F1.com's Lawrence Barretto takes a look at Red Bull’s decision to give Liam Lawson another chance, with Yuki Tsunoda also set to return to the grid in Zandvoort.

Ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix in September, new photos have revealed the preparations being carried out at the Madring circuit in Madrid for its first Grand Prix.

Damon Hill has looked back on how he mentally prepared for his journey to the 1996 Drivers’ Championship.

Formula 1 returns from the summer break with a Sprint weekend in Zandvoort and an extra scoring session. Who deserves a place in your line-up?

Find out all you need to know about Rafael Camara, the Ferrari junior fighting to join the F1 grid in the near future.

A U.S. Army battalion at Fort Stewart is offering soldiers a four-day pass timed to the release of Grand Theft Auto VI if they reenlist for at least two years. The program is limited to one unit for now, but it fits the Army's broader effort to appeal to gamers as a recruiting and retention pool. CBS News reports: Twenty soldiers at Fort Stewart in Georgia in the Army's 9th Brigade Engineering Battalion, part of the 3rd Infantry Division, have already chosen this incentive as part of their reenlistment, an Army spokesperson told CBS News on Wednesday. "The idea was to have a unique incentives program that connects to what Soldiers are interested in," Lt. Col. Angel Tomko, a spokesperson for the 3rd Infantry Division, said in a statement. "The command team, in conjunction with the career counselor, wanted to get soldiers excited to reenlist."

[...] The Army memo, which has circulated online, says any soldier who signs a reenlistment contract between Aug. 1, 2026 and Nov. 14 will be authorized for a special four-day pass designated to coincide with "the highly anticipated release of the video game Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6)." About 130 soldiers are currently eligible for the incentive, Tomko said. Eligible soldiers must reenlist for a minimum of two years and up to six years.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: X's algorithm learns what you hate and shows you more of it, according to a new study just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The paper, titled Value misalignment of X's feed algorithm is a reflection of value tensions in engagement, found that the site's algorithm prioritized engagement above all else when it generated a user's For You Page. It also showed that X serves more ragebait to people who say they are Democrats, although the exact reason for that is unclear. "In 2026 that's maybe not the most surprising headline ever," Ziv Epstein, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, and co-author of the paper, told 404 Media. "So we actually dug in a little deeper to figure out why this is actually happening, and it turns out that X's feed algorithm, like a lot of these social media algorithms, is optimized for engagement [but] it turns out that not all types of engagement are considered equally."

The researchers found that X's algorithm can push users toward content that conflicts with their stated values, especially when they reply to posts that anger or provoke them. Although replies accounted for just 6.8% of interactions, they appeared to carry disproportionate weight: "It's this feedback loop of outrage baiting. The algorithm learns that you get outraged and then continues to serve more content in that direction," said Epstein.

It's unclear why X seems to serve ragebait to Democrats more often than Republicans. 404 Media speculates that it may be because there's more rightwing content on X overall or that Democrats tend to engage with posts they disagree with more often. "There might be some kind of differential effects on information diets there, or it might be something more psychological about how different you know partisan identities are triggering different kinds of actions and reactions, but ultimately I don't want to speculate too much," said Epstein.

X's former product chief Nikita Bier confirmed that the site had been set to favor replies. "This is no longer true," Bier said in a post on X. "The largest contributor of seeing ragebait was the reply predictor and we were aware that angry replies were causing people to see more of that content. So last month, we gave the reply predictor a 15x boost if it's a friend's post -- and it reduced ragebait by [an] order of magnitude."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Chinese robotics giant Unitree surged more than 600% in its Shanghai stock market debut, marking the first mainland Chinese listing by a humanoid robot maker and a major milestone for Beijing's robotics ambitions. The BBC reports: Unitree, officially known as Yushu Technology Co Ltd, was founded in 2016 and now plays a key role in Beijing's ambitions to develop advanced technology. It has become a robotics industry leader, selling devices from sensors and automated arms to four-legged and human-like machines. The firm shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots last year as demand for the technology grows.

Unitree is one of the few companies in the sector to make money, delivering a net profit of 278 million yuan in 2025. It is a fierce rival to developers in the US as it produces robots with similar features but at lower prices. The company is based in Hangzhou, in eastern China. The region is home to a so-called golden cluster zone of robotics firms, which have benefited from huge government investments. That support helped drive a more than threefold increase in the number of Chinese robotics firms between 2020 and 2024, according to state-run China Daily.

[...] Unitree's robot dogs start at $2,700, a fraction of the roughly $70,000 price tag for Boston Dynamics' four-legged device, Spot. "They're not exactly comparable because some of Unitree's dogs are much smaller," [said Harold Soh, a researcher from the National University of Singapore]. "But the price is a big difference." Unitree has been selling humanoid robots since 2023, with its $13,500 child-sized G1 model hitting the market the following year. Meanwhile, major US rivals -- including Elon Musk's Tesla -- have yet to start delivering rival products.

[...] Some experts expect Unitree's market debut to be a gauge of investor appetite for the fast-growing humanoid robotics sector. The listing has given the public a rare chance to invest in a humanoid robotics company and could set a benchmark for other manufacturers, said Jack Pearson from investment firm RoboStrategy. The listing also marks a "turning point" for China's robotics industry, as Unitree's success comes even as the US is curbing imports of foreign-made robots, Pearson said.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Weer voor Rotterdam ☁️ - 19-08-2026 19:15 CEST

In één oogopslag:
• 18.3°C · Bewolkt ☁️ | Min 17.4°C / Max 19.8°C | Kans op neerslag 52%

Verwachting voor vandaag:
• Min 17.4°C, Max 19.8°C (Zware motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 3.5 mm, Kans op neerslag 52%, 🧭 1003.5 hPa ↗️ +0.7 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 23.4 km/u (6.5 m/s), richting: ↗ 228°

Uurlijkse voorspelling voor de komende 12 uur:

• 20:00: 18.2°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 14%, 🧭 1002.8 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 6.1 km/u (1.7 m/s), richting: ↑ 196°
• 21:00: 17.9°C (Licht bewolkt) 🌕, Kans op neerslag 5%, 🧭 1003.0 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 8.6 km/u (2.4 m/s), richting: ↗ 213°
• 22:00: 17.7°C (Helder) 🌕, Kans op neerslag 1%, 🧭 1003.8 hPa ↗️ +0.8 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 9.4 km/u (2.6 m/s), richting: ↗ 216°
• 23:00: 17.8°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 2%, 🧭 1004.3 hPa ↗️ +0.5 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 5.8 km/u (1.6 m/s), richting: ↗ 244°
• 00:00: 17.7°C (Helder) 🌕, Kans op neerslag 8%, 🧭 1004.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 6.5 km/u (1.8 m/s), richting: ↗ 217°
• 01:00: 17.4°C (Helder) 🌕, Kans op neerslag 19%, 🧭 1004.1 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 10.1 km/u (2.8 m/s), richting: ↑ 198°
• 02:00: 17.3°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.1 mm, Kans op neerslag 29%, 🧭 1004.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 11.2 km/u (3.1 m/s), richting: ↗ 216°
• 03:00: 17.1°C (Gedeeltelijk bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 38%, 🧭 1004.0 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 15.1 km/u (4.2 m/s), richting: ↗ 208°
• 04:00: 16.9°C (Helder) 🌕, Kans op neerslag 45%, 🧭 1004.1 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 12.6 km/u (3.5 m/s), richting: ↗ 217°
• 05:00: 16.7°C (Gedeeltelijk bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 49%, 🧭 1003.7 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 13.0 km/u (3.6 m/s), richting: ↗ 207°
• 06:00: 17.4°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.1 mm, Kans op neerslag 43%, 🧭 1003.5 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 21.2 km/u (5.9 m/s), richting: ↗ 210°
• 07:00: 16.8°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.2 mm, Kans op neerslag 32%, 🧭 1003.6 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 11.2 km/u (3.1 m/s), richting: ↑ 194°

Voorspelling voor de komende dagen:

• donderdag 20 augustus: Min 16.3°C, Max 20.9°C (Matige regen) 🌧️, Neerslag 18.4 mm, Kans op neerslag 75%, 🧭 1004.7 hPa ↗️ +1.2 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 23.4 km/u (6.5 m/s), richting: ↗ 224°
• vrijdag 21 augustus: Min 16.2°C, Max 19.7°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 44%, 🧭 1009.1 hPa ↗️ +4.4 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 15.5 km/u (4.3 m/s), richting: ↘ 300°
• zaterdag 22 augustus: Min 13.3°C, Max 18.5°C (Zware motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 2.9 mm, Kans op neerslag 41%, 🧭 1017.6 hPa ↗️ +8.5 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 14.2 km/u (3.9 m/s), richting: ↘ 320°
• zondag 23 augustus: Min 13.0°C, Max 20.1°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 1.5 mm, Kans op neerslag 16%, 🧭 1023.0 hPa ↗️ +5.4 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 9.3 km/u (2.6 m/s), richting: → 273°
• maandag 24 augustus: Min 12.4°C, Max 20.6°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 3%, 🧭 1020.0 hPa ↘️ -3.0 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 15.0 km/u (4.2 m/s), richting: ← 71°
• dinsdag 25 augustus: Min 13.7°C, Max 21.1°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 16%, 🧭 1013.4 hPa ↘️ -6.6 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 14.8 km/u (4.1 m/s), richting: ↙ 48°

Details:
• 🌡️ Huidige temperatuur (om 19:15): 18.3°C (Bewolkt)
• 🤚 Gevoelstemperatuur: 19.2°C (+0.9°C)
• 💨 Windsnelheid: 6.5 km/u (1.8 m/s), richting: ↗ 210°
• 🌬️ Windstoten: 11.2 km/h (3.1 m/s)
• 💧 Luchtvochtigheid: 86%
• 🧭 Luchtdruk: 1002.8 hPa ↗️ +1.0 hPa/3h
• 👁️ Zichtbaarheid: 11.2 km
• ☀️ UV-index: 0.7
• 🌅 Zonsopgang: 06:33 · 🌇 Zonsondergang: 20:58

Luchtkwaliteit:
• AQI: 39 🟢 (Goed)
• PM2.5: 5.3 μg/m³
• PM10: 8.5 μg/m³

Gegevens geleverd door Open-Meteo

#Rotterdam #Meteo #MeteoBot #MeteoNetherlands #OpenMeteo #FediMeteo

Body camera footage obtained by 404 Media shows a police officer explaining why he used police databases and license plate reader cameras to research, stalk, and pull over a woman he met on the set of a TV show. "I mean, I saw a shiny thing, teasing and all that," the cop said in the footage. "I knew that when I put that [into the system], I was like ‘Fuck.’

404 Media obtained more than an hour of body camera footage that shows the investigation into Florida cop Lamar Roman, who met a woman on the set of the Apple TV show Bad Monkey, then illegally researched her using government department of motor vehicles databases, put her license plate on a police “hot list” that would notify him when she drove past an automated license plate reader camera, nearly caused a head-on collision while speeding to track her down, and illegally pulled her over after stalking her. We previously published footage from Roman’s police cruiser; the new footage shows police station interviews with Roman about why he did what he did, an anonymized police station interview with the victim about his actions, and the eventual arrest of Roman in front of his home. 

The detective investigating Roman told the man “you’ll get past this bro” during his arrest, and later told the victim that he was "remorseful" and urged her not to post about the incident on social media, according to body camera footage obtained by 404 Media.

The footage also shows that the investigator told the victim that “we’ve had deputies misuse databases, we’ve told them over and over again ‘that’s not what it’s for. You see a hot chick, you don’t look them up in a database. That’s not what it’s for.’”

The footage gives unprecedented insight into how and why abusive police use government spy tools including license plate reader cameras to surveil and stalk victims, how victims are informed of this surveillance, and how cops are treated when they are ultimately arrested for this crime. The footage is particularly notable as dozens of cops around the country have been caught abusing Flock and other ALPR systems to stalk ex wives, ex partners, and random people. When 404 Media wrote about this issue in early July, Flock claimed it was “aware of 15 incidents of abuse,” though we, local media, and a report by the Institute for Justice had found far more than that. The Washington Post then found “at least 50” incidents and, now, Flock’s CEO Garrett Langley is saying that its system has “caught a lot of bad cops. It’s a ton. It’s more than I ever would have hoped.” (Roman used an ALPR system called Guardian made by a company called Turing.)  

'You see a hot chick, you don’t look them up in a database. That’s not what it’s for'

The most striking footage comes from an interview with the victim by detective Jenna Moeller, who investigated, questioned, and arrested Roman. Moeller is the one who informed the victim of the extent of the stalking. 404 Media is not naming the victim and changed her voice in the videos we've uploaded to protect her identity.

Moeller begins by telling the victim "I'm going to tell you some information. It may be upsetting."

Moeller tells the victim how, exactly, Roman found her, and said that this is not the first time she has investigated a case involving the police misuse of a database. 

“He met you on the Bad Monkey set, he was flirting with you. He did use our databases to look you up. He looked you up multiple times to see who you were, where you live. Accessed your information, unfortunately. We have a system called DAVID, Department of Motor Vehicles,” Moeller says. “So it’s your driver’s license information, he looked at your signature, the vehicles you have, and your photo. I can tell he looked at vehicles and photos of each one to see if it was you. He then used a different system we have to run your name, your license plate number. Your address, date of birth. He accessed that the day of the filming.” 

“The most concerning part to me, listen, we’ve had deputies misuse databases, we’ve told them over and over again, ‘That’s not what it’s for. You see a hot chick, you don’t look them up in a database. That’s not what it’s for,’” she says. “The more concerning part to me is we have what’s called license plate readers, LPR system, which is the camera’s positioned up and down the highway, and we use that for law enforcement. We have one highway, so if we’re looking for somebody, it makes it very easy to locate their vehicle. He put your tag in that, so he would be alerted when your vehicle was going one way or another.”

“Stop it,” the victim says, incredulously. 

“So that, obviously, is very concerning to me. In my interview, he stated that’s how he knew your vehicle was moving that day. And he knew you were going to be headed south,” Moeller says. “He was looking for your vehicle to pull you over. Our in-car cameras do click on when you go over 70 [mph]. To catch up to your vehicle, he passed multiple cars to get behind you and initiate that stop.” 

“It’s probably a lot to take in. But I will say he was very remorseful, he acknowledged it was dumb, acknowledged it was not the right thing to do,” she adds.

During the interview, the victim described her experience with Roman. She repeatedly told Moeller she felt uncomfortable throughout every interaction she had with him and that his advances were unwanted on set (a longer description of what happened and what Roman did is available in our earlier story).

“All the sudden, I’m driving, there’s steady traffic. And he cuts off a truck behind me, and immediately I’m like ‘This is him. I know it’s him.’ I could see him in my rear view mirror, and I’m like ‘He better not pull me over,’ and he pulled me over,” the victim tells Moeller in the footage.

“He came up to my passenger window, and I had my window rolled down and I’m like ‘I knew it was you, does all my information pop up on your screen?’ And he was like ‘I told you I would find you and pull you over,” she says. “And I was hoping your boyfriend was with you so I could pull him out and give him a hard time.’”

“And he was like ‘Why aren’t you following me on Instagram?’ and I was like ‘I’m late,’” she said. “He kept looking around my car and I was like ‘Can I please go?,’ and then he finally let me go […]I had this moment where I had my phone in my hand, and I could have started recording, or I could have popped off, but then it’s like, it’s my word against a police officer. And I just felt like I wasn’t in power in that situation.”

Moeller and the victim then discuss what it would mean to press charges, the fact that Roman’s body camera was not on when he pulled her over, and what it might be like to testify at a trial. Moeller tells her that he had been fired and that he lost access to police databases; the victim wonders if that might make him upset or if she’d be blamed. At the end of the interview, Moeller asks the victim not to post about the incident on social media until her investigation is over.

“It’s unsettling to all of us. I am glad that our agency found out about it relatively quickly, took action. Those are in my opinion, all positives. This is not something that’s getting swept under the rug,” Moeller says. “Other than that, I know you have a big social media following. I can’t tell you what to post or not post, but if you could refrain from posting anything until my investigation is over, I would appreciate it. Just so it doesn’t hinder anything else. I don’t think it would, but it just makes my life a little easier.” The two agree it would be a good “story time” on social media but the victim says she won’t post anything.

'I Saw a Shiny Thing'

In Moeller’s police station interview with Roman, he admits to “hitting on” and “flirting” with the victim on the Bad Monkey set—“she was kind of teasing,” he said. (The victim told Moeller that she was deeply uncomfortable the whole time, and that he was harassing her.) Roman says after he met her he looked her up in DAVID and MNI, another police database, which he knew was illegal: “Right when I did that, I was like, ‘fuck, what did I do?,’” he says. 

“When you pulled her over, did you know it was her?,” Moeller asks him. 

“Yes,” he says.

“Did you have a legal reason to pull her over?” Moeller says. 

“No,” he says.

When asked what his “goal” with the hotlist was, Roman says “I think just meeting someone like that, getting the high from it. She was leading on. It was one of those things where, she was kind of pushing it.”

Later in the interview, another cop walks into the room and sits out of camera shot and tells Roman to “not let it get to you,” and said “of all the people I expected to be sitting down with here, it wasn’t you. I thought you were pretty good out there, so I wasn’t expecting this. It caught me off guard by a long shot. Nobody’s perfect. Everyone has their own issues no matter who they are.” 

Before the interview ends, Roman says to Moeller and the other officer, “I just apologize for you guys having to do this. I mean, I saw a shiny thing, teasing and all that. I knew that when I put that [into the system], I was like ‘Fuck,’ and I stopped right after and nothing else.” 

“Oh, I get it man. Life’s full of decisions. Some are good, some are bad, what I can tell you from 10 years of doing this job and doing a bunch of things in my life is that, regardless of what it is, you can always move past things,” Moeller says. “In life, time is relative, and you know, this will be a speed bump in a few years.”  

'You'll Get Past This Bro'

404 Media also obtained footage from when Roman was arrested several days later at his home. The footage shows that Roman was allowed to make several phone calls before being arrested as he loiters on the sidewalk. Eventually, he is handcuffed and put in the back of a police SUV. Moeller tells him “Roman, I’m sorry man, it is what it is, we’re here now. But remember what I said. It’s a speed bump, OK? In the scheme of things, you’ll get past this bro. Alright, I wish you the best of luck. Keep your head up man.” 

Roman was eventually charged with counts of stalking and improperly accessing government databases. He avoided jail time as part of a plea deal. 

BEIJING (ANP/RTR) - China heeft internetbedrijf JD.com opgeroepen om niet mee te werken aan een onderzoek van de Europese Unie naar de overname van MediaMarkt en Saturn. Het Chinese JD.com wil het Duitse moederbedrijf van de elektronicawinkelketens overnemen voor 2,2 miljard euro. Brussel vreest oneerlijke staatssteun door China bij die aankoop en doet diepgaand onderzoek voordat er goedkeuring komt. Beijing noemt dit onderzoek nu "ongeoorloofd".

Het Chinese ministerie van Justitie stelt dat de Europese Commissie voor het onderzoek bij een Chinees onderdeel van JD.com informatie opvroeg die helemaal niet nodig zou zijn. Beijing stelt dat de dagelijkse EU-leiding daarmee haar bevoegdheden overtreedt.

De Commissie sprak eerder dit jaar van aanwijzingen dat JD.com staatssteun van China heeft gekregen die een oneerlijk concurrentievoordeel oplevert. Het Europese onderzoek moet uitwijzen of JD.com dankzij deze voordelen een hoog bod kon uitbrengen en zo het biedingsproces is verstoord.

Dacht je dat je brein ergens rond je 25ste ‘af’ was en daarna vooral langzaam achteruitging? Zo eenvoudig is het niet. Een grote studie laat zien dat de structuur van je hersenen gedurende je hele leven verandert. En daarbij blijken vier leeftijden opvallende kantelpunten: 9, 32, 66 en 83 jaar.

Onderzoekers analyseerden hersenscans van 4.216 mensen tussen de 0 en 90 jaar. Ze brachten in kaart hoe verschillende hersengebieden fysiek met elkaar verbonden zijn en hoe efficiënt informatie door dat netwerk gaat.

Rond je 32ste gebeurt het meest

Vanaf je geboorte tot ongeveer 9 jaar worden hersengebieden steeds sterker georganiseerd in gespecialiseerde lokale netwerken. Rond die leeftijd volgt het eerste omslagpunt, ongeveer in de periode waarin ook de puberteit begint en het brein ongebruikte verbindingen opruimt.

Daarna volgt een lange ontwikkelingsfase van 9 tot 32 jaar. Het brein raakt juist steeds beter geïntegreerd: verschillende gebieden kunnen efficiënter met elkaar communiceren.

En dan komt 32. Volgens de onderzoekers is dit het grootste structurele kantelpunt van het hele leven. Rond deze leeftijd bereikt de hoeveelheid witte stof, de ‘bekabeling’ waarmee hersengebieden met elkaar communiceren, een hoogtepunt.

Tussen 32 en 66 jaar wordt het vervolgens een stuk rustiger. De veranderingen gaan langzamer en het hersennetwerk blijft relatief stabiel.

Op je 66ste begint weer een nieuwe fase

Rond 66 jaar verandert het patroon opnieuw. Het brein wordt meer opgedeeld in afzonderlijke groepen van sterk verbonden gebieden. Volgens de onderzoekers past dat bij de bekende leeftijdsgerelateerde achteruitgang van de witte stof.

Het vierde kantelpunt ligt rond 83 jaar. Daarna lijken specifieke hersengebieden die als belangrijke knooppunten functioneren een steeds grotere rol te spelen. Over deze oudste groep zijn de conclusies overigens minder stevig: er deden slechts 93 mensen boven de 83 mee.

Belangrijk is ook dat onderzoekers verschillende mensen van verschillende leeftijden met elkaar vergeleken. Ze volgden dus niet dezelfde personen negentig jaar lang. De leeftijden zijn daarom geen harde biologische deadlines.

Maar het idee dat je brein na je jeugd uitontwikkeld is, kan wel de prullenbak in. Zelfs diep in de volwassenheid blijft de architectuur ervan veranderen en rond je 32ste blijkt er veel meer te gebeuren dan je aan de buitenkant merkt.

Bron: PsyPost

Is het lidmaatschap van de exclusieve Ogér Business Club echt duizenden euro’s waard of is het een ordinaire truc om verboden fiscaal voordeel te regelen voor de aanschaf van dure herenkleding? De Belastingdienst eist de complete administratie van de netwerkclub op. De rechter: „Welke gek zou er nou 22 mille op voorhand aan Ogér betalen?”

Heel bijzonder hoe een niet te traceren kind van zes op een huwelijk in Italië de titel van een New York Times-bestseller weet op te hoesten en dat de toevallig aanwezige Jona van Loenen dat dan kan gebruiken als aanleiding voor zijn Substack met precies dezelfde theorie als in die bestseller.

[image or embed]

— Thomas Hogeling (@hogeling.bsky.social) 19 augustus 2026 om 13:20

Even voor de duidelijkheid: """econoom""" Jona van Loenen is twee keer betrapt op het stelen van grappen (1, 2), werd door Elsevier ontslagen vanwege het overschrijven van zichzelf (nog een slecht stuk ook) en komt voortdurend met 'inzichten' die mensen die wel Engels kennen al lang ergens anders hadden kunnen lezen. En hij gaat daar, getuige bovenstaande 'skeet' van iemand met verstand van zelfhulpboeken, gewoon mee door. Iedere talkshow, krant, of ander medium dat deze boef blijft faciliteren (is ie ook weg bij Trouw, trouwens?) is mede schuldig aan de totale verdomming en verniksing van ons publieke debat. Wij lazen laatst dat LinkedIn door AI gefabuleerde crack van zijn platform willen weren, allemaal leuk en aardig, maar beter tyfen jullie eerst deze charlatan eruit. Gelukkig zijn alle echte economen wel gewoon normaal. Oh nee wacht.

Stop. Hier. Mee.

Social

In een woning aan de Botersloot in het centrum van Rotterdam is woensdagavond een dode gevonden. Om wie het gaat, is nog niet duidelijk. De politie doet onderzoek in woontoren De Statendam.

Reverse decluttering is here, prompting a shudder from me and my fellow neat freaks. Why would you want to be surrounded by mementos when you could be perfectly tidy?

Older doesn’t always mean wiser. Jo Whiley has spoken about a home hack she picked up from – clang! – Dame Judi Dench, and I’m afraid I’m opposed to it with every fibre of my being. Whiley is in a new phase – her four children are grownup – so she recently began the most satisfying project of all: a decluttering spree. Hard even to type those words without a shiver of anticipation. Trigger warning for fellow neat freaks, though: this anecdote does not end well.

Whiley went to interview Dench for her RHS Roots podcast and found the actor’s house “packed with family photographs, children’s drawings and memories everywhere”. Mind-blowingly, she means this as a positive. “Seeing Judi’s reminded me that lived-in spaces are often the most beautiful because they reflect a lifetime of love, family and shared experiences,” she says. “I suddenly thought: ‘Why am I putting all these things away?’” As soon as I got home, I immediately put all the family photographs back out.” TLDR: I cleaned up and then I made it all messy again. Shudder.

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The maker of indie classics Kids, Swoon and Poison on daring to have a temper in the 90s, what some producer credits mean – and what happened between her and Joaquin Phoenix

Trailblazing producer Christine Vachon bestrides the world of US independent film-making like a colossus. She has championed idiosyncratic American cinema for more than 35 years, scoring hits such as the romcom Materialists, which starred three superhero actors (Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans) and grossed $108m, alongside curiosities such as Zola, a strippers’ road-trip comedy based on a string of viral tweets.

Vachon got her start in the early 1990s. Her often scandalous movies – from Poison (gay prison sex) and Swoon (gay child killers) to Happiness (paedophile dad) and Kids (delinquent teens) – dominated the cultural conversation decades before boutique studio A24 had sold its first tote bag. Her production outfit Killer Films, which she founded in 1995 with Pamela Koffler, has as its logo a cartoon bunny with a target for a body, mischievously evoking the company’s blend of irreverence and danger. “I don’t think we’ve ever made a movie that somebody hasn’t been offended by,” Vachon said in 2000.

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