Get ready for a bone-chilling Halloween experience as director and writer Ryan Graff unveils his latest micro-horror masterpiece, UNVEILED. This captivating short film is set to make its broadcast premiere on Halloween night, October 31st, 2023. Offering a horrifying tale in just two minutes, UNVEILED promises to deliver a spine-tingling experience that will leave you with chills and a jump scare.
The Story: UNVEILED follows the story of a young woman who witnesses something unnerving in her shower. As she tries to uncover the truth, she realizes that it will take more than a curtain to reveal the sinister presence lurking within. Graff’s film masterfully captures the fear of unseen horrors and taps into childhood fears of the unknown, making it a relatable and terrifying experience for viewers.
Broadcast Details: BronxNet Television will host the broadcast premiere of UNVEILED as part of their Halloween programming block. New Yorkers can tune in to the BronxNet Channel, BX Omni – Channel 67 on Optimum Cable, or Channel 2133 on FiOS in the Bronx. For those outside the broadcast area, the film will be available for streaming worldwide on the BronxNet streaming website (https://www.bronxnet.org/watch/bxomni/). Additionally, the film will be available on Ryan Graff’s Vimeo Channel (https://vimeo.com/664468491) from November 1st, allowing a wider audience to experience this chilling micro-short.
Director’s Inspiration: Director Ryan Graff drew inspiration from his childhood fears and vivid imagination. The concept of something visible only through a reflection has always sent shivers down his spine. Graff aimed to capture the essence of his childhood fears in UNVEILED, providing an honest and deeply unsettling depiction of the horrors that lurk in our minds.
RYAN GRAFF (Director)
Critical Acclaim and Awards: UNVEILED has already made waves in the festival circuit, receiving seven nominations and winning the prestigious “Best Horror Micro Film Award” at the Oregon Screams Horror Film Festival and “Best Film Under 5 Minutes” at the Romford Horror Film Festival in 2023. These accolades highlight the film’s exceptional storytelling and ability to deliver a chilling experience within its short runtime.
Talented Cast and Crew: UNVEILED features the remarkable performance of actress Nika Khitrova, who brings the story to life with her captivating portrayal. The film’s stunning visuals are courtesy of cinematographer Tim McCombe, while Nathan Ruyle’s impeccable sound design enhances the tension and terror on screen. Director Ryan Graff, known for his previous work in Genre cinema, including the acclaimed short film BLACK MOON (2019), once again demonstrates his prowess in crafting atmospheric and award-winning horror experiences.
As Halloween approaches, mark your calendars for the broadcast premiere of UNVEILED, a micro-short that promises to keep you on the edge of your seat. With its simple yet effective storytelling, UNVEILED is a must-watch addition to your Halloween playlist. Prepare to be captivated, terrified, and left with an unforgettable jump scare as Ryan Graff’s UNVEILED unveils the horrors that await beyond the mirror
To stay updated on Ryan Graff’s work, visit his social media pages:
Rod: A creative force, blending words, images, and flavors. Blogger, writer, filmmaker, and photographer. Cooking enthusiast with a sci-fi vision. Passionate about his upcoming series and dedicated to TNC Network. Partnered with Rebecca Washington for a shared journey of love and art. View all posts
Rod: A creative force, blending words, images, and flavors. Blogger, writer, filmmaker, and photographer. Cooking enthusiast with a sci-fi vision. Passionate about his upcoming series and dedicated to TNC Network. Partnered with Rebecca Washington for a shared journey of love and art.
The Substitute Teacher Who Wanted Blueprints of Our House
A fifth-grade assignment took a strange turn when a substitute teacher asked students to draw schematics of their homes. What followed — a wildly fictional floor plan and a priceless reaction from my mom — turned into one of my funniest childhood memories.
The Substitute Teacher Who Wanted Blueprints of Our House
Elementary school memories tend to blend together — cafeteria pizza, playground arguments, the eternal struggle of times tables — but every once in a while, something happens that sticks with you for life. For me, that moment came in the fifth grade during a week when our regular teacher was out, and we cycled through substitute teachers like we were testing models for durability. By midweek, in walked a substitute with a mysterious, slightly intense energy — the kind of vibe that suggested he either meditated at dawn or worked a graveyard shift doing something he couldn’t talk about. We settled into our seats, expecting worksheets or quiet reading time. But nope. He had other plans. “Today,” he announced, “we’re going to draw schematics of our houses.” Schematics. Not drawings. Not little houses with smoke coming out of the chimney. Actual blueprint-style schematics. He wanted the layout of our bedrooms, our parents’ rooms, and where the pets slept. Every detail. Now, to be fair, Highlights Magazine did have a feature that month teaching kids how to draw floor plans. So maybe he was just a bit overenthusiastic about cross-curricular learning. Or maybe — and this is my completely rhetorical adult theory — he worked the graveyard shift as a cat burglar gathering intel between heists. Just moonlighting between blueprints. While the rest of the class tried their best to recreate their actual homes, my imagination sprinted in a totally different direction. The house I drew had:
A massive master bedroom with an oversized bathroom for my parents
Separate bedrooms for us kids on the opposite side of the house
A kitchen placed right in the center like a command center
And the dog — the true VIP — had a luxurious two-story doghouse
I had basically created a dream home designed by a 10-year-old watching too much Fantasy Homes by the Yard. Later that day, my mom asked the usual question: “So, what did you guys do today?” “We drew schematics of our house,” I said casually. The look on her face was instant and intense. She wasn’t panicked, but there was definitely a “Why does a substitute teacher need to know the exact layout of my home?” expression happening. Parental instincts activated. But then I showed her my diagram. She stared at it. Blinked. Then sighed with massive relief. “This isn’t our house,” she said. “Nope! I made it up,” I replied proudly. Her shoulders relaxed so much she probably lost five pounds of tension in one instant. If the substitute was secretly planning a heist, my masterpiece of misinformation would have sent him to the wrong house entirely. Looking back, the whole moment feels like a sitcom setup — a mysterious substitute collecting “house schematics,” me creating a completely fictional piece of architecture, and my mom going on a full emotional journey in under 30 seconds. Maybe he was just excited about the Highlights Magazine floor-plan activity. Or maybe — just maybe — he moonlighted in cat burglary. We’ll never know. But if he was, I like to think I threw him completely off the scent.
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How China cleaned up its air pollution – and what that meant for the climate
How China cleaned up its air pollution: Beijing’s air quality went from hazardous to good while Delhi and Lahore still struggle. Discover how China dramatically reduced pollution since 2013—and why cleaner air may have unintended consequences for global warming and climate change.
Delhi: 442. Lahore: 334. Beijing: 16. These are the levels of PM 2.5, one of the principle measures for air pollution, on November 19. As Pakistanis and Indians struggle with hazardous air quality, in Beijing – a city once notorious for its smog – the air quality is currently rated as good. Ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government was so concerned about pollution that it introduced temporary restrictions on cars, shut down factories and stopped work on some construction sites. The measures worked and one study later found that levels of air pollution were down 30% during the period when the temporary Olympic restrictions were in place. It would take a few more years before the Chinese government implemented a clean air action plan in 2013. Since then, China has achieved a dramatic improvement in its air quality. In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to Laura Wilcox, a professor at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading in the UK, to understand how China managed to clean up its air pollution. But Wilcox’s recent research uncovered some unintended consequences from this cleaner air for the global climate: the pollution was actually helping to cool the atmosphere and by taking it away, it may have accelerated global warming. Wilcox explains:
What we’re seeing is a removing of cooling that’s revealing warming that’s already there. So the air pollution isn’t the cause of the warming. It’s just letting us see stuff that we’ve already done.
Dive into “The Knowledge,” where curiosity meets clarity. This playlist, in collaboration with STMDailyNews.com, is designed for viewers who value historical accuracy and insightful learning. Our short videos, ranging from 30 seconds to a minute and a half, make complex subjects easy to grasp in no time. Covering everything from historical events to contemporary processes and entertainment, “The Knowledge” bridges the past with the present. In a world where information is abundant yet often misused, our series aims to guide you through the noise, preserving vital knowledge and truths that shape our lives today. Perfect for curious minds eager to discover the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of everything around us. Subscribe and join in as we explore the facts that matter. https://stmdailynews.com/the-knowledge/
What makes a true Santa is inside – and comes with the red suit
Research on 849 professional Santas reveals three types: prototypical, semi-prototypical, and nonprototypical. Discover how diverse Santas navigate stereotypes and why many see the red suit as a calling, not just a job.
Members of the Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas meet at Pink’s restaurant at Knott’s Berry Farm before the holiday rush in 2009. Business Wire via AP
What makes a true Santa is inside – and comes with the red suit
Christina Hymer, University of Tennessee When you picture Santa Claus, a white, bearded, overweight and jolly man who dashes around delivering gifts to children during the Christmas season probably comes to mind. Yet, not everyone who dons the red suit fits this stereotype. That’s what Bethany Cockburn, Borbala Csillag and I learned when we teamed up to study professional Santas. For our study, we looked into how these professional Santas were able to “be” Santa, even if they didn’t fully fit the image. As we explained in a forthcoming article in the Academy of Management Journal, many who do this work don’t see it as just a job – it’s a calling. For some professional Santas, it’s especially important that they look and feel like Santa to experience that sense of purpose in their work. We surveyed 849 professional Santas who live across the U.S. and interviewed 53 of them, collecting data between 2018 and 2021. We identified three types of professional Santas: prototypical (64%), semi-prototypical (23%) and nonprototypical (13%). Prototypical Santas look the part. They are white and overweight, have real beards and express confidence that they are the right fit. Semi-prototypical Santas looked the part, too, but felt like they weren’t quite suitable for a range of reasons. They might be introverted or use a fake beard. Nonprototypical Santas had characteristics at odds with the stereotype. They might be nonwhite, female or gay, or have a physical disability.Many Santas see their work, whether paid or volunteer, as a calling.Photo by Gwyn Sussman Whereas prototypical Santas could easily slide into the Santa role, the process was more complex for the others. Semi-prototypical Santas did things like come up with stories they’d tell themselves or share with children to explain away their fake beards. Nonprototypical Santas had values aligned with the Santa image, such as being peaceful, loving and kind. But they still made a big effort to look like what people expect when they visit a Santa. “Should it be a difference if you’re a Jewish Santa Claus or a Catholic Santa Claus?” asked an atheist professional Santa we called “Santa Aquila.” “No. You’re Santa Claus. What do you do? You’re not even supposed to preach anything.” Another Santa whom we called “Santa Lynx” hid that she was female in part by flattening her chest.
Why it matters
While anyone can take a turn being their neighborhood potluck’s Santa, the one you meet at the mall probably attended some combination of Santa schools, webinars and training. For instance, the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School was founded in 1937 and conducts an annual Santa training each year. National networks also exist, such as the Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas, which says it has 1,000 members, – and the IBRBS, formerly known as the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas, offering meetups and professional support.Actor B.J. Averell, dressed as Santa Claus, attends a toy drive for struggling Bay Area families in Burlingame, Calif., in December 2024.Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images There are also local organizations, such as the Lone Star Santas network in Texas. Although most professional Santas are paid for their work, many do this voluntarily. It’s not uncommon for there to be some sort of expectation around who should have a particular occupation. Pilots tend to be male, most schoolteachers are female, and salespeople are often seen as extroverted. But that doesn’t mean that women can’t be pilots, men can’t be teachers or that introverts can’t work in sales.
What’s next
I’m now looking at how broader institutional environments, current events and social movements can shape how people experience their callings and find meaning at work. The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.Christina Hymer, Assistant Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship, University of Tennessee This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Dive into “The Knowledge,” where curiosity meets clarity. This playlist, in collaboration with STMDailyNews.com, is designed for viewers who value historical accuracy and insightful learning. Our short videos, ranging from 30 seconds to a minute and a half, make complex subjects easy to grasp in no time. Covering everything from historical events to contemporary processes and entertainment, “The Knowledge” bridges the past with the present. In a world where information is abundant yet often misused, our series aims to guide you through the noise, preserving vital knowledge and truths that shape our lives today. Perfect for curious minds eager to discover the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of everything around us. Subscribe and join in as we explore the facts that matter. https://stmdailynews.com/the-knowledge/
Later that day, my mom asked the usual question: “So, what did you guys do today?” “We drew schematics of our house,” I said casually. The look on her face was instant and intense. She wasn’t panicked, but there was definitely a “Why does a substitute teacher need to know the exact layout of my home?” expression happening. Parental instincts activated. But then I showed her my diagram. She stared at it. Blinked. Then sighed with massive relief. “This isn’t our house,” she said. “Nope! I made it up,” I replied proudly. Her shoulders relaxed so much she probably lost five pounds of tension in one instant. If the substitute was secretly planning a heist, my masterpiece of misinformation would have sent him to the wrong house entirely. Looking back, the whole moment feels like a sitcom setup — a mysterious substitute collecting “house schematics,” me creating a completely fictional piece of architecture, and my mom going on a full emotional journey in under 30 seconds. Maybe he was just excited about the Highlights Magazine floor-plan activity. Or maybe — just maybe — he moonlighted in cat burglary. We’ll never know. But if he was, I like to think I threw him completely off the scent.
Gemma Ware, Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
