#him and max are a joint set not sold separately

[hyacinthsdiamonds]

I know we joke Lawrence Stroll is basically a bond villain, but my god, I have to take off my hat to him. Man joined this sport purely to support his son's career and dreams, and has seemingly just managed (not officially confirmed as yet) to nab the key to achieving those dreams in certified freaking car genius Adrian Newey, the man behind car designs that won 6 constructors' championships, 7 drivers championships, and earned 120 podiums to date for red bull alone. He's won 12 constructors' championships in total with 3 different Formula One teams (red bull, williams & mclaren). And now, he's apparently chasing Max too. I have to admire this man's sheer commitment, I now need him to win (sign newey & Max when the time comes) so badly now to see him rub the entire paddocks nose in it lmao.

[talksthesuccess]

Justin Bieber: The Pop Singer

Justin Bieber has driven versatility in his talent. He is one of the most talented and famous personalities in the world. A Canadian Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. His marvelous singing harmonizes the flairs of the world. A truly influential figure who is bringing a cluster of talent.

He began his career in 2009, the teen idol whose fresh-faced good looks and appetizing pop songs glowed a global craze and enthusiasm. 

 A Canadian singer and a pop icon acknowledged for his multi-genre. Till 2008, Scooter Braun, an American record executive made Justin Bieber the record deal. Braun then introduced Bieber to musician Usher, and the two set up RBMG Records, in October of the same year.

His first studio album was; My World released in the same year, it became an international commercial success putting Justin Bieber in place as a teen idol. This is when he first came to the public limelight.

The early years of Justin Bieber 

Justin Bieber is the son of Pattie Mallette and was born on March 1, 1994, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London. Ontario as a child after the separation of his parents after his birth and grew up in Stratford, Ontario. Bieber completed his studies and graduated in 2012.

Evolving up, he started to showcase his talent by playing the piano, drums, guitar, and trumpet. At the age of 12, his singing was starting to buzz in people’s ears and minds when he performed Ne-Yo’s “So Sick” for a local singing competition in Stratford, and secured second position. 

Mallette allowed their friends and families to watch and enjoy the video of the performance that they recorded and posted on YouTube. The website that followed Bieber increased as she persisted in adding more videos of him doing more covers of other R&B songs.

As a 15-year-old Bieber entertained people during the tourist season of the same year by playing performed stairs of Avon Theatre using a rented guitar. Through YouTube, his fandom grew an amply big following on the website of fans of Bieber’s singing abilities. 

Amazed by Bieber’s natural confidence and singing talent, Usher helped sign him to a recording contract in late 2008. 

Beginnings of Bieber’s Career 

In May 2009, Bieber uncovered his first single, the buoyant puppy-love song “One Time”, and after six months he released the seven-track EP My World, glossy R&B-influenced pop was the main composition. His fan base had grown significantly by now, with millions of preadolescent girls finding him attractive, and the record had sold over a million copies.  

Early releases of Justin Bieber were not broadly fortunate to be successful despite being one of the world’s biggest musicians today. His debut release “One Time” only earned a twelfth position on the Canadian Hot 100 and did not crack the US Top 10. The album “One Less Lonely Girl” brought success to him and gained the confidence of the public.

This is so True, and worldwide, Justin Bieber was thrown into the limelight when he dropped his ” My World ” album. 

The album released in January 2010 became a truly stardom cause to him. The quick arisen of the album “Baby” climbed up the Canadian and American charts, and it became Bieber’s most successful single to date, it reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 in just two weeks.

This is not the end of his beginnings. In 2011, Bieber’s third studio album was released “Believe” which further hardened his career and helped him in making his stardom solidified. Hits like Boyfriend and joint efforts with well-known musicians like Max Martin were included on the CD.

Furthermore, Bieber starred in the musical film “Never Say Never”, which took home over $30 million at the box office worldwide.

Bieber was constantly sticking to his visibility with the albums “Never Say Never” and “Under the Mistletoe”, both of which touched the number one tag in the United States and Canada. Bieber introduced “Believe” in 2012 and “Believe Acoustic” in 2013 – original perspective to the R ‘n’ B and pop genres.

Justin Bieber’s Hit Melodies 

Boyfriend – Hit single released in April 2012 

Beauty and a Beat- In October 2012, alongside many controversies regarding his ill-mannered behavior, Bieber managed to reach the top 10 of the charts with this party song.

Where Are U Now – Bieber came up with his nailing album that also touched the bar of summer’s top 10 hits with the collaboration of Diplo and Skrillex.

What Do You Mean – This was also Bieber’s first no. 1 single, which he released in October 2015.

Despacito – In January 2017, Justin collaborated with Fonsi for this remix, and hit the number-one spot on the Hot 100. And it is his longest-standing chart-topping song.

I Don’t Care – With this spring Bieber collaborated with Ed Sheeran, and it became the breezy track which placed at no.1 in several countries and topped out at No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Stuck with U – American singers Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber released the song “Stuck with U” on May 8, 2020, to collect money for the families and first responders of the COVID-19 epidemic. The song became his sixth US number-one single when it debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

Anyone- The third single from Justin Bieber’s next studio album, “Anyone”, was released on January 1, 2021, and it reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100.

Awards and achievements 

He has achieved many awards and is now one of the most influential people in the world. He is driving the world with his melodious and pop singing. These accolades comprise a Grammy, 15 AMAs, 20 BBMs, two Brits, a Latin Grammy, 21 EMAs, and three VMAs.

Bieber is among the top ten highest-paid celebrities. His net worth is reportedly $265 million. 

Read More:- The Best Doctor in the World

[deathonyourtongue]

Resurrection | 5

Summary: A ragtag team of Spec-Ops operators are brought out of retirement for all the wrong reasons. When the dust settles, only the best will be left standing. Pairing: Pablo Schreiber x OFC, Henry Cavill x OFC (listen, she gets with the whole team, okay? Don’t lie, you would too.) Word Count: 2K Warnings: Waterboarding. Dream sequence involving death and gore.  A/N: I’m reposting this for a few reasons. Mainly ‘cause I’m done having my fics in two places, wanted to re-work the cover, and most importantly wanted those of you who weren’t following me back when these chapters were originally posted to be able to take it in from scratch. I’ve also cleaned up a lot of the text as far as grammar, etc. goes, so it’s more polished.  ***ALSO: All the Portuguese translations are found in the links (read the address bar or the error that comes up when you click the link)*** Like what I do? Buy me a coffee (or a commission)!

C H A R A C T E R  C H A R T

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Gone are the suits and ties, and my heels are replaced by combat boots. 

The safehouse we use for interrogations is across town from the one we stay at, and it shows. Far from the posh of Knightsbridge, Dagenham is home to the largest diesel engine manufacturing site in the world. Soot and oil coat everything and at night, the area is a ghost town; perfect for our needs. 

On paper, all the governments in the room condem torture, but work in the business of terror long enough, and you know that’s all just to save face and keep the top brass’ hands clean. We’re not animals about it of course, but if Miguel wobbles a little in his seat, it’s only because we let Max drive and London roads are so winding.

“You know...We don’t technically have to take the bag off his head.” Flip murmurs, breaking the silence we’ve all been in since getting Miguel settled into his new surroundings. 

“You’re absolutely certain he’s never seen you, darling?” Max asks me, his face set in concentration. The rest of the team look up for my answer and I nod. 

“Positive. Besides, bag or no bag, if he knew me, he’d have recognized my call sign by now,” I remind them, relief shooting around the room as all the men recall that Miguel was privy to any conversation we had in the car, call signs included. 

“Alright. Who’s going in with you?” Rick asks, finally moving from his position against the wall and taking a seat next to Flip who looks all too eager to get a crack at our soon-to-be informant. Knowing he’ll be a liability if he reads the tone wrong, I look around, my gaze resting on Max as I smirk. 

“Beef. I owe him for nearly taking his head off earlier,” I answer, both Dom and Rick nodding their understanding. Flip looks somewhat crestfallen, but I know he understands. He, of all of us, is too close to the situation, and though I know there’ll be a time to turn him loose, this isn’t it. 

Max and I both stand from our seats, checking our handguns as we move towards the blast door that separates us from Miguel. Taking a moment, we focus our gazes on eachother, silently getting on the same page so that there’s no chance of Miguel thinking one of us is weaker than the other. 

With a nod to each other, I take a deep breath and open the door. Padded on the inside in order to mitigate any screaming or loud music we might use throughout our interrogations, the room is graveyard silent. Once the door shuts, Max moves with precision, turning the stereo on full blast, and I can’t help but smile at the song that comes on. While all of us are metal fans, it’s one of the most effective interrogation tools we have because those in the hot seat usually either haven’t ever heard metal before (and are immediately disturbed by it) or despise it to the point where they can only tolerate so much. EDM comes a close second, but in Miguel’s case, Metal is the right call as he flinches immediately. Catching Max’s eye, we can’t help but grin as we mouth along to the lead singer’s screaming, the song’s lyrics about lying and choking oddly appropriate for what’s about to happen. 

I headbang along with the double-bass as I grab a five gallon jug of water, hoisting it over my shoulder and letting Max handle the towels as we set things up. When everything’s ready, Max moves into position, arms crossed over his broad chest, his trademark scowl firmly in place. 

I count to three with one hand, and on ‘one’, pull the bag from Miguel’s head, immediately tipping his head back and holding it in place with my forearm as I dilate his eyes. Max and I both stay out of his line of sight for the few moments it takes for the drops to work, and once we see the tell-tale squint, we slowly move to our places. 

“Miguel, ta com cara que tá com sede, meu amigo.” I open, one eyebrow raised, staying just far away enough to be little more than a faceless blur to our informant. 

“Vai se foder!” He yells, trying and failing to get out of the restraints he’s in. 

“Ah, que isso, cara. Não fique assim. A gente só quer falar com você,” I purr, playing the “Nice Girl” routine even though everyone in the room knows it won’t last long. 

“Certo, é por isso que vocês me capturaram, colocaram um saco na minha cabeça, e me levaram a Deus sabe onde. Falar, uma ova!” 

“Já aprendeu Inglês, seu cafajeste?” I ask him, hoping he’s picked up a second language since the last time any of our governments dealt with him, more for the rest of the team’s sake than my own.

“I have,” he says, his accent nearly a perfect facsimile of anyone who’s been born and raised in London. Max’s eyebrow goes up in mild surprise, and if I know my team, the rest of them are all pressed against the two-way mirror, intent on listening now that they can understand. 

“Good, so we’ll do this in English, ‘cause fuck you,” I tell him in no uncertain terms, moving into his space so he can confirm that the woman he wanted to bang at the party is the same one who’s now holding his life in her hands. 

With everyone in the room discreetly mic’d up--including Miguel--there’s no need to turn down the music, and I use it to my advantage, wanting him as disoriented as possible so that he’s not focused on his words or the thoughts behind them.

“Three weeks ago, right here in London, two of our own were killed by a bomb that has your signature all over it. Wanna tell me who you sold that bomb to?”

Miguel laughs, a dry throaty sound that comes from too many cigars, and too much time around toxic chemicals; if one of us doesn’t kill him, I know for a fact cancer will get him in the end. 

“I sell bombs to many people. How am I supposed to remember who I’ve sold to a month ago, puta?”

I don’t have time to react as Max lunges in and connects with Miguel’s jaw in one of the most vicious right hooks I’ve seen him throw in a long time. 

“Talk to her like that again and I’ll dislocate the other side, y’cunt.” Max growls, teeth bared mere inches from Miguel’s face, leaving no room for interpretation of just how pissed he is. Without another word, Max takes Miguel’s face in his hand and relocates the joint he popped out, a scream coming from our informant as soon as he can open his mouth.

“See, Miguel, I’d like to think you’d remember, because this particular order had your initials on one of the plates, and I know you only do that when your order is for a single explosive device. Mass orders go through the factory, but the custom pieces, well...You’ve gotta take pride in your work, right?” I’ll give the man props, because if he’s searching for a lie, I can’t tell. His face stays unreadable apart from the discomfort from the light. 

I shoot Max a look just as the song switches over, and he nods. 

“Fuck this.” He barks, flipping a switch on the wall that immediately sends Miguel’s chair back into a 45 degree angle, the back legs hinged to the floor so he can never truly fall back, but feels  like he’s going to, just the same. With the lights directly in his line of sight, I can’t keep from smirking as I hear Miguel hiss and try to cover his eyes, the steel shackles on his wrists clanking loudly and only causing him more pain. 

“What is it, Miguel? Lights too bright?” I ask as I move to grab the first neatly folded towel from the pile. “Don’t worry, I got you.” 

Pressing the towel firmly against his face, I stand out of the way as Max pours the water from the jug. We both count silently in our heads, Max stopping at exactly the right number as I flick the switch to bring Miguel upright once more. 

Our informant coughs and sputters, screaming every vulgarity I’ve ever heard in Portuguese before spitting in our general direction. 

“THERE WAS NO NAME! IT WAS PURCHASED BY AN ENTITY!”

I roll my eyes, annoyed that a man who once gave up an internationally-wanted terrorist is now spewing bullshit about an entity. 

“So you sold your shit to a ghost? ‘That what you want me to believe?” I ask, feeling my own anger start to rise. I grab a fresh towel and Max and I repeat the process with surgical precision. It takes Miguel a little longer to cough up the water he’s swallowed, but when he’s finally able to speak, his voice is far more defeated. 

“Yes, in a manner of speaking. The entity I sold that bomb to is known as Cenere. I get a call with a location, date, and time for delivery. I get the specs sent via encrypted email, and when the time comes, I deliver, usually to a lock box in the middle of nowhere. That is all I know.”

Max looks at me and I know he’s itching to hit him again. I shake my head, squatting down in front of our informant so that he can see me clearly. 

“Is there anything else you want to tell us that may be important? For example, the location and date of the last delivery you provided for this entity?” I enunciate every word, my tone making it clear that I’ll be the one hitting him next if he tries to lie or get smart again. 

“L-last delivery was in Roma, by the Colosseum, a week ago.” He answers, still hoarse from inhaling water. 

“So whoever these people are, they’re planning another bombing,” I say, feeling the room behind me start moving; Rick and Dom looking up information, Flip packing our gear. We don’t have a lot of time. 

“Y-yes. The bomb that killed your amigos was delivered exactly two weeks before it detonated. That’s how they always do it.” Miguel adds, giving us an even narrower timeline to get to Rome. 

“Cut him loose,” I sigh, wishing Miguel could give us more to go on besides a location we’ll be getting to with zero prep time and even less information. 

Max moves towards him, a wolfish grin on his face. I close my eyes, knowing exactly what’s about to happen. 

“I sincerely hope someone strings you up by your balls and cuts them off with a piece of paper. This is for everyone you’ve had a hand in massacring. Especially my friends.” 

I don’t have to look to hear a few of Miguel’s teeth rattle to the floor. 

The room is starkly lit, the sickly blue tone reminiscent of a hospital. Empty aside from a plexiglass box filled with dirt and a pine-board coffin, there’s a feeling dread that emanates throughout the place. 

“Carmen? Carmen! Carmen, if you can hear me, you need to get me out. Get me the fuck out of here, Carmen. Carmen, please!! Please! I can’t-I can’t breathe! Carmen, don’t leave me here!” 

A heartbeat--elevated and distinct--couple with the sounds of hyperventilation to turn dread into pure fear. 

“CARMEN, PLEASE! I’M GOING TO DIE! DON’T LET THEM KILL ME!”

Something cuts through the air with a distinct zing, crashing heavily onto the floor. The box, the dirt, and the coffin are all sliced neatly, trapped almost perfectly between thick sheets of razor-sharp glass. All except the first slice, where the side of the coffin has fallen away, trapped at a skewed angle below the dirt. 

Rick looks like a fish out of water, gasping for breath, tears flooding his eyes. Despite being segmented like some primal experiment, every part of him still heaves with breath, organs pulsing with blood they no longer have, intact structurally despite being completely separated. 

“Carmen, please!” It’s a whisper now, the life going out of Jake’s eyes even as the tears sweep his face.

A long, low horn sounds, finalizing the horror that’s come to pass.

I wake screaming, tears pouring down my face. Not realizing where I am at first, I don’t even see the boys as I fight with my lap belt and haul ass out of the seat, vaulting over Dom’s legs and careening to the bathroom to throw up. It’s rare that I dream, but when I do, it’s never good. This one felt too real; felt like a message from a man I’m certain we buried. The room spins and I heave out what little is left from lunch earlier. When I’m certain there’s nothing left to get out, I sit back, sobbing. 

Once my breath stabilizes, I stand up and wash out my mouth, swilling the jet’s courtesy mouthwash before splashing cold water on my face. Stepping out of the small bathroom, I’m met with utter silence and four sets of eyes staring at me with concern. I can’t bring myself to tell them what I dreamt, and none of them need an intro into nightmares, as all of us, regardless of how little bloodshed we’ve seen, have them from time to time. 

Still feeling the panic in my throat, I decide against taking my old seat, not wanting to be caged in. Instead, I sit behind Dom’s aisle, resting my head against the cool plastic of the window and looking out, my mind reeling. What if the bomb isn’t what killed him and Benj? What if they suffered? What if-- I cut off my own mental processing, not wanting to go down the dark alleys of my mind, wiping my eyes to stem the flow of fresh tears. 

I feel a hand at my knee, and looking down, find Dom’s hand reaching back through the seats. Though he faces forward, it’s easy to tell what he’s doing, and I lace our fingers together loosely, taking the much-needed comfort of his touch. He gives my fingers a gentle squeeze, and I turn my face away further, not wanting any of the guys to see me like this.

[alvisboswell]

I need you now as I have never needed you before.

For instance, if you decided to take them to the zoo, they would be able to see all the different animals and learn about ther uniqueness. I need you now as I have never needed you before. My bear, she thought, my old sweet bear, who loved me and betrayed me. To begin with, it looked older than dogs ever are, and secondly, it struck me, for some reason, the very first time I saw it, that it could not be a dog like all others; that it was an exceptional dog; that there must be something fantastic about it, something uncanny; that it might be a sort of Mephistopheles in dog-form, and that its fate was in some mysterious unknown way bound up with the fate of its master. A $62,000 yearling at the Melbourne yearling sales, Glenthorn Avenue won races at Teran and Benalla before being acquired by Lindsay Anderson just over 12 months ago and has now won 10 races for his new owner. As soon as the prince came back from Warsaw in the winter, before Smith died, he began to go into this business. 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And then when I was able to jump in, it was just chompin at the bit. I was there just last week in Rio and Sao Paulo and the excitement is obvious. Amongst the riders came one man afoot, with some big beast trotting at his heels. The Vault at the Palace International, 1104 Broad St, Durham.. I think he would be pleased if the fat man attempted some betrayal. I will have my bride back. Every morn the sun rose upon fresh corpses, with harpies drawn in blood on the bricks beside them. Two of those were so close to dead there was no hope for them, another five too weak to walk. I ask only that you spare my men.” Qarl and Tris and the rest who had survived the wolfswood were all she had to care about. 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[newstfionline]

Friday, May 21, 2021

Record 55 million people internally displaced worldwide, NGOs report (AFP) Conflicts and natural disasters forced someone to flee within their own country every second of last year, pushing the number of people living in internal displacement to a record high, monitors said Thursday. This came despite strict restrictions on movement imposed around the globe in efforts to halt the spread of Covid-19, which observers had expected to push down displacement numbers last year. But 2020 was also marked by intense storms, persistent conflicts and explosions of violence, forcing 40.5 million people to become newly displaced within their countries, according to a joint report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). That is the highest number of newly displaced reported in 10 years, and brings the total number of people living in internal displacement around the world to a record 55 million, the report showed. “Both numbers this year were unusually high,” IDMC director Alexandra Bilak told AFP, saying the surge in internal displacement was “unprecedented”.

Ring (Guardian) Amazon’s Ring “smart doorbell” is the largest civilian-surveillance network the US has ever seen, writes Lauren Bridges, a PhD candidate at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. One out of every 10 US police departments can access videos from millions of home-security cameras without getting a warrant, Bridges says. “In a 2020 letter to management, Max Eliaser, an Amazon software engineer, said Ring is ‘simply not compatible with a free society’ [and] we should take his claim seriously.” Ring is effectively building the largest corporate-owned, civilian-installed surveillance network that the US has ever seen. An estimated 400,000 Ring devices were sold in December 2019 alone, and that was before the across-the-board boom in online retail sales during the pandemic.

Is Competition With China the New Pork Barrel? (Foreign Policy) A bill that aims to counter the fear that China is overtaking the United States technologically passed the U.S. Senate by 86 to 11 on Monday, heralding the start of a new era of strategic competition—and businesses and special interest groups are getting in on the game. The Endless Frontier Act, which has backing from both parties and the White House, would allocate $120 billion to funding new technologies, focusing on artificial intelligence, superconductors, and robotics. It would also support new hubs to geographically diversify the U.S. technology industry, which is heavily concentrated in Silicon Valley. Competition with China will be the foreign-policy priority for this and future administrations, and special interest groups see attaching their causes to the so-called new cold war as a way into U.S. government support. This in a way mirrors the Chinese political economy, where companies leap on slogans such as “Belt and Road” to win government favor. Expect a lot more rhetoric suggesting that since China is supposedly doing X, the United States must also do X to compete—or it must instead do Y in order not to be like the Chinese Communist Party.

The Gaza Conflict Is Stoking an ‘Identity Crisis’ for Some Young American Jews (NYT) Dan Kleinman does not know quite how to feel. As a child in Brooklyn he was taught to revere Israel as the protector of Jews everywhere, the “Jewish superman who would come out of the sky to save us” when things got bad, he said. But his feelings have grown muddier as he has gotten older, especially now as he watches violence unfold in Israel and Gaza. His moral compass tells him to help the Palestinians, but he cannot shake an ingrained paranoia every time he hears someone make anti-Israel statements. “It is an identity crisis,” Mr. Kleinman, 33, said. “Very small in comparison to what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank, but it is still something very strange and weird.” As the violence escalates in the Middle East, turmoil of a different kind is growing across the Atlantic. Many young American Jews are confronting the region’s longstanding strife in a very different context, with very different pressures, from their parents’ and grandparents’ generations. The Israel of their lifetime has been powerful, no longer appearing to some to be under constant existential threat. The violence comes after a year when mass protests across the United States have changed how many Americans see issues of racial and social justice. Many Jews in America remain unreservedly supportive of Israel and its government. Still, the events of recent weeks have left some families struggling to navigate both the crisis abroad and the wide-ranging response from American Jews at home.

Cleared For Take-Off? (Washington Post) After more than a year of travel into the bloc being severely restricted, the EU council is recommending member states begin opening their borders to Americans and others who have been “vaccinated with an E.U.-authorized vaccine.” Specifically, that means all the coronavirus vaccines available in the U.S. would be greenlighted, but vaccines manufactured in Russia and China would not be. Officials said the reopening could take effect within days of final approval, which should happen this week or next since E.U. ambassadors signed off on the plan on Wednesday. The guidance is not binding, however, so some countries could choose to be more or less restrictive than the bloc as a whole. Some E.U. countries require quarantines of all new arrivals, regardless of vaccination status. And Britain, which is no longer a member of the bloc, has its own separate set of rules, which as of now includes no special treatment for vaccinated travelers.

Mexico’s coronavirus deaths are plummeting (Washington Post) After suffering one of the world’s deadliest coronavirus outbreaks, Mexico is witnessing a significant decrease in cases. Confirmed deaths from covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, have tumbled more than 85 percent since January, when a brutal second wave swept the country. Mexico City, the epicenter of the country’s outbreak, went off high alert this month for the first time in a year. Officials say the capital’s coronavirus alert could soon turn from yellow to green—that is, from medium risk to low. The abrupt decline in cases has brought relief to exhausted hospital workers and some sense of normalcy to a battered nation. During the weekend, the capital’s massive Azteca Stadium opened to fans for the first time in 14 months. Thousands turned out for a pair of quarterfinal matches in the Liga MX soccer league. Scientists and government officials say the pandemic seems to be abating—at least temporarily—because of increasing levels of immunity on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. As much as half the Mexican population has developed antibodies because the coronavirus circulated so widely over the past year. In addition, U.S. vaccinations appear to be blocking the southward spread of the virus.

As India sets a record for covid-19 deaths, variant worries grow globally (Washington Post) India set another coronavirus milestone this week. On Wednesday, authorities announced the country had recorded more than 4,500 deaths from covid-19 for the prior 24 hours, setting a world record. Despite the record number of deaths, there are some positive signs that India’s surge may be slowing, with less than 300,000 new daily cases this week. Other countries are expressing new concern over the variant that is widespread in India. On Tuesday, British scientists said that the variant, known as B.1.617.2, could quickly become the dominant strain in the United Kingdom if it is allowed to spread. In recent days, U.S. health experts have raised their concerns about the variant spreading here, while there have been documented cases in Germany, Singapore and elsewhere. “It’s outcompeting the other viruses,” Jeremy Luban of the University of Massachusetts Medical School told NPR this week. “It’s replacing whatever variants were there before. And it’s always a concern when something like this changes because we don’t know what will happen.”

Netanyahu’s prospects bolstered amid Israel-Hamas fighting (AP) Israel is at war with Hamas, Jewish-Arab mob violence has erupted inside Israel, and the West Bank is experiencing its deadliest unrest in years. Yet this may all bolster Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Just over a week ago, the longtime Israeli leader’s political career seemed all but over. He had failed to form a coalition government following an indecisive parliamentary election, and his political rivals were on the cusp of pushing him out of office. Now, as Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers wage their fourth war in just over a decade, Netanyahu’s fortunes have changed dramatically. His rivals’ prospects have crumbled, Netanyahu is back in his comfortable role as Mr. Security, and the country could soon be headed for yet another election campaign that would guarantee him at least several more months in office. The stunning turn of events has raised questions about whether Netanyahu’s desperation to survive may have pushed the country into its current predicament. While opponents have stopped short of accusing him of hatching just such a conspiracy, they say the fact that these questions are being asked is disturbing enough.

Perspectives on war (CJR) Ariana Pekary, CJR’s public editor for CNN, writes about the network’s coverage of the violence between Israel and Palestine, and how it seems to give a lot more time and space to the Israeli government’s position than to that of the Palestinians who are being shelled and fired upon by the Israeli military. “CNN aired a two-hour special on the brewing crisis from 3pm to 5pm Eastern Time without explaining why it was happening,” Pekary writes. “Almost every guest was located in Israel; the network didn’t feature a single person in a Palestinian territory or neighborhood.”

Gaza’s health system buckling under repeated wars, blockade (AP) The Gaza Strip’s already feeble health system is being brought to its knees by the fourth war in just over a decade. Hospitals have been overwhelmed with waves of dead and wounded from Israel’s bombardment. Many vital medicines are rapidly running out in the tiny, blockaded coastal territory, as is fuel to keep electricity going. Just as Gaza was climbing out of a second wave of coronavirus infections, its only virus testing lab was damaged by an airstrike and has been shut. Health officials fear further outbreaks among tens of thousands of displaced residents crowded into makeshift shelters after fleeing massive barrages. The Gaza Strip’s health infrastructure was already collapsing before this latest war, said Adnan Abu Hasna, a spokesman for UNRWA, the U.N. agency that provides vital assistance to the 75% of the enclave’s population who are refugees. “It’s frightening,” he said.

Parenting under fire (Washington Post) Ayman Mghames couldn’t stop the nightly Israeli bombing that was making his 7-year-old daughter, Joury, cry. But just maybe he could turn the volume down. Just after midnight on the fourth evening of the bombardment, the Palestinian musician and rapper retrieved a pair of noise-canceling headphones. He fit them over the little ears, dialed up a YouTube video of “The Smurfs” and hit play. Mghames, 36, whose father was killed when an Israeli missile struck their house in 2009, knows well that headphones won’t protect his children from the bombs that have already killed more than 200 Gazans in the past 10 days, including more than 60 children. But like countless parents, Palestinian and Israeli, cowering in homes, shelters and stairwells under the air war raging between Israel and the Hamas militant group, he is doing anything he can to shield them from the trauma of being under fire. Dads and moms on both sides of the border have put aside their own terror to launch indoor soccer games, dance parties and cooking contests as distractions.

Israel, Hamas agree to cease-fire to end bloody 11-day war (AP) Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire Thursday, halting a bruising 11-day war that caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip, brought life in much of Israel to a standstill and left more than 200 people dead. Like the three previous wars between the bitter enemies, the latest round of fighting ended inconclusively. Israel claimed to inflict heavy damage on Hamas but once again was unable to halt the Islamic militant group’s nonstop rocket barrages. Almost immediately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced angry accusations from his hard-line, right-wing base that he stopped the operation too soon. Hamas, the Islamic militant group sworn to Israel’s destruction, also claimed victory. But it now faces the daunting challenge of rebuilding in a territory already suffering from poverty, widespread unemployment and a raging coronavirus outbreak. At least 230 Palestinians were killed, including 65 children and 39 women, with 1,710 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not break the numbers down into fighters and civilians. Twelve people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl, were killed.

[gamerszone2019-blog]

DayZ Refused Classification in Australia, Bohemia Looking at Solutions

New Post has been published on https://gamerszone.tn/dayz-refused-classification-in-australia-bohemia-looking-at-solutions/

DayZ Refused Classification in Australia, Bohemia Looking at Solutions

Bohemia Interactive has addressed the classification issue, assuring fans it is currently looking at ways to solve the problem.“We are aware of the Classification Board’s intention to pull DayZ from the online sales,” explained Bohemia in a statement provided to IGN. “The game was just removed from the PlayStation and Xbox stores. The reason behind the rejection to classify the game is the specifics of drug use in the game. For example we have morphine in the game. Usage of it is allowed, but has to be [portrayed] in very specific way to fit under Australian regulations.”

“The Australian player base is a big and very important part of our community. At the moment we are looking for the best solution to keep the game on the Australian market and pass the classification according to all regulations. We will do everything in our power to keep the game playable and available for Australian gamers.”

Bohemia specifically mentioning morphine mirrors the classification problem Bethesda had with morphine in 2008, and State of Decay in 2013. Morphine is an opioid that may be addictive, but it’s available via prescription in Australia.

The Australian Classification Board has refused classification for Bohemia Interactive’s long-gestating survival shooter DayZ, creating a confusing scenario IGN is still attempting to unravel.

DayZ was refused classification on June 4 this year due to “illicit or proscribed drug use related to incentives or rewards,” a video game rating hurdle that has persisted in Australia despite the major reforms of 2013.

“One of the options to restore the player’s health is a marijuana joint, labelled ‘cannabis’, which is denoted by a cannabis bud in the player’s inventory,” explains the report, via Kotaku.

“The use of drugs (marijuana) as an incentive or reward during the gameplay exceeds what can be accommodated within the R18+ classification and therefore must be Refused Classification.”

Games containing drug use related to incentives or rewards have historically had problems being rated in Australia. In 2018 We Happy Few was initially refused classification because progress relied on hallucinogenic drug use, but that decision was overturned on review after more context was provided to the board. In 2013, State of Decay was temporarily refused classification in Australia for namechecking methadone, morphine, and “amphetamines” as health and stamina boosts. A modified version was successfully rated R18+ a month later (the sequel was also rated R18+). In 2008, Fallout 3 fell foul of the guideline, prompting Bethesda to steer clear of using real-world terms like morphine in its game. A modified Fallout 3 was rated and made available for sale. In 2007, Blitz: The League was refused classification for steroid use and remains forbidden from sale in the country. The difference between these examples and, say, the drug use and drug effects in the likes of Far Cry 3 or GTA V is that there are gameplay benefits (and presumably the reason Max Payne can munch as many painkillers as he desires is because they’re not specifically identified as an illicit or proscribed drug).

What’s mystifying here is that, according to DayZ users, cannabis hasn’t actually been officially implemented into the game at this stage and only appears to be available via PC mods. Despite this, the game is now unavailable from both console storefronts in Australia. IGN has contacted Bohemia Interactive for clarification.

DayZ is currently unavailable via the AU Microsoft Store.

While DayZ was classified RC by the Classification Board on June 4 in preparation for its retail release, it’s been available digitally for years on PC (and for several months on Xbox One and PS4) and was previously rated MA15+ a baffling three separate times via the IARC classification tool (and one more time since the RC rating). The International Age Rating Coalition classification tool is an online questionnaire where developers answer a series of questions about content. In Australia the free tool can only be used for digitally-distributed games; all physical releases are still required to be rated by the Classification Board itself (a process that can cost over AUD$2000).

DayZ’s multiple ratings.

UK publisher Sold Out confirmed in June this year it would be releasing DayZ for console at retail later in 2019, and it would appear Australian distribution was set to go through local distributor Five Star Games (the listed applicant on DayZ’s unsuccessful classification request). Five Star Games referred IGN to the contents of the Classification Board’s report.

DayZ began life in 2012 as a mod for Bohemia’s 2009 tactical shooter ARMA 2. The follow-up standalone version of DayZ was first made available via Steam Early Access back in December 2013.

DayZ was officially released for PC in December 2018 after five years in Steam Early Access, and a pair of poorly-received console versions for Xbox One and PS4 quietly arrived in 2019 (DayZ hit Xbox in March 2019 after a stint in Xbox Game Preview, and on PS4 in May).

Luke is Games Editor at IGN’s Sydney office. You can find him on Twitter every few days @MrLukeReilly.

Source : IGN

[bloggerblagger]

85) Hashtag Strap-on. Edinburgh Fringe 2018, explored, explained,  and reviewed.

If you have a spare few days left in August, drop everything and take advantage of my top holiday tip. Take the high road or the low road, the plane or even the train (provided you’re prepared to stand for four or five hours)  and  hightail it to the Athens of the North.

The Edinburgh Fringe is truly a once in a lifetime experience. And that’s an understatement. Because once you get the bug you may very well find yourself  - like me - going  back year after year.

Never mind that the weather is often, inevitably, dreich. (Dictionary definition: Scottish dialect for ‘Bleak, miserable, dismal, cheerless, dreary.’ And pronounced and meaning almost exactly the same as  ‘dreck’  which is Yiddish for lousy. How curious.)

Worry not that the  restaurant prices are ludicrous - in a bad way.  Nor that you’ll be lucky to get a room you could swing a kitten with dwarfism in, no matter how much you’re willing to pay - ‘how much?!!!’. Nor even that the pavements are so crowded - ‘OMG, will you just get out of the fucking way?!’ - you have to walk in the road if you want to travel above  sub sloth pace.

Because, really, who gives a shit? What’s the occasional near death experience compared to the non stop adrenaline rush of the Fringe.

If there is a better legal high available, answers on a postcard please.

Do mind the quality and still feel the width.

It is said there are 3000 shows on during the Fringe and that, during August,  the population of Edinburgh doubles. Frankly when you’re there it feels like these are gross under estimates.

Every lecture hall, every  room - very possibly every broom cupboard -  in the University campus becomes a theatre. Every basement in every pub and every loft above every bar seems to have a mic and a makeshift stage. And every doorway in every street seems to lead to a stand up comedian, or a sketch show, or a play, or to music or magic or mime.

The standard length - and it rarely varies - of any performance is one hour and shows begin at 9a.m and go on to 1 or 2 the following morning. If you had the stamina  and could survive the sensory overload,  you could, theoretically, do ten shows a day. But  even if you did, you would still see less than 10% of what is available.

And the standard is astonishing. True, every so often you come across a dud but, in my experience - three years now -  for a show even to be  average it  has to be pretty damn good.

Essential Fringe primer. 

Eight super-cunning tips (in no particular order).

1) If you want to know the best things to see,  find a friend who has been and ask them. LIKE ME! My reviews are below and as regular followers of my blog know, I am never wrong. Failing that, Google the  recommendations from The Guardian, the Beeb and The Scotsman.

2)  It’s useful to understand the basic ‘architecture’ of the event because there are several events going on in parallel in Edinburgh.

First, the original Edinburgh Festival festival which takes place in proper venues and is sort of proper culcher  and proper expensive.

Second, the Edinburgh Fringe which, as it name suggests, exists outside the Festival  proper, began nearly 50 years ago, has grown like the Beanstalk on steroids, and in which, shows, generally speaking, charge £10-12 for entrance.

Third, there is the Free Fringe, in which you find acts, so far as I can tell, that  are not in the actual Fringe and for which you can get a separate programme, and which, as the name suggests, don’t charge.

(There are also lots of other things going on - like the Edinburgh Book Festival - but I am not sure where they fit into the scheme of things. Might be part of the actual Festival, but not really relevant.)

3) Download and use the Edinburgh Fringe App. It’s really cleverly designed and once you’ve worked it out, it’s a great way to narrow down the insane choice, to find out what tickets are available, and offers an easy way to buy them. (I didn’t even bother getting the  hard copy brochure/guide. Who wants to schlep a telephone directory around?)

4) There are lots of shows you can take children and young teens to, but if you want to avoid a lot of  the kids, go on August 15th or afterwards. Because, as odd as it seems to us non-Scots, Scottish schools return for the autumn term in mid-August.  I am inclined to think that is the best time to go anyway. After a couple of weeks the shows will be properly grooved.

5) If you are part of a couple try it to make sure you are there on a Monday and Tuesday. There are lots of two for one offers available to all on those days.

6) Couples going for a few days or more, should get a Friend of the Fringe membership. Costs £35, and there lots of other ‘two for one’ offers available every day to FOFs.

Otherwise, to see 3 or 4 shows a day (the right level, for a serious  and hardy Fringe goer, I would say) you need to budget about £40 per day per person for entertainment before costs of  food, drinks, accom etc. Well, I never said it was cheap. ((By the way, my max fringe binge  this year was five shows in one day.)

7) Build your schedule around the plays at the Traverse theatre. The Traverse, known as one of     Britain’s leading centres of new writing, is not strictly part of the Fringe nor part of the Festival but hovers somewhere in between. HOWEVER, its programme is included in the Fringe. (No, I don’t quite understand either, but that’s what I was told.)

Anyway, notwithstanding that, they put on about half a dozen plays of about 60-90 mins length - why aren’t all plays that short? - cuts out nine tenths of the snoring - and they rotate them so they play at different times every day. Invariably brilliant stuff and probably all sold out this year. But they do get RETURNS. Call them on 0131 228 1404 to find out how to get one.

8) My strong advice is to book accommodation as far in advance in possible - like right now for next year - even if you are not 100 per cent sure you are going. You can always cancel.  I stay 20 miles out of town with friends - lucky me! - and this year, hired a car and every day drove into a Park n’ Ride (50p per day) and caught the train in for the last 5 miles. Inexpensive and just about manageable, although it took some organising. So if you have some mates in striking distance, blag a room.

If you have a ‘winibago’, you could do as a few enterprising Fringe goers do and take your leviathan and park in a Park ’n Ride. (There are quite a few situated all around the borders of Edinburgh.) Not sure I would want to stay in the Hotel Park n’ Ride but I saw people who did it.

This year’s BloggerBlagger  reviews.

I went to twenty three things in all. (22 performances of one kind or another plus 1 something else.)

These comprised, again in no particular order:

Five straight plays.

Games. A two hander based upon the story of two Jewish women at the time of the Berlin Olympics and simply stunning, as were Borders and Angels,  the last two fringe offerings written by former comedian Henry Naylor.  Henry, (who I am pleased to call a friend from the time I directed him in a Direct Line campaign 20  years ago - yes, funny old world) was  bracketed by one reviewer with Athol Fugard after the recent off-Broadway production of ‘Angels’.  

His standard does not drop. ‘Games’ is gripping from first to last and subtly draws chilling parallels with the era of Trump. Commit murder to get a ticket. (You may have to.) Five Bloggerblaggerstars.

Freeman. Half a dozen actors, with no scenery, constantly switch between different roles and different centuries to produce a riveting commentary on the sins of slavery and it’s rippling effect into the present day. Wonderful performances. Great imagination. Utterly compelling. Not on any account to be missed. Five Bloggerblaggerstars.

Revenants. A more conventional piece of theatre set in 1942 in which Queen Mary (widow of George V) is portrayed as a game old bird with a touch more brain power than the Royal Family are usually said to have. Surprisingly this too, turns out to be a story about race.

Had its moments but didn’t quite do it for me.Three Bloggerblaggerstars.

Underground Railroad Game. A theatrical experience like no other I have ever experienced. Once again this is about slavery,  a  mesmerising two hander  at the Traverse presented in a constantly shifting context and style. Sometimes comedic, sometimes tragic, and sometimes explicitly  and, even for a man of the world like me, shockingly  sexual, it never stops surprising.

Two wonderful performances, particularly by Jennifer Kidwell, an actor of astonishing power. You may have to commit a murder for this one too, but well worth  a lifetime in prison  so go for it.

My joint pick of the week.Five Bloggerblaggerstars Plus.

Chihuahua. A clever one woman performance that switches between the life of a character in  an Edith Wharton novel and that of a waitress in a coffee shop in Scotland; two women who are linked in a not very defined way by chihuahuas. This was presented in a much smaller venue than the other plays I saw, and also unlike those, it was only half full.

I thought the actress and writer, whose name I didn’t write down and now can’t locate on the internet, was heroic in the face of such a small audience. I think the title might be the problem. I am sure there must be something  that would grab a passer-by or a flicker-through with  much more grip. Three and a bit BloggerBlaggerStars.

Two plays with music.

What are Girls Made Of?.  Another Traverse presentation, this one with four excellent actors, three of whom were obviously at least as gifted as musicians,  and the fourth of whom sang wonderfully. Apparently she would have danced too had she not suffered a nasty injury at some previous performance,  a misfortune that the disembodied voice of the artistic director of the Traverse told us about  at the outset, before apologising for the show’s relative shortcomings and  begging the audience’s  indulgence. She needn’t have bothered her invisible head.

Cora Bissett, the injured singer, was so assured in this tale of the sudden rise and precipitous fall of a young rock star, told  as she approaches forty, that neither she nor we missed a step. She was completely convincing in the role,  unsurprisingly in a sense, since it was her own true life story she was telling, and, of course, she wrote it. Five Bloggerblaggerstars.

Vulvarine. Much more authentically Fringe in that it was conceived and performed by five fresh faced performers with great verve and obvious talent but with the odd rough edge still to be professionally smoothed. ‘Vulverine’ is a more than creditable  attempt at a musical comedy with a sort of ironic feminist theme and has some quite decent tunes and lyrics and  more than a few genuinely funny bits.

Allie Munro, plays the lead part of boring Brony Buckle who is transformed into Superheroine Vulvarine, and she was, I thought,  terrific.  Likewise the rest of the cast with one obvious exception. But given the youthful gusto that made this show so much fun, it would seem mean to name the culprit so, should you go, you can decide for yourself who I meant. Four Bloggerblaggerstars.

Four other musical shows.

21st Century Speakeasy Andrea Carlson and the Love  Police. Andrea Carlson, who, I would guess, is comfortably north of fifty,  has a sweet voice, vaguely reminiscent of Blossom Dearie if you are old enough to know who that is or maybe Maria Muldaur if you’re a little bit younger.

Sadly she had a rather faded quality - her costume seemed a little contrived and dated - and I don’t think it was intentional. The tunes were, by and large, pleasant enough  and she and her rather elderly backing musicians performed faultlessly, but the whole thing felt slightly tragic to me, an impression not helped by the only half-filled room. Two Bloggerblaggerstars.

Jess Robinson - No filter. This was  not a name I knew but she played to a packed audience in a relatively large venue so evidently a lot of people knew what I had been missing. Jess Robinson seems to be not just a singer, but an impressionist and has, according to Wikipedia,  been on the telly quite a bit, in Dead Ringers amongst other things. (She also nearly made the final of Britain’s Got Talent, seventh series.)

Regrettably I didn’t know many of the people she was impersonating as her cast of characters didn’t include   Vera Lynn or Gracie Fields or Marie Lloyd or Mrs.Patrick Campbell. My companion on the night described it as a bit ‘low rent’ which I thought was a tad harsh, but I knew what she meant. Two and a half Bloggerblaggerstars.

Johnny Woo’s Brexit Cabaret. Not a terribly clever musical revue with nothing very original to say about you know what. I didn’t realise Johnny Woo was a drag artist and I probably wouldn’t have gone if I had.  (More fool me for not perusing the blurb closely enough.)

I have never understood the point of drag - never got panto dames or Danny LaRue - although I suppose I do  remember liking the film of La Cage Aux Folles. And in the modern world, where, happily,  everyone in enlightened countries has the opportunity  (theoretically anyway) to be what they want to be - drag seems to me to be somehow redundant. Slick but shallow is about the best I can say of this effort. Two Bloggerblaggerstars.

Frau Welt. Another drag show, though this time, I had a better excuse as it was the only show on in the place where I  was, at the time I was there, and I was determined to see something, anything. This one was full-on screaming camp and I found the first ten minutes  spectacularly unamusing. One word kept coming to mind: WHY? Then I left. Zero  Bloggerblaggerstars.

Five stand ups.

All the stand-ups I saw this year, apart from the polished old stager, Fred MacAulay - whom I caught in the second half of The Best of Scottish Comedy, which a friend smuggled me into after I had fled the horrendous Frau Welt - were just a little disappointing. None were remotely bad, but none got me guffawing uncontrollably.

They were all watchable and, every so often, amusing and applaudable but, apart  from Maisie Adams, none seemed to me to have any stardust sprinkled on them. She has a routine in  which she discusses  her own epilepsy, and at  24 - she told us that - is clearly a natural performer. But she wound  up by telling us how she had overcome her disability, and being the ancient curmudgeon that I am, I found that bit a touch self-congratulatory.

AAA (Batteries Not Included) with ChrisTurner

Gràinne Maguire

Jan Lafferty:  Wheesht!

All two point six seven three ( why not?) Bloggerblaggerstars.

Maisie Adams Three and a tad Bloggerblaggerstars.

The  Best of Scottish comedy: Fred MacAulay. Four Bloggerblaggerstars.

Three other comic turns (I think you would classify them as ‘absurdist’)

Siblings. This two girl comedy duo is made up of  the  Bye sisters, who, as the ultracognoscenti know, are the real life daughters of Ruby Wax. (And Ed Bye - poor bloke, never gets a mention.) I saw them last year and thought they were hilarious, but,  as I remember it, their routine was slightly more conventional, in that there was a logical thread that you could just about follow.

This year it seemed to have a larger element of out and out bonkersness which didn’t really work for a couple of the people I had insisted accompany me. “You will LOVE them” I had said, but it was quickly evident they were just baffled. I would say (the) Siblings probably weren’t  quite as funny as last year but I really can’t be sure because all I could  think about were the fingers of blame that would be jabbed at me afterwards.“You said we’d love them.Love WHAT?” 

Three Bloggerblaggerstars. (My friends are superannuated old gits, so what would they know.)

The Kagools. Another female duo, Aussies Claire Ford and Nicky Wilkinson, who have a completely word-free act that is simply ingenious. They interact with a film of themselves  so that they are live on stage one moment and the next vanishing behind the screen to reappear in the film. It is clearly rehearsed to the millisecond because the timing is absolutely perfect - a moving arm  is  half live and half on film at one point, seemingly without a join.

The really impressive thing though is that,  despite the precision, it all seems completely spontaneous. The technique never gets in the way of the comedy and The Kagools are simultaneously  wonderfully silly and completely charming. An absolute delight, they are the other half of my joint pick of the week. Five Bloggerblaggerstars Plus.

Claire Sullivan, I wish I owned a hotel for dogs. Another Aussie, Claire takes absurdist comedy to new heights - or to new records of excess in whichever dimension absurdism exists. Think Vic and Bob on acid. And then some. Quite honestly, I didn’t have the faintest idea what was going on at any time, but she has a winning way which can’t but help force a smile. I did like her but I really don’t know why. Two and a half Bloggerblaggerstars.

One acrobaticky sort of show.

360 All Stars.  Five blokes in baseball caps worn at various angles doing tricks on BMX’s and with basketballs and  breakdancing mentally and doing somersaults and all that sort of thing. Probably great for the ten and unders and not too bad for the rest of us. But I wouldn’t be falling over myself to go again. Seen better Circusy things at the Fringe.Two and a half Bloggerblaggerstars.

Two ‘well known names’ shows.

Maureen Lipman. As those with knowledge of my murky advertising past  will know, Maureen and I go a long way back, so in aiming for proper objectivity, I might have to have be  more critical than I normally would be. In which case, she was even better than I thought, and that was very, very good indeed.

Her show was a splendid mixture, of comedy monologues, jolly good jokes and some excellent music supplied by Jackie Dankworth (Cleo and Johnny’s daughter I assume),  a fine pianist and, extraordinarily, on guitar, Harry Shearer, legendary Simpsons’ voice and co-writer and co-star of Spinal Tap.

At 72 - don’t think I’m giving away secrets there -  and now in Coronation Street, Maureen has, despite achieving national treasure status,  most definitely not run out of creative steam.  Sadly you can’t get tickets for this show no matter who you kill, because her run has  finished. Five Bloggerblaggerstars.

Nina Conti. *And now, at last, to the explanation of  ‘hashtag strap-on’. Nina Conti’s show began with another pre-performance announcement, this time to tell us that there was a Tourettes sufferer in the audience and to ask for our understanding. She turned out to be sitting a few rows behind my  seat and began to randomly pepper the show with lots of very audible ‘biscuits’ and suchlike. I can’t say this wasn’t slightly off-putting while at the same time provoking an occasionally guilty giggle, and it would have been a fearsome challenge for most performers.

Fortunately much of Nina Conti’s incredibly clever ventriloquist’s act -  I was in the front row and never saw her lips move once -  is ad-libbed and she somehow contrived  to incorporate one or two of the Tourettisms into the show, notably ‘tortoises’. (Really can’t explain but it was both utterly surreal and bloody funny.) The highpoint came when Nina, who uses volunteers from the audience as her dummies by fitting  pigs’ masks on their faces, and operating the lips with a hand control, was fiddling about with one of the velcro ties that holds each mask in place. ‘Hashtag Strap-On’ shouted out the Tourettes lady and  almost literally stopped the show. Five Bloggerblaggerstars.

One participation game-show (no audience)

Werewolves. A parlour game with twenty participants paying a tenner each, played at midnight every night,  masterminded by an Australian (they’re everywhere in Edinburgh) called Nick who sports a long beard, a topper and full Edwardian costume including an ankle length fur coat that must be a fraction too warm even in a Scottish summer.

The rules are a bit too complex to explain but think of it as a sort of  super de luxe, infinitely wittier version of the game where you wink at people to kill them. I warn you. It is addictive. Having made my debut last year, I played three times last week- meaning I was still up at two on three mornings! - and loved it. (Also a winner - twice! Not that I’m one to brag.) Totally recommended. 

Twenty Five Bloggerblaggerstars at least.