Latest news with #Potts
HKFP
6 hours ago
- HKFP
Hong Kong Ghost Signs project launches interactive map, invites public to contribute
The Hong Kong Ghost Signs project has invited members of the public to contribute to their collection on their new interactive online map. The interactive map, launched last month, was created by data scientist Mart van de Ven in collaboration with the founders of the Hong Kong Ghost Signs project, writer Billy Potts and photographer Ben Marans. According to the Hong Kong Ghost Signs project's Instagram page, 'ghost signs' are 'fading signage from times past, leaving a rare, tangible trace of the communities and businesses that have changed or disappeared amidst Hong Kong's rapid development.' Potts told HKFP on Friday that his fascination with ghost signs first started when he was around 13 years old. He noticed a large fading sign on the side of a cold storage building in Aberdeen. 'It's just this massive, massive sign, right up the entire building. I could barely see it, it was just very faint [and] I could tell there were a few characters,' he said. 'I looked at it for a very, very long time and then realised that it was actually an ad for a cigarette brand.' The Hong Kong Ghost Signs project was launched in May 2022, with Potts and Marans documenting over 300 ghost signs all over Hong Kong. Its official Instagram page has over 2,500 followers. Potts said that ghost signs do not hold any status as historical artefacts and cannot be easily preserved, leaving photography as the best medium to keep a record. He hopes that through the map, more people will be aware of ghost signs and take the initiative to record and preserve them through photography. 'Hong Kong is redeveloping at such a rapid pace, so, like, we're bound to miss something, and you know, and it's demolished and it's gone forever,' he said. Users can add their discoveries to the Hong Kong Ghost Signs collection by accessing the online map on their mobile phones and clicking the plus sign icon in the bottom left corner. When speaking to HKFP on Friday, van de Ven said this design choice was because 'a mobile phone is something that people always have in their pockets,' and 'if they want to contribute to the map, they can do it there and then.' He described ghost signs as 'an imprint on the city that was,' hoping that through the map, Hongkongers could reframe how they view the city and what it has to offer. 'I think Hong Kong has so many wonderful things to offer,' van de Ven said, but 'it's not always as visible or accessible or as known.' Potts echoed a similar view. 'I want to get people to start getting an understanding that actually, the city around them [is] basically like a museum or like a gallery.' As it is the first time the map is going public, Potts also hopes that people will try it out and provide feedback on how to improve the experience. While the Hong Kong Ghost Signs collection is the first on the map, van de Ven hopes that more people will start their own collections or projects on the wider map. 'I'm really excited to have a wide range of collections on the platform, but for the ghost signs, it's particularly interesting cause these things are often very ephemeral,' he said. 'Being able to document them before they disappear is really… a group effort.'
5 days ago
- Entertainment
Chappell Roan's breakup song drives unexpected tourism buzz for Saskatchewan, Canada
Grammy winner Chappell Roan's new song has unexpectedly put Saskatchewan in the spotlight, driving increased interest in Canada's sunniest province, its tourism authority told ABC News. In her latest single "The Subway," released last week, Roan playfully suggests "movin' to Saskatchewan" as a cure for heartbreak. Even before the song's official release, Tourism Saskatchewan reported more than 230 social media mentions and nearly 40,000 interactions related to the region. "It's great news for our province," Jonathan Potts, CEO of Tourism Saskatchewan, told ABC News on Monday. "It's a lot of fun to have such a wonderful, popular artist singing our praises and giving us the opportunity to tell the story of Saskatchewan." When asked about the region's reception to Roan, who is a prominent voice in the LGBTQ+ community, Potts emphasized Saskatchewan's welcoming nature. "People are reacting very positively. It's a very open, welcome province. Everybody is welcome here, and everybody belongs here," he told ABC News. Located in Canada's prairie region and bordered by Alberta, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, and the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota, Saskatchewan boasts an impressive 2,000 to 2,500 hours of annual sunshine, according to the Canada Visa website. Home to just over 1.1 million residents, the province's largest urban centers include Saskatoon, with 300,000 residents, and the capital city Regina, with approximately 240,000 inhabitants. The province, which Potts described as being "almost the size of Texas," is launching a marketing campaign to capitalize on the unexpected attention. "Half the province is covered by forests and lakes. We've got 100,000 lakes in the province, lots of space, lots of great opportunities to find yourself," Potts said. "Whether you're getting over a breakup like maybe the song implies, or whether you're coming for some peace and quiet, or some of the best freshwater fishing in the world, this is the place for you."
Sydney Morning Herald
12-07-2025
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
Can't run with the big dogs? Park separates alphas from nervous nellies
A huge increase in pets in the City of Melbourne has led to more conflict at dog parks and in apartment buildings, and a trial to separate quiet dogs from their more assertive peers. The number of registered animals in the CBD has jumped by 35 per cent since 2020, including a 59 per cent increase in dogs and an 18 per cent rise in cats. Local Brett Potts said there used to be a handful of dog owners who would meet at the Flagstaff Gardens dog park, but now when he goes there in the afternoons, he finds up to 40 dogs running around. 'I think the volume that we've got at the moment is a hangover from COVID,' he says. 'We saw a massive spike in dogs – that was our relief during COVID, right? We'd go to the park of an afternoon and socially distance from other owners as you're walking your dog.' Registered dogs in the city increased from 2377 in 2020 to 3784 last year, while registered cats rose from 3618 to 4280 over the same period. Potts said that when he first moved to Melbourne 13 years ago, he struggled to find an apartment in which he could have a dog, but now more apartment owners are pet-friendly. Loading The increase in pet dogs has led to more conflict in dog parks and high-rise apartment buildings over barking, according to the city's draft domestic animal management plan, which was endorsed by the council last week.
The Age
12-07-2025
- General
- The Age
Can't run with the big dogs? Park separates alphas from nervous nellies
A huge increase in pets in the City of Melbourne has led to more conflict at dog parks and in apartment buildings, and a trial to separate quiet dogs from their more assertive peers. The number of registered animals in the CBD has jumped by 35 per cent since 2020, including a 59 per cent increase in dogs and an 18 per cent rise in cats. Local Brett Potts said there used to be a handful of dog owners who would meet at the Flagstaff Gardens dog park, but now when he goes there in the afternoons, he finds up to 40 dogs running around. 'I think the volume that we've got at the moment is a hangover from COVID,' he says. 'We saw a massive spike in dogs – that was our relief during COVID, right? We'd go to the park of an afternoon and socially distance from other owners as you're walking your dog.' Registered dogs in the city increased from 2377 in 2020 to 3784 last year, while registered cats rose from 3618 to 4280 over the same period. Potts said that when he first moved to Melbourne 13 years ago, he struggled to find an apartment in which he could have a dog, but now more apartment owners are pet-friendly. Loading The increase in pet dogs has led to more conflict in dog parks and high-rise apartment buildings over barking, according to the city's draft domestic animal management plan, which was endorsed by the council last week.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Annie Potts Joins Fox's Doc Martin Adaptation — What Does This Mean for Her Role on Georgie & Mandy?
Meemaw no more? Annie Potts (Designing Women, Young Sheldon) has been cast in Best Medicine, Fox's adaptation of the popular UK series Doc Martin. More from TVLine Georgie & Mandy's Emily Osment, EP Talk Threat to First Marriage (Chris Gorham!) and Season 2 Plans Georgie & Mandy Boss Talks Mary's Big Bet on Georgie — Is There a Big Bang Twist We Didn't See Coming? Boston Blue Twist! Blue Bloods Spinoff Recasts a Reagan Family Member (and in Turn Explains Danny's Big Move) Described as a 'charmingly complicated one-hour comedy,' Best Medicine centers on Dr. Martin Best (played by The Good Wife's Josh Charles), 'a brilliant surgeon who abruptly leaves his illustrious career in Boston to become the general practitioner in a quaint East Coast fishing village where he spent summers as a child. Unfortunately, Martin's blunt and borderline rude bedside manner rubs the quirky, needy locals the wrong way, especially local school teacher Louisa Glasson (Timeless' Abigail Spencer), however tenacity is the creed of everyone in their small village, and the people who live there may be exactly what the doctor ordered.' Potts will inhabit the series-regular role of Aunt Joan, 'a strong, sturdy, lobster woman who still goes out every day on her boat, and no one better tell her to stop if they know what's good for them. She's salt of the earth and underneath her stern demeanor she has a heart as big as the sea. She loves her small Maine town and her cranky nephew. She's loyal but stubborn, the kind of woman you want to be around and not disappoint. But even Joan will have a few secrets — including why she ended up losing touch with Martin so many years before.' The ensemble also includes Josh Segarra, who was previously cast as Mark Mylow, a lovable sheriff who is excited to befriend Martin… though maybe less so once Martin grows close to Mark's ex-girlfriend, Louisa! Potts recurred throughout Season 1 of CBS' Young Sheldon spinoff, Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, appearing in four (out of 22) episodes. Production on Best Medicine will take place this summer in upstate New York and premiere on Fox at midseason, which should not preclude Potts from resurfacing on Georgie & Mandy at some point in Season 2 (which received a full, 22-episode order and will air Thursdays this fall). 2025-26 TV Preview: Every New Comedy, Drama and Unscripted Show View List Best of TVLine Stars Who Almost Played Other TV Roles — on Grey's Anatomy, NCIS, Lost, Gilmore Girls, Friends and Other Shows TV Stars Almost Cast in Other Roles Fall TV Preview: Who's In? Who's Out? Your Guide to Every Casting Move!
