The autumnal equinox is the first day of fall. It is celebrated by many different cultures and plays a significant role in some beliefs. For most people, fall is a time that ushers in harvests, preserving food for the upcoming months, enjoyment of the colors of the changing leaves and beginning to prepare oneself both physically and psychologically for the upcoming colder months. For Keats, the famous poet, fall was the "season of mists and mellow fruitfulness". A beautiful season, fall is filled with color, crisp days and provides an excuse to indulge in great foods. And it all begins with the first day of fall––here are some fun ways to celebrate the autumnal equinox.

EditSteps

1. Understand the meanings associated with the autumnal equinox. This is the day when both the daytime and nighttime are of the same length, which has been long interpreted to mean that the world is in balance. Once the autumnal equinox passes, the nights begin to get longer and the temperatures will start to fall. Autumn is a time of dual purpose––it is time to gather the main harvests and it is time to determine what is needed for the upcoming winter. This is also about balance and as such, fall is considered the season of balance, a time during which you can restore balance to your own life.
   
2. Consider staying up during the night to welcome autumn. Many people like to welcome in fall by remaining awake all night, to honor the equal length of day and night. Perhaps tie this in with a celebration with friends, by holding a small dinner party which features autumn flavors, such as squash, pears and apples. If you're not so keen on an all-night vigil, stay up until midnight instead.
   
3. Build or set up a monument to autumn. If you want to share your joy at the arrival of fall, consider building or placing a monument featuring autumnal items like pumpkins and straw in your yard. Ideas for what to do include a scarecrow or an animal you like, a pattern, or even spelling out words such as "Welcome to fall!". Your monument could also be an expression of your gratitude for the harvest from the Earth.
   
4. Be creative. For those who love craft, it's a great time to start some fall-inspired craft. There are all sorts of fall crafts you might like to try. A few ideas include: Carve some shrunken apple heads, make leaf prints, craft a fall wreath, frame fall foliage for decoration and use harvested corn to make corn stalk decorations. For those who love food craft, fall is the ideal time to get into making preserves, pickles, bottles of drink, sauces and frozen goodies.
   
5. Make a list of your inner harvest. An inner harvest refers to all the achievements and experiences that you have had or felt during the past few seasons. This is a way of restoring gratitude into your life, as you realize what you have done and how you have coped with challenges during the past months.
   
   • Take this opportunity to consolidate your energy and to fine-tune what you've achieved since spring.
   • Be grateful for what you have.
6. Express your fall awe. If you're a photographer, artist or writer, try to capture the essence of fall in photo, artwork or word form. Don't just focus on the changing leaves and bountiful harvests; consider the deeper meanings of the season as they resonate with you. Perhaps this is a time of necessary change for you and expressing this through your creativity is a great way to get started.
   
7. Contemplate. This is a season when the buzzing activity of summer dies down and the excitement of life outdoors begins to relax into the more evenly paced, more predictable rhythm of fall. Think about the ways you have neglected your inner growth and how this might be remedied.
   
   • Meditate or do tai-chi. Try to find your balance, in the same way that the world finds its balance on the autumnal equinox.
8. Seek to improve your health. This is as good a time as any to restore healthful balance to your life. There are delicious foods from harvest to help you cleanse and keep to a healthy diet at this time of year, such as apples, grapes, peaches, plums, pears, watermelon, celery, squash, eggplants, tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers and more. All of these healthy foods can be incorporated into a healthful lifestyle diet that keeps you fit and energetic. Where you can, support the growers of organic produce, which helps to sustain healthier soils and wildlife as part of the growing balance.
   
   • Weigh yourself. On the day of the fall equinox, the sun enters the sign of Libra, the constellation of scales. Are you happy with the weight reflected back at you? If not, what do you wish to do about it?
   • If you're not already exercising regularly, make today the day you begin exercising again. Start with gentle exercise that allows you to ease into the rhythm, such as stretches, walking yoga or pilates. Take up an exercise that you've long wanted to try, such as cycling, jogging or swimming. Most sports can be continued either outdoors or in indoor arenas during winter, so don't let the colder days ahead put you off sparking this change.
   • Focus on improving your breathing and posture. Good breathing and posture will help to restore energy to your body and can help you cope better with the respiratory illnesses the colder months bring.
9. Turn your home into a haven. Fall is the time of the year when people begin to turn from outdoor pursuits and start moving back indoors more often. (Of course, this shouldn't stop you from making the most of the glorious sunny fall days outside!) This is a good time to restore balance in the home, to give it a spruce up before the upcoming fall celebrations such as Halloween and Thanksgiving come and before winter arrives. Add some fall decorations to bring on the festive fall spirit.
   
   • Bring more light into your home. As the days will start to shorten from the autumnal equinox, consider how you'll be able to bring more light into your home. Consider making some homemade candles and check out ways to hold back window dressings so that more light can stream inside. Good lighting will keep your spirits buoyed.
   • Don't neglect the energies in your workplace either. Now is a good time to clear out the clutter on the desk, shift around furniture and even trade places with another person. Remove things that have piled up in corners, replace worn signs and refresh the communal drink and food items.
10. Honor your ancestors. In Japan, it is traditional to visit the graves of ancestors around the time of the autumn equinox. This is a thoughtful tradition to build on for your own life, as a way of reconnecting with the past of your family and to remind yourself of your valuable place in the family tree.
    
11. Get into your garden. After summer and after the harvests, your garden needs some tender loving care to ready it for winter. The autumnal equinox is a good day to jot down a plan for the following weeks of garden care ahead, to keep you organized and enthused about readying it for the colder months. It's also the ideal time to plant some crops that will produce during fall or even into winter, such as cauliflower, lettuce, red beet, radishes and shallots. Plan for when spring bulbs should be planted too, as many must be dug into the ground during fall.
    

EditVideo

EditTips

• In some areas there are special autumnal equinox meetings; check out your local guides for more details.
• You're free to do all the above either alone, with a friend or in group.
• Look up what you believe special rituals are.
• The autumn equinox is celebrated in September if you live in the northern hemisphere and in March if you live in the southern hemisphere.

EditThings You'll Need

• Craft or ingredient items for making things
• Cleaning gear for home and workplace

EditRelated wikiHows

• Do a Spring Equinox Fast
• Witness the Summer Solstice
• Select Flowers for a Summer Solstice Wedding
• Celebrate Solstices and Equinoxes With Children
• Spend Your First Day of Autumn
• Spend the First Day of Spring

EditSources and Citations

• Howcast, http://www.howcast.com/videos/391372-How-To-Celebrate-the-Autumnal-Equinox-and-First-Day-Of-Fall How to Celebrate the Autumnal Equinox and First Day Of Fall - Partial source, shared with permission.

This morning, the MacArthur Foundation announced the twenty-three recipients of its 2016 fellowships. Also known as “Genius Grants,” the annual fellowships of $625,000 each—which are distributed to recipients over a period of five years—are given to individuals who “have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity of self-direction.”

read more

Trisha Brown

Moving your data from one laptop to another doesn't have to be a huge headache - there are several methods for quickly transferring digital data. The number and size of the files you're wanting moved, the types of laptops you are transferring between, and your own technical confidence will help determine which method is the best fit for you.

EditSteps

EditSetting Up an SMB Transfer

1. Ensure both computers are on same network. A Server Message Block (SMB) is a protocol (set of rules) for transferring files between computers over the internet. The laptops can be either PCs or Macs (or a combination) for this method to work. This is the easiest and fastest method for large scale file transfer between laptops.
   
   • Use only a secure connection - don't try this over a public network.
   • Make sure to password-protect your user profiles on both computers for extra security.
   • Your server laptop is the one with the files, the client laptop is the one you want to transfer the files to.
2. Set up your server laptop. The server computer is the one currently holding the files you want to transfer. You'll need to change the network settings by designating a workgroup name. This workgroup will act like a conference room where your two computers will meet. The name for the workgroup can be anything you decide.
   
   • In Windows OS, choose a workgroup name through "computer domain and workgroup settings". Applying this change will trigger a restart for your PC.
   • On a Mac, choose a workgroup name through System Preferences->Network->Advanced->WINS. Choose your workgroup name and apply the changes.^[1]
   • In either case, make a mental note of the "name" of the the server computer.
3. Switch to the client laptop. Go through the same network workgroup setup process on your client computer. Make sure to use the exact same workgroup name as you did with your server computer.^[2]
   
4. Access the files and begin the transfer. Now it's time to begin moving your files. Look for the "name" of the server laptop and click into it to access all shared folders from that laptop.
   
   • In Windows, open your "Network" application. All computers in the shared network workgroup should appear within a few seconds, including the server laptop you just set up.
   • On a Mac, all computers in the shared network workgroup will appear in your Finder window.

EditUsing an FTP

1. Set up an FTP server. An FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is another handy way to transfer files between machines using only the internet. First you'll work with the server computer - the one that has the files you want to transfer - in order to make it accessible. FTP is generally best if you feel you need recurring access between your two laptops.
   
   • On a Mac, go to System Preferences->Sharing->Services and check "FTP Access". Next click "Start" and wait for the change to apply. Note that this path may be slightly different in different versions of OSX.
   • In Windows, go to Control Panel->Programs->Programs and Features->Turn Windows features on or off. Next click the plus symbol next to "Internet Information Services" (IIS), then put a check next to "FTP Server." Click "OK".
2. Install an FTP client on the client computer. This is software that allows you to easily access FTP servers with only the server address or IP address. Popular ones include FileZilla, WinSCP, Cyberduck, and WebDrive.^[3]
   
3. Access the files on the FTP server from the FTP client. Now all you need to do is log in to the FTP server from the client computer and access your files for fast and secure transfer.
   
   • On a Mac, go to Finder->Go->Connect to Server. You will be prompted for the server or IP address of the server computer. Enter it and click "Connect".
   • In Windows, open your internet browser and type the server computer's IP address into the address bar directly. Go to File->Login As. Enter the username and password to log in.
   • If you're having trouble finding your server computer's IP address, consult Find Your IP Address on a Mac or Find the IP Address of Your PC.
   • For more details on the FTP method of transferring files, check out Set up an FTP Between Two Computers.

EditUsing a Storage Device

1. Find a compatible storage device. External hard drives and other USB flash drives are sometimes formatted to work with one operating system (OSX or Windows) only. Depending on the computers you're transferring between you may need to reformat to a more universal formatting option (FAT32) before attempting the transfer. Using a storage device is one of the slowest methods for file transfer but may be the simplest to execute if you're feeling intimidated by the more technical methods.
   
   • If the storage device is recognized and the files are accessible on both computers, you can proceed.
   • If reformatting is necessary you can find more information at Format FAT32
   • The limitation of this method is typically speed, as numerous large files will take a significant amount of time to transfer in this fashion.
2. Plug the storage device into the server computer. Check that you have enough space on the storage device to house all the files you'd like to transfer before beginning. Your best bet is to know in advance how much space you will need and to plan accordingly.
   
3. Move the files to the storage device. This process will be like other file management on your laptop - simply drag and drop the files you need and wait while they are fully transferred to the storage device.
   
4. Eject the drive and connect to the client laptop. Make sure to disconnect properly to avoid damaging the files, then drag and drop to the client laptop's desktop or another more appropriate location.
   

EditTransferring Via the Cloud

1. Choose a cloud storage service. Companies like Dropbox, Google Drive and many others offer cloud storage for your most important files and can also act as an effective file transfer method between laptops. You'll need an account with one of these providers (initial membership and some storage space is typically free).^[4]
   
   • The limitations to this method will be storage space, upload time, and potential cost - however if you need to move smaller files on a more frequently basis this may be a great solution for you.
2. Move your files into the cloud. Depending on the service this may be as simple as dragging and dropping the files to your open internet browser, or could involve a more formal file upload procedure. Wait while the cloud service uploads your files in full.
   
3. Access your cloud account from the client computer. Download the files you want to this laptop and the transfer is complete!
   
   • Cloud services also provide extra security through consistent file backup and the possibility of collaborative file editing, so getting to know cloud storage may be a smart move for you regardless!

EditConnecting Directly with Firewire

1. Check the compatibility of your laptops. Both laptops will require a firewire input and you will need an appropriate firewire cord to connect them.
   
   • This method makes the most sense if you are transferring between either two Macs or two PCs. If instead you are transferring between operating systems then look into a different method.
2. Plug in both ends of the firewire. Firewire plugs take a few different forms - double check you have the right cord and appropriate adaptors to fit both of your laptops before beginning.
   
3. Access the server computer through the client computer. Use the client laptop (the one you want files transferred to) to find and access the server laptop (the one with the files). Once connected it should appear on the desktop or else where external drives normally appear.
   
4. Drag and drop files as normal. Now that your laptops are directly connected you can shift files as needed, similar to any other file management on your computer.
   

EditEmailing Attachments to Yourself

1. Set the receiver of the email as your own email address. Emailing yourself can be a quick and simple way to send one or two smaller-sized files to a different computer, for anything more try one of the other methods.
   
2. Attach files to the email. Different email clients (e..g gmail, hotmail, yahoo) have different attachment size limitations. Some allow you to drag and drop files directly to the email body while others require you to click "attach" and then browse your computer's file trees.
   
3. Log into your email on the client computer. Now download the attachment.
   

EditUsing Crossover Cable

1. You can set up a network between 2 PCs directly without access point
2. You have to use a crossover ethernet cable

• Set up the IP addresses and subnet mask to be with the same network
• Share a folder on one PC
• Copy files from the other PC to the shared folder

EditTips

• For larger-scale file transfers, consider using methods 1 or 2 (smb or FTP)
• For security reasons don't attempt file transfers via unsecured public networks

EditThings You'll Need

• 2 laptops
• A secure (private) network connection
• Firewire cable
• External hard drive or other USB drive formatted to work with both laptops

EditRelated wikiHows

• Move Files from One PC User to Another

EditSources and Citations

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dubeton:

ALEXANDRE GUIRKINGER
http://www.aleguirk.com

Artist: Lukas Duwenhögger

Venue: Raven Row, London

Exhibition Title: You Might Become a Park

Date: June 30 – September 18, 2016

Click here to view slideshow

Full gallery of images, press release and link available after the jump.

Images:

Images courtesy of Raven Row, London. Photos by Marcus J. Leith.

Press Release:

This exhibition – alongside its companion exhibition Undoolay, which has recently ended at Artists Space, New York – is the largest and, surprisingly for so significant an artist, amongst the first surveys to date for Lukas Duwenhögger (born in Munich 1956, lives in Istanbul). It includes paintings, installations, collages and objects made over more than thirty years.

Contemporary Art Daily is produced by Contemporary Art Group, a not-for-profit organization. We rely on our audience to help fund the publication of exhibitions that show up in this RSS feed. Please consider supporting us by making a donation today.

In Captain Fantastic Viggo Mortensen shows a different side to his repertoire as the leader of a family that lives a seemingly idyllic life “off the grid”. He teaches his kids to fend for themselves using basic hunting and wildlife skills, while instilling a palpable mistrust of the outside world in them. It’s a theme cinema has turned to repeatedly in recent years; rather than presenting simple tales of men and women versus the elements, these films touch on issues that speak to our everyday lives, or rather what’s lacking in them.

The tagline for 2013’s Tracks – ‘Leave everything behind’ – encouraged viewers to buy into the spiritual and literal journey taken by Mia Wasikowska’s character. Based on the true story of Robyn Davidson, the film sees her trek across 1700 miles of Australian desert, accompanied only by her dog and four camels, carrying only the bare essentials as she heads into the vast, largely uninhabited landscape. A similar journey was undertaken the following year in Wild, another true story following Reese Witherspoon’s troubled divorcee, who reconciles with her past and her future by exploring the Pacific Crest Trail. While not exactly off the grid, films such as 127 Hours, Life of Pi and The Revenant have also riffed on the idea of getting back to basics, far away from the comforts of civilisation.

There are several factors that make these films so appealing to audiences today. The digital age has afforded us unprecedented access to knowledge and made us more connected, but it has also created a world where there are very few places to hide. Most people carry a device with geo-location tools and a hi-resolution camera everywhere they go, and through social media we can tap into a global network of hundreds of millions of voices. This level of connectivity can be exhausting, as evidenced by a story from July of this year where a couple who described themselves as “off-grid parents” asked for £100,000 in donations to live self-sufficiently in Costa Rica (ironically, this plea was made online). Other less extreme incidents have led to the rise of digital vacations, where mobile devices are turned off and left behind in a bid to temporarily escape..

In a broad sense, films like Captain Fantastic indulge that fantasy. Instead of worrying about that presentation due in on Monday, or whether your train to work will be running on time, you’re building a shelter or starting a fire. Furthermore, these films explore the notion that in order to better understand the modern world we must occasionally remove ourselves from it. The emotional journey experienced by Reese Witherspoon’s grieving protagonist in Wild mirrors her physical one; James Franco’s accidental disconnect from society in 127 Hours enables him to learn the true value of human connection.

Behind all this wish fulfilment and vicarious adventures, perhaps the most vital takeaway from watching these off-the-grid characters is that real world cannot be avoided. Captain Fantastic starts off as an enticing vision of simpler life, but the draw of the outside world eventually lures the children he has protected for so long. It’s a heart breaking journey, but an inevitable one that is always behind any tale of self-isolation: that no man (or in this case, family) is an island. The greatest challenge these films present is not how to reject society, but rather how to maintain a true sense of yourself once you return.

The post Why are films that take us off the grid on the rise? appeared first on Little White Lies.

The way sociopaths think and operate is deeply different from most of us because of a difference in brain structure, and behaviors can be very different because of that. Sociopaths are noted for violent and abnormal behaviors. People considered sociopaths are classified as having antisocial personality disorder (APD). ^[1] Although individuals with this condition can be dangerous, be aware that many are not violent or "bad people", but simply do not feel the guilt or sense of compassion that most of us have. While you may genuinely want to help someone with APD, recognize that the best course of action involves creating clear boundaries and recommending treatment.

EditSteps

EditRecognizing A Person With Sociopathic Traits

1. Understand the Features of Sociopaths. These individuals defined as a personality disorder, characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, dis-inhibited, egotistical traits.
   • Sociopaths are rational, know why they decide to act the way they do, and why.
   • The reasons behind sociopathic behavior is due to brain structure, although there are an interplay of genetics and environment. It can also be caused by brain injury.
   • Sociopaths often (although not always) have a history of antisocial behavior, including criminal activity, violence, substance abuse, and inter-personal disfunction such as family issues, divorce, no real friends, and so on.
   • Sociopaths are not generally considered "treatable" in the way mental health professionals can manage or treat other mental health issues. There are no medicines that can be used to help sociopaths, for instance, and other therapies have a poor prognosis.
2. Be aware of manipulation. Sociopaths do not feel badly about "using" people, do not care if actions are hurtful, and are often extremely bright intellectually and psychologically. Therefore, sociopaths are often master manipulators. Many who have sociopathic tendencies will often blur the lines between what is true and what is made up.^[2] These behaviors may include a high level of charm and charisma.They often have a keen sense of how to get what they want from a person, and really do not care who it hurts.
   
   • They may manipulate you by over exaggerating their good qualities or by trying to sell you something that may not be all that he says it is. They may also try to stress the apparent safety of a clearly unsafe situation.
   • Feel free to say “I feel like this is manipulation, and I don’t feel comfortable with this situation.”
3. Avoid being conned. People showing antisocial personality disorder can use deceit to gain trust or to make a buck. They may be compulsive liars, use various aliases, or use cons to profit off others or just for pleasure.^[3]
   
   • If someone seems to be sweeping you off your feet or wants you to commit to buying something immediately without having time to think it over, walk away.
   • Be wary of doing business with someone who shows sociopathic traits. They may trick you into thinking things are wonderful when they are not. Often, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
4. Watch for aggressive behavior. Those with antisocial personality disorder tend to have a pattern of aggressive behaviors including hostility, irritability, impulsivity, and/or violence. These behaviors may be followed by a lack of remorse or empathy for people that may be hurt.^[4]
   
   • They may be physically aggressive and want to fight, or they may be verbally aggressive and be prone to loud shouting.
   • Be careful when engaging with someone you think may have antisocial personality disorder. Guard your emotions (and perhaps even your physical body) if you fear harm.
5. Look out for a lack of remorse. Most humans feel guilty or sad following hurting someone else’s feelings. For many people with sociopathic personalities, there is a lack of remorse and perhaps pleasure in causing hurt or manipulation. They may try to rationalize their behavior or outright not care about others’ reactions.^[5]
   
   • If you find yourself hurt after an interaction with someone yet they don’t seem to care about how they hurt you, this could indicate sociopathic tendencies.
   • If you find yourself demanding an apology or wanting a sociopathic person to take responsibility for their actions, you may need to accept that they may not be able to do this at this time. It is more important for you to accept this and move on as best as you can.
6. Watch for intense egocentrism and a sense of superiority. Many people that display sociopathic tendencies tend to see themselves as superior to others in terms of wit, charm, and intelligence.^[6] They may treat others as inferior and find fault in others easily without ever finding fault in the self.
   
   • They may talk about the self endlessly and embellish stories or events in a way that makes the self appear superior to others.
   • They may outright consider other people inferior to themselves and live life within this mentality.
7. Recognize patterns of substance abuse. Many people with sociopathic traits tend to abuse alcohol or other drugs. They can end up going to prison because of substance use and associated actions while on substances.^[7]
   
   • Substance abuse can look like uncontrollable use of a substance to a point that is physically dangerous, or frequent continued use over time. They may engage in risky behaviors as a result of the abuse.
   • Often, those with sociopathic tendencies grew up in a home or with a caretaker that also abused drugs or alcohol.^[8]
8. Look out for repeated law breaking. Those with sociopathic personalities tend to be reckless and take many risks.^[9] A person may have countless run-ins with the law, go to prison, and have a blatant disregard for rules and laws.
   
   • He may come up with excuses for why he behaved the way they did, and put the blame onto other people and never take personal responsibility.^[10]
   • The law breaking may also be related to substance use or abuse.
9. Check for irresponsibility. Along with rule-breaking, people with antisocial personality disorder often engage in highly irresponsible behaviors. This person may engage in unnecessary risks with money, cars, business, and people. They may not follow through on custody or child support or may neglect their children.^[11]
   
   • They may have poor work habits or not show up for work.
   • They may engage in poor interpersonal relationships, have very rocky romantic relationships, and may not learn from their mistakes.

EditUnderstanding A Person With Sociopathology

1. Understand genetic heritability. While it can be hard to accept, as much as 50% of sociopathology can be attributed to heredity, meaning it can be passed on genetically. People with sociopathic traits are born with tendencies to act the way they do.^[12]
   
   • Just like a child doesn’t choose to be born into an impoverished family, an individual does not chose to be born predisposed to an inability to relate to others like ‘normal’ people do.
2. Realize environmental factors. While a history of childhood abuse is present for many people with sociopathic traits, it does not represent all individuals who express these tendencies. Generally, individuals who express sociopathic traits tend to receive a diagnosis of conduct disorder in childhood or adolescence, and often express behavioral difficulties such as aggression, deceitfulness, and destruction.^[13]
   
   • Children diagnosed with conduct disorder often have histories of having a dysfunctional family, traumatic experiences, family history of substance abuse, and inconsistent discipline within the home.^[14]
3. Recognize differences in experience. While it’s easy to be upset with someone in your life that appears to have sociopathic tendencies, remember that this person does not experience the love and trust that most people experience. Imagine a life of not experiencing the butterflies of being around someone you romantically love, or knowing how to fully trust loved ones and friends. These individuals also likely do not feel the connection of friendship that most people consider ‘normal’.^[15]
   
   • Sadly, these individuals do not even know what they are missing in these experiences, having perhaps never experienced healthy trust or love, given or received.
4. Understand what motivates the individual. Because these individuals often lack the ability to empathize with others, they tend to be invested in self-interest. They may tend to be hypervigilant in meeting their own needs, with no attachment to other people.^[16] It is likely they do not have the skills to approach the world in any other way, so life is about taking care of the self and only the self.
   
   • Because there is no apparent benefit to helping others or treating others with respect, no action is taken to help or improve the lives of others.

EditHelping Someone With Sociopathic Tendencies

1. Have empathy. While these people often are the source of a lot of frustration, pain, and hurt, remember that they are human, too. Despite these people often being very hard to love, it is for this reason they are in special need of empathy, care, and respect.
   
   • Do not excuse negative behavior, but be willing to share love and compassion with a fellow human.
   • Reach out in positive ways to show that you care, like sending cards or baking cookies. Say that you forgive him for his actions, even though he hurt you.
   • Many people that grow up to show sociopathic tendencies were subjected to childhood verbal, physical and/or sexual abuse. Many experienced chaotic or unstable families while growing up, or the loss of a parent.^[17] While this is not an excuse for behavior, it can allow you to have compassion on a person who has had a difficult or traumatic childhood and had to find other less-adaptive ways to survive.
2. Avoid enabling. This is especially hard if a person with sociopathic tendencies is in your family. You want to love and accept the person, but without enabling him to hurt or manipulate other people. Let the person know you are unwilling to enable his lifestyle or contribute to him hurting other people.
   
   • Say, “I want to support you, but I cannot contribute to you hurting other people.”
   • If the person is recklessly spending money and then cannot afford rent and asks to stay with you, be careful in saying “yes”. Housing this person may enable him to spend money on drugs or other harmful items, and may cause added stress to your life and living situation.
   • Avoid giving money to a person. If they ask for money, offer to buy groceries or contribute to rent if you feel inclined to help.
   • It can be difficult to see someone destroy their life and hurt other people, but remember that those are their decisions and you are not responsible for them.
3. Set clear boundaries in your relationship. A person may try to push boundaries or manipulate you or the relationship.^[18] Let the person know what you are available for and what you are unavailable for. This will help the person realize the predictability of the relationship, and that you are unable to be manipulated.
   
   • Don’t allow the person to push boundaries with you. If they call late at night, don’t pick up the phone. If they threaten to kill themselves, call the police. Don’t allow any responsibility that you do not consent to in being in this person’s life.
   • Don’t let the person call all of the shots. Say “no” to any activities you don’t want to participate in or contribute to, and be firm.
   • Discourage any harmful situations, such as doing drugs, engaging in criminal behavior, or other irresponsible behavior.
   • Say, “For you this may be normal, but for me, this is pushing my boundaries. I’d rather not participate in this.”
4. Protect your own rights. People with sociopathic personality patterns may disregard respect for you and your personal rights or violate your rights outright.^[19] Stand up for your rights and do not tolerate anyone treating you in any lesser degree than you wish to be treated. Remind yourself that disrespect received from someone else doesn’t reflect any lack on your part, it reflects the problems or insecurities of the other person.
   
   • A lack of empathy for other people can contribute to stampeding over other people’s rights. Someone with sociopathic tendencies will often display a high self-appraisal, which may lead them to believe that they can treat others as lower than the self.^[20]
5. Understand your role in their life. The cause of this disorder is unknown, but biological or genetic factors may play a role.^[21] Remember that although it may not be a person's fault that they are a sociopath, this individual is still responsible for their actions, and you do not need to fix those issues or damage your own life by staying around.
   
   • Don’t make it your responsibility to “save them” or “change them.” Recognize that change can only happen on his initiative, not yours.
   • Offer your support and encouragement to any positive activities. This may be praising, taking responsibility, or seeking treatment for drugs. Encourage things around responsibility.
6. Suggest treatment for addiction. Many people people with antisocial personality disorder struggle with addiction, mainly with substances.^[22] Substance use and addiction can contribute to poor choices and increase risky behaviors. While you may not be able to do much to lessen this person’s behavior, working through addiction can have positive effects and lower overall risk.
   
   • There are many treatment options for substance abuse, based on need. Addiction can be treated through outpatient therapy, inpatient treatment, and residential care.^[23] Talk to a mental health care provider to see which option is best.
7. Suggest therapy. Therapy can help in rewarding positive behaviors and discouraging negative behaviors. Talk therapy in which the person is able to discuss difficulties in childhood or their insecurities can also be helpful.^[24] Often, people with personality disorders refuse therapy or only go when mandated by courts. In the case for people with sociopathic tendencies, therapy can be most helpful for accompanying psychological diagnoses such as anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders.
   
   • Empathy can be learned.^[25] Through therapy, one can begin to understand and experience empathy with animals, people, and all living things.

EditWarnings

• Sociopaths are less prone to emotion and may use emotions against other people. It is most effective to deal with this person in terms they can understand; if you must deal with this person, don't get your emotions involved.

EditRelated wikiHows

• How to Stop Obsessing over Disturbing Thoughts
• How to Deal with Borderline Personality Disorder
• How to Stop Repetitive Bad Memories
• How to Let out Your Sadness
• How to Deal With a Sociopath
• How to Spot-a-Pro-Social-Psychopath

EditSources and Citations

Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found

fernsandmoss:

Rebecca Horn, still from Performances II, 1973, showing Cockatoo Mask

In 2014, American journalist James Foley was kidnapped by ISIS militants in Syria. After a period of imprisonment and torture, he was executed on camera. The image of Foley in an orange jumpsuit, a hooded figure looming over him, has become permanently etched in our collective consciousness. For many who had never heard of Foley prior to his death, his life was defined by that terrible act. Director Brian Oakes seeks to remedy that.

Jim: The James Foley Story isn’t a hard-hitting piece of journalism. It doesn’t need to be. Although Foley’s reports from Libya and Syria are included throughout, much of the running time is devoted to interviews with Foley’s family and colleagues. They paint an intimate portrait of a restless figure, one who struggled with the banality of ordinary life in suburban New Hampshire. His friends in the field underline Foley’s work ethic and empathy: his determination to shine a light on atrocities in conflict zones; his difficulty coming to terms with the boundaries of journalistic distance; his occasional tendency towards macho aggression. His death made him into a political martyr. This documentary is a poignant attempt to articulate and reclaim that loss.

The second half of the documentary focuses on the photojournalists held captive alongside Foley in Syria. The filmmakers emulate the dimly lit, oppressive spaces in which they were imprisoned. The former inmates talk about their experiences trying to establish some semblance of a life – playing games, celebrating Christmas – amid the worst possible conditions. Their testimonies are interspersed with shadowy re-enactments of the torture they endured, made all the more distressing by the fact that we never see any violence in detail, leaving us to imagine the worst. Unsurprisingly, this is the most harrowing part of the documentary. But equally, as they talk about the strength they drew from Foley’s presence, it also manages to be its most moving.

The post Jim: The James Foley Story appeared first on Little White Lies.

Zika outbreaks are common in many countries around the world. According to the CDC, the latest list of countries with outbreaks includes: Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, Barbados, Saint Martin, Haiti, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, Samoa, and Cape Verde.^[1] There is no cure for Zika, but you can use a combination of home measures and medical treatments to help you recover as fast as possible.

EditSteps

EditUsing Home Measures

1. Stay hydrated.^[2] As you recover from Zika, make sure that you drink plenty of fluids. You can become dehydrated when you have Zika, and having a fever can make dehydration even worse. Drink at least the minimum amount of water each day (8 cups of water per day is recommended as the minimum), if not more.
   
   • Drinking non-caffeinated tea and/or electrolyte sports beverages is also a good way to stay hydrated.
   • Stay away from coffee and alcohol as you recover because they will dehydrate you even more.
2. Rest often.^[3] One of the best and easiest ways to boost the strength of your immune system is to get plenty of rest. Try to get at least eight hours of sleep every night until you have recovered from Zika.
   
   • You may also want to take a few days off work and avoid any stressful or physically demanding activities as you recover.
   • Try some relaxing activities as well such as reading a good book, watching a program on TV, or listening to some soothing music.
3. Boost your immune system. Since you will be relying on the natural strength of your immune system to fight off Zika, using strategies to boost your immune system may help. Be aware that there are no peer-reviewed studies supporting the use of supplements or vitamins to bolster your immune system. All evidence is anecdotal, so the following may or may not have an effect (but may be worth a try anyway).
   
   • Vitamin C. Take around 500 to 1000 milligrams of vitamin C daily to help boost your immune system.^[4]
   • Zinc. The recommended daily intake of zinc for adult men is 11 milligrams and the recommended daily intake for women is eight milligrams.^[5]
   • Garlic. Try drinking a tea made from a few cloves of crushed garlic or add a few cloves of minced garlic to your food each day.^[6]
   • Echinacea. Drinking a few cups of Echinacea tea daily may help as well. You can also take 300 milligram capsules of Echinacea capsules three times daily.^[7][8]

EditUsing Medical Treatments

1. See a doctor if your symptoms progress. In most cases, medical treatment for Zika is not necessary. You can just stay home and rest until you recover from Zika. However, if you experience any symptoms or pain that you cannot manage on your own, then you should see a doctor right away.
   
   • Since Zika can resemble dengue fever and chikungunya, it is a good idea to see your doctor to confirm your diagnosis as well. Your doctor can perform a simple blood test to confirm whether you have Zika or something else.^[9]
2. Take acetaminophen for pain. ^[10] If you are struggling with symptoms of fever and/or pain (the Zika virus can cause muscle aches and pains), then you can try taking acetaminophen (Tylenol). Acetaminophen is available over-the-counter at your local pharmacy or drugstore.
   
   • The usual dose is 500 to 1000mg every four to six hours. Do not exceed the recommended dosage.
3. Stay away from ibuprofen and aspirin. Note that, until your diagnosis of Zika is confirmed, it is wise to stay away from ibuprofen (Advil) and aspirin. If you have dengue fever instead of Zika (both are transmitted via the same type of mosquito), both ibuprofen and aspirin increase your risk of bleeding.^[11]
   
4. Look out for complications. As you recover, one thing to be aware of is the potential complications of the Zika virus. In many cases, you will recover within a week or so. However, there can be complications of Zika that you should watch for as you recover. Complications may include:^[12]
   
   • Guillain-Barre Syndrome.^[13] As you recover, look for any unusual signs of numbness or tingling in your feet or lower extremities. Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is an autoimmune disorder that sometimes follows a virus. It damages the outer coverings of your nerves, leading to numbness or even paralysis. GBS begins in the feet and lower legs, and moves up the body towards the head. This complication is rare, but you should see your doctor as soon as you can if you notice any of these symptoms.
   • Microcephaly.^[14] If you are recovering from Zika and happen to be pregnant, there is a possibility that your baby could be born with microcephaly. This is an abnormally small head circumference that is connected with developmental delays, intellectual disability and, in the most severe cases, death. If you are pregnant while recovering from Zika, or trying to become pregnant and have visited the above countries and develop symptoms, talk to your doctor to prepare for the possibility of this disability in your child.

EditRelated wikiHows

• Recognize and Treat Dengue Fever
• Recover from Chikungunya
• Recognize Zika
• Prevent Zika

EditSources and Citations

Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found

Artist: Diango Hernández

Venue: Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen

Exhibition Title: Theoretical Beach

Date: May 22 – August 28, 2016

Click here to view slideshow

Full gallery of images, press release and link available after the jump.

Images:

Images courtesy of Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen. Photos by Anne Pöhlmann.

Press Release:

Theoretical Beach, a major theme of this solo exhibition by Cuban artist Diango Hernández, meanders around the rooms of the castle. The title stands for the transition from sea to land. With simple materials and agile gestures, Diango Hernández transforms the whole castle into an open processual space that enables visitors to make the transition between sea and beach and sense the tension between the different elements.

Contemporary Art Daily is produced by Contemporary Art Group, a not-for-profit organization. We rely on our audience to help fund the publication of exhibitions that show up in this RSS feed. Please consider supporting us by making a donation today.

Since its inception, cinema has been a projection of dreams, an extension of the body and an agent of disruption. At the heart of cinema’s appeal is its eroticism and at the heart of eroticism is transgression. With the aim of keeping eroticism in cinema, Le Festival du Film de Fesses recently screened a selection of 11 short erotic films at the Phi Centre in Montreal. The question of eroticism in the modern age seems increasingly fractured, more accessible than ever, but still stigmatised on the big screen.

The late 1960s and early ’70s was an exceptional period in which pornographic films gained mainstream popularity. In the US, films like Deep Throat and Devil in Miss Jones attracted massive audiences. Internationally, movies like I Am Curious (Yellow), Emmanuelle and Deux Femmes en Or were also making waves. While the debate surrounding the actual box office records of these films remains, even conservatively speaking, Deep Throat made at least $25 million in theatres. What seemed impossible just 10 years earlier, as indecency laws dragged filmmakers like Russ Meyer to court in the early ’60s, briefly became a reality. Even today, the idea of even softcore pornography screening to mass audiences seems untenable.

The question of what constitutes eroticism today becomes vital when looking at the collection of shorts from the Le Festival du Film de Fesses programme. What counts as transgressive in the age of online pornography? What passes for erotic cinema in 2016?

One of the big shifts in erotic consciousness from the past to now lies in the transition from celluloid to digital. The French always referred to celluloid as ‘pellicule’, another word for skin. The idea of the haptic image, the idea of touching with your eyes, has evolved from something tactile to ethereal. Among the film’s screened as part of the festival, Peter Tscherkassky’s The Exquisite Corpus seems most preoccupied by this transition, creating a montage dream of old pornographic and advertising images. Told as a story of naked village people living by the ocean, an evocation of FW Murnau’s Tabu: A Story of the South Seas, a young naked girl falls asleep on the beach and finds her dreams invaded by an onslaught of vibrating and crackling images. Perhaps the most obviously tantalising film of the grouping as well, Tscherkassky draws on the tactility of film itself to inspire feelings of longing and desire.

Films that are actively tantalising, as with The Exquisite Corpus, present a unique experience in a theatrical setting. Seeing a film before an audience presents the opportunity for shared experiences, one of the reasons why genre films like horror and comedy are as popular as social experiences as they are cinematic ones. Eroticism and sex present a different challenge as experiencing arousal or desire in the cinema can be uncomfortable. It remains itself, a transgressive experience. Sex can and should be fun, but it’s hard not to admire films that forego comedy for actual erotic arousal. Sex by way of comedy gives the audience a comfortable distance from the material, an out from engaging with the forbidden, and facing any desire head-on.

The River Under the Tongue, directed by Carmen Jaquier, anticipates eroticism without needing to depict sex. Set in a lush forest, it follows three generations of women as they travel through the woods. A mother has read her daughter’s diary, to find a collection of sexual desires and experiences. The film defies any familiar time period, with no evidence of technology except cars. It’s a timeless story of growing up and connecting with our hidden selves. The diary entries that overlap images of the forest, both lived and imagined, create an aching pace of wanting. The intimate version of yourself that emerges only through your desires edges at the peripheries of those closest to you, your family. As the mother comes to terms with the unknowability of that part of her adult daughter’s life, she struggles even to connect to her pubescent daughter who will soon follow down that same path of erotic awakening. The film feels timeless, an asset and a burden.

Eroticism, not unlike horror, is often of the moment because morals and habits change: collective desire often reflecting deeper impulses of the collective than anything else. Daring to present a film or a vision that feels unique to the now feels more daring, and of the eleven films screened, only three films feel deeply and intimately connected to the contemporary.

Notre héritage, by Jonathan Vinel and Caroline Poggi, explores the burgeoning relationship between two teens as the adolescent boy comes to terms with his father’s work as a porn recruiter in Russia. Using lo-fi digital effects, the film evokes a kind of meme culture where we become (or rage against) the porn we watch.The film’s style often works against deeper insights, taking on an atmosphere of cold detachment and the affected style of an edgy perfume ad. It still has subversive elements, and the found footage style use of actual pornographic recruitment tapes are used poetically, infusing them by way of context and voice over with longing, melancholy, and empathy without exploiting exploitation for easy outrage.

Similarly working with a kind of modification of the image is Alexis Langlois’ raucous and celebratory Fanfreluches et idées noires about a huge queer friendly party in a tiny french apartment. Like a series of Klimt paintings come to life, the film feels like a celebration of sexual identity and the film works as an elaborate tableau aesthetically and tonally, evoking by way of diversity, a primordial and sparkly spectacle of a community. Though overlong, the film still bounces with the now through its intuitive use of music and a mercifully brief emoji cat cartoon interlude.

Of the short collection, perhaps the most bewildering and challenging is the experimental Panoptik, directed by Alexandre Ruffin. A disturbingly real faux documentary about an amateur small-scale porn magnate in Quebec, the film utilises entrancing techniques of obscuring the image through editing and image manipulation. Through the filter of this recruiter, a brash, long-haired egoist with a high pitched giggle masquerading as a laugh, the film tackles the blurring line between sex as intimacy and sex as performance. Playing on the word Panoptic, meaning to see a totality or a whole of points of view all at once, the film presents contemporary desire as fractured to the point of being divorced from the self.

Sex in the film teases at pornography without ever revealing much at all. The recruitment tapes, and much of the documentary footage feels painfully real. The loneliness of the subjects and of the recruiter palpable in their vulnerability and insatiable hunger. In the confounding totality of the sexual experience, the film feels truly transgressive in its treatment of exploitative sex as somehow cathartic in its self-immolation. Through gesture and desire, the film challenges the idea of sexual liberation by way of personal autonomy, depicting desperation and loneliness as a powerful and uncomfortable aphrodisiac. Experimental in style, Panoptik blurs lines between the real and the imagined, channeling poetically the filters of censorship and delayed gratification through the distortion of images and identities.

Erotic cinema is not yet dead, coasting on our ever changing stipulations for healthy desire. Art-house films still challenge audiences with images of sex and eroticism, while these tenants have all but disappeared from mainstream cinemas excepting the occasional myopic teen sex comedy. The mandate of Le Festival du Film de Fesses still feels fresh and necessary, challenging the limits of the cinematic experience, and encouraging an exploration of hidden wants and desires.

The post Is there still a place for eroticism in cinema? appeared first on Little White Lies.

How many fireflies would it take to match the brightness of the Sun?

Luke Doty

Not that many! I mean, it's definitely one of those gigantic numbers with lots of zeroes, but in the grand scheme of things, there aren't as many zeroes as you might expect.

Our first question: Where does firefly light even come from?

Fireflies may look like they're full of glow-in-the-dark goo, but the light they give off actually comes from a thin layer on their surface.[1]You can see some diagrams of the organs here and here. Lots of insects have glowing surface patches, and some of those patches have been studied carefully to calculate their brightness. A 1928 paper on beetles called "headlight bugs"[2]Such a great name. found that their glowing patches, which were a little over a square millimeter in area, emitted about 0.0006 lumens of light. Fireflies have luminous organs (bright patches) that are about the same size as those of headlight bugs,[3]See this paper on some common American fireflies. and their organs tend to have a similar peak brightness per area, so this figure is a good guess for the brightness of a firefly's lantern.

Firefly lights aren't "always-on." They blink on and off, with patterns that vary from species to species and situation to situation. These flashes carry information, some of which you can decode using this delightful chart.[4]You can also use LEDs to mess with firefly patterns, which feels strangely invasive.

To get the brightest light, let's assume we're using a species with a mostly-on duty cycle—like a headlight bug. How does its 0.0006-lumen light output compare to the Sun?

The Sun's brightness is \( 3.8\times10^{28} \) lumens, so by simple division, it would take \( 3\times10^{31} \) of those fireflies to emit the same amount of light. That's a surprisingly small number; adult fireflies weigh about 20 milligrams, which means \( 3\times10^{31} \) fireflies would only weigh about a third as much as Jupiter and 1/3000th as much as the Sun.

In other words, per pound, fireflies are brighter than the Sun. Even though bioluminescence is millions of times less efficient than the Sun's fusion-powered glow, the Sun can't afford to be as bright because it has to last billions of times longer.[5]If you like Fermi problems—and silly equations—there's an interesting route you can take to this answer without doing any research on fireflies or the Sun at all. Instead, you can just plug this equation into Wolfram|Alpha: (5 billion years / (4 hours/day * 3 months)) / (1% * (speed of light)^2 / (3200 calories/pound)).

Let's walk through it: The first half—the numerator—is a guess for the ratio between how long the Sun has to keep glowing compared to how long a firefly does. I took a wild guess that fireflies have to light up for a few hours each night for one summer, while the Sun has to last another five billion years. The second half—the denominator—is a guess as to the ratio between the stored energy in a pound of firefly vs a pound of star. Nuclear fusion converts about 1% of the input matter to energy, so from E=mc², the stored energy is c² kg/kg, whereas animal matter (say, butter) is about 3,200 food calories per pound. The result should tell us the ratio between a firefly's brightness per pound and the Sun's. And the answer we get says that the fireflies are a few thousand times brighter—which is roughly what we got from working through it the other way!

It's true that we got lucky with some of our guesses, but since we made errors in both directions, they tended to cancel out. This kind of thing works more often than it seems like it should!

But wait! A mass of fireflies that big would run into problems. Besides the obvious problems with gathering that many animals in one place, the fireflies would block each others' light. The inner fireflies would be hidden behind the outer ones, and the total brightness would be limited.[6]But the light from the core fireflies wouldn't just vanish. After bouncing around a few times, it would be absorbed by neighboring fireflies, which would get warmer. This is sort of like how radiation makes its way out of the Sun's core—but in the case of the fireflies, they'd die from the heat before the process got very far.

Since the only light that matters is the light at the surface, we could imagine arranging the fireflies in a hollow sphere, with their lanterns pointing outward. Or, to make thing simpler, we could imagine a single giant firefly. How big would it need to be?

Since we know our firefly will need to give off about \( 3\times10^{31} \) times as much light as a normal firefly, it will need a glowing patch \( 3\times10^{31} \) times larger. Since surface area is proportional to length squared, our firefly will have a body length \( \sqrt{3\times10^{31}}=5\times10^{15} \) times longer than a normal firefly, which would make it about the size of the Solar System.

Since mass is proportional to length cubed, our firefly would weigh \( \left( 3\times10^{31}\right)^{\tfrac{3}{2}}=1.6\times10^{47} \) times as much as a normal firefly, which works out to about half as much as the entire Milky Way galaxy.

Such a firefly would immediately collapse under its own weight and become a black hole. In fact, given the distribution of galaxies in our universe, there's an upper limit to how large black holes can grow, and this firefly would be bigger than that limit. That means our firefly would become the largest black hole in the universe. It would give off a lot of light as it devoured our galaxy, and then, eventually, it would give off none at all.

Black holes last a long time, but they eventually evaporate through Hawking radiation. When the black hole era of our universe comes to an end, black holes will evaporate one by one, with the smallest evaporating faster. Since our firefly's black hole would be the largest one in the universe, it would be the last to evaporate—a final outpost of irregularity in a universe fading toward heat death.

We should probably add that to the identification chart, just in case.

Someone has gone to the trouble of creating a little noose out of string and hanging a sparrow from a branch by its neck. Happening across this macabre sculpture, jittery lothario Witold (Jonathan Genet) and his fashion designer pal Fuchs (Johan Libéreau) decide to dedicate some of their spare time to cultivating an investigation.

They take a room in a family-run guest house, entering into a lop-sided bubble of surreal squabbles, experimental seafood suppers and erotically ingested cigarettes. Polish director Andrzej Zulawski died shortly after the premiere of Cosmos at the 2015 Locarno Film Festival, but he has left us with a giddy masterwork whose every frame positively heaves with stimulating ideas and incident. Adapted from the absurdist 1965 novel by fellow Pole Witold Gombrowicz, it’s a story propelled less by logic than by its willingness to connect together symbols and clues in a rabid search for its own meaning.

Once the tone settles after the first few minutes, each scene is charged with hair-trigger suspense, as Zulawski promises us that nothing and no-one will head in the direction we expect. What’s being said eventually seems less important than how it’s being said, at what volume, to whom (if anyone), and who is speaking (often everyone). It’s a cinematic symphony which jackknifes on a dime from the insane to the introspective. Witold clamours to understand what’s happening, but his questions just lead to more questions. He realises that he must focus on what’s important, and chalk up the torrent of enigmas as eccentric background noise.

Not by any means for the faint of heart, Cosmos is nonetheless a juddering cloudburst of pure visual and aural energy, a rare instance of deep intellectual enquiry buoyed by unexpected jolts of pulsing emotion. Everyone involved understands that they don’t need to understand – it makes Zulawski’s precise orchestration of the cracked action appear all the more remarkable. A swansong of scary, screwball eminence.

The post Cosmos appeared first on Little White Lies.

In Huntington, New York, Your Shot member Juan Osorio’s daughter dreams of a trip that’s out of this world. “[She] wants to fly to the moon,” he writes. “[In this photo], I wanted to create a surreal world with the balloons in which you have several angles of view, like having several cameras showing the landscape and Sophia the astronaut.”

This photo was submitted to Your Shot, our storytelling community where members can take part in photo assignments, get expert feedback, be published, and more. Join now >>