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November 18, 2019
23:58
Newegg’s Black Friday Ad Teases Top Gaming and Tech Deals
» ‎ Geek.com

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Newegg's Black Friday 2019 ad features deals on gaming laptops, PC monitors, and more computer building gear. (Photo Credit: Newegg)
If you need gaming and tech gear for everyone on your list, Newegg’s">[https%3a%2f%2fpromotions.newegg.com%2fnepro%2f19-2408%2f1920x360.jpg&icid=546681">Newegg’s] Black Friday ad is offering many discounts on gaming laptops, PC monitors, and other electronics.

The retailer hasn’t disclosed specific hours for Thanksgiving and Black Friday yet, but our sister site BestBlackFriday.com notes that there are no offline store locations. However, Newegg will likely drop more Black Friday sale details over the next couple of days.

✨ Our #BlackFriday ad is out! ✨ This year, we’re extending our sales, dropping the best deals on Nov. 25. More deals will be unleashed through #CyberMonday, ending on Dec. 8.

Take a peek at the #BlackFriday2019 and #CyberMonday2019 coming your way ► [https:]] pic.twitter.com/CPe6FrpBuE

— Newegg (@Newegg) November 16, 2019

In the meantime, you can take advantage of some pre-Black Friday sales on Newegg’s website. (Items we’re eyeing include the MSI GL65 9SC-004 Gaming Laptop and the SkyTech Archangel Gaming Desktop PC.)

For a detailed forecast on Black Friday 2019, visit our general guide and if you need some last-minute tips on how to save money during the holiday season, you can read our Black Friday tips article.
Gaming
Photo Credit: Newegg

MSI GL Series GL65 9SC-004 Gaming Laptop for $599 (Save $200)

Skytech AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD RX Gaming Laptop for $639.99 (Save $110)

Acer 24-Inch 144HZ 1MS FHD Built-In Speakers Gaming Monitor for $149.99 (Save $50)

ABS Intel Core i7 NVIDA RTX 2060 Gaming Desktop for $1,199.99 (Save $250)
Tech
Photo Credit: Newegg

Samsung 28-Inch 4K UHD FreeSync Monitor for $249.99 (Save $100)

GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Elite Motherboard for $149.99 (Save $50)

ASUS 27-Inch FHD IPS Slim Bezel Monitor for $134.99 (Save $25)

Cooler Master H500 ATX Mid Tower Tempered Glass Computer Case for $79.99 (Save $40)

For more deals, including all of the latest Black Friday announcements, check out our sister site, BestBlackFriday.com.

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22:25
Where Does The Rock Go From Here?
» ‎ Geek.com

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Dwayne Johnson in 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation.' (Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures)
Let the record state that The Rock is good. I love The Rock. You love The Rock. We all love The Rock. In this day and age he is, like Thanos, inevitable.

I worry that there will come a time when we no longer love The Rock and I worry that it will be The Rock’s own doing.

Some lie in bed at night tossing and turning, worrying about their loved ones, or decaying relationships, or bills they have fallen behind on. They worry about the certainty of death and whether or not anything comes after it, whether their loved ones who have passed on are in a better place or if they were greeted with a vast nothingness. I, on the other hand, have spent most of my tossing and turning time obsessing over the precarious point at which The Rock’s career currently sits and how he will course-correct – or if he will at all.

See, we all love The Rock. But we are slowly reaching a point where we love The Rock’s movies…less. It’s not so much that there’s been any drastic change in quality. Most of his movies since his debut in the Fast & Furious universe back in 2011 have been bonkers action movies that are often generally mediocre in objective quality, but get by on The Rock’s indomitable star power and the appeal of their general insanity (G.I. Joe: Retaliation being a prime example of this). His pattern has grown steady: two, MAYBE three movies a year, one of them usually being something with some semblance of family appeal (Moana, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle). All the while he starred in a hit HBO show in Ballers, a show that certainly existed for five years and broke numerous ratings records despite the fact that I know like, five people who have ever watched it.

Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham in ‘Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.’ (Photo Credit: Frank Masi / Universal Pictures)

That’s the thing about The Rock: it doesn’t always matter if the movie is good. You’re paying to see The Rock do Rock shit, not watch a masterpiece. He’s such a compelling screen presence and such a radiant celebrity in real life, you can’t help but want to engage with whatever he’s working on.

Then 2018 happened. 2018 was rare for The Rock in that it was…bad. It was a bad, bad year. He had two films hit theaters in relatively close proximity, those films being Rampage and Skyscraper. Rampage proved an interesting case in that it should have been an absolute slam-dunk, being that it’s a movie in which The Rock fights giant monsters, something I have wanted to watch since I was a small boy. It ultimately proved a disappointment. It certainly didn’t help that the film opened just before Avengers: Infinity War (perhaps you have heard of it) which quickly sucked up any and every box office dollar in sight for weeks on end, but it largely came down to the middling response the film received. It’s a clunker. A concept that should have printed money for all those involved ended up coming dangerously close to being an outright bomb.

And then there was Skyscraper, the most non-event moment in The Rock’s recent history. It came. It went. Nobody seemed to care. It made a little bit of money overseas but largely went forgotten.

‘Skyscraper’ (Photo Credit: Universal Pictures Corporation and Legendary Pictures)

That was it. 2018 was a wash for The Rock. Something was beginning to become evident: he cannot do this forever. To clarify, “this” does not refer to “acting” so much as it does “maintain this level of stardom while making this sort of movie in the long term.” The luster of this version of The Rock is starting to fade. It can be saved, but not without significant action being taken.

Take a look at The Rock’s filmography and you’ll notice that most of the films in which he’s involved are produced or co-produced by Seven Bucks Productions, the production house he runs with Dany and Hiram Garcia. Seven Bucks is The Rock’s baby, a production juggernaut that has had a hand in everything from San Andreas to The Titan Games. As such, The Rock serves as a producer on almost every film he’s worked on since becoming the biggest star in the world.

‘Ballers’ (Photo Credit: HBO)

It’s a savvy financial move, but one with implications beyond that. The Rock’s role as a producer grants him significant control over the films and TV shows he works on, far more than most actors in starring roles are likely to have. Now, keeping this in mind, look at the directors he’s worked with this decade. It’s not a list without some talented names attached (his Fast & Furious directors are reliably great and he acted under Michael Bay for Pain & Gain), but you’ll find that it’s mostly directorial journeymen, guys without a distinct sense of style. They’re not without their hits (Jake Kasdan made Walk Hard! and Rawson Thurber is responsible for Dodgeball!), but they’re not household names by any means.

Look a little further back in his filmography and you’ll notice that there was a particularly notable instance in which he worked with an auteur: 2006’s Southland Tales, directed by Richard Kelly (who brought us Donnie Darko just a few years before). While its reputation has warmed in the years since its release, it was a notorious bomb when it first hit theaters. It was the first real bomb of The Rock’s career and he’s since seemed largely averse to working with anyone remotely resembling an auteur.

When taking this into consideration, his role as a producer and his choice of directors seems to paint a picture of an actor afraid to surrender control. The Rock is, after all, the undisputed king of image and brand management in Hollywood today. While it feels unfair to assume that it was just the one experience that spooked him, Southland Tales does feel like the moment in which The Rock realized that in order to fight the uphill battle ahead of him (transitioning from wrestling to Hollywood is a path few are able to traverse), he’d need to play it safe. And once he made it to the top, playing it safe clearly kept him there.

But no one stays at the top forever, at least not in the same form in which they ascended. What changes does he need to make in order to preserve his status as the most beloved leading man in Hollywood?

‘The Fate of the Furious’ (Photo Credit: Matt Kennedy / Universal Pictures)

I’m no agent or producer (though I am a Professional The Rock Liker), so take this with a grain of salt, but it would seem that the best way to restore public faith in The Rock would be for The Rock to be in better movies – not simply better versions of the movies he’s been making but better movies outside of that very confined field. Here’s the thing: The Rock is a pretty good actor and the few instances in which he’s taken on roles that skew outside of his comfort zone (Central Intelligence, Jumanji, and Moana) stand out as some of the best work of his career.

But these moments are often limited in quantity due to his aversion to working with big-name directors. If he works with a Shane Black, Greta Gerwig, or Martin Scorsese type, he is no longer in a position in which he has the sort of control he clearly likes to exert over his projects. It’s an understandable fear for someone who wears as many hats as he does to hold – what if he gives up that control and it backfires? The thing is, even a great failure under a bolder director is going to be more interesting to the public than a middling success (or outright failure) of yet another movie in which the plot is “The Rock fights _____.”

‘Jumanji: The Next Level’ (Photo Credit: Frank Masi / CTMG)

Now, in this instance it’s pertinent to note that The Rock isn’t in the Winning Oscars business – he’s in the Making Money business, and a critically acclaimed black comedy or awards-bait drama is never going to make as much money as the most middling of blockbusters. However, movies like those come with a potential reward that transcends the financial and cannot be quantified. They would keep The Rock’s brand and image fresh in the coming years, showing audiences that he’s capable of far more than just blowing stuff up and punching bad dudes (which, given the limits of even the most extraordinary human bodies, he cannot do forever). Taking these risks with directors who push him to become more than just an action star just once a year (he’d still have time for a big loud summer blockbuster every year if he wanted) would be a long-term investment in his future as a bankable movie star. A drama about cancer patients, for instance, might not make Hobbs & Shaw money, but it might serve to make people a bit warmer to the idea of showing up in theaters for his next Hobbs & Shaw*-esque endeavor.

It’s paradoxical, I know. In order to seize back control of his public image and reputation, The Rock must surrender some of the control he’s worked so hard to earn over the last decade. It may seem critical to say so, but I saw it because I love The Rock – sincerely, I do. Movie stars come and go and I think the ones who manage to stick around and navigate the highs and lows that he has since breaking out in The Scorpion King have something special. I want The Rock to be in movies for a very long time – it’s just that in order to do that, he needs to be willing to take the risk and make better ones.

Tres Dean is a Geek contributor who covers The Rock frequently for the site. You can pick up his first book For Your Consideration: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, published by Quirk Books, in stores and online now.

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21:00
Logitech’s Adaptive Gaming Kit Makes the Xbox Adaptive Controller More Accessible
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Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Controller (XAC) facilitates gaming for players with accessibility needs. While a forward-thinking device, the XAC isn’t without limitations. To get the most out of the peripheral, users must purchase separate triggers, switches, and other accessories. Doing this can get expensive, especially for those living on a limited budget. Logitech has a solution with its upcoming product: the Logitech G Adaptive Gaming Kit. I recently participated in a conference call where I got to see what the Adaptive Gaming Kit is all about.

Well before Microsoft revealed the XAC, the Redmond-based company asked Logitech to provide it with joysticks. Logitech happily did so without fully knowing what Microsoft needed them for. A month prior to its reveal, Logitech saw the XAC and immediately became excited over the product’s potential. The XAC fits with Logitech’s mission statement of bringing gamers together. It’s also an area the company had never focused on. The XAC gave Logitech the base to understand the disabled gamer community.

Logitech took field trips around the world to conduct research for the Adaptive Gaming Kit. The company went to the United Kingdom and met with SpecialEffect; a charity organization that works with folks who have accessibility needs. Not only did Logitech meet with SpecialEffect, but they also spoke with a number of gamers who showed the company their accessibility needs and how they solved their individual problems. Every user’s situation was unique, so the challenge became making a product that served as many people as possible.

Inspiration for the Adaptive Gaming Kit came from SpecialEffect. When making house calls, the organization assembles a large box of parts that it uses to set up gaming solutions for users. Logitech took this basic concept (a bento box of parts) and created a device that incorporates all that it learned from players. The end product is something that Logitech feels solves the problems of 80% of those with accessibility needs.

“Out of the box, the XAC is a base station,” says Logitech. “However, to truly unlock its potential, the user needs to connect other input devices like joysticks, buttons, or triggers to its many parts. The $100 Xbox Adaptive Controller is just the start.

“The availability of accessories is limited; for example, the cost of individual buttons can start at $40 each and go up from there. This can quickly become complicated and expensive. We realized that if we wanted gaming to be more inclusive, then a simpler solution with a lower barrier to entry was required.

“Therefore, Logitech G worked with Microsoft and select organizations, like SpecialEffect, AbleGamers, and Mt. Sinai’s Abilities Research Center, to create a new offering — the Logitech G Adaptive Gaming Kit. It is designed to be a simple, flexible, and robust solution to further expand the possibilities of play of the Xbox Adaptive Controller.”

The Adaptive Gaming Kit has a set of controls users can easily configure. This includes a wide range of buttons and triggers with “gaming-grade components for performance and durability.” Below, you’ll find everything that comes in the box:
- Light touch buttons – Sensitive triggers containing small switches that activate with less force.
- Variable trigger controls – Pressure-sensitive triggers that function like gas pedals, ideal for racing games or other applications.
- Small buttons – Mechanical switches that lend precise actuation to the 1-inch buttons.
- Large buttons – Mechanical switches with a wider 2.5-inch diameter and a short, low-profile, design.
- Hook and loop pads – Solid and flexible hook and loop pads along with ties that create a simple and flexible system to personalize to different needs.
Both the large and small buttons have mechanical keyboard switches inside. In fact, these are the same switches you’ll find in Logitech’s G915 gaming keyboard. Like those keys, the Adaptive Gaming Kit’s buttons are very durable, stable, and low-profile. The latter is important since a lower profile has a lower actuation point; meaning the buttons are easier to press. There are also stickers and labels that match the symbols found on an Xbox controller. This helps users know what functions and commands each button or accessory has assigned to it.

Considering how the XAC has 19 different slots for each individual controller function, wire management can become an issue. The Adaptive Gaming Kit solves this by including flags one can wrap around the cables. This is also an ideal solution for when it’s time to disconnect and reconnect the buttons. Numerous blank stickers let users fill in their own commands.

Like the XAC, the Adaptive Gaming Kit’s box is accessible. The brown cardboard box containing the package doesn’t have tape or wrapping. Instead, it has a one-peel pull tab that’s easy to rip off. The Adaptive Gaming Kit’s product box does not have security tabs. It is held together by a hook and loop attachment (via velcro). Like Ikea instructions, the user manual only uses pictures. This makes it simple for users from all over the world to follow the instructions. You don’t need tools to open anything inside the box. Everything slides in and out. The box also doubles as a storage unit for the device.

“The Logitech G Adaptive Gaming Kit is designed to be the perfect companion to the Xbox Adaptive Controller, giving gamers the necessary tools they need at a more affordable price point,” says Ujesh Desai, vice president, and general manager of Logitech Gaming. “It also supports our commitment to inclusivity and diversity in gaming, because fundamentally we believe that life is more fun when you play, and everyone should be able to experience the joys of play.”

“We believe that technology has the ability to empower all of us,” said Phil Spencer, executive vice president of gaming at Microsoft. “With the addition of Logitech G’s Adaptive Gaming Kit, together we are able to push the boundaries of what technology can do in a concerted effort to be inclusive of everyone around the world.”

“The goal of AbleGamers is to find a way for people with varying abilities to play video games,” said Steve Spohn, chief operations officer at AbleGamers. “Everyone’s needs are different, and the Logitech G Adaptive Gaming Kit delivers a wide range of configuration options to make gaming a possibility for all. We appreciated the opportunity to work closely with Logitech G on the design of this kit and look forward to continuing our partnership in the future.”

According to Logitech, the Adaptive Gaming Kit is only the beginning. The company plans to reveal more accessible products in the near future. Unfortunately, they didn’t tell me when we could expect such an announcement. But the fact Logitech plans to continue down this route is good news in and of itself.

Play your way and unlock the potential of your @Xbox Adaptive Controller with the #LogitechG Adaptive Gaming Kit. #KeepPlaying [https:]] pic.twitter.com/isaw2ROYLg

— Logitech G (@LogitechG) November 18, 2019

The Logitech G Adaptive Gaming Kit will be available on Logitech G’s website and through select Microsoft retail stores later this month for $99.99. It makes a perfect gift for anyone who owns the Xbox Adaptive Controller. For more information, make sure to check out Logitech’s site, blog, and Twitter account.
20:50
NASA Scientists Detect Water Vapor on Europa
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Views of Europa snapped by the Voyager 1 spacecraft, the Voyager 2 spacecraft, and the Galileo spacecraft. NASA scientists recently confirmed the presence of water vapor on Europa. (Photo Credit: NASA / JPL)
Europa, one of Jupiter’s 79 moons, may have the ingredients necessary to support life. A team of NASA scientists recently detected water vapor above Europa’s surface for the first time and their findings could help us better understand the inner workings of this mysterious place.

Forty years ago, a Voyager spacecraft captured images of Europa and revealed the brown cracks present on the moon’s icy surface. Scientists previously had evidence that liquid water is present under the moon’s surface and may occasionally erupt into space in giant geysers. However, scientists haven’t been able to confirm the presence of water vapor in these plumes.

This is where the team, which was led out of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, came up with a solution: peering at Europa and measuring water vapor with one of the world’s largest telescopes in Hawaii. The team reported these measurements in the journal Nature Astronomy on Nov. 18.

“Essential chemical elements (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur) and sources of energy, two of three requirements for life, are found all over the solar system. But the third — liquid water — is somewhat hard to find beyond Earth,” said Lucas Paganini, a NASA planetary scientist who led the investigation. “While scientists have not yet detected liquid water directly, we’ve found the next best thing: water in vapor form.”

Confirmed: there’s water vapor present above the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa.

A research team led from @NASAGoddard made the detection — which supports the idea that below the ice, Europa has an ingredient necessary for life: liquid water. More: [https:]] pic.twitter.com/pTunrBYA9J

— NASA (@NASA) November 18, 2019

What Paganini and his team found was shocking: They detected that enough water was being released from Europa (5,202 pounds per second) to fill up an Olympic-sized swimming pool in a couple of minutes and that the water shows up infrequently.

Here’s how they investigated this weird activity on Europa: While observing the moon from the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is located atop of the dormant Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii, they saw water molecules at Europa’s leading hemisphere, which always faces the direction of the orbit. The team used a spectrograph that measures planetary atmospheres’ chemical composition through the infrared light they absorb or emit.

After detecting water vapor on Europa, scientists can now study the moon’s bizarre environment. This update helps support the idea that there may be a liquid water ocean, potentially twice as big as our planet’s, existing beneath Europa’s ice shell. The plumes could also be obtaining water vapor from shallow reservoirs of melted water ice below the moon’s surface.

One step closer to Europa! Our upcoming mission to Jupiter’s intriguing ocean moon is ready to move into the next phase. Coming up is the final design, followed by construction and testing of our spacecraft and science payload. Details: [https:]] pic.twitter.com/8Y2WAmAckP

— NASA Europa Clipper (@EuropaClipper) August 19, 2019

The Europa Clipper mission, which is expected to launch in a few years, will further explore Europa, which is much more than a “veiny eyeball” near Jupiter.

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20:00
Geek Pick: ‘Death Stranding’ Delivers the Goods
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Death Stranding isn’t an easy game to categorize, let alone describe. Its jumble of narrative themes and gameplay mechanics make it something unique within the AAA game space. Death Stranding is both different from and exactly what you would expect from its storied creator, Hideo Kojima. This automatically makes it a divisive title. Some (like myself) will love it, while others won’t. Whatever camp you fall into, it’s safe to say Death Stranding is a game many will talk about for years to come.

The game’s story takes place in the near future after the world suffered an apocalyptic event called the (you guessed it) Death Stranding. As protagonist Sam Porter Bridges (played by The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus), your job is to venture across a devastated America in an attempt to bring the country back together. You do this by delivering packages to various individuals and organizations. The trek isn’t easy thanks to the treacherous terrain, acidic “Timefall” rain, and deadly enemies (both human and paranormal) that you’ll encounter along the way.

As is typical of Hideo Kojima games, Death Stranding’s story has a high learning curve. In the beginning, the game throws many phrases and acronyms that aren’t explained until much later. Though convoluted and filled with numerous twists, the core theme of people needing to connect (or reconnect) with one another resonates; especially during a time where society feels more fractured than ever. Even if some of the crazier concepts go over your head, you’ll be able to understand Death’s Stranding’s main underlying theme.

Since Sam Bridges is effectively a delivery man, you’ll spend most of your time going around the world delivering packages to various settlements. These come in the form of distribution centers, waystations, and prepper settlements. Each has packages for you to deliver to the other settlements. At first, this isn’t easy since you’re going to locations on foot. As the game progresses, you’ll get items that facilitate travel. This includes robotic exoskeletal legs, bikes, trucks, and more. By opening up your map, you can plot the best, most efficient routes to your destinations. What’s cool is that the game never erases routes taken; letting you know which to take and which to avoid. Since travel is such an integral part of Death Stranding, the ability to map out routes is crucial.

Using a device akin to Star Trek’s replicator, you can construct bridges, generators, beacon towers, and delivery kiosks. Bridges are especially important for getting across deep rivers or massive chasms. At a certain point, you’ll be able to construct highways that span large sections of the map. As you can imagine, driving on a nice paved road is preferable to doing so on rock-filled terrain. You’ll need materials to build these constructs. Thankfully, there are plenty of metals, ceramics, special alloys, and chiralium crystals scattered across the world. One can spend a significant amount of time rebuilding roads and making constructs if they wish. Though you’re rebuilding to ease your journey, there’s another reason why it’s good to build up the world.

When initially entering a new location, you’ll find it devoid of most man-made structures. After connecting a location to the Chiral network, you’ll see player-made constructs pop up all over the place. Yes, Death Stranding does indeed feature an online component. And it’s rather neat. Most of the bridges, ladders, grappling hooks, and even vehicles I used came from other players. This made getting around much smoother. Adding to the fun of seeing these player-made constructs was the fact you could, quite literally, smash “Like” on them when prompted. There’s a weird satisfaction that comes with “liking” what others built and having them do the same for yours. It helps you feel connected to a wider world, which is what Death Stranding’s central theme is all about.

Though there’s a lot of walking involved, this is not a “walking simulator.” You can and will have to engage in combat. Human enemies called MULES will try to rob you of your packages if you step into their territories. You can use melee attacks and firearms to take them down. My personal favorite anti-MULE weapon is the bola gun since its ammunition ties enemies up and renders them immobile. You have the option of killing MULES if you wish. The game doesn’t penalize you. However, for reasons I won’t spoil in this review, it’s best to incapacitate them non-lethally.

BTs (Beached Things) are the game’s deadliest foes. You know you’re in BT territory when it begins to rain and your BB unit (the baby attached to your chest) starts fidgeting. You can avoid the normally stationary BTs by carefully (and slowly) walking around them. Later in the game, you’ll get tools to take out these supernatural entities. If you’re familiar with Kojima’s Metal Gear series, then the stealth you’ll need to employ when navigating BT (or MULE) territory will feel familiar.

A large tar-like lake forms underneath your feet when a BT catches you. If you don’t make it outside of the lake’s perimeter, the BT will pull you into the murky substance and toss you into the middle of a boss fight. You have the option of escaping the immediate area or dealing with the oversized BT boss. What’s cool about these battles is that they take place above a rolling black ocean. You’ll have to jump to whatever surfaces you find floating above the tar to evade and attack the BT. There are also some truly epic story-based BT boss battles. These typically play out like the aforementioned encounters, only you cannot escape from the area. I never avoided battles against BTs because I had so much fun taking them on.

Death Stranding runs on a modified version of Guerrilla Games’ Decima Engine. This is apparent in the game’s varied environments and color palette. Every location, be it mountain valley, foggy swampland, snow-covered peak, dense forest, or crimson desert, looks stunning. What’s even more impressive is that, despite the size of the (mostly) open-world, there is never an instance of graphical instability. Death Stranding runs great.

Well-known actors portray most of the cast, and each resembles their real-life counterparts. Whether it’s Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Lindsay Wagner, or even director Guillermo Del Toro, everyone looks amazing. This also extends to their performances, which were all motion-captured. If you’ve seen Norman Reedus on The Walking Dead, you’ll be familiar with Sam Bridges’ mannerisms. Hideo Kojima always wanted to make films and Death Stranding is the closest he’s come to realizing that dream.

One thing I wanted to touch on is how the characters appear as if they came straight out of Kojima’s previous Fox Engine. There were many instances where I felt like I was watching cutscenes from Metal Gear Solid V. I suppose this isn’t too much of a surprise since Hideo Kojima developed both titles. Or it could just be me seeing something that isn’t there. Either way, I absolutely love the character models and feel they set a new standard for other games to follow.

There’s more I can say about Death Stranding. Like I mentioned in the intro, the game has a ton for people to delve into it. But I think I’ve given you a good breakdown of what to expect. Again, it isn’t a game like Spider-Man or God of War in terms of mainstream appeal and instant satisfaction. This is very much for those who are willing to play something that’s unusual for the AAA space. As a massive fan of Hideo Kojima, I’m very satisfied with this game. If you’re also an admirer of Kojima or simply want to try out something that’s truly out there, you should give Death Stranding a try. You may love it. You may hate it, but it’ll get you talking regardless.
19:45
Watch: Giant Whale Swims Under Oblivious Surfers in California
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A drone captured footage of an enormous gray whale swimming through a group of surfers in California. (Photo Credit: Payton Landaas / Stealth Photos)
A massive gray whale swam close to unsuspecting surfers and the rare encounter was caught on camera last week.

Approximately 12 surfers were relaxing in the waters off Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, California, when the giant animal approached the group, Fox 5 News reported. Payton Landaas, a high school senior who lives in the area, captured footage of the whale’s movements with his drone.

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“I knew how rare this moment could be so I ran to get my drone,” Landaas told For the Win Outdoors.

According to experts, the gray whale appeared to be in good health and they typically hang out close to shore while they’re changing locations.

“Gray whales are pretty docile; they’re known as the friendly whale,” Capt. Corey Hall, from Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching, explained to KTLA.

Hall said it may have been the creature’s first or second time migrating south for the winter. Gray whales use landmarks instead of echolocation to navigate their journeys, which could be why this whale was spending time near the shore.

Landaas, who was amazed at the special moment he filmed, recently launched Stealth Photos. You can see more of his drone footage and photography here.

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18:00
Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot Join Calls to Release Zack Snyder’s ‘Justice League’ Cut
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Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, and other celebrities are calling for the release of Zack Snyder's original 'Justice League' cut. (Photo Credit: Warner Bros.)
Many stars, including Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot, are urging Warner Bros. to release Zack Snyder’s cut of Justice League.

In 2017, Snyder, who previously worked on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Man of Steel, had to step away from Justice League due to a family tragedy, Slate.com reported. Joss Whedon took over Snyder’s role and completed the film’s production efforts, however, fans and celebrities want to see Snyder’s original cut of the movie, Entertainment Weekly noted.

On Sunday, Affleck and Gadot both tweeted #ReleaseTheSynderCut,” and joined thousands of fans calling for the original version of Justice League. DC actors Ray Fisher and Christina Wren also demanded the Snyder cut on their social media accounts.

#ReleaseTheSnyderCut

â€” Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) November 17, 2019

#ReleaseTheSnyderCut pic.twitter.com/wssMmlPqEK

â€” Gal Gadot (@GalGadot) November 17, 2019

Two Years. #releasethesnydercut pic.twitter.com/0hxRdzsH4b

â€” Ray Fisher (@rehsifyar) November 17, 2019

Snyder also responded to the #ReleaseTheSynderCut movement and praised the stars and fans for their efforts.

This ancient Amazonian canâ€™t be wrong. #releasethesnydercut [https:]]

â€” Zack Snyder (@ZackSnyder) November 17, 2019

Neither can Batman. #releasethesnydercut [https:]]

â€” Zack Snyder (@ZackSnyder) November 17, 2019

“This ancient Amazonian canâ€™t be wrong.Â Neither can Batman,” Snyder tweeted on Nov. 17.

Warner Bros. has not provided comment on the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut activity.

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18:00
Review: Google Stadia Just Isn’t Finished Yet
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The Pro version of Google Stadia that you can now pay actually $130 for is called the Founder’s Edition, and the subtitle isn’t there to just flatter your inner colonizer. After messing around with Google’s wildly ambitious reinvention for what a video game platform should even be, I was impressed by how close the tech actually came to this grand vision. But coming close isn’t the same thing as succeeding. And at least at the moment, much of my earlier skepticism has proven true. Google Stadia just isn’t finished yet.

At a core level the fundamental appeal of Stadia is that it makes gaming simpler. Instead of buying bulky hardware you simply stream the games from whatever internet-connected screen you have. But since all the pieces are not yet in place, right now setting up Stadia is arguably more complicated than plugging a box into a wall. You’ll need to download multiple apps on your phone, juggle looking between different screens, and configure multiple pieces of hardware like the wireless controller and Google Chromecast streaming dongle.

And speaking of hardware, right now Stadia’s hardware needs are so finicky that, again, it doesn’t feel all that different from just buying a traditional proprietary game console. You won’t just need a Chromecast Ultra, you’ll need the Chromecast Ultra that specifically comes in this kit at least until a later firmware update. The only currently compatible phone is Google’s Pixel series, which I used for testing. And even then you can’t play wirelessly. That only works on Chromecast. To play on a phone you’ll need to physically connect the wire to the (perfectly comfortable and fine) controller via USB-C and a little harness.

However, the phone quickly became my preferred way to play, and not just because it felt like a Nintendo Switch with a crisper display. The biggest question threatening to smother Stadia in the crib is whether or not streaming online would introduce so much input lag as to make games unplayable. And the answer is… mixed.

I tested Stadia with the WiFi here in the office as well as with my gigabit Ethernet connection at home. Playing on the phone I was astonished at what felt like a native offline experience. I experienced virtually no issues. Playing Destiny 2, a game I don’t like, still felt almost magical as I watched such a high-end shooter pipe through the tiny display with this level of responsiveness. And not bothering with loading or installations felt like the height of indulgent convenience. It wasn’t quite as novel, but I was also pleased with the results on my laptop.

Unfortunately, any sense of magic soon disappeared when I went over to the TV. For whatever reason, both at the office and at a home, lag increased considerably when I wirelessly played this way. You could see the delay with your naked eye between pressing a button and getting a result onscreen. A fighting game like Mortal Kombat 11 is basically unplayable. And even my girlfriend could notice the unpleasant feeling of wading through thick soup trying to play Just Dance 2020.

Streaming massive modern video games over the internet is a monumental task. While I found the visuals on the office TV weirdly gray, at home the visuals were clear and colorful on my 4K TV. Again, it’s impressive how close Google gets here. And maybe if I could wire the controller to the TV like I can with the phone, the issue would vanish. Or maybe the phone’s lower resolution makes the difference. But as it is now, whatever the cause, Stadia’s input lag is just untenable. And who’s to say that an influx of new users won’t make the problem even worse.

That’s not the only issue here, though. While a healthy amount of publishers have pledged support in the coming months, since these are just PC games at max settings, the initial limited launch lineup leaves much to be desired. Aside for the admittedly moody original adventure game Gylt, you just have a small grabbag of ports like Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Red Dead Redemption 2. The situation was dire that at the last possible minute Google doubled the launch lineup from 12 to 22, but even then it’s still full of titles we’ve already seen before.

Also keep in mind that you still need to pay full price for these games that only exist on the cloud. While subscribers can snag Destiny for free, the paid subscription only gives you the ability to purchase these games. It won’t be until next year that you’ll get games in your library just for signing up. Some still see this as a better bargain than dropping a few hundred dollars on a console, like paying for Xbox All Access in small installments, but your mileage may vary.

And that’s far from the only substantial Stadia feature not arriving until next year. According to a recent Reddit AMA, you’ll be waiting until 2020 to get features like 4K PC streaming, achievements, family sharing, cheaper 720p Stadia Base, and Buddy Passes. Sure sounds like a beta release to us. At least the game saves your place for a few minutes if you briefly go offline.

Google Stadia could still go either way. Steam’s launch was a mess but soon enough it became the standard of PC gaming marketplaces. Virtual reality headsets are still sticking around. And clearly Google aren’t the only ones thinking about the potential of a streaming future. Just ask Microsoft. There’s a chance these are just the birthing pains of a truly futuristic service that Stadia even today frequently offers tantalizing glimpses of.

Or maybe the lag can never been fully fixed. Maybe the internet data cap restrictions of most people are too harsh to make this make sense on the market. Maybe the games you buy here will soon be buried in the Google Graveyard. That all also feels depressingly possible. In any case, our best advice for Google Stadia is to just wait. Even compared to other experimental tech, being an early adopter here just doesn’t seem worth the purchase. It’ll crash and burn or become the real deal, and either way your patience will be rewarded.
17:51
‘Street Fighter V: Champion Edition’ Finishes the Game Again
» ‎ Geek.com

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Street Fighter IV famously revived the franchise, and 2D fighting games in general, on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. With the genre already secure, Street Fighter V had a bit of rockier experience this generation. The fighting fundamentals were as solid as they had ever been. But between initial online woes, limited content, and confusing monetization strategies, the game was an early victim of the “games as a service plague.” It took two years for us to finally get the game we were promised in Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition.

However, even after that first revision, Capcom kept plugging away at its prize fighter, adding a bunch of new characters and costumes and stages. If you already have the game, you can buy that content for yourself piecemeal (or grind out fight money if that’s still a thing?) But next year you can just get everything bundled together in Street Fighter V: Champion Edition.

This complete collection offers you just about everything you can get from Street Fighter V. 40 characters with new V skills, 34 stages, and over 200 costumes. Only thing missing are weird branded deals.

One of those characters is brand new for this version. While it had issues, Street Fighter V’s wacky story mode finally brought the convoluted Fast and Furious-style continuity full circle with its links back to Street Fighter III. And now Gill, the nude red-and-blue god man final boss of that game, is finally playable in Champion Edition.

Street Fighter V: Champion Edition launches February 14, 2020 for $30 on PC and PlayStation 4. For more on fighting games read our ultimate history of the fighting game genre and learn more about the Capcom vs. SNK rivalry.
17:11
The Best Deals In Wal-Mart’s Toy Book
» ‎ Geek.com

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Every day the spectre of Black Friday looms larger over our wallets, and we’re already trying to budget out the spending so we don’t have to eat ramen until Easter. One of America’s best-known retailers for competitive pricing is Wal-Mart, and their massive 2019 toy book has a panoply of deals. If you don’t have time to sort through the whole thing and filter out all the weird slime and Ryan’s World cash-ins to get the good stuff, we’re doing it for you. Here are our picks from Wal-Mart’s Black Friday toy book.

12 Inch Godzilla Figure
It’s impossible to measure the happiness we feel because Godzilla, the one true King of the Monsters, is back in active circulation. He’s a true cultural icon who should be allowed to smash cities and wreck other giant beasts for as long as he wants to. If you’re going to add a Godzilla toy to your collection, you want it to pack some scale, and this Wal-Mart exclusive kaiju toy does just that. Standing a full foot tall, he’ll rampage through your puny toy shelf with impunity. Six points of articulation and an extremely long tail perfect for whipping at his frenzied foes.

Get it at Wal-Mart

Harry Potter Invisibility Cloak
Okay, so this thing won’t actually let you become invisible in the real world – no one geek should have all that power – but it’s a pretty clever little gimmick anyways. One side of the cloak is printed with chromakey green (like they use in special effects filming), and with the aid of a special app you can take shots on your iPhone and merge them with the background so it looks like you’re vanishing in plain sight. Now if only they’d figure out how to make a Time Turner.

Get it at Wal-Mart

Bakugan Battle Bundle
In the 80s, animated cartoons were created to promote toy lines all the time, and it was good. But after the glory days of 22 minute commercials faded, it took some time before toy companies got ballsy enough to try again. A modern take on the gimmick is Bakugan, a strange but compelling tabletop skill game that created an anime series to give context to its fantasy world of mystical creatures. This set gives you everything you need to get playing right out of the box, including eight BakuCores, four ability cards, and four character cards as well as four Bakugan (including two exclusive to this offer).

Get it at Wal-Mart

Nerf Ultra Blaster
The Nerf arms race has been escalating dramatically in recent years, as the company continues to up the ante with more and more devastating foam-shooters. If you’re looking to take out a whole group of office-mates non-lethally, one of the best picks is the Ultra One motorized blaster, which uses the new Nerf Ultra darts that fly farther and straighter than ever, up to 120 feet. The high-capacity dart drum will allow you to squeeze off 25 shots before you reload, plenty to batter your enemies into submission. Unless they also have an Ultra One. Maybe you should get two of them.

Get it at Wal-Mart

LEGO Hidden Side Paranormal Intercept Bus
The geniuses at LEGO are always looking for new ways to jazz up their kits with modern technology, and their Hidden Side line is the latest. Using a special phone app, the kits let kids play as paranormal investigators spotting ghosts roaming around their builds in augmented reality. It’s a really fun gimmick that adds a layer of play to the classic LEGO experience. The Paranormal Intercept Bus lets ghost hunter Jack Davids and his crew get from scene to scene and also comes with a haunt or two of its own.

Get it at Wal-Mart

Monopoly For Millennials
Hasbro’s really milking the Monopoly franchise right now, busting out customized rulesets and game boards for all kinds of audiences. They haven’t got to zoomers yet, but for our millennial readers rest assured you can play a take customized to your interests. Instead of buying up property in Atlantic City – because who can afford that in this economy – the spaces you land on represent Instagrammable vacation destinations and life experiences. OK, boomer. Who can say which mentality is actually healthier, though?

Get it at Wal-Mart

Funko Pop Marvel Advent Calendar
No, you’re not getting 25 full-sized Funko Pops in a massive box here – that would be simply absurd. These are Pocket Pops, standing just one to two inches tall but sculpted and painted with the charm and detail you expect from the pop culture surfers over at Funko. The Avengers are the reason for the season, and every day you’ll be able to crack a box and release one of Earth’s mightiest heroes (and an occasional villain) from advent calendar imprisonment. These tend to sell out fast, so pop it in your cart now before you forget.

Get it at Wal-Mart

Star Wars Skywalker Saga Figures
One of the more interesting lines we saw at Toy Fair this year were Hasbro’s new set of “Skywalker Saga” Star Wars figures. There’s an upcoming LEGO Star Wars game with the same title, but these aren’t brick-based construction sets. Instead, they’re new sculpts of some of the most iconic characters in the franchise, but instead of your normal pint job they’re all finished in gold. The rationale behind this is a complete mystery, but there’s no denying that they look really cool. They’re a Wal-Mart exclusive, so if you want them act fast.

Get it at Wal-Mart

Moto Kicks Hover Shoes
Sure, hoverboards are OK, but isn’t it time we pushed the envelope a little bit? Enter the Moto Kicks Hover Shoes, which take us one step closer to a totally motorized future. With a top speed of seven miles per hour, these aren’t going to replace your car any time soon, but there’s something very satisfying about gliding along smooth surfaces and leaning to accelerate, brake and turn. A maximum range of six miles between charges lets you wander far afield, and they’re light enough to easily carry. The shoes even come with a connector so you can use them like a standard hoverboard.

Get it at Wal-Mart

For more deals, including all of the latest Black Friday announcements, check out our sister site, BestBlackFriday.com.

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16:39
Google Maps Turns Spotlight on Local Guides
» ‎ Geek.com

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Bringing Local Guide recommendations straight to you. (Photo Credit: Google)
Google Maps has replaced more than just road maps.

The navigation app suggests meals, predicts public transit crowds, and translates foreign place names.

It can even help plan your next adventure, thanks to Local Guides.

The program enables users to contribute to Google Maps—add reviews and photos, upload videos, correct information—in exchange for perks and benefits.

Visiting Bangalore? Melvin John’s reviews will guide you through the city’s microbrewery scene. New to Tokyo? Check out Ayaka Ohkawa’s photography as you explore local landmarks, cuisine, and culture.

Across 24,000 cities and towns, the platform boasts 120 million Local Guides, all of whom are “passionate about sharing their experiences by contributing reviews, photos, lists, and more,” Product Manager Austin Wells wrote in a blog post.

But those endorsements can easily get lost among the hubbub of Google Maps.

Which is why the company is piloting a new feature that makes it easier to get advice from Local Guides.

Folks in Bangkok (Thailand), Delhi (India), London, Mexico City, New York, Osaka (Japan), San Francisco, São Paulo (Brazil), and Tokyo—will soon see top Local Guides featured in the “For You” tab of the app.

“When you follow one of these Local Guides, their recommendations will be surfaced to you in Google Maps,” according to Wells. “So you can get inspired with ideas of things to do and places to go.”

There is no word on what criteria “top” Guides must meet.

If you live in one of the nine test cities, keep an eye on the mobile application and “you might just discover something new with help from a local,” Wells said.

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16:30
‘Batwoman’ Season 1 Episode 7 Recap: A Warm-Up Team-Up
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Camrus Johnson as Luke Fox, Ruby Rose as Kate Kane, and Christina Wolfe as Julia Pennyworth in 'Batwoman.' (Photo Credit: The CW)
The season’s big crossover is a few weeks away, so Batwoman is going to warm up with a surprising in-show team-up. Necessitating this double act is a sniper named The Rifle, who is in the middle of an assassination attempt at an Italian restaurant. Batwoman thwarts the attempt by stringing him upside down just as he fires the bullet. Best Bat-move? Probably. The shooter gets away when the Crows show up, and Kate has to deal with the fact that Sophie knows she’s Batwoman. Her dad wants the crows to bring her in, and Sophie’s threatening to reveal her identity. If that happens, there’s no more Batwoman. Kate needs to convince her to keep quiet.

More pressing though, is the presence of an assassin in Gotham. Luke Fox figures out he’s targeting scientists who work for Catherine’s company. Now that Batwoman knows who the next target is, she can figure out where The Rifle’s going to be. She does too, but the guy still gets away thanks to the presence of another vigilante. It’s Julia Pennyworth! Not only does Alfred’s daughter dabble in superheroism, she’s Kate’s ex. She’s never had a relationship that wasn’t super complicated, has she? At first, Kate reacts like pretty much all of us would if our ex just showed up at our job out of nowhere. She tells Julia she doesn’t need her and tries to handle both issues by herself.

Ruby Rose as Kate Kane/Batwoman and Meagan Tandy as Sophie Moore. (Photo Credit: Katie Yu / The CW)

It’s only after a date with her other ex goes incredibly wrong that she accepts some help. These scenes are what the episode really does well. The action is about standard for this series. One fun, well-choreographed fight scene toward the end, but nothing too spectacular. The episode shines when it comes to the emotional stuff. Ruby Rose is so good in this role. I genuinely hurt for her when she confronts Sophie. She initially invites Sophie to a restaurant to convince her not to say anything. Then a restaurant manager tries to kick the one gay couple out by selectively enforcing the dress code. Kate is all ready to call out what’s really going on, while Sophie doesn’t want her to make a scene. That brings back some painful memories.

Once again, the show has figured out how to use flashbacks effectively. Not only do they communicate new information, they enhance the emotional tone of the modern day scenes. Sophie telling Kate that she broke things off with her years ago because she “got a second opinion” is so much sadder when we see that it was Jacob Kane who gave her that opinion. In both the past and the present, we’re watching an argument play out between two people who still love each other but are either too angry or afraid to admit it. Both women leave the dinner unhappy and Sophie tells Jacob who Batwoman is.

Garfield Wilson as The Rifle. (Photo: Katie Yu / The CW)

When that doesn’t work out, Kate thinks up a new tactic. Julia and Lucius Fox are currently free to help too, as the Rifle’s target was stabbed (by Alice no less) and the assassin’s trail has gone cold. The show tries to build on some tension between what we know and what the characters know. We know that Alice is the one having The Rifle kill these scientists. We know the Rifle is doing it in exchange for a weapon these scientists built that can pierce Batwoman’s armor. The Rifle now has this weapon and Batwoman is in danger, but she doesn’t know it. For most of the episode though, Alice and Rifle’s plans are unclear. We don’t know what they’re doing or why. I got the sense that the show wanted us to be worried that Batwoman would be ambushed, but it never told us when or why.

The actual superhero story leaves a lot to be desired, but surprisingly, the character drama is good enough to make up for it. Kate has Julia dress up as Batwoman and arranges for Sophie to see them in the same room. It’s a clever plan, and it works. Sophie is clearly shocked to see Batwoman and Kate standing next to each other. Then, Julia takes a blast to the stomach from that high-powered weapon. I really wish there had been some kind of dread leading up to that moment, but it was still a shock. For a second, I legit thought Julia had died. She’s still alive though, for some reason. The Crows capture the woman they think is Batwoman and are about to bring her to Jacob. Kate chases the van and shoots the lock off the back door. After incapacitating a bunch of crow guards in the episode’s coolest, most exciting fight scene, she rescue’s Julia. Just like us, Kate wonders how her friend is still alive.

Dougray Scott as Jacob Kane and Elizabeth Anweis as Catherine Hamilton-Kane. (Photo Credit: Michael Courtney / The CW)

The episode ends with a cool twist to answer that question, though. Before giving the gun to Rifle, Alice sabotaged it. Not only didn’t it work, it’s broken, and the only people who could fix it are now dead. Alice was protecting her sister… for whatever she’s got planned coming up. Alice is still a villain here. She just doesn’t want other villains (who haven’t even been seen on the show yet) killing Batwoman before her tea party. It won’t be long before we find out what that is.

The next episode, airing in two weeks, is titled “The Mad Tea-Party.” Whatever it is, it involved ensuring Catherine started to reconcile with Jacob. Early in the episode, we’re told that Jacob is somewhere upstate. When he’s back, we don’t really question it. At the end of the episode, it’s revealed that he’s been upstate this whole time. Mouse has been impersonating Jacob in Gotham. Meaning that the real Jacob never learned who Batwoman was.

It is a little disappointing though, that we seem to be done with the secret identity threat already. As clever as Kate’s plan was, there was still a ton of drama to be mined from her knowing Batwoman’s identity, and even more from Jacob suspecting it. Now, we’re back to normal and nothing really came of it. It’s a waste of a good premise.

Photo Credit: The CW

At least the Kate-Sophie relationship got some desperately-needed fleshing out, though. By the end of the episode, they’ve sworn off each other and Sophie’s assured her husband she only loves him. I don’t think that’s entirely true, though. When Kate tells Sophie they should steer clear of each other, there’s so much hurt in both actors’ voices. They do such a fantastic job in that scene that it made me tear up a little. Especially when Kate opens the present Sophie left for her: Her old sharpshooting medal their military academy tried to scrub from their records. Sophie has been holding onto it this whole time. Yeah, they still love each other.

Even though it is a little frustrating to see the show bend over backwards to restore everything to the way it was before the episode started. I like the Arrowverse shows because they do move the world forward in meaningful ways sometimes. This should have been one of those. But if the characters continue to get this kind of development in the future, I can’t complain too much.

Batwoman airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on The CW.

Previously on Batwoman:
16:30
‘Watchmen’ Season 1 Episode 5 Recap: Never Gonna Dance Again
» ‎ Geek.com

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Tim Blake Nelson (Credit: Mark Hill/HBO)
This season of Watchmen has so far stayed away from depicting the era the comic book takes place in. We’ve only seen either the distant past, or 34 years in the future. So when this week’s episode began in 1985 New Jersey, it was a fun departure. We get to see some direct effects of the events of the comics. We even got to see something excised from the movie entirely.

The intro follows a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses preaching to sinners at a New Jersey fair. Among them, is a very young, very nervous Wade Tillman. A punk girl lures him into the fun house and acts like she’s going to have sex with him. When he’s distracted, she runs off with his clothes, leaving him naked and alone. Then, he hears a loud sound. All the mirrors shatter, and when Wade steps out of the fun house, everyone’s dead. The camera pulls back and we see the alien squid in all its terrifying glory. God, I’ve been wanting to see that since 2009.

This week’s episode moves the story along like I was hoping it would, but more than that, it really lets us get to know Wade. I’ve been curious about his character since we first met him. Partly because I like Tim Blake Nelson and always want to see more of him, but mostly because we know so little about Wade. He appears to be a good cop, and on the same side as Sister Night. Beyond that though, we had no idea what kind of person he is. Why he’s on the Tulsa police force to begin with. This episode gives us some of those answers, and man, are they heartbreaking.

Tim Blake Nelson, Jean Smart (Credit: Mark Hill/HBO)

As you might imagine, that experience in Jersey really messed Wade up. And Laurie Blake can see it. She correctly figures out that he became a policeman after they were allowed to wear masks. His chosen persona, Looking Glass, gives him the perfect cover to wear reflective material that blocks psychic blasts. The same material also lines his red baseball cap, and he has an inter-dimensional alarm that he constantly tests. He panics when it malfunctions and pays double to have a new one overnighted to him. He’s not a healthy man. A fantastic, affecting musical motif runs through the episode. Any time he’s feeling conflicted and really wrestling with himself, we hear a different version of “Careless Whisper.” We hear the original in the intro when the punk girl has him naked in a fun house. We hear it again when he visits his ex-wife (whom he’s still clearly in love with) for information on those pills Angela gave him. It’s just an aural punch in the gut every time. Yeah, I never thought anything could make “Careless Whisper” inspire any emotion other than laughter either.

His ex-wife reveals that the pills are an illegal drug called Nostalgia. They’re personal memories in pill form. She also tells him to find someone else: A good woman he can maybe begin to trust. And for a brief scene it looks like that just might happen. A woman shows up at his squid trauma support group and the two hit it off. They drink together, and Wade starts falling for her. Then, as she drives off, a head of lettuce falls out of the truck. He realizes it must be the truck whose driver shot the police officer back in the first episode. He follows the truck, and yeah, they’re Seventh Kavalry. Inside their facility, he finds them experimenting with a portal machine. That freaks him out enough that he tries to arrest the Kavalry members all by himself.

Regina King (Credit: Mark Hill/HBO)

That was part of the plan, it turns out. The woman, the truck, the lettuce, it was all designed to lure him out and get him to do something for them. They even hijacked his radio signal so his call for backup wouldn’t make it out. And it turns out that the Seventh Kavalry isn’t just a bunch of rednecks in Rorschach masks. When the Kavalry captures Wade, the leading member reveals himself to be Senator Joe Keene Jr. Even in this seeming utopia, a land where racial equality appears to truly exist, racism is still systemic. It’s not just a problem of ignorant yokels, the way we like to pretend it is. It’s wealthy, well-connected people with an interest in making sure society doesn’t progress too much.

Crawford, Keene reveals, was Kavalry, too. He kept up the appearance of peace in Tulsa so the Kavalry could work on this portal project in secret. His murder threatens that appearance of peace, and that’s why Keene’s here now. And that’s why they need Wade. Keene wants Wade to point the investigation into Crawford’s murder toward Angela. To convince him, he shows Wade a secret video that Ozymandias made in 1985 for future president Robert Redford. It confirms that the squid attack was orchestrated to bring an end to hostilities between the US and Russia, and to create a better world out of fear. We all knew this from the comics, but it’s chilling watching Wade learn all this for the first time. A scared, honest man just trying to be a good person turns into a pawn for white supremacists. I wonder if this is what it’s like when someone reads Watchmen and somehow comes away thinking Rorschach was the good guy.

He tears himself up about it, but in the end, Wade does what he’s told. Knowing that Laurie bugged the cactus on his desk, he tells her he wants to help. She tells him everything: That the pills belong to her grandfather. That her grandfather claims to have killed Crawford, but he’s an old man in a wheelchair. That she covered up the crime scene. That’s when Laurie calls for her arrest. Just before the other cops cuff her, Angela downs all the pills, setting up what’s sure to be a surreal, trippy episode for next week. For now though, we stick with Wade.

Jeremy Irons (Credit: Mark Hill/HBO)

Man, I was so excited when I saw that this episode would focus on Wade. I really should have guessed it wouldn’t be pretty. Turns out he was a pretty good guy until this very moment. Even after it, he’s still conflicted. As the final version of “Careless Whisper” plays, he tosses his hat away. He’s about to do the same with his new inter-dimensional breach alarm. He doesn’t, though. He pulls it out of the trash. The Seventh Kavalry got a couple hooks into him, but he’s still not entirely sold. I wish I could say that was hopeful. As he enters his home, a van full of Kavalry pulls up to his house. They cock shotguns and kick his door down. They got what they needed, and it seems they don’t want to take a chance on whether he’ll stick with them.

I honestly don’t know what to expect from Watchmen when I tune in each week, but it’s always a fantastic surprise. This show continually impresses with the stories it tells and how it chooses to tell them. As far as pushing the main plot forward, this was the episode I was hoping for after the last couple weeks. I was not expecting a melancholy character study to go along with it. We knew so little about Wade at the beginning of the episode, and the show was still able to build an effective tragedy around him.

We even got some forward progress in Ozymandias’ story, too. His assistants launched him into the sky where we find out that he’s actually imprisoned on one of Jupiter’s moons. He tries to deliver a message to a passing satellite: “SAVE ME,” written in the frozen bodies of the assistants he sent up before. That’s when the warden of the prison pulls him back inside. It’s too late, though. We know Ozymandias will eventually collide with the story in Tulsa. It’s just a question of how much worse the situation gets when he does.

Watchmen airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO

Previously on Watchmen:
16:20
‘Rick and Morty’ Season 4 Episode 2 Recap: There’s a Place for Poop
» ‎ Geek.com

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(Via Adult Swim)
If you’ve ever wondered where and how Rick Sanchez poops, this is the episode for you. Yes, an entire half of this episode involves Rick having, and desperately trying to protect, his private toilet. How’s that for a second episode? We open with the revelation that Rick is a shy pooper. So much so that he can’t even tell his family that’s what he’s going to do. He tries to deflect it with a joke about Solo and Ron Howard. Jerry overcompensates by proudly announcing his evacuation intentions, making it weirder by saying he’d be proud to have Ron Howard involved. OK then, Jerry.

Jerry’s insecurities are the cause of the episode’s bigger story. Before running off to poop in peace, he gives his intern, which he has now, some busywork to do. His intern is a small alien (voiced by Taika Waititi) with the phrase “Do not develop my app” tattooed on his forehead. As you might imagine, he is relentless about finding a development partner for his app. He brings every conversation back around to the app. Basically, he’s everyone in San Francisco with half an idea. And of course, Jerry falls for it instantly. They develop an app called Lovefinderrz that instantly matches people with their soul mate. It does such a good job that its users immediately fall for their matches… which tend not to be the person their currently with. Engaged couples, new parents, everyone immediately breaks off their current relationship to chase down the idea of a true love.

The commentary on Tinder is a little obvious and ham-handed here. The point that the app facilitates disposable, performative acts of love isn’t new or particularly interesting at this point. The show also doesn’t appear to have much to say about that fact. This might be the most “What if X but too much” plot Rick and Morty’s ever done. At least it’s not trying to make it some grand point. If anything, it just serves as a launching pad for more Beth vs. Summer antics. Summer wants to hop from soulmate to soulmate, while Beth is willing to resort to melee combat to be a good mother. I love how Summer’s matches keep getting worse and worse. Her first “soul mate” is a member of a Phish cover band. One of her last is a much older woman who takes her shoes and socks off on airplanes. To the episode’s credit that is a novel and funny way to point out that maybe we shouldn’t trust our romantic decisions entirely to algorithms.

(Via Adult Swim)

The app, in any case, turns out to be a plot by a race of Kiwi-accented aliens. Morty instantly sees the trouble the app causes and demands the servers be shut down. Rick’s intern takes them to the mothership where his commander (voiced by Sam Neill) explains the whole thing. These aliens figured out the secret to love long ago. Turns out it’s way more common than most humans think it to be. It’s more common than water, which is what the aliens are really after. While humanity is chasing each other around because of an app, they’ll steal all of Earth’s water. Rick is still indisposed, so it’s up to Morty and Jerry to stop this plot.

Even though we’ve heard this particular bit many times before, the show’s constant dumping on Jerry is still funny. Morty’s travels with Rick have hardened him to situations like these. Morty tells his dad he’s completely embarrassed by him, and the only reason they’re in this situation is because of Jerry’s stupidity. There’s no but. Morty just thought he’d reiterate why they have to fix this. It’s great. Still though, it’s because Jerry’s so pathetic that they’re able to save the Earth. Neither he nor Rick’s intern have any matches, so Jerry’s able to connect with him. He convinces the intern to shut it all down, rather than live a life without finding anyone. The intern puts up an ad wall, causing everyone on Earth to delete the app and move on.

(Via Adult Swim)

Meanwhile, Rick went to his remote toilet in the middle of a forest only to discover evidence that someone else had been there. Analyzing the one foreign stool shows him the sandwich that created it. From there, he tracks down the robot who delivered it, who’s currently fighting a robot uprising against some lizard creatures. Rick has to singlehandedly win the robot war to get the information about who ate the sandwich. It’s a guy named Tony who works in a cubicle. The Jeffrey Wright-voiced alien sees right through Rick instantly. Rick is lonely and feels he has no control over his life. That’s why he exerts such control over where he poops. Rick, as he always does, rejects the frank analysis, but decides not to kill Tony. Instead he opens up a portal containing a butthole on Tony’s conference table. It poops out a perfect middle finger.

There’s nothing in this episode we haven’t seen Rick and Morty do before. For that reason, the jokes don’t hit quite as hard as they should. The poop jokes in this episode are clever, the Beth-Summer chase is fun, and Jerry’s stupidity is still hilarious. The episode just doesn’t do anything new with it. This is kinda what we were worried about when the show was renewed for 70 episodes. With so many, could it keep up the high level of quality it’s enjoyed? Here, the answer is still yes. This is a very good Rick and Morty episode. It’s just that it’s going back to old formulas here. While it still executes on them very well, we’re starting to see diminishing returns. The premises are good, the jokes are clever, but they aren’t making me laugh as hard as they usually do.

(Via Adult Swim)

Right at the end though, the show reminds me why I love it so much. Tony figures out that what Rick really wants is a friend. Rick of course denies this completely, but he never can explain why he’s so obsessed with some guy who pooped in his toilet. He gives the guy a vision of heaven, where he can be reunited with his wife and poop freely. He constructs an elaborate prank for the next time Tony uses his toilet only to find out that, after seeing his idea of heaven, Tony decided to start living life to the fullest and died. Rick puts up the same mean front he always does, but he’s genuinely affected. Even insulting Tony to his dad at his funeral doesn’t fool anyone. Tony’s dad consoles Rick about how hard it is to lose a friend. In the end, all Rick can do is sit on his toilet himself and watch the prank he left for Tony. Rick sits there as a bunch of holograms of himself call him stupid. The king of shit.

Even in a more formulaic episode like this, its focus on character and empathy really carry it. To think a show can have me genuinely feel for a character after an entire story about poop is kind of wild. I also loved that, even with all the jokes about dating apps and love being more common than water, it showed love as work. The aliens behind the app said they figured out love. When the emperor talks to his wife, he listens to what she has to say about her day. The secret they figured out is apparently constant work on your relationship and being an active, caring listener for your partner. And even then, they still fight. When they fail to get Earth’s water, they start arguing. “I want a divorce!” “You can have one for a glass of water.” Is probably the funniest big relationship fight I’ve ever heard. This may have been just an OK episode by Rick and Morty standards. But with the past three seasons being so spectacular, that means it’s still pretty great animated TV.

Rick and Morty airs Sundays at 11:30 on Adult Swim

Previously on Rick and Morty:
15:43
Dunkin’ Donuts’ Double Cup is Breaking Up
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Double-cupping is a thing of the past. (Photo Credit: Dunkin' Donuts)
Dunkin’ Donuts and polystyrene are consciously un-cup-ling.

The nation that runs on Dunkin’ is all-too-familiar with those branded foam cups—often doubled up to act as an insulating sleeve.

But it takes styrofoam hundreds of years to biodegrade. Which means every single Dunkin’ Donuts cup discarded over the company’s seven-decade history is still sitting in a landfill somewhere (if it’s not been consumed by an animal that’s mistaken it for food).

In an effort to escape this environmentally abusive relationship, the coffee conglomerate in 2018 announced plans to eliminate all polystyrene cups in its global supply chain.

“Our decision to eliminate foam cups is significant for both our brand and our industry,” Karen Raskopf, chief communications and sustainability officer at Dunkin’ Brands, said last year in a statement. “We have a responsibility to improve our packaging, making it better for the planet while still meeting the needs of our guests.

Now, its foam phaseout has begun in New England—home to the double-cup habit—where it is expected to be complete by Dec. 1.

In its place will be a double-walled paper cup, made with Sustainable Forestry Initiative Standard-certified paperboard to keep your coffee, latte, macchiato, tea, or hot chocolate warm (and your hands cool).

It even comes with the same re-closable lid you know and love.

Dunkin’ Donuts aims to eliminate foam cups worldwide in 2020. (Photo Credit: Dunkin Donuts)

This move, according to a Dunkin’ Donuts blog post, is part of the restaurant’s “commitment to serve both the planet and people responsibly.”

Patrons in Boston and Providence can expect to see slogans like “The Double Cup Is Breakin’ Up” and “Iced, Delicious, and Single” slapped across Dunkin’ locations, employees, and advertising.

“The light-hearted campaign was inspired by the feelings synonymous with the end of any significant relationship,” the company explained.

Boston 25 News even tipped giveaways to “help customers cope.”

“We know that we have some customers who have been waiting for this, and others who will miss the foam cup,” the blog said. “We know that change is hard, but that it can also be a good thing, and we hope that our customers will embrace the double-walled paper cup along with us.”

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14:29
Watch: Deepfake Hollywood Roundtable Gets Weird
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Jeff Goldblum and Tom Cruise were not actually part of a streaming video roundtable discussion. (Photo Credit: Collider)
The streaming wars are heating up. And who better to weigh in than five of Hollywood’s most notable white men?

Film site Collider created a deepfake roundtable featuring Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Goldblum, George Lucas, and Ewan McGregor.

And while the video is obviously phony, it’s also pretty entertaining.

The 15-minute conversation darts from one topic to the next, covering everything from unreturned DVDs, body odor, diaphragms, Friends, and dandruff to the diuretic effect of Star Wars.

Basically: anything but streaming.

Moderator Mark Ellis is the only kosher character in the whole creepy clip. Everyone else is the product of a machine learning technique called deepfake, which replaces an existing image or video with someone else’s likeness.

The process has recently gained attention for its use in celebrity porn, fake news, and financial fraud.

Deep Fake, uh, finds a way. #JeffGoldblum pic.twitter.com/XK0sSb5ND1

— Josh Robert Thompson (@joshrthompson) November 16, 2019

Collider Video, meanwhile, employed it for pure entertainment, creating a broadcast that no one asked for, but everyone should see.

The results aren’t perfect. RDJ’s neck is not that thick, for example. But they are compelling.

“The world of deepfakes is both new and frightening, as this video demonstrates,” Collider Video said in a launch announcement.

The Fake will be with you. Always. pic.twitter.com/GPRB5tGoGM

— Josh Robert Thompson (@joshrthompson) November 16, 2019

The technology, as The Verge pointed out, can’t magic up a whole new character (yet). It can, however, confuse audiences into thinking fiction is fact.

Check out Collider’s Twitter feed for behind-the-scenes GIFs showcasing how it turned Josh Robert Thompson into Lucas, Evan Ferrante into Cruise, Jamie Costa into McGregor, and Jeff Richards into Downey Jr. (Thompson also expertly portrayed Jeff Goldblum in all his gesticulating glory.)

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12:38
Endangered Hawaiian Duck Saved From Brink of Extinction
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The koloa is a "petite, buffy brown, and charismatic duck," similar to a female mallard (Photo Credit: Christopher Malachowski / Oregon State University)
While the Hawaiian duck may look like a run-of-the-mill, invasive female mallard, it is actually fast approaching genetic extinction.

New research, however, suggests otherwise.

As a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Davis, Caitlin Wells studied the birds, which she described as “petite, buffy brown, and charismatic.”

Often found in pairs instead of large groups, the wary koloa maoli (“native duck”) are secretive and rarely associate with other animals. They can usually be found in the tall, wetland grasses and streams near the Kohala volcano on Hawaii.

The team—including scientists from UC Davis; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; University of Texas, El Paso; Wright State University; Oregon State University; and Hawaii’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife—analyzed 425 koloa, mallards, and hybrids from populations across the islands.

They gathered more than 3,300 genetic data points, including blood samples, from hundreds of the birds before releasing them back into the wild. Researchers also collected information from the carcasses of koloa retrieved following botulism outbreaks.

“We used a lot of tissue samples from salvaged birds that unfortunately died from those disease outbreaks,” Wells, a research scientist at Colorado State University, explained.

The largest population of koloa is on Kauai, where the team found very few hybrids. On other islands, however, all of the birds were crossbreeds or feral mallards.

This study is pivotal in the struggle to save koloa from extinction. (Photo Credit: Christopher Malachowski / Oregon State University)

Historically, koloa existed throughout the main Hawaiian islands. Unfortunately, habitat loss, predators, and unregulated hunting meant they disappeared from everywhere except Kauai and Niihau by the late 1960s.

Wildlife managers began captive breeding and release programs to re-establish the koloa. But since mallards were never removed, rapid hybridization continued.

Efforts are now underway to remove mallards from the 50th state to help preserve the genetic diversity of the endemic Hawaiian duck.

“Its recovery could be viewed as a beacon of hope for the many dozens of critically endangered birds found in the islands,” according to study co-author Andy Engilis, curator of the UC Davis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology.

Hybridization is a tricky issue in terms of conservation: Sometimes it threatens a unique gene pool, while other times it adds more diversity to a population.

“But here’s a case where we have enough individuals with enough genetic variation in the koloa, and we’ve also genetically identified the hybridizing species,” Wells said. “It seems very clear that we can separate those going forward.”

Previously, wildlife managers mistakenly believed that leaving koloa hybrids alone would allow them to eventually evolve back into pure ducks.

“That’s not what we found,” Wells added. “If you don’t have pure koloa parents that outnumber the feral mallards, you’re not going to get any decreases in those hybrid proportions.”

The team’s research provides insight into successful conservation management, and, fingers crossed, may one day lead to the koloa being taken off the endangered species list.

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November 15, 2019
23:51
Top TV and Movie Trailers of the Week: ‘Sonic The Hedgehog,’ ‘Seberg,’ and More
» ‎ Geek.com

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'Sonic The Hedgehog' (Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures)
TGIF. While you’re planning for the long weekend ahead, we’ve rounded up the top movie and TV trailers that you may have missed during the week.

Sonic The Hedgehog finally received an updated trailer, while the movie Fantasy Island teases a screwed up tropical escape. From Paramount Pictures’ The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run to Netflix’s Selena The Series, here are the top movies and TV shows to keep on your radar.
Fantasy Island
What if your dreams can come true on one vacation retreat? Fantasy Island, a thriller about people who get to take revenge or seek closure, is a chilling mind trip that blurs the lines of reality. Fantasy Island premieres in theaters on Valentine’s Day.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run
Gary goes missing in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run. When the beloved pet gets “snailnapped,” SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star go on the craziest adventure where Keanu Reeves appears as a chill tumbleweed and they encounter “the lost city of Atlantic City.” The animated film hits theaters in May 2020.
SCOOB!
The Mystery Machine crew is back in the animated movie SCOOB!. Shaggy and Scooby end up in a creepy spaceship and Velma, Daphne, and Fred need to rescue their friends and solve the case before it’s too late. SCOOB! is coming to theaters in summer 2020.
Sonic The Hedgehog
After some backlash, the new Sonic The Hedgehog trailer steps up to fan’s expectations. When the superpowered creature shows up to Earth, he has to protect humans from the evil Doctor Eggman (Jim Carrey) and not get caught. Sonic The Hedgehog premieres in theaters on Feb. 14.
Seberg
Seberg is Amazon Studios’ upcoming thriller focused on the life of Jean Seberg (Kristen Stewart), an actress who was targeted by the FBI in the ’60s. When Seberg decides to support the civil rights movement, she becomes harassed by the government and tries to gain back control of her life. Seberg is coming soon to select theaters.
Selena: The Series
A series about Queen of Tejano music Selena Quintanilla is coming to Netflix next year. The Walking Dead’s Christian Serratos stars as the famous singer in the new show, which doesn’t have a set debut date yet.

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November 12, 2019
21:40
Watch: Orca Pod Chases Great White Shark Near Boat
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Footage captured a pod of orcas swimming after a great white shark near Seal Island. (Photo Credit: NOAA / Unsplash)
A video recently captured a pod of orcas chasing a great white shark and the predator encounter was very scary to watch.

The footage, which was uploaded by Oceans Research on Facebook, shows a squad of orcas swimming after a great white shark near Seal Island, which is located off the coast of South Africa. According to a person on the boat, the great white shark appeared to “be scared,” as the massive creatures followed it in the water.

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Witnesses appeared to be rooting for the great white shark, which was startled by the orcas. The great white shark wasn’t alone though: a few other great white sharks in the area were hanging out nearby and they didn’t seem to care about the orcas’ presence.

“Orcas were spotted chasing a white shark, and a few other white sharks were in the vicinity at the time,” Oceans Research wrote below the video. “One white shark appears to be unnerved by the presence of the orcas, but another shark didn’t seem too perturbed.”

Oceans Research said it will be monitoring the orca and great white shark activity over the next few days to see if there are any changes in behavior.

Great white sharks are considered to be some of the biggest predators on the planet, but orcas can easily eat them for a snack. It’s unclear why orcas hunt down some great white sharks, but it may have something to do with great white sharks’ tasty liver, Newsweek reported. Biologists say great white sharks’ liver is abundant in fat, which is an important nutrient for orcas.

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21:30
The Weirdest Black Friday 2019 Deals
» ‎ Geek.com

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This year’s Black Friday, like all Black Fridays, is going to have all sorts of deals of products everyone already knows they want. You don’t need anyone to explain to you why sweet deals on televisions and video games are appealing. However, for a shopping holiday to be massive enough to influence the entire economy, it can’t limit itself to just certain kinds of products. Retailers are selling absolutely everything they can. And that includes some pretty weird stuff from the lowest levels of the internet gutter.

These are some of the weirdest products we’ve seen advertised for Black Friday so far. So if you’re looking for savings on anything from bidets to burrito throwing games to Unicorn oil diffusers, keep reading.

True Glow by Conair Sonic Facial Brush with UV Sterilizer ($15 off at Costco): Clean your face!

MyRide Heating and Cooling Gel Seat Cushion ($15 at BJ’s): Heat your seat!

Tyto Home Medical Exam Kit ($199, $100 off, at Best Buy): Check up your child!

Throw Throw Burrito game (50% off at Target on Black Friday): Throw your food! From the makers of Exploding Kittens!

Hungry Bear Game ($19.99 from JCPenney on Black Friday, usually $29): Feed the beast!

Protocol Dino Bite T-Rex Muncher ($9.99 for Black Friday at JCPenney, usually $20): Stuff your hand in the dinosaur!

Zuru Pets Alive Boppi the Booty Shakin’ Llama ($14.99, $10 off, at Best Buy on Black Friday): Dance with the llama! Rotate its head all the way around!

Bio Bidet Luxury Bidet Seat ($219, $180 off, during Costco’s pre-Black Friday sale, which runs until Nov. 21): Luxuriate your bathroom!

Wembley Tree Stump Chair Pad ($14.99, $10 off, at JCPenney): Sit on a tree!

Airome Unicorn Ultrasonic Essential Oil Diffuser ($19.99 at JCPenney on Black Friday, usually $49): Smell the fantasy!

For more deals, including all of the latest Black Friday announcements, check out our sister site, BestBlackFriday.com.

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20:00
Watch: Extremely Bright Meteor Takes Over Night Sky in St. Louis
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Many residents spotted a bright meteor streaking across the night sky over St. Louis, Missouri, on Nov. 11. (Photo Credit: Alyce Galletto Bava / Facebook)
A glowing meteor streaked across the sky over St. Louis, Missouri, on Monday night, according to local news outlets.

Residents reported spotting an illuminated flash of light across the St. Louis metro area, while others heard a loud explosion-like noise as the meteor appeared at approximately 9 p.m. CST on Nov. 11, CBS News noted.

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It’s possible that this meteor was part of the Northern Taurids meteor shower. According to NASA, the Northern Taurids are visible each year from September to November, as Earth passes through a large stream of debris left behind by Comet Encke. Dust from the comet hits our planet’s atmosphere at 65,000 mph and burns up, producing the beautiful Taurids in the process.

For more November celestial sights, check out our monthly skywatching roundup here.

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19:46
‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ Has Hilarious New Han/Greedo Edit on Disney+
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At this point the rich history and mythology of Star Wars as a brand is bigger, stronger, and more important than any of the individual movies. These are stories about sacred texts that have since become sacred texts themselves. And along with lightsabers and X-wings, a key part of Star Wars fan lore also revolves around being angry at George Lucas for continuing to mess around with those sacred texts.

Well joke’s on you, dorks. Continuing to prove that he is in fact cooler than any of his creations, George Lucas apparently did one last hilarious bit of editing to Star Wars: A New Hope. For years folks whined that space outlaw Han Solo got prematurely neutered when a new edit no longer had him firing first but second and in self-defense. However, on Disney+ (if you can even get it to work) Han still doesn’t shoot first. And now Greedo gets the last inexplicable word.

In the Disney+ version of Star Wars Greedo now shouts “MACLUNKEY” before getting shot. This is now my favorite version because why the hell not? MACLUNKEY! #starwars #maclunkey pic.twitter.com/k1XmP8wAZT

— Eric Fell (@ericfell) November 12, 2019

Maclunkey! Oh my god, that’s so funny. I really thought we hit peak ironic Star Wars editing in 2011 with Obi-Wan’s whooping dragon call and Darth Vader shouting “No!” when tossing Sheev down the drain. But now on this streaming TV service we finally get to see this weird green monster shout some pointless gibberish before Harrison Ford murders him. That’s already worth the $7 per month as far as I’m concerned.

And even better Vanity Fair reports that this final change did in fact come from George Lucas before he sold Star Wars to Disney. Considering how many millions of people are trying out Disney + right now, surely we would know about any other changes by now. But I’m holding out hope there’s a secret extra 4K HDR scene of Emperor Sheev Palpatine saying his full name out loud. Or maybe they’re saving that for The Rise of Skywalker.

For more Star Wars on Disney+ read our review of The Mandalorian series premiere. Maclunkey!
18:00
Get Into The Virtual World With $30 Off Oculus Go
» ‎ Geek.com

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If you’ve been looking to a VR headset for yourself or as a gift for someone for Christmas then you are in luck! For a limited time you can get Oculus’s innovative new Oculus Go HMD with a $30 discount.

The Oculus Go HMD lets you break out of your home and away from your computer. The VR system is entirely contained inside of the headset, which means you can use it anywhere at any time without the need of a computer or any other equipment.

As a mobile friendly VR headset, the Oculus Go differs significantly from Oculus’s other VR headsets. Without the extra processing power of a computer the Oculus Go is incapable of playing the cutting edge VR games that were developed for the Oculus Rift. The Oculus Go is able to play some games, but these games are necessarily less graphically advanced and closer to the sort of games you would expect to see on your smartphone, but with VR.

The Oculus Go is also able to display VR video content, giving you the feeling of being inside of your favorite shows. You can also use it enter VR chatrooms and talk to people from all over the world. There are also several other VR experiences you can partake in.

The headset and VR content can be controlled using either a series of hand gestures or with a small controller that is included with the HMD. Currently there are two versions of the Oculus Go available. The basic version comes with 32GB of internal storage space and an MSRP of $199, whereas the premium version features 64GB of storage space and a $249 price tag.

Purchasing either headset from Oculus with promo code GO32TAKE30 will drop the price by $30, making your final cost $169 for 32GB version or $229 for the 64GB model. This offer is valid until the end of the day on Veterans Day, which means it will expire after 11:59PM on November 12.
18:00
Review: ‘Felix the Reaper’ Is a Charming But Imperfect Puzzle Game
» ‎ Geek.com

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I’m always up for playing quirky puzzles games. As such, I jumped at the chance to review developer Kong Orange’s Felix the Reaper. The premise — playing as a dancing grim reaper — is one that immediately caught my eye. While Felix the Reaper has some interesting ideas and a quirky sense of humor, its core gameplay holds it back. This is a shame considering how this could have been one of 2019’s sleeper hits.

Felix works for the Ministry of Death: an organization tasked with ending human lives. Felix enjoys what he does and loves to dance while on the job. He also has a crush on a girl named Betty, who works for the rival organization: the Ministry of Life. Felix’s eccentricities make him a loveable character despite the fact that he murders people for a living.

Puzzles take place on isometric grid-like levels. The goal of each level is to kill a target. This entails moving objects or pulling levers within the environment to get yourself into a position to complete the task. The trick is that Felix can only move along shadows. You can create shadows for Felix by moving the sun in 90-degree angles. If the sun hits Felix, you’ll have to go back to the last shadowed square he stood on. Felix can use objects like haystacks and ox carts to create shadow-paths for himself. The core gameplay is straightforward and easy to master within a couple of levels.

The problem with the basic gameplay structure is that it never evolves. If you’ve played the first batch of levels, you’ve played the entire game. Though stages become larger as the game progresses (requiring more moves to finish them), the core formula never changes. Puzzles only have one optimal solution. This means you’ll have to suffer a lot of trial and error to find the best possible route to your goal. Completing puzzles fills you with a sense of relief rather than accomplishment.

Each stage ends by presenting you with your results. This is a list detailing the completion time, the number of steps taken, and the amount of completed optional objectives. What’s annoying about the latter is that you don’t know what the requirements are until you’ve finished a stage for the first time. The game encourages speedrunning, which is fine if one is willing to put in the work to find the most optimal path. But if you want to complete the game and unlock bonus stages, then you’ll have no choice but to endure the grind that comes with perfecting levels.

I played Felix the Reaper on the Nintendo Switch. For the most part, I had no issues reading the screen. Unfortunately, there are moments where I had to pull the camera back to see the entire map. You can keep the camera locked into a far-off angle, but it makes it difficult to plot a path for Felix. You’ll have to constantly zoom in and out as you play. This isn’t a deal-breaker, but it’s something that can get annoying after a while.

The art design is equal parts eye-pleasing and disturbing. Levels are bright, vibrant, and bursting with color and style. The stages are downright beautiful. That’s not the case with the people and animals populating the land. The misshapen humans are, for the lack of a better term, ugly. They look less like humans and more like mutated aliens. Though repulsive, the characters have a weird charm to them. The juxtaposition of lovely environments and hideous humans somehow works. Felix the Reaper has a unique visual identity, that’s for sure.

Levels take place in different time periods. Felix visits locales set in the Middle Ages, the 1980s, and even the far future. Though the gameplay doesn’t change to suit specific eras, it’s fun seeing the unique interpretation of different epochs. The developers did an excellent job of making each level feel different from one another.

I would be remiss in my duties as a reviewer if I didn’t talk about Felix’s love of dancing. Have you ever heard of a grim reaper that likes to cut a rug? I know I haven’t. Seeing Felix dancing across levels always brings a smile to my face because of his exaggerated animations. Even his “idle” animation sees him strutting his stuff. Felix’s dances become more outlandish the better you perform. While it can get frustrating trying to figure out the best route for a level, watching Felix dancing almost makes up for it.

Felix the Reaper should have been one of this year’s standout puzzlers. Unfortunately, its rigid gameplay and emphasis on speedrunning turns it into a slog. This is sad because the game has such a cool premise behind it. I’m sure some folks will appreciate the challenge that comes from figuring out the best way to complete stages, but most won’t. Hopefully, Kong Orange will create a smoother experience if it ever decides to make a sequel. If the team can iron out some of the inherent flaws, I’m all on board for another Felix the Reaper.
17:35
Disney+ Experiences Connection Issues on Launch Day
» ‎ Geek.com

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Disney+ teams are trying to fix connection issues on the streaming service's launch day. (Photo Credit: Chris Coke / Twitter)
Disney+ is launching today and the mega kickoff is reportedly causing some connection issues across the U.S.

The streaming service, which features many movies and TV shows, officially went live this morning. However, over the past couple of hours, Disney+ has been showing “unable to connect” errors for many East Coast customers, The Verge reported.

Subscribers shared their error notifications on Twitter, which showed Mickey Mouse and Pluto in space or characters from Wreck-It Ralph playing with WiFi symbols and an “unable to connect to Disney+” message.

LOL of course #DisneyPlusfail pic.twitter.com/WVkIk2Z36s

— chad sprouse (@MurkyMoodRing) November 12, 2019

If I were to summarize my afternoon in one image. #DisneyPlus #DisneyPlusfail pic.twitter.com/r8SoTocjFZ

— Chris Coke (@cokeandcomics) November 12, 2019

Disney+ responded to complaints on Twitter and said they are “working quickly to resolve any current issues.” Disney Streaming Services also has teams overseeing the Disney+ launch, so hopefully customers can start watching their favorite Disney and Marvel flicks soon without any additional tech issues.

*Cue the confetti and tears and fireworks* Start streaming #DisneyPlus now by signing up at [https:]] . pic.twitter.com/0jHLP0MPqb

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) November 12, 2019

For more information on streamable content and subscriptions, visit Disney+’s website here.

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17:35
Finally, Smell a Movie With FeelReal Virtual Reality
» ‎ Geek.com

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Four years ago we let you get a first whiff of FeelReal, an experimental virtual reality accessory that let you smell and feel your content along with just looking at it through your existing headset. Since then, VR experiences engaging sight and sound and motion have become pretty standard. But there is still so much uncomfortable room left to explore when it comes to your other senses. Fortunately, this year FeelReal reemerged to deliver on its smelly promises.

Connect the wireless vibrating mask to your Rift or Vive or other headset, load it up with hundreds of different scent cartridges, and at last enter a level of entertainment not seen since gimmicky theme park theaters. Water and wind shoot in your face. Try out pre-made scent profiles for various movies and aroma therapy programs, or create your own interpretation of Thanos’ genocidal musk. Finally, the perfect device for playing Earthbound’s failed smell-based promotional campaign. Only thing missing is a some kind of tasting tube.

Watch the full FeelReal explanation below, and if your interested snag one for yourself on the IndieGogo page starting at $300 for delivery this month.

It took a few false starts, but between the Oculus Rift, HoloLens, Project Morpheus, and Vive, it seems like virtual reality is finally ready to become the next big technological leap. So that means it’s time to look forward to what comes next. Well since fancy headsets only stimulate two of your senses, sight and sound, why not strap another device to your face to recreate feelings and smells? Enter FeelReal.

If the moody teaser above wasn’t clear enough, FeelReal is a new VR accessory designed to simulate different scents and sensations. Users put on the oddly anthropomorphic vibrating mask, load the cartridges, and let the immersive feelings wash over them through the water mist port, odor generator, and hot air blower. Feel hot! Feel wet! Feeling anything besides the real world around you! The seven different smellscapes include fire, ocean, jungle, grass, flowers, metal, and a mysterious “powder” scent cartridge.

Fortunately, FeelReal isn’t a wholly separate new virtual reality product. It actually pairs with existing goggles like Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR via Bluetooth to sync up what you see with what you smell. Granted, it makes the VR experience look even more like a computer is eating your face, but at least you won’t have to spend more cash on a proprietary new headset.

So if you desperately want to experience “the smell of the wind” in the comfort of your own, non-windy home, you can pre-order FeelReal for $249 along with a handful of free cartridges. All that’s left now is virtual reality taste. It could really bring Cooking Mama to a whole new level.
17:05
‘Black Lightning’ Season 3 Episode 5 Recap: Signs of a Spark
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Jordan Calloway as Khalil / Painkiller in 'Black Lightning.' (Photo Credit: Jace Downs / The CW)
Just like a CW show to take a week off after hooking us with a great cliffhanger. That it came at the same time Agent Odell subliminally hooks Lynn on the highly addictive Green Light is some fun irony. Black Lightning returned from its week off with Blackbird saving one of Jenn’s classmates, Tavon.

He shoots a video for his parents assuring them he’s OK. He’s not the only one with Blackbird on the brain, though. Agent Odell runs a computer program that narrows down who Blackbird could be. I mean, it’s not like Anissa’s hasn’t been super obvious about it. Agent Odell’s been smarter than this. But, I guess we needed some superhero action for the episodes where Black Lightning himself was locked up. With a list of suspects, Odell sends Painkiller out to kill Freeland’s new hero.

Nafessa Williams as Blackbird. (Photo: Jace Downs / The CW)

Chief Henderson is also forced to declare Blackbird a wanted person. He gets booed at a press conference. The entire town is against him. You can tell he doesn’t want to be doing this either. This is the most the show has made me feel for the guy. Yeah, he’s still a cop, but at least he seems reluctant to participate in the oppression. Of course that feeling disappears quickly once he starts arresting the people who heckled him. Including the priest for helping Blackbird sneak metas out of town. Or so it seems.

As for Blackbird herself, she’s taking some time to protect her girlfriend. That includes giving her the vaccine for the metahuman disease, a smart home, and bringing Gambi over to watch over her. It looks like Blackbird is the one who could use a lookout, though. Freeland is becoming a more dangerous place for her by the minute.

Nafessa Williams as Blackbird. (Photo: Jace Downs / The CW)

The show finally builds a genuinely tense and frightening situation for Blackbird. Tavon’s parents are convinced their son is dead and ask Jefferson to see if he can find out where he is. Feeling for the worried parents, he convinces Blackbird to bring Tavon back into Freeland. Anissa agrees, but under serious protest.

When Anissa thinks something’s gonna go bad, you should probably listen. I get Jefferson’s her dad, but he should know that by now. The show effectively builds a sense of dread as Blackbird brings Tavon back to Freeland while Painkiller waits for her. The fight between them is well-choreographed, but Tavon’s presence makes it especially harrowing. He tries to help Blackbird out, and Painkiller mortally wounds him. She told you, Jeff.

The show doesn’t let that tension up, either. While Blackbird is at the town’s perimeter, Agent Odell pays her home a visit. After Blackbird was spotted at the perimeter, he goes to check to see if Anissa’s at home. Good thing her girlfriend can shape shift. Grace disguises herself as Anissa and Gambi guides her through the conversation. She’s nervous as hell, and you get the feeling the entire game could be up at any moment. It’s a fantastic, stressful scene. Meanwhile, back at the perimeter, Black Lightning meets up with Anissa and Tavon, but can’t save him. He dies in Black Lightning’s arms.

Cress Williams as Jefferson. (Photo Credit: Bob Mahoney / The CW)

That is certainly a tragic way to end this story, and it looks like it’ll be a tipping point for some kind of uprising. It starts at the school. Upon hearing that the ASA killed a classmate, a group of students confronts the ASA soldiers guarding the school. The guards hit one of the students and Jefferson intervenes. Then, they start beating him in front of all his students. We all know this is going to be the moment the tide turns against the ASA. It’s almost enough to turn Jenn from the ASA. Almost. Odell has a backup plan, of course. He says the guards acted on their own, and allows her to deliver her own superhero-style justice. That’ll keep this particular project on track.

As for his other project, Lynn is as addicted and obsessive as ever. She has a major breakthrough, but needs a test case she know won’t be killed if something goes wrong. There’s only one metahuman she can run her test on: Tobias Whale. That’s the real draw of this story. Lynn’s research moves forward at the same pace it has all season, but her having to work on (and help) her husband’s greatest enemy is some fantastic drama. She gives him the drug that’s kept him young and strong for decades, which the ASA had been denying him. Tobias taunts her, saying that he’ll kill her husband and spare her and her daughters. Scary as the speech was, I loved watching Lynn get some small revenge by “forgetting” to use anesthesia.

Christine Adams as Lynn and Marvin “Krondon” Jones III as Tobias. (Photo: Bob Mahoney / The CW)

The week off was clearly good for Black Lightning, as it comes back with a fantastic episode. Every storyline paid off in some way. We got some good fights, nerve-wracking confrontations, and it even set up an exciting storyline for the next few episodes. That video of Jefferson getting beaten by ASA guards will spark a revolution. And Henderson will lead it. Turns out he arrested the pastor and the guy stealing rations to bring them into the fold. He’s been leading the resistance we’ve seen glimpses of this past season. Aw, Henderson! I knew you hadn’t turned fascist. It’s a cool reveal, and there are all sorts of exciting places the story can go from here. I just hope the show can capitalize on them.

Black Lightning airs Mondays at 9 on The CW.

Previously on Black Lightning:
16:50
At Last, the Live-Action ‘Sonic The Hedgehog’ Trailer Is Here!
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Our first look at the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movie half a year ago showed us a lot of things fans didn’t want to see on the classic video game mascot, mostly his gross realistic body including nostrils and human teeth. So kudos to the team for taking the hilarious L and completely redesigning the character. Even more kudos for giving the CGI animators they time they actually needed and pushing the film back a few months instead of making them work overtime.

So because you demanded, live-action Sonic now has a brand new look that’s way closer to the games. And it’s pretty good! He’s got nice expressive eyes, pleasing cute cartoon proportions complete with gloves, and overall doesn’t look like an erotic furry nightmare gremlin anymore. A live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movie was always going to be cursed. But at least the sheer demonic energy has been somewhat toned down. See for yourself!

Suffice it to say, the internet had a pretty intense reaction to this very first trailer for the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movie. Specifically fans of the game (and people who just generally dislike terrifying cartoon animals with human teeth) had an issue with the character design for the blue blur himself. Following the outcry, director Jeff Fowler had now said the design will be tweaked before the movie comes out.

We just hope this doesn’t like to exploitation of the CGI visual effects artists who have already suffered enough working on a Sonic the Hedgehog movie. Fortunately, the team now has more time to get things right because the movie has been delayed to February 14, 2020. The Valentine’s Day release date makes more sense anyway because anyone watching this totally wants to date Sonic.

Taking a little more time to make Sonic just right.#novfxartistswereharmedinthemakingofthismovie pic.twitter.com/gxhu9lhU76

— Jeff Fowler (@fowltown) May 24, 2019

Thank you for the support. And the criticism. The message is loud and clear… you aren’t happy with the design & you want changes. It’s going to happen. Everyone at Paramount & Sega are fully committed to making this character the BEST he can be… #sonicmovie #gottafixfast 🔧✌️

— Jeff Fowler (@fowltown) May 2, 2019

This is it. Sega and Paramount weren’t bluffing. The game publisher and movie studio are really following through on their threat to turn beleaguered platforming mascot Sonic the Hedgehog into the most cursed live-action video game game since Pokemon: Detective Pikachu. Seeing just glimpses of Sonic’s weird muscular CGI body is one thing. But nothing can prepare you for witnessing this film in motion.

Prepare yourselves for this “Genesis.” (Update: it now seems this original trailer has been removed in a hilarious attempt to burn this sinful version of Sonic from our collective memory.)

This is a movie where Ben Schwartz says “Gotta go fast” and meows like a house cat with his weird human teeth. This is a movie where James Marsden picks up a strand of Sonic’s hair coursing with energy and accidentally admits to kidnapping a child. This is a movie where a very 90s Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik works with the “Green Hill” army to capture Sonic with an army of robots while slowly devolving into a cartoon character. This movie thought “Gangsta’s Paradise” was an appropriate song choice. This is a movie so full of demonic power that it’s even got Larry King babbling about hedgehogs.

A live-action Sonic movie is such an impossible concept to wrap my brain around that I can’t even tell if this movie looks like a horrifying failure or an unparalleled success. It might be both! And really the only way to balance the cosmic scales was to release a nightmare Sonic film after the games finally got back on track with Sonic Mania.

So make peace with your gods and get ready for Sonic the Hedgehog the motion picture running into theaters November 8. For more on Sonic watch us talk about the Genesis classic Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and read about why the Sonic Twitter account is still the best thing the franchise has going for it.
16:43
Amazon To Open First Full-Service Grocery Store in 2020
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Photo Credit: Christian Wiediger / Unsplash
Amazon is opening a grocery store in Woodland Hills, Calif., next year.

The news comes after the company published four job openings for the future Los Angeles location.

“Join us as we launch Amazon’s first grocery store,” the posts said.

“We are passionate about creating a shopping experience that customers will love,” Amazon wrote. “If you are customer-obsessed, like learning new things, and want to contribute to end-to-end store operations for a new business, this is the place for you.”

Folks can apply now for a position as zone leader (full-time; starts at $16.90/hour), or grocery associate or food service associate (full-, part-, and flex-time; starts at £15.35/hour).

No further details were revealed.

The tech titan did tell CNET its new store will be different from subsidiary Whole Foods; and, unlike its high-tech Amazon Go shopping experience, the shop will use conventional checkouts.

There is no word, though, on what sort of selection or pricing to expect, nor whether Amazon plans to expand its grocery options into more cities.

Amazon did not immediately respond to Geek’s request for comment.

The Wall Street Journal in March reported on plans to open a chain of Amazon grocery stores in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia. At the time, the company had signed more than a dozen leases across LA, including Woodland Hills, Studio City, and Irvine.

Many of the proposed locations, the paper pointed out, are near urban cores and cater to middle-income consumers, stocking prepared foods and mainstream goodies like soda and Oreos.

More on Geek.com:
16:30
‘His Dark Materials’ Season 1 Episode 2 Recap: Watch Your Daemon
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Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson (via HBO)
The second episode of His Dark Materials had a lot of work to do after a beautiful, but slightly overstuffed pilot. Did it accomplish all it needed to do? No, but it got a lot done. Lyra and Mrs. Coulter arrive in London, and Lyra is in awe of her fancy penthouse flat. Not in awe enough to forget about Roger, though that’s clearly the effect Coulter is trying to achieve. Every time she brings Roger up, Coulter has a fresh distraction. First it’s lunch at the North Institute. When she asks to help search for him, she promises to train her how to wield knowledge. So that the old men of the institute can’t belittle her. Coulter tries to mold Lyra, to change her hair and distract her with training to be extraordinary. Whatever that means. Even if she weren’t giving an obvious “I’m totally not evil” performance, her monkey daemon is acting suspiciously enough to let us know something’s fishy about this whole situation.

It’s also clear that she doesn’t have anyone looking for Roger. Despite her pushing for Lyra to trust her, the Gobblers are able to move the stolen children about the city freely. The Gyptians are actively searching for the children and they come very close. We see Roger pushed into a small room where tons of children are being kept. There, he runs into Billy Costa. A short time later, the Gyptian search party finds that same room, but the children are gone. They find an item of Billy’s clothing left behind, though. They’re on the right track.

Ariyon Bakare, Ruth Wilson (Via HBO)

One thing I’m loving about this series is how it’s able to expand on characters’ stories other than Lyra’s. The first book sticks close to her perspective. We only get to know other characters as she meets them. Here, we follow the Gyptians’ search for Billy, and how painful and desperate it becomes. If his story goes the way I think I remember it going, we’re all going to be in tears before the season’s over.

We also get a lot more with the Magisterium. Their role looks to be greatly expanded from The Golden Compass. We see one Lord Boreal sneaking into the Jordan College crypt to find the head Lord Asriel brought back from the North. When he finds out the skull is a fake, he surmises that Stanislaus Grumman must be alive. And he decides to go looking for him. He passes through a portal and finds himself in our world. Modern-day London, to be exact. This is a huge change from the books, which didn’t bring our world into it until the second one. I like it. It was kind of a jarring transition, going from The Golden Compass to The Subtle Knife, so introducing it early on is a smart move. It also shows us the concept of multiple worlds in a visually interesting way. Gets the point across much better than having Lord Asriel talk about it in the pilot.

(Via HBO)

One thing the show continues to struggle with is presenting Daemons to us. The opening text in the pilot didn’t do the trick, and the show’s having trouble depicting the exact nature of the connection. It’s tough because Pan is one aspect of Lyra’s personality, while she mostly presents another. As a result, it can feel like they’re two different characters entirely, rather than parts of the same being. That’s why, when Lyra discovers Coulter’s monkey in the study, far away from her, we don’t quite understand why she’s so disturbed. She tells us how painful it is to be that far apart, but we’ve never seen that. If I hadn’t read the book so many times, I doubt I’d understand this part at all.

To the episode’s credit, it does get there eventually. As Lyra continues to investigate Mrs. Coulter, she’s caught eavesdropping on a conversation between her and officials from the Magisterium. It would appear Coulter knows more about Dust than she let on. When she’s caught, Mrs. Coulter sics her monkey on Pan. As the monkey grabs pan, Lyra is physically in pain. As Coulter scolds her, the monkey twists pan, causing Lyra more pain. Later, when Coulter and Lord Boreal find a journalist has infiltrated her party, Boreal brings her out to his car and crushes her butterfly daemon in his hand, killing her. The scene is as horrifying as it needed to be, thanks to the work this episode did establishing the connection between humans and daemons. I’d still like to see them more as the series goes on, but it’s looking like budgetary constraints preclude that possibility. If they can’t fill each shot with animal familiars, I hope they continue to stress how important these characters are.

Ruth Wilson (Via HBO)

The show spent a ton of time last week just trying to establish the world, packing the episode full of exposition. This episode didn’t have that burden and could pack in a lot more drama. I loved the scene where Coulter leaves the flat to visit the kidnapped kids. As she’s having them all write letters to their families that will never be delivered, and snickering when she meets Roger, Lyra is digging through Coulter’s desk. She finds references to a strange facility and something called the General Oblation Board. She also finds plans for a device that has a scary-looking blade on it. She doesn’t know quite what it does yet, but it scares her. It’s only at the party, when the journalist tells her that the General Oblation Board is commonly known as the gobblers, that Lyra decides she has to leave. My heart was pounding as she made her escape, which set up a worrying cliffhanger. As Lyra and Pan try and figure out where to go, she appears to be kidnapped by the same gobblers that got Roger and Billy.

Adapting this series into a TV show was never going to be easy. There’s so much about the world that you have to explain. There’s so much that you can read in a book and accept as fact, but is really hard to show on screen. In its second episode, the show saw some improvements, but it still has a ways to go. It did a lot of necessary work to establish the connection between humans and daemons. That’s going to be really important before too long. Now it’s going to need to explain all this Dust stuff in a way that doesn’t sound like technobabble. That’s going to be a real challenge, but if it can do that, the show will be so much more enjoyable to people who aren’t quite as obsessed with the books as, well, I am.

His Dark Materials airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on HBO

Previously on His Dark Materials
- His Dark Materials Season 1 Premiere Recap
16:30
Toy Tuesday: The Best Simpsons Toys
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There is a lot to see on Disney+, which launches this week, but one thing that has us pretty excited is that, as a result of the Disney/Fox merger, every single season of The Simpsons will be up for streaming on day one. At this point it’s fair to say that no animated series has touched the American zeitgeist quite like Matt Groening’s take on family life. Since debuting in 1987, it’s been a linchpin of the network over a staggering 31 seasons and inspired a truckload of tie-in merchandise. Here are our picks for the most cromulent Simpsons toys on the market.

NECA Bart Simpson Figure
Eat my shorts, man. When The Simpsons first hit the airwaves, it didn’t take long for Bart to become the show’s breakthrough character, with catchphrases printed on bootleg T-shirts and politicians complaining about his insouciance and bad behavior. This NECA figure made for the show’s 25th anniversary is one of the best Barts ever put on the market, with exceptional hand-painted details and swivels at the neck, shoulders and waist. If you’re starting a Simpsons collection, you’ve got to go family first.

Mr. Sparkle Statue
One of the all-time greatest moments in Simpsons history comes when Homer learns that a Japanese soap company has appropriated his likeness for a brand of dish detergent. Eventually he learns that the mascot’s visage was actually created by melding a fish and a light bulb, but the damage was done. Mr. Sparkle also showed up in the Simpsons video game, and sharp eyes can catch a box of it on the grocery store checkout belt in the new opening sequence. This wild sculpt captures the magical cleanliness pixie Mr. Sparkle being unleashed from his captivity box and measures seven inches tall.

Get it at Amazon.com

14 Piece Simpsons Figure Set
If you’re going to replicate the entire town of Springfield on your toy shelf (and why would you not), you’re going to need a lot of room for the massive and ever-expanding supporting cast of The Simpsons. Get a jump on the population with this affordable and high-quality set of 14 figurines. You get Homer, Marge, and a couple Barts, but you also get vital friends and foes like Otto the bus driver, Sideshow Mel, Rod and Todd Flanders, and of course Milhouse Van Houten. What’s a Simpsons collection without a Milhouse?

Get it at Amazon.com

Itchy & Scratchy Plush Dolls
The extensive television watching habits of the Simpson family allow the show’s writers to poke fun at lots of different genres, and one of the show’s longest-running japes has been cartoon animal duo Itchy & Scratchy. It’s sort of weird to think that modern kids are growing up without ever watching two animated creatures try to kill each other for laughs, but back in the day this was a major form of entertainment for some reason. Made by Kidrobot, these Phunny Plush renditions of the cat and mouse are perfect for cuddling with at the end of a long day. Sorry, they’re not going to make a Poochie.

Get Itchy at Amazon.com
Get Scratchy at Amazon.com

Funko Pop Moe Szyslak
Did you know that Bart Simpson’s frequent prank calls to bartender Moe are actually based on real-world events? In the 1970s, tape recordings of an anonymous prankster dialing up “Red,” the harried barback at Jersey City’s Tube Bar, began making the rounds. The callers were pretty anodyne, mainly getting Red to call out fake names, but the former heavyweight boxer would respond with disproportionate threats of brutal violence. Funko’s take on the proprietor of Moe’s has everything but his trademark eye twitch, and I don’t think the technology is quite there for that yet.

Get it at Amazon.com

LEGO Simpsons House
It’s always amazing how the geniuses at LEGO manage to contort their building system to so expertly replicate the franchises they work with, and one of the best ever is 2014’s Simpsons house. This kit is a true labor of love, boasting so many references and details that it boggles the mind. The roof removes and the middle of the wall has a hinge so you can open it up and explore all the rooms, and the box comes with a flabbergasting assortment of minifigs and accessories, including the whole Simpsons clan, Ned Flanders, and the family car. You could do a whole couch gag with this in stop-motion if you wanted.

Get it at Amazon.com

NECA Glowing Mr. Burns Figure
NECA has had the Simpsons license for a hell of a long time, and their figure collection has a really deep bench. We’re going to spotlight some of the stranger ones on here because that’s the mark of a true toy head. Case in point: the Mr. Burns as seen in eighth-season episode The Springfield Files, which brought Fox Mulder and Dana Scully to town investigating reports of alien sightings. It turns out to be Mr. Burns, disoriented and confused as a result of the medical treatments that keep his decaying body alive. The figure even glows in the dark without any additional exposure to radioactivity.

Get it at Amazon.com

Comic Book Guy Statuette
The Simpsons has always been plugged into geek culture in its best and worst aspects, and one of the most enduring depictions of the worst is the Comic Book Guy, proprietor of the Android’s Dungeon and possibly the least likeable man in Springfield. With a master’s degree in folklore and mythology, he lords his domain over the plebians of Springfield with an iron fist. This collector’s statue from Dark Horse was made in an edition of 550 pieces and comes with a litho-printed tin box, pinback button and booklet. The statue itself is cast in the classic Syroco style, which we’re sure he could lecture you about for hours.

Get it at Amazon.com

Operation Simpsons
There are plenty of licensed Simpsons takes on classic board games like Sorry! and Monopoly, but for the buck we can’t recommend any but the weirdly hilarious Homer Simpsonized Operation. Based on the Milton Bradley classic from 1965 that uses a low-voltage electrified wire loop to ring a buzzer when the player’s hands slip and their tweezers touch the patient’s body, the Simpsons version has you pulling all sorts of crap out of Homer like a pot belly and bowler’s thumb. He even says one of several trademark phrases when you goof up.

Get it at Amazon.com

Funko Pop Lisa Simpson
Over the years, Lisa has grown from the annoyingly smug older sister to the moral center of the Simpsons universe, providing a role model for all the little girls out there who don’t fit in for whatever reason. A classic middle child, she’s always seemingly starved for attention taken up by her bratty brother and toddler sister, but Lisa’s accomplishments are legion. This Funko Pop rendition poses her with her iconic saxophone, ready to blast out the tunes taught to her by departed blues legend Bleeding Gums Murphy.

Get it at Amazon.com

NECA Matt Groening Figure
Let’s close this out with a little tribute to the man who made it all happen. Matt Groening was best-known for writing and drawing a nihilistic newspaper strip called Life In Hell when Fox gave him the go-ahead to create the animated segments that would become The Simpsons. He would become wealthier than he could ever imagine from it, but as anybody who has ever met him wandering around a comics convention can attest, success did not spoil the dude. NECA made a figure of the man behind the Simpson family and you should place it high atop your toy shelf like a benevolent God looking down upon his creation.

Get it at Amazon.com
16:00
‘The Mandalorian’ Series Premiere Recap: The Search for More Money
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Pedro Pascal (via Lucasfilm/Disney)
This is what it took. For years, decades at this point, Lucasfilm has been trying to make a Star Wars live-action TV show. Earlier plans all fell through, usually for budgetary reasons. Any live-action Star Wars show has to look like the movies. Which are famously expensive to make. Even networks are wary of spending that kind of money on a new show. It makes sense that what it takes to get one of these is a new streaming service taking another $6 a month out of all our pockets. So was it worth it?

All it takes is one look at the screen to see where all that money went. This is basically a new Star Wars movie, only 6-7 hours long instead of 2. (Curiously, the 8-episode series is going with a broadcast hour format with 42-minute episodes despite there being no commercials or time limits on streaming shows.) This show looks fantastic. The special effects are exactly what you want from Star Wars, with strange aliens throughout and blaster shots flying across the screen. No lightsabers yet though, which I’m glad about. We’ve had enough stories about Jedi, I’m happy to spend at least a little bit of time with the galaxy’s other inhabitants.

(Via Lucasfilm/Disney)

The cinematography is gorgeous, too. The wide shots of alien worlds look so good, I was sad when the episode was over. It meant I had to leave them for week. The battles might even be some of the best on TV. If all you’re looking for is action figure setpieces, this show is perfect. The pilot is filled with blaster shootouts that had me grinning ear to ear the whole time. The action beats flow naturally from the story (what story there is, anyway), instead of interrupting it, which can be tough in a 42-minute TV episode. Star Wars has always had at least a toe in the Western genre. It’s a space fantasy movie based on a samurai film which in turn was inspired by old American Westerns. The Mandalorian takes it all the way. This is an old western set in the Star Wars universe, and the cinematography isn’t shy about showing it. The way the scenery and shots leading to the episode’s end look, John Wayne wouldn’t be out of place.

You’ll notice all my praise has been about how good the show looks, and I’ve only barely mentioned the story. Well, there isn’t much of one yet. That’s where The Mandalorian falls short. It feels like this series was made with binging in mind. Like it was written and filmed with the idea that all the episodes will be released at once before Disney decided on a weekly release. It doesn’t feel like an episode of TV, it feels like the beginning of a very long movie. The story doesn’t have a beginning, middle and end. It barely has a beginning. Just as we get maybe the faintest hint of a plot, the episode cuts to credits. With nothing really pushing me forward through the story yet, all I can do is marvel at the pretty pictures on my TV screen.

Carl Weathers (via Lucasfilm/Disney)

The Mandalorian himself doesn’t have much of a character yet, though the show is already on the way to fixing that. He has no name, no face and, for much of the episode, no personality in his voice. He’s a blank slate doing cool guy stuff. That’s great for a video game, but it doesn’t make for compelling drama. There’s a reason the original trilogy just had Boba Fett stand around looking cool before Han Solo slapstick’d him into the Sarlacc Pit.

In this episode, we see The Mandalorian turn in a bounty (in carbonite, which was a fun touch), and struggle to find work. Apparently, nobody wants to pay much for bounty hunters’ services now that the Empire’s gone. He takes the one high-paying job his guild leader has, which feels seedy from the beginning. His secretive client, a former Empire official played by a gloriously hammy Werner Herzog, wants him to kill a 50-year-old target. His cartoonish evilness immediately lets us know we’re in for some kind of twist.

Nick Nolte (Via Lucasfilm/Disney)

The Mandalorian gets to a desert planet where a gruff moisture farmer who just wants the encampment the Mandalorian is seeking gone. This is where the show starts to find some of its Star Wars heart. The first half of the episode is dark and overly gritty. It’s trying too hard to be a serious tough guy story with a Star Wars coat of paint. I was worried that the show would forget that strange goofiness is part of what makes Star Wars so enduring. Kuiil has no patience for The Mandalorian, and it’s the first time anyone in the show treats him like a person. Kuiil teaches him how to ride a Bluug to get to the encampment. It might not be the most necessary story detour, but this is the show remembering that Star Wars is supposed to be fun. The Mandalorian’s voice even starts to gain a little character and emotion from here on out. We can’t see what he’s feeling, so if we can at least hear it in his voice, that’s going to go a long way towards making him a character we want to follow.

At the encampment, he meets a bounty droid who’s already after the target. Along with a bunch of guys with blasters neither of them can get past on their own. The Mandalorian and IG-11 agree to work together and split the bounty. The Mandalorian hates droids for some unexplained reason, and you can already see the beginnings of a buddy comedy subplot developing between them. They bicker through the shootout, and IG-11 starts his self-destruct sequence more than once. It’s a decent gag, and I was still just glad the show found its sense of humor. They kill everyone trying to shoot them and make their way inside the building. There, they find their target. The 50-year-old is actually still a baby, and is the same species as Yoda. It’s also adorable. IG-11 wants to kill it. He apparently didn’t get the same “bring it in alive” instruction The Mandalorian got. As IG-11 raises his blaster, The Mandalorian shoots him and takes the baby himself.

Taika Waititi, Pedro Pascal (Via Lucasfilm/Disney)

So finally, after a full broadcast hour of television, we get a plot with some conflict. And that’s where the credits roll. What we’re left with is a really good looking show that can’t quite get itself going. It was still a lot of fun. It had great side characters and the most exciting battles on TV, but none of that is yet in service of anything. It’s a set-up episode, but it doesn’t even try to mold that setup into something shaped like a full story. It has the plot of a fan-made short stretched out to 42 minutes. The bright side is, those shorts were always one-offs. The Mandalorian will continue, so we can expect whatever it’s setting up to pay off somewhere down the road. We just have to look at it as an extended movie spread out over 8 weeks. It may be taking the long road to get where its going, but at least it’s a pretty ride.
15:56
Scientists Find Fossilized Footprints ‘Hiding’ in Mammoth Tracks
» ‎ Geek.com

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Researchers collect GPR data at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. (Photo Credit: Cornell University)
Researchers uncovered fossilized footprints—and what lies beneath them—in the White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.

Hidden since the end of the last ice age, the invisible markings reveal a treasure trove of information about how humans and animals interacted 12,000 years ago.

A team, led by Cornell University research scientist Thomas Urban, used ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to examine the footprints of humans, mammoths, and giant sloths.

“We never thought to look under footprints,” Urban said in a statement. “But it turns out that the sediment itself has a memory that records the effects of the animal’s weight and momentum in a beautiful way.

“It gives us a way to understand the biomechanics of extinct fauna that we never had before,” he added.

Nondestructive GPR lets analysts access hidden information without excavation. Rather, users drag a sensor over the surface, sending a radio wave into the ground. The signal bouncing back provides a picture of what’s underground.

Including details about pressure and momentum of the extinct foot and body making those tracks.

Sure, these “ghost” footprints may become visible for a short time after rain, or when conditions are just right.

But now, using geophysics methods, they can be recorded, traced, and investigated in 3D to reveal animal and human interactions, history, and mechanics “in genuinely exciting new ways,” study co-author and Cornell professor Sturt Manning said.

The novel approach also gives researchers a way to learn about what early humans did when they weren’t at a camp or kill site—the two archaeological scenes best known for this time period.

“The GPR technique gets us to the space in between [sites] and lets us see how people are tracking animals or moving around for other tasks of daily life,” Urban explained.

“There are very few footprint records for human-megafauna interactions,” he continued. “It’s really rare to have access to this kind of data from 12,000 or more years ago.”

Ground-penetrating radar has bigger implications than just this case study, according to Urban, who suggested the method could be applied to other fossilized footprint sites—including those of dinosaurs.

“We have already successfully tested the method more broadly at multiple locations within White Sands,” he said.

Read more in the full study, published this week by the journal Scientific Reports.

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15:10
Lost and Found: Vietnamese Mouse-Deer Spotted After 30 Years
» ‎ Geek.com

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Camera trap image of the lost silver-backed chevrotain in Vietnam. (Photo Credit: Southern Institute of Ecology / Global Wildlife Conservation / Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research / NCNP)
What has the head of a mouse, the body of a small deer, and has been scientifically confirmed only once since 1907?

Global Wildlife Conservation rediscovered the silver-backed chevrotain—a deer-like species about the size of a rabbit—lost to science since 1990.

Also known as the Vietnamese mouse-deer, the animal was last recorded more than two decades ago. It is the first mammal rediscovered on GWC’s list of top 25 most-wanted lost species.

The silver-backed chevrotain was first described in 1910, based on four deer collected near Nha Trang in Vietnam. A Russian expedition in 1990 uncovered a fifth.

Nearly 30 years later, a team of analysts from GWC, Southern Institute of Ecology, and Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research visited areas to set up camera traps where villagers had described seeing the chevrotain.

“The results were amazing,” expedition team leader An Nguyen, a GWC associate conservation scientist, said in a statement.

“We had no idea what to expect, so I was surprised and overjoyed when we checked the camera traps and saw photographs of a chevrotain with silver flanks,” he continued.

Three camera traps left in the field for five months yielded 275 photos of the mysterious species. Another 29 cameras set up in the same area captured 1,881 images of the chevrotain over five months.

The field team will begin trap surveys in two more areas, where cameras will run for at least three months.

“For so long this species has seemingly only existed as part of our imagination,” according to Nguyen, also field coordinator and PhD student with the Leibniz Institute. “Discovering that it is, indeed, still out there is the first step in ensuring we don’t lose it again. We’re moving quickly now to figure out how best to protect it.”

There are 10 known species of chevrotain in the world, primarily in Asia. Despite their nickname, the creatures are neither mice nor deer, but the world’s smallest ungulates (hoofed mammals).

Shy and solitary, chevrotain appear to walk on the tips of their hooves and have two tiny fangs. They typically weigh less than 10 pounds.

“The rediscovery of the silver-backed chevrotain provides big hope for the conservation of biodiversity, especially threatened species, in Vietnam,” Hoang Minh Duc, head of the Southern Institute of Ecology’s Department of Zoology, said. “This also encourages us, together with relevant and international partners, to devote time and effort to further investigation and conservation of Vietnam’s biodiversity heritage.”

In addition to the silver-backed chevrotain, GWC has confirmed the rediscovery of three more species from its most-wanted list: Jackson’s climbing salamander in Guatemala and the Wallace’s giant bee and velvet pitcher plant in Indonesia.

More details were published this week in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.

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15:00
Apple Arcade Is Better Than Apple TV+
» ‎ Geek.com

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Realizing that they can’t make the same ungodly amounts of profit with worse new iPhones alone, this year saw Apple very publicly pivot to becoming a services company. After all, you can make some money by charging a person once for hardware, but you can make all of the money by charging people constantly for subscriptions. And these subscriptions were all over the place, from magazines to credit cards. However, after spending time with Apple’s answers to two of the biggest potential service markets, video games and streaming TV services, we feel confident than one of these services is definitively better than the other.

Apple Arcade is better than Apple TV+.

Okay, maybe I’m a little biased. I do care more about video games than TV. But it’s because I care so much about video games that for years I’ve just been depressed about the sorry state of mobile games Apple helped create with the App Store. Apple Arcade represents mobile gaming finally coming back out of the wilderness of exploitative free-to-play scams that have plagued the scene for years. And while subscription services are clearly coming to all video game platforms, from Xbox Game Pass to Google Stadia, it’s something especially needed and new for mobile.

Apple TV+ is just another subscription TV service. It’s not something for hardcore fans of a certain niche. And its breadth of general content comes from packaging up other services you don’t particularly need to get through Apple. The obvious exceptions are the original shows. But at least right now, they’re no selling point.

If nothing else, Apple’s original shows do feel like shows Apple would make. And not just because the characters are all lovingly using iPhones. Conspicuously expensive, slick, glossy, warm and fuzzy futuristic appeals to some kind of vaguely centrist global and optimism are fantastic for selling a product. But when applied to actual stories it leaves them feeling hollow and overly engineered, not unlike the worst algorithm-driven Netflix shows.

In fact, I thought a lot about Netflix, particularly its original debut hit House of Cards, when watching The Morning Show, Apple’s star-powered Newsroom-esque $300 million dollar flagship show. Both shows get good use out of their recognizable actors like Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. Both feature questionable topical amorality, although Steve Carell’s fake Matt Lauer has nothing on actual Kevin Spacey. And both shows are bad but trashy and watchable in a way that convinces you to keep them on in the background. Still bad, though.

One bad show wouldn’t be such a big deal if The Morning Show didn’t represent like a quarter of Apple TV+’s entire original output so far. What else is there? Blind Jason Momoa? Pass. A space race drama from the Battlestar Galactica people? Seems promising but also niche. That Emily Dickinson thing? Sounds fun and I like John Mulaney. But then what else? And don’t tell me it’s M. Night Shyamalan. Even with their libraries of legacy content being snatched up by rights holders, Netflix and Hulu and Amazon Prime all have original shows people actually care for and talk about. Nothing on Apple TV+ right now looks like it’ll have that same trendsetting effect on viewers. And the market is too crowded to hope consumers will just patiently wait.

But Apple Arcade is having that effect on mobile gamers. Part of it is quantity. Recently I covered over twenty intriguing Apple Arcade games on the service, which means there are over eighty I haven’t even touched. But it’s quality, too. Apple Arcade has legit premium gaming experiences from celebrated creators that people are raving about. Sayonara Wild Hearts! Grindstone! Overland! Granted, not all of these games are exclusive to Apple Arcade. Some of them I prefer playing on other platforms like the Nintendo Switch. But overall Apple Arcade has so many more real reasons you should consider subscribing.

When Apple TV+ was first revealed we learned that anyone who purchased a new Apple product would get a year for free. I thought it was weird that this deal was limited to Apple TV+ and not also Apple Arcade, which also costs $5 per month. What it because TV is still more mainstream than games? But after now using both I know the actual answer. Only Apple Arcade is currently worth the money.

View as: One Page Slides1.
So many streaming TV services to choose from. Where do you start?
2.
Netflix is still arguably the biggest name in streaming TV.
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Although it no longer has a free option, Hulu is a great streaming TV service that is worth paying for.
4.
From buying to renting to subscribing to individual channels, Amazon offers a bevy of streaming TV options.
5.
YouTube Red subscribers can watch original shows from streaming stars, but YouTube TV lets you watch actual live TV.
6.
Hook up a Slingbox and watch the cable and live TV you're already paying for anywhere.
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You have to buy channels in bulk and still deal with commercials, but with DirecTV Now you get the real live TV experience delivered through streaming.
8.
Crunchyroll is the best anime streaming service if you're all about subtitles.
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If dubs are more your thing, Funimation Now is the anime streaming service for you.
10.
If you want to stream shows and documentaries that actually teach you something, go with CuriosityStream.
11.
AMC Premiere just focuses on current AMC shows, but for Walking Dead super fans that might be enough.
12.
With Boomerang, tons of retro cartoons, from Looney Tunes to Scooby-Doo, can all come back to you
13.
FuboTV may be the escape from cable that sports fans are looking for. It’s pricey, but being able to easily stream live sports and more from dozens of channels with only one subscription might very well be worth it.
14.
Brown Sugar has all of the classic Blaxploitation movies you could want and then some. It’s niche, but it’s one of the most impressive niche libraries we’ve seen.
15.
For the true cinephile, FilmStruck has a large collection of classic films from all eras and countries, including movies from the Criterion Collection.
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CollegeHumor's Dropout provides premium streaming online laughs.
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DC Universe offers live-action adaptations of less familiar superheroes, like Doom Patrol.
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Shudder Is the Horror Streaming Service Fans Were Waiting For
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Along with presenting streaming services like Netflix and Sling through one box, Dish AirTV also lets you watch local over-the-air channels with an additional installation.
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Get a streaming media device to enjoy these services on your TV. Our favorite is the Amazon Fire Stick.
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14:24
Stingray-Inspired Spacecraft Could Explore ‘Dark Side’ of Venus
» ‎ Geek.com

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The BREEZE spacecraft would circumnavigate Venus every four to six days, with solar panels charging on the side of planet illuminated by the sun. (Photo Credit: CRASH Lab / University at Buffalo)
Venus lies within Earth’s orbit, but little is known about our neighboring planet—especially its “dark side.”

University at Buffalo researchers want to change that, though, with their unique spacecraft.

The Bio-inspired Ray for Extreme Environments and Zonal Explorations (BREEZE)* project is one of 12 concepts selected by NASA for its Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program.

Proposed by the university’s Crashworthiness for Aerospace Structures and Hybrids (CRASH)* Laboratory, researchers envision a stingray-esque morphing spacecraft, with wings that flap like pectoral fins.

“By taking our cues from nature, specifically sea rays, we’re looking to maximize flight efficiency,” according to project lead Javid Bayandor, associate professor in UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

The design, he explained, could make use of high winds in the planet’s upper atmosphere, while still allowing scientists control over the vehicle—which would circumnavigate Venus every four to six days.

Add to that solar-powered instruments (charged every few days when the planet is illuminated by the sun) that take atmospheric samples, track weather patterns, monitor volcanic activity, and gather other data.

Perhaps most importantly, though, BREEZE’s “distinct versatility” could help scientists study the mysterious dark side of Venus.

Did you know that it takes Venus longer to rotate on its axis (243 days) than it does to orbit the sun (225 days), making a day on the planet longer than a year?

Because of these irregular cycles, large portions of the planet are shrouded in darkness for sustained periods of time, leaving them considerably different from the sunny side.

The technology behind BREEZE—including its morphing wings—could potentially be used to explore other parts of the solar system, as well as underwater environments on Earth, Bayandor said.

* They really love an acronym in upstate New York

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13:25
Report: Google Collecting Personal Health Data on Millions
» ‎ Geek.com

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Photo Credit: Paweł Czerwiński / Unsplash
Google is reportedly collecting detailed health information from millions of people across 21 states*.

The tech titan began the initiative, code-named “Project Nightingale,” in secret last year with St. Louis-based healthcare system Ascension, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A Catholic chain of 2,600 hospitals, doctor’s offices, and other facilities, Ascension assisted in the unauthorized sharing of data—including patient names, dates of birth, lab results, diagnoses, and hospitalization records.

At least 150 Google employees already have access to much of the information, a personal “familiar with the matter and the documents” told the Journal.

Neither patients nor doctors have been notified.

In a joint statement issued after the WSJ report, the companies claimed their work is HIPAA compliant and “underpinned by a robust data security and protection effort.”

“As the healthcare environment continues to rapidly evolve, we must transform to better meet the needs and expectations of those we serve as well as our own caregivers and healthcare providers,” Eduardo Conrado, executive vice president at Ascension, said.

“Doing that will require the programmatic integration of new care models,” he continued, “delivered through the digital platforms, applications, and services that are part of the everyday experience of those we serve.”

As part of the Ascension/Google collaboration, the healthcare system will transition its networks and data to Google’s Cloud Platform and G Suite.

“By working in partnership with leading healthcare systems like Ascension, we hope to transform the delivery of healthcare through the power of the cloud, data analytics, machine learning, and modern productivity tools,” according to Google Cloud President Tariq Shaukat. “Ultimately improving outcomes, reducing costs, and saving lives.”

Staffers across Google parent company Alphabet, as well as some employees of Google Brain, already have access to patient information, the Journal said, citing internal documents.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last year, the firm opted not to disclose to users a flaw that exposed hundreds of thousands of Google Plus subscribers’ birth dates, contact information, and other personal data, in part due to fear of regulatory scrutiny.

* It’s never made clear which 21 states are involved

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0:05
Black Friday 2019: How to Score the Best Gaming and Tech Deals
» ‎ Geek.com

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Save money on Black Friday with these helpful tips and tricks. (Photo Credit: BENCE BOROS / Unsplash)
Black Friday is around the corner: On Nov. 29, thousands of retailers will slash prices on many gaming and tech products, so it’s the perfect time to buy that Xbox Console, Amazon Echo, or other gadget for you or someone else on your list.

If the thought of going to a store or browsing online for hours stresses you out, don’t worry—we break down some helpful tips below on how to save time and money on one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

Here are the best ways to take advantage of Black Friday deals without putting a dent in your wallet or busy holiday schedule.
Create a Budget Spreadsheet
Photo Credit: NordWood Themes / Unsplash

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…for everything else besides your paycheck. But, you can prevent financial hiccups by making a budget spreadsheet. By mapping out how much you can spend, you can easily modify what you’re giving to everyone, whether it’s headphones or a Nintendo Switch. And, having a list allows you to keep track of how much money is going to gift exchanges and Secret Santas, so you can pay your other bills on time.
Come Up With a Black Friday Plan
Photo Credit: freestocks.org / Unsplash

Let’s get real: Black Friday can be chaotic. You may encounter traffic, long lines, and sometimes people aren’t always in the holiday spirit when they’re hangry and rushing around the store to grab electronics. Taking the time to plan your Black Friday agenda is a must before the big day. Figure out which stores you would like to visit (or allot time to online) will ease the stress of buying what you need. From there, determine when they will be open or closed, so you have time to grab some food and take bathroom breaks.
Sign Up for Newsletters
Photo Credit: Web Hosting / Unsplash

Receiving an “XYZ” promotional email on a regular basis can be annoying, but it may be very resourceful if you’re trying to save money on Black Friday items. Our sister site PCMag.com notes that many stores announce their Black Friday sales and other exclusive deals via email. Pro tip: If you don’t want to deal with your inbox blowing up over the next few weeks, make a separate email address instead for all the stores and online retailers you love.
Follow Retailers on Social Media
Photo Credit: Saulo Mohana / Unsplash

Social media is your secret Black Friday weapon: From now until Nov. 29, many popular retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart will be posting up a storm on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. There, you may find announcements about really sweet items going on sale, from smart TVs to speakers and everything in between.
Get an Early Start
Photo Credit: Markus Spiske / Unsplash

Regardless of how you do Black Friday, starting early is important. For stores, plan to get there at least a half hour before opening times, so you can find a good parking spot and not be stuck in line for too long. If you’re shopping on a laptop, tablet, or phone instead, make sure you’re refreshing your browser and have all websites ready to go. Plus, it also helps to have pages open for particular gaming and tech devices, so you can instantly add them to your cart and check out.

For more deals, including all of the latest Black Friday announcements, check out our sister site, BestBlackFriday.com.

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October 15, 2019
1:50
Disney+ Tweets All Movies and TV Shows Arriving on Day 1
» ‎ Geek.com

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Disney+ revealed all the movies and TV shows you can watch at launch, including 'The Mandalorian.' (Photo Credit: François Duhamel / Lucasfilm Ltd.)
Disney+, a new streaming service that will feature many series and films, including The Mandalorian and Avengers: Endgame, is debuting on November 12.

On Monday, Disney+ unveiled all the movies and TV shows you can watch at launch on Twitter and the list features some noteworthy titles. If you don’t have time to jump on the extremely long Disney+ Twitter feed, you can check out this YouTube video, which shares all the good details.

First, there are so many old-school films coming to Disney+, including Sammy, the Way-Out Seal (1962), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977).

Sammy, the Way-Out Seal (1962) pic.twitter.com/bEUyP45Lmw

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) October 14, 2019

The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969) pic.twitter.com/gTPlil506k

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) October 14, 2019

Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) pic.twitter.com/8XKMEc964q

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) October 14, 2019

If you want to explore ancient temples, space, or Mother Nature, Disney+ has National Geographic content that will be available to stream, such as Mars Inside SpaceX (2018), Lost Treasures of the Maya (2019), and Into the Grand Canyon (2019).

Mars: Inside SpaceX (2018) pic.twitter.com/x6LQf16JvB

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) October 14, 2019

Lost Treasures of the Maya (2019) pic.twitter.com/u4eHGiN3Rq

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) October 14, 2019

Into the Grand Canyon (2019) pic.twitter.com/nVSUWPe7lQ

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) October 14, 2019

Lastly, there are great Star Wars TV shows and Marvel-focused movies for your weeknight or weekend binge-watching sessions: Star Wars Resistance (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), and Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors (2018) are a handful of titles coming to Disney+.

Star Wars Resistance (2018) pic.twitter.com/6cZOjouIHT

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) October 14, 2019

Captain Marvel (2019) pic.twitter.com/qzoKtLlLAX

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) October 14, 2019

Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors (2018) pic.twitter.com/2tYcinYswu

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) October 14, 2019

For more details on Disney+, including subscriptions and features, visit the streaming service’s website here.

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0:00
Aaron Paul Reveals the Toughest ‘Breaking Bad’ Scene He Recreated for ‘El Camino’
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Aaron Paul explained why it was hard to recreate a key emotional scene for 'El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.' (Photo Credit: Ben Rothstein / Netflix)
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie premiered on Netflix this past weekend and Breaking Bad fans could not get enough of it. Aaron Paul, who plays Jesse Pinkman, recently discussed the hardest Breaking Bad scene he had to recreate for the film and why it was an emotional moment. (Editor’s note: Spoilers ahead!)

During the Breaking Bad finale, Jesse Pinkman flees from a compound and is last seen driving away in a car, crying and in shock from the near-fatal fight he was involved in.

“That was a really hard scene for me to do at end of Breaking Bad. I didn’t really know how I was going to play it. I just knew where he was at,” Paul told IndieWire. “I think we only did that maybe one or two takes. And then they’re like, ‘I think that’s it.’”

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie was a different case though: it took Paul some extra time to recreate that intense scene for the movie and to set it up in a way that continued Jesse’s story.

“The opening scene, the screaming, the escape, redoing that in a bit of a different way, we spend a lot more time on that than I thought we were going to. Playing that came off of excitement, fear, anger, all of the above. Everything just pouring out of him,” Paul explained. “Especially after reading this script and really getting a more detailed look at what went on when he was being held in that cage, you see that he’s been an abused, tortured animal.”

This is it. This is how it ends. #ElCamino: A Breaking Bad Movie is now on @Netflix and in select theaters. pic.twitter.com/e1vOaV5fFR

— Breaking Bad (@BreakingBad) October 11, 2019

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie follows Jesse’s next chapter, as he evades the cops and seeks help from friends to start a new life…and as the trailer showed, he’s “ready” for what’s around the corner. With some closure, fans may have answers on Jesse’s purpose and what he’s up against next.

“We’re dealing with Vince here and so he’s not going to tell a story that doesn’t need to be told. From the very beginning, he said, ‘Look, this is the idea I’m having. I don’t want to do this movie unless it’s perfect, but I want to, [and] I want to make sure that you’re on board before I dive in and really write this script.’ Of course, that was an enthusiastic yes,” Paul added. “I trust him so much and I know he’s not gonna steer anyone in the wrong direction.”

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie is now streaming on Netflix.

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October 14, 2019
22:34
NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Captures Jupiter’s Windy, Colorful ‘Jet N4’ Region
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NASA’s Juno spacecraft snapped the swirling clouds of Jupiter's "Jet N4" region on September 11. (Photo Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS)
NASA’s Juno spacecraft recently caught a view of Jupiter’s northern hemisphere, “Jet N4,” and it’s a swirly, vibrant portrait of the massive planet.

Citizen scientist Björn Jónsson used data from Juno’s JunoCam imager to create the image above. It was taken on September 11 at 8:31 p.m. PDT while Juno completed its 22nd flyby of the planet. When the image was taken, Juno was approximately 7,540 miles from the cloud tops, as shown in the colorful image above.

According to NASA, the gas giant spins once every 10 hours and this fast rotation forms strong jet streams, dividing clouds into dark belts and bright zones that span Jupiter. Over 12 prevailing winds sweep over Jupiter and some can reach more than 300 miles per hour at the planet’s equator.

Colors on the wind: I took in this view of Jupiter’s turbulent atmosphere during my latest close flyby. This image was created from JunoCam data by Björn Jónsson. Details: [https:]] pic.twitter.com/x8hQr2hMEf

— NASA’s Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) October 10, 2019

The Juno mission, which was launched on August 5, 2011, aims to improve scientists’ understanding of the solar system’s early days by revealing details on the evolution of Jupiter. Juno will specifically determine how much water is present in Jupiter’s atmosphere, measure composition and cloud motion of Jupiter, map Jupiter’s magnetic and gravity fields, and explore Jupiter’s magnetosphere near the planet’s poles.

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21:29
Rare White Orca Spotted Off Coast of Washington
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A rare white orca calf made an appearance off the coast of Washington over the weekend. (Photo Credit: Island Adventures Whale Watching / Facebook)
Whale watchers have recently spotted a rare white orca calf off the coast of Washington and he is becoming a local celebrity.

Tl’uk (“moon” in Coastal Salish), has been seen out and about in the Salish Sea over the weekend, CNN reported. Island Adventures Whale Watching posted a picture of Tl’uk on Facebook swimming with other orcas in the water, showing off his cloudy gray coloring against the black-and-white creatures.

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According to Island Adventures Whale Watching lead naturalist Erin Gless, Tl’uk made his first appearance last year, so he’s about 12 months old. Gless said Tl’uk is not an albino whale, but his hue is unusual for orcas. It’s unclear why Tl’uk has a grayish-white color, but he’s growing and has a robust shape, which are all good health signs.

Tl’uk and his fellow orcas are popping up all over the state lately: Last weekend, approximately 20 orcas were spotted in Puget Sound and roughly 40 orcas were observed in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, KOMO News noted. Newsweek pointed out that the Salish Sea includes southwestern parts of British Columbia and northwestern parts of Washington state, and this network of coastal waterways is a main hub for orcas.

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“This will be the eighth year in a row of increased transients in the region, with their presence having increased five-fold over that time. To put that in perspective, there were 125 reports of Bigg’s killer whales in the Salish Sea in all of 2011,” Monika Wieland Shields, president of Orca Behavior Institute, told KOMO News. “This year, we reached 125 reports before the end of April.”

According to the Ocean Wise Conservation Association, Bigg’s killer whales prey on marine mammals including sea lions, dolphins, porpoises, and other whales. There are at least three different Bigg’s killer whale populations that live in the coastal waters of the northeast Pacific.

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21:10
‘Fortnite’s’ Black Hole Is Cooler Than Whatever ‘Chapter 2’ Will Be
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The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration won a $3 million Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for capturing the first image of a black hole. (Photo Credit: EHT Collaboration)
Fortnite, the biggest game in the world, is dead. Right now, hundreds of millions of dabbing children are unable to participate in the massively popular free-to-play battle royale game to see who’s the last one standing. Instead, they’re just staring at a black hole. Presumably, that black hole will soon give way to our first glimpse at Fortnite’s future. But I doubt that future will be cooler than the hole itself.

… [https:]]

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) October 13, 2019

Fortnite keeps itself fresh (and its developers crunching) by regularly mixing up content in the form of seasons. That’s when you buy new battle passes and check out new changes to the map. This black hole event marked the end of season 10. And as Fortnite moves into double digits, it appears the changes will be more substantial than just some new themes for Tilted Towers.

Various rumors and leaks have pointed to the existence of something called Fortnite Chapter 2. While details are scarce, everyone assumes this will be a brand new map, which is a pretty huge change. Folks have spent countless hours learning Fortnite’s sole battlefield. If it blows up into space dust to be replaced by something new, it could really even the playing field.

But as cool as that would be, this limbo we’re currently trapped is even cooler, even if it is ultimately just marketing. The Fortnite Twitter has been completely nuked saved for the livestream. Desperate players deprived over their cocaine-like drug have been coming up with countless conspiracy theories about when the game will return. Crack the code, man! Going dark like this is a really fantastic antagonistic use of the online games as a service model that I otherwise hate. We haven’t felt this connected since trying to get to the bottom of Peter Molyneux’s cube.

I’m sure we’ll be able to play whatever the new Fortnite is any day now. There’s too much money on the line. So just let me savor this one chance to enjoy that the game is nothing but an empty dark void right now. That’s what happens when you let Batman in your game.
19:59
Watch: Dazzling Fireball Illuminates Night Sky Over China
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A meteor that appeared in the form of a fireball lit up the night sky in northeast China on October 11. (Photo Credit: Space.com / YouTube)
Surveillance cameras in China recorded footage of a potential meteor streaking across the night sky on Friday and it was a fiery sight.

Videos of the incident show the meteor, which appeared in the form of a fireball, illuminating parts of northeast China for a couple of seconds, Space.com reported. The meteor, which occurred around 12:16 a.m. local time, turned the night sky into daytime in the city of Songyuan and other nearby areas, CCTV noted.

Scientists who work with the Chinese Academy of Sciences are studying footage of the fireball. There haven’t been any reports of meteorites on the ground after the fireball incident.

A massive #fireball lit up the skies above Songyuan City in northeast China. A car’s #dashcam and several street cameras recorded the “suspected #meteorite lightening up sky,” according to #China Central Television. #CCTV [https:]] #space pic.twitter.com/7iOh8ogVr5

— Robert Lufkin MD (@robertlufkinmd) October 13, 2019

Fireballs are making many appearances across the world lately: A chilling, car-sized fireball was reportedly caught on camera in Australia, casting an eerie orange glow in Adelaide, while a fiery “double meteor” that looked like a firework recently hit some parts of Florida.

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19:27
Dune Case Turns Your PC into a Mac Pro Cheese Grater
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Apple is certainly a capable maker of hardware and software. But there’s an argument to be made that much of its audience largely cares about the status that comes from visibly owning an Apple product. That’s why they’re willing to pay a premium for products that are beautiful but maybe not the best in their respective categories when it comes to pure power.

However, what if you could have the best of both worlds? Earlier this year Apple revealed a $6,000 dollar upgrade to the Mac Pro in the form of a professional desktop tower housed inside of a big metal cheese grater. And now manufacturer Dune is offering you that same look but with all the versatility of a PC with the new Dune Pro case.

As reported by PCGamer, the Dune Pro basically rips off the Mac Pro for what we assume is a fraction of the price. It’s not a full computer, though, it’s just a case. But what many power users like about PC compared to Mac is the increased level of customization.

And you can definitely customize the Dune Pro. The case houses all sorts of motherboards, the newest Nvidia RTX 2080 and AMD Radeon VII graphics cards, air and liquid cooling, and plenty of expansion slots in the aluminum chassis. There must be a real benefit to this hole-filled design Apple went with. You might just want to wait for an upcoming “sound dampening accessory” if you want this machine to run as quietly as an Apple device.

The Dune Pro case hits Kickstarter next week. For more on Apple, say goodbye to iTunes as you knew it and check out our impressions of Apple Arcade.
17:18
Dril, ‘Dolittle,’ and ‘Joker’ Parody Oscar the Grouch Were This Weekend’s Fakest Trailers
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Last Friday we showed you a bunch of new trailers for upcoming movies and television shows like we always do. But we took for granted just how plausible those trailers all look. In contrast, this weekend gave us a handful of new trailers for projects we can’t possible believe are real.

Take a look!

The only actually fake trailer on this list, Grouch is a Saturday Night Live parody of the recent Joker movie. Only instead of Joaquin Phoenix’s gritty psychological take on the clown who loves crime, David Harbour stars in this gritty reboot of Sesame Street where he plays Oscar the Grouch. In a city full of puppet prostitutes, vampire junkies, and other trash, the only sane choice is to live in a dumpster. Big mood. The production value of this trailer, how closely it apes the actual movie, is really impressive.

the News, as you know it, has died… and from its ashes rises “TRUTHPOINT”

streaming LIVE, wednesday at midnight (EST) , on [https:]] pic.twitter.com/I9UpgHYjnN

— wint (@dril) October 13, 2019

For the opposite of production value, check out Truthpoint. Only the mad bastards at Adult Swim would even dare to give Dril, Twitter’s own internet prophet, his own online show. In this InfoWars parody, Dril (portrayed by someone in a mask) and his co-host Derek Estevez-Olsen scream about sucking poison out of America’s wounds. Some buzzkills have complained about Dril “selling out” with this show, but funny tweets don’t pay rent. Buy his book you bums!

And finally here’s a real movie! In his first major post-Marvel role, Robert Downey Jr. is taking a page from Mark Wahlberg and talking to animals in Dolittle. Set during the Victorian England period of the original books, Downey basically gets to play Sherlock Holmes again only this time he has a bunch of CGI animals voiced by celebrities to bounce off of.

Those celebrities include John Cena, Emma Thompson, Selena Gomez, Kumail Nanjiani, Craig Robinson, Rami Malek, Marion Cotillard, Ralph Fiennes, Octavia Spencer, Carmen Ejogo, and Spider-Man himself Tom Holland as a loyal dog. Great casting. But between the bizarre self-serious tone of this trailer and reports of a deeply troubled production, this earns a spot on our list of fake-ass looking movies. It releases in January so you know it’s good.
16:30
‘Batwoman’ Season 1 Episode 2 Recap: Alice’s Rabbit Hole
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Ruby Rose as Kate Kane/Batwoman -- Photo: Katie Yu/The CW
In its second week, Batwoman wastes almost no time getting us into the bat-action. I say almost because we have to deal with another opening flashback and narration before the episode starts proper. I admit, knowing Kate’s writing these thoughts to Bruce Wayne makes the narration more palatable. Context helps a lot. Though I’m not sure he’s the one you want to be asking about sanity. And either way, the monotone delivery doesn’t make it an easy listen. The flashbacks remain obnoxious. They’re largely unneeded and the bright, overexposed and choppy visual style hurts to watch.

Then, we see Batwoman beating up bad guys and dark alleys and everything’s OK. It’s really all I wanted from any Bat-family series. For now, she’s just looking for Alice, who she’s figured out is her twin, Beth. As Luke Fox points out though, the vigilante work has a side effect. The people of Gotham think she’s Batman. She’s giving them hope the way the old bat did. She brushes it off for now, but we know how this works. Eventually she’ll rise up and be the hero Gotham needs. We’ve seen this story so many times before, but there’s a reason for that. It’s a good one.

Rachel Skarsten as Alice — Photo: Jeffery Garland/The CW

Speaking of Alice, she gets a long villain monologue scene that she really should have had in the premiere. She’s turning out to be a great villain. She plays unhinged very well, while giving her character a believable motivation. The good guys on this series are generally still a little too flat for me, but superhero stories are really all about the villains. So far, this first season has an impressively strong one.

It makes for a confrontation that’s exactly as tense as you want it to be. Despite refusing to believe that Alice is Beth, Colonel Kane figures she’s at least using events from Beth’s life. When the Crows track one of her rabbits to a suburban neighborhood, he deduces that they must be at their old house. To his credit, that’s where Alice’s big villain monologue took place. Partly thanks to Kate though, the Crows are too late. By the time the get to the house, Alice and her Rabbits have cleared out, leaving a gruesome tea party scene with the bodies of the couple who lived there.

Dougray Scott as Jacob Kane — Photo: Sergei Bachlakov/The CW

Kate, meanwhile, got a message to Alice. Figuring out that the Rabbit she injured the night before would be at her step sister’s secret clinic, Kate uses him to get a message to Alice. A codeword to meet at their favorite childhood place. It works, Alice shows up. We got a fantastic villain-hero scene, the kind where you can never really be sure which way the villain will take things. In the same breath, she confirms being Kate’s sister and casts doubt. Her explanation is filled with rhymes and poetic imagery and Alice and Wonderland quotes, so you can never quite tell what’s true. It’s a fun back-and-fourth that again asserts what a fun villain she is. Better than that, she’s also Kate’s weak spot. This is the episode where the hero messes up badly, and we can totally understand why she does.

She’s so desperate to have her sister back that she doesn’t realize how much Alice is manipulating her. Sophie tells Colonel Kane where Kate and Alice are, and the Crows show up. Kate convinces them to arrest, rather than kill Alice, and Alice quotes the book again. This time, a story about three sisters, along with a reminder that she doesn’t like to share. Kate puts it together quickly. She sent someone to kill Kate’s stepsister, Mary. She shows up as Batwoman just in time to save her, capturing the henchman. Before she can assure Mary she’s safe though, she sees on the news that a bomb exploded on the bridge under the prison transport van Alice was in. Just like her cousin, Kate doesn’t want to be responsible for anyone’s death. She races to the scene of the explosion, dives underwater, and uses Batman’s old rebreather to stop Alice from drowning.

Meagan Tandy as Sophie Moore — Photo: Sergei Bachlakov/The CW

Kate takes an L here, and that’s appropriate for the second episode of a series. If this was a movie, this would be the end of the second act. Things are at a low point, but it’s what inspires Kate to become a hero. This is how she decides to be the Batwoman the rest of the CW-verse met in ‘Elseworlds‘ last year. By the end of the episode, everyone’s mad at her. A policeman shoots the gas tank of a sunken squad car and the explosion blows both Kate and Alice back. She narrowly avoids an awkward run-in with the police thanks to a quick remote defibrillation from Luke. That’s as good as it gets for her. By the end of the episode, everyone’s mad at her. Mary basically gives her an ultimatum, her dad threatens to arrest her for aiding and abetting a terrorist, and Sophie tells her in no uncertain terms that there’s nothing between them.

Though there was no triumphant ending, the action remained strong throughout. The fight scenes, the underwater explosion, it all made for exciting superhero TV that mostly made up for the show’s shortcomings. Greg Berlanti and co. know how to make good-looking comic book television. The flashbacks still suck and they keep sucking throughout the episode. They don’t have the emotional weight that the show wants them too. It feels like they’re only here because Arrow had them. Only Arrow’s revealed twists and turns in Oliver’s journey. And even then, they still got old by Season Four. Here, the flashbacks rehash what we already know. I just hope the show either uses them to better effect or drops them altogether.

Ruby Rose as Kate Kane/Batwoman — Photo: Katie Yu/The CW

One more tick in the good… well, at least interesting column, is the show ended with another mystery. Alice, we learned didn’t know about the gas attack on Kate and Sophie in the Crow parking garage. Kate thought it was Alice trying to get her knife back. Instead, right at the end, we learn it was Mary’s mother, Catherine, who hired the attackers. We don’t have even the slightest hint as to why yet, but it looks like we’ve found this series’s version of Malcolm Merlyn. She’s not as charismatic as John Barrowman, but who is? Can’t hold that against her. The annoying things about Batwoman’s pilot remained annoying here. Even if having the context of the narration improves it ever so slightly, I’d still rather it wasn’t here. Still, the story took meaningful steps forward, and we got a tight, action-packed episode with some character growth as a bonus. It’s enough to keep me coming back for more.
16:17
Carlsberg Wants to Put Beer in Paper Bottles
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Carlsberg’s signature Danish pilsner hasn’t changed in over 100 years and neither has the logo on its bottles and cans. The bottles and cans themselves, however, have seen frequent tweaks.

Lately, a lot of the company’s updates reflect their commitment to sustainability. Right now Carlsberg is experimenting with putting beer in “paper bottles.” They put those words in quotes because officially the bottles are made from sustainably-sourced wood fiber.

Currently Carlsberg is comparing two prototypes. One is lined with conventional PET. The other is lined with PEF (polyethylene furanoate), a bio-plastic that’s typically made from agricultural or forestry waste. Both bottles are 100% recyclable.

The bottles are being produced by a new company called Paboco (see what they did there?). These prototypes are the result of four years of cooperation by the Technical University of Denmark, EcoXPac, and Swedish pulp and paper product manufacturer BillerudKorsnäs.

They received backing from several heavy hitters. In addition to Carlsberg, Coca-Cola, Absolut, and L’Oreal have thrown their weight behind Paboco’s sustainable bottle designs. Interim Paboco CEO Gittan Schiöld says that the partners “are united in our vision that the paper bottle will become a reality and fundamentally change this industry for good.”

These new bottles could play an important role in helping Carlsberg meet their Together Towards ZERO goals. The company has committed to achieving zero emissions at all of its breweries and a 30% reduction across all operations in the next decade.

That’s no mean feat when you’re a company that employs more than 40,000 people and brews 500-plus beers across three continents.

It will take more than wood fiber bottles to get there, but this is just Carlsberg’s latest move. They’ve also cooked up a way to cut down on plastic use by replacing the plastic snap rings that hold six-packs together with glue.
15:19
World’s Largest Ouija Board Unveiled in Salem, Ma.
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Rick, Samara, Winter and Kate Schreck (via Ripley's Believe It or Not)
What’s heavier than an elephant, longer than a Brontosaurus, and large enough to park five full-sized 18-wheelers?

The world’s largest Ouija board, of course.

Dubbed Ouijazilla, the record-breaking spirit board made its debut in Massachusetts’ historic Salem Common on Saturday.

Rick “Ormortis” Schreck, vice president of the Talking Board Historical Society, spent more than a year working to surpass the 2016 Guinness World Record holder: the Grand Midway Hotel in Windber, Pa.

Rick Schreck spent more than a year building Ouijazilla (via Talking Board Historical Society)

The beast of a board weighs approximately 9,000 pounds, measures 3,168 square feet, and lives in the heart of the Salem Common park, where folks are invited to pose with the behemoth toy.

Introduced in 1890, the ouija board was regarded as a parlor game unrelated to the occult. Until American spiritualist Pearl Curran popularized its use as a divining tool during World War I.

Now, every kid in the country has had a go on the planchette, waiting to see what words the board will spell (then arguing over who actually pushed the plastic piece).

Schreck’s hand-painted board and heart-shaped plank are modeled after the original Parker Brothers’ Ouija board—with a few personal embellishments by the New Jersey-based tattoo artist.

The board required a team of close family, friends, and volunteers to assemble (via Ripley’s Believe It or Not)

Rick began collecting different styles, shapes, sizes, and spirits of talking boards in 1992, and eventually moved on to designing his own, using unconventional materials like human bones, hair, and ashes.

According to Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Schreck now owns about 300 boards—both acquired and homemade. But even all of those put together don’t stack up to Ouijazilla.

The impressive project features 99 individual sheets of plywood, all covered in more than 20 gallons of wood stain.

The standalone planchette, which weighs roughly 400 pounds, is cleverly designed to be maneuvered across the playing surface by one person.

Follow Schreck’s Ouijazilla journey from New Jersey to Massachusetts on Instagram.

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15:00
Dave Gibbons Shares His Thoughts on HBO’s ‘Watchmen’ and DC’s ‘Doomsday Clock’
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During New York Comic-Con, I had the chance to speak with legendary comic book artist, Dave Gibbons. If you’re unfamiliar with the name, he’s the man who brought Alan Moore’s Watchmen to life through his masterful illustrations. Considering how big Watchmen is these days, I wanted to pick his brain about the various Watchmen-related projects released in recent years.

Zack Snyder’s Watchmen film released in 2009. It drew a mixed reaction from both regular movie-going audiences and fans of the original. Some praised its adherence to the source material while others decried it for the very same reason. Neither a hit or a flop, Watchmen now enjoys cult movie status among superhero films.

“I think Watchmen was a really difficult movie to make because of the shape of the comic book and the way the story didn’t fit comfortably in a movie,” said Gibbons. “I think Zack Snyder did a great job and I was really happy with it. The other thing about it is that we sold a lot of copies of the graphic novel. Which meant even people who didn’t like the movie were now reading Alan’s words or looking at my pictures.

HBO will soon release its Watchmen series. Unlike the movie, the TV show is taking the franchise in an all-new direction. Though based in the Watchmen universe, it is introducing entirely new characters and storylines. It’s a far departure from the source material, but it’s what Gibbons appreciates about the project.

“The TV series is sort of interesting because it’s actually set 30 years after [the events of Watchmen]. If you imagine you lived in a world where Watchmen happened back in the ‘80s, you’re now in that world today. The way it’s changed is completely unexpected. It was certainly unexpected to me. There’s enough distance where it doesn’t feel like it’s a pastiche or a rehash. It all feels completely fresh.”

“I’ve seen the pilot and I’ve read four or five of the screenplays and I’m absolutely blown away by it. If you’re familiar with Watchmen, there’s all sorts of stuff that’s going to make your little fanboy heart happy. If you’re not familiar with it, it stands alone as a really interesting alternate reality story.”

Those who produce TV or movie adaptations of superhero properties don’t always seek input from the original creators. That wasn’t the case with HBO’s Watchmen. According to Gibbons, the showrunners were very interested in his thoughts.

“I spoke with Damon Lindelof before he even really started working on it. He wanted to know what I thought about it and what my stance on it was. I think everyone pretty much knew Alan’s stance, which was he probably wouldn’t like it. Which is fine.”

“I gave them some notes on the screenplay for the first one. I got to see the pilot when I was out in Los Angeles and the writers asked me all sorts of questions to fill in the background. Some of my artwork will show up at various times. I’m really enjoying it. I’m really happy with it. They’re so respectful of the original material. They want to make it as good as they possibly can. It’s really exciting.”

In 2012, DC Comics launched Before Watchmen, which acted as a prequel to the original graphic novel. 2016 saw the release of DC Rebirth, which began to integrate the Watchmen and DC comic book universes. This process continues with the ongoing Doomsday Clock series.

Like Zack Snyder’s Watchmen film, DC’s efforts to fold Watchmen into the mainstream DC universe have met with mixed results. Some enjoy seeing characters like The Comedian, Rorschach, and Ozymandias make a return. Others believe Watchmen is its own thing and doesn’t need a continuation. Dave Gibbons seems to be of the latter opinion.

“I feel Watchmen is a stand-alone graphic novel. It’s like a science fiction story. You don’t need anymore before or after it. Before Watchmen had stuff that we kind of hinted at and that was almost enough. It’s more evocative to have something hinted at than to see it play out. It’s like explaining a joke too much. It isn’t funny.”

“For Doomsday Clock, I can see why DC did it. Obviously a lot of people who work on these things are friends of mine and I don’t bear them any ill-will at all. It’s kind of a way to integrate the Watchmen universe with the DC universe. I can’t see the point of that. I don’t think it does favors for either of them. So I’m not so keen on those.”

“I’m really excited about the TV series because it is set so far away from it. It’s almost like doing a take on a character like Peter Pan or Sherlock Holmes; doing it from a sufficient distance that it becomes fresh and isn’t just a dilution of the original material.”

Set in the modern DC comic book universe, Doomsday Clock has iconic heroes like Batman and Superman interacting with Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan. Though he isn’t exactly a fan of Doomsday Clock, Dave Gibbons has nothing but respect for those involved in the project.

“I know Gary Frank and I know Geoff Johns. Gary approached me at a comic convention and he said: ‘Dave, I don’t know if you know this but I’m doing this Doomsday Clock and I don’t want to piss you off.’ And I said ‘Gary, if you want to do it that’s entirely up to you. You’re a freelancer like I am. I can’t tell a fellow artist what they should or shouldn’t do. It won’t change our friendship.’ So he was fine with that.”

“I’m a fanboy. I remember when the Justice League first met the Justice Society and how cool that was. I understand seeing Batman and Rorschach in the same picture is a fanboy dream. If I had a criticism, is that it’s not interesting enough. What they’re doing in the TV series is really adventurous and unexpected and extreme. In the comic, it’s a bit too closed. It’s too much of a pastiche.”
14:22
Study: Some Lunar Ice May Be Younger Than We Thought
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Shackleton Crater, the floor of which is permanently shadowed from the sun, appears to be home to deposits of water ice (via NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University)
Scientists last year observed evidence of water ice on the Moon’s surface.

Located in the darkest and coldest parts of its polar regions, these patchy deposits are likely billions of years old. But some, according to new research, may be much more recent.

“The ages of these deposits can potentially tell us something about the origin of the ice, which helps us understand the sources and distribution of water in the inner Solar System,” lead study author Ariel Deutsch, a graduate student at Brown University, said in a statement.

Working with Brown professor Jim Head and Gregory Neumann of the Goddard Space Flight Center, Deutsch studied data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been circling the Moon since 2009.

A majority of the reported ice deposits were found within large craters formed some 3.1 billion years (or longer) ago; patchy distribution suggests the ice has been battered by debris over a long period.

Analysts, however, also found evidence of ice in smaller craters, which appear to be “quite fresh,” Brown boasted, suggesting some deposits on the south pole emerged relatively recently.

“That was a surprise,” Deutsch said. “There hadn’t really been any observations of ice in younger cold traps before.”

Differently aged deposits also indicates different sources: Older ice could have come from water-bearing comets and asteroids or volcanic activity—neither of which are a problem today.

So more recent ice must have developed from something else—perhaps bombardment of pea-sized micrometeorites or implantation by solar wind.

The best way to find out, the researchers said, is to send a spacecraft to collect samples.

That’s what NASA did with its Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), which helped researchers identify three specific signatures that “definitely prove” there is water ice on Earth’s satellite.

The machine not only picked up reflective properties expected of ice, but also measured the distinctive way its molecules absorb infrared light, allowing researchers to differentiate between liquid water or vapor and solid ice.

Most of the newfound water ice is situated in the shadows of craters near the orb’s poles, where the temperature never reaches above a balmy -250 ℉. The tiny tilt of the Moon’s rotation axis, NASA explained, restricts sunlight from reaching these regions.

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13:31
Astronauts Need Your Help To Fight Light Pollution
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The Iberian Peninsula at night, showing Spain and Portugal (via NASA)
Light pollution isn’t just an issue on Earth: For astronauts peering out an International Space Station window, city lights appear brighter than stars.

To tackle the problem of artificial light in the night sky, the European Space Agency (ESA) is calling on citizen scientists to help identify images of metropolitan areas taken from the cosmos.

NASA’s Astronaut Photography of Earth archives are brimming with high-resolution pictures of our planet from dusk to dawn. Most snapshots, however, are uncatalogued and don’t have an assigned location.

Enter Lost at Night, a project that raises awareness of light pollution.

More than 30,000 images have been classified by volunteers. But more help is required to complete the puzzle.

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti on the International Space Station in February 2015 (via ESA/NASA)

“We don’t know which direction the astronauts pointed the camera from the Station,” lead project investigator Alejandro Sánchez de Miguel, a research fellow at the University of Exeter, said in a statement. “We only know the time it was taken and the area of Earth they were flying over.”

The Lost at Night website invites people to help find the best match for each problem picture; simply follow the instructions to pair lit-up cities within a 620-mile range.

“Forget about playing Candy Crush in idle times,” Sánchez de Miguel said. “This is a great opportunity to learn about geography, the distribution of human activity, and how your home town looks like from space.”

Plus, it’s much more mind-bendingly difficult than the colorful match-three puzzle game.

People make mistakes, though. So this initiative requires input from five users per image to reduce the margin of error. From there, artificial intelligence takes over.

The objective is to identify 90,000 images—enough to train AI to automatically recognize a collection of pixels and locate images.

To tackle light pollution, citizen scientists are urged to help map out the problem on their smartphones by identifying images of cities taken from space (via Lost at Night)

Artificial light has a broad range of impacts on the biological clock of nocturnal and diurnal species. Light changes, according to ESA, lead to knock-on effects that can impact entire ecosystems—from plant flowering times to migration disruptions for birds and turtles.

Bright nights also affect people’s sleep and can negatively impact health.

“While computer algorithms have trouble distinguishing between stars, the Moon, and cities, people are more reliable when it comes to recognizing patterns and analyzing complex images,” Sánchez de Miguel said.

There are numerous scientific projects associated with images taken from the ISS, captured in the inhabitants’ free time from the seven-window Cupola observation module.

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12:34
Watch: Whales Blow Bubble Nets to Capture Fish
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Whale bubble-net feeding documented by University of Hawai'i researchers (via University of Hawai'i)
Just as humans use fishing nets to capture scaley snacks, humpback whales rely on bubbles from their blowholes to round up dinner.

Researchers from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa filmed the massive mammals using the “bubble-net feeding” technique in the waters of Southeast Alaska.

“The footage is rather groundbreaking,” Lars Bejder, director of the UH Mānoa Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), said in a statement.

Collected data provides insight into how whales carry out bubble-net feeding (via University of Hawai’i)

Using cameras and sensors attached to the whales, as well as video from aerial drones, the team recorded data for a project investigating causes of a possible decline in humpback whale numbers.

“We’re observing how these animals are manipulating their prey and preparing their prey for capture,” Bejder explained. “It is allowing us to gain new insights that we really haven’t been able to do before.”

Unique to humpbacks and Bryde’s whales, bubble-net feeding is often done in groups of two or three to 60 at a time.

As the group circles a school of small fish, they work together to disorient and corral the swimmers into a net of bubbles, ranging from 10 to 100 feet in diameter.

After about six months of chowing down, the whales, newly energized and sated, head south to work off their weight gain during breeding season.

Some 3,000 humpback whales visit Alaska every summer, and up to 10,000 are counted in Hawai’i for winter mating. When the creatures leave their foraging grounds and migrate 3,000 miles, they stop eating until their return.

The science of bubble-net feeding remains unclear: Some believe the acoustics from whales’ exhalations trap the fish, others speculate the behavior is merely a form of socializing. The most popular theory, however, is one of survival.

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11:32
Google Doodle Honors Joseph Plateau, Whose Invention Led to Cinema
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Google celebrates Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau, whose research on visual perception inspired him to invent the phénakistiscope, which led to the birth of cinema (via Google)
You’d be forgiven for not knowing who Joseph Antoine Ferdinand Plateau is.

You most definitely know his legacy, though.

The Belgian physicist, whose phenakistiscope invention eventually led to the development of cinema, was born on this day in 1801.

To celebrate, Google Doodler Olivia Huynh created a mesmerizing animation that reflects Plateau’s style—with different imagery and themes on different devices.

Visit Google.com on a desktop or mobile browser and the Chrome app to experience three unique looping sequences.

“I enjoy Plateau’s broad range of interests,” Huynh said in a Google interview. “I think it’s a good message to show that you can be interested in lots of things, like science, math, art, invention, craft, and that they can overlap.”

Born in Brussels 218 years ago, Plateau was the son of an accomplished artist. After studying law, he became one of the best-known Belgian scientists of the 19th century, remembered for his study of physiological optics—particularly the effect of light and color on the human retina.

Plateau’s continued research led to the creation of the phenakistiscope in 1832.

The stroboscopic device used counter rotating disks—one filled with small windows, evenly spaced in a circle; the other with a series of drawn images—that, when turned at exactly the right speed, created the illusion of motion.

A cylindrical version, known as the zoetrope, was introduced in 1833, and later commercialized by Milton Bradley as a children’s toy.

Ironically, Plateau lost his eyesight later in life—an affliction that he attributed to an experiment in which he gazed directly into the sun for 25 seconds.

Still, he maintained a productive science career: In 1835, Plateau was appointed professor of experimental physics at Ghent University, where he worked alongside son Felix Plateau and son-in-law Gustaaf Van der Mensbrugghe.

Plateau died in September 1883 at the age of 81.

In his memory, Huynh hopes people will see today’s Doodles and “feel interested in the long history of animation and film.”

“Also, maybe people will try animating if they’re interested,” she added.

Each of Huynh’s three animations were completed using only 12 drawings.

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October 12, 2019
17:00
Halloween Horror Nights 29 Is the Ultimate Fright Fest
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Universal's Halloween Horror Nights 29 is back and scarier than ever. (Photo Credit: Keenan McClelland)
A dark and terrifying presence has rolled into Florida as Universal Orlando Resorts premiere seasonal attraction, Halloween Horror Nights returns to take over the theme park for its twenty-ninth year running. This time around, the park is filled with haunted houses and scare-zones that are themed after many insanely anticipated film franchises like Ghostbusters and House of 1000 Corpses, as well as some of the best original work done in house.

Universal invited us out to the opening night event where we rated this years haunted houses and scare zones to find out which houses have the best shrieks, compared to the ones that are simply dying, bloody coughs. Join us, won’t you?

ZOMBIELAND: Double Tap (Scare Zone) 3.2 out of 5 Our first scare-zone of the night is based on the 2009 comedy classic starring Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, and Abigail Breslin. The streets of New York have been turned into Pacific Playland as our heroes from the film fight to stay alive in this humorous apocalyptic take over. There are fun sight gags here and there that will keep guests laughing, like the very wet porta potty area. Almost nowhere around here is safe. I even had one of these zombies scare the crap out of me coming out of a house! The area has a few campy characters and is going for more fun, than terror and fits into the event pretty well. Sadly the ride from the end of the film is built, but is simply just a prop to look at. Maybe something interactive will come if/when the park takes a swing at Zombieland: Double Tap?

Photo Credit: Universal Studios

GHOSTBUSTERS (Haunted House) 5 out of 5 Universal Orlando has a long running history with the Ghostbusters. This is the first time we have been able to re-enter the Ghostbusters fire station since The Ghostbusters Spooktacular show opened alongside the park in 1990, until it shut down operations in 1996. With Ghostbusters 3 releasing in theaters next year, this is the perfect time to get fans excited to bust Ghosts once again. This house explores all the events of the first film. Janine answers the call and sends you on your way through the haunted New York library, into the Biltmore hotel where Slimer is running amuck. Then finally coming face to face with Gozer the Gozerian and the one, the only; The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man! It is all here and looks incredible. This house has some of the coolest effects I have seen done with projectors in a long time. This is one of the number one houses of the event, so make sure to get in line early.

YETI: Terror of the Yukon (Haunted House) 3.5 out of 5 The Swamp Yeti in last year’s Slaughter Sinema house was such a hit that the creative team decided to really tell a Yeti story with Terror of the Yukon. This house takes place in a lodging camp in a remote part of Canada that’s all but uninhabitable. Yeti’s rip through it as you try and flee to freedom. There Yeti’s are huge and come from all angles of the house. Giant arms swinging from above you, through walls and bashing unsuspecting hunters. This house is a lot of fun if you can time it just right.

US (Haunted House) 2.8 out of 5 Based on Jordan Peele’s latest horror picture, US walks you through all the unnerving scenes from the movie. You follow the Wilson families descent into terror as they face off against their deranged doppelgangers. This house definitely has a mood, something a lot of other houses lack. The Tethered in this house doesn’t necessarily frighten you, as much as they do make you feel uncomfortable, which also can be scary in of itself. Set pieces in this house look spot on to the film, sadly there was not much in the films third act to really replicate other than dark dirty halls that look like they were pulled out of a dirty dmv. The Santa Cruz Pier is truly where this house shines.

Photo Credit: Universal Studios

STRANGER THINGS (Haunted House) 3 out of 5 It’s back to Hawkins and the Upside Down as you move through some of the most terrifying moments and events from seasons two and three of the popular Netflix series. This house includes snarling Demodogs, cute ’80s kids, and the best version of Hopper the show has ever seen. It’s really fun walking through the Starcourt Mall and to the end events of Season 3. This one isn’t too scary, but it is a lot of fun and visually pleasing for fans of the series. Scoops Ahoy; anyone?

ROB ZOMBIE’S HELLYBILLY DELUXE (Scare Zone) 4 out of 5 I’ve been a Rob Zombie fan since “Thunder Kiss ‘65” and have been saying for years that Universal should have Rob Zombie play at Halloween Horror Nights. Even though now I completely understand how physically unfeasible that is, it’s great that we at least got this! This is a metal fans dream come true. Multiple Sheri Moon Zombie’s dancing on high risers shooting flames, sinister robots, Living Dead Girl, Rob’s tombstone throne, the dancing robot from his videos and shows and yes, you can even take a seat in Dragula. It’s all here while Rob Zombie’s tracks and music videos blast all around San Francisco. I will say this zone also isn’t very scary, but it’s one hell of a good time!

DEPTHS OF FEAR (Haunted House) 2.8 out of 5 Thousands of feet below, inside a deep-sea mining facility lies something terribly sinister. Parasitic Mouthbrooders who spit acidic flesh-eating eggs upon unsuspecting humans have infested the facility and have begun turning them into crazed hosts. Pressure is building as you walk through this haunt. Will you make it out alive? Or have you just entered your own watery tomb. I loved the look of this one. The humidity combined with trickling water running throughout the house makes you feel like you are completely submerged underwater. The Mouthbrooder costumes are a tad on the cheesy side, but can really get you with the right effect. The best way to sum Depths up is that it feels a lot like the game Dead Space, but underwater.

Photo Credit: Universal Studios

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS (Haunted House) 4.3 out of 5 The legacy that built Universal has finally come back home! The Universal Monsters have had their moments here and there with Halloween Horror Nights, but this time they are coming back a lot more scarier and visceral than ever. These classic monsters are ready to scare the crap out of you! The Bride of Frankenstein’s screams will send a bolt of fear through the room as you.

Try and escape Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory. Dracula looks like a nosferatu in his final form waiting to feast and The Wolfman, Creature, and Mummy all don’t go down without one final scare. Each room of this house looks like it could be part of a new cinematic universe. Wishful thinking?

Photo Credit: Universal Studios

ANARCH-CADE (Scare Zone) 3 out of 5 At the entrance of the park, guests enter an ’80s inspired arcade where they only get one life. Neon gaming cabinets litter the streets as some of the coolest looking synth-wave concepts take over. From neon slashers to nunchuck wielding bad asses, this area is probably the best place to get a photo in the park.

HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES (Haunted House) 4.5 out of 5 This house is based off Rob Zombie’s first feature film. The movie itself was made on the Universal Hollywood backlots and then quickly shelved due to sensitive executives. Many years later after its long running success, Universal has licensed the property for a house here in Orlando. But it would not be the first time Corpses has been a haunted house. Hollywood did their 3-D rendition in 2010 and The Great American Nightmare did theirs in 2013. Now it was time for Universal Orlando to really shine. Boy-howdy did they not disappoint. The outside facade looks exactly like Captain Spaulding’s Museum of Monsters and Mad Men/gas station. For us horror fans, it’s simply gorgeous. The house is broken into multiple segments from the film with very interesting Rob Zombie like music video transitions in-between. All your favorites are here from Otis to Baby, and of course Doctor Satan! I could nit pick a few things, but honestly this is the best house this location has had in years. One of Horror Nights best!

VANITY BALL (Scare Zone) 2 out of 5 This scare zone in Hollywood could be made to look better, just like the human face. Where it has a strong stage presence, it lacks in fear. The beautiful and confident strut their stuff, showing off their new and improved looks of terror. Surgeons who are proud of their new works of art show them off with glee and eagerly await a new canvases. Will you be their next muse?

Photo Credit: Universal Studios

KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE (Haunted House) 3 out of 5 The Killer Klowns from Outer Space scare zone was so popular last year that the event dedicated an entire house to the cult ’80s film. Guests are lured in by the sweet smells of cotton candy, only to find other onlookers have been sealed in cotton candy cocoons! Race to escape as these otherworldly clowns reenact famous scenes from the film, including some amazing sight gags and one of the biggest clowns you will ever see in your life! This house is loads of fun and I will personally be sad when these Klowns leave the park and go back to outer space. Can we just make this one a permanent part of the park?

Photo Credit: Universal Studios

VIKINGS UNDEAD (Scare Zone) 3.8 out of 5 This is one for all the folks saying HHN has gotten too family friendly. Watch as horn-helmeted warriors rise from the grave and take control of central park. Guests become victims of these skeletal fighters and draugr, gruesome reanimated corpses channel their vindictive rage into an endless onslaught of gore. This area is no Trick r’ Treat, but man, are the flayed bodies and sound effects in this area intense! This is some of the goriest stuff I’ve seen come out of HHN in a long time. I think it would even make Clive Barker blush.

GRAVEYARD GAMES (Haunted House) 4 out of 5 Ghastly apparitions rise from their graves, looking for anyone who walks through the grounds after the moon has set. First off, this is one of the most gorgeous houses of the event. It reminds me a lot of a Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark tale. You’ll find other teens who have disobeyed the “No entrance after dark” rule, clinging to their almost dead cell phones as their parents Facetime in hopes of their loved ones return. There are a lot of unique scares here that I haven’t seen Universal try in replicate. This is one you’ll want to return to once more before leaving, if you find a way out, that is.

NIGHTINGALES: BLOOD PIT (Haunted House) 4 out of 5 Not only do we have Vikings stalking the streets this year, but just past that scare zone we have gladiators fighting for their lives in this house of horror as the bloodthirsty nightingales try to consume anyone who crosses their path. You are drenched in the smells of cooked meat as you walk through a town ablaze where everyone is screaming for a way out. This house is right next to Graveyard Games as one of the best originals in a while.

Photo Credit: Universal Studios

So all in all, this is a solid year for the nations #1 Halloween event. We sadly did not have time to see the Academy of Villains: Altered States show or the Halloween Marathon of Mayhem lagoon show, but I hear both are equally as great as the houses. The streets are filled with neon lights, dark synth-wave music, and scares lurk around every corner. Retro glassware and Killer Klown from Outer Space toys have become the hot must have merchandise items of 2019. There are lots of laughs, screams and blinking drink cup about. It must be that wonderful time of year again, Halloween Horror Nights is back!

Get your tickets for Halloween Horror Nights 29 here!

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2:45
Blizzard Faces Wide Backlash Over Hong Kong ‘Hearthstone’ Ban
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Update: In a hot piece of end of Friday news Blizzard officially responded to the controversy. You can read the lengthy attempt at spin on their blog, but long story short Blitzchung is getting his money back and everyone’s bans are being reduced to six months. People don’t like that this still implies calling for Democracy in Hong Kong is somehow wrong. Blizzard also insists China had nothing to do with the decision. People are buying it.

If Blizzard thought swiftly banning a professional Hearthstone player Blitzchung over his pro-Hong Kong protest remarks would make the problem go away instead of amplifying it, someone should introduce them about Barbara Streisand. While trying to appease the authoritarian China’s government and its lucrative markets, Activision wound up sparking an industry-wide backlash that’s still ongoing.

Let’s Unbox the World of Warcraft 15th Anniversary Collector’s Edition! pic.twitter.com/EENTE5JygU

— Greg Miller (@GameOverGreggy) October 10, 2019

Tim Sweeney of Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, said that despite the significant stake Chinese company Tencent has in the developer, he would use his final say as majority shareholder to ensure players aren’t punished for this kind of expression. He then burned up a lot of that goodwill by offering to talk a hate site. However, Riot Games, the folks behind League of Legends who are straight-up owned by Tencent, is telling its esports partners to please keep politics out of broadcasts.

Epic supports the rights of Fortnite players and creators to speak about politics and human rights. [https:]]

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) October 9, 2019

Blizzard didn’t just ban the troublesome player. It also cut ties with the casters on air during the protest, despite them ducking from the frame. In solidarity, multiple Hearthstone casters and fans are boycotting the company.

Politicians have criticized Blizzard’s decision. But these are mostly disingenuous Republicans looking to score points against communists, not protect Hong Kong democracy. The same goes for sleazy GamerGate types like Mark Kern also riding the boycott train.

Overwatch launches on the Nintendo Switch soon. And just in time anonymous artists have been turning Chinese character Mei into a mascot for Hong Kong democracy advocacy.

At Blizzard’s headquarters, several employees expressed their displeasure by staging a walkout. They covered up corporate signs that said “every voice matters” and “think globally” to criticize the company’s hypocrisy.

And while it’s not exactly related, we can’t imagine staffers (who recently went through a brutal round of layoffs) will be pleased to learn that Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is the latest gross rich jerk potentially linked to assassinated billionaire pedophile human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

This international incident over a digital card game isn’t going away soon. And with BlizzCon coming up, last year’s “controversy” of Diablo Immortal is going to look positively quaint by comparison. It serves Blizzard right, though. Political freedom is more important than profits.
October 11, 2019
21:44
‘Drunk’ Bees Are Stumbling Around Australian Parliament House
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The head beekeeper of Australia's Parliament House (APH) explained why "intoxicated" bees have been showing up in the area. (Photo Credit: Cormac Farrell / Twitter)
A group of bees in Australia are taking the term “buzzed” to a new level: People have noticed the flying insects stumbling around Australia’s Parliament House (APH) in Canberra and they have a lot of questions.

Cormac Farrell, Parliament’s head beekeeper, came to the rescue and was able to explain the bees’ strange behavior, Newsweek noted. On Twitter, Farrell discussed how alcohol is to blame for the bees falling out of the sky and acting very tipsy.

A few sharp-eyed folk walking have noticed dead & stumbling #bees on the paths around @Aust_Parliament and have asked what is going on. The answer is alcohol!
As the weather heats up, the nectar in some Australian flowers will ferment, making the foragers drunk. pic.twitter.com/Add2OAdjPu

— Cormac Farrell (@jagungal1) October 10, 2019

“A few sharp-eyed folk walking have noticed dead and stumbling #bees on the paths around @Aust_Parliament and have asked what is going on,” Farrell wrote in a tweet. “As the weather heats up, the nectar in some Australian flowers will ferment, making the foragers drunk.”

The drunk #bees are kept out of the hive to stop the honey from fermenting inside, which could hurt the whole colony.
However, once the honey is finished, you can use it to make some wonderful alcohol, which here @Aust_Parliament we do! pic.twitter.com/rix0YlD29j

— Cormac Farrell (@jagungal1) October 10, 2019

Being a drunk bee though comes with a price: According to Farrell, these bees are kept outside the hive to prevent the honey from fermenting, since it could destroy the entire colony. Once the honey is done though, the Australian Parliament House (APH) makes some really good honey mead.

Usually this makes them a bit wobbly, and if they come back to the #beehive drunk the guards will turn them away until they sober up.
Unfortunately these girls had a bit too much, and have died from the alcohol. pic.twitter.com/YQw4bapbKS

— Cormac Farrell (@jagungal1) October 10, 2019

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21:30
Review: ‘Concrete Genie’ Is the Feel-Good Game of the Year
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When we talk about PlayStation 4 exclusives we usually think about titles like God of War, Spider-Man, Uncharted, and The Last of Us. But Sony Interactive Entertainment also has many smaller games under its belt. One of these is the recently released Concrete Genie from PixelOpus. Much in the vein of Thatgamecompany’s Flower, this artistically-minded adventure is all about going out into the world and making it a better, brighter place. It’s a refreshing change of pace for those who want a different kind of gaming experience.

Concrete Genie features a young artist named Ash. In the game’s opening moments, we see him hanging out in an abandoned town called Denska; a place he once called home. While reminiscing on the town’s former glory, a group of bullies accosts Ash and tears up his artbook. Ash eventually finds himself in a lighthouse where he meets a magical being that bestows him with an oversized paintbrush. With this, Ash returns to Denska in an attempt to restore it to life.

Gameplay is pretty straight-forward. You take Ash into sections of Denska and revive them with his magical paintbrush. The twist is that you get help from “genies.” Genies can only move across connected walls. Purple thorns will impede their movement. You counter this by using “special” paint provided by the genies. Genies give you this power up after you paint specific objects such as grass, trees, and flowers on walls. Sometimes, the genies will want you to play with them. One will want you to kick a ball to it while another requires you to shine a spotlight on it so it can sing. Each genie you collect has a personality of its own.

You paint by either using the right analog stick or using the DualShock 4’s motion controls. I opted for the latter because A) it felt more natural to paint this way and B) it’s rare games actually require the use of motion controls. There is no penalty for painting outside of the predetermined borders. The game forgives any imperfections so long as you’re close enough. Though you can’t make a “bad” painting, you can undo previous paint strokes and try again. I really enjoyed the intuitiveness of the painting mechanics.

There are three genie types. Red genies create fires, yellow genies generate electricity and blue genies create wind. You’ll need to use each of their unique abilities in order to complete objectives and to press forward. Solving these specific puzzles requires Ash to collect the corresponding pieces of artwork the genies wants him to draw. So long as players remain observant of their surroundings, puzzles will not present much of a challenge.

As you explore Denska, you’ll find pages of your artbook. These pages not only help you solve specific puzzles, but they also give you different pieces to draw on your genies. Think of Mr. Potato Head and you’ll get an idea of how customization works. You can have a genie with giant antlers or long tentacles, for example. There’s a lot for players to toy around with. Since I’m lacking in the imagination department, I left my genies in their default setting. But it’s cool that creative players are free to make all manner of wild and crazy looking genies. Each location ends with Ash having to paint a “masterpiece.” This involves painting many of the items you’ve collected on a huge wall. Though limited to using specific items, I quite enjoyed making these oversized paintings.

The aforementioned bullies are another aspect of gameplay. They are an ever-present nuisance that Ash must avoid. I use the word “nuisance” on purpose because the bullies are no real threat in the beginning. All one really has to do is jump on a rooftop if bullies see Ash. Even if they catch Ash, the game doesn’t exactly end. This dynamic changes in the latter half, however. No spoilers, but Concrete Genie does a nice job of humanizing the bullies. By the end, you’ll feel sympathy for each of them.

I have mixed feelings about how the gameplay shifts in the last half. The first half is a somewhat chill experience where you get to mess around with the paint mechanics. The latter half presents players with new abilities and full-on boss battles. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved this portion since it ratcheted up the difficulty and intensity. But it is jarring going from a soothing adventure to a harrowing one (comparatively speaking). This is something players jumping into Concrete Genie without prior knowledge should be aware of.

Given its artistic focus, Concrete Genie is one of the more visually arresting titles out there. What’s fun is that there are three different art styles. The base game has a Tim Burton-esque quality to it. Characters have stop motion animations while the town of Denska is dark and twisted. Ash’s paintings are colorful manifestations that provide a sharp contrast to the drab, dreary town. The beautifully hand-drawn cutscenes (which provide context for the world and characters’ histories) look like they came straight out of a children’s storybook. I can’t imagine the kind of work that went into having so many different art styles mesh together but PixelOpus did a fantastic job of it.

At around 6 to 7 hours, Concrete Genie provides just enough gameplay without overstaying its welcome. In fact, it’s a nice contrast to the 100-hour monstrosities game companies seem to release now. Being a visual person, I’m always up for playing titles with a very specific and unique art style. Concrete Genie certainly does that. It also presents a heartwarming tale about empathy and never giving up on your dreams. Priced at $30, it is the perfect game to play on a nice weekend afternoon. It’s worth your time if you’re a PlayStation 4 owner.

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21:00
Top Movie and TV Trailers of the Week: ‘Zombieland: Double Tap,’ ‘The Turning,’ and More
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'Zombieland: Double Tap' (Photo Credit: Sony Pictures)
TGIF. While you’re planning for the long weekend ahead, we’ve rounded up the top movie and TV trailers that you may have missed during the week.

Abigail Breslin, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, and Woody Harrelson are fighting the undead again in Zombieland: Double Tap, while History’s drama Vikings teases a new kingdom threat. From Universal Pictures’ eerie flick The Turning to Netflix’s apocalypse series Daybreak, here are the top movie and TV shows to keep on your radar.
Charlie’s Angels
Our favorite trio is back in the new Charlie’s Angels film, which hits theaters in November: Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska team up to take down international criminals (and pull off amazing stunts) under the guidance of Elizabeth Banks.
Daybreak
It’s the end of the world in Netflix’s new Daybreak series and a trio of teens are ready to crush it: When one of the members loses his high school love amid the chaos, him and his friends must protect each other and stay away from Mad Max-style gangs in this funny series, which lands on Netflix October 24.
The Turning
What if you had to be a nanny to two creepy kids? The Turning, Universal Studios’ latest horror flick, follows caretaker (Mackenzie Davis), as she looks after Flora (Brooklynn Prince) and Miles (Stranger Things‘ Finn Wolfhard), who may be harboring some disturbing secrets about their family estate. The Turning hits theaters January 24.
Vikings
History’s drama series Vikings is approaching its final season, which hits the channel on December 4: Away from Kattegat, the Vikings are traveling to destinations they’ve never seen before, as a new enemy rises to take over all of Scandinavia.
Rattlesnake
When a woman’s daughter gets bit by a serpent in the middle of a desert, all hell breaks loose in the Netflix movie Rattlesnake. After a random woman heals her daughter’s bites, she finds out that what was done “doesn’t come cheap,” and she has a limited amount of time to pay her back. Rattlesnake hits Netflix soon.
Portals
What if a bunch of unknown gateways appeared on Earth? Portals, an eerie sci-fi movie that’s coming to theaters soon, follows people on our planet, as they try to avoid a bunch of “black holes” that may mess with their lives.
Zombieland: Double Tap
It’s time for a 10-year reunion and Zombieland: Double Tap brings our favorite quad back together, as they battle more flesh-eaters in a once-populated America. The squad will make new friends and enemies in the undead-themed film, which premieres in theaters on October 18.
Jungle Cruise
An adventure to the Amazon rainforest awaits in Jungle Cruise, which is coming to theaters on July 24, 2020: Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt embark on a crazy boat trip where there are tribes, obstacles, and gigantic waterfalls.

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20:32
Donald Trump Starts Cursed Twitch Channel
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Now that Ninja left for greener, Microsoft-funded pastures on Mixer, Twitch needs a new superstar streamer to fill the void. It doesn’t have to be a gamer. Considering how important being online is for everyday life, politicians have been looking at platforms like Twitch as a new fireside chat for connecting with constituents. If you’re cool, you can connect with Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitch.

And if you’re not cool, well, unfortunately Donald Trump has just launched a Twitch channel of his own.

The American president, hopefully on the verge of impeachment, debuted on the service to broadcast his most recent hate rally in Minnesota. Among his usual ramblings, Trump of course took potshots at the media. However, several other outlets have noted the irony of Twitch being owned by Amazon, a company Trump frequently butts heads with due to Jeff Bezos’ control of The Washington Post. We’re also not fans of Bezos by any means, but for different reasons.

Thousands watched live, although many viewers were just there to troll Trump in the comments. The Twitch page now has over 50,000 followers, which is impressive but far short of the 65 million followers Trump has on Twitter. That’s still his social media platform of choice for starting dumb new wars.

One of the most dangerous parts of Trump’s presidency is how he has weaponized disinformation on websites like Facebook and Twitter, Silicon Valley companies run by spineless billionaires who don’t want to take responsibility for how their failure to clean up their own spaces have effectively ruined the world. Right-wing radicalization has already poisoned so much of online gamer culture. Here’s hoping in vain that Trump on Twitch doesn’t speed up the destructive process further.
19:30
Review: ‘Indivisible’ Is the RPG You’ve Been Waiting For
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Indivisible is a rare thing: A crowdfunded video game that actually delivers. Originally announced back in 2015, Indivisible is a turn-based RPG with Metroidvania exploration elements. It features hand-drawn animations and an art-style influenced by various Asian cultures. Like many others, I’ve been waiting for this game to drop since it was first announced. I’m happy to say that the end result is near perfection. Indivisible is one of the most beautiful and rewarding gameplay experiences of 2019.

Indivisible takes the standard “chosen one” tale we’ve seen hundreds of times before but presents it in a cool and unique way. You play as the plucky Ajna. She lives in a quaint jungle village and spends her days practicing martial arts and getting into arguments with her stern but loving father. After agents of an evil empire destroy her village, Ajna sets off on a journey to avenge the ones she’s lost. Along the way, she meets others who’ve also felt the sting of the empire’s blade. As she journeys with her companions. Ajna learns about her true nature and what it means to believe in oneself.

While turn-based, battles play out in real-time. You’ll have to wait for an action bar to fill before you can initiate another attack. Think of the Active Time Battle system of Final Fantasy. What makes Indivisible’s combat more immediate is how you can perform different attacks by pressing up or down on the left analog stick. If you have a full party of four, you can hit foes with multi-hit combos. This fighting game style of combat doesn’t come as a surprise considering Indivisible is from the same folks who brought us Skullgirls. Mastering combat is one of the most satisfying aspects of the game.

The characters in your roster (called Incarnations) have their own distinct attacks and abilities. Some are melee fighters while others attack with ranged weapons. Some play support roles and provide the party with heals and buffs. The party collectively has a meter that fills up after successfully landing or parrying attacks. Once this meter fills, characters can either unleash devastating attacks or heal the entire party. You’re free to swap characters in and out of your rotation. You don’t have to worry about anyone becoming under-leveled as even inactive members level up with the rest of the party. This encourages players to try different combinations even when new characters become available later in the game.

The other half of the gameplay is exploration. Ajna will occasionally come across areas of the map she cannot access. As she gains new abilities from her allies, she can then return to these areas and further explore them. For example, Ajna will obtain an axe which she can use to chop down vines. She can also use the axe to elevate herself to higher areas. I won’t spoil it here, but some abilities allow Ajna to explore the world in unique and fun ways. Platforming isn’t as precise or smooth as I’d like. But once you get the hang of the somewhat stiff mechanics, exploring the world becomes rewarding.

Indivisible keeps things light when it comes to upgrades. Aside from red stones used as currency to improve your offense and defense, there is no upgrade system whatsoever. The main focus is on the individual characters’ skills and how to best utilize them during combat. It’s a refreshing change of pace if you’re tired of every game having some kind of complicated upgrade or crafting system.

Boss battles are where combat truly comes to life. Parrying attacks, knowing when to heal, and waiting for the right opportunity to unleash combos are the keys to victory. Bosses will occasionally leave the battlefield and throw different obstacles at you. These take the form of small enemies and environmental hazards like acid dripping from the ceiling. You’ll even have to navigate through platforming sections during some of the later boss battles. Though some bosses tend to absorb way too much damage before they go down, fighting these creatures is always a blast.

Aside from the engaging combat, Indivisible’s biggest highlight is its presentation. Each character and monster comes to life via gorgeous hand-drawn animations. Even simple things like Ajna’s basic running loop looks amazing. There were certain instances where I lost battles simply because the animations mesmerized me so much. Making the already wonderful animations pop even more is the bright and vibrant color palette. Seriously, you can take a screenshot of any moment of this game and frame it on a wall. My words cannot properly convey just how gorgeous Indivisible looks.

As someone who has watched Indivisible since its reveal, I can unequivocally say it was well worth the way. It reminds me of the type of RPGs I used to enjoy on the Sega Saturn. Like Cuphead, it demonstrates how awesome hand-animated games look on modern consoles. Its combat system is the epitome of “easy to learn, difficult to master.” While the platforming sections aren’t all that, they do a nice job of breaking up the combat. If you haven’t been keeping an eye on Indivisible, you owe it to yourself to try it. It really is an awesome experience.

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19:06
Geek Pick: The Nerf Ultra Hits Harder, Shoots Longer
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It’s new Nerf time! Hasbro just unveiled its newest line of Nerf blasters, starting with a singular gun designed to work with a completely revised dart design. It’s called Nerf Ultra, and the singular blaster is called, appropriately enough, the Nerf Ultra One. Hasbro sent us one to try out.

First, we gotta talk about the Nerf Ultra darts. At first glance you might think that they’re minor updates to the Nerf N-Strike darts, like the AccuStrike darts with the corkscrew tips. They’re about the same size and shape as the “regular” Nerf micro darts, but they’re very different in design.

To start, they kind of aren’t really Nerf darts. At least, they aren’t made of Nerf, the “non-expanding recreational foam” (yes, Nerf is an acronym, and now you learned something!) that has defined everything from the first squishy Nerf ball to Nerf darts and arrows. Nerf Ultra darts are made of a closed-cell foam similar in structure to Styrofoam than other Nerf ammunition, and much firmer.

These are hard, dense little darts, made harder and denser by the completely solid construction. Instead of a hollow cavity in the middle to align the dart against the plunger like in N-Strike darts, Nerf Ultra darts have a small plug that sticks out of the solid, firm dart body. Fortunately, each dart has a hollow rubber tip just like N-Strike darts, so they can’t do much damage (the same can’t be said for Nerf Rival’s small, firm foam balls). It’s a pretty interesting change, and the dense structure with the alignment plug could lead to more consistently accurate shots.

That brings us to the Nerf Ultra One, the first Nerf Ultra blaster, and a pretty impressive-looking one. Check out this big Nerf assault rifle. It looks like something straight out of Destiny or Borderlands, with its shoulder stock, foregrip, chunky carbide barrel, and big honkin’ ammunition drum. Hold the lower trigger down until the motor spins up, then pull the upper trigger for semiautomatic action.

Hasbro claims the Ultra One can launch darts up to 120 feet. This is absurdly optimistic for any Nerf blaster, but it can easily cover the distance of our 60-foot-wide lab. The power isn’t surprising after you’ve heard the gun rev up; at full power, the blaster sounds like a freaking chainsaw. It’s surprisingly accurate at about 30 to 40 feet (as long as you keep the motor fully revved), considering the short barrel.

It’s an impressive little blaster, even if it isn’t fully automatic like the Nerf Elite Titan. Which is forgivable, since the Ultra One is just $50 and the Titan is twice as expensive at $100. You’re comparing an assault rifle to a minigun. In fact, it’s pretty reasonably priced as a “big” Nerf gun.

This new, harder Nerf Ultra dart is pretty intriguing, and the Ultra One is a good first blaster to show it off. I’m excited to see if Hasbro will make an accurate Nerf Ultra pistol or rifle, now that they released their first flagship blaster for this line. You can pick up the Nerf Ultra One for $49.99 at Amazon, Target, Wal-Mart, and other major retailers.
17:40
Archie Celebrates National Coming Out Day With New Comic
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It’s sort of wild to think that one of the most prominent forces in LGBTQ+ acceptance in the comic book world is crusty old Archie Comics, but it’s happening and it’s spectacular. The company introduced their first openly gay character to Riverdale in the form of Kevin Keller in 2010, and despite some blowback from conservative talking heads he proved immediately popular, forcing the issue of Veronica he debuted in back for a second printing, which had never happened in company history.

Kevin’s creator, longtime Archie artist Dan Parent, has shared stories about how gay fans approached him after the character debuted and talked about what a difference it would have made in their lives as kids (the prime Archie reading age) if a character like him had been around. That fan response definitely woke the company up to the ability their comics have to normalize acceptance of LGBTQ+ people in the real world, and they’ve leaned into it with aplomb.

For National Coming Out Day, Archie’s creative teams have put out a new free digital comic, A Better Universe, in cooperation with the It Gets Better project. The book works in classic Archie fashion, collecting five short comic strips featuring the company’s iconic characters as they navigate issues of sexuality and gender. They’re slight, but we have to give them props for trying to cover as many different identities and situations as they can, recognizing that it’s a complicated topic for people to grapple with.

Brian Wenke, Executive Director of the It Gets Better Project, said in a statement “Since our first collaboration around ‘Kevin Keller Day’ in 2013 to celebrate Riverdale’s first openly gay resident, Archie Comics has been a leader in amplifying the It Gets Better message of hope. Integrating positive LGBTQ+ role models throughout all forms of media is an essential ingredient to creating a more understanding and inclusive world for all people.”

Can’t argue with those goals. Read A Better Universe here.
17:34
Watch: 2 NASA Astronauts Spacewalk, Replace Batteries Outside Space Station
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NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan are spacewalking and replacing batteries outside the ISS on October 11. (Photo Credit: NASA / Twitter)
NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan are taking a 6.5-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) today and you can stream all the activity online.

Koch and Morgan are working to place new solar array batteries on the orbiting laboratory’s Port 6 truss, Space.com reported. The spacewalk, which began at 7:50 a.m. EDT this morning, is streaming live on NASA TV.

Friday’s spacewalk is the second one for Koch and Morgan: The astronauts started the station battery task during a spacewalk on Saturday, October 5. ISS astronauts will replace six lithium-ion batteries for the orbiting laboratory’s solar arrays during five spacewalks taking place in October.

Some astronauts have referred to a spacewalk as a “fingertip ballet.” Tune in live tomorrow at 6:30am ET to watch @AstroDrewMorgan and @Astro_Christina prepare to venture outside of the @Space_Station to complete one of these microgravity dances. Details: [https:]] pic.twitter.com/F0IF3M61Kz

— NASA (@NASA) October 11, 2019

Upcoming spacewalk assignments include Morgan and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir (October 16), Koch and Meir for the first all-female spacewalk on October 21, Meir and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Luca Parmitano, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexander Skvortsov on October 31.

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17:33
Watch These Movies Before ‘El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie’
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Jesse Pinkman is hiding from authorities in a new 'El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie' trailer. (Photo Credit: Ursula Coyote / AMC)
Sorry Gemini Man but the biggest movie releasing this weekend isn’t something most people will see in theaters. While El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie is getting a theatrical release, its true home is streaming Netflix. Watch Jesse Pinkman’s tense and thrilling journey to freedom from the comfort of your own home. After all, it is the follow-up a TV show, but a TV show that already had cinematic levels of quality on the small screen. Really, what’s the difference?

Watch these movies before El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.

Felina
Obviously you should watch all of Breaking Bad to understand what’s going on in the Breaking Bad movie. But if you’re short on time and already sort of know the beats of Walter White’s rise to drug kingpin, refresh yourself with the current status quo by watching the now six-years-old series finale ‘Felina.’ El Camino takes place immediately after this.
Need For Speed
El Camino follows Jesse’s desperate search for freedom, a search that began with him desperately driving away in an El Camino. Before we knew about his solo film though, the joke was that this scene was the secret lead-in to Need for Speed, an inexplicable movie based on the plotless racing game that Aaron Paul starred in.
The X-Files: I Want to Believe
El Camino looks like a great movie that continues the events of a great TV show. If you want to see a bad movie that has barely anything to do with a great TV, watch The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Forget the overarching alien mythology, this overblown monster of the week episode is anti-fan service at its finest.

The Getaway
There’s a whole tradition of cinema following troubled man hitting the open road to escape their past and find new freedom. That’s America. Steve McQueen is the iconic actor who embodies this ethos, and you’ll find no better example of it than in Sam Peckinpah’s crime classic The Getaway.
Drive
Another no-nonsense story about a crime man and his car, Drive helped introduce these neo-noir thrills to an entire new generation. The soundtrack! The scorpion jacket! The sheer amount of cool actors who need to play off of Ryan Gosling’s blank face. Alongside greats like Oscar Isaac, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman, Carey Mulligan and Christina Hendricks, Bryan Cranston himself has a fantastic turn here.
Better Call Saul
Breaking Bad may have ended six years ago but fans didn’t have to wait for this movie to spend more time in Vince Gilligan’s criminal New Mexico. For years the prequel spin-off Better Call Saul has been following the moral descent of Heisenberg’s eventual criminal lawyer Saul Goodman. It’s a great show, arguably better than Breaking Bad, because it has so much more Bob Odenkirk.
Scarface
Breaking Bad is great but Walter White has definitely become the kind of anti-hero that chuds misinterpret as the real hero and worship as a result. And the king of college dorm room poster dudes is Tony Montana. But Scarface is also great and an absolute must-watch if you’re even remotely interested in the psychology of criminals and the violence they cause.
15:46
Facebook Messenger Stickers Encourage Mental Health Convos
» ‎ Geek.com

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Facebook wants to talk about mental health. (Photo Credit: Facebook)
Everyone has mental health. But not everyone is comfortable talking about it publicly.

Which is why Facebook released new “Let’s Talk” filters and stickers for Stories and Messenger.

The add-ons, according to Antigone Davis, global head of safety for the social network, can act as an “invitation for friends who might be struggling to reach out for support.”

Simply open the camera in Facebook or Messenger and tap on the filter at the bottom of the screen; snap a selfie or take a photo of your favorite furry friend, then share it with a person in need.

“It takes less than a minute to show someone you care,” Davis wrote in a blog post.

You can also download the 16-sticker “Let’s Talk” pack by clicking on the smiley face in the text box of any Messenger conversation.

Each time a sticker is sent, Facebook will donate $1 to a group of mental health organizations (full list below)—up to $1 million.

Start a conversation with new ‘Let’s Talk’ filters and stickers. (Photo Credit: Facebook)

“It’s our hope that these tools will make it easier for people to begin conversations that can lead to support,” according to Davis.

Just letting someone know you’re there for them is a great first step. But unless you are a mental health professional, the best thing you can do to support a friend is show that you care and are really listening: Express your concern, give them space to open up, and then help them find resources.

“We encourage people to look for more resources from local, state, federal, or international organizations,” the blog said.

The global groups to which Facebook is donating:
“While an online community can provide invaluable support, we know that many find it uncomfortable to share personal feelings in a broad public setting,” Davis explained. “Private messaging, on the other hand, can make it easier to talk about emotional or serious subjects.”

A Facebook survey conducted in the U.S., U.K., and Australia found that 80 percent of people felt they could be “completely honest” in private messages, rather than public feeds.

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15:01
Report: Climate Change Threatens Two-Thirds of North American Birds
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The gorgeous Purple Finch is one of many birds threatened by climate change around the country (Photo Credit: Sandy Cutting / Great Backyard Bird Count)
Two-thirds of America’s birds are threatened with extinction from climate change, according to the National Audubon Society.

Keeping global temperatures down, however, may help save a majority of them.

“There’s hope in this report, but first, it’ll break your heart if you care about birds and what they tell us about the ecosystems we share with them,” David Yarnold, CEO and president of Audubon, said in a statement. “It’s a bird emergency.”

Audubon researchers took advantage of 140 million observations—collected by bird lovers and field biologists—to map out the locations of 604 North American species.

The team, led by senior climate scientist Brooke Bateman, then used the latest climate models to project how each species’ range will shift as climate change and other human impacts advance across the continent.

Our feathered friends, it seems, will be forced to relocate to find favorable homes. And many may not survive.

The Yellow Warbler is also under threat. (Photo Credit: Brian Collier / Audubon Photography Awards)

The study—based on the 2014 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) models for 1.5 °C, 2 °C, and 3 °C of global warming—found that 389 breeding species fall into the moderate- or highly vulnerable range.

At the highest warming scenario of 3 °C, 305 bird species face three or more climate-related impacts.

“A lot of people paid attention to last month’s report that North America has lost nearly a third of its birds,” Yarnold said. “This new data pivots forward and imagines an even more frightening future.”

There is something you can do, though. Many somethings, in fact.

The National Audubon Society’s zip code-based web tool, the Birds and Climate Visualizer, helps users understand the impacts to birds where they live, making climate change more local, immediate, and personal.

Simply enter your zip code or state to see a list of ways you can help.

“Audubon is committed to protecting the places birds need now and in the future and taking action to address the root causes of climate change,” VP of climate Renee Stone said.

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15:00
Why Bong Joon-Ho Might Be The Most Important Geek Filmmaker In The World
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South Korean culture is undergoing a bit of a moment in the West lately, with boy bands like BTS firing up armies of teenage fans. But cinema heads have known for some time that the country is home to some of the most innovative genre filmmakers in the world. The one who has achieved the most success in the West is Bong Joon-Ho, best known for 2013’s post-apocalyptic train drama Snowpiercer. His most recent, Parasite, won the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year, making him the first Korean director to ever claim that prize.

The world of speculative fiction is richer and more diverse than ever before, but a survey of the career of Bong Joon-Ho backs up the assertion that he might be the single voice that is best poised to carry the torch of geek movies forward into the future. Come with us as we explore the life and themes of this unique, innovative creative force.

Secret Origins
Born in the conservative industrial city of Daegu, enjoying a post-war boom as South Korea established itself as a player in the electronics industry, Bong Joon-Ho was fascinated with film at an early age. After his family moved to Seoul, he consumed movies at a frantic pace, watching many Western films on the U.S. Army-run AFKN channel. He soon started observing the inner mechanics of the moviemaker’s art, counting cuts in Sam Peckinpah movies.

He chose not to study film in college, though, instead pursuing a degree in sociology. Even though his father was an artist, he felt that cinema wasn’t a career that a young man could express himself in. After working up the nerve to change his path, he was accepted into the prestigious two-year directing program at the Korean Academy of Film Arts, where he would create several shorts that screened on the festival circuit internationally.

2000 saw the release of his first film, Barking Dogs Never Bite. The dark comedy about an unemployed college professor who gets driven to madness by barking dogs, kicking off a bizarre comedy of errors involving a canine-eating janitor, a young girl who wants to be a hero and a marriage in crisis. It’s a solid film but very of a piece with what Korean cinema was doing at that time.

He followed it with Memories of Murder in 2003. Based on the story of Korea’s first serial murderer, it cleaned up at the annual Grand Bell Awards, winning Best Film as well as trophies for Bong and actor Song Kang-ho. The film also sees the director start to take cautious steps outside the realistic world – one of the investigating detectives believes he can judge a suspect’s guilt or innocence by making eye contact with them, and the movie closes with him locking the audience itself in his gaze.

But it was his third film, 2004’s The Host, that would bring him to the attention of the world and launch him into a new phase of his career.

Big Thinking
Science fiction draws its power from the ability to tease out the ramifications of technology we’re just learning how to live with. The best works in the genre are relatable at the same time that they’re unfamiliar, and that’s where The Host shines.

On the surface, it’s just a monster movie. Something big and ugly is in the Han River and it grabs a young girl, the daughter of a dim-witted snack bar owner named Park Gang-Du. After being quarantined due to exposure to a mysterious virus, the Park family breaks out and launches a quixotic rescue mission into the Seoul sewers to get her back. But it’s what’s bubbling down below that makes The Host so interesting.

The political situation in South Korea has been fraught for half a century, as you’d expect from a country that’s literally been split in two. Many Koreans harbor resentment for America’s involvement in the war, as well as the soldiers still stationed there, and that’s a huge theme in The Host. Monsters make incredible metaphors, and the sewer beast is a slithering incarnation of the United States’ disdain for the mess they left behind.

But America isn’t the only villain in the movie, and that’s why it shines. The Park family has to stand together against their own government, the media, and their fellow citizens. In a world where a social media panopticon records everything we do for future cancellation, that kind of paranoia seems more and more reasonable.

2009’s Mother returned the director to the theme of unsolved deaths and corrupt detectives from Memories of Murder. He had actually been developing the script at the same time he was making the previous film, and the two complement each other. The titular Mother is the single parent of a mentally disabled child who is arrested for the murder of a young girl. She goes to unbelievable lengths to clear her son’s name, only to discover that he is actually guilty of the crime.

Us And Them
Bong’s work is explicitly class-conscious, and that is one of the most vital forces behind his relevance. It’s not surprising that the source material of Snowpiercer appealed to him, illustrating a constricted world in which poor people are literally segregated along a single line of power towards the back of the train.

Based on a European comic series by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette, Snowpiercer saw Bong direct an English-language film for the first time. Featuring an international cast, the story follows the passengers of the titular train, doomed to forever circle the earth after a man-made ice age makes the planet uninhabitable. When the “scum” at the rear revolt and charge towards the engine to seize power, it kicks off a series of intense, imaginative set piece fights.

This microcosm of a society is absurdly exaggerated, of course, but in a world where 1% of the world’s population possesses 45% of the world’s money, it’s not that wild. The concept of lower-class revolution being used as a tool of political power by the ruling class is a potent one, and Bong really wrings the most out of it while still delivering a kick-ass action film with some incredible performances. It’s one of the most obvious illustrations of his formula.

For The Children
2017 saw Bong direct, co-write and produce Okja, which turns his eye towards the moral ramifications of genetic engineering and factory farming. When a company develops a “super pig” and dispatches samples across the globe, one grows into a huge behemoth under the loving care of a little girl. What’s compelling about Okja is the odd morality of the piece, with both the huge company and the Animal Liberation Front both looking to use the pig for their own uses. It’s a little more simplistic by the standards of Bong’s other films, but even addressing the untenable moral nature of eating meat in the modern world is heady stuff for crowd-pleasing films.

With Parasite, he moves away from overt science fiction to focus the lens on class again. It tells the story of two families – one rich, one poor – that become entangled with each other after the poor son begins tutoring the rich daughter. Soon enough, all four members of the poor family are employed by the rich one, but they soon discover a terrifying secret in the basement that not only kicks off a frenzy of tension and violence but also exposes the many different layers of wealth, privilege and power in the world.

Made in Korean with a significantly smaller budget than his last two movies, Parasite still manages to pack a significant punch. Its closest comparison is to films like Get Out and Us that wring horror from the ways humans interact with each other more than from anything supernatural. It’s an incredible movie that deserves all of the acclaim it’s getting.

What’s fascinating about Bong Joon-Ho’s work – and the future of it – is his relentlessly expansive imagination. While other filmmakers wind up trapped in their pet issues, revisiting similar themes to diminishing results, he’s always poking into new worlds and new ideas. That imagination is at the very core of geek culture, and it’s something that’s lacking in so many big-budget, high-gravitas sci-fi films.

Bong’s success both at Cannes and commercially positions him in a very interesting position. He’s got a profile high enough to get big budgets, but also is more than comfortable with intimate, close-hewn settings. It’s fair to say that where he leads, others are bound to follow. If you don’t have your eyes on him now, you might want to fix your face.
14:11
Google Maps Adds Voice Guidance For Visually Impaired
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Google Maps' voice guidance was built for people with impaired vision. (Photo Credit: Google)
Google Maps is making it easier for blind and visually impaired users to get around on foot.

On Thursday (World Sight Day), Google updated its app with more detailed voice guidance and new verbal announcements for walking trips.

This marks the first feature in Google Maps to be built from the ground up by, and for, people with vision impairments.

“As a legally blind woman living in Tokyo, I know that getting around unfamiliar environments can be a challenge,” Google business analyst Wakana Suglyama wrote in a blog post.

“Going someplace new and unfamiliar can be an intimidating experience without sight to guide you,” she continued. “With this feature, I can navigate the streets of Tokyo with more comfort and confidence.”

As soon as you press “Go,” the app continually informs users that they’re on the correct path (and re-routes them if necessary), the distance to their next turn, and the direction in which they’re walking.

It even identifies large intersections, warning folks to cross with added caution.

“With detailed voice guidance in Google maps, my journey fades into the background and I can focus more on what I’ll do at my final destination,” Suglyama said. “This may not sound extraordinary to those with sight, but for people who are blind or have low vision, this can help us explore new and unfamiliar places.”

The new technology isn’t limited to the visually impaired: Google hopes it can also help folks struggling to put their phone down and have a screen-free experience.

“Similar to the announcements you might hear at crosswalks or on a bus, everyone can benefit from it,” according to Suglyama. “Not everyone will need this level of assistance, but it’s great to know it’s available and only a tap away.”

To turn on the feature, go to Google Maps settings and select “Navigation”; scroll down to enable “Detailed voice guide” (beneath the “Walking options” heading).

The function is rolling out to Android and iOS devices, available in English and Japanese, with support for additional languages and countries “on the way.”

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13:10
Waymo Teases ‘Completely Driverless’ Cars in Phoenix
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Waymo One autonomous car (Photo Credit: Waymo)
Waymo is reportedly ditching human safety drivers as it rolls out “completely driverless” cars in Arizona.

The Alphabet-owned business this week notified customers that their next ride may come without a trained operator up front, according to an email posted on Reddit.

TechCrunch confirmed with Waymo that the message was sent to early riders from the company’s Phoenix-based trial.

The program, dubbed Waymo One, currently operates a fleet of self-driving vehicles—available 24 hours a day, seven days a week—in several Metro Phoenix areas.

Users can simply download the application, then get started by confirming their pickup and drop-off locations. Accept by pressing the “Request Ride” button.

Up to three adults and one child can ride together.

Trained drivers have been supervising all Waymo One vehicles for users’ comfort and convenience. But the firm is ready to transition to fully driverless outings.

Waymo’s email spells out the autonomous experience:

“Completely driverless Waymo cars are on the way” (via Waymo/Reddit)

If matched with a self-driving vehicle, you’ll receive a notification confirming the car will not have a trained driver up front. Before panicking, read the app’s notes on “What to expect.” Then sit back and enjoy having the cab all to yourself.

“As always, if you need assistance during any part of your trip, you can contact a rider support agent through the car’s help button or in your app,” the memo said.

Presumably users can decline the driverless option, though that was not addressed in the leaked email.

Waymo did not immediately respond to Geek’s request for comment.

As the novelty of self-driving transportation has yet to wear off (and likely won’t for a while), most first-timers have a lot of questions and concerns about their autonomous commute.

In fact, a majority of Americans are still afraid to ride in fully self-driving cars.

A year after several reports of high-profile automated vehicle incidents, AAA found the nation’s attitude toward driverless transportation has not rebounded.

The organization’s annual survey, published in March, revealed that 71 percent of people prefer to have some control over the two-ton hunk of metal in which they’re traveling—versus 63 percent in 2017.

Most skeptics cite reasons such as lack of trust, not wanting to give up driving, unripe technology, and iffy road conditions.

But while 55 percent of people believe most cars will be able to steer themselves by 2029, experts agree that a fully automated fleet is still “decades away.”

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12:13
‘Insecure’ Star Issa Rae Cameos As Google Assistant
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Hey Google, talk like Issa! (Photo Credit: Google)
Hey Google, which hilarious actress, writer, director, and producer makes a cameo as a voice on Google Assistant?

Issa Rae’s bold voice is available to U.S. users for a limited time.

Simply tell your device to “talk like Issa” (pronounced “Ee-sa”), or manually make the change via the Assistant app’s settings.

Then pepper her with questions like “What’s the weather forecast” or “When is the first night of Chanukah?”

Rae also tells jokes, shares secrets, sings songs, delivers pep talks, and doles out compliments: Say “Mirror talk” or ask “How do I look” for confidence-boosting affirmations.

Iâ€™m the new voice of the Google Assistant! Uh, WHAT?! Say â€œHey Google, #TalkLikeIssaâ€ and Iâ€™ll answer your questions, tell jokes, and even give you compliments. Try me! #ad pic.twitter.com/BzRSCO97Nf

— Issa Rae (@IssaRae) October 10, 2019

Initially revealed at last year’s Google I/O conference, the celebrity cameo made its debut in April with the velvety voice of John Legend.

“Cameo voices on the Assistant have been one of the top requests we’ve heard from you,” Manuel Bronstein, VP of product for Google Assistant, said at the time. “And with the help of state-of-the-art speech synthesis model WaveNet, they’re now a reality.”

The Insecure star’s “extra fly” intonations are available on any device with Google Assistantâ€”including Google Home smart speakers and displays (Nest Hub Max, too), as well as Android or iOS smartphones.

Dig a little deeper to hear Issa’s take when you ask “Hey Google, do you love Daniel or Lawrence?” Or, “Hey Google, tell me something awkward.”

Other Easter eggs: “Do you have any dating advice?”, “Are you a writer?” “Can you rap?”

(Don’t bother asking about a premiere date for season four of Insecure, though.)

Talk fast: This is only a guest role.

Responses to all other questions will continue to be in one of the original Assistant voices.

Last month, Amazon announced that Hollywood legend Samuel L. Jackson would lend his memorable voice to Alexa devices as the company’s first celebrity voice (complete with a “cursing” option).

Whether you opt for the clean or explicit version, Jackson will announce the weather forecast, sing happy birthday, tell jokes, set alarms, and play your favorite tunes.

The Alexa “skill” initially costs 99 cents, but you’ll have to shell out $4.99 once the promo period ends.

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September 11, 2019
0:18
Timberland Announces SpongeBob SquarePants Boot, Apparel Collaboration
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Timberland x SpongeBob collaboration drops Sept. 12. (Photo Credit: Timberland)
2019 is truly the wildest timeline. From the Keanussaince to Operation Varsity Blues, it’s been a wild year for pop culture of all kinds. Remember a few weeks ago when, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show, Nike put out an entire line of shoes inspired by SpongeBob SquarePants? How wild was that?

If you’d have told me 10 years ago those shoes would one day exist I’d have called you a liar after freaking out over your ability to travel through time and then asking you why you’d go through the trouble of time travel just to tell me about some sneakers that were gonna exist 10 years from now. And if after that you’d told me that 2019 would bring not one but two SpongeBob-inspired footwear drops I’d have put money on you being wrong.

(Photo Credit: Timberland)

Reader, I’d owe you a lot of money today because sure enough, in the words of my boy Yoda… there is another.

This week Timberland, they of the quintessential Big Chonky Boot, have announced two signature SpongeBob boots coming your way on Friday, September 12. Not content with stopping there, the company is also dropping a line of matching apparel. It is, as it seems, a good time to be a fan of The Sponge.

(Photo Credit: Timberland)

The boots themselves are pretty rad, the better of the two easily being the blue pair. Not Squidward-centric as you may expect, they’re instead an homage to SpongeBob’s favorite hobby: jellyfishing. The boots feature a cool fade into a deeper shade further down towards the toe and sole and sport decals of SpongeBob jellyfishing and Patrick prancing, as he is wont to do.

The black pair are a bit more lowkey, emphasis on the bit. They feature black suede with a bright yellow tongue (which, of course, comes with SpongeBob’s face printed on it). There’s also a subtle Krusty Krab decal on the side, and Plankton trying PER USUAL to steal it for himself. The laces come adorned with the SpongeBob logo as well.

(Photo Credit: Timberland)

Frankly, let’s keep this trend going. I want to see SpongeBob adidas kicks, SpongeBob Yeezys, SpongeBob Skechers, SpongeBob Sperry boat shoes and oxfords and every piece of footwear you could possibly imagine. There’s still a few months left in 2019. We can make it happen.

The SpongeBob x Timberland drop goes live on Timberland.com on September 12.

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0:00
This $29 Data Science Course Bundle Can Boost Your Tech Career
» ‎ Geek.com

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If you’re good with computers and looking for an exciting, lucrative career, data science may be right up your alley. The tech boom has created vast new troves of data, so Big Data is now one of the most in-demand, high-paying, and stable career paths you can find. Even if you’re brand new to data analysis or don’t have any coding experience, you can learn how to break into this amazing field with The Complete Big Data Master Class Bundle.

This 9-course bundle gives you over 35 hours of instruction in data science’s hottest tools and technologies. You’ll learn how to make killer visualizations and create insightful charts and graphs with Matploblib and Bokeh. You’ll also learn popular tools and frameworks like Plotly, Seaborn, NumPy, Pandas, Hadoop, and Hive. You’ll even learn how to program in Python in just a few hours. Whether you’re new to data science or just looking to level up your skills, this is the data science bundle you’ve been waiting for.

The Complete Big Data Master Class Bundle normally costs $891, but you can get it now for just $29, or 96% off.

Prices are subject to change.

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//

If you’re good with computers and looking for an exciting, lucrative career, data science may be right up your alley. The tech boom has created vast new troves of data, so Big Data is now one of the most in-demand, high-paying, and stable career paths you can find. Even if you’re brand new to data analysis or don’t have any coding experience, you can learn how to break into this amazing field with The Complete Big Data Master Class Bundle.

This 9-course bundle gives you over 35 hours of instruction in data science’s hottest tools and technologies. You’ll learn how to make killer visualizations and create insightful charts and graphs with Matploblib and Bokeh. You’ll also learn popular tools and frameworks like Plotly, Seaborn, NumPy, Pandas, Hadoop, and Hive. You’ll even learn how to program in Python in just a few hours. Whether you’re new to data science or just looking to level up your skills, this is the data science bundle you’ve been waiting for.

The Complete Big Data Master Class Bundle normally costs $891, but you can get it now for just $29, or 96% off.

Like this deal? Check out Vault, the best way to secure your online data for just $9.99.

_

If you’re good with computers and looking for an exciting, lucrative career, data science may be right up your alley. The tech boom has created vast new troves of data, so Big Data is now one of the most in-demand, high-paying, and stable career paths you can find. Even if you’re brand new to data analysis or don’t have any coding experience, you can learn how to break into this amazing field with The Complete Big Data Master Class Bundle.

This 9-course bundle gives you over 35 hours of instruction in data science’s hottest tools and technologies. You’ll learn how to make killer visualizations and create insightful charts and graphs with Matploblib and Bokeh. You’ll also learn popular tools and frameworks like Plotly, Seaborn, NumPy, Pandas, Hadoop, and Hive. You’ll even learn how to program in Python in just a few hours. Whether you’re new to data science or just looking to level up your skills, this is the data science bundle you’ve been waiting for.

The Complete Big Data Master Class Bundle normally costs $891, but you can get it now for just $29, or 96% off.

Like this deal? Check out Vault, the best way to secure your online data for just $9.99.

_

If you’re good with computers and looking for an exciting, lucrative career, data science may be right up your alley. The tech boom has created vast new troves of data, so Big Data is now one of the most in-demand, high-paying, and stable career paths you can find. Even if you’re brand new to data analysis or don’t have any coding experience, you can learn how to break into this amazing field with The Complete Big Data Master Class Bundle.

This 9-course bundle gives you over 35 hours of instruction in data science’s hottest tools and technologies. You’ll learn how to make killer visualizations and create insightful charts and graphs with Matploblib and Bokeh. You’ll also learn popular tools and frameworks like Plotly, Seaborn, NumPy, Pandas, Hadoop, and Hive. You’ll even learn how to program in Python in just a few hours. Whether you’re new to data science or just looking to level up your skills, this is the data science bundle you’ve been waiting for.

The Complete Big Data Master Class Bundle normally costs $891, but you can get it now for just $29, or 96% off.

Like this deal? Check out Vault, the best way to secure your online data for just $9.99.

// ]]>
September 10, 2019
23:58
Caught on Camera: Venomous Copperhead Snakes Mate on Bike Trail
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A Pennsylvania reptile expert filmed a pair of venomous copperhead snakes mating near a bike trail on September 8. (Photo Credit: Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary / Facebook)
A Pennsylvania man recently captured a video of two venomous copperhead snakes mating near a bike trail and their intimate moment was jaw-dropping.

Jesse Rothacker, a reptile expert and Lancaster County resident, spotted the pair of copperhead snakes on a bike trail over the weekend, Fox News reported. Rothacker uploaded footage of the lusty reptiles on Facebook, after he alerted oncoming bikers and hikers about the mating duo.

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While narrating the video, Rothacker explained how it was his first time watching copperhead snakes copulate in the area. The mating copperhead snakes are seen with their tails twisted together, engaging in internal fertilization, and not making noise, even when Rothacker was filming them from a close angle.

“Finding the snakes along the trail is very common,” Rothacker told Fox 43. “Finding the snakes actually getting jiggy with it is very hard to find in the wild, so I talked to many of my herpetology colleagues, and many confirm, they have not seen copperheads doing the deed, so we’re very fortunate to run into them at that time.”

According to Rothacker, there is a second fall breeding season for copperhead snakes. He also warned bikers and hikers to be aware of mating reptiles on their travels, since they like to “get it on” near trails. He didn’t share the location of the specific trail he was on, because he wanted to give the mating reptiles some privacy.

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22:44
Launchpad Fire Delays JAXA’s Cargo Ship Launch to Space Station
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JAXA scrubbed its HTV-8 launch to the International Space Station (ISS) due to a launchpad fire on September 10. (Photo Credit: MHI Launch Services / Twitter)
Japan scrubbed a robotic cargo ship’s launch to the International Space Station (ISS) today due to a launchpad fire, according to Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) officials.

JAXA was scheduled to launch Kounotori 8 (HTV-8), an unpiloted supply ship, to the orbiting laboratory from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan at 5:33 p.m. EDT (6:33 a.m. local time), according to a NASA press statement. The agency was reportedly counting down to takeoff at the space center when a blaze erupted on the H-IIB rocket’s mobile launch platform at 3:10 a.m. local time, Space.com reported.

There has been a fire on the pad during the prelaunch operations for the #HIIB rocket which was set to launch the #HTV8 spacecraft to the International Space Station in a few hours. Water suppression systems seem to have gotten the situation under control. #JAXA pic.twitter.com/2KokR2k2u4

— Michael Baylor (@nextspaceflight) September 10, 2019

Kounotori 8 was supposed to transport over four tons of equipment and supplies to the space station for the Expedition 60 crew.

The bottom of the #HIIB rocket really being hosed now pic.twitter.com/yQo3cwgMdS

— 📸Trevor Mahlmann (@TrevorMahlmann) September 10, 2019

“Named Kounotori, meaning white stork in Japanese, the craft will deliver six new lithium-ion batteries and corresponding adapter plates that will replace aging nickel-hydrogen batteries for two power channels on the station’s far port truss segment,” NASA officials said in the press release. “The batteries will be installed through a series of robotics and spacewalks by the station’s crew members later this year.”

いよいよ明日、こうのとり8号機（#HTV8）/H-IIBロケット8号機の打上げですね！
「きぼう」へたくさんの物資をお届けします！🚀

早朝ですがネットでライブ中継も予定しています。
ライブ中継などの詳細は特設サイトをご確認くださいね☆ [https:]] #GOHTV8 #JAXA pic.twitter.com/l6teNXSSGR

— JAXAきぼう利用ネットワーク (@JAXA_Kiboriyo) September 10, 2019

Experiments aboard Kounotori 8 include an upgrade to the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF-L), a payload for testing the effects of gravity on powder and granular material (Hourglass), and a small-sized satellite optical communication system (SOLISS).

射点に到着。
Arrived to the launch pad. #H2BF8 pic.twitter.com/gVcobGzuEE

— MHI Launch Services (@MHI_LS) September 10, 2019

Once Kounotori 8 reaches the space station, NASA astronaut and Expedition 60 flight engineer Christina Koch and her NASA crewmate Andrew Morgan, will operate the orbiting laboratory’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture the 12-ton spacecraft. Robotic flight controllers will then resume the operation of the arm to place HTV-8 in the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module, where it will stay there for a month.

JAXA has not announced a back-up launch window for Kounotori 8 at this time.

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