Thomas Hawk posted a photo:
Thomas Hawk posted a photo:
handwritten on back of photograph, "Dawn and Tupperware in Bell's garden, August 1946"
Thomas Hawk posted a photo:
handwritten on back of photograph, "Bill Oakley made this pic and didn't know it. Caught in the act Laney, 1944 or 1945, But I love you. P.S. I don't always look like this."
DanÅke Carlsson has added a photo to the pool:
banzainetsurfer has added a photo to the pool:
Yamadera 山寺
Yamagata Prefecture, Japan
The remains of Yamadera’s founder, the monk Ennin (794–864), are said to rest in a coffin—once encrusted with gold—beneath the Nokyodo, a small, red sutra hall perched on a cliff in the upper reaches of Yamadera. At Yamadera, monks copy sutras as part of their training. The copying process takes up to four years. Once they finish, they ritualistically place the sutras in the Nokyodo as an offering to Ennin. The original structure was repaired in 1987. It is an important Prefectural Property, and one of Yamadera’s most iconic sights.
Source: www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db/common/001566180.pdf
Photo Rhythms has added a photo to the pool:
Hollywood's recent attempts to build entertainment around AI have consistently underperformed or outright flopped, whether the AI in question is a plot device or a production tool. The horror sequel M3GAN 2.0, Mission: Impossible -- The Final Reckoning, and Disney's Tron: Ares all disappointed at the box office in 2025 despite centering their narratives on AI.
The latest casualty is Mercy, a January 2026 crime thriller in which Chris Pratt faces an AI judge bot played by Rebecca Ferguson; one reviewer has already called it "the worst movie of 2026," and its ticket sales have been mediocre. AI-generated content hasn't fared any better. Darren Aronofsky executive-produced On This Day...1776, a YouTube web series that uses Google DeepMind video generation alongside real voice actors to dramatize the American Revolution. Viewer response has been brutal -- commenters mocked the uncanny faces and the fact that DeepMind rendered "America" as "Aamereedd."
A Taika Waititi-directed Xfinity commercial set to air during this weekend's Super Bowl, which de-ages Jurassic Park stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, has already been mocked for producing what one viewer called "melting wax figures."
The latest casualty is Mercy, a January 2026 crime thriller in which Chris Pratt faces an AI judge bot played by Rebecca Ferguson; one reviewer has already called it "the worst movie of 2026," and its ticket sales have been mediocre. AI-generated content hasn't fared any better. Darren Aronofsky executive-produced On This Day...1776, a YouTube web series that uses Google DeepMind video generation alongside real voice actors to dramatize the American Revolution. Viewer response has been brutal -- commenters mocked the uncanny faces and the fact that DeepMind rendered "America" as "Aamereedd."
A Taika Waititi-directed Xfinity commercial set to air during this weekend's Super Bowl, which de-ages Jurassic Park stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, has already been mocked for producing what one viewer called "melting wax figures."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
WASHINGTON (ANP) - De Amerikaanse president Donald Trump heeft aangekondigd dat er begin volgende week verdere gesprekken plaatsvinden tussen vertegenwoordigers van zijn regering en Iran. De gesprekken met de Iraanse delegatie op vrijdag waren "zeer goed", vertelde Trump aan verslaggevers aan boord van Air Force One op weg naar zijn resort Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
"Iran lijkt heel graag een deal te willen sluiten", zei Trump. De president waarschuwde opnieuw voor de gevolgen als er geen overeenkomst wordt bereikt en herhaalde dat Iran geen kernwapens mag hebben.
Onder bemiddeling van Oman zijn de Verenigde Staten en Iran vrijdag begonnen aan een nieuwe ronde onderhandelingen over het Iraanse atoomprogramma.
GORSSEL (ANP) - In Gorssel zijn in de nacht van vrijdag op zaterdag twee mensen om het leven gekomen bij een ernstig eenzijdig ongeval. De politie kreeg rond 00.45 uur een melding van het ongeval op de N348 (Deventerweg) in de Gelderse plaats. Een derde inzittende is gewond geraakt en naar het ziekenhuis gebracht. Het is niet duidelijk of er nog meer mensen in de auto zaten.
Volgens de regionale krant De Stentor raakte de auto meerdere bomen langs de kant van de weg en belandde deels op zijn zijkant in de berm. De politie heeft aan de krant laten weten dat er "jonge slachtoffers" in de auto zaten. Over hun identiteit is verder nog niets bekendgemaakt.
De politie Oost-Nederland meldt dat de weg is afgesloten. Het team Forensische Opsporing Verkeer doet onderzoek naar de toedracht.
Het is het tweede dodelijke eenzijdige ongeval in Nederland in de nacht van vrijdag op zaterdag. Even voor middernacht kwam een inzittende van een auto om het leven in Kessel in Limburg. De auto had een pand geraakt.
HAVANA (ANP) - De Cubaanse regering heeft een pakket noodmaatregelen aangekondigd op het gebied van onderwijs, werk en transport om de energiecrisis in het land aan te pakken. De communistische regering wil met de maatregelen de essentiële diensten beschermen en brandstof rantsoeneren.
Vicepremier Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga gaf Washington tijdens een toespraak op de staatstelevisie de schuld van de crisis en zei dat de regering "een reeks beslissingen zou nemen, allereerst om de vitaliteit van ons land en essentiële diensten te garanderen, zonder de ontwikkeling op te geven".
Cuba was grotendeels afhankelijk van olie uit Venezuela, totdat het Amerikaanse leger de Venezolaanse president Nicolás Maduro vorige maand gevangennam. De olietekorten zorgen in Cuba inmiddels voor hogere prijzen voor voedsel en transport, net als brandstoftekorten en urenlange stroomstoringen.
BRATISLAVA (ANP) - Twee mensen zijn omgekomen door een lawine in de Hoge Tatra, een hooggebergte op de grens tussen Slowakije en Polen, aldus de lokale autoriteiten. De slachtoffers waren twee mannen uit Hongarije van 37 en 38 jaar.
Bergreddingsdiensten vertelden aan persbureau TASR dat de mannen ongeveer 400 meter naar beneden werden meegesleurd door de lawine, die ze mogelijk zelf hadden veroorzaakt, en volledig onder de sneeuw bedolven raakten. Slechte weersomstandigheden maakten het gebruik van een helikopter onmogelijk, waardoor de reddingsteams vertraging opliepen.
Reddingsdiensten slaagden er uiteindelijk in de slachtoffers uit de sneeuw te graven, maar ondanks reanimatiepogingen overleden beide mannen ter plaatse.
Jon Hallford, condemned in court as ‘monster’, stashed decaying bodies and gave grieving families fake ashes
A Colorado funeral home owner who stashed 189 decomposing bodies in a building over four years and gave grieving families fake ashes was sentenced to 40 years in state prison Friday.
During the sentencing hearing, family members told Judge Eric Bentley they have had recurring nightmares about decomposing flesh and maggots since learning what happened to their loved ones.
Continue reading...Ukrainian president says faster work also needed to restore power, while Trump says ‘something could be happening’ after latest round of talks. What we know on day 1,445
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for faster action in boosting Ukrainian air defences and repairing damage to electricity grids and heating systems after huge Russian air attacks in freezing temperatures. The Ukrainian president said personnel changes would be made in areas where air defences had less than satisfactory results. Kyiv has been hit particularly hard and Zelenskyy said more than 1,110 apartment blocks remained without heat in the aftermath of the latest assault on the Ukrainian capital last Tuesday. Night-time temperatures have eased somewhat but were still due to hit -8C (18F). “The small-scale air defence component, specifically countering attacks drones, must work more efficiently and prevent the problems that exist,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Friday. “In some areas, defence lines are built better. In others, much more work is needed.”
Zelenskyy also said even faster work was needed in restoring power and heat to residents weary from the recurring night-time attacks. “Every day matters. All decisions must be implemented as quickly as possible,” he said. “There are not weeks and months available for repairs or supplying equipment. Many, many things are being actively accelerated.” Assistance was being redirected to Kyiv from other regions, he said.
Donald Trump has said “very good talks” are ongoing over Russia’s war in Ukraine and that there could be movement as a result. “Very, very good talks today, having to do with Russia-Ukraine,” the US president told reporters on Friday. “Something could be happening.” The Kremlin said earlier that a third round of peace talks should take place “soon”, although there was no fixed date yet. The latest round of talks this week resulted in the two agreeing to a major prisoner swap but failed to yield a breakthrough on the thorny issue of territory. “For two days there was constructive and very difficult work,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday, a day after the talks ended. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff earlier cautioned that “significant work remains” while Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the talks were “not easy” but that Ukraine would remain constructive.
A top Russian military official who plays a major role in the country’s intelligence services has been shot in Moscow and hospitalised, Pjotr Sauer reports state media as saying. Lt Gen Vladimir Alekseyev, 64, was shot several times on the stairwell of his apartment on Friday by an unknown gunman in the city’s north-west and was in serious condition, according to reports. Oleg Tsaryov, a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian figure close to Alekseyev, said the general had undergone surgery and remained in a coma. No party has claimed responsibility for shooting Alekseyev but Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of being behind it, while Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine had nothing to do with the shooting.
The European Commission has proposed a sweeping ban on any services that support Russia’s seaborne crude oil exports, going far beyond previous piecemeal EU sanctions in its effort to stunt Moscow’s key source of income for its war on Ukraine. Russia exports over a third of its oil in western tankers – mostly from Greece, Cyprus and Malta – with the help of western shipping services. The ban would end that practice, which mostly supplies India and China, and render obsolete a price cap on purchases of Russian crude oil that the Group of Seven western powers have tried to enforce with mixed success. EC president Ursula von der Leyen did not specify how the ban would be phased in or whether it would later include refined products – whose price cap is different – and other energy exports such as liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Von der Leyen said on Friday the ban would be “in coordination with like-minded partners” and that Russian LNG tankers and icebreakers would encounter “sweeping bans” on maintenance and other services. She said the package would also include a new import ban on metals, chemicals and critical minerals not yet under sanctions, and restrict even more European exports to Russia.
The US state department has approved the potential sale of spare parts for military equipment and related items to Ukraine for an estimated cost of $185m, the Pentagon said on Friday.
Continue reading...