A tip too far? Why tip fatigue may be setting in for North Americans

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A tip too far? Why tip fatigue may be setting in for North Americans Tipping has long been an established and widely accepted social norm in North America. Although it is not required, many Canadians feel pressured to tip — even in situations when we are dissatisfied with food or service quality. For many, deciding exactly how much to tip in a given situation can be uncomfortable. Two recent phenomena are exacerbating this and increasing tensions around the practice of tipping. Continued here

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Brazil: swift and robust response to the insurrection highlights the strength of democracy Brazil’s state institutions, including the recently installed government of Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, have reacted swiftly in the wake of the riots in Brasilia last weekend. Hundreds of rioters have already been arrested and the state governor of the federal district has been suspended for his sluggish and ineffective response. Thousands of supporters of the ousted right-wing former president, Jair Bolsonaro, invaded the the Plaza of the Three Powers – the heart of government in the country’s capital – on Sunday January 8. They swarmed into the presidential Planalto palace as well as the national congress and federal supreme court buildings. Continued here

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'The Last of Us' review: HBO's TV adaptation is better than the video game The HBO adaptation of the hit Naughty Dog game is so good, it's hard to believe it's an adaptation at all. Granted, we’re not even two weeks into 2023, but from the first minute of the whopping 80-minute pilot, it’s hard to see anything else even reaching the same league. A decade in the making, The Last of Us is a perfectly timed pandemic story, showing a true apocalypse scenario just as we’re getting used to the new normal of our pandemic. Most importantly, it’s a heartwarming (and very violent) story that’s not just a love letter to the original video game — it may just be an improvement upon it. Continued here

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Long COVID: here's what it's like trying to access healthcare for the condition It’s estimated that 2.1 million people are currently living with long COVID in the UK. Symptoms can include breathlessness, fatigue, chest pains, loss of taste and smell, and “brain fog”. These symptoms continue to develop and fluctuate over time after the initial COVID infection has passed. We conducted a study where we talked to 40 people with long COVID and 12 healthcare professionals providing long COVID support in Bradford. The respondents with long COVID were largely drawn from deprived areas and 75% came from ethnic minority backgrounds. Continued here

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Tesla: what 2023 holds for the electric vehicle company and why it might be time for Musk to go If share price is anything to go by, Tesla is in trouble. The market capitalisation of the electric vehicle (EV) company has fallen by 73% from its record high in November 2021, causing concern for investors. On the face of it, there is no crisis. The cars are still the benchmark for performance. The underlying technology and the sophistication of the software remain preeminent. The supercharging network of fast EV charging stations is the envy of competitors. Its cutting-edge assembly plant and gigafactories (for large-scale production of EV batteries) supports peak productivity. Continued here

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Maluku earthquake: why do some ocean earthquakes cause tsunamis while others don't? We live on an active planet, one whose surface is constantly in motion, although imperceptibly to us most of the time. Until an earthquake occurs. This morning, just such an event happened in the seas north of the Indonesian Archipelago, where a strong (magnitude 7.6 on the Richter scale) earthquake shook the region and was felt as far afield as Darwin in Australia. Continued here

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Kids and money: five ways to start the conversation When it comes to teaching young children about the world, parents may feel that some topics – like politics and religion – are too tough to broach. Money is another. Parents may not feel like they know how to approach the subject, or worry that they don’t set a good financial example for their kids. But money talk shouldn’t be avoided. Talking about it is the first stepping stone towards financial knowledge and, ultimately, to financial independence. Holding off the conversations for too long can leave your children in the lurch later in life. For instance, in South Africa, only 42% of adults are financially literate. In Ghana the figure is 32% and in Nigeria it’s 26%. This means a large number of adults in these countries do not know or understand financial concepts. Continued here

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What killer robots mean for the future of war Miranda Mowbray is affiliated with the University of Bristol, where she gives lectures on AI ethics in the UKRI-funded Centre for Doctoral Training in Interactive AI. She is a member of the advisory council for the Open Rights Group. You might have heard of killer robots, slaughterbots or terminators – officially called lethal autonomous weapons (LAWs) – from films and books. And the idea of super-intelligent weapons running rampant is still science fiction. But as AI weapons become increasingly sophisticated, public concern is growing over fears about lack of accountability and the risk of technical failure. Continued here

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James Cameron is confident he can complete his Avatar "saga" The strong performance of The Way of Water could let James Cameron tell the complete story of the Na’vi. The Na’vi say, “I see you,” and you’ll see more of the Na’vi after Avatar: The Way of Water. Continued here

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Can Travel Curb Its Global Emissions and Create a Better Future? One of Saudi Arabia’s “giga-projects,” NEOM, is committed to regenerative tourism, like coral reef protection off of Yabou Island in the Red Sea. If you are a regular reader of AFAR, you know we’re dedicated to making travel a force for good in the world. Our tagline is “Travelers Who Care” and we are proud to speak to and for travelers who are conscientious about how they explore: experiences that enrich the traveler personally, support the communities visited, and are sensitive to the effects on our planet. Continued here � S66 No fair: Make Zack unstoppable with these 'Crisis Core' Materia combos Crisis Core Reunion uses a lot of the same mechanics as Final Fantasy 7, with the iconic Materia system returning once again, in an even larger way. Zack can equip a variety of Materia that let him use magic spells, abilities, give stat boosts, make certain DMW reels more likely, and more. Materia is your primary way of powering up Zack, and Crisis Core Reunion has dozens of options for loadouts and combat styles. The further you get into the game the more options you have, and it can be a bit tough to parse what Materia is worth investing in. Here are a few suggestions for some of Crisis Core’s best Materia setups. Costly Punch is easily the most useful Materia in the entire game, as it uses your HP to cause non-elemental damage that bypasses armor. This means if you bump up your HP, you can easily start dishing out 99,999 damage per hit. This setup is absolutely essential for taking on later missions and Crisis Core’s secret boss, Minerva. The easiest way to get Costly Punch is to fuse it by using any of the “Punch” Materia (Goblin Punch, Iron Fist) and combining it with any DMW Materia. Continued here S6 Elon Musk Tells Twitter Managers They Must Be Able To 'Do This One Thing', or Risk Getting Fired Another lesson in how not to lead. Continued here � S2 How Design Thinking Can Help Lower the Poverty Rate Marshall University works to instill this approach in a new generation of entrepreneurs. Continued here S10 11 of the best TV shows to watch this January Seven years after the last season ended, we finally have the third and final instalment of Sally Wainwright's lifelike, emotional police drama set in Northern England. Catherine Cawood (played with brilliant down-to-earth realism by Sarah Lancashire) is about to retire from the police force in the Yorkshire town of Hebden Bridge – then a dead body points her toward the series' once-and-future villain, Tommy Lee Royce, who raped Catherine's daughter and caused her eventual suicide. The usually dashing James Norton returns in evil mode as Royce, the father of Catherine's 16-year-old grandson. With Lancashire's bracing performance and Wainwright's deft mix of family ties and detailed detective work, the series has always surpassed the tropes of the police genre. In the runup to the new season, The Guardian declared it "one of the best TV dramas of the 21st Century." It's choose-your-own chronology in this heist drama. Giancarlo Esposito stars as Leo Pap, mastermind of a gang trying to rob mogul Roger Salas (Rufus Sewell) of $7 billion held in his supposedly impenetrable New York City vault. The trick is that the eight episodes are designed to be watched in any order you choose (except for the finale), so that different viewers will piece together the would-be crime in different ways. Pap plays the long game, as the story covers 25 years. The episodes, each identified by a colour rather than a number, have titles like, The Blue Episode: 5 Days before The Heist and The Violet Episode: 24 Years Before the Heist. Sounds like work, but it also looks like Esposito, so smoothly criminal in Breaking Bad, is worth it. Continued here � S14 Israel's new hard-line government has made headlines - the bigger demographic changes that caused it, not so much Israel’s new goverment is the most right-wing and religious leadership the country has had in the 75 years of its existence, as many observers have pointed out. And this style of leadership may last because it represents the next generation of Israelis. You don’t have to look far to see that the religiously observant Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox sectors of Israel’s population are growing quickly. The new minister of Jerusalem affairs has 12 children. The minister of national missions – one of the few women in the cabinet – has 11, the housing minister 10, the interior minister nine, the finance minister and the minister of immigration have seven each and the minister of heritage has six. Continued here S42 Labor's scheme to cut industrial emissions is worryingly flexible The federal government today proposed new rules to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from Australia’s polluting industrial sector. The rule changes apply to a measure known as the “safeguard mechanism”, and are supposed to stop Australia’s top 215 emitters, such as new coal, oil and gas projects, from emitting over certain thresholds, or “baselines”. The safeguard mechanism was established by the Abbott Coalition government in 2016. It’s been widely criticised for lacking teeth – indeed, industrial emissions have actually increased since the mechanism began. Continued here S64 This leaf-inspired device could be the key to hydrogen farms Hydrogen fuel may not sound like Hollywood material, but it plays a key role in Rian Johnson’s latest murder mystery, Glass Onion. Without spoiling too much, a crystal of solid hydrogen acts as a Chekov’s gun that pays off in spectacular fashion. Moviegoers may be forgiven for thinking that this futuristic fuel is a purely fictional creation. To be fair, room-temperature crystal hydrogen is no easy feat. Continued here S35 Vince Copley had a vision for a better Australia - and he helped make it happen, with lifelong friend Charles Perkins Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people. In his memoir’s final chapter, Vince Copley wonders: if the first legal marriage of an Aboriginal woman and a white man had been socially accepted in the 1850s, would his own wife have been spared being pushed to the end of the 1970s bank queue because she was with him, a blackfella? Would that real estate agent have considered their application instead of throwing it straight in the bin? Would their daughter have been spared the schoolyard bullying and their son the name-calling? Continued here S69 New 'Ant-Man: Quantumania' trailer is already setting up next 'Avengers' The newest trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is already looking to the future of the MCU. During the CFP National Championship on Monday night, played between Georgia and TCU, Marvel Studios premiered a new trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the next film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the third in the Ant-Man series. Continued here S3 6 Steps to Self-Fund Your Startup A real-world plan for avoiding the startup money pit. Continued here S18 How to unlock your creativity - even if you see yourself as a conventional thinker Many people believe that creative thinking is difficult – that the ability to come up with ideas in novel and interesting ways graces only some talented individuals and not most others. Together, they seem to paint a dire picture for those who consider themselves conventional thinkers, as well as those who do not work in creative occupations – including roles that are often considered traditional and noncreative, such as accountants and data analysts. Continued here S30 How the pharmaceutical industry uses disinformation to undermine drug price reform Canada’s drug prices are the fourth highest in the developed world. Despite this, Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC), the lobby group for Big Pharma, put out a call in November 2022 for the Canadian government to suspend consultations on guidelines aimed at lowering prescription drug prices. The proposed guidelines were expected to come into effect on Jan. 1, but were postponed in late December. Continued here S11 An 'unapologetically Indian' universe A video depicting an otherworldly India flashed across screens in New York's Times Square in 2022. In one scene, a warrior resembling Lord Ganesha appeared in Transformers-esque battle armour. Elsewhere, a tower in the style of a minaret from the Mughal era glimmered with gold and lasers. These powerful visuals featured in a trailer for Indus Battle Royale, a video game set in space and based on the Indus Valley Civilisation – one of mankind's oldest urban societies, which arose on the Indian subcontinent around 3000 BCE. Combining Indian mythology and architecture with science fiction, Indus Battle Royale is one of the latest manifestations of a philosophy known as Indofuturism – an aesthetic, a genre and a narrative that envisions what India could look like in the future. These visions, whether expressed through science fiction, music or art, are rooted in staples of traditional Indian culture such as spirituality and folk customs.  But they're also universally appealing, thanks to provocative design, cutting-edge technology, captivating sonics and their emphasis on diversity and self-reliance.  Continued here S5 You Aren’t Selling Your Company. You’re Trading Assets You'll need to sell it for enough to replace your income. Continued here S41 Dog theft is increasing, and so are new laws targeting this awful crime. But will they help? Amid the first year of the pandemic in 2020, crime statistics in Victoria showed an increase in the number of dogs reported stolen. Since then, media reports suggest there’s been an increase in dog theft in Australia. The price of dogs has increased during the pandemic given higher demand and decreased supply, particularly of purebred and designer dogs. Dog theft is said to be rising due to offenders exploiting this situation. Media reports suggest dogs are being targeted to be sold on the black market. Continued here S21 Women work harder than men - For most people around the world, physical work takes up a great amount of time and energy every day. But what determines whether it is men or women who are working harder in households? In most hunter-gatherer societies, men are the hunters and women are the gatherers – with men seemingly walking the furthest. But what’s the labour breakdown in other societies? We carried out a study of farming and herding groups in the Tibetan borderlands in rural China – an area with huge cultural diversity – to uncover which factors actually determine who works the hardest in a household, and why. Our results, published in Current Biology, shed light on the gender division of work across many different kinds of society. Continued here S12 The online 'hierarchy of credibility' that fuels influencers like Andrew Tate The arrest of influencer Andrew Tate in Romania on charges of sex trafficking and sexual abuse will do little to deter his supporters. For some time now, those outside his sphere of influence have looked on bemused as to how he appears to have accumulated so much power over young people. The fact is that Tate, like many others, has tapped into the understanding that people who feel disenfranchised seek leadership, guidance, and hope via the internet. He is part of a new social hierarchy that is forming around people who feel let down by conventional leaders. Continued here S8 Flexibility Is Key to Integrating Meaning and Work | Lynda Gratton Our shared experience of the COVID-19 pandemic created an opportunity to question a lot of things. We revisited long-held assumptions, picked up new habits, and let go of past ways of being. Over the past two years, my team and I have led a series of workshops and seminars where we asked people to talk about what they have learned about themselves. For some, the pandemic kick-started an urge to change their working identity — how they describe themselves. For example, some said they have started side hustles to experiment with creating the small businesses they’ve always dreamed of. Others said they have gained clarity on how to advance in their work lives: “I want to become a coach in two years’ time, so I need to build the experience and skills that will help me to do that,” said one participant. Others have identified what they deeply care about. “My parents are getting older, and although they don’t need my care now, I want to spend time with them while I still can,” said one person. Time away from the norms of office work brought home to others just how important friendship is: “I realized that I’ve let my connections with my two closest friends get weaker, and I want to fix that.” Continued here S9 What's the problem with inventing flashy new job titles? Chief executive officer. Marketing director. Lead writer. Sales associate. Job titles like these have generally been standard across work for years. They’re succinct and clear, communicating essential employee details such as job function and seniority. They make sense to employees and recruiters alike, leaving little room for ambiguity. However, job titles are yet another feature evolving in the changing world of work. Labels like ‘chief visionary officer’, ‘chief innovation evangelist’, ‘business development guru’ or ‘chief remote officer’ are emerging, making the traditional system seem too rigid, and perhaps even stale. Continued here S43 Why being bilingual can open doors for children with developmental disabilities, not close them When parents learn their child has a developmental disability, they often have questions about what their child may or may not be able to do. Children with developmental disabilities, such as Down syndrome, often have challenges and delays in language development. And for some families, one of these questions may be: “Will speaking two languages be detrimental to their development?” Continued here S27 Secrecy, psychosis and difficult change: these lived experiences of mental illness will inspire a kaleidoscope of emotions There is no way to neatly summarise what Admissions is or what it contains. If we were to write shorthand case notes to hand it over to you as a reader, they would say… This is followed by a large paragraph of disjointed words, beginning with “Dolphins” and ending with “So many flipped moons”. Continued here S19 Why Ghana relies heavily on used cars The sale of electric cars is growing. Globally, some 2 million electric vehicles were sold in the first quarter of 2022 – 75% more than in the first three months of 2021. Most, though, are sold in high income countries. As transport electrification takes hold in rich countries to reduce emissions that lead to climate change and air pollution, increasing numbers of internal combustion engine vehicles are likely to land in used vehicle markets. Continued here S26 Why Pacific Islanders are staying put even as rising seas flood their homes and crops PhD Candidate, School of Earth and Environment Sciences, The University of Queensland Climate change is forcing people around the world to abandon their homes. In the Pacific Islands, rising sea levels are leaving communities facing tough decisions about relocation. Some are choosing to stay in high-risk areas. Continued here S68 The 5 biggest EV announcements of CES 2023 Mercedes-Benz, RAM, Sony, and Volkswagen made this year’s CES another big one for electric vehicles. As CES continues its annual swelling, growing to encompass every type of consumer device (and swallowing much of Las Vegas along the way), the job of spotting trends gets harder and harder. There are just so many to choose from! Continued here S15 How cancer cells move and metastasize is influenced by the fluids surrounding them - understanding how tumors migrate can help stop their spread Cell migration, or how cells move in the body, is essential to both normal body function and disease progression. Cell movement is what allows body parts to grow in the right place during early development, wounds to heal and tumors to become metastatic. In the past two or three decades, however, scientists have started to recognize the importance of the mechanical, or physical, factors that play a role in cell migration. For example, human mammary epithelial cells – the cells lining the milk ducts in the breast – migrate toward areas of increasing stiffness when placed on a surface with a stiffness gradient. Continued here S24 Two years after the defund the police movement, police budgets increase across Canada The worldwide protests against police racism and violence in the summer of 2020 brought greater public attention to police spending. Despite that support, the demand to defund the police and reinvest in communities has not been implemented in any Canadian city. Continued here S4 Disney’s CEO Sent a Controversial Email to Employees. It’s a Masterclass in Communicating Your Values The company is requiring employees to return to the office four days a week. Continued here S36 'Drowning for love' - 5 ways to protect your life while you're trying to rescue someone in trouble in the water The news headlines show summer is a deadly period for drowning in Australia. Sadly, between December 1 and January 9, 35 people died due to drowning. People may be more likely to visit unfamiliar places and waterways not patrolled by lifeguards. They may seek relief in the water on hot days and consume alcohol while swimming, fishing or boating. Such risks can, and do, lead to tragedy at our beaches, rivers and pools. Continued here S7 Third Party Cookies Are Over. These New Strategies Help Brands Win Over Customers Here are the marketing strategies helping businesses attract customers in a post-third party cookies world. Continued here S44 North Korea: record number of missile tests in 2022 has raised fears of nuclear confrontation with the South North Korea began 2023 as it had ended 2022 – with some characteristic sabre-rattling in the form of missile tests. Having launched more missiles in 2022 than in any other year, on the morning of January 1 this year, North Korea tested a large new multiple launch rocket system that, according to Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, can strike any part of South Korea with tactical nuclear warheads. On the same day, Kim called for the North to “exponentially increase” its stock of nuclear weapons. There has been a substantial reshuffle at the top of the military, including the dismissal of Kim’s number two, Pak Jong-chon, who has been replaced by the chief of the general staff, Rim Kwang-il, as part of an effort to push the military harder to achieve greater readiness and combat capability. Continued here S29 What if your colleague is a bot? Harnessing the benefits of workplace automation without alienating staff The need for businesses to adapt to the workplace demands of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies, with clear implications for jobs and workers. But just how much employees worry about the threat of automation – and how real those fears are – can have implications for workplaces beyond the technological change itself. Continued here S25 How to make post-secondary study more accessible? Collaboration between instructors and disability counsellors Forty years after the enactment of Canada’s first children’s special education laws, universities and colleges have made significant strides in accessible education for adult students with disabilities. But positive change is not coming fast enough. And accessibility issues are not about some small minority of students. Twenty-two per cent of Canadians aged 15 years or older have at least one disability. This percentage is roughly echoed in higher education. Continued here S13 What's a 'gig' job? How it's legally defined affects workers' rights and protections The “gig” economy has captured the attention of technology futurists, journalists, academics and policymakers. “Future of work” discussions tend toward two extremes: breathless excitement at the brave new world that provides greater flexibility, mobility and entrepreneurial energy, or dire accounts of its immiserating impacts on the workers who labor beneath the gig economy’s yoke. Continued here S16 Russia's war in Ukraine threatens students daily and forces teachers to improvise Svitlana Popova’s students didn’t realize she was leading their online math class while outside the charred remains of her home in Ukraine until they saw a news video about it on social media. Her students were in their own difficult circumstances, too – seeking refuge away from their homes, some in other countries. Continued here S17 The South African government has been buying farmland for black farmers. It's not gone well When the African National Congress came to power in South Africa in 1994, an expressed priority was land reform. This was to address the fact that black farmers had been excluded from the agricultural economy for most of the 20th century. The aim of land reform was to provide agricultural land to disadvantaged people, raising their productivity, income and employment. A plethora of policy initiatives were launched. The target was to distribute 30% of agricultural land to black farmers. In 2006 the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS) was adopted. This replaced the land redistribution programmes implemented between 1996 and 2006. The acquisition programme involved the government buying farmland previously owned by white farmers and redistributing it to black farmers. Continued here S65 SpaceX Starship orbital flight date: Elon Musk offers a new launch window SpaceX’s giant rocket to Mars and beyond could take its first orbital flight sometime within the next year — but questions around where it will fly from caused delays in the company’s planning applications. Now, we know that the company will launch Starships from the SpaceX Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas (which has prompted controversy). So far, SpaceX has tested all six Raptor engines on its Starship upper-stage prototype called Ship 24. The vehicle will be launched by Booster 7 — a prototype for the Super Heavy first-stage rocket. As for Booster 7, the company has only fired up 14 of the 33 engines so far. Continued here S31 Islamic paintings of the Prophet Muhammad are an important piece of history - here's why art historians teach them Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, recently dismissed Erika López Prater, an adjunct faculty member, for showing two historical Islamic paintings of the Prophet Muhammad in her global survey of art history. Following complaints from some Muslim students, university administrators described such images as disrespectful and Islamophobic. While many Muslims today believe it is inappropriate to depict Muhammad, it was not always so in the past. Moreover, debates about this subject within the Muslim community are ongoing. Within the academic world, this material is taught in a neutral and analytical way to help students – including those who embrace the Islamic faith – assess and understand historical evidence. Continued here S28 Are polishes, acrylics and powders bad for my fingernails? Do I need a breather between manicures? People are increasingly opting for regular manicures – with vibrant layers of polish, gel, acrylic or powder. Australians spend more than $22 billion a year on beauty treatments. And it’s not slowing down – the beauty and personal care market is expected to grow at around 2–5% in the next year. Continued here S40 England may be set to flood at the end of winter - here's why Within the space of a week in February 2022, England and Wales were affected by three severe storms (Dudley, Eunice and Franklin). Persistent heavy rain led to the flooding of around 400 properties and severe flood warnings were issued for several major rivers, including the River Severn. Now, the UK Met Office is predicting that England is again set to experience severe flooding in February 2023 – a prediction the forecasters attribute to a global weather phenomenon called La Niña. El Niño and La Niña are the two separate phases of the El Niño southern oscillation (ENSO). This is the name given to the phenomenon of irregular annual variations in sea surface temperatures (by as much as 3℃), air pressure and rainfall across the Pacific Ocean. A La Niña event is characterised by significantly lower sea surface temperatures in areas of the Pacific. Continued here S55 7 post-apocalypse games like 'The Last of Us' With the upcoming release of The Last of Us HBO TV adaptation, now is the best time to play the video game series it’s based on. But what if you’ve already finished both installments and the DLC? Thankfully, there’s no shortage of stellar post-apocalyptic games to try — many of which feature compelling stories and gameplay to match. Some focus more on narrative, others are geared towards challenging gameplay, and some can even be experienced with a friend online. These are seven games like The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II you need to play ASAP. When it comes to mirroring the relationship of father and daughter, Telltale’s first season of The Walking Dead comes closest to The Last of Us. Sure, The Walking Dead is a point-and-click adventure game, but in terms of its story — which involves a father figure taking a young girl under his wing — both games are quite similar. It’s also a fantastic choice for those who don’t play games often, as The Walking Dead doesn’t require twitch reflexes to complete. Bet you can’t make it through this game without crying. Continued here S62 D&D's community is up in arms over a controversial change The best Dungeons & Dragons adventures I’ve ever had — whether as the Dungeon Master guiding the story or as a player experiencing it — have been original “homebrew” creations not published by Wizards of the Coast. Sure, they might adapt locations and storylines from official materials and use the game’s core systems, but it’s wholly original content. In some cases, the creative process is akin to writing a novel or video game, and some of the best content creators make a living producing and reselling remixes of existing storylines or entire unique adventures. But now, Wizards of the Coast and parent company Hasbro is poised to put major restrictions on this type of content — and the community is not happy about it. Continued here S59 Sniping in 'Warzone 2.0' is rough — but one Victus XMR loadout makes it fun again In Warzone 2.0, coming equipped with a long-range sniper will serve you well, especially since many of your engagements in Al Mazrah occur from hundreds of meters away. The game boasts many excellent sniper rifles, but a fan favorite is the Victus XMR, which is available for free as part of the battle pass. As always, building the best version of a weapon can be tricky due to the sheer number of attachment options the game has to offer. But here, we’ll highlight the very best Victus XMR loadout in Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0. There are lots of different ways to build the Victus XMR sniper depending on your playstyle. However, the recommended build focuses on fast aim-down sights (ADS) time and high bullet velocity. Continued here S23 Invasive rats are changing fish behaviour on coral reefs - new study Coral reefs are degrading rapidly to the extent that their marine inhabitants must either adapt or die. For many animals, including reef fish, behaviour is one of the first responses to changes in environmental conditions. Behavioural changes may be critical for predicting the future survival of many animal species. This is encouraging marine scientists to study how, why or when these changes happen. Continued here S56 Astronomers find a way to detect a bizarre stellar object that exists for just a few milliseconds Cram the Sun into the diameter of a city, then do the same to a second star, and now have them clash. When this happens in the cosmos, reverberations in the fabric of space-time carry throughout the Universe. This is the realm of the emerging science known as gravitational wave astronomy. Sometimes, astrophysicists at LIGO get lucky enough to notice these crashes. But the field is new and evolving. To understand the merger of two neutron stars — dense remnants of massive stars that met explosive ends as supernovae — astronomers are turning to archival data from energetic radiation that bursts out of these events. Continued here S58 Tim Blake Nelson's 'Dune 2' casting can only mean two things The year of Dune is upon us. On December 12, 2022, according to Timothée Chalamet (and other sources), Dune: Part Two completed filming. And yet, we’re still learning about new cast members. On January 6, 2023, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that actor Tim Blake Nelson is set to appear in Dune: Part 2. But his character has not yet been named. As journalist Borys Kit put it: “details for Nelson’s role are being kept deep in the sand.” So who is Nelson playing? Most signs point toward one pivotal character in the first Frank Herbert novel. Then again, there might be a bigger twist that could lead to a hypothetical third Dune film. Speculation ahead. Continued here S63 'Skinamarink' review: Nightmare fuel that will keep you awake for the rest of your life When we talk about the “scariest movie of all time,” we talk about a lot of different movies. The corner where variety and taste meet is the busiest intersection in all of arts discourse. Because not everyone is going to be scared by the same things, the horror genre has been allowed to flourish. But from now on, when we talk about the “scariest movie of all time,” we’ll be talking about Skinamarink, a slow-burn lo-fi nightmare by independent filmmaker Kyle Edward Ball. Continued here S45 Gary McKee: what it takes to run a marathon a day for a year For many runners, a marathon is a lifetime achievement. But a British man named Gary McKee took marathon running to another level by running one a day for 365 days in 2022 to raise money for charity. Not only did McKee achieve his goal, he ran an average time of just over four hours. Astonishingly, this is faster than the average worldwide marathon time of four and a half hours. He travelled over 9,500 miles in the year (around 800 miles a month) – a distance many of us don’t even achieve by car – and used 22 pairs of trainers to reach his goal. The amount of miles McKee ran is something that many elite distance runners don’t even achieve. Continued here S46 Vicky Krieps Meets Her Painted Doppelgänger "Someone told me there's a painting here that looks just like me," the actor Vicky Krieps said not long ago, as she climbed the marble stairs of the Neue Galerie, on Fifth Avenue. She wore cowboy boots, a pink Lacoste sweatshirt, a green velvet blazer, and a fuzzy white beret that had belonged to her grandmother; two feathers hung, dream-catcher style, from one ear. Upstairs, she considered the Klimts. "Definitely not that one," she said, pointing to "The Woman in Gold." She gestured toward a small half profile of a woman dressed in black. "Perhaps I look a little like her, in the movie," she said, glancing doubtfully at her sweatshirt. In Krieps's new film, "Corsage," she plays the Empress Elisabeth, who, with her husband, Franz Joseph, ruled the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late nineteenth century. In "Corsage," which was directed by Marie Kreutzer, Elisabeth (or Sissi) is by turns willful and melancholic, a reflexive rebel who kicks at the ankles of the Hapsburg hierarchy but is obsessed with her place in it. "Sissi was a little in touch with something ahead of her time," Krieps said. "She was very vain, she was very strict. In a certain sense, she was very ignorant—but you see signs of something else." Continued here S22 The Parthenon marbles: George Osborne wants to return the statues to Athens, but can he? A legal expert explains George Osborne – former UK chancellor and now chair of trustees at the British Museum – is reported to have negotiated the repatriation of the 2,500-year-old Parthenon marbles to Athens. The deal, struck with the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, is not yet finalised. But it is thought that the sculptures will leave London “sooner rather than later” and it is planned that the British Museum will receive some ancient artefacts in return. Continued here S60 38 years ago, a goofy Nintendo prototype changed video games forever These days, Nintendo is synonymous with video games, and it’s hard to imagine the medium without Mario and The Legend of Zelda. But that wasn’t always the case. Nintendo emerged into gaming after the large-scale recession known as the video game crash of 1983. It’s not an overstatement to say that Nintendo “saved” video games with the release of the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) in 1985. But before that, the console took a surprisingly different shape. Each January, CES gives a glimpse of the future of electronics, and video games have long played a part in that. (Fun fact: the summer gaming convention E3 is a spinoff of CES.) In 1983, Nintendo released the Famicom in Japan, and the company entered into negotiations with Atari to bring the console to Western markets. Originally, the Famicom was going to be brought West as the Nintendo Advanced Video Gaming System, and it was shown off only once at CES in 1985. Continued here S53 You need to watch the most underrated vampire movie on HBO Max ASAP "I believe there are forces of light and darkness in the world, and I don't want to be a contributor to the force of darkness.” What sinister force of darkness was talk show host Oprah Winfrey referring to? The answer is neither tied to the occult nor the real-life horrors of our world, but rather a movie where Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt get hot and heavy while wearing creepy colored contacts. Continued here S61 One episode in, the 'Nier: Automata' anime is already a must-watch NieR: Automata Ver1.1a has the difficult task of adapting one of the most complex video game narratives into a 24-episode anime that will air for only a fraction of the game’s runtime. The show’s first episode laid any questions to rest about whether or not the anime could live up to its source material. Offering newcomers to the story an accurate retelling of the game while peppering in new wrinkles and Easter eggs for long-time fans to obsess over, it is already shaping up to be the must-watch anime of the season, regardless of how familiar you are with the work of Yoko Taro. Beginner friendly — NieR creator Yoko Taro has stated that in making the animated Automata adaptation, the rest of the production team had to reel him in from making many changes to the story. From the opening moments of episode one, titled “Or not to [B]e,” this is true (mostly, but we will get to that later). Continued here S52 Marvel's 2023 lineup can't fix the MCU's biggest problem The general consensus among Marvel Cinematic Universe fans seems to be that 2022 was a pretty bad year for Hollywood’s most dominant franchise. Despite releasing more projects than it has in any other past year, Marvel Studios’ reputation as a creative powerhouse took a major hit last year. Now that 2022 has come to an end, it’s time for fans to start looking ahead at what Marvel has planned for the next 12 months. Continued here S50 Maxwell Frost’s Vision Meets Washington Just before noon last Tuesday, Maxwell Alejandro Frost walked into the Capitol for the first session of Congress. Dressed in a sleek navy suit, with a gold-plated pin on his lapel, he made his way to the eastern side of the House chamber, joining other newly elected Democrats. At twenty-five, Frost is Congress's first Afro-Cuban and Gen Z member. Less than two months had elapsed since Frost won his seat in Florida's Tenth Congressional District, an area that encompasses most of Orlando, by nearly twenty percentage points. The day was to mark a transition long awaited by Republicans, who won a slim four-seat majority in the House. But, first, there needed to be a roll-call vote. "Pursuant to law and precedent, the next order of business is the election of the Speaker," Cheryl Johnson, the House clerk, sternly declared from the rostrum. Each party introduced its nominee, with Republicans hailing Kevin McCarthy, of California, as a leader who would "save the United States of America," and Democrats uniting behind Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, the first Black lawmaker to be nominated for the role, proclaiming him "a Speaker who will put people over politics." A tense silence followed as, one by one, the House's four hundred and thirty-four members cast their votes. Some used their time to make a political statement, but Frost had his own preoccupations. "All I could think of was, Don't say McCarthy, don't say McCarthy, don't say McCarthy," he later told me. When his turn came, Frost leaped from his seat, and, after a moment of hesitation, yelled, "Jeffries!" Continued here S57 'Gladiator 2' casting news could mean a surprising sequel plotline We now know how the sequel to Ridley Scott’s acclaimed 2000 epic will pick up after the death of Maximus. Are you still not entertained? That should change now that the sequel to Ridley Scott’s 2000 blockbuster Gladiator has found its star. Continued here S47 McCarthy Asks Whatever Joker Hid His Gavel to Give It Back WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Kevin McCarthy’s tenure as Speaker of the House got off to an awkward start as the California congressman asked “whatever joker” hid his gavel to return it at once. “O.K., guys, you’ve had your fun,” McCarthy said, his voice barely audible over the derisive hoots of his fellow-Republicans. “I’m going to count to ten, and then I expect to have my gavel back.” Continued here S51 Wedding Speech for My Podcast Co-host Hello, my name is Genevieve, and although many of you might not recognize me I’m sure you recognize my voice, as I am the co-host of the socialist, stoner, dating-advice, pop-culture-commentary, beauty-tips, and humor podcast “High, Help, Hooray,” alongside our beautiful bride, Daphne. When we started the show, Daphne was single and an aspiring poet, and we both were bartenders at Skinny Dennis, where we spent most of our time spewing Karl Marx quotes and talking about “The Bachelor” with drunk patrons. Now she’s getting married, and we get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by people on Patreon to spew Karl Marx quotes and talk about “The Bachelor.” So, yes, I’m one-half of the reason that Daphne and Micah were able to pay for their own wedding. You’re welcome! Also, thank you to Blue Apron for providing today’s wedding feast; thredUP for these bridesmaids dresses; and Stamps.com for the wedding goodie bags filled with Forever stamps. Continued here S54 Asking yourself one fun question could help boost your well-being and longevity Carrie Wyland is looking forward to a little alone time at home now that her kids are back at school after a two-week break. “As much as I love them, I’m looking forward to having some of my own space, feeling productive, and getting back to a regular schedule,” the social psychology professor at Tulane University tells Inverse. Finding or creating something to look forward to is an easy way to manufacture some joie de vivre when you’re feeling sucked dry. Some events we await with great anticipation, like a wedding or luxurious vacation, but there are good things even on a granular level. Most of the time there’s some part of the day or week everyone is looking forward to, like finishing a shift, eating lunch, or going to bed. Continued here S49 Fictional Novel or Real Woman’s Diary? How to Tell What You’re Reading It's a common dilemma: you've brought home a book and are about to dive in, when you notice a woman's name on the cover. Rats! you think. An authoress! It can be difficult, in such cases, to know what you're dealing with—could it be a work of fiction, or is it an exact transcription of the lady writer's real-life thoughts, feelings, and experiences? How to tell?! Whoever coined the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover" has misconstrued the function of the book jacket on quite a fundamental level. A great way to tell what's going on in a book is to peruse its exterior. For instance, if there are a number of colorful blobs on the front, you are unlikely to be dealing with a diary but instead possess a work of intergenerational fiction about nationhood, identity, and "the ties that bind." If the book is called something like "The Potion Maker's Associate's Mistress," you are in for a spicy tale involving magic and not a little sensuality. If the title is scrawled in childish handwriting and says something like "PERSONAL! KEEP OUT!!! (THAT MEANS YOU, DARREN)," it may be safe to assume that you're dealing with a diary. Some publishers will helpfully print the words "a novel," right there on the front, to clear up any confusion. If you see such a subheading, I promise, you can trust it. Continued here S48 What if Wishes Could Be Bought and Sold? Aziza is in mourning. Her husband, a close childhood friend and an early love, has just died, and she’s been feeling terribly alone. Shy and unassertive, she’s often been overlooked by others and kept to herself. Her heart has been broken before—she lost both her parents in quick succession when she was young—but she fears her husband’s death has made her unhappiness irreversible. Then she hears a rumor that first-class wishes are being sold at a discount at a Cairo street stand. A friend advises her to wish for a new love. But first-class wishes, the only kind that have the power to reliably fulfill immaterial desires, are expensive—for someone like Aziza, who grew up in one of the city’s slums, prohibitively so. She works several low-paying jobs, sweeping streets and scrubbing bathrooms, until, at last, she manages to save enough money to buy a bottle containing her own first-class wish. But, after she leaves the stand, she is stopped by a hulking police officer, who snatches the bottle out of her hand: wishes, he tells her, must be reported at the Wish Registration Bureau. Continued here Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) Followers Blog Archive ►  2025 (2) ►  January (2) ►  2024 (4) ►  December (4) ▼  2023 (542) ►  December (2) ►  November (33) ►  October (27) ►  September (37) ►  August (45) ►  July (30) ►  June (73) ►  May (3) ►  April (33) ►  March (17) ►  February (84) ▼  January (158) A Physical Theory For When the Brain Performs Best... January 31, 2023 - Strike action over Macron’s p... 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