Yemi's Newsletter

Security breaches and potential bioweapons?

Yemi Davis — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 17:23:08 +0000

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Yeaaaahh…you probably should go change your passwords…

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

In what may be the largest credential leak ever recorded, researchers have uncovered 16 billion login credentials exposed online, and there’s a good chance your login details are included.

The leak isn’t from a single hack, but a combination of 30 separate datasets, many of them freshly scraped from the infostealer malware - a malicious software that quietly steals login info, cookies, session tokens, and other digital breadcrumbs from infected devices.

Unlike past leaks full of outdated or duplicated data, this one appears dangerously fresh. The datasets include logins tied to services like Facebook, Google, Apple, Telegram, and GitHub, not because those companies were directly breached, but because user credentials were stolen while logging into those platforms.

The implications are massive: account takeovers, phishing scams, identity theft, and even bypassing two-factor authentication using stolen tokens. Researchers say new mega-dumps like this are appearing every few weeks, signalling a shift in how cybercriminals operate.

There’s no clear way to tell how many unique users were affected, but even with duplicates, the scale is jaw-dropping. And with no confirmed source behind the leak, there’s no official damage control, meaning we’re largely on our own for the most part.

Here’s what you can do:

Change your passwords (and for the love of God, don’t use the same password for all your accounts lol)
Consider using a password manager to store everything. iPhones have the built-in Passwords app, and Android devices also have their own version of that. If you’re a privacy nerd, check out Bitwarden
Consider setting up two-factor authentication (2FA)

You can check if you’ve been compromised by using Cybernews’ tool or HaveIBeenPwned

FBI arrests two scientists attempting to smuggle a dangerous bioweapon into the US

Photo by Marco Palumbo on Unsplash

Two Chinese nationals have been charged with smuggling a potentially dangerous biological pathogen into the US.

According to the US Attorney’s Office in Michigan, 33-year-old Yunqing Jian and 34-year-old Zunyong Liu attempted to bring Fusarium graminearum (bruh, how do you even pronounce that) into the country. It is a fungus known to devastate crops like wheat, barley, and maize, and capable of causing serious health issues if it contaminates food supplies.

Authorities say Liu smuggled the fungus through Detroit airport, allegedly planning to study it at a University of Michigan lab where Jian, his girlfriend, worked.

A Chinese embassy spokesperson responded that Beijing expects its citizens to follow local laws and will defend their legal rights.

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📚 I’M READING

The 1% Rule by Tommy Baker

Currently knee-deep in this book and it’s been hitting in all the right ways.

The core idea is beautifully simple: stop chasing overnight wins and start stacking daily progress. Just 1% better, every day. That’s it. No hype, no drama, just consistency with intention. It’s the kind of mindset shift that makes you rethink all the pressure we put on big goals and quick results.

If you’ve been feeling stuck, scattered, or just tired of chasing plans that never stick, this might be one to consider. I’d definitely recommend adding it to your reading list.

Check it out here

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That’s it for today, gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

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When Your Flight Attendant’s on a Different Kind of Trip

Yemi Davis — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 16:30:00 +0000

A new class of antibiotics has been discovered!

Photo by Christina Victoria Craft on Unsplash

A new antibiotic has been discovered and it might actually save your life one day.

It’s called lariocidin, and scientists are excited because it does something no drug has ever done: it targets a totally new part of bacteria that nothing else has touched before.

Why does that matter? Because antibiotic resistance is no joke. We’re entering a weird future where a simple infection, a cut, a cough, even a trip to the dentist could turn into a nightmare just because our go-to antibiotics are gradually becoming less efficient.

How did we get here? We’ve been using (and overusing) the same types of antibiotics for decades; in humans, in livestock, even in farming. Bacteria have had time to adapt, evolve, and basically build armor against the old stuff. So now, when they see penicillin walk in, they just shrug and are like “you ain’t shit”.

Enter lariocidin: a lasso-shaped molecule that punches through bacteria like a battering ram, shuts down their protein factories, and basically confuses them to death. And unlike many other antibiotics, bacteria can’t easily evolve a way around it.

Even better, it works against some of the scariest, drug-resistant bugs we’ve got. In early tests, it cleared serious infections in mice without harming human cells. And scientists think there might be loads of similar molecules out there waiting to be discovered.

In short: this could be a big leap forward in the fight against superbugs. The kind of leap that might keep hospital visits safe, surgeries routine, and future you... alive.

Still early days — but definitely one to watch. If you’d like to read the paper, you can find it here.

I thought we collectively agreed not to do drugs anymore? 🙄

Photo by Isaac Struna on Unsplash

A few days ago, a British Airways flight attendant was arrested on suspicion of being unfit for duty.

You're probably wondering, “What does that even mean, Yemi?“.

So there was a 10-ish hour long flight from San Fanciso to London. The flight attendants then noticed one of their colleagues was missing and hadn’t been serving meals and drinks as expected. So the search began. They searched high and low and high again.

Well, you won’t believe this 41-year-old dude was later found in the business class toilet, having the time of his life, dancing…….BUTT-ASS-NEKKIDDD!!! 😩

Lord Jesus be a fence! 😖

His colleagues quickly dressed him in a spare pair of pyjamas reserved for First Class passengers and then took him into the First Class cabin, where he was strapped into his seat to remain there for the rest of the journey.

According to The Sun, one crew member said, “We think the guy popped pills when he was meant to be working. It is an extraordinary thing to do.” while another commented: "The plane was cruising at 37,000ft over the Atlantic, but this bloke seemed to be higher than anyone else.”

Upon landing, the flight attendant received medical attention and was escorted off the plane in a wheelchair before being arrested by airport police.

Now here’s something you don’t see everyday

Photo by Fredrick F. on Unsplash

Imagine waking up to a BIG ASS ship in your garden?

No, seriously. Imagine opening your window and seeing a 443-foot cargo ship chillin’ in your front yard like it pays rent.

That’s exactly what happened to Johan Helberg in Norway at around 5AM a few weeks ago. A 135-meter container ship (yes, with 16 people on board) somehow veered off course and plowed straight into his compound in Byneset, near Trondheim.

The wild part? Johan didn’t even wake up when it happened.

It was his neighbour who watched the ship cruise in like a scene from Fast & Furious, that started frantically ringing his bell. Johan eventually stumbled out of bed, opened the window, and was met with a towering green metal wall of WTF.

The ship missed his actual house by just a few metres. A couple of metres further south and it would've joined him in bed. Cozy.

Thankfully, no one was injured. But the whole thing is now under investigation, and officials still have no clue what caused the crash.

As Johan put it to the BBC: “It’s a very bulky new neighbour, but it’ll soon go away.”

Japan’s Artificial Blood Could End the Compatibility Drama for Good

Photo by Aman Chaturvedi on Unsplash

Imagine blood type no longer being a barrier in healthcare; in surgery, emergencies, or even childbirth. That’s the vision behind a new artificial blood currently being trialed in Japan.

Led by Professor Hiromi Sakai, researchers gave 100–400 milliliters of this lab-made blood to 16 healthy volunteers earlier this year. The goal? To build a universal blood supply that lasts up to two years and works for any blood type.

Why does this matter? Because the current blood system is kind of a mess. About 40% of the world’s blood donations come from ‘rich’ countries, which only make up 16% of the population. That leaves billions without reliable access. In low-income nations, this shortage costs lives every day.

What’s inside this new blood? It’s made from hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying stuff in red blood cells) extracted from expired donor blood, then wrapped in a protective fat shell. This makes it virus-free with minimal immune response. Basically, it mimics red blood cells without all the complications.

Side effects so far? Minor stuff like fever or rashes all cleared quickly. The next step is to test how well it actually performs in real clinical scenarios.

If it works, this could rewrite how we do blood transfusions making surgeries safer, emergency responses faster, and healthcare more equitable across the globe.

2030 is the target for rollout. Big if true. Let’s see if the science holds up.

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Apple’s new F1 Movie trailer - Apple just realeased this really cool trailer for the upcoming F1 movie! Yeah Yemi….its a trailer like others - what gives? Well that’s where you’re wrong? Leveraging the power of the haptic motors in the iPhone (the things inside the phone that make it go brrrrrrr) you can actually feel the engines rumble, car crashes and more! You know what? Just Check it out here

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That’s it for today, gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

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No US International Student Visas, New COVID-19 Variant in the Wild?

Yemi Davis — Thu, 29 May 2025 15:59:55 +0000

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Sigh….Netflix, Ads & Ai

Photo by Mollie Sivaram on Unsplash

Word on the street is that Netflix is exploring a new type of ad. One that will use AI to allow advertisers to serve ads that blend in with movies and TV shows you watch.

They actually demoed this at their Upfront event. The example, featured the image of a product over a background inspired by one of its shows.

This is expected to launch sometime in 2026 and Netflix says advertisers will be able to insert this new ad format in the middle of what you’re watching or put them on the screen when you pause, for a quick snack…or whatever you do when you pause lol.

No more International Student Visas in the US - for now.

Photo by Kit (formerly ConvertKit) on Unsplash

The Trump Administration has now ordered all US embassies globally to put a temporary hold on all new international student visa appointments.

For some added context, the US took in over 1.1 Million students in 2024 all of who collectively contributed nearly $44 Billion to the economy.

According to a cable obtained by Politico, this is being done as a part of the administration’s plan to introduce deeper social media vetting for international student visa applicants. Previously, social media screening targeted students involved in specific protests, but the new approach could broaden the scope, which of course raises concerns about privacy and free speech.

I don’t know how to say this

Photo by Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash

In January this year, a new COVID-19 variant called NB.1.8.1 was first detected in China, and the WHO had kinda been monitoring things ever since. However it’s now somehow found its way to the US and as of 27th May, less than 20 cases of the variant had been reported according to the CDC. Globally, as of May 18, 518 cases of NB.1.8.1 had been submitted to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) from 22 countries.

NB.1.8.1 is a "slightly upgraded version" of the LP.8.1 variant which is currently the prominent variant - Subhash Verma, microbiology and immunology professor at the University of Nevada, Reno tells USA Today. He added, “NB.1.8.1 is likely to spread more rapidly and evade our immune defences more easily than LP.8.1, which is why this variant requires careful monitoring,“. According to the CDC, the symptoms include:

Fever or chills
Cough
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Sore throat
Congestion or a runny nose
New loss of taste or smell
Fatigue
Muscle or body aches
Headache
Nausea or vomiting

So now what?

If you live in a country with reported cases and haven’t gotten vaccinated in a while, now might be a good time to reconsider.

The CDC has a pretty handy guide to vaccination which you can find here and it helps determine whether or not you’ll need one. However, It is important to consult your doctor first before taking any measures.

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Space Selfies - You can literally now send your photo to space and get it back with Earth as the backdrop. It’s part of an epic STEM-powered project by CrunchLabs (the brainchild of ex-NASA engineer Mark Rober).

Here’s how it works: You upload your photo to the Space Selfie site, which then sends it to the satellite. It then snaps a photo with the curvature of the Earth in view and sends it back to you. Space selfie, secured. If you want to get even fancier, you can even tell them what country would like in the background so your selfie gets taken when the satellite is within the orbit of that country.

Whether you’re a space nerd, parent, teacher, or just want the most out-of-this-world profile pic—this one’s pure cosmic fun. Check it out here

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That’s it for today, gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

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Attention all baldies - I come bearing good news! 🙌🏼

Yemi Davis — Tue, 13 May 2025 16:25:00 +0000

I want to kick off today’s newsletter by saying a massive THANK YOU to all 1,200+ of you! Yup, you read that right. We’ve hit 1,200+ newsletter subscribers. I started this newsletter as a way to share news in a more engaging way, alongside opportunities, and handy tools with the world. It’s been a 2-year rollercoaster, and I feel blessed to have you all riding with me all through! I couldn’t have done it without you. Shout out to everyone who has been in feedback, words of encouragement and banter, I don’t take any of it for granted! Here’s to many more years - to infinity and beyond! 🥂

Okay, I’m done being mushy lmaoo - news time, let’s goooo!

Get a load of this guy 🙄

Photo by Jeremy McGilvrey on Unsplash

On the 26th of March, 2025, 74-year-old Jerome Dewald, appeared in court for an employment dispute hearing. Now, the thing is, the court had signed off on him being able to submit a video for his case to present his oral argument. Not even up to a minute into the video, Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels jumped in “Hold on……is that counsel for the case?”. The person on the video wasn’t Jerome.

“I generated that,” Dewald responded. “It’s not a real person.”. This dude straight up tried to use an AI avatar in his case, and of course, the judge was not having any of it lol.

”It would have been nice to know that when you made your application. You did not tell me that, sir, I don’t appreciate being misled………You are not going to use this courtroom as a launch for your business.”

For added context, Jerome is behind an AI startup called Tavus

Here’s the court footage if you’d like to watch it:

Looks like we might have a potential cure for baldness…

Gif by mlb on Giphy

Pelage Pharmaceuticals, a company founded by a team of UCLA scientists, claims to have discovered a cure for baldness, a topical molecule they call PP405 (hehe 🥲).

They’ve just received the results from their first round of human testing, and the results look promising! They found a nearly 70% activity increase in dormant hair follicles and a massive increase in stem cell activity, all from only 1 week of use. It truly is a major breakthrough, as they have found no major side effects from their tests.

Last year, they raised an additional $14 million in a round led by Google Ventures. They expect to hopefully get FDA approval by 2030, after which they can fully go to market, which is great news for my comrades whose hairlines are doing things we’d rather not have them do 👀

What a time to be a mum in Hungary!

Photo by Xavier Mouton Photographie on Unsplash

Starting this year, mothers in Hungary will be able to earn income tax-free up until the age of 30. Mothers with three children will pay no tax for life, starting from October 2025, and mothers with two kids will also enjoy the same privilegestarting in January 2026.

Pretty cool, right?

This is a part of their Parents First Policy to help make parenting more affordable.

Their goal is to build the world’s first family-centred economy through initiatives like this, monthly cash benefits for families, free education, caps for housing loan interest rates and more!

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🔦 LOOK WHAT I FOUND

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Universal Android Debloater GUI - This one might come in handy for Android power users! You’ve just gotten your new phone, turn it on, complete setup and boom - you’re greeted with a bunch of obsucre ass apps that you’ll probably end up not using. Yeah, bloatware can be annoying, but Universal Android Debloater GUI is a tool that promises to help with that. You set it up on your computer, plug in your phone, and it displays a full list of all the apps installed on your device. You can then choose which you’d like to delete. It also has a feature that archives the ones you deleted so you can restore them in future if you need to. Do note that this is a power-user tool, so it’s important to actually know what you’re doing (and of course make a backup) before using it.

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Sizzle - Hey, foodie, I’ve got something for you, too. You know when you’re scrolling through TikTok and you see this mouthwatering cooking video and you’re like “shiiiii I want me summadat” (KNOWING FULLY WELL YOU CANT COOOK FOR SHIT 🌚). I discovered a new app called Sizzle. All you do is import your recipe video into the app, and with the power of AI, it will write out the entire recipe and create an ingredient list ANDDDDDD you can even have them deliver those ingredients to you!! Need I say more?

Check it out here

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✨ OPPORTUNITIES

Art Like Salt 2025 Open Call for Residency Artists - Application Deadline: 28th May
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OPEN CALL: IV International Poetic Films Showcase - Application Deadline: 30th June
OPEN CALL: SPAM New Media Festival 2025 - Application Deadline: 16th May
Reel Change: Fund for Diversity in Film Scoring
PRS Foundation Early Career Promoter Fund for Music Promoters - Application Deadline: 15th May
PRS Foundation Beyond Borders Music Program - Application Deadline: 25th July
Arts Council England Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) Fund - Application Deadline: 22nd May
Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants
2025 Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards - Application Deadline: 24th June

🎧 I’M LISTENING TO

She's Fire

Ginton, Koba Brown · After Dub · Song · 2023

open.spotify.com/track/1UyMJHZBGs3ahZ4GOiEt71?si=25aab2fb641e4376

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That’s it for today, gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

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We really can't catch a break can we? 😔

Yemi Davis — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 16:00:00 +0000

What would you do if…

Gif by beeldengeluid on Giphy

Imagine you’re on holiday in France with your partner. It was an absolutely amazing adventure with a camera roll full of photos and videos for memories.

Holidays now over, and you two drive for hours all the way back to the UK. You two are now unpacking your luggage in the car only to find some dude has been hiding at the back of your vehicle THE WHOLE TRIP BACK!!!

Yeah, I don’t know about you, but I’d be shitting bricks!

By the way, this is an actual real life story that happened to an actual real life couple!

The ‘stowaway’ was a 16-year-old migrant from Sudan, who boarded their vehicle on their way to the UK via ferry. As soon as he was discovered, they called the police to report the situation.

but the plot thickens….

You’d think (I don’t even know what I thought would happen, but) the police would pull up and take the boy into custody and you know, do police stuff (which they did do); but they ended up also slapping the couple with a £1,500 fine for “check that no clandestine entrant was concealed“.

You really can’t win with these people

Photo by Haberdoedas on Unsplash

There’s this food lab called Mattson who have over the last 50 years been “creating the future of food“.

They’ve recently been working on what they call “GLP-1 Optimised/Friendly products”, which are foods that include reformulated ingredients that can potentially bypass the effects of GLP-1 drugs (Ozempic, Wegovy and the likes).

So for context, GLP-1 works by mimicking the hormones that tell your brain you’re ‘full‘ in turn resulting in reduced appetite.

Why all this you ask?

Well, one of the side effects of this drug is that users report changes in the types of foods they are interested in eating and tend to prioritise organic food over processed foods. So people on GLP-1 are buying less food (well less processed food) - and that in turn means less money for “Big Food“ companies.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Walmart US CEO, John Furner, mentioned that they’ve noticed people taking GLP-1 agonist appetite suppressant medications are buying "less units, slightly less calories".

Food engineers are now hard at work to create this new range of foods to get GLP-1 users, which sort of defeats the purpose of the drug. It would be interesting to see how this develops over time and if it actually catches on.

Humaine has now shut down

Remember Humaine - the company that made the AI Pin that caused such a major uproar in the tech space last year?

Well, they’ve now shut down operations. They announced they had been acquired by HP for $116 million! This deal includes Humane’s CosmOS, Humane’s technical staff and will also include over 300 patents and patent applications.

They reportedly started looking for buyers shortly after they launched, due to poor sales.

As of 3 PM ET on February 28th, all Ai Pins stopped connecting to Humaine servers, essentially leaving customers with bricked devices.

Bloomberg reports that “Humane’s team, including founders Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, will form a new division at HP to help integrate artificial intelligence into the company’s personal computers, printers and connected conference rooms,” per an HP executive. The new team will be called HP IQ, which will be “

Breakthrough research making ‘waves‘ in animation

Photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash

Researchers at Yale University and University of California, Santa Cruz have now figured out how to properly and more accurately recreate black hair digitally.

Why does this even matter, you ask?

Well simulating and animating hair digitally has always been a massive pain in the ass for animators. To solve this problem, several algorithms have been created to help simulate hair. However, this opened up another can of worms as most of these algorithms were based on loose curls and straight hair, leaving out afro hair types with tighter curls such as 4C, etc. So they would have to manually tweak things to get things to look as close to accurate as possible, which I can tell you is not a fun task. Hence why a lot of animated black characters ended up having odd-looking hair.

The Curly-Cue: Geometric Methods for Highly Coiled Hair study by Haomiao Wu, Alvin Shi, A.M. Darke and Theodore Kim

One of the biggest wins from this project was figuring out how to make curls that aren’t just perfect spirals. Coily hair has these little “switchbacks” where the curl changes direction, and they found a way to show that. They also figured out how coily hair naturally separates at the ends, which works differently from straight hair.

This is exciting research for the TV, movie and game industries - It would be great to see how this is implemented in the future.

✨ OPPORTUNITIES

Open Call Fresh Legs 2025 - Application Deadline: 31st March
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2025 Global Fellows in Courage Program - Application Deadline: 1st April
IN-SONORA Open Call 14 - Application Deadline: 7th April
Call for Delegates: World Bank Group Youth Summit - Application Deadline: 15th April
Abbey Mural Prize 2025 - Application Deadline: 2nd May
The UNICEF Venture Fund for Women-led Tech Startups - Application Deadline: 8th May

🎧 I’M LISTENING TO

NISSAN ALTIMA

Doechii · Alligator Bites Never Heal · Song · 2024

open.spotify.com/track/2dKkVF2m160z0RNDN2dddc?si=6cd0b17567be4a96

Listen to and save the entire playlist on Spotify

That’s it for today gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

If you like Yemi’s Newsletter and want to support my work:

Forward this to a friend and invite them to subscribe to Yemi’s Newsletter
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So some dude nearly got swallowed by a whale the other day 🐳

Yemi Davis — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:22:10 +0000

UK Home Office vs Apple

Photo by William Hook on Unsplash

So the thing is Apple has this feature called Advanced Data Protection ADP built into their operating systems which is their version of end-to-end encryption. What it does is to lock all your data such that it’s so secure that not even Apple would be able to access your data even if they tried. However, you have to opt in to actually get the benefits.

A few weeks ago, the UK government were reported to have demanded Apple give them back-door access to ADP for UK-based users. This was served under the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), which compels firms to provide information to law enforcement agencies. The crowd went wild! Security analysts were complaining, even two senior US politicians chimed in calling it a threat to American national security.

Apple has always had a clear stance on these sorts of issues and as a result, has now disabled the ADP feature for UK users as opposed to giving the government backdoor access

Right, which one of you weirdos asked for this? - It sure as hell wasn’t me 🙄

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Tech accessory manufacturer Zugu has announced their latest ‘innovation‘ called The In Case of Death Case.

*sigh*

It is an iPad case that comes bundled with a synced smart ring with a heart rate monitor built into it.

The ring constantly monitors the heart rate of the wearer and in the event of death, it will send a trigger to the iPad which will cause it to completely wipe the device.

Yeah, even browser history 💀

This saves the post-humus embarrassment of your loved ones seeing all the wired shit you get up to when no ones looking.

You can learn more about it on their website.

No but seriously though - which one of you was it? Own up now 👀

Can you imagine being trapped in a whale’s mouth?

Gif by OurPlanet on Giphy

One faithful day, Adrián Simancas and his dad were out kayaking in the Chilean Patagonia region. Out of nowhere, a giant humpback whale showed up and trapped both Adrián and his kayak in its mouth!

Crazy shit!

His dad - Dell Simancas (rolling in the deep 🥁) who wasn’t too far away, caught it all on camera while he encouraged his son to remain calm. You can watch the video here.

I know this sounds like a very familiar bible story, but this is in fact a real-life story!

Moments later, the whale let him go and thankfully he was left unharmed.

🔦 LOOK WHAT I FOUND

Apple Invites - Last week, apple stealthily launched a new app called ‘Apple Invites‘. It basically lets you create invites to your events and share links with your friends and family. They will be able to RSVP and confirm whether or not they like you enough to attend your birthday party. 👀 One feature I really like is that you can create a shared photo album so everyone can stick in all the photos and videos they take at the party to avoid the chaotic “yo can you airdrop me them photos“. You can check it out here.

Get the UA 1176 Classic FET Compressor Plugin for FREE - You can now get the 1176 Classic FET Compressor plugin for free as part of Universal Audio’s Valentine’s Day Giveaway. This offer is available until February 28 2025 and you can get it here

Touch Grass - If you struggle with doom scrolling or can’t seem to get off your phone, you might find this app handy. It restricts access to certain apps you select. and will only give you access to those apps if you literally leave your house and touch actual grass. Pretty cool huh?

It’s not out yet, but you can pre-save it on the App Store here

✨ OPPORTUNITIES

German Development Institute Managing Global Governance (MGG) Academy - Application Deadline: 16th March
Call for Submissions: Al-Tiba9 Art Magazine Issue18 - Application Deadline: 28th February
SciArt Residency - Application Deadline: 26th March
Mass Collective Mentorship for Architectural Photographers - Application Deadline: 28th February
Open Call: Singapore Fringe Festival 2026 - Application Deadline: 7th March
2025 Global Investigative Journalism Network Global Shining Light Award - Application Deadline: 28th February
Doc Society Climate Story Fund - Application Deadline: 10th March
IWMF Anja Niedringhaus Courage In Photojournalism Award - Application Deadline: 14th March
Swedish Institute (SI) She Entrepreneurs Leadership Programme - Application Deadline: 6th March
Swedish Institute (SI) Global Executive Programme - Application Deadline: 25th February

🎧 I’M LISTENING TO

TEMPTED

Avara, AYUSH · TEMPTED · Song · 2025

open.spotify.com/track/36Kf76qkaPiTblyijQxKbL?si=6656201daadd4af0

Listen to and save the entire playlist on Spotify

That’s it for today gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

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Flying Subs - Catch 'em While They're Hot! 🔥

Yemi Davis — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 16:29:39 +0000

Imagine an iceberg the size of 4 New Yorks combined 🧊

Photo by Hubert Neufeld on Unsplash

Well, you don’t have to because it actually exists! - Yeah. I didn’t even know they could be that big!

And it’s on a collision course to South Georgia (no no, it’s not Georgia, the country in Europe and definitely not the Georgia in America) South Georgia is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

Not many people actually live there other than Seals, Penguins and other wildlife.

It’s called A23A and with an area of about 3,500 sq km, it broke off from Antarctica as far back as 1986 and has just been ‘chillin’ on the sea bed up until 2020 when it started actually moving.

Yet some people (who shall not be named) still believe global warming isn’t a thing……lol k bro.

Talk About Communing with the Most High ☀️

Photo by Jeff W on Unsplash

Somewhere in Colorado, a place called the International Church of Cannabis was born.

Before you say what’s on your mind, I don’t wanna hear a peep from you! Remember, we listen, we don’t what________

eggzactlyyyyy 🥚

They are a religious organisation that allows their members (called Elevationists) to bring their own cannabis products (or sacraments as they are referred to) and consume them at their meetings.

According to their website, “Through ritual, guided by spiritual practice, church members use the sacred flower to reveal the best version of self, discover a creative voice and enrich their community with the fruits of that creativity. Unlike other belief systems, there is no need to convert to Elevationism. It claims no divine law, no unquestionable doctrine, and no authoritarian structure. Therefore, those of all religious and cultural backgrounds are welcome to visit our chapel and take part in our celebrations.”

THey were founded in April 2017 and like other religious communities, they hold services, volunteer in the community and even conduct weddings

Is it ever really this deep?

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

The cool kids over at Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd in China recently launched DeepSeek. It’s a new AI model that the internet won't stop talking about.

Why you ask?

Well for one, it’s just as powerful as ChatGPT, secondly it’s costs significantly less money to develop. For context, it cost them approximately $6 Million to develop as opposed to the $100 Million OpenAi spent on GPT-4 in 2023.

Crazy stuff huh?

Yup! And they did this all using a combination of older and less advanced chips, bypassing restrictions on U.S. exports of high-performance semiconductors.

As a result, Team Green aka Nvidia (the company that makes the chips used to train AI Models) took a massive hit to their stock losing them a staggering $600 billion in market value—the largest one-day loss in U.S. history.

Oh did I mention ITS FREEE?

AND OPEN SOURCE?? 😮😮

Well if you want to check it out for yourself, you can download the app now on both the Google Play store and Apple App Store or on the web here

🔦 LOOK WHAT I FOUND

What if you could control your devices with just your hands - I mean, duuuuh it's not like most of you don’t already do that anyway lol. But I’ve come across the WowMouse app which takes a slightly different approach. It essentially lets you control your devices with mere mid-air hand gestures such as swiping, waving and (at the risk of looking like a complete weirdo in public) - pinching. Oh, there’s one teeny-weeny catch…..you need either an Apple Watch, Samsung Smartwatch or Google Pixel Watch to actually use it.

It’s like Uber Eats, but homecooked food - Yeah, that’s literally it! How cool is that? Ordering takeout can get boring after a while. (well, the real reason is that it costs a fuck ton - but don’t tell anyone I said that) Sometimes, you just want a nice homecooked meal, but you know you’re just hella lazy to cook and pulling up to your parent’s house to commander food is off the table because they live on the other side of the world, or I don’t know??? You’re a full-grown ass adult fully capable of cooking your own damn food??? Homemade is an app that lets you order freshly cooked homemade food made at home (yeah, I know they mean the same thing. I said what I said - bite me).

✨ OPPORTUNITIES

S+T+ARTS Prize - Application Deadline: 5th March
Google For Startups Growth Academy: AI For Health Program - Application Deadline: 31st January
APE CAMP 2025: Open Call for Overseas Artists, Producers, and Engineers - Application Deadline: 2nd February
EMBracing the Ocean - €10,000 Grant to Raise Societal Awareness and Embrace Connection to the Ocean - Application Deadline: 17th February
Forecast Mentorship for Art and Culture Practitioners - Application Deadline: 10th February
Realities Festival Commission Open Call - Application Deadline: 2nd February
Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) Future Professors Programme (FPP) - Application Deadline: 25th February
USAID Women Entrepreneurship Incubator Program - Application Deadline: 6th February
IAEA Lise Meitner Programme - Application Deadline: 7th February

🎧 I’M LISTENING TO

She's Fire

Ginton, Koba Brown · After Dub · Song · 2023

open.spotify.com/track/1UyMJHZBGs3ahZ4GOiEt71?si=25aab2fb641e4376

Listen to and save the entire playlist on Spotify

That’s it for today gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

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What a way to kick off 2025 😔

Yemi Davis — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 16:30:00 +0000

Could this be the new COVID?

Gif by butler on Giphy

China is currently dealing with a mysterious viral outbreak, linked to human metapneumovirus (HMPV).

Yemi wth does that even mean?

Human metapneumovirus, or HMPV, is not new—it was first identified in 2001. The virus typically causes mild respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose, and fatigue. However, it can lead to severe complications, including pneumonia and bronchitis, particularly in vulnerable populations like children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals.

HMPV spreads through respiratory droplets and contact with contaminated surfaces, making it highly contagious in crowded spaces. There is currently no vaccine or targeted antiviral treatment for the virus, and care involves managing symptoms.

Northern China has seen a significant spike in HMPV cases this winter, especially among children under 14. Some have likened this to the chaotic early days of COVID-19 in Wuhan. However, officials claim the outbreak is seasonal and manageable.

China’s National Disease Control and Prevention Administration (NCDPA) has launched a pilot program to monitor pneumonia cases of unknown origin.

So Trump wants the US to…BUY……GREENLAND?? 🙄

Gif by aftahill on Giphy

So um, president-elect Trump has reignited his fascination with Greenland. According to him, it’s a must-have for America’s economic and strategic security. Greenland sits right between North America and Europe, making it a critical vantage point for missile defence systems and potentially monitoring Russian military activity. Add to this the island’s deposits of rare earth minerals—key to the green energy revolution and tech manufacturing—and it’s clear why Trump is interested. With China dominating the rare earths market, securing Greenland could help the U.S. reduce its dependency on imports and increase its control over these critical resources.

You’re probably wondering if this is even possible????

Thing is, there isn’t quite a straightforward answer to this. Legally and diplomatically, buying a whole ass country is a bit of a longshot, especially in this day and age. Greenland is an autonomous territory under the Kingdom of Denmark, with its own government and the ability to make key decisions. Danish officials were quick to dismiss Trump’s earlier proposal as “absurd,” and Greenlandic leaders have firmly stated the island is not for sale. Beyond the legal barriers, the people of Greenland have no interest in being “purchased.” The idea of a sale would clash with their growing push for independence from Denmark.

Hey Siri, give me money! 🤖

Photo by omid armin on Unsplash

If you’ve always thought Siri has been spying on you, there’s a good chance you were right!

Back in 2019, a lawsuit was filed against Apple, alleging that they had been listening in on conversations from “accidental activations“ and sharing its contents with advertisers. This in turn resulted in users being served ads relating to topics that had been discussed.

Sound familiar? 👀

According to the Lopez v. Apple class action suit, Apple hasn’t admitted to any wrongdoing but has agreed to a $95 million settlement.

The suit covers most “Hey Siri” enabled devices from September 2014 to December 2024

According to Reuters, beneficiaries are expected to receive up to $20 per Siri-enabled device - up to a cumulative $100 per household. Then again, this is all dependent on the terms of the settlement, which haven’t yet been disclosed.

🔦 LOOK WHAT I FOUND

The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Access Pass - What if there. was a way to visit over 2,000 recreational sites FOR FREE….FOR LIFE!!

If you’re a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who has been medically diagnosed with a permanent disability (yeah, neurodivergence counts too), you may be eligible for this pass. The pass also. provides holders a discount on Expanded Amenity Fees (such as camping, swimming, boat launching, and guided tours) at select sites. You can learn more here.

Wikenigma - an Encyclopedia of Unknowns - It’s basically Wikipedia but for things we don’t know or haven’t quite figured out yet. So. If. you enjoy going down rabbit holes, this might be one to hop into. Check it out here

✨ OPPORTUNITIES

Vienna Biocenter Summer School 2025 - Application Deadline: 15th January 2025
FluxusMuseum Prize For Experimental Video 2025 - Application Deadline: 15th January 2025
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)-TWAS 2025 Course on Science Diplomacy - Application Deadline: 23rd January 2025
France Éducation International Language Teaching Assistant Program 2025/2026 in France - Application Deadline: 31st January 2025
Puchi Award: Call for Bold and Unique Comic & Illustrated Book Projects - Application Deadline: 27th February 2025
2025 GCSP Prize for Transformative Futures in Peace and Security - Application Deadline: 20th March 2025

🎧 I’M LISTENING TO

Unknown

Alice Auer, Conor Albert · Unknown · Song · 2023

open.spotify.com/track/1bDVV1hatwd8ULeoYvsKHU?si=18c5d105dacf4569

Listen to and save the entire playlist on Spotify

That’s it for today gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

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Apparently, it's not a good idea to stick random cables into your devices 👀

Yemi Davis — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 15:30:00 +0000

Honda and Nissan are in a talking stage and are considering getting married 💍

Photo by Alex York on Unsplash

Yet, here you are - still single 🌚

Japanese auto manufacturers Honda and Nissan are currently in talks to merge both entities.

The main reason for this is that they have been looking to become major players in the EV market but it has been pretty tough for them, especially in China. So in March this year, they began talks to explore ways they could potentially collaborate to leverage each other’s strengths.

In a press conference held on Tuesday, they also announced that Mistibushi would be joining in on the negotiations as a third partner. They haven’t announced any major details yet but have given their assurances that they will do just that once the kinks have been ironed out.

So Hot Ones has been sold. 🌶️🍗

Gif by firstwefeast on Giphy

You know Hot Ones right?

Of course, you do - the show that has celebrities shitting bricks because they can’t handle spice?

See? I told you.

I was today years old when I found out it was owned by BuzzFeed.

All that is now about to change because the show’s parent company First We Feast (again owned by Buzzfeed) has now been bought out by both the show host - Sean Evans and George Soros’ family fund - Soros Fund Management.

The deal closed for about $83 million and will go a long way in easing BuzzFeed’s $124 million debt due this month.

As part of the deal, the company will be retaining its staff and also own all other shows under the First We Fest Brand

You probably shouldn’t be sharing charging cables 🔌

Gif by CreatorFocus on Giphy

We’ve all been out and where your phone dies and you’re left stranded and and now scrambling to strangers looking for a charger.

According to ethical hacker - Ryan Montgomery that’s probably not a good idea

In a recent Instagram post, he talked about something called an OMG cable.

OMG 😱 lol

Instagram post

but yeah, it’s crazy because it looks just like any ordinary USB cable but it most certainly doesn’t function the same way.

The cable was created in 2019 by Mike Grover and here’s how it works - it has a component but into it that gives it Wi-Fi access. This way once it is plugged into an unsuspecting device, a bad actor actor can remotely access the phone and grab just about any piece of information they are after.

At about $200 each, I don’t imagine hackers would just leave a bunch of these lying around without a specifically targeted victim. Regardless of this, it’s helpful to be aware of these sorts of attacks - never say never!

Really scary stuff - you can’t even trust USB cables these days jeez. 😔

P.S. Oh, by the way, this warning also applies to public USB ports at cafes, restaurants, etc. You’re better off just using a power bank or your own charger plug.

🔦 LOOK WHAT I FOUND

So you wanna learn how to make music yeah? But have no clue where to start, and can’t be arsed to look up Youtube videos or don’t want to shell out thousands on courses, then, it’s worth checking out MIXXIN Academy. It covers, mixing & mastering, audio processing, sound design and more - ALL FOR FREE! Check it out here

Build Your Own X - Are you a nerd who enjoys building stuff? Well, I’ve come across a pretty handy Github repo that basically is basically “a compilation of well-written, step-by-step guides for re-creating our favourite technologies from scratch”. That’s it lol. It has guides on how to build things like your own game, Docker clone, 3D renderer, web browser and more! - Check it out here

It’s Christmas!!! Well almost - This is the time when we all dust off our old Christmas decorations all to compete in a battle (that no one ever wants to acknowledge) with your neighbours for who has the coolest decorations! SO picture this. you’ve gotten everything out, set it all up and then turn on the lights and ummm only like two bulbs on your entire string turn on. You could either sit there and have a good ole cry or pop to the shops and buy a new string of lights.

But ladies and gentlemen, I present to you a potential option 3!!! - The Light Keeper Pro (loool why does this sound like a frigging infomercial reading this back to myself?)

It kinda looks like a ray gun out of Phineas & Pherb, but all you do is insert the string of lights starting from the dead build and it will ‘automagically’ splice it back together and you’re back in business.

It however doesn’t work with all lights If you wanna have a quick read through the description to see if your lights are compatible before actually getting it!

Suits is coming back - and I can’t wait to hear the Greenback Boogie again! This is a spin-off and it’s called Suits LA! It’s starring Stephan Amell (the guy who plays Oliver Queen/Arrow in the Arrow TV show. Harvey and Mike are expected to make a couple of cameos but will not be series regulars. It will start airing on the 23rd of February 2025 Are you ready?

✨ OPPORTUNITIES

Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics - INHABIT Artist-in-Residence - Application Deadline: 29th December 2024
Vienna Biocenter Summer School 2025 - Application Deadline: 15th January 2025
FluxusMuseum Prize For Experimental Video 2025 - Application Deadline: 15th January 2025
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)-TWAS 2025 Course on Science Diplomacy - Application Deadline: 23rd January 2025
France Éducation International Language Teaching Assistant Program 2025/2026 in France - Application Deadline: 31st January 2025
Puchi Award: Call for Bold and Unique Comic & Illustrated Book Projects - Application Deadline: 27th February 2025
2025 GCSP Prize for Transformative Futures in Peace and Security - Application Deadline: 20th March 2025

🎧 I’M LISTENING TO

In Other Words, Living

Nubya Garcia · Odyssey · Song · 2024

open.spotify.com/track/2NKlP4WOV3oR7uHH41kpyq?si=7caff50d10f74406

Listen to and save the entire playlist on Spotify

That’s it for today gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

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Japanese Scientists have done it again 🔬

Yemi Davis — Sun, 24 Nov 2024 16:00:00 +0000

Just a friendly note: This newsletter MAY contain some affiliate links, which means I might earn a little something-something when you use those links. This is at no extra cost to you, but it does help support the newsletter

Japanese Scientists Make a Jaw-dropping discovery

Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash

Three doctors in Japan have figured out a way to regrow teeth.

“I've been working on this since I was a graduate student.” Toregem Biopharma co-founder Dr. Takahashi told Japanese newspaper The Mainichi.

So he and a team of two others set out on a mission to make this a reality and this was how their Kyoto University-funded research lab - Toregem Biopharma was formed. Over the years, they conducted extensive research into this and eventually had their first breakthrough in 2007. One of their test subjects was a mouse with ‘supernumerary teeth’ (more teeth than usual). During their investigation, they found that a deficiency in a specific protein called USAG-1 was the root cause of this condition in the mouse - their first “aha“ moment.

Then they thought “Hey, if we made a drug that could block this protein from doing its thing in humans, we might be able to help people regrow their teeth”. So they got to work and have been running tests ever since.

Their goal is to help people with anodontia - (simply put) a condition where people don't have natural teeth because they never developed them. So the thing is humans only grow two sets of teeth in their lifetime, (or so we thought) but there is evidence that humans have dormant "buds" for a third set.

According to researched published in the Science Advances journal “A single systemic administration of a neutralizing antibody can generate a whole tooth,”.

They began phase 1 human trials in September with phase 2 to roll out next year in hopes to launch the drug to the public by 2030

Remember Pokemon Go? 👾

Photo by David Grandmougin on Unsplash

Yeah you know - I see you! 2016 was quite the year, wasn’t it? They really had us (well not ‘us‘ - you 🫵 lol 😂) roaming the streets looking for Pokemon for several hours - good ole days.

Niantic - the developer behind it (you thought it was Nintendo right? - yeah me too) announced plans to train a new AI model for navigating the physical world using (you guessed it) scans collected from players of their games, including Pokemon Go and Scanverse.

"Over the past five years, Niantic has focused on building our Visual Positioning System (VPS), which uses a single image from a phone to determine its position and orientation using a 3D map built from people scanning interesting locations in our games and Scaniverse," Niantic wrote in a company blog post.

As crazy as this seems, there is probably a good chance provisions for this sort of use were covered in their terms of service, and it appears that many aren’t surprised. In typical fashion, players flocked to Reddit to share their thoughts on the announcement.

The Playstation Portal just got a HUGE upgrade! 🎮

Photo by Evgeny Opanasenko on Unsplash

When rumours of Sony’s new PlayStation Portal were circulating pre-2023, we all assumed it was the modern-day PSP handheld we'd all been waiting for. Only for them to release it later that year to find out it was essentially just a way to remotely mirror your PS5 - so there really wasn’t any point in buying one if you didn’t own a PS5.

However, 4 days ago, Sony announced that PlayStation Portal devices will now support standalone cloud gaming - which means you can now play PS5 games on the device without actually owning a PS5. This update will allow players to game at up to 1080p/60fps, and save games using PlayStation Plus Cloud storage up to 100GB (which will sync with your PS5 if you own one).

There are a few caveats though:

You will of course need a PlayStation Plus Premium subscription
PS3 and PS4 games are not supported (at least not yet)
This is Cloud Streaming - as such the games will not be stored locally on your device and you will need an internet connection to play.

You can read more in their official blog post announcement here

Will you be getting one?

🔦 LOOK WHAT I FOUND - BLACK FRIDAY/CYBER MONDAY EDITION

LG UltraGear QHD 34-inch Curved Monitor - $249.99 (was $399.99)

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch Laptop with M3 chip 16GB RAM / 512GB Storage - $1,049 (was $1,299)

Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones - $198 (was $348)

Jimmy Choo Blossom Eau de Parfum 60ml - £29 (was £58)

COSRX Snail Mucin 96% Power Repairing Essence 100ml - $12.99 (was $25)

✨ OPPORTUNITIES

Light Up Leicester 2025 Artist Commissions - Application Deadline: 1st December 2024
Make Your Own Masters 2025 - Application Deadline: 14th December 2024
East Quay Outdoor Bridge Commission - Application Deadline: 15th December 2024
Max Thabiso Edkins Climate Ambassador Program 2025 - Application Deadline: 11th December 2024
Falling Walls Female Science Talents Intensive Track Program - Application Deadline: 15th December 2024
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (EJS) Center Amujae Initiative - Application Deadline: 17th December 2024
Google Student Researcher Program 2025 - Application Deadline: 13th December 2024
One Young World Academy Global Health Programme - Application Deadline: 7th February 2025
The UNICEF AI & Blockchain for Data Venture Fund - Application Deadline: 23rd December 2024

🎧 I’M LISTENING TO

come thru to my SOFA

Jackson Homer, 5amDiaries · '99 (Deluxe Version) · Song · 2024

open.spotify.com/track/3G8cWYwjwcLMcyBcMIUZkj?si=a778b1ac5fb84f60

Listen to and save the entire playlist on Spotify

That’s it for today gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

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Ever had ketchup with a side of rice? 🍚

Yemi Davis — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 15:30:00 +0000

Before we begin, I owe you an apology. I have been incredibly inconsistent with Yemi’s Newsletter and to be honest, this was because I got burnt out writing it - which was largely due to the really clunky system I had set up to manage it. However, thanks to the man, the myth the legend JP at The Time Travelling Salesman for helping me out with this, I now have a system that is a lot more efficient, won’t have me ripping my hair out and SHOULD (in theory) help me send out these newsletters more consistently! Thank you so much for joining me on this journey and for all your support - I don’t take any of it lightly!

Oh last thing - I got a new logo made btw, you likeeee? Shoot me a reply or leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

Okay lets gooooooooooo 🥳

Wicked….

Gif by patrickstarrr on Giphy

We’re getting a live-action Wicked movie in a few weeks and both Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are gonna be in it! If you haven’t seen the stage musical, change your ways and go see it!

Anyways, on to the actual story. With big releases like this, production companies will usually commission some merch to promote the movie! Mattel - the company behind Barbie, Bob the Builder and a few other favourites, got the tap to work together on creating some dolls!

Exciting right?….not really

Last week, people who were able to get their hands on some of the dolls; specifically the Glinda and Elphaba ones (Arianna and Cynthia’s characters) noticed the wicked.com URL printed on the back of the box. At first, it seems harmless right? Not until some owners visited the site only to be greeted by a um….porn site. (DON’T YOU DARE GO BACK 🙄🫵)

……yeah. and of course, Twitter had a field day.

Twitter tweet

This was horrible as it posed a myriad of problems including potentially exposing minors to adult content.

Mattel released a statement on Sunday addressing the issue stating it was an error and they “intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page”. They also advised parents to “discard the product packaging or obscure the link and may contact Mattel customer service for further information.”

Eye bet you didn’t see this coming 👀

Photo by Harry Quan on Unsplash

Scientists from Osaka University have successfully treated blindness caused by limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) using reprogrammed stem cells.

LSCD is a condition where scar tissue coats the cornea, eventually leading to blindness. It can result from trauma to the eye or from autoimmune or genetic diseases.

Between June 2019 and November 2020, four people with severe corneal damage took a chance on an experimental stem-cell therapy. They were two women and two men aged between 39 and 72 years old who had LSCD in both eyes.

Researchers at Osaka University, Japan, led by Dr. Kohji Nishida, reprogrammed blood cells from a healthy donor to create brand-new corneal cells. They then removed scar tissue from each patient’s damaged cornea and applied these lab-grown cells in a thin, clear layer. And just like that, the patient’s corneas began to regenerate, and they saw an almost immediate improvement in their vision and a reduction in the area of the cornea affected by the condition. The improvements persisted in everyone except one patient, who showed slight reversals during a one-year observation period.

Here is a link to the full paper for all my nerds who’d like to read the whole thing - READ MEEEEE

Yet another sticky situation….

Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash

Auckland City Mission - a New Zealand-based charity, recently distributed food packages to the homeless in the city. These packages also contained sweets - great right?

NO!

A few days later, the food bank began receiving reports of “funny-tasting“ candy. So a few staffers decided to taste some of the leftover sweets and immediately contacted the authorities. According to NPR, a member of staff was even taken to the hospital after this.

It turned out these ‘sweets’ contained lethal doses of meth, and the food bank had no idea.

You’ve got questions, right? Yeah me too

This came as a shocker as the sweets were donated by a member of the public. The charity's food bank has a policy of only accepting donations of commercially produced food in sealed packaging.

As soon as they realised this, they began contacting nearly 400 recipients to track down packages and retrieve the candies.

🔦 LOOK WHAT I FOUND

ElevenLabs Voice Isolator is a pretty handy tool if you record a lot of audio in places that have far-from-ideal background noise. Crying babies, neighbours blasting death metal at obscene hours of the day, yeah you know 🙂‍. The Voice Isolator uses clever AI (lmao hear me out before you sigh) to clean out background noise leaving you with audio crispier than the bacon you had for breakfast - and it does a pretty good job!

Affinity Suite is a super powerful collection of photo editing, graphic design, illustration, publication & presentation design apps that run on Windows, MacOS and iPadOS.

Oh did I mention, they don’t do subscriptions? You pay once and you can use it all you like until a new major version comes out. So for example, since they’re currently on V2 you buy a license, and you get V2.1, 2.22, and so on, up until V3 and you then pay a slightly less upgrade fee (if you want to).

They’re currently offering a no-obligation 6-month trial so you can see if it works for you!

MusicMate is an “AI-Powered Set Planner for DJs“. (Yes, more AI stuff) This comes in super clutch if you’re a DJ preparing for a show you’re unsure of or have been bestowed the great responsibility of manning the aux on a long drive. All you have to do is type in what kind of vibe you’re after and Musicmate will generate a full setlist with streaming links!

ChefGPT - There comes a time in everyone’s life when you run low on food at home and are waiting on payday to restock. You then end up mashing up random shit in your fridge to make something somewhat edible (yeah I see you, don’t be shy 👀). Those days are gone! ChefGPT is an app that lets you put in all the ingredients that you have leftover and it autogenerates tasty recipes for you to cook! No more rice and ketchup!

Fellow F1 lovers, I’m just gonna leave this here:

✨ OPPORTUNITIES

OPEN CALL: RBA Annual Exhibition 2025 - Application Deadline: 8th January 2025
OPEN CALL: The Homiens Art Prize - Application Deadline: 31st January 2025
OPEN CALL: Climate Art Collection
Luleå Production Residency - Application Deadline: 15th November 2024
H&M Foundation Global Change Award - Application Deadline: 15th November 2024
Sony Future Filmmaker Awards - Application Deadline: 12th December 2024
Dalai Lama Fellows Program - Application Deadline: 3rd December 2024
Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Fellowship - Application Deadline: 20th December 2024
United Nations Business & Human Rights Accelerator - Application Deadline: 20th December 2024
DAAD TheMuseumsLab Program - Application Deadline: 24th November 2024

🎧 I’M LISTENING TO

feelslikeimfallinginlove

Coldplay · Song · 2024

open.spotify.com/track/1YsU8rW2u8z4F0pwOBQ4Ea?si=f20281fd184445f6

Listen to and save the entire playlist on Spotify

That’s it for today gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

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Absolutely no way I'm seeing this alone 🙀

Yemi Davis — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 14:30:00 +0000

Just a friendly note: This newsletter MAY contain some affiliate links, which means I might earn a little something-something when you use those links. This is at no extra cost to you, but it does help support the newsletter.

📰 EXTRA, EXTRA - READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Imagine having to work 6 days a week 🫢

Photo by Jonathan Gallegos on Unsplash

Yeah me neither.

While other countries are looking to shorten work weeks, the government of Greece has passed legislation to enable a 6 DAY WORK WEEK for certain industries.

According to the Guardian, It will be optional for workers, who can work 48 hours instead of the typical 40 hours. Those who opt in can choose between working an additional two hours a day or an extra eight-hour shift and will receive 40% extra pay to compensate for the overtime.

Elon’s doing things again…

Photo by Mariia Shalabaieva on Unsplash

Elon’s SpaceX is looking to bring Starlink’s service directly to mobile devices. If they’re able to successfully pull this off, this will mean you should be able to get cell signal in remote locations all around the world and stay connected as long as you’re a paying subscriber.

This would be a great step in the right direction as traditional cellphone carriers rely on towers, and still have limited coverage as the services is limited to locations where they have towers.

They are expected to launch this year with a text only service and in 2025 expand to calls, data and IOT.

The FDA has now approved a new treatment for Alzheimer's

Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash

Eli Lily announced that the FDA has approved their Kisunla drug as a treatment for early symptomatic Alzheimers disease.

According to the results from the clinical trial sessions, about 70% of patients were able to stop the drug after 18 months of treatment, which seems quite promising.

It is important to note that the drug is intended for patients with mild cognitive impairment or those in the early stages of the condition.

The bad news however is that its rumoured to cost about $32,000 for a year’s worth of treatment.

Okay this isn’t actual news, but I couldn’t see this alone, so here goes…

So this is the tale of Lawrence Ripple. He grew so tired of his marriage that one day in the heat of an argument, he told his wife he would rather go to prison than stay in the same house with her.

Surely he’s not serious Yemi….he’s just upset right?

WRONGGGG!!

Lawrence actually upped and left his house, and went to the bank. He handed a note to a bank teller demanding $2,924 in cash (damn that such a specific number) and letting them know he had a gun. After he was given the money, he went took a seat in the lobby, and said to the guard “I’m the guy you’re looking for - arrest me“ (well I’m paraphrasing, but you catch my drift)

Quick subtle reminder that this is an actual true life story……..that um….ACTUALLY happened…

Lets get back to it. A few moments later, law enforcement arrived on the scene and arrested Lawrence.

Fast-forward to court day, his lawyers argued he had multiple bypass heart surgery in 2015 and suffered from depression that went undiagnosed. Regardless he plead guilty and got sentenced to…

6 months of house arrest 🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️

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🔦 LOOK WHAT I FOUND

Developer Roadmaps is for your friend that wont stop going on about how badly they want to get into tech and don’t know how or where to start. Send them this and BOOM you instantly become the coolest friend. It gives you different roles in tech to choose from and with each one you click, it gives you a roadmap of how to get started in that role. Pretty nifty huh - yeah, thank me later!

Google Notebook LM Is a free AI-powered research assistant. It relies only on data you provide so it lets you upload up to 500 data sources. It will then analyse everything and essentially create a custom database which you can then ask questions to - kinda like ChatGPT. You can even have it create study guides, briefing documents and even FAQs. This would come in handy for academic research projects and even corporate use cases.

Tailornova is a freemium 3D fashion design software that promises to help anyone design their very own clothes quickly. All you have to do is put in your measurements, and add in any other bells and whistles you’d like on your outfit (or just pockets if you wanna be boring). Once that is done, you can export the patterns you would need to make the outfit yourself or send them off to a manufacturer.

✨ OPPORTUNITIES

In Practice 2025 Open Call - Application Deadline: 4th August
Under the Tree 2024 Open Call - Application Deadline: 12th July
One World Media Climate and Labour Film Grant - Application Deadline: 1st September
2024 World Summit Award (WSA) Young Innovators Award - Application Deadline: 15th October
IF Social Impact Prize - Application Deadline: 13th September
Westerwelle Young Founders Programme - Application Deadline: 11th August
FutureEverything: Cultural Accelerator Artist Open Calls - Application Deadline: 10th July
M&C Saatchi Art for Change Prize 2024 - Application Deadline: 17th July

🎧 I’M CURRENTLY

Listening to

Moving Day

Samara Cyn · Song · 2024

open.spotify.com/track/4qDDIXfhFPCJd5OzKa6Bun?si=2bf062c3cb344fc5

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That’s it for today gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

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Welcome to Doggy Land 🐶

Yemi Davis — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 14:00:00 +0000

📰 EXTRA, EXTRA - READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Welcome to DoggyLand

At this point, I think it’s safe to say we all love Snoop - I mean Uncle Snoop! I particularly admire the fact that he’s not afraid to try out new stuff. I mean the mans released gospel and reggae albums, featured in Call of Duty and even has a cooking show with Martha Stewart and that’s not even half of it!

Big Snoop D-O-double G is back at it again and this time it’s an animated kid’s show called (you guessed it) DoggyLand!

He revealed this on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. He wanted a way to better connect with his grandkids as they were watching too much Cocomelon while he was spending time with them. Then again its not news that the show is increasingly gaining a bad rap with parents, so yeah - he came up with DoggyLand (which he also stars in).

Meta AGAIN???

Photo by Mariia Shalabaieva on Unsplash

On the 26th of June 2024, Meta will be implementing significant changes to its privacy policy.

These changes particularly relate to AI and training data. These changes will allow Meta to use your data (posts, photos, etc) to train their AI models.

As a matter of fact, even if. you don’t use any Meta platforms, it can still scrape data such as photos of you if someone else posts them.

Pretty scary stuff yeah?

If you live in the EU or UK, there is some good-ish news. Meta has confirmed that it has put these plans on hold for users within the areas, because in typical EU fashion, the regulators aren’t having any of it. After receiving complaints from about 11 countries, both the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), Meta’s lead regulator in the EU, and the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) have requested that Meta pause its plans until it could satisfy concerns it had raised.

While there getting their act together, if you’re not about that life, you can of course opt-out. However, they’ve made it a bit of a faff to do. But I’ll walk you through it:

Firsttttt - Go to your profile Settings

Got it? - dope

Now scroll aaaaallll the way down till you see About and then tap on it. Keewwwlll. Now tap on Privacy Policy and you should see the um..privacy policy.

Now we’re looking out for some blue text that says “right to object“. When you find it, tap on it and follow the prompts and you should be all good.

However, If you don’t see it, theres an alternate way.

While you’re still on the Privacy Policy page, tap on the hamburger menu (the icon with three horizontal lines) at the top right of the page and tap Other policies and articles then tap How meta uses info for generative AI. Scroll all the way down and tap learn more and submit requests here and follow the prompts.

What are you doing Sam?

Giphy

So a white man thought it was a good idea to ‘disguise‘ himself as a black man to ‘document racism in America’ and went on to write a whole book about it.

Last month, the writer, Sam Forster - a Canadian journalist tweeted:

His book - Seven Shoulders documents his experience hitch-hiking across America and in an article for the Daily Caller, he went into detail about his experience.

Inspired by John Howard Griffin’s 1961’s Black Like Me, in which John darkens his skin with an anti-vitiligo drug and embarks on a similar endeavour, Sam admits to participating in what he refers to as “journalistic blackface“. In his words: “….brown-colored foundation would be sufficient for me to achieve the necessary skin tone. The particular one I landed on was Maybelline’s “Mocha” shade — slightly darker than their “Coconut” product, but not quite as dark as “Java.” I figured it was best not to get too ambitious.”.

As expected, it was met with severe backlash for several obvious reasons and has gone on to delete the tweet. However the book is still available to purchase on Amazon.

Okay, Boeing. really need to tell us what’s actually going on…

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

NASA and Boeing engineers are now scrambling for a solution as two astronauts are now stranded in space due to a number of technical issues with Boeing's Starliner craft.

This is a big issue for Boeing as they’re still taking heat from several issues with their 737 Max commercial airliners and now this.

The astronauts who had been working on the International Space Station (ISS) were originally scheduled to return to Earth on the 13th of June, have now had their trip delayed for the third time as engineers troubleshoot the issue.

The return capsule is currently docked at the ISS while the engineers troubleshoot. Time is not on their side however as the capsule only has approximately 45 days of fuel remaining.

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✨ OPPORTUNITIES

AWS Generative AI Accelerator - Application Deadline: 19th July
Global Cultural Relations Programme 2024 - Application Deadline: 14th July
UN Global Call 2024 - Application Deadline: 15th July
The Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence - Application Deadline: 18th September
Sony World Photography Awards
Prisma: Artist Residency in Portugal - Application Deadline: 31st December

🎧 I’M CURRENTLY

Listening to

Journey (feat. Mysie) - Kareem Ali Remix

Bondax, Kareem Ali, Mysie · Song · 2024

open.spotify.com/track/6k06PMyJTBRPVzE5W4e6Qb?si=786bb40d0fda4d14

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That’s it for today gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

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Everything reminds me of HER 🤧

Yemi Davis — Wed, 15 May 2024 14:00:00 +0000

📰 EXTRA, EXTRA - READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Apparently, people are having Ozempic babies……

Giphy

I can explain!!

So Ozempic is a brand name for ‘semaglutide’ (bruh, how do you even pronounce that?), and it is a drug originally created to treat type 2 diabetes. One of its many side effects is its ability to suppress appetite and as a result, has grown in popularity over the last year as a weight-loss drug and surprise-surprise; is the ‘wonder drug‘ responsible for dramatic weight loss you might have noticed with some of your favourite celebrities.

Dude get to the point 🙄

The drug has recently made headlines again because of another side effect - its ability to slow gastric emptying and in turn affect the absorption rate of other medications. One of those medications is oral contraceptives aka “The Pill“. According to the Daily Mail, a number of women on birth control have reported getting pregnant after starting Ozempic. As a matter of fact, there's even a Facebook group called ‘I got pregnant on Ozempic’ where users can share their experiences and seek/provide support.

It is worth noting that there is currently not enough medical research to draw a strong conclusion, but at the same time, there is also the fact that weight loss in itself can contribute to hormone imbalances which could also be another factor.

Here’s how you can get FREE books (FOR YOUR CHILD!!!🙄)

Gif by spongebob on Giphy

I was today years old when I found out you can actually get free books for your child (if you’ve got one of course 😅) from birth till they turn five. This is all thanks to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

Yes, THE Dolly Parton.

So here is how it works: The program works in partnership with local affiliates and partners. These can be businesses, school districts, small or large organisations, or even individuals.

The local affiliates are tasked with enrolling children who live within the areas the program serves - USA, UK, Canada, Australia and Ireland. Every month, they post a book to every child that has been signed up, all free of charge.

The program has been running since 1995 and was set up as an initiative to “foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families”. Irrespective of their income.

El Salvador is giving out free passports 🧳

Gif by pudgypenguins on Giphy

El Salvador is opening its doors to “highly skilled” foreigners as they are now offering “free passports” to 5,000 people.

President Nayib Bukele made the announcement via a post on his X account

Twitter tweet

Citing scientists, engineers, doctors, artists, and philosophers will be granted “full citizen status” including voting rights. Participants will also receive relocation in the form of tax and tariff waivers on “moving families and assets”.

The program is in its early stages now and not much information has been provided on how exactly it will work and what the application process will entail, but we expect to see updates in the coming months.

ChatGPT gets a HUGE update

On Monday, OpenAI announced GPT-4o - a huge update to ChatGPT which makes it a LOT smarter and easier to use.

This is pretty exciting because going by the keynote presentation, GPT-4o will more or less turn ChatGPT into a supercharged digital sidekick, that you can have full-blown conversations with! This kind of reminds me of the movie HER!

You can also now interact using text and “vision,” meaning it can view screenshots, photos, documents or charts that you share and have a conversation with you about it, so you could technically get it to do your homework for you 😅

Something that really caught my attention was the preview of their integration with the Be My Eyes app - a mobile app that connects visually impaired people with volunteers around the world who can help with tasks such as identifying objects and more. Here’s how it works:

This version of ChatGPT will now also have the capability to remember and learn from previous conversations with you, and also do real-time translation as it now supports over 50 languages.

This update will be gradually rolled out over the coming weeks and unlike the previous GPT-4 model, the new GPT-4o will be available for free to all users as well as access to the GPT store.

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🎁 LOOK WHAT I FOUND

Dupe - If you’re an interior decor nerd like me you probably know the struggle of stumbling on the coolest accessory for your lounge only to find out that it costs an arm and a kidney. Well, dupe helps with that. all you do is paste a link to the item into the search bar and it will send a bunch of creepy crawly spiders to scour the interwebs to find a similar item (or dupe lol) that costs way less.
OneTab - Answer honestly: How many tabs do you currently have open on your laptop? How does that one 21 Savage song go again? But yeah One tab helps you stash away your unused tabs into one page you can resist anytime you need to. This helps your computer use less RAM and in turn, helps speed up your computer a bit.

✨ OPPORTUNITIES

2024 Pulitzer Center Africa Impact Seed Fund (ISF) - Application Deadline: 27th May
Spring 2025 CICA Art Studio Program - Application Deadline: 31st May
Genius Loci Weimar Video Mapping Competition
Digital Commission Opportunity with The Photographers’ Gallery - Application Deadline: 16th June
Share Prize XVI - Application Deadline: 9th June
Sky Works Installation: Commission Opportunity - Application Deadline:
Commission for Large-Scale Murals in Australia - Application Deadline: 24th May
Falling Walls Lab - Application Deadline: 26th May
IUCN Leaders Forum Call for Changemakers - Application Deadline: 28th May

🎧 I’M CURRENTLY

Listening to

Vent

NOIT · Song · 2024

open.spotify.com/track/4yMXKeuRDOIzrh3fBiJYds?si=956bc0dd4a49408d

Add a Comment

That’s it for today gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

What is it with humans and drugs? 💊

Yemi Davis — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 16:00:00 +0000

📰 EXTRA, EXTRA - READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Imagine the Olympics - but with drugs allowed

Gif by rupaulsdragrace on Giphy

Hear me outttttt……

Using performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) is a big no-no in competitive sports. It’s such a big taboo that it has led to the downfall of many athletes' careers.

However, the team behind The Enhanced Games beg to differ.

The event was founded by Aron D’Souza - a lawyer who used to represent Hulk Hogan. It’s already being touted as the “drug-friendly Olympics“ foregoing traditional drug testing protocols. While this move raises ethical concerns and questions about athlete safety, D’Souza asserts that participants will receive clinical supervision and comprehensive health checks. Just like you, I’ve got several questions.

Despite A LOT of people voicing how much of a terrible idea they think this is, D’Souza maintains the initiative is an open celebration of scientific innovation, and actively challenges the conventional stance on doping in sports. I mean why wouldn’t he - seeing as he has been able to secure significant funding from investors like Peter Thiel (the guy who founded PayPal with Elon Musk) an Christian Angermayer's Apeiron Investment Group.

According to a 2017 study, 44% of athletes admit to using banned performance-enhancing substances, and the Enhanced Games’s angle seems to be along the lines of “well most athletes do it anyway so why don’t we embrace it?”

The team haven’t announced dates for the tournament, but I’m interested to see how this plays out.

Football players can now get blue cards??

Giphy

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is trialling out a new blue card’ in football matches.

If you’re like me and don’t watch football, you’re probably sitting there wondering what the hell I’m on about, so I’ll briefly explain….

In football, when players commit a foul or some sort of misconduct, they are given penalties. The most common being the yellow and red cards

A yellow card is given as a “Hey, you’re doing stupid sh*t and I see you. Do it again and I’m kicking you off the pitch“

Whereas a red card is the “You done f***ed up“ card and players who receive this are immediately sent off the pitch. Players will also get an automatic red card when they get 2 yellow cards in a match.

Now a Blue Card kinda sits in the middle of the two as It is given to players for incidents that are serious but not serious enough to warrant a second yellow card (which would ordinarily qualify for a red card).

Players who receive this card will serve a 10-minute suspension and will be sent off the pitch for the duration and will be allowed back after.

Weed is now legal in Germany

Yeah that’s it.

…..

…🙄🙄

………

Lol jk jk

Gif by adampizurny on Giphy

Soooo earlier this month, Germany’s lower house of parliament voted to legalize cannabis for “limited recreational use”. This means starting sometime in April, ADULTS over the age of 18 will be able to legally possess up to 50g at home and 25g in public. They will also be able to cultivate up to three plants at home for private consumption. From July 1, Germans will also be able to buy canabis from licensed member-only clubs.

The government have also made it clear that consuming the drug near schools and playgrounds would be illegal.

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🎁 LOOK WHAT I FOUND

Shopdeft - If you’re big on interior decor, you’ll definitely like this one. Shopdeft lets you upload a picture of a space and in seconds, it automatically designs it for you based on prompts you provide. Pretty neat.
Fonts Ninja - Have you ever been on a website and thought “They’ve got some pretty cool fonts here!“ but you’re now stuck with the problem of not knowing what the fonts are called? Yeah me too. Fonts Ninja is a Chrome extension that shows you what the fonts are called so you can use them in future projects.

Looking for something new to watch?

Shogun - out now on FX!

✨ OPPORTUNITIES

Schloss Wiepersdorf Cultural Foundation Fellowship - Application Deadline: 15th April 2024
This Homeland Open Call - Application Deadline: 13th April 2024
2024 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award - Application Deadline: 20th March 2024
ETH4D Doctoral Mentorship Grants - Application Deadline: 30th March 2024
iF SOCIAL IMPACT PRIZE - Application Deadline: 24th April 2024
Black Artists Grant (BAG)
WOMEX 24 - Call for Conference & Film Proposals
Kunstraum Lakeside 2025 Exhibition Open Call - Application Deadline: 10th March 2024

🎧 I’M CURRENTLY

Listening to

スカイレストラン

Hi-Fi Set · Song · 1975

open.spotify.com/track/1QpybTT7CadO6tsUBnoukv?si=616f9fd3d96b478d

Add a Comment

That’s it for today gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

They're putting chips in people's brains now? 🍟

Yemi Davis — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 17:00:00 +0000

📰 EXTRA, EXTRA - READ ALL ABOUT IT!

These guys somehow managed to pull off a modern-day museum heist….more than once

Gif by Bens-watch-club on Giphy

After a lot of arm-twisting, a number of museums have begun repatriating looted pieces. The process is pretty slow and a number of museums have flat-out refused to do this.

So in 2022, Looty co-founders - Chidi Nwaubani and Ahmed Abokor decided to stage their first heist in response!

They full-on put on balaclavas, black tracksuits and white trainers and made their way into the basement of the British Museum the goal was to reclaim some of the Benin Bronzes

These dudes are mad brave cuz can’t be me….

But there's a bit of a catch here, and I’ll explain.

Their collective - Looty’s mission is to reclaim stolen artwork. However, they don't physically steal the pieces. Instead, they scan them in 3-D and make them available as NFTs. They donate 20% of their earnings to young African artists in the form of grants and keep the rest to cover their costs.

They actually made a documentary about the entire process so I won’t ruin the fun for you any further. Enjoy:

Apparently, Adobe might be throwing in the towel on XD

Photo by Rubaitul Azad on Unsplash

Adobe has confirmed they no longer have plans to support XD - their vector design tool used to design web and mobile apps.

This comes after they tried to buy Figma (a competing design tool) for $20 Billion - a deal which fell through because watchdogs were worried it would give Adobe a monopoly in the industry. To make this even more interesting, Figma reportedly received a $1 billion termination fee for their troubles.

Adobe has a note on its website saying: "We want to remind you that Adobe XD continues to be in maintenance mode. This means that we're not investing in ongoing development or shipping new features within the product. We continue to support existing customers by addressing bugs and updating any security or privacy needs while in maintenance mode."

A well-placed source close to Adobe confirmed to The Register that Adobe had dissolved the XD team and "Adobe disinvested [in XD] years before an agreement was reached on Figma. It is no longer being sold as a single application to new customers, and Adobe has no plans to further invest in the product."

There might now be a way for artists to fight back against AI companies. Sign me up!

Gif by DreamImaginations on Giphy

If you’ve used any AI generation tool, you’ve probably at some point wondered how on earth it’s able to do what it does right?

Well, these companies ‘train‘ their AI models on a set of data, so they can learn how to answer the obscure prompts we throw at them.

stay with me - *just pretend I’m Sam Smith*

To learn you need something to learn from right? Awesome! now this is where it gets a little dicey. Some of them license these data sets from various content providers. However, some others ‘scrape‘ their data from the open internet. which means, If you’re a creator, there’s a chance your word might have been used to train an AI model without your consent.

If you’re a visual creator, the cool kids at the University of Chicago created Nightshade to help solve this. What it does is corrupt or poison your work.

um.. that’s a bit dark Yemi……

Hang on, hang on, I’ll explain.

So what Nightshade does is add invisible changes to pixels in your work - essentially ‘poisoning‘ it so that when it's fed to a model for training, the model gets confused and will for example interpret a palm tree as a fridge with cold rocks in it. 🤷🏼‍♂️ (lool, I couldn’t think up a better analogy, but you get my point right?)

The project is now available to the public and you can try it out yourself here and if you’re a nerd like me and want to read the actual research paper, you can find that here

Mummy!!! Elon’s doing things again 😭

Last week, everyone’s favourite billionaire announced his company Neuralink completed the first-ever human implant of their Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) chip.

Twitter tweet

But Yemi, is he even allowed to do that?

Well not…he himself, but yeah last year Neuralink received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct human trials, meaning they can now legally implant them into actual humans for testing.

If you’re wondering how patient zero (that’s what they’re called right?) is doing now, “they’re recovering well….Initial results show promising neuron spike detection”, according to Elon.

Gif by maudit on Giphy

Just gonna umm leave this riiiiggghhhhttt here……

They’re calling this trial the PRIME study and it’s been set up to evaluate the safety of the implant and surgical robot that performs the implant procedure.

The BMC is expected to enable people with quadriplegia (paralysis of all four limbs), to control devices with their thoughts, so the study will also be evaluating how well it does that.

If this sounds exciting to you and you’d love to actually take part in the clinical trials, you can in fact sign up here to join the patient registry.

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🎁 LOOK WHAT I FOUND

Buz!

This one is a little interesting. We’ve all had that one time where there was some really hot tea but you can’t be bothered to type out the whole thing in the group chat. Well, Buz might be able to help with that.

I like to think of it as a digital walkie-talkie - in that it gives you instant access to people in your contacts. You can essentially ‘Buz‘ someone an audio message and they’ll instantly hear it even when they're not in the app, and they’ll also be able to push a button to send you an instant reply.

I know I know, you’re probably already thinking - what if I don’t want my mates bugging me with their annoying voices all the time? You can quickly go into Quiet mode and no Buz‘s would come through.

Check it out here

Create Awesome Mockups

Ever wanted to show off a cool login page you’ve just designed and you go down the rabbit hole of searching for the right mockup to use? Yeah, I know it sucks!

I came across Shots.so and it’s a database of free-to-use mockups for your favourite Apple devices!

Check it out here

Sharing Music with Airpods

So I was today years old when I found out you could pair two sets of AirPods to your iPhone.

Now you no longer have to be nasty and let strangers stick your AirPods in their ear (yeah, I went there - I see you) 😂

Here’s a guide on how to do it

✨ OPPORTUNITIES

Outreachy Open Source Internship
BBC Creative U 12-week Masterclass - Application Deadline: 16th February 2024
Schloss Wiepersdorf Cultural Foundation Fellowship - Application Deadline: 15th April 2024
This Homeland Open Call - Application Deadline: 13th April 2024
2026 McKinney International Art and Design Residency - Application Deadline: 16th February 2024
Mino Lab Residency - Application Deadline: 18th February 2024
2024 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award - Application Deadline: 20th March 2024
The Alpine Fellowship Visual Arts Prize 2024 - Application Deadline: 1st March 2024
ETH4D Doctoral Mentorship Grants - Application Deadline: 30th March 2024
iF SOCIAL IMPACT PRIZE - Application Deadline: 24th April 2024
Visa Accelerator Program - Application Deadline: 29th February 2024
BBA Artist Prize 2024 - Application Deadline: 19th February 2024
Beverly Hills Art Show - Application Deadline: 14th February 2024
Black Artists Grant (BAG)
WOMEX 24 - Call for Conference & Film Proposals
Kunstraum Lakeside 2025 Exhibition Open Call - Application Deadline: 10th March 2024
UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize - Application Deadline: 15th February 2024
World Cinema Fund - Application Deadline: 28th February 2024

🎧 I’M CURRENTLY

Listening to

Tribal Dance

Lionel Loueke · Song · 2012

open.spotify.com/track/1ljFBnV92gQZu7OQwbaxmx?si=3268a32a9c2d4681

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That’s it for today gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

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How much would you pay to find love? ❤

Yemi Davis — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 14:00:00 +0000

📰 EXTRA, EXTRA - READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Would you pay $499/month to find “love“? 🙄

Gif by youngertv on Giphy

So ummmm…..Tinder launched their invite-only Tinder Select Product earlier this week and in case you missed the headline, IT COSTS $499 - which works out to $5,988 PER YEAR!!! It is invite-only and once you get an invite, you have to apply to be able to actually subscribe to it.

Bruh…….this better be good

According to their website, here’s what $499/month gets you:

Direct Message: Up to 2 times a week, you can send someone a message without having to match first. Note that you can only send a DM via the Likes Sent tab, you can’t send a Super Like at the same time and some users may opt out of receiving DMs.
Skip The Line: People you like will see your profile unblurred in their Likes You grid, even if they don’t have a Gold or Platinum Tinder subscription. Your profile also remains prioritized on their Likes You grid for 7 days.
Special Status: Show off your membership with an exclusive SELECT badge. If you’re not interested in adding this badge to your profile, you can opt out of it in your Settings.
SELECT Mode: See and be seen by Tinder’s most sought-after profiles, so you can enjoy more exceptional connections.
VIP Experience: Membership spots are limited to less than 1% of users to ensure you receive the most exclusive experience possible.
You’ll also be able to hide advertisements and see the Likes you’ve sent in the last 7 days.

Yeah…….it’s giving “down bad“.

You can no longer buy an Apple Watch Series 9 and the Ultra 2 ⌚

Photo by Daniel Romero on Unsplash

As of 3 PM ET yesterday, US customers were no longer able to order either of those watches directly from Apple.

Why?

Well, Apple got themselves into a bit of a sticky one. Apple and Maximo a medical technology company had originally been talking through a potential partnership/acquisition talks but talks eventually went stale.

They ended up recruiting about 20 ex-Masimo staff. This includes their CTO who was allegedly paid a reported $4M, and in his first few weeks filed 12 patents for sensors at Apple that were based on supposed privileged information from Masimo.

The two have been involved in several legal battles ever since. The major disputes centre around accusations from Masimo that Apple’s Watch blood oxygen sensor technology infringes on several Masimo patents.

There are two major suits to be aware of. First, is the 2020 lawsuit filed by Masimo against Apple in the US District Court in the Central District of California, and second, a case also filed by Masimo with the International Trade Commission in June 2021.

In its initial filing with the ITC, Masimo basically said - Hey, ITC, we can count about 103 instances where Apple infringed on 5 of our patents. Do something about it.

However, the ITC did their investigation and in October, found that Apple infringed on only two patents, in 5 different instances – all of which were related to the Apple Watch’s pulse oximeter feature. According to the regulations, there is a 60-day Presidential Review Period in which President Joe Biden can choose to flex his presidential muscles and veto the ruling. However, as it stands, they have chosen not to act. This 60-day period runs out on Christmas Day 25th December, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

Kanye is building cities now…..🏗

Kanye’s working on building a city in the Middle East. The city will sit on a 100,000-acre plot of land and will be called YZY Dream.

Ye is on the hunt for partners and is inviting contractors, engineers, project managers, builders, and architects to join in and help bring it to life.

Twitter tweet

This doesn’t come without any scepticism, however, because Ye does have a track record of not seeing certain large-scale projects through. In 2020, he announced a similar plan to build his own city in Wyoming, but this never happened as he failed to secure the necessary regulatory approvals. Hopefully, he’ll have better luck in the Middle East.

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UPDATE iMessage on Android??

About a day after sharing about Beeper Mni - the app that lets you use iMessage on Android devices, according to 9505Google, I learnt that the Apple team swung into action and has now disabled the technique used to achieve this, and it now no longer works…..so..um… yeah

Gif by theoffice on Giphy

Stuff Your Kindle Day

4 times every year, Amazon marks down thousands of e-books and you can pick them up FOR FREE.

The last one for this year is on 27th December, so if you love to read, mark your calendar and get ready! you don’t need to own a physical Kindle device to participate - as long as you have an Amazon account, you’re good to go!

To participate, visit Amazon on the 27th and search “Stuff Your Kindle Day” and you should get a list of the available e-books. If you’re big on romance books, Romance Bookworms so an extensive list of romance books available on the day, so make sure to check them out too!

✨ OPPORTUNITIES

Bending Spoons Software Engineering Training Program for Women
Sony World Photography Awards
Corsair Summer Internship - Application Deadline: 31st January 2024
European Institute of Innovation & Technology Traineeship - Application Deadline: 16th January 2024
Merck 2024 Innovation Cup - Application Deadline: 31st. January 2024
UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize - Application Deadline: 15th February 2024
GSK Arica Open Lab for Scientists - Application Deadline: 29th January 2024
Les Margaret 2024 Awards for Women in Tech Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs - Application Deadline: 8th January 2024
Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund - Application Deadline: 5th January 2024
World Bank Junior Professional Associates (JPA) Program
World Cinema Fund - Application Deadline: 28th February 2024
Utah Public Art Program - Application Deadline: 29th December 2023

🎧 I’M CURRENTLY LISTENING TO

Almost

Rugawd · Song · 2021

open.spotify.com/track/49tsnQ27XoHQogtYK1umDd?si=5a034ca1353e436d

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That’s it for today gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

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You can now use iMessage on Android? 🤖

Yemi Davis — Sun, 10 Dec 2023 14:30:00 +0000

📰 EXTRA, EXTRA - READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Is the Sims dead? 🎮

Developed by Krafton - publishers of PUBG, there's now some competition for The Sims and it's called inZOI. It's a new life simulator and like The Sims, lets you control the daily life of a neighbourhood full of "ZOIs" as they're called.

They just released the first gameplay trailer and it looks so good! It was developed in Unreal Engine 5 so it comes as no surprise. The trailer shows off several aspects of the game such as character creation, building and decorating modes, character interactions and relationships, and more.

Don't even get me started on the game mechanics. For example, if your Zoi works at a store, you have to actually stock the shelves with individual products. There’s also something called Director Mode, which gives you even more granular control over customization such that you can change out billboard displays, change the weather, modify street decor and more.

The game is expected to launch in 2024, but in the meantime, here's the trailer:

McDonalds but not McDonalds 🍟

McDonald’s is introducing a new concept chain to the McDonalds Universe. (I didn’t even know that was a thing) It’s called CosMcs it will focus on coffee and other drinks,

Word on the street is this chain is supposed to be a direct competitor for Dunkin’ Doughnuts and Starbucks in a bid to boost afternoon sales.

They launched at their location in Illinois on Thursday, with plans to open additional locations in 2024.

Here’s whats on the menu:

McDonald’s

Invisibility Cloak 👻

Giphy

Chinese researcher and director of the Faculty of Sciences at Shanghai’s Donghua University - Chu Junhao recently announced his latest innovation – an actual invisibility ‘cloak’. He showed it off at a public event where in true Houdini fashion had his two assistants placed the transparent plate in front of him, which essentially made his body appear…..you guessed it - invisible! Pretty cool stuff yeah?

Yeah, I see you getting excited already, but to clarifyyyy, it doesn't actually make you disappear DISSAPEAR unfortunately :(. The technique uses a special material that manipulates light creating the illusion of invisibility. The nerdier version according to Juanho is “invisibility was achieved with a series of templates or lenticular grids. These are a kind of transparent sheets made up of tiny convex cylindrical lenses. When light passes through this outstanding material, a refraction phenomenon occurs that erases the image from the visual field.”

Instagram post

Just don’t let John Cena see this…👀

Cats can now live even longer! 😸

Giphy

They say cats have 9 lives, but what if you could give your cat an extra 1?

Japanese professor Toru Miyazaki, recently identified that a protein called apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage or AIM for short (how in God's name do they even come up with these names?) could be a potential trigger for feline chronic kidney disease (CKD)

CKD affects over 50% of cats ages 10 and older.

If you're a nerd, you can carry on reading. If not, Skip this paragraph

AIM is a protein found in the blood that helps support kidney health by identifying, destroying, and removing dead cells and other debris that accumulate in the bodies of many cats. However, when it binds too tightly with IgM (immunoglobulin M) antibodies it becomes more difficult for AIM protein to do its job properly, as it needs to be able to easily detach from IgM and attach to the pesky debris so it can actually begin the cleansing process. AIM is there to clean and expel waste matter from the kidneys and when this protein isn’t properly activated, it leads to kidney problems and shortened lifespans in cats.

Okay, you can come back now…

Miyazaki is tag-teaming with a pharmaceutical company in Japan as well as a pet food manufacturer to develop a food and drug-based therapy to prevent and treat CKD. This is all still under development, but if they are able to pull this off and get the necessary approvals, then this would in fact be game-changing!

We’re getting a Blade game and It looks SICK!!

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iMessage on Android??

Yup - Goodbye green bubble messages. - yeah I see you Android users grinning already! 😂

I just discovered this app called Beeper Mini and it essentially lets you send and receive iMessages on your Android device. It has all the standard chat features too such as editing/unsending, full-resolution attachments, typing status, read receipts, emoji reactions, stickers, etc. It does all this while still retaining your privacy with end-to-end encryption too.

There is one caveat though - there’s a 7-day free trial, after which you’ll have to pay for their $1.99 subscription.

Check it out HERE

Lovi AI Skincare App

Lovi digital skincare app that uses computer vision technology to give you personalized insights and recommendations on how to improve your skin health. Through a simple face scan, Lovi assists in identifying specific areas requiring attention and provides a visual representation of your progress over time. Additionally, it lets you scan your skincare products and gives information on what they are used for potential side effects, and alternative options. They even include video guides on how to properly apply the product. Furthermore, it serves as a helpful reminder for your skincare routine, ensuring you never miss a step in your beauty regimen.

Check it out HERE

✨ OPPORTUNITIES

Merck 2024 Innovation Cup - Application Deadline: 31. January 2024
UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize - Application Deadline: 15th February 2024
GSK Arica Open Lab for Scientists - Application Deadline: 29th January 2024
Les Margaret 2024 Awards for Women in Tech Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs - Application Deadline: 8th January 2024
Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund - Application Deadline: 5th January 2024
World Bank Junior Professional Associates (JPA) Program
World Cinema Fund - Application Deadline: 28th February 2024
Utah Public Art Program - Application Deadline: 29th December 2023
Beautiful | Grotesque International Art Competition - Application Deadline: 12th December 2023
Cisco Youth Leadership Award - Application Deadline: 15 December 2023

🎧 I’M CURRENTLY LISTENING TO

I Love It When You

Smile High, Lando Chill, Chuck Inglish, The Main Squeeze · Song · 2023

open.spotify.com/track/5GlyklVPp5bKO7gscBGUpD?si=bd366f10df5a4cf1

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That’s it for today gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

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Hulu is getting married to hu?

Yemi Davis — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 15:00:00 +0000

📰 EXTRA, EXTRA - READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Omegle is gone ☠

Omegle, the widely used live video chat platform, is shutting down after 14 years due to mounting user claims of abuse. Launched in 2009 by founder Leif Brooks at the age of 18, the service randomly connected users with strangers. It quickly gained popularity among children and young people during the COVID-19 pandemic which inevitably resulted in serious allegations, with over 50 cases involving paedophiles in recent years.

Brooks acknowledged the unsustainability of operating the platform, both financially and psychologically. He stated, "There can be no honest accounting of Omegle without acknowledging that some people misused it, including to commit unspeakably heinous crimes." The stress and expense of combating misuse, coupled with operating the platform, led to the difficult decision to shut it down.

Disney+ and Hulu are getting married? 👰🏼

Giphy

This one I’m excited for. So Disney + and Hulu are merging and will transition to a single app!

Although they're both owned by Disney (Disney owns a portion of Hulu), they've been treated as separate apps for the most part. That's all about to change.

The new app will be launched in two phases. It will begin with the beta version of the app which will launch this December. Then it will be followed by the main non-beta version expected to launch in Spring 2024. Its not clear what the new app will be called, but I’m expecting this to be announced in a future press release.

However, there is one final hurdle. Comcast owns the other portion of Hulu which Disney is looking to buy out to seal the deal. However, there is speculation that Comcast may be looking to renegotiate Disney's $8.61 billion offer, but it doesn’t appear to be a significant stumbling block.

If you are an existing Disney bundle subscriber, you should expect to have access to the new combined app when the beta launches next month. Pricing is expected to remain the same as well.

Would you travel to a remote island with your significant other? 🏝

Gif by RTLNL on Giphy

So a mystery billionaire is offering $185,000 to one lucky couple to spend a year as the influencers-in-chief on a private Caribbean island.

Sounds dope Yemi, but what’s the catch?

The lucky duo will have to serve as the in-house hype machine, documenting the island's evolution from a construction site to a luxury haven. While the owner's identity remains a secret, it’s worth mentioning the island has the likes of Richard Branson and Larry Page as neighbours.

This influencer extravaganza isn't your typical construction project, so no hammers are required! The selected couple will manage facilities and events, ushering in the first wave of guests and investors.

Ok cool Yemi, how do we sign up?

You know I always come through with the hookup! You can sign up RIGHT HERE

Would you replace your phone with Humaine’s AI Pin? 🤖

Humaine

This week, Humane finally pulled back the curtain on its first foray into the world of AI-powered wearables: the AI Pin. Priced at $699, this device comprises a square component and a magnetic battery pack that attaches to your clothes.

The AI Pin is operated through a combination of voice control, gestures, and a built-in projector. The device also features a 13-megapixel camera, capable of capturing both photos and videos.

Unlike its always-on counterparts, the AI Pin doesn't incessantly eavesdrop or record your every move. Activating it requires a manual tap and drag on the touchpad, which triggers the "Trust Light" to let you know that data is being processed.

The Pin's core functionality revolves around AI Mic, connecting to AI models from the likes of Microsoft and OpenAI, with ChatGPT at its heart. The emphasis is on a frictionless user experience; just talk to or touch the Pin, express your desires, and watch them materialize. While features like voice-based messaging, real-time translation, and nutritional info from food scans are already on the menu, Humane promises more, including navigation and shopping capabilities, with plans to open the door for developers to add their own magic. As Humane embarks on this ambitious journey, the AI Pin seems poised to evolve with the tech industry's relentless pursuit of new frontiers in AI. Get ready; the revolution starts with the AI Pin.

Humane's goal is to simplify your tech life—no home screens, no complex settings, just seamless interaction. Its operating system, Cosmos, is designed to automatically direct your queries to the right tools, eliminating the need to sift through a plethora of apps. Humane positions the AI Pin as more than just a device; it's a glimpse into the future of, somewhat reminiscent of the early days of smartphones.

SIDEBAR: Is it just me or does this kinda feel like something out of an episode of Black Mirror? 🤔

It’s worth mentioning there is a $24 monthly subscription fee for access to a Humane subscription, complete with a T-Mobile-powered phone number and data coverage. Preorders kick off on November 16th, with shipments expected to commence early in 2024.

Will you be getting one?

We’re finally getting a new GTA game! 🚗

After several leaks, close calls, etc, we finally have official confirmation from Rockstar on a new GTA game! They announced this in a press release on their X page:

Twitter tweet

We expect to get the official trailer in early December which leaves the question of when the actual game will be released. My guess is sometime in Q2 or Q3 2024, but we’ll have to wait and see.

The live-action Avatar trailer is here!!

Do I need to say more? I’ll leave you to it:

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Doritos Silent

No, it’s not a new flavour unfortunately, it is however their very own AI noise-cancellation plugin. (not what you were expecting yeah?)

Doritos is pretty popular in the gaming and eSports scene and it’s a thing to hear people chew loudly over long gaming sessions. They trained an AI model on a range of crunching noises and now you can chew away to your heart’s content with your gaming buddies on Discord, and no one will ever know! 👿

Check it out HERE

Stealthy TikTok Links

Have you ever sent a TikTok to your uncle, only to find out he’s now followed you and can see all your awkward dance videos?

Hella annoying right? Yeah, I thought so too. Fear not though, I come bearing a solution! (Lool why am I so corny FGS? 😭)

It’s an Apple Shortcut created by Reddit user u/rootyb and it essentially strips the link of any identifying trackers and spits out a clean link for you to share. It is worth noting however that this is currently only available to iOS users. (Sorry droid fam 🤧).

You will also need to include it in your share sheet for easy access. There’s a handy tutorial on how to do this RIGHT HERE

Check it out HERE

✨ OPPORTUNITIES

Sony Music A&R Academy Internship - Application Deadline: 20th November at 5:00 PM
Optimism We The Art Competition
Mercy Corps Ventures Climate Tech Fund - Application Deadline: 15 November
Meta Llama Impact AI Grants - Application Deadline: 15 November
Cisco Youth Leadership Award - Application Deadline: 15 December
Amplify London Music Fund - Application Deadline; 13th November
Play Wide Days Music Performance Program 2024

🎧 I’M CURRENTLY LISTENING TO

One is None

Yoofee · Song · 2023

open.spotify.com/track/0s3rGX6A9EojYsq20mwqOy?si=9d2e92a93fb84614

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That’s it for today gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

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This dude want's to get rid of the moon 🌑

Yemi Davis — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 16:30:00 +0000

📰 EXTRA, EXTRA - READ ALL ABOUT IT!

The ISS is coming down soon

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

The ISS has been in active use for the last 24 years and is beginning to show its age. A lot of the on-board equipment is outdated and the station has begun to experience structural problems so it is time to say goodbye as it is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2023.

But how do you bring down a whole space station, because they sure as hell are not gonna throw up a lasso and yank it back down 🌚… so how?

The process is called de-orbiting and is the way satellites, space stations, etc are brought back to Earth.

The first step would be for the astronauts on the ISS to use the station's thrusters (they’re kinda like rocket engines) to lower their altitude. This is done to bring the station closer to Earth.

Once it is at the desired altitude, they can begin to plan what they call called a "re-entry manoeuvre." During this manoeuvre, they point the ISS in the right direction so it starts falling toward Earth.

As the station enters the Earth's atmosphere, it starts to slow down and get really hot, due to all the air resistance. As it continues to fall through the atmosphere, it eventually opens big parachutes which help it descend safely towards the ocean.

Due to the large amount of debris expected, the primary objective is to ensure safe and responsible re-entry of the space station into an inhabited area of the South Pacific Ocean.

If you’re anything like me when I came across this, you’re probably also sat there thinking: Yemi my guy, (don’t tell anyone I asked, but) what is this ISS thing and what happens there? Like I knew people went up there for months and all, but I never knew what they actually did there and truth be told, I never quite bothered to look it up until now - so we can all learn together - yaaay! 😁🎊

So the International Space Station (ISS) is essentially a floating research laboratory. It was built and is being maintained by a consortium of 5 space agencies - United States NASA, Russia's Roscosmos, Japan's JAXA, Europe's ESA, and Canada's CSA. it was built to learn about Earth but also what life in space could be like for humans. Astronauts go up there regularly to conduct cool experiments that can help us learn more about space and our planet. They study things like how things grow in space, what happens to our bodies in space, how to recycle water and a lot more!

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk…..😀

This dude wants to make the moon disappear??? 😮

Giphy

You read that right and the “dude” in question is David Copperfield

He announced this last week via an interview segment on the Today Show. This is a performance he’s been working on for the last 30 years and will be happening in February 2024 in collaboration with Save the Children.

There is the argument that they could just edit out the moon in post-production, but there will be a live audience witnessing the fete, so it will all be happening live. He mentioned there will be a contest for people to win tickets as well so stay tuned to his social pages for more info.

President Biden moves to regulate AI in new executive order

Giphy

Earlier this week, US President Joe Biden signed an AI Executive Order, signalling a significant shift towards the responsible and secure advancement of artificial intelligence. The order is all about ensuring that AI advancements are safe, ethical, and secure, as President Biden emphasized the need to "govern this technology".

The order also touches on privacy protection, combating algorithmic discrimination, and international cooperation. In fact, 28 countries, including the EU, joined forces to sign The Bletchley Declaration, creating a global consensus for responsible AI development.

Overall, these actions taken by the U.S. government and international partners appear to reflect a growing commitment to governing AI technology, ensuring responsible innovation, and ensuring the safe and ethical use of AI in the years to come.

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🎁 LOOK WHAT I FOUND

The Password Game

The Password Game is a game (yeah no shit Yemi 🙄) where you create a password by following a set of 35 specific rules in order. It starts off pretty simple, like enforcing a minimum number of letters or using numbers and capital letters. But it gets more complex as the game progresses by introducing odd rules like including Roman numerals or adding the day's Wordle answer. Oh, but it gets even worse. There is even a level that gets you to raise an egg emoji named Paul, which hatches into a chicken that needs feeding with caterpillar emojis. If you break the rules or let Paul starve, the game ends with a dramatic death screen.

Convinced yet? Great! Give it a go HERE

✨ OPPORTUNITIES

Art Explora – Cité internationale des arts Residency Programme 2024-2025 Application Deadline: 7th November 2023 at 11:59 pm (Paris time)
Acts of Repair: Loss and Damage Residency - Application Deadline: 12th November 2023
DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Residency Program - Application Deadline: 17th December 2023
AAUW International Fellowship - Application Deadline: 15th November 2023
Pforzheim Designers in Residence - Application Deadline: 15th November 2023
Sir John Soane’s Museum Artist in Residence Program - Application Deadline: 15th December 2023
Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant
Algorand Build-A-Bull Hackathon - Application Deadline: 18th October - 15th November 2023
The Aurora Tech Award for Women Tech Founders - Application Deadline: 1st December 2023
SUI Foundation Developer Grant

🎧 I’M CURRENTLY LISTENING TO

Sugar Snap

Tora · Song · 2014

open.spotify.com/track/3LL1oUUdiJx7JJmWCLZPlZ?si=c896def9ace44a9c

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That’s it for today gang. See you in the next one!

- Yemi 💥

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Yemi's Newsletter

Security breaches and potential bioweapons?

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The easiest way to stay business-savvy.

Yeaaaahh…you probably should go change your passwords…

FBI arrests two scientists attempting to smuggle a dangerous bioweapon into the US

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**HEY LOOK AT MEEEEEE 🥹**

📚 I’M READING

The 1% Rule by Tommy Baker

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🎧 I’M LISTENING TO

- Yemi 💥

When Your Flight Attendant’s on a Different Kind of Trip

A new class of antibiotics has been discovered!

I thought we collectively agreed not to do drugs anymore? 🙄

Now here’s something you don’t see everyday

Japan’s Artificial Blood Could End the Compatibility Drama for Good

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- Yemi 💥

No US International Student Visas, New COVID-19 Variant in the Wild?

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Sigh….Netflix, Ads & Ai

No more International Student Visas in the US - for now.

I don’t know how to say this

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- Yemi 💥

Attention all baldies - I come bearing good news! 🙌🏼

Get a load of this guy 🙄

Looks like we might have a potential cure for baldness…

What a time to be a mum in Hungary!

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MaxDividends

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- Yemi 💥

We really can't catch a break can we? 😔

What would you do if…

You really can’t win with these people

Humaine has now shut down

Breakthrough research making ‘waves‘ in animation

✨ OPPORTUNITIES

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- Yemi 💥

So some dude nearly got swallowed by a whale the other day 🐳

UK Home Office vs Apple

Right, which one of you weirdos asked for this? - It sure as hell wasn’t me 🙄

Can you imagine being trapped in a whale’s mouth?

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- Yemi 💥

Flying Subs - Catch 'em While They're Hot! 🔥

Imagine an iceberg the size of 4 New Yorks combined 🧊

Talk About Communing with the Most High ☀️

Is it ever really this deep?

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- Yemi 💥

What a way to kick off 2025 😔

Could this be the new COVID?

So Trump wants the US to…BUY……GREENLAND?? 🙄

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- Yemi 💥

Apparently, it's not a good idea to stick random cables into your devices 👀

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- Yemi 💥

HEY LOOK AT MEEEEEE 🥹