Latest news with #Daddy
New Statesman
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Mountainhead is a tech-bro horror show
Sky Here in my TV critic's penthouse, with its giant bags of snacks, hand-knitted throws and wraparound 24/7 flatscreens, Jesse 'Succession' Armstrong has at last chucked me some more red meat to chew on in the form of Mountainhead, a film he has both written and directed. Obviously, I couldn't be more pleased. The stomach has been rumbling for a while now. I still miss his last lot of monsters; part of me will always mourn Tom Wambsgans. But it has to be said that the new bunch are too unambiguously cold – yes, even by the standards of the Roys – for maximum enjoyment. Also, for those of a nervous disposition, I would just quietly note that it's not beyond the bounds of possibility the dystopian future it so terrifyingly depicts could arrive in – checks smart watch, ignoring its advice to 'take a moment' – ooh, about six hours' time. It goes like this. Four tech bros, some of the richest men in the world, are weekending at Mountainhead, a rebarbative looking architect-designed house in deepest snowy Utah (it's named for Ayn Rand, as I'm sure you've guessed); their host is its owner, the the poorest of them (yet to make his first billion), Hugo Van Yalk (Jason Schwartzman), whose brainchild is a wellness app called Slowzo. The gathering is a reunion: these men-children, who once masturbated together on a biscuit, call themselves the Brewsters; they like bragging, banter, poker and working themselves up into a frenzy about transhumanism and freedom of speech. But behind the group hug, tension crackles like an old dial-up connection. The oldest, Randall (Steve Carell), is pretending his cancer is cured. His one-time protégé, Venis (Cory Michael Smith), is twitchily trying to ignore the fact that the launch of an AI feature on his social network, Traam, has broadcast so much disinformation that the world is rapidly descending into violence and chaos. Venis, in turn, is desperate to make up with Jeff (Ramy Youssef), whose own AI business is able to tell audiences what's real, and what's not. He's desperate to buy it. But alas, they fell out when they appeared on, yes, a podcast. As 'genocide-adjacent' events occur everywhere from India to Uzbekistan, and Argentina and Italy default on their debts, Jeff's stock is rising rapidly, even as his conscience is vaguely pricked (to locate such a conscience involves much scrolling). He's not selling. The dialogue is sharper than a premium Japanese knife, and often very funny. Jeff asks Hugo, aka Soups (a nickname that's short for soup kitchen, because they think he's such a failure), if his antiseptic house was 'designed by Ayn Bland'. Venis tells Randall, who wants to know if his company has a timeline for uploading human consciousness and if so, can he be first up, that, yes, 'Daddy' can be number one 'on the grid', but only after it has been tested on 'a mouse, a pig, and ten morons'. The attention to detail, rich-living-wise, is unimpeachable. Hugo's staff have a whole turbot ready for 'picking' – picking fish are all the rage – as well as about 8,000 sliders, and every kind of olive, fruit, artisan ham and cheese you can think of. The house (obvs) has a full-size bowling alley, a cinema and – most important of all – water pressure that gives you bruises when you shower. But, it almost goes without saying, no one's happy. The anhedonia of the rich, of which I'm lately only half-convinced, is made explicit when the four of them don matching orange ski suits as if they were prisoners. And, as my granny used to say, much shall have more, of course. The first half of Mountainhead is better than the second, when greed and Musk-like excess takes over, and it all gets a bit Lord of Flies, only with cigars, saunas and the possibility of a pre-pardon from the US president. Still, I stuck with it, and you will, too. Partly, it's the transfixing amorality, an abyss you detect in Bezos, Zuckerberg and all the others who are suddenly so pumped and obeisant to Trump. But the performances are magnetically pitch perfect as well: Carell in his knitwear, Michael Smith with his waxy, Jared Kushner face. It's a 90-minute horror show. All I'd say is: best not to watch it just before bedtime. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Mountainhead Sky Atlantic [See also: 'The Bombing of Pan Am 103' is poignant and fascinating] Related
CNET
7 days ago
- Business
- CNET
These Noise-Canceling Earbuds Do Everything I Need, and They're a Fraction of the Cost of Apple's AirPods 4
I enjoy reading books on my Kindle, and my favorite place to do so is stretched out on a couch in my living room. But like most busy households, my living room can get pretty loud. And since I don't really want to yell at everyone to keep it down so Daddy can enjoy his stories, the best solution I've found is to wear noise-canceling earbuds while reading. I'll wear them in combination with playing white noise or nature sounds -- my current favorite playlist is 10 hours of Thunderstorm Sounds on shuffle -- to maximize the effect. I like using my over-ear Sony headphones for work, but they're bulky, so I started looking for an affordable pair of earbuds that offer decent noise cancellation. That's how I ended up buying the Earfun Air Pro 4s, CNET's 2024 Editors' Choice for affordable in-ear headphones. In short, they're great, and the black ones cost just $63 on Amazon right now a 21% discount. (The white ones are also on sale at $72, a 20% discount. While the glossy white, royal blue and violet headphones are not on sale.) Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money. How these earbuds silence the noise around you I prefer in-ear headphones because they offer active, electronic and passive noise canceling. Passive noise cancellation basically consists of plugging your ears with the rubbery tips included with the earbuds. The Earfuns fit well for me when I use the second-largest of the five swappable ear tip sizes, and they stay sealed and comfortable for hours. Sometimes I have to reseal one after I yawn or something, but that's the case with other in-ear headphones too. David Carnoy/CNET For reading, I prefer Earfun's "Strong ANC" noise-canceling mode, which makes a big difference when blocking out the noise around you, but there are a bunch of other noise-cancellation options. The Ambient Sound function is good for when I want to pay attention to my surroundings. Overall I found the app easier to use than Sony's and just as capable. The main difference is that Sony's app has a variable slider for ambient sound. The Earfun app also includes a white noise section in the app. Normally I prefer Spotify for white noise (and I download my favorite playlists for offline listening) but this feature is useful for people who don't have another music service. It includes birdsong, waves and rainfall, all of which are short clips that repeat automatically. Why I chose these earbuds over AirPods These headphones have every other feature I'd expect, including the ability to connect to two devices simultaneously and programmable touch-sensitive controls on the buds. Plus, battery life has been more than ample for me even after a marathon reading session. Here's how the noise-canceling options for the headphones appear on an iPhone. Screenshot by David Katzmaier/CNET There's also a finder function if you misplace either earbud (unlike Apple FindMy, however, they have to be connected and in Bluetooth range). For actual music and voice calling quality, they sound fine, albeit not as good as my big Sonys. I have an iPhone and briefly thought about buying Apple AirPods, but I didn't want to spend the money. The AirPods 4 with noise cancellation cost $115 more than these Earfuns and have an open-ear design, so they rely entirely on the electronic (not passive) method. The AirPods Pro 2 are in-ear and superb, but I didn't want to spend $250 on a pair of secondary headphones. Yes, I could probably save some money on an even less expensive pair of in-ear noise-canceling headphones, but I'm not sure I'd be as happy with their fit, long-term comfort, battery life and noise-cancellation performance. The Earfun Pro 4 buds help me relax and concentrate on my book, and for me that's priceless. For more savings, we've rounded up all the the best deals on headphones we've found. And if you're getting a head-start on gift shopping for a new grad or Mother's Day, check out our list of the best graduation gifts and best gifts for Mom.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Paul Durcan, Irish poet who examined the Troubles and gave intense public readings
Paul Durcan, who has died aged 80, was a prolific and popular poet whose work was often marked by a reaction against authority and intolerance, which he found both in his relationship with his father and in his native Ireland. Although his poetry reveals a profound love of both, he could be unsparing of his targets, which he could attack with scathing satire as well as affection. A poem from Daddy, Daddy (1990), a collection that won the Whitbread Poetry Award, has both at once, as Durcan recalls 'the battle' to persuade his father to buy him a copy of Joyce's Ulysses when he was a teenager. John Durcan, the senior circuit court judge of County Mayo, declared (in the poem 'Ulysses', at least): 'I'll not be party to subsidising that blackguard / Bringing works of blasphemy into this house.' Other poems respond in a direct, personal way to acts of terror and to the intransigence of the church. Durcan found himself enthralled by a sermon in 1986, but recoiled when it ended with a plea to vote against divorce in the forthcoming referendum. His own marriage had recently broken down, which led him to reflect: 'I have come into this temple today to pray / And be healed by, and joined with, the Spirit of Life, / Not to be invaded by ideology.' Of self-styled liberators, he was directly damning. One poem, 'In Memory of Those Murdered in the Dublin Massacre, May 1974,' endsy evoking 'An explosion of petals, of aeons, and the waitresses too, flying breasts and limbs, / For a free Ireland.' He commemorated the victims of the 1998 Omagh bombing by reciting their names, then their ages, then their home towns, and concluding with a line addressed to the killers, 'I cannot forgive you.' He would broadcast these words later, aiming them straight at Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein. But it was his confessional tone as much as his declamatory commentary on the Troubles that made him public property. He could use the rhythms of poems to pace his pieces as if they were short stories, some of which are outlandish fantasies, but others intimate, real and vivid. His work appeared in rapid bursts – rather than emotion recollected in tranquillity, they can seem like notes on unfolding situations – and what his collections may at times lack in editing and polish, they gain in immediacy. In this he owed perhaps as much to Allen Ginsberg's hectoring use of repetition as he did to the refrains of Irish poems and melodies. It made his readings, during which he could appear to be meditating or delving into memory, especially intense. Paul Durcan was born in Dublin on October 16 1944, the son of Justice John Durcan and his wife Sheila. Through his mother he was descended both from Maud Gonne, the muse of WB Yeats, and from John MacBride, who was executed for his part in the Easter Rising of 1916. Although Durcan would remember his father as an engaging raconteur, he would also recall being beaten from the age of 10 if he came lower than third in exams. He began to study Law and Economics at University College, Dublin, but this effort to please his father was outweighed by Durcan's growing interest in poetry. The rift between them reached a crisis point when Durcan was 19 and a doctor persuaded his father that he should be institutionalised. The family achieved this by ambushing Durcan in a pub on Merrion Street: two relatives entered, and a third caught him as he tried to escape by the back door. Taken home, he was given the first of many injections, and then sent to Harley Street. For the next three years, he was in and out of mental hospitals. He endured 27 rounds of electroconvulsive therapy, and later considered himself lucky to have been spared a lobotomy. In 1966, he settled in London, where he worked for the Gas Board. He met his future wife, Nessa O'Neill, at the wedding of the poet Patrick Kavanagh; the two poets had become friends after Kavanagh wrote an enthusiastic review of Durcan's first published work, Endsville (1967, co-written with Brian Lynch). Durcan remembered finding in Kavanagh a merry wit on which few others had commented. Durcan and Nessa O'Neill married in 1968. They settled in Cork in 1970, with their two daughters; Durcan resumed his studies, and gained a first-class degree in Archaeology and Medieval History. Nessa became a teacher in a prison in Cork, and Paul contributed a column to the Cork Examiner. The marriage broke down in 1984. He was soon in demand internationally as a performer; trips to Russia and Brazil were particularly fruitful, not least because he could assess Ireland's relative place in the world. In the shadow of a statue of Stalin, he comments, 'We Irish have had our bellyful of blat / And blarney, more than our share / Of the nomenklatura of Church and Party…' His outrage at authoritarian figures led him to praise strong women, and not only his mother, wife and daughters. He was an enthusiastic supporter of Mary Robinson's campaign to become President of Ireland, and wrote poems praising her. Unlike the poets of the North, who would often find slanted ways to convey truths about the Troubles, Durcan addressed them with an open-eyed horror. Even when the island was at peace, though, he found aspects of it to ridicule. Poems from the early years of this century skewer the chattering classes, or the financiers who were responsible for the yo-yoing of the country's economy. Later collections mock Dubliners who find it easier to jet to Nice rather than drive to the south coast, or imagine a WB Yeats shopping centre. He would explain in interviews that his traumatic experiences with doctors earlier in life left him with melancholia and depression, and much of his poetry can be seen as an expression of this. But time tempered it: he came to express an awareness of how horrible his ideas could be. His responses to the world remained intimately bound up with his own private world: just as his relationship with his father was rooted in an Ireland in which Durcan found oppression and hypocrisy, he could see how his relationship with his mother, in her last years of dementia, could suggest parallels with an increasingly strange and frightening background. In one poem, he sits with her as they watch news of the planes attacking the World Trade Centre: the poem reproduces the psalms and nursery rhymes that feel like a response that is at once natural and unnatural. For a while, he found paintings a useful stimulus: he produced a volume of poems through which he imagined his way into the paintings of the National Gallery in London, Give Me Your Hand. Previously, he had curated an exhibition of paintings in Dublin, but still found opportunities to mock his commissioners: he has a guard muse about those around him, 'They scamper off for their coleslaw. / Punters scoff a lot of coleslaw in the National Gallery of Ireland.' He is survived by two daughters and a son. Paul Durcan, born October 16 1944, died May 17 2025 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kansas man, 87, says scammers stole $30,000 after a fake computer alert, nearly wiped out his retirement fund
A Lakin, Kansas, family is speaking out after their 87-year-old father was scammed out of $30,000 — and nearly lost his entire retirement fund — after a fraudulent computer alert. Tom Grauburger says he was trying to file his taxes when his computer suddenly froze up on him. Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 5 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast) Nervous about the stock market in 2025? Find out how you can access this $1B private real estate fund (with as little as $10) 'Microsoft Defender popped up and [said] something about [a] problem with the computer,' Grauburger recalled to KAKE News in a story published April 30. The message included a phone number, which he called. A person answered with a name and employee ID. Grauburger thought he was reporting a potential security issue. Instead, he was pulled into a scam that lasted three weeks and affected both his finances and relationship with his daughters. Grauburger was transferred to someone claiming to be with the Federal Trade Commission. According to the broadcaster, the scammer told him his identity had been used to buy illegal firearms and child pornography. They even sent him fake documentation and credentials to make the lie more convincing. 'He asked how much money I had in my checking and savings account,' Grauburger said. 'Well, can't lie to a federal officer, so I told him.' The scammer told Grauburger he was under investigation, per KAKE News, and to sign a non-disclosure agreement. He was then instructed to withdraw $30,000 from two local banks, place the cash between pages of magazines, wrap it in bubble wrap and aluminum foil, and send it in a duct-taped box to an address provided by the scammers. He was told federal agents needed physical proof of his assets. All the while, Grauburger was kept on the phone for hours a day and instructed to leave his phone on — even at church — so he could be monitored. 'That was really intimidating,' he said. 'They listened to everything I said or whatever I did.' The scam became so consuming that Grauburger started avoiding his family, fearing arrest if he disclosed what was happening. 'My son's birthday was in April. My dad didn't call him, which was totally out of character,' his daughter, Debi Leal, told KAKE News. 'My youngest sister was very hurt. She called me, 'Why is Daddy mad at me? Why is Daddy lying to us?'' Read more: You're probably already overpaying for this 1 'must-have' expense — and thanks to Trump's tariffs, your monthly bill could soar even higher. Here's how 2 minutes can protect your wallet right now Grauburger says the scammers tried to steal even more money — $200,000 from his retirement account — but the transfer was flagged. The senior canceled the transaction when he received a call from somebody claiming to be a sheriff's deputy who threatened him with arrest. That's when he decided to go to the sheriff's office in person. 'I went down there, and of course, they didn't know anything about it,' Grauburger said. In the end, he was able to save his retirement savings, but his $30,000 emergency fund was gone. Grauburger and Leal are now both speaking out to help others avoid falling for similar scams. They urge families to stay alert. 'These people are real slick,' Grauburger said. 'I just felt like everybody needs to know.' Here are a few ways to avoid falling for even the most elaborate scams: Don't trust computer pop-ups or unsolicited calls. Microsoft and government agencies will never ask you to call a number that appears in a warning message. Watch for fear and isolation tactics. Scammers often use threats of arrest or legal trouble to keep victims compliant. Stay in contact with loved ones. Sudden changes in behavior or communication patterns could be a red flag. Never send out cash or gift cards. No legitimate agency will ask for physical money to prove your identity or assets. Ask questions. If you're unsure about a request, talk to a trusted friend, family member, or call local law enforcement yourself. Grauburger's story is also a reminder that the emotional toll of a scam can be just as devastating as the financial loss. By speaking out, he hopes others will be better able to avoid the tricky tactics scammers use. Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan 'works every single time' to kill debt, get rich in America — and that 'anyone' can do it Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead Robert Kiyosaki warns of a 'Greater Depression' coming to the US — with millions of Americans going poor. But he says these 2 'easy-money' assets will bring in 'great wealth'. How to get in now Here are 5 'must have' items that Americans (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you? This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Irish Post
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
'A great and unique talent': President Higgins leads tributes following death of Irish post Paul Durcan
PRESIDENT Michael D. Higgins has led the tributes to Irish poet Paul Durcan, who has passed away at the age of 80. Author of more than 20 volumes of poetry, he was known for his sharp, satirical voice as well as his outspoken, comic but often moving work. "Ireland has lost the poet with the keenest sense of its absurdity and the lost opportunities for love and feeling," said President Higgins. Durcan was born in Dublin on October 16, 1944 and raised both there and in Co. Mayo. His earliest poems appeared in the collaborative volume Endsville, which was published in 1967, a year after he had relocated to London. He returned to Ireland in the 1970s, studying Archaeology and Medieval History at University College Cork, graduating with first class honours. His first fully-fledged collection, O Westport in the Light of Asia Minor, was published in 1975 and earned him the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award. Durcan pictured in 1999 (Image: It was followed by more than 20 further collections, including 1990's Daddy, Daddy, which won that year's Whitbread Book Award for Poetry. That same year, he collaborated with Van Morrison on his album, Enlightenment, co-writing and performing on the track, In the Days Before Rock 'n' Roll. "It is with the greatest sorrow that I have heard of the passing of Paul Durcan, one of Ireland's most important poets, and a close friend for over 50 years," said President Higgins. "Paul Durcan's contribution to the performed poem was of enormous importance to the appreciation of poetry in Ireland. "That we have audiences in so many generations for Irish poetry owes much to him and those others who brought their work around Ireland and abroad." He added: "Sabina and I know him as a dear friend. Early in my presidency he visited us in the Áras. His illness was hard for him to bear and Ireland was missing a great and unique talent in poetry. "His over 20 collections will be a source of great humanity and insight for generations to come." 'Distinctive and authentic voice' Taoiseach Micheál Martin also praised Durcan, describing him as 'one of Ireland's outstanding poets and literary figures'. "Capable of both searing honesty and great wit, Paul's works will continue to be celebrated across generations," he added. "My sympathies go to his wife Nessa, children Sarah, Siabhra and Michael, and his wider family and friends." Tánaiste Simon Harris meanwhile said Durcan was 'unflinchingly honest, witty and one of Ireland's best poetic voices'. "In the quiet spaces of ordinary moments, he found inspiration," added Mr Harris. "His body of work was both accessible and deep and this is shown in his fantastic final selection of 80 of his finest poems, published in celebration of his 80th birthday last year. Durcan receiving his honorary Doctor in Letters degree from TCD in 2009 (Image: James Horan / "With his passing, Ireland has lost one of its most distinctive and authentic voices — and his work, which often turned the mundane into the extraordinary, will live on for generations." Durcan's other notable collections include Greetings to Our Friends in Brazil, The Laughter of Mother, Life Is a Dream, and Praise in Which I Live and Move and Have My Being. In 2001, he received a Cholmondeley Award, which honours distinguished poets from Britain and Ireland. From 2004 to 2007, he was the third holder of the Ireland Professor of Poetry position, set up in 1005 to commemorate Seamus Heaney's Nobel Prize. Durcan was conferred with an honorary Doctor in Letters degree by Trinity College Dublin in 2009 and an honorary degree of Doctor of Literature by University College Dublin in 2011. In 2014, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Irish Book Award.
