FriendOfDeSoto

If this is news to you: most obituaries are written and produced during the subject's lifetime. Unless they leave life at a statistically unlikely age, the biggest chunks are in the can or pre-written so you can get a single person to do the voiceover over it all. Writers often start writing obits in the press. It lessens the burden of fact checking when the person actually punches their ticket.

So the Bidden footage was probably pre-produced. A similar package exists for the orange one as well. And Rob Reiner's would have been done as well. Although certainly nobody would have anticipated the way he died.

At this point in time you must suspect so-called AI to have its tendrils lodged in a lot of this stuff. I would suspect this less at media companies that still have more than a handful of actual humans employed. So the networks are probably okay. On clickbait dot news I'd be more suspicious.

But can I tell you that - regardless of the content - this feels more like a blatant attempt at getting more YouTube views with a patreon link in tow?

By most accounts, 25 Dec as a day in the calendar is a historical accident. The boy was probably not born in winter. Calendar problems, ancient Roman holidays, and the proximity to the winter solstice made this a historical game of telephone until a pope just set it in stone (some orthodox churches don't agree but January is probably only marginally more correct for his birthday).

Traditionally, Christmas lasted so long it usurped solar new years. On the 8th day of Christmas my sweetheart gave to me ... a shitload of weird stuff. Mostly birds, for some reason.

Correct me if I'm wrong here but isn't in UK English "Christmas" still used to describe the whole year end period encompassing the year change. To me they are two close but still separate events with a bit of decorational overlap. So I understand your question why there aren't more New Years songs. But the answer may simply be: history and tradition. People tolerate Christmas tunes until the 31st and then they're all cheered out. And NY for most is just a reminder that it's back to work now.

I mean, logically, it would make sense to push VPNs into illegality or create a lot of gray area there if you're also planning to introduce the Aussie social media ban. Logically. I personally think both are no good.

I've read some headlines about illegal streaming being targeted and shut down in Europe. If there was lobby money invested, I suspect it is the likes of sports rights holders who would like you to pay them extortionate amounts of money and not sail the high seas for the price of a VPN.

Modstå, kære dansker.

If omnipotent deity of your choice forbid this ever lands at the ECJ I'm not sure they will side with the privacy/freedom of speech side of the argument.

I did not have the feeling that we're talking about fully formed adults here.

TYL you cannot trust a statistic that you haven't forged yourself.

I don't think those particular comments, in writing and devoid of tone, not meant for public distribution (and she's probably not running for political office or something justifying higher scrutiny), necessarily qualify as ableist per se, more skirting the line. I've said very dumb things in my youth and context is important, even in chat threads. But the rest of the picture you painted of that person is: asshole. So for my money it doesn't really matter if she ticked that particular box as well. Stay away.

Of course not. If we blamed the language for the bad actions of the people who spoke it during, there would be virtually no language left in a pristine enough condition to learn.

That being said, tempers can boil over. So maybe don't shout your Duolingo answers at a full Starbucks. I mean, that's good advice regardless of the language but you know what I mean.

6-7.

6-7.

I don't know about the origins of this meme but I know basketball and the NBA are insanely popular in China.

That depends on when it will break out. If it's tomorrow, China and Russia will be buddies or at the very least will be in a non-aggression pact situation. Most of Europe will side against Russia but might be more mealy mouthed towards China (even if they decide to start it by going after Taiwan and that escalates from there). The US will, as it is tradition in a world war, not enter until much later or unless attacked first. And on whose side? Depends on one person's bowel movement on that day an no longer on treaties and commitments. One of the many crucial areas to watch will be if the US honors the security alliance with Japan.

I say it depends on when because if we give it another 25-50 years, attitudes may shift. The US could try going for a more sane leadership and affirm its NATO membership. Sentiments towards Russia may shift in Europe, especially if the US is progressing further towards Idiocracy.

From what I read, a lot of these character choices (with the exception of Japan/Korea, they might have chosen those themselves) were made with the dual considerations of being similar sounding to the country name and the hanzi's meaning being flattering to the people of the country. And there are plenty of country names that are entirely phonetic (e.g. 意大利 for Italy or 澳大利亚 for Australia, Mexico, etc.).