List of All Articles with Tag 'ira'

A bunch of eerie 'witch bottles' have been washing up on shores across the Gulf of Mexico, leaving researchers freaked out. Jace Tunnell, a researcher for the Harte Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, shared the discoveries on his YouTube channel where he explained how people stuff the 'spell bottles' with a variety of things including herbs or sharp objects. He said that many believe they offer protection, before disposing of them in a range of places including in oceans or burying them in back gardens. In a recent Facebook post, Tunnell shared his latest finding, writing: "Witch bottle! We find these every once in a while. Folks in certain cultures around the world put vegetation or other objects in a bottle. They are counter magical devices whose purpose is to draw in and trap harmful intentions directed at their owners." Many fellow Facebookers were left intrigued, with one writing: "I want to know what happens when you open it!" Another added: "Bottles can tell such varied and interesting stories and can survive for so long in such varied conditions. So this pic is my fav this week." Meanwhile, a third user penned: "Witch here. I love making witch bottles for various spells of protection and whatever else my intentions are. This looks newer to me, but certainly don't open it. You never know what's inside. Great find!" #Beachcombing - Witchcraft www.youtube.com In a discussion with Fox News Digital, Tunnell acknowledged that while he doesn't feel creeped out by the bottles, he would never open one. He said: "I mean, they're supposed to have spells and stuff in them – why take the chance?" Tunnell opted for a safer alternative and instead displayed the bottles along his fence. "My wife says I can bring shells inside, but no spell bottles," he joked. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Ever wondered what your favourite meme would look like as a movie? Well, with the help of AI, you don’t have to wonder any longer. 'Movie' might be overselling it slightly, but artificial intelligence has turned one of the most-used memes on the internet into a video clip for the first time. The newly augmented version shows the new depth to the instantly recognisable image, which has been ubiquitous online over recent years. The distracted boyfriend meme has been a mainstay of internet culture since it first appeared back in 2017. It shows a man ogling another woman while walking with his partner – and now the short clip created using AI has given us an idea of what might have happened next. The clip was first shared by Twitter/X user @fofrAI, who created the clip using Stability AI's Stable Video tool. In the new, extended version of the meme, shared by the good people at Know Your Meme, it looks like the man has turned to walk towards the passing woman – abandoning his poor partner. One of the great scandals of the internet age, we’re sure you’ll agree. However, a AI-created clip sees him turn away towards his partner - just as the woman in red turns to face him. Right now, we don't know what to believe – and the clip provoked plenty of reaction. "I find it awe inspiring how many unnecessary, undesirable things AI can do," one unimpress social media user wrote. “Ai is scary,” another said, while another noted: “Yeah except that the girl on the left’s face warps like something out of a horror film.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

The opening of a McDonald's has sparked conspiracy theories after it's location was revealed to be the middle of the Canadian countryside. "Officially open for business. Our staff awaits you at our new restaurant at 8075 Marcel-Villeneuve, Laval," the restaurant wrote on Facebook. McDonalds' Jéremy Lévy said: "I am delighted to be involved with the community of Saint-François on the occasion of this opening. Growing up with a father who is also a McDonald's franchisee, I have had the opportunity to see him actively involved in the communities in which he operates his restaurants. Today, I am very excited to follow in his footsteps and get involved in the same way." However, the location has gone viral after a TikTok was uploaded by user @thumbs.up.canuck. The creator noticed the McDonald's and was left confused after seeing where it was situated, and claimed it didn't even appear to have electricity. @thumbs.up.canuck McDiesel fumes #mcdonalds #crazy "It's literally in the middle of farm field," they said. "It's surrounded by farm, and there's not even electricity yet. They're running the damn place on a generator! That's crazy!" After being viewed over 37,000 times, conspiracy theories have begun blooming from the video. "Then you know what's coming they wouldn't put it there for nothing," one user claimed. A second added: "In two years it will be surrounded by houses strategically planned." "All the surrounding farms are about to be purchased and sold to developers", a third comment read. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

A woman has sparked debate after revealing that she takes care of the kids on a flight while her husband gets to sit back and relax. It’s no secret that in heterosexual relationships women are more likely to take on the majority of unpaid labour, including child care, cooking and cleaning. One wife sparked outrage after revealing she made her husband a second dinner after he refused to eat the first one she prepared for him, and now another husband has come under fire for letting his wife do all the child care. In a viral Instagram video, influencer Maria Roberts shared a clip showing her sitting in between her two children on a flight, taking care of them and making sure they were settled. The clip then showed her husband, Lou, who sat across the aisle and appeared to be watching his screen without a care in the world. Roberts captioned the post: “As Lou likes to say, ‘I would switch with you, but they refuse to sit next to me’.” The video has been viewed 18.5 million times and in the comments section, Instagrammers debated the unequal workload between the husband and wife. One person commented: “I cannot believe that in 2023 women still accept this behaviour.” Someone else added: “I hate that this is still a standard we are promoting. Even young children can learn that Dad is a good option and don’t need to always be with [their] mom. Please for the love of God stop reinforcing that dads are incapable.” Another commented: “Nope, nope, nope… I did this one time. After that, I bought two seats together, one row behind the other. He got one kid and they had their own bag of snacks and activities and I had the other. I was never doing that again.” “The headphones in is so triggering lol,” another pointed out. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

Saudi Arabia is asking others in the OPEC+ coalition to reduce their oil-output quotas in a bid to

Footage of the moment a car crashed into a garage where a girl was sitting on Thanksgiving has gone viral. Sometimes near-misses need to be caught on camera to be believed because they are so unlikely. That was certainly the case for one woman who had a lucky escape when she was smoking and crying in her garage on Thanksgiving, just as a car crashed into it. X/Twitter user @littoladyluck shared unbelievable footage of a car accidentally reversing into her garage as she was filming a video. Two different clips showed what happened from inside the garage where she was “chilling” and from outside the garage as the accident occurred. In the caption, she explained: “I was chilling in the garage on Thanksgiving crying and smoking by myself listening to Mitski and a car crashed right into it… I can’t make this up.” The first video showed her sitting in her garage when all of a sudden there was a loud crash as the garage door was slammed into. In the second video, taken from an external camera, a white car was reversing and appeared to become out of control as it picked up more and more speed. The car first struck a palm tree that fell down and continued reversing until it struck the garage that @littoladyluck was in. The post has been viewed over 6 million times and viewers were equally shocked and amused by the situation, particularly given that the woman had the clown filter on as she was recording. “Girls aren’t allowed to do literally anything,” one person joked. Another commented: “It’s the filter and the zero survival instinct for me.” Someone else added: “Imagine them using this video as evidence in court.” Thankfully, @littoladyluck appeared physically unharmed by the incident. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Games studio Bloober Team have asked their fans to be patient over their upcoming 'Silent Hill 2' remake.

AI “singer-songwriter” Anna Indiana launched her first song and it has not gone down very well at all. Artificial intelligence is a huge area for growth in technology, but its abilities are causing concern among those in the creative industries. Musicians such as Drake and The Weeknd have had their distinctive voices essentially copied by the technology in order to create a brand-new AI-generated song that they had no hand in making. Now a new artist going by the name of Anna Indiana has launched and she, and her music, is made entirely from AI. Who is Anna Indiana? Anna Indiana is an artificially generated music artist who recently launched on X/Twitter. Her initials, AI, signify her artificial intelligence origin as everything from her look to the music itself with made with AI technology. In a post on X/Twitter, the artist shared a three-and-a-half-minute-long video appearing to show her, depicted as a young white woman, recording the song in a music studio. The caption explained: “Hello world! I’m Anna Indiana and I’m an AI singer-songwriter. Here’s my first song, 'Betrayed by this Town'. “Everything from the key, tempo, chord progression, melody notes, rhythm, lyrics, and my image and singing, is auto-generated using AI. I hope you like it.” The song, Betrayed by this Town, is a pop ballad sung by a female-sounding voice, with lyrics referencing how they were sitting in a cafe drinking tea and thinking about a male partner who betrayed them. It’s fair to say people weren’t too impressed with the song or the general idea of using AI in place of real human creativity. One person commented: “Nice demonstration of what music would sound like if all creativity and passion was removed. I’m sure my microwave will love listening to this.” Real-life musician James Blake mocked the video, writing: “This brought me to tears. I’m so excited for the future.” “I used to think AI was a threat, not anymore,” someone else explained. Another claimed: “No one on Earth wants this technology. Use AI to make drudgery easier, not to ruin activities we enjoy.” “This is trash,” one X/Twitter user simply wrote. It’s unclear who is behind the AI creation, but there were a few positive comments for them to cling on to. Someone argued: “Good Lord such nearsighted comments. It was only a year ago the ChatGPT debuted. It has come this far. Yes it is crude. Come back in a year.” How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Having kids is not easy. It requires a huge deal of sacrifice, compromise and patience and can sometimes feel like a pretty thankless task. And yet, not everyone feels comfortable admitting that they’d prefer to avoid such trials and tribulations by simply not becoming a parent. Enter Ellie Gonsalves, an Australian model and influencer who has sparked a fierce internet debate by sharing every single reason why she has chosen to remain “child free”. The L'Oréal ambassador posted her 118-point-long list to Instagram, explaining: “Societal pressure when it comes to this topic are (sic) truly questionable and I believe unfair towards those with differing opinions. “Very rarely do we see a voice in support of this… because let's face it, the public backlash can be too much.” Her arguments against starting a family include the risk that a child can “turn into a rapist”; that “they can poo inside you” and that you are “more susceptible to yeast infections while pregnant”. The full list is as follows: Inevitably, her catalogue proved divisive among readers, with one woman commenting: “Your 'list' on why you don't want kids are (sic) all negative, but how about the positives? The Positives completely outweigh. “Of course, it's a person's choice as to whether they want to be a parent,” she added. “But a lot of your list were (sic) very vain reasons [in my opinion].” Another added: “So much fear. Better not to have kids if that's what you will instil into them anyway. Gosh, so many self-centred people in this world.” However, others defended Gonsalves, with one asking: “Am I seriously reading comments from women who are offended by your decision..? What’s wrong with people?!?!. “It’s 1milliion percent (sic) your choice- end of story. I really don’t understand people sometimes.” And another said: “I’m with you. I’m 40, don’t have kids, and never wanted kids (...) I had a coworker ask me once, ‘If you don’t have kids, who’s going to take care of you when you’re old?’ I remember thinking, (and still do), that that’s a selfish reason to HAVE kids.” In her statement accompanying the list, the 32-year-old said that she had received “hundreds of DMs criticizing me [and telling] me how much of a horrible and broken person that I am.” She insisted that whilst some of the points she included are “satirical”, “many are serious and factual.” She added: “As someone in a 15-year relationship, I have [been asked whether I want kids] for almost that entire time and it’s probably the most frequent [question] I get.” She then said she could count “on one hand” the number of times people posing the question have been respectful and understanding of her views. Still, she stressed that she was glad that her message had resonated with so many women. “It's been nice to read hundreds of comments from people who feel seen, people who have also had uncomfortable moments where others have questioned their choice and all that has done is made them feel awful or uncomfortable,” she told Mamamia. She also said that the fury her list had provoked simply reinforced her argument. “People are sold a certain life,” she noted. “And when they witness others choosing a different path, the frustration lies within themselves.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

Anybody of a certain age will remember binge-watching the eight Harry Potter movies – but fans are still discovering Easter eggs in the films. One of those is something the producers slipped into the iconic Warner Bros opening credits, and it’s glaringly obvious once you’ve noticed it. With each new movie, it turns out the Warner Bros logo becomes darker and darker, until, by the last film, it is a threatening, inky black. The changes reflect the tone of the stories with each instalment. The first one, Harry Potter and the Philosoper’s Stone, is a family-friendly classic. It’s certainly a far cry from the spooky – and sometimes downright terrifying – final films, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts one and two. In the opening credits to the final movie, even the metallic Warner Bros logo is growing rusty, and the material is starting to peel off. @fredthedeadtwin The movies were getting darker too #drafts #greenscreen #hpmovies #harrypotter #sorcerersstone #deathlyhallows #hogwarts #hptiktok #GenshinImpact32 #foryoupage #fyp As the evil wizard Voldemort grew stronger with each film, the wizarding world got more dangerous, and Daniel Radcliffe’s character’s plight became more and more dangerous. Viewers couldn’t escape the fact that, for young Potter fans, it somehow reflected how life gets more serious as we get older. One person wrote on social media: “It's like my life. First years are the best, but the older I get, the darker life gets.” Another person said: “Did they forget that it’s a children’s movie?” A third person demanded answers. They said: “There needs to be more info about this. Was this planned? It starts getting dark literally on the second WB sign.” And a fourth, slightly happier, commenter, added: “This just made me so happy I need to go on another Harry Potter marathon.” Each to their own, it seems. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Hamas will delay the release of the second group of hostages until Israel follows terms of their deal

Israel said it expects Palestinian militant group Hamas to release more hostages on Saturday, a day after a