Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world ColumnistThis Earnings Season Is a Rorschach Test for InvestorsCompanies have posted decent profits, but the commentary from executives has been unsettling at times And it may be worse than they’re letting on while bears will lean on executives’ commentary around the costs of tariffs and heightened recession risks I’ll try to split the difference: This is clearly a wobbly corporate environment that will get worse if President Donald Trump barrels ahead with tariffs around the highest in a century But the corporate sector could yet find its footing if the president backtracks soon The Rorschach Test famously asks people what they see when they look at a series of inkblots and the answers tend to differ substantially so what if a brand used this concept to create its brand assets Pinky Swear is an immersive hospitality destination that has done just that is inspired by the inkblot psychology test encouraging guests to create their own interpretations of abstract and fluid forms Many people will see 'P' and 'S' within the logo mark and accompanying animations This reflects Pinky Swear's offering – it's a space where boundaries blur between bar and thanks to bespoke cocktails and interactive art installations no two experiences are the same (though are they ever?) (Image credit: Pinky Swear)(Image credit: Pinky Swear)(Image credit: Pinky Swear)(Image credit: Pinky Swear)(Image credit: Pinky Swear)(Image credit: Pinky Swear)Pinky Swear is located on the Lower East Side and needed an identity that reflected the fun and playful high-end and bespoke experiences it offers Jolene Delisle, founder and creative director at The Working Assembly “Conceptualising a space with many functions – bar and interactive gallery – presented a dynamic challenge (Image credit: Pinky Swear)(Image credit: Pinky Swear)(Image credit: Pinky Swear)(Image credit: Pinky Swear)(Image credit: Pinky Swear)I think this rebrand is highly successful It creates an inviting feel that makes me want to go to the space and is a great example of experiential branding where the branding can be interacted with and forms a key part of the space If someone would just like to pay for a plane ticket for me to visit For more examples of successful branding, explore the winners of the Brand Impact Awards 2024 Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 *Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 After beginning her career in journalism in Argentina – where she worked as Deputy Editor of Time Out Buenos Aires – she moved back to the UK and joined Future Plc in 2016 she's worked as Operations Editor on magazines including Computer Arts 3D World and Paint & Draw and Mac|Life where she now assists with the daily management of the site and helping make sure our content serves the reader as best it can you will then be prompted to enter your display name In the midst of confirmation hearings and executive orders Times Opinion photographed the leaders of the new administration Share full article Photographs by Damon Winter Introduction by David French Mr Winter is a staff photographer currently on assignment for Opinion What do you see when you look at pictures of President Trump’s cabinet We’re used to partisan disagreement about cabinet officials Democrats are never going to be that impressed by a Republican cabinet (and vice versa) the perception gap between Republicans and Democrats has become so vast it’s as if they inhabit different universes Trump’s critics — and I am one — look at the lineup and see a group of people that bears far more resemblance to a collection of North Korean generals than it does to a traditional American cabinet Trump’s cabinet meetings often feature its members publicly showering the president with praise said in one cabinet meeting that Trump was “overwhelmingly elected by the biggest majority.” Brooke Rollins “What you have assembled in your vision is a turning point and an inflection point in American history.” Marco Rubio “What you’re doing now I think is a great service to our country but ultimately to the world.” There has been little indication that these cabinet members exercise any independent judgment they conform to Trump’s worldview and to Trump’s whims he developed a reputation as an independent strategic thinker And now he’s the caretaker of a shrinking State Department who has turned into Trump’s willing accomplice as Trump undermines American credibility and destroys American alliances But where Trump’s critics see a wannabe dictator and his toadies it’s important to know exactly how the political right is defining strength courage and — perhaps most important of all — gratitude MAGA mythology requires both of those virtues to support Trump His supporters see virtually every significant American institution opposed to his rise Hollywood: They’re all united in opposition to Trump supporting Trump is an act of defiance in and of itself This is one reason you see Trump supporters wearing clothing that says things like “Lions and his supporters are lions for standing beside him Because it’s what “they” want Trump’s cabinet to do When you add Trump’s legal woes to the mix the acts of alleged courage only grow more profound to belong to Trump’s team is to risk prosecution — the “weaponization” (as he and his law enforcement officers like to put it) of American justice look at the matter from MAGA’s perspective The history of Trump’s scandals — including two impeachments a defamation verdict and a finding that he was liable for sexual abuse — isn’t about Trump’s flaws but rather about his opponents’ vindictiveness Add that perception to the genuine relief that he survived two assassination attempts and you can see that Trump’s supporters don’t view gratitude as just acceptable and I just happen to be standing in their way.” Trump’s cabinet isn’t judged as much by its results as by its ability to trigger or enrage Trump’s opponents That means they’ll cheer absurd pictures of the secretary of homeland security cosplaying as an immigration enforcement agent holding a rifle and wearing a tactical vest simply because it makes Trump’s opponents angry because it upsets their vision of responsible not by his handling of classified information but by his handling of the mainstream media so part of Hegseth’s national security portfolio is defying it No one else in the Republican Party comes close to matching his influence and authority I’ve never seen an American politician at any time match his influence and authority over the Republican base That reality means that we should expect this same dynamic to endure throughout Trump’s second term his supporters will cheer and his opponents will roll their eyes in contempt But to describe the divide between Trump’s supporters and his critics isn’t to rationalize or justify his cabinet’s sycophancy The two competing positions are not equally valid There is overwhelming evidence that Trump committed acts of misconduct that merited both impeachment and removal and criminal prosecution There is also overwhelming evidence that he’s not an economic or military genius but instead often flies by the seat of his pants off-again tariff regime is an ideal example but he fears the consequences of his own policy so we lurch wildly from statement to statement depending on the fluctuations of the market Despite each mistake and each successive scandal Secretary of Health and Human Services Linda McMahon Secretary of Education Russell T Vought Director of the Office of Management and Budget Lori Chavez-DeRemer Secretary of Labor Jamieson Greer United States Trade Representative Brooke Rollins Secretary of Agriculture Sean Duffy Secretary of Transportation Michael Waltz National Security Adviser Pete Hegseth Secretary of Defense Kristi Noem Secretary of Homeland Security Howard Lutnick Secretary of Commerce Pam Bondi Attorney General PreviouslyAttorney general of Florida Notable choices in office Failed to comply with a Supreme Court order that the administration “facilitate” Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia’s release from a Salvadoran prison and declared that Abrego Garcia is “not coming back to our country.” Sued New York State over immigration policies Sued Maine to advance President Trump’s attempts to bar transgender athletes from women’s sports Doug Collins Secretary of Veterans Affairs PreviouslyRepresentative from Georgia Notable choices in office Started a task force asking V.A employees to report colleagues for any “informal policies procedures or unofficial understandings hostile to Christian views.” Working with DOGE to cut up to 15 percent of V.A Phasing out hormone therapy for transgender veterans Kelly Loeffler Administrator of the Small Business Administration PreviouslySenator from Georgia Notable choices in office Announced she would cut about 2,700 active positions in the S.B.A Poised to take over the student loan portfolio from the Department of Education Marco Rubio Secretary of State PreviouslySenator from Florida Chris Wright Secretary of Energy PreviouslyFounder and C.E.O Notable choices in office Introduced a reorganization that deemed more than 8,500 employees at the Energy Department as expendable including some who monitor the nation’s nuclear warheads Lee Zeldin Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency PreviouslyRepresentative from New York Notable choices in office Said he wants to eliminate the agency’s legal authority to regulate greenhouse gases and announced plans to reconsider pollution rules involving car emissions Moving to fire more than 1,000 research scientists some of whom investigated the effects of PFAS (“forever chemicals”) Scott Bessent Secretary of the Treasury PreviouslyChief investment officer of Soros Fund Management Notable choices in office Chief adviser to Trump on the tariff war with China Played an influential role in Trump’s decision to scale back some other tariffs Promoted a crypto stablecoin based on the dollar John Ratcliffe Director of the Central Intelligence Agency PreviouslyRepresentative from Texas Notable choices in office Offered buyouts to the entire C.I.A and moved to dismiss operatives trained to focus on China Testified to Congress that Signal was an “appropriate” channel to share national security plans that are typically classified Tulsi Gabbard Director of National Intelligence PreviouslyRepresentative from Hawaii Notable choices in office Created a task force to increase “transparency and accountability” in the intelligence services and to potentially release documents from the Robert Mueller inquiry into Russian election interference Participated in the Houthi group chat on Signal that included a journalist but denied that it included any classified information Scott Turner Secretary of Housing and Urban Development PreviouslyLed the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council Notable choices in office Created a joint task force with the Interior Department to explore building affordable housing on federal land Declared that “federal housing assistance will no longer be granted to illegal aliens or sanctuary cities.” Considering elimination of Section 8 vouchers and other housing and rental assistance programs in favor of a more narrow system of grants Doug Burgum Secretary of Interior PreviouslyGovernor of North Dakota Notable choices in office Fired over 1,000 workers at the National Park Service and hundreds at the U.S (Many have since been reinstated and placed on leave.) Reversed a Biden-era ban on offshore drilling along much of the U.S Fast-tracking approvals for projects involving coal Secretary of Health and Human Services PreviouslyEnvironmental lawyer Notable choices in office Restricted food dyes Encouraged states to ban fluoride in drinking water Pledged to find the cause of autism by September Laid off Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees working on gun violence and tracking viral outbreaks Attempting to drastically cut funding for diabetes Linda McMahon Secretary of Education PreviouslyC.E.O Notable choices in office Supported President Trump’s order to shut down the Department of Education Pushed to cut funding to public schools that teach or promote D.E.I Froze federal funding for Columbia and other universities deemed as failing to combat antisemitism Vought Director of the Office of Management and Budget PreviouslyCo-author of Project 2025 Notable choices in office Designed a large-scale effort to eliminate federal programs and reduce spending in the executive branch Championed Trump’s executive order on Schedule F which reclassifies federal jobs and makes workers easier to eliminate Attempting to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which would halt its investigations into mortgage fraud Lori Chavez-DeRemer Secretary of Labor PreviouslyRepresentative from Oregon Notable choices in office Preparing to cancel or cut back programs involved in enforcing child labor laws fighting wage theft and conducting safety inspections Jamieson Greer United States Trade Representative PreviouslyChief of staff to Robert Lighthizer trade representative in the first Trump administration Notable choices in office Supported the Trump tariffs and sudden pause Brooke Rollins Secretary of Agriculture PreviouslyFounder of the America First Policy Institute Notable choices in office Announced restrictions on food stamps for undocumented immigrants Attempted to cut department grants to Maine’s schools because the state refused to bar transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports Promised a bailout for farmers affected by the Trump tariffs Seeks to allow mining and timber harvesting on federal land Sean Duffy Secretary of Transportation PreviouslyFox Business host and Representative from Wisconsin Notable choices in office Rolled back fuel economy standards set by the Biden administration to promote E.V.s and reduce greenhouse gas emissions Directed that federal transportation funding be prioritized for communities that have higher birth and marriage rates Kathy Hochul of New York end New York City’s congestion pricing program Michael Waltz National Security Adviser PreviouslyRepresentative from Florida Notable choices in office Organized the “Houthi PC small group” Signal chat with government officials that included a journalist Pete Hegseth Secretary of Defense PreviouslyFox News host Notable choices in office Shared details about American strikes on Yemen on two Signal group chats Announced $5 billion in cuts to the Department of Defense Changed physical fitness standards for combat roles to be “sex-neutral.” Deployed active military to the U.S.-Mexico border creating the “New Mexico National Defense Area.” Kristi Noem Secretary of Homeland Security PreviouslyGovernor of South Dakota Notable choices in office Started a wave of deportations and ICE raids Created a task force to scour the social media feeds of foreign students Declared that the administration would “eliminate FEMA.” Created an ad campaign warning undocumented immigrants to self-deport Howard Lutnick Secretary of Commerce PreviouslyC.E.O Notable choices in office Key architect of Trump’s tariff strategy Paused disbursements to companies from the Biden-era CHIPS program which aims to rebuild America’s semiconductor industry Share full articleDamon Winter is a staff photographer currently on assignment for Opinion He received the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography an earlier version of this article misstated the experience of Robert F '#' : location.hash;window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery = location.search === '' && location.href.slice(0 location.href.length - window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash.length).indexOf('?') !== -1 '?' : location.search;if (window.history && window.history.replaceState) {var ogU = location.pathname + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash;history.replaceState(null "\/the-megillah-as-a-rorschach-test\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=yVlE08Q3gv7X0nCUjA37wKMGz94Wu6OySIBzZIOWTGk-1746501782-1.0.1.1-IpRuOWYyLltFq_ThCbLRNUAR2WTjcOzR8FYYkewXOIA" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null ogU);}}document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(cpo);}()); What it saw in the inkblots offers a window into the human mind24 February 2025ShareSaveChris Stokel-WalkerShareSaveEstudio Santa RitaRorschach tests play with the human imagination and our mind's ability to impart meaning onto the world around us – but what does AI see in them the Rorschach inkblot test has been widely used as a window into people's personality Even if you haven't done one yourself, you'll recognise the mirrored ink smudges that form ambiguous shapes on cards. Developed by Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach in 1921 the test involves showing a number of inkblots to subjects The images are deliberately inscrutable and open to interpretation For decades they were popular among psychologists as a way of understanding a person's psyche from the creatures objects or scenes they perceive in the shapes It relies upon a phenomenon known as pareidolia which is a tendency to find meaningful interpretations in things where there is none It is the same reason why people see faces or animals in cloud formations or on the surface of the Moon You might see a butterfly in the image while someone else might see a skull both interpretations shed light on how you think Finding meaning or familiar shapes in inkblots relies upon a number of cognitive processes that humans use every day emotion and the ability to deal with ambiguity But what happens if you have no personal experience or you offer it to a "brain" that works in an entirely different way What might an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm recognise in these inkblots And what would their answers tell us about the human mind Recent developments in the capabilities of AI models like OpenAI's ChatGPT means it's now possible to put that to the test So-called "multimodal models" can accept image-based inputs and provide responses as easily as they are to interact with text-based prompts thanks to their machine vision capabilities We gave ChatGPT five of the 10 common images used in an inkblot test to see how it would interpret the images But the AI system's training data – information that helps establish its "knowledge" This article is part of AI v the Mind a series that aims to explore the limits of cutting-edge AI and learn a little about how our own brains work along the way each article pits different AI tools against the human mind asking probing questions designed to test the limits of intelligence Can a machine write a better joke than a professional comedian or unpick a moral conundrum more elegantly than a philosopher Showing the AI model the first inkblot card from an online database of inkblots which is commonly interpreted by humans as a bat highlighted just how literal AI vision algorithms can be often used in psychological assessments to explore perception and interpretation," the chatbot replied "It is designed to be ambiguous so that each person might see something different depending on their experiences it then went on to explain what it saw in the same answer possibly two animals or figures facing each other or a single entity with wings outstretched," the chatbot responded "The beauty of these inkblots is that they invite individual interpretations!" The chatbot then asked me back what I saw in the image – a question I chose to ignore instead pressing it to see which of the two resemblances it had suggested it thought was most fitting I'd say it most resembles a single entity with wings outstretched – perhaps a bat or a moth with its wings open symmetrically," the chatbot wrote "The central area could be interpreted as the body and the details on the sides evoke the texture or shape of wings." "I think that's just rehearsing what it knows of the specific test," says Coen Dekker, a Dutch software developer who a decade ago asked a neural network an early version of the technology underpinning AI chatbots today (Dekker's experiment was significantly more simplified because of the technical constraints of the neural networks of the time.)  AI functions on clear logic and does not struggle with inner dilemmas essential to human thought and decision-making – Chandril Ghosh"I believe it mainly identifies patterns and then compares these features to a vast dataset of human responses to generate its interpretation of what it sees in the inkblots," says Ieva Kubiliute but it is likely not genuinely thinking – instead it appears to be scanning an online dataset," says Chandril Ghosh lecturer in psychology at the University of Kent It's similar to the way a musician who has never experienced heartbreak can still write a song that pulls at your heartstrings simply by analysing how other similar songs like it are structured What we get is a facsimile of reality – and of thought "ChatGPT can accurately describe emotions without actually experiencing them," Ghosh says That doesn't make AI useless when it comes to matters of the mind and help others make sense of their feelings," he says Ghosh believes that ChatGPT is simply regurgitating random information from its dataset for the benefit of users – which gives the impression of "thinking" Part of the reason why we perceive it possibly as thinking is the way that the tech companies behind these AI chatbots present their products ChatGPT and tools like it are always helpful The anthropomorphising of these tools has helped their adoption – but it can muddy the waters around how they – and their outputs – are perceived One way of uncovering that unreality is by simply pressing the refresh button Present ChatGPT with the same inkblot image to analyse and it may well come up with a totally different interpretation in the same conversation the AI did indeed give different responses "A human would typically stick to their previous answer because personal experiences and emotions influence their responses," says Ghosh ChatGPT generates responses based on its dataset." That's part of the problem when trying to infer meaning in what ChatGPT says about the inkblots it sees: the chatbot is simply regurgitating what its training data has encountered It is a stark illustration of just how important the data used to train an AI can be and the resulting AI will reflect the flaws in that data But what an AI chooses to regurgitate in response to ambiguous stimuli is interesting says Dekker – in part because of what it says rather than what it "knows" (AI systems know nothing innately) "It has a general understanding of colour theory and what emotional responses these could give when analysed," says Dekker "I have a feeling it has a general understanding of the images and what people associate it with This got me thinking: Wouldn't it be cool if we had – or created – a new set of Rorschach-like images which the model does not know about at all AI algorithms are particularly good at spotting patterns but those differing responses to a single ambiguous image also highlight an aspect of the human mind that AI can't replicate: the emotions and unconscious meanings we attach to things we encounter in the world around us There was no subjectivity in what the AI system was saying when presented with the inkblots "It cannot understand the symbolic meaning or emotional resonance that a human might associate with a particular image." And that in itself tells us a lot about the human mind "The human psyche is filled with internal conflicts such as the tension between desires and morals or fears and ambitions," says Ghosh AI functions on clear logic and does not struggle with inner dilemmas essential to human thought and decision-making." * This article was updated on 15 April 2025 to remove quotes from Barbara Santini following questions over her credentials For more science, technology, environment and health stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram. Explore the tiny biodegradable pacemaker for newbornsResearchers have created a pacemaker smaller than a grain of rice that does not require open surgery to implant. How a musician was charged with streaming fraudIn a first-of-its-kind case, a man in the US has been charged with music streaming fraud aided by AI. 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Tiny but mighty: Robots the size of a grain of riceScientists in Singapore have created robots that can be used for targeted drug delivery inside the human body. Can full body scans help to keep us healthy?BBC Click's Lara Lewington tries the low cost full body scan that can detect health risks in minutes. New tech helping to combat illegal elephant ivory tradeNew laser technology is helping border security to distinguish illegal ivory from legal mammoth tusks. An eco-friendly plant-based alternative to plasticPlasticFri, a green tech company based in Sweden, has developed a plant-based alternative to plastic. The AI that's already in your phoneA new type of computer chip made specifically for Artificial Intelligence is making AI possible on your phone. Watch an autonomous underwater robot in actionThe underwater robot can operate in rough waters and conduct mapping in poor visibility. Worried about the environment and the loss of skills, some people are resisting the rise of AI. The move follows a bitter power struggle over the business. On 12 June 1962, three men escaped from the notorious Alcatraz prison. While their fate remains unknown, the ingenuity of their escape continues to captivate. The Italian island immediately conjures up grand bougainvillea-draped villas and a whitewashed city centre, lined by luxury boutiques. But that's – literally – only half of the story. In 1956, Commander "Buster" Crabb disappeared during a visit to the UK by Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev. In 2006, a BBC reporter read the files that detailed his secret mission. Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker is a holiday in which those who received gifts on Valentine’s Day express their gratitude with a return gift Rorschach.inc has decided to delight its fans with a new musical piece this exact day The teaser for Rorschach.inc’s upcoming single “ALICE IN TIDE LAND” reveals a composition that melds melancholic melodies underpinned by aggressive down-tuned instrumentation This blend showcases the band’s commitment to pushing creative boundaries while maintaining the distinctive sound that has captivated their audience music was composed by guitarist 3-gou and the lyrics by vocalist 1-gou It continues with a “fairy tale” motif adding depth and narrative intrigue to the track “ALICE IN TIDE LAND” is set to offer listeners a fresh perspective on Rorschach.inc’s evolving musical dream-like journey Click here to display content from YouTube. Learn more in YouTube’s privacy policy Always display content from YouTube Secure your spot before it’s too late! Tickets are currently available for purchase—act quickly to guarantee your assistance Rorschach.inc has carved a unique niche in the visual kei scene with their distinctive persona The band members adopt the guise of humanoid rabbits and identify themselves by numbers rather than traditional names a dynamic presence in the visual kei scene crafts a music style defined by its audacious fusion of electronic experimentation and visceral rock intensity Their sound marries the aggressive guitar riffs and thunderous rhythms of Jrock and metalcore with pulsating synths creating a chaotic yet cohesive sonic landscape The band thrives on contrasts—swinging between frenetic distortion-heavy passages and haunting melodic interludes often underscored by theatrical orchestral flourishes Topic Artist whether Hermann Rorschach was much of a football fan The Swiss psychoanalyst had a pretty full-on academic career spread across multiple institutions in three different countries plus two kids and a leadership role at a psychiatric hospital FC Zurich home matches were probably not high on his agenda is best known for creating the inkblot test — an experiment in which patients are asked to interpret a series of abstract There are no right answers; ambiguity is king The idea — not uncontroversial but still wildly popular over a century later — is that differing combinations of responses can be wrangled into conclusions about the psyches of those who sit the test Joao Felix, in case you weren’t paying attention, joined Milan on loan from Chelsea on deadline day It is his fourth club in the last three seasons — Atletico Madrid and Barcelona being the two others In that time he has signed for Chelsea on loan signed for Chelsea again on a permanent deal Joao Felix is the fourth most expensive player of all time but can’t get a game anywhere Every new beginning turns out to be a false start A footballer who was compared to Johan Cruyff when he broke through in Portugal is beginning to look like one of those players who never quite escapes the waiting room of his own career Here’s a better question: what do you see when you look at Joao Felix What do these formless smudges on the page mean People quote the headline numbers — €178million (£148.2m; $183.8m) in transfer fees 37 league goals in five and a half seasons since leaving Benfica — and roll their eyes “An imposter,” Roy Keane called him in 2021 a label that seemed cruel at the time but is no longer such an outlier view The implication here is not that Joao Felix has wasted his talent It is that it was never really there in the first place — that he was all hype his breakneck rise an embodiment of all that is wrong with modern football Atletico Madrid paying Benfica €126m for Joao Felix in 2019 was a clear market distortion He had only played one full season of senior football was still only beginning to understand what kind of footballer he might become he would have stayed in Portugal for at least another year but the unflinching logic of money spoke loudest Could Joao Felix have refused to move? Could he instead have insisted upon joining Manchester City, a team whose playing style would have aligned far more closely with his game than Atletico’s did? Maybe, maybe not. The selection of Jorge Mendes as his agent will certainly reduce sympathy for him in some circles there is an undeniable air of melancholy to his movements since that move his natural brio repeatedly slammed into the brick wall of Diego Simeone’s personality Now he is used mainly as a kind of deluxe bargaining chip passed around between Europe’s heavy rollers lubricating a transfer for Conor Gallagher here helping Chelsea reduce their wage bill there you wouldn’t feel confident in predicting where he will be next season Average footballer gets incredibly rich from moving around: pass me the tiny violin Other people look at Joao Felix and see something else Joao Felix is a footballer for the aesthetes the kind of player who makes your heart beat just that little bit quicker He floats across the turf like a petal on the wind little lobbed finishes that turn your guts to jelly So much modern football is mechanical and unfeeling; Joao Felix is loose and breezy although he’d have a better shot at it if he played a bit more the kind of guy who will risk his life to make a tackle Imagine Joao Felix in Italy in the 1990s. You can picture it, can’t you? He’s wearing the No 10 jersey and white boots. His socks are only vaguely acquainted with his shins You don’t ask Caravaggio to sand your floors (There is a lesson to be gleaned about the hypocrisy of modern fandom here; you can bet your bottom dollar that those who moan about lazy self-indulgent playmakers loved themselves a bit of Roberto Baggio back in the day.) He impressed on loan at Barcelona last year — his dream club by his own admission — but their wonky finances made a permanent move impossible his path to the first team was blocked by Cole Palmer there are the aftershocks of that Atletico transfer The wages he received in Madrid instantly shifted him into the superstar category two or three levels above clubs who might have offered him stability a Villarreal or an Udinese might have been able to sign Joao Felix But the sides of the pyramid have steepened took a pay cut to join Chelsea in the summer It is also to his credit that he has resisted the lure of Saudi Arabia There have been no major warning signs off the pitch He does not yet appear ready to give up on the European dream just yet The early noises from Milan have been positive He scored on debut against Roma in midweek — a lovely dainty clip over Mile Svilar — and played 84 minutes against Empoli on Saturday night most of them in his preferred position behind a No 9 “He has so much quality,” Milan manager Sergio Conceicao said after the Roma game But for the rest of us — for the Joao Felix lifers the Joao Felix evangelicals — there remains a thin sliver of hope to grasp still different ways of looking at football’s ultimate Rorschach test Joao Felix has hard work ahead of him to convince Chelsea fans (Top photo: Joao Felix celebrating scoring for AC Milan; by Marco Luzzani via Getty Images) Jack Lang is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering football. Follow Jack on Twitter @jacklang The world at large sometimes has trouble assembling facts into accurate narratives This is especially true for facts relating to nuclear energy The problem can extend to elected officeholders and activists who try to influence both groups For example, this BBC report sounded straightforward; a worker at the Fukushima nuclear plant after the 2011 tsunami and meltdown had died from lung cancer But within the nuclear industry was a more detailed picture and worked at several nuclear plants over decades He had accumulated a radiation dose in various places and his dose at Fukushima was not particularly high And he died of a cancer that might or might not have come from radiation exposure lung cancer was one of a list of ailments that were presumed to have been caused by radiation exposure if the patient had worked in the nuclear industry All that remained was for the BBC to connect the dots Hermann Rorschach was a Swiss psychiatrist who developed a series of inkblots Researchers show them to subjects and ask what they see and the answer tells more about the viewer than the object being viewed (The joke is that the man who is shown the series of inkblots says and why is he showing me pictures of my parents arguing?”) maybe we’d call him a kind of media analyst; he measured the differing responses of various individuals to a single set of inputs it isn’t possible to get a failing grade on a Rorschach test The Fukushima worker story shows a phenomenon that exists in many realms of human enterprise Here is the central rule that describes processing nuclear information: People make sense out of the facts by fitting them into previous preconceived notions This gets easier when their frame of reference is limited which is true for most people on this subject On one side are the people think that after the giant earthquake and tsunami the triple melt-down killed hundreds or thousands On the other side are people who can rationally separate the tsunami’s death toll from effect of the reactors being wrecked the earthquake and tsunami killed about 20,000 people but the World Health Organization says that the radiation doses weren’t large enough to cause a discernable change in cancer rates and that no individual fatal cancers will be attributable to the accident People died of cancer before Fukushima and have continued since then Numerous TV news shows had an announcer reading dire pronouncements about Fukushima while the visual was a burning oil refinery There are other cases of nuclear-induced myopia who campaigned against the re-start of Three Mile Island 1 after the accident at Unit 2 and even that level was unlikely because it required a person to stand at the fence line for several days And it was about 17,000 times larger than the average estimated dose But aside from the enormous discrepancies in estimates of the amount of dose that someone near the reactor could have received, the Aamodts asserted that the 1979 accident was the cause of numerous cancer cases. But the Aamodts identified those cases earlier than a radiation exposure could have caused them, a court found one official suggested privately that such a finding could be helpful to public health an unusually large number of cancers in the area it suggested that it was from some cause other than the accident and might be continuing; further research might uncover an ongoing health threat unable to fit the information they thought they had into their desired framework to protect public health from nuclear energy Not all the misunderstandings overestimate the potential hazards of nuclear technology and some misunderstandings are more consequential than the BBC’s about Fukushima A worrisome one was a case about nuclear safety where the Department of Energy did not know what it did not know about a nuclear materials plant it owned and wouldn’t believe it when it was told The problem became public at a scene that could have been from a Netflix drama but it happened a decade before Netflix and it was real and it teaches something about why our energy and environment deliberations are so frustrating a veteran staffer at the Energy Department and its predecessor was adamant: these events had been concealed from the government a DuPont engineer who was a co-author of the report told me that the company always told the government everything There were two reasons: because the government owned the plant which DuPont ran for a symbolic payment of $1 and because nobody in the government would complain because they wouldn’t understand the report anyway The symmetry of differing perceptions was perfect Senator Glenn and his staff said the list showed an alarming safety problem But the engineer said that it showed precisely the opposite; the trend was that reportable incidents were becoming less frequent and less severe The Energy Department later conceded that it had but it never found its way to anybody in a position of authority in Washington And two of the 30 “suppressed” incidents on the list had been featured over the years in reports in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution The problem for the Energy Department was that these facts did not fit into an established framework and had to be rejected And it couldn’t keep track of all the facts unaware that it didn’t know information that was in the public domain It calls to mind the oft-repeated (and oft-bastardized) observation of the philosopher and writer George Santayana that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it Santayana’s formulation presumes we understand the past And it does no good to tell something to someone who isn’t equipped to believe it A nuclear plant that caused such an evacuation would be in deep trouble but there is no sign that California will stop building battery plants We do worry about the health risks of flying but generally not because of the radiation from the BBC to various dedicated anti-nuclear activists The upshot: The irrational will not inherit the earth Wald is an independent energy analyst and writer He was a reporter for thirty-eight years at The New York Times where he covered climate He was also a policy analyst and communications consultant for six years at the Nuclear Energy Institute Sign up to get our newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday Rorschach.inc is heading overseas for the very first time with their Latin America tour in May 2025 The band will be making stops in four countries—Mexico Stay tuned for pre-sale information, which will be announced soon by the promoter R.I.T. Be sure to follow Rorschach.inc on social media for the latest updates Broadway Off-Broadway Off-Off Broadway Cabaret Dance Opera Classical Music Nashville Minneapolis / St. Paul Connecticut Atlanta Chicago Los Angeles WEST END UK Regional Canada Australia / New Zealand Europe Asia Latin America Africa / Middle East TV/Movies Music Theater-goers searching for something off the beaten path may find their curiosity satiated at Rorschach Theatre’s production of The Figs a fig farmer named June (Arika Thames) embarks on a long journey to the king’s castle A Storyteller (Mollie Greenberg) narrates throughout and switching scenes with a snap of her fingers as she tries to wrangle an increasingly unruly story particularly when one reads Rorschach’s synopsis claiming that the play “deconstructs traditional storytelling,” but the unfortunate reality of The Figs is of a chaotic There is some deconstruction that The Figs pulls off particularly in its embedded queerness and color-blind casting—elements that while becoming more common in modern stories are certainly still far from the norm and which are completely unchallenged in the world of the play It is completely normal for Princess Sadie to have a woman lover (or to have any lovers at all) The character of Princess Sadie is the clearest indication that The Figs is trying to be intentional about deconstruction Her role as Princess is clearly defined and her bold and sexually liberated nature directly contradicts traditional stereotypes of purity and innocence is a recognizable archetype that is then flipped: a powerful leader who commands the fear of his subjects yet whose lack of impulse control and comical obsession with figs renders him entirely unrespectable to the point of ludicrousness any intentional deconstruction seems to end here It is strange that The Figs does not take advantage of other major opportunities for deconstruction who still follows all of the major beats of a traditional hero’s journey There are many other instances where the play feels incompletely realized Take the immersive element to Rorschach’s production The show begins and shortly thereafter the audience is led from the main lobby to the venue’s basement level they find a circle of chairs surrounding a fig tree and are introduced to June and his family of fig farmers June’s oldest brother sets off to the castle with a bag of figs and the audience is ushered to follow him into a new space a larger set where the rest of the play takes place June soon appears on this new stage despite the implication he is still located at the fig farm disjointed start to the first fifteen minutes of the show despite various tangents into the histories and preoccupations of the play’s many side characters more often the butt of a joke than anything more Others seem ill-fitting within the play’s fairytale setting nothing in the preceding action has indicated such Christian religious concepts are a part of the play’s world You see why the Storyteller must try so hard to keep the story in line: The Figs is biting off more than it can chew It is frustrating to watch this and also see real opportunities here for a good play if only they were more carefully fleshed out the most unfortunate lost opportunity is with a story the innkeeper character Lorna tells at roughly the play’s mid-point: that of the Child and the Moon beautifully rendered with the aid of a silkscreen and projection but by a simple innkeeper at a roadside tavern to a bar of thirsty patrons The ordinary character is made extraordinary only to descend back into muddy disorder soon after The Figs tries to play with the perceived constraints of what stories can and cannot do—what they are and are not allowed to do the play relies on the fairytale as a familiar organizing principle but doesn't take full advantage of the opportunities that playing with such a long-established form provides My impression after opening night was that I had just watched a rough draft of what could be a unique irreverent comedy that plays with myth and magic The Figs is onstage at Rorschach Theatre through March 16 Run time is approximately two hours with one intermission Photo Credit: Ryan Maxwell Photography Cover photo features Mollie Greenberg & Robert Pike.  On May 12, 2025, Studio will open its doors to its most esteemed supporters for its Annual Benefit. This year, guests are invited to “A Night at the Paradise,” inspired by Dominique Morisseau’s Paradise Blue, the immersive production currently occupying The Victor Shargai Theatre. It’s not so strange, really, that there’s  a serious opera about Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. His life’s work is usually invoked before every production of the last decade or more, when audiences are asked to silence their smartphones. Acosta Danza’s program Cuban Ecléctico ran in the Eisenhower Theater at the Kennedy Center for just three days, but the show deserved much more stage time, both to receive a greater audience and to refine their performance.  What did our critic think of ON YOUR FEET! at St. Mark's Players?The absence of melody underneath them frequently gets these singers into intonation trouble, especially given the opening night technical problems with the sound. function closestickysocial(){document.getElementById("foxsocial").style.display="none";}@media(max-width:1024px){.most-popular,.video-row{display:block;margin-top:25px}}Videos and exclusive discounts on tickets to your favorite shows © 2025 - Copyright Wisdom Digital Media, all rights reserved. Privacy Policy You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience and Sydney Dionne in the Rorschach Theatre production of “Sleeping Giant.” Photo by DJ Corey Photography A raucous fireworks-filled marriage proposal releases an ancient creature from the depths of a nearby lake This results in a monumental succession of unintended consequences but not without also bestowing an insight or two into the human condition The Messenger (Robert Bowen Smith) bursts into the living room of the almost engaged couple The Raconteur (Jacob Yeh) and The Naïf (Sydney Dionne) sputtering about a monster that has risen out of the sea His fantastic and unbelievable claim is dismissed by the couple who ignore his incoherent ravings and some people are more susceptible to its charms than others The proceeding scenes demonstrate how quickly fear can spread whether or not the fearful thing exists or the fearful ones can produce any evidence of its existence …the cast of four actors deftly portrays multiple characters…entertaining…reflects the contemporary circulation and exploitation of fear… and screenwriter Steve Yockey and directed by Jenny Mcconnell Frederick the cast of four actors deftly portrays multiple characters throughout the narrative each shedding light on humans’ varied responses to fear an opportunity to spread fear under the guise of helping a friend find happiness The Convert (Erin Denman) involves others in her response to fear without their consent those who remain free of fear become targets of the scared mob Rorschach Theatrical productions are never confined to the stage and “Sleeping Giant” is no exception The lobby features quotes from the show and a selection of merchandise almost as uncanny as the production staged in the basement of this former men’s clothing store Sarah Beth Halls (Set Designer) used the limited space effectively with changing backgrounds and simple furnishings and Costume Designer Ashlynne Ludwig’s versatility and imagination supported the actors’ effective embodiment of diverse characters “Sleeping Giant’ premiered in 2022 making it a recent contribution to the theatrical horror genre although it offers both humor and suspense The play reflects the contemporary circulation and exploitation of fear—and the potentially devastating consequences of its unchecked embrace Running Time: One hour and 30 minutes with no intermission “Sleeping Giant” runs through November 3, 2024, at 1020 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington D.C., 20036. For more information and to purchase tickets, please go online. Copyright by MD Theatre Guide, LLC. Privacy Policy Reprint Policy: Our content may not be reprinted in full Excerpts may be used if a credit and link is provided to our website Evening moonrise over the San Francisco skyline pictured from Battery Yates in Sausalito on Saturday Just as psychologists probe patients’ minds by considering their description of inkblots much can be learned by hearing politicians talk about San Francisco Think of San Francisco as a giant Rorschach test for politicians And then there is Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who said he visited San Francisco for the very first time in June His initial impression: “America is so awesome Just as psychologists probe patients’ minds by considering their description of ambiguous inkblots much can be learned by listening to how politicians talk about San Francisco When Mikhail Gorbachev visited for the first time in 1992 Bush that “people should be taxed for living in such a beautiful place.” (And if he had been familiar with the real-estate listings Yet mocking “San Franciso Democrats” has been popular ever since U.N Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick used the phrase to deride those who spoke at the Democratic National Convention at Moscone Center in 1984 “If you like San Francisco politics, you’ll love Kamala Harris,” Montana Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican, told reporters late last month Just as San Francisco encompasses both the Tenderloin’s squalor and the Golden Gate’s majesty reducing it to a narrow stereotype is an exercise for simple minds San Francisco, while indisputably liberal, is also the birthplace of TV’s Tucker Carlson and where Vance earned millions of dollars as a venture capitalist It is a place that prides itself on open-mindedness while at times exhibiting intolerance of political diversity It has the highest per-capita income in the nation yet nearly 85,000 of its residents live in poverty Those rescued from brink say it helped keep them housed is struggling to keep its services going after two of its grants were cancelled who is worried the district is "getting rid of the heart and soul of the schools." Ambiguity and politics are typically a poor mix yet Walz seems to have a solid understanding of nuance “Have there been problems?” Walz said of San Francisco in a podcast with Ezra Klein of The New York Times prior to his selection by Harris as her running mate Homelessness is an issue across the country.” But the homeless didn’t blind him from recognizing San Francisco as wonderfully “exotic.” hundreds of times and heard about it,” Walz recalled Walz’ comments came in the midst of a discussion about why some Trump supporters midwesterners and rural Americans have taken to describing themselves as “real Americans.” who grew up in Nebraska before living his adult life in rural Minnesota said there is a false belief that those living in cities are spared the hardships of urban life or fail to recognize the travails of non-city dwellers He said when Mmdwesterners talk to him about being “real Americans He suggested that those who don’t like the policies of urban liberals have made a deliberate effort to demonize places like San Francisco It is an accusation supported by the thousands of anti-San Francisco ads run by Republicans during Pelosi’s speakership and those that are likely to come during Harris’ campaign for president the image on the inkblot is of no consequence; it is how the patient describes what they see that provides clues to their thinking Whatever you think about Walz and his politics it’s nice to find someone who first impression of San Francisco is that it is “the most beautiful city I’ve ever been in.” Marc Sandalow is a senior faculty member at the University of California’s Washington Program He has been writing about California politics from Washington Email notifications are only sent once a day Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Ben Pimentel’s new weekly newsletter covering the biggest technology stories in San Francisco Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-edition email Receive occasional local offers from our website and its advertisers Sneak peek of the Examiner real estate section We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as they happen Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account “Embracing the Shadow” is based on my personal experiences encountering the shadow figure aka the Nightmare throughout my life This is a worldwide phenomenon that people of all ages The song details my personal journey in unmasking the shadow and the surprise ending that made it flee.” – Christine Baker In addition to being photographer and videographer for the likes of Kerry King Louvau also stands at the center mic of his own band who will be supporting Rorschach Test on the first leg of the Fallen Tour 2025 with support from There Is No Us and a variety of surprise opening acts including Torso (AZ) and 8MM featuring famed producer Sean Beaven (NIN James Baker is thrilled to introduce Rorschach Test’s new music and new line up who will be making her first public appearance performing with Rorschach Test on The Fallen Tour sure to be a thrill for her 600K + followers Compared to the radical rumors and tales of his rebellious past James Baker has come full circle in embracing his identity as a person of faith extending to his time spent the past several years as a hospice chaplain and carries his own journey as a source of inspiration for himself and others through his work with the non-profit record label of his own creation empowering underserved communities to support themselves through their art James Baker knew at first visit that Full Well Recording Studio was the ideal creative space with an array of analog and traditional and vintage consoles and equipment available for owner Mike Bolenbach (best known for Alice Cooper’s Welcome 2 My Nightmare) to produce the most authentic recordings of Rorschach Test whose musical background includes a stint as the guitarist of CO-OP with Dash Cooper Rorschach Test re-emerged in May of 2024 with a new line-up and new single in tow “Fallen” (the title track from the new album which dropped October 31st.) and celebrated National Goth Day with a video Lyric inspirations are the result of growth and transformation unapologetically addressing dark and difficult topics of realistic issues Doing so through the lens of metal serves to address the darkest of sounds and subjects understanding and embracing the shadows of life inspiring freedom from them in the process the United States Copyright Office ruled in Rorschach Test’s founder James Baker’s favor and granted him the copyright on the original version of the iconic industrial 90’s album Unclean Songs like “Satan” and “Sex” exemplify the band’s ability to push boundaries while other tracks delve into themes of rebellion and the darker facets of the human experience The intricate programming of Troy Kerr is accented by the ethereal gothic guitar layers provided by Benjamin Anderson (Walking Papers Unclean has been widely acclaimed as the perfect alchemy of industrial Founder/Frontman James Baker recalls “It was very interesting touring on this album I would look out at the crowd and see steampunks next to Slayer fans Unclean remains a key release in Rorschach Test’s discography showcasing the band’s creativity and their willingness to challenge convention James Baker says “Although there are dozens of reviews touting the praise of Unclean I prefer to listen to my fanbase on what the album means to them…The overwhelming response is that the album made them feel heard We had many fans write us and tell us that they struggled with suicidal ideation and that Unclean basically saved their lives.” Sign up for The Media Today In recent days, reporters and pundits looked ahead with anticipation to a press conference that President Biden was scheduled to give last night, at the conclusion of this week’s NATO summit in Washington, DC; following his disastrous debate performance two weeks earlier and the resultant rampant speculation as to his place on the Democratic ticket to face Donald Trump in the fall the presser looked like it could be a clarifying moment or at least good for a high-profile Biden gaffe or two the world’s media didn’t need to wait till the presser for that—at an earlier event with NATO allies Biden handed the floor to the leader of Ukraine by saying President Putin.” Biden quickly corrected himself The Guardian sent me a push alert about it; my X timeline a fractured place for following the news in the Musk era filled up with it; friends of varying levels of political engagement blew up my phone Of course, there was still the matter of the press conference to attend to, and in some quarters, the anticipation continued to mount. (“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the fate of the world hangs in the balance,” MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow said, exaggerating.) After some initial remarks Biden took a first question from Jeff Mason that Biden’s political future has “hung over the NATO summit a little bit this week,” before asking him whether he fears that his vice president might not beat Trump if elevated to the top of the ticket “I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if I didn’t think she was qualified to be president.”  Pulitzer Prize–winning foreign policy & national security correspondent with 40+ years in the field wanted to use a NATO summit to ask a substantive foreign policy question of a president who rarely takes questions in public.”  “‘It’s kind of a Rorschach test’—reporter who has no idea what to say.” Call it the Rorschach-test Rorschach test interview and speech will serve as a Rorschach test of sorts to voters.” the idea has often been used as a lazy media cliché particularly when it has been invoked as shorthand for America’s profound divisions But it does strike me as apt in the context of this post-debate moment and how it has played in the media; as gallons of ink have pooled out some observers have seen a press corps rushing to catch up on a story—Biden’s age and acuity—that they previously ignored (or covered up) while others have seen an over-the-top feeding frenzy I’ve seen a lot of sharp coverage and commentary on everything from Biden’s true condition to the political fallout from it but also coverage and commentary that has been snide yesterday’s was his first of 2024 and only his fifteenth overall since taking office it is fair for journalists to ask why this might have been the case the lack-of-access story has sometimes been a little overblown it seems clear that Biden’s relative lack of traditional media engagement has been bad for transparency this framing has in some ways been overblown) History might well suggest that agreeing to the debate was Biden’s biggest error But he may also have erred in not agreeing to more events like it To come back to the idea of the Rorschach test was something like the opposite of one: a rare moment of clarity and consensus every Biden interview or presser going forward seems unlikely to offer that same clarity as Peoples noted; even if he performs well the debate will still have happened and Biden’s critics will not likely be mollified Biden seemed to address this idea last night albeit in the context of a different question about whether he’d be willing to take a cognitive test If the debate felt clarifying to many media observers because it unfolded before their eyes the press conference is a reminder that seeing things for ourselves can be confusing This is not to say that it wasn’t welcome on transparency grounds or that the press should cover it with hand-waving clichés or purely in terms of optics; those are important at the moment not least thanks to the questions of reporters from foreign outlets that are removed enough to see the stakes of this election for the world It’s to say that access has limits; that it is a starting point for the difficult work of reporting and explaining The debate as to what it all means is far from Joever ICYMI: When CJR examined the close relationship between the political press and the elderly. Has America ever needed a media defender more than now? Help us by joining CJR today RORSCHACH TEST’s founder James Baker’s musical origins started in the church with his natural musical ability standing out through the weekly ritual of hymns and gospel sparking his initial rebellion against tradition while he pursued his desire for rock and roll this time in a drastically different style than that of his church upbringing leading to Rorschach Test’s well-known debut on Slipdisc/Mercury Records and carries his own journey as a source of inspiration for himself and others through the non-profit record label of his own creation Rorschach Test has returned with a new album Rorschach Test kicks off the “Fallen Tour” January 17 2025 with support from Cleopatra recording artists There Is No Us The Narcoleptic Goddess will be making her first public appearance “This is not like any tour I have been a part of,” notes James Baker frontman of Rorschach Test and tour organizer “We will be partnering with non-profits like NAMI and Kyros to further the cause of fighting stigma and creating awareness and acceptance for those facing mental health issues or substance use disorders We are putting the traditional cliché of sex drugs and rock n roll in an entirely different context and hopefully creating space where people will no longer be ashamed or afraid to ask for help we are not all going to hold hands and sing Kumbaya We are still going to bring the fire and fury I just want our audience to know that everyone needs support at one time or another OR @ John Henry’s01/18 – Seattle WA @ El Corazon01/19 – Portland OR @ Dante’s01/20 – Tacoma WA @ McMenamins Elks Lodge: Spanish Ballroom- ALL AGES01/22- Las Vegas NV @ Sinwave01/23 – Los Angeles CA @ Whisky a Go Go (Industry Showcase/Private Party)01/26 – Phoenix Patients were shown a series of inkblot patterns on cards The result was thought to reveal much about their state of mind This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “The Rorschach nation” Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents Ahead of the vote on May 3rd, politics has flipped The country is making it first big bet on semiconductors This one could be riskier than their last major crisis in 2019 After the Kashmir attack, military action is possible but comes with huge risks Heads of state and senior representatives from all 56 Commonwealth countries will converge in Apia, Samoa next week for the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, known as CHOGM. According to the official theme “One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth”, member states will “harness their strengths by building resilience leveraging the ‘Commonwealth Advantage’ and fostering a connected That’s hardly surprising – it would be remarkable indeed if this disparate group that counts more than a quarter of the world’s countries as members developed a detailed agenda of actionable outcomes the same could be said of other “talk shops” with a lot of successful diplomacy being relatively intangible an “ideal platform” for protecting against “the worst excesses of great power politics” given its status as the largest multilateral organisation that includes neither the United States nor China The reason that Albanese willl be attending this year’s meeting is to support a “Pacific family” member hosting an international summit a grouping too big to be meaningful and too small to matter.” Ouch “Samoa will be bringing our Commonwealth family to our Blue Pacific region in 2024 … There is no better place to discuss solutions and concrete responses to the climate crisis than in the home of those who stand to lose the most.” the reason that he’ll be attending this year’s meeting is to support And in that sense the relevance of CHOGM is in the eye of the beholder The Interpreter features in-depth analysis & expert commentary on the latest international events, published daily by the Lowy Institute Watching “Wicked” through a partisan lens is inherently problematic Universal Pictures/YouTubeCynthia Erivo plays Elphaba and Ariana Grande plays Glinda in Jon M people seem to be viewing it through polarized partisan lenses - YouTubewww.youtube.com There's no question that the story of "Wicked" is political scapegoating and manipulation of the masses is someone who has been "othered," a victim of prejudice and propaganda who sees the pathetic reality of "the man behind the curtain" and courageously thwarts his plot to make himself more powerful What and who the storyline and characters represent in our "current political climate" is open to interpretation and people are coming to polar opposite conclusions You know the famous Rorschach inkblot test used to analyze how people interpret what they're seeing "Wicked" appears to be a film version of that for American politics Everything stemming from those opposing interpretations colors how people view the rest of the film with both sides insisting they have rock solid evidence for their viewpoint the partisan lenses that lead people to feel more certain that their side is the right side—the "good" side—entirely misses the point The first inkblot in the Rorschach test.Public domain but the biggie is that “good” and “evil” are complex and nuanced concepts What appears to be evil or good is influenced by people's motivations The deep dive into the complexity of how those things influence what—and whom—we view as good or evil is what makes the show so beautifully compelling The three times I saw "Wicked" on stage I came away delightfully awed by how it made me question my biases and beliefs The point of "Wicked" is that good vs Not only is everyone capable of good and evil but having the full context is vital in determining what is actually good or evil—and even then or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?" proves to be overly simplistic because sometimes what is "wicked" is in the eye of the beholder the show implores us to question what we believe about others and recognize how easy it is to be influenced by propaganda and fear-mongering We aren't meant to come away more certain of our views That's not to say there aren't objectively good or evil actions or that some people don't indulge their evil tendencies more than their good But there's a lot more gray area than our black-and-white public discourse with its viral soundbites and hot takes and incentivized sensationalism - YouTubewww.youtube.com Another big takeaway from "Wicked" is that people in positions of power will exploit our prejudices and manipulate our perceptions of good and evil to achieve their purposes not just for the people we believe are being deluded by populist politicians or unscrupulous media outlets If anyone of any political persuasion walks out of “Wicked” thinking THOSE people are being duped by propaganda from evil leaders masquerading as great and powerful,” without recognizing how they themselves might just be in the same boat If people walk out more confident that their political side is "good" and the other side is "evil," no matter what side of the spectrum they’re on "Wicked" asks us to untangle ourselves from the prejudices and biases that make us easy to manipulate and that starts with seeing the inherent potential for good and evil that we all share If we continue to toss nuance and complexity out the window in favor of simplistic narratives about one another if we refuse to try to acknowledge that we might not be as right as we think we are and others might not be as wrong as we think they are "There is just so much pressure on social media to be perfect." Stephanie Murphy shares her "average" home in viral TikTok video Lets normalize “average” because there is nothing wrong with it Everywhere you look on social media you see big gorgeous houses in perfect condition and its hard not to compare yours to them But its not the norm and half the time its staged and its filled with love and tons of memories and at the end of the day thats all that matters This article originally appeared two years ago "My husband is raising a boy and prepping him to be a man one day." Dad gently explains to son why hitting others is bad TikTok family The Fitts' (@jissel_fitts) made up of husband and wife duo Aaron and Jissell and their two children shared an emotional video with their followers capturing a conversation between father and son Aaron holds his little boy's head in his hands after learning he hit someone Rather than explosively yell or demean him for hitting Aaron calmly explains why it is not okay and how to recognize and manage his emotions better a father to teach them about emotions," Jissell captioned the post I wanted to step in but I have to constantly remind myself my husband is raising a boy and prepping him to become a man on day." #fyp #fypage #f #fatherson #dadsoftiktok #dadlife #blackfathers #blackfatherhood #fatherhood #breakingcycles "You have to learn how to control your emotions Just because you're upset don't mean you get to hit but calmly listens to him and nods his head "You can't hit people because you're angry You can't just be mad because somebody said something you don't like offering physical reassurance and comfort with zero yelling He makes constant eye contact with his son who responds to his gentle demeanor by listening intently Viewers are impressed with this dad's approach verbal like this 😭 love this for him 🖤," one wrote "I love the fathers of this generation instead of telling him to man up he explains and lets his little boy have his moment of tears." Instead of yelling and demeaning words." "notice how the little baby is playing his dads beard while being disciplined 😭💖 shows he feels safe w him and he’s really listening." Others praised the mother: "The mother saying she’s not stepping in is the BEST PART!! Let the men RAISE their boys!!!" one wrote Jissell also responded to people sharing about their struggles "I wish I had this growing up pops wasn’t around mom had to work you guys know how to go 🤦🏾♂️😩." And Jissell replied "Growing up in my household we weren’t allowed to express ourselves we got in trouble for it 🥹." "Not all boys have a father like this not all boys have an active present loving father that’s going to be like this Some of us mothers have to be the mother and the father to our boys💯 & that’s Ok." Jissell responded "My husband was raised by a single mom so yes it’s possible ❤️." Jissell and Aaron are choosing to parent their children differently Gregory Maguire says he "fell down to the ground" laughing when the idea hit him Gregory Maguire was inspired by a line in the original 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz." Have you ever watched a movie or read a book or listened to a piece of music and wondered "How did they come up with that idea?" The creative process is so enigmatic even artists themselves don't always know where their ideas come from so It's a treat when we get to hear the genesis of a brilliant idea straight from the horse's mouth If you've watched "Wicked" and wondered where the idea for the friendship between Elphaba (the Wicked Witch) and Glinda (the Good Witch) came from the author of the book has shared the precise moment it came to him Maguire explained how Elphaba and Glinda's friendship popped into his head Maguire was visiting Beatrix Potter's farm in Cumbria and thinking about "The Wizard of Oz," which he had loved as a child and thought could be an interesting basis for a story about evil what do we know about 'The Wizard of Oz' from our memories,'" he said "We have the house falling on the witch All we know about that witch is that she has feet So I began to think about Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West… "There is one scene in the 1939 film where Billie Burke comes down looking all pink and fluffy and Margaret Hamilton is all crawed and crabbed and she says something like 'I might have known you'd be behind this now why is she using Glinda's first name Maybe they've known each other for a long time And I fell down onto the ground in the Lake District laughing at the thought that they had gone to college together." In "Wicked," Glinda and the Wicked Witch The story grows a lot more complicated from there (and the novel goes darker than the stage play) but it's the character development of the two witches and their relationship with one another that force us to examine our ideas about good and evil - YouTubeyoutu.be Maguire also shared with the Denver Center for Performing Arts what had inspired him to use the "Wizard of Oz" characters in the first place "I was living in London in the early 1990’s during the start of the Gulf War I was interested to see how my own blood temperature chilled at reading a headline in the usually cautious British newspaper the Times of London: 'Sadaam Hussein: The New Hitler?' I caught myself ready to have a fully formed political opinion about the Gulf War and the necessity of action against Sadaam Hussein on the basis of how that headline made me feel When a few months later several young schoolboys kidnapped and killed a toddler the British press paid much attention to the nature of the crime I considered briefly writing a novel about Hitler but discarded the notion due to my general discomfort with the reality of those times But when I realized that nobody had ever written about the second most evil character in our collective American subconscious I thought I had experienced a small moment of inspiration Everybody in America knows who the Wicked Witch of the West is but nobody really knows anything about her There is more to her than meets the eye." Knowing how to properly darn holes in sweaters is a useful skill The invention of sewing and knitting machines changed the way we acquire clothing and the skills people used to possess have largely gone by the wayside Most of us have no idea how to darn a sock or fix a hole in any knit fabric it's far easier for us to replace than to repair Most of us don't darn socks anyomore.Photo credit: Canva But there are still some among us who do have the skills to repair clothing in a way that makes it look like the rip, tear or hole never happened, and to watch them do it is mesmerizing Videos of people stitching holes in knit sweaters have gone viral on social media with millions of views on simple One video begins by showing a hole in a light pink knit sweater the person demonstrates how to fill the hole to make it look as if it never existed in the first place - YouTubeyoutube.com Another video begins by showing a hole in a gray knit sweater but this time a yellow yarn is used to patch the hole so you can see clearly what was done but you really do have to know what you're doing to make this magic work - YouTubewww.youtube.com What we're witnessing here is a combo of knowledge and experience in the fiber arts, of course, but what it looks like is sheer sorcery or some kind of really complicated calculus problem. Who figured out how to do this? And why is it so satisfying to watch "I watched this whole video and I still don’t know how you did that," shared one commenter "Hey that was pretty neat," wrote another "Can you do the ozone layer next?" (Ha.) "I could watch it a hundred times and still not be able to do this," wrote another "My toxic trait is thinking I can do this 😂😂😂," shared another (Maybe after watching it two hundred times.) Many people found it oddly soothing to watch perhaps because seeing something being fixed is indeed satisfying and perhaps because it harkens back to a simpler time when people spent their evenings doing things like this around the fire This video demonstrates three different ways to mend sweater holes and the piano practically lulls you into a meditative state while you watch Is this fiber arts therapy for those of us who don't sew or knit or crochet - YouTubewww.youtube.com Kudos to those who are keeping these kinds of skills alive and sharing them with the world We may not be passing this kind of knowledge down in most families anymore but at least we have the internet to help us if we really want to learn it This article originally appeared three years ago "I love how they posted the flyers at different heights One for the dogs and one for the humans." Decades after the trend first emerged, people are still debating whether dog birthday parties are cool or "too extra." One woman on TikTok threw her tiny one-year-old puppy, Angel, a party and claimed no one came she received nearly 30,000 comments from people expressing their sadness that such an adorable puppy looked so distraught They followed up with thousands of birthday wishes and heart emojis has over 700,000 followers and her own manager Tons of people online have opinions about whether hound parties should even exist. An OP on Quora asked, "Why do pet owners throw birthday parties for their pets?" One commenter kept it simple: "Because it’s fun Dogs have about the same mental functioning as a toddler when it comes to navigating interactions with human beings Do you think a baby has any clue what’s going on when you throw a 1st birthday party but you can see it brings them joy and you enjoy it too Nobody came to his birthday 😞💔🎂 #sad #sadvideo #dog #dogparty #birthday #dogbirthday #puppy #brusselsgriffon As for the logistics of it all, in the subreddit r/dogs a Redditor posted: "Dog birthday party help: We adopted our good boy 3 years ago next week and we want to have a little party in our backyard with neighborhood dogs Any tips or ideas on how to make it fun and keep it safe/contained?" A commenter had excellent advice as to only having well-behaved dogs in attendance: "Hand out invitations with your pup in tow and assess any behavioral incompatibilities before even mentioning anything." And this wisdom was aimed at helping alleviate a dog-mob mentality when it came to treats: "You could do goodie bags for people to take as they leave While some seemed adverse to the idea, more and more people are embracing their canine hoe-downs, whether it's an actual birthday or a "gotcha" day, for those lucky rescue animals out there. Recently, in the subreddit r/aww someone posted a flyer of a puppy in a red party hat ruff." A date and time followed by more woofs Bark less…Maybe." As someone who's fluent in "dog," I can tell you that's a solid invite to what sounds like an off-the-chain party This post already has over 50,000 upvotes and nearly a thousand comments people actually went to the party and posted some photos in the Reddit thread Happy Birthday GIFGiphy one eagle-eyed viewer had a compliment for the flyer itself One for the dogs and one for the humans." Another viewer had excellent advice for those searching for a companion on say I have a strong vibe if you go you are going to meet someone that you will really want to know." Not sure if they meant a dog-friend or a human-companion What Everyone Misses About the Ending of “Watchmen” Sometimes you just want to run away from your problems animation allows the story to live in a different way which helps us view it from entirely new angles Scenes are paced differently in an animated movie and a voice actor’s delivery might bring new depth to a classic moment I discussed this when writing about Watchmen Chapter I where I explained how the pacing of Doctor Manhattan’s television appearance caused me to look at the character in a new way I concluded that Jon wasn’t as detached from humanity as he claimed to be and his trip to Mars was a flight or fight reaction which once again caused me to look at the story through new eyes and consider something I had never thought about before If you’ve read the graphic novel, seen the motion comic, or watched Zack Snyder’s film adaptation but if not and you haven’t seen Watchmen Chapter II consider this your one and only warning because I’m about to spoil it Silk Spectre and Nite Owl uncover Ozymandias’ plan to unite the world through a false flag alien attack The heroes consider exposing Ozymandias’ plot but they’re warned that the truth will cause more bloodshed After much consideration (and possibly looking into the future) “Exposing this plot results in greater destruction on Earth Doctor Manhattan is speaking with the stoic and seemingly emotionless tone that he’s been using throughout the movie there’s also a sense of regret in his voice It's not easy to deliver a performance that’s both stoic and emotional at the same time This caused me to consider Jon’s state of mind during this moment He’s conflicted because he wants justice for the murders Ozymandias has committed but he knows that doing so will bring more death I realized something I had never thought about before—Jon likely knows about Rorschach’s journal Rorschach mailed a copy of his journal to a publication known as the New Frontiersmen Watchmen Chapter II ends the same way the graphic novel does as a writer for the publication prepares to read Rorschach’s manifesto This is an ambiguous note that leaves the future up to our imagination. Did the public learn the truth about the squid attack, and if so, did they believe it? The 2019 Watchmen television series shows us one way those events could unfold it never occurred to me that Jon knew about the journal As we saw during his conversation on Mars with Laurie When he agrees with Ozymandias about keeping the truth quiet I always interpreted that scene as Jon looking into the future to confirm Ozymandias’ claim about the death toll he would’ve seen the publication of the journal if he looked into the future I said this when writing about Watchmen Chapter I The squid attack is simply a larger example of the trolley problem if you’re not familiar with the trolley problem The premise is that a trolley is about to run over a group of people causing the trolley to go onto another track but it will run over a smaller group of people do you do nothing and allow more people to die or do you save a group of people by sacrificing a smaller group so I won’t weigh all the moral implications here I realized he was playing Doctor Manhattan as someone who was conflicted and I think that’s why he doesn’t do anything to stop the publication of Rorschach’s journal He could’ve used his powers to change the journal into a book of sonnets or atomize it entirely but that would’ve been pulling the metaphorical trolley lever I think that’s why Jon told Ozymandias that he was going to another galaxy Jon knew the journal would be published and he didn’t want to be around for the aftermath he would be complicit in whatever happened next Jon didn’t want to face those moral dilemmas and he didn’t want the responsibility Maybe Jon wasn’t actually looking into the future when he spoke to Ozymandias Maybe the tachyons were clouding his vision The story is almost forty years old and we’re still finding new ways to dissect and discuss it And thanks to these two new animated films Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DC.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, "Gotham Gazette." Follow him on X at @TBUJosh. NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans The EDPB’s Rorschach Test: What the data protection body’s Opinion on AI training Means for GDPR Enforcement which successfully challenged the practices that Meta X and others had started implementing in the EU to feed their AI databases the EDPB released its long-awaited ‘Opinion 28/2024 on certain data protection aspects related to the processing of personal data in the context of AI models.’ The process has highlighted some insufficiencies: an expedited timeline limited and asymmetrical stakeholder involvement and it will continue to do so in the near future the more it resembles a Rorschach test—everyone seems to see what they want to see the Opinion might appear to offer a strong reaffirmation of GDPR principles countering significant industry pressure to relax safeguards It seems to position data protection rights at the centre of the ongoing AI conversation But many digital rights advocates were concerned because the Opinion focused on ‘Legitimate Interest’ (LI) as a basis for processing data which weakens the requirement for companies to get explicit consent from people This opened a door for companies to use personal data without permission making it easier to train AI systems on people’s information allowing them to bypass privacy safeguards and bias in AI (not to mention the environmental costs!) this wouldn’t just weaken the foundations of the data protection framework but could also have far-reaching consequences for other fundamental rights The personal data in question fuels the algorithms that big tech social media platforms use to exploit our behaviours European Digital Rights (EDRi) is an association of civil and human rights organisations from across Europe We defend your rights and freedoms in the digital environment No part of this website or its content may be reproduced without the copyright owner's permission Rock Paper Shotgun is a registered trademark of Gamer Network Limited He has been sent to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Louisiana, where he is being detained. "The Trump administration's detention of Mahmoud Khalil—a green card holder studying in this country legally—is targeted, retaliatory, and an extreme attack on his First Amendment rights," the New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman declared in a statement and detaining them solely based on political viewpoint will chill student speech and advocacy across campus Political speech should never be a basis of punishment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" The Trump administration, for its part, calls Khalil a "threat to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States." "The allegation here is not that he was breaking the law," an official tells The Free Press. "He was mobilizing support for Hamas and spreading antisemitism in a way that is contrary to the foreign policy of the U.S." The Department of Homeland Security says Khalil "led activities aligned to Hamas a designated terrorist organization," which is…extremely vague "This is the first arrest of many to come," wrote President Donald Trump on Truth Social "We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it.…If you support terrorism including the slaughtering of innocent men your presence is contrary to our national and foreign policy interests I for one would probably not choose to spend my time engaged in pro-Palestine protests/sit-ins/marches/blockades if I were imminently expecting a child I would maybe exert some extra effort to make clear how much I like my new country vs actively antagonizing it via supporting a raping murdering terrorist group that not only committed the atrocities of October 7 but has since 2007 denied residents of the Gaza Strip a functioning place to live choosing to instead invest resources in building tunnels and rockets outlining roughly the same thing on his blog.) more philosophical question raised by the Mahmoud Khalil case: Should people who have come here on visas having their commitment to the American project weighed and judged It strikes me as intellectually reasonable to want to engage in some amount of gatekeeping when you decide who ought to be granted the great gift of American citizenship; when a guest here indicates they don't value the same things we seek in our newcomers where people with the same underlying principles look at him and feel a very different moral intuition as to how we ought to greet such behavior but totally lost in the political ferment surrounding immigration Rubio strikes a realist note: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, en route to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for meetings with Ukrainian officials, told reporters yesterday that Ukraine would have to make concessions if they want the war to end "The most important thing that we have to leave here with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things like the Russians are going to have to do difficult things to end this conflict or at least pause it in some way "I think both sides need to come to an understanding that there's no military solution to this situation," he continued "The Russians can't conquer all of Ukraine and obviously it'll be very difficult for Ukraine in any reasonable time period to sort of force the Russians back all the way to where they were in 2014." not shocking takes for anyone who has followed this even semiclosely But the Trump administration's focus on finding an actual realistic deal (following the blowup in the Oval Office a week and a half ago) is a welcome sign that the bloodshed may come to an end and that we may also be able to stem the flow of U.S "I think it's pretty clear to the Ukrainians that there is going to be some degree of territorial concession," journalist James Pogue told us on Just Asking Questions last week "The only people who don't think that at this point are like completely braindead European think tankers The disconnect would be going back to the start of the war when I think a lot of people on the right-wing side of things were fairly convinced that this could have been avoided that there could have been some kind of philosophical deal some kind of acceptance by the West that actually particularly America's interests do not lie on the eastern fringes of Europe." delegation in Saudi Arabia as planned to discuss deals that might be struck and pathways to ending the bloody war that's now raged for three years Scenes from New York: I wrote this piece on my city's padlocked playgrounds and my effort to give my son a freedom-oriented childhood full of PLAY "Not one person ever in my office has ever used the word 'Latinx.'" - @GavinNewsom https://t.co/alljuXdFE5 — Jim Stanley (@JimStanleyCA) March 10, 2025 Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" Liz Wolfe is an associate editor at Reason Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value" TheWrap magazine: Production designer Philip Messina walks us through the living room set that kicks off A24’s acclaimed horror film That thought takes on a whole new meaning during the taut 20 opening minutes of “Heretic,” which is set entirely within the front sitting room of the grinning Englishman Mr sounds like the word “mystery.” Reed hosts two Mormon missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) for some pie and proselytizing directed by “A Quiet Place” writers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and the uncoollounge area is replete with minutiae about what lies beyond — and beneath — the couch and coffee table “The living room scene was an area where we could really get into the psychological aspects of what was happening,” production designer Philip Messina (“The Hunger Games”) said “There were a lot of discussions about how the room would represent Mr Reed’s idea of what would put people at ease There’s a needlepoint on the wall that says ‘Bless This Mess.’ And in the room there’s also a little wicker basket filled with knitting — but Scott and Bryan took out the knitting needles we also see a framed photo on a side table: A snapshot of Grant in his floppy-haired 1990s glory Messina’s team built the room on a soundstage in Vancouver the most crucial design element was the wallpaper a sickly yellow floral pattern that covers the entire room Dozens of samples were printed for camera tests “We wanted just the right amount of awfulness to it.” Although the idea ultimately didn’t make it on camera Messina prepared a corner of the room where some of the wallpaper was peeling off “We talked a lot about the notion of iterations which is a big topic explored in the story,” he said More than half of the sequence consists of close-ups of the three actors so thebackground wallpaper appears slightly out of focus in the camera lens ofcinematographer Chung-hoon Chung (“Oldboy,” “Wonka”) the swirling latticework of lines could be interpreted as a big spider’s web — and up close the pattern has an undeniable Rorschach zing The filmmakers even toyed with the idea of embedding secret images within the wallpaper but decided against it suggest at one point a dark cloud behind Mr and later a light sconce over his shoulder is shown the two young missionaries sit on a midcentury-modern couch(nabbed by the film’s set decorator Hamish Purdy at a flea market right before filming began) across from Mr “It felt like something a professor would have in his living room,” Messina said “And next to him there’s an empty chair as well The furniture feng shui was carefully rationalized and rearranged during the rehearsal process Behind the women is a little octagonal window that glows with an aquarium blue “From where the couch is positioned,” Messina said “the girls can crane their necks and see down that long dark hallway that leads out of the living room Reed had access to a hidden switch to lock and unlock the front door But Messina (who designed Steven Soderbergh’s heist-heavy “Ocean’s” trilogy) and his team came across something more diabolical than a switch: It was a complex bank vault device which was built behind a light-switch cover next to the front door “It fits right in with the analog nature of the whole story,” he said That’s one of those moments where we were able to enhance an idea in a way that really gave the fear factor a bit of a leap.” A version of this story first appeared in the Below-the-Line Issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine. Read more from the issue here. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Posted in: DVD/Blu-ray, Movies, streaming, TV | Tagged: , , , , Titus Welliver (Bosch: Legacy) discusses taking on the role of Rorschach in Warner Bros Entertainment's Watchmen animated adaptation Welliver shared how he felt about tackling such an essential character in the story and how it was important for him to make the role his own "I was excited and felt privileged and honored to do it because I was a huge fan from the time when the book first came out but there was an extremely successful live-action film version of it I wasn't going to do my impression of Jackie doing Rorschach and Kovacs I wanted to pay homage to him to a certain degree What he did was incredible," Welliver explained Welliver adds that he did feel a sense of responsibility to the character as both a fan of Watchmen and comics You definitely feel the weight of that kind of responsibility I know there have been some missteps in casting in the past They're so not right for that character.' Fortunately I will say David Hasselhoff as Nick Fury was With Chapter 1 currently available on digital and 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray on August 27th (with "Chapter 2" set for 2024/2025) here's a look behind the scenes at the animated adaptation of Watchmen: pick the right ally to travel down to burn off a whole lot of pent-up anger and frustration a talk show visit takes a disturbing turn when Dr Manhattan (Michael Cerveris) gets tired of some very accusatory questioning… Produced and directed by Brandon Vietti from an adaptation by J the animated Watchmen sees Jim Krieg and Cindy Rago producing and Gibbons serving as a consulting producer and Lloyd Levin serve as executive producers