RESULTS

In an effort to uplift Latino-owned small businesses in Miami and across the United States, Pitbull joined forces with Jeff Hoffman, the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), and founders Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore of Hello Alice to launch the Hispanic Small Business Center to help business owners through COVID-19. In addition to offering invaluable resources, mentorship and step-by-step guides, they are also actively fundraising and deploying $10,000 emergency grants to Latino entrepreneurs. Owners can apply for emergency grants HERE, and chosen applicants are awarded grants on a rolling basis as funds are raised. "It's an honor to partner with Jeff Hoffman, The Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) and Elizabeth Gore and Carolyn Rodz from Hello Alice to support grants to Latino Small Business owners across the United States," said Armando Christian Perez (Pitbull). "We are here to help those who need it the most. We're not here to talk about it, we're here to be about it." The global pandemic has upended and ravaged corporations worldwide. However, its damage, disruption, and decimation of Latino entrepreneurship borders on irrevocable and irreversible. Of the 5,337 Latino business owners who have already applied for help at Hello Alice, 93% are asking for emergency cash assistance. 76% cite declining sales due to social distancing. Even with the recent extension of government PPP loans, the Center for Responsible Lending predicts that 90% of all applicants will or have faced rejection. Given this widespread rejection, statistics show only 9% of Latino small business owners could possibly receive PPP stimulus money. Since the beginning of COVID-19, one-in-four American small businesses have already shuttered and projections predict the closure of another 40% within the next month. Unfortunately, the Latin community's companies are closing faster than that of any other demographic. "As a Latina entrepreneur, I know success in business is a direct result of the social capital, financial support and mentorship that amplify our hard work," says Carolyn Rodz, Co-Founder of Hello Alice. "This is why I am so committed to ensuring that every Latino-led business has the resources they need to give their businesses a fighting chance. Time after time, Hispanic entrepreneurs have proven they can do more with less, but we need to step in and offer them the resources they've long deserved." Alongside GEN and Hello Alice, a consortium of organizations have come together under the umbrella of the COVID-19 Business Resource Center to provide specific resources, mentorship and guides for support through the Hispanic Small Business Center. To further uplift the Latino community and raise awareness for the Hispanic Business Center's resources and emergency grants, GEN Chairman Jeff Hoffman and Pitbull created a PSA that reinforces the shared sentiment that together, we will win. View the PSA HERE.

Little Palm Island Resort & Spa reopens spring of 2020. The island has been completely rebuilt following damage from Hurricane Irma.  Located off the Florida Keys and accessible only by seaplane or boat, this remote island oasis offers the choice of blissful relaxation or leisurely adventures. Bungalow suites feature new interiors with modern British Colonial flair.  Authentic thatched roofs and vaulted ceilings bring the Caribbean feel to the spaces, and airy mosquito netting surrounds the four poster beds.  Ocean views from all suites are standard, many with decadent outdoor copper soaking tubs.  Private outdoor showers complete the retreat from reality. The iconic Dining Room features an array of ever-evolving delicacies.  Sourcing seafood, produce and spices from the islands, the chef serves a masterful menu fit for any guests’ escape to paradise.  Intimate indoor and outdoor seating is available, along with dreamy beachside tables.  In-room dining is an option for those desiring a private experience. Click below to view larger image > The resort pool offers secluded relaxation with views of the Atlantic Ocean, boasting private cabanas and the quintessential Palapa Bar.  SpaTerre offers exotic Four Hands Massage and Thai body rituals that are custom designed to replace the weight of the world with the feeling of utter relaxation. The healing properties of flowers and spices are used liberally to enhance each spa experience. Leave feeling relaxed and renewed with the one you love after indulging in our Heart Chakra Ritual together. Take to the water from the private marina and experience backcountry fishing, a yacht cruise, or scuba diving at the Looe Key Reef. Tour the waters via helicopter or seaplane for a once-in-a-lifetime thrill. Discover the diverse bird and marine life on an eco-tour. Suite have no telephones or televisions, so disconnecting from the rest of the world is possible, and encouraged. Reservations are being accepted for visits beginning on April 1, 2020.  Call their personal escape planners at 800-3GET-LOST or visit www.littlepalmisland.com. Little Palm Island Resort & Spa is located at 28500 Overseas Hwy., Little Torch Key, FL 33042.

There's something about an action-packed storyline with science fiction flare and brilliantly executed martial arts work that never fails to capture an audiences' imagination. The new Netflix series, Wu Assassins, delivers on all fronts and ushers in a true renaissance for martial arts as the centerpiece of a television show. Born from the legacy of the late Wing Chun, Kung Fu master turned movie star, Bruce Lee, Hollywood has been capitalizing on this phenomenon for five decades and counting. After Lee introduced the west to martial arts as entertainment, much of the culture was broken up and pilfered in bits and pieces, both, prior to and after Lee's untimely death in 1973. As with the appropriation of any culture, the originators lose some ownership, while beneficiaries make great gains financially, physically, and even spiritually. On the flipside, this cross pollination of cultural traditions, has paid humanity large dividends in the form of intercultural and interracial familiarity, greater tolerance for different cultures and a stronger sense of globalism around the world. In many ways, the global melting pot effect has been worth its weight in gold. In a new era where artists are gaining more autonomy and creative freedom, shows like Dear White People, Black-ish, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and now Wu Assassins are allowing those that produce such content to spread the wealth while taking back power and ownership of their own cultures, and directing the narratives they want the world to see. I had the pleasure of sitting down with two of the stars of Wu Assassins, Byron Mann and Tzi Ma, both born in Hong Kong, and both gifted actors and martial artists. Throughout our conversation, we discussed how Netflix's most action-packed new series came together. Allison Kugel: What do you guys see as the connection between the martial arts and Hollywood? Tzi Ma: Martial arts and Hollywood have a long history. Because the martial arts are so fascinating and so spectacular, Hollywood has always taken an interest in martial arts. It's just that they couldn't always re-produce the kind of martial arts that I believe Hong Kong cinema has presented to the world. Once they figured out how to do that, they really continue to try to adopt it. I think the fight sequences in American cinema and television, prior to the introduction of Hong Kong martial arts, I don't want to say it's not good, but it wasn't as spectacular as what Hong Kong Cinema had to offer. Byron Mann - I call it the Bruce Lee Effect, which was in the late 1960s and 1970s. I think Bruce Lee was probably one of the main catalysts in the last sixty years to bring Chinese culture and martial arts to the forefront of Hollywood in a big way. We're still feeling the effect of Bruce Lee, today. If you're an Asian male actor, chances are you will be cast, or they will ask to see if you can do some kind of martial arts in your role. I've certainly experienced that. I’m sure Tzi has experienced that as well. Allison Kugel – What are your feelings about that? Do you feel honored by that legacy, or do you feel typecast by it? Byron Mann: I have dual feelings about it. When I first started out in my career, all the roles were martial arts roles. Suddenly, I was the guy that does martial arts. He could be a lawyer, but he still did martial arts. He could be a doctor, and suddenly he is doing martial arts. At first, I didn't mind because I thought it was fun. Then I got to a point where I thought, "Come on guys," and I had to push back on it and say, There is no reason why this [character] should be doing martial arts. Now I'm reaching a third stage, where I am studying martial arts in my own life and appreciating that it came from thousands of years ago in China. In learning Chinese martial arts, I'm actually learning about my own culture. Tzi Ma: My journey is kind of inverted from Byron's. I began studying martial arts when I was ten years old. I had stopped studying it because I wanted to focus on acting. I felt that if I was going to be a martial artist then I'm should be a martial artist, and If I'm going to be an actor then I'm should pursue acting as opposed to pursuing a career where I'm going to fight. So, I avoided it like the plague, particularly when martial artists at one time in Hollywood were mainly villains. For a long time, the way scripts were written, the hero was always white, and the victim was always an Asian woman. I made three rules for myself early on in my career. One: if you want me to be the bad guy, then the heroes must be Asian or Asian Americans; Two: there's no Asian or Asian-American woman being victimized; and Three: there's a balance of good and evil distributed evenly by race. Allison Kugel: When did you see the tide turning in your favor? Tzi Ma: When I saw the movie Rapid Fire, in which Brandon Lee was the hero, I felt that finally we had an opportunity for the Asian hero to come in and save the day, and where all the victims were organized crime figures. And there was no Asian or Asian American woman victimized. A lot of times the scenario back in the day was that the Asian woman was somehow sexually or physically violated and then you have the white hero who comes in and saves the day, and she goes to bed with him. I can't buy that scenario and it's offensive to me. Allison Kugel: Why do you think Netflix has decided to take a chance on the martial arts/sci-fi genre at this time, with Wu Assassins? Tzi Ma: Action/Adventure is very easy to sell because there is no explanation necessary; a fight is a fight and a car chase is a car chase. It's easy for the audience. The martial arts of late have experienced some recent changes, stylistically. I think that the fights are a lot more realistic given all the popularity with MMA and with UFC. All those things have re-sparked an interest in the martial arts genre. Netflix, at this point, their subscription base is saturated in the United States and they need to expand globally. I think this genre is a good opportunity for them to use as a vehicle to introduce the world audience to Netflix. Byron Mann: I had a conversation with Chris Regina, an executive at Netflix who was instrumental in getting our series made, and he said that prior to Wu Assassins there hadn't been any shows on Netflix that predominantly featured martial arts. And it's true that action is the easiest genre to sell around the world. John Wirth, our showrunner, wanted to create more than just a martial arts show. He wanted to create a show that represents Asian-Americans, in general, and a show about family. It's these three things all mixed into one. Allison Kugel: There's a spiritual aspect to the show because you have the five elements of earth represented, and Byron, your character's superpower is fire. Can you speak to the spiritual and moral aspects of the show and how these five elements come into play? Byron Mann: It was a good entry point into this world that the show brings you into. The five elements are prominently featured in Chinese mythology. And in terms of the morality and spirituality, my character, Uncle Six, his morality started and ended with his adopted son, Kai Jin, who is played by Iko Uwais. His son was his morality. His son was what caused him to go from the dark to the light. And he didn't quite want to. I think his love for his son caught him by surprise. Tzi Ma: John Wirth is really a special individual and Byron and I know that because we also experienced it with him in Hell on Wheels. Here is an individual who really pays attention to what your point of view is, because he doesn't look at us from his point of view. He is trying to look at the world through our point of view; through our eyes. The five elements are really important in Chinese culture. Chinese medicine is based on these five elements. John hired Asian American writers in the writer’s room. The show goes a lot deeper than just martial arts as Byron pointed out. Not only do you have the sci-fi Supernatural aspect, but you also have the balance of this kind of reality about the people who make their living in San Francisco's Chinatown. Eventually or subconsciously the audience is going to be able to absorb some of these things without being hit over the head with a representation of Asian-Americans within a television series. Allison Kugel: Let's talk about the fight scenes. How much of it is you doing the actual fighting, how is it all choreographed and what type of martial arts are you using? Byron Mann: The form of martial arts that was predominantly featured in Wu Assasins is called Silat; an Indonesian martial art. It has a lot of grappling and the moves are fast, less flowery, and more straight-forward. Iko Uwais brought his team of choreographers from Indonesia to choreograph the fights. They worked in conjunction with two very good fight choreographers and stunt coordinators, Dan Rizzuto and Kimani Ray Smith. We had rehearsal times, and they varied depending on the schedule. Sometimes we had a week to rehearse the scene, sometimes we had two days, and sometimes we did it on the day that we rehearsed it. Allison Kugel: Are they shot as one continuous sequence or are you stopping a lot? Byron Mann: Generally, action is shot in parts. It's boom boom boom and cut; then boom boom boom and cut. They do this so they can feature some close-ups and inserts. Secondly, not a lot of people can do continuous action well. You really need someone with very strong martial arts skills who can do those fight sequences continually for minutes at a time. Interestingly, in episode four, when Uncle Six fights with Kai Jin, it's a big moment in the series where we go head-to-head, father and son. So for that particular scene, I lobbied that they show us fighting in a continuous sequence and that there would be no cuts. If you look at the episode four, you will see it. For that scene, I wanted the audience to know that we were not cheating them and not cutting things out. Tzi Ma: You also have a cast who are really good at what they do, and Byron is no stranger to martial arts. You also have Lewis Tan who is a brilliant martial artist and of amazing pedigree; his father Philip Tan is an action director and stuntman. Then you have JuJu Chan who represented Hong Kong is Taekwondo in the Olympics and Katheryn Winnick, who is a taekwondo martial artist and black belt. So, you have a core group of people who really live up to the demands [of this show] and who can bring the goods. The fight sequences on our show, I would dare to say, are the best fights on TV today. Allison Kugel: Both of you are originally from Hong Kong. What are your thoughts on how we live in the West in terms of things like health and wellness, and the way we live our lives in general? Byron Mann: The place with the greatest longevity in the world is Hong Kong. My take on it is that when you get older in life in Hong Kong, people there have a general tradition where every Sunday you get together with your family for lunch, or dim sum, or for dinner. I’ve lived in China, in Canada and in the United States. You see less of that happening in other places. In Hong Kong, as people get older they are surrounded by their family, their children, their grandchildren and their friends any day of the week. It keeps them going emotionally. In Hong Kong, no one buys or eats processed food. Everybody goes down to the marketplace and buys fresh fish, chicken, beef, fruits and vegetables. That leads to longevity. You see a lot less of that in the west. Tzi Ma: I did not grow up in Hong Kong. I was born in Hong Kong, but I was brought up in New York City. So, my experience is similar to yours, but I'm learning from Byron. Maybe I should move back to Hong Kong since it has such benefits! Allison Kugel: What do you hope audiences will gain from watching Wu Assassins? Byron Mann: Usually the audience's reaction catches me by surprise. There is a scene in episode seven where Uncle Six (played by Mann) and Kai Jin (played by Iko Uwais) are eating in a very rural neighborhood and there's a big interaction with a waitress who has racist views. In that scene, I give her a long speech about the history of Chinese people in America, and how they were discriminated against systematically. When I read the scene I just thought, "People are going to be so bored with this because it's like a history lesson. Who wants to see that in an entertainment show?" I just did the scene to the best of my ability and left it at that. Since the show has come out, people have gravitated towards that scene, and not just Asian people; all types of people have mentioned that scene to me over and over again. That totally caught me by surprise. In that respect, I hope the show can galvanize good, positive conversations that will help this country, or help the world today. We need more of these positive energies to unite people, not to divide people. Tzi Ma: Byron really hit the nail on the head. Any show that allows the world audience to at least have an opportunity to correct the perception of who we really are is important. I think Wu Assassins offers that without giving you a lecture about it. Martial arts and supernatural are very popular genres in entertainment, so for me it is like a delivery system to [introduce who we are] to the world. What we try to deliver is something for the world audience to understand who we are as Asians and as Asian-Americans; as a community and as a people. Photos courtesy of Netflix; Transcription and Typesetting: Carolyn Strum. The first season of Wu Assassins is available on Netflix. Follow Byron Mann on Twitter @ByronMann and on Instagram at @ByronMann1. Follow Tzi Ma on Facebook @Official.TziMa and on Instagram @TziMa8. Interview and words by Allison Kugel. Allison Kugel is a syndicated entertainment columnist, author of the memoir, Journaling Fame: A memoir of a life unhinged and on the record, and owner of communications firm, Full Scale Media. Follow her on Instagram @theallisonkugel and at AllisonKugel.com.

Thanks Lady Gaga for hosting the One World: Together at Home virtual concert. The telecast included an outstanding roster of Award Winning performers which sang songs to pay tribute to healthcare workers fighting COVID-19. In partnership with the World Health Organization and Global Citizen, the telecast musical event raised over $127M for Covid-19 relief. The two-hour televised event featured performances by Lady Gaga, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Keith Urban, Maluma, Céline Dion, Lang Lang, John Legend, Lady Gaga, and Andrea Bocelli, Jennifer Lopez and many more. Taylor Swift performs "Soon You'll Get Better" Billie Eilish & Finneas perform "Sunny" John Legend & Sam Smith perform "Stand By Me" Elton John performs "I'm Still Standing" Céline Dion, Andrea Bocelli, Lady Gaga, Lang Lang, John Legend, “The Prayer” By Miami Living | Please support the Solidarity Response Fund to help fight COVID-19 by donating to Global Citizens and to the World Health Organization

This year, we traveled to Morocco and uncover Mirleft. This beautiful and diverse country is filled with varied landscape and a rich culture. TRAVEL BASICS The languages spoken in Morocco are standard Arabic and Tamazight. However, if you speak French it will be very easy to get around because it is the second language for many Moroccans. If you are staying in any big city in Morocco, many people will speak English, as well if you stay at a resort. The total flight duration is 9 hours 28 minutes and there is a direct flight from MIA with Royal Air Maroc to Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport. You do not need a visa to visit Morocco if you have a US passport, and you may stay in Morocco for 90 days. In general, most travelers will not need vaccinations. However, the WHO recommends you to have a few vaccinations such as Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Typhoid, Rabies, Meningitis, Polio, and Tetanus, if you don’t already have them. Regarding currency, the official currency of Morocco is the Moroccan Dirham. 1 Dirham is equal to 0.10 United States Dollar and there are many currency exchange offices located around the country. THE SETTING Deep in Southern Morocco, there is a paradise that few people know of called Mirleft. Away from big cities and nestled in the hills, you will find this quaint town. The stretch of coastline that runs along it boasts an ocean with billowing white waves flowing from the turquoise water, with sand that is soft to the touch, and that gently massages your feet as you stroll along the shores. When you drive down the coast, there is a stunning view of the ocean that is always accompanying you. This secluded oasis lets you escape from the stress of the outside world. The beaches stretch far into the sunset and the water seems to be perfectly engineered for the pure act of taking a dip in, after spending a long day in the hot desert sun. Although the beaches are the ideal place to swim, sunbathe, fish, or take walks along the shore - even more than that, they are the perfect place to escape. Escape from stress, and escape from the sometimes overbearing load of technology we are bombarded with every day. Most of the time you will feel as if you are on your own private beach, primarily because most of the time only local fisherman frequent these beaches. In Mirleft you are transported back in time to somewhere that is genuine uncommercial, with the kindest people, that live a simple, but beautiful life. The beaches are one of Morocco’s best kept secrets, not to mention a surfers’ paradise. You are away from the hustle and bustle and instead you are surrounded by smiling faces, and neighbors that are speaking to one another of their days. This hilltop town that lies beside the coast, is filled with only small shops, restaurants, and a market. The food here makes you feel close to the earth, as you buy your fresh meat and produce from the market which sources locally from the surrounding farms. Many Europeans inhabit the town as well, along with the local people, purely because they fell in love with the pure magic that this place offers. WHERE TO SAY Just outside of Mirleft there is a beautiful retreat located steps from the beach called: Mimid Beach Resort and Spa. This resort is open year round with a restaurant, bar, pools, and DJ so, you can enjoy from sunrise until sunset. There is a stunning view of the ocean from the rooms and they are located just beside the pool area. Currently this resort is preparing for a grand reopening within these months, so it is the perfect time to visit. Another option is: Un thé au bout du monde, this beautiful resort features a bar, restaurant, garden, and is located centrally in Mirleft which makes is another excellent choice regarding accommodation. This beautiful destination makes you feel as if this is the type of lifestyle that has somehow been forgotten in our modern world, with stress and schedules dictating most of our days now. It is refreshing to be able to feel every moment of life as they do here and take that feeling with us home, wherever that may be. Words by Emma Flodin Lahsini. Follow Emma travels through the unique country of Morocco on our YouTube channel, The Lahsinizz.  Follow Emma at @thelahsinizz and @lahsinimouad

Some appointments in the calendar cannot be forgotten. Even under the most difficult of circumstances, they cry out to be honoured and transformed into an opportunity, to create something truly unique and memorable. With this in mind on Sunday morning, on the day that the Formula 1 Grand Prix was to take place in the Monaco Principality but suspended due to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic (the last time an F1 Grand Prix in Monaco didn’t take place was in 1954) Claude Lelouch will shoot a new short film “Le Grand Rendez-Vous” with Charles Leclerc, inspired by his famous “C’était Un Rendez-Vous” filmed in 1976. The protagonists this time will be the Ferrari SF90 Stradale, the Prancing Horse’s first series production hybrid model, and the Monegasque talent, who will take Ferrari’s new entry on a first breathtaking drive through the Principality’s winding streets and roads. The new short evokes both the atmosphere of the beloved Grand Prix and the roar of the Ferrari 275 GTB that provided the instantly recognisable soundtrack to the 1976 film shot in Paris. On the city circuit the SF90 Stradale will measure its unmatched performance for a Ferrari production car: 1,000 cv, a weight-to-power ratio of 1.57 kg/cv, and 390 kg of downforce at 250 km/h. The car’s name, a reference to the 90th anniversary of Scuderia Ferrari celebrated last year, exemplifies the symbiosis of transferred technology between Ferrari road and track cars, of which this recent model is the maximum expression. This first post lockdown French shoot symbolically will also mark the start of a gradual return to the ‘new normal’ after the pandemic and the restart for the film industry, impacted significantly by recent restrictions. Click to view larger image > Ferrari welcomed partnership in the film as a way of demonstrating support for its tifosi, clients and supporters as an expression of hope that the world will gradually be able to absorb the painful and complex health crisis which has affected everyone, allowing us to begin to look positively towards the future, also in anticipation of the expected restart of the F1 season in July. In the same spirit, over the past months, the Maranello marque has continued to demonstrate its commitment to fighting the Covid-19 crisis through concrete support ranging from fundraisers, to the distribution of healthcare equipment to hospitals, to the production of respiratory conversion valves at the Maranello factory, to  the most recent expression of transfer technology represented in the design of a new pulmonary ventilator, FI5, offered in open source production at global level. By ML Staff, Images courtesy of Ferrari

In the years following the bitter Civil War, a former Union general took a holiday originated by former Confederates and helped spread it across the entire country. The holiday was Memorial Day, an annual commemoration was born in the former Confederate States in 1866 and adopted by the United States in 1868. It is a holiday in which the nation honors its military dead. Gen. John A. Logan, who headed the largest Union veterans’ fraternity at that time, the Grand Army of the Republic, is usually credited as being the originator of the holiday. Yet when General Logan established the holiday, he acknowledged its genesis among the Union’s former enemies, saying, “It was not too late for the Union men of the nation to follow the example of the people of the South.” I’m a scholar who has written – with co-author Daniel Bellware – a history of Memorial Day. Cities and towns across America have for more than a century claimed to be the holiday’s birthplace, but we have sifted through the myths and half-truths and uncovered the authentic story of how this holiday came into being. Generous acts bore fruit During 1866, the first year of this annual observance in the South, a feature of the holiday emerged that made awareness, admiration and eventually imitation of it spread quickly to the North. During the inaugural Memorial Day observances which were conceived in Columbus, Georgia, many Southern participants – especially women – decorated graves of Confederate soldiers as well as, unexpectedly, those of their former enemies who fought for the Union. Civil War Union Gen. John A. Logan. Library of Congress Glass negatives Shortly after those first Memorial Day observances all across the South, newspaper coverage in the North was highly favorable to the ex-Confederates. “The action of the ladies on this occasion, in burying whatever animosities or ill-feeling may have been engendered in the late war towards those who fought against them, is worthy of all praise and commendation,” wrote one paper. On May 9, 1866, the Cleveland Daily Leader lauded the Southern women during their first Memorial Day. “The act was as beautiful as it was unselfish, and will be appreciated in the North.” The New York Commercial Advertiser, recognizing the magnanimous deeds of the women of Columbus, Georgia, echoed the sentiment. “Let this incident, touching and beautiful as it is, impart to our Washington authorities a lesson in conciliation.” Power of a poem To be sure, this sentiment was not unanimous. There were many in both parts of the U.S. who had no interest in conciliation. But as a result of one of these news reports, Francis Miles Finch, a Northern judge, academic and poet, wrote a poem titled “The Blue and the Gray.” Finch’s poem quickly became part of the American literary canon. He explained what inspired him to write it: “It struck me that the South was holding out a friendly hand, and that it was our duty, not only as conquerors, but as men and their fellow citizens of the nation, to grasp it.” Finch’s poem seemed to extend a full pardon to the South: “They banish our anger forever when they laurel the graves of our dead” was one of the lines. Not just poems: Sheet music written to commemorate Memorial Day in 1870.Library of Congress Almost immediately, the poem circulated across America in books, magazines and newspapers. By the end of the 19th century, school children everywhere were required to memorize Finch’s poem. The ubiquitous publication of Finch’s rhyme meant that by the end of 1867, the southern Memorial Day holiday was a familiar phenomenon throughout the entire, and recently reunited, country. General Logan was aware of the forgiving sentiments of people like Finch. When Logan’s order establishing Memorial Day was published in various newspapers in May 1868, Finch’s poem was sometimes appended to the order. ‘The blue and the grey’ It was not long before Northerners decided that they would not only adopt the Southern custom of Memorial Day, but also the Southern custom of “burying the hatchet.” A group of Union veterans explained their intentions in a letter to the Philadelphia Evening Telegraph on May 28, 1869: “Wishing to bury forever the harsh feelings engendered by the war, Post 19 has decided not to pass by the graves of the Confederates sleeping in our lines, but divide each year between the blue and the grey the first floral offerings of a common country. We have no powerless foes. Post 19 thinks of the Southern dead only as brave men.” Other reports of reciprocal magnanimity circulated in the North, including the gesture of a 10-year-old who made a wreath of flowers and sent it to the overseer of the holiday, Colonel Leaming, in Lafayette, Indiana, with the following note attached, published in The New Hampshire Patriot on July 15, 1868: “Will you please put this wreath upon some rebel soldier’s grave? My dear papa is buried at Andersonville, (Georgia) and perhaps some little girl will be kind enough to put a few flowers upon his grave.” President Abraham Lincoln’s wish that there be “malice toward none” and “charity for all” was visible in the magnanimous actions of participants on both sides, who extended an olive branch during the Memorial Day observances in those first three years. Although not known by many today, the early evolution of the Memorial Day holiday was a manifestation of Lincoln’s hope for reconciliation between North and South. Words by Richard Gardiner Associate Professor of History Education, Columbus State University. Special thanks to The Conversation for this story. You can support the independent network which provides news by donating today.

If Dad is more of a traditional guy when it comes to colognes, then the new Polo Ultra Blue fragrance from Polo Ralph Lauren is an easy win. This new twist on the long-adored Blue line is lighter and fresher than its predecessors, with a strong hint of citrus. A perfect gift to refresh your dad on Father's Day. The lightness is even portrayed in the bottle design, which maintains Blue’s traditional shape and shiny silver cap, but which is fully transparent on the bottom fading to a more opaque cobalt blue at the shoulders of the bottle. Polo Ultra Blue is a refreshing fragrance that won’t overpower or project more than you want it to. Instantly refreshing, it’s great to wear in the office or throw on after a shower on a hot summer day. The added spice wakes you up and transforms into a salty, mineral scent that will have you yearning for the beach. Ultra Blue is also a great scent to take a break from a stronger, more pungent cologne that may have become an unwitting habit. So if you usually smell Dad before you see him, this is a wonderful way to suggest that he cool the jets a bit and freshen up with a lighter scent for summer. For a new twist on a classic fragrance, check out the brand new Polo Ultra Blue from Ralph Lauren. For more information, visit: www.ralphlauren.com Story by Thomas Bender

Origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, has existed since ancient times, bringing us aesthetic pleasure to create paper figures of animals and flowers. Nowadays, origami evolves even further with a mix of advanced mathematical theories and laws. Robert J. Lang is one of those artists who merges origami and mathematical language and creates breathtaking complex origami pieces. His passion for origami can be witnessed through his books “Twists, Tilings, and Tessellations: Mathematical Methods for Geometric Origami”, “Origami Design Secrets”, “Origami in Action,” and much more. Interview and words by Anna Durbanova How did it all start? How did you find your passion for origami? I started origami when I was about six years old. I found some instructions in the origami book, and I thought it would be a fun puzzle to follow the instructions and fold the figures. Throughout my childhood I pursued origami as a hobby, looking for books that had instructions and trying to fold everything I could find. Eventually, I started making up my own designs because I wanted to make origami subjects that were not in any books. I really never thought it would be anything but a hobby, and so I pursued other interests as well. In high school I enjoyed mathematics, science and natural history and I chose my career in science. I went to Caltech and studied electrical engineering for my BS and MS, and then switched to applied physics for my Ph.D., focusing on semiconductor lasers. After graduation, I worked at JPL, a national laboratory, and then SDL, a Silicon Valley company, doing laser research and development. My scientific focus was on theoretical modeling of lasers, developing mathematical models of their function and behavior, but I was also pursuing origami on the side, trying to develop more complex structures. I had the idea of developing the mathematical underpinnings of origami; if I could describe origami using mathematical language, then I could use the tools of mathematics to accomplish the artistic goals I wanted in the world of origami. That’s what led me to merge the two, and that merging worked. Putting origami into mathematical language allowed me to use mathematics to develop new design techniques that let me create the things I wanted to create. Besides that, I was also able to teach a lot of these techniques to other people, which helped them to advance their own art. The language of math and science, applied to origami, also made it possible to apply origami structures and mechanisms to engineering problems. That got me involved in the consulting of how to use origami to create deployable structures and folded products. In the Photo: Artwork “A Miura-ken Beauty Rose, Opus 482” Photo Credit: Robert J.Lang In your TED Talk, you mentioned that origami could be used in space. How? (See TED Talk video below) That’s another area of applying folded patterns, structures and mechanisms from origami to deployables in space, in particular, things that are big and flat in space, like solar arrays, telescopes or antennas. Origami can improve their performance by providing a folding pattern that meets engineering needs, usually by providing a way to bring space objects down to a much smaller size in a controllable way. Where else can origami be applied? There are a lot of different fields like product design, packaging, consumer goods, containers, and sometimes just things that you want to make smaller, like furniture that collapses down for storage or shipping. Origami can also be used for purely decorative forms, for example, to create architectural facades and diffusers for lighting. Origami is also useful for medical devices. As an example, implants, should be small when they go in the body, but once they are inside, they should expand. In the Photo: Artwork “Allosaurus Skeleton, Opus 326“ Photo Credit: Robert J.Lang You applied four simple math rules in your origami process. Can you tell us more about them? Yes, those four math rules are specifically for flat origami, for things that fold completely flat. Flat origami can be described entirely by those four rules. That’s nice, but it can also be a little deceptive because one of the things that we often see in mathematics is that even very simple rules can give rise to very rich and complex behavior. We certainly see this in the case of origami; even though simple or flat origami can be described completely by those four rules, we are still exploring all of the ramifications of those rules, all the ways they affect origami designs. There is still a lot of complexity and a lot of opportunities for theoretical developments to be worked out even from those four simple rules. In the Photo: Artwork “K2, Opus 391“ Photo Credit: Robert J.Lang Should people who learn origami learn mathematical laws to do origami? Well, interestingly, you don’t necessarily need to know those four laws to do origami, because you can certainly follow instructions without knowing any mathematics at all. You can also design a lot of origami pieces using geometric ideas that are built on those four laws, but you don’t need to know the laws themselves. You can use the geometric concepts derived from the laws to turn an assembly of flaps into the patterns of folds on the paper that gives you the plan for folding. When people want to start to design origami, I usually recommend they start with a book I wrote called “Origami Design Secrets”, which teaches people how to design origami. They will learn those four laws along their way, but the focus of the book is to teach the layers of ideas above those four laws, ideas that people can use in design. I like to suggest for people who are designing origami that there is not a linear, step-by-step process for design, but rather that they develop a “bag of tricks,” a collection of design concepts that are akin to tools in a mental tool-chest of design. As they learn more ideas, they add more tools to their tool-chest. Once you’ve got a good collection of tools, when you are doing a design, you can select whatever tool helps with the particular design problem. So it is possible to design a lot with just a few simple tools, but you can create a greater variety and, perhaps, more beautiful and vary patterns if you have a large toolkit. You have also created some computer programs for origami design. Can you tell us more about them? Yes, I have written a couple of programs for the design of origami. One of them is called TreeMaker. What this program does is the following: if you draw a stick figure of the shape that you want, then it will calculate a crease pattern that folds into that stick figure. It is particularly useful if you want to make, for example, an insect with six legs and antenna. You draw a little stick figure in TreeMaker, specify how long each of the legs and appendages needs to be, and then TreeMaker will calculate a crease pattern that folds into that shape. If you wish, you can print it out and fold it or you can also (as I often do) use that as a starting point and then refine that pattern in ways to make it more artistically interesting. In the Photo: Artwork “Pegasus (mini)” by Robert J. Lang and Kevin Box Photo Credit: Bill Stengel Photo What is for you the most exciting part of the origami design process? It varies from day to day. Perhaps, the main thing that keeps origami interesting to me is the fact that there is always something new. I can try an idea in one conceptual area and then switch to something completely different. The common factors that keep me excited are novelty, solving problems, and creating something that did not exist before. Usually, that’s also something that’s aesthetically beautiful as well. It sounds that origami can never be boring for you? It is rarely boring, although sometimes it is if I am folding a pattern that has a lot of repetition in it. Just doing the same folds over and over again can get pretty tedious, but I am willing to go through that bit of boredom to accomplish the greater goal of the thing I am trying to fold. In the Photo: Artwork “Raptor” by Robert J. Lang and Kevin Box Photo Credit: Bill Stengel Photo How many hours do you spend to fold complex origami objects? It varies a lot. For fairly simple designs I may only need about 5 or 10 minutes to fold. At the other extreme, the longest time I have ever spent folding a single object was spread over about seven years, but that was an unusual case. I would say that most of my complex pieces take a few hours to a couple of days to fold. That’s separate from the amount of design time, which might have taken anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. What are your future plans? There will be a couple of traveling exhibitions with my artwork around the US. I also have a few art commissions and I am in discussions with a couple of venues to do some exhibitions for the next year. For upcoming exhibitions of Robert Lang, click here. Words by by Anna Durbanova. Special thanks to impakter

UP! merges function and fit with its transformative pull-on pants and THINCREDIBLE FIT TM technology. Their newest offering has the perfect designs and cuts for traveling in style, from airy prints and fun tropical patterns to soft pastel florals and delicate neutrals. Fill your suitcase with the light blue and green floral pattern of the Hawaii pant or let yourself be swept away for a weekend in Boca Raton with the funky palm leaf and silver grass pattern on the Boca skirt. This season, rock tried and true favorites like the ankle cut, petal slit pants, and modern crop pants. Designed to empower women and make them feel confident in who they are, UP! Pants range from $95 – $150 and are available in over 600 fine boutiques and stores across Canada and the United States. Click to view larger image > To find a store near you, visit http://uppants.com/findastore By ML Staff

During this time of social distancing in our homes, the vibrancy of Miami can feel like a distant memory. Join us in celebrating the place we love by helping to create a work of art. The Museum of Art and Design at Miami Dade College (MOAD MDC), in collaboration with the Miami Book Fair, invites everyone to take part in the great Spanish artist Dora García’s new public artwork I Remember Miami, a participatory work that invites the public to come together in a virtual collective space of memory and connection to celebrate the experience of living in our city. Produced by the people of Miami themselves, this work records intimate memories of a vital place temporarily stilled. Read more about the project. Share Your Memories While we remain in our homes, I Remember Miami asks us to recall small, specific details of spaces in the city that have made lasting impressions on us and to record ourselves as we narrate our memories of being in those spaces. Participants may also submit photographs that relate to their memories. The artist will collect the audio files and photographs to compile a polyvocal archive of memories describing the expansive, richly varied, and indelible place where we live. I Remember Miami represents a hopeful gesture of solidarity and togetherness at a time of individual isolation. Be part of the project and share your memories. Upload your audio and photo files Submissions will be accepted until June 30, 2020. Selections will be posted on MOAD and the Miami Book Fair’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. When complete, the archive will be accessible on these websites: MOAD, Miami Book Fair, Dora Garcia. If you have any questions about I Remember Miami or need assistance with your submission, please contact us at Iremembermiami@mdc.edu By Miami Living Staff, Courtesy of Prince Pierre of Monaco Foundation, and special thanks to photographer Miguel Balbuena.

Acting was not the first career that Kenny Leu pursued. After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley with his Mechanical Engineering degree, the Taipei-born, Bay Arearaised actor went straight into tech startups in Silicon Valley. “When I graduated college, I made a list of things I wanted to do in my life, to live my version of a most fulfilled life. One was to start my own company and see it through. I started it with some friends. After a year of working on it out of my parents’ house, we were pretty much out of money, and were about to go under. Then, miraculously, we got funding from Google! We incubated at the Google Ventures Startup Labs for two years. It was so fun; we had snacks, skill training, office space and supplies for something like $5 a month. We were then bought by a much larger company. The success of that startup gave me leeway to do something even crazier: acting.” A few months later, Kenny relocated to Los Angeles to become an actor. Today, five and a half years later, the award-winning Chinese martial artist (specializing in open hand, Chinese broadsword and staff)/international actor is best known for his role as Gohan in Dragonball Z: Light of Hope, a live-action adaptation of the legendary anime show. “Anime fans haven’t seen their shows faithfully adapted, and we really pulled out the stops in getting the characters, the world, and the DBZ-style action right. Based on the fans’ reaction, we did! It feels great being an Asian superhero! This was filmed years before Shang- Chi, before Crazy Rich Asians. Asian representation was especially lacking then, and it was incredible having kids/ DBZ fans look up to you as a different kind of hero than what’s out there,” says Kenny. Kenny has also appeared in a number of television shows, including NCIS, NCIS: LA and The Player, and has portrayed several real life people. Recently, Kenny portrayed Zhu Xuesan, a heroic schoolteacher in rural China during WWII, in the film, Midway, Released in theaters last month, Midway’s cast includes Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, and Mandy Moore. Tell me about Midway and what it was like working on it? Kenny Leu: It’s the true story leading up to the Battle of Midway —the fight that turned the tide for America against Japan in World War II. What’s so special about the film is how they captured the insanity of what it was like to be an aircraft carrier pilot back then. These guys were flying these clanky, unreliable death machines, landing on a tiny, moving strip in the middle of an ocean. Not to mention, they also had to shoot each other out of the sky! I saw an early screening of it, and the action is exactly what I dreamed air combat could look like on the big screen. I nearly jumped out of my seat; I was so thrilled. But it also stayed very true to how it was out of combat. I’ve been a WWII aviation fanboy since I was a kid. And many of the stories I’ve read about, I saw in this movie. Many of those guys died not from enemy fire, but because they crashed trying to land. It was an insane time. Roland Emmerich also directed Independence Day, one of my favorite feel-good blockbusters of all-time, but this one’s different. I’ve been a part of authentic military stories before, The Long Road Home in 2017, and he’s done an incredible job honoring the men — American and Japanese— who fought in that war. He made me real proud to show this film to not only my veteran friends, but my Japanese friends, too. Zhu Xuesan was a real-life war hero, how did you prepare for this role? KL: Zhu Xuesan was a poor schoolteacher who lived in a village in China. Doolittle [portrayed by Aaron Eckhart], a famous American pilot, crash lands in Zhu’s village, after his team is sent on a suicide mission to bomb Tokyo to get Japan back for Pearl Harbor. The Chinese army was about to execute him because they thought Doolittle was a German spy. Doolittle was in bad condition; he had just survived this crazy mission, had no food, water, and worst of all, couldn’t speak any Chinese! Zhu hears about this and being the only guy to speak any English for hundreds of miles, rushes his way over, intervenes, and ends up saving Doolittle, not only from execution, but nursing him and his men back to health and getting them back to American territory. Doolittle went right back into the fight and became a pivotal part of the U.S. winning the war. So Zhu is a special kind of hero. He was not a hero that fought. He was only a schoolteacher, but his courage to step out of that, would save many lives. Preparing for this role was fun because Zhu spoke a very distinct dialect of Chinese, so I had to prepare my Chinese to have that accent. Then, I had to prepare my English to speak in an accent reflective of that dialect. Two accents for two languages, in one role! You’re also the lead in the indie, A Shot Through the Wall. This is another real-life role, how did you land this part? KL: A Shot Through the Wall is inspired by a real-life case. In New York, an Asian American rookie cop on patrol named Peter Liang accidentally shoots and kills a black man. This case truly was an accident, it was an accidental discharge into a dark stairwell. The bullet ricochets off a wall, strikes and kills a man a floor lower that Peter didn’t even know was there. In the context of many cases of much more obvious police brutality, the Asian American kid is the only one to get indicted by a grand jury. The Asian American community goes into an uproar over this, in the midst of the black community saying, “Stop killing us” and the police saying, “We’re just trying to do our best.” This movie takes a similar circumstance and explores it. I play the Asian American cop, and we see how an Asian American family copes with the fallout. I auditioned for this while I was still shooting The Long Road Home. I was playing a soldier, and I got to play with a .50 cal machine gun —a gun as long as your arm and bullets as long as your fist is wide. When you fired this thing, you could feel it shake your soul. Not because it’s firing in your hands, it’s usually mounted to a vehicle, but because of the air vibration. It’s terrifyingly powerful. And on The Long Road Home, there is a horrific part of the story where the American soldiers are forced to fire cases of these bullets into rows of women and children. As an actor, it was my job to vividly imagine them be decimated. From there, it wasn’t difficult for me to imagine the horror of accidentally killing someone with your own gun. Additionally, you did fight choreography in Warner Bros. feature Yakuza Princess, what was the most challenging part about that? KL: The most difficult part was having to fight and act with my wife, Masumi, on camera. We had gotten married two days before we left for Brazil, where we shot Yakuza Princess. It was her first role ever. They were teaching her to be an action hero: stunt fighting, swordplay, falls. I really didn’t want her to get hurt, so I trained her thoroughly myself. I’m an actor, but I have a lot of experience doing stunts, action choreography, teaching, and competing. We worked our butts off, and it really paid off! It was a challenge getting someone with limited experience to look sharp and clean after only a month or so of training. But she did it, and I’m really proud of her. So then when I was asked to choreograph and perform our fight, I had a lot of things on my mind. It had to be good, because what a great thing to share with your new wife. It had to be easy enough, because she wasn’t as experienced as I was. It had to be well rehearsed, because I wanted to keep her safe —and furthermore, myself! At the same time, I had to try to kill her, because that’s what my character is trying to do. And she had to try to kill me! Talk about a great honeymoon. I saw your IG post about the notes given to you be the director for your character in Yakuza Princess —how did you bring your character to life? KL: Originally, I wasn’t supposed to be in Yakuza Princess. When my wife booked it, I went along with her only to hold her coffee and rub her back. I had been the lead of a movie before, and I know how much pressure and stress it is. But after seeing how quickly my teaching was helping her, they looked me up and realized that I am an established actor. They then offered me a role. They also increased the size of the role and added some great action scenes. The best part was that they gave me free rein to reinvent the character. Vicente just said, “He’s sadistic. He’s nuts and drives a taxi filled with kooky shit.” It was incredible fun, because as an actor, you’re used to only interpreting the writer’s story. Rarely do you get to create a whole character from scratch. I had many iterations for the role, but what I settled on I think is really cool. If you can find a picture on my IG, you’ll see what I mean. I can’t wait for you to watch it. You’re known for your role as Sgt. Eddie Chen in Nat Geo’s miniseries, The Long Road Home, which is based on a true story. What was it like playing him? KL: Deeply gratifying. When you’re playing a true story about real people, you’re filled with a sense of purpose I can’t describe. Some may see it as pressure, but I am fired up because that’s what I live for. Eddie Chen was a man deeply loved and respected by his men. By playing him, I received so much love and support from people who knew him, many veterans have treated me like a brother from the moment we met. It was stunning for me to experience, because I have never seen an Asian man —Eddie was an immigrant and didn’t speak English very well— so admired and loved, especially by people who don’t come from big cities or liberal states. I felt so proud to represent this man who transcended being so different yet connecting us all. What’s next for you? KL: With The Long Road Home, Midway, and A Shot Through the Wall, I have developed a reputation for playing real people, reflecting authentic Asian stories. I’m very proud of that! I want to represent my experience growing up as an Asian man in America and in the world. It’s unprecedented that Asians are finally being seen and understood, and I’m so happy to be able to be a part of that. I think there are all kinds of people who would see themselves reflected in our experience, and realize we’re not all that different. With Dragon Ball Z, Midway and The Long Road Home, I’m also becoming known as an action hero, the guy who fights for what he believes in and isn’t afraid to sacrifice to save people. Who hasn’t dreamed of being that! Let that be a hint to the next thing I’m working on, which I can’t speak about yet. You’ll just have to stay tuned. What would fans be surprised to find out about you? KL: Before I got into acting, I was on the United States Chinese martial arts team and competed all over the world, like Mexico, Turkey, and China! My body is loaded with sword scars from those days. Any plans for the holidays? KL: I’m big on family, so I always go home for the holidays. I believe all of my success stems from my inner peace, which I owe to the incredible group of people close to me, who love me and support me. I reserve my holidays so I can focus on them, and let them know they are special to me. I also just started being a spokesperson for Lancer Legacy Ranch. It’s a home for homeless veterans in Maud, Texas, founded by my friend Matt Fisk, who is one of the soldiers at the center of the tragic events of The Long Road Home. It offers a long list of services from mentorship to suicide prevention & PTSD counseling, to legal assistance, to employment assistance. The ultimate goal being the empowerment of its residents to create personalized, long-term strategies for success. He’s one of life’s true heroes. He took a great tragedy and transformed it into hope —a life mission to lift others from the same depths he suffered. I’ll be visiting Lancer Legacy Ranch for the first time over the holidays, and extending my family. If you know a veteran who could use something like this, you can find them at ancerlegacyranch.org or call 903-585-2023. ML Keep up with Kenny at @TheKennyLeu on Instagram and don’t miss Midway, in theaters now. Words by Vanessa Pascale, Photo credit: Diana Ragland, Groomer: Patrick Chai, Wardrobe stylist: Tar A Aquilina