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artboitrash · 4 years

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His Bloody Rose (Stefano Valentini fanfiction) Chapter 1 - The Student

I tapped furiously at my keyboard on my computer. It's the middle of the night, almost 2:30 in the morning, and I have this stupid project due in the morning.

My head perked up as I heard my coffee maker beep. I sighed and decided a break was a break, at least.

I followed the trailing scent of freshly brewed coffee down the hallway to the kitchen. I felt dreary, and loopy, and ready to sleep. But my stupid procrastinating butt managed to "forget" to write the ending paragraph for an essay due tomorrow morning at 11:00 A.M.

Well, more like two or three paragraphs.

Well, maybe more than a few paragraphs.

Okay, the entire essay.

Fuck college, man.

I glanced at the time on my coffee maker. 2:38 AM. I have less than four hours to complete this essay before I have to leave for school. Then I have a two hour bus ride out to my college, then I have to work until 11, then turn in my half-assed essay. Granted that's if I manage to print it out in time too.

I groaned, rubbing my head as a headache began to develop. I walked to the fridge and grabbed some creamer, hoping to prepare my coffee quickly so I can finish this essay and get at least an hour of sleep to go about my day.

Grabbing a snack out of the fridge, I pour my coffee and make my way back to my room.

Today looks like it'll be hell if I don't play my cards right. . .

I walk into the gallery at 8:30 in the morning. I set my stuff down and go about turning on all the lights. I glance around and take in the paintings that have been hanging for the past month. I've seen them all already, not that I've memorized the artist's name or really care. He paints nude women or super imposes their nude photographs onto canvases and paints abstract work around them. Especially after listening to him talk at the opening night, it sounded more as an excuse to portray women's naked bodies for the pleasure of seeing them.

The art department doesn't always select the best artists, in my opinion. But then again, that's my opinion.

I rub my aching head as I recall his story behind one piece hanging thankfully out of sight. A photo of a woman standing with her legs together, hands at her side, staring at the audience, completely nude, blonde hair swept back so her breasts were exposed, no emotion in her face, body cut and pasted onto a picture of an empty street in front of a shop, stained with yellows and browns to give it all a dingy look to it. The story behind that piece was about the artist's family member knowing someone who's kid died of a drug overdose after doing too many drugs on the streets. The piece was supposed to be about how the use of drugs are bad and no one should use them, and the artist chose a young adult woman in front of a shop when the person who died was a late-teens boy that did drugs in an alley.

This most annoying thing to me is every piece in the room was over $1,000 each. Some with a price of $15,000 or more. It irked me because the work didn't feel like there was any soul put into it.

I either don't understand art myself, or the repetitive copy-paste models that look alike don't really shout "artistic statement" to me. Structure, okay. Composition, okay, but often messy. Subject, far too many young adult women with exactly the same body types. Colors, always very muted and very yellow.

I glance at some of the statues the artist did, having taken casts of all his models and rebuilt them using plaster and miscellaneous materials. I frown at the blue statue in the middle of the room, the fact it's a nude adolescent always bothers me whenever I come in here.

I really don't like this artist. Or his work.

"Ahem."

I leaped out of my seat and turn to look towards the door. A man stands there, with a friendly-looking smile on his face, leaning in to look at me despite the glass doors being propped open and being transparent glass.

At first glance, he seemed a little odd. He was dressed very nicely; formal pants and shirt covering his form perfectly, a matching coat left hung open to combat the cold morning outside. His fine clothes perfectly matched his face, a sculpted-looking jaw fit his face like he was a model for a fashion company. He looked like he could be in his thirties, crows feet just beginning to be visible by the eye I could see, but the one to my left - his right eye - was covered by his hair. It was combed straight over his eye, not his entire face. It caught my attention at first, a man in his potential thirties and still hiding his eye behind his bangs. Then I shook it off mentally, it was a college, and early morning college to boot. Literally anything goes.

"Excuse me, I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of the office, ma'am."

A European accent danced across my ears and I perked up. My mind initially began to try and discern what kind it was, but I quickly brushed off the impulse and stood up.

"Sorry, I hope you weren't standing there too long." I said as I walked from the glass desk to the door.

"No need to apologize, I had just walked in. I wasn't certain who was hear this early."

I shook my head. "Not many people except for some early morning classes, unfortunately."

"No rest for the artists, to borrow the phrase."

I walked out the door and gestured he follow. As I pass him I notice a very nice smelling cologne, something I'm not used to in an environment of twenties-something college kids.

Across from the gallery entrance was a map of the large art building and all the different forms of art - save dancing - that were crammed in. I pointed to the second floor of the map and pointed to where we were standing.

"You got unlucky where you walked in," I chuckled to myself. "The gallery is literally on the other side of the building, down to the right here, from the office in the top left on the second floor."

"I see." He laughed too. "I'll have to keep that in mind. Which door is it, then?"

"Quite literally the last door across from the stair door. Right next to a giant window overlooking the rest of the campus. If you walk down this hallway you'll see a large staircase that will take you to the second floor. A little further down is the elevator, if you need it."

He smiled at me, wider than his friendly smile before. "Thank you, miss. You are quite a helpful worker."

I laughed a little. "Don't worry, you're not the first person to get lost in the arts building. You're certainly nicer than some I've had come in here."

"Have a good rest of your morning, ma'am." He said as he turned on his heel and began walking down the hallway.

A black leather portfolio caught my eye, tucked under his left arm, arm swinging slightly with him as he walked. His loafers clicked almost delicately along the linoleum, a strangely soothing and cathartic sound after hearing so many squeaking of tennis shoes through the halls. It made me realize how I had never seen anyone as well dressed or as well taken care of as him, walking along the hallways so casually.

I shook my head slightly as I turned to walk into the gallery again. I can't help my perceptiveness sometimes. I'll pick up on the slightest detail, which is helpful in some cases, but not often when I've just met someone - especially someone I doubt I'll meet again.

I sit back down at the glass desk, mind swimming with the details I picked up from that man. I did not need this, not today. People are exhausting, and I don't need more exhaustion.

I pull out my laptop to see if I can review and fix anything else on my paper last minute, hopefully I can get the printer in the office working long enough.

I pull the pages off the printer and look over them. Crisp ink, warm and malleable pages, words neat and pristine looking back at me. I glance over what I've written once more, hoping to catch one last mistake or incorrect idea before the dreaded turn in time.

I let out a little breath and organize the pages, patting them all neat and precise in a pile. I set them on the desk carefully as I go to get the stapler I keep in my bag. Whatever is in the essay is in the essay. Everything is now up to the grading gods, i.e. the professor.

I pick up the small pile, tapping it in place to ensure all the pages are neat and perfectly centered together, thumbing through them one last time to ensure they are all in order, then tapping them again to even them out one last time.

I may have quite the issue with making sure everything is as it should be.

Or a neat freak, as some might call me.

The sound of the stapler is loud in the silent room. It reverberates off the cement floor and white walls briefly before silence consumes the room once again. I sigh internally, I do not like loud noises, even when I brace for them.

I sit down at the desk and put my essay along with my stapler in my bag, careful not to rumple the pages or catch the staple and tear anything.

I turn towards my laptop, closing out of the word program, out of the printing window, out of the pdf I was using for research, and the hundred-odd tabs of the same purpose.

I open firefox, having accidentally closed it, and go to YouTube. Maybe watching something will calm my nerves. But not too calm, I still have a class to go to.

I pull out my earbuds and plug them into my computer, scrolling down the recommended feed to see what I might want to watch.

A knock catches my attention.

"'Scuzé?" I hear from the doorway.

I glance up, seeing the man I had helped before standing before me. He no longer wears the smile from before, just a slight smirk stretching towards his ear.

"Forgive me for intruding again. I'm afraid the person I'm meeting with isn't here yet. Would you mind if I wait here?"

"Of course not! That's what the gallery is for, after all. It's meant to let people explore art at their leisure."

He glances towards the art I had been mentally critiquing all month long, and while he still held a smile I could almost see something of a grimace cover his face.

"Ah, thank you." He says, but the kindness has left his voice.

He takes a step inside, then glances around. He walks towards the desk I'm sitting at, holding his portfolio in both hands. The scent of his cologne washes over me as he approaches, and I'm embarrassed to admit how nice it smells. I'm not generally one for artificial scents, but his was oddly calming and comforting.

"Do you mind if I leave this on your desk while I look around?"

"Feel free!" I say, trying to sound enthusiastic and not sleep-deprived. "I know how it feels walking around holding onto portfolios or even large sketch pads with nowhere to set them down."

He laughs slightly, and sets the portfolio down on the desk gently, then turning and walking towards one of the canvases by the door. I feel my curiosity peak, making me want to look inside. I wondered if he's looking to be a teacher here in the arts department. Or maybe he wants to do a gallery show here.

Oh god, please let it be the gallery show. I have had such issues with this current installment, I'm almost certain nothing could be worse than this. Maybe straight up porn would be worse.

"Are these your works?" The mans voice cuts me out of my thoughts. I glance up to see him slightly turned towards me and pointing to a painted canvas with a nude woman lounging in a field of sorts.

"Oh, no, sorry." I bite my tongue, having almost said Oh god, no.

A weird look passes over his face. Almost as if shifting emotions or masks for an audience. Or almost as though relief had passed his face before he corrected himself.

"The artist's statement is on the wall over here," I point to a hanging piece of foam with a printed statement from the artist, "if you want to learn more about the artist."

The man smiles politely and nods. "Thank you, I will certainly get to that soon."

I sit back in my chair, turning back to my computer. I put in my earbuds, selecting a video I've watched a few times before, and just tried to keep my eyes open. I grab at my coffee thermos and sip gingerly from it. This much coffee was bound to make me sick, but I can't wait until I can go home and pass out for 12 or more straight hours.

The well-dressed man made his way around the room slowly, as though trying to study and absorb all of the pieces. I saw him in my peripheral either tucking his knuckles under his chin and supporting the arm with his other hand, or walking with his hands behind his back. It was obvious he took art and its imagery very seriously.

I would catch him glancing at me from time to time, eyes focusing on me briefly, but I couldn't discern - or care - if he was gauging whether to steal or deface the work. I made sure he knew I was keeping an eye on him; difficult not to when the desk has a vantage point of the whole small gallery.

He finally made his way to the piece I disliked most, and then to the artist statement. He looked over it carefully, reading each sentence thoroughly. He stood there, hands resting behind his back, almost motionless.

When I glanced at him, the smile he had been wearing had disappeared. A taught line on his lips showed what was either his fight against a frown or a grimace.

He hummed slightly, turning to the desk and putting his hand in his pocket. He pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen, unlocking the phone and fiddling with it for a moment. Then he frowned slightly.

"What are your thoughts on the gallery?" He asked coolly, keeping his even and pleasant tone.

"My thoughts?" I pulled my earbuds out and paused my video.

"Yes. I'm curious how this gallery is being received." He pulled up a chair by the table. "Even if you are simply the attendant, you must have your thoughts on this work."

"I suppose it's all right." I tried to match his inflection, failing horribly.

"Oh? Simply all right?" He pressed, smoothing his gloved hands over his portfolio, making me itch to see what was inside again.

"Well, the men seem to like it, for obvious reasons. The women tend to have issues with it for the same reason."

"And you?"

"I... it's generally not my favorite." I look over to the statues in the room. "While I understand each artist has their niche and style, this particular art I'm simply not fond of. The meanings behind the pieces don't resonate or come across, and the color palettes are just not my preferences."

He leaned forward as he listened, crossing one of his legs over the other as he got comfortable.

"Personally the pieces don't generally strike me as story telling or having messages behind them. They seem too... repetitive? Each picture is different, but the formula is exactly the same. Even the compositions seem similar each time."

A smile crossed the mans lips as he looked at me intently.

"Oh, excuse me." I put my fingertips over my mouth and forced a quiet giggle. "I didn't mean to ramble. I'm rather passionate about art. I have issues with too much repetition from artists sometimes, but it's not up to me to discern what's art or not. That's what makes things art, of course."

The man leaned onto the desk, elbow resting gently on it and arm crossed behind his portfolio. His polite smile was back, though something shimmered behind his grey-green eyes. His smile tugged to one side, showing the wrinkles in the corner of his eyes.

"Forgive me, I haven't introduced myself yet." He held out his hand across the table.

I extended my right hand, his leather glove firmly grasping my hand and shaking it. "I'm Rose. Rose Olian."

"I'm Stefano." He said smoothly, a gleam coming to his eye. "Stefano Valentini."

#Stefano Valentini #the evil within stefano #tew #tew2 #writing #fanfiction #why am i even making this #here is my contribution to the fandom #is this fandom even still relevant?#hope you don't mind my incoherent ramblings #His Bloody Rose #stefano valentini fanfiction

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taste-in-music · 5 years

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How to Discover New Music

As the first month of the year comes to a close, (can you believe it’s already been a month?) I’ve been reflecting on how I’ve been working towards achieving one of my New Year’s resolutions, which is listening to more new music. I guess I’ve been doing an okay job at keeping up with new releases, but as for discovering new artists and finding older albums, I haven’t being doing so well in those regards. So I decided to put together this handy-dandy guide to different methods that both you and myself can use to discover new artists and expand our listening horizons. Let’s get started, shall we?

1) Watch or Read Music Reviews

Some people don’t like music reviews because they think music is subjective and a matter of personal taste, and while I agree with that, I do think that hearing other peoples’ opinions on music can be helpful in trying to expand your music taste. I mainly get my music reviews off of YouTube, but there are many publications like Rolling Stone or Pitchfork that not only publish reviews but also interviews with both established and upcoming artists. Because of music reviewers, I’ve come across artists like CHVRCHES, Let’s Eat Grandma, ROSALÍA, and Gus Dapperton. You don’t always have to agree with what one person is saying to discover something new.

2) Follow Music Blogs

Call this a shameless self-plug, but the very platform you are currently on is filled with thousands of people blogging about what they’re passionate about, and that includes music. You’re bound to find at least one person who has a similar taste to you, and who knows? They might like an artist you’ve never heard of, and you could give that artist a try. Just look at the “playlist” tag and you’ll find a crap ton of posts with artists of all genres, wrapped up in a neat little package for you to enjoy. I know personally when I make playlists, I try to mix more popular artists with lesser-known ones so that people who want to listen to the playlist for the more popular artist might try out the smaller one that I think is underrated and discover that they love them.

3) Use Your Streaming Platform to Its Potential

Many streaming services having a ton of features that are perfect for finding new artists, whether that be “related artists” pages, pre-made playlists, a new releases page, or a section of recommendations based on your listening history. Take advantage of these features! Maybe this tip seems a bit obvious, but click on something you’ve never heard before, and who knows, maybe you’ll love it.

4) YouTube. Just... YouTube

YouTube is a giant platform that is stuffed to the brim with musical talent. There are a lot of different channels that feature artists giving live performances. Some great ones include:

NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts: Frustrated after being unable to hear singer Laura Gibson at a local bar show, NPR music editor and future show host Bob Boilen invited her to perform a show at Boilen’s desk. Since then, the tradition has expanded to include a variety of acts, my favorites including Superorganism, (seriously, watch theirs, it features inflatable whales, toy race cars, and a reading of a Ralph Waldo Emerson essay,) Mitski, and Maggie Rogers.

Vevo DSCVR: An offshoot of Vevo, this channel highlights up-and-coming talents in a variety of genres, bringing them on for live performances. They’ve featured some of my favorite rising stars, including Rina Sawayama, Charlotte Lawrence, Jade Bird, Astrid S, and Donna Missal.

A COLORS SHOW: A simple premise with stunning results. A variety of artists of all genres give a stripped-back performance in front of a colored background. My favorite performances are those by Phum Viphurit, Billie Eilish, Kali Uchis, Snoh Aalegra, and Dennis Lloyd.

triple j: This channel features all kinds of performance and music related news, but my favorite part their series called Like a Version, where they have singers do covers. My absolute favorite is CHVRCHES covering Kendrick Lamar’s LOVE

Late night TV shows like SNL, the Tonight Show, and Late Night with Seth Meyers also upload live performances, and while they usually have bigger names, sometimes smaller artists get a chance to go live as well. YouTube has great recommendations sometimes, and I found Skott, Transviolet, Allie X, Carlie Hanson, and half•alive all because YouTube recommended their music videos to me.

5) Look into Music Publications

I mentioned Rolling Stone and Pitchfork above, but other magazines and online publications like Billboard, PAPER, Teen Vogue, EUPHORIA, Pop Justice, and many other have interviews with artists, creative photo shoots, concert videos, reviews, and a ton of other cool stuff that can help you learn about new music. It’s because I used to have a subscription to Teen Vogue that I am blessed with the sounds of LION BABE and Say Lou Lou, so it’s worth a shot.

6) Ask Around

You could go online and use special websites to look for new artists, or you could, you know, just talk to people instead. Ask your family and friends what they’re listening to at the moment. Odds are they’ll get really excited, because people tend to like to talk about what they love, (at least, that’s been the case with me.) I got into dodie, SHAED, Dagny, MGMT, Wet, Kacey Musgraves, and Madison Beer all by asking my friends and family what music they liked.

What do you guys do to find new music?

#new music #recommendations #not my usual content #but idk #taste in music

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northeastern-nicolemarco · 7 years

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Week 8

So this post requires a little bit of a backstory. Last year I took a class called Cornerstone of Engineering, but I took two semesters of it in one semester as an 8 credit class. It was definitely a challenging (although rewarding experience). My professor had an entire schedule of the class planned out by week. As we approached week 8 in the semester, she started to warn us it was going to be a tough one. AND LET ME TELL YOU *nervous sweat* it was pretty tough, we had six pretty time consuming and weight bearing assignments due! But we survived and lived to tell the tale, and Week 8 went down in infamy. What do you know, spring semester, Week 8 struck again with a very difficult homework assignment for one the classes me and my friends were in. We now have an ongoing “I survived Week 8” joke(yes, we have seriously considered getting T-shirts made).

So why should you care about Week 8? Week 8 is notoriously difficult because it falls in the range of the beautiful point in the semester called Midterms (queue young girl screaming).

Midterms are, for a lot of classes, the first time you’re seriously tested on the material, and often times counts for a large portion of your grade. This means it’s a great opportunity to take a step in the right direction toward a good final grade in a class, but also means if you don’t perform well, it will be that much more important to do well on your finals (we’ll get to those in a later post). Midterms normally fall in the week 6 to week 8 range, but can vary based on if your professor gives multiple test during the semester. Personally, I think Midterms are even more stressful than finals because you still have classes and extracurricular activities in full swing that aren’t necessarily happening during finals week. And for the case for a lot of the Northeastern community (about half at any given time), this is around the time that interviews begin for Co-ops. Midterms can put a lot on your plate, so it's important to remember some key strategies to stay calm and do well!

Plan. Seriously this might be my motto (see last week’s Mouthful Monday for my complete plug for planning). If you’re going to a pick a time to plan though, I highly suggest to do it around Midterms. Like I said before, you still have classes going on, and you want to make sure you have a good grasp on when assignments are due and when you have club meetings and other obligations, so you can really devise good times to sit down and study for your upcoming tests. Another planning tool I use is to make a study plan. For example, I had an Organic Chemistry test today, and my study plan was to first read my notes and make flashcards, then to go through my homeworks and redo problems I had struggled with previously, then run through the flashcards, then work problems from class, then run through my flashcards again. Having a plan really helped make my study session more manageable and efficient, and I felt like I was prepared for my test!

Prioritize. There are a lot of different ways you should be prioritizing during Midterms. This one seems like common sense, but prioritize the assignments and tests coming up the soonest over things you have more time for. Do assignments that are more weight bearing on your grade first so that they get done well. Prioritize school over extracurriculars. It is important to show devotion and dedication to clubs and activities on campus, but remember that you’re at school for just that, school, and it really is the most important thing. Your club members or coaches or bosses will completely understand. MOST IMPORTANTLY, prioritize yourself. I think this the one thing people forget to do most. It is okay to know you’re overextended; it is okay to need a break; it is OKAY to not get the grade you were hoping for; it is OKAY to go to bed because you need sleep, because your health and well-being are always number 1.

Study with friends. This is something I almost never did in high school, and I am super happy I have adopted it now. One reason I push this is that when you study with other people who are studying for the same thing, if you hit a roadblock on a concept or problem, you can immediately ask someone for help who can explain it to you and teach you. And if you’re the one teaching, concepts are reinforced and mastered by teaching others—a wonderful symbiotic relationship. Another great reason to study with friends is that sometimes studying with other people gives you motivation to stay focused. When you’re alone, it’s easy to just check Facebook “really quick” or watch “one” YouTube video. When you’re with others who are focused, you’re kind of guilted into staying focused too. However, it is important to know when studying with friends becomes joking around and procrastinating with friends, it’s time to go hunker down on the silent floor of Snell Library and really get some work done.

Reward yourself. This can be as simple as a 20 minute Netflix break for every hour or two of work, or a piece of candy every time you get a practice question right. Whatever it is, giving yourself a reward is a great way to stay motivated. Take the little wins where you can, it helps a lot! And when it’s all over, when the last equation has been solved, or the last essay written, give yourself a big reward. I had a big Thermodynamics midterm, and afterwards I bought myself pumpkin bread and a latte from Starbucks as a reward to myself, and boy did it make it worth it. Whether it's buying yourself something on amazon, getting a yummy treat, or even planning something with friends, rewarding yourself makes all the hard work feel like a bigger payoff than a letter grade on a screen. So go ahead, treat yourself!

Yes, midterms are tough. Yes midterms are maybe even a little scary, but having some good strategies can make it a lot easier to trudge your way through. Just remember to keep your head up, and talk to your friends because they understand, and you can all support each other. And trust me, you’ll get to say you survived Week 8 too!

#MouthfulMondays #tipsandtricks #midterms

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nicoleignn · 5 years

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DIGGING DEEPER: Fred Tomaselli

Technological revolution seems like a great and unique advantage of our age, however, it has turned into a disadvantage of disinformation, in other words, promotion of fake news. American artist Fred Tomaselli, who is interested in reality and perception, has created series of images that show how news, just like drugs, modify reality and alter consciousness. The artist does nor appreciate the phenomenon of fake news and believes that it is very, very dangerous. In his artworks, he took the front-pages of New York Times to transform images in newspapers into strange, brilliantly coloured compositions, adding absurd and satirical imagery to real-life photographs of politicians and news events, to create a new narrative behind it, which is the aim of fake news. He used gouache, creating vibrant, psychedelic images that almost look like visuals caused by drugs, because both drugs and fake news create the reality that doesn't exist, however, affected by the aforementioned two, we believe In the narratives they create. The absurdity of the images he created also refers to the absurdity of the information that we are being given. The artist, however, made the absurdity visible and obvious, which is not usually the same with fake news. I decided to dig deeper into Fred’s works since the topic of fake news is related to my project I am currently making as well as my essay, which deals with ways in which modernity has failed us.

3:1 KEY THEMES OF THE ARTWORK

Fake news

Technologies

Media

Politics

3:2 WORD ASSOCIATION

Fake news - disinformation, perception of the reality, lies, fiction, brainwashing, control, humiliation, disrespect

Technologies - technological revolution, communication, social media, mental health, misrepresentation, double standards, spreading bad influence, sexism, racism, fake news platform

Media - news, social media, influence, mental health, inappropriate content

Politics - power, control, disappointment, illusion, disinformation, conspiracy, control, government, creating boundaries, spreading discrimination and hatred.

3:3 RELATED ARTICLES

FRIEZE MAGAZINE: Venice Biennale 2019, Titled ‘May You Live in Interesting Times’, to Tackle the Age of Fake News

This article not only explains the plan and aim of the upcoming art exhibition, but also provides some feedback on brexit, fake news ant its relationship to art and design practices. In a statement, curator Ralph Rugoff explained: ‘At a moment when the digital dissemination of fake news and ‘alternative facts’ is corroding political discourse and the trust on which it depends, it is worth pausing whenever possible to reassess our terms of reference.’

An outstanding part of this article is the one saying that people who voted for Britain to leave the European Union are more likely to avoid the arts: ‘hose who live in 44 pro-Brexit areas including Sandwell, Boston and Blackburn were more likely to have voted Leave than engage with the arts, according to new analysis by Arts Professional. The data was compiled using the most recent Active Lives survey, which reports on whether a person has attended an arts event or activity, and compared it against the results of the 2016 Brexit referendum. The highest engagement with the arts was the City of London at 91.7%, with just 24.7% voting to leave the EU. However, Mark Taylor, a sociologist at the University of Sheffield found that there was a weaker correlation between people actually participating in the arts and voting Remain.’

This research only proves that Brexit has opened a huge platform for all the ignorant, selfish, indifferent and narrow-minded people in the Britain to express their pathetic views. In our times, we must be willing to help and share, open boundaries, not close them. National and racial hatred will not solve any issue, but will only create more.

MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW: A mathematical model captures the political impact of fake news

This article aims to present and explain recent mathematical research that shows how fake news affect people’s decision during voting. Dorje Brody from the University of Surrey and David Meier from Brunel University created a mathematical model, including 3 groups of people. First are those who are unaware of fake news and so treat it like ordinary noise. Being unaware that news could be fake, they are entirely confident in their views. “This category are most vulnerable to exposure to fake news,” say the researchers.

The second group are those who are aware of fake news but do not know how to separate it from noise. This group is less susceptible to fake news but is less confident in its opinions because of the uncertainty that fake news creates. “The people in this category are considerably more aware of the uncertainties in their estimates,” say Brody and Meier.

And finally, there are those voters who can spot fake news and immediately remove it from their calculations. These people are confident in their views because they are unaffected by the bias fake news introduces. However, Brody and Meier think of this group as an idealisation. “After all, it is an almost insurmountable task for any given individual to perfectly identify which items of news are fake and which ones are not,” they point out.

The results make for interesting reading. It turns out, not unexpectedly, that voters in the the first group are easily manipulated by fake news. Similarly, those in the third group are unaffected by fake news.

However, the second group is the most interesting. Voters in this category are aware of the existence of fake news, but do not know the timing of its release. So they tend to overcompensate for the possibility that the information they are receiving may be contaminated. However, once the fake news has been released, those in this group do well at removing its influence.

“One can interpret this as an indication that mere knowledge of the possibility of fake news is already a powerful antidote to its effects,” say Brody and Meier.

Another important issue is the nature of factual reality. Many observers will question whether it is reasonable to assume that an objective factual reality exists, particularly when it comes to political issues and future-gazing.

I have also found this video on YouTube that proves that any audio/video piece can be altered in order to create fake, however convincing content:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoc2RISoLWU&fbclid=IwAR2gPDOIZoMS-xH_iyKFUYWGcbSsUKhRrxEt8BuKSIsrmOBS7aqkZffsGS0

QUARTZ MAGAZINE: The future of fake news

This article underpins my aforementioned statement about fake content and how easy it is to create it. With only a few hours of audio of a person talking, you can synthesize a recording of that person saying just about anything you desire. With only a few hundred images of a person, you can synthesize a video of that person’s face sewn onto another person’s body, facial expressions, head movements, and all. Combine these two technologies, and it is possible to generate a convincing fake video of a world leader saying whatever you want them to: Anything from an official announcement of a nuclear strike to a private recording where they admit to colluding with a foreign government to win a national election. The public won’t know the difference. Finally, plug the fruits of this powerful technology into the speed and reach of social media, and before any professional source can debunk the broadcast, it’s spread too far to convince viewers of its inauthenticity.

Yuval Noah Harari: 21 lessons for the 21st century

Yuval Noah Harari’s latest book explains how modernity keeps failing us in various ways, starting from nuclear war and racism to Donal Trump’s rise and Brexit. ‘The rise of Donald Trump in the United States signified the moment when this tidal wave of disillusionment reached the core liberal states of Western Europe and North America’. Yuval is also comparing a bad headache signifying possible brain tumour to the rise of Donald Trump, signifying the end of civilisation caused by a complete dehumanisation.

FRIEZE MAGAZINE

Frieze Magazine provides an article with various artists’ feedback and thoughts on Brexit and all of them contain negative attitude towards it. ‘It has opened a platform for all the racist, ignorant and selfish people to express their extremist views. We should not be thinking what is the best for us, we should be thinking how to keep a united Europe and help the countries less fortunate than ourselves. The world is in a mess.’ - stated British artist Clare Woods. ‘At this frightening moment in time, we need o open borders, not close them. We need to be cosmopolitan, to stop acting as nit people’s difference threatens our identity. We need to share. I'm so horrified by the talk of us and them, the rise of racism, the growing acceptability of hate speech. I don't want to live on an ugly, homogenised island, little bloody Britain. I want us to take part in something bigger, to be multilingual, to exchange. I'm in, and I'm in for life.

3:4 EXPANDING RESEARCH

What do you think artist would’ve researched when making their artwork?

Since Fred’s artworks I am looking at are front pages of newspaper, related to political, social and technological events, he definitely researched that in order to fully understand the absurdity of fake news about those events. I also think he was researching human psychology and its relationship to colours and shapes, because everything he drew looks very distinctive and triggers various feelings. He might have researched or experienced how drugs, especially psychedelics affect human brain and how they contribute to the perception of the reality.

2) How the artwork relates to current news events? / 3) How the artwork relates to history?

Fred Tomaselli has stopped creating these art pieces, but if he didn’t, he would have loads of material to work on. However, all of his works are related to current political events, because politics, as well as anything else has its past, its history, that contributes to how those events are being changed and accepted now. The aspects he was touching are still relatable, because the phenomenon of fake news and its absurdity still exist nowadays.

4) Books in the library:

Anti-social media?: the Impact on journalism and society

by Mair, John

Politics

by Heywood, Andrew

The economics of Brexit: a cost-benefit analysis of the UK's economic relationship with the EU

by Whyman, Philip B; Petrescu, Alina I

Gender and queer perspectives on Brexit

by Dustin, Moira; Ferreira, Nuno; Millns, Susan

Fake news

by Morton, Brian

3:5 IDENTIFY THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE EXPANDED RESEARCH AND THE ORIGINAL ARTWORK.

I believe that there is a strong connection between the advantage of technological revolution that has turned into a disadvantage of spreading disinformation and politics, because fake news are usually related to political events. Fred’s artworks underpin this statement and show how easy it is to convince us in the absurd information we are being given. The way fake news contribute to the perception of the reality is unbelievably frustrating, especially baring in mind that we are living in the 21st century, calling ourselves independent, strong individuals but still depending on the source of information that is giving us fiction.

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