'We were able to afford things'

We should all be scared of the future Spurs

Pleaded not guilty to all five counts

'Everyone should be considered fairly'

A rather unique story is sweeping American social media—moms leaving presents for other moms inside baby products. The story began when Nashville mom Denaesha Gonzalez went to Target and saw a strange yet translatable sight—a silver clutch purse placed on the shelf with the baby supplies. A mother, Gonzalez reasoned, had picked out the clutch […] The post Trending Moms are Leaving Gift Cards in Store Diaper Aisles–For Postpartum Peer Relief appeared first on Good News Network.

News Nosferatu The Title Character of Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu Is “A Force More Powerful Than Evil” “He is coming.” By Molly Templeton | Published on September 30, 2024 Screenshot: Focus Features Comment 0 Share New Share Screenshot: Focus Features How is evil more powerful than evil? If you’d like to know the answer to that question, you’ll have to watch Robert Eggers’ remake of Nosferatu. The director of The Northman and The Witch is back with a new take on the vampire tale, this one starring masterful creature-portrayer Bill Skarsgård (It) as old Count Orlok himself. Lily-Rose Depp is the young woman seduced by the dark side—or, as the brief summary puts it, the center of “a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.” Seems like the infatuation goes both ways, much to the chagrin of Renfield’s Nicholas Hoult, who plays Thomas Hutter, the husband to Depp’s Ellen Hutter. Willem DaFoe plays Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, who clearly has some thoughts about the nature of evil. The rest of the cast includes Emma Corrin (Deadpool & Wolverine) as Anna Harding, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kraven the Hunter) as Friedrich Harding, and Simon McBurney (Carnival Row) as Knock. In AnOther magazine, Skarsgård and Eggers had a conversation about the movie, and Skarsgård said of playing Orlok: “I’ve never been more terrified of a role and probably won’t be again. The whole journey was so intense. Once you start channelling something that’s not you, you feel like a vessel. … It was an intense ride.” Nosferatu is in theaters December 25th.[end-mark] The post The Title Character of Robert Eggers’ <i>Nosferatu</i> Is “A Force More Powerful Than Evil” appeared first on Reactor.

Movies & TV Babylon 5 Rewatch Babylon 5 Rewatch: “Revelations” Garibaldi awakens to a very different Babylon 5, and Delenn emerges from her chrysalis… By Keith R.A. DeCandido | Published on September 30, 2024 Credit: Warner Bros. Television Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Warner Bros. Television “Revelations”Written by J. Michael StraczynskiDirected by Jim JohnstonSeason 2, Episode 2Production episode 202Original air date: November 11, 1994 It was the dawn of the third age… A meeting of the B5 advisory council is a bit lacking in attendance: G’Kar is still missing and Delenn is still in a cocoon. After Mollari rants and raves on the subject, Sheridan adjourns until the next day in the hopes that one or both will show up. G’Kar, it turns out, is part of a fleet that is being attacked by Shadow vessels on a planet out on the rim. The other ships provide cover fire and sacrifice themselves to allow him to reach the jumpgate for a return to B5. Sheridan meets with Franklin, who says that Garibaldi remains in a coma, and has resisted all traditional treatments. Franklin asks Sheridan’s permission to use the Great Hit Point Rearranger he acquired from Dr. Rosen, and Sheridan agrees, though he’s concerned that Franklin intends to be the source of the life energy that will be transferred to Garibaldi. Credit: Warner Bros. Television Liz Sheridan visits the station, the first time brother and sister have seen each other in person in ages. As they catch up, we learn a bit of the captain’s backstory: he was married to Liz’s best friend, a xeno-archaeologist named Anna Sheridan, who was killed on a mission while serving on the vessel Icarus out on the rim. It’s been two years, but Sheridan still hasn’t gotten over her death, partly because he blames himself. He cancelled a planned vacation because of his duties, which led to her taking the Icarus job, and he also forgot to tell her he loved her the last time they talked. The guilt is eating him up. Mollari meets with Morden to be reassured that no one outside the Centauri Republic will connect him to the attack on Quadrant 37. Morden assures him that that’s the case, while the Centauri government is all impressed with him, and also that if he wants another favor, he just has to ask—“just pick a target!” Morden also asks Mollari to inform him if he hears of anything odd happening out on the rim. Na’Toth goes to G’Kar’s quarters and is surprised to find G’Kar in them. The ambassador reveals that he has learned that they face either a brand-new foe—or a very old one. The Book of G’Quan references a very old enemy that nearly wiped out the galaxy a thousand years ago, and G’Kar fears that they have returned. Sheridan insists that he and Franklin take it in shifts to restore Garibaldi’s hit points—and that Sheridan take the first shift, as it were, since Franklin is needed to make sure the Great Hit Point Rearranger is working right. All goes well, and Garibaldi awakens. He is rather surprised to learn that, since he was last conscious, Santiago was assassinated, Sinclair was reassigned, Sheridan took over, and Delenn’s in a cocoon. Sheridan introduces himself, and Garibaldi regretfully says he doesn’t remember who shot him. (Jack, who did shoot him, is standing in the doorway ready to respond in case Garibaldi does remember, but then departs with a relieved look on his face.) Lennier discovers that the chrysalis has broken open. He finds Delenn cowering in a corner, her body covered in lizard-like scales. Lennier contacts Franklin, who makes a house call to examine her (reassuring Lennier of his ability to maintain doctor-patient confidentiality). Credit: Warner Bros. Television G’Kar speaks to the advisory council, though neither Delenn nor Lennier are present. He tells of his exploration of the dead worlds on the rim, and found indications of a species secretly gathering their forces. G’Kar barely escaped with his life. The Narn government has sent a ship to a world called Z’ha’dum, where the ancient enemy spoken of in the Book of G’Quan is supposed to have come from. After the meeting breaks, Mollari seeks out Morden and tells him of the Narn expedition to Z’ha’dum. Garibaldi asks Winters to telepathically scan him. He knows that whatever she finds, or helps him remember, won’t be admissible in court, but Garibaldi doesn’t care, he just wants to know. Sure enough, Winters’ probe enables Garibaldi to remember everything he saw when he got shot—including a reflection of Jack standing behind him before he shot Garibaldi in the back. Jack is quickly arrested, but his attitude while being interrogated is snotty and arrogant and completely unworried about consequences. President Clark contacts Sheridan directly, expressing concern about Jack’s role in Santiago’s death and the possibility that Clark’s predecessor was assassinated. He requests that the prisoner and all evidence be transferred to EarthDome for a full investigation. A Narn ship exits the jumpgate near Z’ha’dum and is blown to pieces by Shadows the nanosecond they transition to normal space. Na’Toth informs G’Kar and the rest of the advisory council of the Narn ship’s destruction. It’s unclear how it was destroyed, since it happened so fast. It might have been an accident, but either way, the Narn aren’t willing to send another ship. Lennier then brings Delenn in: she is now, apparently, a human/Minbari hybrid. For one thing, she has hair now… Sheridan has dinner with Liz and the latter gives the former a data crystal with the last letter Anna sent to Liz. The letter makes it clear that Anna was going to cancel the vacation herself because of the Icarus gig, but Sheridan cancelled it before she could. This expiates a lot of Sheridan’s guilt, and he thanks his sister. Credit: Warner Bros. Television Garibaldi expresses concern over his interrogation of Jack, as the latter used the same gesture and comment used by Bester when he left. Now Garibaldi is worried that Psi Corps is influencing things, especially since they very controversially endorsed Clark in the last election. G’Kar expresses concern to Na’Toth over what’s happening, quoting William Butler Yeats’ “The Second Coming.” On a hunch, Ivanova checks the progress of the transport that was supposed to bring Jack to Earth—at one point, he was transferred to an unregistered ship, destination unknown. Attempts to contact Clark about this have gone unanswered. Sheridan and Ivanova are both seriously concerned about this. Get the hell out of our galaxy! We find out that Sheridan’s wife died two years ago, and he still hasn’t completed his grieving process over it. Ivanova is God. Ivanova’s natural paranoia proves useful, as she checks on the prison transport, and learns that the conspiracy is apparently real… The household god of frustration. Garibaldi is livid when he wakes up to find out that he failed to stop Santiago’s assassination. He is also snotty to Sheridan when introduced to him—to his credit, Sheridan is kind and polite back, and doesn’t even mention that he sacrificed some of his own hit points to help save him. (Though I’m betting Franklin told Garibaldi at some point…) Nothing’s the same anymore. According to Delenn, sending Sinclair to Minbar was the first step toward building a bridge between Earth and Minbar… If you value your lives, be somewhere else. …and the second step was Delenn becoming a Minbari/human hybrid, er, somehow. Weirdly, she talks as if this was the plan all along, even though she repeatedly says she has no idea how she was supposed to come out of the chrysalis. In the glorious days of the Centauri Republic… Mollari is a fascinating mix of frightened and eager in his dealings with Morden—on one hand, he knows what Morden is giving him is powerful and dangerous; on the other hand, it’s really cool… Credit: Warner Bros. Television Though it take a thousand years, we will be free. G’Kar comes really really close to finding out the truth about the Shadows. The Corps is mother, the Corps is father. Winters’ scan enables Garibaldi to identify his shooter. They trust her enough for that, at least. The Shadowy Vorlons. The Shadows make short work of G’Kar’s fleet, though when one is damaged, it very obviously screams. Looking ahead. Mollari jokes that Morden’s associates should just wipe out the Narn homeworld while they’re at it. Morden very seriously says, “One thing at a time,” a comment that will prove prophetic. We also see the planet of Z’ha’dum for the first time. It will not be the last. Welcome aboard. Beverly Leech makes her one and only appearance as Liz. Beth Toussaint debuts the role of Anna, but the role will be played by Melissa Gilbert (at the time, Bruce Boxleitner’s real-life wife) when the character returns in season three. Several recurring regulars appear: back from “Chrysalis” are Ed Wasser as Morden, Gary McGurk as Clark, and Macaulay Bruton as Jack; and back from “The Quality of Mercy” is David L. Crowley as Welch. It’s Bruton’s final appearance; Wasser will return in “In the Shadow of Z’ha’dum,” McGurk will be back in “Voices of Authority,” and Crowley will next be seen in the very next episode, “The Geometry of Shadows.” Trivial matters. The Great Hit Point Rearranger was first seen in “The Quality of Mercy.” The Shadow attack on Quadrant 37 happened in “Chrysalis.” Psi Corps endorsing Clark was seen in a newspaper headline in “And the Sky Full of Stars.” The original plan was for Delenn to present as male in season one and then transform into a woman in season two (which is why Delenn’s makeup was the way it was in “The Gathering”). This proved unworkable, mostly because all attempts to make Mira Furlan seem masculine were unconvincing. Mary Kay Adams makes her debut as Na’Toth, taking over from Caitlin Brown, who declined to return in order to pursue more acting roles that didn’t hide her behind tons of prosthetics. (Unlike the other main cast, who signed up for five years, Brown was a last-minute replacement for Mary Woronov when she quit the role in the first season; Brown was therefore only signed on for one season.) Adams will only make one other appearance after this, despite being listed in the opening credits for the whole season. Z’ha’dum is obviously a name influenced by Khazad-dum from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (B5 is rife with LotR references), though J. Michael Straczynski has unconvincingly denied this. Jack’s “be seeing you” and okee-doke salute mirror Bester’s departing moment in “Mind War,” and both are references to The Prisoner. Kosh appears during the council meetings, but has no dialogue. The echoes of all of our conversations. “Oh, God—I’m out of it for a few days, and the whole place goes to hell.” —Garibaldi’s response upon waking up to many changes. Credit: Warner Bros. Television The name of the place is Babylon 5. “Weep for us all.” Having spent most of “Points of Departure” setting up the new post-Sinclair status quo, “Revelations” then addresses the task of catching some of the balls that were thrown in the air in “Chrysalis.” The revelation of Delenn’s transformation is interesting, and certainly works nicely with what we learned last week, both about the shared souls between humans and Minbari and Lennier’s statement that humans and Minbari will need to come together to face the coming darkness. But what’s weird is that apparently Delenn had no idea this was gonna happen, which really makes no sense, either in the moment or in light of what happens over the course of the show. The link between Earth and Minbar is crucial to one element of the story arc, so it just seems weird that Delenn becoming part-human wasn’t part of the plan all along. It doesn’t help that we have no idea what the other options were (beyond, apparently, “scaly lizard thingie”). It just feels like constructed suspense prior to the reveal. I’m back and forth on Garibaldi being brought out of his coma by the Great Hit Point Rearranger from “The Quality of Mercy.” On the one hand, it’s good that the show doesn’t do the Star Trek thing of forgetting all about game-changing technology after it’s introduced. In fact, we’ll see the Great Hit Point Rearranger again. On the other hand, it’s incredibly deus ex machina. On the third hand, that it’s a deus ex machina is on the label, as it were. The gun was already on the mantelpiece… My only issue with G’Kar’s storyline is that he apparently never at any point took any pictures or scans of the ships that attacked him and his fellows? I mean, seriously, why isn’t he showing the council the visual images that his ship surely must have taken of their foes? Aside from that, Andreas Katsulas lends his usual gravitas to the proceedings, making it clear that this is a threat to be reckoned with. And I’m a sucker for anyone who quotes one of my favorite poems in the world. (I’ve mined “The Second Coming” for story titles many times in my career…) The resolution of Jack’s storyline is exactly as expected, but falls flat for me, mainly because of the complete lack of impression Gary McGurk provides as Clark. He doesn’t come across as a bland bureaucrat, he doesn’t come across as an insincere slimeball, he doesn’t come across as a charismatic leader. He, unfortunately, comes across as a 1990s Central Casting white dude who’s there to take up space and nothing else. Given how important Clark is to the overall storyline, they really needed to do a better job of casting the role. And finally we get to learn more about our new lead, as Sheridan has a wife he’s still mourning after two years. Bruce Boxleitner plays Sheridan’s grief and guilt well, and I like how Beverly Leech plays Liz as the sibling who just wants to smack her brother upside the head. After spending far too much of season one waiting for, um, revelations, it’s nice to see so many questions answered in one episode, even though it goes ahead and asks a few more, and does so in a compelling manner. Next week: “The Geometry of Shadows.”[end-mark] The post <i>Babylon 5</i> Rewatch: “Revelations” appeared first on Reactor.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. In a world where politicians crave safe spaces from jokes, California’s latest move to suppress satire might just take the cake. California has decided that it’s time to put an end to all that pesky “political humor.” Yes, the state that brought us Hollywood is now terrified of a few biting punchlines, and naturally, satire site The Babylon Bee and outspoken attorney Kelly Chang Rickert are not having it. The champion of online irreverence has just slapped the State of California with a lawsuit that reads less like legalese and more like a desperate plea for common sense. They’re arguing, quite reasonably, that California’s new laws—AB 2839 and AB 2655—are a massive overreach, a heavy-handed attempt to quash their First Amendment rights and kill the punchline before it even has a chance to land. We obtained a copy of the lawsuit for you here. But first, let’s backtrack for a moment: what are these draconian laws, and why did they even happen? In a nutshell, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, got his feathers ruffled. Back in July, Newsom, apparently so thin-skinned that a parody video of Kamala Harris could pierce his carefully curated aura of poise, tweeted that such parody “should be illegal.” The state legislature swiftly leaped into action, dutifully crafting laws that now demand political satire clearly label itself as satire. Because, evidently, nothing preserves the cutting edge of a joke like a flashing disclaimer that says, “Warning: This Is Supposed to Be Funny.” It’s like telling a comedian to announce, “Prepare to laugh,” before delivering a punchline—a sure way to extinguish any humor from the room. Newsom’s Joke-Free Zone: New Laws with a Convenient Agenda So what exactly do these laws entail? The new legislation, signed by Governor Newsom with an air of grim satisfaction, allows government officials to step in and silence political parody that they deem “materially deceptive.” Translation: if it makes someone in power look bad or hurts their chances at the polls, the government now gets to play editor-in-chief. From the Attorney General to your local district attorney, state officials are suddenly arbiters of comedic taste, wielding the power to enforce takedowns and even seek damages. And while Newsom might see himself as the hero here—defender of public trust against rogue jesters—what’s really happening is a good old-fashioned power grab, dressed up in the language of “protecting the electoral process.” The law essentially strips satire of its teeth, forcing creators to telegraph their intent lest someone, somewhere, might be misled into believing Kamala Harris really did try out for “America’s Got Talent.” The lawsuit from The Babylon Bee and Rickert hammers this home. “We don’t trust the government to decide what is true in our online political debates,” they declare, and rightly so. Once the government starts policing humor, it’s not too long before all criticism—wrapped in satire or not—gets shoved into the same locked box. And that box, incidentally, is labeled “Do Not Open Unless You Want to Be Sued.” Parody: An Endangered Species? The irony here is staggering. The First Amendment doesn’t just protect polite discourse or agreeable speech; it exists precisely because political debate is messy, uncomfortable, and often incorrect. It shields our right to say things that might be offensive, incorrect, or yes, deceptive—because without that, democracy’s rough edges get filed down to nothing. But apparently, the legislators in California are less concerned about democratic principles and more about making sure their candidates aren’t subjected to those pesky internet memes. Related: Gavin Newsom Just Signed an AI-Deepfake Ban That Could Impact Free Speech. This Is the First Lawsuit Against It. “These broad and vague laws will chill speech and debate that criticizes politicians and their platforms,” the lawsuit argues as if that’s somehow a controversial point. What’s really chilling is the idea that a piece of content, because it bruises the ego of a candidate or calls into question the integrity of the election process, could now be erased at the whim of an irate governor. If politicians like Newsom are uncomfortable with people pointing out the absurdity of their actions—like, say, responding to a video parody by outlawing videos—they might want to reconsider whether they belong in public life at all. The Battle for the Right to Laugh Let’s not kid ourselves: this isn’t about “misleading” the public or safeguarding democracy. It’s about control. It’s about a group of powerful people in Sacramento deciding that humor isn’t allowed unless they’re in on the joke. And for creators like The Babylon Bee and Rickert, being forced to spell out the gag in advance isn’t just censorship—it’s death by clarity. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, effectively pleading with the courts to keep these laws off the books before any more damage is done. The Babylon Bee and Rickert want nothing more than to keep the playing field open, a space where humor—dark, satirical, biting, or outrageous—can still shine a light on the often ugly underbelly of politics. As they put it: “Such censorship threatens the heart of public discourse.” California, the land of endless sunshine, tech utopias, and mind-numbing bureaucracy, has suddenly found itself on the frontlines of a cultural battle over what constitutes acceptable speech. Will satire survive when the joke itself is put on trial? Will politicians need to start every policy debate with a laugh track to indicate it’s okay to chuckle? For now, the comedians are fighting back. Because someone has to point out that, when a governor calls for a joke to be made illegal, the punchline isn’t just on him—it’s on all of us, too. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post The Babylon Bee Strikes Back: Lawsuit Takes on California’s Anti-Satire Laws appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Yes, Take Trump's Mass Deportation Vow Seriously

Spoiler: it’s pretty big.