Category Archives: New Utopia

[WARNING: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for AMCs The Walking Dead: World Beyond Season 2 episode 10, The Last Light and Fear The Walking Dead Season 7 episode 8, Padre.]

First, we had walkers. Now, with World Beyonds last post-credits scene, it seems the Walking Dead franchise is giving us a new spin on the undead: Runners. And thats exactly what they do they dont walk, they run. Fast. More than that, they exhibit signs of having short-term memory, and they have decent strength, too. Uh-oh!

While this is the first time weve seen speedy zombies in the TWDU, it isnt necessarily the first time weve seen the undead as smart. Early in Season 1, walkers appeared to be capable of remembering and even had semi-advanced motor function; Morgans (Lennie James) zombified wife not only remembered where her family was, but she was also capable of climbing the stairs and turning the doorknob to get into the house. Terrifying? Sure. A sign of brain functioning or instinct beyond feeding? Almost certainly.

Steve Swisher/AMC

But as the show went on, whether due to walker decomposition or behind-the-scenes changes, those glimmers of walker intelligence faded. Zombies, for the most part, existed as a straightforward threat; they were slow, their only motivation was to feed, and they were easily killed with a bullet, knife, boot, tire or screwdriver to the head.

The French zombies are completely different. Were guessing their chief motivation is still to munch on the flesh of the living (they are zombies, after all), but theyre capable of memory (the French zombie remembered where her attacker left the room and started to break down the door), they reanimate horrifyingly quickly (the scientist was only down for a minute at most before getting up again as a walker), and theyre strong enough that their blows can dent steel. Let that sink in.

In that scene, we also get a few hints about how the outbreak started. Its implied that a group of French scientists called the Primrose team either created the walkers (which the graffiti on the wall, reading the dead were born here, supports), or they tried to cure them and ended up making everything worse, or both. Those scientists left for a conference in Toledo, Ohio, before the outbreak, and they never came back. Ohio is an interesting location for the franchise to choose, given that the Commonwealth is located there in the comics; on the show, however, its in West Virginia.

How the franchise uses these zombies and ideas remains to be seen, but there are several theoretical options. The first and most immediate would be to incorporate the zombies into The Walking Deads last 16 episodes as a new threat, but given that the Reapers havent yet been dealt with and the Commonwealth storyline is just taking off, introducing a new kind of zombie there would be tricky and might make the last season feel overstuffed.

The second option would be to fold this storyline into Fear The Walking Dead, which seems slightly likelier. We still dont know what Padre is or where it is, so its possible some of the scientists from the Primrose team made it there and are continuing to work on a cure. Maybe there are runners there or maybe there arent, but we do know the Primrose scientists were in the United States and presumably, if they survived, they continued their experiments. So, the potential for variants still existsand wouldnt it make Padre more interesting if its not the perfect utopia its rumored to be? Its also possible Alicias (Alycia Debnam-Carey) mysterious illness is tied to the variants somehow: If she was bitten by a regular walker, she really should be dead.

Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Other options are farther out and less certain. Depending where Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) go in their spinoff, they could run into these new walkers and wind up in a storyline that involves the scientists. Putting two original franchise characters in a scenario where walkers are scary again would make for interesting television, and it could definitely generate interest in the spinoffas of now, plot details have been kept under wraps. Theres also the possibility that these walkers or the scientists fuel an episode of Tales of the Walking Dead, although it would be a pity for them to show up only briefly in an anthology show.

The last, and maybe most likely, option would be for these runners to spice up the action in the Rick movies. We still dont have a release date for the first of the planned trilogy, but since this scene takes place overseas, its unlikely anyone without access to a helicopter is getting there. It would certainly keep Rick from his family if he was flown over to France and he then had to deal with fast, strong, smart zombies.

However theyre factored into the franchise, itll be intriguing to see how this bit of world-building expands the TWDU. Were looking forward to learning morebut if we were in the survivors shoes, wed definitely rather deal with good ol garden-variety walkers.

The Walking Dead, Returns February 20, AMC

Fear The Walking Dead, Returns April 17, AMC

Tales of the Walking Dead, Premieres Summer 2022, AMC

Untitled Daryl & Carol spinoff, Premieres 2023, AMC

Go here to read the rest:

How That World Beyond Post-Credits Scene Changes The Walking Dead Universe - TV Insider

A dozen people are riding in a dinghy atop the bumpy waves and deep waters of Darwin Bay, a caldera that took a mile-wide, circular bite out of Genovesa Island. The sea here is known as a hub for hammerhead sharks, and everyone aboard is eager to get a rare glimpse of the creatures.

This is the only moment of these trips when Im scared, deadpans Alex Cox, placing his hand on my shoulder for emphasis. Hes been a guide within his native Galpagos Islands for more than three decades, the last two of which have been with Quasar Expeditions. Though you know hes joking, a conspicuous note of trepidation sets in as you throw yourself over the side of the small craft into water which drops off precipitously straight to a depth of 250 meters from the rocky cliffs which encircle it.

Within moments, a massive, dark brown shape appears below with the telltale outline of the hammerhead. Its a nine-foot beauty of a beast, gently swaying side-to-side as it swims in the same direction I am, overtaking my pace with ease and returning to the darkness of the murky water as quickly as it had appeared.

Soon after this first viewing, a few groups of hammerheads, about a dozen in total, arrive, bestowing the snorkelers in the area with an utter, heart-pumping thrill as we encroach ever so slightly upon their turf (er, surf). After spending a few days with Cox, you realize hes always joking, but his one-liners are delivered with such a consistent monotone that youll miss them entirely if youre not clued into his mannerisms.

Cox is the head guide aboard Quasars M/V Evolution, a ship which runs several different Galpagos Islands cruises, including the seven-night voyage I embarked upon. The former Japanese fishing boat has been outfitted for luxurious exploration, sailing across the Galpagos with the style of a yacht crossed with the capabilities of an expedition vessel.

The ship is the ideal size for the region, as larger ones cant visit everywhere she can, due both to water conditions as well as restrictions on the number of tourists which can visit certain areas. Any smaller, though, and youre on a boat more akin to a private charter, which is that much more susceptible to choppy waters and likely doesnt have any outdoor spaces in which to congregate and enjoy the passing scenery passing.

With a maximum of 32 passengers in 16 staterooms, the Evolution is divvied up into three smaller groups on board shout out to my fellow Dolphins which are easily manageable for activities (again here, a larger ship could prove more cumbersome). Nearly 200 feet in length, the M/V Evolution sports four decks, with indoor and al fresco dining areas, multiple lounges and a full allotment of gear.

If the rhythms of a safari are game drives and sundowner cocktails, aboard the M/V Evolution, its daily snorkeling trips sandwiched between shore excursions such as hikes and nature walks. After a casual hammerhead sighting, for instance, you hop aboard to eat a loaded lunch and enjoy some leisure time before heading back to land, viewing another sensational sunset, and preparing for an evening lineup including a nightly seminar, a multi-course dinner and a bar which keeps on serving until youre ready to call it quits. As a word to the wise, with 6:45 a.m. wake-up calls for that first excursion of the day, youd be well served to display at least a bit of discretion with your nightcaps.

With multiple daily activities across a week of Galpagos sailing, the itinerary is stacked with an abundance of splendor and adventure. The week goes by in a flash, yet each day is so jam packed as to feel more like two or three in one.

The M/V Evolution

Jake Emen

All it takes is your very first step off one of the dinghies which ferry you from the ship to the shore to understand how unique the Galpagos Islands truly are. After sailing past the impressive Kicker Rock formation during our first day of the trip, we land upon the powdery white sand beaches of San Cristobal Islands Cerro Brujo, where a tiny sea lion pup perhaps two weeks of age serves as our welcome committee. You have two days to stop calling them seals, says Hernn Olaya, another of the guides aboard the ship. After that, you have to buy me a drink. Its a good thing Hernn doesnt drink, then, because few of us were able to succeed against the gauntlet he threw down.

When youre able to pry your gaze away from the outrageously adorable sea lions, you notice that the sand in front of you is crisscrossed with iguana tracks and there are dive-bombing boobies splashing into the sea in search of a meal. Bright red Sally Lightfoot crabs skitter across black volcanic rock, and in every direction, the more you look, the more you see, the colors, animals and scenery swimming all around you in vivid detail.

In the Galpagos, the landscapes are just as diverse and captivating as the wildlife. Black sand beaches and lava flow formations juxtapose with turquoise waters and end-of-the-earth vibes evocative of Iceland. But instead of geothermal spas and waterfalls, there are sea lions, boobies and species of flora youd swear were extraterrestrial if you were anywhere but here. Candelabra cacti somehow sprout from the rocks while bright yellow and orange land iguanas munch on their paddles. Deep red sesuvium bushes stretch to the horizon. But a stones throw away on the same island, you may find something entirely different, each little nook and cranny seemingly presenting its own distinctive ecosystem. You can see why Charles Darwin dug the place when he arrived there in 1835.

The animals capture more of your attention than the environs, of course. Like the huge sea turtles you snorkel with, and the even more massive giant sea tortoises you come across on land. Where, off in a green pasture on Santa Cruz Island, youll spot a scattering of them alongside cattle and goats, sitting in the grass looking as perfectly at home as anything else. The dolphins which may swim aside the ship as you sail from one landing to another, and the Manta rays which jump and spin out of the water in the distance. The land iguanas and marine iguanas, the many sharks, the penguins and flamingos, the sea lions and fur seals and parrot fish the list goes on.

On another afternoon, we stop at Santa Fe Island and experience what has to be one of the ultra youre-in-the-Galpagos moments. Within minutes of boarding a dinghy toward the shore, we spot a huge school of beautiful spotted eagle rays, and besides them, two dozen whitetip reef sharks. On shore, theres a large colony of sea lions, and a sea lion pup whos but a few days old paddles over to say hello.

This is like paradise, someone nearby says, as we take in the clear blue waters in the little bay, with such a wide assortment of wildlife on hand as to seem like a little Galpagos playground was built to put on a show for visitors. Theres something new in every direction, and after leaving the beach, we hop into kayaks for a different perspective on the same scene.

Now the sea lions begin tugging at the ropes which are used to tie the kayaks together for storage, and sometimes one or two of them take the reins and drag your kayak, while at other times, they let you do the manual labor as they hang on and get towed behind. Youre not supposed to let them grab the rope, but you can hardly stop them. The super playful sea lions are truly the dogs of the sea.

Even better is when you witness their zest for playtime by getting in the water with them. If swimming with hammerheads imbues you with respect for their power and presence, playing around with sea lions inspires awe and joy. We got the opportunity at Champion Rock, where time after time, a sea lion would make eye contact and seemingly encourage you to interact and mess around with them. You look deep into their big, reflective eyes and come to a cross-species understanding of sorts. Wanna play? The young pups seem to ask, hoping you take them up on their offer.

Then off they go, darting and twisting and turning and diving into the water with you. Take a deep breath and swim beneath the surface and theyll follow, circling around you and coming in for a closer look. Forced to waddle and flop and plod along when on shore, in the water theyre swift and acrobatic. The pups will play endlessly, while the big males, known as beachmasters, guard the area from would-be interlopers who could attack the pups or run off with one of the females in his harem. So when you hear one of the big boys honk, HONK, HONKing nearby, thats a pretty good cue that recess is over, at least for now, and you should give the crew some more space. Being in their environment, as if a guest in their home with their family, one mammal to another, is a phenomenal, wondrous experience.

And we havent even gotten to the boobies yet. Boobies are ubiquitous in the Galpagos, with the almost neon-tinged blue-footed boobies generally receiving the most attention. These doofy little characters booby comes from bobo in Spanish, which means clumsy or stupid are indeed a sight to behold. Their cousins the red-footed boobies are even more eye-catching, managing to display some elegance thanks to beaks painted a pastel blue and gazes which are more intelligent seeming and less clownish. Then there are the Nazca or masked boobies, suited up with an application of fierce eye black.

Back ashore on Genovesa Island, where we encountered the hammerheads in the water, all of the boobies were gathered together by the thousands, along with swallow-tailed gulls, frigatebirds, yellow warblers, short-eared owls, and more, an endless avian utopia. Youre treading on the same ground Darwin trod, in his very own eponymous bay. The spectrum of divergent flora and fauna is staggering; if evolution didnt hit him in the face here, it just wasnt going to happen.

The beaches arent half bad, either

Jake Emen

Youd be remiss if you went to the Galpagos and didnt also explore some of what mainland Ecuador has to offer, whether its cloud forests or its slice of the Amazon Rainforest. Certainly, the capital city of Quito, one of the oldest Spanish cities in the Americas, deserves your attention as well.

Dating to 1534 when it was formally founded as San Francisco de Quito, the historic old quarter is so well preserved and rich with cultural attractions, from resplendent churches to ancient convents and original plazas, that it was one of the first places to be declared a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.

Stay right in the heart of it all at Casa Gangotena, a swanky outpost that was originally a single family mansion. The property is the only Relais & Chteaux hotel in Quito, and it retains much of that original, classical character as a private home, with gilded and ornate dcor and stylings, extra-tall ceilings and a grand lobby with a spiral staircase.

The hotel looks down upon the Plaza de San Francisco, and all of the citys main sites are within a short walk, which is mercifully convenient at over 9,000 feet in elevation, long walks may not be high on your activity list. Quito is not only the second-highest capital city in the world, but also the closest to the equator; ecuador means equator in Spanish, after all.

Whether you earned it with a long walk or not, back at Casa Gangotena you can indulge with an elaborate tasting menu dinner. The hotel is known for its dining program, where it showcases modern techniques and inventive new riffs mixed with traditional Ecuadorian flavors and staple dishes.

Its the allure of the Galpagos and the majesty of its surroundings, the legendary stories and historical pull of Darwin or Charlie D, as Hernn enjoys referring to him that likely brought you to Ecuador, though, and it might just leave you coming back for more.

Galpagos always surprises us, says Adriana, the third guide aboard our weeklong home away from home, the M/V Evolution. And if thats coming from a seasoned expert, then no matter how prepared you are or how much you read up on the trip beforehand, the vastness and diversity of the Galpagos biome will no doubt surprise you, too, and in the best way possible.

For more travel news, tips and inspo, sign up for InsideHook's weekly travel newsletter, The Journey.

View original post here:

Nearly 200 Years After Darwin, The Galpagos Remain One of the Wildest Vacations on Earth - InsideHook

As Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner prepare for the imminent birth of their second child, Scott is lawyering up for his massive Astroland Festive lawsuit battle with some major muscle from former Donald Trump and Harvey Weinstein legal teams. It also appears his highly anticipated new album, Utopia, is on permanent pause.

Travis Scotts highly anticipated, Utopia, was just removed from his Instagram bio, according to internet sleuths.

The album has been in the works for almost 2 years and fans have been waiting patiently. The album push was fully underway, with 2 new singles dropped recently, Escape Plan and Mafia. It appears Scott is battening down the hatches as he prepares for the long legal battle ahead.

Travis Scott and Live Nation have been hit with over 250 lawsuits for over $2 Billion and are hiring lawyers from the top law firms in the country.

Scott has turned to Daniel Petrocelli, the head of litigation at OMelveny & Myers LLP, a Los Angeles-based firm with one of the top entertainment practices in the country to help his case. Petrocelli has represented Donald Trump and Harvey Weinstein in the past.

This weekend will mark just one month since Travis Scotts deadly Astroworld Festival tragedy where 10 people lost their lives and over 300 people were injured. The streaming platform, Hulu, began advertising a documentary on it and immediately received blowback from infuriated fans saying its too soon. The streaming giant abruptly removed the ads for the doc after the social media uproar.

Here is the original post:

As Travis Scott Awaits The Birth of Kylie Jenner Baby #2, Hes Assembling A Powerful Legal Squad And Has ... - SOHH

Fresh out of the barbers chair from the Dominican shop around the corner, Wiki moseys down Forsyth Street on a weekday afternoon in Chinatown. Rocking an orange Avirex jacket, its easy to spot him from a block away. To many born and raised in the five boroughs, the jacket brings back memories of mid-2000s Jim Jones DVD shoots, days in the city that are gone but not forgotten. Wiki is proud of it. This is not a nostalgic New York costume to me, says the 28-year-old. I come from that era of Dipset. I know the history.

Born Patrick Morales, Wiki was raised in the Upper West Side, but Lower Manhattan is where he roamed free. As a latchkey teenager, he rode the 1 train south on Broadway and kicked it downtown, wasting hours walking from Greenwich Village to Soho to the Lower East Side to Chinatown before heading back home. For years now, the unofficial border between Chinatown and the Lower East Side has been Wikis home base, even as the area has undergone extreme gentrification. On weekends, specifically, it turns into a playground for transplants, usually college students or twentysomethings, to get piss-drunk and scream up and down the sidewalks. Shit gets me hot, he says as he pulls out a grinder outside of Spicy Village. But I cant leave. Someone needs to be there. Not to regulate or anything, but just to keep a piece of real New York there. The pockets still exist, but theyre getting smaller and smaller.

This past October, Wiki put out Half God, produced entirely by Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn-based Navy Blue. Its his best solo album to date. Over Navys wide array of beats, which range from loops smokier than a barbeque pit to head-boppers perfect for frozen subway rides, Wiki narrates coming-of-age stories of living in a city that means everything to him but is constantly scrubbing away its past. This theme of erasure isnt always overt. Sometimes, its happening in the background, and other times hes addressing it head-on. You got it twisted, this aint yours just cause this is where you buy/You the gentrifier, terrorizer, not the terrorized, he raps on The Business, sounding like hes at a breaking point. The song is directed at a generation of out-of-towners who badly want to claim New York culture but dont want that culture to interfere with their utopia.

For Wiki, Half God marks a restart. He was once the teenage phenom frontman of Ratking, a trio that cemented a legacy in the city behind their DIY shows and the 2014 album So It Goes. That impact was both good and bad. The good: Who wouldnt want to be a part of a significant hip-hop crew in underground New York rap lore? The bad: Every solid solo tape he has released since 2015s Lil Me had to compete with Ratking nostalgia.

Next, Wiki had to overcome a personal rut. Ive been in the game 10 years. It starts to feel like a job, he says. I was feeling stagnant, in a relationship and in my music, and I was drinking a lot. During the pandemic, he began to piece together Half God with Navy Blue. He was like, I want to produce your record, this is your story, Wiki recalls. The process was reinvigorating. Through a smile big enough that I can see the golds in his mouth, he remembers drinking non-alcoholic Heinekens at L.A. sessions with Navy, Earl Sweatshirt, and the Alchemist that left him particularly inspired. It meant a lot to me to be around my peers, and they were showing so much love.

Half God is a Wiki albumnot a Wiki, formerly of Ratking, album. Theres no twist to it; just inspired raps over beats that provide the perfect canvas for them. Its intimacy and detail expand outward so that nearly any native New Yorker could identify with many of the anecdotes: the homey feeling of posting up on your block; the simple pleasure of the go-to sandwich at your favorite corner store; the rush of catching feelings amid a bustling city of more than 8 million and suddenly feeling like theres only one other person who matters.

Its great hip-hop, and thats more than enough. Im sometimes around indie producers, and theyre like, You dont have to prove yourself as a rapper anymore, but what they dont get is that every time I rap, Im proving myself, says Wiki. It doesnt need to be more complex, it doesnt need to be a mix of genres or experimental just for the sake of it. Dont belittle my craft. I can expand within it without sacrificing one bar.

From Forsyth Street, Wiki leads me east to a bench surrounded by plants in Seward Park, where he sometimes sits in the mornings with a coffee to write. In this spot, you can watch longtime residents and new neighborhood invaders exist without acknowledging each other. Just outside the park, the newcomers, in their Instagram-ready outfits, drift in and out of the hip coffee shops and restaurants. Inside the park, local teenagers run pickup basketball games, and older women gather around a table to play mahjong. Its the perfect scene for a Wiki song.

More here:

Live From Wikis New York, With Love - Pitchfork

This article was originally published by Hakai Magazine.

Theres a long-standing conundrum in ecology called the paradox of the plankton. Famously articulated by ecologist George Evelyn Hutchinson in 1961, the paradox explores how odd it is that there are thousands of species of phytoplankton in the upper reaches of the ocean. The top few meters of water are basically a well-mixed soup, meaning all of these species of phytoplankton are relying on the same nutrients. The theory of competitive exclusion says that one of these species ought to be a little stronger, and should out-compete the rest. But none has. Why?

Hutchinson published the paradox at the height of the Cold War, when the air was thick with debates over the values of competition and the sharing of resources. Ecological thinking was itself dominated by the idea that competition drives some species to thrive and others to go extinct. But Hutchinson saw this way of thinking as an oversimplification, and he held up phytoplankton as an example of how there must be additional forces shaping biodiversity.

Over the past few decades, ecologists have suggested many explanations for why multiple phytoplankton species persist, including the effects of rapid environmental shifts, the existence of species codependencies, the uneven distributions of phytoplankton species, and the fact that some phytoplankton release toxins that may give them an edge over the competition. But a new study by Oregon State University ecologist Michael Behrenfeld and his colleagues seeks to solve the dilemma by taking a different perspective: the planktons.

Read: A slimy calamity is creeping across the sea

Phytoplankton are so small, and the distances between them so vastfrom their perspectivethat its likely phytoplankton arent competing at all, says Behrenfeld. If you imagine that a phytoplankton is roughly the size of a trees root ball, he says, the next nearest phytoplankton would be kilometers away.

A phytoplanktons small size also means that it experiences water as a thick substance, perhaps akin to how honey feels to us. When an individual phytoplankton moves, a layer of water called the boundary layer moves with it. This means that phytoplankton spend most of their time firmly separated from one another.

When you think of it that way, its like, well, how can phytoplankton that are that physically distant actually directly compete with each other? Behrenfeld says.

Inspired by this insight, Behrenfeld decided to model phytoplankton biodiversity using an approach called neutral theory. Rather than modeling the ecosystem dynamics as competition-fueled, this framework says that a community loses species when, by chance, too many members die at the same time, and gains species when they immigrate or when genetic mutations create them anew.

For about a thimbleful of water, neutral theory worked greatthe number of species Behrenfelds model predicted to be present was about what scientists have observed in at-sea surveys. But when he scaled the model up to represent a larger body of water, a crack began to form.

We have to remember that the water is being mixed continuously, Behrenfeld says. In a world dictated by neutral theory, phytoplankton would have to die at an unreasonable rate to make room for all of the new plankton coming in from other parts of the ocean. Instead of explaining why there is more than one phytoplankton species, Behrenfelds neutral-theory-based model predicted that there should actually be an astronomical number of phytoplankton species.

Read: A troubling discovery in the deepest ocean trenches

So Behrenfeld and his colleagues considered other forces that could limit the number of plankton species even in a competition-free utopia, such as how attractive phytoplankton are to predators, how fast they reproduce, and how asexual reproduction affects genetic variation within a species. Their work paid offadding these elements to their model gave them close to the same number of species that scientists have observed in the ocean.

Nick Record, a computational ecologist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Maine, says Behrenfelds results highlight how the oceans constant churning forces scientists to come up with new ways of thinking about relationships between species. Marine systems are really different from those on land, he says. And they behave in these really different ways.

Yet Record has a different take on the paradox of the plankton. Its not really a paradox to be solved, Record says. Its part of a narrative.

Rather than assuming that some solutions are right while others are wrong, Record thinks that all proposed solutions to the paradox point to a bigger truth about marine ecosystemsthat they are complex enough that ecologists may never find a one-size-fits-all model to describe how they function.

Perhaps the next 60 years will see just as many proposed solutions to the paradox as the last. And maybe thats exactly how it should be when it comes to a good paradox.

Follow this link:

How Can the Ocean Have This Many Types of Plankton? - The Atlantic

In October, the Eagleswood Land Use Board approved two projects that will make the small town a destination for weddings, dining and entertainment.

The Farm on Main is a 20-acre utopia of nuptial celebration, hidden in plain sight at 450 Main St. (Route 9). The property is owned by Tom and Jessica Scangarello of Surf City-based Bay Avenue Plant Co. They are working with select local vendors to offer wedding events awash in rustic elegance and luxury.

According to the resolution prepared by Land Use Board attorney Terry Brady and certified by secretary Kathleen Wells, the applicants had previously received approval for a single-family dwelling use, a horse barn and grazing area, five greenhouses, a detached garage, a farm equipment storage area, and an event venue building with a pond and dock. They returned for approval to include an event tent, to be used between April 2022 and March 2023, while the previously approved event venue building is being constructed, with continued use of the tent on an occasional basis.

Along with their planner, Tom Scangarello Sr., they testified to the design and purposes of the proposed temporary tent, which will be dismantled after each event. Portable restrooms and handicap access will be provided.

Just up the road, Hollow Pines is the new restaurant that will replace Sleepy Hollow at 475 Main St. On behalf of the Tide Table Group partners, Melanie Magaziner and William Mehl gave testimony, seeking approval to construct a two-story addition to the existing development at the site.

According to the resolution, the addition measures 3,900 square feet on the first floor and 1,375 square feet on the second floor, with 49 new parking spaces, a fire suppression water tank, and a new outdoor seating and dining area associated with an outdoor bar.

Variances and waivers were requested for sign setback, parking spaces (98 are proposed where 209 are required), interior lot curbing and surfacing, and an Environmental Impact Statement.

Mehl and Magaziner, along with engineer Robert Sive, environmental consultant Chris Dolphin and architect Sean McGovern, testified that the originally proposed stage area is being eliminated, thus removing the use variance aspect of the application; and that the water tank height will be reduced to meet the townships height limitations, thus removing the bulk variance aspect.

The proposed restaurant/bar/game (e.g., duck pin bowling) operation will have no more than 20 employees onsite at any one time. The second floor will not have any restaurant tables, but rather will be used for the games. Shade trees along Route 9 will be located inside the right-of-way and curbs and sidewalks will be installed along Route 9. A design waiver is requested for curbs in the interior parking area, which will be gravel with wheel stops for designating parking spaces.

A shuttle for pick-up and drop-off of patrons will be provided to assure safe travel. The applicant has applied for a jurisdictional determination letter from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection regarding the applicability of CAFRA regulations, based upon the number of parking spaces existing and to be added. The lighting will be on (shielded from residences) from dusk until one hour past closing, which will be 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. The applicant will utilize the existing front sign in its present location. The lots will be consolidated to reflect one single tract and use.

Victoria Ford

victoria@thesandpaper.net

Read more:

Farm on Main, Hollow Pines Green-Lighted in Eagleswood - The SandPaper

Miguel OHara made his comic book debut in a preview backup in Amazing Spider-Man #365 in 1992, followed shortly after by Spider-Man 2099 #1. He was created by Peter David and Rick Leonardi and was the beginning of the Marvel 2099 line of comics.

In the initial comics, records of the Marvel Universes present were rare and mostly missing. The gist of it was that some big civil war happened, the age of superheroes ended, society collapsed, society cleaned itself up, and thenthe future! While superheroes were a thing of the past, 2099s society worshiped Thor as a religious figure, with many believing he would one way make his big return and save them all.

Miguel was a scientist working for a corrupt corporation called Alchemax, located in Nueva York. They were so corrupt that his boss got him hooked on a highly-addictive drug that only they had legal access to just to keep him from quitting. Miguel was already messing with genetics in a failed attempt to recreate the accident that caused Peter Parker to become Spider-Man, so he figured hed just rewrite his addicted biology with a DNA backup of who he used to be. Due to sabotage, Miguels DNA was merged with spider DNA and he grew talons, fangs, and so on.

During his origin, Miguel ran into what was essentially a cross between a Thor cosplayer and a street prophet, who believed Miguel to be the second coming of Spider-Man. This stranger saw this as a major development, as it was the beginning of a foretold new age of heroes. Heroes from the past would be reintroduced, leading to the prophesied return of Thor!

He wasnt wrong. Over time, there was a Fantastic Four 2099, Hulk 2099, Ghost Rider 2099, Doom 2099 (who became President of the United States!), Punisher 2099 (age 36caliber!), X-Men 2099, Moon Knight 2099, and so on! When Thor did seemingly return, it was just a guy given Thors powers and brainwashed to believe himself to be the real deal.

46 issues of Spider-Man 2099 later, the 2099 imprints existence initially came to an end. In 2099: Manifest Destiny, Spider-Man 2099 begets Thors return was revealed to mean that Miguel was worthy to lift Mjolnir. Using the hammer to slow his aging, Miguel spent the next thousand years creating a galactic utopia, bringing a fitting end to his story arc.

Follow this link:

Across the Spider-Verse: Who is Spider-Man 2099 and How Does He Fit In? - Den of Geek

In one tweet Jack was gone.Twitters chief executive Jack Dorsey resigned abruptly on 29 November, after months of pressure from investors who objected to his part-time approach to leading the social media company he founded.

His replacement, 37-year-old Parag Agrawal, the companys former chief technology officer, got straight to making changes. Overnight Twitter announced a new anti-doxxing policy, designed to remove unauthorised images of people.

Doxxing, the practice of revealing personal information such as address, phone number or bank details about a targeted individual was already banned, as were abusive messages and threats. Now the unauthorised posting of peoples photographs, with or without abuse, can lead to a users account being suspended and the material removed.

The American right, already outraged over Twitters permanent ban on Donald Trump early this year for inciting violence, is furious about the new measure. Anti-fascists also complained that accounts dedicated to tracking far-right extremists were immediately suspended.

But the move has a wider significance. Agrawal has made a more fundamental admission that could change the way all social media is regulated. If you read the new rules for posting content on Twitter, it is now beyond reasonable doubt that the company is a publisher with an editorial policy.

Sign up for The New Statesmans newsletters Tick the boxes of the newsletters you would like to receive. Morning Call Quick and essential guide to domestic and global politics from the New Statesman's politics team. World Review The New Statesmans global affairs newsletter, every Monday and Friday. The New Statesman Daily The best of the New Statesman, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Green Times A weekly round-up of The New Statesman's climate, environment and sustainability content. This Week in Business A handy, three-minute glance at the week ahead in companies, markets, regulation and investment, landing in your inbox every Monday morning. The Culture Edit Our weekly culture newsletter from books and art to pop culture and memes sent every Friday. Weekly Highlights A weekly round-up of some of the best articles featured in the most recent issue of the New Statesman, sent each Saturday. From the archive A weekly dig into the New Statesmans archive of over 100 years of stellar and influential journalism, sent each Wednesday. Events and Offers Sign up to receive information regarding NS events, subscription offers & product updates.

It reserves the right to remove pictures of people. But if the pictures are of a public figure, or if they are of an ordinary person shared in the public interest or add value to public discourse they are exempt from removal. Likewise, if an image is already being used in the mainstream media, it could be exempt.

Who decides? Agrawal and his techbro employees in California. Based on what criteria? Twitters new policy says the misuse of photographs has a disproportionate effect on women, activists, dissidents, and members of minority communities. These are tough decisions to make, as every newspaper, magazine and TV news editor knows. But done right, they will make Twitter a more tolerable place for users, and presumably a more attractive space for advertisers.

[see also: Twitter could be better off without Jack Dorsey]

Agrawal signalled his desire for a tougher editorial policy last year: Our role is not to be bound by the First Amendment [which protects freedom of speech], but our role is to serve a healthy public conversation he told MITs Technology Review.

In addition to banning Trump, Twitter imposed during the 2020 US election an extra step in the process of retweeting someone elses content, which asked people to read before retweeting. It also routinely identifies alt media sites such as RT and Redfish as Russia state-affiliated media. The libertarian utopia of a global free-speech platform that Dorsey designed in 2006 is gone forever, destroyed by trolls, bots, governments and, arguably, by human nature. I do not lament its passing.

When I first joined Twitter in 2009, having been inspired by the Iranian democracy uprising, it was a liberating experience. We were at the height of horizontalist activism, of swarming, of ad-hoc alliances seeking the truth.

During the Libyan uprising of 2011, for example, activists would post requests for information on the weapons used against them by Gaddafis military, and within minutes expert voices from around the world would post details of weapons, calibres, suppliers and ranges.

Twitter and Facebook were such powerful tools for social justice movements that back then it seemed impossible that they would ever become weapons in the hands of dictators and oligarchs. The first attempts of the powerful to suppress social media failed. Egypts Hosni Mubarak tried to switch off Facebook, but was still overthrown. Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erdoan, too, suppressed it repeatedly, but the activists found work-arounds.

It was only around 2013-14, after the Euromaidan protests in Ukraine and the suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, that elites around the world understood: the only way to take down a free information network is to fill it with noise. This noise proliferated in the form of troll farms, doxxing, hate speech, bots (fake accounts generated by artificial intelligence) and disinformation.

The algorithms of the social media giants did the rest. Report after report shows that Twitter, Facebook and YouTube deployed algorithms that rewarded outrage, hate and prejudice. Facebook has buried negative internal reports about its content. It still makes billions of dollars.

In the brief history of the contaminated social media contaminated by far-right activist groups, disinformation networks and states what were once dubbed networks of outrage and hope became the means of imposing despondency and despair.

When Facebook tested its own algorithm in India this year, by setting up a fake test user that simply followed recommendations generated by Facebook itself, the account was quickly swamped in anear constantbarrage of polarising nationalist content, misinformation, and violence and gore. The project manager reported: Ive seen more images of dead people in the past three weeks than Ive seen in my entire life total.

The solution has been staring us in the face for years. It is to regulate the social media platforms in the way we regulate newspapers, radio channels, movies and TV.

The tech giants argument was that they were only platforms for content generated by third parties. This was never true. Each of the platforms deploys decision-making algorithms that determine what content is prioritised, and its been repeatedly shown that the algorithms themselves are flawed.

Twitter, for example, admitted that its algorithm was automatically cropping photos of people in a racially biased way, and that it was amplifying right-wing politicians and media outlets more than left-wing ones. How and why it does so is complex a result of the way right-wing people use Twitter, the language of right-wing politics and probably flaws in the algorithm itself, reflecting the assumptions (and negligence) of the people who designed it.

The problem is further complicated by the fact that Twitter, like all social media companies, allows the algorithm to redesign itself using machine learning. Ultimately, it can take decisions no human being has mandated.

Regulators, with those in Europe taking the lead, have up to now focused on forcing the tech giants to publish details of the algorithms they use, and to conduct risk assessments of the content they are disseminating.

But its time to do more. Both in the UK and the European Union there is no First Amendment right to disseminate hate speech and incitement. That is why newspapers self-regulate and the government regulates both broadcast and film content.

Hence, if the Daily Mail publishes an article about refugees that generates an avalanche of racist abuse, it will often close its comments section rather than waste time policing the abusive content. And if the BBC finds itself with video of an atrocity, or a crime, or a moment of death, its own rules usually require it not to publish.

We can debate where the line should be drawn. But in a civilised society it will always be drawn through a debate between journalists, politicians, consumers and lawyers. In the rules-free world of social media, it is being drawn arbitrarily, reluctantly, by unaccountable executives according to principles that remain opaque.

Britains forthcoming Online Harms White Paper takes a light-touch approach, designating Ofcom as the social media regulator but requiring companies merely to introduce procedures and risk assessments to prevent harm. But it maintains the fiction that there is a distinction between platforms serving third party content and media organisations that publish content they have created.

Once you understand what algorithms do, the fiction evaporates. The algorithms currently deployed create a toxic user experience, amplify hate and prejudice, and make decisions beyond human control. Any corporation using such algorithms, especially where there is no transparency and no public change log, should be designated as content producers.

The executives at Facebook and Google know this moment is coming, which is why theyre making so many concessions and apologies. Jack Dorsey, in his own way, was one of the last believers in the fiction of the neutral platform protected by Americas First Amendment.

Now Dorsey is gone, Twitter needs to get real. It is surely one of the biggest purveyors of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia and sheer toxicity in history. It could shed millions of fake accounts tomorrow. It could publish its algorithms. It could require all users to have real identities, even while some might legitimately maintain pseudonyms.

It could, in short, mature into the kind of platform that helps maintain democracy, civility and truth. Instead, it is one weaponised to destroy them.

[see also: What the Online Safety Bill means for social media]

Read the original here:

It is time to regulate Twitter and other social media platforms as publishers - The New Statesman

Are You Ready To Seek Your Fortune?

Seek your fortune and leave your mark on the map in the UNCHARTED: Legacy of Thieves Collection. Uncover the thrilling cinematic storytelling and the largest blockbuster action set pieces in the UNCHARTED franchise, packed with all the wit, cunning, and over the top moments of the beloved thieves Nathan Drake and Chloe Frazer.

In an experience delivered by award winning developer Naughty Dog can, the UNCHARTED: Legacy of Thieves Collection includes the two critically-acclaimed, globe-trotting single player adventures from UNCHARTED 4: A Thiefs End and UNCHARTED: The Lost Legacy. Each story is filled with laughs, drama, high octane combat, and a sense of wonder remastered to be even more immersive.

UNCHARTED 4: A Thiefs End

Winner of over 150 Game of the Year awards.

Several years after his last adventure, retired fortune hunter Nathan Drake, is forced back into the world of thieves. Fate comes calling when Sam, Drakes presumed dead brother, resurfaces seeking his help to save his own life and offering an adventure Drake cant resist. Drakes greatest adventure will test his physical limits, his resolve, and ultimately what hes willing to sacrifice to save the ones he loves.

On the hunt for Captain Henry Averys long-lost treasure, Sam and Drake set off to find Libertalia, the pirate utopia deep in the forests of Madagascar leading to a journey around the globe through jungle isles, far-flung cities, and snow capped peaks on the search for Averys fortune.

A globe-trotting adventure with the largest and most detailed environments in the UNCHARTED franchise

A more personal story for Nathan Drake, raising the stakes for the award-winning storytelling of Naughty Dog.

Fluid combat and traversal with the use of the grapple hook creates even more dynamic and thrilling action set pieces.

UNCHARTED: The Lost Legacy

In order to recover an ancient artifact and keep it out of the hands of a ruthless warmonger, Chloe Frazer must enlist the aid of renowned mercenary Nadine Ross and venture to Indias Western Ghats to locate the Golden Tusk of Ganesh. In Chloes greatest journey yet, she must confront her past and decide what shes willing to sacrifice to forge her own legacy.

An all-new setting for adventure in the south western coast of the Indian peninsula, featuring an exotic mix of urban, jungle, and ancient ruins environments.

The action-packed set pieces and captivating narrative that fans have come to expect from Naughty Dog and the UNCHARTED series.

Builds on the acclaimed UNCHARTED franchise gameplay with updated systems and refinements, including cinematic combat, exploration, and traversal of jaw-dropping environments, complex puzzles and more.

See the rest here:

Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection Steam Page Now Live - MP1st

|

Dear readers, it's Friday night, and as promised in the sacred covenant between Bleeding Cool and you, we bring you Friday Night Previews, a marathon of previews of all the DC and Marvel comics coming out next week that screams: "Jude Terror will have to write fewer articles during the week thanks to this." A clickbait headline here, a snarky SEO-keyword-rich sentence or two there, and these previews are ready for your reading pleasure. World of Krypton #1 is in stores from DC Comics on Tuesday and we've got a preview below, though we're not sure why you'd want to read it when you're currently living it.

WORLD OF KRYPTON #1 (OF 6)DC Comics1021DC0391021DC040 WORLD OF KRYPTON #1 (OF 6) CVR B A DAMICO CARD STOCK VAR $4.99(W) Robert Venditti (A) Michael Avon Oeming (CA) Mico SuayanA modern telling of one of the most storied periods in comics! Krypton is a utopia admired across the universe for its achievements in science and culture, but its shining towers and regal people conceal a planet rotting at its core. When a catastrophic event befalls Krypton's natural world, it points toward a mass extinction in the making. Jor-El, head of Krypton's revered Science Council, embarks on a mission to save a world that may already have passed the point of no return. Shining new light on the famous characters of Krypton's pastincluding Jor-El, General Dru-Zod, and even a young Kara Zor-ElWorld of Krypton combines action, cosmic wonder, and political intrigue in a story as much about our world as the one on the page.In Shops: 12/7/2021SRP: $3.99

Click here to read more previews of upcoming Marvel and DC comics. Solicit information and cover images taken from PreviewsWorld for Marvel Comics and from Lunar Distribution for DC Comics. New Marvel Comics are released to comic book stores each Wednesday and DC Comics on Tuesdays. Books are available the same day on digital services like ComiXology and the Marvel and DC digital comics stores. Locate a comic shop near you with the Comic Shop Locator.

More here:

World of Krypton #1 Preview: Now They've Gone Too Far - Bleeding Cool News