'Assassination via torture, hanging, and firearms'

'We've got to be more reactive'

Illegal migrants have streamed in historic waves over our southern border under President Joe Biden and his “point person on immigration,” Vice President Kamala Harris. As every American city became a border community, the Biden-Harris team scrambled to find something — anything — that would provide a quick fix to their crisis. Their solution? Announcing […]

'She keeps taking about opportunity zones but the world is an opportunity zone!'

The post Love, Nala Cat Food Review 2024: A Detailed Look by Catster Editorial Team appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com. Click to Skip Ahead About Love, Nala Key Features Reviews  Our ExperienceWe give Love, Nala an overall rating of 4.75 out of 5 stars. [/su_box] Quality: 4.8/5 Variety: 5/5 Ingredients: 4.7/5 Value: 4.6/5 Check Latest Price If you’re like me (and so many other obsessive cat owners) and spend too much time on Instagram stalking adorable kitties, then you probably already know who Nala Cat is. She does, after all, hold the Guinness Book of World Records title for the cat with the most followers on Instagram. And if you’re here, then you probably also know that Nala has her own brand of cat food. Love, Nala is a natural cat food and supplement company started by the loving owners who brought Nala to the world’s stage. Their all-natural wet foods, air-dried kibble, treats, and supplements were all created to honor Nala and give cats everywhere the love they deserve through a nutritious, healthy diet. I had the opportunity to try many of Love, Nala’s products on my well-loved kitty, Makoa. He is a big foodie and was happy to lend a paw in this review (spoiler alert, he is now a big Love, Nala fan!). Find out how much he liked this food, what I as a discerning owner think about it, and if this cat nutrition company is a good fit for you by reading our full Love, Nala brand review, below. At a Glance: The Most Popular Products Image Product Details Air Dried, Grain-Free Cat Food Air-dried to retain higher nutrition Meat-first ingredients Complete and balanced CHECK PRICE Wet Food High moisture content Multiple meat ingredients Natural with added nutrients CHECK PRICE Cat Health Supplements Highly palatable Multiple active ingredients Options for common issues CHECK PRICE Mousse Cat Treats Enticing texture Use as treat or food topper Added superfoods and nutrients CHECK PRICE About Love, Nala Pookie Methachittiphan’s life changed forever when she adopted little Nala from a shelter. Not only did this gray tabby bring her Instagram fame, but she’s the reason Pookie met her life and business partner, Shannon Ellis. Together, the two cat lovers started Love, Nala as a way to honor the cat that has enriched their lives so much. Today, Love, Nala offers cat owners everywhere a nutritious, natural option for air-dried kibble, wet food, treats, and more. Where is Love, Nala Cat Food Produced? Love, Nala dry foods and many of their other products are made in Visalia, California. Their canned food is made in a human-grade processing facility in Thailand. Most of their ingredients are sourced in the US and those that come from abroad must meet strict quality standards. Which Types of Cats Is Love, Nala Cat Food Best Suited For? With so many recipe options, there is bound to be something from this company for just about every cat. Their dry food is complete and balanced for all life stages, making it a great option for kittens, adults, and seniors alike. The air-dried processing makes this food highly nutritious while also maintaining a natural flavor most cats love. The canned food options from Love, Nala include a long list of recipes. Each is made primarily of quality animal ingredients and contains a high moisture content to help support kidney and bladder health. These are all highly palatable and perfect for picky eaters. Love, Nala also has many supplements to help with common kitty issues and yummy mousse treats to reward good kitties. Key Features Check Latest Price Here is a quick overview of what sets Love, Nala products apart from other cat food companies. We’ll look at the ingredients, macronutrient ratios, the different recipe options, and where to order this food. Ingredients Each can and bag of Love, Nala cat food is created using meat-first recipes. For many of the flavor options, the first two ingredients are quality animal products. For instance, the Tuna with Spinach canned food lists tuna and chicken as the first two ingredients. Following the top tier meat ingredients is typically a short list of whole food plant ingredients and additional animal ingredients. Eggs, tomatoes, spinach, sweet potato, and carrots are all ingredients you’re likely to find in these recipes. None of the recipes include grains or other common fillers. Each recipe also includes an extensive list of added nutrients, from taurine to folic acid. While these additions are necessary to make these recipes complete and balanced, the large amount of synthetic nutrients does indicate that the whole foods used are not nutrient-dense enough to support overall health all on their own. The dry food options contain more nutrient-dense cuts, such as chicken heart and liver, but still include a similar list of added nutrients. Macronutrient Breakdown All of the canned and wet food recipes are centered around high-protein meat ingredients. Given this, it’s no surprise that these foods are packed with the protein kitties need to thrive. On average, the canned foods contain about 50 to 70% protein. The dry food options are a little lower, as these recipes require more carbohydrates, but still come in at a respectable 47% protein on average. The fat content is on the lower end for the canned food recipes, with an average fat content of around 10%. The dry food is typically a little higher, around 20%. Protein and fat are both necessary ingredients to help cats grow and thrive. The high protein content of these foods makes them a great choice for kittens and adult cats, alike. Because the recipes are lower in fat and carbohydrates, they’re also a great choice for indoor cats who need a little help staying trim. Recipes There is no lack of variety at Love, Nala. Almost all of their offerings are available in multiple flavors and recipe types. For instance, their air-dried food comes in three flavors, Turkey & Chicken, Chicken, and Beef. You can even opt to get all three flavors in a single order, a great option for varying your cat’s nutrition intake and keeping them interested in their food. The canned food line offers even more variety. You can choose from pate or flaked texture. And from canned or packet packaging. Each option includes multiple flavor options as well, from Mackerel with Carrot & Pumpkin to Chicken with Sweet Potato & Tomato. Overall, there are dozens of options to choose from so you can find exactly what your cat likes or mix it up each month to keep them interested.   Ordering Options There is also no shortage of options when it comes to getting your Love, Nala food. The easiest way is to take advantage of the subscription option on the Lova, Nala website. Not only does this allow you to choose auto-delivery every 2 to 12 weeks, but it also saves you 20% on your order. And each subsequent order is 10% off. You can also find Love, Nala at a variety of other online retailers, including Chewy and Amazon. Many local pet food and supply stores across the country also carry Love, Nala products. Our Reviews of the Love, Nala Products We Received 1. Air Dried, Grain-Free Cat Food Check Latest Price Love, Nala originally started out with a traditional dry kibble offering. They have since replaced their kibble with only air-dried cat food. In my opinion, this was the right move. Air-dried foods are more nutritious since they don’t undergo heat processing, which deactivates enzymes and destroys many sensitive nutrients. Food that is air-dried retains nearly the same nutritional profile as dehydrated and freeze-dried foods. Compared to dry kibble, Love, Nala air-dried foods contain three times as much moisture. This is key since most house cats do not drink enough water to offset dry kibble diets. By feeding food with more moisture in it, you can help protect your cat’s kidneys and urinary tract from infection and disease. Love, Nala air-dried food is available in three flavors, all of which contain high amounts of protein and feature real meat ingredients at the top of the ingredient list. The food pieces are a bit larger than traditional kibble and can sometimes be stuck together. But adult cats and larger kittens should have no problem with this food. My cat was very taken by the smell (though it isn’t overly stinky) and was quick to pick this food out of his old kibble while I was transitioning him over to his new diet. Pros More nutritious than kibble High in protein Contains more moisture than kibble Very palatable Fairly affordable for air-dried food Cons Pieces are fairly large Contains many synthetic nutrients 2. Canned Food in Broth Check Latest Price Love, Nala canned food comes in two varieties, pate and flakes. Both options contain a lot of extra moisture in the form of broth or gravy. This is intentional to help ensure your cat gets enough liquid to keep those kidneys working properly. In addition to a higher moisture content than other canned foods, these diets also have a lot more protein than you’ll typically find. Wild cats’ diets consist of large amounts of protein and a decent amount of fat. These Love, Nala diets were made to imitate these natural diets while still taking into consideration the typical lifestyle of pet cats. This means that they contain high amounts of protein to help form lean muscle and support health but only moderate amounts of fat to better control weight. There are a number of recipes to choose from which makes it easy to find something every cat will enjoy. And since these recipes were created to please a very picky eater (looking at you, Nala) you can bet they will win even the most discerning of cats over. My cat is a huge fan of these wet foods. And I am happy to report that they smell a lot better than most canned cat foods I’ve tried. They have an odor, but it smells fresher than most and doesn’t linger. Pros Very high in protein Multiple recipe options Two texture options Enticing flavor and scent Whole-food ingredients Cons On the pricer end Long list of added nutrients 3. Cat Health Supplements Check Latest Price In addition to their food offerings, Love, Nala also has three different supplement options, Digestive, Skin & Coat, and Calming. Each of these products features a long list of active ingredients to tackle issues from the inside out. The Digestive supplement, for instance, contains four probiotic strains, an enzyme blend, and prebiotics. These supplements come in an easy-to-feed chew that is designed to be highly palatable. You won’t have to fight with your cat to get them to eat these supplements! The key to that palatability is in the enticing ingredients, like animal plasma, chicken, and chicken liver flavor. Each little triangular-prism-shaped chew is soft and just stinky enough to get your cat’s attention. Dosing is easy, too. Cats under 10 pounds get one chew while big cats get two. My cat looks forward to his Digestive and Skin & Coat chews every morning. I have already seen a difference in both his litter box habits and his glossy fur since starting them. Pros Easy to feed Soft and chewy Multiple active ingredients Quality inactive ingredients Easy to dose Cons Contain common allergens 4. Mousse Cat Treats Check Latest Price The treat offerings from Love, Nala aren’t your typical dry cat treats. Instead, they are highly palatable, mousse-textured squeeze tubes. Using this delivery method for tasty rewards has many benefits. For one, this mousse is high in moisture. As we talked about above, this is a good thing for house cats, since they have a high incidence of kidney disease. The texture is also very pleasing and enticing to many cats, especially those who aren’t interested in standard treats. These Mousse Cat Treats can be used as rewards during training, occasional treats, or as toppers to make their food more enticing. There are three recipes to choose from, Chicken, Tuna, and Tuna & Salmon. Each contains quality meat ingredients and added superfoods. For instance, the Tuna & Salmon contains collagen-packed fish skin and the Chicken has added prebiotics in the form of chicory root. My cat loves it when I add a squeeze of Mousse to his dry food and these treats have also come in handy during training. Pros Highly enticing Contain real meat Added superfoods Multiple uses Cons Can be messy Leftovers must be stored properly Our Experience With Love, Nala My cat, Makoa, is a big fan of food. In fact, he likes eating so much that he will occasionally eat things that aren’t food. His most recent foray into not-food was when he chowed down on my daughter’s rubber dinosaur. To help curb this strange habit, I’m always on the lookout for nutritious, high-protein cat diets that will help fill him up and satisfy his lust for food without adding to his weight. Given Love, Nala’s high protein and lower fat content, and many recipe options, I thought it might be a good choice for Makoa. I ordered their Turkey & Chicken Air-Dried food, Tuna with Spinach Recipe Pate, Chicken Flaked with Sweet Potato & Tomato Recipe, Digestive and Skin & Coat supplements, and a sampling of their Mousse treats. As soon as I started mixing the foods into Makoa’s meals, it was clear how he felt about them. He immediately began picking out the air-dried morsels from his typical dry food. And he is a huge fan of both canned food recipes. I like that neither the dry food nor canned food has an intense odor. I actually stopped feeding wet food for a long time because the smell would linger in the house for hours after mealtime. That has not been an issue at all with Love, Nala. The supplements have also been a big hit with Makoa. He happily eats them up before even starting on his food in the morning. This is a very good thing because we all know how hard it is to pill a cat! After just a couple of weeks on these supplements, I have already seen results. Despite his sensitive stomach, Makoa did not have any issues switching diets, which I attribute to the digestive supplement. His fur is also noticeably softer and glossier since starting the Skin & Coat chews. I was very hopeful that Makoa would be obsessed with the Mousse so I could use it to teach him a few tricks. While it doesn’t have Churu appeal, he does like it and the texture makes it easy to use in training. But mostly I have been adding it as a treat/supplement to his meals. I am a big fan of the protein content of these foods and the whole-food ingredients used in the recipes. And I love that they use air-dried food as it has so many benefits for cats. There is a lot to like about the offerings from Love, Nala. They have a huge variety of recipe options and obviously put care into selecting their major ingredients. But I think there is still something to be desired here. The long list of added nutrients would indicate that the whole foods used aren’t providing enough nutrition to meet minimal values. This is not at all uncommon in the pet food industry. But it also isn’t optimal since synthetic vitamins and minerals are not nearly as well absorbed as naturally occurring nutrients. I also found the price of the canned food to be a bit high compared to the competition. The other offerings are more in line with Love, Nala’s goal of providing affordable healthy food. The air-dried food is very reasonably priced for what it is, as are the supplements. Overall, though, I have been very impressed with this company. My cat definitely loves eating all of these products, including the supplements. I have noticed an increase in his energy and improvement in his body condition since starting him on Love, Nala. Conclusion If you’re searching for better cat food with more variety, I definitely recommend checking out what Love, Nala has to offer. This company has created a long list of recipes in air-dried and wet food forms to help keep cats healthier by providing more moisture and nutrients in every bite. These recipes are specially designed to appeal to even the pickiest of eaters. And they’re very high in protein and packed with quality meat ingredients so you’ll love feeding them as much as your cat loves eating them. Love, Nala also carries easy-to-give supplement chews and fun mousse treats so you can spoil your cat while supporting their overall health. The post Love, Nala Cat Food Review 2024: A Detailed Look by Catster Editorial Team appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

News Darla in Space Darla In Space Aims to Defeat the IRS With Orgasms This is like no kombucha you’ve ever tried before By Molly Templeton | Published on September 19, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share People who love kombucha often have really strong feelings about it. But none, I’d hazard, are quite as strong as the feelings generated by a sentient kombucha scoby named Mother in the indie film Darla in Space. Mother, it turns out, grants incredible orgasms to those who come in contact with her. And Darla (Alex E. Harris) is determined to make a mint off said orgasms, because she owes $349,00.22 in back taxes and it’s all due at once. If Mother helps Darla, Darla will help Mother get to space. Darla in Space comes from first-time filmmakers Susie Moon and Eric Laplante. The film’s website explains: This project is an expression of love for a character created by Eric’s wife, Alex. Darla Peterson started life as a comedy sketch about a woman peddling her customizable cat caskets. We want to know, why doesn’t Darla believe in luck? Why does she believe in pluck? And diligence? And dedication, and persistence? And perseverance. And tenacity. And gumption, and so on. About this same time Eric was making kombucha and Susie was making bread. This shared interest in yeast led us to wonder what it would be like for a woman named Darla Peterson to find herself the object of the affections of a yeast mass who has gained the ability to think and communicate like humans. A bit like humans. Not a whole lot like humans, but definitely closer to us than a cactus or something like that. The film has screened at quite a few festivals, meaning a few reviewers have already experienced its clearly unusual blend of surrealism and fermented beverages. Film Inquiry said, “Darla in Space is a surreal comedy that defies conventions while remaining grounded. It’s a testament to the power of imagination and the enduring spirit of adventure. It’s also just damn funny.” Meet Mother and Darla when Darla in Space arrives on demand on October 25th.[end-mark] The post <i>Darla In Space</i> Aims to Defeat the IRS With Orgasms appeared first on Reactor.

Movies & TV Agatha All Along Agatha All Along Rings in Spooky Season With an Absolute Blast of a Premiere Full of magic and good mayhem, the WandaVision spinoff is a worthy heir to its predecessor By Emmet Asher-Perrin | Published on September 19, 2024 Credit: Marvel Television / Disney+ (Photo by Chuck Zlotnick) Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Marvel Television / Disney+ (Photo by Chuck Zlotnick) It’s been three entire years (how) since we’ve checked in on Agatha and the Westview crew. So how has time—and terrible magic—been treating her? Recap: “Seekest Thou the Road” Image: Marvel Television Agnes O’Connor (Kathryn Hahn) stars in the gritty detective show Agnes of Westview. She’s brought off her suspension to work on a case that only she can solve, the murder of a young woman who was crushed in mysterious circumstances. The woman had a library card on her with no name, which Agnes brings to the library, seeking help from the local librarian (Emma Caulfield), who is reticent to aid her. The library card is for one book that was stolen, and a search for the other copies at the library leads Agatha to a burned wing of the building; she can’t find a copy of the book. The case has Agatha shaken up, and she’s instructed by the Chief of Police (David Lengel) to work with “the Feds” on this case, being Vidal (Aubrey Plaza), who she can’t stand. Vidal prods at Agnes’ memories and seems strangely intimate with her, asking if this is really how she sees herself, but she leaves Agnes to solve the case herself. Later that night, Agnes is looking at the name of the mysterious library book and realizes that the first letters of each word in the title spell out DARKHOLD, but she stops herself before she can finish writing it. The Chief tells her to go home as it’s nighttime. In Agnes’ house, she wanders around moodily, lingering on a room for a child who is no longer present. There’s a knock at the door and it’s Vidal, who wants to hang out and eat pizza. As they talk, Vidal asks Agnes if she can remember why she hates her, and Agnes searches her memory and finds that she can’t. Agnes tells Vidal that there was a car wreck nearby where the body was found, and she believes the cases are connected, but she can’t figure out why. There’s a noise and Agnes runs upstairs to find a young man breaking into her house (Joe Locke). She chases him down and brings him to the station, where Vidal offers to supervise an interrogation. The kid seems starstruck to be in Agnes’ presence and tells her that he knows whose house he broke into. When she accuses him of being involved with the murder and tries to show him pictures of the crime scene, he’s confused—they’re only pictures of flowers. When she looks toward the one-way mirror, he’s confused again—it’s a painting. He begins chanting a spell and Agnes locks him up for the night, heading to the coroner’s office. Initially there’s no body, but she recalls the body, it appears, with the library card attached to the toe. A name fills in: “W. Maximoff.” Vidal is suddenly there and encouraging—if she remembers Wanda’s name, she should be able to remember her own. The card fills in the with the name “A. Harkness” and Agnes, now becoming Agatha again, begins to strip away all of her old disguises used here and throughout WandaVision. At the end she peels off the last layer of clothes and awakes naked in her house the next morning. She rushes outside to talk to Herb (David A Payton), who admits that she’s been acting weird on and off for the last three years. When Agatha brings up that Wanda did this to her, he reminds her that no one in town really says her name anymore. Agatha heads inside and puts on a robe, finding the Teen in her closet. Rio Vidal shows up and they have a drag out fight, in which Agatha insists that Vidal wait until she’s got some of her power back so Vidal can enjoy killing her. Vidal insists that she’s Agatha’s “Blackheart,” and that it doesn’t matter anyway because the Salem Seven will arrive to kill Agatha by sundown. She leaves. Recap: “Circle Sewn with Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate” Image: Marvel Television, Photo by Chuck Zlotnick The Teen tries to get free, telling Agatha that he wants to travel the Witches’ Road. Agatha begins to entertain the idea when she realizes that the Teen is the one who broke her out of Wanda’s spell, that he’s a big fan of hers, and also that some form of magic has been cast on him—no one can ever hear him when he explains who he is or gives him name, and he doesn’t know this. Agatha knows that in order to travel the Witches’ Road, they’ll need a coven, and makes the Teen drive her around. The Teen’s boyfriend calls while they’re driving, and Agatha explains to him that within any three-mile radius there is always a group magic enough to form a coven; they simply have to make sure they find the right ones. They arrive at the shopfront of a fortune teller named Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone) and Agatha tests her. Though the soon-to-be-evicted divination witch initially seems unremarkable, she reveals great power and age (she’s over 400), and also appears to be in an argument with a force no one can see. She unwittingly writes down the list of Agatha’s coven in a fugue. Lilia refuses to join the coven—despite her name being on the list—as she knows Agatha’s reputation, but Agatha tells her that the only way she can absorb power from other witches is if they attack her. The Teen gives her Agatha’s address, where they’ll be meeting tonight. Next they arrive at a wellness shop owned by Jennifer Kale (Sassier Zamata), who is being sued for her less-than-effective wares. The potions witch has lost her power, and getting it back would help her legal troubles go away. She’s also not interested in joining up with Agatha, but the Teen gives her the address. Agatha says they’ve only got one more name on the list, and when the Teen insists that there were four, Agatha eats the list so he can’t look at it. They go to the mall where Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), daughter to a very powerful music witch, is working as a security guard at Hot Topic. Agatha gets the protector witch fired by tricking her into tackling the Teen for shoplifting, but she’s also not interested in joining them and promptly leaves. The Teen and Agatha get set up for the coven’s arrival at her house, and the group arrives, wondering who their fourth earth witch will be. Lilia says that the fourth name on the list she produces was simply a black heart, which upsets Agatha. She insists that she knows who the fourth witch is and rushes down the street to find Sharon Davis (formerly known as Mrs. Hart), and asks her if she wants to come to a party. With the group assembled, Agatha tells the Teen to leave them alone while they open the way to the road using the famed song. The group begins to sing and the sun goes down. The Teen notices the appearance of the Salem Seven down the road and tries to barricade the house, but they get in. After completing the song, nothing seems to happen, and the Agatha begins to antagonize them for being weak, saying that only a real coven could have opened the portal to the road. They begin to get angry, but Lilia stops them, realizing that Agatha is just trying to get them riled enough to attack so she can steal their power. Suddenly, a door appears in the floor, and they open it to reveal a staircase. The Teen barrels into the basement and down the stairs, warning them of the Salem Seven, so the group follow quickly, Agatha closes the door just before they can reach her. The group arrives on the Witches’ Road and Agatha insists she never doubted them for a second. They all remove their shoes and continue down that path toward power and glory. Commentary Image: Marvel Television The thing is, I was skeptical going in. And I should’ve known better because Jac Schaeffer is really very good at what she does. This is exactly what I was hoping it would be? I’m not sure what to do with that. But importantly, this is what you can get when you veer away from the characters and continuity that Marvel is precious about: This show is genuinely fun on its own merits. Sure, there’s a little extra something if you’ve seen WandaVision, but you don’t need to have a good time here. After WandaVision had such fun deconstructing sitcom formats, it’s amazing to watch Agatha’s brain shove her directly into a True Detective/Fargo/Mare of Easttown style crime drama and take a few jabs. Kathryn Hahn is walking a perfect line with overacting, sometimes using it to make scenes funny, and sometimes using it to make them more upsetting because the audience becomes more cognizant that she’s trapped. You get a vibe between Agatha and Vidal instantly—if there’s one thing Aubrey Plaza knows how to do (she can do anything, this is just my favorite), it’s have immediate and visceral chemistry with her female costars. As it’s been occurring more often in her career, I imagine this must feel like an upgrade for her. There’s a lot of gay shit between Agatha and Rio, whatever their history may be, but this series offers up an entire potential history of friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-?? in a single episode and I am dizzy about it. They have a pizza date; Agatha strips out of her disguises until she’s naked in front of Rio; they have a sexually charged fight, ending with Rio licking the blood off her ex’s hand; Rio claims to be Agatha’s black heart before leaving; she’s on Agatha’s coven list despite all attempts to deny it. Sorry to Ghost Rider fans who might be mad that they’ve changed the character of Blackheart entirely for the purposes of this show: You are wrong. This is better. Go read some comics, or watch the Ghost Rider movie about it. Leave us this. Because I can’t really understate how long I’ve been waiting for that exact fight scene. The kind that is usually only given to men, and then importantly denied any actual subtext-to-text acknowledgement. They’re straddling each other and bleeding on each other and it’s very erotic on purpose, thanks. (Deadpool and Wolverine made it erotic, too, but wimped out on the subtext-to-text move.) And the cast flip is very much the same vibe. Here we have the exact layout of the Avengers, but the genders—and ages!—are swapped. Sure, the Teen is younger than Widow, but that serves to underscore the point of how absurd it was to have exactly one young woman on a crew of men who are a-little-bit-to-a-lot-bit older than her. At least the Teen has a comparative reason for his youth (being inexperience and a need for mentors), and he’s not being sexualized for it. This is a given because it’s a teenager here, but again works to underscore that the original MCU superteam breakdown was… pretty icky. And the series doesn’t have to direct our attention to this swap to make the point: Just existing does the work all by itself. The show is taking a page out of Terry Pratchett’s book, I notice, whether intentional or not—Pratchett’s witch books made a point of using all the “types” in modern witchcraft to make up his covens, parodying things like Wicca and moody black-lace-clad teens in a loving way to showcase the many paths women might take to magic. In his final book, he added a young man into that mix, pointedly the same age as the Teen. Pratchett’s Geoffrey is agender or non-binary in his leanings and the Teen has a boyfriend, so both are queer in some manner or another too, which is excellent: The idea being that witchcraft doesn’t necessarily have to be an all-female discipline, but that there is an intersection of queerness—and therefore oddity and outsider perspective—to witchcraft itself. So we’ve got the old-school fortune teller witch, the wellness guru witch, and the mall goth witch—who they literally find at Hot Topic. (I snorted loudly.) A very enjoyable coven set, along with Sharon, who isn’t exactly a witch, but is great at gardening! A form of witchcraft unto itself. It plays into that Practical Magic-esque assertion that all women are a little witchy, which can get very woo in certain circles, but is exciting when couched in terms of female power and how women find that power. Also, I really loved that song. The lyrics were lacking, but the harmonies keyed right into the brain. (And the brilliance of writing into any script on this earth that Our Mother of Musical Theater, Patti LuPone, was pitchy. Thank you for that.) Shoes off, my friends. Time to walk the road. Tarot Readings and Witchy Thoughts Image: Marvel Television, Photo by Chuck Zlotnick Lots of great little witchy pop culture asides, but Herb’s claim that the body is “really most sincerely dead” has got to be my favorite. (Being the munchkin coroner’s proclamation about the Wicked Witch of the West.) In fact there are a lot of Wizard of Oz cues in that murder case, including the fact that Wanda’s “body” has been crushed by some unknown force—dropped a house on her, perhaps? I have so many questions about Agatha accidentally creating these little microverses for herself within the confines of Wanda’s spell—how many TV show constructs has she attempted to insert herself into over the past three years? How does it actually look to the Westeview residents from the outside? Are they actually obligated to play along in some way, and do they fully understand that they’re being made to do so? The swipe at Goop and Gwenyth Paltrow’s hocking of jade eggs for vaginas was *chef’s kiss* See you next week![end-mark] The post <i>Agatha All Along</i> Rings in Spooky Season With an Absolute Blast of a Premiere appeared first on Reactor.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Bernadette Spofforth, who was previously suspected of incorrectly attributing the identity of the Southport murder suspect in England, can now breathe a sigh of relief as police authorities have ceased their inquiries into the matter. This investigation began after Spofforth was accused of hastily sharing misinformation on a social media platform, X, misidentifying the assailant from the tragic event outside a Taylor Swift dance class. Spofforth’s arrest followed Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s crackdown on online speech. Spofforth’s hastily shared post on X had originally read: “Ali Al-Shakati was the suspect. He was an asylum seeker who came to the UK by boat last year and was on an MI6 watch list.” This was followed by the postscript, “If this is true, then all hell is about to break loose.” Spofforth claims that she got the information from a Pakistan-based news website that has since been shut down. The police investigation into Spofforth was one of the cases that put the UK’s recent turn towards criminalizing “misinformation” on the map, spurring global condemnation from free speech advocates worldwide. The criminalization of incorrect facts posted online was at one time among the policies of authoritarian regimes but has now found itself adopted by some more dogmatic elected politicians, particularly in the UK, as part of the new Online Safety Act – one of the biggest attacks on free speech from a Western Democracy. Spofforth’s arrest sparked further controversy given that she had appended a caveat of uncertainty to her original social media post and had swiftly removed the post upon realizing its inaccuracy. Spofforth was apprehended and investigated for allegedly inciting racial hatred and spreading false news through written means. “I had just copied and pasted a name and a sentence from another post on X,” Bernie explained. “Unusually for me, I didn’t check the source.” After her 36-hour detainment, Cheshire Police previously confirmed that their actions stemmed from a contentious social media post carrying inaccurate information. During this period, Spofforth was also not permitted to respond to messages in order to avoid violating her bail conditions. The limitations were such that Spofforth couldn’t even properly defend herself to those inquiring about it. “I couldn’t tell you of the damage done to me by those reporters and activists, and it had been so complete I couldn’t leave my house,” she recounted. Yet, Spofforth confirmed through an X post released on Wednesday that the police had reached a decision to take “no further action.” In her video, she expressed her gratitude towards the public for their support as she navigated the trying period, before revealing her police-issued NFA notice on September 5th which signaled that she had not engaged in illegal activities. Bernie expressed relief and gratitude, stating, “I want to let you know that the police issued an NFA and that means no further action and no charges because I hadn’t done anything illegal.” The Cheshire Constabulary later clarified that their thorough investigation warranted no further action against her due to a lack of substantial evidence. The UK’s Free Speech Union opined that any charges levied by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) under section 179 of the recent Online Safety Act 2023, regarding false communications, would have been highly challenging. This is due to one of the legal tenets being breached only when information regarded as false by the communicator is willingly disseminated. “To those who celebrated my arrest, don’t enjoy it too much because it could easily happen to you,” Bernie warned, reaffirming her commitment to fighting for the rights of others. “And for all those who stood up for me and did fight for me, thank you. You held my line even as I couldn’t.” If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Bernie Spofforth Speaks Out After Arrest Over Britain’s New Chilling Misinformation Censorship Laws appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

As World Watches Explosions Elsewhere, the Boomsday Ship Gets Towed Past Norway

As Benjamin Franklin found out, rubbing is key.