It feels awkward to publish content about bicycling and streets when so many people are hurting and struggling under the weight of current events especially when those events seem (at first glance) to have nothing to do with transportation.

But look beyond the surface of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the woman who called 911 on Christian Cooper in Central Park this week and it becomes clear that these situations are about something we talk about on here all the time: Safe access to public space.

In the past few weeks BikePortland has been all about public space, providing a platform for discussion of open streets and boosting signals of people calling for more of them. Weve mentioned equity and racism here and there. Today though, those ideas merit more than a mention.

If the murder of George Floyd and the racist phone call from Amy Cooper were isolated incidents, wed all feel much different at this moment. But the pattern is so sadly familiar that its an inescapable truth that everyone who cares about bicycling, transit, open streets or whatever your transportation activism persuasion is must not only learn and absorb whats happening right now, we must allow it to re-wire our brains and alter our consciousnesses in a way that prevents us from being hosts for the parasite of racism ever again.

It would be easy for me to not post anything about this. It would be easy for us to keep talking about bike infrastructure and bike fun culture (I had planned a post about Pedalpalooza today but a celebratory tone didnt feel right) without facing these issues head-on. But the rising tide of overt racism in America is not only reason for us to acknowledge its role in transportation activism, its a clarion call for us to be more aggressive and proactive about confronting it and tearing it down.

What does this look like? I dont know yet. One thing Ive learned about complex issues like racism is that not knowing how to fix it, isnt a justifiable reason to avoid trying. Another thing Ive learned is how to follow and absorb thoughts and ideas from people like Tamika Butler. In her latest post, Stop Killing Us, she shares five vital questions for white people who want to help: Do I understand that not being racist isnt the same as being anti-racist? Why am I so afraid to be brave enough to confront my power and privilege? What am I waiting for to decenter whiteness and realize just because I have never experienced it (or seen the research to prove it) doesnt mean it isnt real? What am I doing every single day to force myself to think about racism and white supremacy? What am I doing every single day to stop the killing of black people?

Understanding racism and its intersection with biking and mobility isnt my strongest area of expertise (even though I have had some deeply personal experiences with it that have changed me forever). Thats why I dont post about very often. Its easy to stick to things Im comfortable with. But the idea of staying comfortable has been gnawing at me as I watch my news and social media feeds erupt with pain, indignation, and hard truths about the country I live in.

After Donald Trump was elected in November 2016, many people were very afraid of what his rise in power would mean for their lives. We know now that people who dont live or look like me a white, cis-gendered man from a stable, middle-income family had very good reason to be afraid. After the election I shared a message on Twitter that if you have the privilege of being unafraid; you have the responsibility to do fearless work.

Im sad and sick about Americas racist treatment of black and brown people. Im aware of how privileged I am to be unafraid in this moment. Im resolved to use this platform to help those who need it most but are least able or likely to use it.

I see the pain many are going through because of the brutal deaths of black and brown Americans and the daily impacts systemic racism has on public health. It wont be ignored here. I promise to be even more vigilant and vocal about how racism influences our debates around streets, mobility and and public space. I hope youll join me, because the hard work of making a community more open and tolerant can only happen if we support each other.

Below is a series of quotes pulled together for a project called Seeing & Believing Bike Equity that was created by Adonia Lugo for the League of American Bicyclists back in 2014. We first shared these quotes when we were reeling from the killing of another unarmed black man named Michael Brown on a street in Ferguson, Missouri. I think (sadly) they remain very relevant today.

Read the quotes, or scroll through the slides via the PDF below

The policing of communities of color has always had a large impact on how we get around our communities. Miguel Ramos

Some of us believe in the free and safe movement of bodies in the environments that they occupy whether it be cycling or other transportation. I am constantly reminded of that when a Black mother tells me: Every time he goes through my door I pray there isnt something out there that wont let him come back. Hamzat Sani

Cars convey power and thats something people (cops included) respect. Ira Woodward

If residents dont feel safe in a neighborhood in general, how can we possibly encourage them to be more exposed in that neighborhood by biking and walking more? Matthew Palm

What people can learn is to first question what solidarity means to them and is it the same as how people of color see solidarity? What types of actions manifest as a way to address these systemic issues? And relate it to how they can have these conversations in their own communities. Im not sure if bikes can play a vital role for every city, but I see the bike as a symbol of autonomy and self-awareness, something that many people that are privileged do not understand. Miguel Ramos

By allowing communities to self-determine safety issues, we can then prioritize how we move forward and start to frame a message of bikes as being one factor that addresses safety in a community. We must show our solidarity for safe streets and how that is a different experience for each community, and most importantly building that trust and relationship to continue to follow-up with the overall needs of a community. Miguel Ramos

Its important for our profession to hear that people of color in the US have good reasons to fear being physically unprotected in our public right-of-way, and to hear that there may be pretty fucking good reasons that people of color feel biking/walking projects should have lower priority than, say, police brutality. Jessica Roberts

I dont think we can separate the bicycles from the bodies that ride them. Some of us have bodies that are perceived as inherently more political than others. I was thinking about that as the photos from Ferguson rolled in. There were lots of pictures of young Black men, and I thought: Wow, those guys riding down the street would get a totally different response than I do.' Michelle Swanson

Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org Get our headlines delivered to your inbox. Support this independent community media outlet with a one-time contribution or monthly subscription.

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Thoughts on racism, public space, and transportation activism - BikePortland.org

The Great is now streaming on Hulu. (Photo via YouTube)

Hulus new satirical drama series The Great constantly skates fine lines, balancing extreme ridiculousness and irreparable violence and begging you to both love and hate it. Created by Tony McNamara, the series displays the occasionally true story of Catherine the Greats rise to power in 18th-century Russia.

I decided I liked The Great right after watching the first episode, which cant be said of all well-loved TV series. How many times has someone said to you, Just get past the first few episodes? But The Great won me over immediately, despite the fact that my attention span has been reduced to the length of a TikTok these days.

The plot is loosely built around Catherine the Greats coup against her husband, then-Emperor Peter III, who, historically, was a pretty bad leader. Months after Peter III took the throne, Catherine who was more progressive than Peter deposed him, ultimately becoming the longest-ruling female leader Russia has ever seen.

[Read more: Review: Netflixs Have a Good Trip provides a weak buzz at best]

In her first TV lead, Elle Fanning charms as 19-year-old Catherine, and shes easy to root for. Her subtle yet intelligent lines make the show feel relevant and modern. Equally as charming, Nicholas Hoults portrayal of Peter makes you hope the coup doesnt happen too quickly in the show.

Peters character could have easily been based purely in satire and at first, it largely is but Hoult gives the role a certain complexity and helps to prevent the 10 episodes from feeling repetitive.

There are moments you forget about The Greats satirical nature. Youre waiting for the show to take it too far, and in some scenes its only moments away from irredeemably tipping the scale of comedy and absurdity to violence and disgust such as when Peter finds out Catherine plans to teach women to read and decides to punish her for it. But, it never spills over the edges too far in favor of one or the other.

As the show skates between modernity and historical accuracy, its hard to ignore the questions of diversity. Though The Great seems to largely ignore the structures of race and sexuality of the time in terms of casting, there are few people of color in the shows producing and directing roles, which is disappointing considering Hulu was given a Best Workplaces award for diversity in 2019.

[Read more: Twenty hopeful students will compete to find love on UMDisblind]

Beyond the plot, The Great also shines in its set and costume design. 18th-century Russia holds a distinct elegance in my mind, thanks to watching Anastasia as a kid. The Great doesnt shy away from using vivid pinks, blues and yellows to create a comparably elegant backdrop for an occasionally bloody plot.

The shows humor is, at times, too obvious, and other times, subtly brilliant. For every moment you roll your eyes, theres another to make you want to rewatch a scene just to hear the joke. In the first episode, Catherines servant is questioning why she thinks shes destined for greatness, asking Why did He make you a woman, then? Fanning replies, For comedy, I guess.

Theres a certain self-awareness to the show it doesnt take itself too seriously. But beyond the pink wigs, exaggerated actions, murder plots, love triangles and backstabbing tea sessions, there is something to be learned and inspired from Catherines confidence and leadership. At times, the writing takes you outside yourself, and both Fanning and Hoult deliver the words in a way that pulls you in.

And Ill admit, there is something satisfying about watching Catherine plot to oust someone who represents all the bad traits a leader could possibly have especially because you know shell be successful.

View post:
Review: Hulu's 'The Great' begs you to love and hate it, but mostly love - The Diamondback

The SSC Venture Partners, a venture fund and accelerator for student startups in the Boston area, will fund and mentor four BC student and alumni companies through its 2020 Summer Accelerator program, as well as one company from two Pine Manor College students. The selection for this years program includes startups in investing, clinical analysis, food delivery, charcuterie, and retail. The Accelerator program will be working with the founders of the five startups over the course of the summer to help them develop their businesses.

SSC was co-founded in 2017 by Miguel Galvez, BC 12; Peter Bell, BC 86; and Tom Coburn, BC 13, and is designed to offer students funding and mentorship, on-campus workshops, and an alumni support network, according to the SSC website. SSCs partners and mentors are volunteers who have all founded their own companies,

We invest in the best companies founded by BC alumni whilst enabling the BC community to found and grow businesses well all be proud of, the website reads.

This years startups include Kured, Markitplace, Aventure, Prism, and Collectors.

Kured, founded by Gillian Rozynek, BC 20, is a U.S.-based gift-giving business specializing in charcuterie arrangements, according to the SSC website.

Im really excited to gain exposure to that really valuable network of mentors, said Rozynek. I think [they] can give me really extremely valuable advice and guide me in ways that I might not be able to see by just trying to launch the business independently.

Markitplace, founded by Robert Harrington, BC 18, and Dan Brett, BC 18, is a platform that works with small and socially conscious businesses to provide food delivery services, according to the website. The business offers customers local meal kits and additional services that promote the brands of its partners, such as analytics and marketing.

Aventure works to clarify trading and financial literacy for millennial investors. The startup was co-founded by Shivansh Padhi, CSOM 21; Max Fisher, MCAS 22; and Maanas Peri, a rising sophomore from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Padhi said that SSCs managing director, Duncan Walker, BC 13, and the startups SSC mentors have been especially helpful with networking and guiding the startup in its early stages.

Prism Analytic Technologies was founded by Brendan Guerin, BC 20; Arushi Suri, a recent graduate of Boston University; and Spencer Hey, a graduate of the University of Illinois. Prism systematically reviews clinical trials and offers analysts with empirical analyses of disease areas, according to the SSC website.

Collectors was founded by two Pine Manor College students, Obinna Ojimba and Eugene Everette, and provides a platform for sneaker-heads and social media devotees to collaborate to produce limited-edition sneakers and high-end clothing, the SSC website reads.

After a competitive selection process, this years startups were chosen because they exhibit the characteristics that are needed to overcome challenges associated with founding a company, Walker said in an email to The Heights.

We look for initiative, adaptability, resilience, and self-awareness. These are indicators of resourcefulness, coachability, and a never quit attitude, Walker said in the email. Every year, BC produces high-quality startups and its the SSCs job to help them have the highest chance of success.

The SSC also works closely with the Edmund H. Shea Jr. Center for Entrepreneurship to further connect with BC students.

Were already in discussions with the Shea Center for further collaboration on the Summer Accelerator in 2021 and I look forward to continuing to do my part, returning as BCs Entrepreneur-in-residence in the Fall semester, Walker said in the email.

Although the SSC program is not slated to officially commence until Monday, mentors have already begun collaborating with their mentee student founders.

Walker said he hopes the Accelerator program will advance the BC startups and help the students involved develop valuable skills.

The 2020 cohort reminds me of many companies who have gone on from BC to build incredibly successful businesses so I cant wait to see what they achieve this summer and beyond! Walker said in the email.

Featured Image by Maggie DiPatri / Heights Editor

Excerpt from:
Four BC Student And Alumni Companies To Be Funded By SSC Venture Partners The Heights - The Heights

Christina Seelye, John Polson, and Harry Hamer share what they want to see from developers in pitch meetings

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"How do I successfully pitch my game for funding?" is an understandably popular question, and one we've covered from multiple angles over time across various talks and articles.

There's Chris Charla's tips specifically for pitching to ID@Xbox, TinyBuild's Alex Nichiporchik's advice to indie developers pitching games to anyone from investors to their cats, and Guha Bala's recommendations for what he'd like to see in pitches at an event like PAX East.

Yesterday, at the GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit, we heard another round of distinct yet compatible advice from three expert panelists in the aptly-titled How to pitch your game panel. If you want to watch the full session, it's been archived here, and embedded at the end of this article, in which we'll cover the highlights of the advice given.

Here are the most important tips for pitching your game to investors from Humble Bundle portfolio director John Polson, Modus Games CEO Christina Seelye, and London Venture Partners analyst Harry Hamer.

With LVP, Hamer noted that its focus was more on investing in companies rather than individual products. For that reason, he said, it's important to show up to a pitch meeting with a strong sense of why you're the best person to do what you say you want to do.

"If you're willing to explain why you're the best person for that job, we'll have more confidence in your idea"

Harry Hamer, London Venture Partners

"Being a founder can be extremely rewarding, and there's an opportunity to affect millions of lives with your games, but at the same time, it's really stressful," he said. "And the expected probability is that you'll fail with your startup. But if you're willing to make that bet and explain why you're the best person for that job, we'll have more confidence in your idea.

"The caveat to that, as VC investors, is: is there an opportunity to return our fund with an investment into your company? With most companies at the early stage failing, we need the winners, and we need your company to return the money we invested into companies that fail."

Both Polson and Seelye had a slightly different perspective, as Modus and Humble fund on the project level rather than the company level, but agreed that having a strong sense of purpose and a clear focus was key.

"[We need to see] how your game's going to stand out in a super-crowded market," Polson said. "Creativity and innovation, sure, but also an understanding and some kind of business acumen to show me that you understand where your game will be positioned in the market X years from now when it launches."

Along with having a strong sense of purpose, the panelists said that it was important to approach pitch meetings with excitement and passion. But excitement alone doesn't sell it -- you also need to make sure your pitch has a clear hook that can grab an audience quickly and get them on your side.

"We want to feel the time slip away while we're talking to you and keep wondering whether we'll ever meet you again"

Harry Hamer, London Venture Partners

"It's really important for us to see that not only does the studio has a real passion for the game itself, but that someone internally [with our company] has a passion for the game," Seelye said. "We're looking for that match of passion by someone internally who it really resonates with. There are a lot of games that are fun, but there are games that move you and you have an emotional reaction to for whatever reason -- because it's something interesting and new, or because the graphics are beautiful, or because the story is really compelling."

Hamer added that the idea is to get the person you're pitching to chase you after the meeting -- not the other way around.

"It's a clear and compelling pitch exposing a big opportunity in the sector that leaves us wanting more," he said. "There are elements of passion that come in, but it's more apt to compare it to...dating. I think it was Brad Feld, who's the co-author of Venture Deals, who talked about 'first date energy.' We want to feel the time slip away while we're talking to you and keep wondering whether we'll ever meet you again. It's FOMO, it's wanting, it's driving us to contact you rather than the other way around, and keep us wanting more."

Even though the three panelists represent companies funding different kinds of projects at different levels, all three agreed that in most cases, a vertical slice is not necessary at a pitch meeting.

"We're not necessarily looking for a full vertical slice," Polson said. "It could be something that's more a pre-alpha, prototype level, where we can at least experience and feel what the game is like to play at a basic level, experience a few core gameplay loops and maybe a progression loop. I'm not expecting to try every power-up or every mechanic that there is before we invest."

Seelye said Modus never requires a vertical slice either, as it's too far along in the development process for most of the games that it's funding.

"Stay away from any kind of character building in a pitch. We don't want to hear the backstories of all the NPCs"

Christina Seelye, Modus

"Our expectations for a vertical slice are pretty high, so we don't make anybody deliver that before we decide funding," she added. "We want the vertical slice to be very game-representative and, even if it's small, we want it to be pretty clean.

"It's an expensive proposal for a studio to get all the way to vertical slice without funding. We're more looking for prototype so we can get a feel for the game... And we usually do not fund prior to prototype."

Seelye said that she would consider pitches without prototypes in cases where a game is a sequel and she was already familiar with the studio's capabilities.

Along similar lines, the panel was in agreement that it's best to keep pitches concise, especially if you're running up against a time limit.

"Stay away from any kind of character building in a pitch," Seelye said. "We don't want to hear the backstories of all the different NPCs in your game. We don't need that level of detail. We do need: How long is the game going to be? If it's narrative-based, how many chapters, how many stories?

"And what is the key differentiator? What is the spark? All of us are looking at games all day, every week, so frame it up for us so we know what genre it's in, then tell us about the differentiators."

Polson added: "If you know your meeting is 30 minutes, don't plan a 30-minute pitch. It's a conversation we should have -- especially if you excite me, I'm going to have questions. Maybe plan at most half of the time being the pitch.

"If you know your meeting is 30 minutes, don't plan a 30-minute pitch"

John Polson, Humble Bundle

"The more time you have to actually talk with the person you're pitching to, the more chances you have to engage with them, to tailor it on the fly and figure out each other's needs and what it's going to be like to work together. We won't have any indication of our interactions if I spend the whole time watching your pitch and you spend it regurgitating."

Seelye also said that with COVID-19 relegating most pitch meetings to digital conference calls, it's vital to have a video strategy nailed down before the meeting occurs. Whether you're letting them watch your demo on their own computer, or doing a Discord stream where you talk over gameplay, make sure you know what you're doing beforehand and communicate it to the person you're pitching. And don't forget to send links beforehand.

Hamer emphasized that, especially as a person investing in companies rather than projects, it's extremely important that he gets to know the people pitching him, so he can gauge whether they have integrity and that he wants to work with them long-term.

"We're going to be with this company for a long time -- potentially eight to ten years, if you look at some of the data on exits -- and that means it can be longer than some marriages," he said. "Therefore, you've got to understand who the person you're investing into really is, and whether they're going to be with you through the lows as well as the highs."

Seelye added that getting to know the people behind the pitch was important even for project-level investments.

"The relationship that's established both during the pitch and during the negotiations, and before any agreement is signed, is really a key indicator of the success of the game," she said. "If the beginning part is rough and we have a hard time getting through a negotiation, the likelihood that game is going to be successful is low. Game development is very complex, and it's going to go sideways [in a lot of different ways] over the course of development, and we need to work together."

She added that it's also important for developers to be honest about not just what and who they have on their teams, but what and who they're lacking.

"What have you already identified that are going to be gaps in your existing team that you'll need help from us or someone else? It's super important for us to see that someone has the self-awareness to know what their team can and can't do in the beginning, because it helps us be more of a benefit to that team. If someone comes in and says they've got it covered... [but] they've only allowed two weeks for QA, then we can tell they don't have the self-awareness of what they can and can't do."

See more here:
Tips for pitching your game from the GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit - GamesIndustry.biz

May 29, 2020

Georgina Johnson has been busy over the last few years. Shelaunched her brand Laundry Service in 2016 which built upon the idea of creating contemporary couture aimed to improve representation in fashion.Under this label, which is currently on hiatus, she worked with photographers Campbell Addy and Tyler Mitchell, who has contributed to AnOther, publishing lookbooks-cum-zines with both. In 2017, she launched thecuratorial platform The Laundry Arts, which, like her brand, had a social mission at its core: highlighting and supporting the experiences of women and minority artists. Which leads us to Johnsons latest project: her first book, The Slow Grind: Finding Our Way Back to Creative Balance, an anthology of essays addressing radical change, sustainability, and how hyper-acceleration affects both the planet and people in a social, physical and psychological sense.

Independently published and available to pre-order from today, the publication features contributions from figures across the worlds of fashion and art: from designer Bethany Williams, to activist Caryn Franklin, previously mentioned photographer Campbell Addy, writer and AnOther contributor Francesca Gavin, stylist Ib Kamara, writer and Noon editor Maisie Skidmore, writer and artist Wilson Oryema, and more. The result of a collaboration with the writer Tamar Clarke-Brown, who assisted in editing the book, and the designer Josh Woolford, who helped put it together,Johnsondescribes The Slow Grind as essential reading for anyone and everyone that engages with the [fashion] system Whether you are an environmental novice, futurist or simply someone who wants to slow down, gather their thoughts and figure out how they can safeguard our collective future. Here, speaking in her own words, Johnson tells us the story behind the book and what she hopes it achieves.

In 2018, I wrote a manifesto in collaboration with mental health activist Sara Radin titled Slow Fashion to Save Minds, for an evening of the same name, which I curated under The Laundry Arts. This manifesto was in response to both myself and Sara experiencing and witnessing anxiety, depression and burn-out as a result of precarious working conditions, bad practice, internalisation of productivity, value and discrimination within the fashion and creative industries. The manifesto was a blueprint for the utopia we sought; one centred on community, care and regeneration. Essentially, it was about looking at the whole, not just at waste and recycling how sustainability had been marketed up until that point. I felt especially that mental health and race needed to be embedded into the sustainability algorithm, and that they had been considered separate issues for too long.

The response to the manifesto was overwhelming. It resonated not only with those active in the fashion and creative spheres, but those in the wider creative constellation DJs, artists and thinkers alike. I didnt want to leave the conversation there because we see it all the time with this accelerated state we are in, we miss the necessary longevity in conversation because we move on to the next thing so quickly, but I want to commit to dismantling these oppressive systems and that takes time; it requires you to intentionally slow down. A couple of months later, at the end of 2018, I started having conversations with people I admired about what is now The Slow Grind.

My aim was to rethink the way we live. Its been a process of pulling things out of myself and unlearning the deep-set beliefs ingrained within my person. With this book I want to radically upheave our sense of value. I want to encourage everyone to really think about their mental health and the mechanisation of their bodies; how weve missed the point and cant continue believing that resources, people, the planet, labour, energy are limitless. We dont have infinite resources. This mentality is way out of bounds because it then automatically increases the load when there is no need to do so. Its about dramatically increasing your self-awareness and refuting the standards set and redefining needs. While it focuses on fashion and creativity most of the ideas in the collection can be adopted to any industry.

The Slow Grind is that guide for these uncertain times and a resource for the future industries we are envisioning now. We need the raising of voices, because it gives us permission to raise our own and actually take a step back and think about how we contribute to the unbalance. The Slow Grind invites you to think about how you can turn it around. The crisis is revealing the chasm in society, one if we looked at holistically we might have a chance at really tackling. Extreme autonomy and individualism are bedfellows with capitalism, that allow for this nonsensical and exceedingly damaging pace to take priority in our lives. I dont think most of us know why we are living so fast. But if we take the time to slow down and take the time to consider the intention in our actions as well as the significance of human action as it pertains to the fragility of life, then we could be on our way to revolutionising the way we live and centring radical care. Only then will no one be left behind.

Pre-orderThe Slow Grind: Finding Our Way Back to Creative Balancehere.

Continued here:
How Georgina Johnson Wants to Change the Fashion System - AnOther Magazine

I think I got disappointed in some way by tennis, says Dinara Safina, pictured during the 2008 French Open. Photograph: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

The oldest Dinara Safina press conference archived on the internet dates back to 2003. Safina was 16 years old, ranked 63rd in the world and she had just defeated Anna Kournikova, the most famous Russian player across the lands. As usual, many questions were about people other than Safina; about Kournikova, her mother, her superstar brother. Finally, somebody wondered what she actually wanted from her own career. The sport life is so short, she replied. I just want to enjoy it and dont get injured.

Safina went on to have an enviable career. She won 12 titles, Olympic silver and reached No 1. She bullied top players with her brutal weight of shot, reaching three grand slam finals. Even though she never won Roland Garros, she is one of the best clay-court players of the 21st century.

It has been nine years since Safina, now 33 and retired, last competed and she is locked down in Moscow. It takes just one question about whether she would return to the sport if not for the stress fractures in her back to understand that for everything she did, she never actually managed to reach either of those simple goals she set years ago.

If I would be able to start from the beginning of my career, maybe, but I dont feel like coming back to the tour. Its something that I guess is very deep. I think I got disappointed in some way by tennis, because I dreamed that once you become really famous, you become No 1 in the world, you would have a different life. But once you have this, everything, and you realise that its not what youve been dreaming of, then all your dreams fall apart.

Safina grew up training in Valencia as her brother, Marat Safin, ascended to No 1 in 2000. Despite his two major titles, Safins discipline never matched his talent. Fans lined the stadiums for his charisma, looks and famed selfdestructions as much as his tennis. Safina was different. Her discipline drove her success as she became a supreme athlete, but she always directed her frustrations inwards. While he would break racquets, she would break down.

This is where her disappointment lies she came to take everything in her career so seriously that the pressure was suffocating and her joy was lost: I couldnt handle my emotions and all these things, and for me thats why it was tough.

The rise itself was thrilling. Safina announced herself to the world in the spring of 2008, beating both Justine Henin and Serena Williams to win a breakthrough title in Berlin. Within a year she was No 1 and dominant on clay, but the more Safinas ranking rose the more she would play the biggest moments in a state of perpetual torment, on the verge of tears, unable to cope.

I always had a dream to be famous, No 1 and all this, but then suddenly I felt so much pressure being there. I didnt expect that I would have this pressure. I thought it was going to be fun, you know? You become famous, you become No 1. And everybody is happy. Its actually the opposite! Everybody wants to beat you.

In the 2009 Australian Open final, she froze and was eviscerated 6-0 6-3 by Williams. She collapsed under pressure in the Roland Garros final against Svetlana Kuznetsova, infamously serving a double-fault on match point. By Wimbledon, she was the No 1 player in the world yet Serena held three grand slam titles. She became the butt of every joke.

Of course, you hear every day the same questions in every interview: When are you going to win your first grand slam? And Im like: You think I dont want to win a grand slam? And then I started to struggle with this because its something that was really annoying for me and it was very painful because its something that I really wanted to win.

There was no chance for the redemption achieved by the likes of Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki and Kim Clijsters. By 2010 her back pain felt like somebody stabbed a knife in your back. As she continually rehabbed for a return, just the thought of stepping on to the court became a source of trauma. She quickly learned that no longer competing was also a relief for her mental health. It was so deep in my mind, because phew... I just couldnt go back again to feel this pain. I had enough of this pain and I think another thing [was] that, finally, I could step away from all the pressure I had.

When your whole life is tennis, hotels and travelling the world every week, stopping abruptly can have a huge impact. [Retirement] was different. Completely different, which I was also not ready for. I guess its my journey in life. I take it always with philosophy, I dont start to make a drama out of it. Well, thats my journey, anyway we only have one life. And thats it. So why not try everything?

Safina sees her future in the player box rather than on the court. She cannot wait to fly back to Valencia and work as a coach. She may not have been able to enjoy herself at the top of the sport, nor to stay healthy, but the emotional intelligence and self-awareness she displays as she talks in her third language will carry her a long way. Perhaps it can help.

For all the experiences that I went through while I was struggling, I dont want players that I coach to feel like that. I want them to understand that tennis is a beautiful life. Its a beautiful sport. Its so much joy and even the hard work should be a joy. Tennis is not a struggle. Its fun and its a short period of life. I dont want to go back for my perspective myself because I know that Im going to be the same taking it too seriously and crying. Then she laughed. I want to teach the players not to make the same mistakes Ive made.

See original here:
Dinara Safina: 'Being world No 1 is not fun, it is the opposite' - The Guardian

A new randomized control trial published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice investigates whether elements of psychodynamic therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can be combined effectively into an integrative treatment for anxiety. The researchers found that while CBT was effective in lowering anxiety symptoms, an integrative approach, featuring psychodynamic principles, was more effective than CBT alone.

CBT is often considered the gold standard in psychotherapy due to the proliferation of studies on its effectiveness. This status has been contested as there is limited evidence that CBT is more effective when compared to other approaches. Also, meta-analytic research has found that psychodynamic therapy is as effective as CBT. These two approaches to psychotherapy are often seen as working toward different purposes, as CBT focuses on skill-building and behavioral changes, and psychodynamic therapy prioritizes gaining insight.

CBT is one of the shortest forms of psychotherapy with a planned duration of 10 to 20 sessions, depending on diagnosis, symptoms, severity, treatment goals, and conditions of the health care system. Practitioners of CBT often develop individualized and time-limited therapy goals that attend to the reduction of symptoms, reduce distress, and attempt to change the thinking and behavioral styles of their patients.

On the other hand, psychodynamic therapy includes long-term and short-term forms of treatment (7-40 sessions) and places a focus on self-discovery. Psychodynamic approaches improve mental health but attempt to create other positive changes that go beyond symptom-reduction, such as improved self-awareness and more authentic relationships.

Research in counseling psychology has investigated the similarities and basic principles across different theories of psychotherapy. There are a variety of common factors between therapies that include (but are not limited to): the therapeutic alliance, expectations of positive change, therapists qualities, logical understanding of clients problems, and systematic therapeutic practices. Differences between therapeutic approaches usually include formulation, focus on past-vs.-present, among others.

For this reason, the study authors developed an integrative model of psychotherapy, where the clients past experiences can be explored to gain insight into their present experiences, thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. The therapy also focused on developing skills for changing behaviors once they were better understood.

Although there is strong evidence suggesting that both CBT and psychodynamic therapy work, there is scarce research about the efficacy of such an integrative approach. The authors of this study were interested in the combination of psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral therapies in hopes of merging the formers stability (patients are less likely to relapse) and the latters effectiveness (remission occurs with fewer sessions).

The researchers developed a therapy manual that lasted 15-sessions and an experiment to evaluate the efficacy of the manual. The effectiveness of the manual was to be compared with traditional CBT. They identified 36 participants who had been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, using a psychiatrists diagnosis, DSM-V clinical diagnostic interviews, and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HRSA).

Because generalized anxiety is often found to be comorbid with depression, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to assess for a possible depression diagnosis. Those whose depression was their main concern were ruled out of the study.

Out of the 36 participants, the researchers randomly assigned twelve to each of the experimental groups (1 for integrative therapy and 1 for CBT) and the other twelve to a control group. The efficacy of each treatment was evaluated by assessing each participants symptoms and severity using the HRSA and BDI self-report surveys before and after they were exposed to psychotherapy.

The results suggested that CBT without the integration of psychodynamic therapy is effective in reducing generalized anxiety when compared to the control group. Similarly, integrative psychotherapy (psychodynamic therapy and CBT) was also effective. However, the integrative treatment was found to be more effective than CBT alone.

These results are novel, as no other study assessing the effects of the combined therapeutic approaches was identified. In a culture of psychotherapy where frameworks are often pitted against one another, this article illustrates the similarities and complementariness of different methods. Moreover, it highlights the strengths of both therapies and how they can be combined to alleviate client suffering efficiently and for a more extended amount of time.

The study suggests that an integrative form of therapy may be useful for anxiety. Although psychodynamic treatment is often ignored as a legitimate and evidence-based therapy, it is not only effective as a stand-alone approach (as evidenced by past studies) but can improve the effectiveness of other forms of therapy.

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Orvati Aziz, M., Abolghasem Mehrinejad, S., Hashemian, K. & Paivastegar, M. (2020). Integrative Therapy (Short-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy & Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in the Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 39, 101122 (Link)

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Integrating Psychodynamic Approaches with CBT Improves Therapy - James Moore

4chan has taken it upon themselves to judge the good from the bad in our society. Sadly, the shopping trolley theory is entirely reasonable.

How can we test whether someone is a good person or not? A theory of sorts is doing the rounds on Twitter currently, and it likely does the job better than any psychology test.

The theory originated from an unlikely source for a morality test (alas, 4chan) but has gained real traction since being shared on Twitter by Jared from Atlanta. It did not take long for the tweet to reach over a half a million likes and spark a decent discourse on the matter.

The theory proposes is premised upon the fact that returning your shopping cart to a bay is an easy task but is also the appropriate thing to do. It follows that ones moral character can be determined by the simple act of deciding, or not, to return their shopping cart to a bay. The statement is simple, but the rationale travels deep.

Most people participating in the comment threads agree that returning the shopping cart is the correct thing to do and that refusing to do so pretty much renders you as a bad person.

One such expert, psychotherapist and counsellor Tati Silva, has validated the theory and makes some valid points. It goes back to character and personality, both used to describe someones behaviour, Silva toldBored Panda. As for ones character like honesty, virtue, and kindliness, they are revealed over time, through various situations.

Character is heavily influenced by the different situations we engage in. Therefore, if you choose not to take the shopping cart back it will expose your character, Silva explained. Since there is no law that prohibits the action or says that it is wrong, the behaviour will continue. The individual needs to determine what is right or wrong, good or bad because again there arent any social norms or rules that specify this behaviour might be considered inappropriate.

Silva believes that the underlying reasoning behind the shopping cart theory can be expanded to other behaviours too, such as not laughing when someone falls, or not holding the door for others. One might do it without being aware of it because it is engraved in their habit. However, that can be changed by expanding self-awareness. It is likely the first step in gaining control over any behaviour you wish to change.

This theory is not too dissimilar from the actual moral dilemmas used by researchers to identify psychopathic traits as they can offer deep insights into someones judgement.

One scenario, developed by philosopher Philippa Foot, has been used for such a task for decades. The Trolley Dilemma can be summarised as follows: A runaway trolley is about to run over and kill five people and you are standing on a footbridge next to a large stranger; your body is too light to stop the train, but if you push the stranger onto the tracks, killing him, you will save the five people. Would you push the man?

A 2011 study published in the journalCognition found that people who answered Yes to the above situation scored higher on measures of psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and life meaninglessness compared to those who chose not to push the innocent man.

It is not much of a stretch to think this famous dilemma inspired the shopping cart theory.

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Are you a good or bad person? Apply the shopping trolley theory and find out! - The Big Smoke Australia

You couldnt call this SLR column pure satire because it mixes parody with unexaggerated facts that would be funny, were they not so tragic. The predictably inflexible subject of his ire is non-other than our Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, whom he labels sclerotic, a carefully-chosen medical term that accurately describes her rigidity and many of her perplexingly stubborn responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. He reminds us of her Zuptoid links and woeful performance as African Union Commissioner to answer those who may still be puzzled by her utterances and decrees. In Simons opinion, shes the poster girl for non-accountability, having been the proxy for her dethroned husband in the narrowly contested ANC presidential leadership race. Perhaps he sums it up most kindly when he says that, shes not an appalling person. Just cursed with an agonising lack of self-awareness. Which begs the question of whether its that, or the ANCs record of not holding its senior ministers and members to public account (they hold them strictly to party account), as in this recent assistant editors quote; they dont trade on skills or governance, efficiency or endeavour, but on politics and patronage. It may well be both. Chris Bateman

By Simon Lincoln Reader*

When it was announced that Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (NDZ) would play a central role in the countrys response to the pandemic, strange noises could be heard in support. YAAASSSS; my KWEEN NDZ and; unlike America and DRUMPF, we R LED were some of the comments.

To her credit, Dr. NDZ wouldnt be enthused by this kind of millennial speak. She belongs to an older order of political incompetence, where politicians are just useless as opposed to being useless AND campaigning for gender-neutral flavoured bathrooms in Palestine, like Kamala Harris in the US, or Dawn Butler in the UK. Here at least we owe her: a Dr. NDZ that featured the more revolting expressions of social justice would be unbearable.

People were frightened, so the adoration could be afforded the benefit of doubt. But other than that theres no excuse for believing that her participation would relieve the country of its anxieties.

**

The researcher Gareth van Onselen once described Sarafina 2, the controversial sequel to the Broadway musical, as the original Nkandla. It was this and more, occasioned within a department where Dr. NDZ sat at the top. Whereas the arms deal was layered in complexity and funded by sophisticated European institutions, the original Nkandla provided the designs for smaller scale looting, the kind that would be seized upon by municipalities and smaller branches of government in the future. The original Nkandla also mapped the route to no consequences; more sensible countries would have immediately terminated the command authority of ministers involved in such a disaster. But the original Nkandla demonstrated, perhaps for the first time, the ANCs unwillingness to investigate let alone prosecute its own, encouraging sympathy where there should have been scrutiny.

**

There was no sympathy from the former chair of the Nigerian Human Rights Commission when Dr. NDZs term as African Union (AU) Commissioner ended in 2016. Writing for The Times that year, Chidi Anselm Odinkalu remarked: During her tenure, Africa confronted multiple social challenges: Ebola in West Africa; Yellow Fever in parts of Southern Africa; climate change and food security around the Sahel and Horn of Africa, as well as an international migration crisis. On each and all of these challenges, Dr Dlamini-Zuma was out to lunch or blissfully missing in action.

But no embarrassing attacks from a respected activist could deter the role already decided for her as proxy for the notorious schemes and ways of her ex-husband. It was a vindictive, desperate move by Jacob Zumas supporters and equally, an illustration of just how stubborn Dr. NDZ had learned to be.

**

By that time the damage had already been done in ways we seldom examine. In one of the only credible observations to have emerged from Beijing24 in recent years, deputy editor Pieter du Toit noted the behaviour of Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams and the rare surfacing of consequences within the ANC. Ndabeni-Abrahams, and many ministers in her league, such as Fikile Mbalula and Lindiwe Zulu, du Toit said, dont trade on skills or governance, efficiency or endeavour, but on politics and patronage.

But du Toit didnt go far enough. Indeed, successive generations of choice grade thinkers have crowded cabinet and the parliament, but they had to learn from somewhere. In the legacy of the original Nkandla these people found their high priestess and the convenient style of pedestrian, sclerotic and paranoid politics.

**

Which explains why the response to the pandemic has mutated into infantile, self-destructive fiddling with the levers of power temptations too attractive to resist in the circumstances. Long before Covid-19, the American social theorist described so much of the world at present: It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.

There is no real evidence to suggest Dr. NDZ is a criminal. The photograph of her with an alleged tobacco smuggler does not spell allegiance to state capture as much as it betrays the kind of absentmindedness the UK Labour Partys former leader Jeremy Corbyn was frequently guilty of. She is not an appalling person. Just cursed with an agonising lack of self-awareness.

As she continues to defend some of the now near indefensible parameters of lockdown, its worth revisiting 2015. One of the reactions that forced her ex-husband into a humiliating reverse, having just sacked his Minister of Finance, came from an unlikely source. The Chinese. Sensing their interests were now under threat, they called Pretoria to read a few lines from the riot act (though they were never credited and Jacob Zuma was to later accuse the leaders of banks of bullying him).

Theoretically, if things got so bad and China was to repeat the intervention, the spectacle of a country partially responsible for the mess seen assisting in cleaning up another countrys response to it would be the most fitting summary of Dr. NDZs political career to date.

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SLR: NDZ and the perils of choice grade thinking - BizNews

Luke Kirby, who continues his role as the taboo-flaunting comic Lenny Bruce on Season 3 of Amazons The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, won an Emmy as Best Comedy Guest Actor last year. He managed to beat out such A-level talents as Matt Damon and Robert De Niro, who were both up for their appearances on Saturday Night Live.

Kirby, who is sporting a rather impressive quarantine mustache these days, was rather calm as he gave his acceptance speech onstage and offered thanks to all the right people as he read his speech off a card. Was that just an act?

In our recent webchat (watch the exclusive video above), he reveals, I think it was likely an act. My adrenal glands have a tendency to lean towards a more laconic, lethargic tone. I think sitting there for the two hours that it took to get to that category. All the blood had been drawn from my body. I was slamming my hands down on my thighs just trying to get a pulse. Thats probably all it was. Restarting my heart beat.

His portrayal of the controversial stand-up on the first season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was a little rougher around the edges, considering that Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) had to bail him out of jail, but his take on the legendary comic has greatly evolved since then.

He says, I wasnt sure at the beginning what it was going to be. How much of Lenny Bruce was going to be involved in the storyline. And I sort of felt like because we were taking liberties with history because of her story that really he wanted to exist more in the realm of fable. Ive said before its like a fairy godmother. Its sort of his role. This person who appears at moments in Midges life that are remarkable and I kind of went with that and it in some ways opened up a lot of possibilities because I didnt feel the pressure of having to play a strictly historic Lenny Bruce or adhere to the sort of timeline of his life.

His interpretation is also quite different than Dustin Hoffmans approach in the 1974 biopic movie Lenny, which was directed by Bob Fosse and earned six Oscar nominations. Kirby says he saw it as a teenager: I kind of had a little dalliance with Lenny Bruce in high school and Lenny the movie was one of (my) first ins to him. And I just adored it. I just sopped it up. I was just so compelled by Dustin Hoffmans performance and Valerie Perrine and the movie itself is very beautifully composed.

On the third season, Lenny shows up in two episodes. The character gets to meet Midges dad, Abe (Tony Shaloub), after she tells her father about his act and that he tackles issues of freedom of speech. Abe ends up at The Gaslight club to see him perform and stands up for his rights to pull out a Playboy centerfold. That is when the vice cops move in and both men spend the night in jail. Midges mom Rose (Marin Hinkle) ends up bailing them out.

Lennys second appearance on the most recent season is when he catches Midges act at the famed Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. He stops by to check out her act, of which he heartily approves, and she joins him on a TV show called Miami After Dark, a take-off of the type of hip late-night show that Playboys Hugh Hefner hosted and one that Bruce visited.

Kirby adds, That was super fun. I also familiarized myself with Playboy After Dark. Its so peculiar. The most striking thing about that clip now, when you watch it, yes, theyre all sort of dressed up and they look great. But the newness of television, the medium of it, is so new and theyre so clearly trying to riff in a way that in some ways I dont know that the medium allows and theres a sort of self-awareness to them thats a little discomforting and sort of endearing as well at the same time.

SEEAmy Sherman-Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) says of stand-up comic, Midge: Shes a streaming gal [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW]

After their TV appearance together, the evening continues as Lenny and Midge share a lovely dinner and dance to Till There Was You from the musical The Music Man. The pair take a romantic walk along the water and end up at Lennys rather chintzy motel room as he invites her in but she turns him down. Was she right to not go there? Kirby says, I think I have to plead the fifth on the right or wrong of that. In situations like that, the odds are always 50/50. You have to honor her choice, certainly.

Kirby also talks about the time when the comics daughter Kitty Bruce visited the set on the second season, his rendition of Bruces song All Alone that the comic sang on The Steve Allen Show, where he keeps his Emmy trophy and whether his character will continue his journey on Season 4.

PREDICTthe 2020 Emmy nominees now; change through July 28

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Luke Kirby (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel): Was Midge wrong to walk away from Lenny Bruces motel room? I have to plead the fifth [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO...