stage at this point, really surprised they weren't booked this year
  
• Creed: featuring a Limp Bizkit-like resurgence, I'm honestly surprised they weren't booked this year on DWP events.
  
• The Cure: adding them to the list, but I don't see it happening.
  
• Def Leppard: had Motley Crue this year, wouldn't be shocked if they got the other half of the tour next year; played in 2017
  
• Eminem: would be a gigantic draw, and cost a gigantic amount of money.
  
• Faith No More: seems to be awakening from their slumber this summer in Europe, Patton seems to be better mentally as seen by all his Mr. Bungle touring.
  
• Fall Out Boy: putting them on Octane Drift and Blink on Apex would bring a lot of WWWY fans to Daytona
  
• Five Finger Death Punch: last played 2022
  
• Ghost: I think we were all shocked they didn't play this year with all the 2023 promos
  
• Godsmack: played 2023, doing the radio festival circuit this year; I could see them next year off the album tour cycle and doing a greatest hits set
  
• Green Day: played LTL 2023
  
• Guns N' Roses: one of the scrapped 2022 bands
  
• Iron Maiden: playing Aftershock, now has a relationship with DWP
  
• Jane's Addiction: had to adjust to a Porno For Pyros set in 2022 due to Dave's long COVID, they seem to have gotten back on their feet
  
• Journey: normally would've been out of place, but considering we had Crue, KISS, and Skynyrd I think they would be welcomed at the festival. Touring with Def Leppard this year, might put them into the festival pool.
  
• Kid Rock: a very Florida-friendly booking, DWP has used him in the past but it's been a long time
  
• Korn: one of the scrapped 2022 bands - probably the band I saw the most shirts of this year that wasn't playing, still a hot booking
  
• Lamb of God: haven't played since 2021, due for a return
  
• Linkin Park: rumored to be reuniting, has a history with DWP. I think they'd pay big for them.
  
• Lynyrd Skynyrd: could bring them back, played 2021. Fits very well with Florida.
  
• Machine Gun Kelly: if he's still doing his pop punk thing, could be in the FIR slot
  
• Marilyn Manson: depending on how he does on the FFDP and PR recovery tour, he could be the direct support act on the Octane Drift stage.
  
• Metallica: winding down their long world tour, would probably be open to festival dates in 2025
  
• Misfits: DWP seems to LOVE these guys
  
• Muse: has played multiple DWP events, had an early 2023 NA tour so I think them touring here next year would be in the cards.
  
• My Chemical Romance: don't have current tours, only has done Aftershock so far.
  
• No Doubt: would they cough-up Coachella money? Doubt it, but can't rule it out.
  
• Paramore: adding them to the list, but I don't see it happening.
  
• Parkway Drive: worth of at least being top 2 on Octane Drift, especially if they bring their full production
  
• Pearl Jam: their relationship with DWP lies more on the B&B side, so I'm not sure if they spend the money on WTR
  
• Post Malone: an out there selection, could be too expensive but would fit better than you'd think.
  
• Rage Against the Machine: a holy grail booking, they've publicly said they're doing playing. But so did Slayer.
  
• Rammstein: if they book them far enough ahead of time, they can plan for a larger stage and production as needed. Previously did Chicago Open Air, and would presumably need to be routed within a tour based on how much production they use. Would make sense as the Thursday headliner as they can take additional days to set-up if needed, and then spend all night breaking down.
  
• Red Hot Chili Peppers: I'm putting them on the list, but I don't think they'll do it after they weren't received too well at LTL 2022.
  
• Rise Against: had 2022 scrapped, just played Sonic Temple
  
• Rob Zombie: 2023 performance was marred with technical difficulties, so I'm not sure if he would want to return to fix that wrong or may just not be interested in playing it
  
• Scorpions: touring overseas (for us) this year, could be coming to NA next year
  
• Shinedown: had their 2022 show cut short due to the weather
  
• Slayer: seems like a given with the LTL/AS bookings this year - they'll probably do WTST in 2025
  
• Sleep Token: gonna be expensive
  
• Slipknot: because apparently they're the house band
  
• The Smashing Pumpkins: played in 2022, could be due for a return
  
• Staind: last played in 2021, just played ST and are doing LTL and AS this year. This leads me to believe they were being pushed/saved for next year.
  
• Sublime: not sure how high they'd be billed these days, maybe 2nd highest on Octane Drift
  
• System of a Down: played Sonic Temple 5 years ago, but seem to be pretty heavily tied to SNW
  
• Weezer: played LTL last year, killed it. Could have a set like The Offspring where it's just wall-to-wall hits.
  
• ZZ Top: could be a solid band to play before someone like Def Leppard, Journey, etc.
  

Who else do you think may be in the pool?

A year ago I had a disturbing and eye opening experience with a couple self-proclaimed "pick up artists." I didn't know what they were initially and 1 of them was successful in their routine with 2 of my friends. 1 of those friends insisted I should have warned her and she ended her friendship with me as she said she can no longer trust me as she met the guys through me. I've since removed them from my life but this feeling I should warn people has persisted. I've sort of mentioned this on reddit and recently was told that I'm "anti-feminist" but I don't know if that is true.
Anyways, these guys are hitting on hundreds of women a year and have slept with hundreds of women and they are genuinely horrible people that dehumanize, pressure and manipulate women while mocking any woman that ends up trusting them. I'd say they are 'toxic males' but that is completely inadequate. I knew from the headlines people like this existed but meeting them in person was shocking. I guess this is the part that is potentially anti-feminist but on learning guys like this are chasing multiple women daily it suddenly made sense why my friends were having awful experiences with guys. These women are liberal feminists in a major city but they all to some degree still expect men to initiate and pursue them in sex and dating. These terrible guys are chasing hundreds of women a year while most of the guys I know are either in a LTR or spend years single and if they do flirt they are making an effort to do so in a way that isn't going to risk making someone uncomfortable or feel used.
I guess from my subjective experience it looks like the expectation of being pursued is leading to the most aggressive and careless men forcing themselves into women's lives. Given these men are hundreds of times more likely to be initiating and pursuing women it would then stand to reason women end up most likely to be experiencing the worst men in sex and dating.
I've never been one to think about this sort of thing. I had a sexual assault experience with a woman that did not listen to me saying "no stop" and I lost a friend due to guys like this so i've been thinking about sex and dating a lot lately. I am not a woman so I have no idea what any of this is like for women and I may be completely wrong about everything. i mostly don't know what to do with this feeling of "do women know it's this minority of men that are hyper aggressive and the good ones are all over but they just aren't going to forcing themselves into people's lives?'' This is another place where I might be totally wrong but it seems like if women understood just how overrepresented the worst men were in initiating sex or dating then women might be able to avoid them by initiating themselves and ignoring the ones chasing them.
I guess in saying this it could be interpreted as me removing agency from women but the pick up artist guys employ manipulation techniques that actually do lessen peoples agency. It seems like this could also be interpreted as an incel "please date me and not those jerks" rant but i've been in a relationship most of my life and haven't had a lack of romantic attention. I don't think there is any slut shaming here but in case it reads like that I've slept with plenty of people and the women I am friends with have done the same. I realize this also might be interpreted as me saying "men aren't so bad" so it seems important to emphasize; yes men are so bad and there is no excuse for this behavior. My main goal is figuring out what to do with this feeling of "I should warn people" and finding out if this is even true.

Same as headline does anyone know if the fable the anime will be getting dubbed in English also the anime the new gate. Could you send me any links or the release date if either of these will get dubbed at some point

Choosing the right website to promote AI tools depends on your specific goals, target audience, and the nature of your AI products or services. Here are some considerations and steps to help you make an informed decision.
To cut down on that time, AI tool directories were created. Serving a vast user base of internet users, these directories offer everything from newsletters to enormous collections of all kinds of AI tools. We've listed some of the top AI tool directories we could locate for you in this article.

How to Promote AI Tools in 2024

Understand Your Target Audience

Identify the key demographic and user base for your AI tools. Consider factors such as industry, job roles, and geographic location. This understanding will guide you to platforms where your target audience is most active.

Research Industry-specific Platforms

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Utilize social media channels to promote your AI tools. Platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Reddit have active communities interested in AI and technology. Engage in conversations, share updates, and participate in relevant groups.

Review AI-specific Directories and Hubs

Explore directories and hubs specifically dedicated to AI tools and technologies. Platforms like TensorFlow Hub, Hugging Face, or PyPI (Python Package Index) can be effective for showcasing and promoting your AI projects.

Collaborate with Influencers and Bloggers

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Optimize for Search Engines

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Top 10 AI Tool Directories

1. Toolio.ai

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Famous AI Tools is a comprehensive directory featuring a well-organized collection of AI tools across various categories. Its homepage highlights the most popular categories, making it easy for users to find tools quickly. Famous AI Tools allows you to browse tools efficiently, saving time and effort.

3. Make An App Like

Make An App Like offers more than just a list of tools. It provides weekly newsletters and an extensive library of AI tools that are properly organized. This directory helps users stay updated with AI advancements and newly released tools.
Target Audience: Tech enthusiasts, developers, entrepreneurs Strengths: Comprehensive database, advanced search filters, user reviews, curated lists Unique Features: AIs for specific tasks (e.g., coding, writing), "Ask the AI Expert" forum, news and events section

4. Favird

Favird stands out with its unparalleled browsing features. It includes additional subcategories for more precise searches, significantly shortening the time needed to find the ideal AI solution.
Strengths: Intuitive interface, personalized recommendations, tool comparisons, free trials and discounts Unique Features: "Matchmaker" tool to find tools based on needs, AI-powered content creation tools, live chat support

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Aixploria is an AI platform promoting community involvement. It features a form-based area where users can submit their AI research discoveries, benefiting the community by sharing valuable information and keeping the list of AI tools current.
Target Audience: AI beginners, curious minds Strengths: Beginner-friendly explanations, diverse tool categories, blog articles, and tutorials Unique Features: "AI Glossary" for demystifying jargon, "AI Use Cases" section with real-world examples, community forum for discussions

6. TopTools AI

TopTools AI is renowned for featuring the most widely used AI tools globally. The directory includes tools for writing, picture generation, coding, and more, making it a top choice for AI tool discovery.
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Product Hunt AI is ideal for discovering the latest and most innovative AI tools. It features community voting and feedback systems, curated collections by experts, and showcases AI-powered projects.
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Target Audience: Creative professionals, marketers, content creators Strengths: Focus on creative AI tools, curated "AI Art" and "AI Music" sections, in-depth tool reviews and tutorials

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AI Parabellum offers a well-curated collection of AI tools arranged into several categories, providing a seamless browsing experience. It features the most popular categories and allows users to search for the ideal AI tool quickly.
Unique Features: "AI Challenges" for testing and learning AI skills, "AI Community" for developers to collaborate, "AI News" section for industry updates

10. Futurepedia

Futurepedia claims to have a library of over 1500 AI tools for various uses, each carefully categorized for easy navigation. This extensive collection makes it a top choice for AI tool discovery.

11. AI & ML Subreddit

The artificial subreddit is an ideal resource for AI enthusiasts. With over 500,000 members, it covers chatbots, AI generators, daily headlines, and industry developments. Users can share their work and seek assistance from the community.
Target Audience: Everyone! Strengths: Diverse user base, lively discussions and debates, up-to-date information on the latest AI developments Unique Features: "AMA" sessions with AI experts, curated lists and resources, "Career Advice" section for AI professionals

Use Case of AI Tools

Provide Comprehensive Documentation

When promoting on platforms like GitHub or other developer communities, provide comprehensive documentation for your AI tools. Clear and well-organized documentation enhances the user experience and encourages adoption.

Utilize Paid Advertising

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Conclusion

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I finished watching this a couple of days ago. It was a gripping TV series and like everyone else here I've continued to be fascinated by the ongoing real life fallout.
I want to be clear that there is no version of this where Fiona Harvey has not behaved abhorrently, or where Richard Gadd is not deserving of great empathy. Reading even the minimum of what is known (or very likely) to be true, those points are in the bank - this isn't a post trying to turn the tables in any way. That said, I do think it is a problematic series, and both morally and legally this hinges on how much of it is actually true. I see a lot of people playing this down and just want a moment to try and explore this.
"This is a true story" is the first thing we see when watching this show. Now, I don't think anyone holds that to such a literal standard to think that no dramatisation has happened at all - we all understand that dialogue will not be verbatim, that some events will be truncated or chronologically moved about etc. But I think a reasonable expectation of being told this is that the "headline" events did transpire. We are not going to quibble over if FH sexually assaulted RG by a canal immediately after he'd had a date, but we would reasonably expect that FH at some point has sexually assaulted RG. RG did not have to find that FH has existing criminal convictions sat at this computer right after getting a friend request from her, but we would reasonably expect that at some point he found that FH has existing criminal convictions, etc. At this point I think everyone who has looked into this has come to realise that, though FH has clearly harassed RG and a lot of the "headlines" are there... the show likely does not meet this standard of "truth" with respect to every "headline" we see. There's a lot of doubt on the two points I've mentioned, not say that she almost certainly wasn't convicted or sent to prison for stalking him, and that was the resolution of the core plot.
I think there are two reasons why this is an issue. The first is something that's getting discussed plenty already - legal implications. Lots of people are quick to point out that at the tail end of the credits the show does give more of a "dramatisation" disclaimer, but this is weak IMO. We wouldn't let a product get away with saying in no uncertain terms it's one thing in big letters on the box, but then explain it's actually not that thing in the smallest of its small print. That's false advertising and we're (rightly) quick to call it out when it's done by something we don't like. This is not to mention that most people will never even see that part of the credits with Netflix always autoplaying the next thing before it can even appear. I'm not a lawyer, and that small print may or may not make a difference if brought to court, but I think it's wrong for people to jump to this like it shuts down the problem.
The second issue is that I don't believe this show would have got nearly as big as it did were it not for the understanding that it is (all) true. It was an effective drama for sure, but it reaches the heights of engagement that its managed on the trust the viewer has that we are watching what has actually happened to RG, rather than a series of half-truths looked at through the blurring lens of his emotional truth. It's a bit like the difference between seeing a cool video online, but then realising it was staged rather than an actual one-in-a-million event caught on camera. It's a good drama one way or the other, but the impact the show has had is absolutely tied to "this is a true story" and trying to distance itself from the claim after the fact is the production trying to have its cake and eat it too.
"This is a true story" is only two words different to "based on a true story", but they're extremely different phrases. Audiences have seen the latter countless times. It's not just something that is sound in its literal sense, but something we're used to and primed to be cynical about. When do we ever see "this is a true story" except in documentaries? Some people may well have still held some cynicism (as I've seen claim on here), but I'd bet a lot of money that the strong majority of viewers really believe the whole show because of how bold a statement that is to lead with. It not being a true story is an issue in the most straightforward of moral senses - it's a lie, and how we react to the show is inextricably led by this lie. Beyond that, it's a lie that involves real people. They may be far from sympathetic but especially off the back of a morally-curious program we should be mature enough to separate the FH from this production decision.
Ultimately I think it's a shame because RG has made something very special. I found the series to be such an effective and thought-provoking exploration of sexual abuse and the long term, complicated and self-perpetuating ramifications it can have. Against that impact, fawning over this detail or that detail can absolutely seem like nitpicking and I understand people being frustrated by this. But it's also something I think, rightly or wrongly, would cut the wider audiences engagement with the program in half if fully known about. It seems small, but is difficult to play down because it's also the reason the show has reached as far as it has. It's only a few words but it was wrong to use them. I think we'd be quicker to call this out if RG wasn't so incredibly sympathetic otherwise.

With the etf decisions comming this week at the 23th, I'd like to share the basics we all know but often overlook.
Ignoring FUD: Stay Cool, Stay Informed
Understand What FUD Is: FUD is all about creating panic through misinformation or exaggerated news, specially with clickbaits headline like "whales deposit X amount, major dump incoming?“. It's used to manipulate market sentiment, making people sell their assets in fear of losing more. Don't take the bait.
Do Your Own Research (DYOR):
Always dig deeper. Don’t just rely on social media or sensational headlines, really, ignore Twitter lol. Check the facts, read white papers (have you actually read one?), follow credible sources, and understand the fundamentals of your investments.
Have a Long-Term Vision:
Focus on the bigger picture. Look at the project's goals, development progress, and community support. Short-term price fluctuations can be crazy, but a solid project will show its true value over time. Using stocks as an example, Google had a drop when they launched gemini because it had a political bias. That's just gemini, not the whole company. I loaded and it's now ath.
Set Your Investment Strategy:
Decide your entry and exit points based on your research, not on emotions. Whether you’re hodling or trading, have a plan and stick to it. Do you actually have an exit price? We all say "ETH 10k" but personally I'll start taking sind at 5k.
Learn from Mistakes:
Every investor makes mistakes. The key is to learn from them and not let them derail your long-term goals. I bought luna when it sided because I hoped for a sudden pump, never again (loading on dead projects). What was your mistakes?
I have an exit date and all the noise and little events won't change my strategy.

(tw: mentions of child abuse/DCYF involvement )
hey y'all, haven't posted to this sub before, but I wanted to reach out and ask about people's experience with a certain psych hospital in my home state.
Without getting into the gory details, I was admitted multiple times to Bradley Hospital's Children's Inpatient Unit (CIU) over the course of May 2010 - April 2013, with a stint in their Children's Residential And Family Treatment (CRAFT) program in March 2009 - June 2010. From what I can recall from my time in these hospitals, I was frequently prescribed a very heavy medication regiment (one of the early regiments being 900mg of Trileptal, 50mg of Abilify and almost 50mg of Ritalin a day before my parents tapered me off), as well as had a case where I was enduring severe abuse from a family member that was wrongly dismissed.
I'm a full adult now (22NB) and have seen the hospital pop up in headlines a couple times over the years with issues that have been longstanding since my admission(s) there in the late 2000s/early 2010s. I just wanted to know if anyone else had a particularly negative experience with their kid or themselves while admitted to Bradley Hospital. And hell, maybe we were ward mates together during the dates above and if so I'd like to get back in touch and hear how you're doing now. If this post is too much, I'll delete, no problem at all.

This is a weekly reminder post of this sub's stance on potential copyright infringement. This is a serious issue that needs to be kept in mind when creating and listing NFTs.
Original post by u/HurleyBird1
Quick disclaimer: I AM NOT A LAWYER. THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE - THIS IS SIMPLY INFORMATION WITH WHICH TO EDUCATE YOURSELVES AND PREPARE YOURSELF FOR LEGAL ADVICE FROM A LICENSED SOURCE.
Now that that's out of the way. My credentials are: MBA, with a bit of business law classes under my belt.
I want to give a quick explanation of how copyright works - and I'll do so through quick blurbs n some myth/reality bullets.
Source: copyright.gov (US)

1. Subject matter of copyright: In general28(a) Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Works of authorship include the following categories:(1) literary works;(2) musical works, including any accompanying words;(3) dramatic works, including any accompanying music;(4) pantomimes and choreographic works;(5) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;(6) motion pictures and other audiovisual works;(7) sound recordings; and(8) architectural works.(b) In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.

- Myth: I can use any image/song/video/writing I want.
- Reality: No. Not true at all.
- Myth: Well they never said it's copyrighted.
- Reality: Upon publication (and even while a work in progress) a work is automatically protected via copyright under US Law.
- Myth: Well they never sold it.
- Reality: It doesn't have to be commercialized to be protected.
- Myth: Well it was a long time ago
- Reality: Possibly true...as long as the creator is deceased (or if multiple creators, the last living one is deceased) and the required time has passed...although this gets tricky with "estates."
(d) Duration of Rights.—(1) With respect to works of visual art created on or after the effective date set forth in section 610(a) of the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990, the rights conferred by subsection (a) shall endure for a term consisting of the life of the author.
So what's this thing I hear called "Fair Use?"
Straight from the source:

1. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use41Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

Uhh...help me translate that please... (here's a decent official translation: https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html)

1. above...if it's non-profit educational use, you're usually good to go...if it's for money or trade (commercial nature) then you're usually NOT...unless YOUR piece is "transformative"

Transformative uses are those that add something new, with a further purpose or different character, and do not substitute for the original use of the work.
- Myth: Well this is paid for in Algos, not USD so it's not "commercial"
- Reality: IT IS commercial. You could even barter for bacon and it'd be commercial. It's an exchange of one good/service for another good/service.
- Myth: My piece with Batman inside a card is "transformative"
- Reality: No, unfortunately, more-than-likely the courts would say it's not. A good litmus test is..."If Warner Bros Entertainment (owner of Batman) wanted to make an NFT/ASA "Batman card" would yours compete with it or be possibly mistaken (by a reasonable person - so in America think 8th grade education) for real merchandise? Probably...thus it's not transformative enough.
"nature" gets a little tougher. This looks at protecting the "creative process." Thus, using other works of art is less-likely to be protected than using factual sources - like historical photographs since it's easier to "create art" and thus "transform" factual pieces than other art pieces. This is also talking to things like "parody." Satire is NOT protected. "Parody" is. What's the difference? LegalZoomputs it well: While a parody targets and mimics the original work to make a point, a satire uses the original work to criticize something else entirely. Another way to look at it is that satire uses another work as a way to comment on something happening in the world that has nothing to do with the original work.
- Myth: I added a different border, extra planets, and some blur effect to MTZ's World of Light - it's a new piece of art.
- Reality: Not likely the courts will see it that way.
- Myth: This guy added a filter, some burn effects, and collaged a bunch of newspaper headlines together - isn't that a violation!
- Reality: Probably not...the courts would probably see this as a creation of art out of factual sources.
amount/substantiality in relation to the whole...this is where using clips of songs that are only like 5 seconds long works! But using more than that...runs into problems. This is tough to decipher too...as some songs are EASILY identifiable from just 5 seconds (Ice, ice, baby) - and thus NOT fair use. But some aren't. Usually you're safe using a very small clip of a song or video - especially if you're adding more to it. But this is a dangerous game to play - and there's places to get free audio (some sources below)
effect of the use - this is probably the biggest one. Courts will look at simply...does YOUR work affect the sales or potential for sales of the copyright owner. Of note...this is looked at at the time of the issue being brought to the court, not at the time of sale. For example, let's say my batman card sells for 10 Algos today, but Algorand BLOWS UP and soon every NFT is on Algorand. And now my OG Batman NFT is seen as one of the first Batman ones and official. Warner Bros gonna sue the shit outta whoever owns it at the time they sue to get the rights to all sales of that NFT. So that person is left holding an empty bag when Warner Bros wins in court.
- Myth: Well they're not commercializing it NOW so I'm safe.
- Reality: Technically, yea Warner Bros probably won't spend the money to go after the OG artist and the hands the asset passed through...HOWEVER, they may. That's their right. Who knows - the Napster days showed us the lengths companies will go to. EVEN BIGGER HOWEVER, the last person holding it when Warner Bros DOES decide to go after that Batman NFT...uh oh for them - they just lost their asset.
- Myth: Well it's been like a year, and no one has brought up copyright. So I'm good.
- Reality: If this was in a normal market...maybe this argument would work. If McDonald's let you sell a Ronald McDonald poster for like a year on Amazon with no issues, some court may say "bro, you took too long to bring this to us." HOWEVER, with cryptocurrency being so new (and Algorand being so little known/discussed), most courts would see it as "reasonable" that a copyright owner failed to exercise their rights within a year - possibly even a decade. (Updated because I realized last example dealt with trademark not copyright :o)
So what am I safe to use?
US Government works (mostly)...any deemed free to use by creator...and any a copyright lawyer says they have your backs on (cuz now they're liable).
Here's some great sources for free use items (please add to this list below if you know of some!!!):
Pictures: https://buffer.com/library/free-images/ (Unsplash is one of my faves)
Music: https://www.wix.com/blog/photography/2019/11/27/free-music-for-videos/
Video: https://blog.hootsuite.com/free-stock-videos-sites/
You'll notice there's a lot of "shoulds" "coulds" "probably" etc. This is because copyright cases are all unique and go to the courts. The best bet is to go with stuff you KNOW is free and fair-use. If not, I'd look up copyright law, consult supreme court cases concerning copyright, and ultimately, talk to a lawyer.
AGAIN: I AM NOT A LAWYER. I AM NOT PROVIDING LEGAL ADVICE. I AM SIMPLY PROVIDING INFORMATION. THERE MAY BE ERRORS ABOVE THAT COULD CAUSE SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGES - CONSULT A COPYRIGHT ATTORNEY IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE LEGAL ADVICE.

DAY: May 18 2024

• 5-18-2024 HAVE SMARTPHONES KILLED THE ART OF CONVERSATION? Once upon a time, human relationships unfolded without smartphones. The reality may be hard to recall, so profoundly have these devices transformed the way we relate to the world and others in fifteen years or so. As an anthropologist interested in modernity, I am particularly preoccupied by the impact of these devices on our conversations. In my book, “The End of the Conversation? Words in a Spectral Society” (French original: “La fin de la conversation? La parole dans une société spectrale”), I investigate the pernicious effects of this technology
• 5-18-2024 HOW TO REWARD EMPLOYEES FAIRLY AND IMPROVE TEAM DYNAMICS A recent study has shed light on how to reward employees more fairly and improve team dynamics. The study found that when less skilled employees report their performance voluntarily, they often exaggerate their achievements and ask for higher bonuses. These employees also tend to put in less effort and are less concerned about fairness when sharing their contributions voluntarily. Interestingly, the researchers discovered that requiring employees to explain their contributions leads to fairer decisions about bonus allocation and improves
• 5-19-2024 BILLIONS ARE SPENT ON EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, BUT WE DON’T KNOW IF IT WORKS During the COVID lockdowns, schools and universities worldwide relied on education technology—edtech—to keep students learning. They used online platforms to give lessons, mark work and send feedback, used apps to teach and introduced students to programs that let them work together on projects. In the aftermath of school closures, the market for edtech has kept on growing. The value of the sector is projected to rise to US$132.4 billion globally by 2032. The problem is that we don’t know very much about how effective many edtech apps or programs
• 5-19-2024 STUDY FINDS CONSUMERS WILLING TO PAY MORE FOR NATURALLY COLORED COTTON CLOTHING Research has looked at consumer attitudes toward naturally colored cotton clothing. The study found that amid increasing concerns over the environmental impact of conventional cotton processing, consumers are willing to pay more for a greener T-shirt.
• 5-18-2024 HOW AI IS SHAPING THE FUTURE OF SALES STRATEGIES In the fast-evolving business landscape, artificial intelligence, or AI, is taking center stage in transforming sales processes, making them more efficient and responsive to the dynamic market demands. A new University of Alabama at Birmingham study titled “AI in Sales: Laying the Foundations for Future Research” highlights the pivotal role AI is playing in reshaping the sales sector.
• 5-18-2024 WHEN CONSUMERS WOULD PREFER A CHATBOT OVER A PERSON Actually, sometimes consumers don’t want to talk to a real person when they’re shopping online, a new study suggests. In fact, what they really want is a chatbot that makes it clear that it is not human at all. In a new study, researchers found that people preferred interacting with chatbots when they felt embarrassed about what they were buying online—items like antidiarrheal medicine or, for some people, skin care products. “In general, research shows people would rather interact with a human customer service agent
• 5-18-2024 NEW STUDY REVEALS THE POTENTIAL OF COACHING EMPLOYEES TO DRIVE NEW STRATEGIC IDEAS In the landscape of modern business, inclusion isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a strategic imperative. Companies like IBM, Volkswagen and Starbucks are moving to more participative strategy development approaches that reflect a growing understanding of the importance of diversity in fostering innovative and creative strategic ideas. Yet the outcomes of inclusive strategy processes often fall short of expectations. A new study in the Strategic Management Journal sheds light on why that may be. In their study of an inclusive strategy process in a large insurance company, Violetta Splitter, along with co-authors
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCHERS SHOW WAYS TO PROPEL PRODUCT SUCCESS New research explores the key strategies that firms should adopt when launching a new product. The researchers say that these strategies depend on the current market view of the product and the firm. Employing the correct one, which might sometimes be collaborating with overtly demanding reviewers or instituting rather challenging pilot tests, ensures that the product launch will go as successfully as possible.
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCHERS DEVELOP ALGORITHMS TO UNDERSTAND HOW HUMANS FORM BODY PART VOCABULARIES An example of the study’s language sample and the words for arm/hand and leg/foot in English and Wolof. Human bodies have similar designs. However, languages differ in the way they divide the body into parts and name them. For example, English speakers have two words for foot and leg, whereas other languages express the concepts foot and leg in one word.
• 5-18-2024 STUDY FINDS AVOIDING SOCIAL MEDIA BEFORE AN ELECTION HAS LITTLE TO NO EFFECT ON PEOPLE’S POLITICAL VIEWS In the weeks before and after the 2020 presidential election, researchers ran a number of tests to try to understand how much Facebook and its corporate cousin, Instagram, may be contributing to the nation’s political divide. One of those experiments—led by Matthew Gentzkow and Hunt Allcott, economics professors at Stanford University—centered on more than 35,000 Facebook and Instagram users who were paid to stay off the platforms in the run-up to Election Day. There’s a lot that researchers could glean from the social media hiatus, including whether people’s political attitudes
• 5-18-2024 USING COMPUTER MODELS TO UNDERSTAND THE DEBATE ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE Different types of noise and how they act inside or outside the social interaction process. Cognitive biases are among the most important factors that prevent people from changing their minds. Climate change deniers and climate activists often tend to accept only information that confirms their respective opinions on the matter. However, opinion dynamics are also influenced by a factor that the researchers call “ambiguity noise.” Unlike biases, ambiguity noise is variable, depends on many random factors, and leads to inconsistent judgment.
• 5-18-2024 FOR SOME INDIGENOUS SOUTHERN PLAINS TRIBES, AN ORIGINAL FLUTE SONG IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARD MARRIAGE “Warrior with flute” by Timothy Tate Nevaquaya. Used with permission. Credit: Timothy Tate Nevaquaya Every love story is unique, and in traditional Indigenous Southern Plains culture, it begins with an original ballad performed on the flute. In order to win a lover’s affection, and respect among the tribe, each pursuer must compose one good flute serenade. Paula Conlon, a former music professor at the University of Oklahoma, has researched the history and cultural significance of the Indigenous flute since the 1980s. Conlon presents her work Tuesday, May 14, at 9:45
• 5-18-2024 WANT TO BE AN INFLUENCER? OUR RESEARCH SHOWS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FIRST You’re hard at work, lying in a hammock, composing the perfect selfie on the beach. The turquoise sea sets off the idyllic sunset, and just visible though the fronds of a palm tree is the logo of the hotel which is paying you to promote it to your millions of followers on Instagram. Click. The perfect shot. And another typically perfect day in the life of an influencer. Or is it? Certainly a career as an influencer can seem appealing. The work generally involves promoting products or services through sponsored
• 5-18-2024 WHY STUDENTS CHEAT IN ONLINE EXAMS Media psychologists at the University of Cologne have studied how students’ individual needs, conceptions and reasons relate to cheating behavior in online exams. Online exams have become a more common type of exam at universities, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. They are advantageous because they save time and offer flexibility. However, cheating attempts present a big challenge for lecturers. This is why universities have been working on ways to thwart cheating in online exams by putting organizational and technical measures into place.
• 5-18-2024 WHY STUDENTS CHEAT IN ONLINE EXAMS Trust and distrust in social media coexisted in the study participants. Credit: Emmaline Nelsen Are anti-misinformation interventions on social media working as intended? It depends, according to a new study surveyed over 1,700 participants in the United States, revealing that anti-misinformation features increased users’ awareness of misinformation in social media; but did not make them more likely to share information on social media
• 5-18-2024 MOST CRIME HAS FALLEN BY 90% IN 30 YEARS—SO WHY DOES THE PUBLIC THINK IT’S INCREASED? Seventy-eight percent of people in England and Wales think that crime has gone up in the last few years, according to the latest survey. But the data on actual crime shows the exact opposite. As of 2024, violence, burglary and car crime have been declining for 30 years and by close to 90%, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW)—our best indicator of true crime levels. Unlike police data, the CSEW is not subject to variations in reporting and recording. The drop in violence includes domestic violence
• 5-18-2024 MOST CRIME HAS FALLEN BY 90% IN 30 YEARS—SO WHY DOES THE PUBLIC THINK IT’S INCREASED? Can we truly assess whether someone finds us attractive? Cognitive psychologist Iliana Samara discovered that men, in particular, tend to overestimate the interest of their date. She explains why this may be. “Imagine you walk into a packed bar, looking for a date. Your eyes are naturally drawn to attractive faces. If you’re a man and find someone attractive, you’re more likely to assume they’re also interested in you. “Then, when you approach them, whether you’re a man or woman
• 5-18-2024 MOST CRIME HAS FALLEN BY 90% IN 30 YEARS—SO WHY DOES THE PUBLIC THINK IT’S INCREASED? Having more education has long been linked to better individual health. But those benefits are also contagious, say the co-authors of a new working paper. “It’s not just that the individuals who have more years of education are in better health,” said David M. Cutler, Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics. “It’s that even people with fewer years of education—for example, people with just a high school degree—are in better health when they live around
• 5-18-2024 MOST CRIME HAS FALLEN BY 90% IN 30 YEARS—SO WHY DOES THE PUBLIC THINK IT’S INCREASED? Our research on children in early primary years, show they are better are writing with a pen or pencil than a keyboard. Children today are growing up surrounded by technology. So it’s easy to assume they will be able to write effectively using a keyboard. But our research suggests this is not necessarily true. We need to actively teach students to be able to type as well as write using paper and pen or pencil. Our research Our research team has published two recent
• 5-18-2024 MOST CRIME HAS FALLEN BY 90% IN 30 YEARS—SO WHY DOES THE PUBLIC THINK IT’S INCREASED? The provision of therapies for children and young people (CYP) with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) can be an affectively challenging, sometimes procedurally complex, process for the various stakeholders involved. However, the efficiency and effectiveness of this process, are crucial to various outcomes, in particular
• 5-18-2024 HOW DO MINDFULNESS, COMPASSION AND NEED FULFILLMENT AFFECT SATISFACTION IN MIDLIFE MARRIED COUPLES? Many people practice mindfulness or self-compassion techniques in their everyday life as part of their normal self-care routine. Although many studies support the individual benefits of mindfulness and self-compassion, few have focused on romantic relationship outcomes. A new study published in Personal Relationships has examined how mindfulness, self- and other-compassion, and need fulfillment relate to relationship and sexual satisfaction in midlife married couples. The study involved survey results from 640 adults aged 40–59 years who were residing in Canada and were married. Mindfulness is the nonjudgmental attention and awareness to
• 5-18-2024 HOW ENTERTAINMENT BRANDS ARE ADAPTING TO GENERATION ALPHA Growing up, did you play with hyper-sexualized Barbie dolls, boys-only Thomas the Tank Engine trains, or slim, white Disney princesses? If so, you’re not alone, but this is no longer the case for Generation Alpha. Brands like Mattel, once criticized for promoting unrealistic body standards and gender stereotypes, now portray themselves as feminist and progressive. The recent Barbie movie serves as a prime example of this shift. Millennial parents are actively seeking out toys, books and movies to educate their children about life and teach them values that align
• 5-18-2024 STUDENTS WITH DYSLEXIA FACE CHALLENGES TRANSITIONING TO THE WORKPLACE, BUT WITH SUPPORT THEY CAN THRIVE Transitioning from university to the workplace is a critical period in anyone’s life, but it can be especially challenging for students with dyslexia. While academic settings often offer accommodations for people with dyslexia, professional environments often fall short on such support systems. Fortunately, there are strategic interventions that can be established in workplaces to help individuals with dyslexia not only adapt, but excel in their careers. It is estimated that up to 20% of the population has dyslexia and 80% of people with a learning disability have dyslexia
• 5-18-2024 BUSINESSES UNINTENTIONALLY DISCOURAGE DIVERSE IDEAS, FINDS STUDY Businesses influence the ideas they receive from external contributors by unintentionally signaling which ideas they like, a research analyzed 1.44 million ideas to understand how organizations unknowingly shape the ideas they receive. Data came from organizations that asked visitors how they could improve their websites before choosing which ideas to use. Chosen ideas were communicated for all to see.
• 5-18-2024 WHAT’S IN A NAME? A LINGUISTICS EXPERT EXPLAINS WHY SOME BABY NAMES DOMINATE THE CHARTS YEAR AFTER YEAR What do names like Noah, James, Mateo, Mia, Evelyn and Luna all have in common? They’re not only some of the top baby names in the United States, but they also seem to flow off the tongue. And that’s exactly why parents love them. On May 10, the Social Security Administration released a list of the top baby names in the United States in 2023. Liam and Olivia maintained the number one spot in their respective categories for the fifth consecutive year while Noah and Emma also retained second place.
• 5-18-2024 ACCESS TO GARDENS AND CITIZEN SCIENCE HELPS ENCOURAGE CONSERVATION AMONG CHILDREN, STUDY SHOWS Access to gardens and citizen science projects at school can help promote pro-conservation behavior among pupils, a new study shows. Offering children the chance to take part in authentic scientific ecological work and gardening encourages an interest in plants. This can change behavior—to spend more time gardening or to pursue a botanical career—and fuels a positive attitude towards safeguarding the environment, experts found
• 5-18-2024 WHAT PROFESSIONALS EXPECT FROM FUTURE EMPLOYERS Employers who want to attract new talent should recognize diversity and enable inclusion. This is confirmed by a representative study by IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU), which surveyed more than 1,200 trainees and students across Germany. The results clearly show that 75.1% of prospective employees consider it very or somewhat important that companies implement measures to promote diversity and inclusion. This suggests that companies that communicate these measures openly and transparently
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCH LINKS VOTER BEHAVIOR IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS TO HOUSING MARKET PERFORMANCE If the 21st century has proven anything to the United States electorate, it is that presidential elections are notoriously unpredictable affairs. The seeming randomness by which the country’s electorate chooses its next president has only emboldened polling outlets, talking heads, and amateur psephologists to scrutinize every conceivable variable to give their respective electoral forecasting models a much-needed edge. However, Sherwood Clements, collegiate assistant professor of real estate in the Pamplin College of Business, had an electoral theory that, to the best of his knowledge, had never been explored with regards
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCH LINKS VOTER BEHAVIOR IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS TO HOUSING MARKET PERFORMANCE If the 21st century has proven anything to the United States electorate, it is that presidential elections are notoriously unpredictable affairs. The seeming randomness by which the country’s electorate chooses its next president has only emboldened polling outlets, talking heads, and amateur psephologists to scrutinize every conceivable variable to give their respective electoral forecasting models a much-needed edge. However, Sherwood Clements, collegiate assistant professor of real estate in the Pamplin College of Business, had an electoral theory that, to the best of his knowledge, had never been explored with regards
• 5-18-2024 MECHANISTIC MODEL SHOWS HOW MUCH GOSSIP IS NEEDED TO FOSTER SOCIAL COOPERATION Gossip often has a negative connotation, but imagine you are part of a group deciding on a job candidate to hire or a local political candidate to back. Candidates who get a good reputation by helping others may be more likely to receive help in the form of a job offer or endorsement, a feedback loop known as indirect reciprocity. Gossip can facilitate cooperation. Previous research has shown that people tend to cooperate more when they think their peers are gossiping about their behavior, gossip
• 5-18-2024 SINGING RESEARCHERS FIND CROSS-CULTURAL PATTERNS IN MUSIC AND LANGUAGE Are acoustic features of music and spoken language shared across cultures? Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen have contributed to a global study of music and speech, published in Science Advances. An international team of researchers recorded themselves performing traditional music and speaking in their native language. In all 50+ languages
• 5-18-2024 NEW RESEARCH REVEALS JUST HOW FEW LGBTQI+ PEOPLE PLAY SPORTS The topic of homophobia in sport has recently made headlines in Australia, with a series of homophobic incidents involving men’s AFL players. These homophobic incidents are usually well-reported in news media, but research has rarely explored the impact on participation for LGBTQI+ people. Fresh research into the problem Our new research is one of the first pieces of academic research in Australia to document how many LGBTQI+ people play and engage with sport. We also explored current levels of discrimination across sport in Australia, and the barriers and enablers
• 5-18-2024 SWIPE RIGHT OR LEFT? HOW DATING APPS ARE IMPACTING MODERN MASCULINITY What it means to be a man is changing. Critical men or masculinity studies is an emerging robust research field that explores how men and masculinity are being transformed by shifting socio-economic, sexual and political conditions in our post-industrial world. Fascinating new male-identifying sub-cultures and communities have emerged, like mushroomcore and dandies. Yet heteronormative masculinity is typically framed as threatening, toxic or maladaptive, as in the case of fragile masculinity. In my years of swiping on dating apps, I encountered different kinds of masculinities, as well as some very offensive
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCHERS SAY AUTOMATED NEWS VIDEO PRODUCTION IS BETTER WITH A HUMAN TOUCH AI-generated videos for short messages are only as well received as manually created ones if they are edited by humans. News organizations—including Bloomberg, Reuters, and The Economist—have been using AI powered video services to meet growing audience demand for audio-visual material. A study recently published in the journal Journalism now shows that the automated production of news videos is better with human supervision. Technology providers like Wochit and Moovly are allowing publishers to mass produce videos at scale. But what do audiences think of the results? Researchers led by LMU
• 5-18-2024 HOW ‘ETHICAL INFLUENCERS’ ENGAGE THEIR AUDIENCES ABOUT SAVING THE PLANET Have a quick think back to the last time you scrolled through social media. Maybe it was this morning, last night or a few minutes ago. What do you recall? One thing you’re bound to remember is the continuous stream of influencers showing off their latest content. These could be videos of influencers discussing the latest skin-care products, the trendiest places to eat, their latest shopping haul or the PR packages they received from various brands. Much of social media influencing is about getting consumers to buy more products.
• 5-18-2024 ALLYSHIP IS ESSENTIAL TO NEW MOTHERS RETURNING TO WORK, SAYS STUDY Returning to work after parental leave can be one of the most challenging experiences for any parents, especially mothers, to navigate. Fortunately, there are simple, kind and thoughtful ways in which organizational members—regardless of formal status, parental identity or gender identity—can help mothers feel supported as they return to work, which can also benefit job satisfaction and maternal well-being.
• 5-18-2024 STUDY FINDS SAYING ‘PLEASE’ MAY NOT BE SO POLITE IN EVERYDAY REQUESTS By kindergarten age, most children have been taught that “please” is a magic word. “Please” is an expression of politeness that shows courtesy and respect, turning a potential demand into a request that will—poof!—magically be granted. But a new study on the ways people make requests of one another suggests that “please” might not be an all-purpose marker of politeness, but rather a more focused, strategic tool to manage frictions or obstacles among family members, friends and even coworkers.
• 5-18-2024 MILITARY RANK AFFECTS MEDICAL CARE, OFFERING SOCIETAL INSIGHTS: STUDY Stock project from Pexels Human relationships are inherently shaped by power dynamics, yet quantifying their impact has remained a scientific challenge. Now, a large new study published Thursday in the journal Science reveals that military doctors give more attention to higher-ranked patients, providing concrete evidence about the privileges that come with elevated status, frequently at the expense of the less powerful. “One of the things we are trying to show is that this is not a military-specific analysis,”
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCHERS DISCUSS CURRENT STATE OF HOMOPHOBIA, TRANSPHOBIA AND BIPHOBIA Gender-neutral bathrooms, conversion therapy and Quebec’s advisory committee on gender identity have been in the news lately. These are polarizing, hot-button issues. While there have been legislative and social advances for LGBTQ+ rights, ignorance and discrimination persist and continue to negatively affect the lives of many. On May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, UdeMNouvelles asked two Université de Montréal professors and researchers who are experts in the field to share their views.
• 5-18-2024 PICKLEBALL COURTS IN A LEGAL PICKLE OVER THE ASSOCIATED NOISE Experts recommend HOAs and communities consider the “popping” noise associated with pickleball when deciding to build courts near homes. Credit: AIP Pickleball Legal Consultant is a job title that likely did not exist a decade ago, but as pickleball courts infiltrate neighborhoods to satiate an appetite for a sport whose namesake is a snack, communities take issue with the resulting influx of noise. Now homeowners’ associations and city councils face litigation by those whose lives are disrupted by pickleball’s din. Charles Leahy, an attorney, retired mechanical engineer, and former HOA
• 5-18-2024 TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING HOW COMPANIES DO BUSINESS In the fast-paced world of modern business, technology plays a crucial role in shaping how companies operate. One area where this impact is particularly significant is in the organization of production chains—specifically the way goods are made and distributed. A new study from the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business advances understanding of the U.S. production chain evolution amidst technological progress in information technology (IT), shedding light on the complex connections between business IT investments and organizational design. Advances in IT have sparked significant changes in how companies design
• 5-18-2024 HOW DOES THE US KNOW THAT FORCED LABOR IS HAPPENING IN CHINA? A SUPPLY CHAIN EXPERT WEIGHS IN The Biden administration has added 26 more companies to the list of Chinese textile traders and manufacturers whose goods are blocked from entering the United States because of their alleged ties to forced labor. The banned imports, known as the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, names businesses that are said to be involved in exploiting

In a fascinating study, evidenced for a possible landing sight for Lehi in America has been discovered within easy travel distance to Palmyra, NY. If substantiated, it could add weight to an Atlantic migration, the controversial Solutrean Hypothesis, in addition to the traditional Siberian route. https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2024/05/19/first-americans-chesapeake-parsons-island/
The link is behind a pay wall. Here’s the article
PARSONS ISLAND, Md. — With the Chesapeake Bay sloshing at his knee-high boots, Darrin Lowery stood back and squinted at a 10-foot-tall bluff rising above a narrow strip of beach. To the untrained eye, this wall of sandy sediment is the unremarkable edge of a modest island southeast of the Bay Bridge. To Lowery, a coastal geologist, its crumbling layers put the island at the center of one of the most contentious battles in archaeology: when and how humans first made their way into the Americas. The story of the first Americans has long been a matter of public and scientific fascination, undergirded at times by vicious disagreements. The timeline of when people arrived has shifted earlier in grudging steps over the past century, and scientists today mostly agree people were in the Americas at least 15,000 years ago. Story continues below advertisement
Lowery’s site and others like it could revise the story again, pushing back the timeline earlier than most experts thought possible. In total, Lowery and a motley crew of collaborators have discovered 286 artifacts from the site on the island’s southwestern edge. The oldest, they reported, was embedded with charcoal dated to more than 22,000 years ago, a time when much of the continent would have been covered in ice sheets. If Lowery is right, Parsons Island could rewrite American prehistory, opening up a host of new puzzles: How did those people get here? How many waves of early migration were there? And are these mysterious people the ancestors of Native Americans?
Casts of tools found at Parsons Island are seen on display. Lowery and his team have unearthed 286 artifacts from the site so far. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post) New claims of sites dated this far back face a wall of skepticism, rooted in legitimate scientific scrutiny and in the threat they pose to long-entrenched views. To complicate matters, Lowery — who has been affiliated with the Smithsonian but does much of his work independently — presented the results of his study of Parsons Island in a 260-page manuscript posted online rather than in a traditional peer-reviewed journal. The peer-review process is designed to help validate scientific claims, but Lowery argues that in archaeology it often leads to a circle-the-wagon mentality, allowing scientists to wave away evidence that doesn’t support the dominant paradigm. He says he isn’t seeking formal publishing routes because “life’s too short,” comparing this aspect of academic science to “the dumbest game I’ve ever played.”
The island is also a challenging site to study for a variety of reasons — most poignantly because it is rapidly eroding as the land subsides and sea level rises. The spot where the artifacts were found is now covered by the choppy waters of the bay. “The visit reinforced my will to invest my time into this time period, because it’s a very fragile record,” said Sebastien Lacombe, an archaeologist at Binghamton University, who visited the island in 2017. “It’s at risk of disappearing, and we’re at risk of [allowing] these sites and artifacts to lose their meaning forever.” ‘A weirdo kid’
Darrin Lowery walks a beach on Parsons Island. Most of the artifacts were excavated by erosion, discovered on the beach after they had already fallen out of the bluff. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post) Lowery began exploring the Chesapeake shoreline as a child, wandering his backyard on Tilghman Island, about 15 miles southwest from Parsons Island. In 1977, 9-year-old Lowery picked up a distinctive fluted stone projectile point. A few years later, he saw something similar on a documentary on public television, in which a Smithsonian archaeologist explained it was a Clovis point, a relic of what most people then believed were the first Americans. For the last half of the 20th century, the peopling of the Americas followed a tidy narrative. Humans traveled from Siberia across a land bridge that connected Asia and North America during the last Ice Age, when sea levels dropped. They then migrated southward around 13,000 years ago, when the ice sheets covering the continent retreated and exposed a previously impassable inland route. These people — named after a site in Clovis, N.M. — left behind distinctive, fluted stone points that have since been found scattered across North America. Story continues below advertisement
Lowery turned to his dad and said, “I found one of those.” He found more by walking the shoreline every day. Lowery made discoveries as he meandered, and he began to understand how seasonal patterns, sediment movement, wind and waves could unearth ancient treasures. “I was a weirdo kid,” he recalled. He trained as a geologist, and it was geology that initially attracted Lowery to study Parsons Island. In 2010, he published an article in Quaternary Science Reviews describing layers of windblown silt deposited between 13,000 and 41,000 years ago at Miles Point in eastern Maryland. But the geological record is like reading the CliffsNotes version of a book, and he was frustrated by an “unconformity” in the sediment layers where thousands of years were missing, like someone had ripped out those chapters.
Parsons Island is rapidly eroding. The archaeological site is now covered by the Chesapeake Bay. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post) Lowery and a colleague were prowling around in a whaler, looking for a spot that might fill in the blanks, when they spotted a black streak of sediment rising up out of the bay. They pulled up to Parsons Island and thought they had found “the Rosetta stone” to decode the geology. Parsons is a 78-acre island less than a mile offshore that is privately owned by the Corckran family, which uses it as a family retreat. With the Corckrans’ permission, Lowery and colleagues began to visit regularly. The bluff layers preserved a remarkably intact geologic timeline going back more than 40,000 years. Then, one morning in August 2013, the team discovered a leaf-shaped prehistoric stone tool jutting out of this crumbling wall. They knew from the work they’d already done that it was probably quite old. Story continues below advertisement
On a recent visit to the island, geoarchaeologist Daniel Wagner demonstrated why. He stepped back to scan the cliff, then tapped a narrow spade into a light tan sediment layer just above his head. That, he said, is the geologic “chapter” where they’d expect to find Clovis artifacts. Lower layers were set down before Clovis. The palm-size tool Lowery and his colleague found came out of the dark sediment layer near their knees. The scientists used two methods to date the sediment around the artifact, both showing it was more than 20,000 years old. They scoured the beach on 93 visits and conducted a formal, top-down excavation, collecting the 286 artifacts. They sent out sediment to labs that specialize in studying ancient pollen and microfossils called phytoliths to help reconstruct the ecosystem at the time. Back then, this region wouldn’t have been a coastline. The sediment the tools are embedded in dates to the “last glacial maximum” — the scientific term for the most recent coldest period of the Ice Age. In the final analysis, Lowery thinks the artifacts may have been transported downslope before they were buried, making them between 15,000 and 20,500 years old. “This was a swale, where water was collecting,” Lowery said, envisioning the ancient landscape. “You’ve got a dune. It’s got sedges and small trees on it that are windblown and all contorted, and then behind it you’ve got a little pond.” That pond may have attracted prehistoric bison, musk ox and llamas, whose fossilized molars he’s found scattered on the island shore. And it may have been what attracted the mysterious people who left behind a cache of stone tools. A story in flux
Parsons Island is seen from nearby Kent Island in the Chesapeake Bay. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post) Parsons Island is the latest addition to a growing list of what are called pre-Clovis sites. But while the long-held “Clovis First” theory has crumbled over the past three decades, that has only deepened the debate about how much earlier the first Americans arrived. Claims of early sites present a challenge on two fronts. The first is technical: Dating a site convincingly can be difficult, depending on the context. Sediments can shift or be disturbed. What at first look like artifacts can turn out to be “geofacts,” created not by humans but by natural processes or animals. As a result, many pre-Clovis sites “enjoy a Warhol-esque 15 minutes of fame, and then they disappear” because of real problems with the geology or the methods, said archaeologist James Adovasio. In 1973, he began excavating Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Pennsylvania, which dated back 16,000 years. It was instantly mired in controversy, and the site still has its critics today. The second challenge reflects the culture of science. For a long time, people who claimed to find pre-Clovis sites were swimming upstream against deeply entrenched thinking. Tom Dillehay, an archaeologist at Vanderbilt University, began working on a site in southern Chile called Monte Verde in 1977, which was dated to 14,500 years ago. He recalled a group of researchers he calls the “Clovis police,” scientific gatekeepers who summarily rejected any pre-Clovis sites, sometimes for valid reasons and sometimes as a knee-jerk reaction. Monte Verde began to change that. In 1997, a group of respected archaeologists visited the site and declared it authentic. “It took about 25 to 30 years for Monte Verde to be accepted,” Dillehay said. “We went through hell.”
Holly, a German shorthaired pointer, runs across a bluff top on Parsons Island. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post) Lowery says he isn’t interested in running that gantlet. He noted that he drew on multiple labs and methods for dating the Parsons Island artifacts in an effort to ensure that any one extremely old date isn’t a fluke. He’s also invited other researchers in to visit and study the site. That approach irritates some scientists. David Meltzer, an archaeologist at Southern Methodist University, said in an email that he would not discuss Lowery’s claims “until they go through the wringer of peer review and get published.” Others like Stuart Fiedel, an independent archaeologist based in western Massachusetts who has been skeptical of other sites, say the site should not fly under the radar just because of Lowery’s unconventional process. Story continues below advertisement
“There are people I know in the field who will not pay any attention to it, because it has not been peer-reviewed, which I think is kind of sticking your head in the sand,” Fiedel said. “It’s there. We can’t act as [if] nothing’s been found there.” Share this article Share
A bigger issue may be the site’s rapid erosion. Most of the artifacts were found after they’d fallen out of the bluff, which means their place in the geologic timeline is obscured. Nine artifacts were found in place, and only three were able to be dated using charcoal flecks found next to them. Steven Forman, a geoscientist at Baylor University, helped date the sediment layers at Parsons Island, corroborating findings from another lab. He said that it’s hard to find the artifacts in the kind of bulletproof geological context needed to support extraordinary claims. “The case is not as tight as we like to see it with other sites,” Forman said. Michael Waters, an archaeologist at Texas A&M University who has worked on pre-Clovis sites and excavated at Parsons Island, thinks he probably got there too late, when most of the artifacts had already been eroded out. Still, he pays someone to monitor the bank profile on a regular basis, because he’s ready to jump on a plane if they see something in place. “Too bad we didn’t get there four to five years sooner,” Waters said. Enter ancient DNA
An ancient bovine tooth is among the fossils found so far on Parsons Island. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post) Parsons Island isn’t the only site that could dramatically push back human arrival in the Americas. Last fall, a study published in the journal Science described fossilized human footprints discovered at White Sands National Park in New Mexico that have been dated to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago. That stunning finding suggests people were here during the Ice Age — much earlier than most experts thought possible if the first humans arrived via the Bering land bridge and inland corridor. The dates at White Sands are still being disputed because of questions about the methods. But the timeline collides head-on with another exciting line of evidence: studies of ancient DNA. By examining genetic material preserved in bones and teeth and comparing those samples to modern populations, scientists have been able to track when populations mingled and became isolated from one another, offering a new window into patterns of human migration. Story continues below advertisement
In broad strokes, they’ve found that the ancestors of Native Americans split from ancient Siberian populations no earlier than 23,000 years ago. The studies can’t say where such splits took place, but many scientists interpret genetic evidence to mean that the ancestors of modern people weren’t in the Americas until much later. Genetic studies suggest that Native American ancestors traveled into what is now the United States between 17,500 and 14,600 years ago. Joe Watkins, a senior consultant for Archaeological and Cultural Education Consultants in Tucson and a Choctaw tribal member, said that he sees a few problems with using the still-evolving DNA evidence to decide how ancient sites are related to modern-day people. “The reality is genetics does not equal culture,” Watkins said. He also argued that there are still too few samples of ancient DNA in the Americas to be sure they capture the whole story. “Trying to create population histories based on 10 people, if you will, is a little bit of a scientific conundrum,” Watkins said. It could be that additional ancient genomes will one day help fill in the blanks. Another possibility is that earlier sites could represent small, isolated groups of people who didn’t contribute to the ancestry of living Native Americans.
A tree-lined path leads to a beach on Parsons Island. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post) “Let’s suppose you have a successful population colonizing an area, and then one day, 15 males go out and get eaten by a short-faced bear,” Lowery said. “You reduce the genetic diversity, and bada boom, bada bing, game over.” All this explodes the neat picture of one population migrating into the Americas as ice sheets retreated, hunting big animals like mammoths and giant sloths, driving them into extinction as they went. If there were small groups making their way into the New World, with different stone tool technologies, and far earlier than previously believed, how did they get here? People could have migrated along the coast by boat, following a “kelp highway.” It’s also possible the ice sheet was not as impenetrable as experts have long thought. Lowery’s longtime collaborator, Dennis Stanford, proposed that people crossed the Atlantic Ocean in what is known as the Solutrean Hypothesis, though that idea has been rejected by many archaeologists. To resolve the question, scientists need to keep looking for more evidence. Archaeology is a historical science, and unlike chemistry or biomedicine, where researchers can perform the same experiment over and over again to see if they get the same results, consensus is built by argument, counterargument and new evidence. To a certain extent, older ideas and prejudices also fall away as new people enter the field, said James Feathers, who performed dating on samples from Parsons Island before he retired from the University of Washington. “Sometimes you have to wait for people to die off,” Feathers said.
Alex Corckran, whose family owns Parsons Island, stands on a beach on the southern side of the island. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post) Lowery is determined to keep motoring around the Chesapeake, researching the ephemeral landscape that he loves and that may contain clues about human prehistory. He acknowledges that the sites, perhaps a little bit like him, are “persnickety” but that shouldn’t deter interest in them. Instead, it should spur more. He noted that if a pod of silverfish was found gnawing on documents in the National Archives, people would be galvanized to act. “I view it as my swan song,” Lowery said, “to say you can learn a lot from [an] eroding site if you do a little bit of effort and look at it systematically.”
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Mikan has a habit of pondering many things while waiting for her mother to use the restroom. It is not aimless daydreaming, but rather akin to how some people would keep different books by their bedside, toilet, and office. Mikan always use this time to think about light but continuous things. Typically, she'd spend three to five minutes, with the first minute warming up, recalling where she left off in the book from the last time, then staring at her nails, progressing her thoughts bit by bit.
She developed this habit during her first visit to the zoo. That spring, she graduated from kindergarten, and before leaving the house, her mother was in front of the mirror, adjusting Mikan’s elementary school uniform. The zoo was on a seaside cliff, connected to the foot of the mountain by a narrow path lined with cherry blossoms. Children of all ages sat on the steps, waiting for a gust of wind to blow so they could shout for their mothers to take pictures. Mikan buried her head and walked up, thinking the others were childish. At that time, her father was still young; his neck had not yet thickened, and his eyelids had not drooped. When they left, she asked her mother who the strange uncle was, the one who knew so much about giraffes. She couldn’t remember how her mother answered, but she remembered seeing a kitten lying on the hillside, showing its belly to the sunset, making her exclaim "wow" to the cherry blossoms. From that day on, one weekend a month, she would go to the zoo with her mother to meet her father. During the time her mother was in the restroom, Mikan used it to think about the kitten. She had imagined raising three kittens: the first was tortoiseshell, then an orange one like her surname, and the latest was another tortoiseshell. Each cat lived for twelve years, and she thought about the world and herself thirty-six years later.
She didn’t always think about cats. Occasionally, when she didn’t go with her mother, she would talk with her classmates about how they envied the animals in the zoo, like gorillas and hyenas. Although there were no lions or tigers, there were lynxes. They looked so ugly, walking on all fours all their lives, but they were lucky to live by the sea and enjoy the sea breeze for a lifetime. The crude boys in her class would retort, saying, "Yeah, yeah, they can even poop directly into the sea."
After graduation, she never saw that boy again. All the boys would go to Tokyo when they were young; that was the rule. Only when they were old and decrepit would they be reluctantly sent back by the younger ones. But she often thought about that classmate. By the time she raised her third cat, he might have come back. When she saw the sea again, the image of a smooth butt hanging over the cliff came to mind. When she got into Waseda University, she told her mother that she might consider marrying that classmate.
When Mikan was little, she secretly asked her father how he fell in love with her mother. The primate area always had a strange smell, between animal and human. Her mother didn’t like the smell, standing five meters away near the door for ventilation (they couldn’t go further in because they were not allowed to meet outside the guardian’s sight; that was the rule). She didn’t remember what her father said, but she remembered pressing her hand against the glass, with an orangutan looking at her disdainfully. She felt like she was the one being watched. But her father must have said something, without hesitation, as if talking about a daily matter. It was too mundane, overshadowed by the contemptuous orangutan in her memory.
Influenced by her mother, Mikan also didn’t like the smell of the primate area. It wasn’t that it was unpleasant; it was like touching the residual warmth of someone who just left their seat, the mixed smell of decaying wood and butter in old temples, awkward and cautious. The only chance she almost had to be alone with that classmate was during a field trip. Both happened to be lingering at the entrance of the primate area. Mikan was there first, then the boy appeared behind her, peeking around. The introduction at the entrance had been scanned five or six times. Inside, the darkness reminded Mikan of the anteater’s mouth she had just seen. The boy asked, “Are you afraid to go in?” Mikan replied, “Of course not.” The boy retorted, “Coward, the teacher said not to wander off; you definitely won’t dare.” Mikan suddenly felt annoyed and walked in. When she reached the orangutan’s window and looked back, the boy had already disappeared. Mikan thought, childish.
One summer, a cat sneaked into the zoo and was brutally tortured by baboons before being killed. Mikan learned about it from the morning paper, crumbs scattered on it. The front page was about US-Japan trade friction, followed by news about Tokyo, Syria, obituaries, nuclear, and the next Olympics’ sailing event being held on the local beach. The news was arranged from far to near, and finally, in the middle column, she saw this news.
"Such a pity, so sad, so heartbreaking, so infuriating." She inhaled deeply and exhaled.
She didn’t know what this incident meant for the townspeople. Didn’t the middle column mean it was unimportant? She didn’t understand, but the townspeople seemed outraged, eventually passing a resolution to lower the male zoo supervision age to fourteen. The next day, this proposal moved to the front page, although not the headline, it stood alongside news from the US and Europe.
But this wasn’t a distant matter for her. Recently, she had joined the baseball team because that boy also loved baseball. At a celebration party, when discussing future high schools, he talked eagerly about a famous school in Tokyo, jokingly preparing for life there. Everyone laughed at this joke.
The front-page news explained the lawmakers' logic: due to men’s violence and animalistic nature, our country decided to confine men in zoos years ago, something we have always been proud of. Over the years, many outstanding women have joined the country to restrain their husbands' potential harm to the world. But our solution isn’t perfect. When does a child become a man? The radicals believe it’s at adulthood, at twenty, the legal marriage age. Conservatives argue that maleness is in the chromosomes and should be separated at the hospital. The incident with the baboons harming the cat further proves the harm of violence and animality to civilization. We should be more cautious and responsible. Thus, in our town, the second sex characteristic is used as the basis for identifying males.
This event was written into textbooks, leading to significant zoo renovations. Besides old mothers bringing their children to see their fathers, the zoo now provided spaces for the new generation of women to date their boyfriends in the park. For the town’s zoo, this room added at the end of the primate area, with rain hitting the iron roof, animal calls (and conversations from the men’s park) and the sound of waves hitting the cliffs, seemed far from a suitable place for romance. Mikan had never been there.
She never saw that boy again, though he didn’t play baseball. He likely lived the life he joked about, pooping off the cliff.
When her mother came out of the restroom, Mikan was imagining holding the tortoiseshell cat that had just died. She remembered her father saying that the zoo’s most famous animal was a giraffe, but it was a specimen, transported from Tokyo Zoo, always standing in the most conspicuous place. He saw it every morning as if it were still alive. She asked if he would become a specimen too, but she couldn’t remember his answer (she always remembered her questions but not others’ answers).

Long story short, I was accused of a serious crime. My face made the headlines and Facebook had a field day. A lot of false information was spread as well. This was in May of 2023. I still await my trial date.
I know I'm innocent. Others believe I'm innocent. My lawyer says I'm innocent. The prosecution has no leg to stand on.
I'm reading the defamation of character cases expire 1 year after the statements are made. I didn't think we could sue for damages without first proving my innocence. But as my case continues to get dragged on, it seems unlikely that I'll be able to do anything about the negative and damaging posts and articles.
Advice?