The Central Music Association (CMA) has got a new executive team following the results of its recent elections held on Thursday, September 7th, at the Scouts Headquarters in Konedobu. The elections were opened by CMA members, who had nominated their executive candidates during the Central Music Association 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM) one week prior. The newly elected executive team included: •     Allen Kedea – President of CMA •     Dokona Manoka – Vice President •     Danny George – Treasurer •     Ferlyn Oembari – Vice Treasurer •     John Naime – Secretary •     Tau Tola – Vice Secretary Newly elected President, Mr. Allen Kedea (AKay47), expressed his optimism towards the future of CMA. "We are delighted that Central Province is taking the lead in the music scene in Papua New Guinea by becoming the first province to register with the National Cultural Commission (NCC), a government department under the Ministry of Tourism Arts & Culture responsible for our artists' welfare." “We eagerly anticipate collaborating with artists from the Motu-Koita and Central Province regions as we plan our inaugural Central Music Festival." The election event was supported by prominent senior artists from Central Province including Hitsy Golou, Dokona Manoka, Betty Toea, Dika Dai, and John Toea. CMA is committed to advancing the interests of its members and the broader music community in Central Province, and the newly elected executive team is determined to build upon the organization's achievements to date.

 Snapchat says it’s working to make its app even safer for teen users. Parent company Snap said Thursday that it is rolling out a suite of new features and policies aimed at better protecting 13- to 17-year-old users, including restrictions on friend suggestions and a new system for removing age-inappropriate content. The company also launched a series of YouTube videos for parents about the features and an updated website laying out its teen safety and parental control policies. The new features come amid increasing pressure on social media platforms by lawmakers, educators and parents to protect young users from inappropriate content, unwanted adult attention, illicit drug sales and other issues. A Snap executive testified alongside leaders from TikTok and YouTube in a fall 2021 Senate committee hearing about youth safety on social media, promising new tools to help parents keep their teens safe. And since then, Snapchat — like other platforms — has rolled out a variety of new teen safety and parental supervision tools. Thursday’s announcement follows the launch last year of Snapchat’s Family Center, which offers parents more insight into who their teenagers are communicating with on the messaging app. The app’s other existing teen safety measures include prohibiting young users from having public profiles and having teens’ Snap Map location-sharing tool turned off by default. As part of Thursday’s feature rollout, Snapchat will now require 13-to-17-year-old users to have a greater number of mutual friends in common with another account before that account will show up in Search results or as a friend suggestion, in an effort to avoid teens adding users on the app who they don’t know in real life. The app will also send a pop-up warming to teens if they are about to add an account that doesn’t share any mutual Snapchat friends or phone book contacts. “When a teen becomes friends with someone on Snapchat, we want to be confident it is someone they know in real life — such as a friend, family member, or other trusted person,” the company said in a blog post. Snapchat will also impose a new strike system for accounts promoting content inappropriate for teens in its Stories and Spotlight sections, where users can share content publicly on the app. If inappropriate content is reported or detected by the company, it will immediately remove the content and issue a strike against the poster’s account. If a user accrues “too many strikes over a defined period of time, their account will be disabled,” the platform says, although it does not lay out how many strikes would lead to a suspension. Teen users will also start to see in-app content aimed at educating them on online risks such as catfishing and financial sextortion — when someone persuades a victim to share nude photos and then blackmails them for money — and letting them know what to do if they see it, including providing hotlines to contact for help. The PSA-style content will be featured on Snapchat’s Stories platform and in response to certain search terms or keywords. Source: CNN News

As the country prepares to celebrate its 48th year of independence, the Department of Personal Management (DPM) has advised all Departmental Heads, Provincial Administrators, Head of funded Public Authorities and all Public Servants that Friday 15th of September 2023 has been declared a Public Holiday as confirmed in the National Gazette No. 775 of 2022 and Circular Instruction No. 18 of 2022 on Public Holidays for 2023. Secretary Ms. Taies Sansan has urged all government institutions to decorate their office buildings in national colors (red, black, and gold) from September 1st, 2023, leading up to Independence Day. The Amazing Port Moresby 48th Independence celebration, sponsored by the Government through the Department of Personal Management, will host various celebrations and performances in the city leading up to bigger celebrations of the country’s 50th Golden Jubilee, 2025. “This year’s celebrations are already part of how we will prepare for the 50th Independence anniversary celebrations hence the upbeat preparations to get public servants as government workers to take the lead in participating in the celebrations”. The Flag Raising Ceremony will take place at the Independence Hill, starting at 5am, with the 48th Independence Anniversary keynote address given by Prime Minister James Marape.

Miss Pacific Islands Pageant PNG Inc. (MPIP PNG) officially handed over its custodianship of the prestigious platform to ‘Miss Bird of Paradise.’ Since its establishment, the MPIP PNG contributed positively to the lives of over 400 young women in areas of Health, Education and Agriculture throughout the country, given business scholarships through partners IBS and successfully claimed for PNG the Miss Pacific Islands Crown. The outgoing MPIP team, consisting of Chairperson Molly O’Rourke, Deputy Genevieve Igara-Falevai along with Official Chaperone Lewa LK James, acknowledged long-time sponsors, former contestants and Queens and their teams, government, corporate and business partners, designers, models and industry stakeholders, suppliers and contractors, ticket buyers and the families and friends of MPIP PNG since 2016 who have supported over the past 8 years and made the achievements possible. They also acknowledged former custodians and chairpersons, patrons and former committee members who have contributed to the cause and history of the Miss Papua New Guinea Pageant and Quest. O’Rouke congratulated the new ‘Miss Bird of Paradise’ team, led by Chairperson Anna Bais and supported by Deputy Chair Ruby Kerepa, Treasurer and Chaperone Michelle Hauofa, Administration and Logistics Alice Tau Pokanis, Secretary Anna Veratau and Media and communications Gorethy Kenneth, deeming them as an exceptional group of women with a heart for mentoring and service. O’Rouke wishes them success in their new vision for the platform.

Steve Harwell, the founding lead singer of the rock group Smash Mouth, died Monday, according to his manager. He was 56. No cause of death was shared, but Harwell had been receiving hospice care over the weekend. He died at his home in Boise, Idaho, with family and friends by his side, according Robert Hayes, the manager of Smash Mouth. “Steve Harwell was a true American Original. A larger than life character who shot up into the sky like a Roman candle,” Hayes said in a statement to CNN. “Steve should be remembered for his unwavering focus and impassioned determination to reach the heights of pop stardom. And the fact that he achieved this near-impossible goal with very limited musical experience makes his accomplishments all the more remarkable. His only tools were his irrepressible charm and charisma, his fearlessly reckless ambition, and his king-size cajones.” Harwell was a founding member in 1994 and longtime lead singer of Smash Mouth, best known for its chart-topping singles “All Star” and “I’m a Believer.” During Harwell’s career, the band was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group for “All Star,” a song which later achieved cult status after its appearance on the sound track of the 2001 animated film “Shrek.” “It’s weird, people ask me, ‘Do you get bored of playing these songs?’ I’m like, ‘Why would I get bored of playing them? This is what puts bread and butter on my table,’” Harwell told Vice of the group’s best known hits in a 2014 interview. “You know, there’s always somebody in the crowd who hasn’t heard it. Or hasn’t seen it live. When I go out onstage, I look at it that way. Once that classic song starts, people just go bananas. Has ‘Free Bird’ ever got old?” Harwell himself went to great lengths to boost the band’s early fame – personally taking their “Astro Lounge” to radio stations across the country to get it played across the airwaves. “We never do anything traditional,” Harwell said in 1999. “We never go through the front door. It’s always the back door, or an open window or something, to get our stuff played.” While Smash Mouth reached peak success the late nineties, the group continued performing together and their fans stayed with them. “We’ve never sounded better,” Harwell said of touring in more recent years. “The shows have been great. Crowd response is fantastic. There’s just a great camaraderie in the band now. We’re all getting older, and I take more pride in it than I did years ago.” Since Harwell left the band in 2021 over health issues, the group has continued to perform with new lead vocalist Zach Goode. “Steve lived a 100% full-throttle life. Burning brightly across the universe before burning out,” Hayes concluded his statement. “Good night Heevo Veev. Rest in peace knowing you aimed for the stars, and magically hit your target.” Source: CNN News

Just weeks after winning The Band of the Year Award at the International Singer-Songwriter Association annual ceremony in Atlanta Georgia, Papua New Guinean reggae singer and songwriter Anslom has scored two more American music awards. The band won the Best of America Award in reggae with the song Love Me Again and also bagged the InterContinental Music Award’s (ICMA) annual prestigious ICon Award – the highest honour award in the ICMA’s global music community. ICMA congratulated Anslom on his achievement. “This prestigious accolade (ICon Award) is reserved for one exceptional artist selected from the pool of official winners from every continent. It takes into consideration criteria beyond music such as star power, professionalism, stage presence, global outlook and career potential.” The InterContinental Music Awards honors the most successful artists from every continent across all genres of music. The judging panel included Hollywood music executives and industry professionals who work with talented well-known artists globally. The wins also come with a full music scholarship and a one-on-one mentoring program.

Taylor Swift’s concert film has already broken theater records more than a month ahead of its October 13 release. AMC Theaters said Friday that the singer’s Eras Tour concert movie “shattered records for single-day advance ticket sales revenue,” with $26 million of tickets sold on Thursday. It beat the previous record holder, “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which sold $16.9 million worth of tickets in one day ahead of its release in 2021, AMC said in a statement. Swift’s movie crushed the daily record less than three hours after tickets became available, prompting the theater chain to say that it will add extra showtimes where possible. Movie theaters have been recovering from a pandemic-era audience slump, driven by summer blockbuster hits like “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” (“Barbie” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, which is owned by CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.) But the ongoing Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strikes and the impasse with studio negotiations mean that the pool of movies making its way to theaters could dry up over the next year. While studios typically distribute movies to theaters, AMC is acting as the Eras Tour film distributor in what it called “the inaugural step of a new line of business for AMC Entertainment.”

St. John Ambulance (SJA) has partnered with Port Moresby Nature Park once again to bring awareness on snake-bite safety to the public. This event aims to debunk any myths disseminated about snakes, address common fears of snakes, inform about snakes importance in the ecosystem and create awareness in the community on how to be safe from snakes. SJA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Matt Cannon explained the importance behind the awareness. “We believe that empowering individuals with the understanding of snakes and the knowledge and skills to provide immediate care during a snakebite emergency, can make all the difference.” “Through our training programs, we educate our communities on recognising snakebite symptoms, applying appropriate snakebite techniques, and seeking prompt medical assistance.” According to Mr. Cannon, snake-bites are one of the common causes of emergency. “About every second day we respond to an emergency involving a snake-bite. Snakebites are not uncommon in PNG and pose an unrecognised threat to our health, especially for young people.” By collaborating with hospitals, St. John offers a holistic approach to snakebite prevention and management.

When an antiques enthusiast purchased a painting that appeared to bear the signature of N.C. Wyeth at a thrift store in 2017, she joked that the $4 item might actually be a real work by the prolific Maine artist and patriarch of the Wyeth family of painters. Her joke was no laughing matter, and the painting is now estimated to fetch as much as $250,000 at auction in September. According to specialists at Bonhams Skinner auction house, the seller unknowingly purchased the work at a Savers thrift store in Manchester, New Hampshire, while searching for frames to reuse. The Wyeth painting had been stashed against a wall along with mostly damaged posters and prints, according to the auction house. The woman took the piece home but could not find any information about the work with a quick internet search. After hanging the painting in her bedroom for several years, she eventually stored it in a closet in her home. She rediscovered the painting this past May while cleaning, and this time posted images of the work on a Facebook page titled “Things Found in Walls,” which is dedicated to “stories of things you have found in walls, dug up in your backyard, or in that abandoned house across the street from your grandma’s,” according to the group’s description. Comments on the post led her to contact Lauren Lewis, a former curator who worked with paintings by three generations of the Wyeths: N.C. Wyeth, his son Andrew Wyeth and his grandson Jamie Wyeth. After seeing the piece in person, Lewis was “99% certain it was authentic,” she told The Boston Globe. “While it certainly had some small scratches and it could use a surface clean, it was in remarkable condition considering none of us had any idea of its journey over the last 80 years,” Lewis told the Globe. Wyeth often produced cover art for publishers of periodicals and novels. The painting up for sale in September is one of four he completed for a 1939 edition of Helen Hunt Jackson’s book “Ramona,” originally published in 1884. In it, Wyeth painted the young title character facing her elderly foster mother, while a statue of a religious figure looms between the women. Only one other has been recovered, according to Bonhams Skinner. Auction house specialists believe the publishing company Little, Brown and Company may have passed the work along to an editor or to the author’s estate. The auction record for any member of the Wyeth family was set last year during the sale of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s collection at Christie’s New York, where Andrew Wyeth’s 1980 painting “Day Dream” sold for over $23.2 million, more than seven times the high estimate of $3 million. Source: CNN News

In a studio in Culver City, California, T-Pain is ready to put on a show. The American rapper and singer-songwriter, known for popularizing Auto-Tune with his hits such as “Buy U a Drank” and “Bartender,” is used to performing in front of thousands of screaming fans. But today, there’s no crowd; instead, it’s just T-Pain, a camera crew and a green screen. It’s a departure from the past, but a nod to the future. T-Pain is performing songs that will become a virtual reality (VR) concert, delivered directly to fans via VR headsets. “I’m definitely used to bigger stages,” T-Pain (whose real name is Faheem Rashad Najm) tells CNN during an interview on set, adding that he typically uses feedback from the crowd to “really gain my energy … (so) it’s just a lot more awkward.” That doesn’t mean he isn’t excited about the opportunity. “I’m just a nerd,” he says, who dabbles in VR and 3D software as a hobby at home. When AmazeVR, the company behind what was billed as the world’s first VR concert tour with artist Megan Thee Stallion last year, approached him for a collaboration, the Florida-born artist was ready to try a new experience. “The fans are going to be a lot closer,” T-Pain says. “You get to see different angles, you get to see a different kind of performance … AmazeVR is kind of like putting (me) in your living room.” Capturing the “perfect” take AmazeVR was founded in 2015, and has raised more than $50 million in the last four years, including a recent boost in December after Apple announced its Vision Pro mixed reality headset, according to the company. “(Virtual reality) is a very big shift,” says Kyung Kuk Kim, vice president and head of production for AmazeVR. “It’s a new kind of medium. People are not used to it, but it’s very powerful. It really just brings you right (to the) middle of any scene or any situation.” The virtual concert process begins with meetings with the artist to decide on everything from song choice to visuals, scripts, wardrobe, and choreography. The performance is recorded in one 12-hour session using an 8K stereo camera and motion-controlled crane. [caption id="attachment_44592" align="aligncenter" width="1113"] T-Pain performs to the camera during the filming of his upcoming VR concert.[/caption] In-house artificial intelligence (AI) helps enhance the 3D video in post-production, Kim says. A combination of that in-house AI and other platforms such as Unreal Engine are used to create the virtual stage, lighting, and special effects. Post-production typically takes six to eight weeks, though release dates also coincide with what works for the individual artists. (AmazeVR says it plans to launch the T-Pain concert this Fall.) “The biggest technical challenge is that the viewer is the camera,” says Lance Drake, creative director for the company. “Instead of cutting or hiding (parts of the) performance, this has to essentially be a truly live performance. And the viewer is given permission to look wherever they want – they can look and take in the world, they can look at the artist’s shoes, they can look at the artist’s face.” That means it must be the “perfect” single take, Drake adds, “so when the artist is performing to camera, they’re performing to you. When the artist is looking into camera, they’re looking into the viewer’s eyes.” Studying the virtual fan experience Still, the big question remains: how closely can a virtual concert mimic what fans love about live music? It’s one Dr. Mel Slater is trying to answer. A researcher who has studied the world of VR and our brains since the early 1990s, Slater and his team recently conducted a study using a 1983 Dire Straits concert Slater came across on YouTube. “I thought, ‘I wish I could go to that concert … so that gave me the idea of reproducing a Dire Straits performance in virtual reality,’” says Slater, distinguished investigator in the Department of Clinical Psychology at the University of Barcelona and co-director of its Event Lab (Experimental Virtual Environments for Neuroscience and Technology). Digital Twin of a city block close to Chalmers campus in Gothenburg, Sweden, showing simulated noise levels from street traffic. The noise levels are visualised by draping a heat map on the surrounding surfaces (street and building facades). Cities are being cloned in the virtual world. Here's what that means for the future He was interested in testing several elements, including under what conditions people would have the illusion they were at a concert, and how to take an old 2D video and create new 3D elements, he says. “I thought it was a very innocent study, that you put people in a music concert and let’s see what happens … they should just enjoy it and that’s it,” Slater says. “But the results are very interesting. And it’s always good when you get results you don’t expect – because that’s when you learn something.” The team found that many women in the virtual audience actually felt uncomfortable. “(They) would say things like, ‘there were these men around me, and I got worried that they were going to come over and start talking to me. And they kept looking at me,’” Slater explains. “This wasn’t actually true – we hadn’t programmed these characters around to be looking at them, but they had the illusion that they were.” (AmazeVR’s concert experience, by contrast, does not include any other virtual audience members at this time). In a way, that was a good sign for the concept of virtual concerts in general, he says, because that meant “there was a strong sense of what we call presence – the illusion of being there and that these events were really happening.” Another observation was that people said that “in reality, when they go to a concert, they never go alone – they always go with friends and family,” he adds. “So, we built another environment where you can attend the concert, but with other people that you know,” using avatars (virtual characters) that look like them. [caption id="attachment_44593" align="aligncenter" width="1120"] he VR experience is an adjustment for the performers as well as the fans. T-Pain is used to the energy of a live crowd, including here during a concert in New York City, July 2023.[/caption] That model awaits study, Slater says, and the goal is to test if this alleviates some of the experience issues they observed. “My intuition is that this will quite radically change how people respond to the overall audience and to the concert itself,” he says. What also takes a virtual concert to the next level is the live filming – a key difference between the quality of the Dire Straits version (using computer graphics to turn an old concert video into a virtual experience) and AmazeVR’s approach of having the musician perform directly to the camera in 3D. But what remains tricky is convincing the brain it’s really happening right in front of you, according to Slater. “We look at television and we go to the movies and everything we see is very realistic. But we know the people in the movies are not seeing us,” he says. “(Virtual video) is not completely effective because some part of your brain is saying, this is video, they’re not seeing me … So there are advantages and disadvantages.” Interest on the rise While the idea of a virtual concert versus the real deal could seem like a tough sell for hardcore music fans, there are benefits to scaling back in the physical world. According to the UN Environment Programme, “live concerts and tours can contribute to the climate crisis, driving up emissions through fan and artist travel, energy consumption and the mass production of merchandise.” Meanwhile, rising ticket prices to some of today’s most popular concerts, including Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour and Beyoncé’s “Renaissance World Tour,” are pricing people out (though also boosting local economies). “A lot of artists don’t have a chance to have a big concert because it needs a big budget, all the production and everything is so complicated,” says AmazeVR’s Kim. “But even small or big artists, (with VR), it doesn’t matter. You can always make your own VR concert and share it to all the fans all over the world, and I think it’s giving a very good, fair opportunity to every artist and every fan.” AmazeVR’s app debuted on Meta App Lab and SteamVR on July 13, before it releases to all major extended reality (XR) stores, including Apple Vision Pro. According to AmazeVR, pricing is currently per concert; it will cost $6.99 for one year of access to the T-Pain concert, for example, after that content launches. A collaboration is in the works with K-pop group aespa, while AmazeVR is “in discussions with many labels and management companies,” with interest in VR concerts on the rise since Apple’s headset announcement, the company says. It is also producing and releasing mixed reality (MR) concerts – a combination of virtual and augmented reality – by overlaying virtual elements onto live, real-world video. This will allow fans to “interact with the music artists using hand gestures,” the company says, an element that Slater believes can go a long way in how our brains perceive and accept virtual environments. Regardless of the platform or the venue, it’s still all about the music, says T-Pain. “Even when you’re not at a concert … kicking it with two friends and putting on my music is kind of like a party,” the rapper adds. “I think the music kind of does that on its own.” Source: CNN News.com

Summer smash “Barbie” is the highest-grossing global release in the studio’s 100-year history, beating out 2011’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.” Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” edged out the saga’s finale by $767,505, according to Comscore projections. Comscore estimated a global total of $1,341,854,460 through Monday for “Barbie.” On Monday, Warner Bros. said “Barbie” will pass “Harry Potter” to become its highest grossing film globally. That’s still not enough to crack the top 10 highest-grossing movies of all time, however, which is dominated by Disney franchises like Marvel’s Avengers, Star Wars and Avatar. The highest-grossing film of all time is “Avatar,” which took in $2.9 billion globally, according to Box Office Mojo. It was produced by 20th Century Fox and debuted in 2009. The Avatar franchise is now owned by Disney. “Barbie” and the “Harry Potter” films are distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, which is owned by CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. “When ‘Barbie’ was first announced, I don’t think anybody could have predicted that this will become the global phenomenon that it has,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst at Comscore. While “Harry Potter” had a longer path to success over several films, Barbie’s meteoric rise was “the perfect storm,” Dergarabedian said, of a cultural, movie and social media phenomenon coming together. Dergarabedian said the movie could have a ripple effect going forward for the industry. “The implications moving forward are that it can be very successful for Warner Bros. and of course Mattel for sure,” he said. A blockbuster summer Just last week, “Barbie” surpassed “Super Mario Bros.” as the highest-grossing movie at the domestic box office this year. It took Barbieland just 34 days since its release to reach the record-breaking title. “Barbie” started breaking records early. It made $155 million domestically in its opening weekend, marking the largest opening weekend of the year and the biggest-ever debut for a female director. “Barbie” also was crowned Warner Bros. Discovery’s highest-grossing domestic release, beating out “The Dark Knight” in 2008. “Barbie” hit the $1 billion global box office mark barely three weeks into its run — only about 50 films in history, adjusted for inflation, reached the benchmark, Dergarabedian previously said. Gerwig became the first solo female director with a billion-dollar movie. The film no longer rules the domestic box office, though. In late August, “Blue Beetle” — also distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures — unseated “Barbie” from the top of the US box office. Its $25 million domestic opening paled in comparison to “Barbie,” however.

The National Capital District Commission (NCDC) has started hoisting 2000 PNG flags on the street-light poles along the inner city routes since last Saturday. This annual initiative is aimed at putting everyone on the celebration mood for the coming 48th Independence Anniversary whilst rehearsing for the golden jubilee in 2025. City Manager, Ravu Frank is calling on the general public to support and respect the national flags that are on the street-light poles. “Anyone caught vandalizing, damaging or stealing the flags will be arrested and prosecuted,” said the City Manager. “The flag is our pride and identity that unites us as one people in one city and one country with one future.” Everyone is encouraged to both decorate their premises and dress up in national colours of red, yellow, black and white.