Daily Archives: February 7, 2017

Donald Trump has been tweeting about Kristen Stewart since 2012, despite not knowing her. But now that he's president, Stewart, who isn't usually one to take political positions, addressed him directly in her Saturday Night Live monologue, saying that if he didn't like her seven years ago, then he will like her even less now, because, as she says, "I'm so gay, dude."

The Twilight actress hasn't always been so open about her sexuality. This is the first time she's publicly embraced any label. Queer rumors followed the actress back since she was dating her Twilight costar, Robert Pattinson, the actor who Stewart claims Trump is obsessed with. Stewart talked about her sexuality for the first time in 2015, when she appeared on the September cover of Nylon. She told the magazine, "Google me, I'm not hiding," when asked if she is queer. At the time, photos of her and her then-girlfriend, Alicia Cargile, were all over the internet.

That phrase, "Google me, I'm not hiding," took on special meaning for Stewart, who later admitted that she purposely wanted the paparazzi to take photos of her with Soko, a French pop star Stewart dated after she and Cargile broke up, because that was a way for her to be out without having to say it. "That's really important to me," she told Varietyabout having her young fans see her holding hands with or kissing another woman. "As much as I want to protect myself, it's not about hiding. As soon as you start throwing up so many walls, you cannot see over them yourself, so you just start isolating in a way that's not honest."

In the same interview with Variety in 2016, the actress opened up and said that when she was dating men, she never talked about her relationships to anyone. She said, at the time, that she felt the same about dating women. "I'm not hiding shit," she told the magazine. "I'm very obviously..." she said, before trailing off without saying the word "gay" or "queer."

But that changed months later, when she did an interview with T, the New York Times style magazine. She spoke about Cargile, with whom she had often been photographed. "Look how cute she is," she told the publication, while showing photos of the two together from a private Instagram account. "I love her so much," she said. Stewart got back together with Cargile after breaking up with Soko.

Stewart's position about not speaking publicly about her relationships changed when she began dating women because "it seemed like there was an opportunity to represent something really positive," Stewart told the Times. While the actress was known for usually keeping mum about her personal life, she didn't want to seem homophobic by not speaking about it. "I still want to protect my personal life, but I don't want to seem like I'm protecting the idea, so that does sort of feel like I owe something to people."

While promoting her movie Equals, Stewart was asked about the process of opening up the media about her relationships with women. "I've discovered a way to live my life and not feel like I'm hiding at all," she told the Los Angeles Times. "And I think that's pretty apparent for anyone who cares not that everyone does. But I think that if you had been tracking it in any way, it's more apparent that I'm more relaxed than I used to be."

Stewart's fans have definitely been tracking it. It's because when Stewart opens up about being queer, it lets her fans, especially her queer fans, know that there's no need to hide your sexuality, even when you have a president who reportedly isconsidering signing an anti-LGBT "religious freedom" order that would make it legal to discriminate against LGBT people.

Watch Stewart's Saturday Night Live monologue below.

Read the original post:

The Queer Evolution of Kristen Stewart - Advocate.com

In Insectivorous Plants, Sir Charles Darwin pondered carnivorous plants.They live in habitats poor in nutrients, mostly on nitrogen and phosphorous, and have compensated this lack with the ability to digest animals such as insects and other arthropods.

Adapting and surviving with a carnivorous diet in nutrient-poor soils is an evolutionary process that some evolutionary unrelated species have been going through, repeatedly and independently, from the same set of genes and proteins, according to a new study in Nature Ecology&Evolution.

All plants are photosynthetic organisms, that is, they turn transform the inorganic matter of the environment into organic molecules (glucose). To complete the lack of nutrients of some soils, carnivorous plants can catch and absorb nutrients from a prey, thanks to an exclusively biological mechanism. Carnivorous plants are a clear example of convergent evolution, probably due the heavy biological restrictions imposed by extreme nutrient-poor ecosystems. That this convergence was accompanied by a parallel molecular evolution in digestive enzymes makes this system an interesting example from the perspective of the study of the evolutionary process.

According to this study, natural selection has taken similar evolutionary routes so that plants can feed from other animals to complete their diets. Credit: Universidad de Barcelona

The authors sequenced the genome of the pitcher plant (Cephalotus follicularis), an Australian species that can be identified for its insectivorous leaves pit-fall traps that catch insects - very different from the other leaves. The genome of this species, the second carnivorous plant with the complete genome sequenced after Utricularia gibba, is relatively large, and consists of 1.6 Gb, which is almost half of the human genome. The researchers have identified more than 36,000 genes.

According to the results, leaves that catch insects have gained new enzymatic functions: basic chitinase, which breaks down chitin (main component of insects exoskeleton), and purple acid phosphatase which releases phosphate groups from molecules, and it contributes to the mobilization of the preys phosphate, says professor Julio Rozas, who leads the Evolutionary Genomics and Bioinformatics research group at the University of Barcelona.

"In the study, we have stated that genes originally involved in the defence against certain diseases or the response to biotic and abiotic stress- have acquired new functions (co-option) related to the ability of feeding from animals. This is the case, for instance, of a specific set of proteins that evolved to act as digestive enzymes, said Pablo Librado, also from University of Barcelona. The results of co-option, regarding both the digestive enzymes and the amino acid changes seen in these enzymes, show that evolution has acted on a limited number of evolutionary routes in the adaptive transition to the carnivorous diet.

Citation: K. Fukushima, X. Fang, D. Alvarez-Ponce, H. Cai, L. Carretero-Paulet, C. Chen, T. Chang, K. M. Farr, T. Fujita, Y. Hiwatashi, Y. Hoshi, T. Imai, M. Kasahara, P. Librado, L. Mao, H. Mori, T. Nishiyama, M. Nozawa, G. Plfalvi, S. T. Pollard, J. Rozas, A. Snchez-Gracia, D. Sankoff, T. F. Shibata, S. Shigenobu, N. Sumikawa, T. Uzawa, M. Xie, C. Zheng, D. D. Pollock, V. A. Albert, S. Li, M. Hasebe, 'The pitcher plant Cephalotus genome reveals genetic changes associated with carnivory', Nature Ecology & Evolution, Feb 2017

Original post:

Convergent Evolution: Why Some Plants Became Carnivorous - Science 2.0

For a recent episode of the Skift Podcast, we looked at the experiences of travelers with disabilities. For many companies, accommodating customers with disabilities is a legal obligation, but the companies that do more are better satisfying their customers and capturing this sizable market share according to the Open Doors Organization, adults with disabilities in the U.S. spend $17.3 billion a year on leisure and business travel.Over the two years before the study, 26 million adults with disabilities took 73 million trips.

Our guests includedPeter Slatin, founder and president of Slatin Group, which provides education and training to help businesses including many in travel improve interactions with clients who have disabilities. His program Elements of Service: Serving Guests with Disabilities also recently went online through the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute.

Also with us via Skype was Brett Heising, CEO of brettapproved.com, a travel and entertainment review site for users with physical disabilities or mobility impairment. Through a travel agency partnership, the site also provides bookings and trip coordination.

They joined Skift podcast host Hannah Sampson and reporter Andrew Sheivachman.

Here are five takeaways from the conversation:

Hotels and state tourism boards need to catch up to museums and theaters.

In Slatins view, entertainment businesses like museums and theaters have done a more comprehensive job of welcoming customers with disabilities than hotels and state tourism boards.

There is a lot of lip service. Oh yes, we want you to be our customer, but we dont really want to do anything other than what we were told we had to do and we really didnt like doing that because it costs us money, explained Slatin. That breeds a head-in-the-sand mentality thats going to eventually bite the industry in the wrong place.

Theres things being done at the state tourism level, but we do have a long way to go, added Heising.

Meetings and events are big business for this demographic.

There are many big gatherings around the country for people with disabilities, and when these events happen, hotels are often unprepared to serve a high number of customers with disabilities at once. That potentially translates to lost income.

I go every year to the largest organization of people with vision impairments. The National Federation of the Blind has its annual meeting sometime usually in July, said Slatin. You have 3,000 people, many of whom are wheelchair users, many of whom are hearing impaired or hard of hearing, as well as blind. There are a lot of dogs, there are a lot of people, and there are a lot of able-bodied people as well, but thats a big spend in that theyre renting a couple thousand rooms, theyre eating all over the place and thats just one group.

Travelers with disabilities may prefer to book direct.

Since logistical problems are likely to arise at some point during a trip, many travelers with disabilities prefer to cut out the middleman, i.e. the online travel agency, and book directly with the hotel. This way, if the room ends up not being accessible, the traveler can more easily address that issue with hotel management.

I always book directly with the hotel because if there is a problem, theyre going to be able to resolve it much quicker, as opposed to saying, Oh, you booked through OTA X, give them a call. Like all consumers, I want a speedy resolution to my challenge, said Heising.

Now, of course, I cant read those screens and those [OTA] sites are really not accessible, although the OTAs will say they are, said Slatin, who deals with vision impairment. [The OTAs] have phone numbers you can call, but those are sales people and they work really hard to sell you something you have to push back really hard. It becomes kind of an unpleasant interaction, so I then will turn to a sighted colleague or Ill just start calling some hotels.

Hoteliers should make Universal Design a higher priority for future properties.

First, a definition of this term: Universal Design, as I understand it, is just a physical design of something. It could be a hotel room or a can opener, that works for everybody. That has the masses in mind, explained Heising.

Disability takes many different forms, so moving forward, hotels might find that it pays off to take this wide-ranging look at how a room should function, to serve as many people as possible.

Why not make sure that they follow the seven tenets of Universal Design and make sure that everybody can use them? Heres a wacky idea: How about a hundred-room hotel with a hundred roll-in showers? Isnt that nuts? I mean, how cool would that be? said Heising.

I dont see any silver bullet. I dont see any earthquake. I see incremental change, but well get to the point where we will notice the separation less and less, said Slatin.

Disability is far more prevalent than many travel leaders realize.

Heising points out that while many travelers wont suffer from blindness in their younger years, for example, a person will probably develop some type of disability as they age and will require appropriate services.

You might not need brettapproved today, but if you live long enough, youre going to need brettapproved, or youre going to go someplace really cool and its not going to matter. Right? said Heising.

Start listening to The Skift Podcast, today. Subscribe viaiTunes,SoundcloudorRSS.

Go here to see the original:

The Evolution of Accessible Travel: 5 Podcast Takeaways - Skift

The original Psychonauts is the definition of a cult-classic. Tim Schafer spent over a decade at LucasArts making comedicadventure games like Grim Fandango, Day of the Tentacle, and The Secret of Monkey Island. Eventually, he left LucasArts to found his own game studio, Double Fine Productions, and their first game was a third-person platforming adventure about a secret society ofpsychic spies. Fans loved it, critics adored it, and as is the case sometimes, it just didnt sell well.

Fast forward severalyears after a handful of re-releases of the original and Psychonauts 2 is officially happeningfollowing the studios raise of over $3.8 million thanks to the democratic power of crowdfunding.Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin then, alternatively, is a VR-exclusive first-person adventure puzzle game in which you embark on a rescue mission for the leader of the Psychonauts himself. The entire 3-4 hour adventure begins right where the original game leaves off and leads directly into the numbered sequel set to release next year in 2018.

Last week I visited Double Fines San Francisco office and had the chance to play through the first 45 minutes of the game and chat with Project Lead,Chad Dawson. He explained that when Schafer had first theorized the idea for Psychonauts 2, this interim story we find here wasnt factored in at all. The plan before was to simply reference the mission you embark on with your team in the sequel, but just leave it as a quickly referenced unplayable flashback. The prospect ofSonys PlayStation VR (PSVR) quickly changed that.

After playing the game for an extended amount of time, I can see why. When I originally got my hands on an abbreviated demo at E3 and was pleased with the quality of the presentation and the appearance of Double Fines trademark humor, but was unsure how well it could translate to an entire adventure. Thankfully the mechanics seem more than capable.

Dawson explained that what I was playing was essentially a final build of the game thats already passed certification by Sony. After donning a PSVR headset, I selected the New Game option from the main menu and got loaded into the mind of Raz, the main character of the series and primary protagonist in each of the franchises games. As a psychic spy, he has a litany of special mind powers.

For starters, his clairvoyance allows him to jump into the minds of other people, seeing things through their eyes and reading their thoughts. Telekinesis lets him lift and move objects, he can push things too, and even set items on fire as well. The games opening moments serve as a tutorial of sorts, as it slowly introduces new powers and mechanics.

Eventually Im able to connect to the mind of the captured Psychonauts leader,Truman Zanotto, while he is being held captive in a secret enemy base. This is where the real game starts. In a traditional point and click adventure game, youd explore the environment and search for clues about what to do next, but in this new Psychonauts game, it feels like a more organic puzzle solving adventure. I can look around my surroundings using my actual head and leap into the minds of guards standing around.

After taking over the minds of others, I can see the room from new perspectives, looking for clues and items to help me figure out where the leaders being kept. All in all, thats what the game boils down to. Youll be placed in a tricky situation, tasked with finding out what to do next using your surroundings for clues, and listening to exposition and details explained through dialogue. And even though in real life I was sitting in a meeting room surrounded by other people while I played, I couldnt help but chuckle to myself at the jokes and witty humor throughout.

Dawson also explained the myriad challenges that a game like Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin presented. Since the team had never worked on a piece of VR content before, they started to realize that traditional movement caused some sickness in people, which is part of why the clairvoyance mechanic is used to teleport around levels by traveling through the minds of others. Since PSVR performs best as a 180-degree device, every time a player teleports there needs to be at least one other person in the line of sight directly in front of you so that you can move again.

This changed the way environments were designed and forced the studio to think about levels differently. An old-school adventure game or a modern interpretation of the genre like Double Fines Broken Age might simply display 2D illustrated scenes that you can move around and click on, but that doesnt work in VR.

Some games like Obduction [Review: 8/10] adapt immersive, puzzle-based adventure games into VR with little changes, but Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin feels like a more robust re-imagining of the genre. Its designed from the ground up with VR in mind and the mere presence of psychic puzzles truly make you feel like the headset is a portal into the minds of the games characters. Its about as clever and clean of a genre/platform combination you could hope for and feels right at home.

You wont have much longer to wait until you can get your hands on it either, asPsychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin is set to release for PSVR this February 21st. Currently there are no plans for a Rift or Vive version, although perhaps that will come at a later time.

Are you a Psychonauts fan? Do you plan on getting this when it releases in a couple of weeks? Let us know in the comments down below!

Tagged with: double fine, playstation, ps4, PSVR, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin

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Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin Feels Like an Evolution of Double Fine's Adventure Game Roots - UploadVR