| This Plastic Free July The Environmental Defence Canada organization is calling out Canada’s top plastic polluters, also known as Big Plastic—the companies that turn oil and gas into plastics. This spring, the federal government added plastic to the Toxic Substances List under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). The listing means Canada can better manage the production, use and disposal of plastic and it will be required to address the harms caused by plastic in the environment. This is progress! But now Canada is being sued by its three biggest plastic producers—NOVA Chemicals, Dow Chemical and Imperial Oil—in an effort to prevent any regulations that would help reduce plastic pollution. To add insult to injury, Big Plastic insists plastic is safe and necessary while blaming others, namely society and municipal waste systems, for the havoc their products wreak on our environment. Big Plastic has been flying under the radar for too long. It’s time to call them out! ![]() |
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| Canada now finds itself on the front lines of a war waged by high-priced lawyers and public relations professionals on behalf of some of the biggest companies in the world. Instead of being part of the solution, Big Plastic is rolling out trashy tactics to protect its bottom line and increase production. Help us call out NOVA Chemicals, Dow Chemical and Imperial Oil for suing the federal government. Let’s hold them accountable for their role in creating one of the world’s biggest pollution crises. Not on Twitter? No problem! You can still take action. If you haven’t already, tell the federal government that you support regulations to end Canada’s plastic pollution problem. Help us spread the word by sharing this action on Facebook or simply forwarding this email to your family and friends. Together for change, |
| For the Silo, Karen Wirsig. |
Monthly Archives: July 2021
Ecommerce Is Evolving And Here’s How
Thanks to the digital technology, we can carry out commercial transactions online. We can buy and sell items or services, pay bills, make orders, and so much more.
Online enterprises are heavily relying on this commodity. This is why we have numerous online businesses nowadays.
The infographic below from Subscriptionly will inform you about the current and future tech trends that will influence the ecommerce sector. Some of the main trends are as follows.
Personalized Experience
Technology has enabled online businesses to give their customers personalized shopping experiences. For e-shoppers, this has engendered an engaging and satisfying shopping experience.
Businesses recorded an increase in revenue by employing this concept, since 48% of customers spend more when their experience is personalized.
Automated Customer Service
AI has transformed the way customer queries and complaints are attended to. Consumers now have their issues promptly resolved. It was reported that, this year, AI handled 45% of customer queries on its own. And it does this swiftly and effectively, which is definitely a factor that makes customer support a positive experience.
Excellent customer service is essential to building customer loyalty. In fact, 42% of customers buy more when they are served properly.
It is projected that, by 2020, AI will handle 85% of customer interactions.
Cryptocurrency
Soon, commercial transactions will be carried out with cryptocurrency. Via the use of cryptocurrency (such as Bitcoin), customers will get to make secure payments quickly and conveniently.
Also, businesses that add cryptocurrency as a payment method will make better sales. One retail outfit did and in 5 months, it generated $2million alternative currency sales and a 60% boost in new customers.
Drone Delivery
In the nearest future, e-shoppers will possibly have their purchased items delivered the same day. When this become reality, customers will be happier and businesses will undergo a rise in brand awareness and sales. The 72% of shoppers stated they would shop and spend more if same day delivery was available.
A method that is being considered to initiate same day delivery is the drone delivery. DHL tried it and recorded a 70% improvement in first-attempt deliveries, and a 90% success in resolution of customers’ critical cases. When popularized, 40% of parcels will be drone-delivered in 2 hours by 2028. For the Silo, Josh Wardini.

Pornhub launches guide to famous museum erotic art
Unbeknownst to many, some of the world’s best pornography doesn’t exist on Pornhub. Rather, it exists in famous museums around the world: The Louvre (France), The MET (New York City), The Prado (Spain), The Uffizi Gallery (Italy), The National Gallery (UK) and Musee d’Orsay (France), to name a few.
And with museums finally reopening around the world as pandemic restrictions are being lifted, Pornhub wanted to do its part to encourage people to enjoy every stroke of erotic art.
Pornhub is launching “Classic Nudes” to provide museum-goers with an interactive oral history of some of the most renowned erotic art in some of the world’s most famous museums. Pornhub is encouraging people to ditch those boring self-tour recordings and enjoy every single brushstroke of these erotic masterpieces with Pornhub Brand Ambassador Asa Akira.
New York – July, 2021 – Pornhub, the premier online destination for adult entertainment, today announced the launch of “Classic Nudes,” an interactive guide to discover and learn more about erotic art in some of the world’s most famous fine art museums – The Louvre (France), The MET (New York City), The Prado (Spain), The Uffizi Gallery (Italy), The National Gallery (UK) and the Musee d’Orsay (France). With museums finally reopening around the world as pandemic restrictions are being lifted, Pornhub wanted to do its part in stimulating the public to visit, explore and fall back in love (or lust) with these cultural institutions.

The public can tour each of the 6 museums – either in person or at home – via the Classic Nudes mobile website. The online portal guides visitors past the SFW masterpieces and gets right to the good stuff: representations of the naked body in all its artistic glory. Simply visit the Classic Nudes website on your device, select your museum, follow the map, locate the artwork, and listen, read, or watch along to its curated content.
Hungarian-Italian artist and porn legend Cicciolina stars in the promotional video for Classic Nudes. Pornhub Brand Ambassador Asa Akira serves as orator for the campaign providing an oral history of 30 erotic art pieces in this curated collection, while Pornhub amateur couple, “MySweetApple” brings 6 iconic artwork to life.
“There’s a treasure trove of erotic art around the world – depicting nudes, orgies, and more – that’s not available on Pornhub. These pre-Internet art pieces are currently sitting in museums, which we are now finally able to start visiting again as covid restrictions are starting to lift ,” said Asa Akira, Pornhub Brand Ambassador. “So as people start to head back to The Louvre or The MET, they can simply open Classic Nudes, and I’ll be their guide. Time to ditch those boring self-tour recordings and enjoy every single brushstroke of these erotic masterpieces with me.”
Classic Nudes follows previous artistic endeavors from Pornhub including the recently launched “Remastured,” an initiative that used modern A.I technology and machine learning to restore century-old erotic films into titillating technicolor.
Previously, the company commissioned contemporary art gallery Maccarone Los Angeles to present a feminist art show entitled ‘The Pleasure Principle,’ a pan-generational, sexually-charged exhibition of female artists whose work centers the erotic and disrupts the processes of content-cleansing that code certain images as profane, abject, or pornographic. Pornhub also hosted the online premier of SHAKEDOWN, the critically-acclaimed documentary art film centered around the Black lesbian stripper scene in early oughts Los Angeles by filmmaker and vanguard artist Leilah Weinraub.
Pornhub’s “Classic Nudes” campaign is a collaborative initiative with creative agency Officer & Gentleman.
For more information about Classic Nudes, please visit http://www.phclassicnudes.com/
About Pornhub:
Founded in 2007, Pornhub is the leading free, ad-supported adult video streaming website, offering viewers the opportunity to upload and share their own videos. With over 3 million videos and over 130 million visitors a day, Pornhub truly is the best adult site in the world. Pornhub has built the largest dedicated membership base in the adult community, averaging over 76 million monthly active members, offering viewers a fun and sophisticated social experience directly insite, complete with messaging, photos, achievement badges, and much more.
Protecting the body in Combat- European Bronze Style
This monograph provides for the first time a combined overview of all classes of metal body armour from the European Bronze Age in a holistic perspective, combining discussion of both traditional typo-chronologies and aspects of manufacture and use.
The earliest metal body armour recovered comes from Dendra, Greece, and dates to the first half of the 15th century BC.
However, the majority of metal body armour, including helmets, cuirasses and greaves, derives from the European Late Bronze Age, c. 1200–950 BC. This armour has been found from Iberia in the west to Cyprus in the east, and from Sicily in the south to Denmark in the north, as well as in the Near East. It thus derives from a wide geographical study area. Nevertheless, only around 30 cuirasses, 75 greaves and 120 helmets have so far been recovered.
The development, manufacture and use of this metal body armour across Europe remains unclear, even after more than a century of research. Earlier studies were largely concerned with typo-chronological aspects of this armour, whilst topics such as manufacturing techniques, efficacy and technological observations were rarely addressed.

This volume therefore brings together both traditional artefact and metallurgical studies, as well as reconstructions of manufacturing techniques, technological developments and innovations and use-wear analysis. The monograph also provides much-needed detail concerning material characterisation, in the form of alloy composition and microstructure analysis of a significant sample of the original finds.
Combining the results of this with the study of the manufacturing techniques and use-wear traces, a better understanding of how this armour was both produced and used is achieved. I have documented, studied and analysed all accessible helmets, greaves and cuirasses in eastern Europe as well as a number of examples from western Europe, significantly increasing the quantity of body armour studied and analysed in detail. The publication contains the whole spectrum of known body armour currently recovered, as well as including ‘new’ finds from auctions or private collections, which have previously been overlooked.
The present volume offers a holistic artefact study of European Bronze Age body armour, its manufacture and usage. It serves as a basis for further experimental studies into the production and utility of bronze helmets, cuirasses and greaves, which will deliver further important insights in … View full abstract For the Silo, Marianne Modlinger.
Dry Cleaning Clothes May Be Harmful To Your Health
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| Why you shouldn’t dry clean your “Dry Clean Only” clothes
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finally a Machine will curate an Art exhibit
The Museum of Wild and Newfangled Art (mowna) Announces the Debut of an AI Experiment in Art Curation: “This Show is Curated by a Machine ?”
The free call for international submissions is now open for all to take part in an experiment that defines how we move forward with AI curation in an ethical way
NEW YORK (July, 2021) – The Museum of Wild and Newfangled Art (mowna) is currently designing an artificial intelligence curator for their final show of the year “This Show is Curated by a Machine 🤖” which directly answers the Whitney Museum of American Art’s curatorial question,“The Next Biennial Should Be Curated by a Machine.”

The curator, an AI bot machine, will learn to curate by looking at the data set from the 2021 mowna Biennial, an exhibit of an international pool of artists selected from 44 countries gathered through a free call for submissions process that ran from January through March of 2021.
The Biennial includes all forms of art made from 2019 to 2021. The machine will also learn from other data sets of recently made art. The AI machine will curate the show by looking at the text data of the submissions as well as the artwork files. There will also be human curators, so that a comparison can be made.
The show will be viewable at mowna.org, and a detailed writeup of the process, results, and thoughts about the future of artificial intelligence related to art curation will be made available. Early questions are available here in the mowna blog.
“We are interested in creating a machine that can curate in a diverse and ethical way, that is not founded in white supremacy or structures of inherent racism. Much of the art world is affected and effected by both of these issues. So mowna asks, is it possible to create an AI that looks at the art and curates with diversity, equity and inclusion? It is important to build this machine now, before other big tech companies design algorithms that erase the artist and define AI curation.” ~cari ann shim sham*, Co-founder and Curator of mowna.

“This Show is Curated by a Machine 🤖” marks the third online art experience by mowna, the first being its Opening Show now available to members in the mowna collection, and the second being the current exhibit, the 2021 mowna Biennial. The Biennial is mowna’s direct response to the gap in the art world seen after the coronavirus pandemic, and showcased art of all mediums that otherwise would’ve gone unseen. Tickets to the Biennial will be available until the show closes on September 22nd, and are sliding scale pay what you wish, after which “This Show is Curated by a Machine 🤖” will be installed and available for online viewing.
Artists may submit up to 10 works of art per submission and artists will be paid 70% of ticket and membership sales from the show, with the other 30% paying for the creation of the platform. There is no submission fee to apply, and all mediums of art are welcome. The works must have been completed after January 1, 2020. The deadline for submissions is August 20, 2021 at 12 PM ET. Contact The Silo for more information.
As the global community continually moves further into a multi-faceted technological way of life, the way art, across all mediums, is consumed, has been changing in ways to make art more accessible while remaining true to the integrity of all genres. mowna recognized this growing, transformational need pre-pandemic which catalyzed the formation and birth of the Museum of Wild and Newfangled Art to meet the ever-growing needs of an ever-changing art world.
mowna is at the center of the exponentially changing art world and makes it their priority to showcase art from all walks of life. With a mix of what is familiar and unfamiliar, patrons will see artists who’ve been curated by the Whitney or the MoMA along with artists available only on mowna.
“This Show is Curated by a Machine 🤖” will run from September 23, 2021 through January 31, 2022 at mowna.org. mowna exists to provide an international online platform for the most timely, diverse, and preeminent artists.
USA’s first-ever Olympic Surf Team and Wyland Foundation partner for healthy oceans
Rancho Santa Margarita–To commemorate USA Surfing’s first ever event at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, renowned marine life artist Wyland created a limited time commemorative USA Surf collection with a signature Octopus in his beautiful Japanese-influenced Gyotaku style. This lucky Octopus shows up throughout the collection.
See the full limited time commemorative USA Surf collection by Wyland Foundation here: https://wylandfoundation.org/product-category/usa-surfing/
Proceeds support the ocean conservation partnership between USA Surfing and the Wyland Foundation.
Orders are NOW ready to ship.
WSL and Olympic surfer / artist Courtney Conlogue recently joined Wyland at his studio to talk surfers, dolphins and the Olympics.
About the Wyland Foundation
Founded in 1993 by environmental artist Wyland, the Wyland Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to promoting, protecting, and preserving the world’s ocean, waterways, and marine life. The foundation encourages environmental awareness through community events, education programs, and public art projects. This year the Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation marks its 10th anniversary promoting health of U.S. waters.
Why High Heels Are Still One Of Business World’s Most Powerful Symbols
4 Reasons Why Women Will Lead The Business World In The 21st Century
When you let women be women in the business world, they do better. That’s according to a recent report from the Harvard Business Review, which makes the case that traditional thinking – that women should be treated no differently than men in corporate settings – is simply flawed and regressive.
A major point the post makes is that only about 20 percent of businesswomen make partner. By expecting from women what you would expect from men, the corporate world is consciously and unconsciously excluding female leadership. That’s a very bad thing, according to many. For example, Kevin O’Leary of “Shark Tank” fame says that of his 27 companies, only the ones with female CEOS make him money.
“Women are good for business, so it follows that what’s good for your best women will be good for your bottom line,” says Debora McLaughlin, CEO of The Renegade Leader Coaching and Consulting Group (www.TheRenegadeLeader.com), and author of “Running in High Heels: How to Lead with Influence, Impact & Ingenuity.”
“I’ve long advocated this position, and that symbols of female business identity, like high heels, are signs of a businesswoman’s ability to elevate business results, consistently providing a better return for stakeholders.”
McLaughlin discusses why women will be essential for leading businesses into a new paradigm this century.
• The old way doesn’t work. Since 1955, more than 90 percent of the companies on the Fortune 500 list have gone bankrupt, shrunk in size, become inconsequential, been mopped up by their rivals or closed their doors. Sixty percent of CEOs think their current business model is only sustainable for another three years. Sticking too closely to your old guns, including discouraging a woman’s nature in the corporate world, will likely involve your company in that 90-plus percent failure rate.
• The business world has already changed. While technology continues to revolutionize how we do business, it has also changed the workforce. Today’s employees are smarter, more innovative, more creative and full of potential – and it’s not only due to technology. As Generations X and Y emerge as tomorrow’s leaders, Millennials are proving to be very resourceful workers. Old models like “command-and-control” don’t fit with a company’s most precious resource, its people.
• Women are more social and excel in collaboration. We shouldn’t generalize to strictly regarding gender norms. However, it’s probably fair to say that women are more nurturing for in-group members. Much of the traditional management method centralized authority; a woman’s leadership is more prone to sharing influence and, perhaps, fostering a creative culture of collaboration.
“Of course, this is not a strict gender rule,” McLaughlin says. “But I think it’s the experience of many that women are, in the aggregate, more nurturing.
• Momentum will continue to build for women leadership. Momentum tends to build upon itself, and that includes social change. While that change has been slower in the corporate world, we’re already seeing signs and opinions of change, as exemplified by Kevin O’Leary.
“More importantly, if the Harvard Business Review’s post is an indicator, women in business will feel more comfortable being themselves in a professional environment,” she says. “Unlocking those invisible shackles from a woman’s high heels will be a game-changer.”
About Debora McLaughlin
Debora McLaughlin is the best-selling author of “The Renegade Leader: 9 Success Strategies Driven Leaders Use to Ignite People, Performance and Profits.” Her new book, “Running in High Heels: How to Lead with Influence, Impact & Ingenuity,” is a how-to leadership companion for women in business. She is CEO of The Renegade Leader Coaching and Consulting Group (www.TheRenegadeLeader.com). As a certified executive coach, McLaughlin helps business owners, executives and managers nationwide ignite their inner renegade leader to unleash their full potential, drive their visions and yield positive results, both in business and in life.
Supplemental- Top 10 Female CEOs & Influential Business Women of North American Companies
how YouTube Stars Make Millions Without Leaving Home
Over the past few years social media stars have made a fortune online, using YouTube to create their own brand. Take a look at how they’ve made their careers and the money that they’re making. From top YouTubers to the celebs you’d forgotten started their careers online, here we take a look at the secrets to online fame and fortune.
Take a look at some of the biggest YouTube stars making millions online and find out if you could do the same! Did we miss anyone? Leave us a comment at the bottom of the post and let us know who is your favorite.

Porsche Tower Condos Allows Owners To Take Cars Up In Elevator
New York City is home to over 70 of the world’s billionaires, but when they want to get away to decompress, many shed their suit and tie for a guayabera, white slacks and boat shoes and head to South Florida for the white sand beaches, fine dining, yachting and golfing. Some have been heading to Sunny Isles, Florida where, according to the developer, over 20 billionaires have purchased a home at Porsche Design Tower.

New owners at the Porsche building were the first in North America to be able to take their cars up an elevator to their personal sky garage, including the $USD 32.5 million penthouse. Three patented Dezervators, a glass drive-in elevator rising at 600-feet per minute, will enable residents to keep an eye on their Ferraris, Porsches and Rolls Royces while sitting in their living rooms reading the Wall Street Journal and checking out the Atlantic Ocean views.
The 60th-floor Porsche penthouse comes with a huge living and dining area, state-of-the-art kitchen, family room and four ensuite bedrooms with a total of seven baths, floor-to-ceiling glass walls, 20-foot ceilings and a private people elevator. The outdoor living areas are equally impressive with a private terrace pool and roof pool, two balconies and two summer kitchens. It has two sky garages and a separate 3,000-square-foot car gallery. The gallery can be customized by the owner for fewer cars to substitute a game room or extra living space.
Building amenities include a three-story lobby with glass car elevator observatory, movie theater, game room, oceanside restaurant with indoor/outdoor dining, private wine lockers, oceanside bar and lounge with fireplace and large-screen TVs, oceanfront pool with food and beverage service, Intracoastal Waterway sunset deck, virtual golf simulator, virtual car-race game, ballroom with bar and catering kitchen, oceanfront gym and yoga room, spa, sauna, steam rooms, hair salon and a car concierge available to give the luxury cars a wash and maintenance.
Having broken ground in 2014, the tower is now sold out.
The penthouse is priced at $32.5 million; other units when remaining were listed for sale starting at $6.2 million. Porsche is located in Sunny Isles – a ritzy part of the Atlantic Ocean stretch of Miami Beach to Fort Lauderdale condos. The developer is Dezer Development in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.
In Other Real Estate News- “San Francisco Clock Tower Penthouse”. Few can say that they start off their dinner parties with cocktails inside a century old clock. That is to say, no one except the new owners of this historic three-level landmark loft apartment gleaned from the clock tower of a factory in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood that was converted into live-work spaces in 1992 by architect David Baker.
The historic clock tower was constructed in 1907 and the large building complex that supported it became the West Coast’s largest printing company by 1921. The owner of the business, Max Schmidt, decided to construct a penthouse level in the clock tower where natural light poured in from all four sides of the clock faces so that his lithographers would find it easier to work. In 1930, the plan for the new Bay Bridge was solidified, which would require tearing down a portion of the printing buildings, including the clock tower. Schmidt would have none of that and used his clout, threatening to move his business to the other side of the bay. The city, unwilling to lose one of their largest businesses, gave in and agreed to take the highway around Schmidt’s complex and the tower was saved. In 1992, the old factory was repurposed into 127 contemporary live/work lofts and offices. Commuters have come to depend on the clock as they travel to and from work each day.
Now for the first time in almost a quarter of a century, the penthouse is for sale. The sleek contemporary condo with spectacular city views measures in at a spacious 3,000 square feet of living space, including a room inside the clock itself and has large wrap-around terraces providing outdoor space for lounging and entertaining. The two-bedroom, two-bath residence has been designed to optimize the loft’s spaciousness with an expansive living-dining room divided by a double-sided glass fireplace with French doors opening to the terrace. Original brick walls, hardwood and polished concrete floors and built-in bookcases following the lines of the beams are highlights of the structure. Included are a gourmet kitchen with top-end appliances and space for a table, office, game room, library, large master suite and the clock room.
San Francisco’s historic registered Landmark Clock Tower four-story penthouse loft apartment with conversation piece furnished room inside the clock is listed at $8.5 million.
Visit TopTenRealEstateDeals.com for more celebrity homes and real estate news. For the Silo, Terry Walsh.
Eight Ways To Make Time For Important Things

One of the most common lines that people love to use: “I wish I had more time.” Maybe it’s more time to spend with family or friends; more time to exercise and eat healthy; or more time to go back to school. Whatever it is, how do you make more time for those truly important things in your life?
Dr. Alok Trivedi, author of Chasing Success, says the reality is we all have the same 24 hours. The difference is some people know how to better manage it than others. When it comes to making time for the important things, Dr. Trivedi recommends:
1. Minimize, minimize and minimize some more. There was a reason Marie Kondo’s novel about tidying up your space to become happy was so successful. There is truth in her message of eliminating the unnecessary and finding what you love in the process. Get rid of what does not bring you joy. This can be old items or even toxic relationships that no longer serve you. Less is really more.

2. Being busy does not bring you value. In North American culture, it can be all too easy to be running around completing task after task. Many people view this form of productivity as determining their worth in society. It’s wise to assess what in your life is bringing you value and maximize that rather than trying to do things that just don’t feel right and make you feel unworthy on the inside. Business is an excuse and distraction to overlook the things in which you may be afraid to focus your energy on.
3. Differentiate between efficiency and effectiveness. Your time is precious and needs to be allocated to the most important things. Utilize your time to be both effective and efficient. Being only effective can be a time-consuming action. While complementary, being only efficient can lead to sloppy results. When you are doing any task, approach it within a concept of both maximum efficiency and total effectiveness to reap the best results. In your personal life, this is achieved through being present and genuine in your interactions.
4. Single task and hold your focus. Many people find themselves casually checking a single email, and before long they snap into full-fledged work mode. Develop a schedule and follow it religiously. It may be hard to find your groove initially, but if you stick to it, little by little it will become a habit.

5. Know what you hold important. It is a challenge to know how to dedicate your free time if you haven’t discovered what you love. Find the activities where your creativity flows and your heart sings. Only in these states are you going to find yourself in the states of joy that make you feel life is worth living.
6. Address problems at the root. When you have the time to dedicate to the important things, you don’t want work problems to keep popping up. If there is a problem at work, address it from the start. Don’t keep putting it off, because it will fester at inopportune times. This goes both ways. If you have a personal dilemma with a family member, don’t run from it by adopting workaholic ways. Confront your problems head on to solve them with best results. Shying away will only allow the problem to become worse in the shadows.
7. Getting and staying organized. When it is time to be with friends and family the last thing you want to do is housework. Dedicate an initial cleaning and mass organization of your space. After this initial step, take a little time each day to clear your space and organize everything into its given area. The clarity of your physical space lends to clarity of mind. Then, there is mental space to focus on what matters, and not be distracted by the mess around you.
8. Block out time just for you. You must become your top priority. Declare certain times of the day and week that are just for you. This time can be for you to indulge in your favorite pastimes, meditate, or even to do nothing. This time is yours to center yourself and think about what you are presently encountering in life.
Live in every moment, and focus on the present. For the Silo, Alex Smith.




