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ART’s ‘Half-God of Rainfall’ takes on deities & slam dunks

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:43 GMT

“The Half-God of Rainfall” is populated by gods: the rulers of Mount Olympus from Greek mythology, Yoruba deities from West Africa, the basketball gods of the NBA. But actor Jason Bowen explains that “The Half-God of Rainfall” is more concerned with humanity than the divine.“It’s about the intersection of Grecian gods and Yoruba gods out of Nigeria, who will sometimes war against each other so you have a story of an epic nature,” Bowen told the Herald. “But then you have a demigod who is birthed as a result of an assault by Zeus. That demigod grows up and has an internal conflict about the nature of his being… Vengeance comes into play, so does hubris, so does the nature of family, so does healing.”“And then, on top of all this you, you have basketball,” he added with a laugh.There’s a lot going on in “The Half-God of Rainfall,” which runs from Sept. 8 to Sept. 24 at the American Repertory Theater. But deftly unpacking complex stories and equally complex emotions is a specialty of p...

4 topics you should avoid during a job interview

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:43 GMT

A 2018 survey of more than 1,000 hiring managers and human resources professionals revealed some surprising things about modern hiring practices.The survey, conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder, provided a wealth of insight about the hiring process, including some of the unusual things people have done in interviews. Asked to share the most unusual things candidates have done during interviews, employers and hiring managers indicated job seekers had asked for a cocktail, broke out in song in the middle of an interview, asked to taste an interviewer’s coffee, and even wore a costume of Darth Vader to an interview.Though many of those replies undoubtedly elicited a laugh (and likely some shock), they indicate that many people aren’t entirely sure about how to act during a job interview. Most professionals probably don’t need to be told to avoid asking for a cocktail or to leave their costumes at home when leaving for an interview, but some might no...

Boston College’s George Takacs has high goals

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:43 GMT

Boston College has produced two NFL-drafted All-ACC first team tight ends in recent years, “Touchdown” Tommy Sweeney of the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins’ third-round pick Hunter Long.Eagles’ graduate tight end George Takacs wants his name added to that ACC/NFL short list. The 6-6, 255-pound, every-down tight end from Naples, Fla., is the Eagles’ top returning receiver in yards gained and projected starter when BC opens the season against Northern Illinois on Sept. 2 (noon) at Alumni Stadium.“I want to be an All-ACC tight end,” said Takacs. “I really want to have the ability to take over games and be THE guy in the offense, that’s my goal and that’s everybody’s goal.“I’m really going into the season with the confidence and high expectations for myself.”BC lost its two most productive wide receivers after the 2022 season, a campaign that started bad and ended 3-9. Zay Flowers, who broke every significant receiving record at BC, was a first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens and Ja...

Asante-Muhammad & Collins: We still have a dream – closing the racial & economic gap

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:43 GMT

It’s now been 60 years since the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom — and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.At the rally, Dr. King famously proclaimed that all people, Black as well as white, have a “promissory note” from their government guaranteeing “the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” He lamented that “America has defaulted on this promissory note” to Black citizens.Six decades later, despite incremental progress on some fronts, the check has still come back marked “insufficient funds.” But with enough political will, we can clear it quickly. That’s the conclusion of our new report,  Still a Dream: Over 500 Years to Black Economic Equality.There are important signs of progress to mark. The unthinkably high rate of Black poverty has diminished since King’s time, falling from 51% in 1963 to 20% by 2021. But with one in five Black Americans still living in poverty — and one in 12 whites — it’s hardly a moment to ...

Editorial: Electric vehicles rely on natural gas

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:43 GMT

California’s electric vehicle push has increased the demand for natural gas. The global warming alarmists never mentioned that.Most consumers still don’t want an electric vehicle. Despite heavy subsidies and mandates, just 6% of new vehicles sold last year were electric. Sales are increasing but remain behind many government and automaker goals.Rather than let the market operate, the green movement wants the government to force people out of gasoline-powered vehicles. They argue this will reduce emissions and lower global temperatures.But these efforts have yet to have any noticeable effect on the climate, although EV mandates have had more success. California is set to ban the sale of new cars with an internal combustion engine by 2035. Massachusetts has already done so, as part of a 2022 climate bill.  Earlier, President Joe Biden’s EPA proposed a rule that will essentially require two-thirds of new vehicles to be electric by 2032.Trading gas-powered cars for electric ones is supp...

Dear Abby: Wants a phone for calls & texts – that’s it

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:43 GMT

Dear Abby: Can people in this society PLEASE stop assuming that everyone has a smartphone? Not everyone is willing — or able — to spend $1,000-plus for one. Some of us carry older, less-expensive phones that receive calls and text messages and that’s it.I just got off a really annoying phone call with the secretary at my elderly mother’s doctor’s office, who said she was “sending a link” for a video conference on her phone. I nearly choked. I said, “Stop, OK? Look, not everyone has an expensive phone!” So then she chirps, “OK, I’ll send the link to your phone, and she can use yours!” I then had to explain that I don’t have an expensive phone either.Our society forces people to spend big bucks on these toys. You go to a bank and ask a customer service representative for assistance, “Oh, it’s easy. You can set it up yourself with your phone!” You call a business for an update on an order an...

Video of man petting dog before stealing bike from garage leads to arrest

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:43 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A video showing a man playing with a dog before stealing a bike from a Pacific Beach garage last month resulted in an arrest, authorities said.A 42-year-old man of San Diego was arrested on suspicion of bicycle theft, the San Diego Police Department posted on its Instagram Sunday.In early August, police released video of a man entering a garage and taking a 2019 black Electra three-speed bicycle, which costs around $1,300, on July 15 around 10:40 p.m. Motorcyclist killed on SR-78 identified The man is then seen taking off with the bike until the household dog appears in the garage and approaches the suspect who parks his bike and begins to pet the dog."You're the coolest dog I've ever known, I love you too," the suspect is heard on the video saying to the dog.About a minute later, the suspect leaves the scene after one last pet."We're thrilled to report the bicycle is back home, much to the delight of Ace, a very good boy. This success underscores the power of communi...

Biden and Harris will meet with King’s family on 60th anniversary of the March on Washington

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:43 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s family to mark Monday’s 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, where King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial.All of King’s children have been invited, White House officials have said. The Democratic president was taking a page out of history by opening the Oval Office to King’s family. On Aug. 28, 1963, the day of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, President John F. Kennedy welcomed King and other key march organizers to the Oval for a meeting. The White House did not include the meeting on Biden’s public schedule for Monday. Biden also was hosting a reception Monday evening to mark the 60th anniversary of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonpartisan, nonprofit legal organization that was established at Kennedy’s request to help advocate for racial justice. In an opinion ...

The Ukraine war, propaganda-style, is coming to Russian movie screens. Will people watch?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:43 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The movie centers around a violinist from Belgium arriving to Kyiv to perform. It is February 2022, and his trip is upended as Russia starts bombing Ukraine. The artist survives a series of “inhuman crimes and bloody provocations by Ukrainian nationalists,” and he is ready to tell the world “what it was really like.”“The Witness” — a state-sponsored drama that premiered in Russia on Aug. 17 — is the first feature film about the 18-month-old invasion. The first feature film about the 18-month invasion of Ukraine to hit movie theaters nationwide, it depicts Ukrainian troops as violent neo-Nazis who torture and kill their own people. One wears a T-shirt with Hitler on it. The film also has the main character’s young son wondering: “Isn’t Ukraine Russia?”It’s the narrative the Kremlin has been promoting since the first days of the war — all packaged up in a motion picture.The release of “The Witness” comes after Russian authorities announced a plan to boost...

Trial starting for suspect in Des Moines school shooting that killed 2 students

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:43 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A trial will begin this week for the first of two teens charged with murder in a shooting at a Des Moines alternative school that left two students dead and the program’s founder injured.Jury selection is scheduled to start Monday in the trial of Preston Walls, 19, who is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and criminal gang participation. Bravon Tukes, 19, is set to stand trial on the same charges on Oct. 2.Students Gionni Dameron, 18, and Rashad Carr, 16, died in the Jan. 23 shooting at Starts Right Here, an alternative program for at-risk students affiliated with the Des Moines public schools. Will Keeps, the founder of the school, suffered serious injuries in the shooting but has recovered.THE SHOOTINGThe shooting happened at midday at the school, located in a small office park on the edge of downtown Des Moines.According to court documents, Walls was armed with a handgun when he entered the school, which he also attende...