Category Archives: Immortality

Its no secret that superheroes are all the rage in Hollywood right now, especially at Disney, which owns the mighty Marvel roster of characters as well as certain Fox assets like Kingsman, Alita and even Captain Underpants. The Mouse House has also produced their own homegrown cape and tights epics like Pixars two Incredibles films, but have they been producing more stealth entries in the superhero genre all along?

We say yes, and this week Walt Disney Pictures is providing Exhibit A to our assertion with the enchanting fantasy Encanto (read our review). The new animated film follows a Colombian family called the Madrigals who, after a terrible tragedy, were gifted a magical candle that grants powers to each of the newborn children over three generations. That is, it grants powers to all except our lead protagonist Mirabel Madrigal (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz), who stands by and watches her fellow family members flex their super strength (her sister Luisa), healing powers (her mother Julieta), weather control (her aunt Pepa), psychic ability (her uncle Bruno), communication with animals (little cousin Antonio), enhanced hearing (cousin Dolores), or the ability to grow beautiful flowers with a hand gesture (her sister Isabela).

Encanto deftly tracks Mirabels journey of self-discovery as she tries to keep her family together when cracks in the magic begin to occur. While the film has been described since its production announcement in 2016 as having elements of magical realism, comic book fans would not be faulted for finding correlations to superheroes like Storm, Professor X, Animal Man, Daredevil or even Poison Ivy. We even got to ask the movies co-writer/co-director Charise Castro Smith about the parallels between Encanto and other superhero properties.

It's funny, people have been making that comparison, Smith told IGN exclusively. From the inside it doesn't feel that way. From the inside it feels very much like a story about a family a lot like mine. A family with a lot of internal pressures and a lot of love. People who can do extraordinary things, people who have secrets. So yes, the characters in this movie do have superpowers, which is a really cool, interesting element, but I think what I gravitate towards the most is just the relatable family dynamics and sibling relationships. My own relationship with my grandparents, both of them, was a big element that I tried to bring into this story. So sure, yeah, Luisa is totally a superhero!

Luisas super ability to literally carry around a church or village bridge may seem like feats for Superman, but she and the other Madrigals are not alone in the annals of Disney history for seeming to possess superhero traits. Here are 10 other films from the studio that would totally fit the bill of being superhero movies

The tagline of 1978s Superman was Youll believe a man can fly. But what about an elephant? Granted, if you apply the definition of a superhero as any being with extraordinary abilities then just about every animal who ever walked on four legs and spoke in a Disney movie would fall under that category. Yet the character of orphaned Dumbo is exceptional even within the world of the film, as his ability to use his gigantic ears to fly distinguishes him from other circus elephants. He doesnt use this ability to fight crime but to get a Hollywood contract, which is well-deserved and probably what a modern flying elephant would do too.

Another character with the ability to fly is the famed boy who never grew up, Peter Pan. J. M. Barries character from the 1904 play Peter and Wendy checks all the boxes for superhero-dom: Sustained flight? Check. Colorful tights? Check. Immortality? Check. Kid sidekick? Heck, hes got his own gang of Lost Boys. Fights bad guys with strange disfigurements? Yes, Captain Hook definitely qualifies. Cool vehicle? Dudes got his own flying ship! If you need a comic-book corollary, you can look no further than Sprite from Marvel Studios recent Eternals, who in the comics is intended to have actually been Barries inspiration for Peter Pan after Sprite showed off to him one night in 1901.

Like Peter Pan, the title magical nanny played so memorably by Julie Andrews also has the ability to fly, but additionally boasts the power to speak with animals, telekinesis and reality manipulation. Shes also pretty good at transporting herself and others into imaginary worlds rendered in glorious 2D animation. One might say she is "practically perfect in every way." She even got that most superheroic of things, a sequel, with 2018s Mary Poppins Returns where Emily Blunt portrayed her.

Another Disney movie directed by Robert Stevenson (who also helmed Mary Poppins) and featuring a combination of live-action and animation was Bedknobs and Broomsticks, which was sort of a proto-Harry Potter. It stars Angela Lansbury as the good witch Miss Eglantine Price, who uses her magical abilities to fight Nazis during World War II. Shes a bit like John Constantine if he was a dowdy woman who adopted some war orphans. Its also possible she became a mystery writer in coastal Maine later in life, but that remains unconfirmed. The one aspect that separates her from Mary Poppins is she is a witch-in-training, so many of her spells backfire, but she is nevertheless formidable.

Based on the traditional fairy tale that was so memorably adapted by Jean Cocteau in 1946 as La belle et la bte, this 90s classic had the distinction of being the first full-length animated feature to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. It follows the beautiful bookworm Belle who frees her father by taking his place as the title Beasts prisoner, then comes down with a serious case of Stockholm syndrome for the hairy monster who was once a prince before he was transformed by an enchantress. This curse turned him into the Beast, but also gifted him with enhanced strength, speed, agility, durability, healing and senses, not to mention some sweet claws and fangs. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were not feeling super creative when it came time to christen Marvels own blue-tinged version of the character: Hank McCoy, whose nickname on the X-Men team is Beast!

Both Marvel and DC have their own version of the Greek mythological hero, and Hercules papa Zeus was even featured briefly in Zack Snyders Justice League (both the 2017 and 2021 versions). Of course, the Disney version of the super strong hero was more a full-of-himself lunkhead than his comic book counterpart, who in recent years has been outed as gay in the Marvel 616 timeline and is dating a certified Guardian of the Galaxy named Marvel Boy. Still, a guy who principally rescues damsels in distress and fights monsters sounds like a superhero in our book.

This one is cheating slightly, as Edgar Rice Burroughs creation has its roots in the same early 20th century pulp novels that later inspired comic-book superheroes like Batman, The Shadow, etc. The very idea of a feral child raised by apes and being an expert hunter with great dexterity instantly brings to mind Wolverine. In many ways the Wolverine of the films led a kind of wild existence before he was civilized by Professor X, much the same way Jane Porter civilizes Tarzan.

Its fitting that Elsa, loosely based on the titular character from Hans Christian Andersons fable The Snow Queen, was originally envisioned by the filmmakers as the straight-up villain of the film since she has so many similarities to DC Comics baddie Mr. Freeze. Yet she also closely resembles Marvels mutant hero Bobby Drake/Iceman in her ability to conjure and manipulate ice and snow into weapons, shields, escape routes, etc. The fact that her uncontrolled abilities are turning her kingdom of Arendelle into a veritable snowpocalypse goes hand-in-hand with typical X-Men-style drama, i.e. a mutants emotions cause their powers to get so out of hand that they wind up harming or almost harming a ton of peeps. Luckily, Elsa learns to Let It Go proper, and by the sequel Frozen II has mostly mastered her abilities.

Like Mirabel from Encanto, the title Polynesian princess of Moana may not have much in the way of powers, but her sidekick on her journey -- the shape-shifting demigod of the wind and sea and master of sailing named Maui -- certainly qualifies. The fact that he is played with gusto by living superhero Dwayne Johnson only adds to that heroic charisma. Maui is also a bit of a selfish douche, but eventually answers the call of heroism in order to restore the heart of the giant goddess Te Fiti, and fights a ton of big sea monsters along the way. The big guy also has immortality and sentient tattoos, which at a certain point is almost gilding the lily but who are we to complain? Although hes not a comic book-accurate representation, Mauis fellow Pacific Islander Jason Momoa certainly bears some resemblance as Aquaman with his numerous tattoos and overall heroic reluctance.

The Southeast Asian hero Raya is a girl right after Frank Millers heart. Shes badass, excels at martial arts and hand-to-hand combat as well as weapons like swords and sticks, and rides a big bug/armadillo creature named Tuk Tuk just like Millers beautiful assassin Elektra! Okay, maybe Elektra never rode a giant bug-thing, but the similarities are definitely there. Raya is part of the street-level superhero tradition where the persons natural talents and skills more than make up for their lack of standard powers. There is a magical gem at the center of the story with some degree of true power, but its really mostly a MacGuffin to take Raya on her heros journey.

What other Disney characters are secretly superheroes? Lets discuss in the comments!

The rest is here:

Encanto and 10 Other Disney Animated Movies That Are Secretly Superhero Films - IGN SOUTH EAST ASIA

Louis Ren Beres, a specialist on matters of nuclear weapons and world politics, analyses whether the ends justify the means while engaging in counter-terrorism...

Nothing is real that is not eternal.

Miguel de Unamuno, Tragic Sense of Life (1921)

Though inconspicuous and easily misunderstood, there is no conceivably greater power in world politics than power over death. On its face, this preeminent form of power is problematic (how, after all, can one human being ever offer eternal life to another?) and is contingent on an irrepressible hunger of immortality. Nonetheless, if one were to survey the current landscape of global Jihadist terrorist organizations a landscape made more worrisome by the recent US defeat in Afghanistan and by expanding Sunni-Shiite polarities in the Middle East the nexus between martyrdom operations and life-everlasting would appear firm.

For the United States and Israel in particular, it is high time to understand the following: Improved counter-terrorism is never just about tangible strategy and tactics. In all such generally time-urgent matters, there are corresponding and converging elements of law. More precisely, those far-flung Jihadist insurgents who would seek to justify violent attacks on Americans and/or Israelis in the purifying name of religious martyrdom are acting contrary to authoritative international law. This is because all insurgents, even those who very passionately claim a just cause, must satisfy longstanding jurisprudential limits on permissible targets and permissible levels of violence.

In pertinent jurisprudence, these matters are not complicated. Under binding international law, even the most sacred rights of insurgency exclude the intentional targeting of civilians and/or the use of force to inflict gratuitous suffering. Frequently quoted witticisms notwithstanding, all is not fair in war. Not at all.

As for fairness in love, that is a separate issue. Accordingly, we can leave the well-worn adages to others.

Still, the legal bottom line is plain: Violence is terrorism whenever politically-animated insurgents murder non-combatants, whether with guns, knives, bombs or automobiles.

Sometimes, martyrdom-seeking terrorist foes advance a discredited legal argument known as tu quoque. This argument stipulates that because the other side is allegedly guilty of similar, equivalent or even greater criminality, our side is necessarily innocent of legal wrongdoing. Jurisprudentially, any such disingenuous argument is always wrong and always invalid, especially after the landmark postwar judgments of the Nuremberg (Germany) and Far East (Japan) ad hoc tribunals. Reciprocally, tu quoque arguments can never be used as a properly valid justification by any nation-states counter-terrorist authorities.

There is more. For both conventional armies and insurgent forces, the right to use armed force can never supplant the peremptory rules of humanitarian international law. Such primary or jus cogens rules (rules that permit no derogation) are normally referenced as the law of armed conflict or the law of war. Moreover, these synonymous terms concern state and sub-state participants in any armed conflict.

Endlessly, and without a scintilla of law-based evidence, supporters of terror-violence against non-combatants insist that the ends justify the means. Leaving aside the ordinary ethical standards by which any such argumentation must be dismissed prima facie as corrupt or indecent, the ends can never justify the means under binding international law. Further, there can be no defensible ambiguity regarding this significant conclusion.

For more than two thousand years, variously unassailable legal principles have specified that intentional violence against the innocent is always prohibited. This universal prohibition applies with equal validity to counter-terrorism operations, even those expressing manifestly moral and legal foundations. Under no circumstances can any nations counter-terrorism authorities be permitted to disregard the ordinary minimum standards of global human rights law. This is the case even when pertinent insurgent adversaries (individually or collectively) have been pre-designated as terrorists.

Prima facie, no such preemptive pre-designation can ever be exculpatory with regard to collective or arbitrary arrest, inhumane prison conditions, or the basically immutable human right to file an appropriate legal appeal.

Empty witticisms can never make binding law. In law, whether codified or customary, one mans (or womans) terrorist, can never be another mans (or womans) freedom-fighter. Although it is certainly correct that insurgencies can sometimes be judged lawful or even law-enforcing (consider American revolutionaries of the 18th century or Jewish anti-British insurgents of the mid-20th century), even allowable resorts to force must conform to the humanitarian laws of war.

Always.

Whenever an insurgent group resorts to manifestly unjust means, its actions constitute terrorism. Even if adversarial claims of a hostile occupation were to be accepted as entirely reasonable (e.g., Israel and the Palestinians), corollary claims of entitlement to any means necessary would remain patently false. As has been long-established under international law, most explicitly at Hague Convention No. IV: The right of belligerents to adopt means of injuring the enemy is not unlimited.

International law cannot be shaped or articulated ad hoc. Always, it has specifically determinable form and content. It cannot be casually invented and reinvented by terror groups or by non-member observer states (the Palestinian Authority) to justify selectively adversarial interests. This is especially the case where terror violence intentionally targets a designated victim states most fragile and vulnerable civilian populations.

There is more. National liberation movements that fail to meet the test of just means can never be correctly protected as lawful or legitimate. Even if relevant law were somehow to accept the questionable argument that certain terror groups had fulfilled the valid criteria of national liberation, (e.g., Iran-supported Hamas or Hezbollah), these groups could still not satisfy equally relevant legal standards of discrimination, proportionality, and military necessity. These enduringly critical standards were applied to insurgent or sub-state organizations by the common Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, and (additionally) by the two 1977 Protocols to these Conventions.

Standards of humanity also remain binding upon all combatants by virtue of certain broader norms of customary and conventional international law, including Article 1 of the Preamble to the Fourth Hague Convention of 1907. This rule, commonly called the Martens Clause, makes all persons responsible for the laws of humanity, and for the associated dictates of public conscience. There can be no exceptions based upon a presumptively just cause.

Under international law, even when inflicted by a non-member observer state (e.g. Palestinian Authority), the ends can never justify the means. Reinforcing the case of war between states, every use of force by insurgents must be judged twice, once with regard to the justness of the objective and once with regard to the justness of the actually applied means. There are no discernible exceptions.

Under law, terrorist crimes mandate universal cooperation in both apprehension and punishment. Inter alia, as punishers of grave breaches under international law, all states are expected to search out and prosecute, or extradite, individual terrorists. In no conceivable circumstances are states permitted to regard terrorist martyrs as forgivable or exculpable freedom fighters.

This is emphatically true for the United States, which incorporates international law as the supreme law of the land at Article 6 of the Constitution and which was formed by its Founding Fathers according to timeless principles of Natural Law principles largely originating in the Hebrew Bible. Though generally unrecognized, core legal authority for the American republic was derived from William Blackstones justly famous Commentaries.

Ex injuria jus non oritur. Rights can never stem from wrongs. Even if adversaries of the United States and Israel continue to identify the most recalcitrant jihadist insurgents as martyrs, such treatment could have no exculpatory or mitigating effect on attendant terrorist crimes. These Jihadist foes are animated by the most plainly compelling form of power, the power of immortality or power over death. Inevitably, power over death will trump all other kinds of power, including those tangible forms based on aircraft carriers, missiles or variously other advanced weapon systems.

Always, for both Washington and Jerusalem, a primary orientation of law-based engagement in counter-terrorism should coalesce around enemy attractions to power over death. For certain of these enemies, we have just seen, nothing is conceivably more real than what is eternal. At the same time, neither Israel nor the United States should ever presume that egregious terrorist crimes automatically justify absolutely any forms of response.

In correct legal assessments of terrorism and counter-terrorism, the ends can never justify the means. Going forward, the real task will be to operationalize this primary understanding in both insurgent and counter-insurgent calculations. This could happen, but only if the persuasiveness of international legal norms can first reinforce the incomparable promise of power over death.

Louis Ren Beres (Ph.D., Princeton, 1971) is the author of many books and articles dealing with nuclear weapons and world politics. In Israel, he was Chair of Project Daniel (2003). Professor Beres most pertinent scholarly writings can be found at Israel Defense and in the Harvard National Security Journal (Harvard Law School); The International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence; The Brown Journal of World Affairs; Yale Global Online; The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Parameters: Journal of the U.S. Army War College; JURIST; The War Room (Pentagon); Modern War Institute (West Point); The Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs; World Politics (Princeton); The Jerusalem Post; International Security (Harvard); and Oxford University Press (Oxford Yearbook of International Law and Jurisprudence). Dr. Beres was born in Zrich, Switzerland, at the end of World War II. His twelfth and latest book is Surviving Amid Chaos: Israels Nuclear Strategy, Rowman & Littlefield, 2016 (2nd ed., 2018).

Suggested citation: Louis Ren Beres, Counter-Terrorism, Martyrdom and the Hunger of Immortality: Re-defining the Relevance of International Law, JURIST Academic Commentary, November 18, 2021, https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2021/11/louis-rene-beres-counter-terrorism-martyrdom/.

This article was prepared for publication by Sambhav Sharma, a JURIST Staff Editor. Please direct any questions or comments to him at commentary@jurist.org

Opinions expressed in JURIST Commentary are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JURIST's editors, staff, donors or the University of Pittsburgh.

Continued here:

Counter-Terrorism, Martyrdom and the 'Hunger of Immortality' - JURIST

San Jose, California--(Newsfile Corp. - November 23, 2021) - Metaverse creation platform MetaSpace raised $21 million in tokens and equity in its latest Series A round with SpaceY 2025.

In the next 100 years, there will be two great migrations of mankind. One to space and planets like Mars. The other to a digital parallel world in the Metaverse. This will finally be another contribution to the continuation of civilization and to realize the immortality of life. MetaSpace is a metaverse creation platform and has recently released the first tower defense game created with MetaSpace, SpaceY 2025.

SpaceY 2025 not only excites many KOLs and 120,000 player and community fans worldwide, but also numerous high-profile investors. The 3D Metaverse sandbox game about colonizing and defending Mars raised a total of $21 million in tokens and equity in its recent series A round: Among them are Ash WSB, Draper Dragon, Formless Capital, Huobi Ventures and Magnus Capital - just to name a few.

For Robin Duan, founder of SpaceY 2025, the metaverse cannot be built using the original Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol Internet architecture. Through the ERC-721 and ERC-1155 protocols, it is possible to clarify ownership in the virtual world. "The Metaverse introduces a new universe where each of us can be the creator in this parallel world. The oasis in Ready Player One and cyberspace in Cyberpunk 2077 become reality," says Robin, who has more than 20 years of experience in online games.

Dora Yue - Founder of OKEx Blockdream Ventures shares insights on GameFi and Metaverse and the reasons for investing in Spacey 2025:

"Axie Infinity soared violently from 0-3 billion in 3 years, a game to breed & battle with 1.85 million DAUs, which gamers could earn by Play. SpaceY 2025 is one of the most graphic examples of new-edge gaming experiences, where the community or game players could easily connect and own their property with NFTs, exploring the Mars LANDS and trading the valuable creations such as Martian assets and other digital items freely governed by its DAO."

Story continues

Harry Yin - Researcher from Huobi Ventures on why SpaceY 2025 was added to the portfolio as a Metaverse and GameFi project:

"The metaverse is the future of online gaming, and hardcore gamers have always expected it. Huobi Ventures decided to invest in SpaceY 2025 because it is a revolutionary project. It's worth noting that the SpaceY 2025 team is one of the first teams to do a 3A project."

Richard Wang - Partner of DraperDragon Fund about the investment in web3.0 and SpaceY 2025:

"Draper Dragon has invested in Web3.0 based on the belief that it is an essential new development. The Metaverse, as a new lifestyle of human civilization, will definitely be based on Web3.0. That's why Draper Dragon invests in innovative projects that can bring the Metaverse further into everyday life - like SpaceY 2025."

Jonathan Allen - Co-founder of Magnus Capital on the decision to fund SpaceY 2025:

"The Metaverse and GameFi have captivated an industry known for innovation. SpaceY 2025 aims to push those sectors to new heights with their beautiful game design, polished looks, and diverse ecosystem. Magnus Capital is honored to support a team as passionate and experienced as Blockfish on their journey."

Ash - Founder of AshWSB sharing the reasons to invest in the Metaverse and the GameFi sector in general and SpaceY 2025 in particular:

"The metaverse is going to be the next innovative space bridging different opportunities across everyone whether it be social, finance or gaming sector. SpaceY 2025 is delivering the essential components to garner my attention as an impressive project."

Juliet Su - Partner at New Tribe Capital explains what led them to allocation into the Metaverse and GameFi sector and SpaceY 2025:

"New Tribe Capital views the Metaverse and Gamify sector as one of the fastest growing sectors in the blockchain ecosystem for the next decade. SpaceY 2025 is a project that gamifies the blockchain by offering players incentives to earn while playing. (...) New Tribe Capital could not resist investing in such a revolutionary project."

Vn Qun - Co-Founder Titans Ventures on Metaverse and SpaceY 2025:

"Metaverse is expected to be an attractive investment that will bring many great solutions to humanity. SpaceY2025 has an excellent vision and is built by a very well-trained team, which makes Titan Capital believe in the future success of Metaverse NFT Blockchain and opens more opportunities for crypto investors."

Cecilia Li - Director of Formless Capital, explains the reasons for investing in SpaceY 2025, Metaverse and GameFi:

"Formless Capital believes GameFi can be one of the best opportunities for blockchain projects to finally achieve mass adoption and real use cases with solid, organic community engagement. Formless Capital has known the founder for many years and believes in his skills and experience. The studio has already launched very successful tower defense games. The Mars theme is also very appealing and the polished graphics and rendering quality will provide an advanced blockchain gaming experience."

About SpaceY 2025

SpaceY's vision is to become one of the leading open-source metaverse platforms that allows all players with or without programming skills to easily create independent games. That is how they want to realize their mission: use blockchain technology to inherit human culture genes and create a virtual parallel world based on a silicon-based civilization through NFT assets.

The investments will fund the further development of the SpaceY game series. A beta version was already published on the website in July 2021. The full version is expected for the end of November 2021. Additional versions for Steam and mobile gaming are planned for 2022. The team will continue to improve the game in order to offer its fans great and completely new gaming experiences - while they are also benefiting financially through the "play-to-earn" concept.

More about SpaceY 2025

Website: https://www.spacey2025.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/spacey2025Telegram (International): https://t.me/Spacey2025Telegram (Chinese): http://t.me/SpaceY2025ChinesecommunityTelegram (Russian): https://t.me/SpaceY2025_RussianTelegram (Arabic): https://t.me/SpaceY2025ArabicTelegram (Vietnamese): https://t.me/SpaceY2025VietnamDiscord: https://discord.com/invite/cUeNS8UzGWEmail: support@spacey2025.com

Learn more about SpaceY 2025: https://cointelegraph.com/press-releases/spacey-2025-metaverse-v1-is-online

PR ContactWebsite: Crypto World SeoContact: Sweta ChatterjeeEmail: info@cryptoworldeo.comTelegram: @swetachatterjee

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/104663

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Metaverse Creation Platform Metaspace and SpaceY 2025 Closes A Series with $21 Million - Yahoo Finance

The Hall of Fame and Cooperstown Museum, has made official the ballot with each of the men among whom the next inductions to immortality will be chosen, in a ballot that has four Dominican players and two others from Venezuela as the Latino representation.

Of the Dominicans, outfielders Sammy Sosa and Manny Ramrez will have their tenth appearance on the ballot for the Hall of Fame (and last if they are not elected), while the next two representatives of Quisqueya la Bella are from Alex Rodrguez and David Ortiz, both at his first chance to immortality.

Rodrguez arrives with the tie of a full season suspension in 2014 after the use of doping, while another case related to steroids such as in 2009 reveals that he had used prohibited substances in 2003 before the league adapted policies against such cases against naturalness. of the game.

David Ortiz with everything ahead of him to be chosen, the breakdown would only be expected about developing most of his career as only an offensive player, although with the path made after Edgar Martnez today under the same conditions he rests in immortality.

Among Dominicans facing their last trip to the ballot, the rockiest road is made starting with Manny Ramrez who was suspended in 2009 and 2011 for steroid use, for a time of 50 and 100 games, respectively. While Sammy Sosa is accused without being proven of having used prohibited substances, who has in his favor that before 2003 there was no policy against this.

In addition to the aforementioned cork bat that was discovered, although the Dominican has the perfect slice. His position was always that it was a practice bat and the one that he intentionally used in an official game, although among other bats that were reviewed, no other trace was found that could look like a trap.

At least his offensive numbers leave David Ortiz as Hall of Fame, a 10-time All-Star player and 7-time Silver Bat bases. He has 2,472 career hits, including 541 home runs, 1,768 RBIs and a .286 / .380 / .552 offensive line.

He accumulated a total of 55.3 Wins Over Replacement (WAR) in his career, while a WAR7 as the representation of his best seven years in the league of 35.2, who for every 162 games averaged a WAR of 3.7 in his entire career in the pitch.

Possibilities: enter.

Statistics to enter has them all and one more chin, although his record for doping leaves everything to the discretion of the voters. Since 3 times MVP, 14 All-Star selections, 10 Silver Bats and 2 Gold Gloves. A career of 3,115 hits, 696 homers, 2,086 RBIs and an offensive slash line of .295 / .380 / .550.

With 1,272 games played at shortstop and 1,194 games at third base, his 117.5 lifetime WAR is the second-highest for a shortstop defender, as is his 64.3 WAR in his best seven seasons, while decorating such majesty. at 6.8 WAR for every 162 games played.

Possibility: criteria of the voters.

The Dominican watched most of his games with 1,037 from left field. Throughout his career he had 12 All-Star selections and 9 Silver Bats, connecting 2,574 hits, 555 home runs and a .312 / .411 / .585 offensive line.

His career WAR of 69.3 is 3.6 higher than the league average for players who have participated in the LF and finished in the Hall of Fame, while he had WAR in his best seven seasons of 39.9 and 4.9 WAR. on his average for every 162 games.

Possibility: criterion of the voter.

The native of San Pedro de Macoris among his award-winning career includes an award for MVP, 7 All-Star and 6-time Silver Bates. He had a career of 2,408 hits, including 609 home runs, having 1,667 RBIs and a .273 / .344 / .534 offensive line.

His total WAR of 58.6 ends up falling below the average for a Hall of Fame as RF (average of 72.1), equal to his WAR for every 162 games of 4.0 (5.1 of average), but his WAR in his best seven seasons of 43.8 is 1.3 out of the league average, as a result of how shocking it was in an era in history as the home run rivalry against Mark McGwire.

Possibility: criterion of the voter.

Original post:

Probabilities of Dominican players to the Hall of Fame 2022 - Central Valley Business Journal

K-dramas, at least in the previous decade can be defined as slotted in the 'pre Goblin' era and a 'post Goblin' era! The classic K-drama revolves around Kim Shin (Gong Yoo), a military general from the Goryeo Dynasty who has been cursed with immortality for committing the treacherous crime of killing soldiers in his tenure as a military general. The only way to put an end to his immortality is the Goblin's bride, whose aid in pulling out the sword will end his painful immortality. Ji Eun Tak (Kim Go Eun) summons the Goblin by chance and their tragic fates intertwine, revealing deep-rooted relations of the past between them.

The drama not only became a darling with the masses but over the years, has achieved cult-like status amongst K-drama fans! Not only did the critically acclaimed drama dominate the rating chart, but it led to a sudden surge in the popularity of 'fantasy' themed K-dramas! In the same year, we had Lee Min Ho and Jun Ji Hyun starrer 'Legend Of The Blue Sea', Lee Jong Suk and Han Hyo Joo's 'W: Two Worlds' and of course the multi-starrer 'Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Goryeo' amongst others.

However, five years down the line, there is an over-crowding of dramas in the 'fantasy' space and the passionate K-drama fan in me is not exactly happy with this development! I, for once am a fan of fantasy-themed K-dramas and have loved watching some amazing dramas in the genre as well. It also helps that Korean makers ace this genre so beautifully and have given us some wonderful gems in the form of 'Hotel Del Luna', 'The Master's Sun', 'Chicago Typewriter', 'My Love From The Star', 'A Korean Odyssey' to name a few fan-favourites amongst the best. But now, it seems like every second drama up for release has a 'fantastical' element to it, dealing with grim reapers, goblins, gumihos or some kind of ghosts! It is almost as if audiences are waiting for that plot twist to happen!

What started as an interesting 'novel' K-drama genre has now become almost unimaginative due to over-exposure and over-usage! It is only enjoyable now if used creatively and innovatively. '18 Again', where the protagonist goes back to his younger self to win over the love of his life or 'Signal', where a team of detectives rely upon an old two-way radio to solve blood-curdling criminal cases or 'The Uncanny Counter' which has been meted out some fresh treatment from its makers, making it a crowd-favourite.

There isn't a problem with the genre in itself, but what it needs is some serious reinvention with story-telling and presentation, perhaps the next decade offers us another classic in the genre. *Fingers Crossed*

Join the biggest community of K-Drama fans live on Pinkvilla Rooms to get one step closer to your favourite K-Celebs!Click here to join.

ALSO READ: Goblin: The Lonely God review: Good actors, good storyline but a CRINGEY romance

What are your thoughts? Share your thoughts with Pinkvilla in the comments below.

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Are we witnessing an overkill of the 'fantasy' K drama genre? - PINKVILLA

A Dillingham high school literature class recently had a unique assignment: Write a skit, essay or song about the worlds oldest known epic poem, the story of Gilgamesh. One student decided to apply his passion for rap to the text.

Tracen Wassily wasnt sold on the hefty "Epic of Gilgamesh," a poem that dates back roughly 4,000 years.

At first, I didnt like it," said Wassily, who is 16 years old. "But what I wrote about was the part I like most.

Wassily is an 11th grader at Dillingham High School. He and his classmates in world literature recently got a unique assignment: Transform the Epic of Gilgamesh, the worlds oldest surviving epic poem, into a skit, essay or song.

For those of us who arent fresh out of high school, heres a very basic summary of the story of Gilgamesh: Its a Mesopotamian poem about a hero who sets off on a quest to find the secret to immortality. Along the way, he forms a deep friendship and fights many battles.

When Wassily got the assignment to create something new based on the ancient text, he went right to work.

Not even a day after like right after school I got to work producing a beat, a good rhythm, like a fast-paced rhythm for what Im going to be doing," he said. "Cause thats what Im most comfortable on.

Wassily said he drew inspiration from some of his favorite artists, like Denzel Curry, XXXTentacion and Zillakami.

They just have really good energy, really good lyrics," Wassily said. "And their delivery is just, like, perfect, for me. Their production team, their engineering, its just all really good.

His song is called G and Enkidu, and it's about a minute long. He said to compose it, he focused on matching the rhythm he created on an app on his cellphone to the emotion in the poem.

For example, take Humbaba, a monster in the story. Gilgamesh and his friend, Enkidu, embark on a journey to kill Humbaba.

Gilgamesh is the son of a goddess and a mortal, and a fierce king. But hes also undiplomatic and greedy. So his mother helps create another man, Enkidu, out of a piece of clay to serve as Gilgameshs friend and distract him from his immoral ways.

The stuff I was rapping about, or singing about, was fast-paced as well, so it kind of fit really good," said Wassily. "They were fighting Humbaba.

Wassily chose to rap about Gilgamesh mourning Enkidu because of the powerful emotions each sentence evokes.

"Hes laying him down on a magnificent bed, a bed of honor," Wassily said. "Hes saying the rulers of the underworld will kiss your feet. Like, all of this stuff, just for him.

Looking ahead, Wassilly said, he wants to continue producing music, but it probably wont be based on ancient poems.

Listen to the full song here:

Here are the full lyrics:

g and enkidu on a quest for glory

slayin humbaba is the start of his story

our heroes make it to the gate

but before they serve h his fate

their knees begin to shake

they feel their stomachs ache

couple minutes later kidu slashin with his saber

the repercussions of this act kidu gonna feel later

enkidu lay down before g

his tears flow down both his cheeks

in his dreams

he could see

that the underworld is where he will be

his side kick

12 days sick

en ki du will cease to exist

accepted by his mother

un replaceable by another

g left without a brother

now his heart is in the gutter

no more enkidu g alone now

he let everybody know in his home town

that he and enkidu separated no more bro now

now he walk around like a husk with a bold frown

he can't process that he's gone now

this is the end of gilgamesh's song now

Contact the author at izzy@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200.

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How this Dillingham teenager turned an ancient epic poem into a rap - KDLG

Mushrooms are finally having their moment. Functional mushrooms have been used in Asia for centuries and the rest of the world is catching on - the global market was valued at over 20 million USD in 2020. Mushrooms really hit the mainstream this summer when Netflix streamed award-winning documentary Fantastic Fungi which explored their many magical properties.

With its finger firmly on the pulse, Mindful Extracts has launched a range of supplements which includes two of the most popular medicinal mushrooms: Reishi and Lions Mane.

Reishi is one of the most celebrated functional mushrooms in Chinese medical literature. Also known as the mushroom of immortality, it is believed to promote vitality, longevity and homeostasis (balance) in our system.

According to Fran McElwaine, Functional Medical Practitioner from Real Health and Wellness, Reishi mushrooms modulate immunity by helping the body to reduce its inflammatory responses and also by supporting the production of white blood cells which fight infections and cancers. Reishi works adaptogenically in the body to support adrenal function, helping us to better manage stress, whilst also improving mood (possibly owing to their high Vitamin D content).

Importantly, Reishi mushrooms also reduce oxidative stress on the body owing to the high levels of anti-oxidants they contain. Reducing oxidative stress (caused by exposure to toxins, infections and stress) is one of the single most important pro-active actions we can take to promote our health and wellbeing.

Traditionally used in Chinese medicine, Lions Mane is a natural nootropic. Buddhist monks were known to use the powdered mushroom to improve their focus.

Fran says, In addition to anti-microbial and anti-hypertensive properties, Lions Mane also helps to support the bodys blood sugar management as well as promote wound healing. But the real benefits of Lions Mane lie in its ability to support brain function and neurological health through the action of the terpenoids that are contained in both the mycelium and fruiting body of this mushroom. These terpenoids have been proven to stimulate the synthesis of nerve growth factor (NGF). This can result in the regeneration of damaged nerves and improved cognitive function often experienced as a reduction in brain-fog and greater focus.

Lions Mane also reduces depression and protects against neuro-degenerative diseases such as dementia, Alzheimers and Parkinsons. Furthermore, its neuro-protective qualities mean that Lions Mane also improves sleep and our ability to manage stress.

Mindful Extracts Organic Reishi Capsules and Organic Lions Mane Capsules are log grown and contain both mycelium and fruiting body extract for maximum bioactivity. They are certified organic, vegan and contain no fillers or binders. Each capsule contains 500mg of either Reishi or Lions Mane mushroom extract, and a bottle of 60 capsules costs 21.99.

According to Fran, People are looking more and more to have a greater agency over their own health and to work pre-emptively to support wellbeing and protect themselves against disease. Super foods such as functional mushrooms offer a great way to support other positive health and lifestyle choices to help in the pro-active management of our general health

Mindful Extracts supplements are available now from http://www.mindfulextracts.co.uk -Ends-

For media information please contact Rachel Corcoran @ Lily Pad PR rachel.corcoran@lilypadpr.co.uk 07791 110910

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From East to West - The Rise in Popularity of Functional Fungi - ResponseSource

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Robin #8 is a killer near finale of the bloody battle royale on Lazarus Island. Joshua Williamson is bringing this to a head as writer. Gleb Melnikov and Max Dunbar enter the ring as dual artists. HiFi Studio joins the battle with coloring, and Troy Peteri remains the victor over lettering for this DC Comics series that is not dealing with Fear State. Damian Wayne and Connor Hawke. Last issue, they entered the ring for battle. Whoever wins gets immortality. Loser meets the grave.

First, a grim taste of foreshadowing. Down in the depths of Lazarus Island, two adepts of the cult watch over the dreaded Lazarus Pit. One of them surmises that instead of someone going into the pit this time, someone will be coming out. Surely this is good newsfor someone. Meanwhile, Robin and Hawke are squared up in the arena, with the previous contestants choosing sides. As you might have guessed, this is a fight issue, so most of the panels are saved for some very well-executed action drawings. Props right off the bat to Melnikov and Dunbar as they used a lot of visual symbology and expert motions to capture this fight. Their work shines, emboldened by the coloring HiFi brings to the match. Peteris lettering this time around isnt just its usual high quality, but bits of fun (one panel has GOTCHA! as an SFX, lol).

Mother Soul lurks in the background, waiting to complete the ritual she has planned for so long. The League of Lazarus gets minimal play issue after issue, and thats a plus. It keeps them shadowy. Mother Soul stays enigmatic, even with the reveal that she is Ras al Ghuls mother, a scary revelation in and of itself. I cant shake the feeling that she will be Robins major foe for a long time coming. If so, Im looking forward to it.

Robin #8 has a lot to love in this issue, from the fight to the way it comes to a surprising end. Williamson has scripted this entire run thus far perfectly, and he can craft a wonderful fight while noting some quirky moments from the supporting cast along the way. I cannot state enough how much I loved this issue. Damian truly comes off strong, as does Hawke. The art is a blur of swift, powerful action sequences and lovely, solid colors and inks. Comic fans come to a book often looking for nothing more than hero versus hero smackdown, and this series delivers that. But this issue takes every lesson learned earlier and applies them well.

I didnt think Robins journey could be so revealing, so maturing for the character by placing him in a story with more combat than dialogue. But with this issue especially, Robin has blossomed into an independent, self-motivated hero who has learned from others and his own mistakes. This journey took him from my least favorite Robin to placing him in the top three with Dick Grayson and Tim Drake. Hes still nearly the same on the outside, but the nuances are startling. Williamson was the perfect pick to bring this all together and he has refueled my zeal for a heroic character and series I love more than most, even Nightwing (who himself is a Robin). This is a brilliant action book and growth for Damian to be the one true Robin.

Robin #8 is available wherever comic books are sold.

Robin #8

TL;DR

I didnt think Robins journey could be so revealing, so maturing for the character by placing him in a story with more combat than dialogue. But with this issue especially, Robin has blossomed into an independent, self-motivated hero who has learned from others and his own mistakes.

William J. Jackson is a small town laddie who self publishes books of punk genres, Victorian Age superheroes, rocket ships, and human turmoil. He loves him some comic books, Nature, Star Trek, and the fine art of the introvert.

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Robin #8 Review But Why Tho? A Geek Community - But Why Tho? A Geek Community

The fungal ecologist from Saanich discovered a previously unknown mushroom species in a mature mixed forest near Smithers in 2009.

Immortality for John (Marty) Kranabetter has come in the form of a mushroom.

The fungal ecologist from Saanich discovered a previously unknown mushroom species in a mature mixed forest near Smithers in 2009.

The pale grey, medium-sized basidiomata, with stout stem and rounded-gilled cap, is now officially known as Cortinarius kranabetteri but to friends and family and fellow mycologists, its just Martys mushroom.

I was pretty blown away, said Kranabetter, 57, a scientist for provinces Ministry of Forests. My colleagues and I have joked over the years about having a mushroom named after us. The people who wrote the final paper never even gave the heads up, so its a surprise and an honour.

Scientists at the University of British Columbias Beaty Biodiversity Lab studied Kranabetters mushroom at the molecular level, sequencing its DNA and comparing the results with global data bases. Taxonomists determined it was indeed one of a kind, and gave it its official Latin moniker.

The specimens remain in UBCs vast mushroom vault.

Kranabetter collected two samples of the mushroom in the Smithers region while doing soil diversity studies for the province in boreal forest also containing spruce and pine. The mushroom was a symbiotic species, meaning it lives off the roots of trees.

There was another sample taken by a mycologist southwest of Hinton, Alta., in 2011, but the mushrooms complete range and just how prolific its numbers might be isnt clear.

Kranabetter hasnt seen the species since.

When I first started looking at mushrooms, collecting them and trying to put names to them was by using books, mostly from Europe, to find out what you could, said Kranabetter. Now we can send samples to UBC to determine the barcode of life, or the genetic nature of the species.

British Columbia is awash in fungi. A 2017 survey of mushroom species noted more than 3,200 species across the provinces 94.5 million hectares more than any other province. Many havent even been identified. There are many more only visible through a microscope.

The 350 entries in a field guide released this summer by the Royal B.C. Museum and authors Andy MacKinnon and Kem Luther represented only about 10% of the observed species, although about 800 are mentioned in the guide as comparisons in the notes.

Kranabetter is the third Victorian and fourth person in British Columbia to have mushrooms named in their honour. Oluna and Adolf Ceska, who have documented more than 1,400 mushroom species around Observatory Hill in Saanich over the past two decades, have two with their names Cortinarius ceskae and Inocybe ceskae.

The other is Vancouvers Paul Kroeger, best known for tracking the notorious death cap mushrooms spread in urban areas. He collected a mushroom on Haida Gwaii years ago that now is called Cortinarius kroegeri.

That fungal diversity makes mushroom hunting an adventure, said Kranabetter, who leads public workshops and outings.

He noted recent research around the Capital Regional Districts Sooke Lake Reservoir revealed 200 species of mushrooms.

Many more new species are sure to be discovered.

This shows the diverse species we have in our forests in British Columbia, said Kranabetter. We know all the plants and birds and animals, but with fungi were only 10% there. Its fun to be in this job right now to make new discoveries.

Kranabetter specializes in soil ecology and forest nutrition and productivity. He has published a number of papers on ectomycorrhiza fungal ecologyand is a member of the provincial Future Forests committee examining vulnerability to climate change.

He has also been involved with regional efforts to manage pine mushroom and golden chanterelle habitat, and teaches workshops on mushroom identification.

MacKinnon, co-author of Mushrooms of British Columbia and a leading authority on fungi, said Kranabetters work in mycology has been invaluable in the field for both professionals and amateurs.

This is a great honour, and essentially makes Marty immortal, said MacKinnon. Things named after people 200 years ago still bear those names. And it couldnt have happened to a nicer guy.

Kranabetter is taking it all in stride.

The father of two said as he was explaining the mushroom to his family, the first thing his mother-in-law asked was: Can you eat it?

He replied that you probably could, but it wouldnt taste too good.

Right now, Kranabetter will just savour that feeling of immortality.

dkloster@timescolonist.com

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Marty's mushroom: B.C. fungi named for the Saanich scientist who discovered it - Times Colonist

It doesnt feel like a lot of people are on the fence when it comes to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, since like it or not, Phase 4 is in full swing and people want to accept new heroes into the MCU. But with that in mind, its still easy enough to be practical when looking at this movie and finding flaws here and there that are pretty common in a lot of MCU movies. Of course, if you dont know the story of Shang-Chi its very likely that you wont know enough about him to say whether or not the movie is that accurate. The downside of introducing a character like this into the MCU is the fact that a lot of people DONT know him, which means getting used to an entirely new character and trying to invest in him in a way thats a little difficult at times. But the truth is that the action and the story are actually kind of geared toward letting people get to know who Shang-Chi is, even if the cut scenes have to come and go so quickly that we get the gist that his father is an ancient warlord that came upon the ten rings, formed the Ten Rings, gained immortality, met his wife and married and had kids while changing his ways, and then went back to being a criminal when his wife died.

The twist is that he gave up the rings when Shang-Chi was young and turned into a family man, but an old hatred took his wife from him, and that sent him right back to the life of a criminal, so its tough to say that Shang-Chis father is a hardcore villain, since he was heartbroken and wanted blood. But the fact that he turned his son into an assassin definitely negates any good dad points he might have accrued and ignoring Shang-Chis sister Xialing was a huge mistake as well. But upon being introduced as a valet along with his friend Katy, whos played by Awkwafina, Shang-Chi is seen as little more than another individual in a city where cultures and individuals collide on a regular basis. But when he and Katy are attacked on a bus the martial arts display that he puts on is more than a little impressive as he and Katy survive, but Shang-Chi loses the pendant his mother gave him years before, as its the item that the thugs were after in the first place.

The pace of the movie is actually kind of nice since it does move along without too much exposition, but the fact that Shang-Chi goes running off to Macau where apparently his sister is holed up does feel like a trap right from the start since one has to remember that Shang-Chi did run away from his home after finishing one final job for his father, which was to kill the man that ordered the death of his mother. We get to find out that his father, Wenwu, has apparently been under the impression that Xialing and Shang-Chis mother has been trapped by her own people in the mythical city of Ta Lo, where she originally came from. This is where things kind of break down a bit.

First, getting through the mythical forest happens only once every so often since the maze-like forest that can consume people if they tarry too long has a system to it that will open passageways that can ferry people to Ta Lo, but only if they act quickly. But when Shang-Chi, Katy, and Xialing meet up with none other than Trevor Slattery, from Iron Man 3, in the prison after being tossed in by their father, they find out from a mystical creature with wings and no head that there is a way to get to Ta Lo at that time, with a very low rate of success. Whats really funny about this is that in all that time, Wenwu couldnt find a way to get through the forest without the pendants that Xialing and Shang-Chi possessed, and somehow, he couldnt figure out that the voice of his wife might be something else trying to trick him. Even when presented with something called the Dark Gate, which was guarded by the citizens of Ta Lo, Wenwu failed to listen.

The battle between father and son was actually pretty cool and did take precedence over the fight between a water dragon and the Dweller in Darkness, a demonic creature that had been waiting to break loose and was apparently adept at fooling with peoples minds. Once the Dweller in Darkness emerges though it does battle with the water dragon and almost kills it, but thanks to Shang-Chi gaining control of the ten rings, he manages to kill the monster and save Ta Lo. All in all, this wasnt a bad movie, and the post-credits scene even left a nice way to fold it into the rest of the MCU.

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Check Out the Fake Pitch Meeting for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - TVOvermind