z-other-galley
Happy birthday, 2000 Year Old Man. Mel Brooks is turning 100
NEW YORK | The 2000 Year Old Man is turning 100. Mel Brooks on Sunday will celebrate his centennial birthday. The comedian and filmmaker has been awaiting the milestone. Earlier this year, Judd Apatow titled his retrospective documentary on him: “Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!” “I was born to make people laugh,” Brooks […]
Movie Review: ‘Jackass: Best and Last’ is just a clip-job of greatest hits. And we mean hits
Pour one out for the “Jackass” crew. They’re done. “Jackass: Best and Last” is a sad but fitting end to an extreme stunt franchise that was vanquished not by imagination but time. The fifth and final main installment has all that you’d expect from the Jackass Cinematic Universe — genitalia, electricity, gravity and port-a-potties, often […]
Apple increases prices for Macs and iPads, blaming a shortage of memory chips
Apple on Thursday announced an increase in prices for Macs and iPads, citing a memory chip shortage brought on by the artificial intelligence boom. The Cupertino, California-based company called the demand spike an “unprecedented challenge” for the consumer electronics industry. “The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for […]
Harvey Weinstein’s New York rape charge dropped after accuser says she can’t endure a fourth trial
NEW YORK | Harvey Weinstein won’t face a fourth trial on a New York rape charge. Prosecutors dropped the #MeToo-era case on Thursday after his accuser said she could not bear to testify again. The movie mogul still stands convicted of another sexual felony in New York and others in California, and he remains behind […]
A cancer patient’s cats inspired a push for pets in hospice wards
WARSAW, Poland | When Ewa Lutka-Krawczyk was diagnosed with gallbladder cancer, her first thought was for Gaja, a shelter dog she took in three years ago. She asked her doctor to assure her she would live a few more years so the deeply attached Gaja “wouldn’t be left behind.” But the prognosis was grim, and […]
Movie Review: Sex is on the menu in Olivia Wilde’s dinner party comedy of manners ‘The Invite’
Soufflé is for dinner but much more is on the table in Olivia Wilde’s deliciously entertaining chamber comedy, “The Invite,” about a couple whose marriage is on the rocks who invite their upstairs neighbors over for an impromptu get-together. Such a gathering is, of course, a standby setup of stage and screen, alike. Faster than […]
Shiite Muslims mark holy day of Ashoura after months of war in Iran and Lebanon
BEIRUT | Shiite Muslims around the world on Thursday marked Ashoura, a holy day symbolizing sacrifice and martyrdom that holds special significance for many this year after months of war in Iran and Lebanon. Ashoura commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in A.D. 680 Imam […]
AI is an energy and water hog, here’s what you can do to counter that
WASHINGTON | As the world tries to curb human-caused climate change and not run dry of water, every online query is increasing our environmental footprint and exacerbating the problem. Artificial intelligence and the data centers they require use growing amounts of energy and are water hogs — and AI companies aren’t transparent about how much […]
When a rip current sucks you out to sea, try not to panic
SAN DIEGO | To someone who is getting sucked out to sea by a rip current, “Don’t panic!” may be difficult to heed, even if that’s exactly what you should do. But lifeguards say to not only relax but flip over and float out of the danger. Rip currents are one of the coast’s greatest […]
Archaeologists find huge Viking textile production site in Denmark
SØFTEN, Denmark | Archaeologists have discovered a huge Viking Age textile production site in Denmark that dates back more than 1,000 years and underlines the sophistication of Viking society. Experts from the Moesgaard Museum said this week that the sprawling 100,000-square-meter (more than 1 million-square-foot) site features an area for processing flax as well as […]