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Title card of Not My Responsibility

Not My Responsibility is a 2020 American short film written and produced by singer-songwriter Billie Eilish. A commentary on body shaming and double standards placed upon young women's appearances, it features a monologue from Eilish about the media scrutiny surrounding her body. The film is spoken-word and stars Eilish in a dark room, where she gradually undresses before submerging herself in black substance. The film premiered during Eilish's Where Do We Go? World Tour on March 9, 2020, as a concert interlude, and was released online on May 26, 2020. Critics gave positive reviews, praising the commentary and tone, which they considered empowering. The film's audio was later included as a song on Eilish's second studio album, Happier Than Ever (2021). Some music journalists described it as the album's thematic centerpiece; others questioned its appearance on the tracklist, feeling that it lost its emotional impact without the visuals. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II

... that the sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II (pictured), the Phoenician king of Sidon, is one of only three ancient Egyptian sarcophagi unearthed outside Egypt?
... that NFL head coach Herb Dell also officiated games of the team he coached?
... that Nizza in central Frankfurt is one of the largest gardens of Mediterranean plants north of the Alps, thanks to its very warm microclimate?
... that T. K. Jones thought that a nuclear war was survivable if "there are enough shovels to go around"?
... that 19.99 was intended to be a serious Jewish hip hop album, but reviewers largely treated it as parody?
... that Vera Chok asked producers to place a rice cooker in the set of the home of her character, Honour Chen-Williams?
... that in his memoir This Boy's Life, Tobias Wolff writes about his childhood misdeeds including stealing and forging checks?
... that a journalist created a game about the Syrian civil war after observing that Miley Cyrus got more clicks than the war?

In the news

Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (pictured) becomes Emir of Kuwait after the death of his half-brother, Nawaf.
The COP28 climate change summit ends with a call to transition away from the use of fossil fuels.
Donald Tusk becomes Prime Minister of Poland in the aftermath of the October parliamentary election.
Baldur's Gate 3 wins game of the year at The Game Awards.
At least 17 people are killed as Cyclone Michaung makes landfall in India.

On this day

December 18: National Day in Qatar (1878)

Atlas rocket carrying SCORE

1622 – Portuguese forces and their Imbangala allies defeated the Kongo army at the Battle of Mbumbi.
1932 – Playing indoors at Chicago Stadium on a modified American football field, the Chicago Bears defeated the Portsmouth Spartans in the first playoff game of the National Football League.
1958 – The United States launched SCORE (rocket pictured), the world's first communications satellite.
1963 – Ghanaian and other African students organized a protest in Moscow's Red Square in response to the alleged murder of medical student Edmund Assare-Addo.
2017 – An Amtrak Cascades passenger train derailed near DuPont, Washington, killing three people and injuring sixty-five others.

Yaonian Yanmujin (d. 933)
Edith of Wessex (d. 1075)
Ty Cobb (b. 1886)
Keith Richards (b. 1943)

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From today's featured list

Spike Jonze

Her, a 2013 American science-fiction romantic drama film, won 33 awards from 100 nominations, with particular praise being given for its screenplay, direction, acting (particularly the acting of Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson), cinematography, score, production merits, and poignant material. It received five nominations at the 86th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, with Spike Jonze (pictured) winning Best Original Screenplay for his screenwriting for the film. At the 71st Golden Globe Awards, the film was nominated for three awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Phoenix, and won Best Screenplay for Jonze. Jonze additionally won Best Original Screenplay at the 66th Writers Guild of America Awards. Her also won Best Film and Best Director for Jonze at the 85th National Board of Review Awards. The American Film Institute included Her in their list of the top ten films of 2013. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Laguna Miñiques is a lake in northern Chile. It lies at the foot of the volcano Cerro Miscanti, south of Laguna Miscanti, from which it receives inflow by seepage. The two lakes are separated by a lava flow. Like Miscanti and the nearby Laguna Lejía, Miñiques is a fault-bound lake and has brackish waters. A popular tourist destination, it is part of the Los Flamencos National Reserve, and is home to wildlife including the cladocerans Alona pulchella and Daphnia, the copepod Boeckella poopoensis, and unidentified species of Cyclopoida. This panoramic photograph of Laguna Miñiques was taken in February 2016.

Photograph credit: Diego Delso

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