#for my american friends 39 °C is 102 °F

[tinyhorror]

heatwave

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[weaversweek]

Fear of Mu21c - the top 261

This is the conclusion to #FearOfMu21c, a crowdsourced attempt to find the most popular singles of the 21st century. An index post explains further.

108 people put in their lists of singles, awarding 10 points to all of them, 11 points to the top five, and 12 points to the favourite. Contest runner Arron has wrangled these together, broken ties, and compiled a full chart. It's below the cut.

Hear it all! Spotify playlists of the top 250 in chronological order by release date... and the top 50 in countdown order

266 pts 1 - 1 thing - Amerie

223 pts 2 - Paper planes - MIA

215 pts 3 - Hey ya! - Outkast

212 pts 4 - Can't get you out of my head - Kylie Minogue

198 pts 5 - Biology - Girls Aloud

194 pts 6 - Crazy in love - Beyoncé ft Jay-Z

188 pts 7 - 212 - Azealia Banks ft Lazy Jay

186 pts 8 - Dancing on my own - Robyn

176 pts 9 - Back to black - Amy Winehouse

175 pts 10 - Umbrella - Rhianna ft Jay-Z 11 - Freak like me - Sugababes

154 pts 12 - Video games - Lana Del Rey

150 pts [inc 10 in bonuses] 13 - BOB (Bombs over Baghdad) - Outkast

143 pts 14 - Get ur freak on - Missy Elliott 15 - Overload - Sugababes

142 pts 16 - Take me out - Franz Ferdinand

137 pts 17 - Hurt - Johnny Cash 18 - Bad romance - Lady Gaga

133 pts 19 - All my friends - LCD Soundsystem

132 pts 20 - Feel good inc - Gorillaz

131 pts 21 - Since I met you - The Avalanches 22 - The fear - Lily Allen

124 pts 23 - Maps - Yeah Yeah Yeahs 24 - We live here - Bob Vylan

121 pts 25 - I bet you look good on the dancefloor - Arctic Monkeys

120 pts 26 - Toxic - Britney Spears

114 pts 27 - One more time - Daft Punk

113 pts 28 - Mr brightside - The Killers 29 - Destroy everything you touch - Ladytron

112 pts 30 - Time to pretend - MGMT 31 - Do you realize?? - The Flaming Lips

110 pts 32 - Stan - Eminem 33 - Call me maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

106 pts 34 - Crystal - New Order

105 pts 35 - Christine / Tilted - Christine and the Queens

102 pts 36 - Pure shores - All Saints

101 pts 37 - Roscoe - Midlake 38 - Tightrope - Janelle Monaé

100 pts 39 - Blank space - Taylor Swift 40 - Chaise longue - Wet Leg 41 - Song 4 Mutya (out of control) - Groove Armada

94 pts 42 - With every heartbeat - Robyn

93 pts 43 - Fell in love with a girl - The White Stripes

92 pts 44 - Make me feel - Janelle Monáe 45 - Crazy - Gnarls Barkley 46 - Witness (1 hope) - Roots Manuva

91 pts 47 - Ms Jackson - Outkast 48 - Theme from sparta f c #2 - The Fall

90 pts 49 - My girls - Animal Collective 50 - Chewing gum - Annie 51 - Milkshake - Kelis

83 pts 52 - Archie, marry me - Alvvays 53 - Blackstar - David Bowie

82 pts 54 - Bad guy - Billie Eilish 55 - Where are we now? - David Bowie 56 - Seven nation army - The White Stripes 57 - King kunta - Kendrick Lamar 58 - Wildfires - Sault

81 pts 59 - Blinding lights - The Weekend 60 - The rat - The Walkmen

80 pts 61 - Green light - Lorde 62 - Somebody that I used to know - Gotye ft Kimbra 63 - Galvanize - The Chemical Brothers ft Q-Tip 64 - Pagan poetry - Björk 65 - This hell - Ria Lina 66 - I don't feel like dancing - Scissor Sisters 67 - Blind - Hercules and Love Affair

73 pts 68 - Alright - Kendrick Lamar

72 pts 69 - You want it darker - Leonard Cohen 70 - Heartbeats - The Knife 71 - Seasons (waiting on you) - Future Islands 72 - Losing my edge - LCD Soundsystem

71 pts 73 - Uptown funk - Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars 74 - You are the generation that bought more shoes and you get what you deserve - Johnny Boy 75 - Sunrise - Pulp 76 - I love it - Icona Pop ft Charli XCX

70 pts 77 - American boy - Estelle ft Kayne West 78 - Out of time - Blur 79 - Boys in the better land - Fontaines Dc 80 - Portions for foxes - Rilo Kiley 81 - Work it - Missy Elliott

66 pts 82 - Come on, let's go - Broadcast

64 pts 83 - Everything is embarrassing - Sky Ferreira

62 pts 84 - House of jealous lovers - The Rapture 85 - The look - Metronomy

61 pts 86 - No one knows - Queens of the Stone Age 87 - Get lucky - Daft Punk ft Pharell Williams and Nile Rodgers 88 - Royals - Lorde 89 - Burn the witch - Radiohead 90 - The show - Girls Aloud 91 - Hung up - Madonna 92 - Bulletproof - La Roux 93 - Standing in the way of control - The Gossip 94 - Silent shout - The Knife

60 pts 95 - Last nite - The Strokes 96 - Wolf like me - TV on the Radio 97 - Dog days are over - Florence and the Machine 98 - Family affair - Mary J Blige 99 - Cranes in the sky - Solange 100 - Strict machine - Goldfrapp 101 - Rolling in the deep - Adele 102 - Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs 103 - Slow - Kylie Minogue 104 - The mother we share - Chvrches 105 - Say it right - Nelly Furtado 106 - Digital love - Daft Punk 107 - Someone great - LCD Soundsystem 108 - That's not my name / Great DJ - The Ting Tings 109 - Hope there's someone - Antony and the Johnsons 110 - Wet dream - Wet Leg

54 pts 111 - I know a place - Muna

53 pts 112 - French navy - Camera Obscura 113 - I do this all the time - Self Esteem

52 pts 114 - Harder than you think - Public Enemy 115 - King of the mountain - Kate Bush 116 - There there - Radiohead 117 - Anti-hero - Taylor Swift 118 - Good fortune - P J Harvey 119 - The wire - Haim 120 - Int'l players anthem (I choose you) - UGK ft Outkast

51 pts 121 - There goes the fear - Doves 122 - Up with people - Lambchop 123 - The words that maketh murder - P J Harvey 124 - Emerge - Fischerspooner 125 - Shake it off - Taylor Swift 126 - Empire state of mind - Jay-Z ft Alicia Keys 127 - Two months off - Underworld 128 - One day like this - Elbow 129 - You ain't the problem - Michael Kiwanuka 130 - Love is a losing game - Amy Winehouse 131 - Mariners apartment complex - Lana Del Rey 132 - Myth - Beach House 133 - This is america - Childish Gambino 134 - Some girls - Rachel Stevens 135 - Lloyd I'm ready to be heartbroken - Camera Obscura 136 - Move your feet - Junior Senior 137 - Husbands - Savages

50 pts 138 - We found love - Rihanna ft Calvin Harris 139 - Damn, dis-moi (girlfriend) - Christine and the Queens ft Dâm-Funk 140 - Groovejet (if this ain't love) - Spiller ft Sophie Ellis Bextor 141 - Chandelier - Sia 142 - Levitating - Dua Lipa 143 - Don't start now - Dua Lipa 144 - Go! - Public Service Broadcasting 145 - About you now - Sugababes 146 - Since u been gone - Kelly Clarkson 147 - Heads will roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs 148 - Slow life - Super Furry Animals 149 - Bootylicious - Destiny's Child 150 - This is the life - Amy MacDonald 151 - Welcome to the black parade - My Chemical Romance 152 - Pretty pimpin - Kurt Vile 153 - Go - The Chemical Brothers ft Q-Tip 154 - Days like these - Low 155 - Party hard - Andrew Wk 156 - The turning of our bones - Arab Strap 157 - Bohemian like you - Dandy Warhols 158 - Pumped up kicks - Foster the People 159 - We the people… - A Tribe Called Quest 160 - Take me to church - Hozier 161 - Williams' blood - Grace Jones 162 - Geraldine - Glasvegas

44 pts 163 - The girl and the robot - Röyksopp ft Robyn

43 pts 164 - Remember where you are - Jessie Ware 165 - Chaeri - Magdalena Bay

42 pts 166 - Evil - Interpol 167 - Hoppipolla - Sigur Rós 168 - Reflektor - Arcade Fire ft David Bowie 169 - Neighbourhood #2 (Laika) - Arcade Fire 170 - Midnight city - M83 171 - Coles corner - Richard Hawley 172 - Miami - Baxter Drury 173 - Heartbeat - Annie 174 - The modern age ep - The Strokes 175 - Lose yourself - Eminem 176 - Call the shots - Girls Aloud 177 - PDA - Interpol 178 - Loud places - Jamie xx ft Romy 179 - Don't shut me down - ABBA

41 pts 180 - Oblivion - Grimes 181 - Bloodbuzz Ohio - The National 182 - Düsseldorf - Teleman 183 - Such Great Heights - The Postal Service 184 - Precious - Depeche Mode 185 - I'm a cuckoo - Belle & Sebastian 186 - Somewhere only we know - Keane 187 - The rip - Portishead 188 - New rules - Dua Lipa 189 - Bring me to life - Evanescence 190 - Hard to explain - The Strokes 191 - Someone like you - Adele 192 - Star roving - Slowdive 193 - Lonely boy - The Black Keys 194 - Obstacle 1 - Interpol 195 - Not in love - Crystal Castles ft Robert Smith 196 - In for the kill - La Roux 197 - Queen of hearts - Fucked Up 198 - Stuck between stations - The Hold Steady 199 - Burn baby burn - Ash

40 pts 200 - Push the button - Sugababes 201 - Try again - Aaliyah 202 - Danny Nedelko - Idles 203 - Close your eyes (and count to fuck) - Run the Jewels ft Zack de la Rocha 204 - More than a woman - Aaliyah 205 - Feel good hit of the summer - Queens of the Stone Age 206 - Pyramid song - Radiohead 207 - Head home - Midlake 208 - Telephone - Lady Gaga ft Beyoncé 209 - Like I used to - Sharon van Etten and Angel Olsen 210 - Over and over - Hot Chip 211 - Into you - Ariana Grande 212 - Vampire - Olivia Rodrigo 213 - Archangel - Burial 214 - Emmylou - First Aid Kit 215 - Motion sickness - Phoebe Bridgers 216 - 99 problems - Jay-Z 217 - Clint Eastwood - Gorillaz 218 - Sea within a sea - The Horrors 219 - 1901 - Phoenix 220 - I follow rivers - Lykke Li 221 - Whenever wherever - Shakira 222 - Fake empire - The National 223 - Sprawl II (mountains beyond mountains) - Arcade Fire 224 - Frontier psychiatrist - The Avalanches 225 - Danger! high voltage - Electric Six 226 - Ladyflash - The Go! Team 227 - Katy on a mission - Katy B 228 - GMF - John Grant with Sinéad O'Connor 229 - Kids - MGMT 230 - You know I'm no good - Amy Winehouse 231 - I luv u - Dizzee Rascal 232 - Beautiful day - U2 233 - Mykonos - Fleet Foxes 234 - Lazy - X-press 2 ft David Byrne 235 - Club foot - Kasabian 236 - Fallin' - Alicia Keys 237 - Greatest hits - Jockstrap 238 - Remedy - Little Boots 239 - I believe in a thing called love - The Darkness 240 - Lies - Chvrches 241 - Leave the door open - Silk Sonic 242 - Reagan - Killer Mike 243 - Shut up kiss me - Angel Olsen 244 - Round and round / Mistaken wedding - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti 245 - Glue - Bicep 246 - Black magic - Little Mix 247 - Hade - Charisma.com 248 - My heart is a drummer - Allo Darlin' 249 - One-armed scissor - At The Drive In 250 - Feel it still - Portugal, The Man 251 - Kryptonite - Three Doors Down

34 pts 252 - Irish blood english heart - Morrissey

33 pts 253 - Whole again - Atomic Kitten 254 - Feel you - Julia Holter

32 pts 255 - It's a hit - Rilo Kiley 256 - Papillion - Editors 257 - Summertime sadness - Lana Del Rey 258 - Everybody's changing - Keane

31 pts 259 - The middle - Jimmy Eat World 260 - Somebody told me - The Killers 261 - Editors - Munich

Performers getting at least 250 points in total were:

JAY-Z 552 pts/4 in the chart

OUTKAST 538/4

SUGABABES 499/4

ROBYN 465/3

BEYONCÉ 409/2

RIHANNA 408/2

TAYLOR SWIFT 403/3

KYLIE MINOGUE 394/2

GIRLS ALOUD 391/3

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM 345/3

AMY WINEHOUSE 339/3

DAFT PUNK 336/3

M.I.A. 333/1

YEAH YEAH YEAHS 324/3

LADY GAGA 318/2

LANA DEL REY 307/2

AMERIE 286/1

DAVID BOWIE 279/3

KENDRICK LAMAR 265/2

ARCTIC MONKEYS 263/1

GORILLAZ 262/2

(Yes, this includes nominations that didn't make the published chart.)

Observations

#FearOfMu21c was part of "Music Twttr", an accumulation of mostly-British mostly-middle-aged mostly-male posters. It reflects a particular cultural bias: primarily The Sort Of Tune They'll Play on BBC 6 Music. Almost nothing not in English, very little folk and country and roots music.

I ended up with 17 votes counting to the top 261, 16 to the top 250. This is as much as would be expected by sheer chance.

[animusrox]

LETTERBOXD 

Note: This will include a few releases from 2021 due to the pandemic/awards season 1.   Minari 2.   The Vast of Night 3.   First Cow 4.   I’m Thinking of Ending Things 5.   The Forty-Year-Old Version 6.   Palm Springs 7.   Sound of Metal 8.   Black Bear 9.   Nomadland 10.   One Night in Miami…

[Grade A]

11.   Bull 12.   Boys State 13.   Never Rarely Sometimes Always 14.   Tenet 15.   The White Tiger 16.   Let Him Go 17.   Mogul Mowgli 18.   Judas and the Black Messiah 19.   His House 20.   The King of Staten Island 21.   Wendy 22.   Mangrove 23.   Pieces of a Woman 24.   Possessor 25.   VFW 26.   The Short History of the Long Road 27.   The Mauritanian 28.   The Platform 29.   You Cannot Kill David Arquette 30.   The Lodge 31.   Swallow 32.   Soul 33.   Wolfwalkers 34.   Run 35.   The World to Come 36.   Time 37.   Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom 38.   Bacurau 39.   The Assistant 40.   Big Time Adolescence 41.   I Care a Lot 42.   MLK/FBI 43.   The Other Lamb 44.   FP2: Beats of Rage 45.   The Father 46.   Saint Maud 47.   Mank 48.   The Trial of the Chicago 7 49.   Our Friend 50.   Sweetheart 51.   Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) 52.   Hamilton 53.   The Rental 54.   1BR 55.   Guns Akimbo 56.   Alone 57.   Proxima 58.   Host 59.   Ordinary Love 60.   Greenland

Click Keep Reading For My Full List

[Grade B]

61.   I’m Your Woman 62.   Promising Young Woman 63.   Bad Education 64.   La Llorona 65.   Another Round 66.   Valley Girl 67.   Skylines 68.   Malcolm & Marie 69.   A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon 70.   The Invisible Man 71.   Da 5 Bloods 72.   Underwater 73.   The Way Back 74.   Color Out of Space 75.   Happiest Season 76.   The Croods: A New Age 77.   Nocturne 78.   Love and Monsters 79.   Superman: Man of Tomorrow 80.   Sputnik 81.   Enola Holmes 82.   News of the World 83.   Project Power 84.   The Wolf of Snow Hollow 85.   Hammer 86.   The Empty Man 87.   Bad Trip 88.   Borat Subsequent Moviefilm 89.   The Quarry 90.   The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart 91.   Vampires vs. the Bronx 92.   Shadow in the Cloud

[Grade C]

93.   Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga 94.   The Personal History of David Copperfield 95.   Bad Hair 96.   Superman: Red Son 97.   Scoob! 98.   Land 99.   On the Rocks 100.   The Photograph 101.   An American Pickle 102.   Lost Girls & Love Hotels 103.   The Broken Hearts Gallery 104.   Summerland 105.   Sonic the Hedgehog 106.   We Summon the Darkness 107.   The Beach House 108.   Relic 109.   Gretel & Hansel 110.   Freaky 111.   The United States vs. Billie Holiday 112.   Black Box 113.   Peninsula 114.   Rebecca 115.   Impractical Jokers: The Movie 116.   Class Action Park 117.   Downhill 118.   Extraction 119.   The Devil All the Time 120.   The Gentlemen 121.   Let Them All Talk 122.   The Dark and the Wicked 123.   Kajillionaire 124.   Come Play 125.   The Little Things 126.   Unhinged 127.   Dreamland 128.   The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run 129.   Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story 130.   Bad Boys for Life 131.   Vivarium 132.   Blood Machines 133.   Hubie Halloween 134.   Onward 135.   The Hunt 136.   Ammonite 137.   The Lovebirds 138.   Amulet 139.   The Witches 140.   Fatman 141.   The High Note 142.   Blood Quantum 143.   Cherry 144.   The New Mutants

[Grade D]

145.   Irresistible 146.   Ava 147.   You Should Have Left 148.   Last Moment of Clarity 149.   Justice League Dark: Apokolips War 150.   Evil Eye 151.   Emma. 152.   The Old Guard 153.   Shirley 154.   The Rhythm Section 155.   Bill & Ted Face the Music 156.   Arkansas 157.   Greed 158.   Becky 159.   My Spy 160.   Mulan 161.   Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge 162.   Antebellum 163.   The Tax Collector 164.   Greyhound 165.   Hillbilly Elegy 166.   The Banker 167.   Trolls World Tour 168.   The Jesus Rolls 169.   The Call of the Wild 170.   Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons 171.   The Midnight Sky

[Grade F]

172.   Wonder Woman 1984 173.   All My Life 174.   The War with Grandpa 175.   Force of Nature 176.   The Night Clerk 177.   The Iron Mask 178.   Chick Fight 179.   The Babysitter: Killer Queen 180.   Capone 181.   The Grudge 182.   Songbird 183.   Bloodshot 184.   Monster Hunter 185.   Above Suspicion 186.   Jiu Jitsu 187.   Blue Story 188.   The Turning 189.   Brahms: The Boy II 190.   Dolittle

[Bottom 10]

191.   Seberg 192.   Like a Boss 193.   Artemis Fowl 194.   Fatale 195.   Fantasy Island 196.   The Lie 197.   Homeward 198.   Money Plane 199.   Music 200.   A Fall From Grace

[newstfionline]

Sunday, August 15, 2021

Canada to require air travelers to be vaccinated (AP) The Canadian government will soon require all air travelers and passengers on interprovincial trains to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said Friday that includes all commercial air travelers, passengers on trains between provinces and cruise ship passengers. “As soon as possible in the Fall and no later than the end of October, the Government of Canada will require employees in the federally regulated air, rail, and marine transportation sectors to be vaccinated. The vaccination requirement will also extend to certain travelers. This includes all commercial air travelers,” his office said in a statement. France announced this week that it will require people have a special virus pass before they can travel by plane, train or bus across the country.

Debt: So long to the savings glut (The Week) “Americans are borrowing again,” said AnnaMaria Andriotis at The Wall Street Journal. After a year in which many consumers reduced spending, stashed savings, and used stimulus checks to pay down debt, more people have gone back to “splurging on cars, vacations, and eating out”—and seeking loans to pay for it. “Lenders originated some 3 million auto loans and leases in March, the highest monthly figure on record,” with the balances for those new originations topping a record $73 billion. A record 6 million new general-purpose credit cards were also issued the same month. The balances on our cards are still “about $140 billion lower than at the end of 2019,” said Alexandre Tanzi and Katia Dmitrieva at Bloomberg. But household debt—which includes mortgages, credit cards, and other consumer loans—rose in the second quarter “at the fastest pace since 2013.” Much of that was driven by the hot housing market—and Americans scrambling to refinance while mortgage rates remained low.

More US cities requiring proof of vaccination to go places (AP) Hold on to that vaccination card. A rapidly growing number of places across the U.S. are requiring people to show proof they have been inoculated against COVID-19 to teach school, work at a hospital, see a concert or eat inside a restaurant. Following New York City’s lead, New Orleans and San Francisco will impose such rules at many businesses starting next week, while Los Angeles is looking into the idea. The new measures are an attempt to stem the rising tide of COVID-19 cases that has pushed hospitals to the breaking point, including in the Dallas area, where top officials warned they are running out of beds in their pediatric intensive care units.

Western fires threaten thousands of homes, strain resources (AP) A month-old wildfire burning through forestlands in Northern California lurched toward a small lumber town as blazes across the U.S. Western states strained resources and threatened thousands of homes with destruction. Crews were cutting back brush and using bulldozers to build lines to keep the Dixie Fire from reaching Westwood east of Lake Almanor, not far from where the lightning-caused blaze destroyed much of the town of Greenville last week. To the northwest, the Monument Fire continued to grow after destroying a dozen homes and threatened about 2,500 homes in a sparsely populated region. They were among more than 100 large wildfires burning in a dozen Western states seared by drought and hot, bone-dry weather that has turned forests, brushlands, meadows and pastures into tinder. The U.S. Forest Service said Friday it’s operating in crisis mode, fully deploying firefighters and maxing out its support system.

500 years later, Mexico recalls Spanish conquest (Los Angeles Times) The final resting place of one of Mexico’s signature historical figures is easy to miss. A simple red plaque—just a name and the years he lived—marks the spot where his tomb is embedded in a wall to the side of the altar in a dilapidated downtown church. The name alone, however, recalls centuries of conflict and a never-ending debate about the essential identity of Mexico: HERNAN CORTES 1485-1547. The legendary Spanish military commander may be hidden away in death, but a few blocks away, authorities are readying a remembrance of his momentous triumph—the conquest of the Aztec Empire. Friday marks the 500th anniversary of the fall in 1521 of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán, now the site of Mexico City. The bloody siege culminating in its surrender launched three centuries of Spanish dominion in Mexico. “We were all born from the conquest, no longer Aztecs, no longer Spanish, but Indian-Hispanic-Americans, mestizos,” wrote Carlos Fuentes, the late Mexican author. “We are what we are because Hernán Cortés, for good or for bad, did what he did.”

7.2 magnitude earthquake hits Haiti; at least 304 killed (AP) A powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck southwestern Haiti on Saturday, killing at least 304 people and injuring at least 1,800 others as buildings tumbled into rubble. Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he was rushing aid to areas where towns were destroyed and hospitals overwhelmed with incoming patients. The epicenter of the quake was about 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and widespread damage was reported in the hemisphere's poorest nations as a tropical storm also bore down. Henry declared a one-month state of emergency for the whole country and said some towns were almost completely razed.

Belarus floods the European Union with migrants (CNN) Desperate, frightened and begging for help, they emerge from the darkness: a group of Yazidi migrants, lost in the forests of eastern Europe. It’s a surreal sight—and one that has been repeated over many recent nights. Having survived persecution by ISIS at home in Iraq, here on the Belarus-Lithuania border the Yazidis find themselves caught up in a breathtakingly cynical plot. Belarus’s authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, has been accused of using these desperate souls as pawns in his high-stakes game with the European Union. Over the course of 24 hours from July 27 to 28, a record 171 people were caught on the border—many of them Iraqis. A total of more than 4,000 have been caught so far this year. European officials say Lukashenko’s bureaucracy is extracting thousands of euros from each traveler then “weaponizing” them—according to Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis—in order to burden Belarus’s neighbor Lithuania. Officials say the migrants are flown from the Middle East to Minsk, and then guided to the Belarus-Lithuania border by unspecified facilitators, where they are allowed to cross, unimpeded by Belarusian border police. Lithuania has called it “petty”—“mass revenge” for sanctions imposed by the EU after Belarus forced a Ryanair plane to land in Minsk so they could arrest an opposition blogger on board. A Western intelligence official told CNN the scheme could not function without the permission of the Belarusian state, and that Lukashenko was likely using the migrants as a way to pressurize the EU into negotiations on lifting the sanctions against him.

Heat wave edges higher in southern Europe (AP) Intense heat baking Italy pushed northward towards the popular tourist destination of Florence Friday while wildfires charred the country’s south, and Spain appeared headed for an all-time record high temperature as a heat wave kept southern Europe in a fiery hold. Italy saw temperatures in places upwards of 40 C (104 F), and Rome broiled. By late afternoon Friday, the heat in Florence reached 39 C (102 F). That city and Bologna also were issued alerts for Saturday by the health ministry. Many southern European countries have suffered days of intense heat, accompanied by deadly wildfires in Algeria, Turkey, Italy and Greece. Wildfires on the Italian island of Sardinia were reported largely contained, but a blaze early Friday near Tivoli in the countryside east of Rome forced the evacuation of 25 families.

At least 40 killed in Turkey flood as search for missing continues (Reuters) Families of those missing after Turkey’s worst floods in years anxiously watched rescue teams search buildings on Saturday, fearing the death toll from the raging torrents could rise further. At least 40 people have died from the floods in the northern Black Sea region, the second natural disaster to strike the country this month. Drone footage by Reuters showed massive damage in the flood-hit Black Sea town of Bozkurt, where emergency workers were searching demolished buildings.

Marine vanguard lands in Kabul as US speeds up evacuations (AP) The first forces of a Marine battalion arrived in Kabul at week’s end to stand guard as the U.S. speeds up evacuation flights for some American diplomats and thousands of Afghans, spurred by a lightning Taliban offensive that increasingly is isolating Afghanistan’s capital. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said “elements” of a battalion were now in Kabul, the vanguard of three Marine and Army battalions that the U.S. was sending to the city by the end of the weekend to help more Americans and their Afghan colleagues get out quickly. The Taliban, emboldened by the imminent end of the U.S. combat mission in the country, took four more provincial capitals Friday, heightening fears they would move soon on the capital, which is home to millions of Afghans.

‘Why did my friend get blown up? For what?’ (Washington Post) After enlisting in the U.S. military against his family’s wishes, Chicago native Tom Amenta said he found himself in “middle-of-nowhere,” Afghanistan, in 2002 as an Army Ranger in a remote area some 15 minutes from the border with Pakistan. He was fighting the initial battles of a war that few knew would stretch on for 20 years. Now 40 and retired from the military, he felt anger foam inside as he watched the evening news. Headline after headline broadcast the latest gains by Taliban fighters, who have seized control of more than a dozen of the country’s provincial capitals as the Afghan government inches closer to collapse in the final days of the U.S. withdrawal. Friends who had been killed there came to mind, including NFL star Pat Tillman. Fond memories of former Afghan colleagues, such as interpreters, who remained in the country and whose fates he didn’t know, also resurfaced. “It makes me angry, really angry,” Amenta said of the U.S. withdrawal, lamenting the billions upon billions of dollars spent on the war effort—not to mention the emotional, financial and human toll suffered by thousands of Americans who served or sent their loved ones to fight in Afghanistan. “I mean, why did my friend get blown up? For what?�� said Amenta. “No one’s saying, ‘Hey, you know, at least we did something.’ There’s just nothing to really show for it,” former Army medic Frank Scott Novak said. “And so, everyone’s kind of angry and wondering, why? Why were we even there?”

Nobody running Lebanon, says central bank boss (Reuters) Lebanon’s central bank governor said nobody was running the country as he defended his decision to halt fuel subsidies that have drained currency reserves, saying the government could resolve the problem by passing necessary legislation. In an interview broadcast on Saturday, governor Riad Salameh pressed back against government accusations that he had acted alone in declaring an end to the subsidies on Wednesday, saying everyone knew the decision was coming. The move is the latest turn in a crippling financial crisis that has sunk the Lebanese pound by 90% in less than two years and pushed more than half the population into poverty. Salameh said Lebanon could recover but it was not possible to say how many years that would take. “So far you have nobody running the country,” he said in the interview with Radio Free Lebanon. Lebanon’s sectarian politicians have failed to agree on a new government since Prime Minister Hassan Diab quit last August after the catastrophic Beirut port blast.

[agentofship]

Well, that’s the weather forecast for the next eight days (for my American friends 39°C is 102°F) so you know what? I’m fine with FitzSimmons killing me tonight!

[softshirringsound]

all the books I read this year!!

one of my new year’s resolutions was to read more nonfiction, and I did a pretty good job of it. I didn’t track the books I read the year before, but I know i only read a few nonfiction so I’m proud of myself. my other NYR was to shower more which I also accomplished! anyways, my list of books is under the cut if you want to check it out.

NF is for nonfiction, F is for fiction, A is for audiobook and P is for paperback. any spelling errors on the author’s names is from my horrible handwriting. maybe next year I’ll keep track electronically so I don’t have to struggle through reading my own handwriting lmao

January

1.       Maude by Donna Maybry – NF - A

2.       Revival by Stephen King – F - A

3.       Watership Down by Richard Adams – F - A

4.       The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Acherman – NF - A

5.       The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman- F – P

6.       Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin – F – A

7.       Girl on a Train by AJ Waines – F – A

8.       1984 by George Orwell – F – A

9.       Bought and Sold by Morgan Stephens – NF – A

10.   Forrest Gump – Winston Groom – F – A

3  Nonfiction, 7 Fiction. 9 audiobooks, 1 paperback

February

11.   White Trash by Nancy Isenberg – NF – A

12.   Sachiko by Caren Stenson – NF – A

13.   3,026 Days in Captivity by Natascha Kampush – NF – A

14.   Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson – F – A

15.   Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter – F – A

16.   The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas – F – A

17.   The Shining by Stephen King – F – A

18.   The Blood of Emmett Till by Timothy B. Tyson – NF – A

4 nonfiction, 4 fiction. 8 audiobooks, 0 paperbacks

March

19.   What She Knew by Gilly MacMillian – F – A

20.   Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver – F – A

21.   The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter – F – A

22.   Fallen by Karin Slaughter – F – A

23.   Criminal by Karin Slaughter – F – A

24.   Unseen by Karin Salughter – F – A

25.   Blindsided by Karin Slaughter – F – A

26.   Kisscut by Karin Slaughter – F – A

27.   Saga Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan – F – P

0 nonfiction, 9 fiction. 8 audiobooks, 1 paperback

April

28.   A Faint Cold Fear by Karin Slaughter – F – A

29.   Indelible by Karin Slaughter – F – A

30.   Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – F – A

31.   Cop Town by Karin Slaughter – F – A

32.   Elizabeth and Michael by Donald Boyle – NF – A

33.   The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty – F- A

1 nonfiction, 5 fiction. 6 audiobooks, 0 paperbacks

May

34.   Snatched by Karin Slaughter – F – A

35.   Don’t Breath a Word by Jennifer McMahon – F – A

36.   Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty – F – A

37.   The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty – F – A

38.   When the Air Hits Your Brain by Frank Vertosich Jr, MD – NF – A

39.   The Lies We Tell by Meg Carter – F – A

40.   Brave New World by Aldous Huxley – F – A

41.   The Radium Girls by Kate Moore – NF – A

42.   Nailbiter series by Joshua Williamson and Mike Henderson – F – P

43.   Triptych by Karin Slaughter – F – A

44.   Glass House by Brian Alexander – NF – A

45.   The Marriage Lie by Kimberly Belle – F – A

46.   Busted by Karin Slaughter – F – A

47.   Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth – NF – A

4 nonfiction, 10 fiction. 13 audiobooks, 1 paperback

June

48.   Rosemary by Kate Clifford Larson – NF – A

49.   Lost Girls by Robert Kolker – NF – A

50.   Drink by Ann Dursett Johnston – NF – A

51.   The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman – F- A

52.   The Grown Up by Gillian Flynn – F – P

53.   The Salt Fix by Dr. James Dinicolantonio, MD – NF – A

54.   Broken River by J. Robert Lennin – F - A

55.   Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie – F – A

56.   American Gods by Neil Gaiman – F – A

57.   Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman – F - A

58.   My Story by Elizabeth Smart – NF – A

5 nonfiction, 6 fiction. 10 audiobooks, 1 paperback

July

59.   The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta – F – A

60.   And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie – F – A

61.   Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance – NF – A

62.   Under Your Skin by Sabine Durant – F – A

63.   Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari – NF - A

64.   Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty – F – A

2 nonfiction, 4 fiction. 6 audiobooks, 0 paperbacks

August

65.   You Have No Fucking Idea: The Story About My Life by Matt Baier – NF – P

66.   The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman – F – P

67.   Carol (The Price of Salt) by Patricia Highsmith – F – A

68.   Waiting to be Heard by Amanda Knox – NF – A

69.   The Miracle of Dunkirk by Walter Lord – NF – A

70.   Replay by Ken Grimwood – F- A

71.   The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware – F – A

72.   13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher – F – A

73.   Girl Walks Out of a Bar by Lisa F. Smith – NF – A

74.   The Polygamist’s Daughter by Anna Lebaron  - NF – A

75.   The Dinner by Herman Koch – F – A

76.   American Fire by Monica Hesse – NF – A

77.   The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell – F – A

78.   Kiss Me Like a Stranger by Gene Wilder – NF – A

79.   The Vegas Diaries by Holly Madison – NF – A

80.   I Found You by Lisa Jewell – F – A

81.   Dark Place to Hide by AJ Waines – F – A

82.   The Silver Lining’s Playbook by Matthew Quick – F – A

8 nonfiction, 10 fiction. 16 audiobooks, 2 paperbacks

September

83.   The Lost Girls by Heather Young – F – A

84.   Dead Wake by Erik Larson – NF – A

85.   The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie – F – A

86.   Lie to Me by JT Ellison – F – A

87.   The Sinner by Petra Hammesfahr – F - A

88.   Into the Water by Paula Hawkins – F – A

89.   From a Buick 8 by Stephen King – F – A

90.   A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie – F – A

91.   Commonwealth by Ann Patchett – F – A

92.   A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith – F – P

93.   The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett – F – A

94.   Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane – F – A

95.   Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman – F – A

1 nonfiction, 12 fiction. 12 audiobooks, 1 paperback

October

96.   State of Wonder by Ann Patchett – F – A

97.   The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben – NF – A

98.   Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett – F – A

99.   Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – F – P

100. Stardust by Neil Gaiman – F – A

101. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin – F - A

102.  The Monogram Murders by Sophia Turner – F – A

103.  My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix – F – A

104.  The Axeman of New Orleans by Miriam C. Davis – NF – A

105. The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty – F – P

106.  A Pocket Full of Rye – Agatha Christie – F – A

107.  The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprex Sweeny – F - A

108.  The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty – F – A

109.  Catching the Wolf On Wall Street by Jordan Belfort – NF – A

110.  Hell House by Richard Matheson – F – A

3 nonfiction, 12 fiction. 13 audiobooks, 2 paperbacks      

November

111.  Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable – NF – A

112. The Secret Life of Introverts by Jenn Granneman – NF – A

113.  My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout – F- A

114.  The Floating World by C. Morgan Babst – F – A

115.  The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter – f – A

116. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty – F – P

117. The Rest of Her Life by Laura Moriarty – F – A

2 nonfiction, 5 fiction. 1 paperback, 6 audiobooks

 December

118. Last Breath by Karin Slaughter – F – A

119. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – F – A

120. The Great Halifax Explosion by John U. Barron – NF – A

121. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch – F – A

122. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng – F – A

123.  The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman – F – A

124. 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northrup – NF – A

125. The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fairgrove – NF – A

126. The Magician’s Apprentice by Ann Patchett – F – A

127.  Rabbit  by Patricia Willams – NF – A

128. Being Jazz by Jazz Jennings – NF – A

129. The Secret Life of the Mind by Marianao Segman, MD – NF – A

130. Black Chalk by Christopher B. Yates – F – A

131. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie – F – A

132. A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie – F – A

133. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie – F -A

134. Money, A Memoir by Liz Perle – NF - A

7 nonfiction, 10 fiction. 17 audiobooks, 0 paperbacks.

 Total:

134 total books!!

40 nonfiction, 94 fiction. 9 paperbacks, 126 audiobooks.