Category Archives: Immortality

Despite his unfortunate error concerning the churchs present stance on Galileos tradition-shattering observations on heliocentricity (see the 1992 statement from John Paul II, and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences) Trey Casimirs comments about transcendence in the April 27 Daily Item were, as usual, spot on. But they didnt go far enough

If I learned one overriding lesson from the 18-plus years of research behind my recent book still unpublished due to its length Spirituality and the Afterlife: Materialism meets Immortality, it was that the transcendent was not wholly other but upon rare occasions, would enter into and be perceived by our human consciousness. Often, those intrusions would leave observable traces, little tidbits of evidence, sometimes laboratory-based, that would leave little doubt for the intellectually-honest observer that the transcendent was, after all, truly real.

These evidential traces are available for all to see if they choose to look. Unfortunately, the prevailing forces at both ends of the spectrum, the church at one end, the secular movement at the other, are generally averse (the secularists more so) to considering evidence that is detrimental to their own position. Until that changes (and it probably never will) misinformation will prevail, to the detriment of us all.

Donald C. Porteous Jr.,

Milton

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Misinformation will prevail | Opinion | dailyitem.com - Sunbury Daily Item

Riot Games continues to evolve Teamfight Tactics with the new Set Five Reckoning mechanic, Shadow items, providing unique power increases at a cost.

Releasing around the globe by April 28, good and evil will collide across the convergence in TFT. The black mist has corrupted half of everything, introducing nine new Shadow components. Slightly similar to their original counterparts, these Shadow components can combine with a normal or Shadow component to create 36 new Shadow items.

Each Shadow item has its own power, stats, and penalty cost for using it. Blue Buff, for example, resets a champions mana at 20 after they cast their spell. Very Dark Blue Buff, the Shadow version, resets a champions mana to 15 after casting their spell. But if the wearer has less than 60 percent health, the mana reset is increased to 50.

From Archdemons staff and Chalice of Malice to Caustic Deathblade and Guardian Fallen Angel, here are the 36 TFT Set Five Reckoning Shadow items, not including dark spatula items.

Deathblade is one of many glass cannon Shadow items, according to Riot game designerStephen Mortdog Mortimer.

Zekes Bleak Herald drains attack speed from champions on either side in order to gain attack speed for themselves.

Good on frontline units and tanks, Guardian Fallen Angel returns a champion with 80 percent of their health while shredding all negative effects. The catch is that the wearers attack speed is reduced by 50 percent. A normal Guardian Angel returns a champion with 400 HP.

Hextech Gunblade of Immortality heals the nearest ally as opposed to the wearer. This TFT Set Five Shadow item works well on temporary and secondary carriers. It also only heals for missing health.

Evil Giantslayer is similar to Giant Slayer in that it targets high health units. Unlike the normal item, Evil Giantslayer deals 50 percent bonus damage without restrictions. Once the target drops below 1100 maximum health, the wearers abilities and attacks only do 15 percent decreased damage instead.

Sacrificial Infinity Edge offers more power at the cost of health. To effectively use the dark Infinity Edge, it should get paired with a healing item like Bloodthirster, or put on a champion who benefits from healing. In conjunction with Hand of Justice, its a powerful item on Nocturne.

Similar to Sacrificial Infinity Edge, the Shadow Bloodthirster is about pure aggression, according to Mortdog. The wearer gains 40 percent attack speed for three seconds once they heal to 90 percent health. But the item deals 25 percent true damage to the wearer at the beginning of combat.

Sacrificial Bloodthirster is a BIS item for Draven within the Forgotten/Legionnaires comp, utilizing the Legionnaires trait for healing and hitting 90 percent health for the additional attack speed.

This Shadow item is meant for champions whose spell doesnt rely upon damage, according to Mortdog, Spectral Spear of Shojin restores an additional 14 mana on-hit with each basic attack. The downside is that the holder deals 20 percent less damage. A normal Spear of Shojin restores five mana on-hit.

Ideal champions to use the Spectra Spear of Shojin on, according to Mortdog, are Lux and Tarric.

Rabadons Caustic Deathcap is another glass cannon Shadow item.

Zapping enemies and allies, Ionic Dark-Spark provides the wearer with additional ability power from each zap. The Shadow item is ideal on an Assassin, according to Mortdog.

Ideally paired with an item or champion that can replace health, Gunsoos Sacrificial Rageblade provides exponential growth at a sacrifice of health.

Archdemons Staff of Immortality is similar to Gargoyle Stoneplate, according to Mortdog, and is a self-healing item.

Locket of the Silver Lunari provides increase armor and magic resist at the cost of five less mana per attack. Its an ideal item that can get placed on a high health front line unit like Tarric.

Mor-evil-lonimicon kills off everyone, but slowly. Its a Unique item that is strong in the early game. Champions that utilize Mor-evil-lonimicon well are Volibear and Kennen.

Gaining power at the cost of health, Sacrificial Gauntlet increases critical strike chance and damage. The Shadow item works well on Velkoz and Vayne.

The holders magic and true damage from their ability can critically strike. The holder gains 40 percent critical strike damage and 20 percent critical strike chance. After the holder casts their ability, they lose 15 percent of their maximum health.

Similar to Dragon Claw, according to Mortdotg, Refracted Bramble Vest doesnt have a drawback but does function differently. It grants 200 bonus magic resist, which includes the components.

Eclipse Cape is a Unique Shadow item that does not apply Grevious Wounds, according to Mortdog.

Able to gain health from every unit targeting the wearer, the Gargoyle Stoneplate of Immortality Shadow item in TFT Set Five is a super tanky item.

Titans Revenge is another ideal tank item that can also deal damage.

Dark Shroud of Stillness has an increase in power but hits both sides of the battlefield as its drawback. Its also a Unique Shadow item.

Slow down enemies with Frozen Dark Heart, but beware, it can also slow down your own team. An ideal champion to carry Frozen Dark Heart is Diana, due to her Assassin trait.

Warmogs Sacrificial Armor pairs well with a champion or trait that gains health, according to Mortdog.

Turbulent Zephyr is a Unique item that increases the time an enemy is trapped in its whirlwind but at a cost of providing that enemy unit bonus stats once the whirlwind wears off. Turbulent Zephyr should not target carriers like Kayle.

Unstable ZzRot Portal is an ideal item to use when wanting to break through a strong front-line defense. Summoned Units, such as Abominations Monstrosity, will not spawn an Unstable Voidspawn

Vengeful Trap Claw combos well with Unstable ZzRot Portal, according to Mortdog, and is ideal on champions like Jax or Riven.

A Unique item, Sacrificial Redemption heals the entire board but does not heal the wearer. Its an ideal item on a champion like Hecarim that wont take damage because the self-damage cant kill it, according to Mortdog.

Similar to Bramble Vest, Refracted Dragons claw negates bonus damage from incoming critical hits while also reducing the incoming magic damage by 15 percent.

Runaans Untamed Hurricane doesnt proc on-hit effects, according to Mortdog. The TFT Shadow Set Five item is a solid choice on champions like Draven, Riven, Alphelios, and Jax.

Caustic Quicksilver is a Unique item that provides immunity to CC indefinitely at a cost of 20 percent less the maximum health of the wearer.

Chalice of Malice penalizes its wearer while benefiting units one Hex to either side of the item holder.

Providing more attack speed when no enemies are nearby, Rapid Deathcannon is ideal on Draven.

Final Whisper is a Unique Shadow item that is a solid counter to Redeemed, according to Mortdog.

Hand of Vengeance provides its wearer with both benefits while turning off and then back on with every takedown, according to Mortdog.

Statikk Stiletto is a more powerful Stattik Shiv that works well on Varus, according to Mortdog.

Very Dark Blue Buff is a Unique Shadow Set Five item that can produce interesting results when the wearers health drops below 60 percent.

Tricksters Gloves is a big brain item, according to Mortdog. It creates two full Shadow Set Five Reckoning items, that can either benefit or destroy the champion Tricksters Gloves is equipped to.

A large number of Shadow items still dont have a best-in-slot due to the meta being so new, and multiple adjustments taking place during the PBE testing stage. This article will get updated with each TFT Set Five Reckoning patch to include balance changes and BIS items per champion.

Link:

TFT Set 5 Reckoning Shadow items: Updated stats and best-in-slot - Dot Esports

They keep you on the hook the whole way through, theyre your best friend and then you get a standardised Dear applicants email, she says. Wed been texting each other sparkle hearts all through the process.

Reality TV is the contemporary Colosseum, she says. Its where we go to watch people suffer, with no level of social consequence.

That show was at the Centre for Contemporary Photography in 2020, exploring the arduous audition process and exposing as much of it as she could legally get away with.

A scene from Remains to be Seen.Credit:Georgia Banks / David Meagher

After that, Banks was thinking about what drives people including herself to seek immortality on reality TV, on social media or, indeed, in art.

And somebody said to me, I guess your funeral is the reality TV show, she says.

Banks says her work has been about finding the edges of the possibility of the lived experience. To go hard, in other words.

So she has created an elaborate framework where her own real-life funeral is the prize. Anyone can enter, through the website remainstobeseen.info, and will go through an audition process that parallels and parodies the TV versions: invasive, personal questions that would usually be about life and loves but will now be about death and dying.

A scene from Remains to be Seen.Credit:Georgia Banks / David Meagher

They include, for example, how they think they will feel when one of their exes dies.

Applications are open from now and, says Banks, the winner will be announced on the day that I die, and they will get absolute, total, 100 per cent control over everything to do with the disposal of my body and my funeral.

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Absolutely everything. The budget is Banks estate.

I could be liquefied or cremated or turned into a diamond or shot into outer space, says Banks. They might only want to invite millionaires, or the directors of all the national [art] galleries.

It will be up to them. Banks doesnt even want to know, and wont ask.

But she gets something in return: the right to their answers to the application questions. And the funeral and its byproducts are a work of art that must carry Banks name.

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Ive decided to take my own death and turn it into a way to never die, she says. The goal is immortality, right? Isnt that what we all want, to not be forgotten?

And the all-important question, how will she pick the winner?

Naturally, the same way reality TV does.

Whoever I think will cause the most drama, she laughs. Whoevers not here to make friends.

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Dying for immortality, this artist wants you to dispose of her body - Sydney Morning Herald

Satyricon just finally put their first two albums back out on vinyl (grab exclusive variants of each in our shop), but today Joe takes a look back at their third, which turns a quarter of a century old this week.

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Black metal existed before the Norwegian scene began, and it certainly has flourished internationally since the heyday of infamy in Norway in ways that many never expected. Yet, what can never be denied is the deep impact the Norwegian scene had on black metal and occasionally still does through its old guard and younger inheritors. As has been documented in countless places, Mayhems mastermind Euronymous, real name ystein Aarseth, helped nurture the Norwegian black metal scene, being sometimes highly open to creative experimentation and at others close-fisted in control. After his death in the late summer of 1993, it was an open question as to how the scene locally, and in part globally, would proceed. Would the next few years see the bands energized by his vision and influence drift away, or would the genre continue on to reach heights Euronymous could have only dreamed ofor even feared?

The two decades and more since that time has proven the latter, in hindsight, as Norwegian black metal (and the global scene as well) only exploded into larger and more dynamic approaches. One band that played a pivotal part was Satyricon, forged by the combined talents of songwriter/frontman Sigurd "Satyr" Wongraven and lauded drummer Kjetil-Vidar "Frost" Haraldstad. Neither were original members of the band, but they soon found themselves the only ones left after multiple departures. Subsequently, they would form the core duo propelling the band to this daynot too different than fellow countrymen Darkthrone, save for having a far more gusto approach to live performances than the latter. 1994 saw Satyricon deliver a pair of medieval (in atmosphere) Norwegian folk music-influenced black metal albums, with Dark Medieval Times and The Shadowthrone. These two records made waves right alongside, if perhaps a bit out of focus, the many legendary albums released from the scene that year from the likes of Mayhem, Emperor, and Enslaved. Two years later, and just yesterday celebrating its 25th anniversary, Satyricon released their third album Nemesis Divina, a nearly instant classic that threw the band into the lead pack of the scene. It was also an album that would serve as an era-ending marker, as the band would in no short time further expand its horizons and self limitations.

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Before diving into the music of Nemesis Divina, it would be remiss to not mention how bold and forward-thinking the album's artwork proved to be. At that point, most prototypical black metal album covers, especially in the Norwegian scene, were rough DIY black and white photographs, similarly stark sketch drawings, or shadowed images with dark toned color: something exemplified not only broadly across the genre but clearly enough in Satyricons own first two albums. Nemesis Divinas cover, designed by Halvor Bodin and Stein Lken, is a well-lit wooden shadow box with a pinned bird of prey atop an inverted and rusted crucifix. Outward from the center image are trinkets like bones, keys, and other pieces partially engulfed in flames billowing out from the wood with the same golden flames illuminating the bands logo.

In an interview, Frost recalled the artists behind the cover design creating an art installation based on themes Satyr conveyed from the album which they then set on fire and photographed. "I think it was a brilliant solution of (sic) the task, which was to create an idiosyncratic piece of artwork with references to the album and with very particular aesthetic qualities," said Frost in the interview. "It truly gave the album a visual identity." This quality can be seen in the aesthetics of later black metal, whether consciously or not, with yellow/orange hues like Dawns Slaughtersun (Crown of the Triarchy) or Mayhems own image of avian sacrifice on Grand Declaration of War.

Upon listening to the album, one would certainly agree with Frosts assessment of a successful visualization, as Satyricons previously established identity is blown up into higher-fidelity recording and a real streak of fiery aggression burning throughout the instrumentation. The previous albums lone acoustic guitar passages are abandoned, while the keyboards are arranged very much in accompaniment to the guitar riffs rather than taking sole focus. A Norwegian folk music influence can still be felt, a trait that regardless of other changes has been a constant throughout the bands career. In particular, it's used as thematic breaks from the aggressive fury. This can be heard most prominently on the two main riffs in the second half of "Forhekset" and the keyboard passage playing over the hypnotic tremolo riff at the end of "Du som hater Gud." The aforementioned higher definition in recording allows the instruments to all be heard in exquisite clarity rather than cacophony, permitting listeners to readily appreciate the talents behind the compositions. This particularly benefits Frost: drumming isnt always intuitively appreciated in black metal, but here the listener can follow every blast, crash, and kick he delivers at varied paces in wonderful detail.

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The album's aggression is present right at the beginning in what might be one of the most powerful black metal album openers: "The Dawn of a New Age." After a brief clanging of chords and a spooky keyboard passage, Satyr shouts from the depth of hell, "This is Armageddon!" Seriously, how much more metal can you get? Well, the song steamrolls forward as Satyr lyrically reinterprets passages from the Book of Revelations detailing the arrival of the final horseman of the apocalypse, Death. The pace keeps up until a mid-tempo riff seemingly slows down time, leading into a break for a clean electric guitar passage that rings out like the still air after a battle; it's then violated by a new assault of infernal forces accompanied by spectral narration thanks to the guest work of former bandmate Samoth's ex-wife Nebelhex (Andrea Meyer Haugen). Yeah, pretty damn metal.

Speaking of collaborators and guests, during the recording and subsequent touring for Nemesis Divina none other than Ted "Nocturno Culto" Skjellum of the mighty Darkthrone joined on rhythm guitar, under the (uniquely devised for the group) pseudonym of Kveldulv. In Decibel Magazines Hall of Fame feature for Nemesis Divina Skjellum himself describes a perfect set of temporary circumstances where visiting his girlfriend at the time in Oslo became a good excuse to work with Satyricon. In his words, "I missed playing guitar and having the band feeling," which makes sense given Darkthrone had recently given up on playing live around then, and further: Fenriz had taken all the guitar duties on the previous two Darkthrone albums at that point. Fenriz also collaborated on Satyricons developing masterpiece, lending his lyrical penship to the track "Du som hater Gud."

At one point, Ihsahn of Emperor contributed some keyboard playing for the early rehearsals of Nemesis Divina, though Emperor reforming called his attention away and eventually the keyboard role fell on the shoulders of Geir Bratland, a member of EBMelectric body musicgroup Apoptygma Berzerk who has subsequently played in groups like Dimmu Borgir, The Kovenant, God Seed, and even live for Emperor in 2018. In an interview for Metal Hammer/Louder Frost noted the collaboration in the black metal scene back then made sense, saying, "It was a pretty small environment that we existed in back then. We all felt like competitors, but in other ways like colleagues and friends people with a common interest in something that was very marginal and particular."

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Regardless of the collaboration or the many highlights of composition found throughout the album, the near indisputable crown jewel is "Mother North," a track that has lived on to perhaps be the most recognizable song in Satyricons entire career. A mini-epic of a track at six-and-a-half minutes with varied paces, brooding atmospheres, and infectious melodies that would prove to elicit crowd chanting at live venues across the world. Its interesting to note that in many outlets both Satyr and Frost have commented that the latters desire to pummel his kit had to be toned down to allow breathing room for the rest of the pieces of the composition. This annoyed Frost at the time, but hes since admitted it was the right move for the song. It can be seen as a positive for Satyricon's career that Satyr stuck to his vision for the song, as its become one of the earliest cases of a black metal "hit single": its been a highlight for most Satyricon concerts, where during one of the most melodic and slow to mid paced riffs of the song the crowd often begins chanting along. Even if one has never had the pleasure to participate in that moment live themselves, scenes like Satyricon playing live at Wacken or having a full choir accompanying them during the Live at the Opera recording instantly raise goosebumps in those moments. In the aforementioned piece published by Metal Hammer, Satyr comments, "[W]e play 'Mother North' as much as any other song, but although I dont always enjoy rehearsing it, when we play live I feel like I can perceive it through the eyes and the ears of members of the crowd and it makes me think of things and feelings that I would never otherwise be able to access. Not every band has a song that defines an era, but 'Mother North' certainly does that."

One thing that helped "Mother North" become such a hit was its music video, perhaps one of the first, or at least certainly earliest, examples of a black metal music video. It's more of an atmospheric dream than a linear story, but it does a fine job of not only exhibiting the themes Satyr had in mind for the song, mainly a romanticism for Norway itself, but a full in-the-flesh exhibit of many key elements of the whole Norwegian black metal scene. A swung axe crashing down on a cross coincides with the opening of the song followed by images of the band in full corpse paint, studs and spikes, fire breathing, rituals performed in a flamed circle, thick fog, a full moon, deep forests, overflowing blood often in vampiric scenes, and model Monica Brtens (at times fully nude) trance like stare straight into the camera. In an interview, Frost recounted the making of the video that, "I remember that many of the scenes were incredibly hard to do, as they were shot outdoors in the winter, and that bringing all the gear and doing takes over and over again until they were right meant that we would be out in the cold for an entire night. I also did a fire breathing scene in the beginning of the session, and as it was windy, I got totally soaked in gasoline before I was done doing that countless number of takes. Eventually I became so cold that I vomited on the way back from the location. I didnt care much about that, thoughmy only concern was whether we would manage to make the video visually striking enough."

Satyricon would change rather quickly after the Nemesis Divina era. Feeling that others were starting to copy what theyd already accomplished, they released 1999s Rebel Extravaganza which abandoned a great deal of their previous imagery and tone for more industrial and urban atmospheres. They then followed in 2002 with Volcano, an album that helped form the foundation for a great deal of the black n' roll subgenre, which theyve in various ways continued and expanded upon since then. Throughout their career, the legacy and success of Nemesis Divina has continued to help propel them forward: in 2016 the band, often seen as hesitant to feel nostalgic about their past, toured the whole album front to back, a lovely tribute to newer fans who werent there two decades prior and the old ones who stuck with them through their evolution. Five years since then, the album is now a quarter-century old and it continues to be regarded as a well-aged classic album still delighting fans the world over. In the words of its highlight song: 'Mother North -- united we stand, together we walk."

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Nemesis Divina released April 22nd, 1996 via Moonfog Productions.

You can pick up exclusive variants of The Shadowthrone and Dark Medieval Times in our webshop.

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Opening the Gate to Immortality: 25 years of Satyricon's Nemesis Divina - Invisible Oranges

Sophie Lipset

The year: probably somewhere around 560 BCE. The place: Mount Etna. The star of this story: Empedocles, Greek philosopher and self-proclaimed god.

Now, just for a little background on the god situation, this kind of claim was not new for Empedocles. He was a guy fond of your normal, everyday proclamations of immortality. He is quoted as having said, on at least one occasion:

Hail to ye,

I, an immortal God, no longer mortal,

Now live among you

He must have been a lot of fun at parties.

Interestingly, he apparently had a collection of followers who believed in his godliness.

Most of this admiration stemmed from his successes as a physician and the allegation that he had brought a woman back from the dead during his lifetime.

On the fateful day on which our story begins, Empedocles decided that just claiming he was immortal was no longer enough. He had to prove it. And, of course, the only logical thing to do in this circumstance was to organize a group meeting atop the local volcano and let his followers witness his ascension via some extreme cliff diving. In an act illustrating the ultimate god complex, he jumped straight into the crater of an active volcano, leaving nothing behind but a single shoe like some kind of Cinderella story gone wildly wrong.

Unfortunately for Empedocles, he was not, in fact a god, nor was he immortal (he was also not Cinderella, but that is somewhat irrelevant to the point). In light of this, jumping into a volcano was probably not the best idea. But what can you do when you have a god complex more powerful than even that kid with the power of god and anime on his side?

And this story is 100 percent trueaccording to Heraclides, that is. According to modern scholars, not so much. A number of alternative, less fantastical stories of Empedocles demise exist. The most likely seems to be that he died far from home in the Peloponnese, which unfortunately lacks the dramatic flair of Heraclides take on the situation. It is unlikely we will ever know for sure what happened to this enigmatic figure, but the wild speculation present in the stories that remain is nothing if not entertaining.

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How (not) to be a god The Bowdoin Orient - The Bowdoin Orient

Nightcrawler looks upon the garden of Eden, and sees only weeds among its flowers.Image: Bob Quinn and Java Tartaglia/Marvel Comics

Mutantkind has changed. No longer societal outcasts but a global, independent power of their own, the Dawn of X at Marvel Comics has seen the X-Men and other mutants rise as a new kind of societybut one among them is starting to wonder what the spiritual cost of their collective rebirth really is: Nightcrawler.

The bold re-alignment of mutantkinds place in the Marvel Comics oeuvre underneath the guidance of Jonathan Hickman since House of X and Powers of X has dramatically flipped the lid on what it means to be a mutant. Since the arrival of Krakoa as a sovereign nation, the mutant peoples of Earth have come together in a form of unity unseen in eons. Its more than just a new home, a new government, a new approach to the outside world both amicable yet isolationist in equal measure. Krakoa has brought with it the seeming antidote to decades of persecution and decimation that has driven X-books for years: Mutants have defeated death itself, and through the powers of Krakoan resurrection, they are ascendant.

In the years since HoXPoX, there have been series across the X-catalog that touch on the fact that the X-Men and their fellow mutants ability to just cheat death is pushing their new society down dark, disturbing paths. But this week, the first issue of Way of Xby Si Spurrier, Bob Quinn, Java Tartaglia, Clayton Cowles, and X-Team designer Tom Mulleris the first time one of these books of this hopeful new era has really taken a step back and to question if there is something deeply rotten in the state of Krakoa.

Deep down, it comes to a singular question: what is faith when you live in Edens garden?

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Way of X centers this question on perhaps the most spiritual of the X-Men, Kurt Wagner, the Nightcrawler. On Krakoa, Kurt has been an important figurenot just an operative on the X-Team but one of its leading council. Hes the one who helped establish Krakoan societys core tenants, forged the founding of it as a nation with one simple rule: Make More Mutants. But he is also naturally the perfect lens to frame the concept of mutant spirituality through; a former man of the cloth and a devout Catholic, faith has been at the core of who Kurt is as a person for much of his Marvel comics lifea life that has seen him face cosmic gods, confront his hellish upbringing, and face death and rebirth even before Krakoa made that a mundanity of a new, blessed kind of life. His faith has never left him, a choice to believe in a life of the unbelievable.

But Krakoa has begun to test it.

Way of X sees Kurt more isolated from his fellow mutants than seemingly ever, as questions claw at his consciousness, questions whose voices grow only louder when he begins to see cracks in his society that we as readers have been speculating about ever since the early days of House and Powers. Even having experienced it himself, Kurt has become fascinated and haunted by mutants new approach to resurrectionand what the belief that death is just a momentary status, an annoyance rather than the ultimate arbiter of a persons being, has done to every single mutant who calls Krakoa home.

Surrounded by young people who see death not as something to be feared, but to be chased and experiencedtheir lives thrown away with a casualness that, to them, reads as confidence but to Kurt reads as something chillingthe X-Mens usually chipper teleporting trapeze artist finds himself in a crisis of faith hes not seen in years. Krakoan Resurrection, Kurt believes, has already fundamentally changed mutants as we know it, and not entirely for the better. Death by death, rebirth by rebirth, the very soul of Mutantkind is being chipped away to leave something much darker in its stead.

Whether its watching fellow teammate Pixie gleefully embrace a shotgun-blast to the face from an anti-mutant terrorist to the cheers and glee of her allies, or even pondering the role his own faitha human faithhas in a distinctly mutant society, Kurt finds himself seeing a coolness behind his companions seeming joy at making death an impossibility. Without death as a factor, he sees a society that is more than just alien from a biological standpoint, but almost alien from a spiritual, moralistic standpoint. What does it mean to sacrifice, if you know it is only for a moment? What does judgment mean when taking a life is not the ultimate act, but a crucible for rebirth? Can mutants be, as people say of Kurt throughout Way of X #1, the kindly ones, when immortality has slowly begun to rob them of a moral core?

These questions dont just plague Kurt on a personal level as he contrasts his faith with his new life on Krakoa, they also allow Way of X to begin answering another question readers have been dying to see answered since House and Powers of X founded this nation in the first place. Watching nation-making happening is fascinating, sure enough, but whats its actually like to live in the nation you have made for yourself?

Part of life in any society is some kind of belief system. Connecting an entirely new society of the size of Krakoa bleeds into theoretical concepts like Dunbars numberthe belief that after a certain limit, the number of cognitive connections an individual can make with other people can only increase on abstract rather than personal levels, through ideas like law, faith, and mythologies. Its a concept namechecked in the issue itself, when an angst-ridden Kurt crosses paths with kooky mutant scientist/occasional megalomaniac Doctor Nemesis (whos taken to growing Krakoan fungi out of his own head as an experiment).

As it turns out, Krakoa isnt exactly lacking in those ideas, even as were repeatedly reminded in this issue by those around him that Kurt has been trying, and mostly failing, to create some kind of new mutant-based faith system. While Kurt has not managed to do so yet, certain kinds of rituals and mythologies have already begun to crop up in paradise... and theyre not exactly quite so comforting as whatever system he had hoped to conceive.

When Kurt first crosses paths with Nemesis, for example, hes watching over a campfire gathering of young children, being told tales of the Great Pretender, a boogeyman-like term adopted for Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, after her decimation of Mutantkind in House of M. The children in turn counter with another dark myth of their own, a thread interwoven throughout the background of Way of X: the Patchwork Man, a shadowy figure that apparently stalks Krakoa psychically suggesting dark acts or mutilating people. Then theres the ritual Kurt seemingly hates most of all in paradise: the Crucible, a trial-by-combat that allows Mutants depowered by Wandas chaos magic to be reborn with their abilities restored.

We get to see a particularly horrifying example of it in action, in fact. A mutant wed seen earlier begging Kurt for help, as one of those aforementioned kindly ones (he brushed them off thinking they simply needed directions) ends up facing the Crucibles most ardent defender, Magneto. The mutant, named only as Lost, was instead begging for Kurt to be her Crucible opponent, it turns out. It also turns out opponent is not exactly the right word. Crucible participants are choosing an executioner, as crowds whoop and wail that their brutal death at a fellow mutants hands is actually joyous, the indicator that one of their kind once taken from them is about to return to the fold.

Kurt is horrified, as likewise we are intended to be, but it all comes back to that central question: what do faith and morality look like in a world of abundance, what are ethics in a world where death is no longer one of lifes constants? They look like this: cold, cruel, calculated, and distant. They look wrong. And maybe it is, as an unseen narrator opens the issue (one heavily suggested to be Kurt, writing the beginning of what could become his Krakoan faith), an anxiety arisen from outdated modes of thought rooted in the outside world. We are, after all, aliens looking into the window of this new society and what it is meant to bebut the factthat Kurt feels as we as an audience are meant to shows just where cracks are starting to appear in Krakoas bountiful paradise.

Nightcrawler doesnt have all the answers just yet but hes trying to find some semblance of them. With the Dawn of X having laid the foundations of this new mutant world, watching one of their own wrestle with the heady idea of how to live in its imperfect perfection is already proving to be one of the most fascinating X-series on shelves.

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The X-Men Are Losing Their Soul, and Nightcrawler Wants to Find It - Gizmodo

Heart disease kills more people than anything else in the United States. According to the CDC, almost 660,000 people lost their lives to heart disease in 2019. But what about heart transplants, you might ask? Well, organ donors are in extremely short supply, and 17 people die every single day waiting for an organ transplant. And, of course, many do not have insurance that covers the procedure, and not everyone with heart disease is a good candidate for a transplant.

So, its a pretty slow process. And generally, the longer a patient waits for a transplant, the lower the life expectancy after surgery. So, why can't we just make a new heart? It turns out we can thanks to artificial heart technology.

Artificial hearts arent new to medicine, theyve been in use in patients for several decades. They are usually used as a short-to-medium-term solution with very sick patients who waiting for a heart transplant or those who are ineligible for a transplant. And although the technology isnt quite at a sci-fi level yet, were getting closer to a self-sustaining, fully artificial heart each day.

An artificial heart is an electronic device capable of maintaining the circulation of blood in the body. Broadly speaking, there are two main kinds of artificial hearts the mechanical heart and the heart-lung machine.

As you could probably guess the mechanical heart functions as a regular heart it simply pumps blood. The heart-lung machine on the other hand also oxygenates the blood in addition to pumping it for circulation. This type of machine is typically used when a patient is undergoing heart surgery.

Under non-surgical situations, however, the kind of artificial heart prescribed to patients is the mechanical heart. Interestingly, there are also two main groups of mechanical hearts ventricular assist devices (VADs) and total artificial heart (TAH).

Now, heres the thing the left and right ventricles are the hardest working parts of the heat.The rightventriclepumps the oxygen-poor blood to the lungs. The left atrium receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and pumps it to the leftventricle. The leftventriclethen pumps the oxygen-rich blood through the aortic valve out to the rest of the body.

Because it is the left ventricle that is responsible for pumping blood to the body, it is the strongest of the chambers. So, in the case of heart failure, the left ventricle is often the most likely part of the heart to need extra help. If this is the case, doctors will typically insert a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) if other efforts to manage the condition have failed.

On the flip side, there are times when an LVAD alone wont do the trick, so the patient will need a total artificial heart (TAH). Currently, TAHs are a last resort that are only used with patients who cant benefit from LVADs or are waiting for a heart transplant.

So, who invented the artificial heart? Well, its not that simple, because no one person can take all the credit. That said, the idea of mechanical circulatory support was first introduced by Julien LeGallois way back in 1812. But this remained a theory until 1937 when Vladimir P. Demikhov developed the first total artificial heart and conducted the worlds first coronary artery bypass surgery.

The earliest version of LVADs was developed in the 1960s and they were big machines the patients were hooked up to. In 1982, Dr. Robert Jarvik created the worlds first permanent artificial heart, which was successfully transplanted into patient Barney Clark, who went on to live for 112 days.

Although these early artificial hearts werent exactly user-friendly, many scientists and engineers across the globe made it their lifes work to create more efficient designs small enough to fit into a mans chest and strong enough to beat 35 million times per year. And although were not quite there yet, were not that far away either.

These days, artificial hearts are typically small devices that are implanted into the patient and connected to a portable external controller through tubes that exit the skin. That said, the technology and operating mechanisms of artificial hearts can vary widely. For instance, in 2017, a group of Chinese researchers created an artificial heart based on rocket technology. The heart utilizes magnetic and fluid levitation to minimize friction. This allows it to boost its operational efficiency and help the power generator last longer.

Later in the same year, a group of Swiz engineers developed a soft total artificial heart that actually beats. The coolest part is that they utilized 3-D-printing technology, using silicone as the base material. In the end, the heart weighed only 13.8 ounces and was able to pump fluid with pretty much the same rhythm as a human heart. However, the prototype only beats for about 30 minutes, so its going to take a while before it goes mainstream.

In 2018, researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University announced they were developing an artificial heart which contains a single moving piece with no valves. They believe it could be the first TAH that could last the rest of a persons life.The OHSU artificial heart replaces both ventricles with a titanium tube containing a hollow rod that moves back and forth, pushing blood to the lungs and then through the rest of the body.

More recently, Carmat announced its latest artificial heart that can control blood flow in real-time. How does that work? Well, its equipped with sensors that help detect the users blood pressure based on their activity level and in response, the devices algorithm regulates blood flow. The entire device weighs about 2 pounds and contains batteries that can last about 4 hours.

Currently, the average life expectancy of a patient on the artificial heart is one year. But patients have been reported to live up to 4 years on these devices. Despite all these exciting advancements, there are still a few major hurdles to scale before we arrive at a permanent solution for a failing heart.

In a recent article, Tchantchaleishvili and Philips shared some insight on the limitations currently facing artificial heart technology. And one of them is getting an implantable energy source powerful enough to sustain the device for a lifetime and thats a lot of power! Because of the current limitations in battery technology, the authors argue that the only way to generate this much power is through Plutonium238. But perhaps due to terrorism fears, and fears of accidental exposure, artificial hearts wont be going nuclear anytime soon. So, the possibility of a fully implantable artificial heart may not be on the horizon for a few more years at least

Biocompatibility is another very important challenge. For instance, blood clots are one of the possible complications of artificial hearts. And this can lead to stroke if not quickly managed. That said, the chances of blood clots are much lower these days, thanks to the tremendous development in anti-clotting medications and materials science.

The road to immortality may start with an invulnerable heart, but its going to take a lot more than that for humans to live forever the human body is just too complex. At the very least, were going to need a technology that allows our cells to regenerate infinitely. And it may not be so far away. Researchers at Northwestern University have already figured out a way of turning off the genetic switch responsible for aging in worms so, fingers crossed.

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Artificial Hearts: Could They Be the Key to Immortality? - Interesting Engineering

New research suggests that people who dont believe in the existence of a literal afterlife are more likely to strive for symbolic immortality by fusing their identity with their nation. The findings, which appear in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, shed light on the ways that people psychologically manage the terror of death.

At first, we really just set out to test what seemed at the time an intuitive and somewhat simple hypothesis derived from terror management theory: If cultures are or contain our immortality projects, people should be motivated to perceive them as long-lasting, especially when death is salient, said study author Andy Scott of the University of Alberta.

As is often the case with psychological research, it turned out to be more complicated and interesting than we expected. The project ended up being instead about the interplay between incongruent immortality projects.

An initial study of 90 Canadian undergraduate students found evidence that people who strongly identified with their nation increased how long they believed their nation would last after being reminded of death.

Half of the participants were randomly assigned to write about their own death, while the other half wrote about experiencing dental pain. After completing some other psychological assessments, the participants then indicated how long they believed Canada would continue to exist on a continuous scale that ranged from 0 years to 10,000 or more years.

Canadians who strongly identified with their nation increased their cultural longevity estimates by 2,382 years on average after being reminded of their own death.

But when the researchers tried to replicate the findings in a second study with another 116 Canadian undergraduate students, they found no evidence that reminders of death were associated national longevity. This failure prompted exploratory analyses that ultimately led to the critical addition of afterlife belief as a moderator variable in the subsequent studies, the researchers explained.

In four subsequent studies, which included 1,012 American citizens in total, Scott and his colleagues found that the link between reminders of death and beliefs about the longevity of ones nation was dependent on two factors: highly identifying with American culture and not holding strong beliefs in the existence of an afterlife.

In addition, the researchers found that, among those who did not believe in an afterlife, the perceived longevity of the United States was associated with decreased levels of death anxiety.

The main takeaway in my view is that we all seem to have the same need to overcome the finality of death but we meet this need in many different and interesting ways, Scott told PsyPost. Moreover, it appears that people who have a route to literal immortality (a belief in an afterlife) have less motivation to pursue and maintain secular-symbolic avenues to immortality, possibly because they already feel like they have all the immortality they need.

Another (not incompatible) reason this might occur is that many religions teach their adherents that earthly pursuits (i.e., things that will grant you symbolic immortality) dont align with living a religious, sin free life, Scott explained.

But the study like all research includes some caveats.

We only looked at this phenomenon in a North American context and this could (and should, according to the theory) matter in interesting ways; we have little idea what would happen if we ran similar studies in cultures with less separation of church and state, or in cultures with less of a focus on national pride, for example, Scott said.

There is also important work to be done in figuring out whether it is better for ourselves and those around us to strongly cling to one immortality project or to curate a multipronged approach to living on after death. Another related question that has been taken up recently by several labs is what the transition from religious to secular systems of belief involves and how people and societies manage existential concerns during this transition period.

The new research was based on terror management theory, which holds that attempts to manage feelings evoked by the awareness of our own mortality is a strong motivator behind a variety of beliefs and behaviors.

I always appreciate when people point to stuff I can read to learn more about a topic, so Ill end by recommending a couple of books for anyone who found this research intriguing, Scott added. If youre interested in the varieties and history of immortality projects, the bookImmortalityby Stephen Cave (2012) is a great place to start. If you want to learn more about terror management theory, check outThe Worm at the Coreby the originators of the theory (Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg and Tom Pyszczynski; 2015).

The study, Long live A(me)rica! An examination of the interplay between nationalistic-symbolic immortality striving and belief in life after death, was authored by Andy Scott, Jeff Schimel, and Michael Sharp.

Link:

New study sheds light on the interplay between belief in an afterlife and secular-symbolic avenues to immortality - PsyPost

People throughout history have sought the key to immortality. A multitude of paths and dead ends have been explored ranging from the possible to the fanciful. Some have looked for the fountain of youth, the Holy Grail or a secret potion while others have looked to science, surgery, and supplements to prolong life. Religions and worldviews have put forth competing beliefs about what happens to people after death and how to prepare for it. The quest for answers is strong and primal an eternal longing in our hearts, a yearning for a life that never ends.

The quest for immortality would not be relevant unless death was a common ailment of humanity. It is. All have contributed to sin which results in death for all. All will die and life will end even for the smart, wealthy, good, and famous. Every person needs to come to terms with this sobering fact and find the key to eternal life before the hearts last beat.

Jesus to the rescue

Jesus came to earth and talked about the key to the death problem. He talked about another Kingdom, one that was different than the Kingdom of this world; a Kingdom that would never end, a Kingdom where death, pain, and suffering were no more. He said that we must be born again in order to see and enter the Kingdom of God (John 3). Furthermore, death and resurrection were necessary to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

According to Jesus, the key to the death problem is resurrection from the dead. This poses another problem, how are we resurrected? Certainly we cannot resurrect ourselves. We simply dont have the power and skill to do it. We are utterly dependent upon someone with the power, wisdom, and authority to resurrect us.

Only God can resurrect a dead person. Sure, medical personnel can resuscitate people with assisted breathing and a jolt of electricity. But, only God can resurrect a life when the blood has stopped circulating for days, the organs no longer function, and the cells have turned to mush.

Jesus not only talked about the death problem but he solved the death problem. Jesus predicted that he must die and rise again to conquer death once and for all. He made good on his prediction and to the amazement of his followers, He physically rose from the dead never to die again. He showed himself alive to hundreds of witnesses after his death this was no fairy tale or figment of the imagination he walked, talked, and ate with them and let them touch him. He showed us that resurrection was possible.

All invited few enter

This possibility of resurrection to eternal life is available to all but only a few find it (Matthew 7:13-14). It is surprising that few find it despite widespread invitation and access to the truth. Those that know, believe, and place their faith in Jesus, are welcomed to heaven and those that do not, dont. Followers of Jesus can have full confidence that they have eternal life (1 John 5:11-13) and those that seek him will find him.

It is not necessary to search for the fountain of youth, the Holy Grail, or scientific discovery to overcome mortality these have never and will never work. Jesus proved that death could be conquered through the power of resurrection and was the first among many to take this path. Resurrection is the only mechanism by which death is defeated and eternal life is entered. Death does not have to have the final word or victory.

The good news is that God invites everyone to inherit eternal life through the power of resurrection. Jesus is the resurrection and eternal life and belief in him is the path to immortality. God desires everyone to receive eternal life and he spared no expense to pay for the gift of eternal life for all people. How will you respond to Gods invitation to eternal life?

Todd Pearsons, Ph.D., is a minister with Increase International Christian Church.

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Messages of Faith: Resurrection is the answer for immortality - Daily Record-News

published : 15 Apr 2021 at 04:00

Cautionary tales of the human pursuit of immortality -- be it animating a lifeless corpse or inventing new species -- have been passed down for generations. However, rarely does anyone recount the story of Chinese explorer Xu Fu, known as Seobok in Korean. In those days, Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang had ordered Xu Fu to sail east in search of the elixir of life. The legend has now inspired the new sci-fi action blockbuster Seobok, which features an all-star cast with over 250 million baht invested in its production.

In the movie, Ki Heon (Gong Yoo), an ex-intelligence agent who is terminally ill, is sent on a mission to protect and transport Seobok (Park Bo-gum), a genetically modified human clone who grows up two times faster and holds the secret to eternal life, to a safe place. However, they come under attack from those who want to lay hands on this specimen.

There are emotional scenes because Ki Heon quarrels with Seobok who sees the real world for the first time. Gong Yoo said the director told him to use Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise's relationship in Rain Man for reference. The trailer shows the coming of age of the 10-year-old human clone who leads a cloistered life in a laboratory where he is subject to experiments. He learns about the outside world through books. When he is with his guardian Ki Heon, he gets the chance to wear colourful clothes, eat instant noodles and meet real people.

"Living a life is beautiful," he says while looking at a field in sunlight.

Director Lee Yong-joo, the mastermind behind Living Death (2009) and Architecture 101 (2012), breaks new ground with two male protagonists. When he drafted the plot, Lee considered creating a female clone but he changed his mind because if there is a romantic relationship, it will be a clich. He believes that human cloning will happen very soon, but the only problem is its breach of ethics.

The film comes a decade after the dystopian predecessor Never Let Me Go (2010) explored the fate of Hailsham students who were cloned for organ harvest. It is an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's eponymous novel. His recent work Klara And The Sun also touches on the relationship between robots and humans.

Mongkol Cinema is the local distributor of Seobok. It had postponed the release date from Dec 30 last year. It was premiered in special rounds on Monday and will be on general release from today.

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Exploring immortality and the value of life - Bangkok Post - Bangkok Post