Brews on Tues: Bier's new Christkindlmarkt brew
Carmel's award-winning German-style holiday market is back for another year of raclette showers and ice skating at Carter Green.
Why it matters: It also means another limited edition collaboration between Carmel Christkindlmarkt and local craft beer maker Bier Brewery.
Brew of the week: ChristkindlBier, 3.8% ABV, 18 IBU
It's a German-style leichtbier with a crisp zing that leaves a lasting impression amid the wide variety of flavors on offer at the market.
This year's collab is a bit lighter than 2023's, which was a 5.8% ABV roggenbier that brought the sweetness and spice.
My take: The ice cold ChristkindlBier I had on the market's opening day was slightly bitter, but very refreshing.
It was also the perfect palette cleanser after drinking hot blueberry mulled wine from this year's commemorative boot-shaped mug.
Cost: $6
If you go: Carmel Christkindlmarkt runs through Dec. 24.
Open 4-9pm Wednesday-Thursday; noon-9pm Friday-Saturday; and noon-8pm Sunday, with extended hours in late December.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
The 'true' origin story of 'The Ritual' is even more hair-raising: 'Begone Satan!'
The 'true' origin story of 'The Ritual' is even more hair-raising: 'Begone Satan!' Show Caption Hide Caption 'The Ritual': Al Pacino, Dan Stevens take on exorcism horror Al Pacino and Dan Stevens star in "The Ritual," a horror film based on the account of a 1928 American exorcism. "The Ritual" exorcism horror drama (now in theaters), starring Al Pacino as the real-life German-American Capuchin friar Theophilus Riesinger and Dan Stevens as Father Joseph Steiger, proudly claims to be "based on true events." The star duo delivers hair-raising moments as they recreate the 1928 exorcism of Emma Schmidt (Abigail Cowen). But on a horror level, it pales in comparison to the more sensational source material. Writer-director David Midell has made it clear "The Ritual" is inspired by the 1935 "Begone Satan!" book by Father Carl Vogl, a German priest and author. Vogl's exclamation point-filled "true account" of the proceedings in Earling, Iowa, is still available online and makes for great, campy reading. How 'Begone Satan!' emerged as the source of 'The Ritual' in Time magazine Steiger's job was to host (other churches declined) and to take notes during the harrowing (and reportedly successful) exorcism. The Steiger notes are the purported source of "Begone Satan!" which made front-page news in religious publications like Denver's Catholic Register years later. Time magazine brought the story to mainstream readers with a Riesinger-heavy 1936 account of the "diabolical possession." The Time article demonstrates some skepticism by reminding readers "that no Catholic is obliged to believe in any particular account of a case of diabolical possession outside of those recounted in Scripture." At the end of this long, twisted, and sometimes dubious road, "The Ritual" earns the right to make the carefully worded claim in its closing: "The 1928 exorcism of Emma Schmidt represents the most thoroughly documented and well-known exorcism in American history." The devil will apparently mess with your car In an early "Ritual" scene, Steiger apologizes for failing to pick up Riesinger at the train station, attributing the oversight to the devil's mischief. With 19 exorcisms to his name, he knows that the devil will mess with cars. In "Begone Satan!" Steiger can't explain why his "tip-top" car takes two hours to get to the station. Riesinger points out that the traveling mishap is the devil "doing his utmost to foil our plans." Later, Steiger is nearly killed after inexplicably losing control of his still-new car on a familiar road and crashing it to "smithereens." The book's car-totaling "devil's trick" doesn't make "The Ritual," which is a shame, given the rich real-life irony: Stevens' "Downton Abbey" character, Matthew Crawley, was killed in a Season 3 car crash that allowed him to pursue a film career. In "Begone Satan!" Steiger's congregation pitches in to buy a new car for the pastor, which frankly could have been an alternate film ending (with a Ford sponsorship). Riesinger had met Schmidt's demons before In "The Ritual," Riesinger makes it clear that the case is personal because he had previously exorcised Schmidt. "Begone Satan!" says Riesinger "freed her from this possession" in 1912, but Schmidt "became possessed again" in her 40s. Schmidt is said to be possessed by four entities that announce themselves as Beelzebub, betraying disciple Judas, Schmidt's abusive father Jacob and Mina (Jacob's lover and Schmidt's aunt). The devil didn't mess with the 'Ritual' nuns Three nuns are injured while dealing directly with the possessed Schmidt in "The Ritual," and Sister Rose ("Twilight" star Ashley Greene) has her hair pulled out of her scalp. In "Begone Satan!" the devil never attacked the nuns, saving his blows for the bigwigs — Pastor Steiger or Mother Superior (played by "Everybody Loves Raymond" star Patricia Heaton). In "The Ritual," the demons within Schmidt taunt Steiger with knowledge of his brother's recent death by suicide. There's no suggestion of these low blows in "Begone Satan!" But in the book, Steiger gives some memorable verbal shots in that never made the movie, like "detestable hellhound" and "vile serpent." Satan also calls Riesinger "dumbbell" when the overtired priest doesn't get his prayers right. That didn't make the movie, either. 'Begone Satan!' has the possessed woman flying over bed like 'The Ritual' The possessed Schmidt throws up black bile often in "The Ritual," but not as much as in the book. 'It was not unusual for her to vomit 20 to 30 times a day," the book says, including bedside descriptions of wretched output "resembling vomited macaroni." The movie scene featuring Schmidt flying over the bed is detailed in "Begone Satan!" "The possessed woman broke from the grip of her protectors and stood erect before them," the book says. "Only her heels were touching the bed." How 'Begone Satan!' ends the story Unlike the movie, the Iowa exorcism reportedly took place in three stages, in August, September and December 1928. The book's climax differs from "The Ritual" ending, which has Schmidt running through the church catacombs, and Steiger stepping up with an exorcist hero moment, shouting down the demon with the Bible in hand. In the book, levitating Schmidt returns to the bed, and "Satan was forced to leave his victim at last to return to Hell." Schmidt utters, "My Jesus mercy! Praised be Jesus!" showing she's clear. The woman "reportedly lived out the rest of her life peacefully," the movie says in the closing credits. "Begone Satan!" backs up that happy ending, adding "there were still possessions, but of a milder nature."
New York Post
7 hours ago
- New York Post
Bill Maher explains how Trump and Musk went from ‘Brangelina' to ‘Godzilla vs. King Kong'
The fiery feud between President Trump and Elon Musk is the most exciting public breakup since the days of Brangelina, according to Bill Maher. The late-night comedian compared the public warfare and vitriol to that of 'Godzilla vs. King Kong if Godzilla was on ketamine and King Kong had a combover.' The big beautiful break-up is even more shocking because Trump and Musk were 'so close,' like celebrity couples Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie, and Ben Affleck and Jen Lopez, whose seemingly strong but ultimately whirlwind romances gripped tabloids for decades. Advertisement 3 Bill Maher compared President Trump to King Kong if he 'had a combover.' AFP via Getty Images 'They had their own couple name: E-lump,' Maher said. But like the actor pairings, the Musk and Trump demise was a long time coming, he continued. Advertisement 'I can't really think of anything other than the Trump-Elon [fight],' Maher said in his opening monologue Frday for HBO's 'Real Time.' The talk host did a brief rundown of the pair's political breakdown, pinpointing the potential beginning of the end to Trump's meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office last week when Musk showed up sporting a black eye. 3 The feud started when Elon Musk declined Trump's offer to borrow makeup, according to Maher. Getty Images The President claimed he offered makeup to the former Department of Government Efficiency head, but was turned down, which he found 'interesting.' Advertisement 'Yeah, weird, Elon, what sort of man turns down makeup?' Maher chided. The feud slowly simmered as the pair lobbed further accusations against one another, including Musk claiming Trump's tariffs would cause a recession and the President responding that no one wants to buy Tesla's electric vehicles — but 's–t got real' when Musk claimed he was the reason Trump won the election. 3 Trump and Musk had their own couple name, Maher aid: 'E-lump.' MAX 'And Trump said, 'Well, you know what Mars is a s–thole planet.' And Musk said, 'Oh my god, you are not the same man I used to heil,'' Maher said. Advertisement The fighting has only grown worse in recent days, with Musk shockingly claiming on X that Trump's involvement in the Epstein files is the reason they haven't been released. Musk has since deleted the X post. Trump, on the other hand, has tried to play it cool, saying he hasn't given much thought to his former 'First Buddy.' 'The stakes are so high because the winner faces Blake Lively,' Maher joked, referencing the recent public downfall of the actress's previously beloved image. Any good feeling between the two men is likely gone after Musk stepped up his criticism of the Trump-backed 'Big, Beautiful Bill' — and then called for the impeachment of the president and a new political party to challenge the GOP.
Tom's Guide
7 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
I replaced Wordle with my own AI-generated games — here's how to make yours
After months of the same Wordle routine, I decided to create my own word puzzle games using AI and honestly, I'm never going back. Instead of being limited to one puzzle per day, I now have an endless supply of custom games that actually challenge me at my skill level. You don't need any coding experience to make this work. Modern AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can generate fully functional puzzle games in minutes. I tested all three to see which AI creates the most engaging alternatives to Wordle. Turns out, AI is surprisingly good at creating games that keep you entertained during coffee breaks, commutes, or whenever you need a quick mental challenge. Here's how to build your own collection of word games that goes way beyond the daily Wordle limit. Log into ChatGPT and use this simple prompt: "Create a Wordle-style game for us to play. I have 5 guesses to pick the right word." The response is straightforward and gets the job done, delivering a functional word-guessing game that you can play immediately in the chat interface. ChatGPT's approach is intuitive and user-friendly, making it easy to jump straight into playing without any setup. It generates a clean text-based version where you make guesses and receive clear feedback about correct letters and positions. The interface feels natural to use: you simply type your guess and ChatGPT responds with helpful hints about which letters are correct and where they belong. While it lacks the visual pizzazz of colored tiles or interactive elements that make Wordle so satisfying, ChatGPT compensates with clear, well-organized feedback that's easy to follow. This option works perfectly when you need a quick mental challenge during your coffee break and want something that just works without any fuss. Head to Claude and use the exact same prompt: "Create a Wordle-style game for us to play. I have 5 guesses to pick the right word." Claude takes a completely different approach, actually building a functional game interface right within the chat using its artifact system. This was easily my favorite of the three options. Claude creates a fully interactive game with visual feedback, colored tiles, and a proper game board that updates in real-time as you play. Using the mobile app makes this feel like you're actually playing a legitimate Wordle alternative rather than just chatting with an AI. The interface is clean, responsive, and captures that satisfying feeling of seeing your guesses populate the grid with the familiar green, yellow, and gray color coding. It's such a good alternative because you get the complete Wordle experience without being limited to just one puzzle per day. Log into Gemini and try the same prompt. You'll get the most stripped-down version of the three, with minimal visual elements and a very basic text-based interaction. While ChatGPT at least included some emojis to add visual interest, Gemini keeps things extremely plain. However, Gemini does offer one unique advantage — it actively suggests using its Canvas feature to generate actual code for a standalone game. This makes it potentially useful if you want to create something you can share with friends or host elsewhere. The main issue with Gemini's idea of Wordle-style game is it occasionally makes errors that can break the game experience, like incorrectly stating that "fruit" isn't a five-letter word, for example. Once you've gotten past the hallucinations, Gemini played well and did exactly what it was supposed to do, delivering a functional word game that captures the core Wordle mechanics just without the frills. No surprise there. Claude delivered the most polished, interactive experience that actually felt like playing a real game rather than just having a conversation about one. ChatGPT and Gemini both provided functional alternatives, but Claude's ability to create a proper visual interface with real-time updates puts it in a league of its own for this kind of task. Honestly, Claude is criminally underrated as an AI assistant. It consistently delivers more thoughtful, nuanced responses and excels at creative tasks like this game creation challenge. While everyone's talking about ChatGPT, Claude quietly outperforms in areas that actually matter for everyday use and I've been quite vocal about how it's my favorite AI model out there right now. The fact that it can build interactive experiences right within the chat interface is just another example of how it's much more capable than people realize. Now you've learned how to create your own wordle-style game in ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, why not take a look at our other useful AI guides?Check out 5 mind-blowing ChatGPT image prompts you'll wish you knew sooner and how to choose the right ChatGPT model for any task. Anthropic keeps taking Claude from strength to strength, make sure you explore Claude's latest feature: voice mode. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
