The past year has seen mounting consciousness of issues of violence, harassment and targeted abuse of women due to the #MeToo movement, which has led to accountability for several powerful men accused of abusing women, and greater awareness of women’s day-to-day experiences. And yet, as alleged sexual abuser Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court […]

It occurs to me that, if I were better at marketing myself, I’d be writing and sending out press releases titled, “New York Times Number One Best Selling Audiobook Narrator […]

Cartoons from the May 4, 2020, Issue

Cartoons from the May 11, 2020, Issue

Pintsize kinda startin to look like a Wooper

Beeps continues to try

subtext???

In celebration of Earth Day, here is a collection of Middle-earth moments in a special BS (Book Spoiler) post in the Main Discussion Board… for a moment of Tolkien-zen. [TIME and BS entries are maintained and updated by fans of The Lord of the Rings, and are in no way affiliated with Tolkien Enterprises or […]

On April 26, 2009, TheOneRing.net marked its 10th anniversary with a huge celebration. It was quickly agreed that the TORn-born Founders Day holiday would be an annual event.  The Discussion Board members wanted a proper logo to mark each year; so being fans of J.R.R. Tolkien, we decided a Party Tree would be perfect!  Discussion […]

The following event(s) took place in Middle-earth on April 26th: The unexpected party (1341) TheOneRing.net is officially registered (1999) TheOneRing.net celebrates its 10-year Anniversary. TheOneRing.net members unveil the TORn Mathom-house (2010)  TheOneRing.net celebrates its 15-year Anniversary. TheOneRing.net celebrates its 20-year Anniversary. [Join us on the Discussion Boards here!] April 26, 2941 (S.R. 1341) 1. Wednesday. […]

When TheOneRing.net marked its 10th anniversary in 2009, we celebrated in style. We had such a good time, we decided to celebrate every year on April 26, the date when TORn was established.  Today is our 11th Founders Day Anniversary and our 21st Anniversary (TORniversary). To us, however, this is more than an Anniversary.  Inspired […]

The following event(s) took place in Middle-earth on May 1st: Gandalf and Bilbo reach Rivendell (1342) Sarn Ford where Gandalf and Aragorn met (1418) Crowning of King Elessar (1419) Elrond and Arwen set out from Rivendell (1419) Samwise marries Rose (1420) [Join us on the Discussion Boards here]   May 1, 2942 (S.R. 1342) 1. […]

Air travelers cannot receive cash compensation if their flight is delayed by a passenger biting others and assaulting crew members, an adviser at the Court of Justice of the European Union said on Thursday.

A trooper stopping a car with a suspected "impaired driver" on a U.S. highway on Monday was bemused to find a 5-year-old in the driver's seat, the Utah Highway Patrol tweeted.

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если сможете поделиться вашим мнением! Команда Etoday Media.

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May is "Homeschooling Awareness Month", parents, which I'm sure you'll find as deliciously ironic as I do... by maybe next August.

Here's one from every home-schooled kid to their parent/teachers right now:

SORRY

Also maybe focus on spelling and grammar this week?

 And here's one from every homeschooling parent to their kids after you all survive the rest of the school year:

 Jejus is so proud of y'all.

If you're feeling left out, don't worry; it's also "Flexible Work Arrangement Week" (BAHAHAHAHAAA) and Mental Health Month, which at the moment go together like two peas in a pod. That's on fire.

“This is fine.”

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE”

[...]

I don't actually know what that is, but it sure seems ominous.

I'm glad at least one baker understands the importance of talking things out through all this:

Advantages of cake therapy:

1) Cake doesn't judge

2) Cake always listens

3) Cake tastes delicious when your session time is up

Or hey, let the cake do the talking for you!

If you don't identify with this right now you're either not quarantined with anyone, or yesterday you were the annoying one. :p

Thanks to Kendra W., Jan M., Lesley G., Renee R., Megan W., Leigh M., & Hank C. for proving all snarky house notes should be made using cake.

*****

Speaking of house notes, whether you're feeling snarky or sweet, this listing has funny note options for just about every conceivable situation:

Nifty Note Pads

Each pad has 50 tear-off sheets, and the checkbox options are a riot to read through.

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

Comics Curmudgeon readers! Do you love this blog and yearn for a novel written by its creator? Well, good news: Josh Fruhlinger's The Enthusiast is that novel! It's even about newspaper comic strips, partly. Check it out! Gil Thorp, 5/6/20 Finally, the engine of this baseball season plot has been revealed: Mike “The Mayor”‘s wacky […]

Happy Beltaine, Blessed Samhain, and Merry May Day!

Continue reading Merry May! at The Wild Hunt.

For many years I’ve been fascinated by variations on yeast-free yogurt flatbread recipes (sometimes called yeast-free naan) that follow a loose formula of a cup of yogurt, a couple cups of flour, some salt, fat, and water. Sometimes there’s baking powder, sometimes there’s not. It’s kneaded together as you would a yeasted bread dough and left to rest for about 30 minutes, sometimes an hour, during which a transformation occurs and the dough becomes springy and smooth and very lovely to work with, like a freshly-opened can of Play-Doh. Once rolled thin, they’re pan-fried, and look, they’re fiiine. But they’re never as good as I want them to be.

Read more »

Dork Tower is 100% reader supported.  Join the Army of Dorkness today, and help bring more Dork Tower to the world! By becoming a Dork Tower Patreon backer, you get our everlasting gratitude (and also swag, commentary, bonus strips, and more swag), but, critically, you’ll help us reach our next goal – three comics a week! WE ARE […]

Dork Tower is 100% reader supported.  Join the Army of Dorkness today, and help bring more Dork Tower to the world! By becoming a Dork Tower Patreon backer, you get our everlasting gratitude (and also swag, commentary, bonus strips, and more swag), but, critically, you’ll help us reach our next goal – three comics a week! WE ARE […]

Dork Tower is 100% reader supported.  Join the Army of Dorkness today, and help bring more Dork Tower to the world! By becoming a Dork Tower Patreon backer, you get our everlasting gratitude (and also swag, commentary, bonus strips, and even more swag), but, critically, you’ll help us reach our next goal – three comics a week! HINT: […]

Dork Tower is 100% reader supported.  Join the Army of Dorkness today, and help bring more Dork Tower to the world! By becoming a Dork Tower Patreon backer, you get our everlasting gratitude (and also swag, commentary, bonus strips, and even more swag), but, critically, you’ll help us reach our next goal – three comics a week! HINT: […]

People including veterans observe Victory in Europe Day amid lockdown

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Cities like Barcelona want to use crisis to allow people to rent properties at decent rates

Airbnb has revolutionised travel and since it was founded in 2008 hundreds of thousands of property owners have used the holiday accommodation platform to make ends meet, make a living and, in some cases, make a killing.

But while hosts, as they are known, are wringing their hands over the collapse of the travel industry and their loss of income, many city authorities are rubbing theirs at the prospect of thousands of holiday lets returning to the traditional rental market. Cities complain that the highly profitable holiday lets have driven up rents and forced out residents with the knock-on effect that local businesses no longer have a community to serve.

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What does the second world war mean to millennials in Europe? We asked for their views

This weekend marks 75 years since the end of the second world war in Europe, and 70 years since the foundations were established of what became the European Union. With the continent facing its biggest challenge since 1945, do the lessons of the war and its aftermath have any resonance for young people? Millennials from around Europe share some of their thoughts and fears.

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We’d like to hear from people about how you’re remembering the anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe

Friday 8 May will mark 75 years since the end of the Second World War in Europe. Before the coronavirus crisis, plans were made for street parties and parades, and even the first May bank holiday was moved for the occasion.

But with the UK still in lockdown, we’d like to hear how you will now be remembering the anniversary of VE day.

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About 2m Britons have paused payments in the coronavirus crisis. Readers share their concerns

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

Almost one in five UK mortgage holders have now been granted a payment holiday, it was estimated this week – but people’s experiences of the process have been very different. Some struggled to get a holiday while others say it was almost too easy. And while for some it will add just a few pounds to their monthly mortgage bill, others say their outlay will rise by a lot more.

The Guardian asked readers who had applied for a mortgage payment holiday, or help with other debts, how they got on. Almost 200 people contacted us to tell us their stories.

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Your local boozer might be shut but the pub quiz lives on, with everyone from Helen Mirren to Stephen Fry asking the questions

In an unidentified magnolia room, Lenny Henry is yelling: “Let me hear you say: ‘YEAH.’” Next to his face, a live chat feed blurts out heart emojis and comments such as: “Hello, Sir Lenny!”. Or: “I’ve had the biggest crush on Lenny Henry since his Chef days.” Or: “Hi, my team name is Wuhan Clan.”

The Dudley comic is hosting the National Theatre’s online pub quiz, a pre-recorded broadcast, streamed via YouTube and Facebook. He is joined by Lesley Manville, Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen to pose 15 minutes’ worth of intensely difficult general knowledge questions to the public. And, bizarrely, to announce that: “I will pull interesting faces while you write the answer down,” before shooting his eyebrows to the sky and gaping his jaw as if he’s running an advertising campaign for his own tonsils. Still, this is lockdown living; everything’s a bit odd.

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Gatecrashing bar mitzvahs, quarantine quizzes and climbing Everest indoors – here’s a slew of things to do to stay connected without stepping outside

Lockdown could have seen us wallowing in some pretty unusual hermetic behaviour. Obsessively rearranging your groceries by best-before date. Binge-watching old episodes of Terry and June. Blankly staring at the forks in your cutlery drawer wondering why they have four prongs and not three.

Instead, the past few weeks have shown that being shut away could be making us more connected with each other. Thanks to strong internet networks and an array of digital apps and video communication software, we’re spending more quality time with loved ones, rehabilitating old relationships and forging new ones. Indeed, a recent study by Channel Mum found a quarter of British people now talk with neighbours they previously ignored. In short? Being confined to quarters is helping us rediscover a new sense of community.

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From that initial cold forkful to just the right amount of cheese, we’ve settled it – this is how you should be enjoying your beans

Forget whether the dress was blue or white, or if there was room for Jack on that floating debris – the most heated debates of our generation revolve around food. Does the jam or cream go on a scone first (and how do you pronounce scone)? Does pineapple belong on a pizza? And should your Heinz ketchup be kept in the fridge? (For the record: jam then cream; rhyme it with “gone”; certainly not; and yes, definitely. Glad we cleared that up.)

But few foods have triggered so many lengthy debates as the satisfyingly saucy baked bean. A British icon, the fierce loyalty these delicious legumes stir up is unparalleled. Which is the best bread to put them on? Is it OK to eat them cold? And should they really be touching other food on the plate? We’re here to solve these saucy conundrums once and for all. (Please note: the editor’s decision is final.)

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(Atlantic)
This solo debut from the frontwoman of pop-punk stadium stars Paramore is a riot of lust, funk and femininity

Maturity is an often derided concept in a youth-facing art form. But when Simmer, a song about repressed feminist rage buoyed by creepy electronics – the lead track from Hayley Williams’s debut solo album – was released in January, it signalled an intriguing sea change in an artist previously known as a bouncy, flame-haired emo cheerleader.

The story of how Hayley Williams, now 31, went from leading angsty emo shoutalongs in the Tennessee pop-punk band Paramore to releasing these startling songs about rage, femininity and suicidal thoughts is one of the knottier yarns in contemporary American guitar music. Her trio-of-EPs album is now complete, with the final EP – and a physical album uniting all three – released last Friday.

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Senior health official says virus exposed ‘weak links’ in way country manages epidemics

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

China will reform its disease prevention and control system to address weaknesses exposed by the coronavirus outbreak, a senior health official has said.

China has been criticised domestically and abroad for being initially slow to react to the outbreak, which started in Wuhan. The virus has now infected almost 4 million people around the world, and almost 250,0000 people have died from the Covid-19 disease it causes.

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British medical journal’s editorial says the Brazilian president’s disregard for lockdown measures is damaging

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

The biggest threat to Brazil’s ability to successfully combat the spread of the coronavirus and tackle the unfolding public health crisis is the country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, according to the British medical journal The Lancet.

In an editorial, The Lancet said his disregard for and flouting of lockdown measures was sowing confusion across Brazil, which reported a record number of Covid-19 deaths on Friday, and is fast emerging as one of the world’s coronavirus hot spots.

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After the justice department dropped charges against Trump’s ex-national security adviser, Obama expressed fear the US is headed in a dangerous direction

Barack Obama has reportedly said the “rule of law is at risk” in the US, after the justice department said it would drop its case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Related: For Trump, l'etat, c'est moi. Attorney General Barr does whatever he wants | Lloyd Green

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Temperatures will drop dramatically on Sunday as cold front moves in from northern Scotland

Britain could have its hottest day of the year on Saturday, with temperatures predicted to hit 26C (78.8F).

Most of the country will bask in warm sunshine while London and the south-east will be hotter than Ibiza and St Tropez.

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Televised broadcast includes extracts from Churchill’s historic victory speech

• VE Day 2020: follow our live blog

The Queen led tributes to the wartime generation on Friday night, recalling the “never give up, never despair” message of VE Day as the country marked the 75th anniversary of victory in Europe.

In a special broadcast, on a unique day of remembrance, reflection and celebration taking place during the coronavirus lockdown, she said: “Today it may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish. Instead we remember from our homes and our doorsteps.

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Complaints soar over useless face masks, handmade sanitisers and school meal scams

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

More than 500,000 unusable face masks, and a garage selling fake Covid-19 testing kits, are among the hundreds of frauds investigated by trading standards officers since the start of the lockdown.

According to the Local Government Association, fraudsters have gone into overdrive during the past six weeks to exploit the public’s fears and the fact that they are stuck at home.

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NHS staff from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds may be given roles away from the frontline under plans to reduce their disproportionately high death rate from Covid-19.

The Guardian revealed last week that minority groups were over-represented by as much as 27% in the overall Covid-19 death toll. Additionally, 63% of the first 106 health and social care staff known to have died from the virus were black or Asian, according to the Health Service Journal.

Senior reporter Haroon Siddique looks at the figures and explains why BAME people may be more at risk.

• British BAME Covid-19 death rate 'more than twice that of whites'
  
• ‘So much living to do’: stories of UK's coronavirus victims

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• Buy a copy of this cartoon in our print shop

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For a while supper and wine were sufficient; now I’m watching every adaptation that is better than its source material

I suspect I’m not alone in this but, at some point in the past two weeks, I hit my lockdown wall. Not literally, although apparently the “banging one’s head against the kitchen wall” phase kicks in on the eighth week, so that’s something to put in the diary. But last week I felt really, really over it. Enough with every day being the bloody same; enough with watching my children become increasingly fretful because they haven’t seen their friends in over a month, the equivalent of five years to a pair of four-year-olds. But unless you want to be one of those delightful people protesting the lockdown in the US, clothed in stars and stripes, AK-47s across their backs, what choice do we have? So, like Bill Murray, we grind out the same day, again and again and again.

The trick is to invent things to look forward to. For a while, “supper” and “wine” were sufficient, but repetition has dulled their efficacy. So I set myself challenges, driven on by the thrill of completion. Some people hear the word “challenge” and think, “Fitness!” Those people are not me. “Rewatch the entirety of 30 Rock” is more my speed. It is so soothing to watch a show about a luxuriantly bouffanted New York tycoon who isn’t a moron. In a just world, Jack Donaghy would be the US president instead of, well, you get the point. Then, sparked by his brilliant turn as Chris Tarrant on the ITV drama, Quiz, my next challenge was, “Watch every Michael Sheen performance in which he plays a real person”. This was deeply enjoyable, even if, in my lockdown-confused mind, I now think Brian Clough interviewed Richard Nixon on TV and Kenneth Williams was prime minister when Diana died.

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The UK may no longer be an EU member but, as the current health crisis shows, cooperation continues to be essential

• Coronavirus shows British–EU solidarity vital, say ambassadors

On Saturday, for the first time in almost 50 years, we observe Europe Day without the United Kingdom as a member state of the European Union. As ambassadors and high commissioners representing the EU and its 27 countries in the UK, we are nonetheless very keen to mark the date with all the citizens of this great country and with the millions of EU nationals who live and work in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

We celebrate Europe on 9 May because on this same day in 1950, exactly 70 years ago, in the aftermath of the devastating second world war, Robert Schuman, the Luxembourg-born foreign minister of France, laid the foundations of our collective endeavour. He said then: “Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.”

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