Women Artists Score Big In Virtual Reality, Scoring Big In Male-Dominated Tech Space

A mere tech child or not, virtual reality is expected to be a $150 billion industry by 2020. In Virtual Reality, Women Run the World writes New York Magazine . Silicon Valley and gaming Internet culture in general are known for their hard-ass mentality about women in their midst. Because virtual reality is truly an original opportunity for creators, women are -- for once -- operating in a relatively level playing field. There is “no formalized industry, and therefore no industry hierarchy, making it particularly welcoming to outsiders and newcomers,” explains Julia Kaganskiy, director of the New Museum’s New Inc. incubator. “Effectively everyone is a newcomer, and there are virtually no insiders.”

Women populate VR panels, conferences, support groups, and mentor relationships in significant numbers. Four of the 11 virtual-reality projects in the New York Film Festival’s Convergence division, a creative combo of VR and immersive storytelling, were created by women. and Convergence programmer Matt Bolish, a Convergence programmer, says in the five years of the program, “women have not only been at the forefront as creators, but as producers, writers, and financiers."

Women made a strong showing at the New Frontier VR exhibition at Sundance this past January. Helping celebrate the 10th anniversary of the program,  40% or a record 13 of the 32 lead artists on VR projects were women. “This is really a powerful medium and we have to make sure we do better this time,” says Kamal Sinclair, who directs the New Frontier Labs program. “We saw how women dropped out of computer science in the early ’80s. They were there in the beginning. How do we make sure we learn from those missteps?”

Donna Brazile's 'Colored Girls' Crew Will Pen Book On Their Popular Political Posse

Donna Brazile, the interim DNC chair, and her power players posse of Democratic party heavyweights and close friends are set to collaborate on a book together, writing with a collaborator.

Published by St. Martin's Press, the book is tentatively titled “The Colored Girls,” a name the fivesome gave themselves years ago. The quintet includes Brazile; top Hillary Clinton aide, Minyon Moore; chief executive of the Democratic convention, Leah Daughtry; director of the convention’s podium operations, Yolanda Caraway; and Bill Clinton’s chief of staff, Tina Flournoy.

Trump Courts 'USA Freedom Kids,' Then Crushes Them With Broken Promises

The “USA Freedom Kids,” a caught my eye at a Trump rally last summer and became an instant sensation. True, their perky, cheerleader enthusiasm seemed a bit out of sync with the quasi-fascistic undertones of their lyrics (such as “Deal from strength or get crushed every time”). "Jeff Popick, the group’s (adult) manager, told Claire Landsbaum he was attracted to Trump not only for reasons of customer synergy but also personal conviction — “[Trump] knows what he's doing, and he makes the right decisions,” Popick explained."

You’ll never guess what happened next. Trump lived up to his reputation. “My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy. I’ve grabbed all the money I could get,” the Republican candidate said at a debate last year. “I’m so greedy. But now I want to be greedy for the United States.” Because for Trump, greed is good . . . the best form of winning.

Yes, the kids got stiffed, reports Philip Bump. The USA Kids were told they could have a free table to sell CDs instead of the $2,500 fee, and they accepted the deal. No such table was provided, according to Popick. When they were asked to fly to Iowa to support veterans at a Trump rally, not only were they not paid, but Trump stiffed the kids on the cost of their travel.

Nice guy, this man who wants to make America great again.