Latest news with #RubberDuck
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Former Diddy Employee Reveals the Alias He Used for Hotel Rooms — and It Had to Do with Biggie
Another of Sean "Diddy" Combs' former assistants testified on the eighth day of the music mogul's federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial Combs' ex-girlfriend, Casandra Cassie Ventura, testified for four days last week about how he physically abused her and forced her to perform sex acts with male escorts Combs pleaded not guilty to all chargesArranging trips for Sean 'Diddy' Combs was a massive undertaking, as the rap mogul had a long list of must-haves for his hotel stays, a former assistant testified on Wed., May 21. George Kaplan said he would often be given just a few hours' notice from Combs or his chief of staff, Kristina Khorram, to ready hotel rooms in cities like Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. Combs or Khorram would give Kaplan exacting instructions in how to set up the hotel rooms, Kaplan told jurors in Manhattan federal court on the eighth day of Combs' high-profile trial. Related: Sean 'Diddy' Combs Seen Kicking Cassie After Throwing Her to Ground in 2016 Hotel Surveillance Video Two of the tycoon's preferred places to stay were The InterContinental in Los Angeles — where Combs' beating of Casandra "Cassie" Ventura in an elevator bank was captured on surveillance video — and Trump International Hotel & Tower in New York City, Kaplan told jurors. To protect Combs from fans and prying eyes, hotel rooms would often be booked under the name "Frank Black," Kaplan testified. The alias was a play on "Frank White," a nickname for the late rapper Notorious B.I.G., aka Biggie Smalls — one of the first artists Combs signed to his Bad Boy Records label. Before Combs arrived at a given hotel room or suite, 'There was a bag. I unpacked it. Clothes, a speaker, a candle, Astroglide, baby oil, liquor," Kaplan testified. Related: What Feds Found in Diddy's Closet: Astroglide, Baby Oil… and a Rubber Duck? When asked who purchased those items, he responded, 'Often me,' with a corporate card, Kaplan testified. He said 'as he grew to trust me more, he had me around more.' Combs would frequently call Kaplan from the hotel room asking him to bring food, clothes and 'sometimes drugs," he said. 'I did it," he testified. Kaplan said Combs also kept a toiletry bag stocked with Advil and ketamine. 'I picked up drugs for him' he testified. Asked if he cleaned the rooms, Kaplan said on the stand, 'Yes. Bottles of baby oil, Gatorade. Once brown crystalized powder on the counter of the bathroom sink.' When prosecutors questioned why he, not hotel staff, did the cleaning, Kaplan replied, 'It was implied — protect his public image. I was keen on doing that.' Kaplan was the latest in a string of witnesses in Combs' trial where he is facing charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs pleaded not guilty to all could face up to life in prison if he is convicted on all counts. Since his arrest, he has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to Read the original article on People
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
‘What is it??': Colorful cloud spotted over NE Ohio
[WATCH: In the video player above, check out where to see some of NE Ohio's best sunsets.] SAGAMORE HILLS, Ohio (WJW) – You've probably seen a rainbow before, but have you ever seen a rainbow cloud? According to experts, the eye-catching weather phenomenon, also known as cloud iridescence, is relatively rare, but one was recently spotted in a blue sky over northeast Ohio. The pictures shared with FOX 8 by Lisa Feigle were taken in Sagamore Hills, near Dunham Road, around 2 p.m. on Monday. World's Largest Rubber Duck coming to NE Ohio Feigle wrote in an email to FOX 8, 'WOW, stunning! What is it??' According to NOAA SciJinks, similar to a rainbow, a rainbow cloud occurs when small water droplets or small ice crystals scatter the sun's light. The condition of the cloud though must be just right, with the display of beautiful colors appearing most often in clouds that are just forming. Drug-resistant fungus spreading in Ohio Like a rainbow, which can be viewed as a sign of hope or God's promise, rainbow clouds can be viewed as a spiritual message. A similar one was spotted last June in Akron. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
South China Morning Post
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
How Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour doubles as a floating art gallery
The city's premier art space draws millions with its large-scale installations by artists like Kaws in a space bigger than the M+ museum There's one venue that has revolutionised the way art is consumed in Hong Kong over the past decade or so. It isn't the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, home to Art Basel; neither is it M+, the undoubted quality of the art museum's extensive collection notwithstanding, and nor is it any of the city's many clusters of private galleries. Instead, one of the venues most responsible for popularising art in the city is one that many of its residents walk past, gaze at or cross over every day, and might not immediately think of as an art space: Victoria Harbour. In recent years, the waterway that defines the city has hosted a series of head-turning, agenda-setting artworks. The die was cast in 2013, with the pioneering visit of Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman's Rubber Duck, a 16.5-metre-high replica of the classic bath toy that won the city's hearts; the duck returned to the harbour a decade later accompanied by a friend. The KAWS: HOLIDAY sculptural piece at Victoria Harbour. Photo: Felix Wong Then, in 2019, a 37.5-metre-long, inflatable incarnation of US art celeb Kaws' mouse-like character sprawled across the harbour. Rather more enigmatic were the harbour's 2024 visitors – a collection of glowing ovoids that spilled into it from neighbouring Tamar Park, and Japanese hi-tech art collective teamLab's 'Resonating Life Which Continues to Stand' exhibition, part of the Art@Harbour initiative from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), which kicked off in 2022. Then, in December 2024, the skies above the harbour were lit up by the city's first pyrotechnic drone show, as part of Hong Kong's ubiquitous recent descent into panda-related delirium. It's fairly obvious why any artist would like the harbour as a backdrop for their work: it's one of the world's most iconic scenes. It has the advantage of being able to both frame and become part of any work that's floated on its waters. 'Rather than serving merely as a backdrop for artworks, the harbour itself becomes part of the installations,' says a spokesperson for the LCSD. 'The expansive views and reflective waters enhance the visual impact, facilitating visitors to experience art in a context that is both inspiring and immersive.' Two giant inflatable giant pandas on the waterfront opposite the Tsim Sha Tsui Cultural Centre. Photo: Edmond So Indeed, the location, according to a teamLab spokesperson, 'was one of the unique points of this exhibition in Hong Kong. 'We have been creating art since the year 2001 with the aim of changing people's values and contributing to societal progress. The environments where viewers and artworks are placed together allow us to decide how to express those changes. In that sense, Hong Kong harbour is very interesting in many ways. Newsletter SCMP Global Impact By submitting, you consent to receiving marketing emails from SCMP. If you don't want these, tick here {{message}} Thanks for signing up for our newsletter! Please check your email to confirm your subscription. Follow us on Facebook to get our latest news. 'We wanted to make something that would make the sea look different from the way it normally looks, as if it is connected to the land. The ovoids extended all the way across to Victoria Harbour [and] into the city. There is a kind of experience where the sea and this place merge seamlessly, without a boundary.' Similarly, Hofman, who specialises in large-scale outdoor works, found Hong Kong to provide both a uniquely scenic canvas and a particularly receptive audience for Rubber Duck. This installation by Japanese art collective teamLab was part of the Art@Harbour initiative at Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour. Photo: AFP 'The first time we did it in Hong Kong, it was overwhelming. We offered a sneak peek of the making of it, and there were massive queues of people waiting just to see it tested. I stayed for three weeks and did six or seven interviews a day. So many people came out. What I was struck by is that people in Hong Kong are often quite rushed, but this really changed; people took time – they even left work early just to have a peek. Victoria Harbour changed; people told me it would never be the same again.' The biggest challenge, he says, are the elements – it was the Hong Kong heat that caused one of the two ducks to deflate in 2023. The location also creates other issues, adds the department spokesperson. 'One of the biggest challenges was managing the heavy maritime traffic, strong winds and rough waves. Setting up and securing the exhibits at sea was significantly more complex than land-based installations. 'Key concerns included ensuring the safety and stability of the floating artworks for nearly three months during the rainy season. Manpower was required to regularly inspect and maintain both the marine and land installations.' One thing is clear from the reactions to the various harbour-based artworks, though: whatever the practical challenges, the buzz generated by the backdrop is more than enough to make them worth enduring.
South China Morning Post
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
How Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour doubles as a floating art gallery
There's one venue that has revolutionised the way art is consumed in Hong Kong over the past decade or so. It isn't the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, home to Art Basel; neither is it M+, the undoubted quality of the art museum's extensive collection notwithstanding, and nor is it any of the city's many clusters of private galleries. Instead, one of the venues most responsible for popularising art in the city is one that many of its residents walk past, gaze at or cross over every day, and might not immediately think of as an art space: Victoria Harbour. Advertisement In recent years, the waterway that defines the city has hosted a series of head-turning, agenda-setting artworks. The die was cast in 2013, with the pioneering visit of Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman's Rubber Duck, a 16.5-metre-high replica of the classic bath toy that won the city's hearts; the duck returned to the harbour a decade later accompanied by a friend. The KAWS: HOLIDAY sculptural piece at Victoria Harbour. Photo: Felix Wong Then, in 2019, a 37.5-metre-long, inflatable incarnation of US art celeb Kaws' mouse-like character sprawled across the harbour. Rather more enigmatic were the harbour's 2024 visitors – a collection of glowing ovoids that spilled into it from neighbouring Tamar Park, and Japanese hi-tech art collective teamLab's 'Resonating Life Which Continues to Stand' exhibition , part of the Art@Harbour initiative from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), which kicked off in 2022. Then, in December 2024, the skies above the harbour were lit up by the city's first pyrotechnic drone show, as part of Hong Kong's ubiquitous recent descent into panda-related delirium. It's fairly obvious why any artist would like the harbour as a backdrop for their work: it's one of the world's most iconic scenes. It has the advantage of being able to both frame and become part of any work that's floated on its waters. 'Rather than serving merely as a backdrop for artworks, the harbour itself becomes part of the installations,' says a spokesperson for the LCSD. 'The expansive views and reflective waters enhance the visual impact, facilitating visitors to experience art in a context that is both inspiring and immersive.' Two giant inflatable giant pandas on the waterfront opposite the Tsim Sha Tsui Cultural Centre. Photo: Edmond So Indeed, the location, according to a teamLab spokesperson, 'was one of the unique points of this exhibition in Hong Kong.
