One way to help promote good mental health is to use interior design to feel calmer, safer, and more supported! So, here are some evidence-based design tips from Cornell’s College of Human Ecology:
First, focus on your view. Of course, we’d all love to gaze out our windows at majestic mountains or ocean landscapes, which are proven to calm the mind and lower cortisol levels. But the fact is, ANY exposure to nature is helpful… even if it’s just a potted plant in the corner. And whenever possible, fill your environment with plants like rosemary and lavender, whose scents promote relaxation.
Also, when it comes to your bedroom, the rule is: The quieter the better. For example: Most new hospitals have strict limitations on medical equipment in patient rooms, since the extra lights and beeping noises add stress that delays healing. So, take the same approach in your bedroom, by making it a strict no gadget zone!
And mental health experts recommend having smaller bedrooms and larger communal rooms. The thinking is your bedroom should provide quiet sanctuary when you need it, but it shouldn’t be so cozy that you stay there and avoid life!
(NEW YORK) — Even in the face of mounting backlash, streaming giant Spotify is standing by embattled podcast host Joe Rogan.
While the controversy initially centered around the spread of COVID-19 misinformation emanating from Rogan’s namesake podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” a viral video of the host using a racial slur dozens of times has intensified calls for action in recent days. The video was posted by Grammy award-winning musician India.Arie, who said she was joining fellow musicians in seeking to remove her music from Spotify because of Rogan. Spotify made headlines back in 2020 for reportedly licensing a $100 million deal to exclusively host Rogan’s often controversial digital talk show.
In the wake of the ever-evolving saga and immense social media backlash against Rogan, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek apologized to staffers in a memo Sunday obtained by ABC News. Ek said Rogan chose to remove several episodes from Spotify, but made clear that: “I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer.”
“There are no words I can say to adequately convey how deeply sorry I am for the way The Joe Rogan Experience controversy continues to impact each of you,” Ek wrote. “Not only are some of Joe Rogan’s comments incredibly hurtful — I want to make clear that they do not represent the values of this company. I know this situation leaves many of you feeling drained, frustrated and unheard.”
Ek said Spotify has had conversations with Rogan and his team about his “history of using some racially insensitive language,” and that Rogan made the choice to remove some past episodes from the streaming platform.
“While I strongly condemn what Joe has said and I agree with his decision to remove past episodes from our platform, I realize some will want more,” Ek added. “And I want to make one point very clear — I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer. We should have clear lines around content and take action when they are crossed, but canceling voices is a slippery slope.”
Ek said that one of the company’s core values is having an open platform, and because of this, they “must also believe in elevating all types of creators, including those from underrepresented communities and a diversity of backgrounds.”
The chief executive also said the company is committing to an “incremental investment of $100 million” for the licensing, development and marketing of music and audio content from historically marginalized groups.
“While some might want us to pursue a different path, I believe that more speech on more issues can be highly effective in improving the status quo and enhancing the conversation altogether,” Ek wrote.
In a video posted to Instagram on Saturday, Rogan said his past use of racial slurs is “the most regretful and shameful thing that I’ve ever had to talk about publicly.” He said the video compilation of him using a certain racial slur is “made of clips taken out of context” from 12 years of conversations on his podcast.
“Now I know that to most people, there’s no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, never mind publicly on a podcast, and I agree with that,” Rogan said. He added that he hasn’t used the racial slur “in years” and “never used it to be racist,” though he acknowledged that “I clearly have f—– up.”
“I can’t go back in time and change what I’ve said, I wish I could, obviously that’s not possible,” Rogan added. “But I do hope that this can be a teachable moment. For anybody that doesn’t realize how offensive that word can be coming out of a white person’s mouth, in context or out of context.”
Spotify previously responded to backlash over Rogan’s COVID-19 misinformation last week by saying it will add a “content advisory” label to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about COVID-19 and directs listeners to its “COVID-19 Hub” for up-to-date information on the virus as shared by public health authorities. Rogan also promised to add more guests with “differing opinions.”
While Spotify has managed to avoid the same level of scrutiny as fellow tech giants such as Facebook and Twitter for years, the firestorm of controversy surrounding Rogan has put the streaming giant at the center of a renewed public debate over the platform companies give to characters like Rogan.
Fall Out Boy‘s Andy Hurley lends his drumming skills to a new cover of the Van Halen song “Unchained.”
The recording was spearheaded by Jordan Olds, aka Gwarsenio Hall, who hosts the popular metal-themed Two Minutes to Late Night YouTube channel. Other artists featured on the cover include Matt Pike of High on Fire and Sleep, and Mike Sullivan of metal instrumental outfit Russian Circles.
Previous Two Minutes to Late Night covers include Halestorm‘s Lzzy HalesingingPantera‘s “Mouth for War,” and an all-star prog lineup of Tool‘s Danny Carey, Primus‘ Les Claypool, Coheed and Cambria‘s Claudio Sanchez and Mastodon‘s Bill Kellihertaking onRush‘s “Anthem.”
Fall Out Boy, meanwhile, has been quiet since wrapping up their Hella Mega tour with Green Day and Weezer last year. Their most recent album is 2018’s M A N I A.
The recently announced auction of six one-of-a-kind Beatles– and John Lennon-themed NFTs focusing on memorabilia from the personal collection of Lennon’s son, Julian, took place today, bringing in an impressive $158,720.
Among the audio/visual digital tokens sold was one that featured the animated image of Paul McCartney‘s handwritten studio notes for “Hey Jude,” which fetched $76,800 — the highest price ever paid for a Beatles-related NFT at an auction.
In addition, NFTs of a Gibson 1959 guitar that John gave to Julian as a gift, as well as an Afghan coat that Julian’s dad wore during the filming of the Magical Mystery Tour special, both sold for $22,400, while NFTs of a black cape that John wore in the Beatles film Help! and a Gibson Les Paul copy guitar that he gave to Julian as a Christmas present in 1973 brought $12,800 each.
The sixth NFT, which focuses on a Gibson Les Paul 25/50 guitar that John gifted to Julian, sold for $11,520.
A portion of the proceeds raised by the “Lennon Connection: The NFT Collection” auction will benefit Julian’s White Feather Foundation, and will be used to support the charity’s efforts to help reduce global carbon emissions. You can check out full details of the auction at JuliensLive.com.
The sale was organized by Julien’s Auctions in partnership with the YellowHeart NFT marketplace.
Julien’s Auctions president and CEO Darren Julien says, “It’s been an honor partnering with Julian Lennon and YellowHeart in this first-ever event which confirms the growing interest and value of Beatles memorabilia as one-of-a-kind NFT collectibles.”
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Foo Fighters have announced a virtual reality concert set to take place after the Super Bowl this Sunday.
The show will air February 13 at 8 p.m. PT — or following the end of the game, whichever comes later — via Horizon Venues, a VR app for Oculus devices.
“Foo Fighters love a challenge,” says frontman Dave Grohl. “From playing the biggest stages in the world to the tiniest clubs to making movies and miniseries…We’ve pretty much done it all.”
He adds, “But we’ve never collaborated with [music video director] Mark Romanek on a conceptual set of songs (including one being played live for the first time ever) for a worldwide audience, where everyone has the best seats in the house thanks to the most bad*** VR tech… until now.”
“Join us when we cross that one off the FF bucket list!” Grohl declares.
Dollface returns to Hulu Friday for its second season, which finds Jules, Madison, Izzy and Stella grappling with turning 30 in their own ways. Creator Jordan Weiss and executive producer Michelle Nader told ABC Audio that women have more things to worry about besides their looks when they hit that big birthday.
“We felt like the milestone of a 30th birthday can be seen from a few different perspectives,” said Weiss, noting how Brenda Song‘s Madison feels there’s a deadline to “have everything figured,” out while Kat Dennings‘ Jules acts like “it’s just another birthday.”
Nader adds this season’s theme is “growing up without growing apart” from your friends by showing how the characters react when they must “cross that bridge from their 20s to 30s.”
Song explains her character, Madison, is riddled with “anxiety” and views her 30th birthday as “doomsday” because “so much of her life is not gone the way that she thought.” The actress revealed, “It was the exact opposite [for me]… Your 20s was all about making mistakes and, when I turned 30, I… felt comfortable in my own skin.” She hopes Madison will also “get to that place” and “enjoy life.”
Dennings teased that, while Jules appears she “doesn’t care one way or the other” about her 30th birthday, “Maybe she secretly does.” Dennings admits she, personally, was “excited to turn 30” because her 20s “were kind of a train wreck.”
Shay Mitchell, who plays Stella, adds Dollface is a cathartic show. “It’s like a big hug,” she described. “It’s light. It’s fun and it’s super relatable.”
There is a message Weiss hopes the audience takes away in season two, which she says is “Dare to care.”
On Sunday, Kanye West teamed with Hollywood Unlocked‘s Jason Lee to hosted a new event dubbed The Future Brunch for Black media outlets and Ye declared Black Future Month
“This is the future,” Ye told the journalists from 50 Black outlets. “There is no looking backwards — only forwards.” West also referenced his good friend and collaborator, the late Virgil Abloh, who passed away November 28, 2021, from cancer. Abloh was the founder of fashion brand Off-White, and the first African American to serve as artistic director for Louis Vuitton.
“Me and Virgil believed in Black design,” the 22-time Grammy winner commented. “Now we need to invest in Black media. God uses me as a vessel — we declare Black Future Month. The future — not the past.” Kanye added, “It’s not about me, it’s about us. They can’t tell us what to say. We’re too powerful.”
During his conversation, the Chicago MC discussed elevating Black culture, desegregation in media, humanizing how people of color are portrayed in the media, and Black ownership of media properties.
Yeezy also performed his Sunday Service for the first time for members of the press.
As Kanye focuses on the future, his verbal war with his estranged wife, Kim Kardashian, continues.
As previously reported, Ye appears to have deleted all of the Instagram posts in which he reportedly called out Kim.
In the since-deleted posts, the Donda rapper slammed Kim, and voiced concerns about his oldest daughter, North, being on TikTok, made claims that his estranged wife stopped him from seeing their children, and even claimed that he was accused of putting a contract out on Kim.
“YESTERDAY KIM ACCUSED ME OF PUTTING A HIT OUT ON HER,” Ye claimed in a lengthy post shared to Instagram on Sunday, according to Page Six.
Some already think Amazon digital assistants like its Alexa already know too much about you, but a new Super Bowl ad starring husband and wife Colin Jost and Scarlett Johansson takes that to another level.
The spot, which debuted online Monday, shows what would happen if Alexa could read any couple’s minds — and for the stars, it’s not pretty.
One example shows the celebrity couple in bed together, which the Black Widow star staring into Jost’s eyes, telling him how she loved sleeping in. Saturday Night Live‘s Jost tries to hide his nose in the pillow, only to have Alexa — aloud — place an order for mouthwash: “Extra strength,” to be precise.
Another scene has Scarlett reportedly rehearsing a play she’s going to be in — and it’s pretty awful. “When does it open?” a skeptical Jost asks. “March 8,” ScarJo says proudly.
“Setting a reminder to fake your own death on March 8,” Alexa blabs.
Embarrassing Johansson, Alexa actually reveals what shooting a love scene with a hot actor is like for her. “It’s the worst,” she answers her nervous husband, only to have Alexa play “Little Lies” by Fleetwood Mac.”
Safe to say it’s a good thing Alexa can’t do this…yet.
Billy Joel has always been a huge supporter of the arts, as well as a huge supporter of his home base of Long Island, New York. Now, he’s shown once again why these two things are near and dear to his heart.
Long Island’s Newsday reports that Billy and his charitable foundation have pledged $1.5 million to the Long Island High School for the Arts, which provides programs in music and theater, as well as game design, audio and video production and digital film making.
“We are incredibly proud of LIHSA’s momentum and positive impact on the next generation of artists from Long Island,” Billy and his wife, Alexis, said in a statement.
When the school, founded in 1973, was on the verge of closing six years ago, Billy’s foundation kicked in a million dollars to save it. In 2017, the building that houses the music and theater programs was renamed in honor of Billy’s mother, Rosalind Joel.
Graduates of the school, which is located in the town of Syosset, have gone on to careers on Broadway, nationally recognized arts organizations and more.
Micky Dolenz, the last surviving member of The Monkees, will pay homage to late band mates Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork during a series of special concerts visiting seven U.S. cities this April.
The shows, dubbed “Micky Dolenz Celebrates The Monkees,” will feature Dolenz honoring the musical contributions Jones, Nesmith and Tork made to the group, while sharing recollections about his fellow band members, accompanied by a multimedia presentation including film footage and rare photos from Micky’s personal archives.
The concert series will run from an April 5 performance at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium through an April 16 show in Madison, Wisconsin.
“I felt it was important to gather the fans and properly celebrate the lives of Davy, Mike and Peter,” says Dolenz. “People have been contacting me, requesting that I honor them in a way where the extraordinary impact of The Monkees can be properly acknowledged. We spent such a great deal of time together; they were like my brothers, and I want to share some of the great joy we had together.”
The show’s set list will feature many classic Monkees hits, including “I’m a Believer,” “Daydream Believer,” “Last Train to Clarksville,” “Pleasant Valley Sunday” and “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone,” along with tribute segments featuring songs written by Nesmith and Tork, and tunes that showcased Jones’ vocals. Dolenz will be backed by a seven-piece band at the concerts.
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, February 11. Check out Micky’s full tour schedule at MickyDolenz.com.
Last year, Dolenz teamed up with Nesmith for a Monkees farewell tour that wrapped up in November. Sadly, Nesmith passed away on December 10 at age 78. Jones died in 2012 at age 66, while Tork passed away in 2019 at age 77.
