James Dean, dead 64 years, will be resurrected via technology to star in new movie – USA TODAY

A cherry-red nylon jacket worn by James Dean in the 1955 film Rebel Without A Cause is going up for auction in Florida on March 3. (Feb. 27) AP

Cool or creepy? AHollywood film company plans to resurrect iconic actor James Dean, killed in a car wreck in 1955, and "cast" him in a new movie via special effects technology.

Magic City Films announced Wednesday it has obtained the rights from Dean's family to cast him posthumously in a secondary lead role in a Vietnam-era action drama"Finding Jack."

It's the first time Dean's family has ever agreed to this, now that digital technology has improved enough to make it practical and possible, according to Mark Roesler, head of CMG Worldwide, a licensing company that represents the family.

The movie, based on a novel of the same name by Gareth Crocker, will tell thetrue story about the abandonment of thousands of canine units as "surplus military equipment" after the end of the Vietnam War,and the adventure that ensues when a smitten soldier refuses to leave his best friend behind, according to IMDb.

James Dean and Natalie Wood in 1955's "Rebel Without a Cause."(Photo: WARNER BROS.)

Casting of live actors (and presumably dogs) for the film is underway, according to a news releasefrom public relations company Falco Ink.

Dean, born in Indiana in 1931, lived fast, died young (he was 24), and made a big impression in Hollywood with only three film roles as troubled and surly youths: "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955), "East of Eden" (1955)and "Giant" (released in 1956 after his death).

These films, and his messy death Dean collided with a farm truck while driving his new Porsche 550 Spyder to Salinas, California, for a car race branded him forever as an icon of teenalienation. Many baby boomers still swoon over Dean.

The film's producer, Anton Ernst, noted in a statement that Dean's family considers "Finding Jack" to be Dean's fourth film role.

We searched high and low for the perfect character to portray the role of Rogan, which has some extreme complex character arcs, and after months of research, we decided on James Dean," Ernst says. "We feel very honored that his family supports us and will take every precaution to ensure that his legacy as one of the most epic film stars to date is kept firmly intact.

"The family views this as his fourth movie, a movie he never got to make. We do not intend to let his fans down.

James Dean, seen in an undated picture on the set of "Giant."(Photo: WARNER BROS.)

On Instagram, Dean has more than 183,000 followers "who actively engage with the account," says Roesler, whose firm has handled the Dean intellectual property rights for his family for 38 years. He sayspeople around the world continue to be inspired by "his iconic style, his unabashed rebellious attitude and free spirit."

The producers hope to release the filmon Veterans Day 2020.

The filmmakers will be using VFX, or visual effects, the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live action shot, to re-create Dean. A Canadian firm, Imagine Engine,will be working with a South African company, MOI Worldwide.

Roesler says that rapidly evolving film technology opens up a new frontier for hisfirm's long-deceased clients, including more than 1,700 entertainment, sports, music andhistorical personalities.

"This opens up a whole new opportunityfor many of our clients who are no longer with us," Roesler says.

Dean's family consists of the descendants of his aunt and uncle who raised him in Fairmount, Indiana, with his two cousins after his mother died when Dean was 9.

"His childhood farm home has not really changed since his death," Roesler told USA TODAY. "His cousin still maintains the home and there are two museums in his small town (population 2,900), where fans still converge to see where perhaps Hollywoods greatest male icon grew up."

James Dean in an undated portrait.(Photo: FRANK WORTH)

Roesler's firm has sold Dean's image around the world, on products such as Dolce & Gabbana clothing,Montblanc pens, Levi's in Asia and Mercedes-Benz commercials. He says there'sa restaurant and nightclub in Prague and a Broadway musical in the works, plus plans to use virtual reality technology to create a James Dean "digital human" in a project about his life and legacy..

Dean once said "immortality is the only true success, Roesler notes.

"What was considered rebellious in the '50s is very different than what is rebellious today, and we feel confident that he would support this modern day act of rebellion," Roesler says.

Meanwhile, the news was greeted with some skepticism on Twitter, even among those too young to remember Dean onscreen.Some mordant posts about the icon's comeback used pictures of skeletons.

Some celebs were not impressed.

"Im sure hed be thrilled," was the sarcastic post from"Captain America" starChris Evans on Twitter, using a eye-rolling emoji. "This is awful.Maybe we can get a computer to paint us a new Picasso. Or write a couple new John Lennon tunes.The complete lack of understanding here is shameful."

"NOPE. this shouldnt be a thing," added "Lord of the Rings" star Elijah Wood.

Zelda Williams, daughter of the late Robin Williams, had a particularly scathing commentary, calling it "bad taste & a bad call" and railing against "puppeteering the dead." She predicted agrim future for the industry full of "corporate ghosts."

"I have talked to friends about this for YEARS and no one ever believed me that the industry would stoop this low once tech got better," she tweeted. "Publicity stunt or not, this is puppeteering the dead for their clout alone and it sets such an awful precedent for the future of performance."

Non-celebrities were no more impressed:

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should," lamented a tweet byCourtney Pochin, a writer for the British tabloid Daily Mirror.

"This is among the most ghastly things to ever happen," commented Nerdist contributing editor Lindsey Romain.

" 'We couldn't find a non-dead actor for the role of a white guy in a Vietnam war movie' is truly an amazing take," tweeted feminist writer Andi Zeisler.

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How Thanos Is Connected To The Eternals: Story & Species Explained – Screen Rant

Is Thanos an Eternal, and if so, why does he look different from the rest? Here's what you need to know about Thanos' connection to the Eternals.

Thanos' origin story is deeply connected to the Eternals in Marvel Comics, and that relationship could translate to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the comics, Thanos actually is an Eternal. Some of Thanos' backstory has already been explored in Avengers: Infinity War, but Marvel's Eternals movie could dive even further into his history (even though the character was killed off in Avengers: Endgame).

Based on characters created by the legendary Marvel Comics writer and artist Jack Kirby, Eternals will tell the story of a group of ancient immortals who have lived on Earth for thousands of years. All this time, this mysterious race of super-powered beings have somehow managed to keep their existence a secret from mankind. In the movie, the Eternals will embark on a mission given to them by their creators - the Celestials- to battle the Deviants, who in the comics are their greatest enemies. The upcoming cosmic epic will introduce audiences to at least ten members of their race, including Ikaris (Richard Madden), Ajak (Salma Hayek), Sersi (Gemma Chan), and more.

Related: Marvel Will Have To Change One Of The Eternals' Powers

Eternals is expected to delve into the history of the MCU by featuring scenes that take place over a thousand years ago. Places like Babylon will be making an appearance. Other eras could be utilized as well, and considering that Eternals is sure to touch on the distant past, the movie could be a way for Marvel to make use of deceased characters, with Thanos being one of them. After all, Thanos has strong ties to them in the comics. Thanos' backstory could be expanded on in the movie. But what exactly is the connection between Thanos and the Eternals? He doesn't look like them. Here's what you need to know about the relationship between this ancient race of immortals and the Mad Titan.

The Eternals were created thousands of years ago by the god-like Celestials. After visiting Earth and experimenting with human DNA, the Celestials created two off-shoots of humanity, the Eternals and the Deviants. The Eternals resemble humans but are gifted with immortality; the Deviants, on the other hand, were a colossal failure. They have unstable DNA, and are monstrous in appearance. They also don't share the immortality of Eternals. Since they couldn't blend in with humans, they constructed subterranean cities for themselves and went into hiding.

The Eternals ultimately established a base on Earth. Later, the leader of the Eternals, Kronos, conducted an experiment with cosmic energy, but it went wrong, and the spread of the energy altered the genes of the Eternals permanently. For this reason, the Eternals and all their descendants possess a wide array of superpowers. So their race survived the accident, but Kronos was no longer in any condition to lead. Since his two sons, A'lars and Zuras, couldn't agree on who should be his successor, they decided to split the Eternals into two branches. Zuras founded a new city and became the leader of the Olympian Eternals, while A'lars left Earth and took a large number of the Eternals with him. A'lars traveled to Saturn's moon, Titan, and started a new colony there. His gathering of Eternals became known as the Titanian Eternals.

While on Titan, A'lars fathered a son named Thanos with an Eternal woman named Sui-San. Sui-San was actually on Titan at the time of the cosmic event on Earth that gave the Eternals their powers, which means that Thanos doesn't have the same set of powers shared by Ikaris and all the others. Only his father benefited from the effects of the experiment. Interestingly, Thanos is related by blood to Thena (who will be played by Angelina Jolie in the MCU), since she's Zuras' daughter; that means the two characters are actually first cousins. Despite this connection, Thanos has little to do with the Olympian Eternals, and has had limited interaction with them in the comics.

Related: Marvel's Eternals Powers Explained: What Each Team Member Can Do

Like the Earth-based Eternals, the Titanians look just like humans. This includes A'lars, Sui-San, and Thanos' brother, Starfox. So why does Thanos look different to everyone else in his family, not to mention his entire race? That's because Thanos was born with the Deviant Syndrome, making Thanos a genetic rarity among his people. Due to this strange mutation in Thanos's DNA, Thanos has heightened abilities and bears some physical similarities to the Deviants (but is still an Eternal). It's possible that there are other Eternals in the Marvel Universe who have the Deviant Syndrome, but Thanos is the only character confirmed to possess it.

With all this in mind, the question arises,is Thanos an Eternal in the MCU - a full-fledged one, that is? The answer to that question is unclear, but given the popularity of Thanos, it does seem quite possible that Marvel will look to adapt their comic book connection to the big screen. So far, nothing revealed about Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame proves that Thanos isn't an Eternal, so it does seem possible that he could be one of them; it just hasn't been explored yet.

Avengers: Infinity War revealed that Thanos' people, the Titans, became extinct because of an unspecified catastrophe. They were spotted briefly in the movie, but they were too far away to get a proper look at them. It was stated by Infinity War VFX supervisor Matt Aitkin that if the movie had shown more of Thanos' race, audiences would have noticed that the other Titans didn't look like Thanos. They would have had his bright purple skin color, trademark chin, or his towering height. The plan was to present Thanos as a "little bit of a mutant of his own people". This certainly sounds like his Deviant Syndrome from the comics. With this in mind, it makes sense that the MCU's Thanos could be an Eternal with the Deviant gene. This would explain why he doesn't look like the characters from Marvel's upcoming Eternals film.

Will Marvel's Eternals movie even have a chance to establish Thanos as an Eternal? Infinity War already mentioned his father, A'lars, through a reference from Red Skull (Ross Marquand), and the new movie could follow up on that when it explains the history of the Eternals. A mention of the Deviant Syndrome and a flashback showing the Eternals splitting off to settle on Titan would effectively tie one of the MCU's most popular characters to its newest franchise, while simultaneously building on his backstory.

More: The Eternals Could've Defeated Thanos (Without The Avengers)

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Nicholas Raymond is a staff features writer for Screen Rant. He has a degree in journalism from the University of Montevallo. He is the author of the psychological thriller and time travel novel, "A Man Against the World." Nicholas' love for telling stories is inspired by his love for film noir, westerns, superhero movies, classic films, foreign cinema, and wuxia. He also has interests in ancient history. His favorite actors are Tyrone Power, Charlton Heston, and Eleanor Parker. His favorite film is Casablanca, and his favorite director is Alfred Hitchcock. He can be reached by email at cnrmail@bellsouth.net and on Twitter at @cnraymond91.

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Immortality: The Quest to Live Forever and How It Drives Civilization …

Cave has produced a strikingly original and compelling exploration of the age-old conundrum: Can we live forever, and do we really want to?John Horgan, science journalist and author of The End of War

Immortality is a fascinating history of mans greatest obsession and poses a stunning theory of society. The Daily Beast

In Immortality Stephen Cave tells wonderful stories about one of humanitys oldest desires and comes to a wise conclusion. Stefan Klein, author of The Science of Happiness and The Secret Pulse of Time

A beautifully clear and entertaining look at life after death. Cave does not shrink from the hard questions. Bold and thought-provoking. Eric Olson, author of The Human Animal and What Are We?

A must-read exploration of what spurs human ingenuity. Every once in a while a book comes along that catches me by surprise and provides me with an entirely new lens through which to view the world. . . . Such is the case with Stephen Caves book Immortality. . . . Cave presents an extremely compelling caseone that has changed my view of the driving force of civilization as much as Jared Diamond did years ago with his brilliant book Guns, Germs and Steel.S. Jay Olshanksy, New Scientist magazine

Informed and metaphysically nuanced. . . . Cave presents his arguments in a brisk, engaging style, and draws effectively upon a wide-ranging stock of religious, philosophical, and scientific sources, both ancient and contemporary. Weekly Standard

In his survey of the subject, Stephen Cave, a British philosopher, argues that mans various tales of immortality can be boiled down into four basic narratives. . . . For the aspiring undying, Mr Cave unfortunately concludes that immortality is a mirage. But his demolition project is fascinating in its own right. . . . If anything, readers might want more of Mr. Caves crisp conversational prose. The Economist

Cave explains how the seeking of immortality is the foundation of human achievement, the wellspring of art, religion and civilization. . . . .The author is rangy and recondite, searching the byways of elixirs, the surprises of alchemy, the faith in engineering and all the wonder to be found in discussions of life and death. . . . Luminous. Kirkus Reviews

A dramatic and frequently surprising story of the pursuit of immortality and its effects on human history. Booklist

Cave is smart, lucid, elegant and original. Immortality is an engaging read about our oldest obsession, and how that obsession propels some of our greatest accomplishments. Greg Critser, author of Eternity Soup

An epic inquiry into the human desire to defy deathand how to overcome it. Cave traces the histories of each of his four immortality narratives through the worlds great religions, heroes, leaders, thinkers and stories. Its an epic tale of human folly, featuring a cast of characters including Gilgamesh, Dante, Frankenstein, the King of Qin, Alexander the Great and the Dalai Lama. Cave, a Berlin-based writer and former diplomat, is an admirably clear elucidator, stripping down arguments to their essences and recounting them without any unnecessary jargon. The Financial Times

Immortality plumbs the depths of the human mind and ties the quest for the infinite prolongation of life into the very nature of civilization itself. Cave reveals remarkable depth and breadth of learning, yet is always a breeze to read. I thoroughly enjoyed his bookits a really intriguing study. David Boyd Haycock, author of Mortal Coil and A Crisis of Brilliance

[Caves] sort of nonfiction writing is exciting. It gets the juices flowing and draws one into the material. What Cave does so well throughout Immortality is to take the reader by the hand and carefully guide her or him through each concept, ensuring understanding before exploring assorted variations and difficulties. Hes writing for searchers, not people collecting knock em-dead refutations of positions theyve already rejected. And his appeal is to intellectual curiosity. The Humanist

I loved this. Cave has set himself an enormous task and accomplished itin spades. Establishing a four-level subject matter, he has stuck to his guns and never let up. As he left one level and went to the next, I was always a little worried: Would he be able to pull it off? This was especially true as he approached the end. There is a sense in which each level, as he left it smoking in the road, looked easy as he started the next. In fact, the last level, while it is the most difficult, is the best, the most satisfying. I am happy to live in the world Cave describes. Charles Van Doren, author of A History of Knowledge

This book by Stephen Cave offers a helpful framework for understanding the various different kinds of immortality. Cave employs this framework to analyze these types of immortality and to argue that the quest for immortality is misguided. Caves insights throughout the book are deep, and his argumentation is compelling and well-informed by all of the relevant literature. It is also a beautifully written and highly accessible book. I recommend it highly.John Martin Fischer leader of the Templeton Foundation's Immortality Project, and author of Near-Death Experiences

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Overwatch Competitive Hero Pools: Week 1 Winners and Losers – The Game Haus

Season 21 of Overwatch Competitive was released yesterday and with it came the first round of hero bans. For those who have not seen the bans, they are: Orisa, Hanzo, Mei and Baptiste.

Now that the Week 1 bans are public, it is time to see the winners and losers of the first round of hero bans.

These two are grouped together because of their reliance on being up close and personal with the opponent. Now that Mei and Baptiste are removed from the hero pool, other heroes may be given more of a spotlight. There will be no Baptiste to throw an Immortality Field to reduce a Dragonblades effectiveness. Mei wont be able to freeze attackers with her primary fire or by dropping a Blizzard. These changes give these unique heroes a chance to shine in a way they have not the past year.

Roadhog is still a fun hero to play, that has not changed. What these bans did was reduce its viability. This issue is mainly due to the removal of Orisa from the hero pool. The duo of Orisa and Roadhog is one of the most synergistic tank pairings in the game. Orisa can halt to pull people off the map or into line of sight so Roadhog can hook them. They both have increased survivalist whether it be from Fortify or Take a Breather. With the removal of Orisa, Roadhog becomes much less viable than it previously was and should see minimal play at higher levels.

One thing these bans seem to do is take out heroes that at lower levels require little effort to be effective. There is no Orisa for players to be a tank version of Bastion, or as McGravy calls it, playing Tower Defense. Mei will not be freezing up multiple targets, walling off teams or wiping teams with a single use of her ultimate. Hanzo will not be able to just spam his arrows into a shield and get a kill. Add to that now players cant hold left click and heal a team in what feels like seconds. These bans shift the focus onto more skill based heroes in a way that can only help make the player base better.

how the hell am i supposed to practice my orisa now ???

The one bad part about the stratification of the OWL and competitive map and ban system is that they are completely different. If OWL pros wanted to practice the pro meta in competitive, the pros are not able to do that. This complicates streaming along with content creation because of the lack of continuity between the two. While some casual players may like the separate pools when it comes to weeks like this week, it is overall harmful to the product.

One thing that can be argued about this patch is to what level it benefits dive. The removal of Mei and Baptiste certainly help the composition. There is no longer Mei Walls to split the team, nor is their immortality field to survive the massive amount of damage typically focused on the dive target. Besides dive stars Doomfist and Genji being buffed by the bans, Winston benefits as well. For similar reasons mentioned above, Winston steps up a tier in terms of viability. When in comp.go dive.

What do you think? Tell me on Twitter at @TheWiz_SPM

Featured image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment

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Metamaterials Are Real And Yes, They Can Theoretically Give You Super Powers – TechTheLead

Back in the 80s, I would hear dad and his friends talk about polymers as if they were the answer to most contractors problems. That was back then. Now, polymers are found in almost every household item. So, what does the future hold for us? Something scientists call: metamaterials! The wonder fix; that thing that might make us invisible or give us superpowers.

Like polymers, metamaterials rely onMicrostructure. But unlike polymers, with metamaterials, the forms that the material takes are dictated artificially. By us by humans! That makes metamaterials so amazing, and that is why they are the future.

Natures way of arranging shapes is random. Sure, we can find beautiful patterns in the wild, but the way that materials are arranged, at a microscopic level, in nature, is only beneficial up to a point.

Wood, for example, is great for building a cabin or a boat. But imagine wood-like material that has multiple assemblies inside that make it stronger, that can be light refractive, and even fireproof. That is the reality of metamaterials, and they are not SF! But first, we need to learn to mold the materials to our will to become transparent, for example.

Most of these features are achieved via repeating patterns on the surface of the material. The shape of the micro arrangements on the surface is the one that can influence the way light bounces off it, or how electromagnetic waves behave. And if you can influence electromagnetic waves, you can influence sound also. That means better speakers for example. Or better Wi-Fi reception. Or invisibility!

Metamaterials are usually arranged in recurring patterns, at scales that are smaller than the wavelengths of the events they influence. Metamaterials derive their properties not from the characteristics of the base materials, but from their newly designed structures. Their specific geometry, size, orientation, and arrangement gives them their smart properties, which earned them the Greek word meta for beyond brilliant.

So basically, the way that we arrange these materials is whats going to lead to a level up in all industries. But this has to be done at scale to accomplish that. And right now, even nano-bots look like giants, and metamaterials are a long way from being the polymers of our parents age.

Metamaterials can handle light, sound, and electromagnetic waves on the macro scale. This theoretically will lead to some amazing materials with endless possibilities.Computronium, for example, is the metamaterial that Intel and AMD only dream of. The so-called programmable matter. Like Star Trek and the Borg if you want.

To create this mystic metamaterial, the human race needs to manipulate some factors of the base material: permeability,permittivityand theindex of refraction. To do this, we need to artificially construct geometrical patterns of the material in question with negative permeability and add another with negative permittivity. And voila the concept for metamaterial is born.

Working on the nano-scale is not impossible right now, but it is expensive, and metamaterials are not on the top of our needs as a species. And, lets face it, we dont have the tools and the processing power to pull something like theis. Yet, diamond-like hardness is achievable, artificial muscles and even exo-suits.

Deploying resources and processing power into metamaterials might be the answer to immortality or, at least, prolonging the lifespan of the average human. Predictions, today, may become a reality for our children or grandchildren.

For now, in the real world, we have an almost Iron Man suit from the US army, joyfully namedTALOS, that uses liquid armor. A non-Newtonian fluid is used in this case to catch the bullet before it hits the target, the liquid hardening on impact with the projectile. Of course, it costs the budget of a small country to develop, and its military, but, its a step in the right direction. Maybe the Metal Gear future envisioned by Hideo Kojima is not that far away, right?

We are a long way from building the slim bodysuits see in Ghost in the Shell, but the reality is that we are making baby steps in the development of carbon structures and arrangement of graphene or diamine.

The sure bet appears to be carbon. We can produce diamonds from carbon now. But imagine a window made from a diamond-like surface that doesnt scratch, doesnt break. Your imagination is the limit.

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"Vampire: The Masquerade" Will Be Getting An Audio Book Series – Bleeding Cool News

Paradox Interactive has partnered with Harper Collins to create an audio book series for the World Of Darkness franchise Vampire: The Masquerade. The full title of the series will be called Vampire: The Masquerade: Walk Among Us and will arrive in three parts by three different authors. Those three authors are Genevieve Gornichec, Cassandra Khaw, and Caitlin Starling. Plus, each book will have its own narrator, with the three voices chosen to be Erika Ishii, Xe Sands, and Neil Kaplan. You can read about all three books below, along with a couple of quotes from the companies involved. All three books will be released on June 16th, 2020.

In A Sheep Among Wolvesby Genevieve Gornichec, depression and radicalization go hand-in-hand as a young woman finds companionship in the darkness In Fine Printby Cassandra Khaw, an arrogant tech bro learns the importance of reading the fine print in the contract for immortality And in Land Of Milk And Honeyby Caitlin Starling, ideals and ethics bump heads with appetite on a blood farm.

"The World of Darkness is a transmedia brand that today encompasses everything from video games to immersive events. But it started with books: the written word created our complex dark fantasy world, and it's in our blood," Sean Greaney, Brand Manager for the World of Darkness at Paradox Interactive, said. "For years, fiction audiences have thirsted after deep and complex vampire stories. With this partnership, HarperCollins will introduce vampire fans to a whole universe filled with intriguing and intricate stories. We are thrilled to return Vampire: The Masquerade to mainstream fiction with these audiobooks."

"Vampire: The Masquerade has always been such a powerful force in the gaming community, it was almost shocking there wasn't much in print set in the World of Darkness. The opportunity to tell three very different, very powerful stories with three incredible young writers is so exciting, and clearly a no-brainer for Harper Voyager and Harper Audio," says Harper Voyager US Editorial Director David Pomerico.

Gavin has been a lifelong geek who can chat with you about comics, television, video games, and even pro wrestling. He can also teach you how to play Star Trek chess, be your Mercy on Overwatch, recommend random cool music, and goes rogue in D&D. He also enjoys standup comedy, Let's Play videos and trying new games, along with hundreds of other geeky things that can't be covered in a single paragraph. Follow @TheGavinSheehan on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Vero, for random pictures and musings.

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Cowboys’ Jerry Jones will not induct Jimmy Johnson into team’s Ring of Honor in 2020: ‘It’s not on my mind’ – CBS Sports

Jimmy Johnson is finally a Hall of Famer. The legendary former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys has waited a long time to land a bust in Canton, Ohio, and his dream will finally come true when he's inducted into immortality in August. The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced Johnson's induction on live television, and the 76-year-old couldn't hold back the tears. And with that, many began to wonder just when owner Jerry Jones would finally see fit to put Johnson in the team's coveted Ring of Honor.

After all, Johnson is at least half of the brainchild that spawned a Cowboys dynasty in the 1990s -- joining with Jones to help push the team to three of their five Super Bowl victories. The mutual parting of ways thereafter was as publicized as it was toxic, however, and it's only now -- decades later -- that the two have come to some sort of semblance of civility. Johnson congratulated Jones on his Hall of Fame induction in 2017, and Jones subsequently thanked/praised Johnson in his induction speech.

But while reconciliation feels more probable than ever, Johnson remains absent from the Ring of Honor, and that will last at least one more year. Speaking from the 2020 NFL combine in Indianapolis, Jones explained why.

"Right now, it's not on my mind at all -- it is not," he said. "Regarding Jimmy, we have such a big year ahead of us with Jimmy, and his celebration. I want that to be the focus, period."

There are many who aren't buying that reasoning, considering Jones could've inducted Johnson into the Ring of Honor any year before now, which would've prevented any possible thunder-stealing as it relates to his gold jacket ceremony. Well, Jones has an answer for that as well, and it involves another legendary Cowboys head coach he once had a rift with:

Tom Landry.

"If everybody says 'Is that the right order of things?,' well, coach Landry was in the Hall of Fame before the Ring of Honor," Jones pointed out. "Here we've got the two greatest coaches in the history of the Cowboys. So they can go in the same order."

To be fair though, although it took a while for Jones to warm up to the idea of immortalizing Landry -- to the point there's now a statue of him outside of AT&T Stadium -- it's not an apples-to-apples comparison. The rift between the two stemmed from Jones purchasing the team in 1989 and firing the longest-tenured coach in Cowboys history to bring in Johnson, and Jones being the one to drop the hammer on Landry wasn't the original plan. Landry was also on coming off of his third consecutive losing season, while Johnson had just won a Super Bowl when they parted.

Parting ways with Landry was one-sided and unpleasant. Parting ways with Johnson was mutual and devastating.

Nonetheless, a door once welded shut for Johnson now opened, but it's to-be-determined when or if Jones will actually ever allow him to walk through it. The two made beautiful music together in Dallas, and the club hasn't sniffed a Super Bowl appearance since the record stopped spinning in the mid-1990s -- with many also attributing the championship Barry Switzer earned in 1996 as nothing more than him keeping Johnson's Ferrari away from the guard rail.

Johnson will always be a deity to Cowboys fans, even if he never makes it into the Ring of Honor, but Jones' legacy will continue to be tainted until he makes it happen and provides all involved a sense of closure.

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Netflix’s Altered Carbon Season 2: Season 1 Recap – Story And Characters To Remember – GameSpot

There are a whole bunch of other people floating around in Altered Carbon Season 1, who play integral but sometimes confusing roles in the plot.

Laurens Bancroft: The super-rich Meth who makes a deal to get Takeshi out of cold storage to enlist him in solving Bancroft's murder. Bancroft was so rich that he not only can afford clones of his original body to resleeve his stack into, he has a dedicated satellite in orbit, which holds a backup copy of his consciousness--so even if his stack is destroyed, he can live on. Just before the start of Season 1, Bancroft's sleeve was murdered and his stack destroyed. When he redownloaded from his satellite, he set about trying to figure out who killed him. (There are a lot of suspects, including his extremely crappy family.) Turns out that Bancroft killed himself, though, after committing a murder and being blackmailed by Rei. He destroyed his own stack out of shame, minutes before his scheduled backup, so that when his consciousness was downloaded again from the satellite, he wouldn't remember what he'd done.

Vernon: Tak found Vernon by investigating death threats against Bancroft, who blamed Bancroft for his daughter Lizzie being beaten and driven to madness. When Tak confronts and interrogates him, he makes Vernon an ally by helping him try to treat Lizzie's psychological problems, with Poe's assistance. Vernon becomes an ally of Tak's and helps him in his fight to solve Bancroft's murder and take down Rei.

Lizzie: Vernon's daughter Lizzie was a sex worker who was visited by Laurens Bancroft, and eventually got pregnant by him. When she went to his house to tell him about it, Lizzie was confronted by Bancroft's wife, Miriam, who feared the threat of an illegitimate Bancroft child and nearly killed Lizzie. Miriam enlisted Rei to have Lizzie driven insane with virtual reality torture, fragmenting her mind. Vernon kept Lizzie in VR to protect her, and Tak and Poe worked to help Lizzie recover. When she did, Tak learned about what had happened, revealing another piece of the puzzle regarding Bancroft's murder and Rei's involvement.

Ortega: A police officer who worked with Tak on Bancroft's murder, and was in love with the man who owned the body Tak inhabits in Season 1. She was the officer originally assigned to Bancroft's murder, but ruled it a suicide against Bancroft's wishes. She spends the first season of Altered Carbon helping Tak as he works to solve the mystery, and they develop a close relationship. Ortega was formerly a Neo-Catholic--according to her faith, she could never be resleeved due to her beliefs. She renounced her religion, however, which causes strain between Ortega and her family.

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Netflix's Altered Carbon Season 2: Season 1 Recap - Story And Characters To Remember - GameSpot

In Amazon web series Afsos, black humour and a high body count on the road to immortality – Scroll.in

The new Amazon Prime Video web series Afsos is supposedly based on a novel whose author remains unidentified. Was Golpur Goru Chaande ever committed to the page or is it a joke, like the fake disclaimer that precedes the Coen brothers 1996 cult movie Fargo (This is a true story. The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred.)

Keep wondering. Meanwhile, there is no ambiguity about who is driving Afsos, which has unusual subject matter that makes it vastly different from other shows on streaming platforms. The irreverent series has been created by Anirban Dasgupta and Dibya Chatterjee and written by them along with Sourav Ghosh. Director Anubhuti Kashyap deftly navigates the peaks and troughs of a black comedy with lashings of existentialism and a penchant for alternative history. The cast is stellar, with the always-watchable Gulshan Devaiah in pole position as the man who doesnt want to live but is simply unable to die.

Devaiahs Nakul is a serial suicide attempter who has failed despite his best efforts. His therapist Shloka (Anjali Patil) ladles out life-affirming cliches (Quitting is not an option, Nakul!), but he is unmoved. Nakul contacts the merciful duo at the Emergency Exit agency to organise a hit on himself. Emergency Exit, which helps people reach their makers faster, is run by Maria (Ratnabali Bhattacharjee) and Vikram (Ujjwal Chopra) out of a trailer somewhere in Mumbai and has Fargo signs all over, presumably as a tribute to the Coens macabre vision.

The task of liberating Nakul from his agony is handed to the single assassin on the agencys payroll (the operation is as lean as it is mean). This grim reaper is better known by her surname, Upadhyay, and she would win the Employee of the Year award hands-down once she takes on an assignment, she will fulfill it, even if the client has a change of heart.

Upadhyay (Heeba Shah) carves notches on her hand representing her kills, but she is somehow unable to finish off Nakul. The answer has everything to do with the quest for immortality represented by Fokatiya (Robin Das), a sadhu from Uttar Pradesh. Fokatiya believes that he holds in his palms amrut, or elixir, the same fluid of eternal life written about in the holy texts. The inspector Bir (Akash Dahiya) from Uttarakhand thinks that Fokatiya is a killer. The suited-booted scientist Goldfish (Jamie Alter) predicts that by 2054, humankind will have conquered death and will live forever.

Nakul, meanwhile, chooses his side of the debate and decides that he wants to live after all. Upadhyay is unmoved. Weapons are discharged. Declarations of love are made. A police investigation gets underway. Fokatiya arrives in Mumbai, as does inspector Bir and a mysterious tourist (Danish Sait).

The game of who gets to live and who dies is a familiar one. The makers of Afsos, which is always meant to be taken lightly despite tackling metaphysical themes, have an added challenge who cares? It helps that the characters are sharply etched and mostly superbly performed, and that the deadpan comedic tone remains more or less consistent throughout the eight-episode run. When Fokatiyas elixir doesnt work as expected, a laidback Mumbai police inspector has an excellent response: its a matter for the consumer court, he says.

Theres no shortage of imagination here, only a familiar tendency to keep the strangeness coming at all costs. A track involving Shloka and the granite-hearted Upadhaya carries on for far too long, just like the series, which expands its scope to include urban legends and conspiracy theories. The regrets include the underutilisation of the talented Akash Dahiya, Danish Saits silly fake Russian number, and the underserviced Nakul-Shloka romance, which is among the reasons Nakul chooses to try living over dying. Gulshan Devaiah and Anjali Patil make a fine pair, but their connection gets lost as the chase for the man who will live forever wanders on, about and off course.

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In Amazon web series Afsos, black humour and a high body count on the road to immortality - Scroll.in

Lost Odyssey Brilliantly Explores The Tragedy Of Being Immortal – Kotaku

Last month, I wrote about the first leg of Lost Odyssey and how much I was enjoying it. The second disc and first half of the third have been even better. The worldbuilding is mysterious and intriguing, with each new section making me want to know more about the immortals Im playing as. The narrative gets richer with each new set piece, the bond the characters have growing as they face off against enemies that come in a variety of forms.

Lost Odysseys storytelling acts almost like a counter argument against magic and immortality. About halfway into the game, your party enters the great city of Gohtza. Its a technological marvel, revolutionized by magic industry. But when you talk to the citizens, they reveal that many people have lost their jobs due to magic automating their positions. Although the new industries have great benefits, theyve also resulted in a stratified society where those who arent part of the elite are suffering. The contrast between the wealthy aristocrats and the people in Low Town is stark.

Adjacent to Gohtza is the city of Kent. Their people have been decimated by the magical meteor which struck them at the battle in the opening of the game. They are full of hatred at the immortal they blame for their loss (good thing they dont recognize said immortal is the protagonist, Kaim!).

The argument for immortality doesnt fare much better. The burden of long life takes a terrible emotional toll on those who carry it. You learn at the end of Disc 1 that Kaims wife, Sarah, is still alive. During their search for Sarah, the party hears rumors about an Old Sorceress who is very dangerous. You have to confront her since she has sealed off a cave your party needs to cross.

That ends up taking your party to Kaims old house. Within its walls, your party uses a series of magic mirrors to travel from the decrepit state the mansion has become to the past where everything is spick and span.

The dissolution and messy remains are metaphorical for the Old Sorceresss state of mind. She is surrounded by four Bodies of Thought, each utilizing one of the elements. They take turns attacking her from all angles, but never turn their attack against the party. The partys goal is to save her from killing herself. Since each of the Bodies is comprised of a different element, you have to be careful how you fight.

During the battle, the Old Sorceress will unleash a desperate scream. This changes up all the elements so that an approach that worked previously wont be effective anymore and might actually hurt her. Its only after you defeat all the Bodies of Thought that you realize Sarah is underneath the veil of the Old Sorceress. Driven to depression by the realization that her daughter was dead, she had been torturing herself for decades.

Even after destroying the Bodies of Thought, Sarahs depression nearly overwhelms her again. Its only thanks to her grandchildren, Cooke and Mack, singing an old lullaby, that Sarah finds some semblance of serenity. As Sarah realizes Kaim is back, they slowly make their way through the world together, supporting each other through their grief. Kaim is driven by his desire to avenge his daughter, while Sarah finds motivation in the love of her grandchildren.

Having a kid of our own gave this situation much more gravity. More than any of the Dream flashbacks or cutscenes, this battle revealed so much about the plight of immortality. What would seeing the deaths of those dear to them, and the number of them accumulating with the passing centuries, do to their minds? What seems like a boon for Sarah and Kaim is actually a curse. Their desolation increases with every passing year. Theres an understandable reason why Kaim doesnt seem all that eager to retrieve his memories.

Their amnesia takes on an entirely new wrinkle when they confront the man who caused their memory loss, Gongora. Gongora is a fellow immortal and a powerful magician who wants to build a magic engine called the Grand Staff. In your first battle against him in the Experimental Staff, he annihilates your party. Im so grateful for this gameplay/narrative choice. Multiple RPGs come to mind where you confront an ultimate villain for the first time and proceed to give them a spanking. The villain laughs it off and says something along the lines of, Ill be back for you later. But because youve already defeated them, they dont seem as deadly anymore (one of the examples that immediately comes to mind is Seymour from FFX).

In Lost Odyssey, theres no doubt who has the upper hand. But its not just Gongoras physical and magical abilities that make him so powerful. Having retained all his memories, he accuses Kaim and his fellow immortal of being traitors to a noble cause. Their memory loss was a punishment for their misdeeds. This accusation makes them question if their odyssey is even a righteous one. But Gongora seems to be struggling against demons of his own as hes in a mentally fraught state in the Experimental Staff. Its not clear yet whos on the right. It would make for a surprising twist if it turned out that Gongora is actually fighting for a good cause, while Kaim and company, having lost their memories, are actually the villains. As Kaim states, If the record of a thousand years shows that I am really a traitor, then Ill have to accept that, and pay the price.

Magic has obvious positive effects, like being able to heal the people around them. But in the merchant town of Saman, its had a strange influence. The villagers walk around in a zombified state, shrouded in a purple aura, giving free rein to their egos. One of the wealthy merchants in the city openly brags about the wealth hes accumulated through corrupt methods. A man in the Erlio Family House spends all his time talking to a doll. Cant you see Im quite occupied right now? Stop bothering me, he snaps at you. Then to the doll, Darling, I love you so much. You are the one that I love the most in this world. A car called Zak laughs at you and calls you pathetic. Another car called Jack complains, Ugh, every day I go around dealing with rude people and carrying their heavy bags. Then they kick me when Im not running well. If youve ever wondered what your car thinks of you, magic can tell you the truth.

Its these weird encounters in each of the towns that reminds me so much of what I love and have missed about JRPGs. Every city feels like a brand new experience full of quirky denizens. Its been a long time since Ive been this excited about seeing whats next in the journey.

Theres a lot of variety in the gameplay and boss battles. In the Experimental Staff, some of the areas are giant puzzles where youre shifting machines and opening up new pathways. Wind caves, slippery slopes, and thieving enemies, make the ice canyon a grueling trial. The battle preceding the Experimental Staff, which is against a Mantala, can be extremely difficult if you dont plan each step. Thats because every time you attack the Mantala, it hides in the ocean and summons smaller Mantas in its place. You have to time your attacks, defensive maneuvers, and spells to perfectly align the strongest blows on the Mantala. Otherwise, the battle can go forever.

Fortunately, theres not that much grinding to do when it comes to experience points. Any time you enter a new area, your characters will level up quickly to where they should be. The reason you still need to engage in fights is to increase skill link levels from the mortals and get SP from bands to learn new abilities. I did find a way to grind my characters beyond their normal levels at the Numara Atolls. Silver Kelolons dot the beach side (theyre akin to the metal slimes of Dragon Quest in giving you a heck of a lot of EXP). If your party has gained the Gamble spell, which is done by praying at all the Kelolon statues in Tosca Village, it makes beating the Silver Kelelons feasible on a predictable basis. I overpowered my characters within a few battles.

Each of the characters gets their chance to shine in battles and more importantly, the story. In an optional cutscene with Ming when you escape Numara, she sees a monument off the shore and recalls a past battle. She saved the city by turning a huge Arthrosaurus into stone, which was how the monument came to be. But the flashback causes her pain and its not clear why, making me wonder about her past. Cooke and Mack are always getting into trouble, including one scene where they hijack a magical train in the hopes of communicating with their mother again. Their hopefulness through some of the darker moments in the game help the characters cope with their circumstances. Jansen, the comic relief, turns against his benefactor, Gongora, in favor of the immortals. He lifts up the bag of gold Gongora had bribed him with and says hed throw it back out of a sense of outrage, but then decides to keep it since he figures thered be no point in giving up the money. Jansen always remains in character, even in his outrage.

The dreams in the first disc focused on Kaims memories. In the second, there are several dreams that your pirate immortal, Seth, regains, and theyre heartbreaking. That is, if you take the time to read them. As I mentioned in the first part of my Lost Odyssey retrospective, I really wish there could have been a way for these sequences to have been more seamlessly integrated. The way it currently stands, the two things that take me out of the immersion of the gameplay are the long load screens (I know Im playing off disc, but some of these load screens are really distracting) and the dreams. I want to read them as theyre very good, but every time I do, it feels like Im being sucked away from the world. At the same time, I realize theyre an additional layer, meant to add texture to the narrative, and entirely optional. Just their existence is something Im grateful for. Who knew reading the story about a shoemaker could be so emotional?

I know some people, including myself, have described Lost Odyssey as a spiritual successor to Final Fantasy. While theres some truth to that, especially due to the developers being who they are, theres also a lot the game does to weave together its own distinctive identity. This middle act is where the game went from being a lost odyssey to an epic one. I cant wait to see how it all ends.

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Lost Odyssey Brilliantly Explores The Tragedy Of Being Immortal - Kotaku

Miracle On Ice Still Inspires On 40th Anniversary – WAMC

Today is the 40thanniversary of one of the biggest upsets in sports history. And it all happened in upstate New York.

By now, sports fans know Al Michaels call by heart, but the Olympic mens hockey medal round game on February 22, 1980 actually wasnt seen by the vast majority of Americans in real time unless you had a ticket.

The game between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was shown on tape delay on ABC. And in the pre-cell phone age, it was possible to keep the stunning result secret.

But the scoreboard in whats now Herb Brooks Arena, named for the Americans demanding coach, said it all: the U.S. scored twice in the first period and twice more in the third to win the game 4-3 and attain sports immortality.

This was an upset, this was a gigantic, gigantic upset, and so thats why the word miraculous came into my brain and I said what I said. But that had everything to do with what an upset, what an incredible moment this is, and not something that I ever thought would live in posterity, Michaels said.

Team captain Mike Eruzione scored the go-ahead goal.

For some it was a hockey victory and for some it was a political meaning, Eruzione said. Something as a country for a short in the arm, and I think realizing what we did 40 years ago, I guess we brought a lot of pride back to a country that was looking for something, and it happened to be us.

The U.S. went on to beat Finland 4-2 two days later to win the gold medal after Brooks told the Americans they would take it to their grave if they didnt win the whole thing.

Today, the Miracle on Ice is remembered as an important moment in the Cold War, its meaning mythologized to the extent that when the arena finally replaced its scoreboard in 2017, pieces of the old one from that iconic Friday evening were already being claimed.

Left wing Buzz Schneider came back to the arena for the decommissioning.

Its part of history and its going to be gone but I can understand why theyre doing it. But itll be missed by me for sure.But I want to touch that 4 to 3 before I see it disappear, he said.

Made into countless documentaries, two feature films and ranked as the top Sports Illustrated cover of all-time, the games details have become familiar even for people too young to remember it: how the college athletes banded together under Brooks hard-driving approach, how they rebounded from a 10-3 exhibition loss to the Russians just before the Games, and how they never gave up against them despite trailing three times.

The Russian team was heavily favored after winning four straight Olympic gold medals. Michaels said ABC was just hoping to have the Americans within two goals in the third period to keep viewers. An outright victory seemed out of the question.

With exactly 10 minutes to go, whoa, holy mackerel, is this possible? And then at that point the crowd is just going out of its mind.

For Eruzione, who has been talking about that week in Lake Placid for four decades, the lesson is simple:

You believe in miracles, you believe in working hard, you believe in sacrifice and anything can happen.

As Olympic anniversary events continue in Lake Placid, a U.S. hockey team reunion is scheduled for today in Las Vegas.

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Miracle On Ice Still Inspires On 40th Anniversary - WAMC

The Unpublished Writings of a Pioneering Religious Zionist Thinker – Mosaic

In 1884twelve years before Theodor Herzl published The Jewish State, and thirteen before the First Zionist Congressthe Russian rabbi Shmuel Mohilever joined the secular Jewish physician Leon Pinsker in founding the ibat Tsiyon, an organization dedicated to building a Jewish homeland in Ottoman Palestine. But it was Mohilevers disciple, Rabbi Isaac Jacob Reines, who laid the foundations for religious Zionism as it is known today. Channa Lockshin Bob describes Reiness thought in light of newly discovered unpublished manuscripts:

Rabbi Reines brought together the sacred and the profane in many areas of his life. He founded a yeshiva that combined traditional talmudic study with secular subjects, an innovation at the time. His scholarship combined talmudic virtuosity with broad interests including mathematics, philosophy, and logic. So he was perfectly cut out to initiate close cooperation between traditional Judaism and secular Zionism.

Rabbi Reines first got involved in the Zionist movement in 1899, when he participated and spoke at the Third Zionist Congress in Basel. In the coming years he continued to participate in Zionist Congresses. He met Herzl and corresponded with him until Herzls death in 1904. In 1902 Rabbi Reines founded the Mizrahi movementa religious faction within the Zionist movementwith Herzls support.

Reiness lectures from the years 1908 to 1911 are collected in a manuscript titled Yalkut Arakhim. . . . [One] of these lectures, [delivered on the anniversary of Herzls death], examines the topic of immortality. Surprisingly, Reines presents a fairly [rationalistic] view of life after death: When we see that even after ones death, his achievements are recognized, that is a sign of his immortality. Later in the lecture, he adds that those whose help is recognized even after their death have been made to be like God. The last words of the speech are: All signs of mourning are signs of immortality.

Could it be that Reiness final sentence about signs of mourning is not only a general statement, but also a reference to himself, as he continues to mourn the loss of Herzl even years after his passing?

Read more at The Librarians

More about: Religious Zionism, Theodor Herzl

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The Unpublished Writings of a Pioneering Religious Zionist Thinker - Mosaic

Which DC Comics Characters Are Faster Than The Flash? – Screen Rant

Fans of DC comics and the wildly popular "Arrowverse" TV showknow that The Flashproclaims himself to be the "fastest man alive." Yet, otherDC characters have debunked that claim. So who is faster than the Flash?

Whilemore than one individual has held the title of The Flash, the second Flash, Barry Allen, is the most iconic. When a lightning bolt destroyed a container of mysterious chemicals and released its contents on young Barry, he was gifted with superhuman speed, sense, reflexes, and enhanced healing. He went onto use his powers for good and don his iconic red suit to fight crime.

Related: Which Flash is Faster: Barry Allen or Wally West?

The Flash's abilities gobeyond mere super speed. It was revealed that his speed comes from extradimensional energy called the Speed Force that gives him a unique edge over many other "fast" heroes. While Barry has this forceon his side, it isn't always enough. Hereare someDC Characters who have outrun The Flash:

The Reverse-lash is Barry Allen's greatest foe. Eobard Thawne is a genius-level scientistwho usedhis magnificent mindto recreateBarry's accident andcreate his own Negative Speed Force. The Negative Speed Force grants Eobardthe ability to create speed mirages of himself and even move his molecules through solid objects, but what giveshim an edge over Barry, is the ability to run at the speed of light. Light speedis not a part ofBarry's core skill set andachieving lightspeedrequires great strain.

Hermes is the Messenger god of DC's Olympians. As a god, he possesses immortality, shapeshifting, super strength, and size-changing, but super speed is his trademark ability. Hermes is the fastest amongthe Olympian gods.Along with his speed, he has magical abilities and teleportation, giving him the ability totravel farther than Barry with the speed of thought. If that wasn't enough, hehas even shown the abilityto steal Barry's own speed to add to his own power.

The age-old question of Superman vs The Flash has haunted DC fans for decades. Throughout their comic book history, Superman and the Flash have had their fair share of races and it was allegedly confirmed that Supesis "slower."

Yet, Superman has had his moments of catching the Flash, and has actually outracedhim. In Tom King's Superman: Up in The Sky #4 Superman and The Flash race around the world ten times. The Flash takes a significant lead against Superman, but in the end, The Man of Steel is victorious. Perhaps this is a matter of endurance over speed, but it doesn't negate the fact that Superman can outpacethe Flash. Zack Snyder'sJustice League hinted at Superman's ability to best The Flash as well. Hopefully, the sequel will show us for certain if Supes is a match for DCEU's version of The Flash.

Next:The Flash is Headed To The Last Place DC Fans Expect

The Simpsons' House Has A Secret Room That's In Only 5 Episodes

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Which DC Comics Characters Are Faster Than The Flash? - Screen Rant

Kobe Bryant gets sorted into Slytherin by Harry Potter online sorting hat, proving that he really is a villain – CBS Sports

Kobe Bryant is a villain. Every NBA fan outside of Los Angeles knows this as fact and only refrains from shouting it at the top of their lungs to avoid Temecula-based fisticuffs. But despite the mountains of anecdotal evidence, we just never had anything tangible enough to prove it. Now we do.

Join me, won't you, on an all-out sprint through the deceptive pillars of platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station in London. You're 11 years old and have only just discovered your magical powers. You depart on the Hogwarts Express and eagerly await the judgment of the Sorting Hat. A sentient hat capable of looking deep within your soul and categorizing you based on the qualities most innate to your being.

Perhaps you'll land in Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart. More of a bookworm? Then Ravenclaw might be more up your alley. If you value loyalty above all else, then Hufflepuff would be a great fit. It should surprise no one to learn that Kobe Bryant was sorted into none of these houses when he put on the sorting hat. No, he found himself in Slytherin. And the kicker? He's HAPPY about it!

The charitable reading of this situation is that Bryant possesses the qualities that Slytherin house purports to prize. He was ambitious enough to chase Michael Jordan for an entire career. His cunning allowed him to depose allies/enemies like Shaquille O'Neal and Phil Jackson when the opportunity presented itself. I am not feeling charitable.

Slytherin houses the bad guys, and the similarities Bryant shares with the worst of the worst of the powerful wizards, and fellow male pattern baldness sufferer, Lord Voldemort, are positively staggering. Here are just a few:

I'm not saying some sort of NBA civil war is imminent. What I am saying is that if one does come, you can bet that Kobe will be leading one of the sides and that he would do so with the same gleeful smile on his face that he wears in the video above. Bryant is a villain, and he's happy about it. Now we know for certain.

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Kobe Bryant gets sorted into Slytherin by Harry Potter online sorting hat, proving that he really is a villain - CBS Sports

‘The Seven Deadly Sins’: Will There Be A Season 4? Here’s Everything We Know – The Digital Weekly

The hit anime The Seven Deadly Sins returned for a full season after a long wait of three years. With fans ending season 3, we already asked when season 4 will be released. Here we know all about season 4 of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Seven Deadly Sins based on a manga novel of the same name. The story, written by author Nakaba Suzuki, is set in a fictional version of the British Isles. In the kingdom of lions, the citizens of the earth are protected by holy knights. The greatest and strongest heroes on the planet are in the order of the Holy Knights. Our story begins ten years after a group of pious knights recruited to strike against the crown.

To avoid confusion, Netflix listed four episodes of OVA as season 2; some would argue that season 3 listed as season 2, but we are following the format that Netflix has followed.

Hendrickson was defeated by The Seven Deadly Sins, after which not fired. While completing the mission he had established, Hendrickson involved free members of the demon clan known as The Ten Commandments. The commands soon sent Britannia to chaos when they invaded the kingdoms of Singh and Camelot.

The season ended with the Melodas and mercilessly killing Frowdrin, the disinterested commander of the Ten Commandments. It revealed that Melodius is cursed with immortality and is the son of the Demon King. The monster king plans to feed Malayodas feelings and thus obtain the power he needs to recover and conquer the human kingdom.

The fourth season of The Seven Deadly Sins will take place due to the number of stories that remain to be covered. For those who come out with the manga, the Dead Seven Deadly Sins Manners may have altered their minds by finishing.

It is not clear if the fourth season will become the last season of The Seven Deadly Sins, considering that there are only more than 110 chapters left.

A fourth season is officially announced thanks to the announcement made in chapter 310 of the manga! It means we were quite right with our prediction for a possible Netflix release date. The fourth season will be called The Seven Deadly Sins: The Chariot of the Gods.

It is difficult to go into details about the expectations of Season 4 without dropping spoilers of the manga, but you can expect the following:

The kingdom of Camelot has fallen to Zeldris and other commandments. Is this the end of Camelot with King Arthur hidden? There will be many mysteries and revelations as Meliodas relationship with Elizabeth takes an unexpected turn. As Meliodas takes more risks to protect Elizabeth, will we see him as her demon in the end? With the seven deadly sins separated throughout the kingdom, they must unite once more to take on the threat of the demonic dynasty.

The fourth season of The Seven Deadly Sins is in the middle of the broadcast in Japan, and the rest is scheduled to air from January 8, 2020, with a short break during the holidays.

Like the previous season, The Seven Deadly Sins will air the latest episodes weekly in Japan. It begins on September 22 and ends on March 25, 2020, with a 2-week Christmas break.

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'The Seven Deadly Sins': Will There Be A Season 4? Here's Everything We Know - The Digital Weekly

Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich on 40 years of chaos, flubs and impromptu immortality – Los Angeles Times

Veteran TV producer and director Ken Ehrlich began his career with the Grammy Awards telecast in 1980, and in four decades presiding over the broadcast has become perhaps best known for mashup live performances featuring musicians from often wildly disparate genres and generations. Think Elton John and Eminem in 2001, classical pianist Lang Lang with heavy metal group Metallica in 2014 or Paul McCartney, Kanye West and Rihanna in 2015.

The 62nd Grammy Awards on Jan. 26 will be his final night at the helm, after which Ben Winston, executive producer of The Late Late Show With James Corden, will take over.

I dont know what my legacy is going to be with this show, Ehrlich said. I dont know if next year Ill be forgotten. I dont care. These have been 40 of the most amazing years of my life.

We invited Ehrlich, 76, to share in his own words the watershed moments from his long tenure of bringing the awards show to viewers around the world.

MOST NERVE-RACKINGJustin Timberlake, Al Green, Boyz II Men and Keith Urban, Lets Stay Together (2009)This was the day Chris Brown and Rihanna bailed on the show during dress rehearsal. First we heard that he wasnt coming and had no clue what happened. I said to myself, Ill just let the show breathe a little more, make up three minutes here or there; Ill be OK. Then 15 minutes later, I got a call that she wasnt coming. Someone finally came in and said they were out last night, somebody hit somebody, theyre not going to be here today. Now Ive got nine, 9 minutes to fill.

I was sitting next to [Timberlakes manager] Johnny Wright. I said, What am I going to do? He said, I think theres something we can do with Justin. We walked back to Justins dressing room and told him we had a problem. Justin, with more presence of mind than I had at that moment, said, Lets look at who else is on the show and zeroed in on Al Greens name. He said, I just did Lets Stay Together with him in Memphis why dont we see if hell do that with me? We also had Boyz II Men on the show, and I thought we could use them. We walked past Keith Urban in the hallway and asked him, Would you put a solo in Lets Stay Together? He said You must be [messing] with me. We wound up with a great number with Al and Justin, plus Boyz II Men and Keith Urban in the bargain.

MOST TALKED-ABOUTAretha Franklin singing Nessun Dorma, subbing for ailing tenor Luciano Pavarotti (1998)It was 8:10, so wed already been on the air for 10 minutes, and Ron [Basile, one of the shows producers] came to me with a little note that said, Mr. Pavarotti wants you to call him. Hes at home in his apartment. I called and he said, Mr. Ehrlich, I am sick, I cannot sing tonight, I will come sing next year. After I said, I hope you feel better, I thought, What am I gonna do? Theres a 35- to 40-piece orchestra and 30 singers ready to play Nessun Dorma.

Then I remembered Aretha had sung it at the MusiCares dinner two nights before for him. She was going to be on the show to do a number related to the Blues Brothers 2000' movie. I ran upstairs to her dressing room [at Radio City Music Hall] and I took [producer-engineer] Phil Ramone with me. He had basically done MusiCares that year. We walked in, she was sitting there eating chicken, and I just laid it out to her: How would you like to sing Nessun Dorma in front of the world? She looked at me like, Ill do it, but then said, I need to rehearse it. One of us had a cassette of the afternoon rehearsal that was in the days of boom boxes. We played it for her, and she said, This is three keys higher than I sing it. Well, there was no way we could get it transposed for the orchestra and the singers in an hour. So she said, I can do it. I walked her down and stood offstage with her. It was the first time shed seen the setup with the orchestra and singers. She took my hand and squeezed it and said, This is going to be fun. Neither of us ever forgot it. After that, she put it into her concerts, and it became one of her signature pieces.

MOST CHAOTICThe show after Whitney Houston died (2012)We heard about it around 3 p.m. on Saturday, the day before the show. Todd [Smith, a.k.a. LL Cool J, the shows host that year] was there with us. I wasnt thinking in terms of his monologue at that moment. I was thinking we needed to do something, onstage, and I knew the answer was to get Jennifer Hudson to do one verse and one chorus of I Will Always Love You, with the barest accompaniment. We brought her in and cleared the house, just her and [house band member] Greg Phillinganes on piano. She couldnt get through it in the morning when she came in, but she got it on the show. Then it was all about Todd. He said, We need to start the show off with a prayer. David [Wild, the shows scriptwriter] and I looked at each other. But we are not the spiritual beings that Todd is. He came in the next morning with this prayer, we rehearsed it, put it on, and it was the most appropriate thing in the world.

MOST UNDERAPPRECIATEDB.B. King, Buddy Guy, Keith Urban and John Mayer salute to Bo Diddley (2009)Bo Diddley was shredding before it was called shredding. This segment was sandwiched in between a couple of other things that had more Pow!, but this was about musicality. If you can find it on YouTube, you can see the way it was shot: We spent [camera] time looking at the guys who werent playing to appreciate the guy who was playing. Its as much about humility and generosity as anything else.

MOST MIND-BOGGINGLY COMPLICATEDOpening number (2005)We opened the show with five Grammy performers stationed all over Staples Center: Gwen Stefani and Eve, Maroon 5, Black Eyed Peas and Los Lonely Boys. Ive always loved the finale scene from the movie Fame, where all the different departments come together and perform I Sing the Body Electric. And I had always tried to find a way to steal it for the show. The closest I came was that year. We had done three acts, and even four acts in the same number, but this one had the most people coming on- and offstage. Rehearsing it was almost impossible it was like herding cats: This ones here, that ones there. But it was fun to do.

WILDEST SURPRISEAdele Fastlove restart during George Michael salute (2017)Adele restarting her George Michael tribute because she was out of key I sure didnt expect her to stop and call out, Hey, Ken, Im sorry, I need to start this over. Obviously, she didnt hit the key at the beginning. I think it was because she didnt get the bell note. Its a number she starts a cappella. So she stopped, God bless her. She had a choice she could have gone on and gotten creamed by people who knew. But she stopped and said, Let me start over. She loved George Michael. Thats the reason I got her to do it.

MOST FUBARSly Stone tribute with Joss Stone, John Legend, Van Hunt, Maroon 5, Ciara, Aerosmiths Steven Tyler and Joe Perry (2006)I got hosed by Slys manager. It wasnt obvious in the beginning, but it became clear that he hadnt told me that Sly didnt really want to do this. He was a mess. He rode his motorcycle to Staples. He still had his motorcycle suit on when he performed he got off the bike, came onstage, did the number, then got back on the motorcycle and left.

MOST MEANINGFULSame Love with Macklemore and Lewis, Queen Latifah, Madonna and Trombone Shorty (2014)We had 28 couples of all sexual preferences who got married onstage. I had heard from my gay daughter that couples were getting engaged at Macklemore shows, so I will always be grateful to her for telling me about that. The number was wonderful and it made a difference in the culture. It made a bold statement.

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Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich on 40 years of chaos, flubs and impromptu immortality - Los Angeles Times

How Much Are the Creators of ‘Rick and Morty’ Worth? – Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Rick and Morty, the irreverent, smart, funny, decidedly strange show is a huge hit. In fact, its the biggest success Adult Swim has ever seen.

When the show went on an extra-long, two-year hiatus between seasons 3 and 4, fans were anxious to see it safely returned to the air. Well, its back, and whats even better is that it was renewed for another seven seasons.

Viewers can happily settle in to enjoy years of clever writing from the shows creators, Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon.

What are the rewards Roiland and Harmon are enjoying from creating such a popular series? How much are they worth at this point in their careers?

When the news spread thatRick and Morty had been renewed for 70 more episodes, fans everywhere rejoiced. Once the future of the show was safe, Harmon and Roiland could talk about what was the hold up between seasons 3 and 4.

It turns out that the two wanted to be paid more, and they wanted to be sure that the show wouldnt end anytime soon. They told fans that they had asked for immortality for the show, but in the end, they would accept many, many more seasons.

But even the seven more years theyve been promised might not be enough time for these two creative geniuses to explore the adventures ofRick and Morty. They have made a world that is so complicated and has so many bizarre possibilities.

Who knows how long it will take them to chase down all the loose ends? Roiland and Harmon have said that theyd be happy to keep making the show for another 20 years, as long as people are still enjoying it and creating it still feels right.

Even though there was a long wait for season 3 to drop, Harmon and Roiland werent relaxing the whole time. They clearly love what they do, and so they just kept working. They did write some of the upcoming episodes ofRick and Morty, but they also kept going on many other projects.

Harmon worked on a limited series animating Kurt VonnegutsSirens of Titan,and he co-wrote a graphic novel calledGregory Graves Vol. 1: Interview with a Supervillain.It was published by Starburns Press, which belongs to Harmon. He worked onHarmons Quest, an animated series on VRV. He also did some acting and kept up with his podcast,Harmontown.

Roiland worked on a show with another writer fromRick and Morty calledSolar Opposites.He also created a video game calledTrover Saves The Universe, which was developed by his game studio, Squanch Games. He hosted the YouTube showMeme Review with Elon Musk, and he also worked as an actor in a few projects.

This powerhouse duo certainly has put in the hours at work, and they dont show any sign of slowing down soon. They both own their own companies, and they seem to have dozens of projects going all the time. How well has all this effort paid off?

Although theyd probably say the greatest reward for them is being able to do what they love every day, theyve also done pretty well financially. Roiland is reported to have a net worth of $4 million, while Harmons bottom line is $5 million.

Its safe to say theyre pretty comfortable. Harmon recently bought a house in Los Angeles for $3.6 million.

All in all, not bad for a couple of creative and fairly strange minds.

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How Much Are the Creators of 'Rick and Morty' Worth? - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

MLB Hall of Fame: Breaking down the 2020 ballot – Call to the Pen

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(Photo by Corey Sipkin/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

As we wait for winter to end, and the sounds of Spring Training to start up once more, there are certain moments that we can all look forward to. One of those is the annual release of the MLB Hall of Fame ballot, a moment in time where, for the most part, one or more players will officially become a part of baseball immortality.

While some ballots have little drama, that is not the case this year. We all know that Derek Jeter will be a first ballot Hall of Famer the only question is whether or not he joins former teammate Mariano Rivera as the only players in the history of the game to be named on every ballot. But that does not mean that there are not other interesting story lines.

Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, two players forever linked due to PED allegations, are both entering their eighth year on the ballot. Both players have been above the 50% mark, but have yet to crack 60% and really make a run at Cooperstown. Is this the year? Then there is Curt Schilling, a relatively borderline case statistically, whose post career antics and beliefs have made him suffer at the ballot. Will he get traction this time, and find his way to upstate New York?

Let us take a look at this years MLB Hall of Fame ballot, and check out each of the 32 players listed.

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MLB Hall of Fame: Breaking down the 2020 ballot - Call to the Pen

Hawaii provides another drama to grip America | Latest Brexit news and top stories – The New European

PUBLISHED: 12:00 01 November 2019

Bonnie Greer

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 01: Democratic presidential cadidate U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) speaks during the California Democrats 2019 State Convention at the Moscone Center on June 01, 2019 in San Francisco, California. Several Democratic presidential cadidates are speaking at the California Democratic Convention that runs through Sunday. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

2019 Getty Images

Bonnie Greer on Tulsi Gabbard, the controversial senator, running for the Democratic presidential nomination.

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One of the best things about growing up in America in the 1960s was being able to watch the first run of the original Hawaii Five-O, the greatest police procedural, to this very day, that has ever existed.

Everything about the original series is exquisite: From the close-up freeze-frame that introduces the stars of the show; to the fact that the main character - portrayed by the taciturn and immortal Jack Lord - dresses like he is in Chicago, rather than in the 50th state.

His seriously heavy dark suits exist alongside the colourful 'aloha' shirts of some of the other characters. His was, of course, the forerunner of Columbo's ubiquitous mac in sunny LA. A Philip Marlowe for the 1960s and forever. The existential US detective.

And then there was the Hawaii Five-0 theme music: Music you hummed everywhere. Little kids simply adored it.

The point of Hawaii Five-O is that it existed nowhere, least of all the real Hawaii. And its thirst for a kind of revenge. This is the secret of its immortality.

The term Five-O is still shorthand for a cop in some parts of the US. But even more ubiquitous than that was the aura, the very vibe of Five-O.

Once, for the annual block party held in our street in a striving African American semi-suburb, the adults chose a Hawaii Five-O theme: aloha shirts; muumuus, those baggy, colourful dresses sometimes worn by elderly women; flower leis for their necks, a pig turning on the spit; plenty of pineapple, and of course, that greeting we all learned from TV: "Aloha."

Just how ridiculous I - an earnest student involved in the politics of the day - found the theme for the block party that year cannot be overstated. But underneath it all, it was a response to a phenomenon. And, of course, we had no idea about a little African American boy born in Honolulu seven years before the first episode of the series was shown. We could not imagine that this child would become a two-term president of the United States.

But Hawaii was fitting as his place of origin simply because of its multiculturalism. The state has the highest percentage of Asian Americans and multi-ethnic Americans, with the lowest percentage of white Americans anywhere in the US. More people identify as Asian American than anywhere else.

The state gave Hillary Clinton 266,891 votes (63%) in the 2016 election. Trump got 128,847 (30%) and none of its electoral college votes.

The state votes solid Democrat and one of its two Democratic Party senators, Mazie Hirono - the first Asian American woman senator and the first born in Japan - seldom misses the opportunity to take down Trump on TV.

One of the state's two congresspeople, Tulsi Gabbard, is running for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. On paper she is perfect: She would be the first woman; first part-Samoan and first female combat veteran elected. She resigned her post on the powerful Democratic Party National Committee to work for Bernie Sanders. A woman of colour; a combat vet; and a progressive. A dream candidate for the Dems. But there is a problem: In some quarters of the party she is deemed too close to the Syrian president, Bashar-al-Assad, whom she has visited. A no-no.

A feisty campaigner, Gabbard has previously attacked senator Kamala Harris - a rival candidate for the Democratic nomination - for being too tough as a prosecutor, the media for getting her all wrong, and the Democratic Party for "rigging" the 2020 election.

But it is in recent days that Gabbard has really made the headlines: Former presidential candidate and secretary of state Hillary Clinton suggested that a mystery Democrat was a Russian asset, a "favourite of the Russians", that Moscow was grooming to be a spoiler - a third-party candidate to siphon off the left and help Trump to re-election. Clinton did not name the candidate, but she is understood to have been referring to Gabbard.

Her fellow Democratic Party candidates Andrew Yang, Bernie Sanders and Beto O'Rourke have criticised Clinton, but the seed has been planted.

Clinton has metaphorically yelled that immortal phrase at the end of every episode of Hawaii Five-O that was usually the prelude to a 'murder one' charge: "Book 'em, Danno!"

It is true that Gabbard used Russian talking points like "regime change war" nine times in the last Democrat nominees debate. And there are those ubiquitous bad actors out there, waiting to pounce on phrases like this, ready to sow seeds of dissension in that already fragile coalition known as the Democratic Party.

But she is also seen as the candidate of what is known in the US as "global retreat" and, in that, Tulsi Gabbard is Trumpian. She is feisty like the 45th president, too, hitting out at Clinton by stating that the fight is now personal, that it is now between the two of them.

This is not a good look in a party dedicated to female empowerment and equality. But Gabbard has not yet qualified for the next debate for Democratic presidential candidates, to be held in November. In other words, she has not raised enough money. But she could get those funds on making her campaign a personal beef against Clinton, who she has called "the queen of warmongers".

The greatest thing about the original Hawaii Five-O is, of course, the character of Steve McGarrett, the head of the special police task force, played by the suited Jack Lord. He took absolutely everything personally, nothing could be too small, too inconsequential. There was never any question that he understood revenge and knew its beauty.

In that great episode Number One with a Bullet, Part 2, McGarrett informs one unlucky criminal that it was guys like him who killed his father, who was run down and killed by a robber. No doubt the chimes of doom rang inside the head of every viewer.

Gabbard has recently announced that she is not running again for Congress. Her relationship with Hawaiian political officials, particularly senator Hirono, has been described as "thorny".

It would be fascinating if Congresswoman Gabbard began her speeches with the Hawaii Five-O theme. The message then would be driven home without a word: she means business

What that business is remains to be seen.

The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.

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Hawaii provides another drama to grip America | Latest Brexit news and top stories - The New European

Immortality – Crusader Kings II Wiki

This article may contain outdated information that is inaccurate for the current version of the game. It was last updated for 3.0.

Characters who are Immortal will never die from old age or disease. However, it is still possible for them to be executed or killed by events.

Characters can gain immortality with The Reaper's Due and supernatural events enabled.

When a character becomes immortal, they cease to age. The age at which they became immortal is forever their effective age for portraits, attraction opinion, fertility, and marriage acceptance. They are immune to naturally becoming infirm or incapable .

However, immortality has its downsides.

When the character grows older, they may be afraid of death and want to seek a everlasting life. The trigger requires that the character is adult, capable, not in prison and not inaccessible. The basic MTTH for the event is 3000, this probability increases as character gets older (after 50 years old), or is unhealthy.

PC can then summon council. Based on character's stat (except stewardship stat), the character can choose which council member to send. For example if your diplomacy skill is above 12, you can send your chancellor for the quest of immortality. The stat you chose here will be important in future event chain, so it is better to choose the councilor that corresponds to your highest stat. The character can also choose to (or only able to if all stats are under 12) let council make their own decision, where there is only a 35% or 15% chance that the mystic appears and a random stat is used.

Later the sent councilor will ask the character for money. The success rate of the search is basically 50:50. It increases to 100:50 with 'affordable payment', up to 200:50 with 'expensive option'. If, unfortunately, the sent councilor died or left, there is only a 35% (50% if the sent councilor failed) chance that the mystic appears and a random stat is used.

When the councilor succeeds, he brings up the mystic, a female character with the chosen stat at a very high level. For example, if you chose your chancellor for the quest, a Norse woman "Iduun" with very high diplomacy appears in your court.

The story of the following event chain, the benefits in the middle of the chain, and the risk of failure varies on which kind of mystic the character met.

There is a probability that this mystic might be a fraud, and a fraudulent mystic (almost always) fails the quest. Probability of success decreases in each step, and drops dramatically at the very last step of the quest, more than 1000:1 of failure at the very end. It is reasonably impossible to make it successful with a fraudulent mystic. The chance that the mystic is fraudulent is reduced if the chosen attribute is high (the thresholds are 10, 13, 16, 19 and 22).

When the mystic arrives and you decide to trust her, your dynasty member might be suspicious of her and try to figure out whether she's reliable or not. This is a very important step, as you can figure out whether the mystic is a fraud or not. If the dynasty member has any of the traits Deceitful , Ambitious or Envious , he will always lie to you. Meaning that if he has one of these traits, and the mystic is a fraud, he will tell you that you can trust her, and vice versa.

By using the console, you can see if the mystic is a fraud or not by using the "charinfo" command and mousing over the mystic. If she has the "mystic_is_fraud" flag, she is a fraud.

By this time, you can make sure if you should trust her or not, but even if you know she's a fraud, you can still undertake the questthe quest chain may give you a good trait, and you can abandon the chain any time you want.

As the event chain goes on, the character will encounter three events. Each event has a chance to fail, which will increase if the mystic is a fraud (see above for detail). The chance of success increases if character's chosen attribute is high (the thresholds are 13, 16, 19 and 22). Failure in an event means the end of the quest, and may result in some negative traits or even death.

In each step, the character must decide to do something (or quit), and usually spend money to have a better chance of success.

If the character's chosen attribute is martial or learning, then, in the third step, following the mystic's instructions has a chance of "succeeding" via reincarnation, which means the character will die and a child with identical race, culture, religion and some of the same traits will born as the character's child.

Dragatus shares information about the effect of stats and roughly how to tell an impostor from a real mystic: immortal-learning-path 2017 May 3rd

------ Full Quest Path Including Stat Modifiers

First thing to keep in mind before ANYTHING, is that there's about a 90% chance the mystic is a fraud when showing up which makes it 1000% more likely (the actual multiplier in the game files) that you fail the quest on the final trial and causes every single step of the trial to have an almost doubled chance of failure. So from the immediate beginning of the event you should be aware you are almost ensured failure, so pursue immortality at your own risk. Assuming the mystic isn't a fraud and you beat the first trial of luck and have a legitimate Mystic, we move on...

When the council is summoned, whichever councilor you have search for a mystic is the corresponding attribute that is going to be important. Each trial you get a bonus to succeeding the higher your stat is up to having the attribute at 22 (anything higher doesn't increase the bonuses) Thus having:Marshall finds Mystic that uses MartialCouncilor finds Mystic that uses DiplomacySpymaster finds Mystic that uses IntrigueCourt Chaplain/Imam/etc. finds Mystic that uses LearningThere is no Mystic that uses Stewardship

Once the requisite mystic is summoned, each trial generally falls under two choices that progress to the next stage, and one that backs out. There's a generally a choice that has a higher chance of success but also comes with a chance of critical failure, which can give you negative traits or immediate death. And there tends to be a choice where you have a lower chance of success but failure tends to have only negative traits given and the mystic leaves.

For a bare-bones breakdown here:

Child (Learning Mystic)

TRIAL 1:Option 1 Give CharityHas:-Kind-Drunkard-Charitable-JustSUCCEEDDoes NOT Have: If Has AND has one NOT have (20%)-Cruel-Arbitrary-Cynical

TRIAL 2Option 1 Cheat Fast-Increasing percentile of 35 maxing at Learning 22 bonuses start at Learning 13Option 2 Fast-Increasing percentile of 50 maxing at Learning 22 bonuses start at Learning 13-15% Chance of Horrible Failure

TRIAL 3Option 1-Increasing percentile of 40 maxing at Learning 22 bonuses start at Learning 13-Failure reincarnates soul into relative, copies your traitsOption 2-Increasing percentile of 25 maxing at Learning 22 bonuses start at Learning 13-Failure has you possessed

African (Martial Mystic?)

TRIAL 1Option 1 Sacrifice Antelope-Increasing percentile of 60 maxing at Martial 22 bonuses start at 13Option 2 Burn Grain-Increasing percentile of 50 maxing at Martial 22 bonuses start at 13

TRIAL 2Option 1 Grab Snake-Increasing percentile of 50 maxing at Martial 22 bonuses start at 13Option 2 Hit Snake-Increasing percentile of 35 maxing at Martial 22 bonuses start at 13

TRIAL 3Option 1 Drink Herbs-Increasing percentile of 40 maxing at Martial 22 bonuses start at 13Option 2 Ascend on your own-Increasing percentile of 25 maxing at Martial 22 bonuses start at 13

Old Crone (Intrigue Mystic)

TRIAL 1Option 1 Have her teach you-Increasing percentile of 60 maxing at Intrigue 22 bonuses start at 13Option 2 do it yourself-Increasing percentile of 50 maxing at Intrigue 22 bonuses start at 13

TRIAL 2Option 1-Increasing percentile of 35 maxing at Intrigue 22 bonuses start at 13Option 2-Increasing percentile of 50 maxing at Intrigue 22 bonuses start at 13-15% Chance of Horrible Failure

TRIAL 3Option 1-Increasing percentile of 40 maxing at Intrigue 22 bonuses start at 13Option 2-Increasing percentile of 25 maxing at Intrigue 22 bonuses start at 13

Young Germanic (Diplomacy Mystic)

TRIAL 1Option 1 Hire Adventurers-Increasing percentile of 60 maxing at Diplomacy 22 bonuses start at 13Option 2 Get Local Adventurers-Increasing percentile of 50 maxing at Diplomacy 22 bonuses start at 13

TRIAL 2Option 1 Safe Route Around Rocks-Increasing percentile of 35 maxing at Diplomacy 22 bonuses start at 13Option 2 Go Through Rocks-Increasing percentile of 50 maxing at Diplomacy 22 bonuses start at 13-15% chance of Horrible Failure

TRIAL 3Option 1 Bribe your friend-Increasing percentile of 40 maxing at Diplomacy 22 bonuses start at 13Option 2 Persuade your friend-Increasing percentile of 20 maxing at Diplomacy 22 bonuses start at 13

source: Reddit

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Immortality - Crusader Kings II Wiki