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NoSo Shares Origins of New Song “Parasites”: Exclusive
Our recurring new music series Origins is an exclusive platform where musicians can offer insight into their latest release. Today, NoSo shares “Parasites.” LA-based musician NoSo (real name Abby Hwong) has a preternatural ability to convey the complexities of accepting one’s identity in its entirety. Ahead of their upcoming debut album, Stay Proud of Me, NoSo shares a piece of themselves in the hauntingly mesmerizing single “Parasites.” Capturing feelings of isolation, “Parasites” manages to find solace in feeling small in an infinitely large universe. NoSo’s journey to finding a space free from judgment is reflected in the music video for the opening track of Stay Proud of Me, and they explore the challenges of finding oneself while navigating an intricate range of emotion...
These Kids Are Still All Right
I am sitting at the bar at the Tam O’Shanter, a Scottish steakhouse in the Atwater Village neighborhood of northeast Los Angeles, jotting down some notes for this article. Basic research stuff: the Whos, the Whats, the Whens. I already know quite a lot about my subjects, having been a fan for nearly 30 years. If my teenage self knew that one day I would be interviewing his comedy heroes, then underwear would most likely need a change. I had to be prepared. There’s great pressure in not letting your former self down. A bartender takes my order. He possesses a thick Scottish brogue, made even more indecipherable due to his Bane-like carbon filtered face mask. The Tam O’Shanter, which has been around for 100 years, serves a fine certified Angus beef prime rib with all the Scottish trimmings. ...
How to Reduce Risk When All Your Information is Out There
Anyone who uses banking and financial services, social media, mobile apps, or has retail accounts has shared their personal information far and wide across digital systems. Preventing identity theft and protecting yourself against scams has become more difficult in this new environment. “Social media and messaging platforms, web browsers, and mobile apps already have access to vast amounts of data about each user. You can choose not to use social media or digital tools to avoid this, but it is not very practical to do so and would exclude you from some of the modern digital conveniences,” Anna Collard, SVP of content strategy and evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa, says it is virtually impossible to avoid having personal data circulating in the digital realm. “Even if you did so, you...
How to Reduce Risk When All Your Information is Out There
Anyone who uses banking and financial services, social media, mobile apps, or has retail accounts has shared their personal information far and wide across digital systems. Preventing identity theft and protecting yourself against scams has become more difficult in this new environment. “Social media and messaging platforms, web browsers, and mobile apps already have access to vast amounts of data about each user. You can choose not to use social media or digital tools to avoid this, but it is not very practical to do so and would exclude you from some of the modern digital conveniences,” Anna Collard, SVP of content strategy and evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa, says it is virtually impossible to avoid having personal data circulating in the digital realm. “Even if you did so, you...
The Best SNL Sketches of the Last 10 Years
Because Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels has actively avoided the kinds of major cast shake-ups that the show weathered in the ’80s and ’90s, it’s become harder to define recent eras of the show. The Aykroyd/Belushi/Radner/Murray era is easy; 1975 until 1980. The Carvey/Hartman/Myers era is easy; 1986 until 1995. But Kenan Thompson has been on SNL for 19 seasons. Kate McKinnon was on for a solid decade. More than ever, large chunks of the ensemble don’t disappear; instead, casts bleed into one another. When McKinnon started on the show, Kristen Wiig was still there. At the same time, some of her other early cast members will still be around next fall when the show returns for Season 48. Well, maybe. The departure of McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson, and Kyle Mooney does feel...
The Best SNL Sketches of the Last 10 Years
Because Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels has actively avoided the kinds of major cast shake-ups that the show weathered in the ’80s and ’90s, it’s become harder to define recent eras of the show. The Aykroyd/Belushi/Radner/Murray era is easy; 1975 until 1980. The Carvey/Hartman/Myers era is easy; 1986 until 1995. But Kenan Thompson has been on SNL for 19 seasons. Kate McKinnon was on for a solid decade. More than ever, large chunks of the ensemble don’t disappear; instead, casts bleed into one another. When McKinnon started on the show, Kristen Wiig was still there. At the same time, some of her other early cast members will still be around next fall when the show returns for Season 48. Well, maybe. The departure of McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson, and Kyle Mooney does feel...
Dear Comedians, When Did the Concept of Empathy Get So Difficult?
Not that the current conversation about comedy, Netflix, and trans people needed a new development this month, but it got one in the form of Tuesday’s (May 24th) debut of a new Ricky Gervais special. You don’t really need to watch SuperNature on Netflix or read the recaps of his comments if you don’t want to — it’s the same strutting for attention that Gervais has executed countless times over the years, with a token attempt to say that he does believe in trans rights… well, at least, he says: “Full disclosure: In real life of course I support trans rights. I support all human rights, and trans rights are human rights. Live your best life. Use your preferred pronouns. Be the gender that you feel that you are. But meet me halfway, ladies: Lose the cock. That’s all I’m saying.” A message tha...
Dear Comedians, When Did the Concept of Empathy Get So Difficult?
Not that the current conversation about comedy, Netflix, and trans people needed a new development this month, but it got one in the form of Tuesday’s (May 24th) debut of a new Ricky Gervais special. You don’t really need to watch SuperNature on Netflix or read the recaps of his comments if you don’t want to — it’s the same strutting for attention that Gervais has executed countless times over the years, with a token attempt to say that he does believe in trans rights… well, at least, he says: “Full disclosure: In real life of course I support trans rights. I support all human rights, and trans rights are human rights. Live your best life. Use your preferred pronouns. Be the gender that you feel that you are. But meet me halfway, ladies: Lose the cock. That’s all I’m saying.” A message tha...
Christian Bale’s Thor: Love and Thunder Villain Gorr the God Butcher, Explained
The new trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder introduced audiences to the latest threat in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher. The pale alien has drawn visual comparison to He Who Shall Not Be Named, but trust us when we say Gorr is even more maddeningly powerful and terrifying. The trailer only teased the depth of Gorr’s motivation and abilities, as the character has a complicated backstory that stabs right into the core of the origins of the Marvel universe. Of course, it’s unclear exactly which elements of the character’s history will be adapted by Taika Waititi (under the guidance of Kevin Feige). While we won’t know for sure what this take on the God Butcher will bring to the table, we thought it prudent ahead of Love and Thunder’s July 8th rel...
Lacking Visibility: today’s biggest cybersecurity threat (and how to fix it)
Do you know the condition of your cybersecurity estate right now? Most companies have a tenuous grasp on whether their cybersecurity products and services are working as expected. What is the status of your patching? Are the security services delivering what you pay for? Do you know what the gaps and blind spots are in your security coverage? Above all, how long does it take for you to learn those answers? Days? Weeks? Creating accurate security reports takes time because you rely on numerous independent and uncoordinated vendor products with individual agents and data standards. Information often has to be manually compiled and harmonised into a single report. Time and insight are precious commodities for cybersecurity. Information from last week is not very useful to your current threats...
The Better Call Saul Mid-Season Finale Was the True Beginning of the End
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Better Call Saul, Season 6, Episode 7, “Plan and Execution.”] What other show would devote a five-minute sequence to establishing its villain’s shower and nap routine? What other show would make it so captivating? That’s the special magic of Better Call Saul, which delivered a mid-season finale on Monday that redefined the concept of changing the game. For a good long portion of its runtime, so much of “Plan and Execution” fits with Better Call Saul as we’ve always known it. Central to the episode is the ultimate culmination of Jimmy and Kim’s plan to force a settlement of the Sandpiper lawsuit by ruining Howard Hamlin’s (Patrick Fabian) reputation — a combination of actual justice and petty revenge, motivations which both Jimmy (Bob Oden...
