Latest news with #Heavyweight
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Website Creates Legal-Sounding Letters, No Lawyers Required. Is That Legal?
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. What if you could scare someone into thinking you had hired a lawyer without going through the trouble and expense of actually retaining one? That's the concept behind a new online tool called launched as part of the art-and-technology program Seven on Seven (7x7). Heavyweight is a collaboration between artist and developer Morry Kolman and lawyer Kendra Albert, who came together with the idea of "an art project about lawyer vibes," as stated in their original presentation. The website, which Kolman refers to as a "project about the aesthetics of the law," is a free, open-source, non-AI tool that allows users to generate and customize official-looking legal letters from a selection of templates. "If you've ever received a legal notice like a Cease and Desist, you know that the 'oh sh-t' moment doesn't happen once you actually read the letter, it happens the second you open it and realize a lawyer is mad at you," Kolman, who goes by WTTDOTM online, wrote on X. A screenshot of a Heavyweight-generated letter that purports to be from a real law firm. A screenshot of a Heavyweight-generated letter that purports to be from a real law firm. Courtesy WTTDOTM Albert, the lawyer, emphasized that "the contents of the letter, for most people, is beside the point. What's scary is the sense of being targeted by someone who has the power to make your life miserable." Ultimately, visual cues on documents in the legal profession tend to signal legitimacy while simultaneously eliciting submission or fear from the receiving end. The duo has both had previous experiences with similar provocative stunts. Kolman is the creator of the "Traffic Cam Photobooth," a project that lets users identify their nearest public traffic camera to use for selfies. He received a cease-and-desist from the NYC Department of Transportation in November 2024. Albert's law firm, Albert Sellars LLP, released a statement earlier this year condemning President Trump's executive order targeting white-shoe law firms with a statement that just read: "F--- that fascist nonsense." Juxtaposed next to the firm's official letterhead, it brought up questions for Albert about the formal aesthetic of the law. On their blog, Albert frames the project as exploring "the aesthetics of (in lieu of access to) legal representation." "So much power in the law isn't in what's written," Kolman told Newsweek, "but in how it's arranged on the page." His work focuses on "exposing interesting idiosyncrasies or quirks of systems that people think are just all powerful," the legal system being one of them. Albert added that "lawyer aesthetics do a lot of work in the law that is really independent of the quality or actual value of the lawyering." Heavyweight "is also about the way in which aesthetic culture or aesthetics have traditionally been a way in which you verify whether something is real. And it's not always been a good proxy, but it has been a proxy," said Albert. Users are enabled to explore the performative authority that comes with creating their own cease-and-desist letters, but are also warned to use discretion in any real-world scenario. Legal and Ethical Questions Both creators say emphasize the aim of the project is not to create a tool that can be used to impersonate lawyers. They argue the project is both ethical and within the bounds of legality because the letters Heavyweight generates never claim to be a form of legal representation or from a real firm, and never include any lawyer terms (LLP, Esq, Bar, JD, etc.) which acts as a form of protection. "The goal is not to fool people," said Albert, who uses they/them pronouns. The way the site is built would make it hard for someone to successfully impersonate a real lawyer, and "it wouldn't fool anyone who was actually interested in looking into it, because that was not the goal of the project." Rather, the tool is a creative provocation, intended to make audiences think about the norms in place for systems of power, they said. Heavyweight relies on satirical humor on its site to emphasize its artistic intent. Users can tweak fonts, adjust the level of "snootiness" in the letter, and choose a source for the fake names on the letterhead from a drop-down menu that includes options like the the Mayflower manifest, former Enron executives and the town representatives in Greenwich, Conn. There are also templates based on who the intended recipient of the letter is, such as "Landlord Repair Request" and "Overdue Client." The website allows users to customize templates. The website allows users to customize templates. "Let people use the aesthetics of professionalism," Kolman said, "and see what they can get out of it." Albert is less concerned about the practical use of the tool, but rather what it stands for. When they did legal research during the initial stages of the project, Albert found few examples of litigation against people pretending to have an attorney. However, there remains some risk should a user generate a Heavyweight letter and send it out with serious intentions, especially when the creators cannot guarantee what users write in the templates. Both Kolman and Albert were adamant that Heavyweight is, first and foremost, an art project probing the question of how power comes from "selling a spectacle" and how the internet can let the public destabilize the existing image of institutions like law firms, which have come under the microscope from the Trump administration. They have not yet received feedback from users who have tested out the tool, though Kolman has been fielding mostly positive feedback in a thread on X.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Claressa Shields-Laila Ali: Will the GWOAT and Muhammad Ali's daughter finally fight?
Boxing 's self-proclaimed GWOAT (Greatest Woman Of All Time) Claressa Shields will be back in the ring on Saturday to defend her undisputed heavyweight status against Lani Daniels in Detroit. Shields is never short of confidence, and that is hardly a surprise given what she has already achieved in her career at the age of 30. The American superstar won two Olympic golds and two World Championship titles as an amateur and has claimed world honours in five different weight divisions since switching to the professional ranks. She is also the only boxer – male or female – to be the undisputed champion in three different weight classes. It is hard to see what else she can do to further her legacy, which begs the question: if she gets past Daniels, what's next? Well, the outspoken Shields has talked up a super-fight with Laila Ali – the daughter of boxing icon Muhammad Ali. But is it realistic? Subscribe to DAZN now to watch over 185 fights a year Ali's inactivity Laila followed in her father's footsteps to win titles in two divisions during her own career before retiring undefeated with 24 wins to her name, including 21 knockouts. She is widely regarded as one of the best female fighters ever. There's just one issue – she has not boxed since 2007. Ali is now 47 and has been retired for almost two decades. In the meantime, she has developed into a TV personality, appearing on some of America's biggest shows including Dancing with the Stars and The Masked Singer. Yet she has remained in tip-top condition since hanging up her gloves and has teased a dramatic comeback to take on Shields. Shields calls Ali's bluff In order to make a return, Ali has made it clear she wants to be paid well. She recently claimed it would take a purse of $15million to tempt her back into the ring for the Shields showdown. Shields responded by posing with a cheque displaying that figure to make a statement that she wants to do everything possible to get the fight made. But Ali has been talking about this fight for several years and it hasn't materialised yet. Back in 2020, she insisted a bout with Shields was 'absolutely possible' but conceded she would no longer be the same force she was in her prime. Five years down the line, Ali is unlikely to be in better shape, and the window is closing on finally making this fight happen. Shields has family plans Shields revealed this week that she wants to have a baby within the next 12 months as she looks to start a family. She plans to return to boxing after giving birth, but having a child would keep her out of the sport for a significant period. If she goes through with her family plans next year, the timeline to face Ali becomes very limited. It would have to happen next as Ali would be pushing 50 by the time Shields came back into the sport. Pacquiao shows Ali the way If Ali needed any inspiration for a comeback, she need look no further than Manny Pacquiao 's performance last weekend. Pacquiao returned from a four-year absence to push WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios all the way to a majority draw in Las Vegas. The Filipino legend is 46 and proved fighters can make successful comebacks after a lengthy hiatus. Of course, there is a big difference between being away from boxing for four years and the 18 years it has been since Ali last laced up her gloves. Ali would have a lot of ring-rust to shake off and must decide whether she really wants to risk her unbeaten record against Shields after being retired for so long. Will Shields vs Ali happen? Shields likes to put on a show, but she is running out of legitimate opponents. Calling out an all-time great with a legendary father is certainly a smart business move on her part. Ali also seems to be on board if the funds can be raised to give her a career-best payday. And that's ultimately what it may all hinge on – money. There would be plenty of interest in two greats of the sport facing each other, with fans eager to see if Ali has still got it. There is also genuine animosity between the pair, meaning the build-up to the fight would be electric. If promoters can get together and ensure both women are paid well, we could finally see Shields vs Ali, and someone's 0 would have to go. DAZN is the home of combat sports, broadcasting over 185 fights a year from the world's best promoters, including Matchroom, Queensberry, Golden Boy, Misfits, PFL, BKFC, GLORY and more. An Annual Saver subscription is a one-off cost of £119.99 / $224.99 (for 12 months access), that's just 64p / $1.21 per fight. There is also a Monthly Flex Pass option (cancel any time) at £24.99 / $29.99 per month. A subscription includes weekly magazine shows, comprehensive fight library, exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes documentaries, and podcasts and vodcasts.
Fast Company
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
This tool lets users send fake legal letters that look real—without a lawyer
If you can't afford a lawyer, it turns out there's nothing stopping you from sending a scary-looking letter that, at first glance, seems to come from one—and hoping the recipient doesn't read the fine print too closely. That's the idea behind Heavyweight, a tool that lets you take any complaint and format it with an official-looking letterhead, without ever actually claiming to be from a real lawyer. 'If you've ever received a legal notice like a Cease and Desist, you know that the 'oh shit' moment doesn't happen once you actually read the letter,' multimedia artist and software developer Morry Kolman explained in a now-viral X post earlier this week. 'It happens the second you open it and realize a lawyer is mad at you.' That's the power dynamic the project aims to subvert. Kolman created the free, online, open-source tool with Kendra Albert, a public interest and media technology lawyer, after the two were paired at Rhizome 's annual 7×7 program last month. First and foremost an art project—and definitely not legal advice—Heavyweight aims to democratize 'the aesthetics of (in lieu of access to) legal representation,' according to a blog post about the project. 'We wanted to make Heavyweight to show a lot of the power of the law, and this perceived importance and seriousness does not actually come from the letter of the law necessarily. It comes from how those letters are presented visually,' Kolman tells Fast Company. Take, for example, a big fancy letterhead, or an official-sounding address. 'This is a project about design. It's a project about aesthetics. It's a project about how things look,' he added. While Kolman makes clear that a Heavyweight letter won't hold up in court—nor is it intended to—'there's nothing stopping you from making something that looks just as snooty and sending it to some obstinate landlord or customer service department to make them shit their pants,' he wrote on X. On the Heavyweight website, any aggrieved party can create their own legal-looking letter, choose the law firm's floor (from 1st to 100th), the year it was founded (as far back as 1775), and even the 'snootiness level' of the font. You can change the number of firm partners and generate their names from categories like 'Greenwich, Connecticut, town representatives' or 'equestrian riders.' Simply download the PDF and send it to whoever has landed on your bad side. The X post announcing the project quickly went viral, with 1.5 million views at the time of writing. 'Lawyer here: Dying laughing,' one X user commented. 'This is incredible. I have so many people to spook,' another added. Not everyone was amused. 'This might not be illegal, but I can practically guarantee the court system will magically think otherwise,' one user warned. 'Actually a great idea until the recipient has a lawyer, and now you are tainted with this bad faith act in any future litigation,' another wrote. Kolman expected the controversy and advised anyone sending letters to do so at their own risk. Some fair use examples might include a landlord who has been ignoring your request to fix a broken dishwasher for months, or a client who's stopped returning your emails. 'I think those situations, when you are basically just trying to go from ignorable mote to annoying horsefly, are a pretty good use case for when to send a Heavyweight letter,' Kolman said. 'I've used it myself to send a letter to a customer service email that wasn't giving me any of my money back.'
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Heavyweight
Credit - Jonathan Goldstein is not a therapist by training, nor is he a highly adept investigator. But for years, he helped countless regular people who felt stuck finally move on from some grudge or trauma. The host invited guests onto Heavyweight to dig into their pasts and confront the moment when their lives took a turn so that they could better face the future. In one episode, a man named Gregor traces his resentment of others' success to a moment when he lent then-struggling musician Moby a set of CDs. In another, Goldstein helps a man find the sister his parents had given up for adoption before he was born. Goldstein was ill-equipped for these tasks, given that he self-identifies as an anxious audio producer, but still went to great lengths to aid the show's guests, bringing a dry humor that presaged Nathan Fielder's The Rehearsal. Heavyweight was a chart-topping hit when it debuted in 2016 before Spotify canceled it in 2023. But the show is making a comeback this year thanks to Malcolm Gladwell's Pushkin Industries. Podcasts like Heavyweight have fallen out of vogue. They're difficult to produce—leads often fizzle out—and the particular cathartic magic of personal conflict and resolution that made Heavyweight great can be hard to replicate across many episodes. But Goldstein's return is a welcome one; our collective need to wrangle with disappointment remains evergreen. Write to Eliana Dockterman at
Bangkok Post
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Bangkok Post
Milli featured on New York Times Square billboard
Thai hip-hop star Milli this week appeared on a billboard in New York's Times Square - a feature by Spotify to mark the launch of her new album HEAVYWEIGHT. This is the 22-year-old rapper's second full-length album, consisting of 13 tracks, each packed with "heavy" emotional and musical intensity. The album aims to deliver powerful messages through its lyrics, mood and signature rap style that defines Milli's artistry. This is not her first time on the Times Square billboard. She was previously featured in Spotify's EQUAL campaign back in 2021. Milli, whose real name is Danupha Kanateerakul, is best known for being the first Thai artist to perform at the world-famous Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in the United States in 2022. During her six-minute performance, she wowed the crowd with her fast rapping and concluded the show by eating mango sticky rice onstage. Milli, recognised for her bold and expressive music, has become a vocal advocate for social issues, using her platform to speak out on matters such as gender equality and freedom of expression. Milli debuts an unreleased track from her latest album 'Heavyweight', ' Sick With It '.
