Category Archives: Evolution

DNS evolution is vital if 5G and next generation networks are to successfully adopted, according to a report by Infoblox.

Infoblox Inc. has announced new research that identifies the challenges faced by Communication Service Providers (CSPs) when transitioning to distributed cloud models, as well as use cases for Multi-access edge computing (MEC), 5G New Radio (NR), and 5G Next Generation Core (NGC) networks and that points to the need for a DNS evolution.

DNS and the Edge

The report, titled DNS and the Edge: The Evolution will be distributed was conducted by Heavy Reading and surveyed communication service providers around the world to understand the role that DNS plays in the evolution of cloud-based network models. The survey included significant numbers of converged operators, mobile operators and fixed-line and cable operators and asked about their plans for implementing MEC, 5G NGC, and 5G NR technologies, business use cases, as well as concerns and obstacles to implementation. DNS has long been seen as an area in need of support and development.

Distributed cloud models such as 5G and multi-access edge computing networks have the potential to drastically change the CSP industry, delivering high-bandwidth, low latency services to network customers said Dilip Pillaipakam, Vice President and GM of Service Provider Business at Infoblox. Yet to fully take advantage of the benefits of these new technologies, DNS will have to evolve to address the challenges that come from delivering these high-value services at the network edge.

DNS is a critical element to new network architectures and technologies, enabling devices to access the network securely and reliably and DNS evolution is a necessity. And as 5G NR, NGC, and MEC technologies enable faster, more distributed networks with more connected devices, DNS has to become increasingly automated and operate at a greater scale and with greater flexibility.

The need for change

The survey found that few CSPs believe that their current DNS is capable of supporting MEC or 5G NGC.

Other key findings of the survey include:

The findings indicate that the future of DNS will hinge on the delivery of a fully distributed and fully capable edge-based DNS.

Read the full report here.

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Infoblox: DNS evolution critical for the future of 5G and next gen technologies - ITP.net

Duke Fields was only 19 in 1967 when he played in the halftime show at Super Bowl I between the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers. A veteran of big shows with Grambling State University's renowned marching band, he remembers looking into the stands at Los Angeles Coliseum and wondering how this gig would compare.

Then I saw the rocket men, Fields recalls of the halftime show. Two guys with jetpacksand my God, those things were loud!

Fields had no idea then, but he was etching his name onto a list of halftime performers that one day would include music legends as well as dubious acts such as "Elvis Presto" and the infamous "Left Shark."

By the late 20th century, the halftime show had morphed into a multi-million-dollar carnival of music, pageantry and big-name entertainers.But no matter who performed, the show could turn weird.

An hour before Super Bowl IV in 1970 between Kansas City and Minnesota in New Orleans, the weather bureau issued a tornado warning. Then a hot air balloon carrying a Vikings mascot crashed into the stands, causing a near-panic but no injuries.

Even the pre-game national anthem was a flop. Veteran actor Pat O'Brien's mic cut off as he was reading the words to theaccompaniment of trumpet player Doc Severinsen and a marching band.

Then, after two quarters dominated by Kansas City, came a halftime show a sportswriter likened to a "Roman circus."

The Chiefs' hot-air balloon, expected to race the Vikings' balloon at halftime, never got airborne.Producers aimed to dazzle with a massive model of a Mississippi River steamboat laden with women in hoop skirts. But that ship didn't sail. The field was too wet from a pre-game downpour.

A Battle of New Orleans reenactment with hundreds of participants was a flop, too. The white stallion of Andrew Jacksonthe hero of the War of 1812 fightbolted when exploding cannons created a deafening roar.

"Maybe that's the reason the scene ended with an unhistorical twist, with the Yanks and Jean Lafitte's Frenchmen all sprawled on the ground in death and the red-coated British still firing away spiritedly," the Associated Press wrote.

Fittingly, as an opera singer belted out Basin Street Blues during the halftime "circus" in the Sugar Bowl, Al Hirt's blaring trumpet drowned her out.

"Fortunately," a newspaper columnist wrote, "they sneaked a football game in between all that jazz."

By the 1980s, the Super Bowl was must-see TV, but the halftime show was becoming a punchline. Not even the second jetpack appearance, at Super Bowl XIX in 1985, could shake the malaise.

Recognizing the need to change the narrative, producers of the Super Bowl XXIII halftime show in 1989 created one of the oddest experiences in television history. Coca-Cola was sole sponsor for a show incorporating 3-D technology called Nuoptix.

For TV viewers to fully appreciate the whiz-bang performance, the soft drink company distributed 26 million pairs of 3-D glasses with its productnewspapers even ran graphics for how to use them. To ensure he had enough 3-D glasses for customers, a bar owner in San Francisco bought $100 worth of Coke.

"This is the single proudest moment of my life," Bob Costas of NBC Sports said, tongue in cheek, as he introduced the 3-D show.

Bebop Bamboozled" featured Elvis Presto, who performed magic tricks as 3-D graphics flashed behind him and dancers performed to 1950s music amid computer-generated revolving cars and spinning planets. At least one bar patron appreciated the show: "It's good because it's keeping people glued to the TV instead of getting up to get a beer and going to the bathroom."

But like a Coke left out too long, the 3-D viewing largely fizzled with the public. Areviewer wrote it was like watching a football halftime show in the distorted reflection of an old mirror.

Michael Jackson performs at halftime of Super Bowl XXVII between the Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys.

Focus on Sport/Getty Images

At Super Bowl XXVII at the Rose Bowl in 1993, Michael Jackson performed solothe start of a flurry of top-name acts booked by the NFL. Before the King of Pop's performance, fans rushed onto the field. Then Jackson stood in silence for almost two minutes as anticipation grew.

When he finally moved and performed, Jackson electrified, setting an example for a new generation of halftime-show performers. But not everyone was pleased. Jackson's crotch-grabbing performance angered some.

"To the uneducated observer, it would indeed seem to be merely a vulgar display of self-indulgence," wrote a newspaper reader.

Jetpacks fell by the wayside, but airborne stunts did not.

As Diana Ross finished her set at Super Bowl XXX in 1996, she cried, Theres my ride! Then a helicopter descended toward the field. Ross finished the last songappropriately, Take Me Higherand waved goodbye as the copter's whirring blades blew the singer's hair into her face.

Janet Jackson's performance with Justin Timberlake at Super Bowl XXXVIII briefly turned racy,

KMazur/WireImage via Getty Images

If the King of Pop's performance was one of the greatest in Super Bowl history, his sister Janet Jackson's showing at Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004 was the most controversial. MTV produced the star-studded show, infamous for Justin Timberlake tearing off part of Jackson's top and exposing her breastfor a split-second as she sang Rock Your Body.

An angry reader of a Pennsylvania newspaper suggested the Federal Communications Commission fine Jackson and Timberlake $1 million each for the "wardrobe malfunction." The FCC fined CBS, the Super Bowl broadcaster, andJackson was blacklisted by TV and radio stations. But Timberlake, who remained fully clothed during his performance, suffered no penalty.

Eager to play it safe after the Jackson fiasco, the NFL booked Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Prince, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band and The Who for the next five Super Bowl halftime shows.

At Super Bowl XLIII in 2009, though, Springsteens show featured a perilous moment, as he knee-slid crotch-first into a TV camera. His wardrobe, however, remained intact.

At Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, a shark became a sensation during Katy Perry's performance of "Teenage Dream" and "California Girls." While the dancing "Right Shark" performed capably, the "Left Shark" danced comically out of synch.

The Internet mocked Left Shark, but Perry's choreographer threw cold water on the hot topic.

"The sharks were given two main objectives, RJ Durell told The Hollywood Reporter.One, perform Katys trademark moves to the Teenage Dream chorus, which they both did perfectly; and two, to have loads of fun, and bring to life these characters in a cartoon manner, giving them a Tweedledee/Tweedledum-type persona.

No matter how elaborate (or weird) the halftime show gets, Fields and his former Grambling bandmates take special pride in their role in the uniquely American spectacle.

When you think about it, we did it before Michael Jackson did it, before his sister, before Prince, Fields says. As long as Im alive, Ill always be grateful that I made history.

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Weird and Wondrous: Evolution of Super Bowl Halftime Show - History

Visual Evolution of The Egyptian Pound

Money is a birds eye-view into a society: every symbol is a cultural microcosm, its language a direct look into each home. A single bill could travel from hand to hand, from office to fruit-truck, and every person along the journey would recognize the mosque on its front, the temple on its back, and the weight of it in their palm. That is the power of the Egyptian Pound.

To honor it as a historical keystone of Egyptian culture for the past century, here is the evolution of the humble Pound bill.

The first Pound was printed in 1914, following a decree that made it Egypts main currency. At the time, any and all available bills were printed by the Ahli Bank. This later changed in the 1960s, following the 1952 coup detat headed by the Free Officers Movement.

This is an image of the final bill to represent the monarchy; featured is King Farouk, son of the Former King Fouad. Shortly after the issuing of this bill, Gamal Abd El Nasser would lead the Free Officers Movement and assume sovereignty of Egypt. From then, an era of republicanism and attempted socialism began.

This is the first bill to be issued under Gamal Abd El Nasser, after the establishment of Egypts Central Bank. It returns the Egyptian Pounds imagery to one that is solely cultural rather than political, one side featuring the revolutionary and indelible Akhenaten who, similarly, sought to change the socio-religious realities in Egypt. The back of the bill features one of Egypts most profound monuments to date: the Temple of El Karnak.

Anwar El Sadat succeeded Abd El Nasser early on in the 1970s, shortly after the previous Presidents passing. The Egyptian Pound would take on the iconic vision of Abu Simbel, and its back would house the mosque of Sultan Qaitbay the latter of which would remain on the Pound well into the 21st century.

After a bout of back to back warfare, with striking success in the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1973, El Sadat was engraved onto the Pound coin to honor his efforts, sacrifices, and peace-brokering during the tumultuous period. His profile is in the forefront, parallel to a dove with an olive branch pinched in its beak the universal symbol for harmony, love, and the onset of peace.

The return of Abu Simbel came during the nineties, along with the recurring image of the Sultan Qaitbay mosque. This is the second time the sites are featured together, both representative of Egypts ever-evolving spirit of art, culture, and theology. The Qaitbay mosque is revered as one of Islamic Cairos most arresting beauties, while Abu Simbel is widely known as a marvel of Ancient Egyptian architecture due to its size and location.

King Tutankhamun is Egypts most famous boy-king, and although he was not known for much in terms of grand, memorable feats, his intact tomb was excavated in 1922 by Englishman Howard Carter. Inside was a vision of gold, untouched artifacts, and immeasurable insight into the world of a Pharaoh. Accordingly, Egypts transition from printed bill to coin saw his image placed against a gold-like background, in honor of the late kings contributions to modern Egyptology.

After grappling with unrest and several socio-political identity crises, Egypt has chosen to celebrate its victories instead. Under President Abdel Fatah El Sisi, the Egyptian Pound is seen featuring some of modern Egypts grandest accomplishments, including but not limited to the expansion of the Suez Canal and the building of El-Alamien.

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Visual Evolution of The Egyptian Pound - Egyptian Streets

For Utahs football program, which began playing the sport in 1892, receiving the official invitation Sunday to play in the Rose Bowl marks a monumental milestone.

Not only that, but the No. 11 Utes (10-3), the Pac-12 champion, will square off against a storied program in No. 6 Ohio State of the Big Ten in the New Years Day contest in Pasadena, California.

For us, its a great opportunity for our program. Its the next step in the evolution of our program, getting to the Rose Bowl. Most years, thats what the Pac-12 champion gets to experience, said coach Kyle Whittingham, whose team jumped up six spots in the final College Football Playoff rankings released Sunday.

It was the next step and the next goal for our program. Its something weve been shooting for and had our sights on for a number of years. Weve finally been able to get over that mountain and were very excited to have that opportunity. This bowl game is second-to-none.

The Rose Bowl game is nicknamed The Granddaddy of Them All because it is the oldest operating bowl game, dating back to 1902. Ohio State coach Ryan Day called it the most prestigious bowl game in all of college football.

The Utes earned their spot in the Rose Bowl after thumping Oregon 38-10 in the Pac-12 Championship game last Friday.

As for the Buckeyes (10-2), a program that sets their sights every year on College Football Playoff berths and national championships, the Rose Bowl is quite the consolation prize.

Ohio State was ranked No. 2 in the CFP rankings after blasting Michigan State 56-7 on Nov. 20. A week later, Ohio State lost at archrival Michigan 42-27. The Wolverines finished No. 2 in the final CFP polls Sunday and they face No. 3 Georgia in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 31.

While OSU is disappointed by the way its regular season ended, a Rose Bowl appearance is special.

A tradition-rich bowl like the Rose Bowl means a lot for all of us. You think of all the great players and the great coaches that have coached before in this game and then to play a really good opponent like Utah, the Pac-12 champ, its very significant for us, Day said.

Were certainly always looking to win championships here but I know our guys have a lot of pride in themselves and in the Buckeyes. Were looking forward to playing in Pasadena. Those are the two things that youre looking for a prestigious bowl and a great opponent. Now well go about the business of preparing for this game.

The two programs have met only one time, in 1986, when the Buckeyes clobbered the Utes 64-6 in Columbus. While OSU and Utah have that limited history one matchup that took place 35 years ago they have at least one other key connection.

Urban Meyer coached at both Utah (2003-04) and Ohio State (2012-2018). In fact both Whittingham and Day took over for Meyer when he left those respective jobs.

While this marks the Utes first Rose Bowl appearance, the Buckeyes have played in this game 15 times, including three years ago when they downed Washington 28-23 in Meyers final game as Ohio States coach. OSU has won its last three Rose Bowl games.

Utah, meanwhile, has been waiting for this opportunity ever since it joined the Pac-12 in 2011.

Everybody in Salt Lake is elated to be heading down to southern California for the Rose Bowl, Whittingham said. Were excited to come down and experience it. Ive got a lot of buddies, old USC guys, that have been to the Rose Bowl several times and they say theres nothing that compares to it. Well travel well. Its something the community is very fired up about.

Since Friday, Whittingham said he received over 600 text messages from former players and coaches, congratulating him and his team on their accomplishment.

I just finished responding to every one of them, Whittingham said. No easy task.

Athletic director Mark Harlan said in a statement the program is thrilled to be able to compete on this massive stage.

To get the call today from Laura Farber, president of the Tournament of Roses, and formally receive the invitation on behalf of the University of Utah and this incredible football program was an exciting moment, he said.

It was an honor to accept, and I cannot thank coach Whittingham, his staff and the student-athletes enough for their incredible fortitude all season to make this a reality. We are very grateful, and cannot wait for Jan. 1.

While this will be the Utes first Rose Bowl, they have two prior appearances in a New Years Six bowls winning the 2005 Fiesta Bowl against Pittsburgh and the 2009 Sugar Bowl against Alabama.

The Buckeyes average a nation-leading 45.5 points per game while giving up an average of just 20.9 points per game.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud has passed for 3,862 yards and 38 touchdowns while running back TreVeyon Henderson has run for 1,172 yards and 15 touchdowns. Receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson have combined for 31 touchdowns and more than 3,200 yards.

Defensively, tackle Haskell Garrett has recorded 5.5 sacks while safety Ronnie Hickman has tallied 95 tackles and two interceptions.

Ohio State what a tremendous opponent. Ive been doing a little bit of homework since we found out who our opponent is going to be and there is no weakness, I can tell you that, Whittingham said.

They throw the ball well, they run it well, they score, they defend. They have a 1,000-yard rusher, a couple of thousand-yard receivers and another guy on the verge of it. So we have our hands full. Its going to be a great challenge for our team but all our guys are excited about it. Its going to be a great experience for our players.

Day said Utah, which has won nine of its last 10 games, is a tough opponent.

Nothing but the utmost respect for coach Whittingham. A true gentleman, somebody thats been at Utah for a long time. It says a lot about who he is to be there for so long, he said.

They run the ball well and play really good defense because of that, theyve won a lot of games. Its going to be a really big challenge. Theyre playing well down the stretch. I have nothing but the utmost respect for him and his program. Thats what you want, to play against a really good opponent.

Whittingham was in Florida on Sunday for a recruiting trip. He said hell return to campus for a meeting with his players Monday afternoon.

Day met with his team Sunday to talk about the next challenge.

Our players are excited to find out were playing in the Rose Bowl, he said. An unbelievable opponent, a beautiful setting and everyone here at Ohio State is excited to play in this game.

And for Utah, to be in the Rose Bowl is a long-awaited, monumental milestone.

Get the inside scoop on your favorite team in this email for true Ute fans.

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Why Utah going to Rose Bowl is next step in the evolution of our program - Deseret News

The discovery of a new fossil from central Colombia could shed light on the evolution of marine reptiles. The well preserved metre-long skull discovered by researchers from Canada, Colombia, and Germany is one of the last surviving ichthyosaurs ancient animals that look like living swordfish.

The marine animal has been named Kyhytysuka, which translates to "the one that cuts with something sharp" in an indigenous language from the region in central Colombia where the fossil was found.

The animal shows the evolution of a unique arsenal of teeth to devour its prey against other ichthyosaurs that had small, equally sized teeth for feeding on small prey. The study of the marine fossil published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology states that the discovery has helped in a better understanding of the anatomy of the marine reptile.

Hans Larsson, Director of the Redpath Museum at McGill University and a lead author of the study said that the animal evolved a unique dentition that allowed it to eat large prey. Whereas other ichthyosaurs had small, equally sized teeth for feeding on small prey, this new species modified its tooth sizes and spacing to build an arsenal of teeth for dispatching large prey, like big fishes and other marine reptiles, he added.

Skeleton of Kyhytysuka compared to a human for scale. Known bones are shown in white. Credit: (Photo: Dirley Corts)

Researchers said that they decided to name it Kyhytysuka, to honour the ancient Muisca culture that existed in the region where the fossil was found.

In a bid to clarify the evolution of the unique animal, researchers compared it with other Jurassic and Cretaceous ichthyosaurs and defined a new type of ichthyosaur. They concluded that the species comes from an important transitional time during the Early Cretaceous period when the Earth was coming out of a relatively cool period, had rising sea levels, and the supercontinent Pangea was splitting into northern and southern landmasses.

In a release by McGill University, researchers said that there was also a global extinction event at the end of the Jurassic that changed marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

Dirley Corts working with the skull of Kyhytysuka. (Photo: Dirley Corts)

We are discovering many new species in the rocks this new ichthyosaur comes from. We are testing the idea that this region and time in Colombia was an ancient biodiversity hotspot and are using the fossils to better understand the evolution of marine ecosystems during this transitional time," Dirley Corts, a graduate student under the supervision of Hans Larsson and Carlos Jaramillo of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute said.

Researchers concluded that the new discovery shakes up the evolutionary tree of ichthyosaurs and "lets us test new ideas of how they evolved.

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Global extinction event led to evolution of weapon-like teeth in marine reptiles - India Today

Tue, 7 Dec 2021 17:00 to 18:30 Greenwich Mean Time (UTC0) | 20:30 to 22:00 Iran Standard Time (UTC+3:30)

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The third in the series focuses on the evolution of the historic city of Isfahan, along the Silk Roads in Iran.

Urban Design Group in collaboration with Silk Cities

The third in the series focuses on the evolution of the historic city of Isfahan, along the Silk Roads in Iran.

By comparing cities across the world, we can understand so much more about the areas where we live and work, and the people who live within them.

Isfahan is one of the worlds most astonishing cities. In former times, it was its largest city, and even today Isfahan city centre is thought to be currently the worlds fifth-largest shopping mall. The city is at least 3,000 years old, and the influence of many different cultures and religions including Hellenistic, Sassanian, Zoroastrian, Persian and Islamic can be seen in its urbanism, architecture and art. The city today has a population of 2.4 million, and retains much of its past glory while dealing with the challenges and competing forces of the 21st-century global economy and culture.

Welcome

Dr Husam AlWaer UDG Exec | University of Dundee

Chair

Farnaz Arefian Silk Cities, Founder

Speakers

ISFAHAN: FACES OF RESILIENCE AGAINST CHANGING SPATIALITY

Prof Zahra Ahari Shahid Beheshti University, Iran

Isfahan is a living city with a long history from the pre-Islamic period. Located in the middle of the semi-arid zone of the Iranian plateau, it has been in the crossroad linking east-west and north-south historic trade routes. Throughout its long history, Isfahan has been prone to various hazards and major socio-political changes over time.

The first presentation will provide an overview to the formation of the city and highlight some critical moments of Isfahans urban history, examining how the vision of resilience colours the story of choosing the location of Isfahan and can be further traced in its history before the city flourished in the Safavid period.

Then, it will argue that during the turbulent times from the citys decline after the Shah Abbas I era until Pahlavis reign, constructing public buildings and spaces helped the city sustain its urban life while its spatial qualities changed. Interventions in different scales and directions, top-down, middle-up, and down-top, contributed to forming a sense of community and place attachment for various social groups and classes.

Historic resilience of Isfahan is evident in the preservation of its urban life, linking its past with its future through Isfahans long lasting history. Another sign of the citys resilience resides in deep collective memories of Isfahans residents, manifesting itself in itineraries and numerous writings from different periods.

PLANNING A TETRAPOLIS, INHABITING A COSMOPOLIS

Urban Form, Civic Communities, and Communal Rituals in Safavid Isfahan

Dr Farshid Emami Department of Art History, Rice University, US

In 1617, the Italian traveler Pietro della Valle described the new developments in Isfahan as forming a tetrapolis of four cities. The tetrapolis, he noted, had a cross-axial plan, divided into four quarters by the Chaharbagh (a 4km long, tree-lined promenade) and the Zyande-rd (the river that flows in the south of the city). Planned in the southern environs of the longstanding walled town, these quarters were constructed as part of the massive building campaigns that were implemented in Isfahan in the seventeenth century, when the city served as the capital of the Safavid Empire (1501-1722). Drawing on Isfahans historic stature and its ecological potential for sustaining a large populace, the urban design and expansion of the city turned it into one of the foremost metropolises of the early modern world.

This presentation explores the planning of the Safavid tetrapolis as a process that was intimately intertwined with the creation of a cosmopolitan capital city and a dynamic social environment. Settled by diverse communities and laid out on a rectilinear pattern, Isfahans new neighbourhoods engendered novel ways of inhabiting and experiencing the city. The sociocultural meaning and historical characters of these seventeenth-century developments can only be understood through a study of the lived experiences and communal rituals that they framed and nurtured.

CONTEMPORARY ISFAHAN

Dr Eisa Esfanjari Art University of Isfahan, Iran

Backed by its historic resilience and urban heritage, Isfahan has been facing ever-increasing competing forces and pressures of urban transformation over the last half-century. The third presentation will discuss the state of change and resilience in historic Isfahan, what features have been changed over time and what elements have been sustained in the current urban landscape. Reflecting various urban scales, the discussion will address four levels: the system, the entire historic urban landscape, entitled Manzomih in Persian; the centre, the sun of the system or the urban core often fortified, the sector, neighbourhoods and urban quarters, so called Mahalih, and the cell, the single building and monument.

This historic city has witnessed contradictory approaches in recent decades. From one side, the entire urban system has been valued hardly at all and parts of the centre and the sectors have been damaged deliberately. From the other side, there are also examples of individual buildings, urban elements and monuments retained in the present.

Photo from Phillip Maiwald: the dome ceiling of Lotfollah Mosque Isfahan

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Evolution of the City | Isfahan - The Media Line

Each day we have so many choices to make and we are constantly improvising them, just like playing jazz, says the drummer-composer Makaya McCraven. Even when we try to organise and sanitise the world so that we can function thats us improvising in different frameworks. Its all an expression of life.

Wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan Listen more as if signposting to his interviewer the 38-year-old McCraven is fizzing with energy while speaking from his basement home studio in Chicago. As he philosophically explores his unique style of composition improvising while playing live and then chopping up the subsequent recordings to create a patchwork of samples his wife calls out from upstairs that shes got his lunch.

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One second, he turns away from the webcam. Im doing an interview with an international newspaper! he shouts back, smiling mischievously. See always improvising.

McCraven moved to Chicago from western Massachusetts in 2007. I was following love, since my wife got a position at Northwestern University here, he says. It was an inspired move: his wife, Nitasha Tamar Sharma, is now a professor of African American studies and Asian American studies, while McCraven has spent the past decade cementing his status as one of the most individual voices in jazz, pioneering his technique with a group of local collaborators to create a sound that straddles instrumental improvisation and the hip-hop mentality of splicing samples.

The result has been a spate of critically acclaimed records, such as 2015s In the Moment, the 2018 mixtape collaboration Universal Beings, and Were New Again, his 2020 reimagining of Gil Scott-Herons final album Im New Here. This cut-and-paste approach reaches its apex on his latest album, Deciphering the Message, which is also his debut on the Blue Note label home to such legendary jazz innovators as Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock. On it, McCraven was given free rein to recontextualise tracks from the the Blue Note archive using his production process.

Speaking in ever-branching tangents, as if following the improvisatory lines of a solo, McCraven explains how he sees his methodology as a continuation of tradition rather than a break from the norm. Sampling is a play between future and past, he says. I want to honour the music we came from, and theres so much sampling in the history of jazz already. Youll hear similar intros on different tracks, or people who are trading licks and playing the same ideas. They have been engaging with the music in the way that sampling engages with it, but now were just using technology.

As such, Deciphering the Message traces the legacies of these licks and musical similarities through the prism of drummer Horace Silver, leader of the Jazz Messengers an incubator of talent who saw the likes of saxophonist Hank Mobley, trumpeter Kenny Dorham and guitarist Kenny Burrell pass through his orbit. McCraven flips Mobleys A Slice of the Top into a boom-bap introduction, slips a rhythmic shuffle beneath the languorous changes of Burrells Autumn in New York, while Dorhams Whistle Stop is transmuted into a sludgy funk.

I wanted to highlight the familial side of this music; Ive always loved that a band of musicians can become a community and affect a whole scene or moment in time, he says. So many musicians are deeply connected to each other, theyve cut their teeth together, and when the younger guys come in, they help them up, too.

Born to musical parents in Paris his mother is a Hungarian folk musician and his father a drummer who played for John Coltrane collaborator Archie Shepp McCraven is accustomed to the ancestral communality of the jazz scene. There was an extended musical family, where a lot of different cats would be popping in and out at home for jam sessions and stuff that probably shouldnt be going on around a kid, he laughs. These musicians were pushing the boundaries, and guys like Archie Shepp taught me about the oral tradition of this music: how its about the culture, more than texts.

McCraven cut his teeth gigging around Massachusetts college towns of Amherst and Northampton, where he would play with rock bands, reggae groups, jazzers and wedding outfits. I was just keeping busy, playing as much as I could, self-recording and experimenting, he says. Creating that sense of community, since Ive always believed that if you do right for the music, the music will do right for you.

It is an open-eared ethos that has led him to a wide group of collaborators, from younger British musicians such as the Mercury prize-nominated saxophonist Nubya Garcia to his fellow Chicagoans Junius Paul and Ben LaMar Gay. I only really want to make music with people I feel I can be vulnerable around and trust, McCraven says. Especially when were playing live, you create this magic of bringing people together and its something that produces real emotion. We crave it.

The vitality of the live scene is what has drawn McCraven to London in recent years. Young musicians define this music; its kids like Lee Morgan or Herbie Hancock who were 19 or 20 years old and shaping its sound, he says. It was seeing young musicians such as Garcia and saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings on stage, playing to their peers, that caught his attention. There wasnt a discussion of gatekeeping or honouring tradition. It felt like people realising that evolution is part of the tradition. And culture only evolves when people travel and trade ideas.

Progress as being intrinsic to the form is McCravens mantra and a reason why jazz is so hard to define as an entity it is always changing. Is that the underlying message he is trying to decipher on this album? If I knew what it was, I wouldnt be asking you to work it out by listening, he laughs. I just want to honour this music: improvised music, Black American music, whatever you want to call it. Im not reinventing the wheel, Im just learning how its constructed and using that knowledge to make a statement that will stand the test of time.

Deciphering the Message is out now

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Evolution is part of tradition: musician Makaya McCraven on the future of jazz - The Guardian

Sony Interactive Entertainment has released the fifth chapter of the development diary for Horizon Forbidden West, the long-awaited new project from Guerrilla Games as a sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn. When there are only a few months left to get back into Aloys shoes in an adventure that promises to improve in all playable and audiovisual aspects with respect to the original work, it is time to learn more about combat design.

This news includes plot spoils from Horizon Zero Dawn.

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Charles Perain, Combat Designer at Guerrilla Games, explains on the Official PlayStation Blog how combat design has changed and evolved in Horizon Forbidden West. Aloy is a smart and agile warrior, he says. The tools she will have in Horizon Forbidden West will provide her with many tactical opportunities to take on enemies physically stronger than she is, from armored humans to massive machines.

There are several changes introduced at a mechanical level with respect to the original delivery in terms of combat. The objective of the Dutch study was, in the first place, to give more depth to each of these mechanics and expand the repertoire of options with skills, melee combos, etc. Players who take the time to hone their skills will discover effective and elegant solutions to get rid of your enemies. We also wanted to offer different styles of play and influence freedom of choice, Something that we will be able to identify thanks to new outfits and weapons, which will directly affect Aloys abilities.

On the other hand, they have also designed enemies They were challenging and encouraged players to use all their skills. The new batch of machines, as well as advanced human enemies, will keep players on their guard throughout the game!

By switching both enemies and Aloy herself, the combat system will feel much deeper and more refined. The animation team He has also worked to make the gameplay a more realistic experience; that hand in hand with the programsartificial intelligence they have endowed Aloy with a more credible demeanor. We wanted Aloys enemies and teammates to be more credible by improving the fluidity and continuity of her movements; for example, they now move better over uneven terrain, says Arjen Beij, chief AI programmer. Another example is that the machines will now be able to swim, dive, and chase Aloy underwater.

After more than four years of development, Horizon Forbidden West will arrive February 18, 2022 for PS5 and PS4 packed with changes and improvements. A much bigger, deeper and more ambitious project than its predecessor.

Source | PlayStation Blog

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Horizon Forbidden West presents the evolution of its combat design; so will Aloy fight - Market Research Telecast

The style of Sarah Jessica Parker has been much discussed during her career, which has spanned more than 30 years.

After a dusting of well-received roles in early 1990s films, it was the part of Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City that made her a household name, and style icon, in 1998. This week, she reprises the role of the New York City journalist in the show's 10-episode revival And Just Like That..., which premieres in the US on December 9.

Known for her eclectic fashion sense, Parker, 56, often clashes prints, textures and materials to make looks that, on paper, should not work. But they certainly make a red carpet impact. Larger-than-life hats, often designed by Irish milliner Philip Treacy, have become a theme in SJP's modern style.

With a nativity scene headdress, Sarah Jessica Parker arrives at the Met Gala in May 2018. Reuters

She turns to a host of ateliers when it comes to gowns and dresses. From Europe she favours Dolce & Gabbana, Emanuel Ungaro, Dior and Chanel, and turns to British designers Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen for looks with a punk edge.

In 2000, it was a feathered Oscar de la Renta ballerina-style dress, which she wore to the Emmy Awards, that earned her her first major fashion column inches.

She has been known to wear pieces by Lebanese designer Elie Saab, most notably a floral gown that she wore to the Wu Xia premiere during the Cannes Film Festival in May 2011.

Click though the gallery above to see Sarah Jessica Parker's style evolution in 26 photos.

Updated: December 7th 2021, 4:35 AM

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Sarah Jessica Parker's fashion evolution in 26 photos: 'SATC' to 'And Just Like That...' - The National

Further changes will be made to the Davis Cup as next years tournament will be held across more host cities and will feature fewer teams.

In 2018, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) agreed a deal worth $3 billion (2.25 billion pounds) with Kosmos Tennis, an organisation fronted by Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique.

The deal has already seen a number of revisions made to both the venues and the format of the tournament widely recognised as the tennis World Cup.

In 2019, it was announced that 18 teams would compete at the tournament and there would be no more home and away ties with the tournament being held over three host cities instead. This years competition was held in Madrid, Turin and Innsbruck.

There have also been proposals to move the tournament to Abu Dhabi, although this idea has been met by a mixed reception from players and captains alike, both past and present.

Encouraged by the success of the three host city format of this years Davis Cup, the 2022 tournament will be held over five host cities and will include two less teams, reducing the total number of teams from 18 to 16.

The 16 teams will compete across four group stages, with eight teams progressing to the knockout rounds which will be held in a neutral fifth city.

ITF president David Haggerty told Reuters that for the group stages we envision all four of those being teams that are competing in the competition.

Speaking with BBC Sport, Haggerty also feltgoing to four cities for the group stage makes a tremendous amount of sense.

Its going to have that loud passionate audience that we want, that home and away feeling, and I think thats going to be great.

I think we want to make sure that wherever we go for the Finals that we have a big base of travelling fans, and I think thats one of the things that we will be able to do: to make sure that we have subsidies and ways that we can make it easier for those fans to travel, wherever the final location is.

The decision for the host cities is expected to be made in March, but the neutral city to hold the knockout rounds should be announced in the next few weeks.

Haggerty is enthusiastic for next years tournament, saying this is an evolution and I think next year just takes us one more step into kind of the World Cup of tennis. Were really, really excited.

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'This is an evolution' - ITF reveal additional changes to 2022 Davis Cup - Tennishead