Sydney, Australia – Due to the continuing conflict between the US, Israel and Iran, fuel prices are soaring. Airlines such as Qantas, however, have reassured travellers that they remain as efficient as ever—at increasing airfares. “Jet fuel supply is volatile, blah blah blah,” said Qantas spokesperson Will Ripov. “We love it when someone threatens the fuel even if it doesn’t directly impact us, cos we can then jack up the prices—well, as long as they don’t shoot us down like

Some things progress too quickly and too many conveniences, but still a moderately enjoyable sequel.

Macross 7 has one of the most annoying main characters ever. And this is not helped by the poor pacing, dated visuals and the same song being used over and over again. The ideas are mostly good but at 49 episodes, it simply drags. If nothing else, some of these ideas set up the premise for subsequent series.

An article by J. Cohler titled “The Father of Lies Hijacking Climate Science: Global Mean Surface Temperature Does Not Exist” was published in the Winter 2025 issue of Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons ( Volume 30 Number 4 ). The article is about 5 pages, including the references. As the title states, it discusses the flaws of the “global mean surface temperature” (GMST) that was used to set the target of the Paris Agreement. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Clima

A Japanese study by M.P. Kapoor, A. Abe et al titled “ Dietary intervention of prebiotic partially hydrolyzed guar gum improves skin viscoelasticity, stratum corneum hydration, and ‍reduction of trans-epidermal water loss ” published in January 2025 has found that prebiotic dietary fiber intake improves the skin. The paper is about 20 pages, including acknowledgements and references. The motivation for the study is to support the hypothesis and previous studies that prebiotic

Xanten, Germany – St Viktor’s Cathedral in Xanten is hosting a giant 46-foot sculpture of a dead whale. According to the diocesan newsletter: “It is important for the church to support dead animals in the name of climate justice while suppressing a rite in a dead language.” “Of course, the piece has to be by an Israeli artist,” said Bishop Engels, “because we Germans can’t do enough to convince the world of how not racist we are. And we also love trees and whales. They’re pre

Pope Leo XIII (b. 2 March 1810 – d. 20 July 1903), born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci, began his pontificate on 20 February 1878. His papacy is the fourth longest in the history of the Church. He is known for having composed the Prayer to Archangel St Michael and for the encyclical “Humanum Genus” on freemasonry published on 20 April 1884. The encyclical “Spesse Volte” was published on 5 August 1898. It is relatively short at approximately 3,400 words in 29 paragra

An editorial by J.M. Orient titled “Negative Evidence: Renal Adverse Events Following COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination” was published in the Winter 2025 issue of Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons ( Volume 30 Number 4 ). The article is about 10 pages, including references. After the introduction in which the author simplistically discusses the conflict of so-called Left and Woke vs Right, she mentions the approach that conveniently favors the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines despite

Philadelphia, PA – A man is confused after his dental appointment. “I was brought up with ‘No means No’, especially when a woman says it,” said the man. However, after his routine dental checkup, the clinic receptionist insisted on booking his next appointment in six months. “I gently refused, stating that I would call when I’m ready, but she insisted and put me down for an appointment and their system to remind me via the phone,” said the man. “I thought No means No. It’s so

Pope Leo XIII (b. 2 March 1810 – d. 20 July 1903), born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci, began his pontificate on 20 February 1878. His papacy is the fourth longest in the history of the Church. He is known for having composed the Prayer to Archangel St Michael and for the encyclical “ Humanum Genus ” on freemasonry published on 20 April 1884. The encyclical “ Praeclara Gratulationis Publicae ” was published on 20 June 1894. It is relatively short at approximately 5,

Despite some silliness, it is surprisingly entertaining and enjoyable.

Washington DC – The Pentagon has reportedly ordered a second aircraft carrier strike group to prepare for deployment in the Middle East. “Look, Iran should be grateful that I’ve told Benny to shut up because he would like nothing better than to treat Iran like Gaza,” said President Donald Trump. The president, however, has again warned Iran that “there will be big beautiful ships that can do big things” while insisting that talks should continue. “But in the tradition of Pre

Not bad ideas and decent production for its time, but the narrative is clumsy.

Sydney, Australia – A man wishes to get fit and so he has taken up bike riding. “It’s good exercise and it gets me from A to B, which is convenient,” said the man. The man initially rode at parks only but then decided to spend $4,500 on a bike and cycling suit so he can ride to and from work as well. “I really want to stay healthy as long as I can, even until the day I die,” said the man, “and even if it means I need to ride among peak traffic and breathe in their exhaust.” T

Steady pacing and visually excellent. However, characters and relationships are not sufficiently interesting. Although expected, a bit tacky on occasion with its plot conveniences.

St John Bosco (b. 16 August 1815 – d. 31 January 1888) is known for being a priest who worked tirelessly founding and running schools that educated and looked after boys, particularly the poor, abandoned, orphaned and delinquent. John Bosco was born in Becchi, a village in Piedmont, Italy. Initially prevented from attending school, his mother did send him to school during the winter of 1824–1825. He was taught to read and write by a priest who also prepared him for his first

A study by A.R. Bournot et al titled “ Association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D status and respiratory tract infections requiring hospital admission: unmatched case-control analysis of ethnic groups from the United Kingdom Biobank cohort ” published on 29 December 2025 shows that those with lower vitamin D levels have a higher risk of respiratory tract infections (RTIs). This is a case-control study using UK data: Of the 36,258 participants included in the analysis, 34%

Solid production and visually excellent. Steady pacing.

A study by R.Y. Liu and E. Liu titled “Longitudinal Association of Coffee and Tea Consumption with Bone Mineral Density in Older Women: A 10-Year Repeated-Measures Analysis in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures” published on 23 November 2025 has found that older women tea drinkers had higher total hip bone mineral density (BMD). The paper is 16 pages with the main text at about 12 pages. The remaining are tables, figures and references. The study sample included 9,704 women

Melbourne, Australia – A man has finally been excommunicated after sleeping through the sermon on multiple occasions. The man had been attending St Eutychus Lutheran Church since a teenager. For the past twenty years, he had been found sleeping through the sermon at least a thousand times. Finally, the pastor has had enough. “I consider myself tolerant but I work really hard on my one-hour sermons.” The man, however, denies any wrongdoing. “I think one hour is too long, espec

A paper by M. Rendon-Beltran et al titled “ A Potential Case of Tetanus-Diphtheria Vaccine-Induced Immune Thrombocytopenia ” published on 16 January 2026 reported the incident. Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune hematologic disorder characterized by an autoantibody-mediated thrombocyte destruction, wherein antibodies target platelet antigens. Although ITP patients develop thrombocytopenia (<100,000 platelets/mm3 for ITP diagnosis), the clinical spectrum ranges fro