The Guardian: Tom Hanks on surviving coronavirus: ‘I had crippling body aches, fatigue and couldn’t concentrate’. “Hanks is used to bowing to the changed landscape. Back in March, while he was filming in Australia, he and his wife, Rita Wilson, became, he says, “the celebrity canaries in the coalmine of all things Covid-19”. They were among the earliest and certainly most famous people in the west to be diagnosed with the virus on 10 March, and were hospitalised for three days. I ask if they have suffered any after effects of the illness.”
Famous People
The Next Web: New AI project captures Jane Austen’s thoughts on social media
The Next Web: New AI project captures Jane Austen’s thoughts on social media. “The project — called AI|Writer — uses OpenAI’s new text generator API to create simulated conversations with virtual historical figures. The system first works out the purpose of the message and the intended recipient by searching for patterns in the text. It then uses the API‘s internal knowledge of that person to guess how they would respond in their written voice.”
Apartment Therapy: Lucy Liu is Also an Artist—and Her First U.S. Museum Exhibition Can be Toured Online
Apartment Therapy: Lucy Liu is Also an Artist—and Her First U.S. Museum Exhibition Can be Toured Online. “While known for her movie and TV roles, actor Lucy Liu’s resume goes well beyond Hollywood. She’s also a painter and sculptor—and Liu’s first U.S. museum exhibition is now available to tour online. Entitled ‘Lucy Liu: One of These Things is Not Like the Other,’ Liu’s exhibition of wood sculptures and paintings is available to tour on the Napa Valley Museum’s website from now until August 2. To access the tour, museum attendees are asked to make a donation of any amount to provide support for the museum amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”
AceShowbiz: Idris Elba Debuts Charity Single To Fund Black Cultural Archives
AceShowbiz: Idris Elba Debuts Charity Single To Fund Black Cultural Archives . “Idris Elba has released a single to raise funds for Britain’s Black Cultural Archives (BCA) institution. The actor and DJ has teamed up with south London rapper Tiggs Da Author and electro-pop producers The Knocks for the track, ‘One Fine Day’.”
New York Times: Bogus Ideas Have Superspreaders, Too
New York Times: Bogus Ideas Have Superspreaders, Too. “…whether they intend it or not, celebrities, politicians and others with large online followings can be superspreaders — not of the coronavirus but of dangerous or false information. And I wonder whether these prominent people need to be held to stricter rules.”
Vanilla Ice Cancels 4th of July Concert: ‘I Didn’t Know the Numbers Were So Crazy!’ (Consequence of Sound)
Annnnnd from Consequence of Sound: Vanilla Ice Cancels 4th of July Concert: ‘I Didn’t Know the Numbers Were So Crazy!’. “‘I listened to my fans, I hear all you people out here. I didn’t know the numbers were so crazy,’ he said in an Instagram video. ‘We just want to stay safe, we do take it seriously, and we want to make sure everyone stays safe. We wanted to have a good time on Fourth of July, but it turned into a big vocal point on me, and it’s not about that.'”
Topple the Racists: Interactive map shows statues linked to slavery in Scotland and UK (The Herald)
The Herald: Topple the Racists: Interactive map shows statues linked to slavery in Scotland and UK. “Anti-racism campaigners have created an interactive map detailing the statues in the UK that have links to slavery, which they argue should be taken down. The ‘Topple the Racists’ website features twelve Scottish monuments on its crowdsourced list of statues and monuments to slave traders and colonialists.”
Security Boulevard: High-Profile Data Thefts Shine Spotlight on Dark Web
Security Boulevard: High-Profile Data Thefts Shine Spotlight on Dark Web. “Recent ransomware threats leveled at President Trump, Lady Gaga and Madonna have raised awareness of the need to not only better secure data but also devoting more resources to determine what data has been exposed on the Dark Web. The cybercriminals who make up the REvil (Sodinokibi) ransomware gang this week launched an auction site where they plan to sell stolen data they were unable to ransom. Previously, REvil claimed to have stolen data from Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, a law firm that primarily serves celebrities, and Agromart, an agricultural company based in Canada. Other apparent victims include Wartman Law Firm, Fraser Wheeler and Courtney LLP and Vierra Magen Marcus LLP.”
WWD: Leading Black Female Figures Take Over Celebrity Instagram Accounts in Social Media Action
WWD: Leading Black Female Figures Take Over Celebrity Instagram Accounts in Social Media Action. “A new social media campaign focused on magnifying black women’s voices is launching Wednesday. Actress and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow, soccer star Megan Rapinoe and a number of other white celebrities will be handing over their Instagram accounts for the day to prominent black women, including Teen Vogue editor Lindsay Peoples Wagner and Endeavor chief marketing officer Bozoma Saint John, for #sharethemicnow.”
Seventeen: How to Watch All the Virtual Graduations with Your Favorite Celebs
Seventeen: How to Watch All the Virtual Graduations with Your Favorite Celebs. “Whether you’re the one graduating or someone close to you is, commencement is still a pretty incredible time to get together and celebrate . While the current coronavirus pandemic has caused commencement ceremonies around the country to shut down and move virtually, several of our favorite celebs have come together to make our dreams come true. Virtual commencement ceremonies will be happening all month and you definitely want to tune in to check out all the incredible performances and speeches.”
WCCO: Walker Art Center Unveils Online Archive Of 3 Decades’ Worth Of Filmmaker Interviews, Retrospectives
WCCO: Walker Art Center Unveils Online Archive Of 3 Decades’ Worth Of Filmmaker Interviews, Retrospectives. “Over the course of the last three decades, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis has hosted retrospectives of many of the most internationally renowned contemporary filmmakers, as part of their Dialogues and Film Retrospectives series. The roster of luminaries highlighted by the Walker since 1990 includes directors like Clint Eastwood, Spike Lee, Robert Altman, Jane Campion, Werner Herzog, Agnes Varda, Abbas Kiarostami, Joel and Ethan Coen, Claire Denis, and John Waters; and also actors like Jodie Foster, Tom Hanks, Lily Taylor, and Harry Belafonte.”
PR Newswire: The Princess and The Platypus Foundation Presents The Princess Diana Museum (PRESS RELEASE)
PR Newswire: The Princess and The Platypus Foundation Presents The Princess Diana Museum (PRESS RELEASE). “The largest collection of Princess Diana’s personal historical items in the world currently on display, online 24/7. The only Diana online museum that contains over 1,700 carefully curated iconic, personal and historical artifacts spanning Diana’s lifetime from early childhood through her tragic death. Displayed in a 3D interactive environment, the artifacts depict her incredible life and reveal her enduring legacy.”
Daily Beast: Meet the Out-of-Work Women Stripping on Instagram for Celebs During the Pandemic
Daily Beast: Meet the Out-of-Work Women Stripping on Instagram for Celebs During the Pandemic. “For Munni, a 23-year-old Manhattanite, things were looking particularly dire. She was laid off from both of her jobs—cashier at a bagel shop and hostess at a Japanese restaurant—in mid-March, and had just $60 to her name. ‘I was late on my rent and got laid off from my job a few days before the pandemic really hit New York,’ she tells The Daily Beast. ‘It was really scary for me, and I was stressed out about how I would make ends meet.’ Then a friend told her about Demon Time, a roving virtual strip club on Instagram Live, where women could dance anonymously (in a ski mask, or by leaving their head out of the frame) for an online audience of thousands, including celebrities ranging from The Weeknd to Kevin Durant, and rake in thousands of dollars a night.”
GQ: How Instagram Live Became Appointment Viewing
GQ: How Instagram Live Became Appointment Viewing. “On Instagram Live on any given day over the past two months, you may have watched SZA lead a sound bowl meditation, Rihanna and Lil Uzi Vert do the Futsal Shuffle, or Offset make an offer on Reese Witherspoon’s dad’s car. Seemingly overnight, Instagram Live has become a digital smorgasbord, catering to all manner of pop-culture predilections, many of which you probably didn’t know you had in the first place…. While all these shows differ in content, there’s an energetic thread that runs throughout them: a quaint clumsiness and a spontaneous sort of humanity that you rarely encounter in such abundance on celebrity social media channels.”
Haslemere Herald: New website offers sneak peak at Jane Austen House’s collection
Haslemere Herald: New website offers sneak peak at Jane Austen House’s collection. “JANE Austen’s House in Chawton has announced a number of newly-acquired objects via its new website, which launched last week. Short videos will also be shared via social media, allowing the public a sneak peek at the new treasures in the house’s collection while its doors are closed during the Covid-19 outbreak.”
