Latest news with #Marc
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NYT Strands today – my hints and answers for July 29 (#513)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Looking for a different day? A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, July 28 (game #512). Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints. Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game. SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers. NYT Strands today (game #513) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands? • Today's NYT Strands theme is… You got that right NYT Strands today (game #513) - hint #2 - clue words Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system. STEAK SNICKET STEP CRUET PANIC RACING NYT Strands today (game #513) - hint #3 - spangram letters How many letters are in today's spangram? • Spangram has 11 letters NYT Strands today (game #513) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches? First side: top, 2nd column Last side: bottom, 3rd column Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM. NYT Strands today (game #513) - the answers The answers to today's Strands, game #513, are… EXACT STRICT PRECISE ACCURATE PERSNICKETY SPANGRAM: TAKING PAINS My rating: Hard My score: 1 hint I had pernickety instead of PERSNICKETY as one of my non-game words, as this is the UK spelling and one which I thought was universal. It's the longest non-game word I've ever gotten but was dashed on the rocks of cultural differences. I'm not peeved, but it is odd that US grammarists have chosen this particular word to add letters to, rather than subtract from. A minor quibble. Anyway, this peccadillo aside, here was a list of words that describe everything I am not – or maybe that I am, seeing as I've got such a bee in my bonnet about persnickety. Also, while we're splitting hairs, I can't help thinking Strands wanted to say 'painstaking' for the spangram, but needed to lose a letter so went with TAKING PAINS, which is essentially the same thing but less common – a bit like pernickety. I'll shut up now. Dear Strands, I think you'll find… Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, July 28, game #512) GROW SEED RIPEN HARVEST BLOSSOM SPROUT SPANGRAM: VEGETABLE GARDEN What is NYT Strands? Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile. I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day. Solve the daily Crossword
NDTV
11 hours ago
- NDTV
Many Parisian Restaurants Charge More From American Tourists Than Locals, Investigation Claims
Some restaurants in tourist-heavy areas of Paris are reportedly charging American visitors significantly more than local patrons, according to a recent investigation by French daily Le Parisien. In a social experiment conducted by the publication, a French journalist teamed up with blogger Marc, better known as Radin Malin, who specialises in spotting everyday scams. The duo went to the same restaurant at the same time and ordered the same food: one in disguise as an American tourist with a tourist cap, Eiffel Tower T-shirt and American accent; while the other went as a typical Parisian. They visited several restaurants near key landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Champ de Mars to compare bills. The outcome was telling: American tourists were often charged considerably more for the same meals, the investigation found. The experiment was prompted by recurring complaints from American visitors on social media. Tourists had reported unexplained bill surges, being charged more than menu-listed prices, and being pushed to leave tips - something that is not customary in France, where service charges are already included. At one restaurant, both the faux-American and French diners ordered identical meals: lasagna, a soda, and water. The French customer was served a can of Coke priced at 6.50 euros and a free carafe of water. The American counterpart was instead asked to choose between "Medium" and "Large" Coke. When he picked "Medium," a pint was served for 9.50 euros, and a separate bottle of water was added to the bill at 6 euros. No option for a free carafe was mentioned. The American tourist's bill ended up 9.50 euros higher. Moreover, the American tourist was also offered garlic bread, which was not clearly marked as an additional item but was later charged at 6 euros, another subtle upcharge. The pattern continued at another restaurant near the Champ de Mars, where the server falsely claimed that "service is not included" and strongly encouraged the American diner to leave a tip. In reality, as Franck Trouet, general delegate of the Groupement des Hotelleries et Restaurateurs (GHR), clarified, French law mandates that service, water, and taxes be included in the listed price, reported Le Parisien. In this second instance, the American tourist ended up paying 10 euros more than the French customer. This included a 4 euros tip, implied to be mandatory, and another 6 euros for bottled water that the French tourist could have replaced with a free carafe. According to Le Parisien, these small but systematic pricing differences meant that American diners sometimes ended up paying nearly 50% more than locals for the same meal. As the Parisian summer tourist season peaks, these revelations serve as a cautionary note to international visitors - check the bill carefully, ask questions, and don't hesitate to request tap water, which is your right under French law.
Perth Now
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Marc Maron paid $50,000 to use Taylor Swift's Bigger Than The Whole Sky in his comedy special
Marc Maron paid $50,000 to secure the rights to Taylor Swift's song Bigger Than The Whole Sky for use in his upcoming HBO comedy special, Marc Maron: Panicked. The 61-year-old stand-up uses the tear-jerking ballad from the pop superstar's Midnights (3am Edition) album at the end of his routine and they just about managed to pay the fee to use a snippet of the track after the money started running out. After getting in touch with the track's co-writer, Jack Antonoff, who happened to be a friend of Marc, they managed to get in touch with the right people to agree a figure for the usage. The GLOW star said on the Vulture's Good One podcast: 'I think it came out to $50K, around that. 'I did everything I could to get the joke in front of her.' He continued: "I know Jack Antonoff enough to text him, and he's the co-writer on that song. 'I said, 'I don't know what's proper or how to do this, but we're running out of money on this thing. It's probably going to come out of my pocket. Is there anything you can do about this song or talk to Taylor?'' Fortunately, the ticket sales for the show meant it didn't have to come out of Marc's own pocket. He added: 'It was doable. We made enough money. It was tight, but because of the ticket sales for the special, we were able to get that song.' Being able to use Bigger Than The Whole Sky - which tackles grief - was a big deal to Marc. He explained: 'My relationship with that song, and just the fact that I'm playing it on my phone. 'It had to happen.' Taylor's music has also appeared in the likes of The Summer I Turned Pretty and The Handmaid's Tale. Elisabeth Moss wrote a heartfelt letter to Taylor, 35, in a bid to get permission to use one of her songs in an episode of The Handmaid's Tale. The 43-year-old actress explained how much the Grammy winner's "her music means" to her and how the inclusion of the track Look What You Made Me Do would help the show - and she was delighted when Taylor agreed for the song to be used. Elisabeth told Entertainment Tonight: "We've been so excited ... Honestly the feedback was her saying yes. For me, that was really, truly such an honour that she took the time to read, you know I wrote her a letter about what I felt the song meant for the episode and her music means to me and our cast. "So the fact that she said yes to me was all the feedback that I needed. " The song was featured in episode nine of the sixth season of The Handmaid's Tale, which aired in May, and Elisabeth previously revealed she'd wanted to include a Swift song in the series for years and she'd finally found the "perfect moment". Elisabeth told Billboard: "I've been wanting to use a Taylor song for many years on the show and we finally found the perfect spot for a track from her, and I'm so glad we waited because there could not be a more perfect song for a more perfect moment. "Taylor has been such an inspiration to me personally. As a Swiftie myself, and I think I can speak for [co-star] Yvonne [Strahovski] and our entire cast as well, who are all Swifties, it's such an honour to be able to use her music in the final episodes of our show."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NYT Connections today – my hints and answers for July 27 (#777)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Looking for a different day? A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, July 26 (game #776). Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints. What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game. SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers. NYT Connections today (game #777) - today's words Today's NYT Connections words are… HALLOWEEN PICNIC EASY GRADE CHILD'S PLAY ELEMENTARY CON GAME TAILGATE GRAMMAR MAGIC SHOW BLOCK PARTY PIECE OF CAKE FESTIVAL NO SWEAT PRIMARY HEARTS NYT Connections today (game #777) - hint #1 - group hints What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups? YELLOW: Not a problem GREEN: Al fresco fun BLUE: Followed by a word that rhymes with 'fool' PURPLE: Who's fooling who? Need more clues? We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles… NYT Connections today (game #777) - hint #2 - group answers What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups? YELLOW: "NOTHING TO IT!" GREEN: OUTDOOR EVENTS BLUE: WORDS BEFORE "SCHOOL" PURPLE: ASSOCIATED WITH TRICKS Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM. NYT Connections today (game #777) - the answers The answers to today's Connections, game #777, are… YELLOW: "NOTHING TO IT!" CHILD'S PLAY, EASY, NO SWEAT, PIECE OF CAKE GREEN: OUTDOOR EVENTS BLOCK PARTY, FESTIVAL, PICNIC, TAILGATE BLUE: WORDS BEFORE "SCHOOL" ELEMENTARY, GRADE, GRAMMAR, PRIMARY PURPLE: ASSOCIATED WITH TRICKS CON GAME, HALLOWEEN, HEARTS, MAGIC SHOW My rating: Hard My score: 1 mistake My one mistake today was putting ELEMENTARY instead of EASY in the group that became 'NOTHING TO IT!', something that wouldn't have happened if I'd have looked at the board longer, rather than rushing in. I had the quote 'elementary, my dear Watson' in my head, of course – although in this case it was far from, erm, elementary (and although it's actually a misquote anyway, and never appears in the original Sherlock Holmes stories). Instead, Elementary was part of the WORDS BEFORE 'SCHOOL' group, together with the less common (depending on where you are) alternatives of PRIMARY, GRADE and GRAMMAR. All in all, no PICNIC. Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Saturday, July 26, game #776) YELLOW: HERBS AND SPICES ANISE, DILL, MACE, SAGE GREEN: SHADES OF GREEN BOTTLE, HUNTER, KELLY, PEA BLUE: TRAVEL ON FOOT HIKE, MARCH, TRAMP, TREK PURPLE: STARTS OF EUROPEAN CAPITALS COPE, LUXE, SARA, WARS What is NYT Connections? NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult. On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room. It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers. It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile. Solve the daily Crossword
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Marc Maron paid 50k to use one minute of Taylor Swift song
Marc Maron paid $50,000 to use just one minute of a Taylor Swift song in his stand-up special. The 61-year-old comic felt he needed Bigger Than the Whole Sky - a bonus track on the 3am edition of Taylor's 2022 album Midnights - for a pivotal moment in his HBO show Marc Maron: Panicked, so he got in touch with mutual friend Jack Antonoff for help in licensing the track, and while his pal was able to offer advice on going through official channels, he couldn't obtain him a discount on the fee. Speaking on Vulture's Good One podcast, Marc said: 'I know Jack Antonoff enough to text him — and he's the co-writer on that song. 'I said, 'I don't know what's proper or how to do this, but we're running out of money on this thing. It's probably going to come out of my pocket. Is there anything you can do about this song or talk to Taylor?' 'It was doable. 'I would have gone over the minute, [but] it would have been more money." Marc didn't know if Taylor, 35, has heard the specific joke that her team signed off on letting him use the track for, but he was "manifesting" that she would like it if she had. He said: 'It had to happen. The real fear [was], like, [if] she doesn't let you use it, and then what do you do? You can't do the bit on the special.' Marc previously explained he studied Midnights on a hike while trying to "figure out" why people like Taylor's music so much. He said on his own WTF podcast in 2023: 'I'm an open-minded guy, and I like music. I [wanted] to try to figure out what it is about Taylor Swift that everyone never shuts up about." After listening to the record, he added: 'I'm like, 'Alright. I get it.' It's pop music, but it's not dance music [and] it's, sort of, emotional. There's a lot of longing and sadness and isolation and processing these overwhelming feelings of melancholy." Marc previously hailed his new special - which premieres on Friday (01.08.25) - as the "best work" he has ever done. He added in a statement: 'Everything came together. 'The direction, the production design, the shirt and the bits. HBO gets me and I'm thrilled to be presented by them.'
