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Patrick Stewart brought gravitas and complexity to the screen, from Star Trek to X-Men
From Jean-Luc Picard to Charles Xavier, the actor's Shakespearean training – and that sonorous voice – made him a unique charismatic force in HollywoodPatrick Stewart dies age 86His life in picturesO Captain, our Captain: on Star Trek, Patrick Stewart could make anyone feel hopeful for humanity'He stood for the best of us': William Shatner and more pay tributeNo actor showed the commercial potential of blue-chip British classical training like Patrick Stewart. With style, technique and the most minutely self-aware, almost vaudevillian sense of mimicry, Shakespearean thesps can turn their hand to American movies and high-end American television and show the American method actors how it's done – sometimes, even, at the beginning of their screen careers, at a competitively low wage.Stewart was one of the thoroughbreds of the Royal Shakespeare Company's 1970s stage generation who had also had classy small screen roles, such as his intimidating Sejanus in I, Claudius opposite Derek Jacobi. But he effected a warp-speed leap to pop culture stardom by getting the role of Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the Federation starship USS Enterprise, in TV's Star Trek: The Next Generation, the hugely successful reboot of Star Trek that ran from 1987 to 1994, spawning four separate feature films and then another series, Star Trek: Picard. Continue reading...
Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen: A friendship that surpassed the stage and screen
To many, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen represent a formidable mutant rivalry in the "X-Men" films or two of theater's pre-eminent Shakespearean actors, but behind the curtain the pair shared something even more enduring: a friendship that spanned decades.Stewart died Wednesday at age 86 following a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia. McKellen, Stewart's artistic brother-in-arms, remembered him Thursday as "the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic.""He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love," McKellen said in a statement on social media. The pair — about a year apart in age — met at England's esteemed Royal Shakespeare Company, with Stewart joining in 1966 and McKellen in 1974. "We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren't in the same productions," McKellen, 87, said Thursday. They starred in Tom Stoppard's play "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour" in 1977 in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company but weren't close at the time."I had admired him from the start of his career," Stewart told The Guardian in 2019. "When he joined the RSC, I was frankly intimidated."Still, Stewart later sought McKellen's advice about taking on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in a role that he later billed as life-changing. McKellen advised him against it."My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in 'Star Trek,'" McKellen said in the statement. "'But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk — getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?'" he recalled. In Memoriam 14 hours ago Hugh Jackman, William Shatner and George Takei among those paying tribute to Patrick Stewart In Memoriam 20 hours ago Patrick Stewart, legendary actor of 'Star Trek' and 'X-Men' fame, dies at 86 In a 2014 SAG-AFTRA Foundation conversation with the two actors, Stewart joked, "The only person who advised me not to do it is sitting to my left," to the laughter of the crowd. "That … changed my life. Every single corner of it has not been unaffected by that," he added. McKellen said in his tribute that he was grateful Stewart took the role, nonetheless. "Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did for not just his devoted Trekkies but film and theatre audiences, who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes ('X-Men' of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London's West End and on Broadway," McKellen said. "X-Men" left a mark on both of their Hollywood careers.It started with the first "X-Men" blockbuster in 2000, with Stewart playing the powerful mutant telepath Professor Charles Xavier, also known as Professor X, and McKellen portraying the antihero Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, or Magneto, with the daunting power to manipulate metal and magnetic fields.The subsequent franchise films highlighted the complex bond between the characters, ideologically at odds over how to protect mutantkind.On screen they sparred, but off set they bonded."We have to thank 'X-Men' for the two of us really getting to know one another, because every day on an 'X-Men' movie you spend far more time sitting in your trailer than you do on the set doing a drop of work — and those trailers are extremely luxurious. And we had adjoining ones, so we sat around and talked and reminisced," Stewart said on the 2014 panel. "And I discovered a lot about this chap and he about me, and we found that there were many, many overlaps in our careers and many areas where we had little in common."The rest is history. The two shared a friendship adored by fans, often seen greeting each other with an affectionate kiss on the lips whether on TV programs or on the red carpet.Stewart told The Guardian that McKellen is "very close" to his wife, singer-songwriter Sunny Ozell, and that she was the one who suggested McKellen officiate their wedding. In 2013, he did just that.Stewart was also a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and praised activists like McKellen, who is gay."I think this is where the theater is such an appealing world, because it embraces everything and always has. So there was never a moment where I made an intellectual choice that I would be a supporter of gay civil rights. It was always a natural and uncomplicated choice," he told The Advocate in 2015. "Then later in life, as I got to know well-known activists like Ian McKellen, I was only too happy to join campaigns, march, and support in whatever way I could because it always seemed to me to be something that much too much fuss was being made about."Both men built separate and successful legacies in cinema — McKellen as the beloved wizard Gandalf in the "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" films and Stewart as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard of the long-running "Star Trek" franchise. They were also both honored with knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II — McKellen in 1991 and Stewart in 2010. Through it all, they remained devoted to their first love of theater and co-starred in two productions, to much acclaim.In Samuel Beckett's play "Waiting for Godot," Stewart was the optimistic Vladimir and McKellen the weary Estragon. Their performances — at London's West End in 2009 and on New York's Broadway in 2013-14 — were praised for their humor and comedy.They also starred in Harold Pinter's "No Man's Land" in 2013 at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre and on Broadway and again in 2016 in the West End. Stewart played Hirst and McKellen Spooner.Speaking to The Guardian about their friendship and onstage charisma, Stewart said, "Sometimes I feel we're enjoying it too much and the audience don't quite understand why we're having so much fun." During the SAG-AFTRA Foundation panel, Stewart spoke about his theater career success and the joy of sharing the stage with McKellen. "And that I get to spend six nights a week and three afternoons on stage with this chap is still …," he said before stopping, overcome with emotion. McKellen, next to him, held his hand. "Because I was a fan!" Stewart said, gesturing to McKellen.This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
Daylight saving time ends soon. Here's when clocks change
Autumn is here, and that means it’s time for the twice annual time change. This year, the end of daylight saving time coincides with Halloween. That means an extra hour of festivities, trick-or-treating or sleeping the next day. This rare overlap won’t happen again until 2036.Here’s what you need to know:When does daylight saving time end?Daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday of March, when clocks spring forward an hour.On Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2 a.m. local time the clocks turn back an hour to 1 a.m., giving you an extra hour of sleep.Why is there daylight saving time?Daylight saving time was first formally enacted in the U.S. in 1918 and was put in place to give an extra hour of sunlight during the summer months. It was repealed after World War I, reinstated during World War II and then repealed again before the standardization of time was established in 1966.Before President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act in 1966, which established a uniform daylight saving time, local governments could start and end daylight saving time as they desired. For five weeks a year Boston, New York and Philadelphia were not on the same time as Washington, D.C., Cleveland or Baltimore. Different daylight saving times also caused confusion for travelers going from the Midwest to Northeast.In 2005, President George W. Bush extended the daylight saving time for an extra four weeks through an energy bill. Since 2007, daylight saving time has begun on the second Sunday of March and ended on the first Sunday of November.Which states do not follow daylight saving time?Hawaii and Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Indian Reservation) are the only two states that do not observe daylight saving time. The U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands also do not follow daylight saving time. Daylight Saving Time Oct 26 How daylight saving time changes affect your circadian rhythm and what you can do about it Halloween Oct 24 Halloween and Daylight Saving Time align in 2026: What to know Can daylight saving time be repealed?Yes, and there a couple of ways a state can get out of daylight saving time. First, according to the Uniform Time Act of 1966, states are allowed to exempt themselves from daylight saving time by passing a law in their state. A second way is for the federal government to pass a law either abolishing daylight saving time or making it permanent, avoiding the need to change clocks. Every year, there's talk in Congress about ending the time change. The nation even tried it in the 1970s, but it lasted less than a year after a public outcry.The latest attempt occurred in July, when the House of Representatives voted 308-117 to pass the Sunshine Protection Act, which would allow states to make daylight saving time permanent, with the option to opt out.Supporters of the bill, including President Donald Trump, cited economic benefits like boosted tourism and outdoor recreation. Proponents, meanwhile, voiced concerns that the measure would negatively impact health.The Sunshine Protection Act’s momentum comes after the House Energy and Commerce Committee overwhelmingly passed the measure 48-1 in May. A month earlier, Trump had urged Congress to end time changes and “push hard for more daylight at the end of a day.”The bill remains stalled in the Senate. It must pass both the House and the Senate before Trump can sign it into law.Does daylight saving time affect your health?Sleep experts say that daylight saving time impacts people’s circadian rhythm, which is the body’s 24-hour rhythm that determines when your body becomes sleepy.Loss of sleep is also linked to health issues, including heart disease, cognitive decline, obesity and numerous other problems.When clocks “spring forward” in March, causing people to lose an hour of sleep, research has shown that a spike in fatal car accidents take place in the days immediately afterward. Studies have also shown an uptick in heart attacks and strokes after the March time change.When it comes to the fall time change, some people with seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression usually linked to the shorter days and less sunlight, often struggle.
Failed relationships cannot turn consensual sex into rape: Supreme Court
Court distinguishes between consent allegedly obtained through deception and regret over consensual intimacy after a relationship ends
'My spidey sense is tingling': CNN host suspicious of 'very very odd' Trump move
CNN's John Berman said Friday that he finds the White House's sudden campaign cancellations "very, very odd," just days before the midterm elections.President Donald Trump canceled planned rallies for Sunday in Salina, Kansas, on Saturday and Dubuque, Iowa – where both states have competitive Senate races – and Vice President JD Vance also canceled a trip to Minnesota, another state with a competitive Senate race, where he was set to speak about fraud."Why is the White House pulling back from campaign trips just as we're getting closer to Election Day?" Berman asked.White House correspondent Betsy Klein called it "a major strategy shift." Trump has held 26 rallies this month and is still set to appear in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Friday evening. The White House says the new approach, with as many as 20 tele-rallies, is meant to reach more voters in more places, but she noted that different from his last midterm push."Back in 2018, during the president's first term, in the last 72 hours before that midterm election, he held seven rallies in seven states," she said.Klein added that it's an open question this cycle whether a presidential visit even helps, with Trump's approval rating at just 34 percent. One Republican strategist told her the cancellations "might give some cover" to candidates like Rep. Ashley Hinson in Iowa and Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas "to avoid the risk that a presidential visit may carry."On a radio show Friday morning, Trump was asked for a closing message for Kansas voters thinking about splitting their ticket. Klein said he offered "this tepid endorsement" of Marshall."Roger Marshall, you have a man who's just guaranteed," Trump said. "I think the most effective person for farmers and ranchers, and there's nobody like him."Klein said she and her colleagues are digging into the real reasons why the White House was pulling the president and vice president off the campaign trail in the final hours of the midterm cycle."There may be another reason why the president and vice president have changed their schedules," Klein said. "We are asking our sources for more information."Berman wasn't convinced the explanation was so simple."I got to say, my spidey sense is tingling, Betsy," he said. "I find these cancellations very, very odd on a Friday. It makes me think there may be something else going on, maybe some other kind of trip, but we'll see. Maybe not." - YouTube youtu.be
Christa Pike says she's in constant pain and blames 'incompetence' for her failed execution
Christa Pike said Friday that she remains in constant pain and struggles to speak a month after surviving a lethal injection in Tennessee, a failure she blames on "incompetence."
Erin Patterson to die in prison after losing appeal against mushroom murder convictions
Victorian court of appeal rules Patterson should be jailed for life with no parole over deadly beef wellington lunch that killed three peopleErin Patterson mushroom murders appeal – live updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastErin Patterson has lost her bid to overturn her convictions and been resentenced to life behind bars with no chance of release, as Victoria's highest court handed down its decision on two appeals regarding her triple murder case.The court of appeal ruled on the two appeals on Friday, after justices Lesley Taylor, Stephen McLeish and Peter Kidd heard arguments from her legal team and prosecutors in August. Continue reading...
North Korean group blamed for $6.3bn Binance hack in biggest ever crypto heist
Cryptocurrency exchange scrambles to freeze affected assets, with about $3bn located so far, and says it will cover lossesQ&A: How big a deal is the $6.3bn crypto heist?Tell us: have you been affected by the Binance hack?Business live – latest updatesThe world's largest cryptocurrency exchange has been hit by an industry-record $6.3bn (£4.7bn) hack, with experts identifying North Korea as the likely culprit.Binance has scrambled to freeze the affected assets, with about $3bn located so far. The company gave no update on the other $3.3bn as Binance's co-founder Yi He said the company would cover "all hacking losses". Continue reading...
Tayven Jackson, Jahiem White propel North Texas to victory over Florida Atlantic
Tayven Jackson passed for 404 yards and four touchdowns, Jahiem White rushed for 193 yards and two scores, and North Texas held off Florida Atlantic 48-41 on Thursday night.Jackson completed 33 of 46 passes as North Texas (6-2, 4-0 American Conference) extended its win streak to five. White did his damage on 26 carries.Caden Veltkamp finished with a season-high 452 yards and five touchdowns — matching his career high — on 37-for-56 passing for Florida Atlantic (5-3, 2-2). Easton Messer totaled a school-record 16 receptions for 189 yards and three scores.Veltkamp's 18-yard touchdown pass to Branden Hoch helped the Owls lead 10-3 after one quarter.Jackson connected with Baron Tipton for an 8-yard touchdown to tie it 10-all early in the second quarter, but Veltkamp and Messer teamed up for a 27-yard score and a 17-10 lead on the ensuing drive.Jackson answered with a 3-yard scoring toss to Kyle Koch to tie it, and White scored on a 59-yard first-down run after a three-and-out by the Owls for a 24-17 advantage.Veltkamp connected with Messer for a 12-yard score with 39 seconds left to tie it 24-all at halftime.Jackson threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Justin Stevenson following an Owls' turnover to up the lead to 34-24.Veltkamp answered with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Kaden Shields-Dutton, but White ran 20 yards to the 1 before scoring two plays later, and North Texas took a 41-31 lead into the fourth quarter.Veltkamp fired a 34-yard scoring strike to Messer to cut it to 41-38 with 8:26 remaining, but Jackson came back with a 2-yard scoring toss to Koch to push the lead back to 10.It was the first FBS game this season with two 400-yard passers as the teams combined for 1,167 yards of offense.Up nextFlorida Atlantic: Hosts UTSA on Nov. 5.North Texas: Hosts Rice on Nov. 7.
Public banks not assets to be sold off, they are tools to build nation: Rahul amid IDBI bank sale row
'I took that question to the Lok Sabha. I asked why a profitable public bank was being sold and how its employees and depositors would be protected. The government gave no reason. Now it has decided to sell IDBI Bank to Fairfax, a Canadian company,' says Rahul Gandhi
On TV
Outlander: Blood of My Blood — 2x7: "Heart of the Highlands" (STARZ)
Henry ventures off to procure gemstones. Julia finds a way to get back in Lovat's good graces. Brian returns to Leathers to settle a score with his father.
New Music

Nickelback — "Everything Under the Sun" ([no label])

In theaters
Wild Horse Nine (117 minutes)
Shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, CIA agents Chris and Lee are dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island by their bureau chief, MJ. Amongst the Island's iconic statues, and as the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris's newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students threatens to send everyone’s trip to this remote paradise sideways.
Launching today

Nothing launching today. Every rocket is staying grounded and behaving.

Useless Fact

The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments

The loonie
CAD → USD
0.7151
▲ 0.0026
CAD → EUR
0.6410
▲ 0.0014
Today In History
2018 — Whitey Bulger, Boston Mob Boss, Beaten to Death in Prison
American crime boss Whitey Bulger, who led the Boston-area Winter Hill Gang as a major organized crime figure from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s, was beaten to death by fellow inmates while imprisoned.
2003 — LeBron James Makes NBA Debut with Cavaliers
American basketball player Le Bron James, who was drafted directly out of high school, made his NBA debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers. At just 18 years old, James began his illustrious NBA career that would make him one of the greatest players of all time.
1995 — Quebec Narrowly Votes Down Sovereignty Referendum
Voters in Quebec narrowly defeated a referendum that proposed sovereignty for the province within a new economic and political partnership with the rest of Canada
1974 — Muhammad Ali Regains Heavyweight Boxing Title in "Rumble in the Jungle"
Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the "Rumble in the Jungle," regaining the world heavyweight boxing title
1961 — Soviet Detonation of Tsar Bomba, Largest Nuclear Weapon
The Soviets detonated Tsar Bomb a over Novaya Zemlya island in the Arctic Ocean; the largest nuclear weapon ever set off, it produced the most powerful human-made explosion ever recorded
1938 — Welles's "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast causes panic
Orson Welles's dramatization of H.G. Wells's "War of the Worlds" was broadcast on radio in 1938, causing panic among some listeners who mistook it for a real Martian invasion.
1905 — Emperor Nicholas II Enacts October Manifesto
Emperor Nicholas II issued the October Manifesto, ending unlimited autocracy in Russia and ushering in a constitutional monarchy.
1895 — Gerhard Domagk's Discovery of Prontosil
German bacteriologist and pathologist Gerhard Domagk, recipient of the 1939 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his discovery (announced in 1932) of the antibacterial effects of Prontosil, was born
1485 — Henry Tudor crowned king of England
Henry Tudor, who was crowned Henry VII on this day in 1485, founded the Tudor dynasty, ended the Wars of the Roses, used his children's marriages to build alliances, and signed treaties that increased England's power
1340 — Castilian-Portuguese Victory over Marinids at Río Salado
An allied force of Castilian and Portuguese Christians defeated the Muslim Marīnids of North Africa at the Battle of Río Salado
130 — Hadrian Founds Antinoöpolis in Egypt
The Roman emperor Hadrian officially founded the city of Antinoöpolis in ancient Egypt. How much do you know about the Roman Empire? Marc Waelkens/Sagalassos Archaeological Research Project

This is today, boiled down to the essentials. The full stash lives at logicalchaos.ca. Go get lost in it.