Donald Trump is the gift that keeps on giving to the funny folks scattered across the Interwebs.
And few have benefited from the rise of Trump more than the creative types that haunt Imgur, the viral photo sharing community.
An unnamed uploader to Imgur posted a hilarious projection of what a Donald Trump academic paper would look like.
Published in the made-up “Journal of Compete and Utter Nonsense Talking”, Trump University student Donald J. Trump’s detailed look at “a really great piece of research” is truly something to behold:
“We ran analyses. The best analyses, make no mistake, these analyses were absolutely top notch. And there were, of course, numbers and the best numbers. They really were. The numbers that is.”
Anyway, just check this thing out:
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Photo Credit: Imgur/ Screengrab.
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The Flower Project Inspires Women To Find Beauty Within Themselves
Lauren Laveria, a 22 year-old photographer based out of Melbourne, Florida, is creator of The Flower Project, a photo project dedicated to nude art, female empowerment, and sharing personal stories to help women feel more free in their lives.
Each piece in the project features a girl who is naked and almost completely exposed, except for the flowers she is holding in her hands.
Every photograph is accompanied by a passage written by the model in the photo, telling an anecdote about their past or personal experience they have overcome, like they are writing in an open diary.
Laveria said about the project is “for girls who want to break free from their personal restraints.
“A lot of girls have done it just to face people who have told them that they’re worthless, they’re not worthy of even being loved and doing this helps these girls feel love for themselves,” Laveria said.
The project started about a year ago when Laveria was working on a different photography project with two friends, a nude portrait that Laveria was excited to do but her friends felt nervous and unsure about it at first.
They were scared about the idea of being so exposed in a photo, but by the time the shoot was over the girls told Laveria how beautiful and comfortable in their bodies she had made them feel.
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Laveria also shared her own experience of posting a nude self-portrait of herself online, something she has done now on her birthday for the past three years.
She was scared at first to share it, but she ended up receiving words of encouragement that made her feel mature and confidant.
“After that I felt if I can help other girls feel this way and actually accept themselves for how they are than that is something I want to do,” Laveria said.
Since then Laveria has posted photographs and stories of one girl every week.
The Facebook page has close to 2,000 followers and is filled with nothing but love for these girls brave enough to share their stories with the world.
Laveria is truly creating a safe space for women to inspire, support, and love one another through encouragement and empowerment for each other.
“I really just want people to read the stories and relate them to their own lives and feel a lot better and realize there are a lot of things that they can do,” Laveria said.
Year 1 of The Flower Project has finished, and Laveria is currently working on starting up Year 2.
To see her latest work you can follow The Flower Project on Facebook.
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Photo Credits: The Flower Project
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A Kayak Instructor And An Actor Walk Into a Bar: A Canadian View Of The 2016 Election
By Morgan Parker
With the 2016 presidential election quickly approaching, it’s about time I raise my hand and toss my two cents onto the table.
Why?
Because I’m Canadian, so I think I have a reasonably unbiased view of the dramatics and posturing going on down there.
Also, when I look at the economic climate and political culture happening in your country, I see some similarities with what the US is dealing with today and what we dealt with a year or so ago.
Allow me to state my disclaimers.
I’m not a politics guy.
My wife holds a bachelor’s degree in political science (in my defense, I didn’t discover that ghost in her closet until after we were engaged), which offsets my own ignorance. And, as mentioned above, I’m Canadian.
But my specialty is economics and common sense, which have nothing to do with my nationality.
There are two obvious parallels between the US today and Canada in 2015 when we hit the polls.
The first parallel is that when we elected Justin Trudeau, our economy was pretty strong.
Not thriving.
Not the kind of economy where you felt it was 2007 all over again. But it was strong enough.
Despite some soft jobs numbers for May, the US economy is doing alright.
So JT (Justin Trudeau, not Justin Timberlake who would also make for a pretty cool president, or “prime minister” as he’s officially known in Canada, and kudos to my wife for the clarification) had the tailwind of a strong economy at his back just as Trump does today.
But more importantly (and this would be the second parallel) JT used the nation’s political discontent to push him over that line into the prime minister’s office.
Canada’s political system was broken in 2015, just like yours is right now, and as voters we were fed up with it.
And that is exactly what’s working in Trump’s favor today. It’s what got Barrack Obama elected; I remember sitting in front of the television with wide eyes and thinking that BO had something nobody else had: an argument for accountability and transparency.
The problem with BO is that accountability and transparency have no place in the political domain.
To incorporate those things into your campaign is like promising the return of unicorns and Vikings with free rides for everyone (cotton candy on weekends, anyone?).
Anyway, as Canadians, we sent a pretty strong message in 2015.
Oh yeah, we elected a kayak instructor to the prime minister’s office. In fairness, JT was also a school teacher but in the same way we think of Trump as a real estate developer first and a TV personality second, I think of our prime minister as a kayak instructor first and a teacher second, not that either of those careers qualifies him to run a country.
My common sense tells me the reason we elected JT had little to do with wanting to learn how to tackle white water rapids, and even less to do with our paranoia about children-drowning incidents on family canoeing trips.
My spidey senses suggest we elected a pretty boy because we were fed up with the status quo.
Our conservative government not only lacked personality, but our minority government called elections whenever someone couldn’t get along—now, JT smacks people into line, according to the media.
Plus we were tired of going to the polls during hockey season.
I’m worried that’s the same mistake my US neighbors might make.
A lot of people like Trump and, in their defense, if BO couldn’t bring back unicorns or the Vikings, much less deliver on his promise of accountability and transparency, how much trouble can Trump cause for the greatest nation on the planet?
You’ve had celebrity presidents before (one with an airport, schools, libraries and maybe even movie theaters named after him).
On a serious note, times have changed. Celebrities might no longer have what it takes to serve as the face of your nation. Think about it: Our economy is global now. Domestic actions come with global consequences. Remember the financial crisis? It crippled entire countries, many of them larger than Rhode Island.
The world also makes the US an easy scapegoat.
Today, everyday Americans have incredible power, and sending a message to the White House that you’re tired of a lack in accountability and transparency (like we are in Canada), you’re fed up with the rhetoric and abuses of power (like we are in Canada), you’re no longer willing to take the heat for your politicians’ blunders and inadequacies (like we are in Canada) is not an easy solution.
Trust me, my kayaking-lessons-for-life card doesn’t count for much when I’m visiting Florida in the winter.
In Canada, I wish we had united better.
I wish we’d had the foresight to see how the world would view our young, inexperienced leader when he advises on nuclear strategies, military actions, economic sanctions, and any other very real thing that has very real consequences somewhere else.
People, we’re not kayaking down the Mississippi with a pound of weed in our backpacks singing kumbaya to make things better; we’re sitting at the table with the world’s most powerful leaders, people who don’t take “you’re fired” very lightly.
This November, think it through.
Unite.
Make informed decisions about your leadership. Times have changed, and it’s more important than ever that your great nation takes a stand and sends the right message, not just to the White House, but to the globe.
Morgan Parker spent twelve years sifting through boxes of research before sitting down and writing a novel titled 1986. Parker has written seven other novels since 2012 (including the popular Violets & Violence and Surviving Goodbye) and is praised for his unique voice and storytelling ability. For more info on Parker visit, www.officialmorganpar
ker.com. RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.
Cover Photo Credit: Thank you for visiting my p/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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History Under Threat: Could We Be Near The End Of Street Markets In Hong Kong?
By Jessie Pang
The Millennial Intel In This Story:
-The Central’s Graham Street Market has been in operation for 140 years.
-It has survived Japanese Occupation and decades of urban development but is now in danger of closing because its vendors are being priced out.
– The status of the market has raised questions about the survival of historical significant businesses in the ever modernizing Hong Kong.
It seems nothing has happened.
The Central’s Graham Street Market is still in operation normally ten months after the rumor that “Yesterday was its last day in operation.”
However, the disturbing noise coming from the adjacent construction field indicates that the wet market has been struggling against the city’s redevelopment plan.
The market has survived Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong and previous rounds of urban development for 140 years.
However, the redevelopment plan announced in 2007 by the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) has put it into the edge of sword.
“We are afraid that Graham Street will become another Lee Tung Street which have utterly been changed and had no relations with her history,” the spokesperson of Central and Western Concern Group Law Ngar-ning said. “We have discovered three heritage sites, which are believed to be built in late-19th century, within the Graham Street Market area, but they are not reported by the URA. They become extremely vulnerable and may be destroyed at any time.”
Concerns have arisen not only because of the historical values of the street market, but also the survival and relocation of those old residents.
“Although URA guarantees you will be able to find all daily necessities in the new market, the price will rise and the market won’t be as comprehensive as the original one,” said a 60-year-old property agent Mr Lai.
“Only 20 tenants can be relocated in the new market and the rent will be too expensive for them. It’s about $10,000 per inch but each shop is about 300 inches big.”
Currently, 11 vendors are willing to join the Local Fresh Food Shop Arrangement after the redevelopment.
They will have the priority to rent shop spaces at a retail block being built.
But they will have to give up ex-gratia business allowance worth about tens of thousands of dollars and are required to pay rent at market prices, according to the URA spokesman.
“What I say is useless. Nobody would bother listening to poor people like us,” Song Yin-wai, a 65-year-old stall owner said. “I don’t even know whether I would be relocated or not.”
Her stall named Marilyn mainly sells small electronic gadgets and women’s bags. Some small lights are switched on all the time to attract customers.
“I have been running this stall for more than ten years. In the past, it was easier to make profits. But now, fewer people are willing to stop by because of the ongoing construction sites and road maintenance,” Song said. “Sometimes the income is not even enough to cover the rent. I have lost around $2,000 for this month.”
Meanwhile, some remains positive towards the redevelopment plan.
“The redevelopment plan won’t affect me as my stall is not within the redevelopment area and won’t be relocated. Actually, it will attract more people to stop by and buy desserts from me,” Wong Tai-jie, a 70-year-old Chinese dessert stall owner said.
“The development plan is good for the community since the streets will become wider, safer, tidier and more hygienic,” said Wong Tze-nin, 24, one of the construction workers, “what’s more, two new residential buildings will also be built alongside the new commercial area.”
According to the URA website, the redevelopment plans will provide 293 residential flats and a total of 44,575 square meter commercial area. It will also include new community facilities for the public and more open space to serve as a green lung for the city.
Over the years, the URA has also taken various measures to maintain the vibrancy of the street market, such as market promotional campaigns, installing electric meters for stall operators and redesigning safer and user-friendlier stalls.
Although the future of Graham Street remains uncertain, the bargaining noise between the shopkeepers and residents tells you life goes on in spite of all the circumstances.
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Photo Credits: Jessie Pang
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