Comics Curmudgeon readers! Do you love this blog and yearn for a novel written by its creator? Well, good news: Josh Fruhlinger's The Enthusiast is that novel! It's even about newspaper comic strips, partly. Check it out! Funky Winkerbean, 5/7/20 OK, I am ashamed to admit this, but: I genuinely do not have a handle […]

The pick of the world’s best flora and fauna photos, including a sunbathing squirrel and cuddling owls

Ireland’s 7,000 pubs, 50,000 staff and millions of customers are in crisis. Time for some blue-sky thinking…

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

If it’s a balmy evening and you hear buzzing in the sky over Rathdrinagh, a townland in the middle of Ireland, the odds are that it’s not bees but beer.

Specifically, a drone carrying bottles of beer, and maybe a bag of crisps. “Bottles of Heineken usually, or sometimes a few cans of Bulmers,” said Avril McKeever.

A weekday lunch of braised chickpeas, a savoury brunch porridge and a grown-up take on rice pudding

The world has seen more than its fair share of closed doors lately – shops, restaurants, the barber, your neighbours’ – but that has, in turn, led to the opening of some others.

And if there is one door that has swung wide open in recent weeks, it’s the one that leads into the kitchen. From the keenest of cooks to the humblest of beginners, the kitchen has provided us all with the one thing we’ve been missing the most: freedom.

When councils were instructed to provide accommodation for their homeless population to protect them from coronavirus, Mike Matthews, owner of the Prince Rupert hotel in Shrewsbury, was one of the first to step in. The decision was part business decision to save his hotel, part philanthropy to help homeless people he admits he usually ignored. The new residents, including a former employee, feel it has given them some dignity back and offered them a rare feeling of family and safety. They also know this cannot be a permanent change to their lives, so what happens next?

Despite rising coronavirus case numbers, the US state of Mississippi is moving out of lockdown and reopening parks, restaurants and other non-essential shops. Oliver Laughland went to the resort of Biloxi to see how residents were responding

• Coronavirus – latest US updates
• Coronavirus – latest global updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

The US southern state of Mississippi is the country’s poorest. It went into the coronavirus crisis with high levels of poverty and poor health outcomes. But following the period of lockdown and orders for residents to stay at home, the state’s governor Tate Reeves has eased restrictions - despite evidence that the rate of infections has not yet hit its peak.

The Guardian’s Oliver Laughland travelled to the Mississippi coastal resort of Biloxi where he tells Mythili Rao he found the lockdown has hit hardest those working in low paid jobs in the tourism industry. One restaurant worker describes how the loss of work meant he has had to rely on the charity of his neighbours and local food banks. But despite growing numbers of cases, people are flocking back to the beach and increasingly breaching recommendations of minimum social distancing. The state is reopening, but at what cost?

Teenagers affirm evidence that suggests they are particularly struggling with coronavirus crisis

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

When, in late February, Betsy Sheil turned 16, she thought she was staring down the end of secondary school, not the beginning of global pandemic.

“I was going to finish year 11 and do my GCSEs, then I was going to have a really long summer with my friends, hopefully go abroad – have that summer that everyone has.”

Six weeks into Britain's Covid-19 crisis, Anywhere but Westminster asks how a city keeps going when everything has ground to a halt. The team virtually visits Plymouth, population 250,000, to see how the services that are vital to a city and its inhabitants are scrabbling to stay afloat. The fishing industry is in meltdown, temporary housing is oversubscribed and nurses facilitate goodbyes over Zoom. Most of all, people are asking: what on earth happens after this?

• Watch our previous Anywhere but Westminster videos 

• Music: Lament by Simon Dobson: www.simon-dobson.co.uk
  

The pandemic is giving us a lesson in life, hope and death. It’s one we should never forget

Back in the days when we all still hurried oblivious through crowded city streets, the names chalked on the pavement must have been easily missed. But now a long-running campaign by rebel botanists across Europe to highlight overlooked nature in the city, scribbling names and plant details alongside a pretty weed growing through a wall or a tree spreading overhead, has unexpectedly found its niche.

Going for a walk is the only real freedom many have had for weeks, and with no particular place to go but out, there is finally time to notice nature creeping through the cracks: the birdsong no longer drowned out by traffic; the daffodils in front gardens giving way to frothy peonies; a fat supermoon hanging heavy on the night horizon.

"Don't worry, I'm from tech support...Just lemme get a closer look."

Well...it seems like these cats are more interested in all those mouses and cookies hiding in your computer.  

We could all use a daily dose of uplifting these days. And when we think of the word "uplifting," many things come to mind such as; cats, cats, cats, and more cats. 

But if we places that aside we also think of @TheLatestKate, the Instagram Queen of positivity through beautiful animal illustrations. 

If you're in need of a pick-me-up, take a moment and read through these lovely inspirational messages. And if you need even more, you can also follow @TheLatestKate on Instagram for daily motivation. 

Cat gifs are the gifts that keep on giving! When in doubt, just take a moment to catch up on your daily cat gifs to lift you up! 

Trust us, we've been doing it for awhile and can confirm this. 

Did you need some proof? Just scroll down and let the good times roll! 

Here at Hackaday, we love a good clock project. And if it’s an artistically executed freeform sculpture, even better. But tell us that it’s also a new spin on a classic project from two decades ago, and we’re over the moon for it. Case in point: [Paul Gallagher’s] beautiful recreation …read more

There are many hazards in this world, and appropriately there are many ominous signs that speak the language of fear. You never know it there could be some hidden mine shaft or risk of monkey attack. Whether they're warning of some totally extreme danger or their scary in their own right, it's usually best to pay attention to spooky signs.

Well, well, this quick and informative Tumblr post provides just the kind of knowledge that one would sincerely hope they never have to employ. Yes, we're talking about making an escape from a coffin, if one ever finds themselves in the predicament of being buried alive. Hopefully, it's knowledge that never needs to be used. But here it is anyways. Good old Tumblr pulling through in the weirdest of ways, yet again. 

The covid-19 pandemic has led to rushed guidelines for doctors making treatment decisions, and has encouraged more people to make advance decisions on CPR and ventilation

The incredible benefits of strength training are only just becoming apparent. That's good timing, when working out indoors is beneficial to everyone's health

The Pine Island glacier has three tipping points that could lead to the collapse of the entire West Antarctic ice sheet, potentially raising sea levels by 3 metres over centuries

A number of studies have found a link between air pollution and increased covid-19 deaths, but it isn't clear why. Both attack the lungs, but it could just be that more people live in polluted areas

For orangutans, scratching is contagious – but unexpectedly, the behaviour is transmitted more between individuals that do not know each other well

Brain implants have revealed that we replay conscious experiences while we sleep, with the same patterns of neurons firing during sleep as in waking life

With social media, newspapers and politicians all espousing unverified covid-19 findings, use these seven signs to tell if a study should be treated with caution

This story is a bit on the nose. Hello, Peter Ludlow here, CEO of InGen, the company behind the wildly successful dinosaur-themed amusement park, Jurassic Park. As you’re all aware, after an unprecedented storm hit the park, we lost power and the velociraptors escaped their enclosure and killed hundreds of park visitors, prompting a two-month […]

Women and children are experiencing unprecedented levels of abuse and violence at home as stress and anxiety continue to mount due to the pandemic.

The NI Executive says agreeing how to relax measures is the most crucial decision it will ever make.

One man's dream sailing trip nearly ended in disaster as island nations began closing their borders.

The self-styled "king and queen of rock 'n' roll" - who inspired Elvis and The Beatles - dies at 87.

These six creators moved in together to make viral TikTok videos.

Charities warn some children who are missing out on additional support at school are falling into crisis.

Ana Carmona chronicled her month in quarantine with her family in NYC, including when she got some big news.

Park rangers in Africa say the closure of safari tourism is leading to an increase in poaching.

For the past two years, I’ve been publishing a daily work-and-life diary on Basecamp, sharing it with a few friends. This private writing work supplanted the daily public writing I used to do here. In an experiment, I’m publishing yesterday’s diary entry here today: YESTERDAY, Ava and a few of her schoolmates participated in a […]

The post My glamorous life: are you ready to math? appeared first on Zeldman on Web & Interaction Design.

Love music? Follow your own tastes? Let’s share. Connect on Spotify.Connect on Last.fm. As a bonus, if we connect on Spotify, you not only get access to An Event Apart’s playlists from the past decade, you also get a preview of the 2020 playlist in progress.

The post Let’s hang (Spotify) appeared first on Zeldman on Web & Interaction Design.

At 4:00 PM, I went to bed to rest up from my head cold, and promptly fell asleep. When I awoke, the clock said 7:15. Oh, no! I banged on my daughter’s door. “You’re going to be late to school!” I shouted. She cackled with laughter.“It’s 7:15 AT NIGHT,” she explained.

The post My Glamorous Life appeared first on Zeldman on Web & Interaction Design.

Dax was one of YouTube's first stars, but 13 years later, few people remember his name. Can a vlogging legend seize glory again?

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has told reporters that Covid-19 will cause "hardship ahead".

Magaly Contreras has spent nine months in a Tijuana shelter and is worried about her future.