ReHacked vol. 225: Bright and Dark Sides of the Japanese Porn Industry, Amsterdam bans cruise ships to limit visitors and curb pollution and more
The top 10 per cent includes both billionaires and people who would struggle to get a mortgage. --G. Mitchell, M. G. Hernando
Make a donation - support Ukraine
Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights | Supporting women and LGBTQI+ people in and around Ukraine
Voices of Children | Helping children in Ukraine affected by conflict
Support the Armed Forces of Ukraine | via National Bank of Ukraine
Don’t forget to share if you like what you read here, subscribe (if not yet) and leave a comment. Any form of your feedback is very important to me. Thanks!
RSS feed available if you don’t want to clutter your inbox.
The Longreads Section about Computers
Brief (kind of) history of the computers
The Other News
Kaho Shibuya Reveals the Bright and Dark Sides of the Japanese Porn Industry | Tokyo Weekender #subculture #longread
Between 2014 and 2018, Shibuya was active as a Japanese adult video (or JAV) actress. Unmasked is her first tell-all in English. It is the official translation of her Japanese book, AV Nitsuite Joshi Ga Shitteokubeki Subete No Koto (Everything Girls Should Know About the JAV Industry), published in 2020.
By page 13, Shibuya is at a dinner with the president of her first agency, Cruse Group, deciding on an adult film production company. It’s not that the book feels rushed, but rather that it mirrors the fast-paced nature of the industry and the short lifespan of a JAV actress.
Despite this, there’s a sense of cognizance in every decision that Shibuya makes. She gained her footing in JAV by first responding to an advertisement for a “sex toy reviewer.” She shares what can only be described as a slippery slope, from job postings looking for hand and foot models to coaxing from company representatives promising roles in adult films that wouldn’t involve sexual acts at all.
Shibuya ended up taking her lingerie and nude publicity photos on the day she signed with Cruse Group. But she’s clear about taking responsibility for her decisions and, for the rest of Unmasked, mGerry Mitchell
Marcos González Hernandoaintains her own agency over her mind and her body.
A new book on the world’s first complete atlas of an asteroid is set to be released by University of Arizona planetary science expert Dante Lauretta and the more unlikely figure of Queen’s lead guitarist and little-known astrophysicist Brian May.
The duo have teamed up to author Bennu 3-D: Anatomy of an Asteroid, a book that has been described as the first complete and three-dimensional atlas of an asteroid.
Set to release on Thursday, the book features images and data from the Osiris-Rex mission, an undertaking between Nasa and the University of Arizona to collect samples from a near-Earth asteroid named Bennu.
To grasp the extent of inequality, look at the relatively well-off | British Politics and Policy at LSE #society #economy
In the words of sociologist Rachel Sherman, one reason is that many are “upward oriented”. They tend to compare themselves with people in their networks who earn about as much – or more than – them. Those networks tend to be structured around education and professional settings, which are increasingly segregated. This is only compounded by the taboos that exist around speaking openly about your salary – a subject too closely tied to self-worth, especially as in this group meritocratic narratives are especially common.
High earners are also aware that their incomes are dwarfed by those of the Elon Musks of the world. Indeed, those just into the top 10 per cent, or even the top 3 per cent on an income of £104,000 are still further away from the bottom of the top 1 per cent (earning £183,000 and over) than from the UK’s median income (£26,300).
Amsterdam bans cruise ships to limit visitors and curb pollution - BBC News #economy #environment
The other key reason for removing cruise ships is to lower air pollution levels in Amsterdam. A 2021 study of one big cruise ship found that it had produced the same levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in one day as 30,000 trucks.
Other mooring sites away from the city centre have been under consideration for some time but no decision has yet been taken.
In a separate development, Amsterdam has announced plans to beef up night-time culture for young people.
The city has outlined its aim to find nightclub locations such as disused tunnels and garages to develop the talent of "creative young people who want to organise something at night".
In a Twitter thread, a Shopify (TSX: SHOP) employee has broken their non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to shed light on the company’s controversial actions and strategic direction. The thread exposed a series of events starting from the first quarter of 2022 when Shopify promised job security to its staff, only to carry out massive layoffs in July of the same year.
These job cuts, according to the employee, were driven not merely by a CEO’s misguided “bet,” but rather a shift towards replacing full-time employees with cheaper contract labor and an increased reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) support.
8 Sailor Moon Real-Life Locations in Tokyo | Tokyo Weekender #art #culture
To the excitement of Sailor Moon fans all over the world, the second half of Sailor Moon Cosmos was just released at the end of June. The animated movies, released in two parts, are a direct sequel to Sailor Moon Eternal and serve as a finale to Sailor Moon Crystal. To celebrate the release of the final installment of the reboot series, here’s a list of real-life places that served as a model for the popular series.
Kevin Mitnick Obituary - Las Vegas, NV #promemoria
Kevin David Mitnick, 59, died peacefully on Sunday, July 16, 2023, after valiantly battling pancreatic cancer for more than a year. Kevin is survived by his beloved wife, Kimberley Mitnick, who remained by his side throughout their 14-month ordeal. Kimberley is pregnant with their first child. Kevin was ecstatic about this new chapter in his and Kimberley's life together, which has now been sadly cut short.
How Do You Live review: a beautiful relic and the end of an era - The Verge #art #culture
The year is 1997, and famed Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki announced plans to retire following the release of Princess Mononoke, a film that set new records at the box office for Japanese animation and revolutionized the medium. The year is 2001, and Miyazaki announced plans to retire following the release of Spirited Away, saying he can no longer work on feature-length animated films. The year is 2013, and Miyazaki announced plans to retire following the release of The Wind Rises, saying that “If I said I wanted to [make another feature film], I would sound like an old man saying something foolish.”
The year is 2023, and Miyazaki is an old man saying something foolish by releasing a new film, titled How Do You Live in Japan and renamed The Boy and the Heron for the international market.
India's Chandrayaan-3 launches to explore moon's water-rich south pole | New Scientist #space
India has launched its Chandrayaan-3 mission, which aims to explore the south pole of the moon by rover, completing a scientific mission that was first attempted in 2019 but ended in catastrophic failure due to a software glitch
If you would like to propose any interesting article for the next ReHacked issue, just hit reply or push this sexy “Leave a comment” (if not subscribed yet) button below. It’s a nice way to start a discussion.
Thanks for reading this digest and remember: we can make it better together, just leave your opinion or suggestions after pressing this button above or simply hit the reply in your e-mail and don’t forget - sharing is caring ;) Have a great week!
Dainius
