Reading

If you cannot decide whether to go to South America or British East Africa because you are getting bored with Paris, drink a full glass of whiskey.

Drink one shot of absinthe if you are waiting to be seated at a restaurant.

Drink two bottles of wine with dinner if you are entertaining a French prostitute.

If you run into someone you know, but they’re only worth about five minutes of your time, have a fine a l’eau with them.

The second you run into someone you know that you see every day, drink brandy and soda continually until one of you has to leave.

If a Greek count gives you one dozen bottles of champagne, send him out to buy more. Drink two before going to the club.

If you are waiting at the bar for your lover and they are five minutes late, have a Jack Rose.

Speed Round: Drink of Choice

Nationwide and locally We’ve covered before how Democrats must get better at selling “the brownie,” and at painting “the beautiful tomorrow,” rather than just reciting economic data and touting policies. Even accomplishing the latter is a problem since the media, especially conservative-owned media, does not want to cover that boring stuff. But this week’s viral Joe Biden’s ad is ” a master class in digital communications,” Dan Pfeiffer believes. On top of leaving an entire omelet on Marjorie Taylor Greene’s face. Better than that, it delivers what a good digital ad should: virality and a solid message. That’s something Hillary Clinton did not accomplish with this viral tweet: Virality, engagement, even fun, but no message. Pfeiffer writes: Informing the voters about his economic achievements is one of President Biden’s most important strategic objectives; and one of his biggest challenges. The press doesn’t want to cover the past. Stories about the economy do not drive web traffic.

A decade of austerity, followed by a pandemic and a cost of living crisis, has brought millions of British families to the brink of destitution.   According to the Resolution Foundation, 20 percent of people in the UK are not confident about their finances over the next several months, with the figure rising to 32 percent […]

It already seems an age since visiting Cornwall. Next week I will be putting Re and H on a plane going back to Broken Hill. I will be following them a week later.

Since leaving Cornwall Re and I have been documenting our travels on Facebook and Instagram. I have …

Is Hollywood out of ragtag bands of world-savers? We have seen a spate of unusual weather across the country lately, you may have noticed. The video from Rocky Mount, NC on Wednesday looked like a scene from Twister. Nothing to see here. Again. North Carolina sees fewer tornadoes than the Midwest. Still, about 31 hit the state in an average year, according to the National Weather Service. Hurricanes and tropical storms generate many of those along the coastal plain. Neither spawned the EF3 that hit Rocky Mount and a Pfizer plant on Wednesday: An important Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina was severely damaged on Wednesday after a powerful tornado ripped through the area, threatening production lines that normally provide huge amounts of medicine to U.S. hospitals. Meanwhile, torrential rain flooded parts of Kentucky and communities from California to South Florida endured scorching heat that at times reached record-high temperatures. Pfizer confirmed the large manufacturing complex was damaged by a twister that touched down shortly after midday near Rocky Mount, but said in an email that it had no reports of serious injuries.

The hills west of the Anduin were tall and white. On its east side there were low shrubs and thin grass and no trees and rocks and stones and dirt near the road which led north and south alongside Mordor. Here they set camp with a small fire and pot simmering skinned conies for a poor stew. The Hobbit and the creature with him sat on a flat stone in the small shade of a drooping, dry shrub. The heat caused the Hobbit to grip at his sweated shirt and the golden burden that lay just under the thinned nap. The other Hobbit, larger in size for Little Folk, would return in an hour, then they would press on to the south to Doom.

“It’s hot,” said the Hobbit.

“Will the fats one comesss back soon, Master?” the creature asked.

“Yes, he scouts ahead. South.”

“We’s close.”

The creature’s gaze followed the Hobbit’s hand and watched him fondle the front of his shirt. The Hobbit caught the creature’s eye and its stare darted back to the view to the west, as though not a thing was out of place.

“The hillsss look like white oliphaunts, precious. Gollum! Gollum!” the creature choked.

“I have never seen one,” the Hobbit said.

An eloquent meditation on family love, disability and representation, with a depth and resonance that transcend its brevity

- by Psyche Film

Watch at Psyche

Thousands of Indigenous children suffered and died in residential ‘schools’ around the world. Their stories must be heard

- by Steve Minton

Read at Aeon

What did we all learn from last night's by-elections? Not a single thing, argues Mic Wright

LAST weekend local musicians showcased their talent and passion at two open mic events, at the Coffs Hotel and the Golden Dog in Glenreagh. The vibrant music scene drew in crowds, creating an electric atmosphere throughout the weekend. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us...

The post Local musos shine at open mic appeared first on News Of The Area.

SWITCHING its weekly free meal delivery to Pete’s Place, Coffs Harbour Lions Club set up a table and handed out 60 fresh filled rolls on Monday, 17 July, feeding a steady flow of people using the drop-in service. Chris and Rosemary Hansen, long-time and dedicated Coffs Harbour Lions members donated the rolls and prepped the...

The post Coffs Harbour Lions roll out free food at Pete’s Place appeared first on News Of The Area.

Suppose I want to play a game. Let’s say we are tossing a coin. If heads come up, I win a dollar, and if tails come up, I lose a dollar. Suppose further that I believe I know that the coin is asymmetrical and that the probability of getting heads (p) is greater than 50% […]

A big problem facing UK politics is that both main political parties see the status quo as in their narrow self-interest, writes former diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall

Sorry strikers, there's just no money!

Texas troopers were told to deny migrants water and push kids into the river.

Huge losses in the Selby and Ainsty and Somerton and Frome by-elections are signs of a Conservative Government heading for a landslide defeat at the next general election

During a panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2023, Wizards of the Coast showed off some of the Doctor Who cards for Magic: The Gathering.

Anthony Albanese is still stalling on cost of living relief, even after announcing a further budget windfall. The budget surplus has swelled to $19 billion, well ahead of the $4.2 billion tipped in May.

The post Albanese backs military spending surge but won’t act on cost of living appeared first on Solidarity Online.

University bosses are already racing to support the government’s ambitions for nuclear submarines under the AUKUS agreement.

The post Universities rush to back nuclear subs and design courses for war appeared first on Solidarity Online.

There are increasing warnings that Australia’s renewable energy rollout is stalling. This puts even the chance of reaching the hopeless emissions target of the Albanese government at risk.

The post Renewable rollout faltering due to reliance on free market funding appeared first on Solidarity Online.

The Sydney University strike campaign ended in June, with 80 per cent of union members voting to accept management’s offer, and 96.5 per cent of workers supporting the agreement in the final ballot.

The post Sydney Uni struggle wrapped up, but much more to fight on appeared first on Solidarity Online.