Category Archives: Transhuman

Tech has integrated into many peoples lives, so its important to be aware of what its taught us, positive or negative. Weve collected our thoughts about the lessons technology has given us, at least those who have access to it and use it every day.

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Now, if youve already taken care of your assignments, lets go through the lessons of the technology era.

The new era has provided many societies on our globe with the gift of convenience. Our laptops, mobile phones, tablets, and other portable devices serve to make our daily lives easier.

And whats more convenient than the Internet? The era has ushered convenience at our fingertips, and the interweb can be a powerful tool if used in all the right ways. However, the Internet can also be extremely distracting to those who arent so self-disciplined.

Whatever the case, were learning that the technologies that this millennium has brought influence people differently. We have to consider how we will use it in our daily lives and not succumb to addiction. The Internet is a tool.

This topic is not black-and-white, and we encourage our readers not to make extreme assumptions since its not easy to quantify certain things. However, its safe to say that learning with the Internet, especially for people who prefer online education, can be a more active process. In traditional school etiquette, before the ushering of modernity, students had to stay in class and listen to their professors.

With the Internet, people can learn on their own with prepared educational courses that are available at any given point for them. Many artists, music producers, animators, programmers, and other professionals have learned their craft through online courses. Its becoming the norm.

Our challenge right now is to encourage the youth and the general public to learn on their own. One sad thing is that traditional school has made the older generations reliant on a teacher to push them to study. We have to make sure the new generation enjoys learning and takes the initiative in getting new knowledge.

Becoming independent and using the Internet for research is a great way to boost ones motivation to study. However, its not such an easy task since people have to overcome distractions and find quality courses in the pool of contradictory information.

The Internet is vast, and even if we credit it for our progress, its the people who make it valuable. There are so many ways you can make money online nowadays, and this has given many people a chance to start anew. Here are just a few examples.

If you have the necessary skills and determination to make money online, your opportunities are limitless.

Even with the excitement of finding innovative ways to use technology in this era, we must not lose touch with our humanity. For our readers who havent watched Black Mirror, please do. Technology brings a lot of positive outcomes, but it also has a dark side that needs serious consideration.

Transhumanism and innovation might seem trendy and hip, but the excessive reliance on technology can ultimately prove to be the downfall of our society. We must balance the time and energy we spend focusing on our devices and our interactions with the outside world.

Too much of anything is never a good thing in the human experience, so we must be cautious about what we focus on. We cant heavily rely on our inventions to do everything for us. Yet, we cant be closed off to innovation and progressive thinking either. Its about balance in the end. Balance is the key to maintaining a healthy attitude to tech developments.

We encourage our readers to think about the ways they can use technology so that it positively impacts their daily lives. Be mindful so as not to succumb to destructive and addictive behaviors. There is a lot to learn and discover in the tech field, so keep expanding your horizons and improving your skills. Just remember to filter information and concentrate on the long-term benefits technology might bring.

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4 Lessons the Era of Technology Has Taught Us - Sprout Wired

uffe isolottos we walked the earth at venice art biennale 2022

At the Venice Art Biennale 2022, the Danish pavilion presents the haunting transhuman installation We Walked the Earth created by Uffe Isolotto and curated by Jacob Lillemose. Spread over the entire pavilion, the piece welcomes visitors into a hyperrealistic world where images of Danish pastoral farm life mix with bizarre sci-fi elements, weaving a world of uncertainty. We Walked the Earth showcases a drama of life and death that focuses on a family of three centaurs. Struggling to cope with the challenges of our current ever-changing reality, the centaurs embody a state of turmoil between despair and hope, reflecting the profound ambiguity of todays world.

Uffe Isolotto, We Walked the Earth, Pavilion of Denmark, Biennale Arte, 2022

image courtesy of Ugo Carmeni (also head image)

We Walked the Earth by Uffe Isolotto (see more here) transforms the pavilion into a farmhouse-like space paved with field stones, filled with piles of eelgrass and horse manure. Visitors to the Venice Art Biennale 2022 (see more here) are able to traverse the pavilion and discover images reminiscent of an idyllic Danish country lifestyle.

Nevertheless, on closer examination, it becomes apparent that all these seemingly familiar elements are, in fact, altered and distorted. The traditional Danish farming tools that lie around within the interior are, in reality, curious reinterpretations. Whats more, in one of the rooms hangs a mutated ham, and unfamiliar species of farm crops are scattered across the rooms, oozing a blue fluid.

Uffe Isolotto, We Walked the Earth, Pavilion of Denmark, Biennale Arte, 2022

image courtesy of Ugo Carmeni

Amid these peculiar surroundings, two hyperrealistic centaur sculptures emerge as the protagonists of the installation. Their unusual form serves as a testimony of the dramatic and demanding process they had to endure in order to adapt to the new conditions of our changing world. Their faces, bodies, and hands are noticeably larger than an average human, and their skin is covered in unusual markings. Meanwhile, the same blue fluid that seeps out of the farm crops seems to be sustaining the centaur creatures through tubes, leaving viewers to wonder whether it is a heating agent, a form of nutrition, or a drug.

A drama of life and death plays out across the two main rooms of the pavilion. In one room, the male centaur has taken his own life, and can be found hanging from a chain suspended from the ceiling. In the adjacent room, the female centaur is lying on the floor, giving birth to a baby centaur that seems to be of a different hybrid than its parents. Its human hands are transfigured towards something unrecognizable, holding a promise for the future and foreboding hard times, at the same time.

Uffe Isolotto, We Walked the Earth, Pavilion of Denmark, Biennale Arte, 2022

image designboom

There is a deep uncertainty in understanding what has happened to the centaurs and the world they live in. Is it a tragic or hopeful situation, or perhaps both? mentions Uffe Isolotto. Even though the centaurs may not be real, we feel their struggle.

The present time we live in is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable as we face a lot of challenging realities, whether ecological, political or existential. Theres much hope and despair in the air, and I want to make that a physical reality with this installation. the artist explains. We Walked the Earth also draws on experiences from my personal life that in a metaphorical sense resonate with more universal feelings and thoughts about life and death that I sense exist in the world today. he adds.

Uffe Isolotto, We Walked the Earth, Pavilion of Denmark, Biennale Arte, 2022

image designboom

Uffe Isolotto, We Walked the Earth, Pavilion of Denmark, Biennale Arte, 2022

image designboom

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danish pavilion unveils transhuman installation 'we walked the earth' at venice art biennale - Designboom

There is only onegeometric normal: perpendicular, at a right (90 degree angle).

If you are building a wall, check to be sure the wall is normal (straight) with a plumb line. Thats a string with a lead weight on it that always points to the center of the earth and is perpendicular to the surface. If the wall deviates to the right or to the left it is unstable. It is easily knocked down and will bring down whatever is attached to it.

The most famous abnormal building is theLeaning Tower of Pisa. Built on an unstable foundation, it began to lean very early, and huge expense has been incurred through the centuries to keep it from falling over. At present, 800 tons of lead bricks on one side of the building serve as a counterweight. We can keep piling on lead bricks, but the building will fall apart someday because of the abnormal stresses on the masonry.

The tower is a great tourist attraction, but not useful as a buildingyou cant put furniture on the slanting floors.

Something as abnormal as that tower can be sustained, but it requires constant application of force. Take away the lead bricks, and the natural law of gravity brings the structure down.

In society, norms may be based on how the majority of people behave. Some variation is normal. Customs and fashions change, but basic facts of biology and human nature will reassert themselves if outside pressures to conform to unnatural behavior are removedunless too much damage has been done.

It is not normal to wear a face mask and stay six feet away from other human beings. As soon as the pressure is removed, the students, even at a Woke university, are maskless and interacting normallytalking, laughing, hugging. Their natural immune systems are functioning normally.

It is not normal to stay locked indoors. Without police coercion, people will go out when they think it essential or safe.

It is not normal to worry constantly about a virus that in most people is no worse than the flu. Once the daily case counts and death statistics stop, people may believe their eyes and ears telling them that most people are ok. Unless they have been turned into obsessive-compulsive germophobes.

It is not normal for people to bully or exclude or malign family members and friends who choose not to take a novel experimental injection. That takes constant propaganda portraying them as lifelong lepers. But once the mortar of human relations is weakened, will the masonry crumble?

It is not normal for public health officials to have dictatorial powers to wreck normal human activities, for years after an apparent emergency ends. It is not normal for officials, academics, medical societies, and doctors to suppressinformation about preventive measures(such as vitamin D and betadine or hydrogen peroxide mouthwash) or early out-patient treatment with repurposed drugs long approved as safe. It is not normal to deny care to unvaccinated patients. It is not normal to cover up adverse effects of new treatments. Censorship and extraordinary repression are required, at least until terrified people get used to their constrained lives and lose their will to resist.

The attempt to establish a new normal and smash the old goes far beyond the pandemic measures. It is a biologic fact that there are two sexes, and that one male and one female gamete (sperm and egg) are needed to make a new human being. It is normal for men and women to be attracted to each other and to long for a stable union. It is normal for parents, children, and biological relatives to love and be loyal to each other. Infidelity and betrayal are tragedies in world literature and common motives for murder.

But imperfect as these societal structures are, there is one normal and there are many abnormals. If not two natural sexes, there is a constantly multiplying number of humanly constructed genders. If not one man/one woman marriage, there are many variable relationships of atomized individuals.

If we throw away our plumb line, and try to normalize what is unprecedented or until recently thought deviant, what will happen to our structure? The experts think they can redo our psyches and even reengineer our DNA. We are being subjected to a massive, uncontrolled, nonconsented experiment. Past societies may have had dictatorship by a self-appointed health priesthood or pervasive homosexuality, transgenderism, and promiscuity. Where are they now?

If we let the experts prevail, will we have a brave new happy transhuman utopia? Or a pile of rubble?

Visit link:
There Is No New Normal - Caffeinated Thoughts

Iconic director David Cronenberg made his name with a series of eye-popping body horror movies. The best are The Fly, Videodrome, and Dead Ringers, though he apparently abandoned the genre in 1999 with eXistenZ. Since then, hes put out several warped crime thrillers, but now hes returned to the icky stuff with Crimes of the Future. And, judging by this debut trailer, hes back in style.

The film stars Viggo Mortensen, Kristen Stewart, and La Seydoux for what appears to be a highly sexually charged glimpse into a future heavily influenced by the works of H.R. Giger. The synopsis indicates well see mankind exploring ways to adjust their biology and physiology at will known as Accelerated Evolution Syndrome.

Mortensen will play Saul Tensor, an artist whos decided to dive headlong into the transhuman world, resulting in him beginning to grow alien-looking organs on his body. Seydoux plays his partner Caprice, who aids Tensor in performances that involve him removing his new organs, though trouble is brewing from those who think humans should stay as God made them.

Crimes of the Future is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where itll be in contention for the coveted Palm dOr award. Cannes is notable for its intense audience reactions and habit of audience members dramatically leaving the theater to express their disgust with a movie. So, how does Cronenberg think this will go down? As per World of Reel, he said

I expect walk-outs, faintings and panic attacks.

Hell yeah. Bring it on.

Crimes of the Future opens in the U.S. this June.

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Watch: First Trailer for Body Horror movie 'Crimes of the Future' - We Got This Covered

NFTs are one of the most talked-about topics today when it comes to art, fashion and so much more. With industry leaders like Meta pushing for the metaverse and major brands releasing digital collections, the virtual space has become a huge platform for new and rising artists to showcase their work.

Hypebae China caught up with four female digital artists KARA RABBIT, Ruby Gloom, Hsunic-Ann and Helen, The Creator to chat about the future of all things web3. KARA RABBIT is an independent designer who creates pixelated rabbits for her NFT collection, while Ruby Gloom is the artist behind RUBY 9100M, a digital trans-human being that wears all sorts of hyperrealistic outfits. Hsunic-Ann is a Chinese illustrator creating the three-dimensional series Miss Button, and Helen, The Creator is the founder of Asian Girlz NFT.

Continue scrolling to read our conversation with KARA RABBIT, Ruby Gloom, Hsunic-Ann and Helen, The Creator on the future of NFTs, the metaverse and more.

RUBY 9100M, a trans-human being created by Ruby Gloom.

How would you describe your artistic style?

KARA RABBIT My style focuses on 8-bit graphics, as well as a flat, two-dimensional look and pop art aesthetic. The entire KARA RABBIT collection is pixelated, which allows the creation of complex images from the simplest elements, thus sparking imagination.

Pixel Rabbit was my first NFT collection, and the original goal was to create a rabbit that was super elemental, similar to the Elementalist Lux Skin on Riot Games League of Legends. I wanted my rabbit to be both cute and fun. The artwork itself gives a relaxing, calm feel, and I also hope that my rabbits can bring a sense of healing to people.

Helen, The Creator My NFT work combines the use of art with storytelling and utility. The Asian Girlz NFT characters are inspired by my love for 80s arcade and Nintendo video games. Each NFT character inspires viewers and buyers to imagine the interesting backstories and lives of our characters giving way to our storytelling platform.

Ruby Gloom Ruby 9100M is a character that could be seen as an extension of my identity, but also a door that separates the real world from the virtual space. When I first created her, I just wanted to create an identity that would live on social media. Having spent a lot of time on the internet, I felt like I was losing my sense of self. I decided to learn 3D art and found it was a great way for me to connect with myself, so I created Ruby 9100M to express my emotions.

Hsunic-Ann I like to combine all of my favorite figures and models to create my NFT work. I believe that there are so many more possibilities to explore in the NFT space, which is now so prominent in China. For example, many platforms are tapping into the metaverse.

What are your views on NFTs and digital work from an artists perspective?

KARA RABBIT Before I tapped into NFTs, my perception of digital art was more of CGI and illustration design in games.

Helen, The Creator Most of my artistic creations in the past were more traditional, such as physical paintings and sculptures. When I got into NFTs, I started experimenting more with digital tools and applications, such as computer-generated graphics, animation and 3D.

Ruby Gloom NFT is one of the things that builds value for digital art. In my opinion, most NFTs with high artistic value is created by a team or created with the participation of well-known artists. NFTs can also help spotlight the works of artists that are not as well-known.

Hsunic-Ann I agree with Ruby that NFT is bringing a new atmosphere to the digital art scene. Digital art is at the core of commercial art at the moment. Since we are in an age that is heavily driven by technology, there are so many artworks that are based on computers and electronic products. I am an animation major myself, and now animations are produced on computers rather than traditional paper and brushes.

Speaking of the wider impact of digital art, Helen, how did you first come up with the idea of presenting Asian women from different backgrounds in the form of NFTs?

Helen, The Creator I started Asian Girlz as an NFT project to bring together the power of blockchain technology and a community of supporters. We gave them the opportunity to help fund a project that empowers Asian women and to take part in building a culturally significant and powerful entertainment company. Each of our Asian Girlz NFT characters has different names, jobs, locations and backstories. Our Asian Girlz characters ask the viewer or buyer of the NFT to imagine them as real human beings with diverse and complex stories.

Throughout the pandemic, anti-Asian hate crimes and assaults against Asian women have been on the rise at alarming rates. This NFT project comes at a very important time where art, technology and storytelling can help bridge what divides us and hopefully help the fight against racism.

How do you think being a female creator makes your work different? And how does it generate different social influences?

KARA RABBIT I believe the art that we create is not in the material world, but rather in the spiritual world. I hope my work has the power to cure. We are not just creating NFTs but spreading positive energy through them. We hope to continue to build a strong community in the metaverse where more people can participate and connect.

Helen, The Creator Thanks to web3, more women are starting to get involved in the male-dominated world of technology. Its really exciting to see more female-led NFT projects. I hope these initiatives will help girls gain the confidence to try new things in this space.

Ruby Gloom This space is mostly dominated by male creators and buyers. As a female artist, I believe in pushing for more projects with female-focused themes to encourage more participation from women all around the world.

Hsunic-Ann Miss Button, the IP that Im currently publishing on NFT platforms is more feminine in terms of creative elements and style compared to others that Ive created in the past. I didnt particularly create these visuals for female collectors, but I would be happy if it could attract more women to the world of NFTs.

The current digital space serves as a platform for women who are considered less mainstream in the field, allowing them to offer different and unique perspectives to the community. How do you see the future of female artists in NFT creation and digital art?

KARA RABBIT NFTs are an extension of the metaverse, which is in its early stages at the moment. We should be focusing not only on digital art but also on the development of technologies spanning VR, artificial intelligence, 5G and more. Id love to see more artists and tech experts get involved with building the future of the metaverse.

As a female artist, I hope that we can not only promote art in the virtual world but also raise awareness of social issues. We can use the digital space to help support those in need.

Helen, The Creator The NFT industry is really just starting to take off and is changing rapidly every day. We are starting to see so many different types of projects and I think this is exciting because female artists have an amazing opportunity to really be creative in this space and make a big impact and even start leading in this space.

Read the original here:
4 Female Digital Artists on the Future of NFTs and the Metaverse - HYPEBAE

Marcel the Shell is finally heading to the big screen.

After Dean Fleischer Camp and Jenny Slates tiny video earned much acclaim over a decade ago, A24 has just released the trailer for the little guys full-blown feature film. Sporting miniature orange kicks and one googly eye (a trend for A24 this year), Marcel re-introduces himself in the mockumentary Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.

Its pretty much common knowledge that it takes at least 20 shells to have a community, Marcel explains in the trailer. But poor Marcel lives alone with his grandmother, isolated from the rest of his shell family. My cousin fell asleep in a pocket, and thats why I dont like the saying Everything comes out in the wash.

Living like WALL-E, Marcel exists in tiny nooks and crannies with repurposed objects from an Airbnb. His hobbies include watching 60 Minutes and hanging with his pet lint, Alan, but thats not enough to keep the energetic little dude occupied. When a documentary filmmaker posts a video online, Marcel blows up, leading him on a new adventure: to find his long-lost family.

Other touching moments include: Marcel hopping around a keyboard to spell out how to find your family, chatting with Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes, and tiny little shell tears.

A24s golden girl Jenny Slate returns to voice the adorable creature, also co-writing a screenplay with Dean Fleischer Camp and Nick Paley. Fleischer Camp directs, also starring in the film as the documentarian. Alongside Slate and Fleischer Camp, Rosa Salazar, Thomas Mann, and Isabella Rossellini are set to star.

The original Marcel the Shell with Shoes On was a stop-motion animation short film released in 2010 by Fleischer Camp and Slate. The short premiered theatrically at AFI Fest 2010, and went on to win Best Animated Short and earn two sequels, storybooks, and now, a full-length feature. All of the original shorts are still living on Fleischer Camps YouTube channel.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On had a critically-acclaimed debut at SXSW Film Festival last month, and will premiere theatrically on June 24.

Read more here:
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On Returns in New Trailer - The Daily Beast

The seat belt sign is on, so buckle up for another rowdy season of The Flight Attendant. HBO Maxs mystery comedy has just dropped a full trailer for Season 2, and, once again, Cassie (Kaley Cuoco) is trying to tame her flighty ways. With a gig at the CIA, a new boyfriend, and her alcoholism under control, Cassies life will finally have some normalcy.

Psych! Cassie Bowdens life is anything but normal, and Season 2 is ready to lean into all the twists, chaos, and murder that made the first season so great. The flight attendant hasnt landed yet: Cassies still up in the clouds, tying her hair on top of her head in a high altitude bun and donning that sharp blue uniform. Once a flight attendant, always a flight attendant.

As she juggles two jobs, moving in with her beau, and the continued draw of alcohol, Cassie seems to be spiraling out of control all over again. But its not her fault, reallysomeones pretending to be Cassie (or rather, frame her, as Zosia Mamets Ani suggests), and the concept is unsettling her.

I have worked so hard to build this new life and I am holding onto it with everything that I have, Cassie says in the trailer, right before a massive explosion and a confrontation with her doppelgnger. If one Emmy-award nominated performance from Kaley Cuoco wasnt enough, Season 2 is upping its game: in the trailer, there are two of the actresses. Or three. Or four. Suffice to say, there are a lot of Kaley Cuocos.

Maybe Cassies mom can explain all these twins. Sharon Stone has joined the Season 2 cast as Cassies mother, making her debut in the trailer. Other newcomers include Mo McRae, Callie Hernandez, and JJ Soria, who will join the returning cast of Kaley Cuoco, Zosia Mamet, Griffin Matthews, Deniz Akdeniz, and Rosie Perez.

Steve Yockey developed the series, serving as executive producer alongside co-showrunner and executive producer Natalie Chaidez. Cuoco herself also serves as an EP on the project, which earned the star her first two Emmy nominations (one for acting, and one for producing) last year.

The Flight Attendant Season 2 will touch down on April 21, debuting two new episodes with a new episode every Thursday on HBO Max afterwards.

View original post here:
'The Flight Attendant' Season 2 Trailer Introduces a Kaley Cuoco Multiverse - The Daily Beast

With gas prices in California even higher than predicted in Will Smiths 2007 zombie apocalypse I Am Legend, Democrats are poised for the electoral blowout of the century. Every poll favors Republicans, particularly on energy issues. And as Americans are suffering from the twin sins of Bidens inflation and out of control gas prices, the RNC is registering people to vote at gas stations.

Regardless, Democrats have doubled down on their belief that fossil fuels are haram. Even though so-called progressives terrible energy policies presaged Putins invasion of Ukraine, many refuse to admit the damage their policies have caused. We have to hope that an election will teach them what even a war has not.

Which is, anthropogenic climate change is a not an existential threat to the planet, but cult-like devotion to it is.

The human race can ill-afford a world where the U.S. fails to lead, and energy is no exception. Theres an incumbency upon our leaders to leverage Americas abundant natural resources to provide stability and security for as much of the planet as possible. We have the resources to be the worlds leading natural gas and oil producer probably just with oil from Alaska alone but the government must be a partner in this endeavor rather than a relentless villain.

Biden has blocked all new federal leasing, canceled the Keystone Pipeline and other energy projects, stopped development in Alaska, proposed punitive taxes against domestic energy companies, and lied about how companies dont need more federal leases because they have so many unused ones already. The administration would rather beg for help from OPEC, Venezuela, and Russia itself, strengthening their regimes, than budge on its carbon-free piety.

The Biden Administration and its (increasingly fewer) supporters must abandon its devotion to the false religion of climate change and do whats right.

When it comes to shortages at home and bolder adversaries abroad, the administration has instead paraded a litany of claims for why green initiatives are more important than cash-strapped Americans or Ukrainian refugees. But those problems are only likely to get worse, as all the Biden Administrations policies have killed the promise of future investment.

Transforming natural resources into easily dispensed fuel is expensive, long, difficult, and risky. Companies have to produce oil or gas on the land theyve leased from the government or return them within 10 years use it or lose it. Just determining if the underlying ground on leased land holds monetizable amounts of resources is arduous. Following that, the prospective company must make a huge down payment with a non-refundable bonus bid. Then, before the venture has yielded any revenue, the company must pay additional rent while wasting time and money to inure themselves against a plague of administrative and legal challenges.

Any argument about unused leases ignores these facts, sleight of hand for policies designed to sabotage one energy industry while enriching another one, or simply dogma from the climate cult.

And one of its high priestesses is Californias own Rep. Katie Porter who puts Orange County families first except when she doesnt.

As chair of the Natural Resources Oversight Subcommittee, Porter has long opposed rational domestic energy policy. It is one thing to insist on appropriate regulatory and environmental guardrails; it is another thing to treat an essential industry as monsters.

Porter authored legislation to provide an exorbitant decades-overdue update to raise royalties, rental rates, inspection fees, and penalties on companies that convert resources from public lands into the fuel Americans and our trade partners use every day. She insists its unfair, taxpayer welfare, that the U.S. hasnt raised the royalty rates energy companies pay for extraction, even though the fixed rate 12.5 percent means the government collects more money when gas is more expensive.

Porter was also a cosponsor of the disastrously misinformed Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, which would impose fees on the carbon content of crude oil, natural gas, and coal. This kind of policy, if given the weight of law, would drive gas prices up even more, further embolden bad actors like Putin, and rob normal Americans to subsidize expensive, so-called green energy industries.

Sabotaging American oil has only made people buy oil from Russia or elsewhere. Ukrainian flags on social media and other virtue-signaling trivialities wont help anyone whos been hurt by the Democrats bad energy policy so far, but pivoting back to Trump-era energy abundance will stop a World War III apocalypse before it starts.

See the article here:
Re-Open the Floodgates of American Energy to Prevent an Oil-pocalypse - California Globe

Detail from "Reading the Newspaper. War News" (1905) byNikolay Bogdanov-Belsky (WikArt.org)

The trans agenda Thetriumph of male swimmer Lia Thomas (formerly Will Thomas) is national news because it shows there are no limits to the charade of trans ideology. The Trans Lobby Doesnt Just Want To Erase Womens Sports. It Wants To Erase Women (The Federalist)

Putin and the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine By far the largest of the 23 Eastern churches in full communion with Rome, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has around 6 million members Does Greek Catholic Church help explain Putins obsession with Ukraine? (Crux)

No Open Society the composition of professoriate and students at elite universities skews massively to the political left. Against Academic Freedom (Post Liberal Order)

This is a punishment! so many people in both Europe and the United States have recently convinced themselves that the End is nigh. Apocalyptic Daze: Secular elites prophesy a doomsday without redemption.(City Journal)

Adolescent confusion As the number of transgender teenagers has exploded across the country, with it comes a wealth of readily available medical procedures unthinkable a decade ago. Top Pediatrician: Teenage transgender medicine a deadly path (Washington Examiner)

An end to globalization The values-based international order has long since ceased to exist, yet Western leaders remain reluctant to readjust. After the end of Globalization (Post Liberal Order)

Incompatible religions Transhumanism perceives immortality as something that can be achieved by men. Christianity identifies eternal salvation as the mercy of a loving God. The impossibility of Christian transhumanism (First Things)

Vigan s error Vigan is being swept away by trends in modern politics. His (legitimate!) anger at the West is blinding him to the evils of the Russian government. Is Archbishop Vigan Looking East? (Crisis Magazine)

Army fitness reduced standards The Army has scrapped plans to use the same physical fitness test for all soldiers, choosing instead to have some reduced standards to allow women and older soldiers to pass. Army approves reduced physical fitness standards for women and older soldiers (The Hill)

Gods mysterious providence When Pope Francis and the worlds bishops entrust entire countries to Marys intercession, the greatest fruits will be unseen by most people. Russian consecration will ice ecumenism (Pillar Catholic)

Episcopal confusion Bishops of the Episcopal Church on Friday adopted a pastoral statement critical of U.S. states that have enacted policies opposed by transgender activists. Episcopal Church Bishops Pledge Transgender and Non-Binary Support (Juicy Ecumenism)

Continental shifts While ordinations to the diocesan priesthood are on the rise in some parts of the world, theyre also falling fast in some traditionally Catholic countries. Is there a global vocations crisis? (Pillar Catholic)

Our Lady of Aparecida So Paulo States Court of Appeals has reversed a 2019 decision that stopped the building of a giant steel statue of the Virgin Mary in Aparecida, the city where Brazils major Catholic shrine is located. Court allows giant statue of Virgin Mary to be built in Brazil (Crux Now)

Disneys Queer Agenda Disney has been trying to queer children for a long time. A senior Disney executive brags about that to her colleagues! Disney Queers Children, Says Disney Exec (The American Conservative)

(*The posting of any particular news item or essay is not an endorsement of said news item or essay.)

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Extra, extra! News and tidings, March 30, 2022 Catholic World Report - Catholic World Report

Anno: Mutationem is an overly ambitious love letter with one too many recipients. While the game has an interesting gumbo of ideas, its story buckles under the weight of living up to the very properties it attempts to pay tribute to. Ultimately, Mutationems ending fails to deliver a satisfying or cohesive pursuit of this monumental undertaking.

The game is a pixel art side-scrolling action game with RPG elements, developed by ThinkingStars. You play as Ann Flores, a highly skilled combat-trained lone wolf as she hunts down the cyberpunk gangs and corrupt mega-corporations that kidnapped her brother. Anno: Mutationem, not to be confused with the long-running Anno real-time strategy series, is ThinkingStars first video game. While Mutationem does a serviceable job of constructing an intriguing world, its preoccupation with paying homage to the media that inspired it distracts from the story its trying to tell.

Mutationem makes overt references to popular sci-fi anime and video games, including Ghost in the Shell, Blade Runner, NieR:Automata, a smidge of Drakengard 3, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. In the game, this feels more spread out over 18 hours, but in its two-hour demo, it felt like rapid-fire callbacks. While on paper, drawing from these iconic properties is a no-brainer for a developers first video game, Mutationem boldly goes beyond just mirroring aesthetics and injects their varying high-concept ideas on what it means to be human into its plot as well.

Id liken this phenomenon to using all your favorite seasonings into a dish youve never made for the first time. Although those spices pleased your palate in their own dishes, if combined haphazardly, theyll only clash and overwhelm. The same circumstance comes about when Mutationem transforms its aesthetic references into plot points.

Ghost in the Shell, NieR:Automata, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and the other media Mutationem draws from have heavy, esoteric lore of their own. Mutationem ties itself down by ceaselessly drawing comparisons to these other media. Plot points like GitS introspective meditation on the human condition, Blade Runners commentary on transhumanism through cybernetics, and NGEseverything (most notably End of Evangelions third impact) take root within Mutationems story as well. While the argument that every piece of media is a remix of elements a creator liked isnt lost on me, Mutationem becomes a poorly adapted cover to its inspirations rather than rocking to the rhythm of its own story beats.

Youre telling me. Screenshot: ThinkingStars / Kotaku

This is a shame, because buried under all these references is Mutationems own unique premise. Interesting story elementslike the games poverty-stricken populace suffering from the Mechanika Virus, a disease that slowly turns people into robo-zombiesend up jettisoned to give the game more time to retread ideas from other media. Because Mutationem seems afraid to veer far from its inspirations, which are imperfect themselves, ThinkingStars fails at telling its own story.

Just when you expect the game to pay off your detective work and hard-fought battles against mecha and hordes of cybernetically enhanced militia with some attempt to connect its disparate ideas, it shortchanges you with a lackluster ending. Similarly to NGE, Mutationem builds up to armageddon, but its final boss comes out of left field. Basically, the government organization in Mutationem is SEELE from NGEwith all the convoluted reasoning and imagery that impliesand theyre using alternate-dimension tech to do something and must harness Anns power to pull it off. While the games been hyping you to fight Anns alt. dimension self, Amok, you merely fight a dragon. I felt robbed of an epic battle with the rival character I assumed the game was preparing me for, and insulted by the blatant sequel bait.

The gameplay ultimately disappoints, too. Being the unapologetic Devil May Cry devotee I am, games rewarding skill-based combat with gratifying feedback is a must. While Mutationems combat hints at being DMCs pixel-art equivalent, it proves to be a mixed bag of hype visuals and underwhelming grind. The games combat systems promise a depth that never plays out in gameplay. While Mutationem allows you to customize, deconstruct, and forge more powerful weapons with elemental mods and unlockable weapon skills, many of these cool bits only materialize near the games finale. While you can access some of these abilities earlier through side-quests, the game doesnt do a good job of letting you know, seemingly railroading you into its convoluted main plot.

Never go full-End of Evangelion. Screenshot: ThinkingStars / Kotaku

After a couple hours, fights dont really feel rewarding. Simply put, enemies are damage sponges. Once you finally break an enemys shield, which works as their second health bar, you have a matter of seconds to wail on them to do some actual damage before their shields recover. The rest is wash and repeat.

One simple answer to this conundrum would be to parry enemies more frequently, resulting in big damage boosts. But the rewards for doing so are negligible, and your foes have confusing hitboxes; if you miss a parry, thats a chunk of your health gone for the attempt. I had to go out of my way to parry bosses by lining up with their hits instead of letting them come organically. Instead of trusting the game to make my parries count, I developed the instinct to dodge roll constantly because it was the only safe and assured method for maintaining Anns health and dealing damage.

While early boss fights are unique, Mutationems latter half pulls a Halo 5 by throwing multiple versions of the same boss at you, sometimes fielding two more directly after you prime the first for a finishing blow. Boss fights increasingly felt like wars of attrition, rather than the fast-paced battles of skill the game advertises.

"Have neko car, will travel"

Side-Scrolling Action-RPG

PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC

Gorgeous pixel art, wacky NPCs, and the endearing dynamic between the games main character and sidekick

March 16, 2022

Convoluted story, underdeveloped villains, lore dumping and lackluster finale

18-ish hours, many of which were fighting frustrating boss battles

Outside of combat, Mutationem suffers from the same cognitive dissonance as the Yakuza series, with its side-quests and main missions feeling like two separate games. While Mutationems main quest comes off like an AI-generated anime sci-fi plot, its side-quests unabashedly tell wacky and heartfelt stories that characterize the people who inhabit its world. Much of my enjoyment with Mutationem came from straying from its main quest. Avoiding paths or hallways that looked like progress led me to discover bizarre NPCs who all had written dialogue and receive snippets of their experiences in Mutationems dystopian cyberpunk society.

My favorite interactions came from running into a sewer-dwelling man with a manhole cover for a face, discovering the secret identity of a virtual pop idol, and witnessing the final moments of a robot reaching enlightenment in the sewers. These brief encounters left long-lasting impressions, making its underutilization of these fresher concepts within its larger story all the more frustrating. Instead of reveling in rich storytelling, I was collecting a tally of how many plot elements from other media with which Mutationem garnished its story.

To make matters worse, the game introduces cookie-cutter villains who suffer from the annoying trope of being vague about their intentions. Instead of simply telling you just what the fuck is happening and what they want out of Ann, they simply say theyll see her again in the worst archetypical anime villain style. These guys even look identical aesthetically, sometimes even mirroring allies. While the games latter half attempts to curb this by introducing villains with bizarre new looks, these intricately designed double-crossers writing is just as flat as that of their predecessors. Aside from the two leads, the main cast is boring and unimaginative, leaving the incidental environmental NPCs to breathe life into Mutationems world.

Corn-Man rules. Screenshot: ThinkingStars / Kotaku

Storytelling and combat aside, two high points come in the games impressive art direction and the winning dynamic between its main characters. The stunning visuals of Mutationems setpieces almost supersede the imagery of the media its homaging. Ann and Ayane are also really cute. Their banter in between main quest and side-quest content was worth the many brutal deaths and consequent eruptions of Cmon man! I yelled when barely photo-finishing enemies.

As ThinkingStars first game, Anno: Mutationem boldly swings for the fences by throwing every cool concept it has at players. Mutationems unbalanced focus in its story is its critical failure. At one moment, its an anime-infused cyberpunk open-world RPG, in the next its a rigid story-driven metroidvania. But when it tries to meet in the middle, its pacing screeches to a halt, depriving its latter half of the charm of its wacky, worldbuilding NPCs and replacing it with long stretches of exposition conveyed through dry codexes and vague anime archetypes sporting unclear motivations.

With the games ending hinting at a possible sequel, Mutationem stands as a messy first draft. If a follow-up does come, I hope ThinkingStars will have the confidence to boldly stand and tell its own unique story rather than remain so shackled to its inspirations.

See more here:
Anno: Mutationem: The Kotaku Review - Kotaku