End-of-year e-bike deals: What can you now get for less cash?

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End-of-year e-bike deals: What can you now get for less cash?     Over the last couple of years, some of your intrepid Ars staff have been trying out a very broad range of e-bikes. Some of these we've quite liked, a few we weren't so sure about, and we suspected at least one of trying to kill us. Continued here

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The Warped Side of Our Universe: A Painted Epic Poem about the Dazzling Science of Spacetime     The first English use of the word space to connote the cosmic expanse appears in line 650 of Book I of Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost: “Space may produce new Worlds,” he wrote, and grow rife with… Continued here

S2

Gohona bori: India's heritage edible ornament     Jyotsna Maity fixed the large, circular brass plate with a meditative gaze. A bed of poppy seeds was neatly and evenly spread over the dish. She began to slowly extrude the lentil batter through the piped cloth bag she had in her right hand, holding it perpendicularly over the platter. Her nimble wrist delicately twisted and turned to form concentric circles, decorative curls and miniscule triangles with the gooey paste. With a sharp, controlled jerk of her hand, she completed the design that now resembled a dainty designer necklace.Maity was the head of the squad of women similarly occupied on the spacious terrace: their heads bent over brass plates and hands busy to create a culinary artform, the tricks of which have been handed down to them orally through generations. Continued here

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Barbie, Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon: The 20 best films of 2023     The numbers in this list do not represent ranking, but are intended to make the separate entries as clear as possible.This tough-minded, heart-breaking drama about race, class and motherhood was France's entry to last year's Oscar race, and I'm still mystified as to why it wasn't nominated. Alice Diop puts her experience making documentaries to good use, as she bases her story on the real-life case of a young Senegalese woman in France charged with abandoning her baby on a beach to die. Diop invents Rama, a pregnant novelist who goes to the town of Saint Omer to witness the trial, which plays into her own doubts and fears. As Laurence, the mother on trial, Guslagie Malanda is unnaturally calm, almost frozen in resignation. Kayije Kagame as Rama lets you see her mind racing and her heart pounding as she watches, even though her face is impassive. Diop based her dialogue on court transcripts, but the results go far beyond dry facts on the page to create an enthralling film with two profound and vivid women on screen. (CJ) Continued here

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Look to the mainstream to explain the rise of the far right     Javier Milei in Argentina. Geert Wilders in the Netherlands. These are the two latest “populist shocks” – the tip of the “populist wave” that comes crashing against the weakened defences of liberal democracies. At the same time, former UKIP leader Nigel Farage benefits from the same “funwashing” on I’m a Celebrity Get me out of Here! as Pauline Hanson, leader of the most successful extreme right party in Australia in recent years, did when she was invited on Dancing with the Stars just a moment after her political career plummeted. Continued here

S5

Former Wentworth MP Dave Sharma pulls off surprise victory for Liberal Senate vacancy     The former member for Wentworth, Dave Sharma, has won the Liberal Senate spot left by the retirement of the former Foreign Minister Maris Payne. He beat former NSW minister Andrew Constance 251 to 206 in the final ballot on Sunday. His selection was a surprise, with Constance earlier tipped the likely winner. Both Sharma and Constance are moderates, as was Payne. Continued here

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Climate adaptation funds are not reaching frontline communities: what needs to be done about it     Communities around the world face increasingly severe and frequent impacts from climate change. They are on the “frontlines” of droughts, flooding, desertification and sea level rise. International climate finance is supposed to help. In the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world’s wealthiest countries pledged US$50 billion annually to support climate adaptation among those “particularly vulnerable” to climate change. Climate adaptation is the adjustments humans make to reduce exposure to climate risk. Continued here

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What is federalism? Why Ethiopia uses this system of government and why it's not perfect     Federalism is a system of government where power is shared between a central authority and smaller regional governments. Many countries adopt federalism to manage ethnic diversity within their borders and help promote unity. There are 25 federal countries globally, representing 40% of the world’s population. Continued here

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Should People Have the Right to Say Awful Things Without Facing Legal Consequences?     Terrible times breed terrible words, and words have consequences—especially when what you say can be recorded and broadcast. Yet society cannot agree, perhaps more so now, on which views are acceptable and what the consequences should be for a person expressing them.Last week, Stuart Seldowitz, a former State Department official, was arrested and charged with a hate crime after videos of him delivering a series of bigoted rants against Mohamed Hussein, a twenty-four-year-old Manhattan street-cart vender, went viral. In these, Seldowitz called Hussein a terrorist, insulted his Muslim faith, and said, with a hysterical crack in his voice, “If we killed four thousand Palestinian children, you know what—it wasn’t enough.” Hussein, for his part, repeatedly asked Seldowitz to leave him alone. Continued here

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Why Trump's Trials Should Be on TV     On November 6th, Donald Trump emerged from a New York City courtroom, where he had testified in a civil trial alleging that he and others in the Trump Organization had committed fraud, and gave himself a great review. "I think it went very well," he told reporters. "If you were there, and you listened, you'd see what a scam this is." He meant that the case was a scam and not that his company was. "Everybody saw what happened today," he went on. "And it was very conclusive."In truth, everybody didn't see; the courtroom could seat just a few dozen spectators. There were two overflow rooms, but the closed-circuit feed shown in them went no farther—the trial was not televised. Afterward, New York's attorney general, Letitia James, who was present, said that Trump had hardly put the matter to rest: "he rambled and he hurled insults." There was a transcript, but, to assess Trump's demeanor and tone, members of the public had to rely on the small number of people—journalists and lawyers, mostly—who witnessed them. And those reports differed, depending on, say, whether one watched MSNBC or Fox News. Continued here

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Do SAD Lamps Actually Work? Here's Why Psychologists Love Them      Meta-analyses show that light therapy has a positive effect, not only on SAD but also on major depression.Have you ever noted that you sleep more in the winter months? Or eat more carbs or have low energy? If you do, then you might be one of the around 6 percent of the higher latitude populations with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Continued here

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The Longest Running Sci-Fi Series is Finally Streaming for Free     “Lost media” is becoming a more and more prevalent term as streaming services wipe entire series from existence, making them completely impossible to watch, even for digital purchase. But the concept is not new at all. Now, there’s an expectation that whatever show you want to catch up on is at your fingertips. But before the internet, you were limited to reruns. There’s no greater example of this than Doctor Who, the longest-running sci-fi series in TV history. The show has been running for 60 years, and yet there are countless fans who haven’t even seen all the episodes that still exist. However, that’s all changing now. Continued here

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Happy 10th anniversary to one of Nintendo's best Mario titles.     Few things in life are better than being right. Whether we’re talking sports scores, trivia or bitcoin, the pure dopamine hit of being absolutely correct is an unparalleled experience. The problem is that sometimes you can be right and not know it. Hindsight is only 20/20 when enough time has passed to bring things into focus. And for Nintendo, only with the 10-year anniversary of one of its most acclaimed games do we now know that it got a lot of things right.Super Mario 3D World launched on Wii U on November 21, 2013. As you’d expect, the reviews were glowing. It’s a flawless Mario game that ticks all the boxes: Great levels, approachable difficulty, and more. There’s always a lot to love about Mario. Still, it was impossible to know at launch what we know now — Super Mario 3D World was a trendsetter. Continued here

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Hollywood's Top Directors Keep Making the Same Mistake -- Here's the Solution     In 2005, Dan Gardner watched Peter Jackson’s King Kong (runtime: 201 min) in theaters and had a major problem: he had to pee, but didn’t want to miss any crucial moments from the giant ape. That inspired him to create RunPee, an app that informs those with needy bladders when to take a break without missing any integral plot points that would leave a viewer relieved, but confused. Looking back on cinematic history and even modern-day movies from outside the U.S., there’s a clear answer to long movie bladder fatigue: the intermission. And with movies only getting longer, it’s obvious why they should be brought back into vogue. Continued here

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Why Is My Cat Staring At Nothing? Inside Your Cat's Unsettling, Blank Gaze     It may look like your favorite feline is zoning out, but there's more going on than our human senses even realize.Many times throughout the day your cat’s facial expression may go blank as they seem to endlessly fixate on an empty corner. But your favorite feline isn’t just zoning out — in fact, there’s more going on than we realize. Continued here

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54 Years Later, The Oldest TV Sci-Fi Hero Just Got A Massive Tech Upgrade     The Jedi have lightsabers. Members of Starfleet have phasers, preferably set to stun. But if you’re a lonely Time Lord from the planet of Gallifrey, you have ... a screwdriver. First introduced way back in 1964 for the 2nd Doctor (Patrick Troughton), the most beloved handheld sci-fi gizmo in all Doctor Who is easily the sonic screwdriver. While not all Doctors have consistently rocked this Swiss army knife of time and space, having a new sonic with a new Doctor has become something of a staple of the contemporary era, starting in 2005 with the 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston). Now, five incarnations and roughly four screwdriver designs later, the 14th Doctor (David Tennant) has a new sonic screwdriver. But, as revealed in “The Star Beast,” this new sonic seems to be able to do way more than previous versions could. The Doctor may have regenerated back into one of their old faces, and the sonic might seem superficially similar, but its functions are way more powerful than ever. Continued here

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50 Mind-Blowing Products on Amazon You'll Wish You Knew About Sooner     From genius solutions for everyday problems (like a roll-up dish rack that doubles as a trivet) to things that are just flat-out cool (like a safe that’s disguised as a can of corn) — you’ll be wishing that you knew about these sooner during your late-night Amazon scroll sessions.Make stuffed burgers at home with this burger press — fill them with any of your favorite ingredients, like cheese, veggies, or crumbled bacon. The nonstick coating makes it simple to slide the meat out once the patty is formed. The press can create burgers in three sizes all the way up to 3/4 of a pound each. Continued here

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'Rick and Morty' Trailer Reveals Summer's Secret Deal With Rick     Rick and Morty delivered its seasonal clip show earlier than usual last week with “Rickfending Your Mort,” in which the title duo winds up on trial after accidentally murdering an all-seeing sentient rock (and also for repeating their own adventures in a bit of classic meta-commentary). It made for a fun-loving and chaotic diversion after the seriousness of confronting Rick Prime the week before. Up next, it would seem we have some more terrestrial fun with a Summer and Morty hang.Here’s everything you need to know about Rick and Morty Season 7 Episode 7, including the release date and time, episode title, teaser trailer, and more. Continued here

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The Most-Anticipated Sci-Fi Episode of the Year Just Took a Powerful Stance on an Important Topic     On its 60th anniversary, this British institution made up for lost time and addressed an obvious influence.With long-running TV shows, there’s always a moment when it has to be acknowledged that the world we live in has evolved faster than the world within fiction. Apu in The Simpsons has been recast, Mac from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has come out as gay instead of just being the punchline to gay jokes, and even Jeff Probst’s Survivor catchphrase of “come on in, guys” has been shortened to not be deemed sexist. Continued here

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When People Assume You're Not In Charge Because You're a Woman     Role incredulity is a form of gender bias where women are mistakenly assumed to be in a support or stereotypically female role — an administrative assistant, nurse, wife, or girlfriend, for instance — rather than a leadership or stereotypically male role, such as CEO, professor, lawyer, doctor, or engineer. While this slight or mistake might seem innocuous, it can have real ramifications for women. Women must expend extra energy and time to assert and prove their role. Their words may lack the credibility and authority inherent in their position. And when women are not seen as a leader, they may be less likely to be hired into male-dominated roles or to be considered for promotions. Continued here

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You're Not Powerless in the Face of Imposter Syndrome     Research shows that high achievers from underrepresented backgrounds often find themselves confronting imposter syndrome or feeling they don’t fit in, are not welcome, or don’t belong. But understanding imposter syndrome does little to end it. The author, who studied underrepresented board members for his PhD and who interacts with hundreds of aspiring and existing board directors in his role at an executive search firm, has found that attributes of moxie — strength of will, self-discipline, and the ability to persist despite challenges — were vital to underrepresented directors’ success. He recommends four tactics to help make moxie your own super power. Continued here

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How to Keep Working When You're Just Not Feeling It     Motivating yourself is one of the main things that sets high achievers apart, and it’s hard. How do you keep pushing onward when your heart isn’t in it? In her research, Fishbach has identified some simple tactics: Set goals that are intrinsically rewarding, and make them very specific. If a task isn’t satisfying, focus on aspects of it that are or combine it with pleasant activities. Reward yourself in the right way for getting things done. To avoid slumps, break objectives into subgoals; look at how much you’ve accomplished until you’re halfway there; and then count down what you have left to do. And use social influence: Let high performers inspire you, boost your get-up-and-go by giving advice, and keep the people you want to succeed for front of mind. Continued here

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5 Things Good Leaders Do That Bad Managers Don't (or Won't)     These are the simple habits that lead to loyal and committed workers. Continued here

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After 56 Years, Chick-fil-A Just Launched Its Wildest Idea Yet     Sometimes the best ideas just need a little time to take flight. Continued here