unicorn

I recently heard in the news that a judge in Chicago was sentencing a mass murderer to seven consecutive life sentences. I'm happy that this murder will never see the light of day (he pleaded guilty), but I don't understand the logic of sentencing someone to seven consecutive life sentences. I've only heard of one, probably apocryphal, story of someone coming back to life after death. Only cats, as far as I know, are reputed to have 9 lives. Maybe we have someone more knowledgeable in legal matters who can explain this type of sentence... https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/highland-park-shooter-to-serve-7-consecutive-life-sentences/3730113/ "A judge handed seven consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole to the gunman who pleaded guilty to a mass...".

I read an article recently that Pete Davidson is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to get his tattoos removed. I was struck by the reason he gave for getting them in the first place: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pete-davidson-tattoo-removal-price_n_680a42d0e4b0ca3d07709f30 “I used to be a drug addict and I was a sad person, and I felt ugly and that I needed to be covered up,” he told Variety. “So I’m just removing them and starting fresh, because that’s what I think works best for me and for my brain.” I've also noticed that most trans men also seem to get a lot of tattoos. I wonder how common it is for people to turn to tattoos as a response to sadness and/or body dysmorphia. Maybe it's more common among those who get lots of tattoos?

My husband saw this bag at a gift shop and said "Yeah, those death cap mushrooms will age you really quickly!"

I'm not sure if I understand what you're asking, but I was truly flabbergasted to learn that members could vote in categories in which they hadn't seen all of the nominees' films. That seems like a fairly basic requirement. Apparently BAFTA has always had the requirement for voters to have viewed all nominees' films, which makes obvious sense. I personally felt shocked.

According to Variety magazine, "In a major shift for Oscar voting protocol, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that members will now be required to confirm they’ve watched all nominated films in a category before being allowed to vote in that race." WTF? Does that mean that up until now, members could vote in categories where they hadn't even watched all of the films being nominated? Doesn't that make the whole process a farce? Well, I guess the process will have some integrity moving forward... 🙄 https://variety.com/2025/film/awards/oscars-2026-key-dates-casting-rules-ai-1236374012/

Francis was the first pope who earned my respect during my lifetime, and the first to embody Christian ideals. One would think that Francis would only appoint cardinals whose views lined up with his at moving the church along from a reactionary elitist institution to one which embraces all, especially the poor and disadvantaged, but that wasn't necessarily the case. In particular, I hope that Cardinal Peter Erdo isn't elected the next pope. This is from today's New York Times: "...Cardinal Peter Erdo of Hungary, 72, an expert on canon law, is expected to be a front-runner among cardinals who long for a return to the conservatism of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. John Paul II named the cleric archbishop of Eszterdom-Budapest in 2002, and the following year gave him a cardinal hat, making him — at 50 — the youngest cardinal at the time...".

Strictly speaking, only one is the Republic of the Congo--namely the former French Congo (Congo-Brazzaville). The other is the Democratic Republic of the Congo--the former Belgian Congo (Congo-Kinshasa).

The train transfers require going through immigration twice (in and out, and getting/having an ETA or visa for anyone other than UK or Irish Republic citizens), as well as significant walking. Unlikely to save time, and costs ££.

It was late morning, around 11 AM. There were several km of travel, including two tunnels, and multiple crossings in which the bus had to wait for aircraft or other vehicles. I'd be surprised the trip could be done within 5 minutes even under the best circumstances. The buses were scheduled 10 minutes apart, so a one-minute wait would have been a very luckily short wait.

Rather ridiculous list IMHO. CDG is a convoluted mess, with poorly-connected terminals. Heathrow is among the worst. I recently (less than 2 days ago) had to go from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3, and it involved a bus ride through various roads and tunnels. The ride itself was 17 minutes. Add to that an 8 minute wait for the bus. Plus, when one switches terminals one has to go through security all over again, meaning one essentially has to count on a good 40 minutes just to switch terminals. Gatwick is even worse. When connecting flights, you have to go through immigration as well as security all over again! (Most countries, including Europe, will require an ETA (essentially an eVisa) just to connect in Gatwick, even if you're not spending any time in the UK). I didn't even have to show my passport to go through immigration at LAX. A machine just scanned my eyes, and voila, they just said "You're done!". However, traffic at LAX can be very problematic. I really enjoy DCA.

No matter how many times I click "Delete and Report Spam" on my cell phone, I keep getting spam texts, especially from political organizations, but also from others (job offers, and so on). There are some data removal services which claim to at least "reduce" the amount of this spam, but I can't find any hard data about how much they reduce. Is it 90%? 20%? 50%? I'd only be interested in shelling out the $$ if the reduction is at least 80%. Anyone here have experience with these services? What kind of improvement can I expect?

I doubt that anyone on this website is so stupid as to think that travelers are fearful of being at Tesla dealerships or Tesla charging stations at the wrong time, thereby risking injury. (Of course, I'm sure the vandals in these situations prefer to perform their vandalism when they think no one's around to see them) Anyone with at least 12 neurons in his brain can figure out that it's simply revulsion for Trump and his policies. I even know Americans born in the USA who've left the country until Trump leaves office. If I'd been eligible for Belgian citizenship, it would be tempting to live in the southern Brussels suburbs.