Updated July 3, 2024: Checked for the latest codes! Master the controls and try to become the most powerful fighter in Tokyo Jujutsu High—with a bit of help from Jujutsu Chronicles codes. They will provide you with enough Curse Spins and Koins so that you can upgrade your hero faster than anyone else. However, you should use them ASAP! All Jujutsu Chronicles codes list Jujutsu Chronicles codes (Working) Visits20M — 150 Curse Spins, 100 Clan Spins, and 50k Koins (New) GetoUPDPatch — 60 Curse Spins, 60 Clan Spins, and 50k Koins (New) Update062824 — 50 Curse Spins, 30 Clan Spins, 17k Koins, and Double EXP (New) Jujutsu Chronicles codes (Expired) JayBDay12092023 CombatBuilder FathersDay2024 NewYear2024 UPD05 PatchUpd06 Visits16M Visits19M Patchwork1 MemorialDay2024 MAHITO MobileJumpFix BugPatch2 SemiSpecialCE Summer2024 Favs60K Visits13M Visits15M Visits17M CULLINGGAMES Visits18M ...

Updated July 3, 2024: We added new codes. May I have an extra large cup of combat with the side of quests? Project XL is a treat for all fans of anime-inspired fighting titles. It’s a good time to dust off your old anime OCs, jump into exciting battles, and, of course, redeem Project XL codes. All Project XL codes list Active Project XL codes  1mVisits — 1 hour of Double Mastery 5kLikes — 1 hour of Double Mastery sorryforshutdown — 1 hour of Double Mastery ThanksFor100kPlays — 500,000 Mastery Experience Thanksfor500likes — 500,000 Mastery Experience 10kLikes — 1 hour of Double Mastery  LagFixed — 500,000 Gold and 1 hour of Double Mastery (Requires level 200)  SrryForDelays!! — A set of Dragonballs (Requires level 500)  Update1.5! — 1 Uchiha Eye, 10 Million Gold, and 3 hours of Double Mastery (Requires level 1,000)  UpdateOne — 1 Lucky Arrow and 1 hour of Double Mastery (Requires leve...

In 1892 Charlotte Despard, née French, was one of the first women to be elected a Poor Law guardian, responsible for the poor in the workhouses. A 48 year old widow, she was not afraid to stand up to the male establishment. Mrs Despard made herself unpopular by fighting corruption and misuse of funds, and rooting out those who did not care for the workhouse residents properly. A colleague remarked that she had: The supreme face of courage – never to falter when faced with overwhelming opposition A pioneer, she introduced school meals and medical checks for children in school, providing boots for children who had no shoes. A vegetarian, she fought for poor children to be fed nutritious vegetable soup rather than bread and gruel. Charlotte devoted her life to improving the lot of the poor, fighting for fairer working conditions and adult suffrage. Introduction to public life Always known as Mrs Despard, becoming a widow at the age of 44 precipitated Charlotte’s entry into public life. Dressed in habitual black – including the black lace mantilla and leather sandals for which she became famous – Charlotte was recruited for charity work by her Surrey neighbour, the Duchess of Albany. Charlotte was assigned to help arrange the deliveries of the carriage-loads of flowers sent to brighten the homes of the poor in Nine Elms, near Battersea, London, an area of extreme poverty. Before her husband’s death, Charlotte had sent flowers from her garden.  Now, she wanted to do more.  She wanted to right society’s wrongs. Wandsworth is in the centre and Nine Elms is in the top right corner of this South West district of London as shown by Charles Booth’s Map Descriptive of London Poverty, 1898-9. Using the key, the inhabitants of the area range from ‘Very poor, casual, chronic want’, through ‘poor. 18s to 21s a week for a moderate family’, to ‘mixed. some comfortable, others poor’ (Credit: Public Domain). Charlotte’s wealth and status as a widow gave her surprising freedom for the time. She left her beautiful home to live in a tiny flat in Wandsworth, taking up the fight for better lives for the poor, particularly women and children, by providing medical care, play and a hot meal for poor children on the streets at her home. Thus was born the first Despard Club, others followed. In 1900 Charlotte was interviewed by an investigator for Charles Booth’s survey of conditions in London. Then living in Nine Elms, an area deemed so rough that investigators were accompanied by police, the investigator reported that: Mrs Despard is one in ten thousand, and hardly anyone that I have seen in the whole course of the Inquiry has left so strong an impression of a strong and gracious life. Finding political allies Charlotte referred to her work with the Poor Law as her apprenticeship. Frustrated by the slow pace of reform in society, Charlotte joined the Independent Labour Party but when little had changed by the 1895 general election she decided that ‘party politics held out no hope’. Charlotte joined the Social Democratic Federation (SDF) and adopted its Marxist teachings thinking that socialism was an ally of women. She soon realised that it was not. The SDF made clear its hostility to the enfranchisement of any women before every man had the vote. Angry, Charlotte joined the Women’s Liberal Federation, forming a women’s suffrage group whose aim ‘was to make the vote the first plank in the women’s movement.’ She soon discovered they were ‘Liberals first and suffragists second’. This, to her, was unsupportable because her opposition to the Boer War was far more extreme than the Liberal Party’s, and she had forsworn the politics of capitalism. When the group decided to affiliate to the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, whose policy was to secure the vote on the same terms as men (they would have to be property owners), Charlotte resigned from the group. For her, the purpose of suffrage was to help the poor, women in the workhouses or receiving poor relief. Seeing that women needed to fight against the patriarchal, capitalist system she joined the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) set up by Emmeline Pankhurst. Women’s suffrage After the constitutional split in the WSPU (caused by differing attitudes regarding approaches to violent/non-violent protests and autocratic leadership) Charlotte was instrumental in the founding of the Women’s Freedom League (WFL), becoming its first president and editor of The Vote. She was firmly behind the non-violent militancy of the suffragists, leading the tax resistance policy and the boycott of the 1911 census. She went to prison for her cause, as did her close friends Kate Harvey and Maud Gonne. Charlotte Despard and Anne Cobden-Sanderson outside No. 10 Downing St prior to being arrested on 19 August 1909. Halftone postcard print (Credit: Public Domain) Charlotte was a powerful speaker. On the eve of the general election in December 1910 she spoke to a full hall in Newtown, Wales while Lloyd George spoke across the street to a small half-empty hall. As a ‘doer’, Charlotte never turned down an invitation to join a committee. She was involved with many organisations including the Women’s International League, the No-Conscription Fellowship, the National Campaign for Civil Liberties, the Theosophical Society, the London Vegetarian Society, the Battersea Labour Party, the Women’s Labour League, the Home Rule for India Committee and the Women’s Peace Crusade. She was a social reformer – she fought for votes for women but also for votes for all men, and better working conditions for all. Although most suffrage activity was suspended during WW1, the WFL continued. It formed the National Aid Corps to help those in need and set up the Women Police Volunteers, who acted as special constables and made welfare visits to soldiers’ families. Charlotte brought in large supplies of dried milk and distributed milk and milk puddings to stave off famine. Field Marshal Sir John French, Commander in Chief, in France (Credit: Public Domain) She also became a real embarrassment to her brother, Field-Marshal Sir John French, the commander of the British forces, directly in conflict with Charlotte’s pacifism. After the war Charlotte went back to her Irish roots and moved to Ireland to fight for Sinn Féin and an independent Ireland, becoming president of the Women’s Prisoners’ Defence League. Her brother was then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, opposing Irish home rule, and so the conflict between the siblings continued. Legacy? Arguably if Charlotte had not stood against the British government over home rule for Ireland, she would have been honoured as suffragettes Millicent Fawcett and Emmeline Pankhurst have been. Although not nearly as well-known, Charlotte has two roads and a public house in London named after her, and the suffrage organisation she co-founded – The Women’s Freedom League – existed until 1961, long after the other suffrage organisations had disappeared. Even today some of her activities would be considered amazing – she travelled to Canada, Hungary, Russia and elsewhere. She stood for Parliament and was active up until just before she died, aged 95. She died in Ireland, lonely and poor, having used all her wealth to try and help others less fortunate. Mrs Despard and the Suffrage Movement by Lynne Graham-Matheson and Helen Matheson-Pollock is published by Pen and Sword Books.

Emmeline Pankhurst, a prominent British political activist and Women’s Rights campaigner, is known for her unwavering dedication to the cause of women’s suffrage. Over a span of 25 years, she tirelessly fought for women to have the right to vote through various methods, including demonstrations and militant agitation. Her determination and passion for gender equality left a lasting impact on British history. In her pursuit of women’s suffrage, Pankhurst employed controversial tactics that were both praised and criticised. Her approach of direct action, including acts of civil disobedience, was seen as radical by some and earned her both admirers and detractors. However, her unwavering commitment to the cause and her ability to mobilise women across the country played a pivotal role in raising awareness and garnering support for women’s suffrage. How did Pankhurst’s early life shape her lifelong ambition to gain voting rights for women? Early life Emmeline Pankhurst was born in Manchester in 1858 to parents who were both keen social reformers and activists. Contrary to her birth certificate, Pankhurst claimed that she was born on 14 July 1858 (Bastille Day). She said that being born on the anniversary of the French Revolution had an influence over her life. Pankhurst’s grandfather had been present at the Peterloo Massacre in 1819, a demonstration in favour of parliamentary reform. Her father was a passionate anti-slavery campaigner who served on Salford Town Council. Her mother was actually from the Isle of Man, one of the first places in the world to give women the vote in 1881. She was an avid supporter of the women’s suffrage movement. Pankhurst’s upbringing in such a radical household helped inform her as an activist. From a young age Pankhurst was encouraged to participate in politics. At the age of only fourteen she accompanied her mother to hear suffragist Lydia Becker give a speech. Becker solidified Emmeline’s political beliefs and encouraged her to join the fight for women’s suffrage. Portrait of suffragist Lydia Becker. Image credit: Susan Isabel Dacre (1844-1933), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Family and activism In 1879 Emmeline married a barrister and political activist, Richard Pankhurst, and soon bore him five children. Her husband agreed that Emmeline should not be a ‘household machine’, so hired a butler to help around the home. Following her husband’s death in 1888, Emmeline established the Women’s Franchise League. The WFL aimed to help women achieve the vote, as well as equal treatment in divorce and inheritance. It was disbanded owing to internal disagreements, but the League was an important step in establishing Pankhurst as a leader of the women’s suffrage movement. It proved to be the beginning of her radical political activities. The WSPU Dissatisfied with the progress being made towards female suffrage, Pankhurst founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1903. Its famous motto, ‘Deeds not Words’, would come to be a fitting slogan for the group’s actions in the years to come. The WSPU organised protests and published an official newspaper, the aptly titled ‘Votes for Women’. The union was successful in mobilising women around the country who sought an equal say in elections. On 26 June 1908, 500,000 demonstrators rallied in Hyde Park to achieve this end. As the years drew on and women’s suffrage seemed no closer, the WSPU increased its militant tactics. Their demonstrations grew larger and altercations with the police turned more violent. In response to police brutality in 1912, Pankhurst organised a window smashing campaign across the commercial districts of London. Escalating tactics Many women, including all three of Pankhurst’s daughters, were imprisoned for their participation in WSPU protests. Hunger strikes became a common tool of resistance in prison, and jailers responded with violent force-feedings. Drawings of women being force-fed in prison were circulated in the press and highlighted the plight of suffragettes to the public. The WSPU’s tactics continued to escalate, and soon included arson, letter-bombs and vandalism. Mary Leigh, a WSPU member, threw a hatchet at Prime Minister H. H. Asquith. In 1913 Emily Davidson died when she was trampled by the King’s horse at the Epsom Derby, whilst attempting to place a banner on the animal. More moderate groups, such as Millicent Fawcett’s National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, condemned the militant actions of the WSPU in 1912. Fawcett said that they were the ‘chief obstacles in the way of success of the suffrage movement in the House of Commons’. Pankhurst (wearing prison clothes) described her first incarceration as: ‘like a human being in the process of being turned into a wild beast.’. Image credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons The WSPU and World War One Unlike other women’s rights organisations, the WSPU were uncompromising in their sole aim of achieving votes for women. Pankhurst refused to allow democratic votes within the group itself. She argued that this meant the WSPU was not ‘hampered by a complexity of rules’. The WSPU halted their activities during World War One and supported the British war effort. They considered the Germans to be a threat to all humanity. A truce with the British government was announced, and the WSPU prisoners were released. Christabel, Emmeline’s daughter, encouraged women to become involved in agriculture and industry. Emmeline herself travelled Britain giving speeches in favour of the war effort. She visited the United States and Russia to advocate opposition against Germany. Success and legacy In February 1918 the WSPU finally achieved success. The Representation of the People Act gave women over the age of 30 the vote, providing they met certain property criteria. Pankhurst is arrested by police outside Buckingham Palace while trying to present a petition to George V in May 1914. Image credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsImage Credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons It wasn’t until 1928, the year in which Pankhurst passed away, that women were granted electoral equality with men through the Equal Franchise Act. This historic achievement marked a significant milestone in the women’s suffrage movement and was a culmination of the relentless efforts of Pankhurst and numerous other activists who fought tirelessly for gender equality. Regardless of differing opinions on her methods, there is no denying the significant impact Pankhurst made in advancing the cause of women’s suffrage in Britain. Her unwavering determination, leadership, and advocacy efforts helped to raise awareness about gender inequality and laid the foundation for future progress in achieving electoral equality for women. Her legacy as a pioneering figure in the fight for women’s rights continues to be recognised today.

Viva Raw voluntarily recalls five products of dog and cat foods due to Listeria monocytogenes contamination, which is a potential health risk to both people and pets, on Monday, July 01.

Biden Is 'The Most Accomplished President in My Lifetime'

When NASA first began launching rockets into space – barely half a century after the first airplane took flight – it encountered what it calls the "pogo problem".During the launch of Saturn V rocket's first stage burn, part of the uncrewed Apollo 6 mission, the rocket experienced oscillations along its length, like springs going up and down on a pogo stick."Pogo occurred when a partial vacuum in the fuel and oxidizer feed lines reached the engine firing chamber causing the engine to skip," John Uri of NASA's Johnson Space Center explains. "These oscillations then traveled up the axis of the launch vehicle resulting in intense vibration in the Command Module and causing some superficial structural damage to the Spacecraft Lunar Module Adaptor (SLA). Had a crew been onboard, they would have experienced severe vibrations and even possible injury."The problem had occurred in previous rocket launches, including Titan II used for the Gemini program. Though it might not sound like a huge deal, and crews carried in the Command Module could have been perfectly safe, it led Marshall Space Flight Center Director Wernher von Braun to conclude that unless it was solved "we just cannot go to the Moon.”NASA created a Pogo Working Group to examine the problem and come up with solutions, concluding that they should "detune" the engine and change the frequency of the vibration by filling prevalve cavities on the liquid oxygen feed lines with helium."Injecting helium into those lines prior to ignition would effectively work as a shock absorber to prevent the oscillations from traveling up and down fuel and oxidizer feed lines," Uri explains.This worked well enough, and soon NASA was able to send astronauts to the Moon. However, the pogo effect continued to pose problems for the space agency, notably during the near-catastrophic Apollo 13 mission."During the second stage burn, two episodes of pogo occurred on the center J-2 engine as expected from previous missions, but the third occurrence diverged severely and acceleration at the engine attachment reached an estimated 34 g’s (the accelerometer went out of range) before the engine’s combustion chamber low-level pressure sensor commanded a shut down," NASA explains in a report on pogo in spaceflight. "It was estimated in the post-flight investigation that only one more cycle of amplitude growth could have been sustained without catastrophic structural failure."Following this second incident, the least of Apollo 13's problems, NASA installed a pogo suppressor on all subsequent Apollo missions. After this, pogo was not experienced, though a small buzz occurred for a few seconds during second-stage burns.

Extraterrestrial civilizations can fill the atmospheres of planets with greenhouse gases and this could be a technosignature for their detection. With the help of modern telescopes, it is possible to detect the existence of an extraterrestrial civilization on other planets, if the aliens, like people, emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. If there are a lot of such gases, then this can serve as a kind of signal about the existence of highly developed life. This is the opinion of the authors of a study published in The Astrophysical Journal, reports Space. On Earth, gases including fluorinated versions of methane, ethane and propane are known to be some of the gases that retain heat best. These greenhouse gases are released during various manufacturing processes. Since these substances are not naturally formed in large quantities, based on chemical conditions on Earth, their presence in the atmosphere of another planet may indicate that an advanced extraterrestrial civilization lives there. The authors of the study think so. According to scientists, these gases are very dangerous for the inhabitants of the Earth, because they provoke global warming. Perhaps potential aliens would like to terraform an uninhabitable planet. In this case, there may be a lot of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. For example, aliens decided to heat up a very cold planet like Mars, in which case they will have to change its climate. If aliens terraformed such a planet, scientists found that the Webb Space Telescope would be able to detect 5 greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of this world. One of them, sulfur hexafluoride, contributes to warming the planet 23.5 thousand times more than carbon dioxide. A small amount of this gas, which has a lifespan of at least 1,000 years, is enough to melt an icy planet to the point that liquid water flows on its surface. According to scientists, their long lifespan makes these gases excellent technosignatures for the systematic search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The most interesting thing is that these gases will be able to remain in the atmosphere, even if the experiment to terrform the planet is not successful. Other similar fluorinated gases can hang around in the atmosphere for up to 50,000 years. This means that if an extraterrestrial civilization on cold planets outside the solar system is pumping a lot of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, then this can be detected. The study authors say that even if just one in a million gas molecules absorbed the infrared radiation from its host star, it would create a signature signature that could be detected by the Webb telescope. The post Telescopes could detect alien terraforming using greenhouse gases appeared first on Anomalien.com.

Researchers have uncovered a significant Christian relic: an ivory box adorned with religious motifs, hidden in an early Christian church excavated in what is now southern Austria, according to the Daily Mail. The archaeologists discovered a biblical scene depicting Moses receiving the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai on the 1,500-year-old casket. The box is also engraved with images of saints and the ascension of Christ. The round ivory box is a remarkable artifact, as items from early Christianity are exceedingly rare. The Christian faith is about 2,000 years old, and only 40 such discoveries have been made worldwide, with the last similar find occurring approximately 100 years ago. The 1,500-year-old ivory box depicts a scene of Moses receiving the 10 Commandments from God on Mount Sinai as described in the Old Testament, along with imagery of saints and the ascension of Christ “This only happens once in the life of an archaeologist,” says lead archaeologist Gerald Grabherr. He suggests the relic was created less than 100 years after Roman Emperor Constantine the Great converted to Christianity. Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, which legalized Christianity. Later, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. The ivory box was found during excavations of an early Christian church in southern Austria, a region that once belonged to the Roman Empire and likely housed a pagan sanctuary before becoming a church. The team discovered a sealing stone in a recess where the altar once stood, where they found the box. Though the artifact was broken into pieces, it was originally round and equipped with a metal clasp. According to scholars, this item was the holiest part of the church. It remains unclear why it was not taken before the church was abandoned. Researchers also note that the box depicts both Moses and Christ. The scene probably shows Moses receiving the commandments from God or parting the waters of the Red Sea. Another scene on the casket depicts Jesus rising from his burial chamber after his crucifixion. The post 1,500-year-old box depicting Moses receiving 10 Commandments discovered appeared first on Anomalien.com.

I have fond memories of taking two of my children to see "A Quiet Place Part II" in Topsham, Maine, in the summer of 2020. My son pronounced it the "scariest movie he'd ever seen" and reported trying to make as little noise as possible during a bathroom visit right after the credits rolled. His high estimation of the film may have had to do with his age: he was 6 at the time. In retrospect, a little young, but I can't say I feel very guilty about it. The three "A Quiet Place" installments are resolutely PG-13, the kind of more or less wholesome cinematic roller-coaster ride Steven Spielberg used to excel at. In our current age of managed decline, watching terrified, demoralized Americans abandon one of our greatest cities isn't much fun. At that point in his life, my son couldn't have had more than 30 movies to which to compare "A Quiet Place Part II." He hadn't even seen the first one. My then 10-year-old daughter had, and her review of the sequel was a little more mixed. She'd enjoyed it while watching it, but as the thrill of the jump scares faded during the car ride home, she mentioned her disappointment that it really didn't do anything new. Blunt force I had to agree. 2018's "A Quiet Place" ended on a note of defiance. Having discovered the enemy's weakness — and a clever method of targeting it — Emily Blunt's Evelyn Abbott seemed poised to become an unsmiling killing machine a la Linda Hamilton in "Terminator 2." Perhaps director/star John Krasinski would follow the example of the "Alien" series and make the first sequel more of an action movie. Alas, apart from an entertaining prologue — an effective flashback to the day the creatures landed in the Abbott's small town — "A Quiet Place Part II" pretty much stuck to formula, keeping our heroes on the defensive and exploring more scenarios in which characters simply must not make a sound, despite being very, very tempted to do so. The first movie gave us what is arguably the ultimate such scenario — giving birth (while also having just stepped on a nail). Its follow-up finds nothing so memorable. We do meet other survivors — but mainly for the usual "the biggest monster of all is man" routine that has been more effectively explored in "The Walking Dead," to name one example. It's hardly an improvement on the original's claustrophobic dread. And once again the movie reminds us that we know how to kill these things. But we still don't, at least not at any meaningful scale. Perhaps this will be addressed by the upcoming "A Quiet Place Part III." In the meantime we have the official prequel, "A Quiet Place: Day One," which my children and I saw at the same movie theater where we enjoyed its predecessor four years ago. Slice of life Like fellow horror icons Jason Voorhees and Ghostface, the Death Angels have hit the big time: New York City. Bigger may not be better, but it is louder: An opening intertitle mentions that NYC generally maintains an ambient volume of 90 decibels, about the same level as a human scream. This factoid is meant to be ominous, but my first thought was: Wouldn't all that noise make it easier to hide? Much of what made "A Quiet Place" so suspenseful was the utter stillness of the countryside, in which the snap of a branch echoed like an explosion. The city does quiet down quite a bit as it empties out, but characters holed up in a Manhattan storefront or apartment simply don't feel as terrifyingly isolated as the Abbotts did in their farmhouse. Our hero this time is Sam (Lupita Nyong'o), a dying poet living in hospice outside the city. Like many terminally ill movie characters, Sam has a bad attitude about her imminent death; in fact, she's only able to muster affection for her service cat, Frodo. The promise of one last slice of real New York pizza is enough to convince Sam to join her hospice mates on a field trip to Manhattan; we share her horror when it's revealed that this particular outing is to a marionette theater. Sam's despair deepens as the invasion begins. Whatever's happening, it's serious enough that they'll have to head back to the hospice without getting pizza. Once the monsters show up in earnest, its clear that nobody's going anywhere, at least not by bus. Nyong'o is a good actress, and she makes us understand how important getting this pizza has become to Sam. There's nothing mannered or cutesy about it; she displays real anguish and barely contained fury when it's denied her. So it's not hard to buy in to Sam's mission. While everyone else is heading downtown to be evacuated via the South Street Seaport, Sam (still with Frodo) is headed to Harlem to the legendary Patsy's Pizzeria. A real drip Along the way she runs into Eric (Joseph Quinn), a young and terrified British law student. We first see Eric emerge gasping for air from a flooded subway tunnel. His suit is drenched, of course, and he also turns out to be "wet" in the British sense of the word: weak, ineffectual, without personality. He begs Sam to let him come with her; eventually she relents. Is this supposed to be one of those "woke" role reversals I keep hearing about? This time we'll have the guy play the helpless girl? But that doesn't make sense; it's not as if anyone likes that kind of character when played by a woman. These otherwise functional, able-bodied adults exist as annoying plot contrivances, dead weight there just to make the protagonist's life harder. Whoever marketed this movie must have had reservations about how this role reversal would play; on the movie's ugly, photoshopped-looking poster (increasingly common these days), it is Nyong'o who stifles a scream, while Quinn exudes bland determination. Eric does nearly get them both killed at least once; he also lets her lead the way, while he cringes behind her likes she's a human shield. This is all the more jarring as Nyong'o is not what you'd call a "Mary Sue." She's also very scared; her silent emoting is one of selling points of the movie. So what does she see in this guy? Eric's uselessness becomes a real problem when we get to his character's real function: He's there to help Sam "learn how to live." He does this with a classic "nice guy" move. While a more survival-oriented alpha would have been too busy planning their escape, Eric takes the time to really listen to Sam's boilerplate backstory; when the time is right, he knows just what to do to cheer her up. Perhaps I'm being too hard on "A Quiet Place: Day One." My kids enjoyed it. And I did too, to some extent; I've never not been "gotten" by a jump scare, and this movie has some decent ones. But I daresay the filmmakers are overestimating our interest in an "origin story" for these interstellar man-eaters. "A Quiet Place" is fun because it plunges us into the action in media res. Our minds trying to fill in the gaps adds to the terror. No church in the wild Variety recently called the "Quiet Place" trilogy "one of horror's most reliable box-office franchises." I for one am sincerely glad for its consistency. It hits that sweet spot for the parent of pre-teens and teens: chills without gore or sex that the whole family can enjoy. I won't complain if they keep cranking them out at this level of quality. But I doubt I'll bother going on my own. It turns out these monsters just aren't that interesting beyond their central gimmick. The characters in "A Quiet Place: Day One" may be experiencing all this for the first time, but it's our third go-round. After a while, all the shushing makes you feel like you're in a library. The screenwriting rule that you should endear your character to the audience by having him or her "save the cat" is a cliche by now; I'm not the first one to point out that Sam has a literal "save the cat" moment here. The problem is that Frodo (well played by two different cats, Schnitzel and Nico) emerges as the most likeable character by far. Even the little Sam and Quinn do say is too much; the completely silent feline is beautiful to watch in a way that the human characters, saddled by the script's hokey therapeutic concerns, just aren't. At one point Sam and Eric find themselves huddled with other survivors in a beautiful, bombed-out church. But it's just a pleasant way station on their pilgrimage to Sam's own personal holy site: the jazz club where she used to watch her father play piano. Who needs prayers when you can get "closure"? But what if they did pray? God might give them the courage to persevere — and with it, the obligation to embrace suffering and maybe even to keep fighting. When self-care is your religion, you face no such demands. Resignation and helplessness become virtues, as does comfort. The most noble end we can all hope for is to die "on our own terms." That's how you end up with assisted suicide. During peak COVID, there was something a little too close to home in the spectacle of Americans huddled together indoors, too scared to make a peep. And in our current age of managed decline, watching terrified, demoralized Americans abandon one of our greatest cities isn't much fun either. To paraphrase a certain presidential candidate, I like horror movie heroes who don't get killed. Deep down, most of us do. America needs a win; I hereby call for a moratorium on miserabilist blockbusters until morale improves. Haven't we had enough pussyfooting around?