Posts made in February 2020

HOT WHEELS LEGENDS TOUR

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Hot Wheels announced the Hot Wheels Legends Tour is back for the third year and on the hunt for the next life-size custom car worthy of becoming a Hot Wheels die-cast toy. The world’s largest traveling car show will kick off in Miami on March 7 and make 18 stops at Walmart parking lots across the country looking for cars that embody Hot Wheels’ high standards of performance and design.

“After stopping in more than 20 different cities and seeing almost 10,000 custom builds over the last two years, we’ve been blown away by our fans’ talent and serious passion for cars,” said Ted Wu, Head of Hot Wheels Design, Mattel. “The Legends Tour brings together every aspect of car culture embodied by the Hot Wheels brand, and we’re excited to take it to the next level in an even bigger and better way in 2020.”

In 2019, Hot Wheels Legends tour brought together more than 90,000 fans and over 5,000 custom cars from across the United States, Mexico and Germany, with deep rooted ties to car culture across the globe. Continuing in Hot Wheels true challenger spirit, the third annual tour will expand to stops in new cities like Boston and Milwaukee, giving fans even more chances to compete to see their custom car become an iconic 1:64 die-cast toy vehicle.

At each stop, fans will have the chance to show off their unique custom builds from open-wheeled jet-inspired rides like the 2018 tour winning 2JetZ, to classic coupes like The Nash, which won in 2019. Hot Wheels designers and automotive influencers will select one finalist from each stop based on the criteria of authenticity, creativity and garage spirit. At the end of the tour, all 18 finalists will win a trip to the 2020 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, where they will be judged side-by-side to determine the grand prize winner that will become the next Hot Wheels die-cast toy. New for 2020, Mobil 1 will also be providing one additional spot for a vehicle to be featured in the final competition at SEMA, through a fan favorite contest to give the runners up from each local stop at second chance at being immortalized into the Hot Wheels Garage of Legends.

The 18 stops on this year’s tour will feature even more fun for the family with on-site experiences with partners Walmart, Dickies, A&W Root Beer, American Honda, Dynacraft Wheels and title sponsor Mobil 1. On tour for the first time this year will be Mobil 1’s new Cupid build, a custom truck that aims to inspire the next generation to celebrate car culture. Hot Wheels traveling vending machine truck will also be cruising to Walmart stores across the country between the stops so even more fans can get their own Hot Wheels die-casts.

“The Mobil 1 brand is proud to again support the Hot Wheels Legends Tour,” said Ryan Allen, Retail Marketing, ExxonMobil. “We’re looking forward to continuing our partnership with Hot Wheels to bring family-oriented, exceptional experience to fans. This year, Mobil 1 is going bigger and better by bringing the Fan Favorite to the tour, which will give fans around the world a chance to vote on their favorite car at each of the stops. We can’t wait to see what car fans love best.”

The Legends Tour will stop at Walmart stores in the following cities: Miami (March 7), Tampa (March 21), Atlanta (April 4), Houston (April 18), Dallas (April 25), St. Louis (May 30), Northwest Arkansas (June 6), Boston (June 20), Detroit (July 11), Milwaukee (July 25), Denver (August 8), Salt Lake City (August 15), Portland (August 29), San Jose (September 12), Los Angeles (September 26), San Diego (October 10), Phoenix (October 17). The tour will also make a special stop at Hot Wheels headquarters in El Segundo, Calif. on May 16 to celebrate the brand’s 52^nd birthday including new surprises from our partners.

“We celebrated the highly successful 2019 Hot Wheels Legends Tour by taking a one-of-a-kind 1972 HondaN600 with a motorcycle engine to SEMA, so we look forward to what the 2020 Legends Tour might bring,” said Bruce Garfield, Licensing and Brand Manager at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “Honda and Mattel have enjoyed a long, successful relationship and we look forward to what the future holds for our fans and the tuner community.”

Conceived in 1968 by an innovator, a rocket scientist and a car designer, Hot Wheels 1:64 scale die-cast cars were designed to look awesome and perform. Five decades later, Hot Wheels is the number one selling toy in the world* with more than 16.5 cars sold every second. The brand has evolved from a simple, yet beloved, toy car with orange track system into a global franchise powerhouse that offers fans of all ages multi-channel play experiences.

To learn more about how the Hot Wheels Legends Tour visit www.HotWheels.comand follow #HotWheelsLegendsTour. To check out the Hot Wheels Garage of Legends visit www.HotWheels.com/GarageofLegends.

About Mattel

Mattel (NASDAQ: MAT) is a leading global children’s entertainment company that specializes in design and production of quality toys and consumer products. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire, entertain and develop children through play. We engage consumers through our portfolio of iconic franchises, including Barbie®, Hot Wheels®, American Girl®, Fisher-Price®, Thomas & Friends® and Mega®, as well as other popular brands that we own or license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our offerings include film and television content, gaming, music and live events. We operate in 40 locations and sell products in more than 150 countries in collaboration with the world’s leading retail and technology companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is proud to be a trusted partner in exploring the wonder of childhood and empowering kids to reach their full potential. Visit us online at www.mattel.com.

The Most Exciting Cars of 2020

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by Ronald DiMaggio and Christina Perry, TRED

2019 proved to be an exciting year for car enthusiasts: we saw a revival of the iconic Toyota Supra, a redesigned Porsche 911 and BMW 3 Series, and a brand new McLaren hypercar in the Senna. Those were all properly exciting, but with the new year well underway, I think it’s only appropriate to start looking forward [insert cheesy 2020 vision joke], so in this article we’ll be taking a look at some of the more important cars set to come out in 2020. This list is not exhaustive, though it includes all the cars that we expect to make a big splash in the industry.

2021 BMW M3

BMW is set to reveal its all new M3 sedan, based on the existing G20 3 series later this year (with sales starting early 2021.) Spy photos and renderings (like the one above) have fans of the brand on the edge of their seats. This is mostly because spy photos have indicated that the 2021 M3 may follow in the 7 series’ footsteps with an absolutely massive grille that extends from the hood all the way down to the front lip. Yikes. Less worrying, however, is what will be hiding behind that grille, a stronger and doubly turbocharged version of the existing B58 inline six, dubbed the S58. The new M3 will also be the first one ever to offer all-wheel drive. We can be sure that it will drive well, as all M3s do, but here’s hoping it looks okay…

2021 Ford Bronco

Ford is set to debut its new Bronco in spring of this year, and intel so far is pointing toward it being exactly what we expect out of a vehicle wearing a Bronco badge: a boxy, rugged, body-on-frame SUV. As we saw with the recent Supra unveil, bringing back an icon after decades of dormancy is a risky proposition, but it appears that Ford is doing it right.

2021 Ford Mustang Mach E

Another exciting vehicle from Dearborn is the new Mustang Mach E crossover. Slated for delivery in late 2020, the Mustang Mach E is Ford’s first full-fledged foray into the all-electric segment. It looks good, it will be quick, and it seems to be at least somewhat reasonably priced, though I do have one small gripe with the Mustang Mach E. Did they have to call it a Mustang? I’m not one to get hung up on the mostly arbitrary sanctity of model names, but this is a bit ridiculous. Aside from styling cues, this vehicle has absolutely nothing in common with the traditional Mustang, and I think it’s something of an affront to the Mustang heritage.

2020 Tesla Model Y

Tesla is planning to start deliveries of their new crossover, the Model Y, in the summer of this year. The Model Y, as all Teslas are, will be an important car because it will assuredly disrupt sales of its gas-powered competitors in a big way. Tesla’s entrance into a more reasonable price bracket with the Model 3 made quite a splash in the sedan segment, and we can expect the Model Y to do the same in the increasingly hot crossover market.

2021 Tesla Roadster

Another Tesla sure to shake things up, though at a much bigger cost, is the upcoming Roadster. Set to go on sale after the Model Y, the Roadster is a $200,000+ supercar with quite a few big claims to support. Tesla has claimed that the Roadster will do 0-60mph in under two seconds, and will be able to reach speeds in excess of 250mph with seating for four. If it’s as potent as Tesla says it will be, I’m sure Lamborghini, Ferrari and McLaren will be sweating once it hits the streets; though I’m sure those brands have at least a small fanbase unwilling to switch to a supercar that doesn’t make any noise.

2020 Chevrolet Corvette

We already know quite a bit about the new C8 Corvette, but since it hasn’t technically hit the streets yet, it still belongs on this list. The C8 is Chevrolet’s first mid-engined Corvette and it marks the biggest transformation of the iconic sports car since its inception in the 1950s. It is still very much a Corvette though, with pushrod V8 power, two seats, and two doors. Dealers are preparing to make deliveries as early as next month, and I can’t wait to see them on the road.

2021 Mercedes Benz S-Class

Representing for the luxury sedan category on our list is the all new 2021 Mercedes Benz S-Class, set to be available for purchase later this year. The S-Class is a staple of the Mercedes brand, but more importantly, it’s a technological leader in the industry. Mercedes tends to debut lots of new tech in their flagship sedan, and other manufacturers often follow suit. With this in mind, the new S-Class is sure to bring with it many new innovations, and induce lots of innovative ripples throughout the industry.

2021 Land Rover Defender

Arguably the quintessential British 4×4, the Defender has been absent from the US since 1997, because its lack of airbags (and Land Rover’s refusal to engineer their addition) failed to comply with US safety standards. The used market for the Defenders that had already made it stateside has been hot since then, and there was no hint of any new iterations of that classic Landy recently.

And now, the Defender’s return is imminent. It has a lot of modern updates, but it still retains a fair amount of the rugged, utilitarian styling that gave the original its charm.

2020 Lotus Evija

In the awesome but unobtanium category (for most of us), Lotus is bringing out one of the sexiest, most exciting hypercars we’ve seen in a long time. And… it’s electric. In fact, exciting is sort of an understatement. It’s the most powerful electric car ever, with nearly 2,000 horsepower and a top speed of over 200 miles per hour. Oh, and it charges insanely fast, too—18 minutes to charge 100% (to a very respectable 250-mile range.)

Even the name is pretty exceptional; it’s probably partially a clever riff on the electric vehicle acronym of “EV,” and it also (loosely) means “living” or “breathing” in Hebrew.

2021 Cadillac Escalade

Because the ‘Sclade is the perennial choice of A-list Hollywood celebs, reality show stars, and ballers everywhere, it has to stay on top of its style game. The 2021 iteration fittingly made its TV debut in commercials alongside Academy Award-winning actress Regina King during the 2020 Oscars.

It’s big (even bigger than before), and bold, adding 7.1 inches in length over the previous model, and a massive grill. Inside, there’s more space, and some serious tech updates to everything from the suspension and transmission to the giant, curved OLED screen that probably has better image quality than the TV on your wall at home. A diesel engine will also be an option for the first time.

*Featured image of Oscar®-winning actress and acclaimed director Regina King behind the scenes with the 2021 Cadillac Escalade.

Alcoholism in the Family

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Alcoholism in the family affects how your brain switches between active and resting states.

A family history of alcoholism affects a process that the brain uses when transitioning from a mentally demanding state to a resting state, researchers have found.

You don’t have to be a drinker for your brain to be affected by alcoholism. A new study shows that just having a parent with an alcohol use disorder affects how your brain transitions between active and resting states – regardless of your own drinking habits.

The study, performed by researchers at Purdue University and the Indiana University School of Medicine, discovered that the brain reconfigures itself between completing a mentally demanding task and resting.

But for the brain of someone with a family history of an alcohol use disorder, this reconfiguration doesn’t happen.

While the missing transition doesn’t seem to affect how well a person performs the mentally demanding task itself, it might be related to larger scale brain functions that give rise to behaviors associated with addiction. In particular, study subjects without this brain process demonstrated greater impatience in waiting for rewards, a behavior associated with addiction.

Brain-Reconfiguration
Multiple regions of the brain are involved in a “reconfiguration” that happens between completing a difficult task and resting. But for people with a family history of alcoholism, this reconfiguration is diminished.

Findings are published in the journal NeuroImage. The work was led by Enrico Amico, a former Purdue postdoctoral researcher who is now a researcher at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland.

How the brain reconfigures between active and resting states is like how a computer closes down a program after you’re finished with it. “The moment you close a program, a computer has to remove it from memory, reorganize the cache and maybe clear out some temporary files. This helps the computer to prepare for the next task,” said Joaquín Goñi, a Purdue assistant professor in the School of Industrial Engineering and the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering.

“In a similar way, we’ve found that this reconfiguration process in the human brain is associated with finishing a task and getting ready for what’s next.” Goñi’s research group, the CONNplexity Lab, takes a computational approach to neuroscience and cognitive science.

Past research has shown that a family history of alcoholism affects a person’s brain anatomy and physiology, but most studies have looked at this effect only in separate active and quiet resting states rather than the transition between them.

“A lot of what brains do is switch between different tasks and states. We suspected that this task switching might be somewhat lower in people with a family history of alcoholism,” said David Kareken, a professor of neurology at the Indiana University School of Medicine and director of the Indiana Alcohol Research Center.

The study defined a “family history of alcoholism” as someone with a parent who had enough symptoms to constitute an alcohol use disorder. About half of the 54 study participants had this history.

Researchers at Indiana University measured the brain activity of subjects with an MRI scanner as they completed a mentally demanding task on a computer. The task required them to unpredictably hold back from pressing a left or right key. After completing the task, the subjects rested while watching a fixed point on the screen.

A separate task outside of the MRI scanner gauged how participants responded to rewards, asking questions such as if they would like $20 now or $200 in one year.

Amico and Goñi processed the data and developed a computational framework for extracting different patterns of brain connectivity between completing the mentally demanding task and entering the resting state, such as when brain areas rose and fell together in activity, or one brain area rose while another fell at the same time.

The data revealed that these brain connectivity patterns reconfigured within the first three minutes after finishing the task. By the fourth minute of rest, the effect had completely disappeared.

And it’s not a quiet process: Reconfiguration involves multiple parts
of the brain at once.

“These brain regions talk to each other and are very strongly implicated in the task even though by this point, the task is already completed. It almost seems like an echo in time of what had been going on,” Kareken said.

Subjects lacking the transition also had the risk factors that researchers have seen to be consistent with developing alcoholism. These include being male, a greater number of symptoms of depression,
and reward-impatience.

A family history of alcoholism, however, stood out as the most statistically significant difference in this brain reconfiguration.

The finding affects research going forward.

“In the past, we’ve assumed that a person who doesn’t drink excessively is a ‘healthy’ control for a study. But this work shows that a person with just a family history of alcoholism may also have some subtle differences in how their brains operate,” Goñi said.

This research was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (grant P60AA07611) and the Purdue Discovery Park Data Science Award “Fingerprints of the Human Brain: A Data Science Perspective.” The work was also partially supported by the National Institutes of Health (grants R01EB022574, R01MH108467, and R00AA023296).

About Discovery Park
Discovery Park is a place where Purdue researchers move beyond traditional boundaries, collaborating across disciplines and with policymakers and business leaders to create solutions for a better world. Grand challenges of global health, global conflict and security, and those that lie at the nexus of sustainable energy, world food supply, water and the environment are the focus of researchers in Discovery Park. The translation of discovery to impact is integrated into the fabric of Discovery Park through entrepreneurship programs and partnerships.

INTRO: VANTAS

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A new automotive operation in North America has been formed by HAAH Automotive Holdings to distribute, sell and service vehicles under the brand name VANTAS. The new company was announced today by Duke Hale, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HAAH Automotive Holdings.

All vehicles sold in the U.S. and Canada will be assembled in American plants bringing new jobs to America.

HAAH has a technical cooperation agreement with Chery Automobile, one of the top ten automakers in China and the leading auto exporter to over 80 countries. Chery manufactures and sells a full line of SUVs, passenger cars and electric vehicles under several separate brands, including the Exeed brand. As the first step in their cooperation VANTAS vehicles will be on the Exeed platform, which has been developed with global resources and technologies targeted specifically at United States and Canadian consumers.

The first of the vehicle models to be sold in North America will be a premium SUV. The specific model and other details have not been announced yet. Engineering development for homologation in the U.S. market has already begun.

“This is a historic agreement creating VANTAS. The brand will incorporate a number of new technologies from its Chinese partner, including “Intelligent Connected” for a wide variety of safety and driver assistance technology, various aspects of autonomous driving and, in the future, new energy vehicles. VANTAS is fully committed to building every one of its vehicles in the U.S. creating jobs in America. HAAH Automotive Holdings is proud to be working with Chery, launching the new VANTAS brand in North America,” said Hale. “Chery is an automaker in China with outstanding vehicles. We are very proud they have selected HAAH to be their partner for North America. VANTAS vehicles will offer more choice in the premium category for U.S. and Canadian consumers with excellent safety, quality and reliability,” Hale added.

The online sales process will be implemented using HAAH’s unique modern digital platform with an industry-leading 100% cloud-based system which combines the ERP and Dealership Management System (DMS) to support VANTAS and Dealer Operations.

This unique system design comes from an integrated and open API platform which will provide real time transactions and visibility for all users increasing speed and precision.

This system is the next generation in the automotive industry, giving VANTAS technological superiority not available from any other manufacturer today. It will provide a 360-degree view of customers for dealers and VANTAS personnel with each having access to a single version of the data (single version of the truth) to provide customer excellence for service and support. Sharing this data allows HAAH to offer a new, transparent, customer friendly selling process, faster handling of customer purchase and service issues, and improved dealer parts fulfillment.

“We are glad to witness the launch and establishment of this new American automobile brand, VANTAS, said Ray Bierzynski,Executive Vice President of Chery Automobile. New technology, new energy and new retail are profoundly changing the global automotive industry. HAAH is an excellent auto company in North America, with a first-class team that has deep auto experience and an innovative sales and marketing model. Chery is an auto company renowned worldwide with a global R&D system, having R&D centers in Europe, America, Latin America and China. The technical collaboration with HAAH will provide support for the development of new products which will meet and exceed North American customer expectations for the VANTAS brand. I have no doubt that VANTAS will bring consumers in North America an outstanding customer experience,” said Bierzynski.

Details on the vehicles to be sold and more information regarding the production of those models will be provided at a later time.

About HAAH Automotive Holdings

HAAH Automotive Holdings was formed by a group of leading auto industry executives and experts to create a unique customer experience from the beginning of the buying process and throughout ownership. Using a total of more than 300 years of experience in the industry, HAAH executives are committed to disrupting the auto buying and ownership process. Designed to meet the needs of 21^st century car buyers, the company is creating new methods, processes and procedures to increase transparency, clarify pricing, and simplify purchase and vehicle service for the customer. The company is based in Irvine, Calif.

About Chery Automobile

Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. was established on January 8, 1997. Over the past 20 years, the company has always insisted on independent innovation and established a complete technology and product R&D system. Its products have been exported to more than 80 countries and regions around the world, created well-known product series such as ARRIZO, TIGGO and high-end brand EXEED. Chery’s joint ventures have brands such as Jaguar Land Rover, Qoros, and Cowin. Chery has been the top brand for the export of passenger vehicles from China for 17 consecutive years.

More information is available at:

www.haahauto.com

www.vantas.com

http://en.exeedcars.com/

Pirelli Introduces New Tires

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PIRELLI INTRODUCES THE CINTURATO P7 ALL SEASON PLUS II
THE NEXT GENERATION OF TIRES SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR THE NORTH AMERICAN TOURING MARKET

NEW TREAD COMPOUND AND AN OPTIMIZED FOOTPRINT HELP TO IMPROVE OVERALL WET PERFORMANCE

Pirelli today announced an update to their range of All Season tires designed for the North American touring market with the introduction of its new Cinturato P7 All Season Plus II.

Part of Pirelli’s Plus line of products, which are specifically designed to better meet the needs of drivers in the North American market, the Cinturato P7 All Season Plus II presents a new tread compound and an optimized footprint for improved behavior on wet surfaces. In particular, the new Cinturato P7 All Season Plus II showed an improved wet stopping distance.

Another area on which Pirellli’s engineers have focused to develop this new tire has been the wet handling and wet traction, while maintaining the tread wear, winter traction, noise, comfort, dry handling and steering performance of the previous generation.

The Cinturato P7 All Season Plus II is covered by a 70,000-mile limited tread wear warranty. The new Pirelli tire is now available in 30 sizes. The full 50 size range will be available in over the next few months.

Technical highlights include:

New Compound: A new functionalized polymer and increased silica content forms the new tread compound, which can also be found on the recently released Scorpion Verde All Season Plus II. This new compound delivers improved stopping distance in the Cinturato P7 All Season Plu II as well as enhanced overall performance in wet traction, handling and braking while maintaining the previous generation’s tread wear, winter traction, noise, comfort, dry handling and steering performance.

Optimized Footprint: A five percent larger contact area and optimized shape improves overall wet performance, braking and handling over the previous generation.

All Season Performance: The Cinturato P7 All Season Plus II is an extremely well-balanced tire that delivers high performance, low noise, and excellent handling.

www.pirelli.com

S. Pellegrino x Young Chef 2020 Jurors

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S.Pellegrino Announces Jurors for the Global Final of Their Young Chef 2020 Competition

S.Pellegrino has announced the seven jurors who will be judging the Grand Finale of their Young Chef 2020 competition, taking place in Milan on 8-9 May 2020.

A constantly engaged talent platform that nurtures the future of gastronomy, S.Pellegrino Young Chef saw 134 young chefs all over the globe taking part in live cook-offs in front of international jury panels from the participating countries of twelve different regions. The twelve finalists will cook in front of the Seven Sages, an esteemed jury panel made up of seven giants of global gastronomy who, believing that the culture and ethics behind a plate will make the difference for a chef in the future, will judge their dishes to find the final winner.

The ‘Seven Sages’ are:

Mauro Colagreco, the Italian-Argentine chef who has been declared No 1 at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards 2019 with his three-Michelin star restaurant Mirazur in Menton, France. He works to provide maximum quality through using local ingredients, stating; “As chefs, we are obliged to focalize on the sustainability and the future of our planet.”

Andreas Caminada a Swiss chef and entrepreneur who holds three Michelin stars at his restaurant Schloss Schauenstein. His philosophy is to stay true to his roots, only using seasonal ingredients from surrounding castle grounds or hand-picked local producers. He received the World’s 50 Best Sustainable Restaurant Award for his environmental and social approach at Schloss Schauenstein in 2019.

Clare Smyth, the first female British chef to hold and retain three Michelin stars, named the World’s Best Female Chef 2018 by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. The ingredients she uses for her British cuisine are selected after a long research among local farmers and independent artisanals and have a strong ethic and sustainable aspect.

Pim Techamuanvivit, is the executive chef of Nahm in Bangkok (one Michelin star since 2017), and the chef/owner Kin Khao (one Michelin star since 2015) and the recently-opened Nari in San Francisco. Committed to sustainability and food waste prevention, she supports the future of Thai food by working closely with local artisan producers, fishermen and farmers to source impeccable ingredients for her kitchens.

Enrico Bartolini is currently the most starred Italian chef. In 2019 his restaurant, Enrico Bartolini – Mudec, received three Michelin stars, marking the return of a three-stars restaurant in Milan, after more than 25 years. His philosophy is to be contemporary classic, blending tradition with innovation and endless experimentation, to create new flavours that are packed with memories.

Manoella Buffara, a Brazilian chef who studied in Italy. Her restaurant Manu was named ‘One to Watch’ by Latin America’s 50 Best in 2018, and to promote sustainability she created a model in which the protection of nature is the task of everyone, using urban gardens to bring communities together by sharing crops.

Gavin Kaysen, owner of the Spoon and Stable Restaurant in Minneapolis, is a gifted U.S. chef and a visionary entrepreneur. Believing that mentorship is still very relevant in the gastronomy profession, Kaysen is strongly committed in helping the next generation of young culinarians refine their skills in the kitchen. He is one of the founding mentors of the nonprofit Ment’or BKB Foundation (formerly Bocuse d’Or USA Foundation) and he took part in the S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2018 event, mentoring the winning candidate for USA team.

The jurors will be judging the finalists based on three key attributes – technical skills, creativity and personal belief – as well as the candidates’ potential to create positive change in society through food. The chef who displays these attributes most successfully will be crowned S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2020.

This year’s culinary journey will also host a one-day Forum curated by Fine Dining Lovers – the online leading voice in gastronomy by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna for worldwide food enthusiasts – that will be dedicated to human and food sustainability in Gastronomy. Young and top chefs will take turns on stage to share their view and experience about kitchen culture and sustainable practices: to name one for all, the world-renowned chef Massimo Bottura will run a special lecture.

FineDiningLovers will share insights on S. Pellegrino Young Chef 2020: follow the story on www.finedininglovers.com and @finedininglovers socials.

Click here to discover more about the exciting talent search:

Sound MANA

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In March of 2020, Sound MANA, a music residency is launching on the Pacific coast of Oaxaca, Mexico. Created by DJ/Producer and Ableton Certified Instructor Adam Partridge (artist name: Atropolis) and his partner En Wong, a multidisciplinary educator—Sound MANA offers artists working in music a one or two-week creative retreat to work on an EP, LP, album or sound and visual project.

Each month, Sound MANA will host up to seven artists who are accepted to the program through an application process. Daily lectures, studio-hours, feedback sessions and workshops are hosted in a cliff-side palapa overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Artists in residency are also given the opportunity to experiment with field recording and live sampling using nature sounds captured from around Oaxaca.

At the heart of this unique program is the artist’s need to connect. Sound MANA recognizes the healing power therein, of seeking silence and truth in nature, of removing oneself from materialism and urban society.

Many producers are confined to their workstations where they produce entire bodies of work within the clicking of a mouse. DJs, singers and musicians find themselves in search for more opportunities to diversify and create original content. Sound MANA offers the artist (emerging and professional) a platform to hone in on their creative practice and develop a unique point of view through a renewed connection to nature, culture, community, technology and self. Music producers, DJs, singers, songwriters, composers, instrumentalists and sound researchers are encouraged to apply at www.soundmana.com.

Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project

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Oxygen, the home for quality true-crime programming, debuts a compelling two-hour documentary, “Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project,” on Sunday, April 5, at 7pm ET/PT.

With 2.2 million men and women behind bars in the United States, more than any other country, Kim Kardashian West is making it her personal mission to address the criminal reform crisis and make an impactful change. This documentary is an inside look at Kim’s efforts to secure freedom for Americans who she believes have been wronged by the justice system.

In Oxygen’s two-hour documentary “Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project,” after hearing the story of Alice Marie Johnson, a great-grandmother serving a life-plus-25-year sentence as a first-time nonviolent offender, Kim Kardashian West embarked on a road to advocacy as she campaigned for criminal justice reform and helped convince the White House to grant Alice clemency in June 2018.

The show captures Kim as she lends a hand to right injustices and advocate for change by exploring the cases of Dawn Jackson, Alexis Martin, Momolu Stewart and David Sheppard, all of whom she and the legal experts she is working alongside believe have been unfairly sentenced. The documentary follows the origins of their individual stories, revealing the devastating circumstances that led them to take the actions that changed their lives forever.

In her crusade to shed light on the criminal justice system and help people who are impacted by incarceration, Kim travels to the prisons, speaks to the families and friends, lobbies public officials, and consults with lawyers as well as her own legal team from #cut50 to develop strategies to facilitate their release. Along the way, the film documents the progress that led to Momolu Stewart’s and David Sheppard’s releases. It also highlights Kim’s growing understanding of mandatory sentencing, the damaging problems of mass incarceration, and the importance of educational programs and rehabilitation efforts for a successful reentry into society.

Flo Milli – My Attitude

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20-year-old rising Mobile, Alabama rapper, Flo Milli releases her new single and video for “My Attitude” via RCA Records. Click HERE to watch.

The track, which is produced by Yung Dza (Offset, Octavian) continues to showcase Flo Milli’s bubbly personality and lyricism over her signature flow which she has become known for on previous releases “Beef FloMix” and “In The Party.” The accompanying video, which is directed by Jet Phynx premiered earlier today on The FADER who describes her, “Aside from her flows and lyrics, Flo Milli has a good sense of melody and knows where to sprinkle it in.”

Flo Milli first broke onto the scene in 2019 with her track “Beef FloMix” which landed on the Spotify US Viral 50, peaking at #2. The track then began taking off on TikTok with thousands of original videos, with Rolling Stone covering its success on the platform and NPR Music naming the track “5 TikTok Songs From 2019 We’ll Actually Remember.” With “Beef FloMix” and the release of her follow up track “In The Party” she became a TikTok sensation with over half a million videos created with millions of views. Combined she has amassed over 100 million streams worldwide.

All of the success led to co-signs from the likes of Cardi B on Instagram, as well as Lil Nas X and PAPER Magazine using her lyrics on an Obama meme. Complex has also included her in their “20 Rappers to Watch in 2020” list.

“My Attitude” kicks off what will be a massive 2020 for the rising star. Listen/Watch to “My Attitude” and keep an eye out for more coming soon.

Listen “My Attitude”:
http://smarturl.it/xAttitude

Watch: “My Attitude”:
http://smarturl.it/xAttitude/youtube

The Pride Pump

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Ruthie Davis is expanding the love with her inclusive designs. The Pride Pump and Rainbow Jogger all boast an impressive extended gender fluid size range! The styles are priced from $400 – $550 and are offered in sizes 35 to 43! The Pride Pump and the Rainbow Jogger drop in May!

Ruthie Davis’ long list of celebrity fans include Billy Porter and Laverne Cox. Billy Porter rocked the LOVE Pump on the cover of Palm Springs Life Magazine, while longtime fan Laverne last stunned in custom heels on an episode of Project Runway.