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PHOTOS: Carousel of Progress Reopens with New Social Distancing Measures at the Magic Kingdom – wdwnt.com

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Last night, we dreamed of a great, big, beautiful tomorrow and today the dream came true! With the reopening of the Magic Kingdom for Annual Passholders, we finally get to ride the Carousel of Progress again and were cataloging all of the new social distancing procedures that were put into place at the attraction.

Carousel of Progress, while not the busiest ride, still has floor markers and signs to help keep guests six feet apart.

In the waiting area outside, there are circles on the ground so parties can remain far away from each other instead of crowding in front of the rope.

Its good to see Walt Disney again.

Inside, every other row is closed. In the open rows, groups of three seats are unavailable, while groups of four seats are open. Parties with more than four people will need to split up inside the theater. This seems to be the new standard for theater-based attractions.

Luckily, our favorite family is still stuck in the early 21st century and doesnt need to worry about social distancing.

Its great to be back on this classic attraction. Of course, keep checking our homepage for updates on the new social distancing measures that can be found around Walt Disney World. And remember, tomorrow is just a dream away!

City can still reach 22 mln visitors this year – Tourism Office Director – Macau Business

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

The Macau SAR could still reach some 22 million visitors this year despite the pandemic, Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes indicated in an interview with newspaper Ponto Final.

However, Fernandes noted that it was first essential to ensure a safe environment for local residents before considering a border re-opening.

If we reopen suddenly, it could reintroduce more cases to the city. Concerning imported cases, we have a good system to try to mitigate the situation, but if there were local or community cases this would be more complicated. At the same time, we have to open borders, step by step, she indicated in the interview.

The MGTO Director also again warned that according to the projections of the World Tourism Organization, at least three years would be required for tourism flows to get back to the same situation before the pandemic due to the impact caused in the airline industry.

In 2019 more than 39.4 million visitors were reported, with 71 per cent hailing from mainland China.

As border restrictions were gradually imposed due to the health crisis, the city reported about 3.2 million visitors between January and May of this year, an 81 per cent year-on-year fall, with the number of visitors from Mainland China has also fallen by 81 per cent to 2.3 million.

The local occupancy rate has also stumbled down from 90 per cent last year, to 30 per cent between January and May of this year.

The most recent predictions by the University of Macaus (UM) Centre for Macau Studies and Department of Economics 2020 Macau Macroeconomic Forecast only estimated a maximum scenario of 12.66 million visitors this year, which could lead to a 60 per cent GDP drop.

The Chief Executive himself said he would, in due course, request the Chinese Central Government to return to issuing individual visas. Of course, this cannot happen overnight, we have to observe the situation every day. I think with the opening of Zhuhai and eventually other cities in the Greater Bay Area, I hope even the whole of Guangdong province, will help the local situation in economic terms a lot, she added.

Macau residents can currently toapplyto 3,000 daily quotas for exemption from the Guangdongs current 14-day quarantine requirement to nine cities in the province, however efforts to open a travel bubble together with Hong Kong have yet to be formally announced, with the neighbouring SAR facing another spike in local cases.

We cannot continue without opening the borders because we are a city of tourism, and in addition to tourism almost all businesses in Macau depend, some more but less, on the movement of people, Fernandes added.

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City can still reach 22 mln visitors this year - Tourism Office Director - Macau Business

The Old Guard: a new concept on immortality – Brig Newspaper

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Immortality is an age-old trope, but Netflixs new film The Old Guard gives audiences a new take on it. Based off a graphic novel, it follows a team of mercenaries trying to change the world for the better. However, despite their quick ability to heal, these immortals eventually do die making the story all the more interesting.

Headlining the film is Charlize Theron, whose character Andy (Andromache of Scythia, if were being formal) is the oldest of the team. Seeing Theron bring to life a powerful ancient woman who doesnt see the impact of her actions is refreshing.

It brings forward a new opportunity for a different type of hero. One who has given everything to make the world better, but only sees it getting worse.

Its something most heroes refuse to see. Andy has been alive long enough that time has taken its toll on her. However, its this exact view that is the cause behind the main twist in the film. This twist has audiences stunned.

Andy is tired of losing everything but the physical fight. She is tired of seeing the world devour itself, and carries the weight of the worlds actions on her. We see a hero who considers herself a traitor due to her past.

What makes the film interesting is that well never know the full truth. Andy never reveals to the audience how old she is. We only know she is old enough and its exciting. Not knowing opens doors to a lot more of the flashbacks were invited to see.

Theres no hero origin trope in the film. It begins with existing members Andy, Nicky, Sebastian (Booker) and Joe. They are a group of immortal beings with different backstories, but we get to witness the fifth members introduction: Nile, a young woman who died in action.

The series provides an appreciative international cast of characters with a dose of woke culture. Our characters originated in different parts of the world, exceptionally diversifying the film. This allows for different cultures to be recognised and an interesting range of backstories.

Most importantly, it breaks out of the All-American mould and introduces a powerful gay relationship.

Two of the team are men engaged in a decade-old romance. Nicky and Joes story has been entangled from the beginning. They began as enemies on opposing sides during the Crusades before falling in love. They share a romance that has grown beyond love into something older.

It casts a light on the isolation Andy feels by contrast. Audiences see an everlasting love against an internal conflict, challenging viewers on whether immortality itself is soul-destroying or nurturing.

But whether they like it or not, they are engaged in a cycle of death and resurrection.

In an age where the greediest of mankind only think for themselves, The Old Guard introduces a very topical villain, Merrick. He owns a pharma giant and is fuelled by self-interest and money, not to better mankind with his creations.

Hes perhaps a disgusting reflection of humanity. Wanting to do something not for the good but for the praise. Merrick is a CEO who wants power and wants to be admired. He wants success. Behind the curtain of his do-gooding is his true desire; to be the one who gets all the credit.

The theme of morality is carried throughout the film. The immortals moral goal is to better humanity, whereas Merrick believes its a moral obligation to dissect them. Then Nile is left to question what her morals should be. Where does she belong?

Immortality is unknown, but she misses her family. With this newfound life, she needs to decide what route to take in her life.

However, the choice is taken from her. Consent is taken out of the picture within The Old Guard because immortality doesnt offer a choice. Being immortal means she has to leave her life behind or suffer similar consequences to other members, such as Sebastian (Booker).

Sebastian lost everything because of his immortality. The film shows very realistic impacts of being able to live through everything, such as watching your loved ones grow old and being unable to save them, like Sebastian had to.

It leaves Nile with the inevitable choice to join the rest of the immortals. Thus, she must dedicate her life to their endless task of ending corruption.

However, there is no grand villain. Theres no one big bad guy to defeat. But theres a dozen waiting, formed out of society and the world itself. There is never only one bad guy. This was refreshing because its true.

If we look at the world today, its impossible to see just one villain.

Perhaps thats the purpose of the film. Behind the excellent but fleeting violent scenes, theres a deeper meaning. One that challenges choices in life and the moral obligations which fit into them. Even the film itself lands on the opportunity of choice.

The Old Guard is not a new genre at all. However, the themes throughout are refreshing and engage audiences interests. It may be criticised for lacking action; however, its still engaging. Personally, with such an unexpected ending, I hope to see a sequel.

Featured image credit: The New York Times

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The Old Guard: a new concept on immortality - Brig Newspaper

Netflix’s The Old Guard: The Explosive Ending, Explained | CBR – CBR – Comic Book Resources

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Netflix's The Old Guard ends on an explosive note as a group of immortal soldiers try to fight off a pharmaceutical tycoon and his sinister legion.

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Old Guard, now available on Netflix.

Netflix's The Old Guard adapts the Image Comics title from Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernndez that focuses on a group of immortal mercenaries whoare targeted by a pharmaceutical tycoon, Merrick (Harry Melling), and an ex-CIA agent, Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor). The plan is to harvest their genes but it all changes when the newest addition, ex-Marine Niles (KiKi Layne), enters the fray.

This leads to a high-octane finale that changes the future of the group as leader Andy (Charlize Theron) finally accepts they should be out there making a difference rather than hiding in the shadows.

RELATED:The Old Guard: Netflix's Next Comic Book Adaptation, Explained

Andy's squad is ambushed outside of France with lovers, Nick (Luca Marinelli) and Joe (Marwan Kenzari), taken. Booker's (Matthias Schoenaerts) left badly wounded, but after Andy slaughters the rest of attackers, they decide to recover their friends. Unfortunately, Niles leaves the group because she can't handle this life and abandoning her family, -- at least until she realizes Andy gave her an unloaded gun and is walking into a trap.

At Copley's lair, Booker turns on Andy, revealing he was amole all along. Merrick's goons arrive and take the rest of immortals, with Booker admitting if Merrick's scientists could unlock the key to their immortality, maybe they can take it away. He's just tired of living for centuries, enduring deaths of loved ones like this three sons. Copley doesn't like Merrick's confession, however, about monetizing their genes, but when he objects, he's beaten.

RELATED: Warrior Nun's First Major Tragedy Rips Everything Apart

Merrick's team somehow forgets about Niles, allowing her to return and work with Copley who reveals he just wanted to help people recover from illness ashis wife suffered terribly when she passed years before. He provides Nilesaccess to Merrick's lab and she wages a one-woman war, rekindling her fire forbattle per her Afghanistan days. She eventually frees the other immortals and they forgive Booker as they need all hands on deck for the escape.

They cut a bloody path through the facility and it ends with Andy and Niles confronting Merrick, who's wielding Andy's medieval ax. Andycan't risk getting shot as her immortality is running out, however. But using a "play dead" trick seen earlier in the film, Niles rushes Merrick and takes the bullet, allowing Andy to then grab the ax and plant it into Merrick's neck. Niles then spears him through a window and they fall multiple stories down onto a car. Andy and Co. come down, proud that Niles has embraced her destiny as one of them, with Merrick crushed in a bloody scene.

RELATED: Warrior Nun: The REAL Threat Is Technology, Not Religion

The team nurses its wounds but at a meeting deciding Booker's fate, they banish him for a hundred years. They agree to meet at the same bar when that period expires but he admits by then, Andy would be dead as she's lost her power naturally. They hug it out because they've been through a lot together, with Booker also offering Niles advice after she fakes her death and is reported to her family as KIA, just like her dad. From there, she's finally ready to move on and save the world.

This ties into the final scene where Copley shows the immortals their history indicating that they have a higher calling. All the people they've saved went on to make contributions to science, politics and tech, so they are guardian angels of sorts. He can't explain their powers or trace its origins, but it does seem to be divine. Andy concludesby telling him it's time to get back to work and he'll be their handler, wiping digital trails of them and helping find missions that paint them as true social justice warriors.

Starring Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Harry Melling, The Old Guard is now streaming onNetflix.

KEEP READING:The Old Guard Turns a Stylish Comic Into a Generic Action Movie

Russo Bros Would Love to Tell Captain America's Time Travel Story - But...

I'm a former Chemical Engineer. It was boring so I decided to write about things I love. On the geek side of things, I write about comics, cartoons, video games, television, movies and basically, all things nerdy. I also write about music in terms of punk, indie, hardcore and emo because well, they rock! If you're bored by now, then you also don't want to hear that I write for ESPN on the PR side of things. And yes, I've written sports for them too! Not bad for someone from the Caribbean, eh? To top all this off, I've scribed short films and documentaries, conceptualizing stories and scripts from a human interest and social justice perspective. Business-wise, I make big cheddar (not really) as a copywriter and digital strategist working with some of the top brands in the Latin America region. In closing, let me remind you that the geek shall inherit the Earth. Oh, FYI, I'd love to write the Gargoyles movie for Disney. YOLO.

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Netflix's The Old Guard: The Explosive Ending, Explained | CBR - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Jorge Masvidal is one win from immortality and a Conor McGregor payday – Insider – INSIDER

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

FIGHT ISLAND It's 2003 and backyard fights are one of the most watchable things on the internet, providing you're into barbaric, skull-cracking violence, like me.

A fresh-faced Jorge Masvidal had been training at the same Florida gym as the late Kimbo Slice, a barrel-chested brawler who was as bald as he was beardy, and who had been developing a cult hero status because of his knockout prowess in underground bouts.

Masvidal, an unknown entity even at a local level, received a call to see if he was interested in competing bareknuckle. He remembers ordering a McDonald's at the drive-thru when his phone rang at the time.

"Hell yeah," he said. "Damn right. Let's do it." Masvidal was always down to scrap.

One week later the teenager was trading blows with a mid-20s Miami bouncer called Reynoldo Fuentes, who had already knocked one guy out cold in Kimbo's backyard earlier that day.

Masvidal proved to be a far greater challenge, ESPN reported, as Fuentes lost.

Dressed in baggy jean shorts, Nike sneakers, and with long and thick hair tied behind his head in a ponytail, a shirtless Masvidal went to work on Fuentes.

He left his exhausted opponent needing two men to help him walk after it was called off, before slumping to the floor, beaten, with a concerned Kimbo watching on.

Kimbo, though, was so entertained he demanded to see a rematch a couple of months later.

Fuentes, known as "Rey," received $500 for the do-over, one he wanted to win so bad he had a "structured" fight camp as if it were an organized, sanctioned event, according to the UFC.

Masvidal, in contrast, had no stable income. He lived on his own, and with ready-cash hard to come by, he was sometimes forced to sleep in his car which he parked in the lot of Kimbo's gym, ESPN said.

A teenage, street-fighting Masvidal. Photos by Jorge Masvidal / YouTube

"It was a tough, soul-searching moment," Masvidal said on his YouTube channel. "It wasn't easy. There were no time limits on that, so we were just going. His shots were a little heavier than mine, especially back then at that time."

The structured camp Rey endured was obvious to Masvidal, who noticed he was tougher when taking shots to the body. Rey also floored Masvidal with a heavy straight right punch to the jaw. "Oh man, my head was spinning," Masvidal said. "And this f------ gorilla was still coming at me."

Though Rey knocked Masvidal down in the rematch, he couldn't knock him out and failed to keep up with the pace set by Masvidal, who varied his punch selection throughout the bout. Rey lost once again, this time with his hands on his knees, unwilling or just physically unable to go on.

Little did Rey know, but Kimbo had been interested in Masvidal for a while, identifying him from his gym as a potentially exceptional young striking talent.

Almost two decades later, after far surpassing Kimbo's fame level, Masvidal has once again taken a fight on a week's notice.

The stakes, this time, are much higher.

If victorious, Masvidal will wrest the UFC welterweight championship belt away from current ruler Kamaru Usman's waist, adding it to the "Baddest Mother F-----" belt he won after beating Nate Diaz, last year.

Masvidal enjoyed a breakout 2019 in which he was thrust from the consciousnesses of hardcore combat audiences and placed in front of the broader sports fan.

A title triumph at UFC 251 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi this weekend would amplify Masvidal's crossover appeal so much, he may coax Conor McGregor out of the Dubliner's abrupt retirement, a retirement few in the industry seem to believe anyway.

Coronavirus-induced chaos has marooned multiple athletes from "Fight Island" this weekend, so it's a good job Masvidal, a man also known as "Street Jesus," washed ashore with much acclaim to save the show and, in words he would likely use, "baptize a fool."

Event staff disinfects a UFC Octagon next to Bruce Buffer getting ready to announce a fight. Photo by Getty Images

COVID-19 threatened to dilute the quality of UFC's signature summer showcase to the world, a four-event residency in a 25 square kilometer region on Yas Island which is quarantined from the rest of Abu Dhabi.

The greatest event is Saturday's pay-per-view, UFC 251, which features three championship fights and many other significant showdowns.

Throughout the pandemic era in sports, one name or, rather, one acronym has stood above the rest in the wild west of combat sports landscapes.

After a three-month hiatus, the UFC returned to operations mid-May in Jacksonville, Florida, a month before Top Rank boxing restarted its own gig in Las Vegas, with around a third and sometimes as low as a quarter of the viewing figures which MMA's market-leader has been enjoying.

UFC continues to fine-tune how it navigates the prospect of live events behind-closed-doors, but no matter how much planning the company puts into health, safety, and card construction, nobody can predict who or how many athletes will test positive for the novel coronavirus.

Just ask Gilbert Burns, a 33-year-old ground game expert from Brazil, who has already excelled in one pandemic show so far one in which he tested negative for the coronavirus throughout. But he is now positive, and he is not alone.

Burns out-pointed the former welterweight champ, Tyron Woodley, on May 30 and was given the nod to take on Usman at "Fight Island."

But on Saturday, July 4, MMA Fighting reported that Burns tested positive for the coronavirus. Burns would not fly to "Fight Island," and the UFC's main event was in jeopardy.

Within hours, though, the UFC entered negotiations with Masvidal as decision-makers sought to save the company's marquee month of the year.

One day later, a deal was struck. Shortly after that, Masvidal tested negative for the coronavirus and so his representatives, First Round Management, could make plans to get their client from Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi by private jet.

Jorge Masvidal finally got a UFC title shot after 48 fights in MMA.

Though it was not the UFC's first choice for a "Fight Island" main event, an Usman-Masvidal match is the most significant pairing of fighters since Justin Gaethje upset Tony Ferguson in a dominant lightweight thriller, May 9.

UFC 249's main event two months ago showcased two of the very best athletes not only in the 155-pound weight class but in all MMA.

UFC 251, like the 249 event, showcases two of the very best athletes in a division, this time at welterweight. And both feature prominently in Insider's list of the 15 best MMA fighters today.

It rarely gets bigger, better, or badder not when a "Bad Mother F-----" is involved.

Some athletes enter the UFC with collegiate-wrestling backgrounds in America, with great ground game foundations in Brazil, or with a striking pedigree from Europe.

Being a bonafide badass may well be Masvidal's base style as street-fighting has been in his DNA since childhood when he roamed West Miami neighborhoods getting into rucks.

Jorge Masvidal knocked a guy out in front of Hugh Hefner. Photos by Getty Images

"I don't know how many heads I cracked," he said to Fightland of his developmental years as a child from 7 to 14. Armed with a knife, one kid even tried to mug him, he said.

But being known for cramming his knuckles into a random thug's mouth was not something he wanted as a reputation. He wanted to be a boxer, a wrestler. And when he found MMA, he realized he could be both.

Masvidal earned an $18,000 check for knocking someone out in front of Hugh Hefner.

It's 2007 and Masvidal finds himself in another man's backyard, punching another opponent in the face for the entertainment of an exclusive audience.

But this fight wasn't organized by Kimbo, and this wasn't underground.

This was a legitimate MMA operation called Strikeforce, promoted by eventual Bellator MMA boss Scott Coker, and this was the first cagefighting event held at the $200 million Playboy mansion in Beverly Hills.

Strikeforce had only held seven events at that point, and Coker viewed the opportunity as a no-brainer as it would see his brand placed alongside Playboy's.

"Hugh Hefner represented pop culture in a way that no else could," Coker later told Uproxx.

Tickets sold for a thousand bucks a pop, and one writer observed plenty of scantily-clad Playboy bunnies at cageside.

Masvidal walked into the cage at 10:11 p.m. armed with good-form having won five in a row.

One minute and 33 seconds after the opening bell, he left that same cage with another win this one was devastating.

Matt Lee, a lightweight, barely knew what hit him as Masvidal attacked him with his knees and elbows. It was not long before Lee wilted, falling half-beaten on the canvas.

Masvidal forced the referee to separate the pair after dispatching an avalanche of fists. Game over.

Who knows how inspiring it was for Masvidal to win, in style, at the Playboy mansion while Hefner sat a dozen feet away, wearing silk pajamas underneath a burgundy smoking jacket, clapping and smiling with his blonde girlfriends.

Fight night is a Versace robe night if you're Jorge Masvidal. Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

But 13 years later, many months after he had knocked out Darren Till, scored a 5-second highlight-reel KO over Ben Askren, and made Nate Diaz bleed in the "BMF" bout, Masvidal, at the height of his popularity, watched Conor McGregor destroy Donald Cerrone in January sporting his own bedroom style a black Versace robe.

Earlier this week, he boarded a private jet wearing a bright, Miami pink Versace robe, and looked relaxed while heading for Abu Dhabi to take on Usman, his greatest challenge to date.

While Masvidal may have been training for an opportunity like this, to step-in at late notice during a time in which the coronavirus can scupper a bout at any time, Usman will have been training only for Burns a jiu-jitsu specialist.

As Masvidal is a multi-dimensional striker with good wrestling, he is a significantly different style match-up for Usman than Burns was.

Usman is unbeaten in a five-year stretch with the UFC, a time in which he has scalped some of the top names in the division including Leon Edwards, Demian Maia, Rafael dos Anjos, Tyron Woodley, and Colby Covington.

Beating "The Nigerian Nightmare" would punctuate an unconventional career for Masvidal, and could well earn him a mega-money payday against Conor McGregor, should the Irishman return to the sport once again.

That the welterweight title would be on the line, and McGregor would be gunning for a championship belt in a third weight class, could be enough to coax him into the cage and it's something Masvidal told us he wants, too.

Masvidal would relish defending a title against McGregor, and he even told us earlier in the year that he'd happily put his "Baddest Mother F----" belt on the line, providing McGregor put something in the pot, too like a stake in Proper no. Twelve.

"If I put my [BMF] belt up, someone has to put something else up. Cash, money. Something that makes sense to me," Masvidal told Insider.

We piqued Masvidal's interest when we mentioned McGregor could offer shares in one of his companies, like his whiskey brand.

"If the company is worth any money, we can do something," he said.

McGregor may well be keen, telling the Las Vegas media ahead of his sole bout this year a UFC 246 smash-and-grab win over Donald Cerrone in January that he "would like that BMF title."

McGregor coined the phrase "red panty night," which is something the Dubliner says each of his opponents enjoys when they learn they've hit the jackpot a fight with him.

"You ring back home, you ring your wife, 'Baby, we've done it. We're rich, baby. Conor McGregor made us rich, break out the red panties'," McGregor said to Rafael dos Anjos at the "Go Big" press conference in 2015.

If Masvidal defeats Usman, which no man has yet done in the UFC, and you add a legacy-defining victory to the Floridian's escalating fame, a McGregor match would be a red panty night.

But it would likely be a Versace robe night, too.

Dustin Poirier's blood and guts victory on Saturday puts him in the Conor McGregor conversation even though the Irishman is 'retired'

A bruised, bloodied and stitched-up Dan Hooker offered 'no excuses' after his loss to Dustin Poirier in an all-time UFC slobberknocker

UFC boss Dana White says he hasn't spoken to Conor McGregor for weeks, suggesting the Irishman's shock retirement is real

An MMA coach is being rebuked for failing to withdraw his fighter from a bout when the fighter begged him 9 times to stop it

Watch an American UFC fighter kick his opponent so hard in the calf that he couldn't even stand, let alone walk, straight after

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Jorge Masvidal is one win from immortality and a Conor McGregor payday - Insider - INSIDER

Warrior Nun Ending Explained What Happens to Ava and Adriel at the End of Warrior Nun? – Esquire.com

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Warrior Nun. It's a show about warriors who are also nuns. Pretty simple stuff, right? But for a show with a two-word premise, things get pretty complicated over the course of the Netflix series' 10-episode first season.

The show tells the story of Ava, a 19-year-old ward of a Catholic orphanage who is implanted with the angel Adriel's halo and finds herself imbued with mystical powers. It turns out that she's the latest in a 1,000-year-old line of women who've borne the halo, women who have all been nuns of the Order of Cruciform sword. Here's how the story shakes out in the end.

Throughout the first half of the season, Ava grapples with her newfound powers and debates whether or not she wants to align herself with the OCS. But by the end of the season, she's decided to team up with Father Vincent, Shotgun Mary, Sister Beatrice, and the rest of the warrior sisters. Inventor Jillian Salvius, who has built a portal to other realms called the Ark with the help of the mystical element divinium, initially seemed to be the Big Bad, but was revealed to be doing her research to help her ailing son Michael, and she too teams up with the OCS.

Instead, the real problem player is Cardinal Duretti. The OCS pieces together that he was behind the killing of prior halo bearer Sister Shannon. He wants the halo to pass to someone loyal to him, as he needs to use its power to allow its bearer to pass through walls to enter the tomb of Adriel. The angel gave up his divine immortality when he gave his halo to Areala, the original warrior nun, and now his bones lie in the catacombs of the Vatican, behind a stone wall that's 20 feet deep. His remains are said to have the power to make whoever controls them the "lord of demon kind," and Duretti, who's elected to Pope near the end of the season, seems to like the sound of that. So the OCS heads off to Adriel's tomb to foil Duretti's evil plan.

Courtesy of NETFLIX

Ava, Father Vincent, and the sisters locate the tomb, and, pumped up from a phasing workout regimen, Ava successfully travels through the stone. Inside, she finds not Adriel's bones, but Adriel himself. As it turns out, he never lost his immortality, and has been trapped there for centuries.

At first, Ava and Adriel are pretty chummyhe's an angel, she's pretty much a novitiate, it's a match made in heaven. But when Adriel touches her, Ava receives flashes from Areala's memories that make her suspicious. When Adriel tries to take the halo from her, she blasts him with its power, just as the OCS dynamites its way in and saves her.

Meanwhile, Mother Superion confronts now-Pope Duretti, only to find out that he has no clue about the killing of Sister Shannon or the underground tomb. He's not the bad guyand Adriel's no angel. Ava reveals to the team that Adriel is in fact a devil. Father Vincent calls the newly-freed Adriel his master and tells him that his machinepresumably the Ark, which Michael has just leapt into, bound for dimensions unknownis waiting for him. Vincent killed Shannon, and he's been the baddie all along.

The sisters fight Adriel while Ava waits for her halo to recharge its mystical batteries, but Adriel summons an army of demons who posses the bystanders and swarm the women. And that's where the season ends! The fate of the OCS, the duplicitous Father Vincent, and little Michael, wherever he is, will have to wait for season two.

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Warrior Nun Ending Explained What Happens to Ava and Adriel at the End of Warrior Nun? - Esquire.com

This One Activity Ticks Off 3 of the Blue Zones Markers of Longevity – Well+Good

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

People who live in the worlds Blue Zoneslike Sardinia, Italy and Okinawa, Japanhave perfected the art of staying alive and well. Longevity expert Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones Kitchen, has made studying these superhumans and their wellness practices his lifes work. During a recent online master class on all things immortality (I mean, er, longevity) hosted by the Global Wellness Institute, Buettner said that one everyday outdoor activity sets the folks in the Blue Zones up for thriving well into their triple-digits: gardening.

[In] all Blue Zones, people continue to garden even into their 90s and 100s, said Buettner. Gardening is the epitome of a Blue Zone activity because its sort of a nudge: You plant the seeds and youre going to be nudged in the next three to four months to water it, weed it, harvest it. And when youre done, youre going to eat an organic vegetable, which you presumably like because you planted it. That means gardening hits three of the nine Blue Zones pillars of healthy living in just one activity: one, move naturally; two, manage your stress; and three, eat mostly plants.

Gardening ticks the first box, move naturally, because it calls for incorporating movement into your daily tasks (like walking to work or biking to the grocery store) rather than, say, setting aside an hour aside for a HIIT workout. As Emily Kiberd, DC, founder of New York CitysUrban Wellness Clinic, previously told Well+Good: Their lives are dynamic. Not a constant go, go, go, but a mix of movement, then rest. You can water your plants, then dive back into the book you were reading or go back to work with the energy granted to you by a small burst of movement.

Meanwhile, research has also suggested that planting flowers, herbs, or fruits and veggies also plants the seeds for good mental health (fulfilling that second Blue Zones pillar). Gardening has been found to delay symptoms of dementia. Green exercise, aka doing physical activity while exposed to or in nature, has been linked to longevity, and theres no discounting the fact that youll quickly rack up your 150 minutes of government-recommended exercise each week as you tend to your plant babies (which is also a win for your brains well-being).

Last, but certainly not least, is the fact that having a garden make it easier to access fresh, whole foods. As Buettner pointed out, planting your own fruits and veggies delivers you one step closer to actually eating them. What you do choose to plant and harvest will contribute to the overall diversity of your diet. That a big deal, when you consider that 2018 research found that people with the healthiest, most diverse guts ate 30 or more different types of plants per week. Plant your garden right, and at least a large fraction of the gut-friendly plants in your diet could be hand-grown.

If you dont know the first thing about buying seeds, soil, fertilizer, and all that jazz, remember that gardening doesnt have to be as complicated as purchasing an acre of farmland. For one thing, you could try sprouting: an easy, indoor method for growing your own grains, beans, legumes, or veggies. This also allows you to eat your plants when theyre young and thus more nutrient-dense than they would be otherwise.

If you have some backyard or balcony space and thus have more room for planting (either in the ground or in planters), consider this your motivation to brush up on the basics of not-killing-things and really do your research as far as what should be planted when, how the heck you should water your little seeds, and the perfect sunlight-to-shade ratio. To really feel like youre becoming a student of the plant kingdom, you can even sign up for one of these online gardening workshops to make your love for the activity blossom.

Should you find yourself feeling stuck, just remember: The people of the Blue Zones had to start from scratch to earn the green thumbs they have today. And hey, with any luck, youll have one hundred years to learn how to plant, care for, harvest, and eat the perfect tomato.

Read the rest here:

This One Activity Ticks Off 3 of the Blue Zones Markers of Longevity - Well+Good

Adventure Time: 5 Reasons Why Princess Bubblegum & Marceline Are Perfect Together (& 5 Why They’re Not) – Screen Rant

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Marceline and Princess Bubblegum spent years in limbo. Scenes depicting the slow growth of their romance were subtle. Fans were divided based on whether they saw the relationship as a simple friendship or something more intimate. The finale kiss scene settled all arguments and just about everyone was overjoyed to see the couple confirmed.

RELATED: Adventure Time: 10 Classic Hilarious Memes From The Show's Heyday, Ranked

The years that it took for the writers to confirm Bubbline make people hesitant to admit that the pairing has its flaws. But, Marceline and Bubblegum spent half the series arguing. When their rivalry turned to romance, the impact on the overall story was immense. Factors like this leave the fanbase divided on this couple yet again.

Marceline stopped aging when she became an immortal vampire. Its confirmed that Princess Bubblegum lives longer than humans since she was already over 800 years old at the start of the series. In Mortal Recoil she chose to regress to age 13, implying that she doesnt have to age at all.

Immortality comes with many goodbyes as mortal friends pass away. Marceline and Princess Bubblegum will never have to cause each other that kind of pain. They can take comfort in the fact that their love is eternal.

Managing the Candy Kingdom takes up the majority of Princess Bubblegums time. She devotes herself to keeping her people safe fromthreats like Gumbald. What free time shedoes haveis dedicated to science. That lives little to no room for relationships.

Bubblegum implied that this contributed toherabrupt separation from Marcelinein Varmints. The disagreements that occurin normal relationships would add to her abnormally high-stress levels. When factoring in Marcelinestemperamentalnature, the pressure on Princess Bubblegum would be even worse.

Princess Bubblegum has the entireCandy Kingdom to worry about protecting. While other characters, likeLady Reinicornand Lady Space Princess, help her when possible, theyre free to come and go as they please.

RELATED:Adventure Time: 10 Side Characters Who Deserved Their Own Spin-Off

Marceline the Vampire Queen can relate to Bubblegums struggles, even though she isnt royalty in the traditional sense. She became queen by slaughtering all of the vampires in existence. Twice. She was bitten in the process, thereby sacrificing her own humanity to protect humankind. By the end of it all, she was the queen of a dead empire. Marceline is totally capable of understanding the challenges Bubblegum faces.

The breakup happened for a reason. Issues that revolve around personality flaws rather than outside forces don't just disappear. The problems that caused Marceline and Princess Bubblegums breakup were a mix of the two.

Bubblegum struggledto communicate herworries to Marcelineas the pressures of her princess role increased. After the couple reconciled, the same problem cropped up again when Princess Bubblegum didnt notify Marceline that shed been usurped by the King of Ooo. Marcelines passive-aggressive reactions to the situation helped turn their broken relationship into a rivalry. Neither woman has completely overcome these flaws by the end of Adventure Time.

These two women are nothing alike in personality, which is why they mitigate each othersfaults so effectively. Princess Bubblegum resorted to atrocities to protect the people of the Candy Kingdom. Stress from such unwinnable situations made her uptight and reserved, despite her overall kindness.

RELATED:The Myers-Briggs Personality Types Of Adventure Time Characters

Marceline, on the other hand, is a carefree soul. She encourages spontaneity and her unrestrained emotions force Princess Bubblegum to confront her own. Bubblegum returns the favor by giving Marceline someone to care about again. Without family or purpose, Marcelinewas spiraling out of control until Bubblegum came to ground her.

One of the reasons fans struggle to support the relationship between Princess Bubblegum and Marceline is because it required the sacrifice of theirother friendships. In every episode whereBubblegum and Marceline were shown together, they refused to be separated. Friendly scenes between Finn and Bubblegum grew more sparse. The romance overtook Marceline's entire storyline, leaving her with nothing that wasn't also Bubblegum's.

Itis not only disappointing for viewers to watch, but also unhealthyfrom a relationship standpoint. This couple is nearing dangerous levels of codependence.

Its unclear how far back the history goes between Bubblegum and Marceline, but it is long and winding. Theyknew each other long enough to fall in love before Bubblegum could take the throne. Constant references are made to their shared past.Writers mention the shirt that Marceline gave to Bubblegum and the time they spent together in the mines.

Events like these are so intimatethat theyre rarely discussed with the other characters. Even the audience is left in the dark on most of it. A bond like this cant be easily recreated in a new relationship.

All of the main characters explore romantic relationships throughout the series. There are mentions of exes from the past, too. Though neither Princess Bubblegum nor Marceline seems to have dated anyone else for long. They never had the opportunity to discover a better match. After the breakup, they were still too obsessed with each other to take their suitors seriously.

Their inexperiencealso comes into play when talking about dating women. No lesbian relationships are brought up beyond the one Bubblegum and Marceline share.Failing to explore these avenues now could result in future regrets.

Couples struggle to keep things fresh after a few years. These women have managed for centuries. The clashes of their contrasting personalities provide them with endless entertainment and the love between them never grows old. Even when they were on bad terms with each other, presumably for years, Bubblegum kept souvenirs from their relationship and Marceline wrote songs about their love.

Theyve proven themselves incapable of total separation. That isnt the worst character flaw since both their lives are much better when theyre together.

The most common issue anti-Bubbline fans have with the relationship is that they were given no indicators to help prepare them for it. They claim the two women were depicted as close friends and nothing more. It makes the finale kiss feel out of character. If Princess Bubblegum and Marcelinemust be written out of character to be written into a relationship, they shouldnt be in one at all.

However, other fans cite thegradualreveal of their romantic feelings as the characteristic that makes Bubbline the most well-written LGBT+ relationship in the animated world.

NEXT:Adventure Time: 5 Things We Want To See From The HBO Max Specials (& 5 That We Don't)

Next The Umbrella Academy: The 5 Biggest Mysteries That Were Solved In Season 1 (& 5 That Weren't)

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Adventure Time: 5 Reasons Why Princess Bubblegum & Marceline Are Perfect Together (& 5 Why They're Not) - Screen Rant

The Quarantine Stream: ‘Doctor Who’ is a Compassionate Sci-Fi Series That Doesn’t Really Care About the Sci-Fi Part – /FILM

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

(Welcome toThe Quarantine Stream, a new series where the /Film team shares what theyve been watching while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.)

The Series:Doctor Who

Where You Can Stream It: HBO Max

The Pitch: A hyperintellectual alien travels through time and space (though more often than not, to 21stcentury Britain) in a spaceship shaped like a 1960s British police box, going on wacky misadventures with his/her spunky human companions.

Why Its Essential Viewing:Doctor Whois often described in reverent terms as the longest-running sci-fi TV series in history.But to categorize this wonderful, baffling, silly, stupendous show as science-fiction wouldnt do it, or the genre, justice. Sci-fi is really just an umbrella for the famous BBC seriesto play with genre and structure it can be a character drama one episode, a campy comedy the next, a mythic fairy tale, a Gothic horror tale. Sure, theres a loose continuity that runs all the way back to the beginning of the show, but none of that matters. All that matters is that theres a quirky alien who goes around battling monsters and saving the day with his big old brain and a whole lotta heart (two of them, in fact).

With a 57-year run and multiple actors, showrunners, and spin-offs, getting intoDoctor Whocan be a bit daunting. (If youre intimidated, dive intoDoctor Whostarting with the 2005 revival, or read our handy guide.)Centering around an alien protagonist known as only the Doctor, the title character has the ability to change into an entirely different person every time he dies in a process called regeneration a neat trick that basically grants him immortality, and grants the series an eternal lifespan with 13 actors now having played the Doctor.But the brilliant conceit ofDoctor Whois that you could feasibly jump into any episode and get the gist.

One episode, the Doctor may be battling killer robots in contemporary London; another, looking for ghosts with Charles Dickens; or another, stuck on a train on a diamond planet attempting to outwit an invisible entity that feeds on the paranoia of the surrounding passengers. You never know what to expect when you tune into an episode ofDoctor Who, which is only limited by the imaginations of its writers, and, of course, by the very limited budget of the BBC. Its the perfect blank slate for great genre storytelling, and while that storytelling isnt often great (in fact, its more often not),Doctor Who never feels stale thanks to its evolving nature. Its a show that constantly reinvents itself, as its title character does since the show was revived in 2005, it has been a campy horror series, and a soap opera, and a fairy tale.

But despite the fact that change is built into this shows DNA,Doctor Who always feels inarguably Doctor Who. Thats because no matter how many times itreinvents itself,Doctor Whois at its core a sci-fi series about love and empathy. It has a protagonist who sometimes acts a little too cold and alien, but who cares so deeply that they will inspire those around them to show the best of humanity. Its hopelessly sentimental and optimistic, but dont we need a little bit of that nowadays?

Excerpt from:

The Quarantine Stream: 'Doctor Who' is a Compassionate Sci-Fi Series That Doesn't Really Care About the Sci-Fi Part - /FILM

New Technology Shouldn’t be the Focus of RPGs, According to Obsidian – COGconnected

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

With the next-gen consoles Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X waiting on the horizons, its easy to get caught up in all the hype about all the new tech. But Feargus Urquhart, the CEO of Obsidian and an RPG dev since 1997, wants to remind people that tech comes very last in terms of crafting an interesting RPG.

I think its true if you look back on it. All these games that come out when consoles are released that exploits all the new tech generates a lot of buzz, but never leave behind a legacy. How many games become a classic for their graphics or load times? Those things age quick. But good gameplay, interesting story, compelling characters? Thats immortality right there.

Feargus Urquhart says with Obsidian, the rise of PlayStation5 and Xbox Series X barely affects how they make games. He states,(RPGs) always has to go back to characters, story, reactivity and agency. And that has to be irrespective of technology.

I think its super important to those who are going out and getting new consoles, that they feel good about the games that they are buying on them. When we are eventually working on those, we will look at how to balance between the different generations of hardware. But what is super important to me is that it is not a different experience. Its not a case of you get half the quests. The idea is that it has to be that same Obsidian experience no matter what platform it is on.

New technology will always come out and they will change how we play games. But I think the fact that there are still many classics that wed rather play over and over again rather than the yearly releases stands as a testament that you cant rely on technology to create art.

Source: Games Industry

Black deaths matter: The centuries-old struggle to memorialize slaves and victims of racism – The Conversation US

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

In an open lot just a block or so from where George Floyd was killed while being detained by officers, 100 plastic headstones were carefully placed.

Created by artists Anna Barber and Connor Wright, the Say Their Names Cemetery sprung up in south Minneapolis in early June, as protests over police brutality prompted a more wide-ranging conversation over the legacy of slavery and racism in the United States.

Each headstone documents a victim of police violence their name, age, date and location of death. Accompanying the biographical information reads a simple epitaph: Rest in Power a reworking of rest in peace that has gained popularity among Black Lives Matter activists and supporters to commemorate the dead.

The cemetery forms part of a wider #SayTheirNames campaign aimed at resisting the public erasure of dead victims of brutality.

I study death rituals in the U.S. Scholars in my field have long argued that Black and African American commemorative practices are important in asserting the personhood of the deceased and maintaining and celebrating community. They have been used to proclaim Black autonomy at times when society has infringed upon the rights of Black people.

The fight to remember those killed by violence has roots in the history of slave cemeteries and burial practices. The enslaved were often limited in their choice of burial grounds, especially on rural Southern plantations. White owners relegated their cemeteries to marginal land that could not be cultivated. Many burials were marked only with a wooden post.

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Yet, enslaved communities were often allowed to bury and commemorate their dead, and these funerals were, in the words of historian David Roediger, value-laden and unifying social events that allowed for communal expression. Slavery made Black bodies into financial assets. In contrast, Black commemoration of the dead acknowledged their social relationships and the value of their lives.

Marking the graves of the dead with natural or man-made objects could carry tremendous spiritual meaning for the enslaved, sometimes evoking African precedents. In the Central African Bakongo tradition, the burial place was considered a portal between the living and the dead; objects left on the grave could serve as charms to communicate with and assist the spirit in its transition to the afterlife.

Such traditions appeared on American plantation burials as well, as mourners would leave items that had physical connection with the deceased, such as plates and cups.

There were other practices as well, such as putting items with an association with water, including shells and pitchers, close to graves. These reflected a belief in the association between water and the souls immortality and metaphysical crossing.

Such practices in America also helped to construct an African diaspora culture that celebrated Black humanity under a labor system that tried to systematically dehumanize the enslaved.

The absence of recognizable markers on enslaved burials today does not necessarily mean the dead were unacknowledged.

In some instances, grave markers are hidden in plain sight: Scholars have noted the common presence of periwinkle, cedar trees, yucca and other plantings, suggesting that some Black communities employed a botanical language of grave marking. Some of these plants may have been used for their symbolism, or for their visibility, standing out against an areas native plant life.

In other cases, enslaved communities marked burials with common fieldstones. Although not inscribed, these stones nonetheless provided some form of physical acknowledgment of the dead.

For example, the cemetery at Avoca plantation, near Lynchburg, Virginia, contains several irregular stones that appear to have been placed on the site. The cemetery also contains two pieces of pink quartz, which may indicate the burial of children, scholars believe.

Plantations owners and their families, however, often were laid to rest in family cemeteries. At Avoca, the family burial ground is defined by a low stone wall, and many of the people interred there received a formal stone marker of some kind. This feature conveys a sense of permanence that is often lacking in enslaved peoples cemeteries.

There are some instances of stone markers in Black cemeteries from the antebellum period. One of the most well-known Black burial grounds lies in Newport, Rhode Island. Newport had a sizable community of free and enslaved Africans and African Americans in the colonial period.

Known as Gods Little Acre, the sites headstones serve as a remarkable testament of African identity, perseverance and memory, according to the cemeterys website. Both enslaved and free members of the Newport community received markers.

Some of the stones acknowledge the deceaseds African heritage; others were paid for by the deceaseds owners. Several of the Newport markers were made by enslaved African stonecutters a mason known as Pompe Stevens signed at least two of his works, one of which was for his brothers grave.

As political and social inequality continued into the 19th century, communal burial grounds remained important places for expressing the value of Black lives.

In 1807, men and women affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore founded the African Burying Ground which exists today as the renamed Mount Auburn Cemetery. As historian Kami Fletcher argues, the cemetery was founded as the simultaneous call for freedom and humanity as well as a call for actualized burial rights for Black people and people of color.

The cemetery let the local Black community bury its dead in ways that were significantly different from burials on nearby plantations: The dead could be named, placed near family and interred in land owned by their own community.

In recent years there have been efforts to locate and restore enslaved cemeteries that have been lost or threatened by development. This work exists in many forms, from the African Burial Ground National Monument in New York City to smaller cemeteries documented by archaeologists and local organizations. Universities and former plantations have made the effort to search for, and commemorate, slave cemeteries.

New discoveries of remains continue to raise questions about how to appropriately honor burial sites and the painful histories they represent. Even at sites where the names of the dead are lost, historical interpretation, digital projects and public education can act as long overdue markings of the dead.

As Minneapolis temporary Say Their Names Cemetery hints at, commemoration is not an apolitical act. Remembering those lost to violence whether that of slavery or of unchecked police power is important. It can serve as a reminder for the need for political and legislative change, led by communities who have spent centuries asserting the value of both Black lives and Black deaths.

Original post:

Black deaths matter: The centuries-old struggle to memorialize slaves and victims of racism - The Conversation US

What happens when a researcher tries to resurrect a loved one? – New Scientist News

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

In the film Archive, George Almore attempts to put his late wife's memories into a machine. The project is far from a roaring success, finds Jon O'Brien

By Jon O'Brien

Courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Film

Life in a pandemic: "Is this the new normal and how do we cope?" – The Lawton Constitution

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

As the U.S. death toll of COVID-19 passes 134,000, its not just the medical aspects of the disease that are reshaping society.

Millions are wearing masks and making sure theyre standing 6 feet from everyone else in sight and millions wouldnt be caught dead in a mask, so to speak. Hugs are in short supply. What will the next school year bring? Whats safe and whats not? Politics influences what people believe about the pandemic, and vice versa. Is this the new normal way of life or is this the new normal for now?

To seek further insight into how all this is affecting us, The Constitution spoke with Stephanie Stern and her husband, William Stern, both instructors in the Psychology Department at Cameron University. William Stern is also part of the universitys social sciences program.

Stephanie Stern said a big area of concern is the pandemics impact on mental health. Many people are isolated and anxious, and they can be stuck at home in potentially harmful environments. That can have a long-term effect. Much like the virus, it, too, is invisible.

We will possibly see an increase in depression and anxiety-related disorders, as well as interpersonal issues, she said. We already have problems in our country when it comes to accessing mental health care and stigma surrounding seeking help. The pandemic will likely exacerbate some of those problems.

Shutting people away in their homes with little contact can take a big toll on mental health, William Stern said, calling it a case of the cure being worse than the disease.

People crave contact with others, and anything that limits that contact is going to be difficult for us to deal with, he said.

The mixed messages from the government and health professionals come at an already hot moment politically. In many ways, the rationale that pushes one to seek alternative information or to defend bad information with bravado could be a manifestation of a subconscious fear of mortality, according to William Stern. It fits the model of Terror Management Theory.

The basic idea of the theory is that when people are made aware of the fact that their death is inevitable, they become anxious and attempt to reduce that anxiety, he said. Traditionally, we can make ourselves feel better by reaffirming belief in customs that might offer a form of immortality such as religion, family memories or leaving a legacy.

Those who subscribe to conspiracy theories about the virus and its nature are doing so to reaffirm a sense of certainty in a very uncertain time, he said. It satisfies a need for closure that can help make sense of the world.

When people dont follow the guidelines, Stephanie Stern said, its an example of the tragedy of commons. When a person feels its all right to bend the rules or make exceptions here and there, that person fails to look at the bigger picture. What if everyone followed that same logic?

People, even people who might think they are taking precautions seriously, make these one-time or one-person exceptions and the impact spirals from there, she said.

The need to belong and to interact with others is innately human. Thats why, she said, people have found ways to adapt in different ways to satisfy the need for interaction with others.

As a society, we need to focus on providing for these needs, as well as others, in a way that keeps the greatest number of people safe, she said. Unfortunately, this need might also be another reason why many people have had such a hard time following social distancing rules, likely leading to an extended period during which we will need to follow social distancing guidelines.

William Stern said many people who take the latter tack are probably not engaging in those activities because they dont care about their health. It can help cause an unease that is subconscious. It brings an added stress to those working in those environments, as well.

There are several ways to reduce this unpleasant feeling, and this is probably why we see individuals rationalizing their actions by downplaying the seriousness of the virus and the effectiveness of safety precautions, he said. Their attitude about the virus changes to the point that they feel it is blown out of proportion and really not very dangerous. This allows them to justify their behaviors and avoid feeling bad about taking risks related to the disease.

As American s face health and economic fears brought on by the pandemic, it also appears to be a time of reckoning about race relations. It can be a lot for anyone to take in, William Stern said, and after dealing with a pandemic for months, peoples fuses are much shorter.

Stephanie Stern said people are struggling and deficits in intellectual humility are out in the open.

Intellectual humility refers to our ability to be comfortable being wrong or having our beliefs challenged, she said. You take people low in intellectual humility, who are already frustrated because of their response to COVID-19, and add another way in which they are being told they are wrong. Youre going to get anger and defensiveness. Youre going to get a response that is potentially stronger than it would have been had these events happened in isolation.

Adding to the confusion and fear, according to the Sterns, is the variance of information and where its found.

Stephanie Stern said people are suffering from what social psychologists call confirmation bias in which people find information to support their preconceived notions. As a scientist, she believes its important for society to build opinions on empirical evidence instead of political or personal feelings.

We tend to ignore or invalidate information contrary to how we already feel, she said. Understanding that we all engage in this biased sway of thinking can help us be better at seeking reliable and holistic information.

A solution William Stern offers is to have unbiased platforms for information that can be trusted. He said mistrust of traditional media outlets has led to people finding sources of less-than-trustworthy information. He believes education can play an important role in finding common ground for factual information. With the rise of 24-hour news cycles and the internet, its easy to fall into an echo chamber.

Critical thinking isnt something you are born with, he said. It is a skill that has to be learned and practiced. In this information-rich world, students at all levels of the educational system should be challenged to analyze the source of information.

He believes there is hope with younger generations who have grown up with the internet.

Ironically, they seem less at risk of believing everything they read than the older generations who often issue such warnings, he said. However, none of us is immune to misinformation, and its important to always remember that exceptional claims require exceptional evidence.

But, as with most things, the Sterns believe this, too, shall pass regarding the uncertainty of our new normal.

William Stern believes that we will adapt with the things that will remain once a vaccine is found and the virus is finally under control. He said there are things that have already changed that are for the good, such as employees and employers learning that telecommuting isnt such a bad thing.

As difficult as it has been to deal with at time, it is important to remember that pandemics dont last forever, he said. Eventually the virus will be controlled to the point where normal life can resume.

Humanity has a desire for continuity or for things to remain the same, according to Stephanie Stern. But we live in a constantly changing world and that causes its own distress.

The good news is that we do tend to adapt, she said. That being said, there are certain outcomes of the pandemic that we need to address as soon as possible.

She said it will take some time and there will be a very real impact, from mental health to the educational system. She said there will be a strain on individuals, teachers and mental health care workers that will likely take a while to recover from. Supporting public access to good mental health care as well as destigmatizing those seeking help is a great start.

Events like this have a tendency to reveal the cracks in our system, she said, and, for better or worse, things do not always go back to the way they were.

Written by Scott Rains: scott.rains@swoknews.com.

More here:

Life in a pandemic: "Is this the new normal and how do we cope?" - The Lawton Constitution

J&K parties remember 1931 martyrs, put up a united show – The Hindu

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Jammu and Kashmirs regional parties on Sunday put up a united show by praising those who were killed on July 13, 1931 during a rebellion against the then Dogra Maharaja, even as the Union Territory administration earlier this year struck down July 13 as a holiday from the official calendar.

The July 13 movement was the most inclusive and secular movement of the pre-independence era. People will continue their struggle to resist demographic change, disempowerment and oppression through democratic, constitutional and non-violent means to rebuild the State in accordance with our traditions of tolerance, accommodation and amity, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spokesman said in a statement.

The PDP said people of Jammu and Kashmir had endured a brutal security clampdown and the worlds longest Internet shutdown. We reject the undemocratic status quo imposed on us by the BJP government, which has deprived us of our autonomy, freedom and human dignity, which underpin the constitution. We demand an immediate end to the Centres denial of the political issue, the spokesman said.

National Conference president and Member of Parliament Farooq Abdullah, while paying tributes to the people, said, The idea behind remembering martyrs of July 13, 1931 is not merely an act of reminiscing the past. July 13 is the day of assertion of J&Ks identity, rights of its people. These martyrs will continue to be a beacon of light for us and for the coming generations.

NC vice-president Omar Abdullah described July 13, 1931 as the watershed moment in the peoples struggle for restoration of their universal human rights.. It was their valour that inspired millions of others to rise against the then despotic and autocratic regime. We observe the day to reiterate our commitment to fight evil with kindness, violence with non-violence and peaceful struggle.

Peoples Conference leader Abdul Gani Vakil said the valiant struggle in 1931 was for change, against monarchy, oppression and feudal repression.

The sense of servility that a Kashmiri has been subjected to today is no different than what the rulers in 1931 did. Our struggle today is the same, Mr. Vakil said.

CPI(M) leader M.Y. Tarigami also paid tributes. Martyrs Day serves as a reminder to protect and promote the rights of people and their dignity.

It was due to the sacrifices of July 13 martyrs, which ultimately led to the unique identity of J&K and Ladakh. Unfortunately on August 5, 2019, the BJP government unilaterally abrogated J&Ks special status, thereby assaulted the very basic structure of the Constitution of India, Mr. Tarigami said.

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J&K parties remember 1931 martyrs, put up a united show - The Hindu

Cargo and Science Operations Start Work Week Space Station – NASA Planetary Science

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

The SpaceX Crew Dragon and the Japans HTV-9 resupply ship figure prominently in this photograph taken during the July 1 spacewalk.

A Russian cargo craft is due to depart the International Space Station in the middle of the week after seven months on orbit. The five-member Expedition 63 crew stayed busy all-day Monday continuing the upkeep of space research gear and life support hardware.

The Progress 74 (74P) resupply ship is being packed with trash and obsolete gear today ahead of its undocking on Wednesday at 2:23 p.m. EDT. The 74P has been attached to the Pirs docking compartment since Dec. 9 where it docked carrying nearly three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the orbital residents. After separating from the station, the 74P will fire its deorbit engines over the South Pacific and burn up safely in the Earths atmosphere.

The Progress 76 (76P), the next cargo ship to replenish the crew, is scheduled to launch on July 23 and dock to Pirs just two orbits later. The station will slightly lower its orbit on Saturday to accommodate the approach and rendezvous of 76P. This follows last weeks orbital maneuver to boost the station out of the way of a piece of rocket debris near its flight path.

Amidst the cargo craft operations, the space lab residents serviced a variety of advanced science equipment today. The gear work is continuing the numerous space experiments benefiting humans on Earth and in space.

Commander Chris Cassidy stowed satellite deployment gear before cleaning a specialized furnace that enables observation of materials heated to extreme temperatures. Flight Engineers Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken juggled an array of orbital plumbing, computer maintenance, light installation and sensor battery swap tasks.

Cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin replaced fuel bottles inside the Combustion Integrated Rack to continue safe fuel and flame research. Fellow cosmonaut Ivan Vagner checked smoke detectors and photographed the Earth while wrapping up cargo operations in the 74P. The duo started the day measuring their body mass using a device that applies a known force to the crew member with the resulting acceleration providing a mass calculation.

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Cargo and Science Operations Start Work Week Space Station - NASA Planetary Science

Gravity on Space Stations and Free Fall – The Great Courses Daily News

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

By Don Lincoln, Ph.D., University of Notre DameThere is gravity on the International Space Station, but astronauts appear to be weightless because both the space station and the astronauts are in free fall. (Image: NASA/Public domain)Weight of a Person on Space Stations

Lets work it out. The radius of the Earth is about 6,400 kilometers and the International Space Station orbits about 400 kilometers straight up, or at an orbital radius of about 6,800 kilometers.

Remember that Newtons law of gravity says that the force between two objects, in this case a person and the Earth, is equal to G times the persons mass times the Earths mass divided by the squared distance between the person and the center of the Earth.

Now to show you that gravity does exist on the space station, we can look up the numbers or we can be smart and set the problem up as a simple ratio. We want to know the weight of a person on the surface of the Earth compared to the weight of a person in the space station, there are some constants in the problem. The mass of the person and the Earth doesnt change and neither does G. So, we dont have to worry about those things. Instead, we remember that a weight is a force.

What we can do is we can set-up the two equations in the following way. Lets take a person with a weight of 150 pounds on the surface of the Earth and lets have our unknown as the weight of a person on the International Space Station. The two equations will be the 150 pounds equals G times the masses divided by the 6400 kilometers squared and the unknown weight on the space station being the same G times masses divided by 6800 kilometers squared.

So, we can take the ratios and the G and masses cancel out and we get the weight on the space station divided by 150 pounds equals 6400 divided by 6800 all squared. Doing the arithmetic, we find that a person who weighs 150 pounds on Earth will weigh 133 pounds on the space station.

Its incorrect to say that they wont weigh anything. So how do we understand what we see with our own eyes? The astronauts definitely look like they are weightless. Or are the conspiracy theory crew right after all and its all a fake? No, definitely not. We shouldnt have even asked such a ridiculous question. But, whats the explanation?

This is a transcript from the video series Understanding the Misconceptions of Science. Watch it now, on The Great Courses Plus.

Believe it or not, the explanation is that both the space station and the astronauts are literally falling. If you stopped the space station in its orbit or, if it was just lifted straight up 400 kilometers right after it was originally built, it would fall straight back to Earth, much like Alan Eustace or Felix Baumgartner did when they jumped off a platform 40 kilometers above the Earths surface.

The space station and everything in it is also moving sideward. So, what is really happening is that the station is constantly falling toward the Earth, but its constantly missing.

Now this way of thinking isnt new. Its something that Isaac Newton came up with. He thought about shooting a cannonball horizontally. As you know, it will fly horizontally as it falls. Shoot it faster and it will go further. Shoot it even faster and it will go further still. Eventually, he reasoned, the ball will go fast enough that the curvature of the Earth comes into play and the ball will be able to orbit the Earth. The same thing is going on with the space station and the astronauts. They are constantly falling and missing the Earth.

Learn more about the myths of orbital motion.

In fact, the correct word you should use is that the astronauts are not in zero gravity, but rather in free fall. They are most definitely not in zero gravity. As far back as Galileo, we realized that objects of different mass fall at the same speed. So, the space station and the astronauts fall together.

An astronaut once told us about certain unexpected things they encounter in space. He taught us something that takes this whole free fall understanding to an even higher level. He said that if you sat completely still in the shuttle, you would slowly drift forward toward the nose of the ship.

Thats because the shuttle was in low enough orbit that there was a little air drag. Even though the space shuttle was mostly in free fall, the air slowed the shuttle down just a little bit. The astronauts were shielded from the drag and so they didnt slow down and the net effect is that if you sat there for a while, youd drift towards the front of the spacecraft.

Of course, you generally dont need to worry about such little things. One of the brilliant features of science is the ability to simplify a problem by ignoring tiny effects. But if you want to know how a precise answer, eventually ignoring those things will lead you astray and youll end up believing something not quite right, like the statement that planetary orbits are perfect ellipses. It just goes to show you that theres always something to learn in science.

Learn more about what the world gets wrong about science.

Yes, there is gravity on the International Space Station. Based on Newtons law of gravity, which says that the force between two objects, in this case a person and the Earth, is equal to G times the persons mass times the Earths mass divided by the squared distance between the person and the center of the Earth, we can calculate that a person who weighs 150 pounds on Earth will weigh 133 pounds on the space station.

The reason astronauts float inside the space station is that both the space station and the astronauts are in free fall. As far back as Galileo, we realized that objects of different mass fall at the same speed. So, the space station and the astronauts fall together, which creates the illusion of zero gravity or weightlessness.

The basic concept of free fall was first demonstrated by Isaac Newton with the canonball experiment, in which, theoretically, when the canonball is shot out fast enough to bring the curvature of the Earth into play, the ball will be able to orbit the Earth. The same thing happens with the space station and the astronauts. They are constantly falling and missing the Earth.

Yes, astronauts are in free fall on space stations. There is gravity on space stations, and thats the only force acting on astronauts. Since the only force working on the space station itself is also gravity, both the astronauts and the space station are in free fall together.

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Gravity on Space Stations and Free Fall - The Great Courses Daily News

When to spot the International Space Station, 2 planets and 1 comet – prepare for super Sunday – Newbury Weekly News Group

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

IT'S back! The International Space Station is visible over UK skies from now until the beginning of August - that's three weeks when you can spot an actual spaceship, carrying real life astronauts, looking down on us looking up at them.

But it's not just about a man made craft - Comet Neowise is making its presence felt too and the picture above was taken by Phil Hawkins from Thatcham who wrote: 'Inspired by Dave Foulger's superb photo (see Dave's picture below), here is another photo of the same comet taken in the early hours of Sunday morning from the car park near where the Ridgeway path crosses the A34.'

Phil used a 600mm lens, F8 with 2 sec exposure.

Comet Neowise is visible to the naked eye until the end of the month and will reach its closest point to Earth on July 23, when it will be about 64 million miles away - or about 400 times further away than the Moon. But many people are spotting it in these great clear skies already. With cloudy evenings forecast over the next week, you might want to make the most of this evening, when Comet Neowise will be visible low on the northern horizon from about 11pm.

Joining in the fun will be the planets Jupiter and Saturn which should also both be visible throughout the night.

But if it's the International Space Station you are waiting for, if you missed it last night, then you need to stay up until 1.37am or 3.14am, not technically Sunday we know, but the early hours of July 13, to catch your first glimpse.

Here are some of the more civilised times for next week: Monday, July 13, 11.19pm; Tuesday, July 14 - 00.50am, 10.26pm; Wednesday, July 15, 00.02am, 11.14pm; Thursday, July 16, 10.26pm; Friday, July 17,00.02am, 11.14pm and Saturday, July 18 10.27pm.

These times are approximate, so give yourself 10 minutes either side and can also change if the space station performs an orbital boost and changes its orbit. The International Space Station always appears from the westerly part of the sky, although not necessarily the same point, and a pass can last around five minutes.

The ISS is also visible at regular intervals throughout the night, but we reckon you need to get some sleep! We'll post the following week's times next Sunday.

Happy sky gazing and don't forget to email your cosmic photographs to geraldine.gardner@newburynews.co.ukso we can create a gallery of pictures.

Can you take a photograph like Phil Hawkins, above, or this shot taken by Dave Foulger from Combe Gibbet?

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When to spot the International Space Station, 2 planets and 1 comet - prepare for super Sunday - Newbury Weekly News Group

NASA snaps stunning space station photo of ‘stars, cities, spaceships and a comet’ – Mirror Online

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

From their position on the International Space Station, astronauts are treated to a unique view of our planet that most people will never have the chance to see.

The ISS orbits Earth at a height of around 250 miles, meaning the space station makes around 16 trips around Earth every single day.

Now, one NASA astronaut on board the ISS has snapped a stunning photo of "stars, cities spaceships and a comet".

Astronaut Bob Behnken, who has only been on the ISS for a month, posted the beautiful photo to Twitter.

He wrote: Night sky, just before dawn from @Space_Station. Stars, cities, spaceships, and a comet!

While it remains unclear which cities can be seen in the photo, the comet is Comet NEOWISE, which will be visible throughout July.

The comet will reach its closest point to Earth on July 23, at which point it will be at a distance of 103 million kilometres, according to Paul Sutherland, author of Skymania.

He explained: The comets track is currently carrying it between the constellations of Auriga and Gemini, so in early July you will have to look to the north-east, a little way beneath the bright star Capella, to find it.

During the rest of July, Comet NEOWISE will head through Lynx and into Ursa Major, passing beneath the familiar asterism of seven bright stars known as the Big Dipper, or the Plough. This will keep it low in the sky before dawn, but it will increasingly be visible earlier in the night, in a darker sky.

By the third week of July, the comet will be on view all night long and stargazers will be able to view it before going to bed, rather than having to get out of their warm beds before dawn!

While the comet is likely to be visible with the naked eye, binoculars could come in handy if you have them.

Mr Sutherland added: Binoculars will be very helpful in finding it, even if the comet is just visible in the brightening twilight.

See more here:

NASA snaps stunning space station photo of 'stars, cities, spaceships and a comet' - Mirror Online

Safety fixes added to Boeing space capsule – The Columbian

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. NASA has added more safety fixes for Boeings space capsule before it can fly astronauts following a pair of close calls during last years test flight.

In closing out the seven-month investigation, NASA officials said Tuesday they have now identified 80 corrective actions, mostly involving software and testing, that must be done before the Starliner capsule launches again. The previous count was 61.

Its a bit of a wake-up call for NASA and its contractors across the board, said Steve Stich, manager of NASAs commercial crew program.

During its space debut in December with no one on board, the Starliner ended up in the wrong orbit and could not reach the International Space Station. Ground controllers barely had time to solve another software problem that could have destroyed the capsule at flights end.

Boeing will repeat the flight later this year before attempting to launch astronauts next spring.

SpaceX, meanwhile, successfully launched two NASA astronauts to the space station in May. They will return home next month aboard their Dragon capsule, splashing down off the Florida coast.

In hindsight, NASA did not focus enough on the software portion of the Boeing flight, Stich said. The space agency instead probably concentrated more on SpaceX because of its nontraditional approach to software development, he acknowledged.

Boeing had plenty of experience working on large NASA projects like the space shuttle and space station, and so NASA was a little more used to the Boeing process, Stich said.

Its often natural for a human being to spend more time on that newer approach, and maybe we didnt quite take the time we needed with the more traditional approach, he added.

NASA has since added more of its own staff to monitor software development at both Boeing and SpaceX.

NASA is also borrowing SpaceXs robust approach to software, which involves going back to the designers following testing for feedback, said Kathy Lueders, NASAs new human spaceflight chief who until a month ago managed commercial crew. She wants to see more of that type of approach across other NASA programs.

Boeing will need several more months to complete its software upgrades and tests before repeating the first test flight, officials said.

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Safety fixes added to Boeing space capsule - The Columbian

This is why we are trying to make organs in the International Space Station – ThePrint

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

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Gravity can be a real downer when you are trying to grow organs.

Thats why experiments in space are so valuable. They have revealed a new perspective into biological sciences, including insights into making human tissues.

Gravity influences cellular behavior by impacting how protein and genes interact inside the cells, creating tissue that is polarized, a fundamental step for natural organ development. Unfortunately, gravity is against us when we try to reproduce complex three dimensional tissues in the lab for medical transplantation. This is difficult because of the intrinsic limitations of bio-reactors used on Earth.

I am a stem cell biologist and interested on brain health and evolution. My lab studies how the human brain is formed inside the womb and how alterations in this process might have lifelong consequences to human behavior, such as in autism or schizophrenia. Part of that work includes growing brain cells in space.

Also read: In zero gravity, this is how poorly your brain will function

To build organized tissues in the lab, scientists use scaffolds to provide a surface for cells to attach based on a predetermined rigid shape. For example, an artificial kidney needs a structure, or scaffold, of a certain shape for kidney cells to grow on. Indeed, this strategy helps the tissue to organize in the early stages but creates problems in the long run, such as eventual immune reactions to these synthetic scaffolds or inaccurate structures.

By contrast, in weightless conditions, cells can freely self-organize into their correct three-dimensional structure without the need for a scaffold substrate. By removing gravity from the equation, we researchers might learn new ways of building human tissues, such as cartilage and blood vessels that are scaffold-free, mimicking their natural cellular arrangement in an artificial setting. While this is not exactly what happens in the womb (after all the womb is also subject to gravity), weightless conditions does give us an advantage.

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And this is precisely what is happening at the International Space Station.

These experiments help researchers optimize tissue growth for use in basic science, personalized medicine and organ transplantation.

But there are other reasons why we should manufacture organs in space. Long-term space missions create a series of physiological alterations in the body of astronauts. While some of these alterations are reversible with time, others are not, compromising future human spaceflights.

Studying astronauts bodies before and after their mission can reveal what goes wrong on their organs, but provides little insights on the mechanisms responsible for the observed alterations. Thus, growing human tissues in space can complement this type of investigation and reveal ways to counteract it.

Finally, all forms of life that we know about have evolved in the presence of microgravity. Without gravity, our brains might have evolved in a different trajectory, or our livers might not filter liquids as it does on Earth.

By recreating embryonic organ formation in space, we can anticipate how the human body in the womb would develop. There are several research initiatives going on in my lab with human brain organoids at ISS, designed to learn the impact of zero gravity on the developing human brain. These projects will have profound implications for future human colonization (can humans successfully reproduce in space?). These studies will also improve the generation of artificial organs that are used for testing drugs and treatments on Earth. Will better treatments for neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative conditions that affects millions of people come from research in space?

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Also read: Elon Musks top concern now is SpaceX getting to Mars before he dies

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