Latest news with #Kun
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kun on Latest Single 'Deadman' and His Next Chapter: 'It's Really Just the Beginning'
It only takes a moment with Kun – the 26-year-old singer-songwriter who rose to fame on China's Idol Producer – to feel like long-lost friends. The boy group member turned singer-songwriter is quick to jump into conversation about his seemingly favorite topic – making music. There's plenty to talk about. His latest single, 'Deadman,' was released a month ago. The soulful track's release was accompanied by a cinematic music video, which the 26-year-old was deeply involved in creating. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Cinema Jazireh': An Afghan Woman Looking for a Loved One Must Transform Herself (KVIFF Trailer) 'Broken Voices' Is Inspired by a Girls' Choir Sexual Abuse Scandal Long Before #MeToo Kelly Clarkson Postpones Opening Night of Las Vegas Residency Shortly Before Showtime Fresh off a somewhat-surprise performance of the song song at 88Rising's Head in the Clouds festival last month, Kun sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to talk about making deadman, his love for music and what's next in his 'new journey.' Can you tell me more about your latest single 'Deadman?' Well, I'm very, very happy because this track was made last year, so it was a year [until the time] when people could actually hear it. I heard it a thousand times already, so now people actually are hearing it and a lot of them are surprised. I think they'd [say], 'Oh, I didn't know Kun's voice was like this now.' But I was just doing my thing over the past year. I would just keep cooking music in the studio. That's what I love. I like to focus on it, and I made a lot of demos. But 'Deadman' is definitely the one I loved, so I'm very happy. Finally, I put out this track. Something about this track has the vintage sound that I've never made before, and [there's] the contrast between the vintage and the modern thing. I think it's very interesting, so I really wanted people to hear it. It does have an nostalgic feeling to it. It feels like you've heard it before, in a good way, not a reptetitve way. Tell me about the process making songs? There's no reference, to be honest. We have the guitar player [and the] piano players. I just tell them, 'Hey, let's do this groove.' I would just start giving a groove, a tempo, we set up a vibe. I start [to] freestyle, just easy. No reference. I'll tell them, 'Hey, I want to do something like old school, but not too old.' Does that make sense? I like soulful stuff. I listen to a lot of classic jazz, soul and R&B. They know what I like. I like Prince. I like Elvis. They all know that. My friends, we make music together, so when I start free-styling, they just know. They'll tell me, 'This is the line.' We're just chilling. We're just playing. Do you have a favorite part of releasing this single? Definitely the music video. There's a lot of crazy stories behind the music video. Look at his face, look his face. It is like, we shot it in Montenegro. It's a very beautiful place. I was there for a week, a whole week. I learned the choreography there, and I learned fighting. I learned dance. We set up the rig. It was kind of crazy, and the schedule was very tight. We had to move to different locations, and I couldn't even sleep at night, so I was posting [to my Instagram] story that I was just sitting on the sofa like, 'I hope this will be good, I hope everything will be fine.' My friends were always asking me, 'What's going on? Why are you not sleeping? It's supposed to be very late right now, right?' It wasn't an easy one. Definitely. But I'm very thankful for all the people that worked on this project. It's not an easy one. It's kind of like a movie shoot. That is impressive, especially given the scale. I wanted to make this character. He's dying over and over again because of the things he loves, so he's bleeding all the time, very painful. Always rocking with the guitar like today is the last day, today's the end. This is going to be the last song I sing to the world. That's the direction we went for, and that's the first line I said to everybody. 'Hey, I want to write a song. It sounds stupid, but what if I die tomorrow? Today is the last track I'm going to play.' That's how we got 'Deadman.' It sounds like you're very, very creatively involved in everything you do. What is that so important to you as an artist? I'm just a creative guy. I like to learn new things. I like to create new stuff, like cool shit, but in my own way, I don't want to be anybody [else]. I just want to be myself, right? I just want to sound like myself. I just want to do my own thing. I'm the guy that's always [improving] myself. I always hate the old me. It is like, 'Why did I [do] this shit?' [There's] nothing bad about it. I just want to be better all the time. You get what I mean? That's just my personality, so I just like to beat myself. Essentially, for you, your only competition is yourself? Exactly. Can you tell me a bit about Head in the Clouds and what it was like performing there? This time I really just came here to support. [I wasn't] playing a set. I only have one new track out. I want to play the new songs. I don't want to play the old songs. We can probably play [them] next time, like a new set, maybe in New York. But this time I was mostly just here to show people the new music, what it sounds like. I wanted to show the audience in America, let them hear the new track. And also connect with my fans. I love the crowds. What is it like performing in the U.S. for you? Do you enjoy it? Do you find it a little different? I think it's different. It's very cool. It's my first time [doing a festival]. In China, we have a lot of festivals too, but [I] never really go to [them]. I was only doing [my own] concerts, so this is the first time. I just really did something I haven't done before. I'm just very happy. I'm really enjoyed it. We didn't even have a lot of time to prepare [with] rehearsals. I just went on the stage and tried it. I didn't even know what mic I was going to use. I didn't even know who was going to give me my in-ears and everything. It's a funny story. I was actually fixing the mic stand when I was singing the high notes. Somebody didn't tighten it, so it was just going up and down. I'm trying to fix it, but I'm also singing the high notes. It's kind of crazy, but there's a lot of stories people don't know. Do you want to perform more in the U.S.? We will. We will. I feel like we're just starting. Starting from 'Deadman,' everything is just new. [I'm] starting a new journey, so It's really just the beginning. Head in the Clouds, it's fun. It's a good start. It's helping a lot of Asian artists. That's something I respect. There's not a lot of labels [or] festivals that's helping Asian artists. That's amazing. That's something very cool. What is like to be able to perform at a festival like that? It's a very good experience for me. When I'm singing, everything just kind of tunes out. I just focus on the track. I just want to put out the message I want. I just want to show people, 'Hey, this is the new sound.' In the past, we just spent too much time in the studio. I spent too much time in studio. And I know that my fans [have been] waiting for too long. I feel a little sorry. I always say that. I feel sorry sometimes they don't see me that much. I don't even post a lot… That's just me. I'm not an internet guy. I'm not a social [media] guy. That's just not me. I just like to focus on my thing. Sometimes I feel sorry to my fans, so this time when they asked me to play [the] festival, they said, 'Can you play a set?' I said maybe next time, but I can show up. I can come to support. I'd like to because I love Head in the Clouds. I love the vibe. Best of The Hollywood Reporter From 'Party in the U.S.A.' to 'Born in the U.S.A.': 20 of America's Most Patriotic (and Un-Patriotic) Musical Offerings Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Researchers make breakthrough on experimental device that will get hotter than the sun: 'It provides energy and cooling media'
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor in France is inching closer to completion with the delivery of essential magnetic components from China for its fusion reactor. The Correction Coil In-Cryostat Feeder is the last and most important of many massive components in the reactor's magnetic feeder system, according to Interesting Engineering. The device was developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Plasma Physics, and, according to the institution, it consists of nine sets of half-ring structures measuring approximately 52 feet wide and 10 feet high. Per the news report, ITER is jointly funded by the European Union, China, the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, and Russia, all working together to unlock nearly unlimited amounts of clean and sustainable energy. Fusion is the process of harvesting energy released when two nuclei in a superheated plasma combine to form a new atomic nucleus. The energy and pressure required to heat the plasma are immense, even exceeding temperatures in our sun, where fusion naturally occurs. Although the success of human-made fusion reactors is still mostly theoretical, scientists are hopeful that this energy source is nearing viability. According to ITER, "Fusion research has increased key fusion plasma performance parameters by a factor of 10,000 over 60 years; research is now less than a factor of 10 away from producing the performance needed for a fusion power plant." The process does not emit harmful pollutants or long-lived radioactive waste and uses Earth-abundant deuterium and tritium as fuel. If successful, fusion reactors could complement solar and wind energy, pushing society further toward its sustainability goals. The ITER magnetic feeder system is known as the "lifeline" of the reactor's magnetic assembly, and Lu Kun, deputy director of ASIPP, explained how crucial it is to the project in a press release from the school. "It provides energy and cooling media to the fusion reactor magnets, sends back critical control signals, and also acts as a discharge channel to safely release stored magnet energy," Kun said. Other fusion reactor projects are making progress with incremental improvements to their design. China's Huanliu-3 reactor employs real-time data tracking to help fine-tune internal processes, while scientists at the UK Atomic Energy Authority successfully produced fusion-grade steel that can withstand the temperatures needed in these reactors. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
New York Times
02-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
A Canadian Company's Tariff ‘Double Whammy' Highlights Trouble for the Economy
As the Trump administration advances a trade war with global consequences, the Kun Shoulder Rest factory in the Canadian capital does not immediately stand out as the front line. A family-owned business that operates out of a labyrinthine Victorian home in downtown Ottawa, Kun makes ergonomic shoulder rests used by violinists from New York to Berlin. 'We're operating in this rarefied world of mostly orchestral stringed instruments,' said Juliana Farha, 58, the company's director. 'If you play the violin, you know about it. And if you don't, it's just some weird widget that you've never heard of.' Yet that widget is among the countless products facing the prospect of tariffs crafted by the Trump administration in the name of boosting American industrial fortunes. Even before any tariffs take effect, company managers are scrambling to configure backup plans. The disruption highlights the interconnected effects of trade conflicts, a primary source of worry about the global economy. The 25 percent tariffs that President Trump has threatened to impose on Canadian imports imperils Kun's sales in the United States, the destination for more than a third of its products. The retaliatory levies the Canadian government might impose this week risk increasing the costs for one of its primary ingredients, a specialty nylon made by an American company. 'We would be hit with a double whammy,' Ms. Farha said. What is hardest for her to accept is who stands to benefit from the upheaval. Not an American brand that might gain a bigger share of the market, but rather Chinese companies that produce crude imitations of Kun's products, often at half the price. Her lone American competitor makes its products in Taiwan. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Boston Globe
18-03-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
Gyorgy Kun, survivor of Auschwitz twin experiments, dies at 93
Advertisement That unwitting deception saved the lives of her sons. While she was sent to the gas chamber, they went to the barracks that housed twins used by Mengele for medical experiments. Mr. Kun, who died Feb. 5 in Budapest at 93, was among the few remaining survivors of that infamous chapter of the Holocaust. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'My last memory of my mother is that she is holding my hand and we are separated,' Mr. Kun recalled, according to an account of his life written by his daughter, Andrea Szonyi, and published on the website of the Shoah Foundation at the University of Southern California. 'We were simply torn apart: we, one way and she, the other. I had that picture with me a long time, and I know my brother did, too.' Mr. Kun arrived at Auschwitz, the Nazi killing center in occupied Poland, at the outset of the camp's deadliest period. Between May 15 and July 9, 1944 — a span of eight weeks — German and Hungarian officials deported approximately 420,000 Jews from Hungary to Auschwitz. Seventy-five percent were gassed upon arrival, according to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. A total of 6 million Jews, including more than 560,000 Jews from Hungary, were murdered in the Holocaust. Few Nazi officials loom larger in the memory of the Holocaust than Mengele, who died a fugitive in Brazil in 1979. A highly trained researcher with a doctorate in anthropology as well as a medical degree, he had risen to prominence in Nazi Germany and was 32 when he arrived at Auschwitz. Advertisement Like other Nazi physicians and medical researchers, Mengele adhered to pseudoscientific theories of Aryan racial superiority and exploited concentration camp inmates, who represented ethnicities and nationalities from across Europe, in often sadistic medical experiments. At Dachau, the Nazi concentration camp in Germany, inmates were subjected to high-altitude conditions in research designed to benefit German military pilots. In other experiments, prisoners were infected with diseases or forced to submit to surgeries, including sterilization. Many inmates were permanently disfigured by the experiments, if they survived. The bodies of the dead were dissected, and their organs and tissues sent to Germany. Mengele selected hundreds of sets of twins for genetic research at Auschwitz. The precise nature of his work involving twins is not fully established, in part because few victims survived and in part because little documentary evidence of that activity remains, said David Marwell, author of the book 'Mengele: Unmasking the 'Angel of Death'' (2020). Marwell worked on the Mengele case at the Justice Department's Office of Special Investigations before the corpse of the Nazi doctor was positively identified in 1985. He said that the Kun brothers probably endured protocols designed to determine if they were identical or fraternal twins, a key distinction in genetic research. According to his daughter, Mr. Kun recalled being subjected to blood tests, injections, X-rays, measurements of his body and analyses of his hair. Mengele's twins — many of whom, like Mr. Kun and his brother, were children — underwent such procedures after being separated from their parents and in an environment of terror. Advertisement Mr. Kun spoke relatively little of his experience at Auschwitz. But he remembered with affection a fellow prisoner named Erno Spiegel, a Hungarian twin in his late 20s who was tasked with overseeing the children in the twins barracks. Like Mr. Kun's mother, Spiegel told a lie that saved his life at Auschwitz. When Mr. Kun and his brother reported for registration after their selection, they were unaware that they had been mistaken for twins and provided their accurate dates of birth. Recognizing that they would be put to death if the Nazi physicians learned they were not twins, Spiegel falsified their birth dates. 'I decided to take a chance, and put down false information,' Spiegel recounted years later in testimony recorded in the book 'Children of the Flames: Dr. Josef Mengele and the Untold Story of the Twins of Auschwitz' (1991) by Lucette Matalon Lagnado and Sheila Cohn Dekel. 'I 'made' them twins.' Gyorgy Kuhn — as an adult he dropped the H to Hungarianize his surname — was born on Jan. 23, 1932, in Vallaj, a village in northeastern Hungary. Within his family, he was known as Gyuri. His brother, called Pista, was born Dec. 17, 1932. Their father was an agricultural professional and managed farms, while their mother tended to the home. When Gyuri was young, the family moved west across Hungary to a home outside Szekesfehervar, where his father had found work. The two brothers attended a Jewish school, living with the rabbi to avoid the commute to and from town. In testimony to the Shoah Foundation, Mr. Kun recalled the period as 'the good life.' Advertisement Beginning in the late 1930s, Hungarian Jews suffered increasing persecution under the regime of Admiral Miklos Horthy. Mr. Kun was barred from attending the high school of his choice, and bullying classmates insulted him with antisemitic taunts. Hungary joined the Axis alliance in 1940 but refused Nazi demands for the deportation of the country's Jews — at the time the largest Jewish community still alive in Europe, according to the Holocaust museum. Mass deportations began after Germany occupied Hungary in March 1944. Mr. Kun recalled that he and his family were moved first to a ghetto and then to a brick factory that served as a way station en route to Auschwitz. 'My parents couldn't imagine where we would end up, so my mother kept repeating that we should always stay together,' he said. 'No matter what, the family must not be torn apart.' Upon their arrival at Auschwitz, Mr. Kun's father was separated from the rest of the family and sent to work. He was later transferred to Dachau. Mr. Kun's grandparents and many other members of his extended family perished along with his mother in the Holocaust. Mr. Kun described Spiegel as serving for him and his brother as their 'father in Auschwitz.' It was Spiegel, he said, who helped them make their way home to Hungary after the liberation of Auschwitz in January 1945. Mr. Kun stayed for a period with his brother in a Zionist children's home in Budapest before returning to Szekesfehervar to live with their father, who had remarried. Gyuri began a factory career, working first as a mechanical technician and later in sales. His daughter said he suffered from depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as an abiding trepidation before doctors, as a result of his experience in the Holocaust Advertisement 'Very often, I underrate myself,' Mr. Kun said. 'There is a certain repression, almost fear, in me that I believe comes from there.' Mr. Kun's brother studied architecture and moved to the United States following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. He settled in Oklahoma City and died of an infection shortly before his 30th birthday, a loss so painful to Mr. Kun that he rarely if ever spoke about it. Besides his daughter, a Holocaust educator in Hungary, Mr. Kun's survivors include his wife of 64 years, the former Agnes Boskovitz, and two grandchildren. Mr. Kun's daughter confirmed his death, at a hospital, and said she did not know the cause. Mr. Kun had no contact after the war with Spiegel, who moved to Israel and died in 1993. He did, however, come to know Spiegel's daughter, Judith Richter, who is at work on a documentary film about her father, and who visited Mr. Kun in Budapest several years ago. It was 'very strange,' she said in an interview, 'to go there to meet someone I didn't know' and to feel 'so welcome.' 'Nothing happens by accident; our lives are interwoven within a mosaic-like, larger context,' Mr. Kun's daughter reflected in an article published by the Shoah Foundation. She continued: 'I owe something to Erno Spiegel. I owe him my father's life, my own life, and the lives of my children.'
CBC
08-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Tariff threats are freezing big business and leaving small companies with no options
Social Sharing Millions of dollars and thousands of jobs are in flux for Canadian businesses, as constant changes to tariffs mean companies based in this country are either avoiding financial decisions or feel they are unable to make them. From large multinationals to small outfits with less than a dozen employees, the repetitive cry of "uncertainty" is causing more than just confusion. It's influencing financial decisions for big players, and freezing smaller companies in their tracks. For Kun Shoulder Rest, it's the latter. The company is globally known for the violin and viola ergonomic accessories it makes in, and exports from, Ottawa. "If you don't play the violin, you will never have heard of a shoulder rest. If you do play the violin, you will know our brand," said Juliana Farha, one of the company's directors. But despite its international profile, the company does not have the resources to simply pivot to new markets when faced with on-again, off-again tariffs on products sold in the United States. "It's our biggest market and that represents 35 to 40 per cent of our global market," said Farha, who explained that the company relies on students, amateurs and younger violinists and violists to buy its product . A shoulder rest is typically bought once and kept for years, if not decades. Small businesses cannot easily pivot Essentially, the company cannot pivot every time tariff policies change to try and replace potential American customers. There aren't exactly millions of extra violinists in the rest of the world, and Kun has already expanded into international markets such as Europe. "The feeling of recklessness of all of this has created tension and uncertainty for us," according to Farha, who is also concerned that some international competitors won't be facing the same tariffs as her Canadian company, making its products seem even less competitive. In a scenario like this, business and economic experts say businesses may need to bite the bullet and either hope their customers will accept a higher price, or lose money themselves. "Companies either have to say, 'We want to maintain our customer base, therefore we are going to absorb that additional cost,' or pass it on to their actual customers," said Charmaine Goddeeris, director of customs and international trade with consulting firm BDO Canada. Goddeeris points out that many companies may need to determine whether they want to keep doing business in the United States at all. "If yes, then you're going to have to come to the United States so you can solidify [being] made in America," she said, since such products ostensibly would not face tariffs when sold there. That's not a decision a small business can make easily — or at all — without having to completely relocate. Not so much for larger companies, which may have the financial ability to split production between countries. Big companies holding off investment But larger corporations that could afford to spend the money are frozen these days, too. With tariff policies constantly changing — in some cases on both sides of the border — many large businesses are just waiting until the dust settles to invest their cash. KP Tissue manages and owns part of Kruger, Canada's largest toilet paper and tissue manufacturer. The company announced in a recent earnings call that it would be delaying construction of a new tissue plant. It currently operates facilities in both Canada and the United States, and it was unclear what country the new plant would be in. In a statement emailed to CBC News, a Kruger representative said when the company originally announced looking into a new plant in early December, it had believed it could announce the results of that evaluation in early 2025. WATCH | Small business and giant corporations are stuck as tariffs keep changing: Tariff rollercoaster leaves Canadian companies stuck at a standstill 1 day ago Duration 1:55 But now, it says things are too questionable. "The current business uncertainty will require us to complete additional due diligence prior to making an official announcement," wrote François Paroyan, general counsel for Kruger. In the earnings call, KP Tissue's CEO blamed more than the Trump tariffs for all the uncertainty ahead, citing reciprocal tariffs from Canada, a drop in the Canadian dollar, and a possible recession as factors in freezing its actions. The company also didn't provide profit estimates for the next few months for the same reasons. It did estimate that between $600 million and $700 million of its revenue is "exposed" to tariffs in some way. 'Have to keep your iPhone nearby' Algoma Steel is in a similar position. The Canadian manufacturer employs thousands who face unpredictable announcements on when general tariffs might be applied or lifted, along with specific steel tariffs that could directly impact its business. "You have to keep your iPhone nearby. And, you know, as soon as I get off this interview, I'll check the news ticker to see what might have changed," said Michael Garcia, CEO of the Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.-based company. During Garcia's interview with CBC News, U.S. President Donald Trump announced what seemed like a temporary suspension of some tariffs. At the time, it was unclear whether that would apply to steel, or whether the global steel-specific tariffs that Trump had announced in early February would still apply. It was a perfect example of what is making business decisions potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars impossible. "I don't know what that delay means other than we could be here in less than a month, kind of going through the same motions. Is there going to be a tariff? Oh my, there's a tariff. Now what are we going to do?" said Garcia. One thing he can point out definitively is that the company is avoiding spending money where it can. "We are placing a very high focus on preserving our cash and reducing as much discretionary spending as possible," said Garcia. For now, this uncertainty means fewer investments, period, from a large business in Canada. Big or small, businesses are struggling: economist It's a pattern the chief economist of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business is seeing first-hand in feedback from his organization's members. "Because there are so many decisions that are being overturned or changed, businesses have a hard time actually adjusting," said Simon Gaudreault. With fear and uncertainty all over the Canadian economy right now, business optimism is low, he said. That translates into frozen hiring and pauses on investment, he said, and businesses may avoid developing new markets until they know more clearly what's going to happen. And that may not be in the cards just yet.
