Latest news with #passionproject
CBS News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Stockton photographer snaps portraits of strangers to showcase city's diversity, uniqueness
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but for Stockton photographer Mike McClintic, it's worth a thousand interactions with strangers. "I love photography and I had the idea where I saw someone on Instagram taking pictures of random people," McClintic shared. "I showed my wife and she's like, 'You got to do that.'" Every week, McClintic takes the streets of downtown Stockton and waits for his subject to pass him by. "Just say, 'Hey, I'm Mike, I got a camera. I'm taking pictures of people. Would you like your photo taken?'" he explained. "Some people love it. I get it's not for everybody, right? Having some random guy put a camera in your face, it's not for everybody." Once they agree to have their portrait taken, he sets them up in the perfect lighting and starts snapping. "It's just a kind of a kind of a passion project and a hobby of mine, and just, you know, kind of showing people as they are every day," McClintic said. After a few sessions, he decided to create an Instagram account to show off his work and his new project, "Faces of Stockton." One of his goals for the passion project is to change the perception of the city. "I think to kind of break the stigma that Stockton has behind it, kind of this rough and tough city," McClintic explained. "There are a lot of beautiful people, beautiful personalities here." What started as a passion turned into a three-year project of capturing the uniqueness and diversity of Stockton. For McClintic, he's just getting started. "I partnered with the local organization, Red Rabbit Advocacy, and they really help homeless and unhoused people try to get back on their feet," he said. It's not just the recognition that keeps him going; it's the people he meets along the way, one snapshot at a time. "The genuine, like, kind of awe in their eyes when they see their photograph, it's like, wow," he shared. "You know, it's just people as they are. They're not getting all dolled up or fancy, whatever. It's just everyday people."
The Guardian
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Justin Bieber: Swag review – inane lyrics undermine a gorgeously produced R&B passion project
In the mid-2010s, pop music changed. Instead of hounding the listening public with focus-grouped, machine-tooled crowd-pleasers, the biggest stars began releasing expansive, experimental albums that played to their own tastes and interests. These were records that were artistically self-indulgent, mostly in a good way: Rihanna's sleazy, sultry Anti, Beyoncé's densely referential Lemonade, Lady Gaga's soft-rock-heavy Joanne, Miley Cyrus's psychedelic Wayne Coyne collaboration Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz (I may be the only person who holds that example in such high regard.) With his fourth album Purpose, Justin Bieber was adjacent to this shift. Leaning into the ascendant tropical house genre, collaborating with Skrillex and pursuing a sound you sensed a 21-year-old might actually like, it spelled the end of Bieber's career as a cheesy tween idol and repositioned him as a leading figure in the pop zeitgeist. But Purpose still felt like an album designed to spew highly accessible hits. And it did. A decade on, however – after backsliding into forgettable, generic pop on 2021's Justice – Bieber has finally made what seems to be a genuine 2015-style passion project. Swag, the 31-year-old's surprise-released seventh album, opens extremely promisingly with All I Can Take, a hauntological twist on spotless, energetic 1980s R&B: echoey vocals, fast, faded beats, maudlin synths that seem half-remembered from a dream. Abetted by a songwriting and production team that includes Carter Lang (SZA), Tobias Jesso Jr (Dua Lipa, Adele), Eddie Benjamin, Dylan Wiggins and Daniel Chetrit, the sonic vibe echoes throughout the album. It comes festooned with layered melisma on Butterflies, gated reverb and laser-style synths on the gorgeous Too Long and hyperactive, washed-out drums on First Place. Elsewhere, Bieber's default sweet and smooth R&B base is counterbalanced by chugging guitar and crashing percussion (the Daisies) and fingers-on-fretboard squeaks of acoustic guitar (the lo-fi Zuma House). Lil B collaboration Dadz Love merges gospelly vocals with a fuzzy breakbeat and blissed-out synths to similarly beautiful effect. It's all very considered, cleverly nostalgic and subtly satisfying – there's not a craven chart smash in earshot. Lyrically, however, Swag isn't such a classy and thoughtful affair. Dadz Love is an inane celebration of Bieber's nascent fatherhood that essentially just repeats the title into meaninglessness. The other love songs – which are addressed to his wife, Hailey, whose viral lip gloss-holding phone case gets a shout-out on Go Baby – rarely transcend superficial, saccharine cliche. But they are at least preferable to the eye-watering spoken-word segments. During a handful of conversations with internet personality Druski, Bieber bemoans the reaction to his discomfitingly intimate social media posts, which have worried fans in recent months (if 'people are always asking if I'm OK … it starts to make me feel like I'm the one with issues and everyone else is perfect'). He gets gently ribbed about his altercations with the paparazzi – two examples of which are sampled on this album – and told, sycophantically, that despite his white skin, his musicality is such that he must have a 'Black' soul. These cringeworthy interludes show a Bieber determined to refute the unflattering caricature of him that prevails in the tabloid sphere. But you would struggle to find much evidence of a three-dimensional human being in his lyrics, which are low on specifics, insight or originality. Despite the album's seductive, almost spookily evocative sound, the lasting impression is one of eerie emptiness. Swag has moments of brilliance, but this is no long-awaited masterpiece.
The Guardian
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Justin Bieber: Swag review – inane lyrics undermine a gorgeously produced R&B passion project
In the mid-2010s, pop music changed. Instead of hounding the listening public with focus-grouped, machine-tooled crowd-pleasers, the biggest stars began releasing expansive, experimental albums that played to their own tastes and interests. These were records that were artistically self-indulgent, mostly in a good way: Rihanna's sleazy, sultry Anti, Beyoncé's densely referential Lemonade, Lady Gaga's soft-rock-heavy Joanne, Miley Cyrus's psychedelic Wayne Coyne collaboration Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz (I may be the only person who holds that example in such high regard.) With his fourth album Purpose, Justin Bieber was adjacent to this shift. Leaning into the ascendant tropical house genre, collaborating with Skrillex and pursuing a sound you sensed a 21-year-old might actually like, it spelled the end of Bieber's career as a cheesy tween idol and repositioned him as a leading figure in the pop zeitgeist. But Purpose still felt like an album designed to spew highly accessible hits. And it did. A decade on, however – after backsliding into forgettable, generic pop on 2021's Justice – Bieber has finally made what seems to be a genuine 2015-style passion project. Swag, the 31-year-old's surprise-released seventh album, opens extremely promisingly with All I Can Take, a hauntological twist on spotless, energetic 1980s R&B: echoey vocals, fast, faded beats, maudlin synths that seem half-remembered from a dream. Abetted by a songwriting and production team that includes Carter Lang (SZA), Tobias Jesso Jr (Dua Lipa, Adele), Eddie Benjamin, Dylan Wiggins and Daniel Chetrit, the sonic vibe echoes throughout the album. It comes festooned with layered melisma on Butterflies, gated reverb and laser-style synths on the gorgeous Too Long and hyperactive, washed-out drums on First Place. Elsewhere, Bieber's default sweet and smooth R&B base is counterbalanced by chugging guitar and crashing percussion (the Daisies) and fingers-on-fretboard squeaks of acoustic guitar (the lo-fi Zuma House). Lil B collaboration Dadz Love merges gospelly vocals with a fuzzy breakbeat and blissed-out synths to similarly beautiful effect. It's all very considered, cleverly nostalgic and subtly satisfying – there's not a craven chart smash in earshot. Lyrically, however, Swag isn't such a classy and thoughtful affair. Dadz Love is an inane celebration of Bieber's nascent fatherhood that essentially just repeats the title into meaninglessness. The other love songs – which are addressed to his wife, Hailey, whose viral lip gloss-holding phone case gets a shout-out on Go Baby – rarely transcend superficial, saccharine cliche. But they are at least preferable to the eye-watering spoken-word segments. During a handful of conversations with internet personality Druski, Bieber bemoans the reaction to his discomfitingly intimate social media posts, which have worried fans in recent months (if 'people are always asking if I'm OK … it starts to make me feel like I'm the one with issues and everyone else is perfect'). He gets gently ribbed about his altercations with the paparazzi – two examples of which are sampled on this album – and told, sycophantically, that despite his white skin, his musicality is such that he must have a 'Black' soul. These cringeworthy interludes show a Bieber determined to refute the unflattering caricature of him that prevails in the tabloid sphere. But you would struggle to find much evidence of a three-dimensional human being in his lyrics, which are low on specifics, insight or originality. Despite the album's seductive, almost spookily evocative sound, the lasting impression is one of eerie emptiness. Swag has moments of brilliance, but this is no long-awaited masterpiece.
Daily Mail
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
David Beckham sends wife Victoria into hysterics with his latest gardening adventures as he makes a very shocking discovery in his carrot patch
sent his wife Victoria into hysterics with his latest gardening adventures as he made a very shocking discovery in his carrot patch. Taking to Instagram, the football legend, 50, happily showcased his collection of quirky-looking carrots in his Cotswolds home. The famed couple were seen spending some time together in their garden as David rummaged through his plot. Playfully taking a clip of her husband, Victoria, 51, could be heard laughing away as David discovered his latest crop of vegetables had grown into a non-conventional shape. As David excitedly pulled his vegetable out of the ground, he discovered that it had started to split at the end and grown in two different directions. Alongside the clip, he penned: 'Exciting day today in my veggie garden , CARROTS but not exactly what I expected but to be fair it had Lady Beckham laughing. @victoriabeckham sorry about my carrot' Victoria took to her own social media to gush over her husband and his passion project. She shared a picture of the funny shaped vegetable as well a clip of her husband showcasing his large red onions. The fashion designer then posted a pictured of her husband proudly stood in front of a sunset as they enjoyed their time in the garden. David showcased his green thumb as he gave a more in depth look at his passion project last year. He flaunted his bountiful harvest, with baskets brimming with potatoes, kale, carrots and cauliflower. David previously upgraded his £12m Cotswold farmhouse with an expensive Alitex greenhouse. Taking to Instagram at the time, David joked Victoria would be eating spring onions for lunch and dinner after a successful harvest. He wrote: 'Looks like @victoriabeckham has a few spring onions for lunch and dinner for the next few weeks How am I doing @alatichmarshmbe.' Victoria took to her own social media to gush over her husband and his passion project. She shared a picture of the funny shaped vegetable as well a clip of her husband showcasing his large red onions David added he was suffering from hay fever, but it certainly didn't stop from continuing his outdoor occupations. 'Not bad for my first try,' he said. As well as gardening David previously shocked and delighted fans during lockdown when he revealed his newfound passion for beekeeping. The ex-footballer fell in love with the hobby during the pandemic and even installed the hive in his garden - often sharing insights into the task with his followers. In 2016, the family bought their converted barn in the Cotswolds, which has become a hub for the sports icon's new projects.
ABC News
19-06-2025
- ABC News
Wollongong man completes mammoth six-year steamboat build in backyard
Ask Andrew Scobie his secret to building a 20th-century steamboat in his backyard shed and he will say it took a "couple of cups of coffee and maybe a couple of beers". The Wollongong man spent up to three hours a day for six years working on the passion project, all because he was tired of watching television. "I was bored … so I thought it'd be nice to tinker in the shed," Mr Scobie said. "And quite a few years back, I built a model steam train with my father so we thought, 'We like all things mechanical, so let's venture onto a new project.'" The 58-year-old has now completed a seven-seater steam-powered vessel designed for family adventures on some of Australia's most picturesque waterways. It was inspired by the Edwardian era of steam travel and incorporates authentic details like shiny brass fixtures, red leather seats, a steam engine and chimney. "If you were on a boat, for instance, and had a loose bit of timber, it was a very easy fuel source and mode of transport." The University of Wollongong staffer, husband and father financed the entire build and had all mechanical elements certified. Mr Scobie said he enjoyed making it a social activity with friends and his father, who earnt a living as a steam ship engineer. "I sourced the hull skin and then started to do some of the fitting out. Around that time, a friend had the boiler certified," he said. Just a few weeks out from the boat's maiden voyage, Mr Scobie's father Clarke died. "We were trying and pushing this last year and a half, putting a lot more hours in," said daughter Caitlyn Scobie. "Obviously he didn't make it but that's OK … I think he'd be really proud." Mr Scobie paid homage to his dad by wearing his former sailing uniform during the boat's first run last weekend. "We had a lot of time for each other, talking engineering and other things. It was a great connection we had over the years," he said. The moment was witnessed by dozens of boating enthusiasts and Shell Cove locals, some of whom could not help but cheer as the boat's belly hit the water. After a successful lap around the marina, Mr Scobie said his hobby build would be put to good use. "I look forward to the next weeks, months, years enjoying sunny days like this on the water," he said.
