The National Museum of Bermuda [NMB] is celebrating 50 years as a museum this year, and as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations, they have launched a new community crowd-sourced project, “Museum Memories”. A spokesperson said, “Through the project, the Museum aims to collect and share community memories of the historic Keep Fort through the […]

[Written by Stephen Wright] Scott Barnes will make his debut in the opening round of the Stars Championship Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway and is eyeing a podium finish. The Bermudian, who competes in the Shifter Masters class, expects to be in a stacked field of 25 to 35 drivers, including the defending champion, Joe […]

Scott Barnes took the track for the Stars Championship Series event at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Barnes won the pro masters / rok masters final race clocking a 24-lap winning time of 16:47:347. Barnes posted on social media, “That’s a wrap for our Stars Debut, almost a clean sweep. Heat 1 – 1st, Heat 2 […]

[Written by Stephen Wright] Bermudian karter Scott Barnes made a sensational start to the opening round of the Stars Championship at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, at the weekend. Barnes, competing in the Shifter Masters class for Maranello Kart USA, almost completed a clean sweep of victories, winning heat one, the pre-final […]

[Written by Stephen Wright] Karting driver Scott Barnes will aim to build on his impressive display in the Stars Championship Series opening round when he races in round two, the King of the Castle, in New Castle, Indiana, this weekend. Barnes made a flying start to the series at Queen City Gambit, held at the […]

[Written by Stephen Wright] Karting driver Scott Barnes endured a weekend blighted by bad luck during the second round of the Stars Championship Series, the King of the Castle, in New Castle, Indiana. Barnes, who made a flying start to the series at Queen City Gambit at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina last […]

Bermudian karter Scott Barnes returned to the track for the final round of the Stars Championship Series in North Carolina. Barnes secured a third-place finish in the ROK Shifter Masters warm-up race with a time of 5:52.430. He then claimed victory in the pre-final race, completing 14 laps in 14:29.856. In the ROK Shifter Masters […]

The Bermuda Opera team is presenting the Met: Live in HD & Encore series in Bermuda on film on Sundays at BUEI at 5.00pm, with the next installment to take place on Sunday [Feb 25]. A spokesperson said, “The Bermuda Opera Team is proud to present the Met: Live in HD & Encore series in […]

Genesis Lynea has been cast in the latest series of the global hit television series Dr Who. The 34-year-old, who has had starring roles in Death in Paradise, Casualty, Shadow and Bone, and Silent Witness, will join the upcoming series of the BBC sci-fi show. In the latest issue of Doctor Who magazine, showrunner Russell […]

[Written by Patrick Bean] Louis Gossett Jr., who became the first Black, male actor to win both an Oscar Award and an Emmy Award died at the age of 87. The New York-born Gossett captured an Emmy in 1978 for his role in the ground-breaking TV mini-series Roots, which was based around late author Alex Haley’s […]

The Bermuda Opera team is presenting the Met: Live in HD & Encore series in Bermuda on film on Sundays at BUEI at 5.00pm, with the next showing to take place on November 3. A spokesperson said, “The new season of Met Opera on film starts in November 2024 at BUEI. “The Bermuda Opera Team […]

Following a video circulating showing a person hanging on to a turtle, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources [DENR] reminded the public that marine turtles are afforded protection under the Protected Species Act 2003. A Government spokesperson said, “The Department of Environment and Natural Resources [DENR] wishes to remind the public that marine turtles […]

The Sargasso Sea Commission and Inter-American Sea Turtle Convention signed an MOU aimed at “more effective conservation of sea turtle species and the habitats that they utilize.” A spokesperson said, “During the Inter-American Sea Turtle Convention [IAC] 16th Consultative Committee of Experts Meeting, Dr. David Freestone, Executive Secretary of the Sargasso Sea Commission, and Verónica […]

Minister of Economy and Labour Jason Hayward addressed members of Sandys Rotary Club and “shared information on Bermuda’s job market in 2024 and the Government’s strategies to strengthen the workforce.” A spokesperson said, “Minister Hayward spoke about the following: Challenges of an Aging Population: Bermuda’s shrinking working-age population presents challenges, including labour shortages, pressure on […]

The government is expected to announce that a $100 monthly personal allowance to cover the cost of personal care items will be added for people on financial assistance and the Ministry of Transport will reduce the number of vehicle inspections required in the first five years for a new vehicle. In advance of tomorrow’s reading […]

A town in the Austrian Alps might not seem like the most conducive place to come up with daring space missions. But, for the last 40 years, students and professors have been gathering to do just that in Alpbach, just north of the Lichtenstein/Austrian border. One outcome of the Alpbach Summer School this year was …

Continue reading "A Mission to Triton and Neptune Would Unlock Their Mysteries"

The post A Mission to Triton and Neptune Would Unlock Their Mysteries appeared first on Universe Today.

In This Episode Erin and Weer’d discuss: bodycam video of the Georgia shooter and his father being interviewed last year, and it might surprise you; a defensive shooting at a pro-Israel demonstration in Newton, MA where the defender was arrested … Continue reading →

Bermudian fashion expert and costume designer Shiona Turini has worked on ‘Lady in the Lake,’ a drama-thriller miniseries that recently premiered on Apple TV+. The Wrap reports, “‘Our brilliant costume designer, Shiona Turini, was just coming off her Beyoncé ‘Renaissance’ tour. She helped us create these costumes and the coloring that we were going for, […]

Clarien Bank Limited has signed an agreement to acquire Omnium Trust Company Limited [Omnium Trust] and Omnium Corporate Services Limited [Omnium Corporate Services], a boutique practice offering quality trust and corporate administration services. A spokesperson said, “The terms of the acquisition, which strengthens Clarien’s aspiration to be Best Wealth Manager in Bermuda, are private and […]

Arch U.S. MI Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arch Capital Group Ltd., has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire RMIC Companies, Inc. [RMIC] and its subsidiaries that together comprise the run-off mortgage insurance business of Old Republic International Corporation. A spokesperson said, “Once the transaction is closed, RMIC’s $1 billion risk in force […]

The series is set in a leafy Maryland suburb just outside of Washington, D.C., and in one the most affluent African American counties in the United States.

  With just a few simple ingredients and a little bit of time, you can make these delicious Snickerdoodle Cookies to share with your family and friends for Christmas, other seasonal holidays, or anytime for that matter. Snickerdoodle Cookies have the delicious flavor of cinnamon, sweet sugar taste, and the velvety butter mouth feel.  If …

With Valentines Day just around the corner … ones mind begins filling with thoughts of love, chocolate and chocolate lovers. If your someone special loves chocolate, think about making a batch of Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownies to share with them on St. Valentines Day. Ghirardelli Brownies are delicious when served with a scoop of ice …

Peppermint Patty Lucky Clover Cookies Hello folks, with these Luck o’ the Irish cookies you can make a Grand St. Patrick’s Day surprise for the whole family. They have a wonderful minty flavor from the Peppermint Extract so they are ‘Peppermint Patty’ Cookies. Get it? They are made without baking soda so they are like …

Upcoming Companies No applications have been received since the last update. Finished Companies No finished forms have been received since the last update. Moved Companies No moved forms have been received since the last update. Closed Companies (Open for application) Chevys Fresh Mex; Dollar Tree; Outback Steakhouse; Wal-Mart Troubled Companies (Not open for application) The […]

Troubled Hobbies and Recreation (Not open for application) The following fanlistings are scheduled for removal on November 14, 2024. If your fanlisting is listed below, please fix the problem/send in a finished form and reply to the troubles email! Pending Removal: Blogging; Calligraphy: Brush; Camping; Driving; Journaling: Bullet; Watching Television

Animalities have returned to Mortal Kombat. Players of the infamous fighting game series can finish a defeated opponent off by transforming into an animal and brutally mauling them death for the first time since 1995's Mortal Kombat 3 with the "Khaos Reigns" update to Mortal Kombat 1.

So, what follows is a list of every Mortal Kombatant's fursonas, basically, from Mortal Kombat 1. Two warnings: In explaining different characters roles, there may be spoilers for the games, and also, extreme, over the top violence and gore is the point of Animalities.

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The real threat is collusion. When journalists strike secret alliances with the very people they're supposed to be holding accountable, we are in deep trouble. Lies go unchallenged.  Democracy cannot function. And that's what we're watching right now. Continue reading →

Google, Facebook and Twitter should be treated as state actors under existing legal doctrines. Using a combination of statutory inducements and regulatory threats, Congress has co-opted Silicon Valley to do through the back door what government cannot directly accomplish under the Constitution. Congress is giving Big Tech immunity and more power in exchange for it censoring whatever Congress wants censored. Continue reading →

The government is instructing social media companies what should and shouldn't be allowed to be on the internet, these are the people least competent to judge what is misinformation. Continue reading →

FBI CIA NSA are not only spying on American citizens but also are illegally unmasking their identities to journalists who support our fascist government Continue reading →

The Facts You Need To Know About Supplements that have proprietary blends.

Nearly 75% of the world population takes some type of supplement each day. There are literally thousands of brands and millions of products to choose from. Is there really a difference between them?

The FDA allows questionable fillers and binders such as; cork by products, chemical FD&C dyes, sodium benzoate, dextrose, ethycellulose, and propylene glycol to name only a few. Although these ingredients may be legal, what are the nutritional benefits? Reports have indicate that some of these ingredients can be toxic at certain levels with prolong use.
The FDA does not monitor the contents or purity of a supplement nor the source of a nutritional ingredient.

Purity: What does it really mean? ---Defined: The quality or state of being pure or unmixed with any other element.

In most cases, Impure ingredients are used by many companies. The FDA does not require manufacturers to list these ingredients (on the nutritional labels) if they are not added when making the final dosage form. Many times the raw materials may contain only 90% or less of the listed ingredients along with 10% or more corn starch and lactose. Lactose and corn are known allergens for some people. These items have been known to cause digestive disturbances and weaken the immune system. A conscientious company will not compromise the integrity of a product with such raw materials.  There are 3 types of grades but, we are going to talk about 1 here for the purpose of this article.

1.  Pharmaceutical Grade supplements meet exacting pharmaceutical production standards.
Pharmaceutical Grade supplements are manufactured to a very high standards of potency, purity, dissolution, and a higher degree of bioavailability – the degree at which the vitamin is absorbed into a living system.The term pharmaceutical grade was originally taken from the standard of certification of the facilities in which pharmaceutical grade supplements were made.  Pharmaceutical grade also refers to the ingredients in the supplement. Pharmaceutical grade vitamins meet the highest standards for purity and concentration.

Finally, pharmaceutical grade supplements have a high bioavailability. This means that when you take a pharmaceutical grade products, your body absorbs an optimal amount of nutrients. Better nutrient absorption means greater health benefits.

If you want to know what supplements to buy, look for the "GMP" or "CPMG" stamps on the container.  These two stamps indicate that they were manufactured in a pharmaceutical company.  Be careful with products that have proprietary blends.  Proprietary blends have ingredients that are not listed on the container so you really don't know what you are consuming.

choose-health.org 
pharmanutrients.com 2009
healingedge.net 2012

What are the Hopi prophecies, and how are they linked to the year 2012?

I'm so glad you asked!  Of all the 2012 predictions, these are the most important and exciting, because they not only foretell the 2012 Transition, they tell us what we can do about it.

This article reveals the signs of the end of the World Age, according to the Hopi prophecies... and what that means, in their point of view.

The Hopi nation, on the Arizona lands, has highly spiritual values. Hopi means peace; their name for themselves is the Peaceful People. The rituals they do are for the benefit not just of themselves but of the whole world. The clans are matrilineal, and with a balance of power between females and males. Life is religion, in Hopi culture.

The Hopi have carried an oral tradition for centuries. The Hopi prophecies come from that tradition, and they tell of the signs that will presage the end of the World Age (ie, Fourth World) and our entry into the Fifth World.

Note: I'd like to be clear that the Hopi's, as far as I know, didn't give a date for the end of the Fourth World. That's the point of all the prophecies: they will give us warning.

But since all of these prophecies have already come true, and since other sources give us a calendar date for the end of a world age, it seems clear that the Hopi prophecies are talking about the 2012 Transition.

Prophecy of the Theft of the Land: There will come a nation of white-skinned men, like Pahana, but not living like Pahana -- men who took the land that was not theirs.

(European conquest of the Americas.)

Prophecy of Thunder Strikers: These white-skinned men will strike and kill their enemies with thunder.

(Firearms.)

Prophecy of Wheels : Our lands will see the coming of spinning wheels filled with voices.

(Wagons moving west.)

Prophecy of Horned Creatures: A strange beast like a buffalo but with great long horns, will overrun the land in large numbers.

(Longhorn cattle.)

Prophecy of Iron Snakes: The land will be crossed by snakes of iron.

(Railroads.)

Prophecy of the Skies: The skies shall be criss-crossed by a giant spider's web, and the white man will put metal wires in the skies.

(Chemical trails deposited by military aircraft, and power and telephone lines.)

Prophecy of Rivers of Stone: The land shall be criss-crossed with rivers of stone that make pictures in the sun.

(Paved roads -- heat mirages.)

Prophecy of Black Seas: The sea will turn black, killing many living creatures.

(Oil spills.)

Prophecy of Seekers: Many youth, wearing their hair long, join the tribal nations to learn their ways and ancient wisdom.

(Hippies and generations of spiritual seekers.)

Prophecy of the House in the Sky: A dwelling-place will be built in the heavens, above the earth, that shall fall with a great crash. It will appear as a blue star.

(Skylab, which according to witnesses seemed to be burning blue as it fell.)

Prophecy of Ashes: The white man will create a Gourd of Ashes that will lay waste to the land and keep it infertile for generations.

(Atomic bombs and radiation.)

Prophecy of Moon Theft: The white man will steal rocks from the moon. Then the balance of universal laws and natural forces will be disrupted, causing earthquakes, severe changes in the weather patterns, and social upheaval. This is a danger sign, that we are in the final days before the purification.

(The Apollo moon landings. As a Wiccan and Pagan, I can only feel this theft from the Temple of the Goddess to be a terrible desecration, but infinitely worse is the massive bomb the USA exploded on the Moon!)

The Hopi prophecies are clear and explicit signs that the end of the Fourth World Age is coming.

They don't see this as a bad thing, even though they foresaw that they would lose their lands, their ways, and many of their people. They also foresaw that it was temporary, and the wheel of life would turn again to their ways.

Although -- according to the Hopi prophecies -- the imminent Fifth World Age will be preceded by an intense cleansing (expressed in some forms as massive and frequent natural disasters), still there is a positive future ahead.

What is even more important than these oracular signs, in my opinion, are the Hopi prophecies that explain how to survive this transition, minimise the harm, and create the best possible future.

That is the subject of the first article on The Hopi Prophecies.

The Hopi are not, by any means, the only aboriginal nation to have prophecied the dark times, and the end of them.

Other nations around the world and throughout history have similar predictions.

Continue to the article on Indian Vedic2012 Predictions to find out more.

With Bright Blessings,

Do you have all of your SUPPLIES?

In most Pagan traditions it is very important to purify or cleanse a space prior to beginning any sort of ritual. Although there are a different ways of doing this, how you do it will depend on the tradition you follow as well as what you feel comfortable with.

Usually, when ritually purifying an area, most do it deosil and spiraling inwards to the center. There are times when moving in a widdershins direction is appropriate, most notably for Banishing Ritual.


These methods are some examples of common ways to cleanse a space for ritual.

Smudging

Smudging uses smoke, which will carry negative energy away from the area. Traditionally White Sage is used, however, other dried herbs can be added, such as Cilantro, Cedar, Lavender and Mugwort. The herbs are bound with string into a bundle, which is commonly referred to as a “stick”.

When lighting the bundle, try to make it flame for a moment if possible, then blow the flame out. This will leave you with a smoldering, smoking herb bundle. Once you have achieved the smoldering bundle stage it is time to smudge the house.

Now you don’t take the bundle and rub it on the walls and other things in the room, which would make a mess and probably ruin a few things and maybe even start a nice fire. What you do is this. Hold the smoldering bundle in one hand or in a heatproof object, like a shell. With either a fan or your free hand you waft the smoke to the edges of the room, making sure to get it into the corners.

When you have finished smudging you can either snuff out the smoldering end of the bundle by setting it into some sand or by crushing the end. An alternative method is to douse it under a bit of water, making sure to let it dry completely before attempting to use it again.

Sweeping
By long tradition, the broom is associated with cleaning and purification. The broom can be either a special one used solely for ritual cleansing or even your household broom. Use a broom or besom going around the edges of the space, with your intent being to sweep negativity away as you go. Here's a good idea. Start and finish near a door--that way, negative energy is swept outside, rather quite literally.

Asperging
Asperging is the sprinkling with a liquid in order to effect spiritual and magical cleansing. Most people will associate Asperging with the Catholic Church, however the practice is also widely used by pagans for cleansing prior to rituals.

It can be accomplished in many ways. The simplest of these is to have a premixed liquid of your choice and bundle of fresh herbs that you can dip into the water. Then you take the herbs, dip them in the liquid and with a quick flick you throw the liquid off the herb and into area or onto the object to be cleansed. You don’t want or need to have a lot of liquid being thrown though. Just small droplets are perfect. Herbs that are prefect to use are Sage, Lavender, Vervain, Hyssop, Pine, Rue and Rosemary.

Another option that can be used quite effectively to cleanse a space is the use of incense. This can be either in cone form, stick, or powder and charcoal. The incense should be for working with cleaning, purification and even protection if you want to add that bit into the cleansing.

During your cleansing and purification of your space you can also include a little chant to augment the process. There are many to be found on the Internet as well as in books. You might even have one in mind already, in that case write it down so you will remember it for the next time you want to cleanse a room.

In addition to the above, I also ensure that the space is physically cleaned as well. I try to use a non-toxic homemade cleanser to do this. How you physically clean is of course up to you.

I would be remiss if I didn’t do a shameless plug for our online store where we carry many items that are perfect for what I have just talked about. Stop by Grove of the Ancients Pagan Marketplace today and order cleansing supplies.

Blessed Be!

View the original article here

Please visit In Memoriam: Janet Reid for more about the late great Shark. 

I really love the card game Lost Cities, designed by Reiner Knizia. When my husband Christopher and I were first getting to know each other, we used to meet up at Starbucks sometimes and play games. Lost Cities was one of our frequent picks. It’s a head to head, two player game in which both players are trying to outscore each other by laying down ascending runs of card suits on a small board between the two of them. There’s a theme laid over the mechanism (completing expeditions in the lost world) but it’s basically pasted on and so that is the last we will speak of it. So there we were, newly in love, eyeing each other across the table, smiling and flirting, and doing our best to beat one another at Lost Cities. It was awesome. And now, with the roll & write genre having made an impressive rebound a few years ago (let’s not forget the mechanism has actually been around since the 50s with Yatzee), Knizia has ported his award winning game Lost Cities  into this format, releasing Lost Cities Roll & Write  in 2021. 

You can play the new Lost Cities  with up to 5 players, but in an ode to our romantic beginnings, Christopher and I played it exclusively with one another in successive matches.  The components are compact, lacking the pretty illustrations of the original game, and few in number – the rule book, a scorepad, three pentagonal trapezohedron dice (that’s 10 sided dice for the uninitiated), and three 6 sided custom dice with color suit symbols. Oh, and some pencils. That’s it. We could have played on an even smaller Starbucks table if we had this back in our dating days.

The cards from the original game (wager cards and numbered cards 2 to 10, in five different suits) have been translated into dice roll results. On each turn, one player rolls all the dice and chooses one of the six sided dice to represent the suit and one of the ten sided dice to represent the number. A zero on the number die can represent either zero (mimicking the wager card from the original game which serves as a multiplier for the total score in the selected suit) or ten (mimicking the highest card in each suit).

In place of the tableau built up on a central board, each player tracks the progress of wager and number cards they’ve collected for each suit in color coded columns on their individual score sheet. Wager cards have been transformed into little circular boxes to be marked off from a suit column when rolled, while the numbered cards from the original game have expanded to include the number 1 and are recorded as numbers written manually in the square boxes running up each column. Whereas in the original game, only cards higher than the last card played in a suit were permitted to be played on subsequent turns by the same player, in Lost Cities Roll & Write, numbers that are higher than or equal to the last number recorded for a suit may be written into the column after future dice rolls. Expanding beyond the concepts from the original game, Knizia has included artifact icons on select spaces in each column and when those spaces are filled by a player, they may fill in one of the jars in the artifact column. Likewise, he’s included arrow icons on select spaces and when those spaces are filled by a player, they may fill in the next box in one of their suit columns with the number from the previous box in the column – note that it does not have to be the same column in which the arrow was filled.  There’s also a column for filling in dice shapes to represent rolls where a player could not or did not want to use any of the dice results. The latter column is particularly tricky to manage effectively, as it provides a similar point progression as the rest of the columns (negative scores for the first 3 boxes filled and then positive score for the rest) up until the last box in the column. If you color in that box, your score for the dice shapes column drops from 70 to 0. The bonus points awarded in the original game (20 points for laying down at least 8 cards in a suit) have been implemented in Lost Cities Roll & Write  for each column (including the artifact and dice shape columns) as a 20 point bonus to the player who is the first to fill in 7 boxes in the column on the scorepad. The roll & write game ends when either both players have filled in the dice shapes column completely or all eight columns have passed the bonus point marker. In our experience, the completed dice shapes column is a much more common trigger.

I’ve played a ton of roll & write games over the past few years. Some are instant objects of adoration, while others are infuriating piles of poo (I’m looking at you Imperial Settlers R&W). Lost Cities Roll & Write is fantastic; a great addition to the genre. Knizia did an excellent job of translating the feel of the original game into the new mechanism. The iconography is clean and easy to read and the game can be taught and played in less than a half hour. And of course, it takes up very little table real estate, making it perfect for travel or tight spaces (when traveling as a passenger, simply roll the dice into the box cover). If you twisted my arm and forced me to choose between Lost Cities or Lost Cities Roll & Write, I’d be forced to pick the original, but only because of the lovely artwork on the cards and the sentimental value I have attached to the game after my love and I played it in our early days. But who would go around doing such arm twisting? Nobody. Therefore, with a retail price point under $15 for each of these, unless you’re down to your last $15, I recommend you pick up both. Play the card game with someone you love when you have a little more table space. Play the roll & write anywhere, with up to four additional friends. 

-------------------------------------------------

Publisher: Kosmos
Players: 2-5 (We played with 2)
Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): about 20 minutes per game
Game type: roll & write, dice rolling

Rating:

Rating scale:
OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.
OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.
OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.
NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.

Shiva Baby [US, Emma Seligman, 4] The ambient social pressures of a post-funeral gathering skyrocket for a directionless college student (Rachel Sennott) when attendees include not only the expected ex-girlfriend (Molly Gordon) but also the sex work client she’s caught feelings for. Knife-edge comedy of emotional suffocation uses a plucky suspense score for that extra frisson of social anxiety.

If you've been missing family events during the pandemic, this film is the cure for that. Polly Draper and Fred Melamed appear as the loving but insufferably intrusive parents.

Night of the Kings [Côte d'Ivoire/France , Philippe Lacôte, 4] When the red moon rises over MACA, the Ivory Coast’s toughest prison, its inmate boss appoints the new arrival as storyteller—a post that results in death if the tale ends before sundown. Prison drama with compelling narrative hook widens out to encompass ancient warfare, contemporary politics, and even a wizard duel.

Spring Blossom [France, Suzanne Lindon, 4] Bored with her classmates, an awkward 16 year old (played by the writer-director) pursues her attraction for a ruggedly handsome stage actor (Arnaud Valois.) Character drama sets aside the sexual aspect of this staple French cinema situation to focus on the emotion, periodically breaking from naturalism to have its characters express their feelings through dance.

This year’s Q&As are Zoom interviews between the programmers and filmmakers, which drop on YouTube when the films become available for online viewing. In the Q&A for this one we discover that the director wrote it when she was 15, a year younger than her character. She’s 20 now. Lindon is the daughter of well-known French actors Vincent Lindon and Sandrine Kiberlain.

Get the Hell Out [Taiwan, I-Fan Wang, 4] Taiwan’s notoriously pugilistic parliament tips into arterial spray when the effluent of a controversial chemical plant triggers a zombie epidemic. Zombie comedy features an eye-searing palette and an onslaught of optical overlays, and is paced like a quarter kilo of crushed Adderall. 

It’s quite an achievement to find the worst hue of every color on the visible spectrum. Fortunately the underlying message, that government officials would respond to a pandemic by idiotically making it worse, has no bearing on anything that comes to mind.

1. New program will see pregnant mothers and babies protected from life-threatening virus  SBS
2. World-leading approach to protect babies from RSV  Department of Health
3. Government-funded RSV vaccines to protect infants from severe disease  Australian Pharmacist
4. 'Very scary': Wagga mum's plea for parents to protect babies through RSV jab  The Daily Advertiser
5. Guild backs free RSV vaccinations  Australian Journal of Pharmacy

1. Streaks of fire are about to take over Australian skies during the Leonid meteor shower. Here’s how to see them  nbnnews.com.au
2. The Northern Taurid meteor shower could produce fireballs. Here’s how to watch  CNN
3. Northern Taurid meteor shower hits peak activity this week: When and where to watch  USA TODAY
4. Leonid Meteor Shower May Put on a Surprise Show This Week  ScienceAlert
5. Starwatch: Leonid meteor shower returns to skies in November  The Guardian

1. ASX falls as banks drop; MinRes sinks, James Hardie rallies  The Australian Financial Review
2. Wages growth slows, CBA logs flat first-quarter profit, ASX falls — as it happened  ABC News
3. Markets today: ASX slides as ‘Trump trade’ peters out on Wall Street; miners, banks fall  Sydney Morning Herald

That's all I've got, so far, for linguistic commentary on the U.S. election results. According to the OED, the etymology of ballot is < (i) Middle French ballotte (French †ballotte) small ball (beginning of the 15th cent. as †balote), small coloured ball placed in a container to register a secret vote (1498) or its etymon […]

I am afraid that my mind has slipped off matters legal today, since my new granddaughter Martina was born at 1am GMT  today, in Bogota, Colombia. Congratulations to parents Matthew and Tata.

Canadian skier Nick Zoricic dies from head injuries after crashing heavily in a World Cup skicross race in Switzerland.