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 S6730 Years Later, the Weirdest Sci-Fi Movie Ever Made Gets a Big Update   Super Mario Bros. might have kicked video game adaptations back to square one in 1993, but time has been (somewhat) kind to the film. With Bob Hoskins as Mario and John Leguizamo as Luigi in a whacked-out parallel universe, Super Mario Bros. is one of the most out-there adaptations ever made. It’s also the first live-action feature inspired by a video game, but its choice to diverge so sharply from the classic Nintendo property probably doomed it from the get-go. It didn’t help that Super Mario Bros. suffered a tumultuous production, and dismal box office results further hurt its reputation.Today, most involved with the film are quick to call it a catastrophe, but Super Mario Bros. has still become a bit of a cult classic. Sure, the love may be dipped in irony, but it’s got its fandom all the same. In May, US audiences turned up in droves to catch the film in theaters for its 30th anniversary. The reappraisal won’t stop there: Super Mario Bros. will soon continue its anniversary tour in Japan with a surprising new upgrade.
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S1Doris: A Watercolor Serenade to the Courage of Authenticity and the Art of Connection  Each month, I spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars keeping The Marginalian going. For seventeen years, it has remained free and ad-free and alive thanks to patronage from readers. I have no staff, no interns, not even an assistant — a thoroughly one-woman labor of love that is also my life and my livelihood. If this labor has made your own life more livable in the past year (or the past decade), please consider aiding its sustenance with a one-time or loyal donation. Your support makes all the difference.“There is no insurmountable solitude,” Pablo Neruda asserted in his stirring Nobel Prize acceptance speech. “All paths lead to the same goal: to convey to others what we are. And we must pass through solitude and difficulty, isolation and silence in order to reach forth to the enchanted place where we can dance our clumsy dance.”The self-permission to dance into our authenticity, however clumsily, however lonesomely, may be the supreme achievement of life.
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S2 Rethinking Governance for Digital Innovation  Our summer special report helps leaders gain a comprehensive view of risks, learn how to overcome market disrupters, and manage the analytical tools that provide predictive insight for decision-making.Our summer special report helps leaders gain a comprehensive view of risks, learn how to overcome market disrupters, and manage the analytical tools that provide predictive insight for decision-making.When global chemical company BASF launched its Onono lab in São Paulo, Brazil, its mission was to accelerate innovation through rapid collaboration with local partners and startups. But Onono’s director, Antonio Lacerda, faced an immediate hurdle from corporate governance: He was told that his lab would have to follow the same corporate data policies used to secure BASF’s entire cloud infrastructure — which would have made it impossible to partner quickly and nimbly with new startups. Lacerda postponed the launch until he was able, with significant political capital, to arrange an exception: a “sandbox” of separate data for his team, with special permission to share that data through APIs with new partners.
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S3'Quiet quitting is the status quo': Workers are still proud to do the bare minimum  When Hunter Ka’imi appeared on the US talk show Dr. Phil in autumn 2022, producers didn’t even use his surname. Instead, they just identified him as a “quiet quitter”.“I believe quiet quitting is a protest for workers’ rights,” Ka’imi told the audience. “I don’t find that work is the most important thing in my life, nor do I think it should be the most important thing in anyone’s life.”
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S4Why KFC failed to master Karachi's famed paratha rolls  Paratha rolls – tender, juicy kebab or bite-sized chunks of grilled meat smothered with tangy chutney, garnished with onions and rolled in flaky, crispy fried flatbread (paratha) – are to Pakistanis what hot dogs are to Americans; they are at the culinary core of the frenetically paced city of Karachi. In this ethnically and linguistically diverse metropolis, paratha rolls are one of the few creations the city can proudly claim as its own. It's not so much a question of whether you've tried them, but which one is your favourite.The central premise is simple – just wrap a kebab in a paratha. But Masuma Yousufzai, a Karachi local who grew up eating paratha rolls, says it's the marriage of the two staples that stands out. Typically, kebab and paratha are eaten by tearing off pieces of the bread to scoop up the meat, but putting the bread and meat in one roll makes it greater than the sum of its parts. For Karachi residents, the food has always captured the zeitgeist of the times in one daring, delicious parcel.
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S5Chile's 'ugly', edible sea-squirt  At first sight, the piure (also known as the pyura chilensis) is not the most appetising seafood. While served all along the coast of Chile, its strong, iodine taste paired with its "ugly" appearance can be unappealing to consumers, who tend to prefer the softer flavour of mussels, clams, scallops and the beloved loco, a Chilean sea snail that's typically eaten with mayonnaise. However, as more chefs creatively incorporate it into dishes, piure could very well become the next hero of Chilean cuisine. Found on the coasts of Peru and Chile, piure is a tunicate (also known as a sea-squirt) – a spineless marine animal that feeds by sucking in water through one syphon and expelling through the other – that looks like something out of this world. Appearing as a solid rocklike form, each chunk is made up of dozens of piures lumped together, all peppered with what resembles lumpy warts and strands of hair (algae).
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S6Klaus Nomi: The 'singing alien' loved by David Bowie, Lady Gaga and many more  "Will they know me, know me, know me now?" That's the question asked by visionary German singer and performance artist Klaus Nomi on Nomi Song, a self-referential gem from his eponymous debut album, first released in 1981. That LP, along with the rest of Nomi's slender but influential catalogue, has recently been reissued to mark the 40th anniversary of his death. When Nomi died on 6th August 1983, aged just 39, he became one of the first high-profile figures to be claimed by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.In the subsequent four decades, Nomi's reputation has remained cult, even as his influence has been celebrated by mainstream figures. But thanks to TikTok, where clips of his performances have been viewed 4.8 million times, a new generation is discovering that this fascinating performer with a startling operatic voice is so much more than the David Bowie associate he is sometimes pigeonholed as.
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S7How Suits became TV's most popular show  Twelve years after its first episode premiered on US cable TV, the legal drama Suits is experiencing a huge resurgence in popularity. According to Nielsen's streaming charts, the series has clocked up more than 12.8 billion minutes viewed in the US over the last four weeks, after being added to Netflix in the US, where it is also available on NBC-owned streaming service Peacock. It has twice broken the record for most-streamed programme in the US in a single measurement week.Any show released today would be thrilled with these numbers, let alone a drama that aired its final episode in 2019 and could have just as easily faded from memory. So why has 2023 become the "summer of Suits"?
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S8Bandits in Nigeria: how protection payments to militias escalate conflict in the north-west  North-western Nigeria has become increasingly violent. This is due to the activities of militias, known locally as “bandits”. These are loosely organised armed groups, reportedly over 120 factions with 28 to 2,500 members. They are now deadlier than the well-known Boko Haram, which operates in north-eastern Nigeria.The origins of the conflict in north-western Nigeria can be traced back to 2011 following disagreements between Hausa farmers and Fulani pastoralists over changes in land ownership and encroachment on grazing routes, primarily due to environmental and climatic factors. They were characterised by small-scale disputes and isolated hit-and-run attacks resulting in crop damage and livestock theft. This conflict also included skirmishes with primitive weapons, such as sticks, daggers and locally crafted Dane guns.
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S9Diverse teams can improve engineering outcomes - but recent affirmative action decision may hinder efforts to create diverse teams  It may seem intuitive that teams made up of people with a diversity of perspectives, experiences and backgrounds lead to more effective and inclusive outcomes. But the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to curb affirmative action in higher education could hinder progress toward increasing diversity in the science and engineering fields. As a geographer and feminist scholar, my work centers on how diverse engineering teams can create space for better collaborations and outcomes. The first step to creating diverse teams is having diverse people with relevant engineering backgrounds, but this Supreme Court decision may create more roadblocks for people from underrepresented backgrounds pursuing the sciences.
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S10Daily report cards can decrease disruptions for children with ADHD  As another school year approaches, some caregivers, students and teachers may be feeling something new needs to happen to promote success in the classroom. As a clinical psychologist who studies how schools can help students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, I know traditional report cards distributed three or four times per year don’t do enough to make a difference for children who are prone to outbursts or other challenging behaviors.
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S11Montana kids win historic climate lawsuit - here's why it could set a powerful precedent  Sixteen young Montanans who sued their state over climate change emerged victorious on Aug. 14, 2023, from a first-of-its-kind climate trial.The case, Held v. State of Montana, was based on allegations that state energy policies violate the young plaintiffs’ constitutional right to “a clean and healthful environment” – a right that has been enshrined in the Montana Constitution since the 1970s. The plaintiffs claimed that state laws promoting fossil fuel extraction and forbidding the consideration of climate impacts during environmental review violate their constitutional environmental right.
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S12Ghana's plans for a national cathedral are mired in controversy and delays - but also reflect religion's strong role in the nation's identity  Ghana’s government aims to build a national cathedral: a multidenominational, monumental undertaking to house religious services and state events. Plans include a 5,000-seat worship space, a museum and a music school, reportedly projected to cost around US$400 million. President Nana Akufo-Addo, the project’s biggest backer, describes the cathedral in weighty terms on its website. The cathedral “provides a historic opportunity to put God at the centre of our nation’s affairs,” he writes, “and serves as a symbol of our eternal and continuing gratitude to Him for the blessings He continues to shower and bestow on our nation.”
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S13Threat from climate change to some of India's sacred pilgrimage sites is reshaping religious beliefs  The famous pilgrimage site of Kedarnath, located in the central Himalayas of India, is believed to be a sacred land. It has been referred to as “deva bhumi,” or the “land of the gods,” for centuries. Millions of people visit this region each year in search of divine blessings and other religious benefits as part of what is known as the Char Dham Yatra, or the pilgrimage to four sacred mountainous abodes devoted to different gods and goddesses. Situated at the base of 20,000-foot snowy peaks, Kedarnath is one of these four major destinations.
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S14Red, White & Royal Blue review - this queer romcom puts a new spin on the US and UK's 'special relationship'  Global interest in the British royals has increased in recent years, thanks, in part, to the prominent romance between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. So, it is perhaps not surprising that Amazon Prime’s new queer romantic comedy, Red, White & Royal Blue, has taken social media by storm. The feature-length romcom follows Alex Claremont-Diaz, son of the first female US president (played by Uma Thurman), and Prince Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, who is fourth in line to the British throne, as they fall in love. Based on the 2019 novel by Casey McQuiston, the film follows the enemies-to-lovers trope, and starts off by showing off the protagonists’ dislike for each other.
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S15Mobile money in Ghana isn't all good news: customers are paying a hefty price  Fintechs, notably mobile money, have transformed banking and finance in developing and emerging economies in Africa and beyond. Financial technology (better known as fintech) is used to describe new technology that seeks to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services.Mobile money in Africa was spearheaded by Kenya’s M-Pesa in 2007. Ghana’s MTN MoMo followed in 2009. Mobile money is a pay-as-you-go digital medium of exchange and store of value using mobile money accounts and a mobile phone.
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S16South Sudan is gearing up for its first election - 3 things it must get right  Luka Kuol is affiliated with the Abyei Community Action for Development and the Rift Vally Institute.The people of South Sudan have not exercised the right to choose their leaders since the referendum that secured independence from Sudan in 2011. Instead, they have suffered through cycles of violent conflict that have prevented the democratic transfer of power.
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S17Jamie Reid: the defiant punk art of the man behind the Sex Pistols' iconic imagery  The death of graphic designer and activist Jamie Reid earlier this month was a huge loss for both the design community and the political left. Right until his death, Reid made incendiary works that incessantly attacked the political status quo.Announcing his passing, his family and gallerist James Marchant released a joint statement describing him as an “artist, iconoclast, anarchist, punk, hippie, rebel and romantic”. This eulogy doubles as a shorthand for the anarcho-punk design language he weaponised throughout his career.
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S18Turkey: are we witnessing the end of Erdoganomics?  Is the tide finally turning for Turkey? Three months after the re-election of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his third term as president, which many feared would lead to economic chaos, ratings agency Moody’s has indicated that Turkey’s credit rating is on course for an upgrade. Since the election, Erdoğan has installed a new economic team with a commitment to reintroduce conventional monetary policies after years of a more singular approach. This has yielded some early positive results, with June recording the first current account surplus in 18 months – meaning more money came into the country than went out (mostly due to tourism and lower energy imports).
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S19Cyber-attacks against the UK Electoral Commission reveal an ongoing threat to democracy  The revelations this month that data on 40 million UK voters had been exposed to hackers came as no surprise to many cybersecurity experts, who have long pointed out the vulnerability of democracies to malicious online interference.In this case, it appears that the data and systems of the UK’s Electoral Commission had been available to hackers for over a year. There was a significant delay in reporting the incident due to concerns that the voting networks were still not free from malicious presence or interference.
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S20Do heat pumps work in the UK's climate? An expert answers your low-carbon heating questions  Retrofitting every house in the UK to net zero standard by 2050 will require replacing all gas boilers, mostly with heat pumps. The target rate is 600,000 a year by 2028 – but in 2022, fewer than 60,000 heat pumps were installed.As the government prevaricates over asking manufacturers to make more heat pumps, debate rages over whether they are a wise replacement. A recent article in The Times, for example, claimed that heat pumps do not work in cold Scottish winters.
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S21Your body can be younger than you are - here's how to understand (and improve) your 'biological age'  The saying goes that money can’t buy you love. But can it buy you time? This is what US billionaire Bryan Johnson is hoping to find out. The 45-year-old reportedly spends millions each year in an attempt to reverse ageing and regain his 18-year-old body (presumably sans acne). To achieve this, Johnson sticks to a rigid diet and exercise regime, takes multiple supplements, and has frequent tests to analyse the function of his organs. He’s also tried some novel procedures to rejuvenate his body, such as injecting himself with his 17-year-old son’s blood plasma.
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S22Adults: how a sex play about boomers v millennials brings both together  Ann-Christine Simke is affiliated with the theatre company Stellar Quines. She is a member of the board for the company.Kieran Hurley’s new play Adults brilliantly illuminates an intergenerational clash that should leave boomers (born between 1945 and 1964) and millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) in the audience with a little more empathy for each other.
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S23S24S25S26Online outrage can benefit brands that take stances on social issues  Nike’s advertisement featuring Colin Kaepernick sparked a social media firestorm in 2018. Kaepernick, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, first made headlines in 2016 when he protested against police brutality by kneeling during the American national anthem.Those who deemed Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the anthem as unpatriotic expressed a great deal of outrage and called for a Nike boycott. Despite initial concerns about the financial impact of Nike’s decision, the advertisement proved successful for the company — Nike earned $6 billion from the campaign.
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S27S28Can a Buddhist eat meat? It's complicated  Some Buddhists are strictly vegetarian, and others eat meat. Both justify their positions on the basis of Buddhist texts and teachings. In the Mahayana Buddhist traditions of China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Korea, meat-eating is prohibited. In others, such as in some Theravadin traditions and Tibetan Buddhism, meat-eating is acceptable. In certain circumstances it may be encouraged for health, or for ritual tantric practices, comparable to Christians eating the host – the body of Christ.
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S29S30S31It's Australia versus England in sport once again - but why does it feel different this time?  So here we are again. It’s Australia versus England in a major sporting contest – as if the Ashes, netball, rugby and not forgetting darts weren’t enough.But something feels different with this fixture. The match in question is, of course, the semi-final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Unless you have been living under a rock for the past three weeks, you will have noticed that cup fever has gripped the land. Even long-haul international flights could provide no respite for refuseniks.
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S32S33How our complex relationship with heat inhibits climate action  Humans are a species borne of the heat, as hot and dry temperatures played a key role in our evolution, and many of us (at least in the United States) prefer to be in the heat.We as a species have known for decades that the carbon-fuelled actions of some nations meant that devastating heat and related extreme weather events were coming.
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S34What we get wrong about self-esteem: It's built through actions, not words  Self-esteem is the sense of value we have for ourselves. It’s how we perceive ourselves: whether we think we are worthy and competent, whether we think we belong, whether we like ourselves.There’s an entire wellness industry dedicated to improving self-esteem, but it often gets things wrong. Standing in front of a mirror and saying “I’m awesome” probably isn’t going to make you feel better about yourself, because self-esteem can be explicit or implicit, and how you consciously think about yourself might not align with how you unconsciously feel about yourself.
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S35New data reveal US space economy's output is shrinking - an economist explains in 3 charts  The space industry has changed dramatically since the Apollo program put men on the moon in the late 1960s.Today, over 50 years later, private companies are sending tourists to the edge of space and building lunar landers. NASA is bringing together 27 countries to peacefully explore the Moon and beyond, and it is using the James Webb Space Telescope to peer back in time. Private companies are playing a much larger role in space than they ever have before, though NASA and other government interests continue to drive scientific advances.
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S36S37S38S39S40Not all mental health apps are helpful. Experts explain the risks, and how to choose one wisely  There are thousands of mental health apps available on the app market, offering services including meditation, mood tracking and counselling, among others. You would think such “health” and “wellbeing” apps – which often present as solutions for conditions such as anxiety and sleeplessness – would have been rigorously tested and verified. But this isn’t necessarily the case. In fact, many may be taking your money and data in return for a service that does nothing for your mental health – at least, not in a way that’s backed by scientific evidence.
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S41Even in a housing crisis, Australians can't get enough of renovation stories on TV. Why?  The Block has begun its 19th season this month, billed as “a Block that’s entirely relatable to people right around Australia”. This year, contestants renovate five “authentic ’50s dream homes” in “the perfectly named Charming Street, in Melbourne’s Hampton East”. But if the median price for a four-bedroom house in Hampton East is around A$1.6 million and the nation’s housing crisis shows no signs of easing, who is The Block relatable to? And why do audiences keep coming back to renovation stories?
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S42The government has released its action plans to end violence against women and children. Will they be enough?  The Australian government has today released the First Action Plan 2023-2027 and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032. These long-awaited plans detail what the Commonwealth, state and territory governments have agreed to do to progress their ambitious target to eliminate domestic, family and sexual violence. Read more: A new national plan aims to end violence against women and children 'in one generation'. Can it succeed?
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S43S44S45Ecuador: how this 'island of peace' in Latin America has become a hotbed of violence run by criminal gangs and drug cartels  After the assassination of Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in Quito on August 9, former president Rafael Correa posted a message on his social media feed: “Ecuador has become a failed state.” It was a stark message as the country prepares to go to the polls on Sunday August 20.Villavicencio’s shooting followed the murder on July 23 of Agustín Intriago, the mayor of the port city of Manta, and that of Rider Sánchez, who was running for a seat in the national assembly when he was shot dead on July 17 while campaigning in the northern coastal province of Esmeraldas.
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S46Summer holiday science: three experiments to try with kids at home  The school summer holidays are in full swing. If you’re a parent, you may be getting tired of hearing “I’m bored!” echoing through your home – especially on rainy days when everyone’s stuck inside. But pretty much every kitchen can double as a chemistry set. Here are some experiments to try at home with your school-age children, using things you’ll be able to find around your home.
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S47Kenya and the US are negotiating a trade deal that could be a model for Africa - but its position on workers needs a rethink  The US and Kenya announced a trade and investment partnership in July 2022. Talks have been progressing on the way forward in nine areas, including agriculture, anti-corruption, digital trade, environment and climate change action, and workers’ rights and protections. The Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) will be the first significant trade partnership between the US and a country in sub-Saharan Africa. Countries in the region currently rely on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which offers duty- and quota-free access to the US market. The new deal is seen as a model for future agreements between the US and other sub-Saharan African countries.
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S4817 of the best political Edinburgh Fringe shows to watch this year, tackling issues from gender to climate change  I’m at the Edinburgh Fringe this year directing CREEKSHOW, a play about the gentrification of Deptford. While here, I’ve watched as much politically minded work as I’ve been able to. With 3,031 registered shows a complete survey would be impossible, but below are some of my picks of the more interesting political shows on offer this year. The past few years have seen a significant increase in political work exploring gender and feminism – helped by the emergence of the FemiFringe, a community that champions non-binary and female creativity at the festival.
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S49Ukraine war: drones are changing the conflict -- both on the frontline and beyond  As Kyiv’s counteroffensive to liberate Russian-occupied territories slowly advances in Ukraine’s east, the drone war continues to escalate. Beyond the symbolic value of high-profile strikes against targets in Moscow, deep in the Russian heartland, and Novorossiysk, a key Russian port and export hub on the eastern shores of the Black Sea, this also has important operational and tactical implications for Ukraine. It demonstrates the opportunities, and limitations, of technology on the battlefield and beyond.Ukraine routinely refuses to confirm its responsibility for drone attacks on Moscow, the most recent of which hit the Russian capital’s business district in July and August. But there can now be little doubt that this tactic is designed to demonstrate Ukraine’s capability to bring the war to ordinary Russians, even in their most protected city.
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S50S51Indictment No. 4 Is Revealed  Follow @newyorkercartoons on Instagram and sign up for the Daily Humor newsletter for more funny stuff.By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
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S52In Georgia, Trump and His Gang Get the Mob Treatment  In the end, there wasn’t too much suspense about whether the Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis, would charge Donald Trump with a crime. The police barriers had long since gone up outside a downtown-Atlanta courthouse, and the grand jury and witnesses had been summoned to appear earlier this week. By midday on Monday, a copy of the purported charges against the former President was even posted online, but, after Reuters reported this news, the Fulton County clerk’s office denied that there was any truth to the “fictitious document.” By late afternoon, Trump was already fund-raising off the “LEAKED CHARGES.” “The Grand Jury testimony has not even FINISHED—but it’s clear the District Attorney has already decided how this case will end,” he lamented in an e-mail that hit my in-box just before 4 P.M. “This is an absolute DISGRACE.” As it turns out, the reported charges were not fictitious but merely premature, if only by a few hours: just after 9 P.M., on Monday, Trump’s fourth and presumably final criminal indictment was finally official.When the sweeping ninety-eight-page document was released in its entirety, a couple of hours later, the biggest surprise was not that Trump was charged but that eighteen other defendants were, too—a list that includes familiar characters from the post-2020-election drama, such as Trump’s lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, the former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, the former Trump Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, and John Eastman, the law professor who pushed a bogus constitutional theory allowing state legislatures to appoint their own slates of electors, and who said that the Vice-President could delay certifying the election on January 6, 2021. All of them, along with thirty unindicted co-conspirators, were charged with being part of a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn the 2020 Presidential-election results in Georgia. The sprawling plot, according to Willis, extended far beyond Trump’s notorious recorded phone call with Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, in early January of 2021—“I just want to find 11,780 votes”—to encompass a scheme to appoint fraudulent electors, an effort to break into voting machines in rural Coffee County, and actions in other battleground states, such as Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
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S53How Israel's Democratic Crisis Affects Palestinians  In January, shortly after Benjamin Netanyahu swore in Israel's new government, I spoke by phone with Raja Shehadeh, the Palestinian lawyer and activist who co-founded the human-rights organization Al-Haq. Shehadeh was concerned about many of the extremists who had joined Netanyahu's coalition, but he also predicted that the government's impact was likely to register more strongly among Israelis than Palestinians, who have been living under occupation for decades. Netanyahu has now overseen parts of a judicial overhaul that opponents characterize as a profound threat to Israeli democracy, as well as an expansion of Israeli settlements. There has also been an increase in violence by settlers, whichâcombined with the actions of Israeli security forcesâhas resulted in the deaths of more than a hundred and fifty Palestinians; Palestinian attacks on Israelis have caused more than twenty deaths. Amid this increase in violence, the Palestinian Authority has struggled to maintain order in the West Bank.Shehadeh and I spoke again recently about what the most right-wing government in Israel's history has meant for Palestinians, whether the protests in Israel against the Netanyahu government could expand to address the occupation, and Shehadeh's despair over the impossible choices facing the Palestinian people. Our conversation, edited and condensed for clarity, is below.
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S54Melania Concerned That Trump Will Be Unavailable to Attend Divorce Proceedings  PALM BEACH (The Borowitz Report)—Shortly after a Georgia grand jury indicted Donald J. Trump for trying to overturn the 2020 election, Melania Trump expressed concern that her husband’s mounting court dates could make him unavailable to attend “any divorce proceedings that might come up.”Stressing that she was speaking “totally hypothetically,” Mrs. Trump said that the former President’s blizzard of court appearances would present scheduling challenges “if someone wanted to divorce him.”
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S55"The Adults" Deconstructs the Musical to Probe the Nature of Performance  Genre is a cursed thing. Dustin Guy Defa's new movie, "The Adults," isn't really a musical, but the performances of music and dance that figure in it are both more dramatically essential and more distinctively realized than those in many films commonly thought of as musicals. For that matter, much else that Defa does in the movie displays his idiosyncratic originalityânotably, the way he evokes a family saga in intimate, present-tense terms. "The Adults" is, for starters, an apt and poignant title for a movie about characters stuck in the memories and dreams of youth. It's the story of the return of a prodigal son to his home town, where his two sisters still live, and the tumult that results. Defa (who also wrote the script) tells this tale with a muted, quietly shambling sense of searching and longing. Because the three siblings' thwarted ambitions involve musical performanceâof an unusual, nichey sortâthe movie foregrounds song and dance, thereby expanding the idea of what a movie musical can be and of the role of performance in our lives.Michael Cera plays Eric, a thirtyish guy who checks into a nondescript hotel room in the town bearing a small carry-on bag and a tight pack of lies. By phone, he informs his sisters that he'll be spending his first evening in town with his friend Scott, and tells Scott that he'll be spending it with his sisters. Instead, he tracks down a friend named Dennis (Wavyy Jonez) in the hope of arranging a spur-of-the-moment poker game.
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S56A Close Listen to "Rich Men North of Richmond"  Nobody really knows why a song becomes popular, especially now that record companies have mostly ceded their promotional efforts to the mysteries of social-media algorithms. When I start to hear a song more than a few times, I assume that it became popular on TikTok as part of some trend that I would rather not decipher. "Rich Men North of Richmond," an overnight viral hit by an unknown country singer named Oliver Anthony, is the rare popular song that actually comes with a ready-made explanation. The trackâwhich starts out with the lyrics "I've been sellin' my soul, workin' all day / Overtime hours for bullshit pay"âhas racked up millions of listens across social platforms, and, as of Tuesday morning, was the most streamed song in America on the iTunes platform. The short time line around Anthony's virality and the seemingly synchronized way in which right-wing pundits, such as Matt Walsh and Jack Posobiec, have tweeted enthusiastically and almost apocalyptically about "Rich Men North of Richmond" have turned the singer into a messianic or conspiratorial figure. Depending on your politics, he is either a voice sent from Heaven to express the anger of the white working class, or he is a wholly constructed viral creation who has arrived to serve up resentment with a thick, folksy lacquering of Americana.Let's get two obvious things out of the way. The chorus of the song, which goes, "Livin' in a new world / With an old soul / These rich men north of Richmond / Lord knows they all just wanna have total control," should rightfully perk up the ears of anyone who might wonder who those "rich men" might be. There has also been some online hand-wringing about a rant in the middle of the song against "the obese" who are "five foot three" and "three hundred pounds" and "milkin' welfare." Tax dollars, Anthony sings, should not be spent to buy them "bags of fudge rounds," which, along with a line about how "your dollar ain't shit and it's taxed to no end," is the only really explicit political comment in the lyrics. These specific complaints, I imagine, are not what titillated the conservative base, unless there's some secret plan to cut people who are short or of unhealthy weight off of entitlements. What matters more is the part where Anthony proclaims: "It's a damn shame what the world's gotten to / For people like me and people like you."
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S57Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, and Trump's Other Partners in Alleged Crime  If Georgia's indictment of Donald Trump and his associates achieves nothing else, it has reminded us of just how extensive the plot to reverse the election in the Peach State was, and how many people were involved in it. In some ways, the ninety-eight-page charging document reads like a yearbook for the graduates of Trump High, class of 2020. Nut cases, yes, many of them were (and still are), but they were determined and dangerous nuts. And the most determined of them all, of course, was Trump himself, who is facing thirteen charges, including violating Georgia's racketeering law, soliciting a public official to violate their oath, conspiring to commit forgery in the first degree, and conspiring to file false documents.Unlike in the federal election-interference case against Trump, where the former President stands alone, he is joined here by eighteen alleged co-conspirators, each of whom is facing felony charges. It's a familiar cast of characters: Mark Meadows, Trump's once voluble former chief of staff, who has mysteriously gone quiet in the past year; the "crackpot lawyers"âto quote Mike Penceâled by Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, who acted as Trump's chief enablers and cheerleaders after November 3, 2020; a number of lesser-known attorneys who originated and promoted the scheme to submit slates of fake electors in Georgia and other contested states; and even Ye's former publicist, who stands accused of conspiring to pressure a local elections official to make false statements.
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S58The Inner Life of an Internet Companion in "It's What Each Person Needs"  Sophy Romvari's short film collapses the boundaries between two types of ministration: sex work and companion care."Come spank me in Niagara," a young woman says, cocking her orange curls to the side. The light in the room is hazy and dim. A man responds, through the screen of her computer, with laughter. He isn't coming to Niagara. He has to pick up his kids in twenty minutes. It's just a preliminary meeting, through the protective mediation of their devices, before they decide whether they want to pursue an arrangement in person. She seems hurt, but the camera doesn't linger on her face enough to say for sure. Shortly after, the voice coming across the line is an old woman's, a regular seeking simple company. Becca Willow Moss, a young multidisciplinary artist from Toronto, spends a lot of time on calls with her clients, "lonely people deserving companionship," as she explains to one of the men she met online. Sometimes she strips for men like him, other times she serenades elderly folks just looking for a friend. One of the faceless online men tells her all careâthough he is referring to sexual satisfactionâis about personalization, the custom attention that comes only from careful listening. "It's what each person needs," he says.
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S59Star Wars Canon Finally Explains Why Anakin's Force Ghost Looks Like That  Everyone knows that Anakin Skywalker became one with the Force after he saved his son from the Emperor in Return of the Jedi, but what a new Star Wars canon twist pre-supposes is, he needed a tiny bit of help to become a Force Ghost. In the brand new Star Wars book, From A Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi, we slip into the POV of the Chosen One himself as he goes from Darth Vader on his deathbed, to a shimmering Force Ghost in fancy Jedi Robes. Spoilers ahead.On August 29, 2023, Random House will publish the latest From A Certain Point of View anthology, this one centered around different stories and vignettes from the events of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. 2023 is the 40th anniversary of Return of the Jedi, so the book celebrates that milestone with 40 stories from fantastic authors, including Charlie Jane Anders writing about the Sarlacc, Fran Wilde’s take on Mon Mothma, and even a story about Wicket the Ewok, written by Mary Kenney.
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S6015 Years Later, the Biggest Star Wars Flop is Finally Getting Its Due  Star Wars is in a transitional period. With the divisive sequel trilogy complete, the live-action TV universe is taking center stage. Gaps in the Star Wars timeline are being filled in with new characters and new revelations about old favorites. The franchise was in a similar position in 2008. After the middling prequel trilogy gave Anakin Skywalker his backstory, it wasn’t clear what would come next. The answer was an experimental animated movie that filled in prequel trilogy gaps, fleshed out original trilogy characters, and introduced new heroes who would become favorites that center the current Star Wars era.
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S61'Star Trek 4' Could Repeat J.J. Abrams' Smartest Sci-Fi Trick  J.J. Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek reboot, and its two sequels, have a bit of a checkered reputation in the Trek fandom. That hasn’t stopped fans from hoping for a fourth film, or Abrams from promising its arrival. Abrams and Paramount announced plans for Star Trek 4 shortly after Star Trek Beyond hit theaters in 2016, and a script was written that would see James Kirk (Chris Pine) trek through time to save his late father, George (Chris Hemsworth). Fans guessed the Kirks’ time-traveling odyssey would somehow cross over into the Prime timeline, where the vast majority of the franchise is set. But Abrams’ Kelvin universe has been quiet lately; though the cast seems game to return for one last adventure, nothing has been confirmed.
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S6225 Years Later, The Most Resilient Sci-Fi Show Just Set Up A Massive Reboot  What was the most pivotal moment in the timeline of Babylon 5? In the show’s fourth season credits voiceover, Susan Ivanova says that 2261 was “the year everything changed.” But was that true? What about the Shadow War of 2260? Or what about New Year’s Eve, 2258? Or maybe that time the crew of the White Star had to move B5’s predecessor, Babylon 4, back in time one thousand years? In the brand-new Babylon 5 animated feature, The Road Home, the beloved and scrappy sci-fi franchise ditches any fatalist or deterministic plotting and suggests, that perhaps, the most essential Babylon 5 truth was all the parallel timelines we met along the way. In fact, the ending of The Road Home gives the original TV series a kind of alternate ending, which, interestingly, seems to set up a hypothetical reboot for the entire show. Spoilers ahead.Babylon 5: The Road Home begins in 2262, just after the Season 5 episode, “Objects at Rest,” with Sheridan and Delenn leaving the space station, heading to the planet Minbar to permanently set up the base for the Interstellar Alliance. Once there, however, Sheridan (Bruce Boxlienter) becomes “unstuck in time,” just as he was in the Season 3 two-parter, “War Without End.” But instead of just jumping to the future, this time, Sheridan leaps into the past and then starts popping into alternate timelines.
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S63'Overwatch 2' Is the Best It's Ever Been -- But Is It Too Late?  A sequel to Activision Blizzard’s incredibly successful MOBA/FPS title Overwatch was always going to be a hard sell. But the developers behind Overwatch 2 promised new heroes, new approaches to team play, and the long-awaited introduction of a meaty PvE element that leaned into the franchise’s extensive lore. The problem was that many of these promised features weren’t in the game when Overwatch 2 finally launched last October.
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S64S65Why Audi's Head Of Brand Strategy Is Optimistic About The Future -- A Conversation With Jessica Thor  Jessica Thor, Director of Brand Strategy at Audi of America, has been with the luxury automaker for 15 years — long enough to have witnessed the 2009 unveiling of the concept car for their flagship electric series, the e-tron. Back then, for many consumers, electric vehicles (EVs) were a futuristic ideal.As EVs have moved their way into the mainstream, Audi has remained at the forefront of innovation. The company has big plans for the future of the brand, and 100% of them are fully electric. Thor’s mission as the head of brand strategy is to educate consumers about the accessibility and approachability of EVs for the masses — something the newest EV in the lineup, the 2024 Audi Q8 e-tron, has in spades.
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S66Scientists Just Worked Out What Makes Mozzarella Cheese So Delicious  A delicacy is more than the sum of its parts. Take mozzarella: Water buffalo milk, rennet, whey, and microbes combine together to create a plump, white luxurious pillow of deliciousness. Recently, scientists have nailed down just how important one ingredient is in creating the quintessential Italian cheese: bacteria. A team of researchers from the University of Parma in Italy studied how the microbes that make up the cheese differ depending on whether the cheese comes from a modern or traditional cheese-making process. Their results could help consumers and artisanal cheese-makers alike better understand the role these microscopic organisms play in creating the flavors cheese devotees have come to love and enjoy.
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S68Tesla's New Model S and Model X EVs Are a Lot Cheaper -- With One Major Drawback  Tesla is slashing prices for its most expensive models by $10,000. The EV maker dropped the prices of its Model S and Model X by reintroducing its Standard Range trims. These more affordable Model S and Model X trims have their range cut by more than 20 percent compared to the existing Long Range models.Tesla previously axed the Standard Range options for its flagship sedan and most expensive SUV back in 2021, limiting buyers to Long Range and performance-based Plaid trims. While the Standard Range models are back now, they’re actually just software-limited versions of the Long Range versions, as first reported by Electrek.
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S69Here's Exactly When You Can Play 'Genshin Impact' Version 4.0  Say goodbye to Sumeru and hello to Fontaine. After months of leaks and official teases, players are only a few hours away from launching into the newest region in Genshin Impact with the release of version 4.0. We know plenty about what Fontaine has in store for the Traveler, including what banners you’ll be able to wish on and new quests to undertake thanks to the version 4.0 special program, but when will you get to dive in? Here’s exactly when you can play Genshin Impact version 4.0 and everything else you need to know from preload details to maintenance rewards.
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S70'Ahsoka' Episode 3 Runtime Repeats the Worst Star Wars TV Sin  Ahsoka is combining the strengths of multiple Star Wars series. It’s taking the protagonist of The Clone Wars, the characters of Rebels, and the live-action Disney+ medium of The Mandalorian to build what should be a greatest hits compilation of modern Star Wars storytelling. However, there are still a few variables yet to be revealed about Ahsoka, including its runtime. Since Ahsoka is a streaming series, it’s not beholden to the strict runtime structures of typical network shows. That lack of structure has led to wildly varying episode lengths in Star Wars TV, like The Mandalorian Season 3 having episodes as short as 31 minutes and as long as an hour. Ahsoka Episodes 1 and 2 have a standard 45-ish minute length, but Episode 3 raises questions about the rest of the series.
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