Are your favorites on the chopping block?

Never-Trumpers and leftists vie to predict the most nightmarish consequence of a 2024 Trump election win

As a cat owner‚ you’re familiar with the quest to find the perfect litter: one that keeps odors at bay‚ is easy to clean‚ and is gentle on both your wallet and the environment. You’ve tried clumping litter‚ scented options‚ even those promising dust-free experiences; yet none seem to tick all the boxes. Enter pine...

Though I am slightly loath to admit it‚ I have been rewatching Grimm. It is dark and wet in Portland‚ as it always is this time of year‚ and a somewhat ridiculous procedural show about a fairy tale cop feels like just the thing. It’s also weirdly comforting‚ which is another thing I am reluctant to confess. I do not generally find cop shows comforting‚ and the very idea of a fairy tale cop is gently hilarious to anyone who grew up on fairy tales‚ in which there are many things‚ but not usually cops. There are wolves and trolls and princes and witches and all manner of creatures‚ but at best there might be some sort of hapless authority figure who gets turned into a bear or something. (I’m using a loose definition of fairy tales here.) But in each episode of Grimm‚ at least in the early and very episodic seasons‚ a fairy tale cop (who is also a regular cop) solves a crime generally committed by a person who is also a magical creature‚ of which Portland has a surprising abundance. (Bird people! Wolf people! Cat people! Spider people!) Sometimes the magical creature-people are misunderstood‚ sometimes they’re vicious‚ sometimes they’re just ordinary guys who make clocks and offer the fairy tale cop a beer. There is magic‚ and mundanity—and there is closure. Obviously you can get closure‚ if that’s all you’re after‚ from any number of procedural shows‚ some of which rank much higher on the competence-porn index. (I recommend Elementary‚ as always.) But procedural + fairy tales + an occasionally accurate portrayal of the city in which one lives is a rare mix‚ and it is one so addictive to me‚ right now‚ that I had to ask why. What makes this alchemical blend so compelling? What makes it comforting to me in this moment? What makes any story comforting? There are common elements to a lot of lists about comfort stories—happy endings‚ warm fuzzies‚ sweeping love affairs‚ lack of strife‚ familiarity‚ escapism—and I’ve written before about how those don’t often say “comfort” to me. When I want to escape and be comforted‚ I’ve sought out a specific kind of reassurance generally found in stories about people who are having a very bad time‚ a time much worse than anything I’ll ever have to deal with. But it turns out that at a moment when my own life is full of uncertainty and anxiety‚ maybe I do want a certain kind of comfort. Not escape to somewhere strange‚ but a visit to somewhere familiar; not a story with a happy ending‚ necessarily‚ but one that offers both closure and change. What I want is to be reminded that things can be different than they are right now. The Night Circus‚ as it turns out‚ was also perfect for this. (Sometimes you really do save a book until exactly the moment when you need it.) I knew the book was about a circus and a love affair. I did not know it was also built out of other things I adore‚ among them the scent magic of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab‚ the connection of a chosen and created family‚ and the transportive delights of immersive theater like Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More. There are countless other little signposts in this book to things that I love‚ from snow queens to labyrinths to Labyrinth to apple orchards‚ and‚ most of all‚ to the way a shared love can build a community. The circus is the circus; the people who love the circus make their own magical world‚ too. They are part of it. They help make it what it is. The comfort comes from remembering that all these things are still out there. All these things will be possible again someday. Gathering with fellow fans. Opening every drawer in the McKittrick Theater or following the actors of Sleep No More up and down the stairs. Seeing a small immersive theater production or meeting other BPAL fans at a con or finding a magical circus—or something like it—in a field outside the city. A lot of things I would do in a “normal” world aren’t accessible to me right now‚ from going to crowded opening night movies to going to book events to going to cons. I know I’m not alone in this. And it turns out what comforts me is revisiting those things in a story: a circus‚ a concert‚ an epic journey‚ a chance meeting in a strange bar or a card reading in a coffee shop. What comforts me is watching the characters in Grimm traipse all over Portland—Portland of a decade ago‚ Portland when I might just wander into these bars and venues and coffee shops (though probably not the warehouses and caves) and catch some mysterious happening. It’s the Portland I used to visit‚ rather than the one I live in now. It’s still damp and raining. But in that past‚ more of us can go wherever we want‚ surround ourselves with strangers‚ find comfort in community and catharsis in unexpected places. Comfort looks different to everyone‚ and feels different‚ too. Sometimes you want a hug‚ sometimes you want to slap anyone who gets near you. Sometimes you want epic drama and sometimes you just want a story in which a hyper-capitalist dystopian future (or present) hasn’t even been dreamt up yet. Comfort can‚ to me‚ feel too easy‚ like something to be wary of: Sometimes it’s hard to let go of all the other things we could be paying attention to‚ all the horrors happening while we’re comforting ourselves in pages. But you can’t see everything all the time‚ or be aware of everything all the time‚ or catch every single bit of heartbreaking news. You have to rest‚ physically and mentally and emotionally. When you need that rest‚ maybe ask yourself: What does comfort look like to me? What book (or show‚ or movie) tells the story I need to hear right now? What promises do I want it to make for me? What do I need to be reminded of? Books can open doors‚ but they can also close them‚ softly and firmly‚ when you need to leave the world outside for a little while. Originally published January 2023 as part of the Mark as Read column. Molly Templeton lives and writes in Oregon‚ and spends as much time as possible in the woods. Sometimes she talks about books on Twitter.

Fortnite skin leaks are always exciting‚ so you may be pumped to hear more about the Cell and Frieza skins’ release date‚ prices‚ and bundles. Although these skins have yet to release‚ we have some new information about when they’ll drop and how you can purchase them yourself. Fortnite: Cell and Frieza skins pricing and release date If you’re a Dragon Ball Z fan and want to know more about the Frieza and Cell skins in Fortnite‚ we can let you know more about the release date‚ prices‚ and bundles. Some well-known Fortnite insiders on Twitter/X shared some pressing information about these skins. Cell and Frieza skins release date Estimated Shop Tab Release Dates:Star Wars: TomorrowJohn Wick: TomorrowLamborghini Huracán STO: in 3 DaysStart Your Engines (Jager 619‚ Cyclone‚ Diesel): in 3 DaysNevermore Bundle (Raven + Ravage): in 3 DaysCell &; Frieza + Dragon Ball: in 4 DaysSignature Style (Cuddle… pic.twitter.com/LhqehxNvQ5&;...

In LEGO Fortnite‚ Rollers are the scourge of the Grasslands. They’ll surprise you by jumping from the earth and will keep rolling after you. Thankfully‚ they tend to pop up one at a time. One unfortunate player‚ however‚ stumbled across an army of them. An army of Rollers in LEGO Fortnite LEGO Fortnite isn’t particularly dangerous or difficult‚ at least not unless you actively seek out the Brutes or are unprepared in a Lava Cave. And although the Rollers are a rather tricky enemy‚ they’re very manageable on their own. One unfortunate LEGO Fortnite player‚ GunshyEarth‚ was terribly surprised upon finding what appeared to be a waiting ambush of seven Rollers that sprung to life upon their presence. All hiding out in an encampment‚ it was only until they entered did they realise it was too late. Has anybody else seen this? byu/GunshyEarth inLEGOfortnite Rocks were lobbed toward their companion as Rollers charged forth from the g...

Knight Shield is a great way to shield yourself from different kinds of attacks that you will get from different mobs around the world of LEGO Fortnite. How to make a Knight Shield in LEGO Fortnite There are different kinds of Knight Shields in LEGO Fortnite and they are categorized according to their rarity and strength. Here is how you can craft every type of Knight Shield. Common Knight Shield Crafting a common Knight Shield is an easy process. You will need x5 Plank and x1 Cord to craft a common Knight Shield. Planks can be produced by putting Wood inside a Lumber Mill. Whereas a cord can be produced by putting Vines inside a Spinning Wheel. Vines can be collected by destroying bushes that are abundant in the grasslands. Uncommon Knight Shield To craft an Uncommon Knight Shield you will need x18 Flexwood Rod and x3 Cord. You can collect Flexwood by destroying Cactuses that can only be found in the Dry Valley of Mesas or the desert ...

Asylum Hearing Dates Now Into 2031

Gamma rays are the most powerful type of light‚ extremely dangerous to life forms. They can form in nuclear reactions‚ as well as in and around powerful astronomical events and bodies‚ such as black holes‚ pulsars‚ and supernovae. Studying the universe in gamma rays opens a window on these extremes and NASA’s Fermi has been doing that for a decade and a half.The telescope scanned the whole sky every day using its Large Area Telescope (LAT) between August 2008 and August 2022. The video below shows two views used by scientists. One focuses on the plane of the Milky Way at the center‚ and one is made by two hemispherical views‚ with our galaxy at the edges. The first helps with studying what goes on nearer to home‚ and the other with what happens in other galaxies.    Variations in the intensity of the Milky Way band are usually artifacts of how data is collected‚ but there are things that change in the galaxy that are worth noticing. Pulsars‚ a particular type of pulsating neutron star‚ are among them. And there is also our Sun‚ seen moving about in this timelapse mostly quietly until a flare is released. The one from November 2017‚ the brightest we'd had in the last six years until last week‚ shows just how much energy these events release. Gamma rays are 100 million times more energetic than visible light. “One of the first things to strike your eye in the movie is a source that steadily arcs across the screen. That’s our Sun‚ whose apparent movement reflects Earth’s yearly orbital motion around it‚” Fermi Deputy Project Scientist Judy Racusin‚ from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center‚ said in a statement.Racusin narrates the movie‚ explaining the science and highlighting some of the objects seen by the telescope. The jets from supermassive black holes are among the targets when it comes to extragalactic observations‚ and the researchers are particularly excited when these sources change intensity.“The variations tell us that something about these jets has changed‚” Racusin said. “We routinely watch these sources and alert other telescopes‚ in space and on the ground‚ when something interesting is going on. We have to be quick to catch these flares before they fade away‚ and the more observations we can collect‚ the better we’ll be able to understand these events.”Fermi is still going strong‚ so we look forward to many more years of data from the highest energies in the cosmos.

A 15-year-old girl experienced vocal cord paralysis after a bout of COVID-19‚ according to a new case report. It’s the first time this particular complication of the disease has been reported in an adolescent‚ and medics are calling for greater awareness of this possibility‚ albeit rare‚ in children infected with SARS-CoV-2.Over the almost four years that COVID-19 has been on the scene‚ it’s become increasingly clear that this infection hits very differently from person to person. For some‚ especially in the absence of vaccines‚ it leads to life-threatening disease; for others‚ a mild initial infection gives way to debilitating long-term issues; and still others are unaware that they’ve even been infected at all. Far from being just a respiratory pathogen‚ we now know that SARS-CoV-2 can affect multiple other organs and systems within the body. This latest case report adds to the body of evidence around the possible neurological complications of COVID-19 in both children and adults‚ detailing a case of vocal cord paralysis in a 15-year-old who was treated at Massachusetts General Hospital.The girl first went to the emergency department after experiencing shortness of breath‚ around two weeks after contracting COVID-19. The acute symptoms of her infection had resolved within five days‚ but the breathing difficulties began nine days after her positive COVID test.Because she had a history of asthma‚ the patient was treated with steroids and medicines to open up her airways‚ but she was also admitted to hospital for extensive further tests. Examination of the larynx (voice box) revealed that the movement of both vocal cords was impaired.The patient underwent a lot of testing – including bloodwork‚ scans‚ and a lumbar puncture – and the medical team consulted with specialists in several disciplines‚ including speech language pathology. When speech therapy and a Botox injection didn’t relieve her symptoms‚ it was decided that a tracheostomy would be necessary. It took 15 months‚ but the medics were finally able to remove the tracheostomy just in time for the patient’s high school graduation.“She was having her senior prom a year and a quarter to the date of when she lost her function‚ and she told me she was not going to go to the prom with her tracheostomy in place‚” said senior author Dr Christopher Hartnick‚ director of the Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology and Pediatric Airway‚ Voice‚ and Swallowing Center at Mass Eye and Ear‚ in a statement. “We decided to intervene so that she could graduate high school and go to her prom tracheostomy-free‚ which she did.”Cases of vocal cord paralysis after a viral infection are not unheard-of‚ including in adults after COVID-19 – but this is the first such case in a teenager.“To have a young‚ healthy‚ vibrant high schooler all of a sudden lose one of their important cranial nerves such that they can't breathe is highly unusual and took some parsing‚” Hartnick said. “The fact that kids can actually have long term neurotrophic effects from COVID-19 is something that it's important for the broader pediatric community to be aware of in order to be able to treat our kids well.”To date‚ estimates suggest that there have been over 15 million cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in kids. Although complications like this may be rare‚ it’s important that the medical community remains alive to the possibility‚ especially because these kinds of symptoms can be mistaken for other‚ more common complaints.First author Dr Danielle Reny Larrow‚ a resident in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Mass Eye and Ear‚ summarized‚ “Given how common this virus is among children‚ this newly recognized potential complication should be considered in any child presenting with a breathing‚ talking or swallowing complaint after a recent COVID-19 diagnosis.”The study is published in the journal Pediatrics.