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‘It’s full of things that didn’t happen – but it feels right!’ Inside the making of Bob Dylan film A Complete Unknown
Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:00:04 GMT
Starring an Oscar-tipped Timothée Chalamet, James Mangold’s biopic retells Dylan’s electric early career, but it resonates with today’s toxic fame and politics. The creative team explain their process – and what Dylan makes of it
Bob Dylan is notoriously averse to others poking around in his past – he once suggested the legions of self-styled “Dylanologists” who examine his career in forensic detail should “get a life, please … you’re wasting your life”. So when he summoned the director James Mangold to meet him and discuss the Dylan biopic Mangold was making, it had the potential to go badly.
The film, A Complete Unknown, was already well under way. A script based on the folk musician and writer Elijah Wald’s acclaimed 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! had been written by Jay Cocks, best known as the screenwriter of Gangs of New York. Timothée Chalamet was slated to star as Dylan: perfect for the role, Mangold suggests, because “he’s thin and wiry and mercurial and super smart and restless and he’s also a really fucking good actor”.
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While some residents take to building houses in trees, officials recognise need for national response to climate disasters
Every summer, Dongting Hu, China’s second-largest freshwater lake, swells in size as flood water from the Yangtze River flows into its borders. Dams and dikes are erected around the lake’s edges to protect against flooding. But this year, not for the first time, they were overwhelmed.
For three days in early July, more than 800 rescue workers in Hunan province scrambled to block the breaches. One rupture alone took 100,000 cubic metres of rock to seal, according to Zhang Yingchun, a Hunan official. At least 7,000 people had to be evacuated. It was one of a series of disasters to hit China as the country grappled with a summer of extreme weather. By August, there had been 25 large floods, the biggest number since records began in 1998, reported state media.
Continue reading...A newly obtained document sheds light on how the disavowed “excited delirium” diagnosis infiltrated the Rochester Police Department before Prude’s death.
The post What Killed Daniel Prude? The Cops and New York AG Said a Diagnosis That’s Since Been Debunked. appeared first on The Intercept.
“The funds to CJA are critical for building community resilience against climate change threats.”
The post EPA Staffers Demand Biden Release Climate Funds Withheld Over Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
The jurors that sent Hall to death row never heard critical evidence that could have convinced them to spare his life. Some of them now support his bid for clemency.
The post Charles Hall Insisted He Wanted the Death Penalty. Now He’s Asking Biden for Mercy. appeared first on The Intercept.
SEMrush and Ahrefs are among
the most popular tools in the SEO industry. Both companies have been in
business for years and have thousands of customers per month.
If you're a professional SEO or trying to do digital
marketing on your own, at some point you'll likely consider using a tool to
help with your efforts. Ahrefs and SEMrush are two names that will likely
appear on your shortlist.
In this guide, I'm going to help you learn more about these SEO tools and how to choose the one that's best for your purposes.
What is SEMrush?
SEMrush is a popular SEO tool with a wide range of
features—it's the leading competitor research service for online marketers.
SEMrush's SEO Keyword Magic tool offers over 20 billion Google-approved
keywords, which are constantly updated and it's the largest keyword database.
The program was developed in 2007 as SeoQuake is a
small Firefox extension
Features
Ahrefs is a leading SEO platform that offers a set of
tools to grow your search traffic, research your competitors, and monitor your
niche. The company was founded in 2010, and it has become a popular choice
among SEO tools. Ahrefs has a keyword index of over 10.3 billion keywords and
offers accurate and extensive backlink data updated every 15-30 minutes and it
is the world's most extensive backlink index database.
Features
Direct Comparisons: Ahrefs vs SEMrush
Now that you know a little more about each tool, let's
take a look at how they compare. I'll analyze each tool to see how they differ
in interfaces, keyword research resources, rank tracking, and competitor
analysis.
User Interface
Ahrefs and SEMrush both offer comprehensive information
and quick metrics regarding your website's SEO performance. However, Ahrefs
takes a bit more of a hands-on approach to getting your account fully set up,
whereas SEMrush's simpler dashboard can give you access to the data you need
quickly.
In this section, we provide a brief overview of the elements
found on each dashboard and highlight the ease with which you can complete
tasks.
AHREFS
The Ahrefs dashboard is less cluttered than that of
SEMrush, and its primary menu is at the very top of the page, with a search bar
designed only for entering URLs.
Additional features of the Ahrefs platform include:
SEMRUSH
When you log into the SEMrush Tool, you will find four
main modules. These include information about your domains, organic keyword
analysis, ad keyword, and site traffic.
You'll also find some other options like
Both Ahrefs and SEMrush have user-friendly dashboards,
but Ahrefs is less cluttered and easier to navigate. On the other hand, SEMrush
offers dozens of extra tools, including access to customer support resources.
When deciding on which dashboard to use, consider what
you value in the user interface, and test out both.
If you're looking to track your website's search engine
ranking, rank tracking features can help. You can also use them to monitor your
competitors.
Let's take a look at Ahrefs vs. SEMrush to see which
tool does a better job.
The Ahrefs Rank Tracker is simpler to use. Just type in
the domain name and keywords you want to analyze, and it spits out a report
showing you the search engine results page (SERP) ranking for each keyword you
enter.
Rank Tracker looks at the ranking performance of
keywords and compares them with the top rankings for those keywords. Ahrefs
also offers:
You'll see metrics that help you understand your
visibility, traffic, average position, and keyword difficulty.
It gives you an idea of whether a keyword would be
profitable to target or not.
SEMRush offers a tool called Position Tracking. This
tool is a project tool—you must set it up as a new project. Below are a few of
the most popular features of the SEMrush Position Tracking tool:
All subscribers are given regular data updates and
mobile search rankings upon subscribing
The platform provides opportunities to track several
SERP features, including Local tracking.
Intuitive reports allow you to track statistics for the
pages on your website, as well as the keywords used in those pages.
Identify pages that may be competing with each other
using the Cannibalization report.
Ahrefs is a more user-friendly option. It takes seconds
to enter a domain name and keywords. From there, you can quickly decide whether
to proceed with that keyword or figure out how to rank better for other
keywords.
SEMrush allows you to check your mobile rankings and
ranking updates daily, which is something Ahrefs does not offer. SEMrush also
offers social media rankings, a tool you won't find within the Ahrefs platform.
Both are good which one do you like let me know in the comment.
Keyword research is closely related to rank tracking,
but it's used for deciding which keywords you plan on using for future content
rather than those you use now.
When it comes to SEO, keyword research is the most
important thing to consider when comparing the two platforms.
The Ahrefs Keyword Explorer provides you with thousands
of keyword ideas and filters search results based on the chosen search engine.
Ahrefs supports several features, including:
SEMrush's Keyword Magic Tool has over 20 billion
keywords for Google. You can type in any keyword you want, and a list of
suggested keywords will appear.
The Keyword Magic Tool also lets you to:
Both of these tools offer keyword research features and
allow users to break down complicated tasks into something that can be
understood by beginners and advanced users alike.
If you're interested in keyword suggestions, SEMrush
appears to have more keyword suggestions than Ahrefs does. It also continues to
add new features, like the Keyword Gap tool and SERP Questions recommendations.
Both platforms offer competitor analysis tools,
eliminating the need to come up with keywords off the top of your head. Each
tool is useful for finding keywords that will be useful for your competition so
you know they will be valuable to you.
Ahrefs' domain comparison tool lets you compare up to five websites (your website and four competitors) side-by-side.it also shows you how your site is ranked against others with metrics such as backlinks, domain ratings, and more.
Use the Competing Domains section to see a list of your
most direct competitors, and explore how many keywords matches your competitors
have.
To find more information about your competitor, you can
look at the Site Explorer and Content Explorer tools and type in their URL
instead of yours.
SEMrush provides a variety of insights into your
competitors' marketing tactics. The platform enables you to research your
competitors effectively. It also offers several resources for competitor
analysis including:
Traffic Analytics helps you identify where your
audience comes from, how they engage with your site, what devices visitors use
to view your site, and how your audiences overlap with other websites.
SEMrush's Organic Research examines your website's
major competitors and shows their organic search rankings, keywords they are
ranking for, and even if they are ranking for any (SERP) features and more.
The Market Explorer search field allows you to type in
a domain and lists websites or articles similar to what you entered. Market
Explorer also allows users to perform in-depth data analytics on These
companies and markets.
SEMrush wins here because it has more tools dedicated to
competitor analysis than Ahrefs. However, Ahrefs offers a lot of functionality
in this area, too. It takes a combination of both tools to gain an advantage
over your competition.
When it comes to keyword data research, you will become
confused about which one to choose.
Consider choosing Ahrefs if you
Consider SEMrush if you:
Both tools are great. Choose the one which meets your
requirements and if you have any experience using either Ahrefs or SEMrush let
me know in the comment section which works well for you.
As people fall out of love with streaming, they’re rediscovering the collective pleasure of ‘event television’
Settling down to watch the finale of Gavin and Stacey on Christmas Day, I felt as if I were stepping into a time machine travelling to the mid-00s. It wasn’t just the familiarity of the characters or the reassuring running gags (what did happen on that fishing trip?) but – with the episode going out at 9pm and not available on streaming beforehand – the knowledge that the nation was enjoying it together.
When we were first introduced to the titular Welsh-English couple back in 2007, a little-known company called Netflix was still five years away from arriving in the UK, while the newly launched BBC iPlayer was creaking on to laptops in Adobe Flash. These were the last glory days of broadcast television before it became largely obsolete, alongside Snow Patrol and low-rise jeans. Then the dawn of streaming arrived, and for the next decade, British viewers went our separate ways: scrolling through a mountain of different services and seeing what increasingly unhinged content the algorithms offered us.
Continue reading...Fearing pop would lead them to the devil, Annie Caldwell recruited her daughters into her band. They’re now sending audiences into ecstasy with disco-tinged soul gospel
From West Point, Mississippi
Recommended if you like The Harlem Gospel Travelers, DJ Greg Belson’s Divine Disco compilations
Up next Single, Wrong, on 28 January. As-yet untitled debut album to follow
On Instagram, you can find a clip of Annie and the Caldwells’ recent appearance at Le Guess Who? festival in Utrecht: one of the band’s first performances outside America’s deep south. The Dutch festival is admirably eclectic and boundary-pushing – the bill this year ranged from Japanese noise-rockers Bo Ningen re-imagining the soundtrack of Jodorowsky’s 1973 surrealist classic The Holy Mountain to the self-styled “putrid, drug-filled gutter rock” of New York quintet Couch Slut – but even so, Annie and the Caldwells’ appearance looks extraordinary: a mother and her three middle-aged daughters, clad in matching multicoloured harlequin-print dresses, belting out raw, disco-tinged soul gospel in the midst of a delirious stage invasion by ecstatic, dancing punters.
Continue reading...With grown-up children scattered around the world, an inconvenient snowstorm and a vegan dinner gaffe, Christmas 2024 was looking bleak – so thank goodness for the ultimate party game
The older my kids get, the harder it is to keep them part of Christmas and the old traditions. Our youngest daughter is off travelling, which involves text message photos from Bangkok nightclubs with comments like, “Check out the size of THIS spliff, dude!” Middle son flies off to his girlfriend’s on Boxing Day. Oldest has added a festive shift of dog-sitting to her duties in the animal hospital and so she is around for just a few hours on Christmas Day. We’d also had a bit of a row on the 23rd and were not really speaking.
It was going to be tough to make Christmas ’24 a memorable one. But I had a plan. And that plan was Just Dance 2025.
Continue reading...With its herb garden, deli counter and ‘living roof’, the M5 stop-off is definitely swish. But I’m a Monster Munch man at heart
If you know me, you’ll know there is nothing I like better than a good old-fashioned service station. Where else can you jump out of the car for an overpriced Burger King, a go on a driving arcade game from 1993 and – most importantly – a wee? Service stations are mini utopias, housing everything that a human being needs for basic survival. Come the apocalypse, you’ll find me happily holed up in my nearest Moto.
Rightmove recently published a list of the happiest places to live in Great Britain, and I suppose I can see why that might be of interest. But it was a survey of the UK’s service stations by the consumer group Which? that really caught my eye, partly for its ludicrous claim that “no one visits a motorway service station for fun”. What nonsense. Although with all the hassles of Christmas travel, I suppose some people may fail to find them quite so entertaining. In any case, ranking service stations is old news: my friends and I have been doing so for years.
Rich Pelley is a freelance writer
Continue reading...The world’s most sustainable travel destination is giving its harbour a facelift with an eco-friendly hotel that whispers cool Scandi minimalism while reconnecting guests with nature
On a windswept late November evening at the edge of the waterfront in Helsinki’s Katajanokka harbour, a huge, new white building shines brightly in the wintery night sky, its curving, illuminated walls undulating like a giant concertina of corrugated card.
To one side, monolithic cruise ships destined for Stockholm or Tallinn, just across the Gulf of Finland, lie temporarily dormant, while to the other the grand, pastel-coloured, neoclassical palaces and municipal buildings of the Christmas market-filled Senate Square are a reminder of the city’s 19th-century past as part of the Russian empire.
Continue reading...Over the holidays, this column will explore next year’s urgent issues. Today, why it is easier to be a constitutional reformer in opposition than in office
Next year, the remaining hereditary members of the House of Lords will finally lose their right to sit in the upper house. When that happens, a democratic milestone in British parliamentary history will unquestionably have been reached. But a milestone along a road to what eventual constitutional destination? We do not know the answer to that, because the government will not say. The government itself may not be sure. As on many other issues, Labour’s true direction of travel on House of Lords reform remains obscure.
One thing, however, can already be said. Last week, Downing Street published a list of 38 new life peers. It was one of the longest such lists of the modern era. It contained 30 new Labour peers, six Conservatives and two Liberal Democrats. Many were former MPs. The overall aim, as the nominations made extremely clear, was to boost Labour’s numbers in the Lords at the expense of the Conservatives.
Continue reading...A new Syria is emerging from the shadow of the brutal Assad regime. The Guardian’s Bethan McKernan and Ayman Abu Ramouz meet people celebrating their hard-won freedom, but also those grappling with a traumatic past. The pair travel to the notorious Sednaya prison, where they meet a former prisoner who was liberated by his family just days before
Resistance was not a choice’: how Syria’s unlikely rebel alliance took Aleppo
'The Syrian regime hit us with chemical weapons: only now can we speak out' – video
Syria’s disappeared: one woman’s search for her missing father
Share a tip on a peerless architectural or sculptural creation, ancient or modern – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays break
The Seven Wonders of the World was a list of peerless architectural and sculptural creations from the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East drawn up in the 2nd century BC by Greek travellers following Alexander the Great’s conquests. Only one is still standing – the Great Pyramid of Giza. In 2001, the Swiss-based New7Wonders Foundation came up with an updated list, which included Machu Picchu, Petra and the Taj Mahal. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so we would like you to tell us about your personal wonder of the world. It could be an ancient stone circle, a statue, a stately home, a temple or even a modern-day skyscraper.
If you have a relevant photo, do send it in – but it’s your words that will be judged for the competition.
Continue reading...The Arizona senator’s prodigious campaign spending in global wine hot spots can’t possibly be related to the campaign she’s not running, says an ethics complaint.
The post In Waning Senate Days, Kyrsten Sinema Screwed Workers and Spent Campaign Cash on Stay at French Castle appeared first on The Intercept.
For more than two decades, the U.S. has flown drones over the heads of millions of people — watching, recording, and even killing some of them.
The post America Gets a Taste of Its Own Medicine: Drone Terror appeared first on The Intercept.
As the diplomatic row over the embargo escalates, the U.S. sent Israel millions of pounds of ammunition through Spanish territory.
The post U.S. Defied Spanish Embargo on Arms Bound for Israel by Making Enforcement More Difficult appeared first on The Intercept.
The jurors that sent Hall to death row never heard critical evidence that could have convinced them to spare his life. Some of them now support his bid for clemency.
The post Charles Hall Insisted He Wanted the Death Penalty. Now He’s Asking Biden for Mercy. appeared first on The Intercept.
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors.
You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
Continue reading...From edge-of-seat chases to sexy role-playing, Guardian writers pick their most memorable scenes from films released in the US this year
Spoilers ahead
Amy Adams’s canine transformation in Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch should be nothing we haven’t seen before. There is a fine history of moonlit metamorphoses in werewolf movies: moans that deepen into growls, the stretching and twisting of muscle, fur sprouting at lightning speed. In fact, some people criticised this film for shying away from the body horror at the heart of Mother’s animalistic breakdown. But there is a powerful whiff of catharsis in this low-key transformation scene: watching Adams sniff the midnight air, dig with bare hands into her own tidy suburban lawn, down on her paws, fully dog in body and mind, before the hair begins to bristle on her forearms. Adams’s eerily calm voiceover (“I have one thought: I am an animal”), follows the rippling fur as her character is reborn as a galloping red husky, with a cloud of strawberry-blond hair on a muscular frame. A hunting dog with a one-track mind: “Blood! Blood, blood, blood!” And it’s curtains for the neighbourhood cats. Pamela Hutchinson
Continue reading...The jurors that sent Hall to death row never heard critical evidence that could have convinced them to spare his life. Some of them now support his bid for clemency.
The post Charles Hall Insisted He Wanted the Death Penalty. Now He’s Asking Biden for Mercy. appeared first on The Intercept.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the most popular digital assets today, capturing the attention of cryptocurrency investors, whales and people from around the world. People find it amazing that some users spend thousands or millions of dollars on a single NFT-based image of a monkey or other token, but you can simply take a screenshot for free. So here we share some freuently asked question about NFTs.
NFT stands for non-fungible token, which is a cryptographic token on a blockchain with unique identification codes that distinguish it from other tokens. NFTs are unique and not interchangeable, which means no two NFTs are the same. NFTs can be a unique artwork, GIF, Images, videos, Audio album. in-game items, collectibles etc.
A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that allows for the secure storage of data. By recording any kind of information—such as bank account transactions, the ownership of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), or Decentralized Finance (DeFi) smart contracts—in one place, and distributing it to many different computers, blockchains ensure that data can’t be manipulated without everyone in the system being aware.
The value of an NFT comes from its ability to be traded freely and securely on the blockchain, which is not possible with other current digital ownership solutionsThe NFT points to its location on the blockchain, but doesn’t necessarily contain the digital property. For example, if you replace one bitcoin with another, you will still have the same thing. If you buy a non-fungible item, such as a movie ticket, it is impossible to replace it with any other movie ticket because each ticket is unique to a specific time and place.
One of the unique characteristics of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is that they can be tokenised to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought, sold and traded on the blockchain.
As with crypto-currency, records of who owns what are stored on a ledger that is maintained by thousands of computers around the world. These records can’t be forged because the whole system operates on an open-source network.
NFTs also contain smart contracts—small computer programs that run on the blockchain—that give the artist, for example, a cut of any future sale of the token.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) aren't cryptocurrencies, but they do use blockchain technology. Many NFTs are based on Ethereum, where the blockchain serves as a ledger for all the transactions related to said NFT and the properties it represents.5) How to make an NFT?
Anyone can create an NFT. All you need is a digital wallet, some ethereum tokens and a connection to an NFT marketplace where you’ll be able to upload and sell your creations
When you purchase a stock in NFT, that purchase is recorded on the blockchain—the bitcoin ledger of transactions—and that entry acts as your proof of ownership.
The value of an NFT varies a lot based on the digital asset up for grabs. People use NFTs to trade and sell digital art, so when creating an NFT, you should consider the popularity of your digital artwork along with historical statistics.
In the year 2021, a digital artist called Pak created an artwork called The Merge. It was sold on the Nifty Gateway NFT market for $91.8 million.
Non-fungible tokens can be used in investment opportunities. One can purchase an NFT and resell it at a profit. Certain NFT marketplaces let sellers of NFTs keep a percentage of the profits from sales of the assets they create.
Many people want to buy NFTs because it lets them support the arts and own something cool from their favorite musicians, brands, and celebrities. NFTs also give artists an opportunity to program in continual royalties if someone buys their work. Galleries see this as a way to reach new buyers interested in art.
There are many places to buy digital assets, like opensea and their policies vary. On top shot, for instance, you sign up for a waitlist that can be thousands of people long. When a digital asset goes on sale, you are occasionally chosen to purchase it.
To mint an NFT token, you must pay some amount of gas fee to process the transaction on the Etherum blockchain, but you can mint your NFT on a different blockchain called Polygon to avoid paying gas fees. This option is available on OpenSea and this simply denotes that your NFT will only be able to trade using Polygon's blockchain and not Etherum's blockchain. Mintable allows you to mint NFTs for free without paying any gas fees.
The answer is no. Non-Fungible Tokens are minted on the blockchain using cryptocurrencies such as Etherum, Solana, Polygon, and so on. Once a Non-Fungible Token is minted, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain and the contract or license is awarded to whoever has that Non-Fungible Token in their wallet.
You can sell your work and creations by attaching a license to it on the blockchain, where its ownership can be transferred. This lets you get exposure without losing full ownership of your work. Some of the most successful projects include Cryptopunks, Bored Ape Yatch Club NFTs, SandBox, World of Women and so on. These NFT projects have gained popularity globally and are owned by celebrities and other successful entrepreneurs. Owning one of these NFTs gives you an automatic ticket to exclusive business meetings and life-changing connections.
That’s a wrap. Hope you guys found this article enlightening. I just answer some question with my limited knowledge about NFTs. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comment section below. Also I have a question for you, Is bitcoin an NFTs? let me know in The comment section below
Grant will go towards repackaging food that would go to waste and delivering it to shelters, food banks and charities
Labour ministers have backed plans for a £15m fund to redistribute food from farms that otherwise go to waste, particularly around Christmas.
Grants starting from £20,000 will be handed to the not-for-profit food redistribution sector in England to repackage farm food and deliver it to homeless shelters, food banks and charities.
Continue reading...Northwest Naturals has told customers to throw out Feline Turkey Recipe pet food after batch tested positive for virus
A voluntary recall of raw and frozen cat food has been issued in Oregon after a cat that died of bird flu was linked to the product, state officials have said.
Northwest Naturals has instructed customers of its Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food to throw out the product if its sell-by date falls between 21 May 2026 and 23 June 2026.
Continue reading...Wherever you look, from the catwalks to FoodTok, one colour has dominated this year. What does our obsession with green say about how we’ve been feeling over the last 12 months?
As with many of this year’s big political predictions, the pollsters got it wrong. Pantone declared last December that “peach fuzz” – a honeyed-take on the previous Barbified year – would be the colour of 2024. Instead, this has been the year of green in all its glory.
I thought I was being original when I re-covered my sofa in a velvet moss green only to discover that the rest of middle England were also at it. John Lewis reported that sales of green sofas shot up by 32% this year. Sofa company Loaf says similar – it launched the colour “pressed olive”, which has been its most popular to date. Independent fabric brand Colours of Arley say “lime” and “swamp” were its most-requested shades, while fashion designerturned ceramicist Henry Holland says he has spent the year “constantly remaking [olive] green-and-white striped mugs and chalices to keep [them] in stock”. Even 1970s avocado bathroom suites were back and, by autumn, Pinterest reported that searches for green home decor had risen by almost 3,000% in a year.
Continue reading...What separates a good resolution from a bad one? Guardian readers agree: it has to be something you care about
For some, new year resolutions are an opportunity to grow. For others, they’re a pointless exercise in self-flagellation.
That might be because they’re hard to keep up. In the US, 44% of new year resolutions last two to three months; only 6% last a year. In the UK, 17% of people give up on their resolution within a month.
Continue reading...Every day, we walk Odie along the same paths. He eats the same food at the same time. And yet, for him our bounties feel limitless
The last patient on my rounds is elderly, cognitively impaired and wonderfully complimentary. The nurse is dedicated. Dutiful interns like mine go places. She loves my dress. We joyfully acknowledge these statements because we dread the next, heartbreaking question: “Do you know I have a dog?”
Lizzy is a corgi named after the late Queen. For 10 years, they have lived and grown as one, watching television, pottering in the garden and sleeping side by side.
Continue reading...Whether you prefer to pop the cork on prosecco, English fizz or alcohol-free, these sparkling wines are the best around
A celebratory bottle of bubbly doesn’t just mean champagne any more. Sure, it could be champagne, but it also could be méthode Tasmanoise, crémant or even English or Indian sparkling wine.
Whether it’s dryness, flavour, or a specific country of origin or you’re looking for, there is a fizz to fit the bill. Here’s a selection of the best supermarket, wine club and online picks to raise a glass with. Bottoms up!
Continue reading...With its herb garden, deli counter and ‘living roof’, the M5 stop-off is definitely swish. But I’m a Monster Munch man at heart
If you know me, you’ll know there is nothing I like better than a good old-fashioned service station. Where else can you jump out of the car for an overpriced Burger King, a go on a driving arcade game from 1993 and – most importantly – a wee? Service stations are mini utopias, housing everything that a human being needs for basic survival. Come the apocalypse, you’ll find me happily holed up in my nearest Moto.
Rightmove recently published a list of the happiest places to live in Great Britain, and I suppose I can see why that might be of interest. But it was a survey of the UK’s service stations by the consumer group Which? that really caught my eye, partly for its ludicrous claim that “no one visits a motorway service station for fun”. What nonsense. Although with all the hassles of Christmas travel, I suppose some people may fail to find them quite so entertaining. In any case, ranking service stations is old news: my friends and I have been doing so for years.
Rich Pelley is a freelance writer
Continue reading...Had enough of Christmas fare? Liven up your tastebuds with this Indian street food-inspired spiced cheese toastie
In the run-up to Christmas, I like to (mostly) embrace tradition, but as soon as Boxing Day hits, a veil is lifted. I need spice; I need fresh flavours; and I need all the excess cheese to be out of my house. These chilli cheese on toasts are inspired by an Indian classic, the Bombay or Mumbai chilli cheese toastie. I adore the flavours and they’re exactly what I crave right now. Also, feel free to use any not-too-strong melting cheese you have in the fridge.
Continue reading...A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideas
Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner.
Sign up below to start receiving the best of our culinary journalism in one mouth-watering weekly email.
Continue reading...Trump wants a bloodbath for the federal employees, but government workers aren’t the only ones who will suffer.
The post Federal Labor Unions Steel Themselves for Trump and DOGE’s Mass Firings appeared first on The Intercept.
Not sure which whisky to sip by a roaring fire? No problem, we’ve tasted them straight up for you
Whether you’re stocking the bar trolley or hunting for a gift for a hard-to-buy-for relative, you’ll likely be one of the many picking up a bottle or two of whisky this Christmas.
After carefully testing every whisky on this list – and many more – we are full of festive spirit and ready to step in to Christmas. Some whiskies were stirred into manhattans, others were enjoyed as a highball, and all were tasted straight up; all in the name of fairness, you understand.
Continue reading...As the diplomatic row over the embargo escalates, the U.S. sent Israel millions of pounds of ammunition through Spanish territory.
The post U.S. Defied Spanish Embargo on Arms Bound for Israel by Making Enforcement More Difficult appeared first on The Intercept.
Hours before Assad fell, Congress moved to extend sanctions. Despite presidential waivers, Syria won’t open up until they’re off the books.
The post Keeping Sanctions in Force Would “Pull the Rug Out From Under Syria” appeared first on The Intercept.
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Imagine a world in which you can do transactions and many other things without having to give your personal information. A world in which you don’t need to rely on banks or governments anymore. Sounds amazing, right? That’s exactly what blockchain technology allows us to do.
It’s like your computer’s hard drive. blockchain is a technology that lets you store data in digital blocks, which are connected together like links in a chain.
Blockchain technology was originally invented in 1991 by two mathematicians, Stuart Haber and W. Scot Stornetta. They first proposed the system to ensure that timestamps could not be tampered with.
A few years later, in 1998, software developer Nick Szabo proposed using a similar kind of technology to secure a digital payments system he called “Bit Gold.” However, this innovation was not adopted until Satoshi Nakamoto claimed to have invented the first Blockchain and Bitcoin.
A blockchain is a distributed database shared between the nodes of a computer network. It saves information in digital format. Many people first heard of blockchain technology when they started to look up information about bitcoin.
Blockchain is used in cryptocurrency systems to ensure secure, decentralized records of transactions.
Blockchain allowed people to guarantee the fidelity and security of a record of data without the need for a third party to ensure accuracy.
To understand how a blockchain works, Consider these basic steps:
Let’s get to know more about the blockchain.
Blockchain records digital information and distributes it across the network without changing it. The information is distributed among many users and stored in an immutable, permanent ledger that can't be changed or destroyed. That's why blockchain is also called "Distributed Ledger Technology" or DLT.
Here’s how it works:
And that’s the beauty of it! The process may seem complicated, but it’s done in minutes with modern technology. And because technology is advancing rapidly, I expect things to move even more quickly than ever.
Even though blockchain is integral to cryptocurrency, it has other applications. For example, blockchain can be used for storing reliable data about transactions. Many people confuse blockchain with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum.
Blockchain already being adopted by some big-name companies, such as Walmart, AIG, Siemens, Pfizer, and Unilever. For example, IBM's Food Trust uses blockchain to track food's journey before reaching its final destination.
Although some of you may consider this practice excessive, food suppliers and manufacturers adhere to the policy of tracing their products because bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella have been found in packaged foods. In addition, there have been isolated cases where dangerous allergens such as peanuts have accidentally been introduced into certain products.
Tracing and identifying the sources of an outbreak is a challenging task that can take months or years. Thanks to the Blockchain, however, companies now know exactly where their food has been—so they can trace its location and prevent future outbreaks.
Blockchain technology allows systems to react much faster in the event of a hazard. It also has many other uses in the modern world.
Blockchain technology is safe, even if it’s public. People can access the technology using an internet connection.
Have you ever been in a situation where you had all your data stored at one place and that one secure place got compromised? Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to prevent your data from leaking out even when the security of your storage systems is compromised?
Blockchain technology provides a way of avoiding this situation by using multiple computers at different locations to store information about transactions. If one computer experiences problems with a transaction, it will not affect the other nodes.
Instead, other nodes will use the correct information to cross-reference your incorrect node. This is called “Decentralization,” meaning all the information is stored in multiple places.
Blockchain guarantees your data's authenticity—not just its accuracy, but also its irreversibility. It can also be used to store data that are difficult to register, like legal contracts, state identifications, or a company's product inventory.
Blockchain has many advantages and disadvantages.
I’ll answer the most frequently asked questions about blockchain in this section.
Blockchain is not a cryptocurrency but a technology that makes cryptocurrencies possible. It's a digital ledger that records every transaction seamlessly.
Yes, blockchain can be theoretically hacked, but it is a complicated task to be achieved. A network of users constantly reviews it, which makes hacking the blockchain difficult.
Coinbase Global is currently the biggest blockchain company in the world. The company runs a commendable infrastructure, services, and technology for the digital currency economy.
Blockchain is a decentralized technology. It’s a chain of distributed ledgers connected with nodes. Each node can be any electronic device. Thus, one owns blockhain.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, which is powered by Blockchain technology while Blockchain is a distributed ledger of cryptocurrency
Generally a database is a collection of data which can be stored and organized using a database management system. The people who have access to the database can view or edit the information stored there. The client-server network architecture is used to implement databases. whereas a blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, stored in a distributed system. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, timestamp and transaction information. Modification of data is not allowed due to the design of the blockchain. The technology allows decentralized control and eliminates risks of data modification by other parties.
Blockchain has a wide spectrum of applications and, over the next 5-10 years, we will likely see it being integrated into all sorts of industries. From finance to healthcare, blockchain could revolutionize the way we store and share data. Although there is some hesitation to adopt blockchain systems right now, that won't be the case in 2022-2023 (and even less so in 2026). Once people become more comfortable with the technology and understand how it can work for them, owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs alike will be quick to leverage blockchain technology for their own gain. Hope you like this article if you have any question let me know in the comments section
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