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  • Just a moment…

    Just a moment…

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  • Review | National Book Award finalist ‘A Guardian and a Thief’ will make you sweat – The Washington Post

    1. Review | National Book Award finalist ‘A Guardian and a Thief’ will make you sweat  The Washington Post
    2. A Guardian and a Thief  Oprah.com
    3. Oprah on Her Newest Book Club Pick  Oprah Daily
    4. In ‘A Guardian And A Thief,’ families fight to survive in a…

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  • Warner Brothers is putting the full company on the auction block. How much a sale may go for

    Warner Brothers is putting the full company on the auction block. How much a sale may go for

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  • New study reveals why time seems to move faster the older we get

    New study reveals why time seems to move faster the older we get

    Scientists may be closer to understanding why time seems to pass more quickly as we age — and brain scans of people watching an old Alfred Hitchcock show helped them address this enduring question.

    In a study published Sept. 30 in the journal

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  • Just a moment…

    Just a moment…

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  • Allison Williams Stepped Outside Her Comfort Zone for the ‘Regretting You’ Premiere

    Allison Williams Stepped Outside Her Comfort Zone for the ‘Regretting You’ Premiere

    Like a baby bird pushed from the nest by its mother, Allison Williams is taking fashion risks—with the help of her stylist, Thomas Carter Phillips. Last night, for the premiere of her new film, Regretting You, Williams opted for a vampy,…

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  • Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Adds Joker from Persona 5 This Week – Crunchyroll

    Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Adds Joker from Persona 5 This Week – Crunchyroll

    1. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Adds Joker from Persona 5 This Week  Crunchyroll
    2. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Free Update #2 Brings Joker and Joker Festival This Week  Twisted Voxel
    3. Just in case you thought Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds wasn’t chaotic enough,…

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  • When restaurateurs go rogue: is it right to lambast locals who won’t come and dine with you? | Restaurants

    When restaurateurs go rogue: is it right to lambast locals who won’t come and dine with you? | Restaurants

    Name: Unappreciative customers.

    Age: In the case of Don Ciccio, six years.

    Am I right in thinking Ciccio can be a common Italian nickname given to people called Francesco? You are. It can also be used as a term of endearment (though probably not so much here, we’ll get to that). In this case Don Ciccio is … was … a restaurant.

    Was? No longer then? After exactly six years, the eatery in Highgate, north London, has called it, as they say, un giorno.

    Oh, shame, but it’s a tough time for the sector. Still, I bet there was a fun closing-down party to thank the local community for their support, pizzas on the house, chianti flowing … Er, not so much. Just a statement on its website.

    Saying? “We have closed due to a lack of customers.”

    Oh dear. Unfavourable reviews perhaps? Not so. “It wasn’t enough to be Traveller’s Choice 2023 – 2024 – 2025 on Tripadvisor,” the message continues. “It wasn’t enough to be told we had one of the best pizzas in London. It wasn’t enough to hold 4.7 stars on Google, with 700 reviews for every one of those six years.”

    Perhaps people got bored with the menu? “… Nor to change our menu each season, roaming through the flavours of Italy.” At one point the writer hits the caps button; “WE MAY BE THE FIRST ITALIAN RESTAURANT TO CLOSE… not for bad food, bad reviews, or bad luck – but for the sheer indifference of our neighbours.”

    Sounds angry, more vaffanculo than addio. Was this place, by any chance, run by a Don Basilico Fawlty? The message ends: “It’s only a drop – soon it will dry. Unless, of course, it’s the beginning of a storm, addio, goodbye.” And is signed simply Don Ciccio.

    Ouch! But Don Ciccio’s probably isn’t the first restaurant where there’s been bad feeling between staff and customers? You’re not wrong. Karen’s Diner, a chain that started in Australia in 2021, is one of a movement of restaurants that actually instructs staff to be rude to customers, deliberately, for fun. Make that instructed …

    Closed? Yes, the last Karen’s shut down three months ago.

    And Fawlty Towers closed after just 12 episodes. Though to be fair that wasn’t about unappreciative viewers or indifferent reviews. It’s still considered an all-time great.

    Do say: “On behalf of all the miserable, indifferent, ignorant, unappreciative folk of Highgate, sorry. And best of luck in future ventures, Don Ciccio.”

    Don’t say: “Er, what about this Tripadvisor review: ‘The first course took half an hour to arrive and waitress very surly … Terrible service and food. Worse [sic] we have experienced!’”

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  • Leveraging the microbiome to promote healthy living and aging

    Leveraging the microbiome to promote healthy living and aging

    From probiotic pills to skincare products to dedicated meal plans, the microbiome is all the rage in the health and wellness space. That’s because scientists have come to appreciate that the trillions of microbes-bacteria, fungi and…

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