Category Archives: Immortality

Would you want to be immortal? Would you still want to be immortal if the quest for it led down a path you thought was immoral? Would you consider an act immoral if another culture respects it as their tradition? Further, would immortality be acceptable if it merely preserves the body and not the mind or the thoughts?

These are some of the conflicting questions that rise up your gut as you read the unputdownable novel The People in the Trees. In her impressive debut published in 2013, American novelist and travel writer Hanya Yanagihara bases the lead character on the life, research, and child molestation conviction of the disgraced Nobel laureate Daniel Gajdusek.

*Trigger Warning: Paedophilia and child sexual abuse*

The story opens in the 1990s, where Nobel Laureate Abraham Norton Perina is in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting his own children. He starts writing his memoirs in a bid to put out his side of the story, urged by his colleague andacolyte who subsequently annotates and editsthe memoirs.

This takes us back by about half a century to the story of Nortons life, when he was a medical student. Norton joins an anthropological expedition to a (fictional) Micronesian island. The tribe that lives on the island, who Norton and his crew call the Dreamers, live long lives that last well over a century. They achieve this by consuming the meat of a local and endemic turtle which gives them long lives but takes away their mental stability.

The expedition also discovers that the Dreamers have a ritual in which a 10-year-old boy is raped. This sets off a deep dive into questions of morality. While some members of the expedition find the ritual disturbing, Norton is clinical about it and terms it merely a cultural difference. He too ends up having a sexual encounter with the boy.

As with many experiences of a colonial nature, Norton smuggles the flesh of the turtle and some Dreamers to America to conduct experiments. He gains recognition for the research he conducts on them. However, pharmaceutical companies from the civilised world quickly colonise and decimate the island, its inhabitants, and the turtles.

Norton adopts some of the abandoned children from the island. One of these children later exposes that Norton raped him when he was a child, which is what lands Norton in jail.

The novel is unnerving as it makes you question the nature of morality, which many of us are used to painting in simplistic tones of black and white. It is for this reason that The People in the Trees will keep you thinking even when you putthe book down.

Whatever conclusions you may reach about morality or whatever trains of thought the book may set off, it would probably be safe to say this is a book that runs deeper than its pages. Is the morality/immorality of the lead character a metaphor for colonialism? How far can some cultural practices go before they can be deemed an affront to morality? Are morals and traditions bound to inevitably clash at some point? The People in the Trees is a captivating read that will leave you unsettled with each page you turn.

Also Read: The real Beasts of No Nation

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Daily Recco, March 17: The People in the Trees, battling immortality and immorality - DailyO

Though a frequent member, Hulk is famous for battling the Avengers, and in a new Alex Ross Cover, he is absolutely crushing Earth's Mightiest Heroes

Warning: contains spoilers forImmortal Hulk

Some of theHulk'smost famous fights are with theAvengers, and in a newly revealed cover, he absolutely destroys them. The cover from award-winning comic creator Alex Ross offers both insights into the Hulk's past history with Earth's Mightiest Heroes and a tease at what's to comeinImmortal Hulk'sfuture.

It's no understatement to say that Hulk's never had a tougher time than he's having in the latestImmortal Hulkissues from writer Al Ewing and artist Joe Bennet. Due to the machinations of Hulk's archnemesis, the Leader, Bruce Banner has been imprisoned, the Green Skar has been taken over, and the Devil Hulk has been killed. All of this adds up to only two personas left, Joe Fixit and the child-like Hulk. Unfortunately for both of them, even the child-like Hulk had been reduced to just skin and bones after being drained of Gamma Radiation. Things only grew worse from there as the weakened Hulk was assaulted by the evil Fantastic Four, the U-Foes, resulting in Hulk's annihilation. The last readers saw of the great green brute was inImmortal Hulk #44 wherehe and Joe woke up in the Below Place with a massive mutated Leader looming over them.

Related:Hulk's Immortality Led to His Grossest and Most Heartbreaking Defeat

Now, in the newly unveiled cover forImmortal Hulk #47, it appears as though Hulk isn't only alive again, he's strong enough to defeat the Avengers. Obviously, thiswon't be the first time Hulk has squared off with Marvel's premiere superhero team, as he infamously defeated every single Marvel hero in the World War Hulk storyline. It's not even the first time he's faced them inImmortal Hulk.Immortal Hulk #7saw the Avengers take on the dangerous Devil Hulk. Though heeffortlessly smashed the team, theAvengers defeated Hulk by firing an orbital laser and then dismembering him so he couldn't regenerate. Fortunately for the Hulk though, the new cover shows that Avengers won't have these options for their next fight.

With their latest brawltaking place in New York City, a rampaging Hulk will have a clear advantage over the Avengers. They wouldn't dare use anything like an orbital laser in the middle of a bustling cityand they also have to worry about collateral damage, something Hulk has no concern for. It's unknown which Hulk is depicted in this cover though, so that could undoubtedly make a difference. Though the powerful Devil Hulk is dead, that doesn't mean the Avengers should rest easy, as every Hulk isa major threat in their own right. Based strictly on the cover forImmortal Hulk #47, whichever Hulk is facing the Avengers ismore than holding his own.

Regardless of how the fight goes though, the artwork speaks for itself. Alex Ross has done the cover art for every single issue ofImmortal Hulkand the results have ranged from triumphant, to horrific, tomind-bending like his cover depicting Hulk in Hell. Even without the series' context, this cover showingHulksmashing theAvengersis a powerful image.

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Deadpool's Creator Mocks a Costume Detail Fans Missed

Evan D. Mullicane is an editor, critic, and author based out of California's Bay Area. He received his bachelor's degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University in 2016. In his free time, he enjoys reading graphic novels and writing fantasy.

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Hulk Crushes the Avengers in Jaw-Dropping New Alex Ross Cover Art - Screen Rant

Unheard-of//Ensemble performed a streaming concert for Kaleidoscope MusArt Saturday night.

The composers life was upended by a world crisis. Forced into isolation, facing a deeply uncertain future, he cast about for a way to keep his art alive. Using the scant materials at hand, he composed a piece that became an immortal document of his time.

It may sound like a scene from 2020, but the year was 1941, and Olivier Messiaen, a devout Roman Catholic, was experiencing the catastrophe of World War II as a window into eternity. Sitting in a German prisoner-of-war camp, he composed Quartet for the End of Time for the only musical instruments available: clarinet, violin, cello and piano.

That influential piece has inspired a mini-repertoire of works for its unconventional forces, as well as chamber groups formed expressly to perform it. Among the latter is Unheard-of//Ensemble, which was presented Saturday afternoon by Miami-based Kaleidoscope MusArt. The richly expressive online performance of the quartet was flanked by two of its newest offspring, Morgan Reed Greenwoods Six Bagatelles for clarinet, violin, cello and piano and Liliya Ugays After the End of Time.

In the recorded concert, viewers saw the musiciansFord Fourqueran, clarinet; Matheus Souza, violin; Issei Herr, cello; and Daniel Anastasio, pianomaskless and slightly distanced from each other, performing in a small space bristling with microphones (and presumably cameras). Unobtrusive post-performance audio and video editing by Fourqueran gave the stream lively, transparent sound and a variety of well-chosen camera angles.

That set the stage to appreciate both the wealth of the composers imaginations and the fine details the players brought out in the scores.

The events overall title, Dialogue Juxtaposition, would of course do for any well-planned concert program, but here it suggested a conversation among historical eras, including the new pieces. The Messiaens fellow travelers on this program were as different as the years in which they were composed: 2019 and 2020.

Greenwoods epigrammatic Bagatelles, each a tiny valentine to a close friend named in its title, evoked images of a convivial time that, one year plus into the Covid age, is beginning to feel like ancient history.

Ugays music, on the other hand, embraced Messiaens vision of a time out of joint, but in present-day terms, and without the French composers theology.

Greenwoods piece, a winner of Kaleidoscope MusArts Beethoven-year competition for bagatelles, led off the concert with a bouquet of musical in-jokes, following a tradition as old as Rameau and as recent as Bernstein. The movements included Salutation (for you), perky and staccato; Audiobook of the Dead (Burt), wrapped in Mussorgskian gloom; Procedural Details for Gainful Employment (Josh & Hop), for soulful clarinet and nervous violin; Falling Up the Down Staircase (Kalo), one quick run up the piano keyboard; A Small Collection of Birds (Matt), a meditative cello solo; and Warmest Regards (for everyone, briefly), a full-ensemble sendoff with more bird calls. The players deftly characterized each bagatelle and, at barely a minute each, the microworks certainly didnt overstay their welcome.

Call it the end of days, or slouching toward Bethlehem, or whatever, something new seems about to be born amid the social disorientation of 2020-21. Ugay, a composer and pianist with a longstanding interest in what she calls socially-inspired music, has caught a whiff of it in After the End of Time, which brought Saturdays concert to a vivid yet ultimately enigmatic close.

The sympathy for the underdog that inspired Ugays recent concert series titled Silenced Voices (featuring rarely-heard Soviet composers) here inspired her to take Messiaens apocalyptic vision down into the turbulent streets and lonely front rooms of 2020.

On Saturday, the pieces five movementsreally four, plus a ghostly epilogueopened with Chaos, with the piano dashing this way and that amid dissonant interjections, then fell back into Isolation, a soft, dejected dialogue mostly for piano and clarinet. Protest hit the streets again, with furious, Messiaenic syncopations driving the shouts and cries, only to be resolved in Unification, which opened hymn-like in euphonious thirds and sixths before rising to more impassioned dissonance.

And what comes after after the end? A final movement, Aftersounds, stole by in near-silence, broken only by the occasional, dimly-overheard phrase, ending the piece (and the concert) with a single, smothered note on cello and piano.

Saturdays performance left nothing to be desired for bold, engaged execution and first-rate ensemble playing.

The same could be said for the programs centerpiece, the great Messiaen work that is the raison dtre for ensembles like this one. The cramped performing area, viewed on a small screen, created the feeling of an exploration of inner space rather than the cosmic vistas the work evokes in a church or a large hall, but there was ample satisfaction to be had in ensemble movements such as the slyly syncopated Liturgy of Crystal, the quiet but intense Vocalise, for the Angel who announces the end of Time, and the Interlude that provided merry relief from all the questing and questioning.

Individual players showed marvelous control of breath or bow arm as Messiaen glimpsed eternity in the works vastly sustained movements: Abyss of the birds for clarinet, Praise to the Immortality of Jesus for violin, and above all Herrs cello in Praise to the Eternity of Jesus.

In sum, this was one of those chamber music concerts whose juxtapositions sparked a dialogue in the mind that continued long after the last note.

Kaleidoscope MusArt (kaleidoscopemusart.com) will post this program on its YouTube channel.

Posted in Performances

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Unheard-of//Ensemble probes inner space in Messiaen's Quartet and new works - South Florida Classical Review

Mark Katrick, Guest Columnist Published 4:27 a.m. ET March 20, 2021

Rev. Mark Katrick(Photo: Submitted)

NEWARK -I am a proud graduate of Elyria Catholic High School, the class of 1971. Our boys and girls sports teams were named the Panthers.

My green and white school jacket is still hanging in the closet. Mom and dad worked hard to provide the kind of education that helped to build the foundation of my Christian faith. They later offered support and encouragement for me to attend Ashland Theological Seminary that led to my call as a pastor and teacher in the United Church of Christ.

My favorite color is green. My first car, a Buick Skylark, was yellow-green. The Evergreen Trees that nestled our home were dark green. The Willow Trees that guarded us like sentries and swept up intruders in their tentacles, were the first to have green buds in the Spring.

The best-ever Life Savers flavor was green until they changed it from lime to sour apple. I love putting on my green stole for church because it represents immortality (Psalm 1:3)and is symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It just so happens that one of my favorite days of the year is on March 17. On that particular day, if you forgot or decided not to wear green, someone Irish, or who claims to be, probably let you know about it. We wont discuss why I, as someone who is 25% Irish, always seems to forget.

This leads to the most important reason I celebrate St. Patricks Day with all its parades and revelry. Its because its only three days from the first day of spring, when blades of bright green grass and a few brave dandelions, begin to pop up from the snow.

So why do we feel its so very important to wear green in honor of St. Patrick? Is it because of Leprechauns and Shamrocks?

According to readersdigest.com, early depictions of St. Patrick show him wearing blue. The official color of the Order of St. Patrick, part of Irelands chivalry, was a sky blue known as St. Patricks Blue. One of the reasons green replaced blue was because of Irelands nickname, The Emerald Isle. The green stripe in the Irish flag also played a role. Traditionally, the green represents the Catholics of Ireland, the orange represents the Protestant population, and the white in the middle symbolizes the peace between the two religions.

To me, the most meaningful reason for the change is that St. Patrick is thought to have used green shamrocks to teach people about the Holy Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit).

During one of my many moves as a pastor, I somehow lost my class ring with its dark green accent stone. If that were not so, Id still be wearing it, reminding me of the new life Christ gives and that Jesus loves me, just as I am.

Whatever your favorite color and holiday are, there is meaning and significance to all of these. They represent, each in their own way, the love of One who created, enables, empowers and celebrates with us.

It is God who has given us the gift of life in all its richness and fullness. And with all due respect to Kermit the Frog, it is God who makes it easy to be green!

Rev. Mark Katrick, St. Johns UCC

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Katrick: The color green and its many meanings - The Newark Advocate

Everyone has dreamt of having superpowers at some point, specifically comic book fans who grew up dazzled and awestruck by the heroes on the page.

Everyone has dreamt of having superpowers at some point, specifically comic book fans who grew up dazzled and awestruck by the heroes on the page. Indeed, having superhuman abilities would be quite the cool thing, but humans tend to look at them through the lens of the comic book, as opposed to everyday reality.

RELATED:10 Comic Books That Would Make Great Anime Adaptions

The question is whether those amazing superpowers would really be so great in one's day-to-day routine. Some might wear out their welcome pretty fast, while others could be the living embodiment of a horrible curse. There are many superpowers that many people think are cool, but would quickly lose their luster.

There comes a time when heroes and villains become so powerful that it borders on the boring, and many are guilty of it. Sure, it's fascinating to watch an invincible bad guy shrugging off nuclear explosions and using cosmic-powered blades as toothpicks, but without proper balance, it quickly grows clichd.

Superman is perhaps the most guilty offender when it comes to invincibility. Since the best humans can do is hurl insults, there's no real threat posed by anyone on the planet. A few like Lex Luthor have managed to elevate themselves to extreme-threat status, but not without the aid of otherworldly gadgets, technologies, or kryptonite.

Storm is one of the coolest X-Men in the Marvel Universe, but not because of her powers. Sure, the ability to control the weather is an interesting ability, Storm shines as a character because of who she is, and her own background and personality. That's precisely the issue at hand.

Controlling the weather seems cool, but it's a weak power nonetheless. The ability is nullified while indoors and underground unless there's some way to access the outside environment. Worse, such an ability could put innocent bystanders in danger, depending on how the weather was being manipulated. All in all, not the best ability to have.

At some point, everyone wanted to be Professor X for a day. In reality, that's about as long as anyone could handle his powers of telepathy. The ability to read minds and know what everyone is thinking would be overwhelmingly traumatic. It would mean accessing the inner thoughts of everyone around you, including their dark parts.

All of us harbor negative thoughts and emotions, but imagine receiving an unfiltered glimpse into everyone's mind, simultaneously. Even if one were able to control and weed out these thoughts by choice, the temptation to tap into the minds of colleagues, family and friends would be too great. This power would quickly lose its allure.

While the ability to see through objects seems like a nifty superpower, it does have its drawbacks. First, it's doubtful anyone would want to glance at the innards of a passerby.

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In reality, X-Ray vision simply wouldn't get used all that often. Think about how many times during the day such a power would be useful. While many could come up with a few answers, the basic truth is that it would get boring after a while, and the user probably wouldn't bother.

Everyone would love to lift a car up over their head with one hand, and pose with their chest out for the cameras. Similarly, it might be fun to get into a fight with someone much larger, knowing that you're going to emerge the victor each time. Super strength is the ultimate appeal to our own personal vanity, but it's kind of vapid.

Just like X-ray vision, super strength requires a daily application. How many times a day would the average person need to exercise this ability? There's an argument to be made for construction workers and other blue-collar jobs, but the average Joe or Jane isn't going to perform feats of superhuman strength all that much. Worse, being able to do things effortlessly will inevitably lead to dissatisfaction. Humans are meant to be challenged.

This superpower can seem alluring at first glance but, upon closer inspection, the ability to fly is littered with a series of real-world drawbacks that simply can't be ignored. First off, the power of flight would require the user to also have a form of invulnerability. Basic physics dictates that one would need it to resist extreme cold and friction at high speeds, which could be fatal.

Then there are other, less obvious drawbacks that people never think about until they're pointed out. Imagine soaring through the skies, free as a bird, only to look into a mirror and see your face plastered with the dead bugs you accumulated along the way.

Unless you're with the Fantastic Four, or you're part of a covert ops strike team, invisibility really holds no allure. First, it's kind of pointless. One would want to be seen by others, and remain active and social. In the comfort of one's own home, this power wouldn't be necessary, so its only application would be the outside world.

The amount of plausible applications for invisibility would be extremely limited. Only the nefarious would probably see it as a major benefit. It would allow people to rob others blindly (or worse), and it could prove to be a major security risk for the world at large. For the average good-natured person, it seems pointless.

This particular power is overrated due to how it's used in comic book stories. There's always a level of imbalance related to this power that just doesn't add up. It tends to see use as a convenient plot device, instead of a primary superpower. The reason is obvious - it solves too many problems, too easily.

A being gifted with telekinesis can effectively end fights before they start, depending on their level of power. Omega-level mutants, Metas, and cosmic beings always seem to hold back this power for the sake of making it appear as if lesser beings have a chance. In reality, telekinetic powers could rip them limb from limb without batting a lash. Telekinesis is either too convenient or too inconvenient. There's no middle ground.

Being immortal would only be a benefit if one had the opportunity to abandon it upon choice. If it was a product of their biology that could not be reversed, it would quickly escalate into a nightmare of horrific proportions. It's important to distinguish between the types of immortality out there, for comparison.

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The first kind of immortality involves a person living essentially forever, unless killed. Many immortal characters are vulnerable to damage, and can actually die if the wounds are too great. Another form of immortality is more cosmic in nature. The person in question simply cannot die, for any reason. It may seem fine, until a few billion years in the future when the sun expands, burns the Earth to a cinder, and leaves desolation in its wake. The fun doesn't stop there, however. Trillions upon trillions of years will pass before the universe finally ends. The question is, would you?

Imagine being able to snap one's fingers and emerge on a white sand beach in Jamaica. That's the premise of teleportation, and it takes on many different forms in the comic book realm. The question is whether its novelty would go for the long haul, or die off quickly.

In reality, teleportation would rob a person of the journey, which is more important than the destination. By instantly appearing between two points, one would miss everything in between, from social interactions, to sight-seeing. It might be handy in an emergency, but it's a hindrance in everyday life.

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Next 10 Strongest Sorcerers In Marvel Comics, Ranked

Derek started writing about video games at age 14 and went on to write for GamePro Magazine and several other prominent outlets. He now brings his veteran pop culture XP to CBR, TheGamer and ScreenRant.

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10 Comic Book Superpowers That Are Highly Overrated | CBR - CBR

New materials meet new technology, street art and personal dreams at the new exhibition at the State Russian Museum devoted for the first time in its history exclusively to the works of GenY artists.

CalledMillennials in Contemporary Russian Art and hosted by the museums Marble Palace, the exhibition is an attempt to create a collective creative portrait of a generation. On display are works by more than 40 St. Petersburg artists made in various techniques and different genres, from painting and sculpture to installations, graffiti and videos.

The names of many of the artists are well known to the public in St. Petersburg. Works of Pokras Lampas, Asya Marakulina, Maksim Ima, Antonina Fatkhullina, Konstantin Reshentikov, Ivan Tuzov, Yegor Kraft have been displayed in a number of galleries in the norther capital and far beyond.

The exhibition in the Marble Palace has no special theme. Instead, the curators have selected three trends that they have identified with Gen Y artists: bold experiments with new materials and new technology; reflection on deeply personal memories, dreams or fears; and installations of visual art in public locations to increase public visibility and get closer to their audience.

This generation the 30-year-olds is perhaps the most difficult to fit into any formal category, said Alexander Borovsky, head of the Newest Trends Department of the State Russian Museum. Like no other, this generation uses an immense diversity of methods, topics, styles and genres, he told The Moscow Times. When the Russian Museum opened our department and we started working with contemporary art, the museum was everything to the artists gallery, critic, police and fairy godmother all in one. At that time there was no infrastructure, no private galleries, and no competent and professional curators. Things are very different today, he added.

A perhaps unexpected aspect of the show is that there are virtually no references to current affairs, from gender issues to social ailments and politics. This is deliberate. The curators wanted to showcase talent and creativity in their pure forms, and socially or politically charged art is simply a different matter, Borovsky said.

The millennial artists typically experiment with new materials. The Union of Earth and Air by Antonina Fatkhullina is a striking sculpture, where round ceramic shapes are in bold contrast to angular metal wire. Alexander Paramonov uses embroidery for his piece. Ivan Tuzov created a mosaic panel, but his fine academic technique is lightened by the subject: Mickey Mouse and Cheburashka. Konstantin Reshetnikov produced vegetable bullet shells in the shape of garlic and radishes on a turning and milling machine.

The exhibition has already made history: for the first time in the history of the State Russian Museum, the curator entering descriptions of the artworks into the museums database had to enter a number of new materials.

New technology is also prominent at the exhibition, albeit with a particular generational angle. You need to remember that millennials still remember a dial rotary telephone from their childhood, and they were being introduced to digital technology and the internet during their teens and later, curator Maria Saltanova told The Moscow Times. They can see the world through an offline and an online lens, which means there is a certain duality of thinkingsay, using a computer program and then adding emotion.

For example, in her graphic works Alyona Tereshko sensuously explored the movements of her own body. Asya Marakulina created a nostalgic variation of a school dress of her own making, with Well done! You get a 5! embroidered in red on the chest. The phrase, a teachers compliment on the top mark, is familiar to many generations of Soviet-born schoolchildren.

Ivan Plushchs painting, titled Immortality No.5, is part of his Immortality Promise series, where he ponders the eternal subject of everlasting life. People have been dreaming of immortality and longevity for as long as humankind has existed, but now it feels like we are on the brink of a scientific breakthrough which would make it real or almost real, the artist said. The blue egg on the painting is a symbol of a comfort zone, perhaps a virtual one, where a person can obtain a certain degree of immortality. The surrounding industrial landscape is sobering reality that we all melt into and that we need to protect ourselves from.

Pokras Lampas, who throws a bridge between modern calligraphy and street art, is one of the biggest names at the exhibition. He said that the new technology is becoming increasingly important for his art. I spent the winter researching new technology, in particular neural networks, Pokras Lampas said. My coach and mentor is no longer another artist, it is a faceless computer program, and inspiration comes from digital calculations.

Although two works were done especially for the show, Saltanova said they did not commission anything for a good reason. We wanted to showcase trends in their natural forms, rather than asking the artists to illustrate a topic or method for us, she said. That way wed risk giving the show the feel of a studio display. A museum is a breathing institution, and it should be able to transform itself to stay contemporary.

The exhibition will run until June 14. For more information, see the museum site here.

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Millennials on Exhibit at the Russian Museum - The Moscow Times

The Great Sith War began when the Sith Lord Exar Kun attacked the Old Republic. Aided by Mandalorians & Dark Jedi, he almost destroyed the Jedi Order.

One of the most devastating events in Star Wars history was the Great Sith War, in which the Jedi Exar-Kun turned to the dark side and declared war against both the Old Republic and the rest of the Jedi. Soon, other factions were pulled into the fight, and devastation spread across the Galaxy.

Sometimes referred to as the Exar Kun War, the conflict saw the Dark Jedi rise to become the greatest lightsaber duelist who ever lived. It also caused whole planets to fall and had repercussions that would be felt through the Galaxy for millennia.

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The tragic events of the Great Sith War were depicted in Tales of the Jedi, a Legends comics series whose stories took place during the Old Republic Era (and earlier). Millennia before the war, the ancient Jedi Order split with followers of the dark side of the Force. The Dark Jedi went into exile and discovered the alien Sith, with whom they joined forces and intermarried. The first Sith Lord was entombed alongside the kings of the alien Sith on Korriban.

Later, a Sith half-breed and powerful alchemist named Naga Sadow became Dark Lord, building a temple on Yavin IV, where he trained the next Sith Lord, Freedon Nadd. After killing his master, Nadd conquered the planet Onderon, making himself king until he was slain by the Jedi. His spirit returned just ten years before the Great Sith War in an event known as the Freedon Nadd Uprising, which included many of the primary characters of the coming war.

Exar Kun was a Jedi whose lightsaber skill and thirst for knowledge were unparalleled. After deciding the Jedi were keeping him from reaching his potential, he traveled to Korriban, where the ghost of Freedon Nadd mentored him. He then went to Yavin IV and took control of an army of Massassi (aliens descended from the ancient Sith) who Naga Sadow had enslaved there.

Meanwhile, the Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma--a hero of the Freedon Nadd Uprising--tried to infiltrate the dark side group called the Krath. Qel-Droma was seduced by Aleema Keto, one of the Krath's leaders, who lured him to the dark side. He killed Aleema's cousin and took his place beside her. He turned his back on the Jedi, including his brother Cay. Perceiving the Krath to be a threat, Exar Kun attacked them but ended up forging a pact with Ulic Qel-Droma, creating the Brotherhood of the Sith. Exar Kun became the new Sith Lord with Qel-Droma serving beside him.

Together, the two Sith attacked the Republic. Ulic Qel-Droma defeated Mandalore the Indomitable in single combat, thereby recruiting the Mandalorians to his cause. Meanwhile, Exar Kun destroyed an ancient Sith Holocron, using its shards to corrupt other Jedi, thereby gaining an army of Dark Jedi.

Qel-Droma attacked the planet Coruscant but was captured. Exar Kun sent his fallen Jedi to kill their masters while he rescued Qel-Droma, storming into the senate chambers in the middle of the trial and killing both the Supreme Chancellor and his former master with his newly-constructed double-bladed lightsaber. The surviving Jedi (including Ulic's brother, Cay Qel-Droma, and the legendary Nomi Sunrider) gathered at the Great Jedi Library on Ossus. The Sith Lords invaded Ossus, where Ulic Qel-Droma killed his brother Cay in a duel. As Ulic fell to his knees with regret, Nomi Sunrider ripped away his connection to the Force.

Ossus and the Jedi Library were destroyed when the Sith made multiple stars go supernova. Exar Kun escaped, but Ulic--filled with remorse--led the remaining Jedi to Yavin IV, where Kun was using Sith alchemy to transcend his physical body and achieve immortality. Countless Jedi countered his ritual with the light side of the Force, defeating Kun and trapping him as a formless spirit in the temple, even as his remaining armies were defeated and his last generals slain.

RELATED: Star Wars: How Knights Of The Old Republic Brought Sith Mutants Into The Galaxy

The effects of the Great Sith War would be felt for generations. The Jedi Academy moved to Coruscant, while the Sith Brotherhood established an academy on Korriban, which helped the Sith Lord Revan train an army to attack the Old Republic. Much later, Darth Maul based his own double-bladed lightsaber on Exar Kun's. When the Rebel Alliance destroyed the Death Star in the Battle of Yavin, they were using the old Sith temples for bases.

Ten years later, Luke discovered a trove of lightsabers on Ossus from the old Jedi Library. After Luke reformed the Jedi Order, his students encountered Exar Kun's ghost on Yavin IV, who tried tempting them to the dark side. But the ghost of Kun's old master also returned, banishing the Sith Lord once and for all.

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Theo Kogod is a freelance writer. While working as an English teacher in Japan, he helped found the magazine 3 Feet Left as its Resident Writer. Since then, he's written for various online publications, including CBR, Screen Rant, and The Comics Vault. His published fiction includes the prose superhero story "Typical Heroes" released by Diabolical Plots and the sci-fi story "Antediluvian" in the anthology A Flash of Silver-Green. He currently lives in North Carolina with his spouse, two adorable cats, and an ever-growing book-hoard.

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There have been many reinventions of the Amazons in their long history, but some have distinguished themselves in the grand scheme of things.

Interest in the lore of the DC Universe has expanded after the success ofthe DCEU's films, with Wonder Woman being the most successful one yet. The Amazons have garnered such fan interest that there is to be a spin-off film based entirely on this tribe.

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Its worth knowing more about the Amazons from the source material as the DCEU derives most ofits characters'backstory from there. There have been many retcons and reinventions of the Amazons in their long history, but some havedistinguished themselves in the grand scheme of things.

The first story featuring Wonder Woman in All Star Comics #8 established that the Amazons were from a place known as Paradise Island. Aphrodite had been the one to sculpt all the Amazon women out of clay and breathed life into them.

In this continuity, the last one to be sculpted was Diana, which made her the youngest one. At the time, the Amazons lived to serve Aphrodite and the Goddess was the one who granted them life, favor, and immortality.

The first story is the best comic for new readersbecauseit establishes both Wonder Woman and the Amazons. It depicted Steve Trevor landing in Paradise Island by accident and discovering the Amazons that inhabited the place.

After learning of the World War that was taking place in the human world, the Amazons engaged in a competition to decide who would accompany Steve back to his world and fight alongside him. This competition was much like the one shown in the intro of Wonder Woman 1984, and Diana ended up winning.

This would be an interesting storyline for the DCEU to adapt, as the Amazons origins still havent been depicted in that universe. All Star Comics #8 showed the history of Amazonia, once a great nation that Hercules decided to conquer.

While he lost Hippolyte, he seduced her to steal the magic girdle, which angered Aphrodite enough for her to claim the Amazons immortality. Although Hippolyte managed to reclaim the girdle and their immortality, Aphrodite banished the Amazons to Paradise Island as punishment for failing in the human world.

It remains to be seen if this tribe becomes one of the next villains DCEU's Wonder Woman will fight, as the Amazons of Themyscira were shown to have contentious relations with the Bana-Mighdall Amazons. Wonder Woman Vol. 2 #29-33 showed the origins of this tribe.

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Theyre a splinter group who were part of Antiopes tribe that never got the immortality of the Themyscira Amazons.Becauseof this, they were forced to accept the favor of Egyptian gods who granted them the Bana-Mighdall city that was surrounded by a powerful sandstorm to protect their land.

This is an origin story that the DCEU has so far ignored, as the idea of reincarnated souls becoming warriors might be too much of a stretch. In the Post-Crisis continuity of the DC Universe, the Amazons history was changed to depict them as having once been women who were killed by men.

Artemis was the one who brought them to life in this continuity, as she transformed them from their sculpted clay forms into strong bodies with eternal youth and trained them to be warriors much like the goddess that birthed them.

Its no wonder that Diana is the Wonder Woman as shes the strongest Amazon yet. In fact, being Wonder Woman isnt just a superhero title, as the moniker is bestowed upon the Amazon that has proven herself to be a champion and ambassador for Themyscira.

Dianas mother, Hippolyta, was Wonder Woman before her, having been the one to lead the Amazons to Paradise Island after freeing them from Hercules slavery. The Amazon who proves herself to usurp Dianas achievements will become Wonder Woman in her place.

Wonder Woman Vol. 3 #18 is a comic that DCEU fans will enjoy reading, as it depicts further information about the Amazons. The courting ritual of the women on the island was shown, which involved presenting a coconut from one Amazon to another, containing a necklace and a bracelet.

The one who initiates the courting needs to place the necklace around the neck of the Amazon shes pursuing along with wrapping the bracelet around the wrist. If the intended lover accepts this gift, the Amazons are considered to be united in a relationship.

The Amazons origins have gone through enough changes to eventually end up with the belief that there were five original goddesses who were responsible for their creation. The Feast of the Five is meant to be a celebration of this event and tribute to the goddesses.

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It is the holiest day for the Amazons, as it signifies their beginning as a tribe and acknowledges the legacy they have carved out for themselves. To this end, the Feast of the Five is seen as a day where they go all-out in celebration and prayer to the goddesses.

The Amazons can be hurt by powerful weapons but are inherently immortal and have a natural healing factor. However, they can still be killed or fatally wounded,but can be healed by using the Earths soul to renew their bodies, as seen in Wonder Woman Vol. 2 #30.

Diana was shown doing so in Wonder Woman Vol. 2 #120, where she prayed to Gaea to grant her this healing ability, explaining that its not something the Amazons can do all the time and the prayer can only be answered under special circumstances.

Initially, it appeared as if the Amazons only had similar appearances to Wonder Woman. However, Wonder Woman Secret Files and Origins went to extensive lengths in Amazonian history and showed that the tribe has every ethnicity in its ranks.

This makes Themyscira a multi-ethnic place, although one thats only inhabited by women. Every woman is considered a warrior and trained in the same manner in a number of skills.

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Saim Cheeda is an entertainment writer covering all of Film, TV, Gaming and Books. He's been a writer for The Gamer, Screen Rant and CBR since 2017, contributing 100+ articles for a variety of topics. Saim also covers entertainment articles for Fansided.Apart from freelance writing, Saim is a lifestyle blogger, co-owning the blog 3 States Apart.

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Clockwise from upper left: Tarte tatin, mapo tofu, Cobb salad, Battenberg cakePhoto: The Washington Post (Getty Images), The Washington Post (Getty Images), Boston Globe (Getty Images), The Washington Post (Getty Images)

As I grow older and begin worrying about my mortality, I understand why people have children: who else will bother to remember you after youre dead? But surely there must be an easier way than being pregnant for nine months (and all the nausea, hormonal changes, and inability to sleep on ones stomach this implies), giving birth, and having to feed and care for a young person and prepare them to be a useful member of society. Plus theyre so expensive, all that food and clothing and electronic equipment, not to mention college tuition.

I suppose I could hope that this website will still be read in a few hundred years. Or that I will somehow come into an obscene amount of money, enough to put my name on a building with so much architectural importance that no one would dare tear it down. Or... I could have a food named after me! What is more precious than a foodstuff?

There are a few paths to food immortality. One is actually inventing a food with wide appeal and great lasting power throughout the centuries, or at least taking the credit. Was John Montague, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, the first person to think of sticking a piece of meat between two slices of bread? Probably not. But he gets the credit, and the name. As do Robert H. Cobb, Caesar Cardini, Ignacio Nacho Anaya, Alfredo di Lelio, and Stephine and Caroline Tatin for the dishes that still bear their names, and Charles, Pierre, and Henri DeJonghe, the owners of the Chicago hotel where the garlicky shrimp dish became famous. (Their chef, Emil Zehr, actually did the cooking.) Sylvester Graham and James Salisbury thought they were inventing health foods, but instead they ended up fueling a classic campfire treat and thousands of horrors served over steam tables. If they could see this from the afterlife, they would be severely disappointed.

And then theres Mrs. Chen, who ran a tofu restaurant Wanfu Qiao in Chengdu, China, at the turn of the 20th century. She invented a dish that combined tofu, chilis, and Sichuan peppers and served them in chili oil. It became very popular. But instead of Chens Tofu or Wanfu Qiao Tofu or something like that, it got its name from Mrs. Chens appearance: mapo, or pockmarked old lady.

Unfortunately, sometimes the inventor of the food has the misfortune to share a name with someone more famous. Such was the case with Louis Davenport, a Spokane hotel-owner and restaurateur who invented a very rich crabmeat salad that he named after himself; it was subsequently attributed to King Louis XIV, who died 150 years before Davenport was even born, because every Louis in the world fades before the Sun King (including the 16, or maybe 18, other King Louis). Two guys named ReubenReuben Kolakofsky and Arthur Reubenboth receive credit for the Reuben sandwich. What are the odds?

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Another more common path is to be a patron or a friend of a famous chef. Marie-Antoine Carme, the great French chef, named many dishes after his noble patrons. Charles Ranhofer, who ran the kitchen at the New York restaurant Delmonicos for more than 30 years, preferred paying tribute to celebrities: veal pie la Dickens, salad la Dumas, estomacs de dinde la Gustave Dor, bisque a shrimps la Melville, and Sarah Bernhardt cakes. (He also liked to honor famous dead people: Mozart, Thomas Jefferson, Joan of Arc.) Richard Foster, the chairman of a New Orleans crime commission in the early 1950s, found refuge from his tough job by hanging out in his buddy Owen Brennans restaurant where the chef, Paul Blange, one day took pity and made him a special dessert of flambeed bananas and ice cream.

Some people are just so damned famous that people cant help but name food after them. Arthur Wellesley, the first duke of Wellington, and General Zu Zngtng (sometimes translated Tso) had great military victories. It is probably not surprising that a Ben & Jerrys customer suggested an ice cream flavor to honor Jerry Garcia. A light and fluffy dessert just screams to be named after a ballerina like Anna Pavlova. The opera singer Nellie Melba had two things named after her: the dry toast she ate when she was on a diet and the peaches-and-ice cream dessert she ate when she wasnt. Baby Ruth was allegedly named after President Grover Clevelands daughter not the baseball player, even though baby Ruth Cleveland died 17 years before the candy bar was invented, but sometimes you say certain things to avoid being sued.

Queen Victoria had a whole bunch of stuff named after her, but the one that lingers is the Victoria sponge, thanks, in part, to The Great British Bake-Off. GBBO alsocontinues to popularize the checkerboard Battenberg cake, named after the German nobles who married into the British monarchy and changed their name to Mountbatten and Windsor. (And here we get into a crossover with The Crown.) Meanwhile, Victorias contemporary, Otto von Bismarck, got a creme-filled doughnut. Which I think is a very nice way to be remembered. Im not sure how many people, when they bite into a Bismarck, remember that Otto von Bismarck was responsible for uniting Germany. But we keep saying his name, right?

Im afraid I lack the horticultural knowhow to create a new hybrid fruit that I could name after myself the way Enoch Bartlett (pears), Dom Pierre Prignon (Champagne grapes), Pre Clment Rodier (clementines), and John McIntosh and Marie Ana Granny Smith (apples) did.

So that leads to one more path. Its a bit humiliating, but sometimes you have to pay a high price for immortality. Back around 1920, a kid called Henry used to hang out at the Williamson Candy Company in Chicago, and sometimes he would do chores for candy. Whenever anyone wanted him, they would yell Oh, Henry! And so a candy bar was born. (Thats one version anyway. Another claims that Henry was a lover who made all the girls sigh. A far more likely version is that when Williamson bought the Peerless Candy Company, it inherited a bar called the Tom Henry, named after Peerless manager, Thomas Henry, and promptly renamed it. There is no documentation for any of these stories, so choose your favorite.) No one mentioned how many years of servitude it took, or even if Henry thought it was worth it.

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How to achieve immortality and have a food named after you - The Takeout

In the summer of 2015, Pierre-Andre Gignac was a man in high demand.

The clinical striker was coming fresh off a 2014/15 campaign in which he had scored 21 goals in 38 Ligue 1 appearances for Marseille, with only Alexandre Lacazette (27) outscoring Gignac as he fired Les Phoceens to fourth in the table.

That campaign was the culmination of an upward trend in the strikers career. After managing league goal totals of just eight and one (ouch) in his first two seasons with Marseille, Gignac netted 13 and 16 times across the 2012/13 and 2013/14 campaigns, respectively, setting himself up for a stellar 2014/15.

Gignac had also fought his way back into international contention with France but, despite being such hot property at the time, player and club could not agree on a new contract, and the former Toulouse striker made clear his intention to leave Marseille, then managed by Marcelo Bielsa, as early as December 2014.

I think I will leave at the end of the season, he said. I want to know if (coach Marcelo) Bielsa will stay, but I want a big challenge. I will consider all proposals carefully.

Gignac name-dropped Inter Milan as a potential destination, while the likes of Lyon, West Ham, Newcastle United, West Brom and Dynamo Moscow were all linked with him at one time or another. With that in mind, the decision to join Mexican giants Tigres UANLin June 2015 was one which caught most in Europe off-guard.

Despite hosting the most successful sides in CONCACAF, including the likes of Club America, Chivas and Monterrey, aside from Tigres, Liga MX has never quite had the same appeal or attracted the same level of wider curiosity as its neighbour in the north, Major League Soccer. As such, given the level of interest surrounding Gignac, then only 29 years old, there were those who accused the 36-time France international of making the move for financial reasons Gignac joined Tigres on an initial deal worth $4m per season, making him the highest-paid player in Mexico.

In the six seasons since he crossed the Atlantic, its safe to say Gignac has been on a one-man mission to prove his doubters wrong.

To date, the now-35-year-old Gignac has scored no fewer than 147 goals in 246 appearances across all competitions for Tigres, establishing himself as the clubs record goalscorer and proving the catalyst for an unprecedented era of success in San Nicolas de los Garza. Since his arrival, Tigres have won four league titles (3x Apertura, 1x Clausura), three Campeon de Campeones crowns, the 2018 Campeones Cup and, most recently, the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League the clubs long-awaited first triumph in that competition after final defeats in 2016, 2017 and 2019.

Gignac was the Golden Boot winner during the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League with six goals, while he scored the winner in the 2-1 final win over LAFC. The fact he has scored in three of the tournaments finals only serves to further illustrate the sheer impact hes had on the Mexican game. In short, Gignac is a legend.

For Tigres fans, Gignac is a massively popular figure, Cesar Hernandez of the Mexican Soccer Show podcast told Squawka when asked of the players influence on the Tigres fanbase.

In a roster filled with highly talented players that could easily make up the core of a potential Liga MX all-star team, Gignac has constantly found a way to stand out. Tigres fans absolutely love him for not only consistently scoring and bringing titles, but for also embracing his new Mexican lifestyle.

He quickly picked up Spanish, became a Mexican citizen, and has proudly boasted about his kids growing up in the region. Speaking of kids, a 2019 report from MedioTiempo claimed that over 40 kids from Nuevo Leon have a registered name that is inspired by Gignac. Safe to say fans love him, and hes reciprocated that love back. Hes brought titles, hes already had a Tigres-inspired tattoo, and seems to be genuinely happy in his new home country.

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On where Gignac lands in the conversation of Liga MXs greatest-ever players, Hernandez adds: Weve seen plenty of arguments regarding whether hes the greatest player from outside the country, the greatest striker, or simply just the greatest. I think its far too early to say that hes the definite greatest in Liga MX, but hes undoubtedly in the running.

Hes definitely brought more attention from abroad, especially when you consider that he was born in France and that he could still be playing for an elite European team. That said, the league has plenty of room for growth and needs more players of his calibre to continue propelling it forward.

From Lionel Messi to Diego Maradona, the true icons of football never know when theyre done and there are always higher mountains to scale for those willing to go the distance. In his particular corner of the footballing world, Gignac is on the cusp of doing just that.

Once again, it was he who was the hero as Tigres came from behind to beat Ulsan Hyundai 2-1 in the second round of the delayed 2020 Club World Cup, scoring a first-half brace to send the South Korean side packing. That set up a semi-final glamour tie with Brazilian side and Copa Libertadores champions Palmeiras in an attractive game, but one most expected Tigres to ultimately lose.

As always, Gignac had other ideas. A wonderful Tigres performance saw the Mexican side enjoy 51% of possession and outshoot their Brazilian counterparts 8-7, while a mammoth defensive effort comprising of 16 tackles, 17 interceptions and 19 clearances kept the Libertadores holders at bay. But, of course, it was Gignac who had the final say.

With the game poised at 0-0, Tigres were awarded a penalty as Carlos Gonzalez was dragged down in the box. After already being denied by goalkeeper Weverton on a number of occasions, Gignac calmly stepped up and drilled the ball into the bottom corner, just beyond the reach of the Brazilians outstretched arms. Tigres held out to become the first-ever CONCACAF team to reach the Club World Cup final. The reward? A mouth-watering clash with European and German champions Bayern Munich, Robert Lewandowksi, Joshua Kimmich et al.

We finally achieved an international title, tournament MVP Gignac said after the CONCACAF Champions League final.

I always wanted to win it even though some say it is not worth much. It is worth going to a Club World Cup, and it is worth playing against the best teams from each continent. Today it is Tigres turn.

Following the win over Ulsan, he proclaimed: We know were capable of making history and want to do so.

If the veteran striker can inspire Tigres to an unlikely, iconic victory over Bayern Munich, then Ricardo Ferrettis side will becomethe first-ever CONCACAF team to win the tournament, and he will transcend legendary status, sealing immortality.

Today is Tigres turn. Today is Gignacs turn.

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How rejecting Inter and Lyon set Andre-Pierre Gignac on his way to Tigres immortality - Squawka