Comment on At South by Southwest, musical diversity trumps adversity

On May 30, Lorenzo Fontana, President of Italy’s Chamber of Deputies and a member of the right-wing political party Lega (League), announced that the seat once occupied by Giacomo Matteotti, the socialist deputy who was assassinated by Benito Mussolini’s henchmen in 1924, would remain vacant in perpetuity. A plaque was installed to commemorate Matteotti’s political murder, Fontana explained, and the empty seat in the Chamber would stand as a “permanent reminder of his sacrifice.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] A century later, the lessons of Italy’s “Matteotti Crisis” continue to resonate.

PARKLAND, Fla. — A crew is scheduled Friday to begin tearing down the three-story classroom building where 17 people died in the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The victims’ families have been invited to watch the first blows and hammer off a piece themselves if they choose.

We don’t live in a world where sexuality is commonly accepted as something that can change, bend, or even be questioned in private. The cultural presumption, oftentimes, is that people are heterosexual until stated otherwise. And if they are not heterosexual, then they will fit neatly into one of the letters in the LGBTQIA+ acronym for life.

Inside Out fans last saw 11-year-old Riley—and Joy, Fear, Sadness, Anger, and Disgust, a.k.a. the five core emotions in the headquarters of her brain—finally accept her feelings in the conclusion to Pixar’s beloved, Oscar-winning 2015 film. In return, she received a brand new “expanded console” control board. On it flashed a red emergency light labeled “Puberty.” ”What’s “Poo-berty?” asks Disgust.

Even before I became a climber, my dad was always my rock. He was always willing to teach me how to throw a baseball or shoot a basket, or just to listen when I needed him to. No matter what, he was quiet but supportive, wise but with open ears. It was my dad who first took me and a friend to the local climbing gym one Sunday afternoon, when I was 14, and from that first taste, I became obsessed.

BARI, Italy — Pope Francis is no stranger to artificial intelligence — a deepfake photo of him in a white puffer jacket went viral last year — but his concerns about AI go far beyond an unflattering shot and are now taking center stage at the Group of Seven summit. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Francis will address G7 leaders on Friday at their annual gathering in southern Italy — a first for a pope.