Yes, you heard it right, people are making their travel plans based on Pokemon Go, an immersive Augmented Reality (AR) game that allows gamers to go on a virtual treasure hunt through some of the world’s most frequented public spaces, say, NYC’s Central Park or Paris’ Bois de Boulogne. You might dismiss this as a gaming fad or passing trend, but Pokemon Go has longevity. Founded in 2016, Pokemon Go grossed more than $6 billion in revenue between 2016 and 2020. And it still has a stable number of committed users. Sure, it’s just gaming, so it will probably be confined to a niche of the nerdy cosplaying types. Wrong; it is not just steering travel itineraries of gamers; it is an indication that AR is reaching a critical mass as a social and immersive technology, like a Pikachu “Pika Pika” cry in a coal mine or a Dragonite call on Fire Island. Yes, this technology has its quirks. For one, it uses smartphone cameras and screens as an interface, but this rapidly evolving technology will reach maturity sooner than you think. The Apple Vision Pro is called an XR or mixed reality device. However, it is an augmented reality […]
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Earth Day is a token holiday of sorts. Like National Empanada Day, we might celebrate the holiday through a bit of self-indulgence, like sussing out a delectably cheesy empanada or watching a David Attenborough-narrated Planet Earth documentary. But there is more we can do for the cause than affirm our love of nature and the creatures that inhabit it. It can also be a time to take inventory of our behavior individually and as a society and make some changes that might collectively make a difference so that our children and children’s children might live in a more habitable world. I recall the great Joaquin Phoenix, several years ago, commenting to a primarily stunned “liberal” Hollywood crowd that “We don’t have to take private jets to Palm Springs for the awards — and back,” and that it might be worth looking into how our choices may be contributing to the wildfires raging in the Blue Mountains of Australia, a UNESCO world heritage site from which these pictures were taken. Most of us do not have the option to “fly private”; however, we can “vote” with the choices we make. For example, we can try to eat more vegetables, fruits, nuts, […]
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In 2017, Thomas Freedman hosted a National Geographic mini-series entitled Out of Africa. Not to be confused with the captivating Robert Redford and Meryl Streep starring romantic epic directed by Sydney Pollack. In the opening sequence, Freedman travels to a trading post in Agadez, Niger, where millions of Africans coalesce for the risky and costly journey to the European continent. Citing swelling migration numbers to the European continent, Freedman poses the question, “How much of this massive human migration is being pushed by climate change?” As you watch Freedman’s series, the interviews tell an increasingly familiar tale: the desertification of communities bordering the Sahara. Desertification is a natural phenomenon, but one that is being supercharged by climate change. That desertification makes previously arable land completely unfarmable, hence, the climate refugee issue. Cala Marioulu The above image is of the picturesque Gulf of Orosei. Cala Marioulu (the featured beachscape), while remote and seemingly insulated from the world’s woes, is part of Sardinia, a central transit point for many African climate migrants. It also happens to be the location of one of my favorite Monty Python sketches: the Olympic final of the men’s hide-and-seek. Incidentally, it was harder for them […]
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This is Erykah Badu at the Byron Bay Blues Fest several years back. I must say, out of all the performances I had the good fortune of seeing, hers was THE one that was brimming with a vibration indicative of unrestrained artistry. Not to say that some of the other performances weren’t impressive—and dance-party worthy—but hers, like an expertly made wine, left much more on the pallet than some of the more saccharine performances that you are inevitably subjected to at the bigger music festivals. The Provocative Artistic Mind Ms. Badu, from my point of view, is the type of artist that clearly does not fit into the parameters of the more “manageable” big-box musicians. She has also said some pretty provocative things that have not endeared her to some people, and I get that, but she has demonstrated a gadfly-like candor throughout her artistic career that is not common among what today we would call artists. Many creatives today will say the “safe” thing, that is, they are managed and very carefully coached to say and do just the right thing for the sake of sales numbers, merchandising, corporate interests, etc. One of the reasons I suspect—at […]
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As a child of the 80s, I have indelible almost-peed-in-my-pants memories of Eddie Murphy on the stage in Delirious and Raw, but also as an actor, unparalleled impressionist, sketch comedian and unfortunate one-time Rick James musical collaborator (“Party All the Time!”). In Coming to America, a movie starring Murphy, a congenial and high-minded African prince named Akeem travels to America to find a wife that in his words will, “arouse my intellect, as well as my loins”. Akeem decides that Queens, NY is the most suitable location to find his bride-to-be. One of Akeem’s first stops in the neighborhood is the My-T Sharp Barbershop. When Akeem opens the door the black proprietor—played by Murphy—is incredulous that Saul—played by Murphy too—an old Jewish customer, would suggest that Rocky Marciano be considered the best heavyweight boxer of the ages: “Oh, there they go, there they go. Every time I talk about boxing, a white man pulls Rocky Marciano out of his ass. That’s their one, that’s their one. “Rocky Marciano, Rocky Marciano!” Let me tell you something, Rocky Marciano was good, but compared to Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano ain’t shit!” Fight against the smallness of systemic racial injustice Marciano did, in […]
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The waiting room had a cold neoclassical appearance, with meticulously restored brass fittings and white gleaming marble. My son and I had wandered out of a windswept November afternoon in Detroit into the toasty lobby of the Church of Scientology...
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It is more than just a race, it’s a coming together of a community for a common purpose, and that is, the celebration of the human spirit in its pluckiest of forms! This part of the country is known for its work ethic...
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Humans always like to prognosticate, whether it is about political campaigns, sports betting, the market, or the weather. The problem is most professional prognosticators perennially discount (or don’t even consider) variables that may cast their predictions into a negative light...
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