Latest news with #Butterflies
The Courier
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Courier
Perth musician Blair Davie on 'fans coming up to me crying' and missing Scotland
Perth-born singer Blair Davie is at home in the Fair City, chilling with family before their first headline tour in the UK and Europe. At just 25, Blair Davie – who uses the pronouns they/them – has done what many musicians wait a lifetime to achieve. They not only gained an Ivor Novelli Rising Star Award last year, but also secured a first record deal and US radio air play for their single Butterflies. Blair Davie grew up on a musical diet of anything from Eric Clapton to Dr Hook and Louis Armstrong. Life in the Davie household revolved around music, with mum Catriona from a piping family and dad Andy a keen guitarist. 'My brother Struan played sax and keyboard and we were always making up songs and singing at each other – it was a bit of a madhouse!' Blair started guitar lessons with the late Jack Kelly and quickly became hooked. They remember 'playing Green Day covers with my friend Kyle Fummey when we were six years old'. Having taken to guitar like a duck to water, Blair casually mentions that: 'I taught myself piano. Now I write my music on the piano but I still love to play the guitar live.' The young musician (who turns 25 this month) feels lucky to have found their path in life so easily: 'I've never been confused about what I was going to do with my life. I have an inherent need to pick up the guitar and a need to write the song. 'I would be doing this if nobody was listening and I'm just grateful that there is a wee bit of an audience now.' Having moved to London two years ago, Blair says that they now appreciate their Scottish upbringing more than ever. 'I nipped into the Twa Tams to see some friends last night and there was a folk session on and they let me borrow a guitar and sing a few songs. 'That's the kind of stuff I miss about Scotland – how friendly and welcoming everyone is. I can just turn up to the pub and be welcomed into the group.' The singer-songwriter is excited to be heading off on a European tour taking in France, The Netherlands and Germany shortly. Then they'll be back in Scotland. 'I'm doing my first ever Scottish headline tour.' 'Doing some intimate venues across Stirling, Aviemore, Kyle of Lochalsh, Aberdeen and then finishing at Perth. 'I love playing live – it is such a big part of me as a songwriter and an artist. 'I feel like it takes a song to another level. 'I've always said that playing live is the real moment where I feel like I am on to something special.' Blair's songs come from a personal place and they obviously connect with fans. 'I try and always be vulnerable and honest to my songwriting,' they explain. 'I just started on the stage and singing about, you know, my truths. 'It allows people to connect with me, but then to take it in their own ways as well and when you play live you can see it in real time. 'Some of my most special moments in my career have been people coming up to me after the show crying and being able to open up about things that they maybe haven't been able to speak about with other people.' Life in London is treating Blair well – and they have also had the opportunity to write and record in Nashville and LA thanks to a recording contract with American label Giant Music. 'I was never not proud to be Scottish. But when I moved to London, it became a huge part of my personality.' 'I was telling everybody and seeking out other Scottish people.' 'I've only played a handful of shows in Scotland and I don't think ever a headline so I'm just really excited to be playing in Scotland again.' Over the past few years Blair has not only been writing and releasing their own music but has formed song-writing partnerships and friendships with high-profile names. Mark Prendergast of Kodaline and 2002 Fame Academy winner David Sneddon have become writing collaborators and firm friends. 'It's always been the dream to get where I am now – if you had told 13 year old me that would be my job now, I would have bitten your hand off for it!' As we talk on the phone, the soft-spoken singer is chatty and relaxed but they admit they're 'an introvert at heart'. It has taken a while for them to get to grips with how to deal with promoting their music via social media but now, with help from videographer brother Struan, 20, Blair feels more comfortable with their online profile. 'I struggled with it because it felt like you have to be a bit of a TV presenter and I'm really not that kind of person. Now, I am happy to post videos of me in the studio and always make the music the focus. 'I'm happy to be on social media if it's on my own terms.' Meanwhile, they have single releases planned almost every six weeks. Butterflies is out now and their next single is due to drop at the end of June, 'is a love song that's very personal to me and my partner'. Blair's UK tour will include shows in Stirling on June 5 and at home in Perth on June 7.
Daily Mail
02-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Daily Mail
For years I was a super-slob. Then I discovered the secret to being perfectly organised that will change your life, reveals decluttering expert CASSANDRA AARSSEN
I'm not what you'd think of as a naturally organised person; I can't do filing cabinets, or artistic clothes folding, and when I'm done with something, I like to just shove it away. It meant that for the first 30 years of my life, I always thought of myself as messy. Certainly my husband, who loves a filing cabinet with plenty of sub-categories, did. Living together was eye-opening for both of us! But when I became a mum - and our house started to look like Toys'R'Us had exploded - I knew I had to make a change. Once I'd decluttered my own life (I think of myself as a recovered super-slob) I started helping friends, and then clients. I'd tell them 'If this doesn't stay organised for 30 days, call me and I'll come back and re-organise it for free'. Well, they called. What worked for me clearly hadn't worked for them. That's when I discovered that there are, in fact, four distinct organising styles. And the secret to actually keeping things organised is to discover which one works for you. Thus my Clutterbug Organising Philosophy was born, helping people discover which 'bug' they are: a Butterfly, Bee, Cricket or Ladybird (or, as I'd say in my home in Ontario, Canada, a Ladybug!) It all comes down to two factors: if you're a visual or 'hidden' person, and if you're detailed or non-detailed. Since then, I've helped half a million people to declutter their homes, and have published four best-selling books. So read on to find which style you are - and how to avoid coming to blows if those you live with have a [itals]very[itals] different style to you... BUTTERFLY: VISUAL AND NON-DETAILED Butterflies are very visual people - they love to see their belongings, fearing 'out of sight, out of mind' - but they're non-detailed, feeling overwhelmed at the thought of what we consider 'traditional' organising. You're probably a Butterfly if you have clothes piled on top of your surfaces, but your wardrobe and drawers are practically empty, and people see you as stereotypically 'messy'. What you need are visual, fast and easy systems that keep things as broad brush as possible. For example, clear containers with big labels, open shelving or cube shelving with big baskets that you can toss things in quickly. Drawers don't work for butterflies because they can't see their stuff, and they find hooks easier than hangers. My eldest daughter, 18, is a butterfly and she never used to put her clothes away, because subconsciously she wanted to be able see them all. So, we took the doors off her wardrobe - and now she always puts them away! BEE: VISUAL AND DETAILED Like Butterflies, Bees prefer to see their everyday items. But unlike Butterflies, Bees are perfectionists who like very detailed systems. So rather than one big clear box labelled 'art supplies' or 'first aid', a Bee would have a box with lots of different sections so everything from pens and pencils, to painkillers and plasters, can be separated by category. They love a peg-board, or colour coding. Bees also tend to have a [itals]lot[itals] of stuff - they like to keep things 'just in case' - so they have to be careful not to let it take over their space. You need to prioritise what really needs to be easily accessible, and what you can cope with putting away or letting go of. Any kind of shelving is great for a Bee, to stop their tendency to pile things on surfaces. If you're a 'bee', you prefer to have all your possessions in your eyeline CRICKET: HIDDEN AND DETAILED A Cricket is what we'd consider traditionally organised. They want all their belongings out of sight, and they're very detailed, with lots of systems in place that they follow exactly. Marie Kondo is definitely a Cricket! However, a word of warning to Crickets; sometimes perfection can be paralysing, and your systems are so detailed you don't have time to follow them. So rather than put something away 'improperly' you pile it up until you can do it 'perfectly'. Remember, good-enough organizing today is better than perfect organizing tomorrow. You can always go back and redo it later, but at least it is put away for now. LADYBIRD: HIDDEN AND NON-DETAILED Like Crickets, Ladybirds get stressed-out by surface clutter. But unlike Crickets, they're non-detailed, so want fast and easy solutions. You know you're a Ladybird if your surfaces are clear but you'd be embarrassed if guests opened your cupboards. It's a bit like a real Ladybird; pretty on the outside, but when they open their wings it's a horror show under there. I'm a Ladybird myself, and I find that what works is installing things like draw dividers, lidless baskets or bins within your storage. It takes no more time to put away your things away than your usual shoving style, but you still know exactly where everything is (rather than it becoming one big jumble). And crucially, it stays organised. WHO WINS THE BATTLE OF THE BUGS? Within any relationship, you'll likely find different styles; in our family of five, we have two Ladybirds, two Crickets and a Butterfly. While those who have the same visual style can muddle along pretty well, conflicts arise when you have a visual and hidden person in the same space. So how do you decide on the best system for everyone? Sorry Crickets, but the golden Clutterbug rule is to default to the visual and non-detailed bugs (which means Butterflies always win!) This is because a detailed person can be less detailed, but a non-detailed person can't force their brain to accept lots of different categories. And while a hidden organiser can cope with seeing some items out if they're kept tidy, a visual organiser will forget their belongings exist if they're hidden away. A great compromise is shelving with opaque boxes all in the same colour with large labels; the hidden bugs don't have to cope with all those clashing items on clear display, but the labels mean the visual bugs still know what's what. And remember, this rule is only for spaces that are equally shared, like the living room. So in your own bedroom, stick to your style. And in the kitchen, if you're the person who does most of the cooking, then organise it however is best for you.
Local Italy
12-04-2025
- Sport
- Local Italy
Abuse scandal returns to haunt the flying 'butterflies' of Italian gymnastics
Corradini was, alongside double world champion Anna Basta, the first Italian gymnast to make public in October 2022 claims of abuse within the national set-up. Basta said she had twice thought about killing herself, while Corradini herself quit the national team in 2021 after spending "every minute of the previous few months wishing I could escape". Among other gymnasts who later made similar claims was Giulia Galtarossa, now 33 and world champion in 2009 and 2010, said she was berated by a coaching assistant for eating a pear, and handed her diet sheet with the message "we have a little piggy in the squad". The affair seemed to have been closed in September 2023 when head coach Emanuela Maccarani was given a simple warning by the disciplinary tribunal of the country's gymnastics federation (FGI) and handed back the reins of the national team, nicknamed the "Butterflies". But late last month the FGI, under new president Andrea Facci, sacked Maccarani, who has led Italy to the top of a sport traditionally dominated by countries from the former Soviet bloc. The FGI's official explanation to AFP for her dismissal was that the organisation wanted to "open a new cycle in preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics". But Corradini, silver medallist at the 2017 junior European Championships, is doubtful about the reasons given for Maccarani losing a job she had done with great success for nearly three decades. "I think that everything Anna and I did played a part," she tells AFP. "I'm pleased, not for any vengeful reasons, but because it means the young athletes now coming through to the national team will have a different experience to me." For 29 years Maccarani reigned supreme at the Italian team's National Training Centre in Desio, not far from Milan, where she imposed a rigid regime in which days began with gymnasts being weighed in front of one another. Maccarani and her assistant Olga Tishina insulted those who put on weight, calling them "pigs" and provoking eating disorders and suicidal thoughts in athletes who were barely out of childhood and often living far away from their families. Wiretap evidence "It was a bit like living in a bubble. Everything that happens to you seems normal. You're alone in this bubble -- that's all there is, and you don't see any way out," said Corradini, now 21 and a psychology student. "It took me several months after I returned home to tell my parents about everything that happened." Following Corradini, Basta and Galtarossa's allegations, prosecutors in Monza opened an investigation in which wiretaps were ordered for both FGI officials and the national team's management. The subsequent 356-page report, seen by AFP, includes conversations between coaches mocking athletes and sexist remarks about a gymnast from both former FGI president Gherardo Tecchi and his successor Facci. Extracts from these wiretaps published by the Gazzetta Dello Sport at the end of March featured Tishina criticising another coach, Julieta Cantaluppi, for apparently both forcing gymnasts to removing clothing "right down to their knickers" and locking them in a small, cold room if they made mistakes during training. "I worked for four years with Julieta and none of that is true. She has nothing to do with Maccarani," Corradini insists. The warning given to Maccarani was called "a total failure" by Daniela Simonetti, the founder of ChangeTheGame, an association that combats physical and psychological abuse in sport. "What we have is an image of a federation where everyone looked out for one another and gave each other a helping had, starting with the former president," said Simonetti. "We need to start again from scratch." Corradini is in agreement: "If a girl has a psychological problem, she should see a psychologist. If she has a weight problem then she should see a nutritionist. "Coaches don't know everything and need to learn to delegate responsibilities with people with more knowledge than them."
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What's next for social media?
Jay Springett, a tech strategist and podcast host, joined the social media app Butterflies AI out of curiosity, and ended up staying for more than six months. The idea of Butterflies is to allow human and AI personas to interact. Mr Springett's online persona developed over time, interacting with other artificial characters, and even went as far as to start its own Beanie Babies [a line of soft toys] collection. He said it was like AIs were writing their own soap operas inside a simulation. "I didn't engage with Butterflies in the same way I do with other platforms," Mr Springett told BBC. "It felt more like observing than participating. I wouldn't pay for it, but it was interesting enough to keep watching." A host of social media services, like Butterflies, are trying to expand at a time when there is dissatisfaction with the social media giants. According to data from Similarweb, a digital market intelligence company, X's daily active users in the UK have dropped by nearly 25% since January 2024. And it's not just X that has been suffering, mobile and desktop traffic to Facebook has declined over the last few years according to Similarweb. A report by the Pew Research Centre found that a third of teens use Facebook and X, compared with three quarters a decade ago. Bluesky is one of the social media firms gaining ground. Over the past year, Bluesky has gained tens of millions of new users, often at the expense of X. Apart from just timing, though, BlueSky's success can be largely attributed to its novel architecture, which pairs an X-like experience with a high degree of customization. Unlike centralized systems, where social media companies have complete control over content and identities, Bluesky users can choose how their feeds are moderated, and what kind of posts the algorithm recommends to them, thanks to the hundreds of options offered by both Bluesky and the community. Don't like the broader discourse on Bluesky? Jump on the "popular with friends" feed to see what the people you follow specifically are talking about. It will not be simple for Bluesky to scale up to the size of X and Facebook, says Andy Tattersall, an information specialist at the University of Sheffield. He ways it will have to strike a balance between "generating revenue, keeping users safe, and moderating content, which is much easier said than done". Celebrity-backed foundation, Free Our Feeds, hopes to do that. It's backed some notable names, including musician Brian Eno and actor Mark Ruffalo, and plans to raise $30m (£23m) over the next three years to support an open social media ecosystem powered by the AT Protocol, the decentralized network powering Bluesky. "Bluesky has created a strong foundation for shared social media infrastructure," says Robin Berjonone, one of Free Our Feeds' nine custodians, "but so long as they are the primary operator of this infrastructure the risk remains that it will stop operating in the public interest". A bigger worry for these emerging platforms, though, is the network barrier. This can be summed up with Metcalfe's Law, explains Evan Prodromou, co-author and current editor of ActivityPub, another open social media architecture, which is behind popular platforms like Meta's Threads. The law states that the value of a network goes up with the square of the number of users. That means that bigger social networks have way more resources than smaller ones. They can use those resources to get bigger and bigger and crowd out smaller social media services. Non-profits like Free Our Feeds and the Social Web Foundation, which Mr Prodromou heads, have a strategy that they hope will help them overcome that Metcalfe's Law. They hope to replace the current situation, where users of social media hop between their favourite services. Instead Social Web Foundation is developing a platform which can offer content from all of them. Threads for example supports a protocol called ActivityPub, which makes it easier to combine services with other social media firms that use that protocol - like Mastodon for instance. Using this kind of interoperability, Mr Prodromou hopes that services like Social Web Foundation will provide the same value as giant, monolithic platforms. It's not straightforward, as not all social media firms support the same protocol, for example, BlueSky uses the AT Protocol. But there are workarounds to that problem, and Free Our Feeds and Social Web Foundation are also working on ways to aggregate sites that use different tech. "One thing we've learnt from the past decades is that the last thing the world needs is a one-size-fits all solution for eight billion people," says Robin Berjon, one of Free Our Feeds' custodians. At the other end of the spectrum are those that want to carve a niche out for themselves, rather than replace the incumbents. In the last couple of years, a cottage industry of unique, new social apps has cropped. One of those is Mozi, created by Twitter co-founder Ev Williams. Mozi doesn't want you to socialise online at all. Instead it informs you when you're going to be in the same place (city or event) as someone you know and encourages you to connect with people more often in person. "Until Mozi, no combination of apps could tell me what city my friends are in at any given time, or even what my friends locally are up to," says Mozi co-founder, Molly DeWolf Swenson. Mike McCue, the CEO of Flipboard, is convinced such innovation will result in a new era of social networking, where numerous new, more interesting types of social networks will emerge and offer people more choices. He hopes that Flipboard's app, Surf will help people manage a messy social media ecosystem. It allows users to browse from a centralized feed that can draw posts and content from a variety of platforms, including Threads, Bluesky, and YouTube. "In the end," says Mr McCue, "it's unlikely one service will replace the Facebook or Twitter we once knew, but instead several services will start to take our time away from these old-style single feed experiences, our behaviours will shift with these new choices and new generations will expect more." Bitcoin in the bush - the crypto mine in remote Zambia The slow but steady advance of driverless vehicles Subsea fibre cables can 'listen out' for sabotage
BBC News
28-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
What's next for social media?
Jay Springett, a tech strategist and podcast host, joined the social media app Butterflies AI out of curiosity, and ended up staying for more than six idea of Butterflies is to allow human and AI personas to Springett's online persona developed over time, interacting with other artificial characters, and even went as far as to start its own Beanie Babies [a line of soft toys] said it was like AIs were writing their own soap operas inside a simulation."I didn't engage with Butterflies in the same way I do with other platforms," Mr Springett told BBC."It felt more like observing than participating. I wouldn't pay for it, but it was interesting enough to keep watching." A host of social media services, like Butterflies, are trying to expand at a time when there is dissatisfaction with the social media to data from Similarweb, a digital market intelligence company, X's daily active users in the UK have dropped by nearly 25% since January it's not just X that has been suffering, mobile and desktop traffic to Facebook has declined over the last few years according to Similarweb.A report by the Pew Research Centre found that a third of teens use Facebook and X, compared with three quarters a decade ago. Bluesky is one of the social media firms gaining the past year, Bluesky has gained tens of millions of new users, often at the expense of from just timing, though, BlueSky's success can be largely attributed to its novel architecture, which pairs an X-like experience with a high degree of centralized systems, where social media companies have complete control over content and identities, Bluesky users can choose how their feeds are moderated, and what kind of posts the algorithm recommends to them, thanks to the hundreds of options offered by both Bluesky and the like the broader discourse on Bluesky? Jump on the "popular with friends" feed to see what the people you follow specifically are talking will not be simple for Bluesky to scale up to the size of X and Facebook, says Andy Tattersall, an information specialist at the University of ways it will have to strike a balance between "generating revenue, keeping users safe, and moderating content, which is much easier said than done". Celebrity-backed foundation, Free Our Feeds, hopes to do backed some notable names, including musician Brian Eno and actor Mark Ruffalo, and plans to raise $30m (£23m) over the next three years to support an open social media ecosystem powered by the AT Protocol, the decentralized network powering Bluesky."Bluesky has created a strong foundation for shared social media infrastructure," says Robin Berjonone, one of Free Our Feeds' nine custodians, "but so long as they are the primary operator of this infrastructure the risk remains that it will stop operating in the public interest". A bigger worry for these emerging platforms, though, is the network barrier. This can be summed up with Metcalfe's Law, explains Evan Prodromou, co-author and current editor of ActivityPub, another open social media architecture, which is behind popular platforms like Meta's law states that the value of a network goes up with the square of the number of users. That means that bigger social networks have way more resources than smaller ones. They can use those resources to get bigger and bigger and crowd out smaller social media like Free Our Feeds and the Social Web Foundation, which Mr Prodromou heads, have a strategy that they hope will help them overcome that Metcalfe's hope to replace the current situation, where users of social media hop between their favourite services. Instead Social Web Foundation is developing a platform which can offer content from all of for example supports a protocol called ActivityPub, which makes it easier to combine services with other social media firms that use that protocol - like Mastodon for this kind of interoperability, Mr Prodromou hopes that services like Social Web Foundation will provide the same value as giant, monolithic not straightforward, as not all social media firms support the same protocol, for example, BlueSky uses the AT there are workarounds to that problem, and Free Our Feeds and Social Web Foundation are also working on ways to aggregate sites that use different tech."One thing we've learnt from the past decades is that the last thing the world needs is a one-size-fits all solution for eight billion people," says Robin Berjon, one of Free Our Feeds' custodians. At the other end of the spectrum are those that want to carve a niche out for themselves, rather than replace the the last couple of years, a cottage industry of unique, new social apps has of those is Mozi, created by Twitter co-founder Ev Williams. Mozi doesn't want you to socialise online at it informs you when you're going to be in the same place (city or event) as someone you know and encourages you to connect with people more often in person."Until Mozi, no combination of apps could tell me what city my friends are in at any given time, or even what my friends locally are up to," says Mozi co-founder, Molly DeWolf McCue, the CEO of Flipboard, is convinced such innovation will result in a new era of social networking, where numerous new, more interesting types of social networks will emerge and offer people more hopes that Flipboard's app, Surf will help people manage a messy social media ecosystem. It allows users to browse from a centralized feed that can draw posts and content from a variety of platforms, including Threads, Bluesky, and YouTube."In the end," says Mr McCue, "it's unlikely one service will replace the Facebook or Twitter we once knew, but instead several services will start to take our time away from these old-style single feed experiences, our behaviours will shift with these new choices and new generations will expect more."
