Category Archives: Evolution

Elden Ring is Dark Souls set in an open world. That's the general elevator pitch that FromSoftware decided to settle on when creating its latest action game. While this might sound like a rather straightforward idea, after playing a couple of hours of Elden Ring, I'm far more excited to see what the studio actually does within this structure.

As part of the recent Elden Ring Network Test that took place, I was able to check out roughly three hours of what the game will have in store. Those three hours were primarily filled with exploration, dying, and, well, a whole lot more dying. It perhaps goes without saying that Elden Ring is going to again be a challenging venture for many, even those who might be more experienced with the Soulslike subgenre.

If you do have experience with FromSoftware's previous games, namely Dark Souls, much of those skills should transfer over seamlessly to Elden Ring. While comparing other titles to Dark Souls has become a punchline in recent years, Elden Ring is quite literally modeled after the beloved action franchise in nearly every way. Specifically, almost every combat tactic that was seen in Dark Souls has come back in some form here with Elden Ring, which really cements the idea that this is looking to be FromSoftware's first formal return to the genre since Dark Souls III released in 2016.

That being said, it's clear that the studio is also looking to implement some of its learnings from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice as well. Comparatively, there isn't a whole lot of Sekiro's DNA that is prominently found within Elden Ring -- at least based on what I have played so far. Despite this, the game does seem to give players a greater focus on traversal and mobility, which was a large aspect of Sekiro. A dedicated jump button in Elden Ring is perhaps the most obvious instance of this, although I admittedly didn't use this mechanic all that much in my own play time.

Speaking more to mobility, though, since this is an open-world game, Elden Ring includes a mount that allows you to more quickly get around from place to place. This is the one element of the game that feels entirely unique to Elden Ring within FromSoftware's larger catalog of work, and, honestly, I really love how it has been implemented. Jumping on and off of your mount takes less time than any other game I can think of and the added ability to also jump while riding along is quite unique. In fact, during one moment when playing, I came across an area within the world that, at first, I thought I couldn't access whatsoever. When I remembered that my "horse" could jump its way into this locale for me, though, it opened up a whole new dungeon that I wasn't expecting to explore.

By far the most exciting part of my time with Elden Ring came with the handful of bosses that I discovered. I faced off against three bosses in total during my short experience with the game, although not every baddie was equal to each other. Two of the three I found were sequestered away in their own dungeons that I had to intentionally go out of my way to find while the third fell along the demo's main path. The actual big boss, which was called "Margit the Fell Omen," caved my face in more than once, leading to me to eventually turn around to go try to level up a bit more before squaring off again. Conversely, defeating the two bosses I found tucked away gave me items that better improved my overall character. While I didn't need to take on these baddies at all, doing so made the rest of my time in the game that much easier. In all of my time with Elden Ring, this is what really sold the experience for me.

Being able to explore this strange, new land to come across numerous one-off dungeons which might contain unique boss fights or items to obtain gave me an idea of why FromSoftware wanted to work in this open-world structure to begin with. While previous games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, or even Sekiro had linear sections where you'd need to continue retrying until you advanced, Elden Ring seems more open to allowing you to take in this world at your own pace. And while every square inch of the world might be covered in danger, the game as a whole feels a bit more accessible since you'll never be stuck in one specific area.

Elden Ring was already one of my most anticipated releases of 2022 simply because, well, it's another title from FromSoftware. And while that's all I need at a baseline level to be excited about the game, after seeing more of what FromSoftware is looking to actually accomplish in Elden Ring, my excitement has gone up even more. If you're someone who has adored what the Japan-based studio has done in the past, then Elden Ring seems like it's absolutely going to be another game that you'll need to pick up in only a few short months.

Elden Ring is set to release on February 25, 2022. It will be coming to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC platforms when it does launch.

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Elden Ring Is the Evolution of Dark Souls Fans Have Waited For - Comicbook.com

In 2010, Earl Sweatshirt released his debut mixtape, Earl, and his new song titled for that moment in time shows how much hes evolved while still retaining his sagely iconoclastic spirit. Earls more recent releases Some Rap Songs from 2018; Feet of Clay from 2019 have represented his music at its most avant-garde, moving through murky, collagelike atmospheres in a constant state of transformation. 2010, though, is more straightforward and sustained, with an understated beat from the producer Black Noise that allows Earl to lock into a hypnotic flow. The succinctly poetic imagery (crescent moon wink, when I blinked it was gone) and strangely satisfying plain-spoken admissions (walked outside, it was still gorgeous) pour out of him as steadily as water from a tap. LINDSAY ZOLADZ

FKA twigs featuring Central Cee, Measure of a Man

This songs distinctive descending chord progression, dramatic swells and even its lyrics the measure of a hero is the measure of a man could make it a James Bond theme. Thats a sign of FKA twigss overarching ambitions, her willingness to engage carnality and idealism, and how carefully she gauges the gradations of her voice in every phrase. JON PARELES

Call it a meet twee: You lent me Nine Stories, while you starred in mine, the Australian-born, California-based musician Hazel English sings at the beginning of her ode to every artsy teens favorite J.D. Salinger book. The track is a three-minute dream-pop reverie, obscuring lyrics wryly bookish enough for a Belle & Sebastian song beneath a swirl of jangly guitars and shyly murmured vocals. Its also something of an act of nostalgia, finding the 30-year-old conjuring the sounds and memories of her high school days: Now that Im falling, I cant ignore it, she sings sweetly, sounding as blissfully crush-struck as a teenager. ZOLADZ

The young Chicago trio Horsegirl is proof that the shaggy-dog spirit of Gen X indie rock is alive and well within a certain subset of Gen Z. Nora Cheng and Penelope Lowensteins overlapping vocals are buried beneath a dissonant avalanche of Daydream Nation-esque guitars, but enough lyrical imagery comes to the surface to create a strangely poetic impression of their titular character on this stand-alone single, their first release since signing to Matador Records. He washes off his robes in preparation to be crucified, Cheng intones, while Lowensteins more melodic vocal line adds additional texture to the songs enveloping, shoegaze-y atmosphere. ZOLADZ

On Touch. Dont Scroll, Ben LaMar Gay and Ayanna Woods, two musical polymaths from Chicago, sing about trying to stay connected to each other in an overcorrected world. Now, baby, I will never leave you lone/Oh, can you hear me or are you on your phone? they drone in unison, an octave apart, over a syncopated beat and lightly twinkling electronics. The track is nestled deep within Open Arms to Open Us, Gays latest album and probably his most broadly appealing, pulling together influences from country blues, Afro-Brazilian percussion, puckish Chicago free jazz and 2000s indie-rock. GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO

Bet It, from the soundtrack to Halle Berrys directorial debut Bruised, is only the second solo single Cardi B has released this year. And while its nowhere near as fun or inspired than that previous hit, Up, Bet It is more like a braggadocios status update on Cardis recent past, taking in her Grammy wins and her memorable Met Gala appearance in a dress with a tail so long it drag 30 minutes after. ZOLADZ

An impressively feverish turn from Morray, whose 2020 breakout single Quicksand leaned toward the spiritual. Here, though, hes ferocious, rapping with a scratchy yelp and a sense of defiance. Hes accompanied by Benny the Butcher, who is among the calmest-sounding boasters in hip-hop. An unexpected and unexpectedly effective pairing. JON CARAMANICA

Frank Dukes, Likkle Prince

The producer Frank Dukes whos made understated, hauntingly melodic work with Frank Ocean, the Weeknd, Rihanna and many others is releasing The Way of Ging, his first project under his own name. Its an album of beats a beat tape, as they used to say thats available for a limited time online, and will eventually be removed from the internet and available only as a set of NFTs. Likkle Prince channels early 80s electro along with some squelched disco majesty. Its spooky and propulsive. CARAMANICA

A rousing and trippy burst of hyperpop mayhem, Everybodys Dead! is a new single from underscores, who earlier this year released Fishmonger, an excellent, scrappy, and puckish debut album. CARAMANICA

The Mexico City sound artist Microhm, born Leslie Garcia, produced Spooky Actions and its accompanying EP using only modular synths. The result feels like hurtling through a Black Hole, where sound and time warp into quantum dislocation. Ambient textures swirl over the lurch of steady drum kicks, as the moments drip into oblivion. ISABELIA HERRERA

Leon Bridges featuring Jazmine Sullivan, Summer Rain

Leon Bridges looks back to Sam Cookes soul; Jazmine Sullivan can go back to the scat-singing of bebop. They trade verses over a slow-motion beat and rhythm guitar in Summer Rain to evoke endless conjugal bliss, urging each other dont stop now, for less under minutes of suspended time meant to play on repeat. PARELES

Ibeyis music has always harnessed a sense of ancestral knowledge: The Afro-Cuban French twins grew up listening to Yoruba folk songs that channel the spirit of enslaved people brought to the Caribbean over the middle passage. But their new single, Made of Gold, featuring the Ghanian British rapper Pa Salieu, trades the simple but potent piano and cajn for a celestial, spectral otherworldliness. Culling references to the Yoruba deities Shango and Yemaya, as well as Frida Kahlo and the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, the duo summons power from intergenerational sources to shield them. Oh you with a spine, who would work your mouth against this Magic of mine, they intone. It has been handed down in an unbroken line. HERRERA

Stings new album, The Bridge, often harks back to the jazz-folk-Celtic-pop hybrids he forged on his first solo albums in the 1980s; one song, Harmony Road, even features a saxophone solo from Branford Marsalis, who was central to The Dream of the Blue Turtles in 1985. Many of the new songs lean toward parable and metaphor, but not Loving You, a husbands confrontation with the cheating wife he still loves: We made vows inside the church to forgive each others sins, he sings. But there are things I have to endure like the smell of another mans skin. Written with the British electronic musician Maya Jane Coles, the track confines itself to two chords and a brittle beat, punctuated by faraway arpeggios and tones that emerge like unwanted memories; its memorably bleak. PARELES

With patient arpeggios and soothing bass notes, the harpist and composer Mary Lattimore builds a grandly meditative edifice behind Chelsey Coy, the songwriter and singer at the core of Single Girl, Married Girl, in Scared to Move. Its from the new album Three Generations of Leaving. Cales multitracked harmonies promise, In a strange new half-light, I will be your guide as Lattimores harp patterns construct a glimmering path forward. PARELES

Deciphering the Message, Makaya McCravens first LP for Blue Note Records, could easily get you thinking of Shades of Blue, Madlibs classic 2003 album remixing old tracks from that labels jazz archive. On Deciphering, McCraven a drummer, producer and beat dissector digs through 13 tracks from the labels catalog and attacks them through his personal method of remixing and pastiche. Deciphering crackles with McCravens sonic signatures: viscid ambience, restlessly energetic drumming, the recognizable sounds of his longtime collaborators (Marquis Hill on trumpet, Matt Gold on guitar, Joel Ross on vibraphone, et al). Tranquillity stems from a track by the vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, from his 1966 album Components, and McCravens intervention is two-pronged: He doubles down on the originals curved-glass effect, adding whispery trumpet and fluttering flute atop the original track, but his own drums kinetic, unrelenting keep the energy at a rolling boil. RUSSONELLO

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Earl Sweatshirt Exhibits His Evolution, and 14 More New Songs - The New York Times

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Sauropodomorph evolution across the TriassicJurassic boundary: body size, locomotion, and their influence on morphological disparity | Scientific...

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Long before she inspired women everywhere to embrace c-c-c-curly hair as her alter ego Carrie Bradshaw, Sarah Jessica Parker's frothy, scrunchie-cinched eighties mane launched a million perms, marking the first of many trendsetting looks during her on-screen career, which has spanned four decades. With characteristic flair, she transitioned from air-dried flaxen waves and glossy auburn ringlets in the nineties to a prescient Sex and the City bob and a series of poker-straight styles in the aughts-popularising blowouts as much as she did Manolo Blahniks along the way. These days, SJP has made a long, honey-dipped ombr with natural silver roots her signature, stoking refreshing conversations about ageing and cementing her status as what just might be fashion's best head of hair. In honour of her latest Vogue cover and the forthcoming Sex and the City sequel series And Just Like That, here's a look back at her most style-defining beauty moments.

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Spotted: Carrie Bradshaw played by Sarah Jessica Parker taking New York in a Falguni Shane Peacock lehenga

Sarah Jessica Parkers complete style evolution

6 style lessons weve learned from Sarah Jessica Parker

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A look back at Sarah Jessica Parker's hair evolution over the years - Vogue India

The erstwhile Soviet Union launching the worlds first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, into outer space in October 1957 was a watershed moment in human history. It marked the first shot in the space race. The Soviets followed it up with a series of firsts. The first living creature, Laika, a Siberian husky, was launched into the earths orbit in Sputnik 2. Lunik 3 was later launched to photograph the dark side of the moon.

These events occurred at the peak of the Cold War. The two superpowers were battling it out across theatres, from aerospace and nuclear capabilities to Olympic game performances.

The United States (US), which had perceived military superiority over its great rival, was stunned to suddenly find itself in a position where it had to play catch-up. But the US quickly regrouped. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) was established in October 1958.

The Soviets still stayed ahead, and won the race to put the first man in outer space. US President John F Kennedy announced the Apollo programme soon afterwards, with landing the first person on the moon by the end of that decade being the stated objective. The US succeeded and decisively surged ahead.

A few steps that were taken by man then did lead to many giant leaps for mankind. Currently, over 70 countries have their own space programmes.

Concurrently, India evolved into a space powerhouse. Soon after the initial Soviet space successes, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru took the initiative to create the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR). Led and guided by stalwarts such as Vikram Sarabhai and Homi Jehangir Bhabha, it counted APJ Abdul Kalam as among its early members. India launched its first rocket as early as 1963. Incredible photographs still circulate from those days, of rocket parts taken to the launch centre in Thumba, an obscure rural village in Kerala, on bicycles.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) was later formed out of INCOSPAR. ISROs Chandrayaan missions since then have landed, and even confirmed the presence of water on the moon. Indias Mars Orbiter, Mangalyaan entered the red planets orbit at a cost that was just 11% of Nasas Mars mission.

Currently, there are ongoing missions run by various nations, to explore planets as far as Pluto. There are attempts to set up research stations even on the moon. Space satellite technology has disrupted the communications and broadcasting sectors, and is now being used to deliver the internet to the remotest of places on the earths surface, wherever there is a shortage of basic infrastructure for connectivity. A few countries have even kick-started space mining projects. All these endeavours can have far-reaching positive outcomes. Meanwhile, a few tech billionaires have commenced a new race of private space flights into space. Although currently seen as a macho contest between ultra-rich moguls, progress in this sector could one day make space travel and tourism a very exciting prospect.

Overshadowing these occurrences, US intelligence sources obtained information that China recently conducted two earth-circling hypersonic nuclear weapon tests. These would make the existing air defence systems obsolete. The US issued a statement saying that it is concerned about Chinas novel nuclear-capable delivery systems.

This is hardly surprising since the burgeoning number of carriers and military bases in the Indo-Pacific, and elsewhere, meant to check expanding Chinese influence, at present has no defence against this innovation.

Pentagons top general Mark Milley described these tests as close to a Sputnik moment. India, the US, Russia, and France are among the other nations working on similar weaponry. Chinas breakthrough will definitely spur other nations on to quickly gain ground, since, unfortunate as it is, the promise of retaliation and Mutually Assured Destruction remains the lone deterrence and protection against these lethal weapons. This would also be the harbinger of another, more potent and expensive space and nuclear-arms race, making our turbulent planet an even more dangerous place to live in.

Anil K Antony is a tech entrepreneur and public policy commentator, and works on Congresss digital initiatives

The views expressed are personal

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The evolution of the space race - Hindustan Times

Jef Lewis developed an appreciation for craft beer at an early age. When he was 20 still too young to get into bars his girlfriend bought him a home brew kit, and he quickly got to work rearranging his Portland garage.

Making beer was fun and adventurous, he said. The process would take a couple of weeks. There was always the anticipation of the final product. Sometimes it would turn out horrible, but wed drink it anyway.

Lewis quickly discovered that quality home brewing equipment was hard to come by in the late 1990s. Having worked as a welder, he realized that instead of buying expensive pots at a department store, he could build his own. Eventually friends who were also home brewers began to ask him to make their pots and word of Lewis welding skills began to spread. Thats when his first big job materialized: a local brewery. From that point on, making brewery equipment became a solid side job while he continued to work full time at a Portland welding shop.

Then, the economic crash of 2008 happened. Lewis, along with 21 of his fellow employees, were all laid off in a single day.

My wife and I had a 1-month-old baby, a 2-year-old boy, and I had no job, he said. No one was hiring.

Suddenly forced to work exclusively out of his garage, Lewis tried to scrape up more welding jobs where he could. Advertising on Craigslist, hed take on any project, such as fixing an old lamp, as well as maintaining sporadic small local brewery jobs as he tried to make enough to pay the mounting bills.

But piecing together the small jobs wasnt cutting it then I had a vision, he said. What if I started a business focusing exclusively on building brewery equipment putting all of my energy into this one thing?

Despite the fact that breweries were rapidly multiplying in Portland, Lewis knew he was a relative unknown and would have to hustle. He got in his car and began knocking on brewery doors. He knew he had the expertise he just needed a foot in the door. His efforts slowly began to pay off.

It was just me in my shop taking in small jobs, he said. Then a couple of larger welding shops gave me overflow work from larger commercial breweries and that really got the ball rolling.

Lewis and his wife, Erin, finally had a more steady income, but eventually they grew tired of the relentless rain of the Pacific Northwest. Both native Californians, they felt as if their children were spending the bulk of their lives indoors. Having spent much of his youth in Nevada County, Lewis was eager to bring his family back home.

In 2012, the couple rented a too-small home on North Bloomfield in Nevada City with one key ingredient: a 2,400-foot shop. Lewis took a temporary job with a local welding company while simultaneously getting his own new brewery business, BrewBilt Manufacturing, Inc., off the ground in an unfamiliar business territory.

I hit the road, again started knocking on doors, cold calling, hustling and picking up small jobs anything I could, he said. It was like starting all over again.

Then, he landed first large job: Ol Republic Brewery in Nevada City ordered 12 BrewBilt fermenters. It was a $150,000 job. Although the brewery is now closed, one of Ol Republics craft brews went on to win the winner-take-all Best of Show competition at the California State Fair. Their brewing process attracted the attention of other brewers. BrewBilt was off and running.

Today, BrewBilt builds equipment for high-end breweries all over the United States from its 8,000-square-foot Spring Hill Drive warehouse in Grass Valley. This year, the crew of 18 employees is building a system for a brewery in Finland, their first international job. Average orders fall between $350,000 and $500,000, but Lewis says orders can range from a $1,500 part to a million-dollar invoice.

With breweries rapidly multiplying and expanding around the country, more companies are doing what BrewBilt does. So why do high end establishments continue to seek them out? Lewis thinks it all stems from his welding skills and aesthetic (Theyre not just utilitarian parts, he says. Theyre beautiful). But it also extends to his obsession with designing and building the finest craft brewing equipment on the market. His equipment is made in the U.S., only with American-made 304 stainless steel. And the manufacturing takes place right in his home town. They also offer a six-year warranty, the longest in the business, said Lewis, who is confident equipment will last much longer.

We know from experience that realizing a brewers dream takes passion, determination, and a good partner, said Lewis. We can be with the customer every step of the way from concept to opening. Well work with bankers on financing solutions and with architects and contractors on equipment layout all the way through to scheduling, logistics and ongoing project management.

The BrewBilt crew is there when the equipment is loaded onto semi-trucks and they accompany the load to its destination, where they help with installation, working with construction crews, contractors, electricians, plumbers and of course, the brewers themselves.

We do a lot of custom work, said Lewis. These arent cookie-cutter parts. We take into consideration a customers needs, wants, location, temperature and the building itself. Once its up and running, we are also a part of ongoing maintenance.

Locally, BrewBilts equipment can be found at Three Forks Bakery & Brewing Co. in Nevada City, the Bullmastiff Brewery in Penn Valley, as well as the Grass Valley Brewing Co. and the 1849 Brewing Co., both in Grass Valley.

So if BrewBilt knows so much about beer, why arent they brewing their own? As it turns out, they are. BrewBilt Brewing Company is now in its preliminary stages, brewing test batches from its Spring Hill Drive location and filing permits for construction.

We decided it was time to do something weve always wanted to do, said Lewis. Well have our own IPA, lagers and stouts. Well do contract brewing with other breweries and beers for local hotels and restaurants that want their own private label. Its exciting.

Under the supervision of Bennett Buchanan, the companys head of sales and marketing, the brewery is expected to fire up in February, along with the hiring of new staff. And if that isnt exciting enough, plans are also in the works for the opening of their very own pub, said Lewis, who is exploring various locations and recently met with the city of Grass Valley about the expansion.

Lewis sons are now 12 and 14 so much has changed since the day he first learned he was laid off from that Portland welding shop and was unsure of his next paycheck.

Theres so much to be grateful for Ive been doing this long enough that I feel as though I have a lot of knowledge to share, said Lewis. Im extremely proud of our crew and the business culture weve built. Id rather train a good person than hire an expert whos not a good team member. I live there everyday, so we like to make it fun. We barbecue on Fridays. It feels good to be bringing in new money to our community from around the world. Working with brewers and seeing them win awards is also a high point. They tend to be very down-to-earth people. Oh, and the best part? I get a lot of free beer.

To contact Staff Writer Cory Fisher, email her at Cory@theunion.com

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Elevating their craft: BrewBilt Manufacturing's evolution in the world of craft breweries - The Union of Grass Valley

Will Smith didnt want to play Muhammad Ali. Its not that he wasnt intrigued by the rolehe just felt incapable of portraying such a monumental figure. Intellectually, I didnt feel that I possessed what it took to become Muhammad Ali, the actor told ABCs Primetime in 2001, adding that he absolutely, positively did not want to be the dude that messed up the Muhammad Ali story. It took several assurances from Ali director Michael Mann and personal requests from Ali and his family, but Smith eventually accepted the role, packing on muscle, enduring grueling boxing training, and mimicking everything from Alis form to the rhythm of his speech. Smith transformed into Ali, embodying the man he referred to as the greatest figure over the last 100 years. And he was good.

Ali is essential to the mythology of Will Smith, the Movie Star. By the turn of the millennium, hed already experienced extreme box office success, but Aliclear Oscar bait with a Christmas Day releasewas the moment when Smith staked his claim as a serious actor. Although it failed at the box office, it was a success for Smith because hed conquered his biggest acting challenge to date. None of his previous roles had the gravitas of a real-life figure known worldwide for his exploits, in and out of the ring. It was another form of validation that the rapper turned unlikely TV star turned ultimate movie star craved and was ultimately rewarded with: Smiths performance was nominated for an Oscar, which he ultimately lost to none other than Denzel Washington.

But the two decades since Ali have been more up and down for Smith than expected, featuring miraculous highs and a period of unmoored stagnation. He holds the record for the most consecutive films to gross over $100 million at the U.S. box office, with eight between 2002 and 2008. But Smiths past decade has been defined by commercial misfires and the emergence of cracks in the Will Smith facade he worked so hard to construct. Now, 20 years after Smith took on Ali, hes grasping for Hollywood glory again by playing another polarizing sports figure. In King Richard, which hits theaters and HBO Max on November 19, Smith plays Richard Williams, the bold father of Venus and Serena Williams, who coached his daughters up to be two of the most important athletes in sports history. It zeroes in on the period Williams spent during the 1990s pushing his daughters up the mountain, which ruffled feathers in a tennis world that remains rattled by his presence and threatened by his daughters. Smith is going for it all once again, but the stakes this time are different. Instead of trying to establish himself for the sake of credibility, hes looking to rebound from a stretch when he no longer appeared invincible, at a time when celebrity is viewed much differently than it was when he first broke through.

The tale of Will Smiths ascent cant be told without exploring his run of playing various law enforcement figures. He took the suavely aspirational Black man in a position of institutional authority model that Eddie Murphy rode to success in the 80s to another level. Bad Boys, released in 1995, was his first crack at movie stardom in which the charm he brought to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was adapted to create a hero cop fantasy. Mike Lowrey is the archetypal cool guy who broke the rules, drove a Porsche 911, had women in the palm of his hand and everywhere else (to the point that infamous lothario Lil Wayne later compared himself to him), and was revered for all of the above. In 1997s Men in Black, Smith played a cop whos recruited to join a secret agency that surveils aliens. As his Agent J says during the film, he brought style to the job, making him the perfect complement to Tommy Lee Joness stoic intergalactic agent. (It also didnt hurt that Smith used his rap career to boost the films promotion by way of a multi-platinum single bearing the same title.) Smiths savoir faire had immense mass appealBad Boys, 1996s Independence Day, and Men in Black have grossed over $1.5 billion worldwideand that dynamic extended to the sequels of Men in Black and Bad Boys, which were the first two films he appeared in after Ali. He also played a cop in 2004s I, Robot and a superhero who works with them in 2008s Hancocktwo more of his eight consecutive films that topped $100 million domestically. In 2016, he played an imprisoned mercenary working as an instrument of law enforcement; a year later, he played another cop in Bright, and in 2020, he returned to the Bad Boys franchise by stepping into Mike Lowrey once again.

Smith has been open about his formula. He explained it during a 2015 appearance on The Hollywood Reporters Awards Chatter podcast, in which he recalled telling his manager, James Lassiter, that he wanted to be the biggest movie star in the world. The two devised a strategy by examining the 10 biggest box-office successes of all time. It was always special effects, there was always creatures, there was always a love story, he said. So we started looking for movies that had special effects, creatures, and a love story. He added that he didnt want to act so often that you turn people off and acknowledged that a film with too many creatures could prevent the audience from taking the acting seriously. (Apparently 2007s I Am Legend, which set a record for the largest opening for a non-Christmas film in December, had just the right amount of creatures.) This jump-started Smiths takeoff during the mid-90s and facilitated his dominance during the aughtswhen even slight deviations like 2005s Hitch and 2006s The Pursuit of Happyness were tremendously successful.

However, Smiths Midas touch began to fade during the 2010s. The same strategy that made Smith a superstar had been rendered obsolete. He stuck to the script after his break between 2008s Seven Pounds and 2012s Men in Black 3, but audiences interests and the types of movies that were green-lit and promoted had begun to change. The list of movies he and Lassiter used as the blueprint for his ascent in the 90s were no longer the most successful movies in history, having been passed up by franchise behemoths like Harry Potter, Avatar, and of course, The Avengers. It took years of trial and error for him to realize that the playing field was vastly different, leaving a trail of poorly reviewed stabs in the dark behind him. 2013s After Earth was hammered by critics and grossed over $243 million worldwide at a time when crossing a billion dollars was considered blockbuster success. It took until 2016 for Smith to get involved in the superhero industrial complex, and when he did, it was with Suicide Squad, a decent box office win, but also one of the worst-regarded superhero movies of the decade. And although 2019s live-action version of Aladdin, which featured Smith as the Genie, grossed over $1 billion globally, it still didnt feel like a triumph.

Perhaps worse than the dwindling returns, though, was the fading image of Smith as a cool, cant-miss movie star. Mr. Blockbuster was in an extended creative rut. Bad Boys for Life was one of the highest-grossing movies of 2020, but it still let Lowrey off the hook for his recklessness in a year of intense scrutiny regarding law enforcements treatment of Black people and serious questioning of whether police are necessary at all. After Earth was substandard at best. Concussion, the 2015 film in which Smith played the forensic pathologist who battled the NFLs dismissal of his CTE research, failed to cash in on award-season buzz or mounting criticism of the NFL. Smith was good in Suicide Squad (which built on the chemistry between he and Margot Robbie that radiated from the screen in 2015s Focus), but it was a narrative messas were Bright and 2019s Gemini Man, the latter of which resulted in a massive loss for Paramount. Meanwhile, Aladdin, to little surprise, paled in comparison to the animated original despite Smiths presence. A clear line between box office success and celebrity standing had been drawn, and the former had increasingly less to do with the latter as the 2010s progressed. Smith had become the movie star he always wanted to be, one big enough to coast on the laurels of his celebrity. But by the time he could gaze comfortably from the top of the blockbuster mountain, it hardly existed as he knew it.

Smoke and mirrors in marketing and sales is over, Smith said during a 2016 Cannes Lions session. People are going to know really quickly and globally whether a product keeps its promises. In that same session, Smith admitted that he began prioritizing success over artistry during his rise. He also referred to himself as a marketer, said that his success was based on being able to sell his products globally, and identified what he believed to be a major shift in Hollywood: The power has gone away from the marketers. It was easier to promote bad movies in the past because there were no tools for audiences to react in real time. The advent of social media changed that, which Smith acknolwedged. Now what happens is 10 minutes into the movie, people are tweeting, This is shit, go see Vin Diesel, he said during the Cannes Lions session.

And as blockbuster films began to rely more on the selling power of their intellectual property than that of the names on their posters, an empowered public also opened the concept of celebrity up to greater scrutiny. Even though we collectively maintain an unhealthy appetite for mess (i.e., the reaction to the entanglement that Smiths wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, was revealed to be involved in), a global pandemic that has emphasized the demarcating line between the wealthy elite and literally everyone else is among the factors that has forced people to interrogate their relationships with celebrity. As a result, Smithwhose focus on positioning makes perfect sense considering that hes been so calculated about being famous for so longhas been forced to reassess his own.

No longer does Smith have to hide behind his public persona. Nor is he able to: Social media has removed the barrier between celebrities and their audiences. The public knows far more about who Smith is behind the veilthe rough patch in his marriage; his relationships with his children; his feelings about his own fatherthan ever before. But as the evolution of social media has given celebrities a different mechanism for control, the ever shrewd Smith and his family have learned how extra exposure can be leveraged to their advantage. Red Table Talk, the Facebook Watch show driven by Pinkett Smith, her and Smiths daughter, Willow, and Pinkett Smiths mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, is as much an image-control apparatus as it is a place for intergenerational dialogue. Smiths own appearance at the Red Table during the entanglement fallout emphasizes this. Meanwhile, Smith has utilized social media to rebrand himself as Gen X Influencer Dad, manufacturing authenticity for iPhone screens instead of movie screens. It completely changed how I interacted with the world and how I interacted with my creative life, he recently told GQ. Smiths evolution remains fluid. His film career still fits into this new paradigm, but the difference is that its less of the driving force behind his celebrity than it was in 2001. Its a line item in his overall portfolio.

Thats where King Richard fits in. The times have changed, the sport is different, but, similar to Ali, hes taking another big swing. Only now, his persona no longer rests solely on the success of his movies. Its taken Will Smith a decade to figure out the lay of the new land, but now that he finally has, his movies are less of a defining proposition than they were when he ruled a foregone iteration of Hollywood.

Julian Kimble has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Undefeated, GQ, Billboard, Pitchfork, The Fader, SB Nation, and many more.

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The Evolution of Will Smith - The Ringer

Artificial Intelligence is most commonly applied in manufacturing to further develop overall equipment efficiency (OEE) and first-pass yield in production. Over time, we can utilize AI to expand uptime, work on quality and consistency, which is considered better determining. To remain cutthroat, its significant producers adjust to an additional information-driven plan of action, which is possible today with the help of AI innovations. This regularly incorporates rearrangement of staff, equipment and programming updates. Artificial Intelligence can ingest a mix of information from sensors, machines, and individuals and afterward apply it to calculations intended to upgrade tasks or accomplish lights out assembling. Here are the top 10 AI innovations in manufacturing industries that have made headlines in 2021:

Top 10 AI Innovations in Manufacturing Industries:

High-Tech Plasma Cutters: Plasma cutting is a process that is most firmly connected with the Industrial Revolution, which was one of the biggest technological changes in the set of experiences. As it were, plasma cutting can be utilized similarly that a robot arm would be utilized in the manufacturing industry. This assists with eliminating the number of laborers that are expected to play out a task. It additionally makes the most common way of assembling significantly simpler, with only one individual needed to play out the work. It is one of the best AI innovations in the manufacturing field.

IoT Sensors: One of the growing AI innovations in manufacturing is the execution of internet of things (IoT) sensors. While these advancements are not a manufacturing explicit marvel, they hold significant potential in this area. Maybe their generally famous and amazing use case is prescient support.

Manufacturers can likewise utilize these sensors to assemble information focuses all through their activities. This information would then be able to uncover spaces of expected improvement, empowering continuous advancement. The more drawn-out manufacturers utilize these advancements, the more they can save through them.

Additive Manufacturing: One recent innovation that is specific to manufacturing is 3D printing, otherwise called added substance fabricating. While this innovation is most notable as a device for specialists, it started as a modern creation strategy. Late advances have made it a more practical arrangement, prompting a rebound in modern manufacturing. Additive manufacturing lets manufacturers create parts and items as a solitary pieces as opposed to gathering different more modest parts. Therefore, it is one of the top 10 AI innovations in manufacturing industries that have made headlines in 2021.

5G Connectivity: Like the IoT, 5G isnt completely a manufacturing technology, however, it has noteworthy potential for the area. 5G organizations arent far and wide enough yet to carry considerable upgrades to the buyer area, however, theyre great for assembling offices. Their higher data transmission sped up, and lower inactivity let savvy producing arrive at its full tallness. 5G organizations can hypothetically uphold dependent upon 1,000,000 gadgets for every square kilometer, multiple times 4Gs cutoff points.

Machine Vision Error Detection: AI has many use cases in manufacturing, but one of its most alluring is machine vision. Machine vision frameworks let makers computerize quality control processes at both the front and back finish of creation lines. This computerization, thusly, works on the productivity and precision of their blunder recognition. Machine vision mistake location allows makers to expand creation while keeping up with a similar degree of value.

AI Cameras: Many manufacturing organizations battle to adjust the expenses and need for live security groups against ensuring organization resources and workers. Most do without customary actual security, leaving their offices and workers wellbeing in danger. With the assistance of AI cameras organizations would now be able to bear to carry out security arrangements that recognize normal security situations, for example, visitor or conveyance vehicle appearance, burglary, or dynamic shooter. AI Cameras are one of the best 10 AI innovations in manufacturing industries.

Automated Visual Inspection Tool: Some flaws in products are too small to be noticed by the naked eye, even if the inspector is very experienced. However, machines can be equipped with cameras many times more sensitive than human eyes and thanks to that, detect even the smallest defects. An automated visual inspection tool is used to find microscopic flaws in products. The system recognizes defects, marks them, and sends alerts.

e-Tail Logistics: Due to the imposed challenges and restrictions on logistics and procurement network since the pandemic hit, there have been several changes in the process and also the supply-chain risk management, the emergence of the new e-tail supply chain model, and the increasing use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) as well as the automation at warehousing and procurement facilities.

AI-Controlled Software Powering Robots: AI should not just be used as a means of optimizing processes that have long been automated. The real potential is to do something completely new with the technology. Tasks that were previously done by humans or physical machines can now be done by AI-controlled software powering robots. This increases flexibility and traceability for the robots, and in many cases, reliability, and enables a more successful operation on the market.

Inventory Management Tools: Inefficiency in inventory management can result in significant cost overheads for the manufacturing company. Using inventory management AI tools allows manufacturers to manage their order records and add or delete new inventories. Machine Learning plays an integral role here to manage inventories based on demand and supply.

The Future of AI in Manufacturing

The developments that have taken place in the industry over the last 10 years have created a great deal of excitement and confidence among manufacturers. This has solid ramifications for economies that depend on exchange and commodity, just as the individuals who depend on administrations. Innovative advances are additionally seen as essential as far as the development of the economy. Later on, organizations will want to be more effective, making an excess of merchandise and greater accessibility of items worldwide.

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AI Evolution: 10 AI Innovations in Manufacturing Business - Analytics Insight

Nov 21, 2021(Nanowerk News) And, get ready for 4D printing, a morphing tech that sounds impossible much like 3D printing once didSome may have heard of 3D printing in the 1980s and 1990s, but the majority probably never heard the term until after the turn of the millennium. And even after it was on the radar, most people probably didn't expect much out of it.Perhaps you saw some of the early attempts at extruding plastic 3D items and if so, you likely didn't think that these unappealing globs would one day evolve into an industry making high-tech products used by aerospace firms or NASA.It wasn't until roughly 2014 that most hobbyists begin to even be somewhat able to afford a 3D printer, which at that time still cost over US$2,000. In the short time since 2014, the technology has grown, as exponential growth does, exponentially.In the 2020s, 3D printers have reached a level of price and quality that allows pretty much anyone to begin using 3D printers for almost anything. You can now buy a relatively good quality 3D printer for less than US$200. These are, of course, entry-level machines but still, the leaps in technology have been astounding.It probably no longer surprises you to hear that NASA contractors are planning on using 3D printing to create housing modules that may one day be used on the moon or perhaps even on Mars. But it may be somewhat surprising to hear that people are printing meat - both meat from cultured cells, as well as new vegan meat substitutes.From vegan burgers to plant based steak, new meat is being created with 3D printers. The results look set to change diets around the world and possibly be a significant contributor to reducing the effects of climate change by reducing the number of animals raised for food.Cultured meat is grown in a lab from cells (humanely) taken from real animals, and after the cultured cells grow into a large enough quantity, its put into a 3D printer and extruded into a shape that resembles for example a chicken nugget. In the case of vegan meat, the latest technology related to flavor and texture is used to print layer after layer of individually unique types of faux, or alternative meat.This means that with 3D printing, youre able to have the texture of say, beef, and some parts of a printed slab of this meat substitute contain alternative fat or alternative muscle areas in it.This vegan, so-called new meat, is the closest science has ever come to recreating meat and the degree to which it has been successful is surprising. People tasting this new meat in Israel have walked away shaking their heads finding it hard to believe it's not the real deal.Apparently, there's nothing you can't make with a 3D printer. There are developments related to the technology in almost every area, from shoes uniquely tailored to individual feet, to bespoke bicycle frames, to solutions for life on Mars. This is a technology that literally comes out of a science fiction book.Murray Leinsters 1945 short story Things Pass By contains what became a prediction. In the story, Leinster writes, But this constructor is both efficient and flexible. I feed magnetronic plastics the stuff they make houses and ships of nowadays into this moving arm. It makes drawings in the air following drawings it scans with photo-cells. But plastic comes out of the end of the drawing arm and hardens as it comes.Sound familiar? Another science fiction description of 3D printing was offered by Raymond F Jones in 1950, but just 21 years later, in 1971 a U.S. patent was granted to Johannes F Gottwald for his Liquid Metal Recorder, a forerunner of modern 3D printers.By the 1980s, inventors in Japan were fabricating three-dimensional plastic models with thermoset polymer. And both American entrepreneurs and French inventors toyed with 3D printing in that decade as well. It wasn't, however, until the first decade of the new century that 3D printing of metal materials became a truly viable option.And today the tech is in use as anything from a childs toy to a device used in the aviation industry to create highly complex shapes that wouldn't be feasible with traditional manufacturing methods. 3D printing, which now includes the printing of meat, is science fiction come to life and it's only a matter of time before 4D printing also likewise comes off the page and into the workspace. 4D printing, also known as 4D-bioprinting, would involve the 3D shape being able to morph into different forms and respond to various stimuli. And if that sounds complicated, well, it is. We aren't close to 4D printing as a viable common-use technology at this point. But, remember, that's what they said about 3D printing just a few decades ago.

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From science fiction to printing meat - the evolution of 3D Printing continues to astound - Nanowerk