474 lines
59 KiB
HTML
474 lines
59 KiB
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<meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=yes" name="viewport"/>
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<title>26 December, 2021</title>
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<title>Daily-Dose</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><style>*{overflow-x:hidden;}</style><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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<body>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What Lois Lowry Remembers</strong> - Lowry, who has lost a sister and a son, has spent decades writing about the pains of memory. For her, literature is “a way that we rehearse life.” - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/what-lois-lowry-remembers">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Mayfield, Before and After</strong> - What was left of a Kentucky town after the tornado? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/mayfield-before-and-after">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Sunday Reading: Gifts of the Season</strong> - From the archive: a celebration of things given and received. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/double-take/sunday-reading-gifts-of-the-season">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Holiday Stories from the Archive</strong> - From the magazine’s archive: a selection of pieces about Christmas and the holiday spirit. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/double-take/holiday-stories-from-the-archive">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Reviewed: Joel Coen’s Sanitized Shakespeare</strong> - Coen’s stripped-down adaptation sets out to normalize Shakespearean language, but he ends up going too far. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/the-tragedy-of-macbeth-reviewed-joel-coens-sanitized-%20shakespeare">link</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>It’s only a matter of time before omicron spreads through immigration detention</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="A demonstrator holds up a sign that reads, “Free all immigrant youth from detention.
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BAMN.com.”" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/TOhzyDwior05nmgftDSnUlhvk1E=/0x0:2667x2000/1310x983/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70317078/1232770620.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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Demonstrators holding signs protest outside Long Beach Convention Center to urge the release of immigrant children from ICE detention centers in Long Beach, California, on May 8. | Ringo Chiu/AFP via Getty Images
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Immigrants in ICE custody are already at high risk.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uVhJ6R">
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Immigrants in detention have been at heightened risk throughout the pandemic. They have been confined to environments where social distancing is impossible, at times without adequate prevention and sanitation measures and with limited access to vaccines and information about them.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fhWaVu">
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Now they’re even more vulnerable as the highly transmissible <a href="https://www.vox.com/22846696/omicron-
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covid-19-variant-virology-mutation-vaccine">omicron has become the most common coronavirus variant in the US</a> — and advocates say it’s another factor that adds to the already compelling case for releasing them from detention.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ydJQgR">
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Since the outset of the pandemic, more than 31,000 cases of Covid-19 have been reported at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, with an infection rate more than <a href="https://uclacovidbehindbars.org/ice">three times as high</a> as the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/burden.html">overall US infection rate</a>. Cases peaked in May 2021 at around 2,000 cases at a given time and have since declined to just <a href="https://www.vera.org/tracking-covid-19-in-immigration-detention">under 300 active cases</a> among 21,000 people in detention as of December 20. Some of the <a href="https://uclacovidbehindbars.org/ice">worst outbreaks</a> have occurred in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and Georgia.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ej5YC2">
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An ICE spokesperson told Vox that as of December 19, a total of 46,772 people in detention have received Covid-19 vaccinations. But it’s not clear what share of the detained population over time that number represents given that people are constantly being booked in and released. It’s also not clear what kind of vaccine those people have received and whether they have received one or two doses or a booster shot. (ICE does not release that information publicly and did not respond to a request for that data.) That makes it hard to measure the efficacy of the agency’s vaccination campaign.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mKMRVM">
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Absent an aggressive vaccination and booster campaign and efforts to reduce the population in immigration detention, it’s only a matter of time before omicron spreads through ICE facilities.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Srg67M">
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“So many of the people who are being held are people who do not pose threats to their communities, were detained for nonviolent crimes, who have a lot of community support, who have all the kinds of mitigating factors that the Biden administration has said should be included in assessments around release,” said Jacinta Gonzalez, a senior campaign organizer with the immigrant rights organization Mijente. “With the surge of omicron, these mitigating factors should be weighed even more.”
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</p>
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<h3 id="dl6OtH">
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ICE hasn’t had a coordinated national vaccination campaign
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kYUSFL">
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The ICE spokesperson said the agency provides information in numerous languages about the vaccine to people in detention during the intake process and prior to vaccination. There are also educational posters displayed in different languages around the facilities, they said.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UCYnMu">
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“US Immigration and Customs Enforcement remains committed to applying CDC guidance and providing vaccine education that ensures those in our care and custody can make an informed choice during this global pandemic,” they added.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bGkoRB">
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But lawyers representing immigrants in detention say that, in practice, access to vaccination and educational programs around the vaccine have varied widely across detention centers in the absence of a coordinated campaign from ICE headquarters. Some deliver presentations on the vaccines and have a doctor on-site to answer questions about them. Others print out flyers and others hand out copies of the fine-print medication package insert, which can be difficult for people to read if they don’t know English.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QKB1gQ">
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“We’ve litigated in dozens of detention facilities across the country. And it almost seems like each detention facility is coming up with their own educational materials and protocols for people in detention,” said Eunice Cho, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s National Prison Project.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SvnOFu">
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It seems that vaccine access has improved since July, when some detention centers <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/7/14/22573814/vaccine-detention-immigration-ice-
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covid">weren’t offering vaccination at all</a>, Cho said. But even some medically vulnerable immigrants have fallen through the cracks.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gf2JMa">
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That includes Israel Arrascue, a detainee at the Northwest Detention Center outside of Seattle. Gonzalez, who has been working with Arrascue’s family to push for his release, said that he has chronic asthma and has developed other health risk factors during his two years in detention, including prediabetes, high blood pressure, and hypertension. He did not receive the vaccine and contracted Covid-19 earlier this year, likely from a guard in the detention facility who refused to be vaccinated and tested positive. He has since suffered post- coronavirus complications, including gallstones, which required him to be hospitalized.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KKEZgh">
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Access to booster shots also remains limited, even if a detained person affirmatively requests it. Cho said that in a recent NGO debrief with ICE and the staff of its health corps, an official admitted that the agency had no nationwide plan to identify detained people who are eligible for boosters, to offer boosters to all detainees, or to educate them about boosters.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jezlfX">
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That’s especially concerning given that ICE has relied heavily on the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is <a href="https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/covid-19-vaccine-comparison">significantly less effective</a> than the two-dose vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. As of October 21, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) started recommending booster shots for all people who received the J&J vaccine just two months after the initial shot, compared to six months for the other vaccines. That means there are likely many detainees who are eligible for a booster but may never have been offered one.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MiIAHn">
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Cho said that in some facilities, detainees have reported asking for boosters, but they have been told that none are available or they would have to wait until a certain number of people requested them in order for them to be administered. Others have not responded with a plan to administer them at all. And some detainees don’t even know what a booster shot is or why they should get it.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iVRxHi">
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“ICE has no coordinated strategy to ensure that detained people can receive COVID-19 booster shots, despite urgent need and ample notice,” the ACLU wrote in a letter to ICE on December 15. “ICE’s inadequate provision of COVID-19 vaccines, including its clear failure to administer booster doses, endangers the health and safety of detained people, in continued violation of their constitutional rights.”
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</p>
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<h3 id="LPmAGd">
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Advocates are demanding that the Biden administration release more immigrants
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1lZauC">
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The population of immigrants in detention has <a href="https://www.vera.org/tracking-covid-19-in-immigration-detention">grown about 45 percent</a> since President Joe Biden took office. That has made it difficult for detention centers to enforce social distancing measures. And until every immigrant in detention who wants the vaccine and a booster can get it, they will be at risk.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="h5ghBE">
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The ICE spokesperson said that the agency continues to evaluate its detained population based on the CDC’s guidance for people who might be at higher risk for severe illness from Covid-19 to determine whether they should be released. The agency has also recently unveiled new <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.ice.gov_doclib_news_guidelines-2Dcivilimmigrationlaw.pdf&d=DwMGaQ&c=7MSjEE-
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cVgLCRHxk1P5PWg&r=bCKeBiRd4GbDKnOwuBBQYc4M-Ip9YBv6OaO-0j2CR6k&m=KRG-
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GH2OmqcdRNVXRnuv0-62wipOfde2fW2QVZlfg6MNhJWKLNMmBKWqyolXWKrp&s=vbozDQjlM3fLwH4BMDBd7KOCbmMuDMrP48rTWUkhvYE&e=">immigration enforcement priorities</a> that focus on detaining people who pose a threat to “national security, public safety, and border security.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OP8WE1">
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Those new priorities outline a slew of mitigating factors that might justify an immigrant’s release, including whether they have lived in the US for a long time, whether they have health conditions requiring treatment, and the potential impact on their family in the US. But in practice, few have been released from detention under the policy so far.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EAIkWi">
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In Arrascue’s case, he committed a nonviolent crime, suggesting that he isn’t a risk to public safety, and was sentenced to serve two months. He was then transferred to ICE custody to await deportation proceedings, where his family, including his teenage daughter, has not been allowed to visit him for two years due to the pandemic. Despite all of that and his myriad health risks, ICE denied his request for release on December 10.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8fC65Z">
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At the same time, the Biden administration continues to <a href="https://thehill.com/latino/577752-court-overturns-order-aimed-at-protecting-immigrant-detainees-from-
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covid-19">fight a court order</a> that required it to release detainees at high risk of complications from Covid-19, suggesting that it has no intention of releasing immigrants en masse. In fact, it has recently opened a <a href="https://www.centredaily.com/news/local/community/article254609742.html">new 1,800-bed facility</a> in Moshannon, Pennsylvania, and intends to expand capacity at its <a href="https://www.advancingjustice-
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atlanta.org/news/closefolkston">Folkston ICE Processing Center</a> in southern Georgia.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="x73F5q">
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“The truth is, there are many opportunities for [Biden] to release people, but instead, they’re really doubling down on detention right now,” said Silky Shah, executive director of Detention Watch Network, which advocates for the abolition of immigration detention. “They have full discretion to release all of these individuals.”
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</p></li>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The best $15,490.53 I ever spent: Getting evicted</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="Eviction notice on blue background" src="https://cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/thumbor/Jd0f7v2MGF7tjYDsXNPast9lFuI=/500x0:3500x2250/1310x983/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70316920/Eviction.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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Dana Rodriguez for Vox
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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I saw my stability crumble before my eyes, and then I slowly, surely built it right back up again.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="v2tLII">
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6uIIXJ">
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I’m exhausted. I peel off the clothes I spent the past nine hours in, careful not to put them on my bed. It’s a familiar, welcome ritual for me and has been for the past few months: closing a laptop and slipping out of the grip of corporate America and onto the Euclid Avenue-bound C train, until finally arriving back at home, where I undress and settle in.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ekBKjC">
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Cocooned within the safety of the four walls of my apartment, I feel untouchable, invincible even. I stand in my studio kitchenette and thumb through a stack of letters I retrieved from my mailbox on the way in. A white envelope addressed to me from a marshal’s office with a Queens address catches my eye. I examine the letter and feel a burning in my cheeks; my stomach drops. Bad news, packaged and stamped. I dig my pointer finger into the very edge of the envelope and tear along the length.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ghifcZ">
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In a definitive tone, the creased notice informs me that I have been successfully sued by Community Management for a hefty total of $15,490.53. The original amount consists of missed rent payments and late fees. Years of accrued interest have since been tacked on. I’m expected to pay off the debt, the letter goes on, by way of wage garnishment. I clutch the letter with clammy hands, rereading it, wondering if this is at all real. It is: My new employer will be notified, and I can expect collection to begin within the coming weeks.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1jjQUw">
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I feel powerless and frustrated. I’ve managed to build a protective shell over myself and my finances only for it to be penetrated by an invisible entity, yet again. I feel the beginning of tears welling up behind my eyes; the soft stinging that comes just before. Unlocking memories of a life I thought I’d left behind.
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</p>
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<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="uRNc9E"/>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EkT8Z6">
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Our co-op building was part of a cul-de-sac, sharing a loop with five other buildings. It cultivated a feeling of manufactured community among people who were essentially strangers, canned greetings and stale conversation while standing by the mailboxes.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yyIy5b">
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I can envision the popcorn ceilings and stained marble tiles in the kitchen. A glass table framed with wood, draped in a magenta polyester tablecloth with what used to function as a napkin holder on top, now stuffed with miscellaneous junk mail and rent letters. The threat of eviction lay unopened, hiding in plain sight on the kitchen table. My younger brother didn’t read them; neither of us did at that point. We shuffled by them throughout the day. I found myself occasionally resentful of his lack of participation. Why was he not concerned?
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GJHY3G">
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Of course he wasn’t, because he was 14 years old. No one should have to worry about stuff like that when they’re 14.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="s5rwEj">
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I continued to lie to my brother whenever the topic was broached and assured him that everything was fine. Even in superficial affairs, I tend to shut down. My shame and stubborn pride cause me to retreat inwardly, refusing to reach out for assistance in an effort to manage public perception. As much as I pretend not to be, I’m consumed by what people think of me. This in turn contributes to emotional isolation, packaged with unproductive thoughts of abject failure and self-pity.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wI19AU">
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Perched on the peeling white radiator sitting just below the window’s sill, we peered out to the street below some evenings, just in time to catch our aunt as she stepped off the Q85 bus. She had a habit of not calling whenever she came to visit from Canarsie. Oftentimes, we would be alerted to her arrival by the sound of keys turning in the door. Her presence, once evergreen after our parents passed, grew more infrequent as the rent letters began to embellish the kitchen table. For a time, she would help by paying a portion of the rent out of pocket, but that didn’t last for long as she still maintained her own apartment. On most days, it was just my brother and me in the apartment, either sequestered into our separate rooms or silently passing each other in the foyer. Our tight-knit family unit, marred by death and insolvency; slowly undone.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nY74CZ">
|
|||
|
|
“Do you have your half of the rent?” she would ask me, usually as I was about to step out and head to my retail job at Queens Center Mall. The inquisition never derived from a place of concern but shot out like a barb, strategically meant to shame me before I started my day. I remember thinking, “Just how much do you expect me to contribute when I work part-time for minimum wage?” My shame and pride stopped me from ever expressing this aloud.
|
|||
|
|
</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ISrbs5">
|
|||
|
|
I would slip out of the apartment and into the hallway toward the elevator without answering her, shouldering a burning resentment. I’d begun to feel as though my aunt was the reason for a lot of my financial woes. At the tender age of 18, I took on the lease for the three-bedroom apartment, relinquishing my older sister, who had fled to Pennsylvania, of all financial and moral obligation. I’ve heard that young minds are incapable of grasping the significance of long-term commitments. I signed my name on the sheet of paper. It didn’t occur to me at the time just how much this little decision would affect my life for years to come.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ey1Gyr">
|
|||
|
|
Contrary to popular belief, the eviction process moves rather quickly. On a beautiful summer morning, a mere month after we received the first warning, we were dealt our final letter. The notice, printed on pink legal paper and emblazoned on our front door, instructed us to vacate the premises before the following afternoon. Literally a scarlet letter.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2ijBtB">
|
|||
|
|
Whatever we could manage to salvage from the apartment we had spent 10 years of our childhood in, we packed hastily into boxes I bought from Home Depot. Family photo albums, my father’s collection of vinyls, kitchen appliances, sliding around in a shared box with no cushioning to keep them in place. The hired movers kindly offered small sums of money to save us from displacement, but peppered the already unwanted small talk with invasive questions about our situation.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BmMYav">
|
|||
|
|
A soft rapping at the door caused a break in conversation. I squinted through the peephole only to see the building manager, dressed in dark coveralls and chewing on some cashews; the rest he held tightly in his hand. Time was up. Reluctantly, I opened the door and he sauntered in without so much as a greeting. Slowly, he walked through the vacant rooms to ensure that we’d finished packing; the contents of his right hand emptied onto the marble tiles that made up the kitchen floor, halved cashews spilled everywhere. After glancing in my direction, he offered up an “I’m sorry” so devoid of sincere emotion, I could only assume that it was in reference to his littering and had nothing at all to do with us being put out onto the street.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iYZa7X">
|
|||
|
|
“That’s okay,” I replied, “I don’t live here anymore.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aZ734b">
|
|||
|
|
As we stepped over the threshold and moved into the fluorescent light of the hallway, Apartment 7G was locked behind us for the last time, using a key we no longer possessed.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="Yy3HYR"/>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uIuYr9">
|
|||
|
|
Now, feeling uneasy, I shift my balance onto one foot and stretch to tuck the letter into a pile stacked on top of the refrigerator. Suddenly, I’m suffocated by my studio’s small kitchenette, which seems to be closing in as I try to slow the beating in my chest. I’m still and numb, feeling exactly as I had when I saw the eviction notice taped to our front door. As overwhelming as this all is, I remind myself that circumstances have changed.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ab4m5y">
|
|||
|
|
I refuse to accept a life of gradual failure, I attempt to fight against it. This means moving away from dead-end part-time work and pursuing entry-level work that would eventually take me down a solid career path. As I navigate the uncharted waters of adult life, there is no familial support, there is no proposed direction. I accept that my circumstances won’t allow me to take on any unpaid work such as internships, so any dreams of a creative career fall to the wayside. Holding down a decent job is the only sufficient way to pay off my debt and stay afloat.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AfOzdo">
|
|||
|
|
Lessons are learned on the fly; there are missteps, there are failures. I persevere by choosing to believe I am overqualified for every role that I apply for. Over time, my sustained financial stability reinvigorates me. I take comfort in the fact that I will never find myself pacing through the hallway in that three-bedroom apartment, wondering where it all went wrong. Starting over with a clean slate in a new borough. This distracts me from ruminating over the dollars being shaved off the top of my new salary. Years pass, and the biweekly deduction on my stub barely registers. It’s easier to acknowledge the bigger picture. By simply moving through my day, I am slowly chipping away at the total. No additional effort necessary. I should be so fortunate.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p class="c-end-para" data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EXykp5">
|
|||
|
|
On another beautiful summer morning, siloed in my studio apartment, my final payment is withdrawn from my account. I type in my login credentials and expand my digital paystub into a full screen, focusing on the zeroed-out line item. The full $15,490.53 amount is listed in the Year-to-Date column. I sit in silence, breathing a sigh of relief as I stare at the screen, and then quickly close out the tab. There is no one to tell. It is a silent victory.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p class="c-end-para" data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HhhHIP">
|
|||
|
|
<em>Deb Ashley is a writer who lives in Brooklyn.</em>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>What do moviegoers want from the movies now?</strong> -
|
|||
|
|
<figure>
|
|||
|
|
<img alt="A person sits in a red cinema, virtually alone." src="https://cdn.vox-
|
|||
|
|
cdn.com/thumbor/DIgGFiJ2vcD71MUHm7Ruv5GsIeg=/212x0:8660x6336/1310x983/cdn.vox-
|
|||
|
|
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70315611/1236909435.0.jpg"/>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
Movie theaters are struggling to survive in the new era. What do moviegoers really want? | Frank Rumpenhorst/picture alliance via Getty Images
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
The survival of theaters depends on the people in the seats.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DM2S18">
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nYRkSJ">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/12/16/22837975/spider-man-no-way-home-post-credits-
|
|||
|
|
scenes-venom-doctor-strange-spoiler"><em>Spider-Man: No Way Home</em></a>, the third installment in the Tom Holland Spidey era, made bank on its opening weekend. The movie beat out <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/4/24/17273954/avengers-infinity-war-review"><em>Avengers: Infinity War</em></a> for the second-best domestic box office opening of all time, raking in a whopping $260 million — and that’s in a pandemic.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZjBxUR">
|
|||
|
|
There’s a lot to parse in that figure, which indicates a market in which huge-budget franchise films with built-in audiences, produced by giant corporations, are squeezing out space once occupied by mid- budget original fare. But Spidey’s success suggests that the death of movie theaters, writ large, isn’t quite the fait accompli some doomsayers suggest.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fBzdhk">
|
|||
|
|
Yet there’s no doubt it’s tough times — especially for independent theaters struggling to stay afloat, and even more so for the ones that steer away, by economic necessity or choice, from superhero fare.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xQ6pUD">
|
|||
|
|
Finding a way to hang on means giving customers, who have more options than ever, a compelling reason to go to the movie theater. That’s tricky at the best of times, but much more difficult in the midst of an ongoing pandemic with waxing and waning levels of risk, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/29/how-safe-is-the-cinema-experts-weigh-in-on-risks-as-no-time-to-die-
|
|||
|
|
opens">even if the risks are somewhat lower compared to some other activities</a>.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div id="ka4vWS">
|
|||
|
|
<div class="volume-video" id="volume-placement-923">
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="caption">
|
|||
|
|
Theatrical windows are also shrinking, but they still exist, keeping theaters alive.
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tNXgWv">
|
|||
|
|
How do you tell what moviegoers love — and hate — about the experience? Ask them. Over the past two years, we’ve had the rare experience of many people leaving theaters for a time en masse, then returning with caution and new awareness. To put it another way, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. Now we know, and for many who’ve returned, it has served as a reminder not to take movies for granted.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3DjP2F">
|
|||
|
|
But going back also reveals some of the rough points and great opportunities in the experience. On Twitter, I asked returning moviegoers around the world to tell me what they’ve experienced as they go back, and their responses revealed some interesting patterns. (Of course, this was far from a scientific method. The respondents were people who were willing and able to take the risk involved, and who were also interested enough in a movie to pay for a ticket.)
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5Ue2HX">
|
|||
|
|
What they told me was revealing. While you might expect to hear about loving the huge screens and state-of-the-art sound, most people discussed their love of seeing movies with strangers as well as their gratitude for an experience that forced them to pay attention to the film at hand. As we move into a brave new era of moviegoing, theaters might also want to pay attention.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="8kZFme">
|
|||
|
|
Strangers are part of the charm (except when they’re not)
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Q6UX8g">
|
|||
|
|
Via Twitter, Mike Popham noted to me that “there is no substitute for laughter rippling through an audience or a collective gasp happening at a big moment in the story. It’s a social experience, and if anything, I didn’t appreciate it enough pre-pandemic.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jMKbu6">
|
|||
|
|
Spencer Turney observed that after many months watching films at home, “it was a weirdly bonding experience sitting in an often less than half- filled room and doing something so ‘normal.’”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="R2rqwd">
|
|||
|
|
Similarly, Lisa Shininger told me she missed the communal aspect of seeing something in a crowd. “It almost always enhances the experience in a way I can’t replicate when it’s just me and maybe a companion.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="c-float-right">
|
|||
|
|
<aside id="lxYE22">
|
|||
|
|
<q>“It’s a social experience, and if anything, I didn’t appreciate it enough pre-pandemic”</q>
|
|||
|
|
</aside>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iY0VgK">
|
|||
|
|
For Emma Bausch, that experience was especially poignant when she saw a movie with a big twist by herself, and it became an opportunity to bond with a woman she didn’t even know. “She came alone and wanted to talk to someone about it,” she wrote. “Even though we were both masked, we were delighted to share the ‘what just happened?!?!’ moment with each other. Sure, I could do it on Twitter. But it’s just not the same as seeing the joy in another person’s face six feet away.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fyCcF4">
|
|||
|
|
After long months barely even interacting with strangers, that’s an exhilarating experience. Even for those who are nervous around large crowds — something many respondents cited as part of their decision-making process now — being in the vicinity of others while watching a movie adds to the enjoyment. Experiences vary widely across the world, since different localities have different rules; in New York City, for instance, you can’t even enter a movie theater without showing proof of vaccination, while in other places it’s rare to see someone wearing a mask in a theater. But with the advent of preselected seating, it’s easier to figure out which screenings will be emptier (often matinees or weekday screenings) and plan accordingly.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="t7HIzc">
|
|||
|
|
And, as Shininger noted: “Having the theater to myself has made a handful of movies even better, especially scary ones.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gCLEyK">
|
|||
|
|
To borrow badly from Jean- Paul Sartre, sometimes hell is other people — and that’s true in the movie theater, too. It was true pre-pandemic, but it might have gotten worse.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9SVo8U">
|
|||
|
|
Nguyên Lê, who was happy to be able to return to the theater, noted that “many folks seem to have somehow equated the auditorium to their living room after the pandemic.” At two showings in Texas, he said there were “out-loud arguments and checking-the-gram sessions,” patrons being disruptive in ways you’d never encounter at home. “Matinees used to be a ‘safe time’ for me,” he wrote, “but that seems to be changing.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="c-float-right">
|
|||
|
|
<aside id="fsCWQH">
|
|||
|
|
<q>“Many folks seem to have somehow equated the auditorium to their living room”</q>
|
|||
|
|
</aside>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hw02oj">
|
|||
|
|
Nate Rethorn also noted a similar problem, but thinks his “tolerance for other moviegoers’ misbehavior is even lower” after the time away. “For smaller films that we go to see at our localish indie theater, it’s always been a good experience. But I’m less interested in dealing with people who disrupt the theater and [I] would rather stream a film at home with all of those tradeoffs.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mFXhcI">
|
|||
|
|
Disruptive behavior was already something theaters were battling pre-pandemic. Some places, like Alamo Drafthouse, explicitly warn theatergoers to refrain from looking at their phones and talking, and make it possible for other patrons to alert theater staff if people around them aren’t complying. But it’s an ongoing issue, especially for people who regularly see quieter or less spectacle-driven films, and something that theaters need to address. Even those of us who like seeing movies in the company of strangers don’t want to know what’s on their TikTok feed.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="aWZiKY">
|
|||
|
|
We got used to some not so theater-friendly behaviors
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kBmwYV">
|
|||
|
|
When I returned to theaters, I realized that something I did all the time at home wasn’t available to me — and I missed it. If I was watching a screener at home, and I was starting to get bored, I would pause the film briefly and see how much was left, just so I could re-tune my expectations. But in a theater, if I don’t know how long the movie’s runtime is, I find myself reflexively reaching for the nonexistent pause button.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TVJHbq">
|
|||
|
|
I know this isn’t particularly good — a great deal of the joy of a movie theater is immersing yourself in the experience, giving yourself over to the art, and letting yourself be bored, excited, and surprised. But habits formed over a year die hard.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EH2u7b">
|
|||
|
|
I’m not the only one. Joe Nooft explained that “at home, I’d gotten used to being able to quickly move on from a movie I was not enjoying. But in the theater I felt more trapped than I remembered feeling in the past.” Similarly, as Chris Chafin noted, after a year of at-home pandemic viewing, “it’s made me a little less patient with films … a feeling of ‘I can’t believe I’m spending my time doing this!’ is a lot easier to access.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="c-float-right">
|
|||
|
|
<aside id="AcVMZS">
|
|||
|
|
<q>“Watching at home definitely destroyed my ability to focus for two hours”</q>
|
|||
|
|
</aside>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="npbERf">
|
|||
|
|
Harley Gillis agreed. “Before I could sit through a bad movie, or one outside my tastes,” she wrote. “Now I really struggle to stay if I’m not sold in the first 45 minutes. Plus, I’m now super restless. I have to sit at the back so I can stand for a few seconds every half hour or so.” Her conclusion sounded familiar: “Watching at home definitely destroyed my ability to focus for two hours.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tvC5k7">
|
|||
|
|
A lot of people also became accustomed to using captions for movies with hard-to-hear dialogue, something that can still be difficult to come by in movie theaters. It’s an accessibility issue that long predates the pandemic, but may not have occurred to people without hearing issues before. As Bailey Seitter put it, “I didn’t realize how much I grew to rely on closed captioning when watching at home. If anything, it’s made me even more excited to catch foreign language movies in theaters, because I know they’ll have subtitles.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eFls20">
|
|||
|
|
The subtitle question is an important one for theaters to consider. That’s especially true since <a href="https://www.slashfilm.com/673162/heres-
|
|||
|
|
why-movie-dialogue-has-gotten-more-difficult-to-understand-and-three-ways-to-fix-it/">dialogue is getting more difficult to understand</a>, and because those who regularly use the closed captioning display devices available at many theaters can find them unwieldy to obtain and use.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cQITA1">
|
|||
|
|
With so many people opting to use captions and discovering they like them, theaters may be wise to consider how to lower that barrier to entry. That should go along with a raft of improvements to accommodate would-be theatergoers with other disabilities — something the movie industry has been woefully behind on for decades.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="fnMT72">
|
|||
|
|
We go for blockbusters — but not just blockbusters
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0UcNHp">
|
|||
|
|
Perhaps the most surprising and counterintuitive finding is just what people want to see when they go to a theater. Conventional wisdom is that moviegoers mainly want to go through the hassle of leaving the house, buying a ticket, and sitting (perhaps masked) in a theater when they’re seeing “big” movies; spectacles and blockbusters like <em>Dune</em> or <em>Spider-Man: No Way Home</em>. The big screen and surround-sound experience, not to mention excited audience members, drive people to the theater when they might otherwise just choose to stay home.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Bkf261">
|
|||
|
|
And certainly, that’s one big draw for moviegoers. Yet watching a movie at home, on a big screen, can be strikingly close to the theatrical experience, and without any of the headache of being around other people. So theaters face a hurdle: Making the theatrical experience fun enough that people are coaxed to engage in it when the movie comes out, rather than simply delaying till it’s cheaper and can be watched at home.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VfOh6m">
|
|||
|
|
But quite a few people noticed upon returning to the theater that they’d be more likely to see movies at the opposite end of the spectrum — films that are smaller, quieter, and more suited to “art house” audiences. That “trapped” feeling that several people mentioned, the inability to turn off a film when you start to get bored, can translate to sticking around and being surprised. And the way you pay attention in a theater (provided you’re a good neighbor and not on your phone) can translate to delight.
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</p>
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<div class="c-float-right">
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<aside id="QCBUG4">
|
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<q>“When there’s a smaller, more intimate movie I really want to see, I make sure to see it in a theater”</q>
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</aside>
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Chafin said, “I would have fallen asleep watching <a href="https://www.vox.com/22791220/power-of-dog-review-cumberbatch-dunst-campion"><em>The Power of the Dog</em></a><em> </em>at home, and maybe would never have finished it? But in the theater, I loved it.” Jonathan Diaz concurred, noting that “I can actually disconnect and focus on what I’m watching at the movies, which is so much harder at home with a million distractions and a nearby smartphone or laptop … When there’s a smaller, more intimate movie I really want to see, I make sure to see it in a theater so I can give it my full attention.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mben3Q">
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Others said that no matter how good your home setup is, the compression that goes into delivering films digitally often messes with the image or the sound in ways that make it inherently subpar to what you might see in a theater. (Provided your theater properly projects films and tunes its systems, which is not always a given.) Josh Calvetti said, “I recognize the value in home premieres, but as long as companies insist on compressing the picture to death, I’ll continue to go to the theater.” Andrew Shine realized “how distracting city noises and household noises are; they can easily take you out of the movie-watching experience.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LNnWHC">
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I found myself thinking about this when some dust was briefly kicked up around the release of <em>Memoria</em>, an incredibly slow, quiet, and pretty inscrutable film directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. It’s also one of the best movies I saw this year, and I saw it in a theater. Weerasethakul’s films never make much money or play on many screens; they’re best suited to patient audiences who value the kind of “leaning in” that such a movie requires.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bvlvXf">
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Neon, the company distributing <em>Memoria</em>, announced that in lieu of what now constitutes the traditional release plan — a few weeks in limited theaters, mostly in major cities, followed by a digital platform release a few weeks after that — they’d take the film on the road. Starting December 26, when the film opens at New York City’s IFC Center, <em>Memoria</em> will play on only one screen at a time, for a week, in cities around the country, with no plan for a digital release at all. Catch it while it’s in your local theater, or miss it forever. (It seems impossible, of course, that the film won’t eventually get at least a Blu-ray release some day, but Neon hasn’t announced any plans for that.)
|
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</p>
|
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<div class="c-float-right">
|
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<aside id="hgmmv2">
|
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<q>“Now that I’m back, I have a greater appreciation for the ways theatrical moviegoing forces you to focus and be present in the moment”</q>
|
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</aside>
|
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People were, perhaps understandably, a little mad about this. But having seen <em>Memoria</em>, I knew how smart it was, at least from Weerasethakul’s perspective. Besides generating interest around the film, the release strategy guarantees people will actually watch it, something that, in truth, I can barely imagine doing at home. I struggled to stay awake watching it in a theater — I can’t even imagine how I’d have felt on my couch.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Yztf2Y">
|
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So I fully agree with Shine when he wrote, “Now that I’m back, I have a greater appreciation for the ways theatrical moviegoing forces you to focus and be present in the moment.” And it seems others do, too.
|
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</p>
|
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<h3 id="U14Wrv">
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We need to think of theaters as places to encounter art, not just consume content
|
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</h3>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YxRakQ">
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These responses underline the reality of moviegoing today. We’re there for the movie itself, but given the competing ways you can watch a film, it’s not just the movie that draws a crowd in. To think it is risks thinking of movies as just “content,” easily chopped up and sent down tubes to willing customers.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PiFwcp">
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Instead, if we really think of movies as an art form — from the biggest blockbusters to the quietest, most intimate films — then we need to pay as much attention to the experience of watching as the thing itself. Art is not just about the “what.” It’s about the “how,” and the “where,” and the “who.” And the whole reason to go to theaters — dedicated spaces for experiencing an art form — help us remember that in a content-mad world.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="E67P7s">
|
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A space that can hold quiet contemplation as well as raucous enjoyment with strangers is rare. The survival of the movie business depends on understanding what it is that people in the seats really want. And the people in the seats are figuring that out, too.
|
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</p></li>
|
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</ul>
|
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
|
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<ul>
|
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Zuccarelli and Bold Legend catch the eye</strong> - Zuccarelli and Bold Legend caught the eye when the horses were exercised here on Sunday (Dec. 26) morning.Inner sand800m: Baku (Mosin) 58, 600/44. Ea</p></li>
|
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>India in South Africa | KL Rahul, Maynak Aggarwal make strong statement in first session</strong> - Rahane picked ahead of Shreyas, Vihari</p></li>
|
|||
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Ashes | Australia dominant on day one of MCG Test</strong> - England was bowled out for 185, before Australia reached 61-1 at stumps</p></li>
|
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|
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>India in South Africa | Best pace attack in 30 years makes India favourites in first two Tests: Ali Bacher</strong> - The Indian pace attack comprises Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav</p></li>
|
|||
|
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Sasikumar Mukund & Adil Kalyanpur go down</strong> - Adil Kalyanpur and Sasikumar Mukund lost 7-6(1), 6-4 in the doubles semifinals to Tusng-Hao Huang and Saba Purtseladze in the $15,000 ITF men’s tennis</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Two more names added to Uttarakhand hate speech FIR</strong> - Investigation is on, police say; no arrests made so far</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>6 killed in explosion at noodle factory in Bihar</strong> - Seven other workers were injured in the boiler explosion on Sunday morning</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>CPWD invites bids for flower arrangements for offices at ₹47 lakh annually</strong> - They include thousands of dozens of roses, lilies, carnations, orchids and other varieties</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Rajnath lays foundation stone for two DRDO centres in Lucknow</strong> - Brahmos manufacturing centre is a modern, state-of-the-art facility, says Defence Ministry</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Kathua rape and murder case | Parents of victim anguished as two convicts walk out on bail</strong> - The sentences of the two convicts were suspended, and they were released on bail under provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Pope Francis Urbi et Orbi address: World ignoring huge tragedies</strong> - In his Christmas Day speech, the Pope said “immense tragedies” were being passed over in near silence.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Spain’s La Palma volcano eruption declared over after three months</strong> - The Cumbre Vieja volcano in Spain’s Canary Islands had been spewing lava and ash since September.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Covid: Christmas flights cancelled and new curbs amid Omicron spread</strong> - Millions face travel disruption and more restrictions as Omicron upends Christmas plans worldwide.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Climate change: Lapland reindeer gone astray in search for food</strong> - Herders are struggling to find thousands of reindeer that have run away in search of food.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>French zoo closed temporarily after pack of nine wolves escape</strong> - No people were injured during the incident, but the wolf pack was killed due to safety concerns.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>X-ray analysis confirms forged date on Lincoln pardon of Civil War soldier</strong> - Alas, the forged date can’t be removed without damaging the document. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1821962">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Webb Telescope away with two major hurdles cleared after flawless launch</strong> - Lots of hurdles to come, but a good start for the new observatory. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1822418">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Santa and the elves aren’t so cuddly in these Nordic Christmas horror gems</strong> - Netflix’s new series <em>Elves</em> pairs perfectly with 2010’s <em>Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale</em> - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1816931">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Tune in as NASA and the ESA try launch the next great space telescope</strong> - Follow along as astronomers start unwrapping a telescope-sized gift at 7am US Eastern. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1822394">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Intel apologizes for banning use of components from Xinjiang</strong> - Intel the latest multinational caught up in human rights conflict between Beijing, the west. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1822365">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>There’s about a 1 in a quadrillionth of a chance that, if you poke your hand through the wall, the molecules would perfectly fit, thus, your hand would travel through the wall</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
so, before you ask me how i got my dick stuck in this drywall….
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON
|
|||
|
|
-->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/BATMAN-HAHA"> /u/BATMAN-HAHA </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/romh5k/theres_about_a_1_in_a_quadrillionth_of_a_chance/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/romh5k/theres_about_a_1_in_a_quadrillionth_of_a_chance/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>A son nervously talks to his dad:”Dad, I had sex for the first time today”. Understanding the dad said: “Sit down my son and tell me about it”</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
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|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
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|
“Uh, sitting down is a bad idea”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/tonidurden"> /u/tonidurden </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rohe0c/a_son_nervously_talks_to_his_daddad_i_had_sex_for/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rohe0c/a_son_nervously_talks_to_his_daddad_i_had_sex_for/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>I asked the doctor doing my prostate exam where i should put my pants.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
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|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
“next to mine” was not the answer i was expecting
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/nikan69"> /u/nikan69 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/roplqs/i_asked_the_doctor_doing_my_prostate_exam_where_i/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/roplqs/i_asked_the_doctor_doing_my_prostate_exam_where_i/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>There was this guy who found an ancient book. In that book he read that dolphins live forever if you feed them the meat of an eagle.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
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|
<div class="md">
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
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Some time later he came across a very sick eagle and thought: It’s gonna die soon anyway, might as well take it to the dolphins at the local zoo to see if what’s in the book is actually true. At night he climbed over a wall to get into the zoo – and found himself right in the lion enclosure! He managed to escape the lions by jumping over them and then climbing up a tree.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
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He was later arrested and charged with smuggling ill eagle goods over state lions for immortal porpoises.
|
|||
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|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/GrubeMessel"> /u/GrubeMessel </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/roj192/there_was_this_guy_who_found_an_ancient_book_in/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/roj192/there_was_this_guy_who_found_an_ancient_book_in/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>A husband comes home to his wife after being fired</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
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|
<div class="md">
|
|||
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|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
His wife asks him “So what happened?”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
The husband explains “I often get bored at work and today my mind was wandering and I thought to myself ‘what would happen if I stuck my penis inside the pickle slicer?’”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
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The wife is clearly blind-sided by this confession and doesn’t know what to say next. Eventually she says to him “That was an incredibly stupid and unsafe thing to do but at least you’re all in one piece.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
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|
The husband appreciates his wife’s response and says “I suppose you’re right.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
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|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
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|
To lighten the mood the wife asks cheerfully “So what happened to the pickle slicer?”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
The husband takes a moment and says “Oh, she was fired too.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
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|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/LanceShiro"> /u/LanceShiro </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rocmog/a_husband_comes_home_to_his_wife_after_being_fired/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rocmog/a_husband_comes_home_to_his_wife_after_being_fired/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
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</ul>
|
|||
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