Ron should have been dead. Desperate for help after a major accident, he discovered Amazing Facts on TV, a miracle you helped make happen, and found freedom in Christ. Learn how your gifts brought hope to Ron!

http://www.musicxray.com/xrays/2672470 Carolyn202 - A Little Country Attitude

Bob didn’t feel right about the ecstatic gibberish he was hearing in church. When he stumbled across the Amazing Facts website, the truths he heard changed his life. The devil uses counterfeits to deceive many who are looking for trustworthy answers to their Bible questions. However, God can use you and your gifts to uncover Satan’s deceptions and uphold essential truth. Thank you for being a beacon of light in this dark world!

From the Whole Earth Catalogue to Facebook drag queens: a short history of online counterculture.

In 1919, Canadian artist Mary Riter Hamilton embarked on a solo mission to paint the World War One battlefields of France and Belgium. A century later, documentary maker Alisa Siegel speaks to the artist's biographer, historians, and art historians to resuscitate Mary Riter Hamilton's art, life, and legacy.

The charismatic singer tackles Britain’s folk song tradition for St George’s Day.

I was an associate at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison from 1988 until 1991. These almost three years were impactful even though my time there was brief. To say that I learned a great deal is an understatement. My work at the firm took me to places like Gracie Mansion, and to Hollywood for several weeks to perform due diligence for a music publishing company. My time there was further evidence of my African American family’s dramatic upward mobility in just six generations. My maternal grandmother was the granddaughter of enslaved African Americans. She worked as a maid and cook before she went back to school. With a sixth-grade education, she passed the New York State licensing exam for cosmetology. She opened a successful hair salon, and she and my grandfather sent my mom to Hunter College. My mother retired decades ago from a successful career as a scientist and school administrator. And when I went to Paul Weiss, I was making more money than anyone in my immediate and extended family had ever made.

There were about 400 lawyers at the firm’s New York office during the years I was there. Only six of those lawyers (associates) were Black/African American. None of the approximately 80 partners were Black.  My time at Paul Weiss was brief because my plan was to become a law professor. But while I was at the firm, I was supported and mentored. That is why I was surprised to see a 2018 LinkedIn photo of the firm’s new partners in which almost all were white and male. None were Black.

Happily, much has changed in the years since I was associated with the firm, and even in the almost three years after the LinkedIn photo. I attended the firm’s webinar (The Biden Administration:  What’s Next for Businesses) on March 3^rd, 2021. Two of the firm’s (Black) litigation partners were on the panel– Loretta Lynch, former U.S. Attorney, and Jeh Johnson, Former Secretary of Homeland Security. After the webinar I went to the firm’s website that reported the following: “27% of our attorneys self-identify as racially diverse compared to the 20% Big Law average” and “Racially diverse partners are 13% of the equity partnership, compared to the 8% national average”. 

After seeing this website report, I was left wondering how many of these “racially diverse” individuals are Black. Paul Weiss played such a significant role in the upward trajectory of my African American family. And Paul Weiss issued a statement in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. But its racial diversity disclosure had only a fraction of the precision that has made the firm a giant in the legal profession. Law firms can address antiblack racism, if they choose to do so, only if they confront the problem and its impact on the success of Black lawyers. Firms can’t do this if they fail to consider that Black lawyers face issues that are saliently different from those endured by white women, and indigenous, Asian and Latinx individuals. Firms can make their disclosure on these issues more meaningful by counting the Black lawyers. If the numbers are not good (on retention, percentages of partners), it’s time for the firm to engage in some meaningful introspection.

Oh, and one more small, but important point. People of color bring racial diversity to an organization. White people bring racial diversity to an organization. But to say that an individual (a partner, for example) is “racially diverse” is the kind of inaccurate, imprecise language that clouds discussions about difficult issues like antiblack racism. 

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) continued to refuse to concede the race to Senator-elect Dave McCormick (R-PA) in Pennsylvania's Senate race, despite several outlets having called the election in McCormick's favor.

The post Bob Casey Still Refuses to Concede Race to Dave McCormick: ‘Election Officials Will Finish Counting’ appeared first on Breitbart.

This is just a quick little snippet to display a word count on the single post page in WordPress. Since it requires being placed within the loop, you can actually…

The post Add Word Count to Single Posts in WordPress appeared first on bavotasan.com.

Phishing scammers need a little help scamming you!

A very lame attempt at defrauding Yahoo! users.

A fake Chase e-mail that has PHISHING written all over it.

While your pooch may not be able to carve the gnar, he or she would probably love to join you on your next ski vacation, eating snow, chilling by the fire and eating wagyu beef.

Kid Rock and Nickelback have announced that they will be rocking the country next spring and summer with a new touring festival

Republicans are eyeing Colorado's plentiful pool of unaffiliated voters for that push to victory -- and in two counties, hoping to capitalize on local tax measures to make their case for more conservatism.

By Claire Morgan

Updated Nov. 8, 4:15 p.m.

Sacramento County results arrived in three separate waves on election night, with the first released shortly after the polls closed at 8 p.m., another around 10:15 p.m. then finally again around midnight. 

The county will release another batch of results later this week and will continue to issue reports every Friday and Tuesday until all the ballots are counted.

As of Friday at 4:10 p.m., county data estimated roughly 411,809 ballots had been counted.

See full California primary election results here.

Sacramento mayor

Early results show Assembly member Kevin McCarty holds a lead with 54% of the 113,724 ballots counted so far. Epidemiologist Dr. Flojaune Cofer follows with 45%.

McCarty told supporters he was feeling grateful during an Election Night watch party in a restaurant Downtown.

"[I'm] just completely appreciative of where we're at, the campaign we ran, talking to a lot of people, laying out our vision for Sacramento," he said. "Thanking everybody that helped us on this campaign: our volunteers, our endorsers, our supporters, our contributors."

Cofer also expressed gratitude during her own Election Night watch party at pub Downtown. She says homelessness was a top issue among voters she spoke to throughout her campaign.

"They were excited that we had a plan, that we were talking about not needing more money but needing to use the money that we had and make sure that we are coordinating services across our different agencies, that we have clear goals and outcomes," she said.

Sacramento City Council District 2

Early results show Former state Assembly member Roger Dickinson is in the lead with 61% of the 7,739 ballots counted so far. Del Paso Heights native Stephen Walton follows with 38% of the vote.

District 2 includes Del Paso Heights, Hagginwood and Woodlake. 

Council member Shoun Thao has represented District 2 since April, after he was appointed to temporarily fill the seat until the winner of this election takes office. Thao is serving the remainder of former Council member Sean Loloee’s term. Loloee resigned in January after pleading not guilty to a 25-count federal indictment related to his Viva Supermarket grocery store businesses. 

Local ballot measures

Measure D: 

Early results show out of 80,168 ballots counted, 71% were for and 28% were against Sacramento City Unified School District’s request to issue $543 million in bonds. Funds raised through Measure D would be used to upgrade facilities at Earl Warren Elementary School, Elder Creek Elementary School and Hiram Johnson High School, among other projects. 

The measure requires 55% approval to pass.

Measure E: 

Early results show out of 112,104 ballots counted, 72% were for and 27% were against renewing and combining two existing library parcel taxes into a single tax with no expiration date. If passed, Measure E would generate approximately $9.6 million yearly for Sacramento County library services.

The measure requires a two-thirds majority to pass.

Measure G: 

Early results show out of 27,897 ballots counted, 61% were against and 38% were for imposing an additional 1-cent sales tax on items sold in Folsom. Funds raised through Measure G would be spent on first responder services, public infrastructure and economic development.

The measure requires a simple majority to pass. 

Measure H: 

Early results show out of 7,483 ballots counted, 54% were for and 45% were against Galt Joint Union Elementary School District’s request to issue $27 million in bonds. Funds raised through Measure H would go towards upgrading infrastructure at Marengo Ranch Elementary School, Lake Canyon Elementary School and River Oaks Elementary School, among others.

The measure requires 55% approval to pass.

Measure J: 

Early results show out of 714 ballots counted, 51% were for and 48% were against Elverta Joint Elementary School District’s request to issue $4.3 million in bonds. Funds raised through Measure J would be used to upgrade infrastructure across its three schools.

The measure requires 55% approval to pass.

Measure K:

Early results show out of 9,520 ballots counted, 56% were against and 43% were for San Joaquin Delta Community College District’s request to issue $598 million in bonds. Funds raised through Measure K would go towards facilities improvements like lab upgrades, asbestos removal and new classroom construction.

The measure requires 55% approval to pass.

Measure L: 

Early results show out of 11,270 ballots counted, 61% were for and 38% were against Orangevale Recreation and Park District’s request to issue $24 million in bonds. Funds raised through Measure L would go towards making security improvements, upgrading playgrounds and renovating the district’s 60-year-old Youth Center, among other projects.

The measure requires two-thirds approval to pass.

Measure M: 

Early results show out of 1,588 ballots counted, 50% were against and 49% were for Arcohe Union School District’s request to issue $5.8 million in bonds. Funds raised through Measure M would be used to upgrade school safety, repair aging facilities, expand classrooms and build a joint-use community center.

The measure requires 55% approval to pass.

Measure N: 

Early results show out of 84,125 ballots counted, 58% were for and 41% were against Elk Grove Unified School District’s request to issue $542 million in bonds. Funds raised through Measure N would go toward renovating, upgrading and rehabilitating school facilities, among other projects. 

The measure requires 55% approval to pass.

Measure O: 

Early results show out of 177,787 ballots counted, 68% were for and 31% were against Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Department’s request to issue $415 million in bonds. Funds raised through Measure O would go toward upgrading facilities and vehicles and completing a new training facility.

The measure needs two-thirds of the vote to pass, unless Proposition 5 is approved, which would lower the threshold to 55%.

Measure P: 

Early results show out of 101,115 ballots counted, 59% were for and 40% were against San Juan Unified School District’s request to issue $950 million in bonds. Funds raised through Measure P would go towards building new school facilities, upgrading classrooms and improve the safety of drinking water on campuses.

The measure requires 55% approval to pass.

Measure Q: 

Early results show out of 6,248 ballots counted, 72% were for and 27% were against Fulton-El Camino Recreation and Parks District’s request to issue $24 million in bonds. Funds raised through Measure Q would go toward upgrading restrooms, adding lighting and improving accessibility at parks, among other projects.

Measure R: 

Early results show out of 11,809 ballots counted, 65% were for and 34% were against Folsom-Cordova Unified School District’s request to issue $144 million in bonds. Funds raised through Measure R would go towards improvements at elementary schools across the district.

The measure requires 55% approval to pass.

Measure S:

Early results show out of 11,733 ballots counted, 64% were for and 35% were against Folsom-Cordova Unified District’s request to issue $144 million in bonds. Funds raised through Measure R would go towards improvements at middle and high schools across the district.

The measure requires 55% approval to pass.

It's gonna be mosh central.

Boulder County health officials said people can catch tularemia through bites from infected insects, most commonly ticks and deer flies.

Ella Hagen won her second Class 4A cross country crown on Saturday at the Norris Penrose Event Center.

Aiden Le Roux and Addison Ritzenhein both set all-classification course records at the Norris Penrose Event Center.

The 8th Congressional District sweeps across Denver's northern suburbs and covers rural sections of Adams and Weld counties as well, along with a small slice of Larimer County.

State Rep. Gabe Evans’ lead over U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo shrank between Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, from 2,529 votes to 1,995.

Metro Denver voters in Tuesday's election decided to let the Regional Transportation District and Arapahoe and Jefferson counties keep tax money that otherwise, under Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights, must be returned to taxpayers. 

The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners gave the thumbs-down Tuesday to a Conifer downhill bike park.

If the Broncos flushed Russell Wilson and beaucoup bucks after only 30 starts in a Denver uniform, how long does Sean Payton get to prove that his let-’em-eat-cake approach wins football games?

In the latest edition of the Kickin' it with Kiz podcast, sports columnist Mark Kiszla reflects on a pair of coaching legends calling it quits in the same week.

Quentin Hayes ran for 91 yards and two second-half touchdowns on 25 carries.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office announced in a news release Thursday that the ring has targeted the homes of Asians who own businesses.

Johnny McCaslin, 51, was sentenced to 192 years in prison last week for the 2021 Dollar General Store shooting in Adams County that sent a mother and her son to the hospital.

Public Policy expert Dr. Amara Enyia says it's Pres. Biden.

The verdict comes after weeks of graphic testimony.

#loveislove

Willow Cuts are the 2024 Western County Cricket Association Cup Champions. Willow Cuts Win by 8 Wickets: Southampton Rangers 147 Willow Cuts 150/2 At the White Hill Field, challengers Southampton Rangers, won the toss and elected to bat, they were bowled out for 147, captain Dalin Richardson was the top scorer with 73 not out, […]

Eastern County Cup holders Bailey’s Bay Cricket Club and challengers Flatt’s Victoria have selected their team Saturday’s round of the 2024 series at Lord’s in St. David’s. Bailey’s Bay will be led once again by Terryn Fray, with Kyle Hodsoll the vice-captain. The Bailey’s Bay team features nine players with Cup Match classic experience, and […]

Bailey’s Bay have won the Eastern Counties Cup final after defeating Flatts Victoria by 36 runs at Lord’s, St David’s, today [August 31]. Winning the toss and electing to bat, Bay posted 144 off 41.4 overs, with captain Terryn Fray and Derrick Brangman both top scoring with 29. Seam bowler Kamau Leverock was the pick […]

Following the conclusion of the 2024 Series at Lord’s in St. David’s, the Eastern County held the 2025 draw, with the host and Champions Bailey’s Bay set to face Flatt’s Victoria first up, Cleveland County play the Cup Holders in the second round, and St David’s Cricket Club will play the third and final round. […]

Gabriella Cechini – representing Mercersburg Academy – finished second competing in Lehigh University’s Paul Short cross country run. Competing at the Lehigh University-Goodman campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Cechini clocked a personal best time of 18:29 over the 5k distance. Related Stories Armstrong Advances To Meet Of Champions Cechini Siblings Excel At 2024 Mid-Atlantic Prep Outerbridge […]

The Eastern County Cup cricket competition took place this weekend with crowds of people enjoying the always popular event, which saw Bailey’s Bay claim the victory. You can view all of Bernews coverage of the Eastern County Cricket Association here. Related Stories Photos: Attendees At Eastern County Cup Event Photos: Eastern County Cup Cricket Event […]

The Eastern County Cup cricket competition took place this weekend with crowds of people enjoying the always popular event, with Bailey’s Bay winning the Eastern Counties Cup final after defeating Flatts Victoria. You can view all of Bernews coverage of the Eastern County Cricket Association here. Related Stories Photos: Bailey’s Bay Retain Eastern Counties Cup Bay Defeat Flatts […]

The Bermuda National Athletics Association [BNAA] Cross-Country season gets underway with the Swan’s Running Club’s mat the Arboretum tomorrow at 8.30 am [September 28]. There will be race group categories from under-10 and under-12 [1 to 1.5-miles]; under-14 [1.5 to 2 miles]; under-17 [2 to 2.5 miles]; and under-20 [2.5 to 3 miles]. The open […]

The Bermuda National Athletic Association 2024 Cross Country Season got underway with Swans hosting a meet at the Arboretum. Jake Smith won the 17-19 Men’s 3 Mile Run clocking a time of 17:59.85, while Rose-Anna Hoey won the Women 40-49 Age Group Division racing over 3 Miles with a time of 21:24.33, Dem Salter was […]

The 2024 Bermuda National Athletics Associations’ Cross Country season continued with the Fort Scaur event hosted by MAAC. Amaris Munya won the 14-16 women’s 2 mile run clocking a time of 12:40.64, Kelise Wade, was second in 12:53.38, and Shania Trott, finished third with a time of 16:52.71. Jake Smith won the 17-19 men’s 3 […]

34-year-old Melvin Holdipp pleaded guilty to 10 counts of burglary and 4 counts of theft and was remanded into custody. A police spokesperson said, “Between the 30th of August 2022 and the 11th of October 2022, the Bermuda Police Service [BPS] investigated the reported burglaries of several local businesses, namely: Price Rite in Warwick Robin […]

Season 2, Act I of "Arcane," the animated series based on the popular multiplayer online battle arena game League of Legends, also had a strong debut, taking second place with 6.3M views.

TRUMP TOLD THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THERE ARE THE SECURITY STATE AGENTS WHO THINK THAT THEY RUN THE GOVERNMENT AND HE STOOD UP TO THEM AND CHALLENGED THEIR ORTHODOXIES AND PIETIES AND SHOWED AMERICANS, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY ON THE RIGHT, THAT THESE INSTITUTIONS ARE NOT NOBLE OR BENEVOLENT BUT ARE HIGHLY PERNICIOUS. THEY WANT TO INTERFERE IN OUR DOMESTIC POLITICS AND THEY OUGHT TO BE DEEPLY DISTRUSTED. Continue reading →

NEWS – As the holiday season approaches, Creality is thrilled to launch its biggest-ever Black Friday event! From October 21 to December 3 on the Creality Store and November 21 to December 2 on Amazon, enjoy record-low prices on an extensive range of 3D printers and accessories. Whether you’re a 3D printing enthusiast or a […]

During the early reign of King Charles III (Charles the Simple) in West Francia, the area was besieged by Viking invasions, while the memory of the previous and frequent Saracen incursions was still fresh in the minds of the general populace. The Saracens were Muslim - mostly Berbers from Africa – and had only let up on the Franks because they’d been pushed back by the Vikings. The local nobles were left largely to fend the Vikings off on their own.

In Paladins of the West Kingdom, players assume the role of these unnamed nobles (most likely Dukes), working to keep the region safe and spread their faith (historically: Christianity).  I really enjoy this theme, and in fact, playing the game nurtured my interest in the historical kingdom of West Francia.  That’s why I can tell you that while the rulebook notes that the King lends his Paladins to the nobles to aid them in their quest, I’m giving all the credit for the loan to the designers, Shem Phillips and S J MacDonald.  Paladins are a fictional group of knights in French lore (think of them as similar to the Knights of the Round Table in British lore),  or alternatively, a translation of the Frankish royal title of Palatine Count, which was a noble that focused mostly on judicial and governing matters and was not known as a knight.

I’ve won a few and lost a few games of Paladins. It’s a worker placement game that incorporates card drafting.  At the beginning of every round, players draw the next three Paladin cards in their deck and choose one to play for the round, one to put back on top of their Paladin deck to draw during the next round, and one to put at the bottom of their Paladin deck. Each Paladin boosts faith, influence, or strength (usually more than one of these), and also provides a special benefit. If you’ve got players prone to analysis paralysis, this is where they may get stalled, especially in the first few rounds. After Paladins are selected and put into play, workers for the round are selected by each player and put into their personal resource supply. You have many stations on your player board to place your workers during the round,  and when you do so, your moves are independent and walled off from your opponents (they cannot tamper with your player board or placement of your workers on it). However, there is one area on the general board (the King’s Favour card area) where you can also place your workers and those spots are competitive. Also contributing to player interaction – some of the stations on your player board where you place workers allow you to move resources (monks and outposts) from your player board to the main board, consuming a competitive spot that provides a placement reward. And all the resource cards on display around the main board – the townsfolk you can hire, the walls you can build, the outsiders you can attack or convert, the tavern cards you draw workers from, and the suspicion cards you gain $$$ from, are all lucrative items for which players must compete. So we’ve got a good mix of independent action and player interaction in Paladins.  There are not a lot of opportunities for  “take that” behavior in this game, other than perhaps timing your draw of suspicion cards to trigger an inquisition when you know your opponents will suffer a penalty and be forced to take on more debt.

Strategy Tips: [1] Don’t be afraid to take on debt. It’s not too hard to flip debt cards for additional victory points and the income generated from the suspicion cards + the usefulness of the criminal workers are worth the increase in debt. [2] As with all worker placement games, look for opportunities to get more workers. For example, try to recruit any townsfolk that provide workers as a reward for other actions. [3] Attacking outsiders is a reliable way to get provisions and build influence, which are prerequisites for building the wall, which in turn give more strength and allow you to attack more outsiders. When paired with the townsfolk card that provide a bonus worker for every attack action, it’s a powerful combination.

Giving the game more intellectual weight, worker placement on your board and the actions workers trigger often have additional requirements beyond number and types (i.e., colors) of workers. The actions triggered by worker placement may be constrained by your strength, faith, or influence level. And some spots or actions triggered by placing workers in those spots require money or provisions. All of these prerequisites can be gained as rewards from prior actions triggered by various worker placement, so much of the game is finding the most efficient ways to obtain prerequisites associated with the series of actions you’d like to take as the game progresses. I worried this decision making would be a weak point for analysis paralysis (I’m a pretty good candidate for testing potential AP, as I’m prone to it) and while there can be a bit of that during the game, nothing excessive was logged during our plays.  

The artists (Shem Phillips on graphic design and Mihajlo Dimitrievski on illustrations) have printed helpful indicators next to each placement location on boards and cards to identify any prerequisites as well as rewards. It’s an example of how the designers have worked with the artists to layer meaningful game information into the layers of artwork. In fact, all of the symbols implemented across the game components are really quite helpful. Bonus: once you familiarize yourself with them in one of the West Kingdom games, you’ll have learned them for the entire series as the artists reuse the same symbols in all three titles.

Beyond the iconography, the illustrations and other artwork are lovely. As with the iconography, the same style of artwork is implemented across the entire series and it carries the theme well. There was a good mix of cisgender representation, but not a lot of racial diversity, especially as would be suggested by the historical setting of the game (for example, Berbers in the area had skin tones ranging from light to to dark brown).

The components for Paladins of the West Kingdom are well made.

There are wooden meeples, an assortment of foldable boards constructed from cardboard, and various plastic coated card decks. We found the rulebook to be clear and direct, and there weren’t any items we had to look up online. It would have been nice if the designers included a player aid in the components, but I was able to compensate for the oversight by downloading a detailed player aid another user uploaded to the forums on BoardGameGeek.com.

Paladins of the West Kingdom is my favorite game of the West Kingdom series. All of the worker types and available actions make sense within the context of the theme, the mechanisms (worker placement, card drafting) integrate tightly with the scoring system to provide opportunities for building a victory point engine, and the game is complex and interesting yet still accessible for new players. The game is also a great value at its price point (approx $50) given you’ll get dozens of multiplayer games in before even a hint of same-o same-o creeps in. Many games with comparable replayability and complexity are double the price of Paladins. There’s also a solo play mode, which provides an additional way to explore the game.

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

Publisher: Renegade Game Studios
Players: 1-4 (We played with 2)
Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 2 hours per game
Game type: card drafting, worker placement
Retail Price: $50

Rating:

Jenni’s 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.

Pieces of a Woman [US, Kornél Mundruczó, 3.5] Grief tears a couple (Vanessa KIrby, Shia LaBeouf) apart after the death of their baby in childbirth, abetted by the insistence of her domineering mother (Ellen Burstyn) that they pursue legal action against their midwife (Molly Parker.) Wrenching drama marked by deep performances and key long take scenes. An otherwise masterful script reaches for the conventional when it hits its climax.

The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel [Canada, Joel Bakan & Jennifer Abbott, 4] Polemical documentary deploys narration, stock footage and talking heads (some appearing via lockdown video conference) to survey corporate capitalism and the struggle against it from Reaganomics to COVID and the George Floyd protests. Comprehensive primer for the prospective young progressives includes a call to continued electoral action.

The doc starts by tackling apparently public-minded initiatives as Trojan Horses for privatization. It is a Crave Original. Crave, Canada’s premium cable/streaming service, is a division of Bell, one half of our reigning telecom duopoly and the lead sponsor of the Toronto International Film Festival

Violation [Canada, Madeleine Sims-Fewer & Dusty Mancinelli, 4] Woman (Madeleine Sims-Fewer) exacts meticulous revenge after her brother-in-law rapes her. Although this jarring, meditative drama includes gruesome imagery and horror-exploitation motifs, it’s closer in spirit to Michael Haneke than Dario Argento or Wes Craven.

Many years the power of coincidence throws up an unintended motif running through many of the movies we pick. Past examples have included cats, stress vomiting, animal slaughter, and teddy bears. This year’s motif: plastic bags as a suffocation weapon.

Falling [US, Viggo Mortensen, 3] Pathologically forbearing airline pilot (Mortensen) attempts to find a new situation for his lifelong miserable prick of a father (Lance Henriksen) as his dementia worsens. With one character incapable of change and another not needing to change, almost all of the scenes repeat the same dynamic.

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Capsule review boilerplate: Ratings are out of 5. I’ll be collecting these reviews in order of preference in a master post the Monday after the fest. Films shown on the festival circuit will appear in theaters, disc and/or streaming over the next year plus.