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From Dancing for SemperOper to Becoming Master Judge and Coach for Acclaimed Ballet Competitions – This is The Success Story of Brittany O’Connor

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

All of us wish to stand out from the rest of the crowd and to appear unique and strong individuals who have reached their required goal despite the odds stacked against them. While some people do so for the fame that comes with it, others are driven by their passion and desire to do better with the gifts they have been given. Brittany O’Connor falls under the latter category and has worked as a well-known professional ballerina, though she has had her share of ups and downs in life.Ever since she was a teenager, Brittany wanted to dance and worked hard to hone her skills to become a dancer. Given that she had a slightly late start in the world of ballet dancing, it took all of her time, energy, and determination to reach a certain level of finesse. After four long years of hard work, she was offered a professional contract from one of the largest ballet companies in Europe, SemperOper Ballet. She worked on several productions for the studio for more than three years, before she deci...

Heath240 Is Pioneering A New Generation of Genreless Artists

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

Fresh off the release of his “Everything you Ever Wanted” EP, Heath240 is this fall’s artist to watch. The Boston-born and LA-resident artist’s EP demonstrates the growth of his artistry and his ambition to break outside of traditional genre lines. With rock, rap, and alternative influences that can be heard throughout the project, Heath240 takes a stance against being boxed in by genre lines. This is reflective of a new generation, where music becomes harder and harder to define with only one word. The emotion of the project is not lost on listeners, with Heath240 detailing the depths of love and loss.The film school dropout has created a cinematic experience, with characters and storylines that carry over through each of the two music videos from the EP, letting his film influence shine throughout his artistic body.“Everything You Ever Wanted” is the story of me losing myself in a complicated relationship. The push and pull we had on eachother felt like fine art at tim...

How to create AR filters, step by step

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

Beauty, apparel, supply chain, and many industries are now using AR filters to promote new lines and products.But what are AR filters exactly?By definition, AR filters are overlays that are placed on top of the real world using a smartphone or tablet.Well, you could have learned that by a 10 seconds query on ChatGPT.What interest us here, is how can one create AR filters without having a technical background.So, allow me to introduce you to the ultimate guide on how to create your next AR filter, in less than 10 minutes.Step 1: Find a 3D object that you would like to see yourself wearingThere are plenty of 3D libraries out there, with sunglasses, hats, and beards that you can download for free. Note, that you will need an .obj or a .gtlf file for it to work.To name a few ressources:SketchfabTurbosquidCG TraderGrabCADFor the sake of demonstration, we will use the design above.Step 2: Download and Install Meta Spark StudiosI found that one of the most user-friendly tools out there to ...

San Jose: Two arrested in connection with fatal shooting of teen earlier this summer

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

SAN JOSE – Police on Thursday announced the arrests of a 19-year-old man and a juvenile in connection with a fatal shooting earlier this summer near downtown San Jose.The shooting was reported around 8:50 p.m. on July 8 near East William and South 10th streets. Officers arrived to find a man and a teen boy suffering from gunshot wounds.The victims were taken to a hospital, the boy with life-threatening injuries and the man with injuries that were not considered life threatening. The boy was pronounced dead at the hospital.The death marked the 21st homicide of the year in the city.Detectives identified Rodolfo Stagi, 19, of San Jose, and a juvenile as suspects in the case and obtained warrants for their arrest, according to Officer Steve Aponte of the San Jose Police Department. On Aug. 25, SJPD’s Covert Response Unit arrested the pair in Morgan Hill.Stagi and the juvenile, who was not identified because of their age, were booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail and Juvenile Hal...

Want a Bob Ross painting? Do you have $10M?

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

By AJ Willingham | CNNIt’s hard to quantify the value of painter and all-around cultural icon Bob Ross, but $9.85 million is a good start.The very first on-air painting from the very first episode of Ross’ beloved series “The Joy of Painting” is looking for a new owner after being kept safe for decades by one of the show’s early volunteers.“A Walk in the Woods” was painted live on-air in January of 1983, and typifies everything the public came to love about Ross and his art-positive mission. It depicts a placid woodland scene in shades of gold and blue, painted with Ross’ preferred “wet on wet” technique, with deceptively complex-looking brushstrokes and, of course, an abundance of happy little trees. In the lower lefthand corner, Ross’ signature stands out in red.The work was acquired by Minneapolis-based art gallery Modern Artifact earlier this year. Before that, it was owned by a one-time volunteer at the Falls Church, Virginia PBS station where the first season of “The Joy of Pa...

Hours after arrest on misdemeanor charge, Oakland man allegedly kills cellmate

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

DUBLIN — Just 17 hours after being booked into Santa Rita Jail for a misdemeanor vandalism arrest, an Oakland man allegedly killed his cellmate, police say.Bryson Levy, 33, killed Yuri Brand, 39, of El Cerrito, inside the jail cell they shared, according to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. Police have not released the suspected motive, nor a cause of death.Brand had only been in the jail a few days when he was killed. He was charged on Sept. 11 with breaking into a Piedmont home, spending two days there and consuming $1,000 worth of food and beverages, KTVU reported.Brand’s family told KTVU that he had schizophrenia after suffering a head injury.The circumstances of Levy’s underlying arrest weren’t immediately available. Police say they’re turning over the case to the Alameda District Attorney with a request he be charged with murder.Levy remains in the jail on a no-bail hold, records show.

Thao will take over search for new Oakland police chief if commission fails to deliver

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

(KRON) -- Former Oakland Police Department Chief LeRonne Armstrong was fired in February. Seven months later, the department is still without a police chief. The department's police commission is in charge of the search for a new chief. However, if the process continues to drag on, the mayor will step in to expedite it, she told KRON4 on Thursday.If she finds it necessary, Mayor Sheng Thao will call for a state of emergency in order to hire a police chief. Thao set a deadline for three candidates' names to be sent to her office by the end of the year. Oakland Police Commission slams Mayor Thao over police chief hiring process "If (the police commission) does not do this by the end of the year, I will call for a state of emergency so that I can go actually hire a police chief myself," Thao told KRON4's Stephanie Lin. (Watch the full interview in the player above.)Despite not having a police chief, Thao said the city received $1.2 million from the state for the 300 cameras to suppo...

Dogs from Oakland's 'Warriors House' in need of new home

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

(KRON) -- The man who lived in the famous "Warriors House" in West Oakland died a couple of weeks ago, and his dogs Rambo and Baby Miracle are in need of a new home, according to Oakland Animal Services. The dogs were brought into the care of animal services. "He spent a ton of time with them and loved them so much," OAS shelter director Ann Dunn said of Lloyd Canamore, who lived in the house and owned the dogs. "Obviously we can't replace him, but we're looking for somebody that has a calm environment, that has a decent amount of time to spend with them, and more than anything will appreciate the trauma that they've been through in losing such an important part of their lives." WATCH: Dolphins swim through bioluminescent waters off California Rambo is about 10 years old. He is a male dog that weighs about 50 pounds. Baby Miracle is a 6-year-old female that weighs about 62 pounds. Dunn said they have been distressed since arriving at the shelter. She says they need normalcy, the c...

Hundreds of Google employees laid off: NYT

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

(KRON) -- Some Google employees were notified Wednesday that their job was on the chopping block as the tech giant conducted another round of layoffs, according to The New York Times. Hundreds of employees impacted by the latest layoff worked as recruiters for the company, the Times said.The layoffs were announced at a "last minute" meeting, and laid-off employees were told to go home if they were working in the office, according to an internal Google messaging board viewed by the Times. Google is headquartered in Mountain View. At the beginning of 2023, Google's parent company, Alphabet, slashed 12,000 jobs equating to 6 percent of its workforce. During the January cuts, CEO Sundar Pichai wrote that Google was "bound to go through difficult economic cycles. These are important moments to sharpen our focus, reengineer our cost base, and direct our talent and capital to our highest priorities."

As captured fugitive resumes sentence in the US, homicide in his native Brazil remains unsolved

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — When the Brazilian prosecutor in charge of a homicide case targeting Danilo Cavalcante saw footage of the 34 year-old crab-walk out of a U.S. prison last month, he thought the fugitive might try to head home, where he stood to receive a considerably lighter sentence.Cavalcante fled Brazil in 2018, several months after allegedly shooting a man whose family members said owed him money. Today, Cavalcante faces life in a U.S. cell for the brutal killing of his girlfriend.“I thought he wanted to escape to Brazil,” Tocantins state prosecutor Rafael Pinto Alamy told The Associated Press on Thursday. “He would have to comply with the prison rules here, which are much more lenient.”A court hearing in Cavalcante’s Brazilian homicide case has been set for Oct. 11. The case is expected to go to a jury, probably next year, Alamy and Cavalcante’s lawyer told the AP.Brazil does not deliver life sentences. Even had Cavalcante been sentenced to the maximum 30 years, Alamy...