Shaun Farrugia’s songs make it to the Empire State Building

Oct 30 2022

Local singer and songwriter Shaun Farrugia has reached new heights – literally.

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Taking to Instagram, Farrugia revealed how international DJ, and by now personal close friend, Martin Garrix played his music from the top of the Empire State Building in New York.

The DJ blasted ‘Starlight (Keep Me Afloat)’, which is one of the two artists’ collaborative works off the 102-story skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan.

Farrugia processed the experience by recounting how it all first started from writing this song on a guitar in the back of a restaurant with the DJ. It was then sung to thousands of people during summer, played during massive clubbing events and festivals, and finally having it played on the Empire State Building.

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And it doesn’t seem to be the last we’ve heard of Farrugia as he’s continued to tease even more material to come out soon. Congratulations Shaun!

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Global cost of living crisis pushing more women into sex work

Oct 30 2022

Various international reports are noticing a new spike in people turning towards sex work in order to address the cost of living crisis.

Many people, with the majority being women, are turning towards sex work, with the number of calls to the English Collective of Prostitutes increasing by a third in summer 2022 (according to Sky News).

Sky News also reported that women entering the field is leaving them vulnerable and unable to say no to violent and exploitative clients.

Meanwhile, a Vice news report reveals that stigma around sex work is also putting women using sites such as OnlyFans at risk of being outed or targeted at workplaces as people return following the pandemic.

The English Collective of Prostitutes also recorded a 30% jump in the number of callers seeking support for starting sex work in June. Manchester Action on Street Health also recorded more than 100 new service users between December 2021 and April 2022.

Taking a look at the Maltese context, there are no official reports as to whether this phenomenon is taking place. However, with the rising cost of living crisis also hitting the island, it might be time to re-consider our views and open dialogues in regards to this line of work.

In the 2022 manifesto, the Labour Party pledged a voluntary exit programme for prostitutes and the decriminalisation for prostitution.

‘After an extensive consultation process on prostitution, we want to take decisions in favour of those who are the most vulnerable. We believe in individual liberty, but the PL believes the solution is not to incarcerate vulnerable people’ the party had said.

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Nuns watch porn too says Pope Francis as he warns of risks

Oct 30 2022

Pope Francis was responding to a question about how digital and social media should be best used when he issued warnings against priests and nuns watching pornography.

His warning concerned the ‘weakening of the priestly heart’, but acknowledged that it is a ‘vice’ that even priests and nuns often fall into. A vice which allows ‘the devil to enter from there.’

The church leader said that social media should be used but that priests and nuns should not waste too much time on it.

‘The pure heart, the one that Jesus receives every day, cannot receive this pornographic information’ he said. He urged church officials and other clergy to delete such content from their phone so that there would be no temptation.

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Are clocks going back or forward bad for you or not?

Oct 30 2022

We might want to start here – clocks going back or forward will always mess with our heads. Just as it seeps into the unconscious, the reminder that we have to adjust our clocks always seems to make a comeback.

The research surrounding this phenomenon varies quite a bit, with many studies taking an issue with ‘Daylight Savings Time’.

One 2016 study has highlighted how the act of winding clocks back and forth coincides with higher than usual stroke rates. The study found that stroke rates were 8% higher than usual in the two days following clock changes.

This is due to DST transitions reportedly disrupting out circadian rhythms. Another 2021 article also points to negative impacts of sleep patterns of various test subjects (duh!).

Another 2001 study pinpointed an increase in traffic accidents and overall incidents in the US following the change in clocks. The increase was not noted in the days following the immediate change.

Meanwhile, a neurologist revealed in a 2022 ‘The Conversation’ editorial that even having exposure to light later into the evening delays the brain’s release of melatonin, the hormone promoting drowsiness.

Daylight Savings Time has a history dating back to the two world wars, making a massive comeback into Europe after WWII. However, even ancient civilisations like the Romans adjusted water clocks to adjust schedules according to solar time.

#MaltaDaily