Fireworks are lighting up the skies across France: it’s almost midnight, and we’re already celebrating France’s National Day, also simply known as "le 14 Juillet" in French (“the 14th of July”). This day is often referred to in English as “Bastille Day,” although that name is a historical simplification.
Talking about France, here's a fun fact about their jersey at the FIFA World Cup: the away kit worn by France features a mint color with copper accents unlike their usual jersey (colors of the French flag). This design is a direct reference to the Statue of Liberty: the blue-green shade is inspired by Lady Liberty’s patina, while the copper tones pay tribute to the statue’s original reddish-brown copper surface before it naturally oxidized over time.
France gifted the United States the Statue of Liberty (La Statue de la Liberté) to commemorate the 100th anniversary of American independence, while also celebrating the friendship between the two nations and their shared republican ideals, including "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité" — France’s national motto. They're now rocking these colors during the FIFA World Cup in North America.
The heartwarming connection between Lawrence, Kansas and the Algerian team was an unexpected FIFA World Cup highlight!
Seeing the people of Lawrence moved by the "Thank You ❤️ Lawrence" banner held up by Algerian fans during the match against Austria was a wholesome moment.
Bad weather!
Sweet, sweet bad weather! Blessed be the clouds that carry our salvation. The reign of the cruel sun is over. May the skies never abandon us again!
Gotta love the spectacle the FIFA World Cup US edition is serving up.
From restaurants forcing 20% tips to "hydration" breaks that we should probably just call ad breaks, it's been quite an event.
Now I'm hearing we might get a Super Bowl–style halftime show that could stretch halftime to 30 minutes, which would completely disrupt the players' momentum and increase the risk of injury as they cool down.
But my favorite part is the conspiracy theory about the winner (apparently based on an NFL conspiracy): people on social media are claiming that the champion is hidden in the colors of the tournament's logo. This year’s colours being green, blue, red and then two shades of grey, some are even predicting Portugal as the winner. Have you heard of that conspiracy?
novicewriter - Oh, but every restaurant I've seen who adds a mandatory gratuity DOES disclose it on the menu? Also on the website for online ordering? I haven't seen any restaurant adding the charge without disclosing it. If that's being done, they should be reported.
novicewriter - And honestly, the majority of the restaurants in my town (San Antonio, Texas) only add a service charge if you're asking them to seat a large party, like 10+ people. And that is disclosed on the menu as well.
novicewriter - In any case, it's all right to agree to disagree. I hope visitors can find restaurants that are more hospitable, and tip how they see fit. Have a good day!
In addition to the PSA posted by Amethyst Angel - almost melted for everyone dealing with heatwaves this summer, here are a few additional reminders (thanks nofluff) for people with chronic illnesses and limited access to air conditioning:
Do you completely censor swear words? What's the etiquette?
My pieces are fictional but I deleted a few "raw" items after receiving concerned reviews.Might start adding disclaimers...
“If God did not exist, we should invent Him.”
I wrote those words once in an essay. My teacher told me that, if I was going to quote Voltaire, I should give him credit. That annoyed me. Because I was not quoting him. Those words were mine.
But apparently, original thoughts do not exist. And because this *beep* came before me, I am condemned to put his name next to them.
You don't have to censor if the rating is appropriate, but it's up to you. I curse a lot, but my pieces are mostly rated 18+. The rating of your piece should probably be 18+ because of F-word, though you could possibly get away with 13+ since it's kinda blurbed out. I'd still play on the safe side just to not offend anyone
What you censor depends on the audience you are writing for. Common sense tells you that language choices are much different for children's books than they would be for an adult novel.
The important thing to remember is the need to rate your content accordingly.
I suggest you read "Content Rating System (CRS)" , a proper rating helps avoid having the wrong audience from reading your work.
I'm not good at poetry, but for those of you who are, this is a daily contest based on a photo or sketch prompt.
There isn’t much participation, so if you didn’t know about it, give it a try!
I don’t know what worries me more right now: the upcoming heatwaves or the increasing number of supercell thunderstorms that come with them. Because what do you mean, “they’ll get more extreme and this could lead to tornadoes”? I thought we agreed that stuff only happens in American movies!
Amethyst Angel - almost melted - It made sense but I need a basic membership for that. An upgrade is planned but, in the meantime, I'll have to find some alternative solution. I just asked in case the button existed and I missed it.
I've been around for a few days now and I've really appreciated how welcoming and encouraging people have been.
One thing I've noticed, though, is that when a piece receives a lower rating, the accompanying feedback doesn't always explain what specifically led to that rating. As someone who is trying to improve, I sometimes find it difficult to know what to work on when I understand that something didn't fully land, but not why.
Because of that, I've been considering adding a few optional yes/no questions at the end of my pieces to help guide feedback (for example, questions about pacing, clarity, character engagement, etc.).
Before I do that, I wanted to ask the community: would you find that helpful, neutral, or annoying? My goal isn't to pressure anyone into writing longer reviews - just to make it easier for readers to point me toward areas that may need work.
You can also remove ratings altogether on specific items so you just receive the reviews if that interests you. I personally don't like using a rating system
* Content and content ratings in this area are monitored solely by this member. Page owners have the ability to remove posts and/or block posters who do not follow the content rating or who post unwanted content. In addition, each member can block/ignore another member using the Block/Ignore Members" link on the Account
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for everyone dealing with heatwaves this summer, here are a few additional reminders (thanks nofluff 
- I ended up doing that since the other option requested a basic membership. Thanks for your help, guys!
- also, thank you for the post about the membership giveaway for newbies. I might have missed it without seeing it! 
un: 
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