Tuesday, December 09, 2025
Monday, December 08, 2025
Nearing Winter News.
I started on this journey of learning about my family tree many years ago back in 2015. I struggled to find out a large amount of information about my ancestors until 2018. 2018 was when I found out about my ancestry in a more advanced level. I understood the identities of many of my ancestors beyond my great grandparents. Discoveries my relatives worldwide have been a blessing too. Everything wasn't going to be the same again. From 2018 to the present in 2026, I learned about my family history even before the year of 1800. In these times, my knowledge about RNA has increased as RNA helps to create amino acids (or the building blocks of proteins or the physical matrix of the human phenotype and various types of physics plus mathematics (like phi, consciousness, fractals, and other parts of the Universe). Reality is larger than the three-dimensional world. The Universe and reality in general are filled with many wavelengths, quarks, atoms, and other structures of life like carbon. We can't see every aspect of reality with our eyes alone. For example, you can't see atoms as they are too small in size. There are other electromagnetic waves that can't be seen by the human eyes too. In fact, all reality is made up of electromagnetic frequencies, mathematical laws, various codes, atoms, and patterns that spread throughout the Universe. This has been proven heavily by mainstream scientific research in our generation. During this time, genealogical research has been made by human beings to realize our ancestry found in multiple continents, many ethnic groups, and other forms of human origins (as found in African Ancestry, Ancestry.com, 23 and Me, etc.). It is certainly part of my august destiny to show the truth about my genealogy to the people. Subsequently, that goal has been successful in numerous ways. I am related to both famous and unsung human beings, but we are all equals, part of the same blood, regardless of title or background. During our lives, we always need to be reminded about the things that are most important. Friends, family, loved ones, and legitimate principles like justice, integrity, humane treatment, etc. are worth more than all of the money in the world.
One of the most well-known cities of the world is Miami, Florida. Filled with bodies of water, hotels, parties, and homes, Miami is one of the major world urban communities. It is found in the tropical environment filled with wonderful culture and vast excitement. It is a multicultural city filled with African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, Latinos, white people, Asian people, Native Americans, biracial people, multiracial people, and other human beings of all diverse backgrounds. From the music to sports (we know of the many championships that the Miami Heat won in the NBA and the undefeated season of the Miami Dolphins NFL team back in the 1970s), Miami represents the massive vitality of American society. Miami is filled with 56.07 square miles with a population of 442,241 people. Miami is the 2nd most visited city of America after New York City with over 4 million people visiting Miami in 2022. Tourism and joy are found in the city with families and other people enjoying the sun. The festive atmosphere in the Miami area has caused people of every age to experience profound happiness. Festivities, love of culture, and respect outline the characteristics of the ethos of Miami. Also, it is important to fight racism, poverty (and economic oppression in general), xenophobia, and all evil injustices in Miami plus the world too. We have quintessential hope for the future, but we reject naivete of the present. During this unique, historic times, we have to stand up for our rights and reject the evil views of fascism and authoritarianism that is embraced by the forces of evil. Goodness will always win in the end.
In 2012, Halle Berry starred as an expert diver tutor with then-husband Oliver Martinez in the thriller Dark Tide. She led an ensemble cast with Tom Hanks and Jim Broadbent in The Wachowskis' epic science fiction film Cloud Atlas in 2012. Each of the actors in the film played six different characters across a period of five centuries. Budgeted at 128.8 U.S. dollars, Cloud Atlas made 130.4 million US dollars worldwide. The film had diverse reactions among critics and audiences. It was years ahead of its time. Berry was in segment of the independent anthology comedy of Movie 43 in 2013. She had more success in the film The Call in 2013. In that film Halle Berry plays a 9-1-1 operator who received a call from a girl kidnapped by a serial killer. Berry was drawn to "the idea of being a part of a movie that was so empowering for women. We don't often get to play roles like this, where ordinary people become heroic and do something extraordinary." Manohla Dargis of The New York Times found the film to be "an effectively creepy thriller," while reviewer Dwight Brown felt that "the script gives Berry a blue-collar character she can make accessible, vulnerable and gutsy[...]." The Call was a sleeper hit, grossing US$68.6 million around the globe.
By 2014, Halle Berry signed on to star and serve as a co-executive producer in the CBS drama series Extant. She had the role of Molly Woods, an astronaut who struggled to reconnect with her husband and android son after spending 13 months in space. The show ran for two seasons until 2015, receiving largely positive reviews from critics. USA Today remarked: "She [Halle Berry] brings a dignity and gravity to Molly, a projected intelligence that allows you to buy her as an astronaut and to see what has happened to her as frightening rather than ridiculous. Berry's all in, and you float along." Also in 2014, Berry launched a new production company, 606 Films, with producing partner Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas. It is named after the Anti-Paparazzi Bill, SB 606, that the actress pushed for and which was signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown in the fall of 2013. The new company emerged as part of a deal for Berry to work in Extant. In the stand-up comedy concert film Kevin Hart: What Now? (2016), Berry appeared as herself, opposite Kevin Hart, attending a poker game event that goes horribly wrong. She provided uncredited vocals to the song "Calling All My Lovelies" by Bruno Mars from his third studio album, 24K Magic (2016). Kidnap, an abduction thriller Berry filmed in 2014, was released in 2017. In the film, she starred as a diner waitress tailing a vehicle when her son is kidnapped by its occupants. Kidnap grossed US$34 million and garnered mixed reviews from writers, who felt that it "strays into poorly scripted exploitation too often to take advantage of its pulpy premise — or the still-impressive talents of [Berry]." She next played an agent employed by a secret American spy organization in the action comedy sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), as part of an ensemble cast, consisting of Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Julianne Moore, and Elton John. While critical response towards the film was mixed, it made US$414 million worldwide.
Alongside Daniel Craig, Berry starred as a working-class mother during the 1992 Los Angeles riots in Deniz Gamze Ergüven's drama Kings (2017). The Los Angeles rebellion of 1992 came in response to the acquittal of the officers who brutally attacked Rodney King. To this day, we are still fighting against police brutality, economic oppression, and racial injustice. The film found a limited theatrical release following its initial screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, and as part of an overall lukewarm reception, Variety noted: "It should be said that Berry has given some of the best and worst performances of the past quarter-century, but this is perhaps the only one that swings to both extremes in the same movie." Berry competed against James Corden in the first rap battle on the first episode of TBS's Drop the Mic, originally aired on October 24, 2017.
One of the most unique inventions from the A.I. movement is ChatGPT. It is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot that was created by Open AI. It was released in November 2022. It became very popular in 2024 and especially in 2025. GPT stands for generative pre-trained transformer. The goal of ChatGPT is to create text, speech and images in response to user prompts. It has been part of the new AI boom. There is an increase of rapid investment in artificial intelligence. OpenAI has its service on a freemium model. People can interact with ChatGPT via text, audio, and image prompts. This device is part of the Cloud computing platforms. ChatGPT has done some good to discover information for people and develop growth intellectual. One issue is that some people may exploit ChatGPT to promote plagiarism in schools and universities in advancing academic dishonesty. Many of the answers from ChatGPT are inaccurate or lacking in serious details. It is based in large language model of LLM technology. It can write information and debug computer ChatGPT can be used for translation and summarization tasks. It can simulate interactive environments such as a Linux terminal, a multi-user chat room, or simple text-based games like tic-tac-toe. In March 2023, OpenAI added support for plugins for ChatGPT that deals with web browsing and code interpretation and external plugins from developers (like Expedia, OpenTable, Zapier, Shopify, Slack, and Wolfam). In December 2024, OpenAI launched a new feature allowing users to call ChatGPT with a telephone for up to 15 minutes per month for free.
In 2025, OpenAI added several features to make ChatGPT more agentic (capable of autonomously performing longer tasks). In January 2025, Operator was released. It was capable of autonomously performing tasks through web browser interactions, including filling forms, placing online orders, scheduling appointments, and other browser-based tasks. It was controlling a software environment inside a virtual machine with limited internet connectivity and with safety restrictions. It struggled with complex user interfaces. In May 2025, OpenAI introduced an agent for coding named Codex. It is capable of writing software, answering codebase questions, running tests, and proposing pull requests. It is based on a fine-tuned version of OpenAI o3. It has two versions, one running in a virtual machine in the cloud, and one where the agent runs in the cloud, but performs actions on a local machine connected via API. In July 2025, OpenAI released ChatGPT agent, an AI agent that can perform multi-step tasks. Like Operator, it controls a virtual computer. It also inherits from Deep Research's ability to gather and summarize significant volumes of information. The user can interrupt tasks or provide additional instructions as needed. In September 2025, OpenAI partnered with Stripe, Inc. to release Agentic Commerce Protocol, enabling purchases through ChatGPT. At launch, the feature was limited to purchases on Etsy from US users with a payment method linked to their OpenAI account. OpenAI takes an undisclosed cut from the merchant's payment. ChatGPT has been used in finance, computer science, education, politics, and other spheres of human endeavors.
The history of Miami starts with the Native American people of the Tequestas. The Tequesta (also Tekesta, Tegesta, Chequesta, Vizcaynos) Native American tribe, at the time of first European contact, occupied an area along the southeastern Atlantic coast of Florida. They had infrequent contact with Europeans and had largely migrated by the middle of the 18th century. Miami is named after the Mayaimi, a Native American tribe that lived around Lake Okeechobee until the 17th or 18th century. The first Europeans who arrived at Miami were the Spanish. They formed a mission and small garrison among the Tequesta on the Biscayne Bay in 1567. The mission and garrison were withdrawn a couple years later. In 1743, the governor of Cuba formed another mission and garrison on Biscayne Bay. As the mission had not been approved by the Council of the Indies.
By Timothy
Sunday, December 07, 2025
Saturday, December 06, 2025
Friday, December 05, 2025
The End of the Week News.
Hundreds of federal agents have started anti-immigrant raids in New Orleans. The Department of Homeland Security desire 5,000 arrests in New Orleans alone. That is more than were seized and detained in the weeks of raids in Chicago, which has a much larger urban area. Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol commander, supports this action. Recently, according to posts from immigrant rights groups, there are detentions taking place at two Lowe's stores, in New Orleans and Metarie, and two Home Depot stores in LaPlace and Gretna. The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that five Border Patrol vehicles carried as many as 25 agents raided the Lowe's on Elysian Fields Avenue in New Orleans on Wednesday morning. It detained two dozen men who were looking for work. In usual fashion, the Governor of Louisiana and the Louisiana Attorney General support the raids. The Democratic elect mayor of New Orleans, Helena Moreno said that fear in the Hispanic community is widespread because of the Border Patrol operations.
According to Bloomberg, the FBI is seeking to bring a "seditious conspiracy" probe of Democrats. This is not only evil, but it's against the freedom of speech found in the First Amendment. This possible probe is against the Democrats who desire U.S. military officers to reject unlawful orders. Their statements were not controversial or illegal. What we have a problem is that Trump and his administration officials hate dissent against the Trump regime. They desire a hive mind where people unconditionally support him no matter what. That mentality is the mentality of a cult. Only a cult requires people to follow a leader without dissent. The FBI and Justice Department officials had contacted the U.S. Capitol Police to arrange interviews with the six Democratic lawmakers in question. Each of them confirmed they have been contacted by the House and Senate sergeants at arms on behalf of the FBI. The FBI and DOJ have been puppet agencies of the Trump regime. Targeting legal freedom of speech is fascism. People who peacefully speak their minds to defend the law is not the same as terrorists from the Oath Keepers and other groups who used violence on January 6th against our government. This actions by the FBI, DOJ, and Trump are anti-democratic and fascist in nature period. Many of these Democratic lawmakers have been threatened by MAGA cultists too.
There are more revelations of the docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning. The docuseries accused Combs of inflaming the gang tensions among the Crips (who allied with Bad Boy Records) and the Bloods (who sided with Death Row Records and its owner Suge Knight is a Blood gang member). The docuseries tried to even sugarcoat the evils done by Suge Knight. Combs did evil, but Suge was not a saint. Suge Knight beat men, beat women (according to the testimony of women), forced a man to drink urine, and did other wicked actions. The difference between Combs and Suge is that a least Suge admitted that he made mistakes. Suge is what you see is what you get being more overt in his intentions. Combs is more slick to pretend to be a nice guy, but he isn't. Combs never admitted that he made mistakes until after the video showed him assaulting Cassie was released to the public. The series showed Keefe D, and he knew Combs. Keeffe D accuses Combs of agreed to pay him money (in $1 million) to try to allegedly kill both Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight. Keefe D's nephew was Orlando Anderson, who is being accused by many of being the shooter of Tupac Shakur. Eirc Von "Zip" Martin, according to Burrowes, was Combs' uncle who concealed a gun in his car. Burrowes wrote in his journal that Combs requested that they rent cars to travel to New York to Las Vegas to attend the fight. Combs has denied any involvement in the death of Tupac Shakur. The series claims that Combs charged the costs to the Notorious B.I.G.'s estate to fund his funeral costs (Wayne Barrow of the Biggie estate denied this allegation). E.D.I. Amin said that Diddy prevented Biggie from joining Tupac's Thug Life's group and Thug Life album. Former staffer Capricorn Clark accused Combs of kidnapping her after he found out that Cassie was dating Kid Cudi. Aubrey O'Day of Danity Kane accused Combs and another man sexually abusing her. Former Bad Boy co-founder Kirk Burrowes accuses Combs of cursing and assaulting his own mother and being sexually assaulted and physically beaten by Combs. Diddy's legal team denied Burrowes allegations. Burrowes said that Sean Combs was jealous of Biggie's and Pac's friendship. Sean Combs is a wicked piece of work from beating Cassie, cursing out people for no reason, assaulting Steve Stoute, and doing other actions that are unjust. We know that 50 Cent has a more petty reason on why he produced the documentary, but 50 Cent's hypocrisy doesn't justify the evil that Sean Combs has done. There is absolutely no excuse for the evil deeds done by Diddy to be clear period.
Hegseth saying that he is justified in his actions by saying it was a "fog of war" is wrong. For example, America hasn't declared war against anyone. It is forbidden in international law to kill those who are suffering after being shot. That is why as Rep. Rand Paul has said, either Hegseth is lying or incompetent. That is why Pentagon Chief Hegseth should be fired. He is not up for primetime as the position that he is in requires tons of experience, foresight, and a sense of massive discernment. Some say that Hegseth may resign. This disaster is akin to the Abu Ghraib scandal back in 2004 when I was in my early 20s. Hegseth is a racist by whitewashing black history information on websites, and he is so extreme that he wants people to not have beards to go into the military. People from across the political spectrum say that Hegseth's actions in the Caribbean committed a war crime.
Trump has expanded the usage of ICE to harass immigrants and other Americans in Minneapolis and New Orleans. Trump's recent racist comments about Somalian immigrants (of calling them "garbage") exposes every Trump supporter (regardless of that supporters' color or creed) as hypocrites, liars, and wicked people. There is no excuse for Trump calling immigrants from Somalia garbage. Such rhetoric is anti-human justice and against the principle that all people are created equal. Trump's comments refute every pro-Trump troll who tried to debate me on Trumpism. MAGA is a cult, and the Trump administration's murder of people without due process of law in the Caribbean constitute real war crimes. Since September 2, 2025, the Trump administration murdered at least 83 civilians in 21 missile strikes on 22 shipping vessels manned by unarmed and defenseless people. They haven't shown conclusively evidence that these people were transporting drugs too. American imperialism has been shown to be a disgrace just like Russian imperialism in trying to dominate Ukraine. The Nuremberg Trials shows us what war crimes are involving the Holocaust. We know that the Bush Jr. administration promoted waterboarding, torture, black sites, and mass warrantless domestic surveillance which is also wrong and evil. We know of the Israeli genocide in Gaza against Palestinian people which also have no justification. We are clear to make a distinction between far right Israeli extremists and progressive Israelis and Palestinians who genuinely want peace and justice in the Middle East. So, we have to be on the side of justice.
By Timothy
Wednesday, December 03, 2025
Early December 2025 News.
There is a story of a college student being deported before her Holiday flight home. She is entitled to her day of court. Her name is Any Lucia Lopez Belloza. She is a 19 year old freshman at Babson College. She was arrested by federal immigration officials moments before getting on her flight on November 20, 2025. Then, she was sent to Texas and then to Honduras. This is the country where she was born, but she had not seen since she was 7 years old. She was deported even after a federal judge issued an order barring the government from removing her from America or transferring her outside of Massachusetts, according to her attorney and federal court documents. Trump defying legal court orders is commonplace, and Kristi Noem should feel shame for condoning defiance of the law. These MAGA hypocrites lecture people on rule of the law, but they want to violate laws that oppose their agenda (like the issue in Indiana when Trump wants to change the state's Congressional representation by fiat, but many people in Indiana oppose that abhorrent scheme). DHS claimed that Lopez Belloza stayed in America after being ordered to leave in 2015. The problem with that argument is that Lopez Belloza was never shown a warrant and there is no conclusive evidence that a removal order to her was given to her. She was placed in chains around her ankles and handcuffs. This is excessive and fascist behavior. The DHS claims that she had due process but Trump has a history of promoting no due process to people in the Caribbean by condoning murder in the Caribbean against people in boats.
We have sick people who are Trump and Hegseth. Hegseth used social media to glorify a picture of a ship being destroyed. The lie is that Trump never allowed ICE to arrest U.S. citizens. They have before. A federal agent has pepper-sprayed kids, an ICE agent assaulted a clergyman before, and ICE has been found slamming girl's faces into the ground, beating women, and punching the elderly. This is barbaric behavior that outlines the inhumane policies of the Trump administration. Trump wants executive power to expand his authoritarian rule. The Supreme Court made the mistake of ruling that Trump has immunity in almost everything that he does. Extremists like Steve Bannon, The Claremont Institute, and other organizations represent the ideological influences on Trump to carry out his attacks on our democracy. The racism in the GOP is not a myth. We know about the recent Politico article exposing how many Young Republican leaders promote racism, Nazism, and other forms of bigotry. Therefore, we can't be deceived during this generation. The MAGA movement is the biggest deception in the 21st century and one of the biggest deceptions in all of human history.
It is important to recognize that the mass deportation agenda, the assault of protestors from many ICE members, the mass detention centers, the violation of due process in murdering people in the Caribbean, the arrest of even pregnant women, and other atrocities now in 2025 is not new. Decades ago, the U.S. government locked up innocent Japanese American citizens during World War II unjustly. FDR supported this injustice. I agree with FDR on many economic issues, but his support of the internment of Japanese Americans was one of his greatest mistakes during his Presidency. It was so egregious and immoral, that America paid Japanese American reparations for illegally using racial profiling to send them into internment camps involuntarily. Now, we face another crisis of democracy when MAGA people want a unitary executive leader, desire to crush the social safety net, and want to eliminate the progressive gains that we fought for during the midst of decades in America. Just like back then, we have to fight fascism and tyranny via peaceful and constructive means.
50 Cent and director Alex Stapleton has promoted the series Sean Combs: The Reckoning on December 2, 2025. It shows tons of witnesses and former Diddy allies that describes his life and his corruption. Two things are true. One true thing is that 50 Cent is a rival of Sean Combs and has hatred of him for many reasons (like 50 Cent accusing Combs of reneging on a deal with Mase, Diddy asking 50 Cent to take him shopping, and Diddy dating Daphne Joy for a time). So, 50 Cent (the irony is that Shaniqua Tompkins and Daphne Joy both have accused 50 Cent of domestic violence. Daphne Joy has accused 50 Cent of sexual assault. 50 Cent has a known history of threatening people, trolling people, using violence against people, being a sexist, etc.) has a certain motive behind producing the documentary. The other thing that is true is that Diddy has a long history of abusing people, using domestic violence against women, having cursed out innocent people, and done other wickedness for over three decades now. Many people accuse Diddy of overt sexual assault. Therefore, we should not whitewash the evils that Sean Combs has done for decades. The documentary is divided into four parts showing information about Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. too. The documentary didn't lie about Combs' evil actions as it has video evidence, interviews, and rare archival footage of Combs. Sean Combs' legal team may sue Netflix, because the legal team alleges that some of the footage used in the documentary as being private and not to be released in public. Netflix responded that the footage is legally acquired. Sean Combs' actions are not representative of all people in hip hop culture. Sean Combs' deeds should remind us that we should always treat people with dignity and respect. No one should be abused, disrespected, or mistreated period. That lesson must always be reiterated.
Trump claims to oppose drug trafficking but wants to pardon a drug trafficker. Also, at least 11 Indiana Republicans are facing threats to refuse to follow Trump's redistricting plans. This has been reported by NBC News. This comes after Trump used a slur that disrespects people with intellectual disabilities. Trump has used that slur for years, and Trump is a wicked person for saying that word. This refutes the views from many Evangelical and Christian Nationalist supporters in claiming that Trump is some holy role model for humanity (when he isn't). Indiana state Senators refuse to cave to Trump's demands. Many of these Indiana Republicans have faced illegal swatting and other threats for doing the right thing. Trump is silent on this news, because Trump is concerned with expanding his political power. Trump knows that his political views are unpopular, so he is trying to cheat (via supporting bans of mail in ballots, his support of voter suppression rules, and him supporting mid-decade redistricting schemes) in trying to gain more political power. Most Americans want living wages, affordable housing, universal health care, a clean environment, protection of Social Security and Medicare, and no imperialism (which are progressive values and principles). People reject mid-decade redistricting.
By Timothy
Monday, December 01, 2025
Historical Updates.
Tupac Shakur's solo career existed with the release of his debut solo album called 2Pacalypse Now (alluding to the 1979 film of Apocalypse Now). It was released in November 1991. This album was different than his Digital Underground works. This album talked about important social issues in America (that are still relevant now) like racism, police brutality, poverty, gang violence, teenage pregnancy, and drug abuse. The album was controversial to some people, and many people (especially those who were far right and those who hate hip hop music) hated it. There was the situation when Ronald Ray Howard murdered a Texas Highway Patrol trooper and his defense attorney claimed he was influenced by 2Pacalypse Now and its strong theme of police brutality. This is a silly argument as no album can influence a person to do murder as murder is wrong period. Also, the album never condones killing all police officers. U.S. vice president Dan Quayle criticized the album, making the statement, "There's no reason for a record like this to be released. It has no place in our society." Tupac, finding himself misunderstood. Tupac said in response to the controversy that, "I just wanted to rap about things that affected young black males. When I said that, I didn't know that I was gonna tie myself down to just take all the blunts and hits for all the young black males, to be the media's kicking post for young black males." It is also true that artists do have the responsibility to do what is right. In other words, you can't blame music for all evils in the world, but music that glorifies evil should be criticized.
Despite controversies, 2Pacalypse Now was certified Gold, and peaked at No. 64 on the Billboard 200 and No. 13 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The three singles were released being: "Trapped", "Brenda's Got a Baby" (No. 23 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 3 on Hot Rap Songs), and "If My Homie Calls" (No. 3 on Hot Rap Songs). Some prominent rappers—like Nas, Eminem, Game, and Talib Kweli—cite the album 2Pacalypse as an inspiration. Aside from "If My Homie Calls", the singles "Trapped" and "Brenda's Got a Baby" poetically depict individual struggles under socioeconomic disadvantage. Later, Tupac starred in his first acting role in the movie Juice. Juice was released in 1992 about young teenage black people who try to survive in the streets. A robbery gone round causes one friend in the crew to die by a mentally ill, unstable person. The crew falls apart, and the unstable person dies after a fight. Tupac plays the role of Roland Bishop who shows charisma on the screen. Rolling Stone's Peter Travers calls him "the film's most magnetic figure." Multiple actors had auditioned for the role of Roland Bishop, but none were considered right for the role. Shakur accompanied Money-B to the audition and asked producer Neal H. Moritz to read. He was given 15 minutes to rehearse before the audition and secured the role. Tupac Shakur's 2nd album was Strictly for My N_____Z. It was released in February 1993.
A critical and commercial success, it debuted at No. 24 on the pop albums chart, the Billboard 200. An overall more hardcore album, it emphasizes Tupac's sociopolitical views and has a metallic production quality. The song "Last Wordz" features Ice Cube, co-writer of N.W.A's "F____ tha Police", who in his own solo albums had newly gone militantly political, and gangsta rapper Ice-T, who in June 1992 had sparked controversy with his band Body Count's track "Cop Killer." The album carries the single "I Get Around", a party anthem featuring Digital Underground's Shock G and Money-B, which became Shakur's breakthrough, reaching No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also carries the optimistic compassion of another hit, "Keep Ya Head Up", an anthem for women's empowerment, charting No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's fourth and final hit, "Papa'z Song", peaked at No. 87 on Billboard 200. The album was certified Platinum by April 1995, with a million copies sold. In 1993, he starred in his 2nd film with Janet Jackson in John Singleton's romance film of Poetic Justice. The film is about Justice (played by Janet Jackson) who say his boyfriend murdered. She fails to adequately cope with her loss until she meets a postal worker (played by Tupac Shakur). They don't get along at first and later love each other romantically after many adventures. Tupac played a gangster named Birdie in the 1994 basketball film of Above the Rim.
At first, Tupac was initially selected for many films. Director Allen Hughes had cast Shakur as Sharif in the 1993 film Menace II Society but replaced him once Shakur assaulted him on set due to a discrepancy with the script. Nonetheless, in 2013, Hughes appraises that Shakur would have outshone the other actors "because he was bigger than the movie." Singleton initially cast Shakur in his 1995 film Higher Learning but was fired because the studio would not finance the film following his arrest. He also had Shakur in the lead role as mind in the 2001 film Baby Boy, a role played by Tyrese Gibson. Ultimately, after his death, the set design includes a Shakur mural in the protagonist's bedroom, and the film's score includes Shakur's song "Hail Mary." Tupac Shakur was a naturally born actor.
In 1993, while visiting Los Angeles, the Notorious B.I.G. asked a local drug dealer to introduce him to Shakur and they quickly became friends. The pair would socialize when Shakur went to New York or B.I.G. to Los Angeles. During this period, at his own live shows, Shakur would call B.I.G. onto stage to rap with him and Stretch. Reportedly, B.I.G. asked Shakur to manage him, whereupon Shakur advised him that Sean Combs would make him a star. Yet in the meantime, Shakur's lifestyle was comparatively lavish to B.I.G. who had not yet established himself.
In 1993, Tupac's world would turn upside down. That was the year when Tupac Shakur and others were accused of raping a black woman named Ayanna Jackson. To the time of his death, Tupac denied the allegations. With tons of research, we all can agree that Ayanna was raped by many people who were around Tupac. The debate is whether Tupac raped the woman or not. Rape and any form of sexual assault is evil and unjustified period to be clear. What both Ayanna and Tupac agree is factually is that they both at first had consensual sexual relationships in New York City. The night of November 19, 1993, Jackson had hanging with Tupac and three other men. These three other men raped her. After the rape, Ayanna said to Tupac, "How could you do this to me? I came here to see you. I can’t believe you did this to me?'” Ayanna accused Haitian Jack and Tupac of raping her. She said that Charles Fuller never raped her. Tupac denied all allegations. He said that, "If the case is about me and this girl then we wouldn’t be here. I’m guilty of a lot of things, but I’m not guilty of rape. Just because I don’t want to be with a girl doesn’t mean they can accuse me rape. It’s a crime for that girl to turn this into a rape charge. In the report it says I was in concert, where are those guys? I don’t want to go to jail for something I didn’t do.” Haitian Jack back then was a stone-cold gangster involved in violence and robbery for years. He dated Madonna, and the Notorious B.I.G. warned Tupac that Haitian Jack had a negative reputation. Haitian Jack said that he gave money to Tupac. Tupac considered Haitian Jack a snitch and informant. By November 30, 1994, Tupac was shot five times in the Quad Studios. Tupac wanted to record a video with Lil Shawn and people with army fatigues beat and shot Tupac. We know now that one person confessed to the shooting under orders from Jimmy Henchman. This person is Dexter Isaac. The Notorious B.I.G. had nothing to do with the 1994 shooting. In 1995, Tupac accused Sean Combs, Jimmy Henchman, and the Notorious B.I.G. or having foreknowledge or being involving in the shooting. Biggie's Who Shot Ya? was made before the shooting, but it was insensitive to be released so soon after the shooting.
Against medical advice, Shakur checked out of Metropolitan Hospital Center a few hours after surgery and secretly went to the house of the actress Jasmine Guy to recuperate. The next day, Shakur arrived at a Manhattan courthouse bandaged in a wheelchair to receive the jury's verdict for his sexual abuse case. Shakur spent the next few weeks being cared for by his mother and a private doctor at Guy's home. The Fruit of Islam and former members of the Black Panther Party stood guard to protect him.
Interviewed on The Arsenio Hall Show, Shakur said he was hurt that "a woman would accuse me of taking something from her", as he had been raised in aa women household and surrounded by women his whole life. On December 1, 1994, Shakur was acquitted of three counts of sodomy and the associated gun charges, but convicted of two counts of first-degree sexual abuse for "forcibly touching the woman's buttocks" in his hotel room. Jurors have said the lack of evidence stymied a sodomy conviction. Shakur's lawyer characterized the sentence as "out of line" with the groping conviction and the setting of bail at $3 million as "inhumane." Shakur's accuser later filed a civil suit against Shakur seeking $10 million for punitive damages which was subsequently settled. After Shakur had been convicted of sexual abuse, Jacques Agnant's case was separated and closed via misdemeanor plea without incarceration. A. J. Benza reported in New York Daily News Shakur's new disdain for Agnant who Shakur theorized had set him up with the case.
Halle Berry went into the next level of her acting career (entering another level of superstardom) starring in the television film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge in 1999. It showed her life in honesty and power. She won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award with her role in the film. By the 2000s, she was one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood. One of her most controversial roles was the role in Monster's Ball that came in 2001. He played the character of Leticia Musgrove, the troubled wife of an executed murderer (played by Sean Combs). Many people criticized the film for having a graphic nude love scene with a racist character played by co-star Billy Bob Thorton. Many African Americans didn't agree with the part. Berry responded: "I don't really see a reason to ever go that far again. That was a unique movie. That scene was special and pivotal and needed to be there, and it would be a really special script that would require something like that again." You know what my views on that movie was. I didn't agree with certain aspects of the film. Her performance was awarded the National Board of Review and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress. She became the first African-American woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress. The NAACP issued the statement: "Congratulations to Halle Berry and Denzel Washington for giving us hope and making us proud. If this is a sign that Hollywood is finally ready to give opportunity and judge performance based on skill and not on skin color then it is a good thing." After Halle Berry winning the Oscar, She asked for a higher fee for Revlon advertisements.
Ron Perelman, the cosmetics firm's chief, congratulated her, saying how happy he was that she modeled for his company. She replied, "Of course, you'll have to pay me more." Perelman stalked off in a rage. In accepting her award, she gave an acceptance speech honoring previous black actresses who had never had the opportunity. She said, "This moment is so much bigger than me. This is for every nameless, faceless woman of color who now has a chance tonight because this door has been opened." In 2002, she played the agent Giacinta "Jinx" Johnson in the 2002 film Die Another Day. Halle Berry filmed an homage to Dr. No, emerging from the surf to be greeted by James Bond as Ursula Andress had 40 years earlier. Lindy Hemming, costume designer on Die Another Day, had insisted that Berry wear a bikini and knife as a homage. Berry has said of the scene: "It's splashy," "exciting," "sexy," "provocative" and "it will keep me still out there after winning an Oscar." According to an ITV news poll, Jinx was voted the fourth toughest girl on screen of all time. Berry was hurt during filming when debris from a smoke grenade flew into her eye. It was removed in a 30-minute operation. After Berry won the Academy Award, rewrites were commissioned to give her more screentime for X2. Halle Berry played Storm in the X-Men trilogy.
She starred in the psychological thriller Gothika opposite Robert Downey, Jr. in November 2003. She had broken her arm while filming a scene with Downey, who twisted her arm too hard. Production was halted for eight weeks while she healed. It was a moderate hit at the United States box office, taking in $60 million; it earned another $80 million abroad. Berry appeared in the nu metal band Limp Bizkit's music video for "Behind Blue Eyes" for the motion picture soundtrack for the film. The same year, she was named No. 1 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll. She was in the film Catwoman. The film was about her playing Catwoman with a black suit. She was awarded the Worst Actress Razzie Award for her performance; she appeared at the ceremony to accept the award in person (while holding her Oscar from Monster's Ball) with a sense of humor, considering it an experience of the "rock bottom" in order to be "at the top." Holding the Academy Award in one hand and the Razzie in the other she said, "I never in my life thought that I would be up here, winning a Razzie! It's not like I ever aspired to be here, but thank you. When I was a kid, my mother told me that if you could not be a good loser, then there's no way you could be a good winner."
Her next role was in the Oprah Winfrey-produced ABC television film Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005), an adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston's novel of the same name. Berry portrayed a free-spirited woman whose unconventional sexual mores upset her 1920s contemporaries in a small community. She received her second Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her role. Also in 2005, she served as an executive producer in Lackawanna Blues. She was the voice for the character of Cappy, one of the many mechanical beings in the animated feature Robots.
In the thriller Perfect Stranger (2007), Berry starred with Bruce Willis, playing a reporter who goes undercover to uncover the killer of her childhood friend. The film grossed a modest US$73 million worldwide, and received lukewarm reviews from critics, who felt that despite the presence of Berry and Willis, it is "too convoluted to work, and features a twist ending that's irritating and superfluous." Her next 2007 film release was the drama Things We Lost in the Fire, co-starring Benicio del Toro. She played a recently widowed woman who befriended the troubled friend of her late husband. The film was the first time in which she worked with a female director, Danish Susanne Bier, giving her a new feeling of "thinking the same way," which she appreciated. While the film made US$8.6 million in its global theatrical run, it garnered positive reviews. 'The Austin Chronicle found the film to be "an impeccably constructed and perfectly paced drama of domestic and internal volatility" and felt that "Berry is brilliant here, as good as she's ever been."
In April 2007, Berry was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Kodak Theatre at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard for her contributions to the film industry. By the end of the decade, she established herself as one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, earning an estimated $10 million per film. In the independent drama Frankie and Alice (2010), Berry played the leading role of a young multiracial American woman with dissociative identity disorder; she struggled against her alter personality to retain her true self. The film received a limited theatrical release, to a mixed critical response. The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "a well-wrought psychological drama that delves into the dark side of one woman's psyche" and found Berry to be "spellbinding" in it. She earned the African-American Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama. She next made part of a large ensemble cast in Garry Marshall's romantic comedy New Year's Eve (2011), with Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Biel, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Sofía Vergara, among many others. In the film, she took on the supporting role of a nurse befriending a man in the final stages (De Niro). While the film was panned by critics, it made US$142 million worldwide.
The opening took place by 2016. President Barack Obama dedicated the museum. There were special events planned too. NMAAHC officials said that construction scaffolding around the exterior of the building should come down in April 2016, at which time some of the more dust-and-humidity resistant artifacts and displays could be installed. Installation of more delicate items would wait until the building's environmental controls had stabilized the interior humidity and removed most of the dust from the air. The museum identified 3,000 items in its collections which would form 11 initial exhibits. More than 130 video and audio installations would be installed as part of these exhibits. By January 2016, the museum received a 10-million-dollar gift from David Rubenstein, the CEO of The Carlyle Group and a Smithsonian regent. There was a 1 million donation from Wells Fargo. As of January 30, 2016, the museum still needed to raise $40 million toward its $270 million construction goal. Two unique documents, both signed by President Abraham Lincoln, would be loaned to the museum for its opening. These are commemorative copies of the 13th Amendment and the Emancipation Proclamation, of which only a limited number were printed. Few of these have survived. David Rubenstein purchased both items in 2012. Microsoft announced a 1 million donation to the museum by late March 2016. People debated whether items about the career of Bill Cosby will be in the museum as Bill Cosby has been accused of sexual assault by dozens of women. In response to the resulting controversy, the museum added the following sentence to its description of Cosby's career: "In recent years, revelations about alleged sexual misconduct have cast a shadow over Cosby's entertainment career and severely damaged his reputation."
Google donated $1 million (~$1.28 million in 2024) to the museum in early September 2016. The technology firm had previously worked with the NMAAHC to create a 3D interactive exhibit which allows visitors to see artifacts in a close-up, 360-degree view using their mobile phone. The 3D exhibit was created by designers and engineers from the Black Googler Network. On September 16, 2016, violinist Edward W. Hardy composed and performed Evolution - Inspired by the Evolution of Black Music for the Congressional Black Caucus at a Google sponsored event in Howard Theatre. This event was a part of the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. On September 23, 2016, The Washington Post reported that Robert F. Smith, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, had given $20 million (~$25.5 million in 2024) to the NMAAHC. The gift was second-largest in the museum's history, exceeded only by the $21 million donated by Oprah Winfrey.
Ava DuVernay was commissioned by the museum to create a film which debuted at the museum's opening on September 24, 2016. This film, August 28: A Day in the Life of a People (2016), tells of six significant events in African-American history that happened on the same date, August 28. The 22-minute film stars Lupita Nyong'o, Don Cheadle, Regina King, David Oyelowo, Angela Bassett, Michael Ealy, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, André Holland and Glynn Turman. Events depicted include William IV's royal assent to the UK Slavery Abolition Act in 1833, the 1955 lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi, the release of Motown's first number-one song, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvellettes, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech, the landfall of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the night then-senator Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
On September 24, 2016, President Barack Obama formally opened the new museum along with four generations of the Bonner family, from 99-year-old Ruth Bonner to Ruth's great-granddaughter Christine. Together with the Obamas, Ruth and her family rang the Freedom Bell (rather than cut a ribbon) to officially open the museum. The bell came from the first Baptist church organized by and for African Americans, founded in 1776 in Williamsburg, Virginia, where at the time it was unlawful for black people to congregate or preach. During his speech at the museum's opening, Obama shed tears discussing his thoughts on visiting the museum with future grandchildren. The opening ceremony also included a speech by Muriel Bowser and a performance by Angélique Kidjo.
The total cost of the museum's design, construction, and installation of exhibits was $540 million ($707,495,840 in 2024 dollars). By the time the museum's founding fundraising campaign had ended, the NMAAHC had raised $386 million ($505,728,508 in 2024 dollars), 143 percent more than its goal of $270 million.
When did artificial intelligence begin? It started thousands of years ago with stories, myths, and a belief that artificial beings can have intelligence or consciousness by a person. People have studied logic and other concepts for a long time. In the 17th century, Leibniz, Thomas Hobbes and René Descartes explored the possibility that all rational thought could be made as systematic as algebra or geometry. In the 18th and 19th centuries Luigi Galvani, Emil du Bois-Reymond, Hermann von Helmholtz and others demonstrated that the nerves carried electrical signals and Robert Bentley Todd correctly speculated in 1828 that the brain was an electrical network. Camillo Golgi's staining techniques enabled Santiago Ramón y Cajal to provide evidence for the neuron theory: "The truly amazing conclusion is that a collection of simple cells can lead to thought, action, and consciousness." The invention of the programmable digital computer in the 1940s changed the game. Now, a computer is a machine that can use abstract mathematical reasoning in a rapid fashion. Many scientists from that time onward wanted to create a possible electronic brain. By the 1950s, experimental cybernetic robots were created by William Grey Walter and Johns Hopkins University. AI research began at Dartmouth College in 1956 through a workshop. The workshop became leaders of AI research for decades. The federal government sent millions of dollars to promote artificial intelligence (or making machines as intelligent as human beings). This plan proved difficult. Many people wanted to stop direct funding into research into artificial intelligence by the 1970s. The Japanese government promoted this research in the 1980s. Artificial intelligence grew slowly in the 1990s and early 21st century. By 2017, the transformer architecture existed to create generative AI applications. Since the 2020s, the AI boom existed into the next level with large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. Today, AI is used for public usage now. Debates and controversies exist with AI. Many people want legitimate regulations involving artificial intelligence too.
By Timothy