Q-CTRL, a startup that applies the principles of control engineering to accelerate the development of the first useful quantum computers, will host a series of online demonstrations of new quantum control tools designed to enhance the efficiency and stability of quantum computing hardware.

Dr. Michael Hush, Head of Quantum Science and Engineering at Q-CTRL, will provide an overview of the companys cloud-based quantum control engineering software called BOULDER OPAL. This software uses custom machine learning algorithms to create error-robust logical operations in quantum computers. The team will demonstrate - using real quantum computing hardware in real time - how they reduce susceptibility to error by 100X and improve hardware stability in time by 10X, while reducing time-to-solution by 10X against existing software.

Scheduled to accommodate the global quantum computing research base, the demonstrations will take place:

April 16 from 4-4:30 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time (ET) April 21 from 10-10:30 a.m. Singapore Time (SGT) April 23 from 10-10:30 a.m. Central European Summer Time (CEST) To register, visit https://go.q-ctrl.com/l/791783/2020-03-19/dk83

Released in Beta by Q-CTRL in March, BOULDER OPAL is an advanced Python-based toolkit for developers and R&D teams using quantum control in their hardware or theoretical research. Technology agnostic and with major computational grunt delivered seamlessly via the cloud, BOULDER OPAL enables a range of essential tasks which improve the performance of quantum computing and quantum sensing hardware. This includes the efficient identification of sources of noise and error, calculating detailed error budgets in real lab environments, creating new error-robust logic operations for even the most complex quantum circuits, and integrating outputs directly into real hardware.

The result for users is greater performance from todays quantum computing hardware, without the need to become an expert in quantum control engineering.

Experimental validations and an overview of the software architecture, developed in collaboration with the University of Sydney, were recently released in an online technical manuscript titled Software Tools for Quantum Control: Improving Quantum Computer Performance through Noise and Error Suppression.

See the original post here:

Q-CTRL to Host Live Demos of 'Quantum Control' Tools - Quantaneo, the Quantum Computing Source

Since 1965, the computer industry has relied on Moores Law to accelerate innovation, pushing more transistors into integrated circuits to improve computation performance. Making transistors smaller helped lift all boats for the entire industry and enable new applications. At some point, we will reach a physical limit that is, a limit stemming from physics itself. Even with this setback, improvements kept on pace thanks to increased parallelism of computation and consolidation of specialized functions into single chip packages, such as systems on chip).

In recent years, we are nearing another peak. This article proposes to improve computation performance not only by building better hardware, but by changing how we use existing hardware. More specifically, the focusing on how we use existing processor types. I call this approach Compute Orchestration: automatic optimization of machine code to best use the modern datacenter hardware (again, with special emphasis on different processor types).

So what is compute orchestration? It is the embracing of hardware diversity to support software.

There are many types of processors: Microprocessors in small devices, general purpose CPUs in computers and servers, GPUs for graphics and compute, and programmable hardware like FPGAs. In recent years, specialized processors like TPUs and neuromorphic processors for machine learning are rapidly entering the datacenter.

There is potential in this variety: Instead of statically utilizing each processor for pre-defined functions, we can use existing processors as a swarm, each processor working on the most suitable workloads. Doing that, we can potentially deliver more computation bandwidth with less power, lower latency and lower total cost of ownership).

Non-standard utilization of existing processors is already happening: GPUs, for example, were already adapted from processors dedicated to graphics into a core enterprise component. Today, GPUs are used for machine learning and cryptocurrency mining, for example.

I call the technology to utilize the processors as a swarm Compute Orchestration. Its tenets can be described in four simple bullets:

Compute orchestration is, in short, automatic adaptation of binary code and automatic allocation to the most suitable processor types available. I split the evolution of compute orchestration into four generations:

Compute Orchestration Gen 1: Static Allocation To Specialized Co-Processors

This type of compute orchestration is everywhere. Most devices today include co-processors to offload some specialized work from the CPU. Usually, the toolchain or runtime environment takes care of assigning workloads to the co-processor. This is seamless to the developer, but also limited in functionality.

Best known example is the use of cryptographic co-processors for relevant functions. Being liberal in our definitions of co-processor, Memory Management Units (MMUs) to manage virtual memory address translation can also be considered an example.

Compute Orchestration Gen 2: Static Allocation, Heterogeneous Hardware

This is where we are at now. In the second generation, the software relies on libraries, dedicated run time environments and VMs to best use the available hardware. Lets call the collection of components that help better use the hardware frameworks. Current frameworks implement specific code to better use specific processors. Most prevalent are frameworks that know how to utilize GPUs in the cloud. Usually, better allocation to bare metal hosts remains the responsibility of the developer. For example, the developer/DevOps engineer needs to make sure a machine with GPU is available for the relevant microservice. This phenomenon is what brought me to think of Compute Orchestration in the first place, as it proves there is more slack in our current hardware.

Common frameworks like OpenCL allow programming compute kernels to run on different processors. TensorFlow allows assigning nodes in a computation graph to different processors (devices).

This better use of hardware by using existing frameworks is great. However, I believe there is a bigger edge. Existing frameworks still require effort from the developer to be optimal they rely on the developer. Also, no legacy code from 2016 (for example) is ever going to utilize a modern datacenter GPU cluster. My view is that by developing automated and dynamic frameworks, that adapt to the hardware and workload, we can achieve another leap.

Compute Orchestration Gen 3: Dynamic Allocation To Heterogeneous Hardware

Computation can take an example from the storage industry: Products for better utilization and reliability of storage hardware have innovated for years. Storage startups develop abstraction layers and special filesystems that improve efficiency and reliability of existing storage hardware. Computation, on the other hand, remains a stupid allocation of hardware resources. Smart allocation of computation workloads to hardware could result in better performance and efficiency for big data centers (for example hyperscalers like cloud providers). The infrastructure for such allocation is here, with current data center designs pushing to more resource disaggregation, introduction of diverse accelerators, and increased work on automatic acceleration (for example: Workload-aware Automatic Parallelization for Multi-GPU DNN Training).

For high level resource management, we already have automatic allocation. For example, project Mesos (paper) focusing on fine-grained resource sharing, Slurm for cluster management, and several extensions using Kubernetes operators.

To further advance from here would require two steps: automatic mapping of available processors (which we call the compute environment) and workload adaptation. Imagine a situation where the developer doesnt have to optimize her code to the hardware. Rather, the runtime environment identifies the available processing hardware and automatically optimizes the code. Cloud environments are heterogeneous and changing, and the code should change accordingly (in fact its not the code, but the execution model in the run time environment of the machine code).

Compute Orchestration Gen 4: Automatic Allocation To Dynamic Hardware

A thought, even a possibility, can shatter and transform us. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

The quote above is to say that there we are far from practical implementation of the concept described here (as far as I know). We can, however, imagine a technology that dynamically re-designs a data center to serve needs of running applications. This change in the way whole data centers meet computation needs as already started. FGPAs are used more often and appear in new places (FPGAs in hosts, FPGA machines in AWS, SmartNICs), providing the framework for constant reconfiguration of hardware.

To illustrate the idea, I will use an example: Microsoft initiated project Catapult, augmenting CPUs with an interconnected and configurable compute layer composed of programmable silicon. The timeline in the projects website is fascinating. The project started off in 2010, aiming to improve search queries by using FPGAs. Quickly, it proposed the use of FPGAs as bumps in the wire, adding computation in new areas of the data path. Project Catapult also designed an architecture for using FPGAs as a distributed resource pool serving all the data center. Then, the project spun off Project BrainWave, utilizing FPGAs for accelerating AI/ML workloads.

This was just an example of innovation in how we compute. Quick online search will bring up several academic works on the topic. All we need to reach the 4th generation is some idea synthesis, combining a few concepts together:

Low effort HDL generation (for example Merlin compiler, BORPH)

In essence, what I am proposing is to optimize computation by adding an abstraction layer that:

Automatic allocation on agile hardware is the recipe for best utilizing existing resources: faster, greener, cheaper.

The trends and ideas mentioned in this article can lead to many places. It is very likely, that we are already working with existing hardware in the optimal way. It is my belief that we are in the midst of the improvement curve. In recent years, we had increased innovation in basic hardware building blocks, new processors for example, but we still have room to improve in overall allocation and utilization. The more we deploy new processors in the field, the more slack we have in our hardware stack. New concepts, like edge computing and resource disaggregation, bring new opportunities for optimizing legacy code by smarter execution. To achieve that, legacy code cant be expected to be refactored. Developers and DevOps engineers cant be expected to optimize for the cloud configuration. We just need to execute code in a smarter way and that is the essence of compute orchestration.

The conceptual framework described in this article should be further explored. We first need to find the killer app (what type of software we optimize to which type of hardware). From there, we can generalize. I was recently asked in a round table what is the next generation of computation? Quantum computing? Tensor Processor Units? I responded that all of the above, but what we really need is better usage of the existing generation.

Guy Harpak is the head of technology at Mercedes-Benz Research & Devcelopment in its Tel Aviv, Israel facility. Please feel free to contact him on any thoughts on the topics above at harpakguy@gmail.com. Harpak notes that this contributed article reflects his personal opinion and is in no way related to people or companies that he works with or for.

Related Reading: If you find this article interesting, I would recommend researching the following topics:

Some interesting articles on similar topics:

Return Of The Runtimes: Rethinking The Language Runtime System For The Cloud 3.0 Era

The Deep Learning Revolution And Its Implications For Computer Architecture And Chip Design (by Jeffrey Dean from Google Research)

Beyond SmartNICs: Towards A Fully Programmable Cloud

Hyperscale Cloud: Reimagining Datacenters From Hardware To Applications

Read more from the original source:

Disrupt The Datacenter With Orchestration - The Next Platform

How is it that some real estate investors are able to grow their portfolio with one successful investment after another while others are still struggling to turn a profit on their first single-family rental? We wanted to find that out directly from the investors who have been growing their portfolios at an incredible rate.

Luckily, these three investors were willing to share their strategies with us so you can start building your fortune in real estate.

Sarah Larbi, host of the "Where Should I Invest Now?" Podcast and co-founder of the REITE Club, doesn't suggest trying to predict the market and waiting for the right time to invest. She says there are good opportunities in any stage of the market cycle.

"Markets will have ups and downs, and no one has a crystal ball, so it's not wise to wait until that happens. On the downturn and on the upswing there are opportunities. What you want to do instead is to look at market fundamentals and hold for the long term something that cash flows.

"Some of the fundamentals I consider are: immigration to the area, population increase, transportation improvements, postsecondary education nearby, vacancy rates, job growth, a variety of industries, etc. If I buy on those, I will do well in the long term."

Grant Cardone, internationally known entrepreneur and founder of Cardone Capital, looks for properties with the most units. Even for new investors, he recommends buying more units under one roof instead of multiple single-family homes.

"Here are the metrics I look for in every great real estate investment. Notice that price isn't one of them:

Justin Fraser, partner at 88 Real Estate Capital and host of the "True Multifamily Podcast," recommends being open to partnering with other investors on deals. He says that when you have partners, you're able to take advantage of opportunities that you wouldn't be able to on your own.

"Including partners on a real estate deal creates win-win scenarios for everybody. With partners, you are each able to focus on the pieces of the deal that match your skill set or goals. For example, some investors have money but no time to do the legwork that goes into finding and running a deal. Others have the time but not the experience. Matching complementary skills and needs makes the project stronger.

"Many people are resistant to taking on partners in order to keep equity for themselves. However, I'd much rather have a smaller piece, percentage wise, of a property that's many times larger than any project I could do on my own."

Real estate provides opportunities like no other investment, but most people never see the massive success they hoped for. One of the main reasons for this is that they follow the advice of other investors who settled short of their original goals. Study how other investors have built their fortunes, and there's no reason you can't be the next real estate mogul.

It's hard not to get swept up in the panic when the stock market is going crazy, but it is a lot easier if you're invested in real estate. Not only can you benefit from the incredible returns real estate offers, but you can also do so with half the volatility.

That's why we launched Mogul, a breakthrough service designed to help you take advantage of this critical asset class. Mogul members have been receiving investing alerts with projected rates of return of 16.1%, 19.4%, even 23.9% as well as cash yields of up to 12%! When you invest in stable, multiyear real estate developments, the value of these investments aren't subject to the wild swings of the market.

Join the waitlist for Mogul here and receive a complimentary 40-page guide on a NEW way to build wealth. Join the waitlist now.

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3 Top Real Estate Investors Share Their Best Investing Secrets - Motley Fool

Maj Gen Raj Mehta (retd)

Indias armed forces have legions of well-wishers and one of the most committed and passionate amongst them has to be Shyam Kumari, based in Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry. The soft-spoken but feisty 85-year-old writer and activist voices her love and respect for the sacrifices that soldiers make with a facile pen and with professional depth, deep research and understanding about their deathless deeds.

I am a veteran, war-wounded soldier myself. Post retirement in 2006, I willingly joined a small, informally-structured band of volunteer officers who have chosen to invest quality time in passing on to the young, the willing and the interested, the core values that make our armed forces amongst the finest in the world.

It was in pursuit of such activities that I came in touch with her courtesy a retired war-decorated General, Maj Gen Ian Cardozo, Vir Chakra famous for amputating his mine-blasted leg with his own khukri because it was impeding him from completing his military mission. This lady is something else; she has such fire and passion for the feats that soldiers do for flag and country. She is an inspiration, he said.

Both Gen Cardozo and I had gone to participate in a Military Heroes Commemoration Parade event in Jhansi, UP, set up by Shyam Kumari through local volunteers. At that stage, my acquaintance with her was restricted to emails, with her sitting in faraway Pondicherry. She has serious chronic physical disabilities that do not allow her to walk for any great distance. I have never left Aurobindo Ashram since I arrived 50 years ago, she says. However, that has not deterred this spirited lady from superbly executing her self-appointed charter of honouring soldiers and soldiering through such commemoration parades all over India.

One co-participant in this function was Honorary Captain Bana Singh, PVC, whose stunning feat of arms in the icy fastnesses of Saltoro Ridge overlooking Siachen Glacier gave the Pakistani Quaid Post to India; being re-named by a grateful Army as Bana Top after its capture. The parade had the war heroes drive through rapturous crowds lining the selected route in a city famous for Indias darling woman braveheart Laxmi Bai, Rani of Jhansi. The function culminated with a public reception under the shadow of the famous fort from where the daring Rani is believed to have made her escape from the British forces besieging Jhansi during Indias First War of Independence in 1857.

Passion for writing

Shyam Kumari was born in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, in 1934. A Masters from Lucknow University, she is widely read in Hindi and English literature and in spirituality. In 1969, she was appointed as a teacher in the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, Pondicherry. Her forte is, of course, her remarkable ability and passion to write about Indias military heroes, a feat unique in the world of penmanship. An established author, her poems, lyrics, stories, plays, literary and social essays, both in English and Hindi, have appeared in national and international journals. She has written and published more than 60 books, some running into several reprints. Of these, over 20 are on Army war heroes. Nine of her popular books are on Param Vir Chakra heroes, with several now on the writing board. These are priced at ridiculously low rates and are of 40 to 60 pages each.

Her books have been translated into Hindi, Oriya, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati and Russian. She has also written pathbreaking rhymes and childrens story books. In 1998, she launched a Hindi quarterly magazine, Swarna Hansa. She has also launched innovative schemes, one of which encourages schools to adopt a war hero and try and live by the values that he or she exhibited in executing their great feat of arms. Another scheme calls for honouring the families of martyrs at schools and emulate their values thereto.

Shyam Kumari has also set up the Sri Aravinda Sanskrit Vidhyalaya as a labour of love and nurtured it these last 21 years.

Having helped spread the word about this amazing, dynamic person, I was delighted, when, last year, I was invited to deliver a talk at Pondicherry University. I finally met this powerhouse of energy and selfless devotion and happily acceded to her request to lecture school and college children on the subject of becoming global Indians across gender and age.

Courtesy her facilitation, I also spent a delightful two hours interacting with some really bright children from all over the world studying at Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education. The audience covered the entire gamut from playful third-graders to post-graduates and PhD candidates; all sitting in the same hall and with full freedom to walk out if the talk bored them. Instead of feeling stressed, I realised how great the privilege of speaking to them was and enjoyed my friendly chat. More importantly, I understood the genesis behind what makes Shyam Kumari so committed to her calling of making people aware of what greatness is, and developing the skill-sets to reach there with passion and pride.

The sub-text cannot be missed out. It is that the most powerful tool for a person to succeed in his/her calling is hidden deep within that person. In real terms, invest in yourself, believe in yourself, trust yourself, drive yourself; awaken the powerful God' within you; make yourself your best friend and you have the soldiers timeless credo with you God is within you, as Buddha and Vivekananda often exhorted their listeners.

To reach out to conquer the world, reach out first to conquer the world within you. Soldiers do that and so can you.

It is in this context that I find Shyam Kumari truly world class. She exhibits infectious belief in her calling, sets standards, dares young people to dream big and then develop the skill-sets needed to achieve impossible dreams. Join her!

Here is the original post:
Warrior chronicler of the country's bravehearts - The Tribune

TransUnion unveils research assessing pandemics consumer finances impact; launches new consumer educational hub to help

CHICAGO, March 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Six in 10 Americans (59%) said their household income has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic an increase of 53% from those who reported impact the previous week. An additional 10% of U.S. adults said they expect their household income will suffer in the future. The newly released research from TransUnion (TRU) found that consumers from the youngest generations, as well as those persons least informed about their credit, perceive the greatest financial hardship.

TransUnion has initiated a survey of adults in the U.S. and abroad to better understand the financial impact of COVID-19 on consumers. This weeks U.S. survey of more than 3,100 adults marked the second in the ongoing research. Additional details as well as resources for consumers looking to minimize the potential negative impact of the pandemic on their credit, and access to self-serve, educational materials can be found on TransUnions COVID-19 website.

Whether its their health, financial well-being or changes in day-to-day living, the lives of tens of millions of people in the U.S. and abroad have been dramatically changed, said Amy Thomann, head of consumer credit education for TransUnion. The aim of our weekly consumer research is to better understand the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and better inform consumers, businesses and government decisions during these unprecedented times.

TransUnions research found that the youngest generations, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, were most impacted financially by the COVID-19 pandemic. While 59% of Americans said their household income was negatively affected by the virus, the percentages were more pronounced for Millennials (68%) and Gen Z (63%).

Furthermore, the research found that Millennials (79%) and Gen Z (74%) were among the most concerned about their ability to pay bills and loans in the next month. This compared to 70% for all respondents and 53% for Baby Boomers.

The concern is growing; survey responders indicated an inability in the near future to pay bills and loans averaging $1,031 a 14% increase from last weeks average of $903. Much of the payment problems are likely due to the fact that 36% of respondents said their work hours have been reduced. Comparatively, last week 45% of respondents said their work hours were reduced. However, this improvement is marred by the fact that this week 16% of respondents said they lost their job compared to 9% last week.

The survey also impressed upon the need for further consumer education in relation to financial options. Of those survey respondents struggling to pay bills, nearly one quarter of the population dont know what they could do to address the situation. This level of uncertainty increased to 41% among consumers that do not know their credit scores. Of those consumers who do not know their credit scores, 80% have not contacted their lenders to discuss options, versus 63% for the overall population.

Consumers are facing many unexpected challenges and its natural that people are concerned about their finances. It is clear that those with the least knowledge about their financial situation or means to act have been the hardest hit. We encourage consumers looking to minimize potential negative impacts of the pandemic on their credit to visit TransUnions COVID-19 website, concluded Thomann.

TransUnions research and credit education tools will be updated in real-time on its COVID-19 website as the company continues to support consumers and businesses from around the globe.

About TransUnion (TRU)

TransUnion is a global information and insights company that makes trust possible in the modern economy. We do this by providing a comprehensive picture of each person so they can be reliably and safely represented in the marketplace. As a result, businesses and consumers can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good.

A leading presence in more than 30 countries across five continents, TransUnion provides solutions that help create economic opportunity, great experiences and personal empowerment for hundreds of millions of people.

Story continues

http://www.transunion.com/business

Contact Dave Blumberg TransUnion

E-mail david.blumberg@transunion.com

Telephone 312-972-6646

Here is the original post:
Nearly 60% of Americans Say Household Income Negatively Impacted by COVID-19 - Yahoo Finance

Every month, subscription streaming services add a new batch of titles to their libraries. Here are our picks for April.

For more recommendations on what to stream, sign up for our twice-weekly Watching newsletter here.

Chances are you have a lot more time at home to stream TV and movies at the moment. Maybe youve been checking out some of our recommendations of old favorites, but there is also a batch of great new titles hitting streaming services in April. Heres our pick of the best new stuff, plus a roundup of all the best new titles in all genres. (Streaming services occasionally change schedules without giving notice.)

Brews Brothers

Starts streaming: April 10

Looking to escape with something silly and irreverent? This new slacker comedy comes from the creative team of the brothers Jeff (The League) and Greg Schaffer, who one would hope get on along better than the two fictional Rodman brothers, who run a struggling brewery together. Brews Brothers has some real Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia energy a surprising number of bodily fluids and dildos become involved in their chaotic beer-making process. You can occasionally tell that this is a show about millennials not made by millennials (craft beer is my generations Pinkberry a brewery employee at one point says), but the brothers ragtag group of co-workers is entertaining. And, they have a really cute dog.

The Innocence Files

Starts streaming: April 15

Were the court of last resort, Peter Neufeld, a co-founder of the Innocence Project, which works to exonerate wrongfully convicted Americans, explains in the opening minutes of this nine-part documentary. The Innocence Project can only take on about 1 percent of the cases they receive letters about, and this series breaks down how the American justice system fails people into three parts: the evidence, the witness and the prosecution. Episodes are directed by the Academy Award winners Roger Ross Williams (Life, Animated) and Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side). This series is not a light watch, but it is thorough, damningly revealing how easy it is to be wrongfully put on death row.

Too Hot to Handle

Starts streaming: April 17

If you were disappointed that Netflixs Love Is Blind premiered a couple of weeks before we all headed into coronavirus isolation, have I got some good news for you. Too Hot to Handle is yet another outrageous dating experiment from the streaming giant: Here, we are investigating whether deeper and more meaningful connections will form when sex is banned. In order to create as much unscientific drama as possible, the show is set in a beachside villa populated by the hottest, horniest, commitment-phobic swipesters (if this sounds like Love Island, youre not far-off who are then told that they cant have sex by a digital personal assistant called Lana. Amounts are deducted from the prize money every time there is sexual contact between contestants, and my guess is at this point in this description, you know whether youll be watching or not.

Never Have I Ever

Starts streaming: April 27

Mindy Kaling drew on her teenage years in California to create this half-hour coming-of-age show. We meet Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), a first-generation Indian-American, at the beginning of her sophomore year in high school. Shes determined to get her and her besties boyfriends, but the rest of the school is more interested in the fact that shes out of the wheelchair shed been using since a mystery paralysis took hold after her dad died of a heart attack. Devi is having a tough time, and Never Have I Ever grounds her struggles in sessions with her therapist (a wonderful Niecy Nash) and knowing narration from John McEnroe yep, the tennis player as well as moments of awkward teenage hilarity. Never Have I Ever is a show that respects the complexity of teenagers feelings, and its refreshing to see an actual teenager, Ramakrishnan, play the lead, and do it so well.

Also arriving:

April 1

David Batra: Elefanten I Rummet

How to Fix a Drug Scandal

The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show

Nailed It! Season 4

Lethal Weapon

Taxi Driver

The Death of Stalin

The Matrix Trilogy

April 7

Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020: Part 3

Tales From the Loop

Starts streaming: April 3

This beautiful new sci-fi series created by Nathaniel Halpern (Legion) is based on the paintings of the Swedish artist Simon Stalenhag, which features scenes of giant robots stalking across rural landscapes. Tales From the Loop borrows his eerie aesthetic: The people of Mercer, Ohio, do live alongside robots, but the real threats seem to come from the underground, where people work on a mysterious machine called the Loop that messes with all sorts of rules we take for granted gravity and linear time, to name just two. In Mercer, when a kid says an abandoned house is haunted, he means bricks are flying up into the sky from the chimney. Each hourlong episode tells a different story of how the Loop affects the Mercer community, thoughtfully grappling with big, ethical and emotional questions along the way.

Les Misrables

Starts streaming: April 10

This is not Victor Hugos Les Misrables, its Ladj Lys. The French director does set his film in the Parisian suburb of Montfermeil, also a setting of Hugos book, where Ly grew up and still lives. In this Montfermeil, however, we watch tensions between police and residents escalate into outright warfare. The film opens in 2018, just after France wins the World Cup, as Stphane (Damien Bonnard) joins the police force working in Montfermeil. As the 1995 drama La Haine attests, violence has long been a feature of certain Parisian suburbs, where immigrants and their children forced out of the city discover that the better lives they hoped for in France is hard to come by. The film offers an urgent depiction of modern-day French injustice and racism; by the end, its clear that the films title refers to everyone involved.

Also arriving:

April 3

Invisible Life

April 17

Bosch Season 6

Selah and the Spades

Run

Starts streaming: April 12

The glorious Merritt Wever is Ruby, a married woman in her 30s who has a longstanding pact with her college boyfriend: when he texts her RUN, she replies the same, drives to the airport, gets on a plane to New York, heads to Grand Central and boards an overnight train to Chicago, where she finds said ex, Billy (Domhnall Gleeson). But this is not a neat romantic comedy in which deciding to be together is the end of the story. The pairs desire, fear and longing threaten to burst right out of the train carriages, and they are guarded, unsure if they can trust each other with why they were both so quick to leave their lives behind. This tense half-hour comedy feels a lot like a play, which makes sense its creator, Vicky Jones, has a background in theater production and writing. She also worked with Phoebe Waller-Bridge on Fleabag and Killing Eve, and Run has some of those shows dark humor and dense emotion.

Were Here

Starts streaming: April 23

On this tear-jerker, three of the most charismatic queens from the RuPauls Drag Race franchise Bob the Drag Queen, Shangela and Eureka travel the country transforming small-town residents into drag queens for one-off performances of their own. Were Here owes a big debt to both Drag Race and Queer Eye, and at times it can feel like its working hard to show bigoted locals interacting with the queens. But the transformees personal stories of discrimination, loneliness and empowerment are genuinely moving, and the producers dont shy away from exploring the complexity of being queer in America.

Also arriving:

April 1

Die Hard

The Kids Are All Right

Slumdog Millionaire

April 12

Insecure Season 4

April 25

Bad Education

April 27

I Know This Much Is True

Defending Jacob

Starts streaming: April 24

Apple adds some more A-list muscle to its streaming library with this tense mini-series: Chris Evans and Michelle Dockery star as wealthy Bostonians whose 14-year-old son, Jacob, is accused of murdering a classmate. The eight episodes are suffused with dark blues and grays as the familys merry, comfortable life unspools and long-held secrets start coming out. It turns out Evanss Andy has been battling darkness his whole life, but its all new to Dockerys Laurie, and the pairs differing reactions to a parents worst nightmare are delicately portrayed. J.K. Simmons guest-stars and is, as always, a scene-stealer.

Also arriving:

April 3

Home Before Dark

Risky Business

Starts streaming: April 1

Watching this comedy feels like opening a time capsule and being transported back to 1983, when Tom Cruise was a fresh-faced newcomer and coming-of-age movies centered on rich, peacocking white boys. Written and directed by Paul Brickman, Cruise plays Joel, a teenager whos not as academically successful as his friends, nor as successful with women. When his parents go on holiday, one of said friends convinces him to take a what the [expletive] approach to life and hire a sex worker for the night. Cue ensuing chaos. Risky Business holds up surprisingly well, with a great soundtrack and some standout, stylish moments.

Also arriving:

April 1

Bend It Like Beckham

Blazing Saddles

April 8

Parasite

April 9

Little Joe

April 16

What We Do in the Shadows Season 2

April 29

Normal People

Excerpt from:
The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming to Netflix, Amazon and More in April - The New York Times

The new executive committee has already overcome its first hurdle, with plans for the relaunch placed on hold in wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Vasi said they had instead relied on social media and the press to announce that the Port Elizabeth branch was up and running once more.

She was also excited about her committee and the number of personal sacrifices they had already made to make the relaunch possible.

In a media statement sent out earlier this week, the association said: It is our goal to enter into strategic business partnerships with sponsors, other non-profit organisations, leading companies and business schools, to deliver on the mandate to provide ongoing events and opportunities to advance the interests and needs of women in business.

The 2017 Port Elizabeth BWA emerging entrepreneur winner, Kelly Ferreira, said she was pleased to read about the announcement of a new PE BWA executive committee.

I wish the committee all of the best going forward, and hope that the PE branch is afforded the transparent management and leadership from the BWA head office that it so richly deserves, Ferreira said.

Last year, the Port Elizabeth branch announced its decision to close due to a breakdown in communication with the head office of Bwasa, suspected financial irregularities, a failure by the head office to provide full transparency in respect of the financial status of Bwasa and an alleged lack of strategic direction.

Former chair Heather Dutton said at the time that the decision to dissolve the BWA in Port Elizabeth had not been taken lightly.

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Pastor Kelvin Sauls (Courtesy photo)

No one, having put their hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kin-dom of God. Luke 9:62

During my time in devotion and meditation the last couple of days, and in the midst of people not being able to worship together in sanctuaries, the conversation that Jesus had with the Samaritan woman in John 4 entered my spirit.

The impact of COVID-19 continues to be shocking and sobering in its impact on EVERY aspect of our lives. Caused by a detour, this encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman reveals two characteristics of Jesus character and leadership: human rights activist and evangelist in realizing Gods kin-dom. On the subject of where and how to worship in John 4:21- 24, Jesus redefines worship as not just the coming together in a particular sanctified place, but as sanctified persons coming together with God in spirit and truth. Hence, the church at worship is not limited to a place somewhere.

Followers of Jesus Christ at worship are a liberatory experience with Gods presence everywhere! Such worship is liberatory, not because of its liturgical nature, but because of its incarnational nature. Incarnation infected by Spirit and guided by Truth! While worship doesnt have to be a test in endurance of boredom, it doesnt have to be a spirited infusion of shallow entertainment. Truth be told!!

John records part of this encounter-by-detour in chapter 4:23-24 as follows, But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship God in spirit and truth, for such is the worship that God seeks. God is spirit, and those who worship God must worship in spirit and truth.

Hence, as followers of Jesus, and not fans of denominations, congregations or pastors, being the church at worship invites an updated understanding of what it means to be the church at worship.

Moreover, it instructs us into upgraded ways of being the Church at worship:

-If you need to shelter in place, you might as well worship in place, beginning with personal worship. The significance of familial and public worship depends on the quality of your personal worship

-In addition to doing worship differently, review, reposition and relaunch your personal spiritual disciplines with friends, family and technology, e.g. prayer, meditation, Bible study, journaling, etc.

-Utilizing technology, unleash your creativity by turning your worship service into worship through service by way of acts in compassion towards humanity and all of creation.

Followers of Jesus Christ at worship is a liberatory experience with Gods presence everywhere! Divine presence characterized by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit as described throughout the Acts of the Apostles:

-celebration of peoples humanity and dignity through the power of visibility

-celebration of multi-racial, multi-lingual and multi-generational inclusion

-celebration of incarnational worship in place, reaching beyond the walls of your home

-celebration of equality and equity within community as integral to your spirituality

The Holy Spirit, not dogma or ideology or denomination, is the great equalizer! Hence, such experience can be liberatory worship, because you have direct access to your Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.

Followers of Jesus Christ at worship is a liberatory experience with Gods presence everywhere! Liberatory divine presence is also characterized by the pursuit, practice and promotion of truth. Its said that the first casualty of war is truth. If were at war with COVID-19 , then this saying is correct.

With the daily mass denial and mass deception emanating from the White House, we have no choice but to declare President Trump as a weapon of mass distraction and destruction! Truth facilitates freedom and empowerment, hope and constructive engagement. (John 8:32). Truth enhances trust and advances unity. Optimism informed by ignorance and arrogance is an ally to COVID-19 and will result in mass destruction.

Worship in place, re-learn, re-kindle and reset your direct connection with God. For such a time as this, youll realize resurrection EVERYDAY. In the words of that great hymn:

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me and talks with me along lifes narrow way (impacted by COVID-19)

He lives, He lives, Salvation to impart!

You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.

Your daily access to Gods resurrection power will make your worship in place liberatory! People will be blessed! Lives will be saved! COVID-19 will be conquered! God will be glorified!

So, if you miss coming together in a sanctuary at some address, turn your address into a sanctuary, create an altar in your home and get together for worship with family and friends in person or online. Your familial and virtual community will grow in quantity & quality, substance and significance. For such times as these, Jesus redefines worship as not just coming together in a particular sanctified place, but as sanctified persons coming together with God in spirit and truth.

Could this also be what Joshua meant when he declared, As for me and my house, we will worship and serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15). Be safe in your activities! Stay well in your engagements! Be intentional in your advocacy! Serve extravagantly in your endeavors!

Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, Pastor Kelvin Sauls is the former Senior Pastor of Holman UMC. A faith-rooted Community Organizer in the areas of social justice and racial equity, he currently serves as the Network Strategist with Community Health Councils, a City Commissioner with the Los Angeles Housing Authority (LAHSA) and on the Pastoral Team at Peace Chapel Church in South Los Angeles.

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From Shelter-in-Place to Worship-in-Place - Lasentinel

This month Avon philanthropy efforts include donations of personal care products to the U.S. anti-hunger organization topping $2 million.

NEW YORK, March 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the harshest realities of COVID-19 and the necessity of the social distancing that tragically shutters numerous businesses and puts countless people out of work is a family's sudden inability to access essential supplies and to afford them even if they can.

Avon's partner, Feed the Children, works closely with community partners like schools, civic organizations and food banks to serve the most vulnerable populations and others who may be experiencing difficulty due to a job loss in this uncertain environment. Feed the Children has alerted Avon to the most pressing needs of the most affected communities so it can send vital resources to help keep these families afloat.

This month, Avon donated $2 million worth of personal care products such as soap, body wash and skincare products to Feed the Children to support these families in need during this unprecedented time.

"Avon is proud to have partnered with Feed the Children since 2004," says Avon CEO Paul Yi. "Because of our longstanding relationship, it made sense to work with Feed the Children for their COVID-19 relief efforts. They work diligently to get our products to the people who need them most."

Over the last sixteen years, Avon has donated over 15,000,000 pounds of personal care and beauty products, clothing, shoes and home essentials to Feed the Children for distribution to families in need. In the last six months alone, Avon donations totaled over $40 million worth of necessities, bringing relief to nearly a million families including 3.5 million women and girls in 48 states and the District of Columbia, many of whom have shared their stories of improved self-confidence and empowerment as a result of their Feed the Children x Avon deliveries.

ABOUT NEW AVON COMPANY New Avon, ("New Avon Company") is the leading social selling beauty company in North America, with independent sales Representatives throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. Avon's portfolio includes award-winning skincare, color cosmetics, fragrance, personal care, and health and wellness products featuring brands such as ANEW, Skin So Soft, CHI, and The Face Shop, as well as fashion and accessories. Avon has a 134-year history of empowering women through economic opportunity, and supporting the causes that matter most to women. Avon philanthropy has contributed over $1 billion globally toward eradicating breast cancer and domestic violence. Learn more about New Avon and its products at http://www.avon.com.

About Feed the Children At Feed the Children, we feed hungry kids. We envision a world where no child goes to bed hungry. In the U.S. and internationally, we are dedicated to helping families and communities achieve stable lives and to reducing the need for help tomorrow, while providing food and resources to help them today. We distribute product donations from corporate donors to local community partners, we provide support for teachers and students, and we mobilize resources quickly to aid recovery efforts when natural disasters strike. Internationally, we manage child-focused community development programs in 10 countries. We welcome partnerships because we know our work would not be possible without collaborative relationships. For more information, visit feedthechildren.org.

For more information, please contact Lauren Donner, Vice President, Tractenberg & Co. ldonner@Tractenberg.com, 212-929-7979 and Susan Small, Public Relations Manager, Avon susan.small@avonusa.com, 212-282-6066

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Meet the changemakers.

This Air Max season, Nike Sportswear champions inclusivity in the ever-evolving sneaker culture. Nike has tapped singer-songwriter KLPfor an interview series amplifying the voices of female changemakers who are shaping the future of sneaker culture. The following interview and words are written by KLP.

Sometimes you meet someone who shines such a bright light of positivity, it genuinely inspires you. That was me the moment I met Nawal Sari. She has such a passion for spreading self-empowerment, creativity and cultural awareness. And she does so with such grace, through sharing her own honest experiences with her followers. Having the opportunity to sit down with her and chat so openly about her upbringing, her inspirations and motivations was a moment that Ill carry through life with me.

KLP: Its so nice to meet you, Nawal. How do you describe yourself and what you stand for when you first meet people?

Nawal Sari: It feels like, for me, Im just doing my own thing in my own little bubble. But to put it into words, Im redefining modest fashion by using my platform to show other women Muslim women and every girl that modest fashion is there, and its personal and creative.

Im working on my platforms to basically push that message and inspire other girls, because I never had that growing up as this young Aussie girl. I didnt have a Muslim girl on social media, or in the media, that I could look to and be like, I want to be like her or theres a space for me. Im just on my own little mission to work to change things in my own way.

KLP: I wasnt aware of what modest fashion was. I didnt even know that it was a term to describe a type of fashion. How do you describe modest fashion?

NS: First of all, its very personal. To me, modest fashion is wearing the hijab, having longer pieces that are not as tight. To some other girls its wearing more of a turban-style hijab and doing their own type of thing. So its very, very personal. What Im trying to do is show that modest fashion is present. Its there, its in the world, people need to recognise it and take it for what it is; but its also very empowering for women.

KLP: Its your choice to dress like that and I guess youre trying to say that its up to you and the individual how they want to dress.

NS: Yeah, just as any woman should have the option to dress how she wants, the same applies. I choose to cover, you may choose to do something else. Its totally up to you, its personal, and women should have the right to dress how they want to dress and not feel like they have to conform to something because it makes someone else uncomfortable.

KLP: When you were growing up, did you have anyone that you could see that was visible that you could look up to, be it in fashion or TV?

NS: I wore the hijab when I was 15 or 16, it was in year 10. And at the time, I wasnt looking up to hijabi women. It wasnt until I got onto social media and I saw in the UK and the US that they have hijabi bloggers. I didnt think that was a thing, because I just saw the typical Aussie look for so long. And that appeals to some women, but to a lot of us it doesnt. So I kind of thought there wasnt a space for me in fashion, being a Muslim woman who also wears the hijab.

KLP: This Air Max season, Nike is championing inclusivity in sneaker culture through the likes of Air Max Verona, the new silhouette created by women, for women. Youve spoken about that at length, and youre an inspiration for so many people, how does it feel being a muse in fashion to your followers?

NS: Its crazy. I feel like I just fell into it, I never strived to be like, Im going to inspire women. I would get feedback from women who were like, because of you, I decided to wear the hijab or because of you, I dress more creatively or more personally. Thats amazing, thats what Im here to do.

Before anything I would tell myself, if Im going to put myself on a platform where I have a voice and I have that power, its going to be for something. Im not just going to be there to benefit myself, its going to help other people.

Im still studying, Im still doing my own thing, but I do see it as a career now.

KLP: You have such a strong message and its so genuine. And I guess through social media, you can connect with people all over the world which is amazing. Has there ever been an experience where someone has hit you up directly and said your sense of style has changed the way they think about modest fashion?

NS: Ive had a lot more recently, when Ive been exposed to more mainstream media, where Ive had non-Muslim women come to me and say, because of you, Ive changed my perspective of it all. Im way more open to [modest dressing] now, I see that its empowering.

My mission is to help my own first, of course I want Muslim women to feel the power. But to think that any woman can be more inclusive towards my community, and that when they see a Muslim woman walk down the road, that woman wont be alienated or treated differently because I helped a person unpack [their perceptions], its just another amazing thing that could happen from the whole thing.

KLP: So, do you believe that youve created a catalyst for change among your followers?

NS: I feel like Ive created a space where, if you follow me and you decide to be a part of the community then for sure, its changing things. To think that a Muslim woman can feel like the hijab isnt going to change her whole life and be a thing of I have to chuck out all my fun clothes and do all these things because I think a lot of Muslim women, we thought that. Like, We have to change who we are to be a woman who wears the hijab.

I feel like Im trying to show girls that its a big step, its powerful, its personal. But it can also be creative and fun, and you dont have to totally flip things upside down so you can wear the hijab.

But sneaker culture for me was how I developed my own personal style, because streetwear and sneakers, its a lot more modest than other style spaces. When I finished high school, I was actually working at a sneaker store when I discovered street culture. Its modest and its also really sick, so I can do both and still respect what Im doing. So thats kind of how I developed into my own personal style.

And I think for a lot of Muslim women, street culture and sneakers and everything around sportswear is kind of its like their safe space. Because no ones going to judge you if you walk around in a modest outfit, but its a full-on Nike kit, because its sick. But youre also comfortable and youre wearing whatever you want. So its also how Ive pushed into my own style.

KLP: Okay so last question, why is sportswear and sneaker culture important to you?

NS: Its how I developed my own style. Its how I connected my personality plus modest fashion into what I wear. When I was in high school, I remember feeling like I had to dress a certain way, which is how other hijabis dressed. Which is fine for some, but for me I didnt feel like it was personal enough. So being able to step into the sportswear world, it was not totally foreign because youre wearing longer pieces, looser pieces. I think for a lot of women, thats been really empowering. And now we have the Nike Hijab which has totally changed the game.

KLP: How did you feel when you saw that?NS: I was so happy! I wear it as more of a fashion piece, like I wear it with a hoodie on top or with just like a really cute outfit. And you can do that, theres versatility to it.

Shop the Air Max Verona here and read others in our Shaping Culture series here.

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Shaping Culture: Nawal Sari on the intersection of modest fashion and sneakers - Fashion Journal