At least 27 people have died in the Los Angeles-area wildfires that have been blazing since last week. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said Wednesday 25 people had died. At a news conference Thursday, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said this number rose by two more people. The National Weather Service in Los Angeles said it expects a “much-needed break from the fire weather concerns” for the end of this week. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at...

The Donald Trump confirmation train kept rolling Thursday as senators questioned the president-elect’s picks to run the Treasury, Interior, and Housing and Urban Development departments, as well as the EPA – and heard from witnesses in Pam Bondi’s bid to become the next U.S. Attorney General.  Lee Zeldin, the EPA administrator-designate, and former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump's choice for Interior Secretary, faced questions about climate change from...

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said that it is "fashionable" to be :"beating up on China" while quizzing former Rep. Lee Zeldin on how he would work with the geopolitical foe to tackle climate change.

The Super Mario Bros. movie (the original 1993 one, not the 2023 Chris Pratt version that gave us the now-classic “Peaches” singing meme) is nearly universally reviled as one of the worst movies of all time. Rotten Tomatoes currently has it at a 29% approval rating among critics and 30% approval among regular viewers. It also bombed at the box office. Per Box Office Mojo, it made slightly over $8.5 million dollars against the production budget of $48 million. That was in 1993 money!Yet somehow, in spite of all of the reasons why it's terrible from a creative and financial perspective, in spite of all logic, it's my 70-something-year-old mother's favorite movie. - YouTube youtu.be In an interview with The Guardian, the late Bob Hoskins, a BAFTA and Golden Globe winner, who starred in the movie answered the following speed round questions: “What is the worst job you've done?”“Super Mario Brothers.” “What has been your biggest disappointment?”“Super Mario Brothers.” “If you could edit your past, what would you change?”“I wouldn't do Super Mario Brothers.” The lead star of the movie hated it, too, but he at least got paid to slog through it. So why is it that the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film is my boomer mother’s favorite movie? Maybe it was some of the lessons it taught in the movie’s plot along with the lessons learned during the making of it. Lesson #1 - Focus is important, especially in relationships and creative pursuits This isn't about focus in the cinematography-sense, but in terms of pursuits. In the movie, Mario and Luigi shift their focus from their plumbing business to something more important: their relationships. Both of their love interests, Daniella and Princess Daisy, are kidnapped by Koopa’s henchmen, leading them to drop focus on their plumbing jobs and follow their kidnappers into an alternate dank Blade Runner dimension with dinosaur people. One of the downfalls in Koopa’s plan to merge Dinohattan’s dimension with Earth’s was shifting his focus away from his girlfriend, Lena, who became jealous and tried to overthrow him. In the end, by focusing on the mantra “trust the fungus” our heroes are able to defeat Koopa and keep our dimensions from merging together into something off-putting, goopy, and with decent but poorly utilized practical effects. If you’re reading this thinking that “focus” as a motif for the film is weak at best, you’d be correct. However, focus is still a lesson learned from the making of this movie. — (@) An in-depth article in Inverse shed light on the vast number of script rewrites, random changes, and split-decisions made on a whim that made production of the movie a complete mess. An early script was co-written by Dick Clement, a person who never played a Super Mario Bros. video game. The story was then altered to be a “love story between two brothers” that was grounded in reality according to the film’s co-director Rocky Morton. Keep in mind that this is a movie intended for children inspired by a game that featured two plumbers jumping on floating platforms and anthropomorphic bipedal turtles. Then the producer had notes to make the movie more magical. Then Nintendo intervened, nearly scrapping the whole thing. Then the script was rewritten again by another set of writers. Then those writers were asked to come to set to rewrite scenes as the movie was shooting. This haphazard focus not only moved whatever story there was into different directions and visions, but also tainted the relationships between the writers, directors, producers, Nintendo, and the actors. Had they been on the same page from the beginning, or fully compromised to one shared vision, they might not have made a masterpiece but it would have made a more focused film. Or at least a film that didn’t threaten the careers of so many people involved. The film was so unfocused that even Bob Hoskins didn’t know it was based on a video game until his kid showed him. — (@) Lesson #2 - Know which instincts to follow (and which ones to ignore) A throughline in the movie is Luigi following his instinct when making decisions. It starts with taking a shortcut in the plumbing truck to beat a competitor to a pipe job, continues to him pursuing Daisy both romantically and through a dimensional portal, all the way to the bittersweet ending. Following his instincts got him into trouble, but also got him into a wild— poorly written, but wild— adventure and a great love in his life. The filmmakers, on the other hand, should’ve followed less of their instincts and more reason. Like maybe play the video game and base the film more on that while taking their ideas for a brotherly love drama or dino-dystopian sci-fi film for a separate project. Or, in the actors’ case, not get drunk between scenes. In fact, maybe I should follow my instinct like Luigi did and abandon this entire premise to just share an actual lesson I learned that truly matters. Final Lesson - Every movie is someone’s favorite movie. In 1993, my mother didn’t care about how accurate or inaccurate the Mario Bros movie would be the “lore” of the games. She didn’t care about rocky storytelling, weird special effects, or the behind-the-scenes troubles. She’s not a film buff at all. She was a public school teacher that wanted to give her 10-year-old son and his kid sister a fun afternoon at the movies during summer break . She loved how we all shared the bag of Reese's Pieces she snuck into the theater in her purse. We liked having a nice break from the heat inside a dark, air-conditioned room. She enjoyed the weird-looking Goomba creatures and how we reacted to them. She liked the slapstick moments that her kids found funny. I’m sure she probably remembered the joy in my face after the movie and asking her for quarters to play The Simpsons arcade cabinet afterward. Because she loved all of that, I love this movie, too. The movie is great for reasons that have nothing to do with it. It’s a memory, a moment in time for her. It’s a time she remembers when her little boy was excited at the start of the summer, and when his little sister was at an age when she would just be excited because everyone around her was excited. Growing up, we didn’t make a lot of money left for vacations, trips to amusement parks, and such. But we had the movies. From that point on, she’d bring up the Mario Bros. movie whenever a movie trailer that was similar in tone popped up on TV, Or when talking about my childhood during dinners when I flew back home to visit. The film is objectively bad by every measure, yet I can’t help but smile like a goof looking back on it.There are several films that reach people’s hearts, regardless of their quality. There’s probably a movie you watched whenever you were sick as a kid. Or a film your grandpa liked and showed you after you promised not to tell your parents. It could be that terrible movie that was the first date you had with your now-spouse. It could even be a movie that no one has ever seen except for you and your friends because you made it. Every film is someone’s favorite.Specifically for the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie, I’m not alone in being a fan. While the movie isn’t available anywhere to stream (legally) as of this writing, it has enough of a cult following that a special edition 4K blu-ray was made for super fans to celebrate its 30th anniversary. - YouTube youtu.be Did I buy one of those super-expensive special edition copies of the film? No. Did I go on eBay to find a used DVD copy of the movie to give to my mom for Christmas? Definitely. And the hug and kiss I got from her after she unwrapped it was worth every $15 plus shipping. Will she actually sit down and rewatch it? I don’t know. It frankly doesn’t matter. I don’t even know if she saw it again after we watched it together at the AMC in Southwyck Mall back in 1993. But she has the memory of that, along with the memory of me giving it to her decades later. Now, so do I. The lesson this movie taught me is that the activity usually isn't what makes a memory great, but it's the people around it that does. Review Rating: **** Memories of the the movies can be better than memories of the movie itself.Photo credit: Canva

Beatle George Harrison was pigeon-holed as the "Quiet Beatle," but the youngest member of the Fab Four had an acerbic, dry sense of humor that was as sharp as the rest of his bandmates.He gave great performances in the musical comedy classics, "A Hard Days Night" and "Help!" while holding his own during The Beatles' notoriously anarchic press conferences. After he left the band in 1970, in addition to his musical career, he would produce the 1979 Monty Python classic, The Life of Brian.Harrison clearly didn't lose his sense of humor for the rest of his life. Shortly before his death in 2001, he played an elaborate prank on Phil Collins that shows how the "Here Comes the Sun" singer would go the extra mile for a laugh.In 1970, Harrison was recording his first solo record (and arguably the best by a Beatle), All things Must Pass. The session for the song, "The Art of Dying," featured former Beatle Ringo Starr on drums, keyboard legend Billy Preston on keys, the famed Eric Clapton on guitar, and was produced by the notorious Phil Spector.Harrison wanted a conga player for the session, so Ringo's chauffeur reached out to Phil Collins' manager. At the time, Collins was a relative unknown who was about to join Genesis, a band that would bring him worldwide stardom.The 18-year-old Collins was starstruck playing on a session with two former Beatles, so he played extra hard in rehearsals, resulting in blood blisters on both hands."Anyway, after about two hours of this, Phil Spector says, 'Okay congas, you play this time.' And I'd had my mic off, so everybody laughed, but my hands were shot," Collins told Express."And just after that they all disappeared—someone said they were watching TV or something—and I was told I could go." After that, Collins was relieved of his duties and told to go home. A few months later, Collins bought the massive triple album in the record shop and was devastated to learn he'd been edited out of the song."There must be some mistake! Collins thought. "But it's a different version of the song, and I'm not on it."Some thirty years later, Collins bought the home of Formula One driver Jackie Stewart, a close friend of Harrison. Stewart mentioned to Collins that Harrison was remixing "All Things Must Pass" for a rerelease."And he said, 'You were on it, weren't you?' And I said, 'Well I was there,"' Collins recalled.Two days later, a tape was delivered from Harrison to Collins with a note that read: "Could this be you?" Collins continued: "I rush off and listen to it, and straight away I recognize it." It was a recording of "The Art of Dying.""Suddenly the congas come in— too loud and just awful," said Collins. Then at the end of the take, Harrison can be heard saying, "Hey, Phil, can we try another without the conga player?" Collins was devastated, to say the least.A while later, Stewart calls Collins and puts Harrison on the line. "'Did you get the tape?' Harrison asked. "I now realize I was fired by a Beatle," Collins sighed. The two changed the subject, but a few minutes later, Harrison couldn't stop laughing."Don't worry, it was a piss-take. I got Ray Cooper to play really badly and we dubbed it on," Harrison admitted. "Thought you'd like it!" So, Harrison had an entire recording session with a conga player who he asked to play poorly, just to pull one over on Collins.If you're in the mood for another of rock's greatest pranks. The story of "The Ring" told by Beastie Boys' Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz shared in Beastie Boys Story is another great example of someone going to incredible lengths just for a laugh.The story revolves around the late Beasties' rapper Adam "MCA" Yach, his bandmate Horovitz, and a very creepy ring given to him by a fan backstage at a concert. Check it out below: Ahh, rock stars. This article originally appeared four years ago.

Warbling wordsmith. The post What is Bob Dylan’s longest song? first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

Are you willing to die for what you believe?  This is a question that hundreds of millions of Christians have to ask themselves every single day.  The things that you are going to read about in this article are absolutely horrifying, but you won’t hear about them from the corporate media, because the corporate media hates to share stories that put Christians in a sympathetic light.  The Christian faith is the most persecuted faith on the entire planet, and every single day Christians are being beaten, tortured, taken to death camps and executed.  According to the latest report from Open Doors, a staggering 380 million Christians are currently facing high levels of persecution… Christian persecution spiked around the globe in 2024, with more than 380 million Christians suffering high levels of persecution and discrimination, according to a report released Wednesday. The human rights watchdog group Open Doors has published its World Watch List 2025, which ranks the fifty countries where it is most dangerous to be a Christian. But we aren’t supposed to talk about this, are we? In fact, this article will probably get a lot less attention than some of my other articles, because we have been trained to ignore the systematic persecution of Christians that is happening on the other side of the globe. In Africa, one out of every five Christians is facing severe persecution, and in Asia it is two out of every five Christians… Worldwide, one in seven Christians is persecuted. For Christians in Africa, the number is higher still: a full 20 percent live in persecution. Meanwhile in Asia, two in five Christians are persecuted for their faith, an astonishing 40 percent. North Korea claimed the number one spot in the report.  According to Open Doors, if you are identified as a Christian in North Korea “you could be killed on the spot”… If your Christian faith is discovered in North Korea, you could be killed on the spot. If you aren’t killed, you will be deported to a labour camp and treated as a political criminal. You will be punished with years of hard labour that few survive. And it’s not only you who will be punished: North Korean authorities are likely to round up your extended family and punish them too, even if your family members aren’t Christians. The concentration camps in North Korea are some of the most brutal that the world has ever seen. But we don’t really talk about them anymore, and so most people don’t even know that they exist. Somalia claimed the number two spot in the report.  A radical Islamic terror group that controls much of the country is absolutely obsessed with eradicating the Christian faith… In Somalia, following Jesus is a matter of life and death. Al-Shabab, a violent Islamist militant group, is at war with the government and controls large swathes of the country. This group enforces a strict form of Sharia (Islamic law) and is committed to eradicating Christianity from Somalia. They have often killed Somali Christians on the spot. The dangers have increased over the years, as the militants have increasingly focused on finding and eliminating Christian leaders. Yemen claimed the number three spot in the report.  Sadly, the Houthis have absolutely no tolerance for Christians… If someone is reported to be a Christian and or involved in Christian activities, they could face severe monitoring, arbitrary detention, torture, ill-treatment and even murder. In Houthi-controlled areas it’s dangerous to possess a Bible or other Christian books. Leaving Islam to follow Christ is seen as a huge betrayal of the native tribe—punishment by the community can include being disowned, disinherited, divorced and losing custody of their children, being banished or even murdered. Libya claimed the number four spot in the report.  The U.S. went to a great deal of effort to overthrow the government of Libya a number of years ago, but now it has become one of the most anti-Christian nations on the entire planet… In Libya, following Jesus is a huge risk for anyone. Libyan Christians with a Muslim background face violent pressure from their families and communities to renounce their faith. Foreign Christians, especially those from sub-Saharan Africa, are targeted by Islamist militant and criminal groups. These groups kidnap and sometimes brutally kill Christians. Even if they avoid such a fate, sub-Saharan Christians face harassment and threats from radical Muslims. Sudan claimed the number five spot in the report.  A nightmarish civil war is raging in Sudan, and both sides seriously hate Christians… After a year and a half of war, Sudan is now home to the world’s largest displacement crisis and the world’s largest hunger crisis, with nearly nine million people having been forced to flee their homes. Neither side is sympathetic to Christians, and the conflict has given Islamist extremists more opportunity to target them. More than 100 churches have been damaged so far, and Christians have been abducted and killed. Sudanese Christians who have come to faith from a Muslim background face severe backlash from their families and communities. These believers tend to keep their faith secret, even from their own children. There are two countries that didn’t even make the top ten that I think deserve special mention. More than a billion people live in China, and over the past several years the persecution of Christians in China has greatly intensified… China, where persecution is also intense, has also moved up the “World Watch List,” ranking 15th on the 2025 ranking as the most difficult nation for believers; it was previously in the 19th spot. Brown said much of the growth of the Christian church in China has been centered on small house churches — unregistered houses of worship. “And the Chinese government, over the last couple of years, has had a very intentional and deliberate effort to stamp out many of those unregistered churches,” he said. “For those churches that are registered, there is a lot of ideological control that the state is looking to exert, looking for your pledges to the Communist Party there.” Unless you attend one of the churches that has agreed to full ideological control by the communist government, it is very difficult to be a Christian in China these days. More than a billion people also live in India, and more churches are being attacked in India than anywhere else in the world… Property crimes are a key concern in India, which topped GCR’s list for targeted attacks on Christian property with 4,949 attacks. The ancient Christian community in the region of Kerala believe the Apostle Thomas planted the Christian faith during his apostolic ministry in the first century. But today, the Malankara Orthodox Church and Syro-Malabar Catholic Church face targeted assaults. “This isn’t just random violence. Persecutors use violence to drive out Christians to take control and capture the culture in some of these countries,” said Six. “This is a decade of systematic, planned, organized occupation of some Christian areas. And it’s now at the point where every single rung of civil society and government is armed against impoverished Christian communities,” which “have no recourse.” India engages in “mass suppression of the church,” observed Six. Yet Perkins said India is “getting a pass from many in the West, because of its growing economic power.” What would you do if you lived in one of these countries where the persecution of Christians is rampant? If you were faced with a life or death choice, would you be willing to die for your faith? It is so important to know why you believe what you believe, because someday you may be faced with such a choice. Every day, more Christians are being arrested. Every day, more Christians are being taken to secret prisons and concentration camps. Every day, more Christians are being tortured, and every day more Christians are being killed for what they believe. If we won’t speak up for them, who will? Michael’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com. About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written eight other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today. The post Death Camps, Hard Labor, Abductions, Executions And Burned Churches – 380 Million Christians Are Facing “High Levels Of Persecution” appeared first on End Of The American Dream.

by Brandon Smith, Alt Market: The underlying strength of economics is that (when approached honestly and with respect to the data) it can give us a relatively accurate measure of progress versus cost. If the rewards outweigh the costs after careful calculation then that economic endeavor will bear fruit. The ability to gauge production, innovation […]

by Michael Snyder, End Of The American Dream: In modern times, we have never seen so many homes and businesses get burned up in a heavily populated metropolitan area in the United States.  The fires in California have produced enormous amounts of smoke, and health officials are trying to alert the public to the potential […]

from Liberty Sentinel: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/