The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan review
Posted on April 15, 2024
| 4 minutes
| 781 words
| Kary Bruening
FictionReviewOne can take an awful lot of sex and violence if it's artfully doneWould you rather be a werewolf or a vampire? Merely changing into a big dog and eating people once a month seems to pale in comparison with being able to fly. And while vampires live for ever, werewolves last only 400 years. On the other hand, vampires can't have sex; and, being immortal, they tend to suffer more ennui.
[Read More]The legendary promoters of rock: inside an eye-opening new documentary
Posted on April 15, 2024
| 8 minutes
| 1650 words
| Jenniffer Sheldon
View of the Woodstock festival from backstage, August 1969. Photograph: Amalie R RothschildView of the Woodstock festival from backstage, August 1969. Photograph: Amalie R RothschildDocumentary filmsIn new film The Show’s The Thing, the story of Frank Barsalona, who blueprinted the modern concert industry is explored with help from the major artists he helped to the stage
To date, more than 600 people have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, most of whom are fantastically famous.
[Read More](Auto)complete fail: how search suggestions keep catching Google out
Posted on April 14, 2024
| 3 minutes
| 448 words
| Valentine Belue
ShortcutsGoogleThe tech giant’s algorithms could have been compromising rape victims’ anonymity – and it’s not the first time the company has been tripped up by AI-driven systems
Sometimes, Google is just a bit too good at carrying out its stated goal to “organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”. Take search suggestions, the helpful feature that sees Google autocomplete phrases typed into its search engine. Type “How can I cook macaroni .
[Read More]Geocities: no longer under construction | Yahoo
Posted on April 14, 2024
| 2 minutes
| 415 words
| Valentine Belue
Technology blogYahooGeocities: no longer under constructionThe hosting service that spawned a million "Under Construction" signs has been shut down. What's next on the web's endangered list?Geocities is dead. Gone. Kaput. It's joined the choir invisible and...
Anyway. Geocities, founded in 1994, was one of the first build-your-own website schemes, one which created a zillion grim-looking white-text-on-black-backgrounds-with-stars efforts, and two zillion "under construction" signs. Yahoo bought it in 1999 for $3.6bn in stock.
[Read More]German woman aged 65 gives birth to quadruplets after IVF treatment | Germany
Posted on April 14, 2024
| 3 minutes
| 442 words
| Aldo Pusey
The ObserverGermany This article is more than 8 years oldGerman woman aged 65 gives birth to quadruplets after IVF treatmentThis article is more than 8 years oldThree boys and one girl are born prematurely at 26 weeks but chances of survival are good, says TV channel following Annegret Raunigk’s pregnancyA 65-year-old German woman has given birth to quadruplets after undergoing an artificial insemination procedure in Ukraine, it was revealed on Saturday.
[Read More]How Houthi anger with Israel is reshaping the Middle East conflict
Posted on April 14, 2024
| 8 minutes
| 1651 words
| Jenniffer Sheldon
The ObserverYemenAttacks on Yemen by the UK and the US have fuelled tensions in a region riven by conflict and violence
Who are the Houthis?
Middle East crisis – live updates
Last summer, as Washington tried quietly to coax Saudi Arabia towards the grand bargain of normalisation of its relations with Israel, diplomats in Riyadh were much more focused on securing a different peace deal on its southern borders with one of the most successful insurgencies of modern times – the one led by the Houthi rebels of Yemen, also known as Ansar Allah, the supporters of God.
[Read More]jane fae | The Guardian
Posted on April 14, 2024
| 1 minutes
| 50 words
| Kary Bruening
jane fae is a feminist and writer on issues of political and sexual liberty. In 2010, she was author of Beyond the Circle, for which jane was awarded the title Erotic Writer of the Year. She has written widely on subjects including climate change, medical ethics and online censorship
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Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley review a dazzling debut
Posted on April 14, 2024
| 5 minutes
| 890 words
| Kary Bruening
FictionReviewThis chilling tale of power and corruption, based on a true crime involving brutality in the Oakland police department, announces a bold new voice
When asked how to write in a world dominated by a white culture, Toni Morrison once responded: “By trying to alter language, simply to free it up, not to repress or confine it … Tease it. Blast its racist straitjacket.” At a time when structural imbalances of capital, health, gender and race deepen divides, the young American Leila Mottley’s debut novel is a searing testament to the liberated spirit and explosive ingenuity of such storytelling.
[Read More]Sea change: Indonesia fun park covers up breasts of its giant mermaids | Indonesia
Posted on April 14, 2024
| 2 minutes
| 272 words
| Valentine Belue
Indonesia This article is more than 4 years oldSea change: Indonesia fun park covers up breasts of its giant mermaidsThis article is more than 4 years oldStatues given tube tops to help the park become a holiday spot for families, says official
Two naked mermaid statues at an Indonesian amusement park have had their breasts covered with golden tube tops in a bid to make them more “appropriate” and appealing to families.
[Read More]Sheep might be dumb ... but they're not stupid | UK news
Posted on April 14, 2024
| 5 minutes
| 933 words
| Kary Bruening
The ObserverUK newsSheep might be dumb ... but they're not stupidStudies show that farmyard animals have a range of emotions and a sharp intelligenceThe following correction was printed in the Observer's For the Record column, Sunday March 13 2005:
Evidence that the humble hen can master complex tricks that would make most dog owners proud is among a wealth of research to be unveiled at the largest conference ever staged to investigate animal sentience.
[Read More]