Discover the unique Gemini and Libra compatibility! Dive into how these air signs balance each other in love, friendship, and communication. Are they the perfect match?

Andrew J. West stars in Anna Mastro's "Walter"; Credit: "Walter"

It's always dicey to characterize a major film festival based on the movies you personally see there, because no matter how diligent you try to be, your impression will always be statistically anecdotal.

I'll see perhaps 10 percent of the films at this year's Palm Springs International Film Festival by the time they roll up the red carpets for the final time, added to the 25 or so I'd watched before I got here, owing to the festival's unique programming policies.

Not bad considering there are 190 movies being screened. So I think I've got the feel of things here. I wouldn't want my doctor to diagnose me based on a test with a 35 to 40 percent chance of accuracy, but I'm not a doctor. Instead of "Do no harm," I quote Spencer Tracy to myself. He said the secret to the creative process is to "just look 'em in the eye and tell 'em the truth."

And the truth is, with the exception of a couple of documentaries and a horror movie, virtually every film I've seen at Palm Springs so far shared some obvious characteristics: the Palm Springs International Film Festival loves it some poignancy and affirmation.

I've already commented on "Match," the Patrick Stewart acting showcase, and "Cowboys," a very funny Croatian comedy with cross-currents of seriousness. I may comment later about "Today," Iran's Oscar submission. (It's terrific by the way, a deeply affecting story about a burnt out cab driver who gets yanked into the world of a battered, unwed mother who steps into his cab.)

(Still from "Today” (Emrooz) by Iranian filmmaker Reza Mirkarimi)

I also saw an Anne Hathaway passion project called "Song One" here. I'm not going to write about it because I'm not in the mood to stomp on somebody else's butterfly. Plus the dramedy "1001 Grams" by the splendiferous-ly named Norwegian Bent Hamer, whose deadpan satire is routinely compared to Jacques Tati.

WATCH the official trailer for "1001 Grams," which includes some foreign languages

At their best, these are all movies that want to move the audience to tears before bouncing a ray of hope off the screen at them. At their worst, these movies are about pain in the same way Novocain is. They acknowledge its reality, in order to neutralize it.

Filmmaker Anna Mastro's debut film "Walter" (one of the Palm Springs premieres) fits what seems to be the festival's programming model, too, and is, I think, a really quite appealing little indie film, with the by now familiar mildly magical realist bent.

It's is a story about grief, though one with a screwball premise so that it doesn't quite present that way at first. Walter (portrayed with charisma and nuance by Andrew J. West) is a 20-something slacker, but a very uptight one, with a soldier's commitment to dress and routine.

He still lives with mom (Virginia Madsen, now shifting toward the character actress portion of her career with ease and grace) and has a job one rung above fast food worker on the ladder of success: He's a ticket taker at the local multiplex.

But what the world surely sees as failure, Walter knows to be his cover for a far more important vocation. Walter's father died when he was just 10 years old; ever since the funeral, Walter has realized something we don't: His real job in life is to decide where people go after they die.

His snap judgments secretly send people to heaven or hell ... until a dead guy from Walter's past shows up and demands that Walter determine his fate, and then all hell breaks loose.

It's an odd premise, bordering on the labored, but Mastro and her extremely appealing cast pull it off, in part by wearing their influences on their sleeves. The fingerprints of Wes Anderson are all over this picture, especially in terms of the way shots are framed and music is used, and I was able to identify the pivotal contribution of "Beasts of the Southern Wild" co-composer Dan Romer by ear, long before I noticed his screen credit.

I suppose that's supposed to be a damning criticism of a first-timer, but I don't see it that way. Tarantino aped Scorsese for years and virtually remade a minor Hong Kong gangster picture when he debuted with "Reservoir Dogs."

Spielberg acknowledges his debt to David Lean. Hitchcock's apprenticeship at Germany's UFA film studio resulted in a lifelong visual and thematic debt to the great Expressionist master Fritz Lang.

The question is, what do you do with your influences, how do you make them your own? And Mastro — who has a real gift for casting, pacing a scene and maneuvering her actors easily between farce and seriousness — has her own talents. She understands how Anderson's visual syntax has become a cinematic shorthand for quirk, and she deploys it to that effect, then tells the story at hand.

There are some issues with that story, though. There's a girl in concessions (Leven Rambin) Walter likes, and there's a bully at work. For all its surface oddity, the mechanical underpinnings of "Walter" frequently feel like they belong in an "American Pie" sequel.

And yet this movie won me over. I liked its faith in the movie palace as a place that still vibrates with the marvelous. I found a dream sequence, where Rambin undresses to camera while sprawled on a rich yellow bed of movie house popcorn hilarious and deeply expressive.

But I think my affection for this picture is mostly centered on Mastro and her cast, which includes a standout performance by Justin Kirk as a very grounded ghost and a broad but successful cameo from William H. Macy as Walter's psychiatrist. They're all groping toward something rather grim and real about loss, while doing their best to serve up some laughs and wonder along the way.

It touched me, because it feels kind of wise.

Off-Ramp contributor R.H. Greene, former editor of Boxoffice Magazine, is in Palm Spring this week to cover the 26th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival. Look for his missives here, and listen Saturday at noon to Off-Ramp, when he'll interview Chaz Ebert about her late husband Roger Ebert's contributions to the film festival circuit.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Event Begins: Thursday, November 14, 2024 3:30pm
Location: West Hall
Organized By: Department of Astronomy

"XRISM – A New Window into the X-ray Universe"

At 23:42 UTC on September 6th, 2023, the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, ushering in a new era of high-energy astrophysics. XRISM, an international JAXA/NASA collaboration including participation from ESA, is an advanced X-ray observatory capable of carrying out a science program that will address some of the most important questions in astrophysics in the 2020s. XRISM is essentially a rebuild of the Hitomi (Astro-H) spacecraft that was lost due to an operational mishap early in the mission in 2016. Resolve, the primary instrument on XRISM, is a high-resolution, non-dispersive X-ray spectrometer operating between 0.3-12 keV, providing high-resolution (~5 eV) spectroscopic capabilities in this critical energy band with a response peaking around the ubiquitous 6.4 keV Fe K-alpha line. A wide-field imager, Xtend, will offer simultaneous coverage over nearly a 40’ square field of view, with ~1’ spatial resolution. XRISM will study all manner of astrophysical objects, including galaxies and clusters, AGN, X-ray binaries, supernova remnants, transient phenomena, stars, and the interstellar medium. In this talk, I will highlight some of the scientific topics that XRISM will address, in addition to providing a general status update on the mission. I will discuss the synergies between high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy and observations at other wavelengths, including optical, radio, and IR, and summarize the General Observer program, where funding is available for observers based at U.S. institutions.

The Zone of Avoidance is a region of the sky that's obscured by the disk of the Milky Way. The gas and dust block our view in visible telescopes, but other wavelengths like radio and infrared can pierce it to see what's on the other side. Astronomers used the MeerKAT radio telescope to survey beyond the Zone, observing hundreds of galaxies, of which only 29% were already known. This is helping to map the Great Attractor galaxy cluster on the far side of the Milky Way.

The post Astronomers Defy the Zone of Avoidance to Find Hundreds of New Galaxies appeared first on Universe Today.

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has dispelled rumours about her health while aboard the International Space Station, confirming that her weight remains unchanged despite media speculations. In a recent interview, Williams explained her routine workout regimen on the ISS to maintain muscle and bone health, countering microgravity effects and refuting any signs of health decline. NASA also confirmed that all astronauts on the mission remain in good health, including Williams and crew member Butch Wilmore.

A recent photo of Williams aboard the ISS sparked rumors about her health, restoring the media's habit of prying into the appearance of women astronauts.

1. Horoscope 14th November, 2024: Check astrological prediction for Virgo, Sagittarius and other signs  The Indian Express
2. Horoscope Today: November 14, 2024  VOGUE India
3. Love and Relationship Horoscope for November 14, 2024  Hindustan Times
4. Horoscope Today, November 14, 2024: Read your today's astrological predictions  The Times of India
5. Aries Daily Horoscope Today (Mar 21 – April 19), November 14, 2024: Relationships will be comfortable!  India Today

Lau, G E; Trivedi, C B; Grasby, S E; Spear, J R; Cosmidis, J; Templeton, A S. Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 2022 p. 1-21, https://doi.org/10.3389/fspas.2022.825019
<a href="https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/images/geoscan/20220029.jpg"><img src="https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/images/geoscan/20220029.jpg" title="Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 2022 p. 1-21, https://doi.org/10.3389/fspas.2022.825019" height="150" border="1" /></a>

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You may be on the verge of the breakthrough I prophesied a while back. Remember? I said you would be searching for the solution to a boring problem, and on the way you would discover a more interesting and useful problem. That exact scenario is about to happen. I also predict […]

Continental bowling league action at the Warwick Lanes saw the Cubs defeat New Hope 24 – 3, the game between the Odd Balls and Spicenix end in a 13.5 – 13.5 draw, while the Under Dawgs defeated The Invaders 19 – 8 and the Astronauts defeated the Sunset 18 – 9. High Scratch Games Women […]

Week 7 of the continental bowling league season took place at the Warwick Lanes, fifth place Astronauts defeated third placed Spicenix 19 – 8, seventh place New Hope defeated ninth placed The Invaders 23 – 4. The Nifty Rollers who hold the second place spot defeated sixth placed OddBalls 20 – 7, and the league […]

Week nine of the continental bowling league 2024/25 season witnessed a full slate of matches at Warwick Lanes, with several key clashes impacting the league standings. League leaders Under Dawgs extended their advantage with a decisive 21-6 victory over the second-placed Nifty Rollers. In other notable results, the fourth-placed Astronauts delivered a commanding performance against […]

1. Astronomers Find Red Monster Galaxies In Early Universe  Mirage News
2. We Finally Know What Switched on The Lights at The Dawn of Time  ScienceAlert
3. New research challenges dark matter theory in galaxy formation  Phys.org

I understand the "excessive and pathological dependence on the clergy," but I'm not willing to classify all preaching within that condemnation. (This is the same old stuff - human abuse is cited as the reason to cast out something legitimate when used properly.) When we tell people what the Word of God says and challenge the right response, there is no excess or pathology in that! Let's expose and condemn the real problem, without throwing out the legitimate. -- And I'm wondering about something. Frank Viola has written a book. What is it that lifts his book out of the condemned category? What if someone read his book to a group of people (he does affirm his book to be needed truth)? Would the reading of his book stifle spiritual health and create a pathological dependence on his writings or books in general? Nonsense. -- Don't overlook, Viola is a high school teacher. When he speaks to a class in a building with attention focused on him, does he consider that to be an exercise that is passive, tradition bound and pagan? Likewise, he "speaks at church-life conferences!" Apparently the kind of speaking he does he values in some way. Yet he reacts with outrage when someone stands before an audience and directs their attention to the text of Scripture in an orderly form without interruption. This is the excess and decoration of a militant reformer, who is in bondage to his system while attacking another. It is gimmickry and passion born in the contention of a reformers narrow mentality, not based on the content of Scripture. -- Behind the charm and sophistry of these reformers there is an arrogant spirit. Mr. Viola wants us to know that "the NT is not a manual for church practice." Yet, he wants us to be led by "the light that is within you!" When all of that has been said, the footnote on the last page of the book is truly the bottom line. He says in this small print entry: "If you plan to leave the institutional church, I strongly recommend that you read the next volume in this series: So You Want To Start A House Church? First-Century Styled Church Planting For Today. It will give you the next step." -- Unbelievable! He steers us away from the New Testament, then recommends his next book as our next step. Now here is my recommendation. Don't let any man dictate "the next step." Not Viola, Berkley or any man. Open the Bible. Read what it says, and let God direct your steps (Psa. 37:23; 119:133). --- Good Recently Published Resources To Study The House Church Movement: "The House Church Movement," Harry Osborne; in The Renewing Of Your Mind, 2004 Truth Magazine Lectures, GOT Foundation, 2004. "The House Church Movement," Jim Deason; True Worship, 2205 FC Lectures. By Warren E. Berkley The Front Page From Expository Files 13.1 January 2006.

Camm Solutions (www.camm.org) has developed a globally scalable alternative to plastic and plastic packaging that is fully compostable, biodegradable and recyclable. The patented CAMM material contains zero microplastics, toxins, or eternal chemicals. CAMM has the potential to halve plastic waste globally. UN Organisation UNIDO defined it as global solution for microplastics.

El emblemático convento de la Inmaculada Concepción de Ciudad Real, conocido como el convento de las Terreras, se prepara para una transformación significativa que lo convertirá en un centro de interpretación dedicado a la gastronomía manchega. Esta ambiciosa iniciativa, que busca revitalizar el patrimonio cultural de la ciudad, cuenta con una inversión de 1,5 millones […]

Artículo publicado en : Transformación Gastronómica: Antiguo Convento de Las Terreras en Ciudad Real Recibe 1,5 Millones en Inversión

Autor: Redakcija 031 Naslov: Gastro pub Bulart 1887: Vinarija Matošević i Michelin star chef Goran Kočiš
Postano: 13.11.2024. 10:41 (GMT 1) Još jedna senzacionalna Ljekarna u Tvrđi je pred nama. U četvrtak, 21. studenog 2024. u Gastro pub Bulart 1887 s početkom u 19:00 sati stižu Vinarija Matošević i Michelin star chef Goran Kočiš.

Da smo mogli birati idealno vrijeme za dolazak velikog Ivice Matoševića u Ljekarnu u Tvrđi, ne znam postoji li bolji termin od ovoga sada. Jer, nakon skoro 30 odrađenih berbi, Ivica Matošević posljednjih mjeseci ne prestaje nizati panegirike koje mu upućuju najveći svjetski vinski mediji. Vrhunac karijere ovog intelektualca među vinarima, spiritus movensa cijele istarske vinske scene!

Ugledni Wine Enthusiast je prije nekoliko dana čak četiri Matoševićeva vina honorirao s vrlo visoka 94 boda (Superb - A great achievement ), dok je, uvjetno rečeno, „najlošije“ prošla njegova bazna malvazija – 92 boda (Excellent - Highly recommended ). Časopis Decanter ga je prije mjesec dana za malvaziju iz akacije pohvalio sa 93 boda, Saša Špiranec je dvije Grimalde, koje ćemo kušati u Ljekarni u Tvrđi, nagradio sa 95, odnosno 94 boda, dok Ivo Kozarčanin, „Bakhov sin“, za njegova vina tvrdi da su – „čisti eros“.

Povod gostovanju Ivice Matoševića u Ljekarni u Tvrđi je predstavljanje posebne serije najboljih vina iz njegova podruma koju je nazvao Živjelo prijateljstvo, a koju je, kao pravi kolekcionarski biser, posvetio svom, nažalost preminulom, velikom prijatelju Vladi Divljanu. U prodaju je pušteno samo 100 sanduka s vinima iz linije Grimalda i Alba Antiqua, a umjetničke etikete, s podsjećanjem na šest pjesama Vlade Divljana – Radostan dan, Nebeska tema, Vodim te na more, Odnesi me, Ona to zna i Imala je snažnije ruke nego ja, osmislile su umjetnice iz Zagreba, Splita i Beograda - Maja Bosnar, Jana Oršolić, Svetlana Volić, Maja Rožman, Katarina Juričić i Ivana Grimani.

Broj gostiju smo ograničili na 40, tako da će prednost za sudjelovanjem na ovoj uistinu ekskluzivnoj Ljekarni u Tvrđi imati oni koji se prvi jave i spremni su za to izdvojiti 60 eura.

Svoje mjesto rezervirajte putem e-mail: zeljko.garmaz@gmail.com ili pozivom na broj 0916400527.

Le Premier ministre chinois Li Qiang a mis l'accent sur l'am�lioration de la capacit� globale de production agricole, ainsi que sur la pr�vention et la r�duction des catastrophes, afin de poser des bases solides pour assurer la s�curit� alimentaire....

Life on other planets would likely be brief and become extinct very quickly, according to a new paper by Australian astrobiologists. In research aiming to understand how life might develop, the scientists realised new life would commonly die out due to runaway heating or cooling on their fledgling planets...

En lice pour faire partie des prétendants au GOTY 2024, Astro Bot est un jeu qui laissait planer le doute quant à son succès commercial....

AstroBingo - Free Internet Bingo Credit

[HRW] Suspend Discriminatory and Stigmatizing Criminal Offense

After a transition to his new parish assignment, Father John returns to the podcast with a discussion of the atmosphere of catastrophe that hung over the old Christendom of the east as the Muslim Turks advanced on Byzantium, while a defender of traditional Christianity, Saint Mark of Ephesus, prepared to depart for the unionist Council of Florence in the west.

Fr. John introduces the force that kept traditional Christianity on course at a moment of crisis in the east, Hesychasm, and how it maintained Christendom's focus on paradise.

In this episode, Fr. John describes why Saint Gregory's defense of hesychasm against the westernized Barlaam represented a defense not only of Orthodoxy, but of Christendom itself.

In this episode, Fr. John draws upon several scholarly works to show how hesychasm protected eastern Christendom from the forces that had begun to lead the new Christendom of the west away from traditional Christianity.

Fr. John gives an account of the atmosphere in Italy in which Orthodox and Roman Catholic delegates met to discuss the possibility of union in the middle of the fifteenth century. Only one of the Orthodox would refuse to sign the resulting Treaty of Union, Saint Mark of Ephesus.

In this final episode of Reflection 17, Fr. John relates the final catastrophe to befall eastern Christendom during the period, the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453.

How do Toulouse adapt methods and practices of space training to the sports field

Three NASA astronauts whose prolonged space station mission ended with a trip to the hospital last month declined to say Friday which one of them was sick.

Three NASA astronauts whose prolonged space station mission ended with a trip to the hospital last month declined to say Friday which one of them was sick.

By the time they return, Needham native Suni Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore will have logged more than eight months in space.

The post SpaceX launches rescue mission for 2 NASA astronauts who are stuck in space until next year appeared first on Boston.com.

An Illinois state law ensures that individuals are in control of their own biometric data and prohibits private companies from collecting it unless they meet certain consent criteria.

Columbus, OH — Moisture and mold go together – even in space – so it’s important to control dust and humidity in space stations to protect astronauts, researchers say.

Washington — House Democrats have introduced legislation that would make changes to “how, when and where” hazardous materials are transported by railroads.

Tagatose, a monosaccharide that has gained popularity for its ability to meet calorie-reduction targets without compromising taste, texture or function, attained the NutraStrong™ Prebiotic Verified certification.

See her Tuesday in Portland at Jack London Revue. by Dave Segal

Recording for Flying Lotus's Brainfeeder label, Salami Rose Joe Louis (Lindsay Olsen) has blazed a distinctive trail in that fertile sector of California's underground where electronic music and jazz converge. On early releases by this multi-instrumentalist and producer—such as 2019's Zdenka 2080—Olsen sings in a hushed, dulcet manner over sparse, melodious electronic music that wears its jazz inflections gracefully. Faint echoes of '90s and '00s introspective, minimalist IDM (intelligent dance music, if you don't know) acts such as Múm insinuate themselves, too. It's ultimately dream pop, but not in the cloying way manifested by the genre's try-hards.

With 2023's Akousmatikous and this year's collab with Flanafi, Sarah, SRJL's rhythms get jazzier and the instrumentation fuller, with help from Soccer96 and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, among others. The songs are more kinetic while the vocals retain their breathy, Julee Cruise-like sweetness. The music's levitational feel and smooth propulsion belie lyrics about catastrophic ecological degradation and the dangers of propaganda/disinformation. Enchanting listeners through understatement and mutedly sparkling tones, Olsen offers the most pleasant dystopian sci-fi soundtracks extant. At Jack London Revue she'll be joined by guitarist Flanafi, bassist Tone Whitfield, and drummer Luke Titus—most of whom played on the exceptional new Salami Live at 2131 North Kacey Street EP.

<a href="https://salamirosejoelouismusic.bandcamp.com/album/salami-live-at-2131-north-kacey-street">Salami Live at 2131 North Kacey Street by Salami Rose Joe Louis featuring Flanafi, Tone Whitfield, Nazir Ebo</a>

Soul'd Out Presents Salami Rose Joe Louis at Jack London Revue, 529 SW 4th, Tues Nov 13, 8 pm, tables for 4-6 persons available from $140-$210, tickets here, 21+ w/ Omari Jazz

Thirty years ago, on December 8, 1991, the Belovezha Accords, signed in Belarus, led to the collapse of the USSR. Yuri Voronin, Chairman of the Commission of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR on Budget, Plans, Taxes and Prices, First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation (in 1991) recalls the events of 30 years ago. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the collapse of the USSR was the biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. After the collapse of the USSR, as many as 25 million Russian people found themselves abroad overnight.

American University's School of Communication (SOC) announced today that seasoned student journalist Gabe Castro-Root was selected to join an expedition to Antarctica where he will be reporting on the expedition.

Jinjin of Astro has dropped a single in remembrance of bandmate Moonbin who passed away one year ago.The digital single “Fly”, which features Moonbin’s voice, was co-written by the two members of...

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Discover if Cancer and Pisces compatibility creates a strong, harmonious bond. Dive into emotional insights and learn what makes these water signs connect so deeply.

Discover how the 7th House in astrology shapes love, partnerships, and marriage dynamics, revealing deep insights into relationship compatibility and commitment.

Trailblazing seismologist named new editor-in-chief of GJI  The Royal Astronomical Society

Washington DC among US cities most vulnerable to space weather, scientists say  The Royal Astronomical Society

The Solar System is full of its own tricks and treats, so discover some of our favorites below.