Sky launches a new documentary channel for customers – here are some of the highlights and how to watch – Milton Keynes Citizen

Sky customers can watch the headlining film, Tiger Woods: Back, at 9pm, June 5, on Sky Documentaries and NOW TV. (Credit: Sky)

Sky has launched a brand new channel, Sky Documentaries, with a variety of feature-length content covering topics ranging from sport, to music and the environment.

The service offers documentaries on air and through online Sky Sports subscriptions and NOW TV.

Where can I watch the new channel and how much does it cost?

The new channel launched on Wednesday (27 May), and is now available to Sky Q customers at no additional cost, and is found on Sky channel 114.

Additionally, all of the shows on Sky Documentaries will be made available for on demand viewing on Sky Q and Sky+HD boxes, as well as online through Sky Sports and NOW TV subscriptions.

What are some of the highlights of the new channel?

The channel will feature a variety of feature-length documentaries as well as docuseries covering a range of topics from sport, politics to music and more.

Here are some of the schedule highlights:

Tiger Woods: Back

New Tiger Woods documentary, Tiger Woods: Back, details the golfers famous Masters victory at Augusta in 2019 - considered by many as the greatest comeback in sports history - and features never seen before footage.

The film also chronicles the lead up to his comeback, which involved four potentially career-ending back surgeries.

Viewers are given intimate access and insight into the sport stars personal battle with both his body and mind, as well with the sport itself.

Sky customers can watch the film at 9pm, Friday June 5, on Sky Documentaries and NOW TV.

Other sporting documentaries found on the service include Women of Troy, Busby, Kevin Pietersen: Story of a Genius, Ferrari Race to Immortality, Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes and The Armstrong Lie.

McMillions

Some of the confirmed films to be featured on the channel includes McMillions, which details the McDonald's Monopoly scandal that saw scammers steal $24 million from the fast food chain.

McMillions airs on Wednesday, May 27 2020.

Hillary

Sky customers can also watch the new four-part series, Hillary, which explores the career and presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton.

Hillary airs on June 5 2020.

Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men

Another upcoming film is the 2019 documentary Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men which chronicles the career of the popular hip-hop band.

Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men airs on June 24.

Hawking

An example of Skys own original documentaries featured on the new channel, is Hawking, a 90-minute film that details the life of the iconic physicist Professor Stephen Hawking.

The film includes footage from his private family archive, as well as interviews with members of his family, alongside friends and colleagues.

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Sky launches a new documentary channel for customers - here are some of the highlights and how to watch - Milton Keynes Citizen

Vishnu Puran: Know how Samudra Manthan happened and what came out of it – Times Now

All you need to know about the Samudra Manthan episode. Pic courtesy: BR Chopra's Vishnu Puran 

The Samudra Manthan episode is one of the iconic events that happened in the middle of the ocean (Samudra). It was a task undertaken by the Devas and the Danavs to churn the Amrit (divine elixir) from the seabed to attain immortality. And the mammoth task required the help of the Mandara Parvat and snake Vasuki. The Samudra Manthan is also called theKshirasagara Manthana, as it refers to the cosmic ocean or the ocean of milk.

The Mandara Mountain was placed in the ocean as the churning rod and Vasuki twirled around it like a rope. But since the mountain couldn't remain still due to the undulating movement of the waters, Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of Kurma (tortoise) to give it a stable platform.

Thus, Vishnu held the mountain on his back after diving deep into the sea.

Subsequently, the Devas held the tail of the serpent while the Asuras grabbed the mouth. Then the two sides that represented the good and the evil respectively began churning, by pulling the snake to and fro. As the churning began, the halahalaappeared.

Halahala ((also known as Kaalkoota) was a poison that was the first outcome of the Samudra Manthan. The moment it appeared, the Devas and the Asuras fled to save themselves, and so did the other forms of life on earth. Therefore, to save creation, Lord Shiva consumed and blocked it in his neck.Check out the story of Neelkantha.

What Ratnas did the Devas and the Asuras see emerging from the Kshirasagar?

The things that appeared afterHalahalaare known asRatnas. Devi Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, was the firstRatnato appear. She was followed byApsaras(Rambha, Urvashi and Menaka),Varuni, the consort ofVarunaDeva. Subsequently, theKamadhenuor the divine cow appeared followed byAiravata, a white elephant with seven trunks andUchhaishravas, a seven-headed horse with wings. Apart from these,Kaustubha(a jewel),Parijata(flower),Sharanga(conch),Jyeshtha(the Goddess of misfortune) andKalpavriksha(a tree that grants wishes). And last but not least,Dhanavantri(the God of medicines), appeared with aKalash(pot) containing theAmrit(divine nectar).

The Amrit emerged from the ocean bed after days of hard work by the Devas and the Danavas. Nonetheless, a Danav named Svarbhanu forcibly grabbed the pot from Dhanavantri's hands and fled.

Subsequently, to ensure, that the Danavas, who's Guru Shukracharya was already blessed with the Sanjeevani Mantra, do not consume Amrit, Lord Vishnu appeared as a woman named Mohini.

As Mohini, Lord Vishnu lured the King of Asuras, Kalketu, and convinced him to share the Amrit with the Devas. Thus, by doing so, she ensured, only the Devas consume it. Nonetheless, Svarbhanu too had consumed a portion of the nectar in the disguise of a Deva.

Surya and Chandra, who realised that Svarbhanu had deceived them, alerted Lord Vishnu (Mohini) about it. Subsequently, Mohini returned to her original form, to sever Svarbhanu's head with the Sudarshan Chakra. However, since Svarbhanu had already consumed the Amrit, he remained alive in two parts. His head came to be known as Rahu, while the body, as Ketu.

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Vishnu Puran: Know how Samudra Manthan happened and what came out of it - Times Now

Northern Ireland now has a border with UK we must follow suit – The National

THE unbritaining of GB continues apace. Yet, one must wonder how long this metamorphosis will take. The Tory press and the Tory government seem to be in a delusional, faux jingoistic revelry at present. The jester stands up in the Commons and makes quips, refusing to answer in detail, which he can do with impunity because of the Tory English majority. The cudgels will come off through the power grab after December 31 as there will be no holds barred in centralising power again.

The US experience from the 18th century should be instructive. The blame for US independence was put on the monarch of the day, but it was the taxation power grab back by Westminster from the colonial assemblies think devolved legislatures in the US which gradually lit the fuse.

The same gung-ho psyche is beginning to come to the surface here. Johnsons attack on devolution, Rees-Moggs dream to restore the (unwritten) constitution and the rampant chumocracy, along with UK ministers increasingly autocratic decisions are disturbing.

In Scotland, the attack on Holyrood reveals that Labour and the LibDems, the two Unionist upholders of the devolved settlement, are showing either timidity in the face of the Tory onslaught or are willing to see Holyrood downgraded as they see this as an attack on the SNP, not on elected government of Scotland! Therein lies their mistake. It also reveals an underlying feeling that they know they are not going to take over in Holyrood in the immediate term.

They fail to see that they are equally despised by their Tory fellow Unionists. And so they are festering in a no mans land, hoping for the best.

Their kamikaze-reverence for the Union will be their continued demise, however, and they are blind to the dilemma they are in.

They cling to a vague hope of the Vow 2, when in reality England does not show any inclination to federate within itself, let alone across the UK. The old relics such as Brown

and others seem to believe their own political immortality and fail to see their days and nostrums are pass!

The test of GB cohesion among the population here, and the economic captains of industry and commerce, will be broken with the chaos at macro and micro level after December 31 irrespective of deal, low deal or No Deal.

READ MORE: UK goes ahead with Internal Market Bill without consent from Wales or Scotland

The worries being expressed now by industry across the piste are rather late in coming. They are answered by the totemic utterance that we will have full control of our most important, overarching resource: fish.

In perspective, we cannot all relearn and relocate to fish. Without being pejorative, compared to our economic gross product it is a minnow.

If the macro planners do not evolve an integrated plan relative to all economic sectors, then fishing communities will also decline.

The present UK Government is not interested in the country, it is only aiming to enrich its chums and hangers-on and retain total power.

Scotland rejected at the last election totally the Tories and the Union. Let the band of non-Tory Unionists at Holyrood realise that their future and our future lies in leaving the Union.

Northern Ireland is already separated by an internal border which will become an international border between itself and England, and we need to follow on.

If not, then await the destruction or Balkanisation of Scotland ruled over by a Great England.

John Edgar

Kilmaurs

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Northern Ireland now has a border with UK we must follow suit - The National

The anything, anywhere model of globalisation – The New Indian Express

This essay was born out of two Twitter exchanges: the first with German geographer Simon Kuestenmacher and the second with Silicon Valley investor Balaji Srinivasan. Kuestenmacher tweeted out a map that showed the startlingly small geographical area responsible for bringing in half of the global GDP. Srinivasan wrote in his tweet, The SF (San Francisco) Bay Area is one of the richest places in the world. We really dont need to commit to making rich places richer.

We need to decentralise technology to the entire world. Im more excited to invest in the Middle East and the Midwest, Nigeria and India, than in SFBA.For most of humanity, the vast amount of the worlds productive activity and riches have coagulated in major cities, from Rome to Baghdad, London to Tokyo, New York to Mumbai. This aggregation gave cities both their ephemeral sense of immortality and their mythology.

It also made them very crowded and, in more recent times, struggle to deal with issues such as little open spaces, limited parking and air pollution. The question to ask is not how to decongest cities, but what made them crowded in the first place?Simply, aggregation has economic benefits. Proximity helps build efficiencies in the flow of information, helps build resilient networks and cheapens cost of transportation. There is, therefore, natural economic logic to the cheek-by-jowl-ness of a large city.

But no matter where one looks, from Silicon Valley heavyweight companies moving base to Texas to Indian tech entrepreneurs trying out models of working from villages, there are signs of the aggregated urban model disaggregating. There are many reasons for this: low taxes, cleaner environments, better quality of life and low expenses.

Such impulses to move locationnever easy for big businesshas also been propelled by the supply chain resilience impetus created by trade wars and the Covid-19 pandemic. It is supported by mass digitisation, rising internet speeds and cloud computing technology, which is creating what I call an anything, anywhere world. This AA world, if you will, promises one of the greatest disruptions for business and urbanisation in history.

It holds within it the promise for workers to work from anywhere, on anything, without the need to relocate. It must be stressed here that we are talking about relatively privileged workers here whose work is based on the use of tech platforms. If you think about it, what does this amount to, really? It holds within it the promise of bridging the gap that our latest wave of globalisation has createdbetween the active participants and beneficiaries, and those left behind.

It is a spread of companies, jobs and work, and in turn, of income towards places that might have suffered from the tyranny of distance in the aggregation model. The benefits of the earlier age of globalisation, in many ways, came to those who could relocate to the major hubs of capital, commerce and jobs. From now on, perhaps the entry barrier would only be as high as those who can access high speed internet.

That, after all, is whats left behind if there is nowhere specific that you have to go to access the fruits of the best markets. Instead, the markets are at your doorstep, or perhaps more accurately, at your desktop. Such a spreadwhether you think of this in terms of Mahatma Gandhis self-sufficient villagesor Prime Minister NarendraModis plan of rolling out numerous smart citieswould assist in decongesting the accumulation of population and wealth in very concentrated dots of geography. This kind of tech-driven spread would not be the suburbanisation of yore.

There would be no need to make the harried trip to the downtown office every day. The AA model opens the gateway for peopleat least those whose work is connected to technologyto locate themselves in the geography of their convenience. Remember the map that we started this essay with? The concentration of the worlds wealth is, as we hear everyday, one of the biggest challenges facing society. It is tearing our world apart. But notenough is discussed about how this concentration is not only among people (the infamous 1%) but also in geographical locations.

The anything, anywhere model breaks this hegemony for it is fundamentally inclusive in terms of that vital elementgeography.This works to Indias advantage. India is simultaneously working to develop its hinterlands, expand its city network, empower villages, and present itself as a suitable alternative in the global value chains.

It also has one of the most efficient and low-cost internet networks in the world, which is fast expanding. The anytime, anywhere world helps both myriad Indian products tucked away far from major cities to find markets with ease and for the country to insert itself more effectively in global supply chains. An AA situation, if there was one.

HindolSengupta (hindol.opinion@gmail.com)Vice President & Head of Research at Invest India, GoIs national investment promotion agency

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The anything, anywhere model of globalisation - The New Indian Express

What’s Your Favorite Chapter on the Internet? Your Brain on Technology – The Great Courses Daily News

By Richard Restak, MD, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health SciencesEdited by Kate Findley and proofread byAngelaShoemaker, The Great Courses DailyDue to multiple electronic devices bringing information to us to view, we are giving our brains information overload and finding it hard to keep focused attention. Photo By Who is Danny / ShutterstockReshaping Reality with Technology

The experiential aspects of technology are changing our perception of reality and how our brains process information.

I recently watched Pablo Casals on YouTube playing Suite No. 1 of the Cello Suites of Johann Sebastian Bach, Dr. Restak said. Prior to watching this, my knowledge of Casals depended on historical accounts and his recordings. Watching his performance augmented my understanding and appreciation in a very deep way this immediately led me to watch performances of the Suites by Jacqueline du Pr.

Thanks to this on YouTube, I was able to experientially connect in ways that would have been impossible a few years ago. Technology here provides a form of immortality: I can see, hear, and connect with an artist who died in 1973.

Technology also makes it possible to re-experience an event through multiple sensory channels.

I photographed the previous winters three blizzards here in Washington, where blizzards are rare, Dr. Restak said. Nothing like it had occurred since 1899. A few months later, I looked at those pictures on a warm sunny daysame terrain, different world.

Technology made that possible. You can do the same thing yourself by looking at pictures and videos youve made and comparing them to your present situation.

Theres also a dark side to technology and its influence on the brain. In fact, we are now, as a New York Times article put it, Hooked on Gadgets, and Paying a Mental Price. By juggling e-mail, cell phones, laptop computers, and e-books, were bringing about changes in how our brains operate.

Were in the age of distraction, where attention and focus are becoming endangered species. Concentration is decreased, and distraction increases. We simply have too many sources of information, which Marshall McLuhn referred to as information overload.

The top-down processing by the frontal lobes is interfered with by excessive bottom-up informational processing coming up from the sensory channels. As a result, the deep processing of information is replaced by skimming and surfing.

Memory is also interfered with because mental focusing is difficult thanks to scattered attention and distraction. Finally, the technology of the internet, cell phone, and texting encourages multitasking, which impairs our ability to focus our attention on a single task.

Multitasking is in fact a myth because the brain works sequentially, and thus you are only under the illusion that you are working on multiple tasks simultaneously while in fact you have to divert attention away from one task to focus on another. Theres also an interference effect with use of the same channel, like when you try to listen to something and write something at the same time.

Its better to deal with everything separately. Mental channels can also interfere with physical channels.

You can be imagining one scene while looking at another, like when youre on a cell phone talking about something at home and youre trying to envision it while youre supposed to be watching whats happening in front of you on the highway. This creates a bottleneck effect. Every part of the brain is specialized for something; therefore, you dont want to overload it.

Hypertext is another example of multitasking. You see the linked text, and you need to evaluate whether or not to leave the main article that youre reading.

If you decide to click on the hyperlink, then you have to decide when youre going to return to the original text. Thats sometimes hard to remember after youve clicked on many hyperlinks.

Although internet reading is convenient and exposes us to a wealth of ideas we might not have discovered otherwise, it has its downsides. One study from Educational Research Review shows that shifting from one document to another interferes with understanding.

We really do better when we focus on one thing at a time. The cognitive load, which is the information entering working memory, can be exceeded when we try to do too many things due to the bottleneck in the frontal lobes.

The internet can function as an interrupter as well. These online interruptions can be e-mail, advertisements, and pop-ups.

We may be focused on a task, but naturally, our curiosity about what were missing drives us to check our email, instant messages, and automatic alertswhich in some cases occur 30 or more times an hour. Overall, theres a decrease in efficiency due to switching cost, which increases cognitive load.

The bottom line is that depth, clarity, and cohesion of thought take timetime that you simply have to find. They also require focused attention. All of these are impaired by the multitasking that the internet encourages.

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What's Your Favorite Chapter on the Internet? Your Brain on Technology - The Great Courses Daily News

Where to Find All 7 Audiolog Locations in Ghostrunner – Screen Rant

Audiologs in Ghostrunner can be easily missed with the insane speedruns going on in the game, but all of them can be found with this handy guide.

Speedrunnersrejoice asGhostrunnerhits the shelves, which means many new achievements to get while blowing through the game at a hyper speed, such as collecting all the Audiologs. The developer One More Level designed this game about getting the quickest times meaning players could miss collectibles along the way. Along with Artifacts, different swords, the Audiologs will get various trophies on the multiple systems the game is available.

Related:Cyberpunk First-Person Platformer Ghostrunner Delayed On Switch

When it comes to collectibles, this cyberpunk-style game, has them in the shape of gold-colored question marks. Upon finding them, the item will be shown at the top of the screen and can be viewed by going to the Upgrades menu. Most collectibles will be reasonably easy to find, but some will require a bit more work to locate as the environment can fly by quickly due to the game's speed. There's no indication of their locations either, which means more time hunting down or, in the case of the Audiologs, the areas are down below.

More:Cyberpunk 2077 Death Threats Rally Industry Around CD Projekt Red Devs

Ghostrunner is available forPlaystation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC.

What The MCU Would Look Like With Tom Cruise As Iron Man

Richard Beauchamp, in a previous life, was a classically trained theater actor who also spent time in front of the camera for film and TV. In his spare time, he's either playing video games, reading graphic novels, or watching/playing copious amounts of hockey. As well, he grew up watching way too much Star Trek and Star Wars and wishes he could be small enough to ride the kiddie rides at the Star Wars theme park.

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Where to Find All 7 Audiolog Locations in Ghostrunner - Screen Rant

Volvo P1800 [Ultimate Review of the Swedish Coupe] – Sports Car Digest

There is a handful of cars that are famous for their appearances on the TV screen. The Volvo P1800 with the registration plate ST1 is certainly one of them. In the cult series The Saint from the sixties, the legendary ex-James Bond, Roger Moore, took on the role of the main character Simon Templar, and his means of transport was none other than a white Volvo P1800.

It may be hard to believe that the Swedish brand, known for its angular designed and conservatively safe cars, created a curvaceous coupe that is considered among the most beautiful of all time.

The beginnings of the Volvo P1800 seem almost as exciting as the adventures of Simon Templar in The Saint.

The Swedes launched a two-door coupe project with a 2 + 2 seating design in 1957 as part of their European and American sales strategy. It was entrusted to Helmer and Pelle Petterson.

According to the original plans, the car was set to be manufactured in cooperation with Karmann, which fell into the water due to Volkswagens business ties with the German production and bodywork company.

Instead, the British company Jensen took on the responsibility of manufacturing the car. A company known as Pressed Steel made the bodies, with final assembly taking place at Jensen.

With constant problems with personnel, working methods, quality, suppliers and logistics, Volvo moved production and assembly to various plants in Sweden during 1963.

From a technical point of view, the shortened platform and mechanics of the Volvo P1800 were based on the reliable Volvo Amazon.

The P1800 features a rear-wheel drive, front-mounted engine and rear rigid axle. There are also four disc brakes (later models) and a manual four-speed M40 or the M41 transmission. The first 4-cylinder engine called the B18 also came from the Volvo Amazon, but thanks to two built-in carburetors, it provided a bit more power, 100 hp to be exact. Later, with technical renovations, they also introduced new engines, which squeezed out up to 130 hp.

The safety aspect of the fast Volvo P1800 was visionary. It was the worlds first sports coup to have seat belts for all four passengers as standard. Volvo Germany demonstrated the effectiveness of this restraint system in a show in the port of Hamburg in 1961.

Regular small model updates were enough to keep the Volvo P1800, which was drawn in its basic form in 1957, optically fresh for decades.

This included a smooth bumper design in 1964 that replaced the initial cow horn arches, as well as regularly updated radiator grilles.

The first refresh of the P1800 was the 1800S. The letter S stood for Sverige or Sweden in English. This letter was added to announce the move from the British production plants back to production plants in Gothenburg, Sweden. The 1800S also received an additional 8 hp. Later in 1966 the engine was renewed and sported 115 hp which raised the top speed to 175 km/h. The before mentioned B18 four-cylinder engine was replaced in 1969 by the bigger B20 engine that provided 118 hp.

The next big change for the Volvo P1800 happened in 1970. With the introduction of electronic fuel injection technology, the P1800 coupe was now deemed the 1800E. The letter E stood for Einspritzung, the German word for electronic fuel injection.

The 1800E was equipped with the Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection system and provided even more power without hurting the fuel economy. At 130 hp the 1800E went from 0-100 km/h in 9,5 seconds and reached a top speed of 190 km/h. The 1970E was also the first model that featured 4 sets of disc brakes.

Car body shops like Volvoville in the USA built a small series of convertibles and Italian star designers like Fissore or Coggiola presented fastback studies.

Volvo presented a sensational further development of the sports coup in 1971: the Volvo 1800ES as the forerunner of all modern shooting brakes.

Thanks to the large glass tailgate, this sporty design was essentially a two-door station wagon. The final design was chosen based on two prototypes done by Sergio Coggiola and Pietro Frua. The prototype from Frua is still located in the official Volvo Museum. The 1800ES was also much more practical than the coupe version as the rear seats folded down completely, which created a flat loading surface.

The engine of the 1800ES was a downgraded to a 125 hp engine with improved on-road performance and reliability. It was available with a 4 gear M41 over-drive manual transmission or a 3-speed Borg-Warner automatic transmission.

In 1972 the last coupe, a Volvo 1800E, rolled off the assembly line and a year later the Volvo 1800 ES said goodbye.

A total of 47,855 units of the sporty Swedes were built, 39,778 of which were coups.

Since then, the Volvo P1800 has demonstrated its immortality in the classic scene and through its style-defining influence on newer generation Volvos, such as the Volvo Concept Coup from 2013.

A Volvo that looks as chic as an Italian Gran Turismo, drives as spectacularly as a British sports car, and is still as robust as a Swedish tank: the P1800 was a great all-rounder.

The P1800 was designed by a Pelle Petterson, who is now a very successful sailor and a boat designer.

In 1957, Petterson, only 25 years old at the time, presented a design for the Italian design studio Frua that is so timeless that it still looks smart even after 60 years.

Pelle Petersons design was selected out of four main potential options. Being the son of the Volvo design consultant Helmer Petterson, Pelles design was criticized for having an unfair advantage compared to the other design proposals. Many years later, Pelles design was finally acknowledged and Petterson received the credit he deserved for designing one of best-looking coupes ever.

Despite the P1800 looking sporty it was in no way a purebred athlete. It would need a more powerful engine. Thats why the renowned American designer Robert Cumberford got the idea to power the car with a 196-horsepower eight-cylinder engine borrowed from Ford.

The idea was difficult to come into fruition as the car was too loud and heat from the engine dissipated heavily into the passenger cabin forcing plans to be abandoned.

Then came Aston Martin. When they needed a car to test their new four-cylinder, 151 horsepower engine, they thought of the Volvo P1800. Only one prototype was ever built and the project was scrapped. Similar events happened to the convertible version of the P1800 from 1968. Only 50 of versions were built before the project ended.

Even though the P1800 was never designed to be a track car, it still has a rich racing history that is not usually talked about. The P1800 was present in the official racing scene from 1962 to 1972. It started in a total of 164 officially sanctioned races and achieved a finishing ratio of 84%. Of the races, it went on to win 15 times with 17 runner-up places.

Many of these races were endurance races which were perfect for the reliable Volvo. The P1800 appeared on many renowned race tracks including the infamous Nrburgring and Daytona.

Perhaps the most notable driver of the Volvo P1800 race car is Art Riley. Arthur Francis Riley was an endurance-race driver, and owner of Art Riley Motors in Port Washington, N.Y.

As a garage owner and master mechanic Riley was granted one of Americas early Volvo franchises in 1957.

As soon as I drove one, he said, I knew it was faster than a Porsche or MG. They had made a sports car out of a sedan. Riley was amongst the most successful race car drivers of the 1960s. He drove in the SCCA Regional, Divisional and National events, and he also attended FIA international races.

Riley and his red Volvo P1800 coupe came incredibly close to winning the SCCAs 1963 F-Production National Championship. Before that, Riley and his P1800 won the New York Regional championship in that same year. All together, Riley and the P1800 appeared in 64 official races.

One of the most memorable races for the red Volvo P1800 coupe was at the 1965 Sebring 12-hour Grand Prix of Endurance. Driving the number 51 on its flank (But VIN #14 on the firewall), this was to be its final Grand Prix of Endurance.

At the start of the race, Ed Leslie in the Cobra Daytona Coupe stalled in traffic. Being boxed in and with nowhere to go, Art Riley in the #51 Volvo P1800 struck the Daytona in the rear quarter leaving the cars front end damaged. With some nifty panel bashing, the red Volvo continued the race.

This was not to be the only drama #51 would have. Shortly after 3pm the Volvos engine blew on the big bend approaching the Hairpin turn, leaving oil on an already soaked race track. Nick Cove, who was driving at the time, pulled over onto the grass and got under the car to inspect the damage.

While inspecting the underside of the car, George Reed in the #20 Shelby Cobra roadster came in contact with the oil slick and plowed directly into the P1800, narrowly missing Nick Cone and his outstretched legs. By some miracle nobody received major injuries, but not could be said of the Volvo P1800 as can be seen by the photo below.

The P1800 remains a popular sight in historic endurance races and other forms of vintage racing events. One P1800, in particular, called the Mobil 1 has a rich history in the more recent vintage car racing history. Mobil 1 was built in the midst of the 1990s.

It was fitted with the updated B20 engine and several other modifications that increased its power. This red P1800 won 5 consecutive Volvo Historic national championships and remains active to this day.

How reliable are the P1800? Well, you can find the Volvo P1800 in the Guinness Book of Records for the highest certified mileage driven by the original owner in non-commercial service. 77-year-old teacher Irv Gordon bought the Volvo P1800 in 1966 and has crossed the United States with it long and hard. He drove an incredible 3.2 million kilometers in 47 years, which is still a Guinness World Record today.

The car still has its original engine which didnt require any special maintenance apart from the usual. I challenge everyone to go around the world and see as much as possible. Find a reason to travel as you only have one life. No matter how many roads I drove, there was always one I hadnt been on before. Thats why its all the more exciting said Irv Gordon, who drove the 100-horsepower P1800 the same distance as 12 trips to the moon.

This Guinness record only adds to the Swedish brands status of being a manufacturer of high-quality reliable vehicles. The P1800 not only sported the looks but was built well and endured everything that owners demanded of it.

The prices of the Volvo P1800 have been steadily rising since 2010. Even though a massive jump in value is not expected, the P1800 remains a sensible investment for vintage car lovers.

The prices of beautifully maintained P1800 today range between 10 40,000 Euros. The highest price paid for a P1800 so far was achieved by a 1973 Volvo P1800ES Sport Wagon with only 13 thousand miles (21,000 kilometers). It was sold at a US auction by Bonhams Auctioneers to a buyer who paid $92,400 USD in 2014.

A few years ago, Volvo toyed with the idea of creating a modern version of the P1800, dubbed the Volvo concept coupe. This is not a futuristic dream car, but proof of what we are capable of today, said designer Thomas Ingenlath at the time. The concept, which was powered by a 400-horsepower engine, has not (yet) seen the light of production -watch this space.

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Volvo P1800 [Ultimate Review of the Swedish Coupe] - Sports Car Digest

Those were the days – The immortal Jimmy Delaney – HeraldScotland

THE fall-out over the controversial signing by Rangers of the former Celtic striker, Maurice Johnston, in July 1989, prompted Jack Webster, the Glasgow Herald columnist, to go back in time in search of a football legend.

From all that publicity about the man now reviled by followers of Celtic my thoughts were turning to the other end of that scale to a man who gained immortality as one of the greatest footballers of all time, hailed from every side for being the kind of man he was, Webster wrote.

I was thinking of Jimmy Delaney, a gladiator of the soccer arena for more than 20 years and darling of the Celtic Park supporters in particular. What a contrast, I thought, between the pampered prima donnas of today, earning millions without being able to lace the boots of the dashing Delaney, who reached the peak of his income in the 1950s with a weekly wage of 14!

Delaney played for Celtic for 12 years and moved on to Manchester United and, later, Aberdeen, Falkirk, and Derry City. He was capped 15 times for Scotland. Once when he played at Celtic Park with Aberdeen, the Celtic fans rose to acclaim him. He won the Scottish Cup with Celtic, the FA Cup with Manchester United, and an Irish Cup medal with Derry City.

In 1939 he broke his arm so badly that he was out of the game for more than two years.

For his article Webster spoke to Delaney at his home in a quiet little street in Cleland. Alas, the heroic figure was confined to bed, the man who fought bravely in many a soccer skirmish now fighting the bravest battle of all. Said Delaney: I had a great life in football. I loved the game so much that Saturdays couldnt come round soon enough.

Jimmy Delaney passed away a couple of months after the interview.

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In the Garden: Peony is the perfect plant for lazy gardeners – Mansfield News Journal

Richard Poffenbaugh, In the Garden Published 5:58 a.m. ET Sept. 15, 2020

It would be helpful if plant breeders and growers would rate plants according to their maintenance level, such as low-medium-high. Any veteran gardener can quickly classify a plant according to a maintenance rating.

For example, my rating for the tall bearded iris is high, the peony low. But I must add the peony is an exception; not too many plants have a low rating.

The indoor plant like the African violet would be high maintenance. My mother grew them, and she spent hours caring for her plant collection.

The garden rose is another high maintenance plant. Gardeners spend many hours growing these special plants.

The peony is an unusual plant in that it has a short bloom period of only one week. I'm amazed some breeder hasn't come up with a peony that blooms for at least a month.

As I used to tell my biology classes, "The world is wide open for new ideas in the plant world." And this is certainly true in horticulture.

If you want a low maintenance plant for the landscape, the peony should be at the top of the list little or no maintenance. Deadhead the flowers and fall cleanup is all. It's a perfect plant for the lazy gardener.

A tall bearded iris displays exceptional colored flowers in late May. Some are rebloomers with another flower in the fall.(Photo: Richard Poffenbaugh Photo.)

Then we come to the tall bearded iris; a very high maintenance plant in the garden.

The tall iris stem with large colored flower on top puts on a strong color display. But the thick roots grow fast and require frequent attention to prevent crowding. Generally, this plant is a fast grower, which means extra labor. Most of this work is best done on your hands and knees, which is no easy task. There are few iris growers working beyond age 80-85.

My active iris growing was from age 45 to 60. The later years included growing reblooming iris. These plants had two bloom periods during the year spring in late May and a second bloom period in September into October.

I remember one year there was a very late iris bloom and also late watermelon ripe in the garden at the same time. Timing was not right for both of these plants, but it did happen.

Reblooming iris are gaining in popularity. I visited a grower and breeder of them named Earl Hall in 1995. He grew hundreds of them at his home at West Alexandria, Ohio (near Dayton). It was the only time I saw gravel used as mulch in his fields of iris plants. Normally you do not mulch iris, but he said the gravel had great drainage and helped control weeds.

One of Earl's colorful pink rebloomers he named Pink Attraction, and it had a beautiful pink color.

A favorite catalog with assorted plants for fall planting, this large catalog has 103 pages with a wide assortment of plants. Call 1-800-803-9624.

It includes all the typical bulbs for fall planting plus, rarely found in catalogs, rebloomer iris like Immortality and Pink Attraction; also organic fertilizers from Espoma in New Jersey.

Richard Poffenbaugh is a retired biology teacher and active home gardener since 1960. He is a member of the Mansfield Men's Garden Club and was editor of the club newsletter (The Greenhorn) for 21 years. He resides in Ontario with his wife, Barbara. Reach him at 419-529-2966.

Poffenbaugh, Richard(Photo: NJ file photo)

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Mike Cattermole on Serpentine, Love, Highest Ground and more – Sportinglife.com

Mike Cattermole Columnist

15:13 July 08, 2020 5 min read

As the dust settles on the Investec Derby, Mike Cattermole says the making of Serpentine, the stallion, is going to make for a fascinating story.

Last Saturdays runaway Investec Derby and Oaks winners, Serpentine and Love, evoked memories of both Slip Anchor and Oh So Sharp, who landed the Epsom Classics in similar style in 1985.

Slip Anchors career ended in anti-climax, while Oh So Sharp went on to equine immortality by landing the Fillies Triple Crown.

What will the future hold for both Serpentine and Love?

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Serpentine - 2020 Investec Derby

Aidan OBriens fourth string of six he may have been, but what an emphatic winner of the Investec Derby Serpentine was.

Credit where credit is due, for a five-and-half length winner of the Derby has to be given the utmost respect. He looked the part - a lithe, athletic specimen with a long stride - handled the track beautifully and was just way too good for them.

Emmet McNamara, a Derby debutant and riding with confidence on the back of some buoyant instructions from the master of Ballydoyle, rode the perfect race and very much in the spirit of Steve Cauthen on Slip Anchor some 35 years before.

There were some comments made about some of the other jockeys allowing the winner too much rope but, whatever your thoughts about that, you couldnt include Tom Marquand, on the 50-1 shot Khalifa Sat, among them. Nor indeed William Buick on the third, Amhran Na Bhfiann.

In fact the first three home occupied those same positions after the field had covered just the first two furlongs of the race. Nothing else ever threatened to get involved.

Tattenham Corner in the Derby and Serpentine is clear

It was ironic that Marquand, taken off English King due to his inexperience at Epsom, gave his mount every chance and ended up finishing in front of the Ed Walker-trained colt who boiled over before the start and never seemed to get into a rhythm for Frankie Dettori. He only got going in the last furlong.

Kameko ran on odd race, keeping on, but had pulled way too hard early on to give himself a chance of doing himself justice.

It will be fascinating to see how the Derby form works out but Serpentine is clearly very good and will probably make an even better four-year-old.

In fact, what will the future hold for him?

At the moment, the son of Galileo and Oaks runner-up Remember When, looks an ideal type for the St Leger where the expanse of Town Moor will be right up his street.

Note, however, that Ballydoyles last St Leger winner, Kew Gardens in 2018, has just been retired and is being promoted as a jumps stallion at Coolmore. Similarly with their 2017 Leger winner Capri, also a winner of the Irish Derby.

Kew Gardens winning the St Leger

Is that what awaits Serpentine? It would seem the obvious path, so will that always be what any stoutly-bred Derby winner can offer in the breeding sheds, going forward? It makes you think about what is really means, commercially, in this day and age about winning the worlds most famous Flat race.

No doubt Messrs Magnier, Smith and Tabor will be mulling things over. In 1985, Henry Cecil planned to run Slip Anchor in the King George and the Leger but plans were changed when injury intervened.

Cecil was forced to drop Slip Anchor back in trip in the Champion Stakes and he wasnt disgraced when second to Pebbles. Indeed, a Champion Stakes in a straight line at Newmarket, as it was in those days, would have been a better option for Serpentine than the current edition at Ascot.

So how can Serpentine be transformed into a more commercial proposition? Perhaps consider the King George at Ascot later this month and a clash with Enable? Beat that legend and it would help.

Then, what about a drop back in trip and a go at the Juddmonte International?

Mind you, another pretty decent front-runner awaits there in Ghaiyyath.

Or, maybe go full tilt at the Leger with a traditional trial such as the Great Voltigeur on the way and then perhaps tackle the shorter trips next year.

The making of Serpentine, the stallion, is going to make for a fascinating story.

It's all about Love in the Investec Oaks

Love was all class in the Oaks, hacking up by nine long lengths and clocking a time 0.37 seconds quicker than Serpentine did just over an hour later.

If she had run in the Derby, remember she would have received 3lb from the colts and so on the evidence we have, would have won that by around a couple of lengths.

Love has now won the first two legs of the Fillies Triple Crown and has done so more impressively than Oh So Sharp who won the Guineas in a three-way photo and landed her Oaks by a mere six lengths.

So, another decision for the lads. Will they be tempted to try and emulate Oh So Sharp head for the Leger?

Love has a superb temperament to go along with her immense ability and the sky really is the limit for her. Her first clash against the older generations is going to be fascinating, especially when she crosses paths with Enable.

John Gosdens superstar heads to the King George now after her highly satisfactory reappearance in last Sundays Eclipse.

The King George was Oh So Sharps next port of call after Epsom although she was beaten. Will that be the chosen route for Love?

Will Ascot stage the clash of the female titans?

Highest Ground on his way to Haydock victory

The Derby came too soon for the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Highest Ground and instead he takes his next step forward in the new July version of the Dante Stakes at York on Thursday.

Speaking to Ryan Moore last week, there is no doubt about the potential of the son of Frankel and the former champion will be disappointed that he cant maintain the partnership at York as he is required by Aidan OBrien at Newmarket.

Oisin Murphy steps in and is fully expected to become the latest admiring member of the expanding Highest Ground fan club.

Golden Horde wins from Kimari in the Commonwealth Cup

Lethal Force and Harry Angel won the July Cup for Clive Cox in recent years and now Golden Horde, Lethal Forces son, heads the market for Saturdays renewal at Newmarket.

He goes there with his trainer extremely happy about his well-being and noting that the Commonwealth Cup form passed its first test in Ireland at the weekend, when the Ascot fifth Millisle, beaten six lengths by Golden Horde, chased home the exciting Art Power (at two and half lengths) at Naas.

What the weather does is of no concern to Cox as Golden Horde has demonstrated that he handles any ground, whether heavy or good to firm.

He is the 5-2 favourite with Sky Bet and is very much the one to beat.

We are committed in our support of responsible gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.Sky Bet's responsible gambling tools are detailed here and if you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, or visit begambleaware.org.Further support and information can be found at GamCare and gamblingtherapy.org.

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Bloodshot Writer Tim Seeley Explains What Makes the Valiant Hero Stand Out – CBR – Comic Book Resources

Valiant's Bloodshotreturns after a brief hiatus with the fully reloaded issue #7 which is jam-packed with extras. That issue is the beginning of the newest arcnamed "Burned" arc, which follows theunkillable hero facing some overwhelming threats. Bloodshot joins forces with an agency known as The Burned in order to rescue Mina Nez, who was forced to work for the Black Bar for some time. The rescue is the easy part; what lies ahead, maybe something not even Bloodshot can stop.

CBR spoke with writer Tim Seeley, who's been writing the newest iteration of Bloodshot since it's recent relaunch, to chat about his take on the titular hero, the brief hiatus between issues, and who'd he like to see Bloodshot crossover with.

Related: Bloodshot Artist Reveals His Favorite Black Bar Monster

CBR: Your work has often taken superheroes and approached them from unusual genre angles; neither Grayson nor Shattershot is a typical superhero fare, and Extracts was in part examining the idea of the superhero. What other genres matter for Bloodshot, and what do you think the series has to say about superheroes?

Tim Seeley:For my take on Bloodshot, I think I definitely dove back into the creation of Bloodshot. I think he's alwaysbeen a sort of Frankenstein's monster. You know, he's an experiment in immortality essentially. Someone who didn't ask to be brought back, which is very much Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. So I picked up a lot of those elements and I'm obviously kind of familiar with horror. So it was an easy angle for me to kind of use as an inspiration for the storyline.

It's also very much an action movie sort of genre. There'sno doubt about it that when you're reading Bloodshot it looks like you're seeing the movie. You can see the elements of the actionmovies of the '80s and '90s where it's sort of the essential hero against overwhelming odds that sometimes ends with that Schwarzenegger style movie rescue.

Issue #7 of Bloodshot ends with a pretty big cliffhanger ending. How was it having to sit for five months waiting for Issue #8 to finally come out?

Not ideal, especially since you knowthat Issue #7was supposed to come out,and then the movie was supposed to be released. It's was supposed to be welcomed by a waiting world with open arms and everybody was excited. And then, of course, it was released the same weekend where things started closing down because the international worldwide pandemic was occurring. So obviously best-laid plans of mice and men and all of that...

I think Valiant did the bestto try and roll with the punches. Having that gap between the two issues where there was not intended to be a gap left readers salivating and waiting for the next part of the story. They'll jump right back in when we will come back out withthe sort of remixed edition to remindeveryone of what happened in Issue #7 and then it will fall in line on a regular schedule.

Do you think Bloodshot is actually being selfish for trying to atone for the bad that he's done when just existing is such a danger to the rest of the world?

Yeah, I think that's my take on the character. I think, to some degree, the character is consumed by this idea that he needs to make up for what was done to him. But also maybe this ishis unwillingness to admit that those people aren't able to control him. I think that he really is defined by a desire to have his own will and even though it keeps going against him, he really that's what he exists for. He has to prove himself so that he can make his own decisions.

Related: X-O Manowar's Long-Awaited Second Issue Scheduled For November Release

With big changes occurring at the end of Issue #7 with The Burned and a vault full of monsters now on the loose. Is the tone for the story going to change overall as Bloodshot is now up against Godzilla-sized foes?

No, it doesn't really change the tone of the book. I mean, obviously, you know, that's a big crazy moment. But my take on it is that it's still an action story, and we have to up the stakes to up the danger. He's a guy who can't die of traditional means. So him getting stomped on by Godzilla isn't going to kill him. But the danger obviously is now all these things are spilling out into the worldso he has to try and stopthem before they can destroy other people's lives. We still treat it the same even though he is up against this immense force, but the difference is he can keep going until he's paste. But it's still really about his relationship with Nix and his relationship with Eidolon and those sorts of connections that he's made. That's what the real story is. It's just the amount of mayhem that we put him through that changes.

How does writing in the Valiant Universe differ from those of Marvel or DC where you've also written?

I kind of think the Valiant Universe is a bit more cynical universe to some degree because it was founded in the 90s. Theres a desire for readers to see that its a little bit more grounded. The Valiant Universe tends to mean that these are characters are coming from an understanding the government doesn't always have our best interests in mind. Or that giant corporations aren't trying to save us either but just looking to make their money. There's a cynicism to that because people in the '90s start to realize it, and it's carried through. I think in every iteration of theValiant Universethat there have been stories of superpowersbeing influenced by corporate interests and by the politics of governmentsfor their wars. It all kind of comes from that viewpoint.

You introduced some comic book versions of Bloodshot film characters in this year's Free Comic Book Day issue. Will they be showing up in the comic anytime soon?

Yeah, I mean, it would have rolled right into the original planwhere you would have got that issue, and then two or three weeks later, you would have gotten the story that connected to that. But obviously things changed. So those characters do show up in issue 10. Basically the segment of the story you get in the free Comic Book Day issuethat all those things it's important to the overall story and all ties in. Actually, I think some of those panels you actually get to see are drawn by Brett Booth in that issue. So it's an important piece of the puzzle and we make sure that it ties all together to the next arc.

Related: Grayson's Tim Seeley Reveals Who Came Up With Grayson's Gorilla Hookup

If you could cross over with any of the other properties you're writing right now with Bloodshot, which one would it be?

I joke that I would do Money Shots. So it would be "Blood Money Shot" or "Money Bloodshot" or "Shotshot" or whatever people want to do. But it actually makes sense that I'm writing a Crow story that shares a pretty similar audience to Bloodshot so that one would be a pretty cool mashup.

Between Bloodshot and Money Shot, what's messier?

Oh, man, I can just feel for Greg from Valiant dying sweating for what I say on this one. ButBloodshot definitely because he's gonna clean up his own guts. That's a much more unpleasant scenario than the Money Shot one.

Next: Rai's Return At Valiant Marks the Perfect Jumping-On Point

Ghost-Maker: DC Debuts First Look at Batman's Newest (Old) Rival

Dan is a lifelong DC comics fan with a passion for helping others find stories and characters they will love. He co-hosts the podcast Supersons with his brother where they try to make DC comics more accessible for new readers. Dan has written for AIPT! and WMQ Comics previously. Any time not spent doing nerdy stuff is with his dog Dinah or his cats Kory & Mera.

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The Old Guard Trailer: Immortality Can Be a Pain – /FILM

Charlize Theron leadinga team of mercenaries who all have the ability to heal quickly when injured, essentially granting them immortality? Nothing sounds better or cooler. But the latestThe Old Guard trailer is here to show the downsides of immortality. Watch the newThe Old Guard trailer below.

Immortality sounds like fun and games, but it can be a real pain, according to Therons immortal warrior Andy. The leader of a team of mercenaries with extraordinary abilities, Andy brings in the newest immortal recruit Nile (If Beale Street Could TalksKiKi Layne) and gives her the rundown of the blessings and curses of immortality. First: its painful quite literally as the mercenaries all feel the pain of the burnings, stabbings, and gunshots that they receive in their dangerous line of work. But theres the emotional pain of leaving your family behind, as Laynes Nile soon learns, as she becomes torn between her new team and her old life.

Also rounding out the team is a French soldier who foughtalongside Napoleon (Rust and BonesMatthias Schoenaerts), and two former enemies from the Crusades (Every Blessed DaysLuca MarinelliandAladdinsMarwan Kenzari). With the arrival of Nile, the group find themselves chased byChiwetel EjioforsCIA operative andHarry Mellings pharmaceutical executive bent on experimenting on the team.

Based on the comic series from writer Greg Rucka and artist Leandro Fernandez,The Old Guard is directed byGina Prince-Bythewood, from a script by Rucka. The action-packed thriller seems like another fantastic action showcase for Theron, who withMad Max: Fury Road andAtomic Blonde, has already proven that shes the great action icon for our age.

Here is the synopsis forThe Old Guard:

Led by a warrior named Andy (Charlize Theron), a covert group of tight-knit mercenaries with a mysterious inability to die have fought to protect the mortal world for centuries. But when the team is recruited to take on an emergency mission and their extraordinary abilities are suddenly exposed, its up to Andy and Nile (KiKi Layne), the newest soldier to join their ranks, to help the group eliminate the threat of those who seek to replicate and monetize their power by any means necessary. Based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Greg Rucka and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (LOVE & BASKETBALL, BEYOND THE LIGHTS), THE OLD GUARD is a gritty, grounded, action-packed story that shows living forever is harder than it looks.

The Old Guard debuts on Netflix onJuly 10, 2020.

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Gucci Expands The Alchemist’s Garden With Two New Whimsical Scents – Tatler Thailand

Gucci is broadening its luxury fragrance line with a duo of contrasting characters: A Midnight Stroll and A Chant for the Nymph. Born off the magnetism of two alchemistscreative director Alessandro Michele and master perfumer Alberto Morillasthe two novel concoctions complete a total of nine scents within The Alchemists Garden line, which is all about encapsulating the essences of natural plants and flowers while layered with modern molecules.

Let us guide you into the different scenes conjured by each of the two new fragrances: first a dark and deep exploration, and second a warm sensual bouquet on a summer night.

An homage to nocturnal allure, A Midnight Stroll is epitomised by a jaguar, an animal of strength, stealth and elegance. The note is intense with thick, smoky incense and dark Cade wood. As the jaguar moves under night's veil, a sudden gleam of vitality from the fresh Cypress breaks the solemnity.

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Gucci Expands The Alchemist's Garden With Two New Whimsical Scents - Tatler Thailand

TV: Immortal mercenaries confront reality of forever in Netflix’s ‘The Old Guard’ – Gulf Digital News

Los Angeles: Audiences are used to seeing comic book superheroes come to life on screen but in The Old Guard the heroes only have one power - immortality.

Charlize Theron stars in the action film, arriving on Netflix on Friday, as the leader of a small unit of immortal mercenaries who are trying to help humanity. It is based on the 2017 comic book by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez.

I just saw a lot of potential to explore something on a sci-fi level scale but somehow stay true to the very insular human emotions that I felt an audience could really appreciate in the sci-fi world, Theron said.

The diverse cast includes Black actress KiKi Layne as Nile, the first immortal to have been born in a few centuries, as well as 12 Years a Slave star Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tunisian-Dutch actor Marwan Kenzari, Italian Luca Marinelli and Belgian Matthias Schoenaerts.

I love that there were two females at the head of this which just felt different. And most notably, theres a young, Black female hero in this which is absolutely a rarity in the genre, said director Gina Prince-Bythewood.

Ejiofor said the movie tries to delve into what it would be like for people if they could live as immortal, if they could live forever, and what theyre actually confronted with is a lot of this kind of angst.

Its also a project that demonstrates what inclusion should look like in Hollywood, Ejiofor said.

Everybody is celebrated in this experience and that is, I think, part of what film and television should be aspiring to. That shouldnt be something radical, that should be a natural evolution of our medium, he said.

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TV: Immortal mercenaries confront reality of forever in Netflix's 'The Old Guard' - Gulf Digital News

Can Margot Robbie save Pirates of the Caribbean from irrelevance? – The Guardian

How intriguing that Pirates of the Caribbean should be looking to Margot Robbie to lift the saga from the depths and out, once again, into the West Indian sunlight. The series has regularly dipped its toe into the potentially bountiful narrative trope of the female pirate surviving and thriving in a mans world, with Keira Knightley, Penlope Cruz, Zoe Saldana and, latterly, Kaya Scodelario among those to have swished cutlasses and swung from the rigging.

And yet the saga has had its issues with gender representation. Scodelario spent most of 2017s Dead Men Tell No Tales being ogled by Johnny Depps much older Captain Jack Sparrow. Previously, Knightleys journey from damsel in distress to (briefly) pirate king of the famed nine pirate lords ended with her back on land and spending her days longing for the once-a-decade return of Orlando Blooms tedious Will Turner.

As a fantasy series in which ancient gods prowl the oceans, immortality is real and our barmy buccaneers can switch from life to living death at the touch of a magic gold sovereign, you might think Pirates of the Caribbean would have little need for historical realism. Yet the idea of a female pirate surviving at sea for long without having to disguise herself as a man (like the real-life 18th-century figures Anne Bonny and Mary Read, as well as Cruzs Angelica in 2011s On Stranger Tides) seems even more fanciful than the existence of a fountain of youth. Having a woman on board was often considered to be bad luck during the golden age of piracy, because captains feared their presence would cause crew members to fight among themselves. And yet, it seems highly unlikely that Disney would consider transforming the swashbuckling series into a scurvy seadog take on Albert Nobbs even if that story is surely a fascinating one that will one day be told far away from the world of blockbuster cinema.

Margot Robbie, if she ends up signing on the dotted line, wont exactly be stepping into Depps well-worn boots. There remain separate plans for a reboot in the main Pirate timeline, though it is unclear at this stage whether Captain Jack Sparrow would make an appearance in the wake of Depps on- and off-screen struggles in recent years. If the Robbie project takes off, it is easy to see Disney quietly putting any other plans back in Davy Joness locker to focus on what works. Theres little doubt the studio sees the new film as a star vehicle for the Australian actor, or it would not have hired Robbies Birds of Prey screenwriter Christina Hodson to work on the script.

Hodson also wrote Transformers spinoff Bumblebee, miraculously taking a franchise that was once so macho that you wondered if the Autobots and Decepticons ran on pure testosterone and working it into a gentle, pleasingly complex coming-of-age tale that seemed to have more in common with the Iron Giant, ET or Disneys Big Hero 6. The studio will no doubt be hoping that she can work similar magic on Pirates of the Caribbean, which at its best was a joyous chance to catch top-notch character actors such as Depp, Geoffrey Rush and Ian McShane at the peak of their furniture-chewing powers, but at its worst descended into lazy, sexist retread territory with plots eventually becoming so foggy and convoluted that most of us would rather have joined Joness doomed crew on the Flying Dutchman rather than be forced to unravel them.

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Can Margot Robbie save Pirates of the Caribbean from irrelevance? - The Guardian

Owned, Omor and a dystopian masterpiece – The Daily Star

Writers are usually advised to shy away from words like 'masterpiece', 'classic', 'perfect' or other bold terms and such, especially in an industry that tries to promote mediocrity as a given. Quite often, the lack of equipment, manpower and investment is cited as a reason. Yet, the music video for Owned's latest release Omor was perfect for what it set out to accomplish, even though it was made by just one man.

Before getting ahead of myself, Owned is a rock band from Dhaka that has continuously and diligently delivered nothing but excellence for the better part of a decade now. Consisting of A K Ratul, A K Samee, Fasihuddin Ahmed Itmam and Pritom Arefin, their signature, nuanced grunge sound is recognisable in a heartbeat. Yet, their latest music video helps establish new standards for the band.

"From the outset, we did not want to do a live-action music video this time," says frontman A K Ratul, who is also a talented music producer in his own right. "It was quite a hunt, looking for someone who understood our vision and could get the job done." The band came across animator Ali Arman Asgar, and this is where it instantly clicked.

Ali, who is the CEO of Locust Productions, worked a painstaking eight hours a day for four months to turn the concept for Omor into reality. "When the band came to me with the song, I realised that it deals with the theme of immortality. I, myself had been designing what I had planned to be a web-series with similar themes. I thought it would merge pretty well."

The video, powered by live2web, follows the journey of an anthromorphic pig through multiple dystopian realms. It also includes fully-rendered models of the band members themselves. "I took their photos from different angles and rendered them together," shrugged the nonchalant animator, "In the end, it was the rendering that took quite a toll." Even though the scenes were completed in about four months, the making of the video itself took an entire month for Ali's computer. Essentially, just one person accomplished the job of an entire studio full of animators.

"Ali was cordial when it came to our feedbacks," says A K Samee. "We told him to 'go nuts' with the style, but inserted references from our favourite pop-culture phenomenon for ourselves." Samee insisted that even though the easter eggs were put in the video for the band's own amusement, many found them and shared them online. "I am surprised that so many people picked up on those, as it would require multiple re-watches," said the drummer.

Owned shared that the video is the first of a trilogy, that would be made in partnership with Locust Productions. The band is also set to complete their trilogy of albums with Owned 3. "The pandemic has definitely hurt our plans, but we will finish the album as soon as we can," said Ratul. In the meantime, I will enjoy multiple re-watches of Omor.

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Owned, Omor and a dystopian masterpiece - The Daily Star

Health benefits of giloy juice and easy kadha recipes – Times of India

We spend so much money and efforts on medicines and treatments to stay healthy, but did you know the root to immortality lies in our own country; This might sound unbelievable, but according to the books of Ayurveda, Giloy can cure as well as prevent hundreds of diseases. Right from seasonal ailments like cold, cough, flu to stomach issues to diabetes to chronic arthritis, giloy has been used for its medicinal purpose since times immemorial.

This age-old miraculous herb is also known as Amrita in sanskrit, which means immortality. In fact, according to the Ayurvedic experts consuming giloy on a daily basis can keep disease at bay. This is the reason why giloy extracts have been used as an active ingredient in several Ayurvedic medicines. Apart from that, giloy is one such ingredient that can be consumed in several ways. However, the stem of this plant has maximum nutrition. Read on to know more about the health benefits of giloy juice and how it helps in building immunity.

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Health benefits of giloy juice and easy kadha recipes - Times of India

2.15 million global research to look into fundamental issues concerning religious concepts and beliefs – University of Birmingham

Over the next three years, The research will organise numerous research events and training activities around the world to promote and facilitate cross-religious conversation

A researcher from the College of Arts and Law at the University of Birmingham has been awarded2.15 million from the John Templeton Foundation and the Dynamic Investment Fund (DIF) for a project to promote philosophical research addressing diverse religious traditions and geographical regions.

Yujin Nagasawa, H.G. Wood Professor of the Philosophy of Religion and Co-Director of the Birmingham Centre for the Philosophy of Religion, will use this research opportunity to explore some of the most fundamental questions concerning religious concepts and beliefs.

The Global Philosophy of Religion Project is the first major initiative aiming to make the philosophy of religion a truly global field and will explore issues concerning the existence and nature of deities; evil and suffering in the world; and death and the possibility of immortality. It is notable that these topics are relevant to a variety of religious traditions and geographical locations.

Yujin Nagasawa said: I am delighted and honoured to lead this international project. I am particularly excited about working with outstanding researchers from diverse religious traditions and geographical regions. Over the next three years, we will organise numerous research events and training activities around the world to promote and facilitate cross-religious conversation. I think this project will diversify and reshape the philosophy of religion for the 21st century.

The project will organise funding competitions for collaborative research projects involving underrepresented regions and traditions, and will offer translation and language support for philosophers of religion worldwide. Additionally, it will produce a variety of open-access publications for academic and non-academic audiences and convene conferences, workshops and seminars that are designed to stimulate multi-regional and cross-religious engagement.

The University of Birmingham is historically known for the strength of its diverse approach to teaching and research, which reflects the religious and cultural diversity of Birmingham.

The Birmingham Centre for Philosophy of Religion will situate the Global Philosophy of Religion Project at its heart.

More information is available on the Global Philosophy website.

For more information or interviews, please contact: Hasan Salim Patel, Communications Manager (Arts, Law and Social Sciences) or contact the press office out of hours on +44 (0)7789 921 165.

About the University of Birmingham

The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the worlds top 100 institutions. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, teachers and more than 6,500 international students from over 150 countries.

About the Birmingham Centre for Philosophy of Religion

The mission of the Birmingham Centre for Philosophy of Religion is to foster excellence in teaching and research in the philosophy of religion from a global perspective.

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2.15 million global research to look into fundamental issues concerning religious concepts and beliefs - University of Birmingham

Stephen King Has a Friday the 13th Book He Wants to Write About Jason Voorhees – MovieWeb

Though it doesn't seem to be something we'll ever see come to fruition, legendary horror author Stephen King says he wants to write a novel based on Friday the 13th franchise killer Jason Voorhees. Ever since the very first movie in the series, Jason has been getting seemingly killed off for good, only to show up in the sequel. Fascinated by the hockey mask-wearing killer's apparent immortality, King took to Twitter to pitch his idea for a Friday the 13th story.

"The best novel idea I never wrote (and probably never will) is I JASON, the first-person narrative of Jason Voorhees, and his hellish fate: killed over and over again at Camp Crystal Lake. What a hellish, existential fate!" King writes on Twitter. It's a really interesting concept, as even after eleven Jason movies and a Nightmare on Elm Street crossover, we still haven't seen a movie that's actually from Jason's point of view. Wouldn't it be intriguing to know what's really going on in the mind of an undead maniac, doomed to roam the abandoned campgrounds where he died as a child?

Still, while it's a fun idea, we shouldn't count on seeing Stephen King's Friday the 13th hitting bookstores anytime soon. In a follow-up tweet, Stephen King admits that legal complications would likely prevent such a book from ever being written. "Just thinking about the legal thicket one would have to go through to get permissions makes my head ache," King notes. "And my heart, that too. But gosh, shouldn't someone tell Jason's side of the story?"

While Jason has been in more movies than most of his horror genre contemporaries, the pop culture icon is still shrouded in mystery. Why is it that he keeps coming back? He is clearly powered by some kind of paranormal forces, but what exactly is fueling this is unclear. Perhaps Jason Goes to Hell director Adam Marcus came the closest to providing an explanation, revealing in an interview with Horror Geek Life in 2017 that he believed Jason was in fact a "Deadite" from the Evil Dead universe, and that his mother had revived him using black magic. Marcus also included references in the movie alluding to this origin story.

When we last saw Jason Voorhees, he was played by Derek Mears as he slaughtered many teenagers in 2009's Friday the 13th remake. Paramount Pictures had planned to film the next movie in the series in 2017, though the studio balked and cancelled its production based on the failure of Rings at the box office. As Friday the 13th: The Game became a big hit, followed by the record-setting success of David Gordon Green's Halloween reboot in 2018, it's pretty clear that perhaps Paramount made the wrong choice.

In any case, we're probably not going to be getting any new Friday the 13th movies (or Stephen King novels) anytime soon, based on the ongoing legal drama surrounding the rights to the series. Friday the 13th Part 3 star and entertainment lawyer Larry Zerner has previously speculated that a final decision in that case could be reached as early as this month, but there's been no major updates since. Hopefully, that day will come sooner than later so we can finally get Jason back on the big screen. This news comes to us from Stephen King on Twitter.

Topics: Friday the 13th

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Stephen King Has a Friday the 13th Book He Wants to Write About Jason Voorhees - MovieWeb

Upload Is the Latest Show Treating the Afterlife as Simulation – Observer

Greg Daniels new Amazon Prime Video series Uploadturns the afterlife into a very familiar place. In the show, Nathan (Robbie Amell) is uploaded to a sort of Four Seasons deluxe V.R. estate after he suffers a fatal car crash. He can still call and chat with his living friends and family, but can never leave the digital afterlife program that serves as his version of heaven.

Upload presents a less than perfect take of the afterlife. Aside from being unable to go back to a physical body, Nathans seemingly perfect, high-end resort ends up playingmore like a freemium game, complete with DLCs for food, clothing and loot boxes. Its basically The Good Place by way of Parasite.

Though Upload is far from the first TV show to take place in the afterlifethat was The Good Places bread and butter after allthe Greg Daniels comedy is also part of a recent wave of TV shows using computer simulations to give us a glimpse into heavenand they usually end up about as scary and bad as youd expect.

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The dark comedy, sci-fi show Black Mirror first explored the idea of the afterlife as a simulated reality in San Junipero which ends with a shot of a massive warehouse filled with thousands upon thousands of blinking hard drives, presumably housing all the residents of San Junipero. Though this afterlife is full of 80s nostalgia and endless parties, the show does ask the question of whether a simulated reality version of you is really you, which is a question that always comes up in this type of story. Similarly, before he explored what the robot uprising could look like in Westworld, Jonathan Nolan showed us what it could look like if a machine knew enough about us to make a copy of our minds in Person of Interest.

Though not a big part of the show, after one of the main characters in Person of Interest dies, the artificial intelligence at the center of the show starts speaking with the voice of the dead character, and takes on part of their personality. The shows explanation is that the machine remembers all the main characters and knows everything about them, so it can replicate them as perfect simulations, essentially letting them live forever.

Upload doesnt try to hide the fact that its afterlife, and its inhabitants, are at best a computer interpretation of what humans are. In the first episode of the show, a customer service representative named Nora (Andy Allo) builds Nathans virtual avatar as she downloads all his memories into the virtual afterlife. The problem comes when some of the memories seem to be corrupted, however, which becomes a big part of the shows plot. Similarly, it seems like you cant ever alter your avatar, as Nathan tries across a few episodes to change the weird haircut Nora chose for him, unsuccessfully. Meanwhile, one of the resorts residents died as a kid, but never grows up in the afterlife, even if his siblings and friends kept getting old in the outside world. The people inside Uploads afterlife turns people into essentially pieces of data, which can be paused, altered and completely erased at the push of a button.

Season 2 of Westworld spent some time exploring the flaws and futility of using technology to achieve immortality. The show reveals that the purpose of the titular park was to gather data on guests in order to copy the consciousness of billionaire guests and build them robot bodies so they could live forever. The season 2 episode The Riddle of the Sphinx introduces a host version of the parks owner, James Delos (Peter Mullan), but only its faulty, barely capable of speech and incapable of going off-script orthinking like an actual person.

The shows version of the afterlife, The Forge, takes 18 million virtual versions of Delos before it found a copy faithful enough to recreate the decisions the real Delos made in the park, and then even after 149 host versions were produced, it was still far from a perfect simulation. Even if Westworld argues that even if human beings are so simple beings that we amount to just about 10,000 lines of code, the Delos project is still never able to produce a host copy thats true to the original human.

Alex Garland imagines a similar nightmarish afterlife for his sci-fi drama Devs, which involves a plan to have people, more specifically just one rich Silicon Valley guy, live forever in a simulation. In the show, Forest (Nick Offerman) builds a quantum computer to create a fully simulated universe where his loved ones dont die and his consciousness can be transferred to before dying. In the final episode, Forest rejoins his wife and daughter in his version of heaven, but while he seems very happy with his situation, Forest confesses that his original plan to create a single reality was a failure.

Instead, the quantum computer created countless multiverses, the one we see allows the characters to live happily ever after, but Forest knows there are countless versions of him existing in the countless other simulations, many of which look more like hell. Though the show doesnt spend a lot of time with the specifics of how the consciousness transfer works, it is heavily implied that this also is the machines interpretation of the characters consciousness via countless calculations, rather than an actual uploading process.

We dont yet know when or if well be able to upload our minds into a computer, or what the results might be. But if it looks anything like TV,eternal life will probably look a hell of a lot like regular life, including all its existential questions and economic problems.

Observation Pointsis a semi-regular discussion of key details in our culture.

Upload is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

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Upload Is the Latest Show Treating the Afterlife as Simulation - Observer