Culture
Animated Short Film ‘Hair Love’ Receives Oscar Nomination

*Spoilers ahead.*
The Oscar nominations for the 2020 Academy Awards were announced early Monday morning on Jan., 13. Included in the nominations were Chicago native and former NFL player, Matthew Cherry.
With his bachelor’s degree in media, Cherry left the NFL to focus on his film career. Cherry, who is currently an executive at Monkeypaw Productions, began to crowdfund for the animated short film, Hair Love, in 2017.
Hair Love, a film about a Black father doing his daughter’s hair for the first time, received a 2020 Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short Film.
The short film was first shown during the Angry Birds Movie 2 in August of 2019. In December, the video was posted onto YouTube and now has over 10 million views.
It begins with a little girl named Zuri, who wakes up and sees on her calendar that today is a special day. With pure excitement, she rushes to the bathroom to do her hair. After attempting to style her own hair, her father finds her and is completely distraught at what he sees.
With a bit of discouragement and finally the help of an online hair tutorial video, the father transforms her curly hair into a beautiful style.
Towards the end of the film, the audience discovers that the woman in the hair tutorial video is Zuri’s mother. When Zuri and her father visits her at the hospital, it is learned that she has lost all of her hair due to an illness, and is seemingly ashamed about it. Zuri shows her mom a picture she drew her, which shows that she is still beautiful even without her hair.
A heartwarming story, also now a children’s book, jam packs the journey of loving yourself with your hair and learning to love yourself without it.
The 92nd Academy Awards premieres live on Feb. 9 on ABC at 7 P.M.
Culture
Obama shooting 3-pointer while campaigning for Biden goes viral

Former President Obama went viral on Saturday after shooting a 3-pointer while on the campaign trail for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Obama made the shot just before leaving a gymnasium in Flint, Mich. While he walked out the door, he told campaign staff, “That’s what I do!”
Celebrities and social media users quickly shared the clip, with some hoping the shot is a “good omen” for the former vice president ahead of the Tuesday election.
NBA star LeBron James, who previously partnered with former first lady Michelle Obama on voter initiatives, tweeted, “Now you just showing out now my friend!! That’s what you do huh??”
The clip was taken in the gymnasium of Flint’s Northwestern High School, Yahoo Sports reported. The former president and Biden campaigned together in Flint on Saturday at a drive-in rally, where Obama blasted President Trump’s “reality show” style of politics.
“He hasn’t shown any interest in doing the work or helping anybody but himself or his friends or treating the presidency as anything more than a reality show to give him the attention that he craves,” Obama said. “But unfortunately, the rest of us have to live with the consequences.”
Culture
Black families affected by police violence gather to mobilize voters in Chicago
Several families affected by police violence including those of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Jacob Blake, and Alvin Cole gathered to mobilize voters in Chicago. The event allowed many to turn their pain into political power, as they encouraged voting in not only presidential but local elections.

Several families affected by police violence including those of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Jacob Blake, and Alvin Cole gathered to mobilize voters in Chicago. The event allowed many to turn their pain into political power, as they encouraged voting in not only presidential but local elections.
Culture
Why Dancing is Good for Your Health

1) Great way to exercise and stay fit
Dance is a great way to stay in shape. If you don’t like the gym, dancing can bring fun back into the exercise.
2) Burn calories
Dancing is all about moving your body and moving your body is a great way to burn calories. How many will you burn depends on how vigorously you dance. In an one-hour session you can burn from 250 to 400 calories.
3) Improved health
Dance can effectively promote good health by improving cardiovascular fitness, strengthening the muscles, increasing circulation, decreasing blood pressure, lowering the risk of coronary heart disease, reducing stress, and many other positive benefits.
4) Greater Coordination
Great for improving control over your body, timing and coordination skills. You will learn how to move with grace and poise.
5) Good for bones and joints
Dance is a weight-bearing activity, meaning it’s great for your bones. Weight-bearing exercises has been proven to increase bone density and help reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
6) Build confidence
Dance builds confidence by giving you a sense of success and achievement when you master it.
7) Great way to meet new people
Dancing provides a natural icebreaker and is a great way to meet new people and make new friends.
8) Lifts your mood
Any exercise can raise your spirits by raising the endorphins or so called feel good chemicals. This can lighten your mood and reduce the risk of depression.
9) Good for your Mind
Dancing will keep your mind active. It will improve circulation to the brain and help stimulate the memory by remembering all the steps. Great mental exercise.
10) Improved overall well-being
Dance has an outstanding positive effect on both physical and psychological well-being.
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