The art of debating taught me to see another view its a skill that brings people together

 Posted on April 22, 2024  |  8 minutes  |  1524 words  |  Kary Bruening

Self and wellbeingLife and styleAfter moving from South Korea I struggled to fit in. But I began to see a new way of understanding empathy through debatingWhen I moved from South Korea to Australia at the age of eight, I learned the worst part of crossing language lines was adjusting to live conversation – to its rapid, layered rhythms and many about-faces. Once spun out, the best I could do was wait for a topic change or long pause to regain a foothold. [Read More]

Top 10 pubs and bars in Maine

 Posted on April 22, 2024  |  6 minutes  |  1091 words  |  Aldo Pusey

Maine holidaysMaine is well-stocked with bars and pubs for connoisseurs – with its thriving craft-beer scene, harbourside inns with stunning wines, and even 'a drinking town with an antiques problem'The Armory Lounge at the Portland Regency HotelI will admit to an affinity for hotel bars, and the Armory Lounge, in the venerable Portland Regency, is one of my favourites – there is nothing better on a beautiful summer's day than to hole up in a dimly lit room accentuated with mahogany fixtures and bookshelf wallpaper. [Read More]

Umberto Eco obituary | Umberto Eco

 Posted on April 22, 2024  |  10 minutes  |  2109 words  |  Valentine Belue

Umberto EcoObituaryUmberto Eco obituaryItalian writer and philosopher known for his medieval whodunnit The Name of the RoseUmberto Eco, who has died aged 84, was a polymath of towering cleverness. His novels, which occasionally had the look and feel of encyclopedias, combined cultural influences ranging from TS Eliot to the Charlie Brown comic-strips. Linguistically technical, they were at once impishly humorous and robustly intellectual. For relaxation, Eco played Renaissance airs on the recorder, and read dictionaries (he was a master of several foreign languages). [Read More]

Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son recap: unfunny men in female fat suits | Comedy films

 Posted on April 21, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  803 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

Film recapComedy filmsBig Mommas: Like Father, Like Son recap: unfunny men in female fat suitsOn Sunday at 11.25am, Channel 5 is showing an unwanted sequel to an unwanted sequel to an unwanted film"You've been mommafied!" – Big MommaThe first Big Momma's House movie, where Martin Lawrence dresses up as a flatulent fat old lady, is not a good film by any means. But at least it had Paul Giamatti and Terrence Howard in the supporting cast, doing their best to lift the material. [Read More]

Can white people become Rastafarians? | Notes and Queries

 Posted on April 21, 2024  |  1 minutes  |  206 words  |  Valentine Belue

RED TAPE, WHITE LIESCan white people become Rastafarians? The love of and for mankind is not specific to a race but instead to the spiritual manifestation of your heart. Yes King Haile Selassie was born in Ethiopia, but many consider the land of Cush, an extension of G*d's Holy Land (and not as much a separate continent distanced from the Holy Land). Beyond that, there are many accounts the Selassie and many Ethiopians don't consider themselves " [Read More]

Conservationists mourn natural death of Kenyan lion Scarface | Animals

 Posted on April 21, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  541 words  |  Kary Bruening

Scarface, photographed for the front cover of Lion: Pride Before the Fall, near the Mara river in January 2020. Photograph: George LoganScarface, photographed for the front cover of Lion: Pride Before the Fall, near the Mara river in January 2020. Photograph: George LoganAnimals This article is more than 2 years oldConservationists mourn natural death of Kenyan lion ScarfaceThis article is more than 2 years oldLion famous for his gnarly face and exceptional mane was celebrated for long reign at top of many prides [Read More]

Eugene Levy: The eyebrows didnt hinder or help my career, I dont think | Televisio

 Posted on April 21, 2024  |  7 minutes  |  1317 words  |  Valentine Belue

Observer New Review Q&ATelevisionInterviewEugene Levy: ‘The​ eyebrows d​idn’t hinder or help my career, I don’t think’Michael HoganThe Schitt’s Creek star on his unlikely new travelogue, the thrill of working with family and his pal Jennifer Coolidge stealing the show The much-loved Canadian comic actor Eugene Levy is best known for co-creating and co-starring in Schitt’s Creek with his son Dan. The sitcom, which also starred his daughter Sarah, became a cult hit during the pandemic and won multiple awards for its sixth and final season, including a best actor Emmy for Eugene. [Read More]

Grand Canyon jump | Evel Knievel

 Posted on April 21, 2024  |  1 minutes  |  132 words  |  Kary Bruening

Evel KnievelGrand Canyon jumpEvel Knievel's son breaks recordRobbie Knievel, son of the motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel, became the first person to jump the Grand Canyon on a motorbike when he cleared a 60-metre (200ft) chasm to break his own distance record. Officials said Knievel travelled 68.4 metres (228ft), beating the record he set in the early 1990s by 1.5 metres. He crossed the canyon at its narrowest point, 600 metres above the floor at the Hualapai Indian reservation. [Read More]

Inside the battle to save the sacred peyote ceremony: Were in dire straits

 Posted on April 21, 2024  |  7 minutes  |  1460 words  |  Aldo Pusey

Native AmericansUsed in Native religious ceremonies but now adopted by A-list celebrities, the cactus is threatened by land development and over-harvesting Earlier this fall, leaders of the Native American Church of North America (Nacna) made a historic trip to Washington DC to meet with lawmakers about the need to protect peyote – and, with it, the faith of hundreds of thousands of Native people. Over the course of three days, they sat down with more than 20 lawmakers, federal officials and representatives from the Biden administration. [Read More]

Mislaid by Nell Zink review a novel of thrillingly complicated sympathies

 Posted on April 21, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  997 words  |  Aldo Pusey

FictionReviewZink has broken into the American literary scene late in life with a lot of fanfare – and this novel, about a woman on the run from her marriage, lives up to the hype Odds are you may not be in extraordinary need of an article recommending you pick up a book by Nell Zink. A lengthy profile in the New Yorker is only the latest in a long series of news stories and book reviews occasioned by the rapid one-two punch of this American expatriate’s first two published novels: The Wallcreeper (which was published late last year in the US to immediate acclaim), and Mislaid (which is out everywhere this week). [Read More]