Latest news with #Goddess
India Gazette
24-05-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
Tripura government developing infrastructure to support AI and 5G development: CM Manik Saha
New Delhi [India], May 24 (ANI): Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha announced that the state government is developing dedicated infrastructure to support AI and 5G development, as per a press release by the Tripura CMO. Manik Saha said this while speaking at the Rising Northeast Investors Summit 2025 in New Delhi on Friday. The session was titled 'IT for Ashtalakshmi: Beyond the Bits and Bytes, Into AI and 5G.' The Tripura CM announced that the Government of Tripura has allocated land for data centres, including one for Airtel, which will serve as a hub for the entire eastern and northeastern region of India, located in Agartala. 'As Ashtalakshmi, these eight states--the easterners--are gifted with natural beauty and abundant resources. They truly represent Goddess Lakshmi, the embodiment of multifaceted blessings of wealth, knowledge, strength, and prosperity. Today, I am honoured to speak about the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence and 5G in the northeastern region, including my state, Tripura. As we gather at the North East Investment Summit, I would like to congratulate the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region for organising this important event', Manik Saha said during the event. Saha said that while 5G can transmit information quickly and with low latency, AI minimises operational complexity by using efficient algorithms to automate a wide range of processes, resulting in more speed, efficiency, and cost savings. 'It is a symbiotic relationship between 5G and AI. As AI expands, the cost of connectivity continues to decline. The convergence of 5G and AI is not just about speed--it is going to cater to the demands of next-generation activities. The powerful combination of 5G and AI means greater innovation opportunities and some very interesting applications. Deploying AI applications at the edge with 5G brings opportunities across various industries and sectors', he added. The Chief Minister stated that by embracing AI and 5G, people can unlock new avenues for growth, innovation, and prosperity. He also announced that Tripura has made significant progress in 5G deployment, with all towns and 583 villages already connected. 'Tripura has also framed policies to support telecommunication. The state has framed policies to support telecom infrastructure development, including the Information Technology Policy 2022 and Data Centre Policy 2021. The Government of Tripura has allocated land for data centres, including one for Airtel, which will serve the entire eastern and northeastern region of India, located in Agartala,' he said. He informed that recently, the Government of Tripura organised a workshop on AI for Good Governance, aimed at driving transparency, efficiency, and impact, in collaboration with the National e-Governance Division and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India. 'The state of Tripura has implemented paperless administration, reducing the time required to dispose of files from nine days to three days, and saving over Rs. 50 crore per year. This digital transformation has enhanced transparency, efficiency, and accountability in our administration. As we move forward, we plan to leverage AI and 5G to drive growth, innovation, and prosperity across all northeastern states, including introducing single-window digital platforms to simplify access to public services through a digital interface and launching department-specific AI pilot projects to demonstrate the potential of AI in various departments', Manik Saha said. (ANI)
New York Times
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Review: How Music Came Down to Earth, in ‘Goddess'
If you're going to call your show 'Goddess,' you'd better have one handy. Luckily, the musical with that name that opened on Tuesday at the Public Theater stars Amber Iman, who fully fits the bill. Whether scatting or belting or just standing tall in gold eye shadow and regal gowns, she conveys the combination of power and ease that inevitably elicits words like 'otherworldly.' When Saheem Ali, the director of 'Goddess,' gives Iman and the rest of the talented cast a chance to display that otherworldliness, mostly while performing the songs by Michael Thurber and dances by Darrell Grand Moultrie, the show makes a strong case for live performance as a central expression of our divided nature. 'What is human? What is divine?' goes one of Thurber's better lyrics. 'Do either exist until they intertwine?' But when merely talking, 'Goddess' descends. The book by Ali, with additional material by James Ijames, is labored, with a conventional plot about a young Kenyan man torn between furthering his family's political dynasty and baring his artistic soul. (He plays saxophone.) It doesn't take long to get bogged down in banalities of both the domestic and the folkloric variety. Because yes, the goddess of the title is literal. Iman plays Marimba, a mythic East African queen who, we learn in a flashback, taught humans to sing and gave them their first instruments. But like Omari, the saxophonist, Marimba has parent problems. Her mother wants her to go into the family business, which to judge from Julian Crouch's amazing puppets and masks is evidently Evil Incarnate. But Marimba, refusing to accept the mantle of war goddess, instead escapes to Mombasa to live under a new name, Nadira, in an underground nightclub called Moto Moto. It is there that Nadira becomes a queen in the secular sense: a star. Singing Thurber's mélange of music, which encompasses smooth jazz, R&B, theatrical pop and an aura of Afrobeat, she draws an audience that is similarly diverse. Moto Moto, run by the spunky Rashida (Arica Jackson) and emceed by the exuberant Ahmed (Nick Rashad Burroughs) becomes a hotbed of heterogeneity (there's even a shaman) in a culture that is otherwise intolerant of mixing. Intolerance drives the other side of the story. Educated in New York City, Omari (Austin Scott) returns to Mombasa after his father, the incumbent governor, has a heart attack. Put forth to replace him, Omari wants to run a new kind of campaign, one that will 'blow open the doors to everyone: Muslim, Christian, gay, straight, everything in between.' But when he proposes to announce his candidacy at Moto Moto, his family does not react well. His father (J Paul Nicholas) calls it a 'cave of sin,' further likening the place to a gutter. His mother (Ayana George Jackson) urges obedience and calm — and later sings a song about honoring one's 'Baobab Roots.' Even his fiancée (Destinee Rea), to whom he was engaged as a toddler, and who has political dreams of her own, looks suspicious. As well she might. It does not spoil anything — how could it, when the plot has been around forever — to say that Omari and Nadira fall for each other and that the fiancée quickly finds out. But once Omari has helped Nadira feel human love, and she has helped him release his musical gift, they worry about what it means to defy the world they were born into. Must she return to mother? Must he hock his horn? Well, not before they make ecstatic music together in a terrific number called 'Boom Boom,' in which the call-and-response between singer and sax amounts to aural foreplay. If that theme of making ecstatic music together sounds familiar, perhaps you are thinking of 'Buena Vista Social Club,' the celebration of Cuban culture that Ali likewise directed. Indeed, the shows have plenty in common, including the possibility that 'Goddess' intends to follow 'Buena Vista' to Broadway. But 'Goddess' is evidently a more personal show for Ali: He grew up, like Omari, in a Kenyan family that disapproved of his interests in the arts. His liberation came from the theater, in particular a production of 'Grease' he saw when he was 15. Even leaving aside the autobiographical elements, he has been working on 'Goddess' for 18 years. Not surprising, then, that it feels overworked. (It is also overamplified.) Too much rewriting has left it lumpy; the main characters often disappear for long stretches, and the first act curtain confusingly highlights a subsidiary one. And though trying to encompass in two hours of stage time the multitude of worlds that 'Goddess' has acquired is congruent with the theme, it is at war with the format. The cramming of musicians, politicians, horndogs, matriarchs, griots and immortals into one story does none of them justice. More happily, Ali's staging often does, the action merging seamlessly into Moultrie's propulsively sexy choreography. The show looks great, too, its grotto set (by Arnulfo Maldonado) lit in hot pinks and purples (by Bradley King) that are complemented by costumes (by Dede Ayite) of astonishing vivacity. They are what joy looks like when turned into fabric. And Iman is what joy sounds like: satiny, sultry, unpredictable, unforced. There is no tension in her steamroller belt. Her riffs and curlicues drop off her like cherry blossoms. If Thurber's lyrics are too often generic, not repaying close attention, no matter; the star gets the big points across. That is, after all, what stars do, in heaven or on earth.
Business Insider
15-05-2025
- General
- Business Insider
I'm a professional meal planner. These 5 quick dinners require just a handful of ingredients from Trader Joe's.
As a professional meal planner, I shop primarily at Trader Joe's for a wide variety of affordable ingredients that simplify meal prep. The store's array of pre-seasoned and pre-prepared ingredients for every cuisine and diet makes it easy to create delicious and inventive family meals — even on busy weeknights. These five dinners are some of my favorites, as they use only a few ingredients from Trader Joe's, require minimal prep, and are easily adaptable for both plant-based and omnivore eaters. This chopped falafel salad is my new go-to meal Ingredients: two heads of romaine lettuce, two Roma tomatoes, an English cucumber, ½ cup of kalamata olives, 7 ounces of Trader Joe's tabbouleh, ½ cup of Trader Joe's Goddess dressing, and 12 frozen Trader Joe's falafel Main-event salads are one of my favorite ways to feed my mixed-diet family. This easy Greek-inspired version starts with a bag of frozen Trader Joe's falafel. While they're baking, I chop the romaine lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Then, I add them to a large serving bowl. Next, I stir in Trader Joe's prepared tabbouleh — an easy addition that adds texture and more Mediterranean flavor. Once the falafel is cooked, I quarter each one and toss them into the bowl, along with a drizzle of Trader Joe's Goddess dressing. When my kids need a little extra motivation to eat their greens, I serve the salad with pita halves so they can turn it into fun, customizable pita pockets. Skillet lasagna makes for an easy weeknight meal Ingredients: a tablespoon of olive oil, half of an onion, 24 ounces of Trader Joe's marinara sauce, two packages of Trader Joe's vegan ravioli, 2 tablespoons of chopped basil, 6 ounces of vegan Boursin cheese, and a cup of vegan mozzarella shreds With all the flavors of homemade lasagna, this version requires virtually no prep and is on the table in under 30 minutes. I start by sautéing the onion and garlic until fragrant. Then, I stir in Trader Joe's marinara sauce and let it simmer. Next, I add two packages of ravioli — Trader Joe's vegan spinach and cashew is my go-to — and cook them for about five minutes. After removing the skillet from the heat, I add dollops of vegan Boursin cheese and sprinkle on shredded dairy-free mozzarella. A quick broil melts everything to perfection. I finish the meal with fresh chopped basil. This meal is cozy, comforting, and easy to pull off on a busy weeknight. You don't need to be a seasoned chef to serve up this ramen recipe Ingredients: 2 quarts of Trader Joe's ginger miso broth, a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil, 14 ounces of Trader Joe's organic baked teriyaki tofu, four packages of Trader Joe's miso ramen, 2 cups of chopped napa cabbage, four heads of baby bok choy, and a cup of shiitake mushrooms Using a few of my favorite Trader Joe's ingredients, I can easily make a hearty, flavorful bowl of miso ramen. I start by bringing the ginger miso broth to a boil in a large stockpot. While it heats, I cube and sauté organic baked teriyaki tofu. Once the broth is ready, I add the noodles and the seasoning from a Trader Joe's miso ramen cup. To finish, I stir in chopped bok choy, sliced shiitake mushrooms, and the cooked tofu. In just 20 minutes and with only a few ingredients, this plant-based ramen delivers great comfort and flavor. These easy meatball subs are a family favorite Ingredients: 28 ounces of San Marzano tomatoes, a tablespoon of Italian seasoning, 12 frozen vegan meatballs, 4 ounces of vegan mozzarella shreds, a tablespoon of garlic olive oil, ¼ cup of basil leaves, and four Trader Joe's sandwich rolls This meal is almost embarrassingly simple to make, but it's one my kids request on repeat. I start by baking the meatballs — meatless for me and beef for the rest of the family. Trader Joe's has both types in the freezer section. Once they're cooked, I slice open sandwich rolls, spread on the marinara, and tuck in the meatballs. I add more marinara on top, sprinkle some shredded cheese, and pop them under the broiler until the cheese melts. Dinner doesn't get easier than this family-favorite meal. This pizza/salad mashup is my favorite dinner shortcut Ingredients: a package of Trader Joe's pizza crust, a tablespoon of garlic olive oil, four garlic cloves, ½ cup of vegan mozzarella shreds, and a bag of Trader Joe's lemony arugula basil salad kit Trader Joe's has a great lineup of salads that pair perfectly with pizza, but I like to skip the side dish and serve my salad right on top. Trader Joe's precooked pizza crust makes this recipe easy. I start by brushing it with garlic olive oil and layering on fresh garlic slices. Then, I sprinkle it with dairy-free mozzarella and bake for five minutes. While that's in the oven, I toss together the ingredients from my favorite lemony arugula basil salad kit. Once the crust is golden, I spoon the salad on top. It's a quick, satisfying way to level up pizza night with almost no extra effort.
New York Times
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
When the Goddess of Evil Looms Large, Cue the Music
In 'Goddess,' an original musical about a mysterious singer in Mombasa, Kenya, Moto Moto is not just an Afro-jazz nightclub, it's a great equalizer, where Kenyans of all faiths, tribes and social classes shake and spin their bodies in rapture. 'I've literally met the loves of my life on dance floors,' the director Saheem Ali said. 'So I understand the power of a life-changing event that happens in a space of communal dancing and joy.' It's that electric sense of belonging that Ali sought to recreate in 'Goddess,' now in previews at the Public Theater after an 18-year development process. 'My first child is Liban,' Ali said to his cast on the first day of rehearsal for 'Goddess.' 'He was born in 2006.' 'My second child is 'Goddess,'' he said, referring to the musical. 'And she was born in 2007. Eighteen years, never again for one show.' (It arrives on the heels of his Broadway production of 'Buena Vista Social Club,' the lively stage adaptation of the beloved 1997 album that is set in Havana nightclubs and was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, including for Ali's direction.) Creating an original musical from scratch is its own tall order. And at the heart of this passion project is the African folklore myth of Marimba, the goddess of music who created songs from heartbreak. It took Ali years to find the right collaborators and hone the plot. While the long-running, Tony-winning Broadway show 'Hadestown' is based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, it shines as a kind of exception to the stories that tend to get turned into musicals. 'Goddess' doesn't have an underworld, but it might hold a similar appeal, with characters that include a soothsayer, deity infighting and a trio of sultry, singing narrators who act as conduits between the human and spirit worlds. The themes at its core are universal: resisting familial pressures, nurturing the talents that bring joy, listening to the quiet voice within. The key, Ali said, was making it personal. 'I needed to slowly kind of piece together the power that was at the center of the story that meant something to me,' Ali, who is from Nairobi, said. The story centers on Nadira (Amber Iman), a gifted singer who begins performing at Moto Moto, transfixing the club's patrons with her heavenly voice. Drawn to her is Omari (Austin Scott), fresh off studying in the United States, and playing the saxophone in secret against the wishes of his more tradition-minded father, the governor of Mombasa. Nadira, who isn't quite what she seems, also has a controlling parent — a mother who is the goddess of evil. Such is the premise for 'Goddess,' a love story. 'It's personal, it's cultural, it's his home, it's his people, it's his story,' Iman said of Ali. 'Everyone is invested in a different way because that level of investment and love comes from the top down.' The long journey for the show (which had a run at the Berkeley Rep Theater in 2022) extends back even further — to 1994, when a teenage Ali, sitting in an English literature class in Kenya, first learned of the myth of Marimba, the goddess who turned a weapon into a musical instrument and whose jealous mother cursed her never to find love. 'Those ingredients,' Ali said, 'the kind of human nature, extremity of it, how someone can be so gifted and have a curse — those ingredients kind of stuck with me.' Years later, in 2007, as he was finishing an M.F.A. in directing at Columbia University, he said he asked himself, 'If I wanted to make something original from my place of birth, what would it be?' He thought of Marimba. 'And she just had not left me from age 16.' But he was still finding his voice as an artist. 'I need to go back to my roots,' Ali, who is now the associate artistic director of the Public Theater, realized. 'I need to go back to storytelling from when I was a kid, and doing skits, and how we would use drums to create atmosphere.' He enlisted the playwright Jocelyn Bioh ('Jaja's African Hair Braiding') to write the book, Michael Thurber for music and lyrics, and Darrell Grand Moultrie for choreography; they all worked on 'Merry Wives' — a Shakespeare adaptation set in an African diasporic community in Harlem — for Shakespeare in the Park in 2021. (In March, the Public announced that Bioh was stepping away from the creative team; James Ijames, who wrote the Pulitzer-winning play 'Fat Ham,' which Ali also directed, was named a new collaborator, and has contributed additional book material.) What emerged was a story line that draws from Ali's own familial expectations, which he defied to pursue theater. Ali grew up in an observant Muslim household, one where, he said, music and art were prohibited. 'My own theater making was very surreptitious,' he said. Ali later moved to the United States to study computer science, but quickly switched his major to theater. He didn't tell his parents until six months before graduation. Only his father attended. 'So I understood the pressure of trying to be an artist in a family where, you know, culturally, religiously, even, there was that pressure there,' he said. In order to pull off something authentic, the attention to detail would need to be microscopic. Ali knew that Swahili, an official language of Kenya, would be interwoven throughout the musical, and that his cast would speak English, also an official language, with Kenyan accents. So he tapped Karishma Bhagani, who is from Mombasa, as a dramaturg and cultural consultant. 'I think we feel the responsibility so deeply to bring these stories to life,' Bhagani said, 'because we were told these stories through a different mode of archiving, through our grandmothers, or through oral storytelling traditions that we see vibrant in the world of the musical that we've created.' Each time Bhagani taught the cast the Kenyan English pronunciation of a word — like 'MOHM-bah-sah' instead of 'MUM-bah-sah' — they taught her American dialects in return. (She has perfected the Valley girl inflection.) 'You have to relearn how to sing with this dialect and where you're placing it, what vowels you're using,' Scott said of playing Omari. 'And that's a whole other breaking open of this instrument you've been using for years, and reconfiguring it.' Swahili, as language, music and food, is a mix of African, South Asian and Middle Eastern influences. And the music in 'Goddess' — buoyant, lush and kaleidoscopic — mirrors that diversity in a great blend of jazz, pop, taarab, Afrobeat and soul, with Arab and Indigenous African influences. It's a change, Thurber said, from the West African music Western audiences tend to know. 'East Africa has its own musical lineage, its own tradition,' Thurber said. 'And it turns out that it's phenomenally unique and phenomenally rich because of the Swahili influence.' The choreography also draws from a deep well of East African cultural lineage, as well as Pan-African contemporary dance to exhibit Mombasa's sweeping diversity. With a Mombasa nightclub, Moultrie said, 'I get to play in different fields and genres.' Ali plans to continue presenting those traditions this summer in a starry production of 'Twelfth Night' at the reopened Delacorte Theater, in which the play's twins immigrate from Kenya to the mythical land of Illyria, featuring Lupita Nyong'o (who met Ali in 1998 in a production of 'Romeo and Juliet' in Nairobi) as Viola, and her brother Junior Nyong'o as Sebastian. There's one through-line, Ali said, to all of his work. 'I'm all about joy,' he said. 'When you feel the joy, when you feel the transformation, it reorganizes the cells in your body.'
Scottish Sun
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Mystery as Christine McGuinness's clothing brand disappears after fallout with best friend
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) CHRISTINE McGuinness' inclusive clothing line appears to have completely disappeared - just two years after she launched it. The 37-year-old excitedly announced her first collection for HER following her split from Paddy McGuinness, but two years on and her brand is all but forgotten. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 5 Christine McGuinness's HER brand appears to have disappeared Credit: Instagram/mrscmcguinness 5 She launched the fashion business with pal Catherine Farrell Credit: Instagram 5 Christine threw herself into work after her split from husband Paddy Christine went into business with her friend at the time - Catherine Farrell - after growing close. At the time, Christine gushed about how Catherine was one of the first friends she had made and she seemed incredibly excited about their future. But last year Catherine took a step back from the business and resigned as director. Just months before, Christine was busy celebrating their success, writing: "It's our birthday!!!! Thank you so much to every single one of you that have placed an order, followed, liked and supported our business - we see you!! 'H-E-R - two best friends and an idea to level up the every day wardrobe. This year we very quickly grew out of our first space, moved onto our second and now onto a massive space with a whole team of people... and we are only just getting started!!!" Companies House records show the company was almost struck off at that time. Around the same time, Christine stopped mentioning the brand she had once been so excited about. The Sun has contacted Christine's representative for comment. Catherine has now gone on to launch a business with Tanya Bardsley - and it seems Christine is no longer on speaking terms with either of them. The reality star previously launched a brand called VIBE By Christine in 2020. And she planned to follow up the range with wellness products, work-outs and lifestyle tips and hints. Watch emotional moment Christine McGuinness reveals heartbreaking reason she only has ONE friend Yet the clobber – that included £50 sets of workout leggings and tops – failed to sell well and the firm is now dissolved. Last week we told how Christine was facing more woes after being hit with a legal challenge to her dream of launching her own cosmetics range called Goddess. The Real Housewives of Cheshire alum has filed papers with the Intellectual Property Office to trademark the term Goddess by Christine McGuinness. But she has been clobbered by a dispute from a top US sportswear firm loved by A-listers like Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber. Bosses at Alo Yoga, based in Los Angeles, have filed papers with the UK government department opposing the application. The firm is reportedly worth $10 billion (£7.54bn). The company already uses the term Goddess to flog a range of £58 tops and £118 leggings, and they want to prevent Christine from using the word to sell her goods. Official papers reveal Christine, who is in the process of a divorce from comedian Paddy McGuinness and is "devastated" at the sale of their family home, wants to sell make-up, perfume, nail varnish, and other women's beauty products, plus sports bags. The application is still being considered by lawyers at the government department, and they are yet to make a ruling on Alo's opposition. 5 Christine has signed up for Celebs Go Dating Credit: Nic Serpell-Rand / Channel 4 5 She is trying to launch her own cosmetics brand but faces opposition from a US firm Credit: Getty
