MOVES MAGAZINE MENS ISSUE

l i f e s t y le f o r c i t y w o m e n s u m m e r 202 1

‘top ten’ movie directors flirt in g give me a break

ronen rubin st ein a true independent

grey matter

no real ‘ mystery

IsThere Life On Mars (‘cos that’s where men are men from)

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onen ubinstein

BY SALLY BUDGE

I

had read an interview with Israeli-American actor Ronen Rubinstein a while ago and one particular quote stuck with me: “We should all be participating and making the world a better place.” This seems oddlygeneric, as if, don’t we all strive to make the world a better place? On some level?

He points to environmental, social, political problems in the world;the pandemic that we all went through in 2020 and are still going through today. “I think it’s almost our duty as a race to make this world a better place. Obviously different groups of people will have different resources,” says Rubinstein, who during the time of this interview was relaxing in a mountain cabin with a ton of records, trying to have some peace and quiet and just rest. “I drive a hydrogen vehicle, my house has solar panels, I don’t eat meat.

I feel like everyone can take steps towards making the world a better place. Just something simple like voting.”

Rubinstein is an activist. Actor yes, you have seen him in the Netflix series Orange is the New Black or his current show 9-1-1: Lone Star created by Ryan Murphy of Glee and American Horror Story fame.

But Rubinstein is an activist first and foremost, especially the right to vote. Which takes us back to everyone’s duty to making the world a better place. “I think we really dodged a bullet with this past election but again even with

Joe Biden we have to keep him accountable and it’s important to vote in the midterm elections. I think people finally realize the power that they do have and it’s as simple as voting.

It’s one of the greatest privileges that we have as Americans. It is effective and it’s crucial. It’s literally crucial!

“And if you look at the power of social media and the influence it has on social and political issues, it’s primarily young people. We’re in a beautiful generation right now about people realizing that they have power and they have the opportunity to lead and a lot of young people are finally taking and embracing it.”

But for Rubinstein, his primary focus is climate change, the environment, and the oceans. Always has been. He teamed up with a company called Project Zero and their whole initiative is to protect 30 percent of the oceans across the world. Earlier this year President Biden signed an Executive Order to protect 30 percent of America’s oceans so now the goal is to spread that wealth and protect the entire planet to really halt the effects of climate change and global warming. It’s personal for Rubinstein, having lost everything while on Staten Island during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. “We were very close to the beach, we lost everything. We lost our homes, our cars, all of my belongings. Our neighborhood was on the coastline and everything got destroyed so I’ve personally seen it. I don’t wish it on anybody so I think it’s a big reason why I fight for climate change.”

photographer: Jasper Rischen groomer: Danni Katz.

Rubinstein is an ambassador for The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit organization started by scientist Boyan Slat that is aimed at ridding the world’s oceans of plastic through advanced technologies. “He [Slat] created a boat that cleans plastic from oceans and I remember reading about it years ago and I was like this is unbelievable. It’s just crazy. Though I read about these companies, in my wildest dreams I never thought I’d do something with them but I’m just glad we are and I can’t imagine what the future holds for these companies.”

After hearing him speak so passionately, I have to ask if he’s even in the right profession. He should be a lobbyist to make the government spend money in the right place to make a difference. Yet as an actor with a passion for advocacy and just causes, a few names come to mind as inspiration on how to juggle an acting career with activism. Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Jane Fonda, even the late River Phoenix. These are people that Rubinstein emulates and wants to be like in the sense of balance. “The fact that actors have such power I think that is a big deal and why I have been striving to set my career parallel with helping the planet.”

Rubinstein will begin shooting the third season of Lone Star also starring Rob Lowe. Two other projects are in the works but cannot be revealed just yet. What was revealed recently into the public forum was Rubinstein’s sexuality, having announced he is bisexual. He started to feel comfortable coming out while working on his first season of Lone Star. Rubinstein would be surrounded by an inclusive and welcoming environment with a lot of members of the LGBTQ community from the producers, to the writers, to castmates. “I felt very safe and comfortable. I felt seen,” insists Rubinstein. “I think

images: Jasper Rischen first and foremost I tell people not to put any pressure on. The time is truly right is when you feel that it is right. In my case I didn’t have any pressure, I didn’t have anyone telling me you need to do this. I was in a very safe environment to sort of take my time and do it when I felt safe and comfortable.”

Rubinstein would’ve liked to come out earlier on during the first season of Lone Star but didn’t want to take away attention from what the show is doing: a transgender series regular; a Muslim character who’s wearing a hijab and a series regular.

“There’s a lot of things that we implemented in the show that I felt were really important for people to see and have. I just didn’t want to take attention away from it at all. I wanted the focus to be on the show and the characters and the stories we were telling.”

If Rubinstein had the next great story to tell it would be done as Captain Planet. “I always joke and call myself Captain Planet but he’s literally a superhero that fights enemies that are supposed to be symbolic of climate change and I think about wanting to see a superhero on a grand scale like Marvel fighting something we’re actually going through in real life and not a made up villain. It would be cool to see a superhero fighting for causes that are actually really dangerous for the human race.”

At the end of the day, Rubinstein just wants to make people happy and make really great content and just have a good effect on the world; he just wants to make the world a little happier with his work. “I just want to leave on this note with my fellow readers: Just continue to be kind to each other.

Continue to be good to each other. Be kind to yourself. Be good to yourself. And you know let’s just, we can all do a little bit to make the world a better place.”

“...Captain Planet... he’s literally a superhero that fights enemies that are symbolic of climate change ...”

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cheers cocktails

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feature idiot brain

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feature flirting

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feature men are from mars

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feature honor killings

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profile richa moorjani

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feature kids in america

048 cover story grant gustin 062

event picnic on the hudson

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feature moves mentors

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YOUR HISTORY WILL BUILD OUR FUTURE

bitch

“...now it’s a bore. It’s sad. I swear, every time a 21-year-old “student who loves life and cats” posts a selfie, a book bursts into flames...”

Little Things Please Little Minds

Take your Selfie Stick and shove it Look, I have Instagram. I like posting flattering pictures as much as the next person, but this culture of extreme narcissism is getting out of hand. What an unbelievable phenomenon: a person with absolutely nothing to offer the world except for painstakingly posed and filtered pictures of their own faces somehow wins the pseudo-adoration of thousands of followers on Instagram. This talentless individual (because he or she would be off finding cures for cancer or teaching kids to read if they had any other skills aside from taking selfies) posts the exact same picture of their exact same face in the exact same pose, day after day, and the mindless Insta-sheep drool all over it. At first, it was a novelty; then it became a caricature of actual human interaction; now it’s a bore. It’s sad. I swear, every time a 21-year-old “student who loves life and cats” posts a selfie, a book bursts into flames.

Joanna, teacher, South Bronx Diddly Dicks Finally, something is being done about dudes who think the subway car is their own personal living room. No one enjoys being squished into a sweaty, dirty, heaving subway car, but you can make the experience less hideous

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for those around you by putting in just the tiniest effort: like, not spreading your legs as wide as they’ll go so no one can sit next to you, for example. Like, not putting your dirty gym bag next to you on the seat when the train is crowded. Like, not eating a burrito or clipping your nails (or, heaven forbid, both at the same time) while in an intimate public place.

If aliens came to earth and spent their first few hours in a New York City subway, they would deem us disgusting, base creatures that need to learn personal hygiene before we even consider traveling to other worlds. So please, for the love of god, have some decency, men: sit up straight, keep your hands/eyes/bags to yourself and close your damn legs on the subway. Your balls aren’t that big.

Susanna, publishing, UWS

James Bond? Er No Way No, jackass, you asked for the time and I gave you an answer. I did NOT invite you to follow me several blocks. Oh, I’m not smiling enough for you? Maybe I’m having a bad day. Maybe whether or not I’m smiling is none of your business and you telling me to smile because YOU want to see it is not making my day any better.

Maybe women are not here to please you, to smile and be nice to you, and maybe you should really reconsider what you’re doing. Because no, you are not just trying to make me feel good about myself or whatever shit you want me to believe. Every time you leer at me in the street you’re demanding that I take time out of my day to give you attention and

I don’t owe you that. I don’t owe you a damn thing. So listen and I’ll give you as good a piece of advice you’ll ever get that might add to your well being. FUCK OFF. Because unless you do, mentally, physically spiritually, emotionally and every other way you can think of you’re never going to get onto the road to recovery; the road to being a real desirable MAN instead of a pimply youth. However old you are.

Mary, retail, Red Hook Professor Higgins, I Presume?

I was recently asked if I spoke English. Really? Do I look THAT foreign to you? I understand that you’re Caucasian. You’re tall, but you’re aging. Your tweed suit is from Saks Fifth Avenue and you’re a chemistry teacher. Oh sorry, I mean Professor. So Professor, sweet and city-savvy, cultured, Professor. You must have seen an Asian girl in your lifetime.

There are a billion of us around, so you had to have seen one.

And odds are, that one spoke and understood English too. My advice to you is this: next time you want to ask me an ignorant question without a legitimate reason to inquire in the first place, keep in mind that we’re in New York, we’re in a college classroom, and my last name is Johnson.

Read: I’m half Caucasian. So, my answer is Yes, I do in fact speak English… now, please stick to the curriculum. Social grace obviously isn’t your forte.

Jo, pr, Staten Island Socks and Sandals Brigade At the risk of sounding careless and ignorant, there is something about hardcore environmental activists that really irks me.

Believe me, I understand and support the need for change, but when some of these green crusaders get going, they become downright annoying.

For instance, the other day I was sprinting to catch a train from Penn Station, laden with my

“... Why do I think the way I do? Because I grew up and fucking dealt with everything in my life... “

overnight bags, when I carelessly tossed my empty water bottle into a nearby trash can. From behind me, I heard a man’s voice urgently shouting, “Miss! Miss!” Thinking I had dropped something, I turned back, only to discover that the man had fished my bottle out of the trash and was shouting insults and accusing me of being the reason we are having environmental issues in the first place.

For the record, let me officially state that I care very much about saving the environment. I recycle (most of the time), try to waste as little water as possible, and try never to leave any lights or electrical appliances on when it isn’t necessary. That being said, I am not perfect. I slip up once and a while, and leave my A/C running when I shouldn’t, or forget to turn off ALL the lights when I leave my apartment.

Should I be more vigilant about my environmental preservation practices?

Probably. But it sure as hell won’t be some kook on the street shouting at me that will inspire me to do so.

Maggie, nanny, Jersey Shore Nobody Loves A Smartass I fully support the concept that everyone has their own opinions, but what I don’t understand is when those with opposing opinions tell me I’m wrong. I thought opinions were not right or wrong, simply subjective to the individual? Ok, that’s fine, a failure to understand the English language is unfortunate, but not unforgivable. The unforgivable part to the conversation regarding opinions is the condescending part.

Just because you think you are right about something, does not give you license to condescend to me and tell

me that I don’t have life experience. I refuse to give you a laundry list of the bad things and good things in my life, just to make you realize that I came to my conclusions about life through true, gritty, bad experiences. I don’t owe an explanation to someone who doesn’t know how to respect other people and their lives. But if I did, it would be this simple. Why do I think the way I do? Because I grew up and fucking dealt with everything in my life.

I have recently found out that there is a deficiency in my character. This was news to me. All this time I thought that maturation, respect, and controlling our emotions was key, now people change the tune and tell me to let my emotions rule a bit? Fight a little? I do fight, everyday, just in a mature, respectful manner. I respect others enough to let them be alone with their emotions, generally through silence. This does not give you license to ask me five times if I understand. I am not stupid, I understand, I am controlling myself and also formulating a respectful answer to your irrationality. I will now explain this a bit. I used to do residential counseling for mentally ill individuals, specifically the high intensive care, 24 hour watch houses, and calmness was key.

Basically, if you are rude or irrational, I view you as one of my clients who is having a manic episode. But I have more respect for the people with true problems, at least they are getting help.

Katie, bookkeeper, UES Have You Got No Friends, Mate?

Dear Man in the Subway Eating a Hot Dog: Do you not have a home? Can’t you eat your bulging wiener-in-bun, smothered-in-mustard monstrosity in your office kitchen, or even on the street? Do you have to bring it down here into the subway, and on to a train packed with people who are fighting for space to breathe—let alone trying to avoid being slimed by your inappropriate snack choice? The smell is stifling in here, and everyone can smell what you have decided to chow down on, even if they are positioned so that they can’t see it. The smell is coming from everywhere and uniting the riders in a passionate hatred for you. People are exchanging disgusting

glances with each other, and looking worriedly at your hot dog, and its closeness to their hair/blouse/briefcase.

They silently wish that you never discovered that cheap hot dog stand, conveniently located right around the corner from your office. We are all thinking the same thing about you and your hot dog: “Get a room!”

Mark, sales, New Jersey

Horrible Bosses Internships. That thing you do when you’re out of college. That doorway of limited pay and full training to your dream job, that internship that will see you through to glorious employment and your future career. Bullshit. I’m calling mother fucking slavery. Abuse of the system. Do you know how many fucking internships I’ve had since college? Five. Five unpaid, three-month wastes of my life that left me no nearer to full-time employment or a career— but with plenty of ‘skills’. Forget that these skills aren’t good enough to actually make me skilled in any of those professions. They’re a conglomerate of all things that the bosses can throw at me under the guise of training because they don’t want to do it themselves. So they get three months of free labor and I get to move onto the next one in the vain hope that there will be something at the end of the new tunnel. FUCK YOU ALL. Megan, advertising, Murray Hill Got a letter for us? Send it to bitch@newyorkmoves.com OR snail mail to: Moves PO BOX 4097 Lexington Ave New York, NY 10163

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mamoonah ellison PUBLISHER

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cheers

Cocktails

Cocktails exemplify the class act of a mature drink. Perched on a bar stool at your regular bar, sipping from the iconic V-shaped glass, your professional attitude lingers to the bouncer letting in the few elite.

Some love the strength, while others loathe the olive brine, there’s no denial for a promiscuous excursion into the night life with a simple cocktail.

Now a staple among classic American drinks, Cocktails originate back to England and are

Or how Tom Cruise got it just about spot on

inspired by 18th century punch houses that served large bowls of mixed juices, spices, and alcohol. By definition, they are an iced drink mixed with liquor and flavoring.

Today, anything you order is a mixed drink.

Cocktails continue to evolve over the years as taste buds change and social norms shift drinking habits.

The garnish decorating your glass identifies who you are as your lips kiss the rim. The toothpick pierced through an olive bathing on top

shows you are old school; an original boss who knows their way around the block. Nobody will dare cross your boundaries. The orange peel twirl screams of flamboyant banter waiting to be heard.

Wild nights out on the town must start with a Cosmopolitan. It’s a Thursday night, deadlines have been met and it’s just one more work day ’til the grand ole weekend. Your gang’s all together sitting in the back both (the self proclaimed VIP section for locals and regulars) catching up on the latest dish; a reat rehash of

the juicy group chat that you have sadly neglected for work. Sipping on the luscious pink delight, a bubbly kick from the Cosmo drives for a long night of dancing, heart felt talks in the dingy club bathroom, late night cravings for sidewalk hot dogs, and the relief of facing diving into your pillow as the sun comes up.

While you remember the glory days of college keggers poured into dollar store red solo cups, those backyard shenanigans won’t cut it in the city’s nightlife, unless you dream of that 15 minutes of fame for being a fool on somebody’s Instagram feed. Stick with the Cosmo and you’ll fit right in with Carrie Bradshaw and Co. For those lazy Sunday mornings as you lounge about your apartment, treat yourself to a little something. Contrary to the urban legends of Catholic school, The Bloody Mary glorifies the ideal breakfast for champions.

While the tomato juice might be an offset, just think about the archaic food pyramid, we all need our dose of vegetables, don’t forget the celery which is a convent spoon. And look at our grandmothers! They’ve been drinking them since before we were a twinkle in our parents eye. Where else would they get their insightful wisdom?

Trying to seal the deal with the business proposition? Order the Manhattan! The simplicity depicts your knowledge of the rule book, but the bourbon’s punch stands your courage of originality. Show a little flare to your future business partner. They are here to expand their horizons, so don’t let them think your ambitions will dry up like a prune.

A sweet tooth’s dream swims within the Whiskey Sour plunge. Those days of clearing out the local candy shop after school with your piggy bank savings rush back with one sugary sip bumping the blood through your veins. A sugar fix entices a grand ole time from this gracious plunge. On your second round, change it up for a Mudslide. Feel the nostalgia of chasing the ice cream truck which now resembles your expedition towards success.

If people give you a shit eating grin of a side eye, raise your glass and toast them for being unhappy with their generic lives.

With a wretched winter on the brink, most of us are fleeing to the beaches for a sun dazed break from the office. Soaking up the sun with your feet in the sand and the hottest bestseller, accompany your self care with a classic Margarita. The crisp taste of sugar rushes the tequila straight for the salty kick. Ironically, your first Margarita might have been on the beach, probably a watered down swig from that Spring Break that everybody loves to forget. Sit back and let the water rush over.

Looking forward to snuggling by the fire as the snow falls, a minty Mojito fits right into the yuletide spirit. Fresh mint leaves mixed with lime, rum, and club soda will go down like water, so make sure to hydrate yourself before slipping into your Uber.

Novices, don’t be alarmed whelming options for martini. Just breathe you are a professional! backs to your horrendous

by the overconcocting your and remember If gin brings flashkaraoke skills at last

years office Halloween party or vodka churns your stomach ever since your best friend’s wedding, choose wisely and limit yourself.

Drinking in moderation is a healthy life hack! A dry martini asks for less vermouth. If you want the total opposite, order it wet. Not sure on your relationship with vermouth. Go half and half by asking for it perfect. Ice can make or break your booze. If you want a smooth sip, make sure the bartender stirs the martini. This process places the alcohol in a cocktail shaker with ice and stirred for about 30 seconds. If you live life on the edge, get it shaken! The bartender shakes it up with ice before pouring your glass. Trying to give off a fun vibe ala Will and Grace’s Karen Walker, have it straight up for that iconic martini glass. Wanna swig it back and go for another? Poured over ice, on the rocks fits perfect in the palm of your hand.

In a world divided, the bar is a rare space where many come together for an escape.

If the direct deposit slid right into your account that day, buy a round for those at the bar. Karma will come back plenty. Maybe the owner will put another round on the house or you might spark a conversation with a new found friend.

O

contributors

t r i b tO rs

TONY GALE is an award wining NYC based photographer, in addition to working with Moves he shoots for a variety of editorial, corporate and advertising clients. He is a Sony Artisan of Imagery, a Manfrotto Ambassador, an X-Rite Coloratti and the APA National President. For fun and work he travels and has been to all 50 states and all over the world.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, STORM SANTOS has been a creative his entire life. He was a touring musician with a band as a guitarist before graduating with a degree in Cinematography and TV/ Film. His degree naturally transitioned into a passion for photography. Storm frequently shoots celebrity editorials.

With a background in cinematography DENNYS ILLIC has for the past 16 years also pursued his passion as a professional photographer.

Serving a large array of clients from the major motion picture, television, magazine and music industries. Dennys is now permanently based in Los Angeles where he has become best known for edgy and soulful images that capture the true essence of his subjects

Entrepreneur, innovator, businesswoman, editor and publisher - MOONAH ELLISON brings the same enthusiasm and dynamic energy to all her projects. From a UK based million dollar sales and marketing corporation to an influential fashion & lifestyle magazine in New York City to a successful national event company in the USA involving major players (amongst others Susan Sarandon, Robin Wright, Robert DeNiro, Kerry Washington, Ivanka Trump, Arianna Huffington and media partners MTV, Univision, CBS, ABC, CNN, NBC), Moonah has built success on top of success.

She is married and lives in Manhattan.

British photographer and filmmaker PATRICK FRASER has lived in California for the past 18 years. He photographs editorial features for magazines like Vanity Fair, British Vogue and Esquire as well as color supplements The Sunday Times, Observer and Guardian. He has shot ad campaigns for many leading US brands including Google, Microsoft, Pinterest and Hilton Hotels to name a few. His portrait work has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Patrick continues to make documentary and experimental films.

wempe.com

feature

Idiot Brain

The human brain. The most complex thing known to our civilization, the source of every great idea, inspiring artwork, breath-taking creation and world-changing discovery. True, it’s the source of all the mundane and downright bad and terrible things we’ve come up with too, but that just shows how diverse it really is. It gifts us our complex, rich perception of the world, the ability to predict, to anticipate, to empathise, to even think about times other than now, and individuals other than ourselves, something beyond most species we share our planet with.

Our brains being so powerful, so complex, so key to our very existence, it’s no wonder that they’ve gained a certain reverence, or ‘mystique’.

Discussions of them in the mainstream will often portray the human brain as some enigmatic, unknowable object that we are barely beginning to understand, but we do know how amazing and powerful it is. Indeed, read some articles and claims and the brain often sounds like some unfathomable box of low-key superpowers, accessible to only the most diligent, disciplined and pure of spirit.

The problem with this portrayal is, it’s wrong. Quite clearly. And in many ways.

For one, the idea that the human brain is just one big powerful blob of mystery nestled in our skulls does a great disservice to the many intrepid neuroscientists and other researchers who have been doing their best to study it for centuries, from 16th century doctors and surgeons doing their best to treat severe head injuries from the battlefield with their terrifyingly inadequate medical knowledge, 20th century scientists like Eric

Kandel, who discovered the functioning of the synapse (the ‘connection’ between neurons, nerve cells) in the 1970s. Due to the limited technology available at the time, Kandel and his colleagues were unable to insert the important electrodes into human or mammal neurons; they were just far too small to have any hope of this. They got around this by studying Aplysia, Aka the California sea slug, a metre-long aquatic gastropod with a pronounced gill and a rudimentary nervous system, but a nervous system that has some absolutely massive neurons, some of which are about a millimetre across. Doesn’t sound like much, but it I human neurons were the width of a drinking straw, aplysia would have neurons wider than a subway tunnel.

Kandel and his fellow researchers could use these to discover the function of the synapse, netting them a Nobel prize in 2000.

The point is, thanks to the combined efforts of countless researchers across the years, via techniques that go from prodding the skulls of those who’ve suffered major head trauma to the surreal marriage of hard physics, IT and biology that gives us MRI scanners, we do actually know a lot about the brain now. And what we do know shows that, far from being some ineffable ball of mysterious powers that should only talked about in hushed tones and with the appropriate reverence, the brain is, in fact, quite idiot in many ways. Obviously, it is still incredibly complex and powerful, but the idea that it’s perfect or unknowable really needs to be junked, because it’s far from that. It’s still, despite everything else, a biological organ, one that evolved with all the limitations and questionable properties of any other.

Here’s an example; we’ve all heard the claim that ‘we only use 10% of our brains’, but that’s nonsense. Among other things, because of all the complex and energetic processes it performs, the brain is undoubtedly the most demanding, ‘hungry’ organ, using up to a third of the energy stores available in the human body, just to stay alive. If we only used 10% of the brain, that would mean close to a third of our body’s energy stores are being used up for nothing. Whether you believe in evolution or intelligent design, this is a ridiculously inefficient set-up. Thankfully, it’s not the case. Every part of the brain is there for a reason, and has a role to play. We may not know what these roles are, and exactly how the various parts interact, but all of the brain is useful for something.

However, ‘using’ a particular part of the brain means increasing its activity beyond the baseline level, like pressing down on an idling car’s accelerator. This requires more energy, oxgen and metabolites, supplied

Contrary to popular mis-conception (and there’s the rub) our brain is not this other-world being living in our skulls, beyond our comprehension with its workings to be revered on a quasi religious basis. It’s a blood and tissue organ like all our others, working to the same physical stimuli and constraints

By Prof. Dean Burnett

by the blood. The thing is, because of the nature of the blood supply to the brain, we have a very limited ability to ‘activate’ certain parts of it. Some studies suggest that, because of the restrictions of the brain’s blood supply, we can only activate 3% of it at any one time, which may explain why we become so quickly confused and overwhelmed. It’s ironic that the 10% myth is both a ridiculous underestimate and a large overestimate of how active the brain is.

But, even if we could somehow get more blood to the brain and allow it to do more, this doesn’t mean it’ll automatically become more efficient and capable, because the way it does things is often limited, illogical, confusing, or just plain wrong. For instance, people think they know what ‘short term memory’ means. It’s memory for things that happened recently, like a half hour, or maybe a day, or a week ago. But it isn’t. Short-term memory lasts, at best, just over a minute. Anything you can remember from further back, that’s a long-term memory. It takes the brain about a minute to knit together the new synapses it uses to represent and store memories, until then they’re held in patterns of neuronal activity in the frontal lobe, which is the short-term memory.

But this isn’t a stable way of storing anything, it’s like writing a memo in the foam on your coffee, hence shortterm memory is so brief and limited, able to hold only four bits of information at once according to the most recent data. This is part of the reason why you can head to a different room and forget what it is you wanted once you get there; whatever it is, it’s fallen out of your short-term memory en-route.

The senses are another area where the brain is actually far less powerful than is usually assumed. We think we get this rich, diverse perception of the world around us, relayed via our sensory systems to our brains which just sits there and absorbs it, like a hard drive receiving a feed from a security camera. But that’s not how it works at all; our sensory apparatus essentially relays a constant series of neural impulses to the brain, which then has to do some serious polishing and processing to convert these into something useful. This involves a lot of guesswork and extrapolation though, hence our senses can be so easily confused, by illusions, hallucinations, distortions and so on.

And that’s nothing compared to memory, which is nowhere near as fixed and rigid as you might think. Or hope. The simple act of retrieving a memory and retelling it to others risks altering it, subtly at first, but over time you could end up remembering with crystal clarity something that never happened like that at all, because you’ve tweaked and elaborated and exaggerated over the years, but the brain’s memory systems have saved all this too, ‘updating’ the original memory, almost always unnecessarily.

Excerpted from: Idiot Brain: What Your Head Is Really Up To by Dean Burnett

Published 2017 by W. W. Norton Company

If we look at the role of consciousness and our ‘higher’ intellectual abilities, it gets even more ridiculous. Our conscious mind can trigger the threat detection systems of the brain, that initiate the stressful fight or flight response, even when it’s not at all necessary. A simple creature like a shrew or a sparrow need only feel stress when they see a predator, or go too long without food, but our brains mean we get stressed at things like the possibility of a poor economy meaning we might lose our jobs.

Something that hasn’t happened, that poses no physical danger to us, that may never happen, can make us stressed.

There’s so much more about the brain that defies logic.

That’s why I wrote my book, ‘Idiot Brain: what your head is really up to’, to highlight all these flaws and irregularities and issues and concerns we have about the brain, because we know enough to say for certain that it isn’t perfect and awesome at all times, despite what others may suggest.

This is a good thing though. The idea that our brains are perfect and all-powerful means that when things go awry, as they often do given how messy the brain is, causing mental health issues and similar, it suggests something fundamentally wrong has occurred, and that we’re flawed in some way. That’s not true though; our brains can and do go wrong all the time, and being aware of that can be a big help in dealing with it when it does.

It may seem dispiriting or unhelpful, to find out that our brains are in fact imperfect and not all-powerful as many would claim, but I disagree. It’s far less cheering to think of us failing to live up to our potential than it is to see ourselves as overcoming our limitations. And that’s what humans do, all the time. That’s one of the best things about the human brain; it has all these flaws, but it carries on regardless.

dish

Flirting ... F O R

You might expect a beginner’s guide to flirting to be compiled by a true proponent of the art; someone who knows what to look for. Well this ‘expert’ look at the various stages of initial interaction and early detection of that all important sexual frisson between the protagonists is certainly written by a long exponent of the art, but with one serious handicap, viz: a zero success rate.

B E G I N N E R S

by Anon (who incidentally really is a liquid fuel propulsion expert – rocket scientist – with an ernormous amount of dosh) Oh sure, it all sounds easy enough. After all, human beings have sent inviting looks, warm and gentle smiles and even conducted light and playful conversation with ones found desirable for a substantial chunk of our time here on the planet (as in “all of it”). This knowledge has been thoroughly ingrained into our collective DNA, informing words and gestures at that magical hour with hardly any conscious instruction required. It comes as little surprise, then, that something coming so naturally to the rest of the populace proves frighteningly difficult to me (I just gotta be sooo different...).

There is hope, though, as there are occasions throughout the year when very sage advice is freely offered to enable one to “flirt like a professional”. Summer is without doubt one of these occasions, and not focusing almost exclusively on the celebration of being part of a couple is a welcome change. These completely altruistic and suggestible slogans are cleverly hidden in the subliminal suggestion of advertisements for cards, flowers, chocolates, jewelry and even underwear (something I still don’t quite understand, which I suppose is very telling in its own right). In such an environment, it is comforting to know this haven is available to the perpetually single who have an unnerving tendency to misinterpret this marketing kindness as a relentless barrage of, “I don’t suppose you have to worry about this, do you?”

Of course, the inference of “professional” has little to do with any sort of viable career field, although that is more of a reminder to me as I have a feeling that isn’t really news to the rest of the class. In that same vein, I could also share that simply reading such a headline and figuring the contents boil down to multiple variations of “Hey, baby,looking for a good time?”, is not particularly wise either, especially if that impulse is followed by, “Oh, I suppose I could try that...” Not all that shocking, I guess, but I take comfort knowing that my trial and error can possibly serve the greater good. Or error and trial, as the case may be...

No, their version of “professional” is more about having the confidence to talk with any person at any time for any reason and be able to come across as charming and interesting, or at the very least to NOT come across as someone who desperately needs to be locked away from the rest of society. Now, there might be an interesting commentary about the connection between very practiced and accomplished flirting and the ability to maintain a long-term relationship from the more cynical-minded, but we won’t dwell on that part (and really, how many of those are around?). At the end of the day, if one can’t hook the fish to start with it is just a hypothetical exercise to discuss if their intentions lean more towards “catch-and-release” or for hunting that which would bring great pride, pleasure and even honor to mount on their living room wall (Hmm, that sounds kind of dirty...).

Sadly, these offerings have done little to help turn the tide in my battles against what I affectionately refer to as “grandiose social incompetence”, which incidentally is the same label I’ve received from every girl I have ever asked out. However, in fairness to these authors, they may be assuming some cursory level of social grace that may not apply all that well in my very specific instance. Indeed, while it is incredibly useful to know how to hit a major-league curveball, that information alone is not very likely to provide a smooth transition to those trying to make “The Show” straight from T-ball.

Along those same lines, then, there may be a market for coaching on intermediate levels to “flirt like a professional”, such as: “how to flirt like a devoted hobbyist who may one day pursue Olympic status”; “how to flirt like someone tired of being confused for a cave-dweller”; and of course “how to flirt like someone who just realized they finished going through puberty 20 years ago” (please, dear God, I can’t be the only one). And, in keeping with my earlier theme of providing warnings for things most people know inherently to avoid, I have plenty of demonstrated knowledge to share in

You bet, pick-up lines are fun, but they really aren’t all that effective for starting conversations. Of course, maybe it did hurt when she fell from heaven and she was dangerously unaware of the defrosting-related repercussions associated with her shopping in the frozen food section, but you would be surprised how difficult it is finding that girl outside your DVD collection. The only pick-up line I know of with a better-than-average success rate involves a woman approaching a man with just, “So, I hear you want to see me naked...?”

Everyone has a very interesting life story, filled with unusual adventures told from a very singular vantage point, and this should be enjoyed and celebrated.

That being said, there is no prize awarded for successfully squeezing the sum total of your life story into a single sitting (something I have verified on numerous occasions with a great number of independent sources). One might think that espousing the completely opposite philosophy would then be the way to go, but it also seems that “syllable rationing” doesn’t go over all that well either.

When we are flirting with someone, we are trying to convey that there is a unique and interesting individual inside us that we hope the other person gets an opportunity to discover. There is no way to convey such a thought without believing it ourselves. I continually strive to embrace this philosophy, thus suggesting I’m powerfully optimistic that “being myself” is not the reason I am here to begin with (and yet I don’t seem to be buying too many lottery tickets for some odd reason). So, before we can hope to move forward with someone else, we must first take ownership of and pride in all of the glorious imperfections God gave us that are all part and parcel of our identity… even if that identity is precluded from being a candidate for procreation...

Despite the fact that a sense of humor is very important when it comes to flirting, the part they don’t tell you is apparently only certain kinds of humor translate well for this arena. Honestly, who knew the only date one would get by imitating the Three Stooges in public is a court date?

So much is communicated in that initial eye-contact between two people, so sometimes one must perform some gesture or action to catch the attention of the person in whom they are interested. However, while it is remarkably effective at raising awareness, pegging someone from across the room with an ice cube seems to be an equally poor way of getting a phone number (unless we’re counting the one for the local bail bondsman, and I’ll have you know the receptionist in that office is really, really cute).

As it turns out, it is entirely possible to take pride in and care of your physical appearance without being shallow or conceited (or trying to attract those easily drawn to shiny, pretty things). Given that we as people are strongly motivated by visual cues, a favorable first impression starts well before we actually make it outside the door. This, by the way, is something that my older brother has been telling me for years. To him I say, “Okay, I get it now.

You were totally right all along. You are so, so awesome. Now will you shut the hell up???”

It has been repeatedly stressed that one of the worst ways to make a first impression is by tearing oneself down in front of another over perceived personal faults. Notarized personal faults are also lumped into this category, so apparently there is no credit given for that level of self-awareness or advanced warning.

This presents additional challenges for those whose sense of humor is firmly anchored around playful self-effacement... not that we know any of “those” people... or expect that they “deserve” any sort of human contact... or even think that they would “want” it anyway, those poor, ridiculous excuses for carbonbased life forms whose existence serves only as a persistent annoyance but is otherwise completely inconsequential to the remaining members of the populace... umm... heh heh. Soooo... what was I talking about again?

Let’s assume that the inordinate challenge of saying “Hi” to a perfect stranger has been overcome.

(Yes, to me this is big deal... no, it doesn’t happen often... yes, I suppose it does explain a lot... HEY, may I continue please?!) I would like to say that I have at least heard of what passes for engaging and breezy conversation, but I have a sneaking suspicion that my “affirmative knowledge” credibility is extraordinarily low by now. At a minimum, I have been able to ascertain when my discussion partner is growing weary of a certain topic or theme. This usually falls right around the time they begin trying to drive their index finger through their forehead while uttering in complete monotone,”Wow, that is incredibly fascinating... no, really... I must insist... I do hope you continue...”

Still, some might make the argument that there is no difference between being a “professional” or “beginner” in this arena (although I expect these people are already having sex so I scarcely think their opinion counts). They may suggest the central tenet of flirting, or really any other sort of social interaction, is rooted quite simply in an underlying respect for everyone, including ourselves, and a genuine curiosity about people without the presence of an agenda or motive. I’m not sure I fully grasp that principle just yet, which could be the surest possible evidence that there is some wisdom to it.

Perhaps I will get there someday, especially if making mistakes is a great accelerant to higher understanding, provided we are willing to learn from them (and since I have gathered an impressive amount of such source material, ‘twould be a shame to let it all go to waste). Naturally, not everyone’s mistakes will include a lifetime ban from certain establishments for “the solicitation of a female patron”, but then again we all have our learning curves to go through.

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dish

MEN ARE FROM MARS ...(OR EVEN FURTHER OUT IN SPACE)

by Brian Roberts

Men seem to have an infinite ability deceive themselves and project whatever unrealistic characteristics they need or desire onto their partners. Right?

When you think about it, it’s amazing that men actually go through the trouble of living with women in the first place. A lot of marriages would probably be saved if it were socially acceptable for spouses to live in separate apartments. I think I speak for a lot of men when I say we would be happiest living alone in a frat house basement, as long as we had an unlimited supply of beer in the mini-bar, ESPN, and Hustler magazines.

When we share an apartment (and a bathroom and a fridge and a TV) with a woman, we are giving up our freedom. We are abandoning the façade that we are still young bachelors with no worries, cares, or rules. Suddenly, we have to remember things about toilet seats, and coasters, and in which closet the jackets belong. Suddenly, it’s not ok to have X-MEN marathons and smoke cigars over a poker game on Tuesday nights. Like the worst chick-flick come to life, we have to endure the slow feminization of our shared spaces: floral centerpieces on the bar, matching dishtowels, and all that stuff in the bathroom cupboard I’d rather not think about.

But we will give up all of this to have a good woman in our bed. In fact, if we actually make the commitment to move in with a woman, it’s usually because we think she’s perfect, incredible, the best woman in the world. I mean, come on – we’re not going to ask our one-night stands to stay awhile and bring an extra toothbrush. Unfortunately, I can speak from experience: when men fall, we fall hard. We become totally devoted, like lovelorn little puppies.

It’s sick, really.

I readily admit, our infatuation can be embarrassing to women. We will sing your praises from the rooftops. We will tell our friends, and your friends, and the people sitting next to us on the train how

WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS ...(OR MUCH CLOSER TO HOME)

Romantic, spiritual, intellectual, but yes, your right, almost always physical. great you are. In our eyes, plain Jane becomes Gal Gadot’s prettier cousin; where the rest of the world sees a totally average woman, we see the best parts of Beyoncé, Scarlett Johansen, and the entire Victoria’s Secret catalogue rolled into one.

Women tell me that, for the most part, our deluded dedication is charming. What woman doesn’t want to feel like the most perfect, gorgeous woman alive? The only time it gets hairy is when we are in so deep that we can’t see the real person behind the unrealistic image we’ve created – we can’t always see the imperfect core inside the shiny apple.

And as much as we don’t want to admit it, there is no end to the shit we will endure at the hands of our chosen woman. It’s the burden we’ve had to bear since time began: our inability to see past the shiny to the heart (or lack thereof) of a bad woman.

Now, I’ve lived with a couple girlfriends, and I can definitively say that while it may decrease your chances of becoming a 45-year-old frat boy, and increase your chances of wearing a clean shirt to work on Monday, it can also increase your chances of walking through a Duane Reade some night, lost and confused in the tampon aisle, wondering how your life got to this point.

I think that as men, we need to use a bit more common sense in how we deal with women: they aren’t celebrities, and they aren’t saints, they aren’t surrogate mothers. They are our girlfriends, awesome and flawed at the same time, and we need to learn to live with them, even if it makes us crazy. If only women were as good at compromise as we are at idolizing them, perhaps we could one day live in a world where men and women live peacefully side by side, sharing equally the household chores, junk food cupboard, television, and bed sheets. Maybe one day.

Until then, I’m keeping my X-Box (… unless it’s in the way of the new floral centerpiece).

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Despicable Sub-Human Beings

by Rana Husseini*

THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY ON EARTH. OR 5782 IF YOU ARE AN OBSERVANT JEW. 1443 IN THE ISLAMIC CALENDAR. 5000+ FOR HINDUS. HOWEVER YOU COUNT THE YEARS THE POINT IS THE HUMAN RACE HAS BEEN AROUND LONG ENOUGH TO COME UP WITH DECENT VALUES FOR ITS MEMBERS. LONG ENOUGH TO HAVE RID OURSELVES OF THE MOST BEASTLY (LITERALLY) INSTINCTS OF OUR ANIMAL COUSINS. THIS STORY SETS US ALL BACK IN THE DARK AGES. EVERYONE OF US WHO TURNS AWAY OR RATIONALISES. WE IGNORE IT AT OUR PERIL. WE HAVE TO MAKE OURSELVES DESERVE BETTER.

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Imagine your sister or daughter being killed for chewing gum, for laughing at a joke in the street, for wearing make-up or a short skirt, for choosing her own boyfriend/husband or becoming pregnant. This is what happens to thousands of women who are murdered each year in the name of honour; that’s hundreds of women every single day. It is very likely that this figure is a gross underestimate. Many cases are never reported and many more so-called honour killings are disguised as suicides and disappearances. This is something I know to be true in my home country of Jordan where, according to police and medical officials, there is an average of twenty-five so-called honour killings annually. A so-called honour killing occurs when a family feels that their female relative has tarnished their reputation by what they loosely term ‘immoral behaviour’. The person chosen by the family to carry out the murder (usually male: a brother, father, cousin, paternal uncle or husband) brutally ends their female relative’s life to cleanse the family of the ‘shame’ she brought upon them. The title ‘honour killing’ is ironic in the extreme because these murders, and the manner in which they are carried out, lack any honour whatsoever.

It was in my capacity as a journalist writing for The Jordan Times, Jordan’s only English-language daily newspaper, that I had an eye-opening encounter with one such murder that changed my life forever. Thankfully, despite strict state censorship of the media when I started reporting in the mid-1990s, my courageous editors agreed that the story should be published. The resulting article, published on 6 October 1994, appeared under the headline ‘Murder in the name of honour’.

I did not know it then, but I had begun a quest that has since become allconsuming and has taken me all over the world. Thanks to the continued support of my editors, I was able to investigate and report on honour killings in depth. As time went on, I gradually realized that while reporting these crimes was a step in the right direction, it was never going to be enough – I had to do something else to end these senseless murders. So I began a sensational campaign to change the law and attitudes in Jordan, a campaign that I, along with many others, have since taken across the orld.

This book tells my story so far, from my humble beginnings as a naïve but enthusiastic and stubborn journalist to the campaigns to change Jordanian law, as well as my experiences in other countries in the Middle East, and investigations into so-called honour killings across Europe (especially the UK) as well as the USA. This book is also an evaluation of the current situation around the world in terms of the numbers of honour killings and the laws available to murderers to escape justice. I am sure that many readers will be truly shocked to see just how widespread and out of control this phenomenon is across the world, from the Third World to the First.

Fighting so-called crimes of honour has proved to be a perilous and traumatic journey. My life has been regularly threatened and my reputation is under constant attack. I find myself frequently slandered and libelled.

Examples include accusations that I am a ‘radical feminist seeking fame’ or that I’m a ‘western-collaborator intent on tarnishing the delicate fabric of the pure [Jordanian] society’.

Unfortunately, some influential and powerful people, such as MPs, judges, lawyers and policemen, have opposed me and, as extraordinary as it seems, believe that those who claim to have killed in the name of honour deserve lenient punishments, because everyone has the right to protect their family’s honour. In my own country, Jordanian law states that those

who murder in a passionate frenzy (for example, men who have caught their wives in the embrace of another) deserve mercy. As we shall see, such laws and leniency are by no means unique to Jordan (for example, a similar law is still in place in the UK). Perpetrators are well aware of the sympathy shown by their country’s legal system, and abuse it to their advantage. Thus, in many cases, the crimes often have serious hidden intentions far removed from honour – such as the murder of female siblings in order to claim sole inheritance of the family estate.

Murders are often meticulously planned by several family members but are then claimed as ‘crimes of honour’, again far removed from the state of blind anger associated with this crime. Sometimes all that is needed to incite murder is a deliberate and malicious campaign of gossip. In fact, the majority of so-called honour killings I reported on were based on mere suspicion, something I have since seen repeated in countries across the world. The problem is not restricted to adultery. Generational conflict, teen culture, urbanization and adolescent rebellion are common trigger factors in immigrant communities in European countries as well as the USA. As I have already mentioned, honour killing is a global phenomenon and takes place in many more countries than most people realize. Besides Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, Palestine, India, Israel, Iraq, Pakistan, Morocco, Turkey, Yemen and Uganda, honour killings occur throughout Europe and the USA. The number of honour killings has been rising in recent years among immigrant communities in Europe, particularly Germany, France, Scandinavia and the UK – and the authorities have been caught napping. For example, British police are currently reviewing more than one hundred murder cases in the belated realization that they may in fact have been so-called honour killings. Until recently, so-called honour killings have received little attention because they are all too often disguised as a traditional or cultural practice which has to be respected and accepted by everyone. Many people associate them exclusively with Islamic communities, but while some Muslims do murder in the name of honour – and sometimes claim justification through the teachings of Islam – Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and others also maintain traditions and religious justifications that attempt to legitimize honour killings. But crimes of honour are just that: crimes, pure and simple. For me, wherever their roots are supposed to lie, they are nothing to do with tradition, culture or religion. They are all about control – an effective method of regulating the freedom of movement, freedom of expression and sexuality of women. They violate rights to life, liberty and bodily integrity; they violate prohibition of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment; the prohibition on slavery; the right to freedom from gender-based discrimination and sexual abuse and exploitation; the right to privacy and to marry and start a family.

I am not a legal, religious, cultural, historical, tribal, social or moral expert, but I am an Arab Muslim woman intent upon living in a sound society where all members benefit from justice, regardless of rank, religion, race or gender. I, like any other citizen of this world, seek to feel safe. I want to live as part of a system in which crimes are seen for what they are, freed of the double standards that mask their heinous nature, and punished with a severity that matches the crime.

* This is the introduction from ‘Murder in the Name of Honor’

by Rana Husseini

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Moorjani

I

ndian-American actor Richa Moorjani’s name has a deep meaning. She needs to find a concise way of explaining what it means and it’s kind of hard to explain. “Basically, Richa is a sanskrit word so it comes from sanskrit and literally translates to the word him, like hymn, and it basically describes the scriptures and the knowledge that was written into the ancient text of Hinduism which were written by the ancient sages. So ‘Richa’ is basically the knowledge that was written into the ancient texts.” Her maiden last name, Shukla, means the light of the moon. So that’s really funny that you said that.

That’s a really impressive explanation, I have to say. Impressive indeed, but not as much as Moorjani’s rising star and her landing a regular on the Mindy Kaling-created Netflix series Never Have I Ever, a coming-of-age comedydrama loosely based on Kaling’s childhood experiences in the Boston area. It premiered on Netflix in April of last year and the second season premiered this July. Moorjani plays Kamala, Devi’s cousin who is staying with her and her family. Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) is the character based off of Kaling. The role of Kamala was highly-coveted. Kaling started posting on Instagram about a global casting for the three South Asian female lead roles—Nalini, Kamala, and Devi. “From that Instagram post, the casting office received anywhere from 15-20,000 tapes and selfsubmitted auditions from all over the world.

Most of the people I know auditioned for

“The challenges of living in a new country by myself and all of that was really difficult but at the same time I was growing a lot and I think that my growth as a person really affected my growth as an actor as well...”

by Josephine Deroo Kamala because most of the people I know are my age (32). So, it was definitely something when I submitted my tape. I did it because everyone else was doing it and I was very thrilled when I found out that I even had a callback.” You will also soon see Moorjani in Peacock TV’s True Stories with Ed Helms.

Release date not confirmed.

Moorjani has been dreaming of this moment ever since she was a little girl in California.

At 5 and 6 she started learning Indian classical dance and western dance. She used to watch a lot of Bollywood movies and her dream at a young age was to become a Bollywood actor. She ended up moving to Los Angeles after college to pursue acting, but still had that childhood Bollywood dream in her that wouldn’t go away and she had to give it a shot. So after a few months in LA Moorjani packed her bags, put everything in storage, and flew to Mumbai. She didn’t know anybody there but knew she had a calling to go there, a very strong calling.

“I was there for almost two years. It was really scary at first and throughout I would say that there were many times where I was scared and alone and it was tough. Because not only was I new to the industry [Bollywood], I don’t have any family in Mumbai. I have family all over India, but not in Mumbai.

I was a complete stranger. But I will say that I learned so much, I made lifelong friends, it really gave me an even deeper connection to my culture and to my heritage and even to acting for that matter. Because I went even deeper into my craft while I was there, I studied with great teachers. I didn’t do any big Bollywood movies which is what I went there for, but I ended up doing a lot of other really fulfilling things and auditioned for a lot of things so it was just a huge growth process. And it really transformed me as a person and actor.”

But Mumbai has a huge swath of the city impoverished. It was something that devastated Moorjani and it was the first time she was exposed to it, to understand it. As a young girl she would go to India with her family but never understood the impact poverty had over its people. “To be honest, I don’t really know how I dealt with it. It kind of just becomes something I had a lot of empathy for.

I just tried to be very conscious to not be-

The reason I

Photographer – Jesse Volk

instantly. pretty much

o es o

at I was vega n Once I saw th and I just can ’t do it anym o re a ft e r k n owing all tha t.

On a personal note, Moorjani is a diehard vegan. Something she started to explore after being in Mumbai. “About a year and a half ago, my sister went vegan first and when she told me her reasons why it was something that I felt like I needed to explore. I just watched a few documentaries. I watched one documentary that’s called Cowspiracy on Netflix and it’s all about the dairy industry and how cows are treated for their milk and it showed the horrors beyond just meat. Once I saw that I was vegan pretty much instantly.

The reason I went vegan was because I was exposed to what goes on in the meat industry and the dairy industry and I just can’t do it anymore after knowing all that. And knowing what it does to the environment and it’s all around just bad for our health, it’s bad for the planet, and it’s bad for the animals so there’s literally no reason for me to ever be a part of that again.”

The turning point in Moorjani’s career was an amalgamation of events and it was specifically when she was living in Mumbai.

“The challenges of living in a new country by myself and all of that was really difficult but at the same time I was growing a lot and I think that my growth as a person really affected my growth as an actor as well,” says Moorjani. “I would say the different types of people I was meeting and the different types of work I was doing...it just expanded my skill set as an actor. I think I had a lot of growth as an actor and as a person while I was there.”

With a hit show on Netflix and a new show to arrive on Peacock, Moorjani dreams of India. “I still have family there. My grand, my ninety, I think she’s 95 now, my 95-year-old

grandmother still lives in a city called Varanasi. Hopefully, I can see her very soon.”

Photographer – Jesse Volk Hair – Richard Norman Grant Makeup – Kirin Bhatty Styling – Vance Gamble

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For future projects, Moorjani is ambitious.

“I am starting to work on developing a series with my sister who is also a writer. I am just looking to produce, whether it’s book adaptations or working with other writers. But definitely my goal with producing is to continue to amplify salvation voices and salvation characters behind and in front of the camera. That’s definitely what my goal is in producing.”

n in th e m e a t in dustr y and th e

In Never Have I Ever, she’s in Kaling’s orbit, a powerhouse, somebody that does it all.

She wears every hat and even before Moorjani met her was inspired by her. “She’s extremely grounded, extremely down to earth, and that’s something that inspires me even more. Because with the amount of success she’s achieved and with the amount of work she does and with being a single mom and just everything she does, it’s just something that I will always forever think about as I continue to climb the ladder in my career.”

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come desensitized in whatever way I could: I would teach dance classes to young children there at different schools and orphanages. So whatever way I could give back, that’s what I would do. But it was not easy to see that. It still isn’t easy, even when I go and when I think about it, it’s something that as long as I can, as long as I have a platform, will want to do whatever I can to help.”

went vegan w as because I was expo

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RYAN MURPHY AMERICAN HORROR STORY, GLEE Ryan Murphy has cultivated an impressively expansive collection of work over the past decade, somehow perfectly balancing each project he handles. The true display of Murphy’s talent lies in his ability to execute each genre he enters with equal precision and creativity. From Glee, an upbeat and quirky show, to the gory and complex American Horror Story, Murphy never fails to shock audiences with his everpersisting innovation.

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DEE REES MUDBOUND This writer-director, recently nominated for an oscar for her 2020 film Mudbound, has gone seemingly overnight from an NYU student being mentored by Spike Lee to an award winning director. Just in the past ten years, Dee Rees has made a huge splash in the film community, winning an array of awards for her sundance film Pariah. Her next film, Bessie, was released on HBO to a wave of positive reviews from audiences and critics alike, winning her four Primetime Emmy awards. Her concentration on society’s perception of class, race, and gender leads to emotional dramatic works that are filled with energy and zeal

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PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON PHANTOM THREAD, THERE WILL BE BLOOD Regarded by the American Film Institute as “one of American film’s modern masters,” Anderson has cultivated a long and accomplished index of highly acclaimed films. His character studies are unlike any other of our time, with protagonists descending into madness with such subtlety that you cannot help but understand and empathize with even the cruellest of characters. Whether it is the obsessively scrupulous couturier in the 2017 film Phantom Thread, or the merciless oil tycoon in There Will be Blood, Anderson gently convinces you to sympathize with characters that would normally be seen as villains. His achievement in writing, directing, and cinematography make him a modern renaissance man in the film world

KATHRYN BIGELOW THE HURT LOCKER Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman to ever win an oscar for Best Director, made history with the 2008 release of The Hurt Locker. Her dedication to surpassing the regular Hollywood portrayal of simplified, black and white morality set her apart from many of the director’s that also worked within the war/ thriller genre. In each of her films she focuses a great deal on character study, centering well written and complex characters in the frame of an action packed world.

BONG JOON HO PARASITE Bong Joon Ho made history with his 2019 film Parasite.

The film is one of the most highly acclaimed pictures in the past ten years, breaking molds in both the film itself and the fact that it won an Academy Award for Best Picture- the first foreign language film to take home the prize.

And it absolutely deserved it.

Many writers and directors attempt the satirical statement on class, but none with such cleverness as Parasite. Bong Joon Ho cultivates a tonally incomparable film that swings between class focused satire and authentic familial moments, all the while developing a background that is deeply unsettling. Many of his films are conceptually similar, hitting on points of social inequity underlined by a sharpwitted script that is also deeply disquieting, but each film is also so unique that you simply cannot watch only one.

RYAN COOGLER BLACK PANTHER The 2013 release of Fruitvale Station opened many eyes, and hearts, to a story that may have otherwise gone unnoticed had it been attempted by any other director. Coogler depicted the reallife character of Oscar Grant with complexity and care, turning this already tragic story into one that would be felt by all who watched the film.

Unlike the plethora of blaxploitation films that had come before, Coogler was sure to create a character that was deeply human, with ambitions and heartaches that had not been shown often in many of Hollywood’s past black characters.

His most recent success, Black Panther, was also met with rave reviews. The story was masterfully told and cultivated a giant following that crossed the borders of just the normal superhero crowdthis film was deeply and personally felt by many, which can be difficult to accomplish in a genre that is mostly meant for pure, easy entertainment.

GRETA GERWIG LADY BIRD After writing and starring in many films over the years, Greta Gerwig finally made her directorial debut with the 2018 film Lady Bird. The film was a deep dive into the life of a Sacramento teen, struggling with parental relationships, teen angst, and a fear of the unknown future.

It is now revered as one of the decade’s quintessential coming of age movies. Her next directorial project, an adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, was immediately embraced by both critics and ambitious girls everywhere. The script is filled with beautiful and heart wrenching monologues, but the one that will forever stand out is Jo’s tear inducing speech: “Women have minds and souls as well as just hearts, and they’ve got mbition and talent as well as just beauty. And I’m sick of people saying that love is all a woman is fit for.

I’m so sick of it!”

JORDAN PEELE GET OUT After a long career in comedy, Jordan Peele has finally taken on the new role of writer and director. Get Out, Peele’s directorial debut, was at once horrific and clever, soothing audiences with comedic relief before pulling them back into the disquieting world of a twilight zone-esque suburban nightmare. His next critically acclaimed film, Us, follows this same tone of satirical horror, though focusing much more on the latter.

Jordan Peele delivers terror, social commentary, and comedy in a fashion that keeps audiences in a constant state of intrigue and surprise.

The decision to have kids or not is probably the most important in most individual lives. That individual decision, however, is certainly not the most important in our collective life. So why does it rule us? Why has it such an unrepresentative, disproportionate effect on us all. We are ruled by this reverence to pregnancy, new born babies, toddlers, preteens, early teens, teens, adolescents, and so on. Of course we must look to the most vulnerable, and give them due respect, care and attention, but surely adults, individually and collectively, are the most important and productive members of society. We’re not animals after all.

You know how it feels to have an annoying song stuck in your head? Or even worse, an irritating commercial – you know, the one about the new Timothée Chalamet movie that makes you want to gouge your eyes out and go buy a copy at the same time? It seems that more often than not, those insidious bits of marketing propaganda have one target and one target only: young people. Unfortunately, the rest of us are caught in the crossfire.

Most people want to have kids; I accept this fact but don’t truly understand it. Think about the pressure: it’s ultimately up to you whether your child becomes the next President of the United States (great) the next Dylann Roof (not so great) or the next Tik Tok star (even worse). Anyway, because we live in this proud, free country, you can exercise your right to procreate, just like I can exercise the right to smoke, get really fat, or tie up my consensual partner in a closet dungeon on long weekends (just sayin’).

The difference is, most of the personal decisions we make in our lives have no bearing on anyone else; you don’t have to hear about my eccentric sexcapades or watch me eat an entire bucket of KFC in one sitting. So why then must I be subjected to endless commercials about the wonders of potty time? Why must I endure your whining children in a five star restaurant? Why must I accept those “what’s wrong with you” looks when I tell someone that the idea of having children is about as exciting as the idea of a daily, 18-year long colonic regimen?

Our society places a disproportionate emphasis on our youth. Sure, they are the decision makers of tomorrow and sure, their impressionable minds need to be nurtured and filled with love and knowledge. But what about the decision makers of today? What about the vast majority of adults who still have potential, lives to live, goals to fulfill? It seems that as soon as we are old enough to accomplish something in our lives, we’re told to have kids and sacrifice that precious time to the next generation – who turn around and do the exact same thing. So who’s actually getting stuff done around here? If I added up the time I spend each year forced to listen to Jonas Brothers’ songs and watching Marvel trailers, I could have finished writing my first best-selling novel by now!

The amount of time I spend every day being bombarded by “kid stuff” is mindboggling: commercials, ads, loud little urchins running into my kneecaps on the street – the list goes on. I absorb so much kid-related information a day, sometimes I feel like I have one of my own, and that, my friends, does not make me happy. Why are fashion trends determined by 17-year old celebrities? Why do I have to sift through 50 different sug-

ary cereals to get to my Cheerios? (Ok, I’ll admit Froot Loops are pretty awesome, but still) Why are there interactive video games for toddlers, and why, oh why am I even aware of it? Stop the madness!

Parents, out of sheer stupidity, have become part of the problem; they don’t realize that this is just another way companies rope us in, make us suckers and slaves to our culture of overconsumption. They don’t even have to market intelligently; they just hit you where it hurts most – the ovaries. With bright colors, cartoon animals and sparkly music, they convince you that you’re a bad parent if you don’t buy, buy, buy, and buy some more. And you buy it, alright. Wise old grandparents will tell you there’s no manual for being a parent – but you will still spend $50 at Barnes and Noble on just such a thing.

I’m not saying that kids shouldn’t get attention and toys and movies just for them – I’m just saying we should take a long hard look at what all of this stuff really is and what its use is, if it has one. I’d say 90% of children’s products today are superfluous and unnecessary. Remember when we were kids and we played outside in the sunshine and mud? We didn’t have Calming Vibes Hedgehog and we got along just fine. I’m pretty sure (and I know this from experience) that the only adult sanctuary left is the strip club. I guess it could be worse.

Let’s get back to basics: animals exist to procreate. At one time, as primitive animals ourselves, we did too. But with the wonderful gift of bigger brains, we have come up with other reasons to exist: to create beautiful art, to help others, to make the world a better place to live in. We don’t need to create copies of ourselves to feel like we were useful on this earth; unfortunately, that’s not what most of society – not to mention your in-laws – want you to believe.

I’m sure there are a lot of “breeders” reading this right now who are positively fuming at my callous and selfish commentary – as proud parents, you probably think it’s justified that the world revolves around children.

Having a child is a joy like no other, you say. It’s the most important thing you can do with your life. There’s something wrong with you if you don’t want kids!

How about this: let’s you and I call a truce. I won’t call you crazy for buying your eight-year-old an iPhone, and you won’t call me evil for kindly suggesting you keep your spawn on a leash. You and I and all the kiddies of the world can live together in harmony – just keep your snotty noses, Never Have I Ever episodes, and Baby Bjorn’s to yourself.

by Ashleigh VanHouten

www.lilithparis.com

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his heart-throb superhero with eight million followers is super sexy but oh so down-to-earth When I first began my conversation with actor Grant Gustin, there was a Zoom snafu. Faces were bigger than others, and it took us a little time to get to the gallery view. Oh the pitfalls of a Covid World. After a few clicks we were on track but I was hoping he morphed into The Flash—the starring role he’s played on the CW’s The Flash for the past seven years—and fixed the problem with lightning speed precision. But we can’t have everything can we. Gustin was in Victoria, British Columbia, filming a movie for Netflix called Rescued by Ruby, a true story about a Rhode Island state trooper wanting to be a part of the K-9 Unit who meets an unwanted dog and well, we have ourselves a tearjerker of a film.

“It’s a really sweet underdog story about Ruby who was a shelter dog and Daniel O’Neil who is a Rhode Island state trooper,” says Gustin. “Daniel had always wanted to be a canine officer, even though he’s qualified for all these other types of specialties as a police officer, but he had struggled with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and attention issues at times, hasn’t always been the best reader, wasn’t necessarily the right temperament for the canine unit but had just always felt that that was where he belonged.

“Ruby has been returned like five times and was going to be put down because she was deemed ‘unmanageable’ and couldn’t be adopted. And right at the last minute Daniel adopts her. A shelter dog had never made the canine unit on this police force and yes the underdog story of them trying to make the unit together and eventually becoming heroes in their own right and making each other’s lives better.” The film will be directed by Sundance Grand Jury prize nominee Katt Shea (Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase and Poison Ivy films) adapted from two short stories by Squire Rushnell and Louise DuArt, Ruby: A Dogwink Story and Dogwink Ruby. Rushnell and DuArt will also serve

by Wendy Southgate photography: Storm Santos as producers along with Dan Angel, Jane Charles and Brian Gott. Netflix is aiming to air Ruby in early 2022.

For seven years—the eight season will be premiering in the fall of 2021—Gustin has been playing the superhero Flash for over 175 episodes including crossovers. Wearing the red suit and running around. He has tried to do something else every hiatus but claims “it’s so hard to fit something in that narrow window of seasons. I mean basically my whole IMDb right now is playing Flash.” Although for Gustin, he’s up for the challenges of working with canines. “I’ve never worked with dogs especially in this capacity and the dogs are really my co-stars so it presents a different challenge, but no matter what your scene partner does it’s going to be truthful and you just have to react to it which has been a fun thing. You never know what the dog’s going to do.”

Like everything else during the past year of Covid, Flash shut down and Gustin and his wife went home to California for seven months. Recharge the batteries, take better care of himself physically and mentally and build new habits that he hadn’t had before. He had more time during Covid to lean into all of that. But going back to work this past year was the happiest he has ever been while filming The Flash. “I’m just more present and really appreciating the relationships around me and not necessarily thinking about what’s next in my life.

What’s next in my career? Just understanding this is where I am now and you know the present is just really all we ever have so it’s just been a great time for me to just appreciate that in a different way that I’ve never had in life in general.”

Gustin landed a role on Glee when he was 21. After Glee ended, he went to work on The Flash, two pieces of work that have defined him so far in his career. Most actors would kill to have major televi-

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sion productions under their belt, and Gustin is one of them.

It’s been something he has dreamed of ever since he was a child growing up in Virginia. He started tap dancing at eight and by the time he was 10 started theater and that was all that he had done before Glee eleven years later. When that ended he was about to go back to New York, but got the role on The Flash which took him to Vancouver.

Acting has never been a part of the Gustin family; nobody in his family has ever been in film or in the arts. They weren’t even really film buffs growing up or anything close to that.

But early on Gustin developed an infatuation with movie musicals. He loved Singing in the Rain which was the first kind of big thing for him. Gene Kelly was one of his earliest idols in film as was Christopher Reeve in Superman; infatuated actually. He loved Grease and would recreate scenes in front of the TV and make his brother and sister do it with him and film it. But it was Gene Kelly specifically and Singing in the Rain that he’d watch again and again and again. It was not until his mother found a copy of White Nights, the 1985 film starring tap and dance legends Gregory Hines and Mikhail Baryshnikov, that prompted her to find him an allboys tap group in Norfolk, Virginia where Gustin was raised.

He studied tap for a few years touring retirement homes, small fairs, sometimes dressed like Elvis Presley in a leather jacket, jeans, and white t-shirt. At 10 Gustin did his first musical The Wiz with Adrienne Warren as Dorothy (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical). Gustin did 20 to 30 productions with them, participated in the summer camp there and it took over his

“... my wife makes me say something that I like about myself before I go to bed...” life. He gave up everything he was doing and was all in on theater, performing in summer stocks that would take him to places like North Carolina, in Charlotte, and then in Buffalo doing All Shook Up. He found out he got a part in a travelling Broadway production of West Side Story and went on tour and then Glee happened then The Flash. Not a bad run.

I can hear the passion for acting in his voice. He was always a little different than a lot of the guys he grew up with, picked on relentlessly for being skinny. A huge part of his journey is coping with anxiety and nervousness, and Gustin has a hard time watching himself on screen. His wife has been a huge help with a nightly ritual where “she makes me say something that I like about myself before I go to bed.” But the arts, especially acting, is when Gustin breaks the shell of his lifelong afflictions. Confidence grows and the thrill of performing and the response of the live crowd is something that motivates him.

“It’s a natural high and nothing else is like it. The gratification of doing what you love and the energy from the audience, yeah, nothing else feels like that, I mean there’s certain moments here and there as an actor on camera where I felt it and just like it’s kind of an unexplainable feeling where you’re in a moment, but when you’re on stage, from start to end of the show, I always feel that. I really miss it and like I said it’s the place where I’ve always felt the most confident.”

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Fernanda Urrejola MOVES: I’ve got so many questions lined up be cause you’ve led a really interesting life which is exciting. But we have to kick off with the icon that you’ve just finished working with, Clint Eastwood.

What was that like?

FERNANDA URREJOLA: It was a dream come true. He is such an amazing man! His energy, his life, he’s so caring and, I must say, I think that was the most caring and respectful set that I have ever been on. It was really amazing. Everyone there wanted to work with him of course, he’s Clint Eastwood, but because we filmed during Covid it wasn’t as easy to be fully immersed with the crew. I’m one of those actors who likes to get involved with the crew and understand that this is teamwork and a team effort. But because of Covid you couldn’t really relate, all you could see was their eyes and then when they were eating you were like “oh that’s the face. That’s who you are.” So it was really weird in that sense, but I did have some time to talk with the crew and everyone told me that if Clint called, they would drop everything and come work with him.

I understood then that the way that he is able to do it stil, even at 91 years of age, is because he basically has his family working with him on all his sets. Most of the crew have been with him for 36 years. It was beautiful and he was great.

“...We don’t allow the change to happen. And that’s something as an adult we need, ... We have to relese all that and be open to whatever we need to change...”

Clint Eastwood - “...It was beautiful and he was great.

He’s amazing...”

M: And I imagine he’s also a don’t mess with me kind of guy. He’s like just do it.

FU: Yes, only one time he was like “what’s going on, everyone shut up,” because everyone was talking and being very loud on set. But as soon as he said that everyone was quiet and attentive.

He is so respectful about it though, that it makes everyone around him also be respectful.

M: yeah I bet. And also I guess because I also was reading that you are now producing something. So you’re also working behind the camera as well as in front of the camera, and that must be a huge kind of learning curve to be with some - body, because obviously Clint started off acting. That was it acting was his life and that’s what he did and then he went into music and movies and producing and writing and behind the camera.

FU: Yes I want to be able to keep going and working even into my old age and keep working with the people that really want to work with me as well.

That is one thing that is very important, to find the right people to work with. Your family on the job. I asked him (Clint) “what is the secret”? And he said “just be happy and do what you want and everything will happen for you”. I’ve learned so much. I wrote a movie with my partner (Francisca Alegría), she’s a director and writer as well, and we came here to Chile to shoot our movie and I was able to be in every department. It was so fun and I learned so much. It’s different to be on the other side of the camera and I loved it. I think I’ll keep doing it.

M: Is it too soon to kind of say yeah my preference is eventually to be behind the camera down the road.

FU: I think I’ll definitely direct in the near future and yes I will keep writing, I am actually writing a TV show at the moment, so I’m already in it and I want to keep doing it. But I love acting, that’s my thing too. So I’ll be like Clint, I’ll do everything.

M: That’s fantastic. So can you share your project?

Or is that still something you can’t talk about? FU: I don’t know if I can just yet, but I am very excited about it!

M: That’s fantastic. Wishing you all the best with that. That’s amazing. I think one of the things with you I’m sensing is that you are very passionate about everything that you do. You can feel it, the energy is so out there, which is fantastic because it is rare. And it’s electrifying and it resonates with everything that you touch. I’ve learned that you live in both the West Coast and in Chile and you go back because I’m sensing your roots are very important.

FU: My roots are very important to me, yes. I would like to keep working here in Chile, but I also want to keep growing my career in the US, and internationally. Right now, I had come back to Chile to shoot a movie. It is a Chilean movie so I had to be here. Then I was called to be on a Mexican series, which was also shooting here in Chile, so I stayed longer to film that show - it was perfect timing and everything worked out.

But next week I’ll be traveling back to the US and hopefully working on some fun projects there.

I’m excited to be part of helping the Chilean industry grow, but also be able to film and produce things that are for international audiences. So I think that’s my plan. To keep connecting both spaces.

M: I’m guessing that you’re in production now in Chile.

FU: I am, but I am going back to the US next week.

M: : Do you ever have any regrets that you wish you had kind of followed through with science and then still gone into acting? Because women in science today are huge.

FU: Do you mean regretting not acting before?

Or regretting not doing something in science?

M: In science. So to finish off the question, do you have any regrets in not following the path of your parents? Or taking their lead? Because Fernanda “...We don’t allow the change to happen.

And that’s something as an adult we need, ... We have to release all that and be open to whatever we need to change...” I know they were not

photography: Paz Vasquez happy about you acting. You still pursued it because you’re passionate about it. But how did you come to deal with the reality of keeping your parents on your side and knowing to follow your passion?

FU: Well I am very happy with my choices to be honest. I do love science though and I think that science is now the new religion, or it should be! I wanted to become a doctor if I was not going to be an actress.

I thought about becoming a doctor or an architect.

Those were my two paths outside of acting. I love science, I love biology but I’m very happy with my choices. Sometimes I regret that I didn’t start acting when I was younger, which many actors in this industry do. Like all the actors that I love, they grew up acting. When I act with children and I see their passion, it’s like yeah that was me when I was younger.

M: right, it aligns. And obviously one of the other success stories and acting paths that you took was Narcos. That has a huge amount of presence both in the storyline and what it’s actually about. Can you share a little bit about your approach today and what you’ve taken away from playing in Narcos?

FU: That was a great show to be in. It was very fun to act in it and it was a huge production. It was all very interesting to me. But at the same time it was very sad as it is a theme that will continue to grow as a reality in our society. It’s a narrative we keep feeding and it keeps growing along the years. I wish that was not the reality, but it is. As a Chilean, we didn’t have the “Narcos” or the drug dealer culture. It is something that we now understand and know about, but when I was growing up it was not a reality in my country. So I had to study a lot to understand that role better. People that don’t have the understanding of it’s reality, they look at that and they want it. So it’s tricky to have it on the screen so much because you create that culture around it and it can be dangerous.

M: : Let’s talk about the charity side of what you actually do for children and the philanthropy side of your thought process and wanting to constantly give back because you can see the need. It’s something that you’re passionate about and children are the future in my opinion and they are the neglected part of life sometimes. So I’d love to learn a little bit more about that.

FU: Oh yeah well it’s weird though because we’re in a very adult centric culture. All around the world. The first time we even started talking about children’s rights was

“... to start it’s just wanting to change and being open to that change, allowing that change to happen. We either evolve or we’re so stuck with our past...” not that long ago. The good thing is you can see change finally happening; I think it’s getting better. But even still we have long ways to go. We need to listen, to really pay attention to what children need daily. Everyone says “I want to help, I want to do something”, but most don’t know what to do or how to help. Perhaps the first step can be to create a consciousness and awareness that we are a very adult centric society and we have to change that. The children really are the future - take their stance on world issues like climate change. Teenagers are the ones going out and saying what they need and want, that really makes me so happy and hopeful. They don’t believe the adults anymore. They really know what they want and they’re going to make the changes. And I hope we as adults, can grow with them and help them because they’re our hope.

M: Do you feel that there’s anything adults can learn from the youth today because it is empowering for us to see the power that they have when they are united.

Because of the digital platforms, because of the information that is so accessible to them.

FU: There are so many things. To start it’s just wanting to change and being open to that change, allowing that change to happen. We either evolve or we’re so stuck with our past. We have to release all that and be open to whatever we need to change. That’s one thing for sure.

The other thing is that we have to remember what it’s like to be a child, we have to play more, be more optimistic and regain that sense of wonder. Understanding that as children, we can always learn more and be open.

I think as adults, we shut down so much. And it’s something that we need to keep remembering to stay open.

M: Thank you for sharing because it’s empowering to hear you say some of the things that are really important to you. When people think about entertainment, they

don’t realize that there’s a lot more that actually goes on in your life that isn’t shared because you don’t have the time to share everything. So tell me in regards to the future, what project do you have coming up?

FU: Well first I want everyone to go to the theaters to watch “Cry Macho”! I hope to be able to share some of my other upcoming projects with you soon, but for now I hope audiences enjoy this wonderful film we made.

M: : OK fantastic, thank you for sharing that. And on a fun note, ending on something that is fun, you are a wine collector, when did that start? That is so cool. One of my best friends, if you ever get to New York, owns a restaurant that has over 1000 wines that you can select from.

FU: I love wine! We have great wine here in Chile, but it’s not so much that I collect it, rather I just love having a good glass of wine and sharing it with my family and friends.

M: And you know your palate. Can you make a recommendation to close on? Of a good wine?

FU: I will say that Miguel Torres is one of my favorites in terms of price and quality. Miguel Torres. Yeah that one definitely. It’s fair trade. There’s so many good things about it. It’s organic, has less sugar in it and it’s also inexpensive.

M: And I have to say that I’m on your side with it not costing a whole bunch, it is sometimes very good. Just because it’s expensive doesn’t make it a nice wine.

FU: Yes, the price and quality in Chile is amazing.

M: Well I have to tell you you’ve been such a delight to talk to. Thank you for taking the time, I’m really excited about your personal project and I’m sure it will be absolutely fantastic. Enjoy Chile and stay safe.

FU: Thank you so much.

Will you help us? unicefusa.org/wontstop

events

Diversity Awards 2021

Picnic on the Hudson River’ The ‘Moves Diversity Award’ is in recognition of, and to specifically pinpoint the role individual women leaders play in shaping and forming the next generation; highlighting the multiple benefits of diversity and the long term rewards of inclusivity in corporate and personal policies. How their energy, experience and expertise transforms today’s millennials into tomorrow’s executives...

Photographers: Nathan Heywood, Pablo Monsalve, Brittany Robey. Videograher: Christian Pena Event Production: Katherine Kohanowski, Charlotte Nunes

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The ‘Moves Diversity Awards Luncheon’ is part of the Moves Magazine’s event calendar which culminates in the annual Power Women Gala, our year-end celebration of 25 women who make a difference..

moves mentors

Diversity Awards 2021 The Moves Magazine team is excited to introduce our 2021 Diversity and Inclusion Event nominees, expanding our already impressive group of female mentors and diversity leaders; powerful and successful individuals who give back; leaders who encourage and augment the upward progress of young women in today’s world.

Aisha ThomasPetit Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer AMC Networks Charged with building on and advancing the company’s DEI goals and foundation she is a key member of the senior leadership team reporting directly to President & CEO, Josh Sapan, She is responsible for setting the strategy, roadmap and measures of success to develop, bolster, and retain a diverse and inclusive community both within the company’s workforce, as well as in front of and behind the camera across AMC Networks’ portfolio of entertainment brands.

Should mentoring be company-wide?

The spirit of mentoring and mentorship should be a practice embedded in how you operate as an organization and an important part of your culture. While it doesn’t have to be a requirement, nor does it always have to be formal, mentorship should be a part of a company’s culture. Anyone at any point in their career can be a mentor or a mentee. There’s always more to learn from someone else. At AMC Networks, we have programs with executives serving as mentors to employees at every level and we also have programs where some of our most senior leaders are mentored by early career employees on areas and skills they want to know more about.

Lt Col Kimberly Barr Commander, 318th Recruiting Squadron, USAF,

As the commander, she leads a highly skilled team of 79 recruiters and support personnel tasked with inspiring, engaging and recruit doctors nurses, dentists, allied health and line officers to meet annual Air Force requirements. Her zone covers 1.2-million-square-mile area of responsibility.

What makes a good mentor?

Sometimes, people have a path and they have the things that they did and the way they saw success, and they think that that is the way. That may not be the way for the person that you’re talking to! The things that are important to you, that set your course, that set your path, may not be the same things that are important to the person you are mentoring, so I think being a person that is genuinely caring about making their spaces better and caring about the people that they mentor and understanding that imparting what they’re learning can help others, but then also being open to learning themselves, makes a great mentor.

3

Col (ret.)

Mary Westmoreland President, Association of the United States Army*

A decorated combat veteran (serving in two branches of Military Service: US Coast Guard and US Army) she currently serves as the NYC Area Chair and NY State Vice Chair of the Department of Defense Employer Support to Guard and Reserve. She is President of the Association of the United States Army, *Greater New York City Statue of Liberty Chapter.

Should mentoring be a company-wide practice?

Training should be available to all new employees on a one on one or group affair.

Today much of it is on-line, however the Trainer should be available for questions and exchanges. Mentoring one on one, entails a more discrete handling, and further add to the challenge of

fitting in. Both require listeners. A policy encouraging senior employees to support efforts such as mentoring juniors when the opportunity arises is very helpful. Mandated mentoring including those not equipped to be a mentor, can prove to be a negative experience.

Rosa Nunez Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Foley Hoag

She is responsible for developing, implementing, leading and championing proactive diversity and inclusion initiatives and programs, in alignment with Foley Hoag’s overall strategic plans. Rosa is also co-chair the firm’s Diversity , Equity & Inclusion Committee.

How does mentoring benefit the mentor?

In my opinion, mentoring benefits the mentor across multiple levels, professionally, intellectually, spiritually, and socially. Being able to help someone achieve their goals by leaving a positive mark on their journey is highly fulfilling.

Knowing that my advice,

efforts (big or small) influenced someone’s future gives me purpose and fulfills my soul. I also believe mentoring is a twoway street; just as I mentor my mentees, they get to mentor me. We learn from one another, and they help me continue to develop as a leader.

Emily Graham Chief Equity & Impact Officer Omnicom

She leads the OPEN Leadership Team, a group of Diversity & Inclusion strategists dedicated full-time to providing structure, support,counsel and visibility to DE&I initiatives and policies throughout Omnicom’s 1,500 agencies, helping the group leverage its expertise to advise clients and internal teams globally on DE&I matters.

What makes a mentor?

First of all you have to be experienced deeply in life. There must be things that you are willing to be vulnerable about in sharing and be free about allowing those experiences to be somebody else’s guide. And all people aren’t comfortable doing that. For mentorship comes from a deep place of their vulnerability, I think, and an invested interest in a person’s navigation and success. I think one of the only ways you can truly mentor is by not being selfish with sharing your experiences.

Djuana Beamon Chief Diversity Officer, Peoples United Bank As a seasoned diversity practitioner with more than 20 years experience in various business capacities, she is experienced in leading D&I strategies for organizations to find new ways to enhance their cultures and celebrate our unique differences and collective similarities.

How does diversity play into mentorship?

I would say that mentorship plays a huge role in increasing diversity. When you have leaders and allies who are willing to take on the role of mentors, especially for someone of a different gender, racial/ethnic group, sexual orientation, ability, etc., that can help to level the playing field and identify talent that might normally get lost in the organization.

Dawn Frazier-Bohnert

EVP, Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, Liberty Mutual Insurance Dawn is responsible for leading the design, development and implementation of Liberty Mutual’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategy and programs. This includes enhancing employees’ DE&I capability and skills, internal and external communications, metrics and measurements, benchmarking, external partnerships and the development of employee resource groups.

Should mentoring be part of the corporate plan?

Absolutely. A corporate mentorship program can create a strong and diverse workforce, which can lead a business to new stages of growth and stability. This is because it impacts the development of new leaders, can increase diversity, and effects employee retention, which all ultimately influence bottom lines. It is a worthy investment that should be considered by every company that wants to create a strong brand. At Liberty Mutual, we have multiple mentorship opportunities for performance and development. All of our programs are shared with the board annually.

Nicole Leon Director, Office of Diversity & Inclusion, ConEdison She is entrusted with providing leadership and support in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion, and affirmative action, as well as ensuring compliance with anti-discrimination laws and EEO policies. She is also responsible for the development and mobilization of the corporate Diversity, Equity & Inclusion strategy.

What is the number one action we can take to empower women?

What is the number one action we can take to empower women?It’s about us speaking up for ourselves and on behalf of other women.

It’s about us supporting each other as women at work where we’re not in competition, we’re not here to tear each other down. There’s a quote I saw the other day and it says “surround yourself with a group of women who would mention your name in a room full of opportunity”. And for me that’s the price of admission as a female leader. As a woman, if I see another woman, I need to affirm you and uplift you and say hey you look great or simply good morning or how are you today – is there anything you need. So it starts with us supporting each other working together to change those things that we may see as barriers.

Deeanne King

EVP & Chief Human Resources Officer T-Mobile

As the top people person, she not only recruits the best and the brightest talent, but makes sure employees flourish in T-Mobile’s famous Uncarrier culture. Bringing more than 32 years of experience in senior leadership roles across multiple functions, she is a strong advocate for employee learning and development.

Can mentoring significantly effect equality and diversity in the workplace?

Yes! Strong mentors can boost their mentees within a company by teaching, coaching, and by introducing them to others, recommending them for projects and such. I believe that female leaders have a moral responsibility to grow more female leaders – and they are selfish if they don’t. I take this very seriously myself. As we talk about in our company values, we must do it the right way, always.

Photographers: Tony Gale, Travis Keyes Stylist: Jorge Morales. Makeup: Sisley Paris: Cat, Heidi Serrano Cecile Nida. Hair: Li Murillo Location: 25 Broad Street, Penthouse 2a, New York, 10004

CONGRATULATIONS

AISHA THOMASPETIT

AND ALL THE 2021 MOVES MAGAZINE MENTOR AWARD HONOREES

Rosa Nuñez Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Foley Hoag congratulates Rosa Nuñez, recipient of the 2021 New York Moves Mentor Diversity Leadership Award www.foleyhoag.com

There’s Only One Thing That’s Unique About Djuana Beamon.

Everything.

As an industry leader, Djuana consistently demonstrates experience and expertise in shaping and forming the next generation. There’s only one Djuana Beamon, and we couldn’t be more proud to have her leading our company in diversity and inclusion. Congratulations on being named a 2021 Moves Mentor!

At People’s United Bank we take pride in being leaders in the communities where we live and work. We value our customers and employees and encourage an environment of equity and inclusion. This includes having women in leadership, women working together and expanding opportunities for female employees and future leaders.

©2021 People’s United Bank, N.A. | Member FDIC

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