Daily Archives: November 3, 2021

IT is undas with the tremendous difference that we cannot troop to the cemeteries like we used to, to reverence the resting places of our loved ones and for the attendant merriment that made November 2 some kind of a carnival day rather than a somber remembering of the dead, because of the lingering threat of Covid that has sent many of those we knew and loved prematurely to the cemetery!

The Catholic Church instituted the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed in the belief that though dead, they still form part of the Church that community assembled by Jesus Christ, made heirs to the promise of the Resurrection. So, in traditional catechism books, there were distinguished the "church militant" that referred to us who are still on our pilgrim way, the "church triumphant" that has reached the prized goal the Vision of God and the company of the blessed and the "church suffering," those being prepared for participation in the joys of heaven and that needed our prayers and suffrages. (In Catholic theology, a suffrage is a good deed cast, like a ballot, in favor of someone.) November 1, All Saints' (All Hallows hence Halloween!), was the day of the church triumphant; November 2, All Souls', invited prayers for the church suffering. Of course, the Catholic doctrine of "purgatory" has been one of the hotly contested teachings of the Church but all Christians find it meaningful and praiseworthy to pray for the dead! There is no sect I know that has absolutely no rite of farewell or commendation!

Cemeteries and memorial parks exist largely because of belief that the dead somehow live on. How they do is a matter of philosophical position and theological orientation. And this is more than just belief that their "memory" lives on or that their "cause" is alive and well. Rather, it is the belief that death has not brought about the annihilation of those we love. Of course, it is true as Gabriel Marcel, the French existentialist philosopher, taught decades ago that love always says of the loved one: "You shall not die," and clearly, a very powerful motive for belief in "immortality" is love which is not to say that it has no better philosophical foundation than wishful thinking! In this vein, there was pointed out, very usefully, the difference between "body-object" and "body-subject." It is not a gratuitous distinction nor a worthless a priori postulation. People see me and my body statistics body mass index, height, physiological processes, anatomical proportions may be the object of study. This is the body as an object. But the body as subject is the body as I live it, the body that lies at the boundary of being and having that body that I identify myself with of which none can have an experience but myself. And while at death, we know what happens to the body-object that gives us no reason at all to decide that the body-subject has receded into inexistence. To do this would be to eliminate the clear, experienceable difference between the body as "thing" and the body as "me" or "mine!"

In Thomas Aquinas and many medieval thinkers, the soul exhibited subsistent activity activity apparently not dependent on any bodily organ. Thought was the sterling example. While it is true that somehow that which is thought must have been sensed antecedently to arrive at an understanding and not merely a sense experience of what a thing is, and to affirm that it is, or is not so were, to Aquinas and his tribe, achievements of the mind that were independent of the body. The mind, or the intellect, was taken to be one of the "faculties" of the soul the will being the other. Now, it was reasoned, if the mind is capable of subsistent activity, the soul, of which it is a power, must likewise be subsistent and must be capable of existing even in a state of separation from its material co-principle. Peter Geach has recently restated this argument in contemporary terms.

Another concept of immortality comes from the process notion of the "consequent nature" of God. If I am affected, transformed, constituted by events in my immediate past, the same thing should be true of God who is the nontemporal actual entity. In other words, God prehends everything and everyone. While process thinkers thought this true of every actual entity prehending entities in its immediate past and in turn co-constituting the entity that succeeds it there is something more in respect to the consequent nature of God. Why is it that after some time, the memory of those we loved intensely and mourned for disconsolately seems to fade? Why is it that after several years, we no longer hear the sound of their voices, nor remember the wrinkles on their faces, nor the smiles that made us smile? Their memory "fades." And the answer is clear: Because our memories are imperfect, short, fickle. But God, being God, his memory is perfect; the integration within the Divine life of the lives of those we loved is perfect and none of the immediacy of their personal lives is lost.

For the Christian, the axis of faith is actually the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without the Resurrection, Christianity does not make much sense, not even as an ethical theory. The core proclamation of the early Church was: He is Risen and the reason that everything that Jesus did and preached, taught and laid down, has eternal meaning and value is because he was raised not the other way round! In fact, the criterion of apostolic succession when the remaining apostles had to choose a successor for Judas Iscariot was that he had to be a witness to the Risen Lord. And that, too, was Paul's life-changing experience on the Road to Damascus. Not only is this the faith that has sustained Christians through persecution and martyrdom, kept them afloat for centuries through the vicissitudes and trials of life. It is also what has allowed the Church to endure despite everything that its detractors and foes can point to as its historical faults and failings. Its proclamation has never ceased to draw the attention of the world and to sustain the hopes of humankind: "He is Risen."

May the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen!

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The dream of immortality - The Manila Times

Angela Bassett inducts Tina Turner onstage during the 36th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Oct. 30, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio.Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

LL Cool J got together some of his heavyweight musical friends to usher him into rock immortality.

Part of an eclectic 2021 class that includes Carole King, Tina Turner, The Go-Gos, Jay-Z, Foo Fighters and Todd Rundgren, Cool J was joined on stage by rapper Eminem and Jennifer Lopez for a powerful performance on Saturday night during the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

With New York street style and swagger, Cool J was one of hip-hops first superstars in the 1980s and remains a relevant artist more than 40 years later.

Brad Wheeler: Guess Who wont make it into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

What does LL really stand for? asked rapper/produced Dr. Dre at the opening of his induction speech for his good friend. Ladies love? Living large? Licking lips? Im here because I think it stands for living legend.

Cool J then did a medley of his hits, including Rock The Bells accompanied by a bearded Eminem before he was joined by J-Lo for All I Have. Cool J wrapped up his blistering performance with one of his biggest hits Mama Said Knock You Out.

After the final note, Cool J pointed to a photo of his mother behind the stage and said, Mom, I made it.

He was enshrined for musical excellence along with keyboardist Billy Preston and guitarist Randy Rhoads.

Electronic pioneers Kraftwerk, singer-poet Gil Scott-Heron and Delta blues legend Charley Patton are being inducted as early influencers and Sussex Records founder Clarence Avant is receiving the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

Superstar Taylor Swift opened the show by performing one of Kings best-known songs, Will You Love Me Tomorrow, which appeared on Tapestry her seminal 1971 album. It became a soundtrack for a generation and has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide.

Swift gave a moving, heartfelt induction speech for one of her musical idols.

Taylor Swift performs during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony, Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, in Cleveland. Swift paid a tribute to Carole King, calling her the greatest songwriter of all time.David Richard/The Associated Press

I cant remember a time when I didnt know Carole Kings music, Swift said, saying her parents taught her several important lessons as a child with one of the most important being that Carole King is the greatest songwriter of all time.

King thanked Swift for carrying the torch forward. She concluded her remarks by noting other female singers and songwriters have said they stand on her shoulders.

Let it not be forgotten, King said. They also stand on the shoulders of the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. May she rest in power, Miss Aretha Franklin.

King then introduced Jennifer Hudson, who did a powerhouse performance of (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman before King sang You Got A Friend.

The 81-year-old Turner, who found her greatest success when she left abusive husband Ike Turner, lives in Switzerland and did not attend the ceremony.

If theyre still giving me awards at 81, Turner said in a video message. I must have done something right.

She was inducted by actress Angela Bassett, who played the magnetic singer and tour de force stage entertainer in the 1993 biopic Whats Love Got To Do With It.

Bassett called it one of the most demanding roles Ive ever played and one of the most fulfilling. Like Tina, I was a little black girl who had dreams far beyond what the world expected of me.

Keith Urban and H.E.R. then performed Turners Its Only Love a duet Turner did with Bryan Adams before Mickey Guyton sang Whats Love Got To Do With It and Christina Aguilera belted River Deep, Mountain High one of Turners first hits.

This years ceremony was held for the first time at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the 20,000-seat home of the NBAs Cleveland Cavaliers and a venue familiar to Jay-Z and Foo Fighters, who have played shows in the arena before.

It was a return to normalcy for the event, which was forced to go virtual in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Artists are not eligible for induction until 25 years after release of their first recording. There are lively debates every year over omissions, and as Public Enemys Chuck D noted during a plague induction ceremony on Friday at the hall, patience is sometimes another requirement for entrance.

It aint no overnight thing, he said. You cant stumble into this place.

That was certainly the case for King, who had been eligible for enshrinement as a solo artist since 1986. She went in previously as a songwriter with Gerry Goffin, her late husband, in 1990.

It was also a long wait for Cool J, who had been nominated six times.

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Rock Hall 2021: LL Cool J, Carole King, Tina Turner ushered into rock immortality - The Globe and Mail

Developer Arkane Studios has revealed some of the environmental inspirations for its time-twisting shooter Deathloop.

Blackreef Island, the central location inDeathloop, is a striking place cold and isolated, yet populated (admittedly by hedonistic cultists living the same day on repeat as a desperate grasp for immortality) and possessed of striking natural beauty. While that taps into the sense of protagonist Cole having no one to rely on but himself as he faces down an entire island thats out to kill him, its also based on real-world locations.

On the officialDeathloop Twitter account (as spotted by GamesRadar), Arkane revealed that Blackreef is inspired by Edinburgh, Scotland, with dark shades of stone facades made from the rock present on the island.

It added that the studio also took inspiration from the Faroe Islands, to give it that isolated village feel.

Given the population of the Faroe Islands in 2020 sat at a mere 52,337, with a population density of 38.1 per square kilometre compared to the UKs density of 270.7 per square kilometre it probably served as excellent reference material for Blackreefs vast rocky expanses and icy tundra.

Deathloop launched on September 14 on PS5 and PC. In NMEs review of the game, it was dubbed Arkanes most ambitious game, with reviewer Jordan Oloman saying they wereblown away by Arkanes ambitions in game design, and how they manage to maintain them alongside such strong aesthetics, and compelling writing.

However, nearly two months on from release, Arkane says players still havent uncovered all of the game or Blackreefs secrets.

In other news, the famously difficult Tetris: The Grand Master a Japan-only version of the block-dropping puzzler that tests even the most committed players skills may finally be coming to consoles in the west.

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Deathloop based Blackreef Island on Scotland and the Faroe Islands - NME.com

This year, there is one game world I have enjoyed exploring more than any other. Were so spoiled for visually rich open environments these days, it takes something special to keep players immersed, to keep them wandering about looking at stuff, just for the sake of it. Deathloop is a shining example. Developer Arkane is known for its highly refined and individual approach to game art, thanks to the astonishing Dishonored titles, set in a steam-punk dystopia of rats, robotic guards and ornate classical architecture. This time around, the team created a strange Groundhog Day-like adventure set on an island populated by mad scientists and spoiled billionaires, all looking to gain immortality by living the same day over and over again, thanks to a localised space-time phenomenon.

The island of Blackreef, where the whole game takes place, provides a fascinating example of how Arkane works. At first, the team built a timeline to explain the variety of natural and human-made features in each region. The location itself is a remote, wintery outpost, heavily inspired by the Faroe Islands, with craggy cliffs and windswept grasslands. On top of this are the monolithic concrete buildings constructed by a group of military researchers who arrived in the 1930s to investigate the islands weird phenomena. And then, decades later came Aeon, a cabal of rich tech bros, looking for a new playground. It was kind of like if Elon Musk had said, lets go to the Bermuda Triangle and study it! explains art director Seb Mitton. They came with all this money and realised they could create these strange events. They said were going to start this loop and were going to live forever.

So in the islands architecture, you see different layers co-existing: the islands flora, the military buildings, with bunkers and towering antenna (inspired by abandoned sites in northern Europe, Japan and Russia, such as Chenobyl), and in addition, a hedonistic society, re-purposing and re-decorating everything they see. For this element, Mitton and his team were heavily inspired by the end of the 1960s. It was all about freedom of mind, he said. If you think about hippies, people really wanted change at that time, people wanted to live differently, but you had the cold war as well; there was a lot of violence. We found inspiration in the era of the Vietnam war that helped us build the Aeon programme: the visionaries and their guests what are their goals in life? For some its drinking all day, its partying, for others its about killing people. But there are no consequences because there is no tomorrow, so, even though theres a lot of violence, its very lighthearted.

The 60s influence is clear in the games interiors the buildings throughout are filled with brash, multicoloured furnishings, weird art and gigantic Saul Bass-style posters. However, Mittons team worked hard to avoid kitsch excesses they didnt want it to become Austin Powers: the game. At the same time, we looked at contemporary materials and there were a lot of rugs, a lot of rounded plastics it was very different to what we did in the Dishonored games, where it was a lot of straight lines. Theres a big contrast between the outside where everything is cold and hard, and the interiors, where everything is colourful. At Arkane, we love creating contrast because it plays with the players emotions. We also developed different layers depending on each of the visionaries background: some build laboratories, but Frank has a casino for him its a party. So we took these different themes inspired by the 60s and we developed them differently to reflect the characters.

Another big influence on the interior architecture was Frank Lloyd Wright, whose approach suited the experience Arkane wanted to provide. As he explains, He made these huge offices and in our game thats very useful we couldnt make very small interiors because we want a lot of mobility. Also, he was one of the first architects to work with diffused light so youd look up and think you were seeing the ceiling but actually it was the light behind it. It was such a different approach to office design. For the parties, we looked at how he lit interiors to make inside light look like outside light, we looked at all his work with lines and wooden curves. As soon as you go in Joannas house at the very beginning of the game, you see the 1960s has taken hold: these big rooms, huge lamps, feature fireplaces thats 60s interior design.

Mitton reels off the cinematic influences on the look of the game. It feels like Kubrick is in there, as well as Roger Vadim, but he also cites Jacques Tatis futuristic classic Playtime, and Tarantinos Jackie Brown. Importantly though, the townscapes in Deathloop are designed to be play spaces, to encourage joyful exploration. Here, the team was inspired by Italian towns such as Positano, which tumble down steep cliffs towards the sea and look climbable. You see it on Google Earth or Street View and you think I could jump from this roof to that one, that would be great. We call our districts mini open worlds because theyre not linear, you can go everywhere, there are very few buildings closed off some that are closed during the day might be open in the evening. We play a lot with physics and water levels, so some places unlock when tides go out. Its really important to make sure players dont get burned out. When people play Dishonored, even today theyll still find different passageways.

For the strange costumes worn by the games non-player characters, Mitton looked at late-60s fashion. It was an era in which people were moving away from tailored clothes, toward expressive fashion with lots of new fabrics and printing technologies. With swinging London, he says. People really took hold of their look, they joined fashion gangs. We looked at Twiggy, she really brought forward that whole ready-to-wear, off-the-rack look. People would choose clothing and assemble their own style. Were still Arkane, though, so we always look at the lines, we make sure everything reflects the light beautifully, we looked at new shaders for the different fabrics

The decision to have all the characters wear masks was partly technological (its still difficult to portray authentic emotions on the face of a game character), but it was also about the idea of using fashion, design and art to express emotion. Aeon is living like an endless party, so it made sense to express this in the decoration of the streets and buildings such as the coloured powders used in Hindu festivals, or the paint-throwing in the Cascamorras festivals of Andalucia, or of course, the vast street murals of the hippy era. I mean sometimes theyd paint entire building facades, says Mitton. There are pubs in London that were entirely painted, even the roof tiles, and these were exterior projections of their emotions: this is our party, our place. For the people of Aeon, why not just live an exalted crazy life?!

I think thats why the world of Deathloop is so arresting and explorable it isnt just a pastiche of historical architecture and design. Everything has a place in the fiction of the world, and everything expresses an underlying theme or idea. As Mitton puts it, we looked at the Beatles and Rolling Stones, but we tried to understand what was cool about those haircuts, and what was just too goofy. He pauses for a second before adding. That took us a really long time.

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Deathloop: how Arkane used Frank Lloyd Wright, Tarantino and Twiggy to build a world - The Guardian

This weekend sees Saul Canelo Alvarez take a huge leap towards boxing immortality. The WBA, WBC and WBO super-middleweight champion takes on IBF champion Caleb Plant for the chance to become undisputed. After a heated build-up, which has seen the great Mexican uncharacteristically lose his cool, the main event has potential to become an absolute cracker.

Heres everything you need to know ahead of one of the biggest fights of the year...

Where:

MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

When:

Saturday, November 6.

How To Watch:

The fight will be shown on BT Sport Box Office for a price of 19.95.

Tale Of The Tape:

Alvarez

Place Of Birth: Guadalajara, Mexico

Alias: Canelo

Age: 31

Pro debut: 29/10/05

Record: 56-1-2 (38)

Height: 58

Reach: 70

Plant

Place Of Birth: Nashville, Tennessee

Alias: Sweethands

Age: 29

Pro debut: 10/5/14

Record: 21-0 (12)

Height: 61

Reach: 74

Last Fight:

Canelo was last in action back in May, beating Billy Joe Saunders in eight rounds to add the WBO strap to his collection, breaking the Brits right orbital bone in the process. The Mexican also stopped mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim in February. Plant has fought just once in 2021, outboxing Caleb Truax to a unanimous decision win in Los Angeles in January.

What They Say:

Canelo: Im 100% focused on this fight. Theres nothing else crossing my mind. After its over, well figure out who the next opponent will be.

Being the undisputed champion is huge for my legacy. Not only would it be an honor to be the first Latin American fighter to do it, but theres only a select club of fighters who have achieved this. Eddy [Reynoso, his trainer] and I said in the beginning that the goal was to be undisputed, and now were one fight away.

Plant: This is personal for me, but every fight is personal for me. Ive sacrificed a lot for this sport and dedicated myself completely, so anybody whos getting in the way of my goals makes it personal to me. No matter who it is.

There are a lot of things that I possess that are going to give him issues in the fight. Every fighter says this is their best camp, but I am honestly saying that. Ive had no injuries, amazing sparring and Im ready to rock.

Undercard:

Anthony Dirrell vs Marcos Hernandez, super-middleweight

Rey Vargas vs Leonardo Baez, super bantamweight

Elvis Rodriguez vs Juan Pablo Romero, super-lightweight

Betfred Odds:

Canelo: 1/10

Draw: 25/1

Plant: 6/1

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Everything You Need To Know About Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez vs Caleb Plant - The Sportsman

Service: HBO Max

Show Title: "Dune"

Tune in every week for a new review for what is trending on your services.

The desert world of Dune is a monotonous, bleak sphere of sand. But hidden underneath the titular landform is a precious substance which grants virtual immortality, god-like prescience and the capability to travel to far-flung locales across the universe. The film, released in both theaters and on HBO Max Oct. 22, is the second adaptation of Frank Herbert's acclaimed 1965 novel, possibly the most popular science fiction book of all time, if sales are any indication. Directed by Denis Villeneuve and starring Timothe Chalamet, Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson, the movie is undoubtedly the year's highlight for its genre, combining thrilling visual drama with a unique story of political intrigue.

"Dune" is distinctive among a sea of other space epics by its overt rejection of futuristic technologies: set centuries after humanity destroyed all forms of artificial intelligence and banned any use of computers, the film depicts the use of analog machinery not unlike our own alongside psychic powers which resemble magic. If you expect laser crossfires, planet-hopping space travel and deus ex machina technobabble, "Dune" will surprise you instead with swords, human thinking machines and a story confined primarily to two locations. In fact, the most prominently featured technologies are nothing more than the water conservation and recycling systems necessary in an extremely arid climate.

This refreshingly simple backdrop is the perfect foil for familial rivalry: a war between two fiefdoms engineered by an insecure and power-hungry emperor. Once again betraying the sweeping scale typical of its genre, "Dune" focuses much of its runtime on the personal travails of protagonist Paul Atreides, heir to a prosperous dukedom who is forced to flee into the deep uncharted desert. Paul turns to the indigenous population of Dune for help but is forced to contend with their understandable mistrust of outsiders, who historically oppressed and enslaved them.

Near the end of the film, it becomes clear that "Dune" is only the first installment of a new franchise. I for one eagerly anticipate the next! The film is a treat for both committed sci-fi fans and anyone in search of a good action movie, thanks to its clear plot, immaculate special effects and creative repudiation of conventional sci-fi tropes.

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Streaming Now: "Dune" | Opinion | reflector-online.com - The Reflector online

DC ComicsThe Swamp Thinghas been a story about a lot of things. Its a series about environmentalism, the immortality of ideas, and its a story about family.The Swamp Thing #9 manages to touch on all of those themes, while also eagerly employing classic comic book tropes. Writer Ram V, artist Mike Perkins, colorist Mike Spicer, and letterer Aditya Bidikar have tons of fun withThe Swamp Thing #9. Its an issue with lots of heart.

V brings all of the threads of this sprawling series together. Our mysterious villain, Mr. Pilgrim, and our heroes are finally meeting face-to-face. And, nearly immediately, Pilgrim begins monologuing. Vs pulling right from classic comics with this scene, and it feels just right. Part of what makes Pilgrims history lesson work is that V is constantly jumping around in this script. We see Levi racing to the rescue, thinking back on all the omens and warnings hes scene that have told him everything would lead to this, then we come back to hear more about Pilgrims plans.

As we reach the final scene, V shows how his deep, philosophical character study and his pulpy, tropey comic script fits together. Braiding both aspects of the story together seamlessly, V leaves us on a rousing story beat. It will leave you on the edge of your seat, waiting for the last issue in this miniseries.

So much of this comics ability to have its cake and eat it too comes from Perkins brilliant art. When Vs script transitions from a pulpy action sequence to a scene of Levi wrestling with his past, its Perkins who makes the switch feel seamless. Thats because, even in Perkins action sequences, you can see the fear in Swamp Things eyes. He never loses the humanity at the core of this story. But hes also full of the comic book tropey fun, too. Pilgrims face shows up in a variety of sinister expressions throughout the issue. Hes a character whos evil and proud of it. Perkins makes the character terrifying, though you still cant help but kind of love him too.

In this issue, we see Pilgrims collected research on the Swamp Thing. He has screens lit up with decades of research. Each screen, Spicer colors in a shade of green. But its not the rich, dark green that weve become familiar with in this series. Its a yellowing green, a green that almost seems to be rotting. With this, Spicer makes Pilgrims efforts to connect to the Green look counterfeit and off. Then, when Levi shows up as the Swamp Thing, we see the deep green of nature come flying into the picture. Spicers coloring is both stunning and meaningful.

Bidikars lettering choices are always rich with purpose. When we see one of Levis memories, the dialogue is shown in a faded grey font. Its easy to picture the sound of it, like an echo in your head, not something you hear out loud. Later, Bidikar shows Swamp Thing screaming in desperation. The letters burst past the outline of his word balloon, like they cant be contained. Then, as the issue closes, we see Swamp Thing speak his first bolded word. Bidikar holds off using bold earlier in the issue to give this final moment all the punch it needs.

DC Comics The Swamp Thingcontinues to be bafflingly beautiful. V, Perkins, Spicer, and Bidikar have delivered a series thats both complex and fun at the same time. This issue sets us up for a grand finale. Hopefully, thats not the last we see of these characters. There still seems to be plenty of story to tell. Pick up The Swamp Thing #9, out from DC Comics November 2nd, at a comic shop near you!

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Review: THE SWAMP THING #9 Brilliantly Sets up the Final Issue - Monkeys Fighting Robots

Duke basketball (Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports)

Although the outlook seems bright for Duke basketball in 2021-22, there are some storm clouds on the horizon. The good news for the Blue Devils is that they can see those dark skies up ahead; the question is: can they avoid them?

By looking into Duke basketballs past in the last bully-ball article, we tried to portend some success for the future. Despite those past powerhouses ACC titles, combined record of 69-8, and the reverent places they hold in Duke basketball fandom, neither the 1998-99 nor 2018-19 team won an NCAA titleSIGH!

But tomorrow is a new day, and Im putting my belief, or distorted hope, in the third-time-is-a-charm theory that ran rampant through the other piece. This seasons Duke basketball squad looks more than ready, as evidenced or not by the short snippets of scrimmage video against the preseasons No. 4 team, the Villanova Wildcats.

Paolo Banchero seems like the beast he was advertised to be with a good handle and ability to stretch the floor and initiate offense for himself or others. He also appears to have an air and attitude about him thatscreams National Player of the Year and all that entails. Again, both those other Duke basketball teams actually had NPOYs so thats not always the recipe for ultimate success.

Some of the issues that hurt both the 1998-99 and 2018-19 squads can be seen in this current group, although no one really believes that either of them wasnt the best in the nation and shouldnt have won the title.

Its yet to be seen if this group is that good, but less physically dominant teams have brought the goods back to Durham. Its up to the 2021-22 Blue Devils to take their chance at Duke basketball immortality and do what those two comparable behemoths could not.

We explored how these Blue Devils can be just as good by using their physical gifts to their advantage. Like Dukes previous bullies, this group seems primed to hit the glass, get out in transition, and play smothering defense. They are big and thick, and most dont seem to mind mixing it up a little bit. Offensively, they have one of the more deadly in-out duos in the nation, potentially, in Trevor Keels and Banchero.

I would bring Trajan Langdon and Elton Brand to mind, but thats almost sacrilegious considering neither freshman has played a game yet and those other guys were just the senior/sophomore combo leading Duke basketballs most dominant team of all time. Either way, the potential for great things is there, if Duke can play above the faults that brought those others down.

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Duke basketball bully-ball might be back: The Pitfalls Edition - Ball Durham

Some of you may be surprised to find out that UBCs Vancouver campus is the ninth most-filmed location in the world. Yep, you did read that right, the entire world! Located in the city that is known for never playing itself, UBCs Vancouver campus has been disguised as everything from Nazi Germany to a high school to even multiple different science fiction universes. I hate ranking movies, probably because my own personal favourite changes from hour to hour, so Im going to count them down based on how many UBC locations are visible on the big screen.

It was only after rewatching Shes the Man this summer that I recognized the stadium skyline as being UBC. Based on Shakespeares play Twelfth Night, the film follows a teenage girl named Viola who after her high school gets rid of the girls soccer team, poses as her twin brother so she can play in the big tournament. The film basically annihilated gender stereotypes with its exaggerated performances that are sure to make viewers laugh. While not the most recognizable spot, its still fun knowing that this quirky rom was filmed on campus.

I was unsure of where to put this film on the list. Tomorrowland is a science fiction film about an inventor named Frank and a teenager named Casey who explore Tomorrowland an unexplored dimension of time and space. While the film features the Buchanan side of Main Mall, the few glimpses we get of campus were digitally altered in post production to make it look like New Yorks 1964 World Fair. Its pretty easy to miss campus, but if you watch closely you can see a corner of the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery. This movie is probably the least underwhelming and unrecognizable view of UBC out of the bunch, but it technically features more than Shes The Man, so I had to place it at number four.

Set in San Francisco, The Age of Adaline follows the adventures of a woman who after a fatal car accident, is miraculously granted immortality, causing her to remain twenty-nine for eight decades. In the film, Blake Livelys character drives an old-timey car down Main Mall where you can see the Chemistry building and IKB in the background. If you look up the film online, you can even find some student-taken photos posted on reddit of Main Mall from the night of the shoot!

The Butterfly Effect is a science fiction thriller that features a time travelling Ashton Kutcher. In the film, Kutcher uses his powers to change past events for himself and friends; finding himself having to live through multiple alternate universes after realizing that changing the past also changes the future. This film boasts multiple UBC locations. While Main Mall is the most obvious of the locations, some scenes also take place within various classrooms on campus.

Finally, the film with the most UBC locations out of this list is Fifty Shades of Grey. The film is the first film in the Fifty Shades trilogy adapted from E.L. James novels. Perhaps the most entertaining part of this movie is the way they construct spaces using multiple different UBC locations. One of many of these instances is the graduation sequence where they enter the auditorium through the MacMillan building and end up inside The Chan Centre auditorium. Some other notable locations visible in the film are IKB, the Chemistry building and the Frederic Wood Theatre. Similar to Age Of Adaline, you can find student posted photos of Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan filming on campus on the internet.

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Five movies you didn't know were filmed at UBC - Ubyssey Online