A drag queen waves a rainbow flag during an LGBT rights demonstration in front of the Hungarian Parliament building in Budapest, Hungary on June 14, 2021. During the protest human rights activists called on lawmakers in Hungary to reject legislation banning any content portraying or promoting homosexuality or sеx reassignment to anyone under 18. The bills, aiming at fighting pedophilia, have various amendments which would outlaw any depiction or discussion of different gender identities to youth in the public sphere. (Photo by Bela Szandelszky/AP Photo)

People gather for the second annual “Cat Beauty Festival” organized by Royal Veterinary Hospital in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq on July 2, 2025. Around 200 cats participated in the event, where the first round was determined by social media votes. The winner, a cat named “Gule Rana”, was selected by a jury. The festival aims to promote animal love and raise awareness about feline care. (Photo by Fariq Faraj Mahmood/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Shannara Chronicles - A Refreshing Adventure in a Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy Future

I was sitting idly on the couch, drinking cola and playing Red Flush online casino games while my better half was channel surfing besides me. I was completely immersed in my game, but dragged back with my feet on the ground when I heard a name - Terry Brooks - coming from the telly. And from MTV?!

Lisa Yu crawls through a mud pit under low slung barbed wire as she competes in The Tough Bloke Challenge on March 4, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. The Tough Bloke Challenge is one of the most gruelling adventure runs in Australia consisting of 18 obstacles over a 6 km cross-country course laden with thick mud-pits and ice-cold water crossings. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

A competitor gestures as he crawls beneath barbed wire during the Tough Guy event in Perton, central England February 1, 2015. The annual event to raise cash for charity challenges thousands of international competitors in a cross country run followed by an assault course consisting of obstacles including water, fire and tunnels. (Photo by Phil Noble/Reuters)

Two men help each other cross a street covered in deep mud in Copiapo, Chile, Thursday, March 26, 2015. Unusually heavy thunder storms and torrential rains that began on Tuesday have blocked roads, caused power outages and affected some 600 people on this normally dry region. (Photo by Aton Chile/Marcelo Hernandez/AP Photo)

A participant of the Wild Sau Dirt Run 2015 passes a mud barrier in Obertriesting, Lower Austria, Austria, Saturday, April 4, 2015. The Wild Sau Dirt Run is a cross country and steeplechase race for men and women over the distances of 5, 10 and 20 kilometers (3.1, 6.2 and 12.4 miles). (Photo by Ronald Zak/AP Photo)

Walkers cross the river Waalbrug during the first day of the 98th annual four-days walking event, the “Vierdaagse” in Nijmegen, Netherlands, July 15, 2014. The “Nijmeegse Vierdaagse” is an annual public four-day field march which is held since 1909 in the third week of July. (Photo by Erik van 't Wout/EPA)