Matt.weiland

Tonight at a Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas, another black person was shoved around while protesting the American hate leader—and this time, a rally attendee called for the black person to be immolated.

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By Robert Niles: Let's continue our tour of the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood with a look at its restaurant, The Three Broomsticks.

An ancient gathering place in the village of Hogsmeade in the Harry Potter books and films, The Three Broomsticks is run by Madam Rosmerta, who figures prominently as a catalyst for major plot developments in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Earlier, in Harry's third year at Hogwarts, it was at The Three Broomsticks that he learned the truth about Sirius Black.

In Universal Orlando's Wizarding World of Harry Potter, The Three Broomsticks serves diners throughout the day, from early-morning breakfasts to Butterbeers at last call. Designed by Universal Creative in cooperation with Harry Potter production designer Stuart Craig, the restaurant is built to look as much like the version in the films as possible. (Of course, this Three Broomsticks has a roof, unlike a film set, and a working kitchen.)

Located just up the High Street from Honeydukes, the Orlando version of The Three Broomsticks serves fish n' chips, Cornish pasties, smoked turkey and chicken and spareribs.

It's a more limited pub-inspired menu that visitors will find at the newer Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley, but since the Wizarding World Hollywood won't have a Diagon Alley (at least for now...), we are awaiting word if some of the Orlando Leaky Cauldron's fare might make it onto an expanded Three Broomsticks menu in Hollywood.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens officially at Universal Studios Hollywood on April 7, 2016.

Coming up on the "Road to the Wizarding World Hollywood":

• The Hog's Head Pub
• Dervish and Banges
• Owl Post
• Gladrags Wizard Wear
• Ollivander's
• Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment
• Flight of the Hippogriff
• Flich's Emporium of Confiscated Goods
• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

Once upon a time, a young man was known as the biggest fan of The Princess Bride all through the land. The man could recite every line in The Princess Bride, he could mimic the characters, and he could do all of this in public settings, to the cheers of his adoring devotees.

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In the classic season four episode of The Simpsons, “New Kid on the Block” (though, to be fair, every season four episode of The Simpsons can be considered a classic), Homer is forced to vacate the Frying Dutchman before he’s had all the seafood he can eat. It’s the most blatant case of fraudulent advertising since The NeverEnding Story. His plight sounds a lot like the one Donnie Edgemon, a contestant on Thursday’s Jeopardy, went through.

During Alex Trebek’s favorite part of the show (talking to the contestants), Donnie told the host about how he, too, was removed from a seafood restaurant before he was finished dining on lobsters, plastic or otherwise. His story even ends the same way as Marge’s recap: “We may have gone fishing.”

Now, I’m not implying Donnie Edgemon is ripping off The Simpsons, but later in the episode, he did claim that in the 1980s, David Crosby presented him with the Grammy Award for Outstanding Soul, Spoken Word, or Barbershop Album of the Year, and that during the afterparty, he asked George Harrison where he could find a brownie. Sounds suspicious, is all I’m saying.

Anyway, Donnie ended up losing, which is a shame. He really could’ve used the money after he forgot to sell his pumpkin futures.

Now Watch: 5 Times ‘The Simpsons’ Accurately Predicted The Future

By Robert Niles: Universal Studios Hollywood announced this morning that its Wizarding World of Harry Potter would open April 7, 2016.

Evanna Lynch, Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter films, joined art director Alan Gilmore for a recorded announcement released via the park's YouTube channel.

The world's fourth wizarding world (following two in Orlando and one in Japan), will be based upon the Hogsmeade Village model of the original world at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure theme park. Its centerpiece attraction will be Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, located within the land's iconic Hogwarts Castle. Unlike the original in Florida, Hollywood's version of this dark ride on "flying benches" will be in 3D, as is the version at Universal Studios Japan.

Each Monday, we've been featuring elements from the new land, most recently the Honeydukes sweet shop. And you can find all of our coverage of Universal's wildly popular Harry Potter lands, from initial development in Orlando through to Hollywood, in our booklet, Theme Park Insider Visits The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Support Theme Park Insider This Holiday Season:

• Buy Theme Park Insider's 2016 Orlando Guidebook
• Get Theme Park Insider T-shirts and Hoodies
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Multiple gun rights groups will be joining together this weekend for a mock mass shooting on the University of Texas campus, an event complete with cardboard guns, crisis actors, and fake blood. Now, what could this possibly accomplish?, a reasonable person might be wondering. But as one of the protestors told Statesman.com: “We love freedom, and we’re trying to make more freedom.”

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The Notorious B.I.G.‘s Life After Death is one of the greatest rap albums of all-time, and it’s likely that when the asteroid that wipes out our civilization finally hits, it’ll be remembered by future generations as a landmark in American music. Likewise, the first Star Wars film will always be remembered as one of the most grandiose, imaginative ventures in cinema. What do you get when you combine the two entities? Possibly one of the greatest remix albums of all-time, right up there with Danger Mouse’s The Grey Album.

Richie Branson is a rapper and Star Wars aficionado, so it’s only natural that he teamed up with producer Solar Slim for Life After Death Star, which sees the duo (dubbed Otaku Gang) pairing up Big’s raps (there are also raps off of other Big albums, including “Dead Wrong”) with John Williams’ legendary score for Star Wars: A New Hope. The result is a mix of dark, big band bravado backing the boisterous syllables of Biggie Smalls. Some of the standout tracks include the remix to “Ten Crack Commandments” and “Long Kiss Goodnight.” Really, just about every single crisp track revives the late Brooklyn juggernaut and makes him sound just as potent today as he’s ever been. Take a listen below — the entire project is streaming on SoundCloud.

(via AV Club)

Now Watch: Are Star Wars Fans The Craziest Fans?

Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan is… well… he’s his own person, that’s for sure. And that’s why he’s so beloved in the league (unless you’re a Patriots fan). So, it makes perfect sense that Ryan, then the head coach of the Jets, tried to draft Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt with the 30th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by deliberately hurting Watt’s draft stock.

How? A fake disease, of course. Here’s Watt’s recollection of his combine experience, via ESPN. Watt was speaking with Buffalo-based media ahead of the Texans’ game against the Bills:

I sat down there and he kind of real casually — the whole thing was real casual — and he just said, ‘Hey, man, you’re gonna be gone by the time we get to pick, so here’s what we’re gonna do: We’re gonna put out a fake medical report that you have some sort of disease. I don’t know what it is, whatever, we’ll make it up. And you’re gonna drop, but we’ll pay you like you’re up there [in the first round].

The perfect follow-up question for Ryan would be what kind of disease he planned on giving Watt, but to throw out a guess, it would probably be something like this:

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Anyway, Ryan’s plan might have been hilarious, but the intentions were spot-on. Watt is crushing it as a three-time All-Pro selection and leads the league this year with 13.5 sacks.

(Via ESPN)

tylanderrr:

capnskull:

I can’t hear you, I’m wearing my jacuzzi suit!

It’s 2014. Why aren’t these real.

By Bryan Schreier: A lot can go wrong with the process of designing and implementing of a new Disney attraction — issues with tone or message, scare-factor, emerging (largely untested) technologies, learning curve and level of intensity. Regardless of the money spent to make them or fix them, some attractions just seem doomed from the get-go. Even though Disney will never admit that sometimes they just can’t get it right, you have to give it to them, they really do give it their all to fix a problem before throwing in the towel.

Here are five examples of Disney attractions that no doubt gave (or continue to give) Imagineers headaches.

Mission Space

Cloaked in secrecy and developed in tandem with NASA, Mission: Space was poised to change the way we experience theme park attractions. It all sounded awesome on paper. Give our guests an experience similar to what an actual astronaut might go through on a trip through space (or at least training camp). When Disney was finally ready to open the doors on its second big-time thrill ride in Epoct (following Test Track), anticipation (as well as expectations) were out of this world.

So did Disney do it? Well that depends on you…

No doubt it’s a killer ride. It’s unlike anything else out there and the experience is completely immersive... but then the barf bags came. Guest complained that the attraction was simply too intense. Additionally, guests were experiencing motion sickness (which can happen when taking your eyes off the screen in-front of you even for a split second) significantly decreasing the number of guests willing to give it a shot.

Three years after Mission: Space opened, in 2006 Disney chose to tone down the attraction by allowing guest to choose their level of intensity while riding. Orange Team is the full-intensity experience, while Green Team stops the centrifuge technology from spinning, thus eliminating the intense G-forces.

Did that fix work? Well, I guess. Unfortunately Mission Space fails to attract the crowd levels of next door neighbor Test Track or across the park Soarin’. Add to that intermittent issues with the main set piece of an otherwise unremarkable queue keeps it from making the ‘best of’ Disney lists and did not spawn any clones other Disney parks.

Test Track

Of all attractions on this list, we had to wait the longest for Test Track. The first attraction to bring real thrills to Epcot sure lived up to its name. Taunting guests for the better part of two years in ‘test’ mode, the technological intricacies of the attraction were giving Imagineers collective ulcers. When it was finally ready to go, the issues got worse. Significant levels of down time, coupled with a less than adequate riders per hour rate, were testing the patience of guests and cast members alike.

Let be honest though, when it worked, man did it work. A one-of-a-kind ride on a ride system that was a first for the industry and thrills not normally associated with Disney Parks gave guests new reasons to explore Epcot.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work well all that often for all that long. Technical glitches continue to plague the ride. And in 2012, a reskin and new theme were added, updating the original theme that felt dated way before Disney probably anticipated.

The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter

I’ll be honest... I’m still heartbroken over the demise of Alien Encounter. I’m that guy that still watches grainy, pitch-black You Tube videos of the attraction holding on to a sliver of hope that Disney may bring it back. I loved it.

Then CEO Michael Eisner was convinced that Disney could be more than just fairy tales and pixie dust. The story goes that Eisner was talking to his then teen son about Disney. The bottom line: Disney is cool, but where are the thrill rides? So Eisner decided to pump up the volume and interject more thrills into Disney Parks. Tower of Terror, Test Track, Dinosaur, all results of Eisner’s direction to ramp up the thrills in Disney Parks. Also on the list? The ill-fated Alien Encounter.

I won’t go into a dissertation on the ride’s history or person’s involved (even though I could), but let’s just say, the Alien Encounter that opened on Day 1, was not what was originally planned. That being said, I found it to be thrilling, scary, fun, exciting and technologically amazing. Immersive 4D effects never before seen made their debut at Tomorrowland’s Interplanetary Convention Center.

Unfortunately, not everyone shared my same sentiment. Many felt that the complicated story line, bevy of preshows and multiple characters were confusing. Some also felt that the attraction shifted wildly in tone from funny to terrifying to downright gross.

But ultimately, it was crying children who shut down The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. Despite many explicit warnings on the extremeness of the attraction and height restrictions, oblivious parents dragged terrified kids into an attraction that was scary even for some adults. Ask Disney and they’ll say that the attraction was retired due to it not fitting in with the optimistic theme of Tomorrowland and the whimsical nature of the Magic Kingdom. Insiders however, know that a steady stream of verbal, written and in-person complaints to Disney Guest Relations over the years finally closed down Alien Encounter. RIP

Luigi's Flying Tires

A recent addition to the Disney chopping block, is the confusing and boring tale of Luigi’s Flying Tires. Once again, on paper this looked like fun. Giant tires floating on what was essentially a super-sized air-hockey table, zoom around and bump into one another.

Unfortunately, poor flying tires was doomed from the start. First off, the tires did not zoom, in-fact, they barely moved. Add to that, load/unload time was painfully long. Finally, most guests found the tire controls to be extremely confusing, and only toward the end of (what was) a very short ride were they just getting the hang of it.

Disney’s fix? Add some big beach balls, that will amp up the fun! It didn’t. Luigi’s Flying Tires was retired last year to make way for a more traditional flat ride for the kiddies.

Kali River Rapids

While the other attractions on this list look good on paper, I’m still baffled by this one. Nothing is more of a buzzkill on what should have been a rollicking white water rapids ride then a message about deforestation. But hey, at least there is something to think about when you spend half the ride slowly careening through calm and tranquil waters... yep, those ‘rapids’, they aren’t there.

Worst of all, even the small amount of ride effects like fog, mist and fire/smoke broke almost instantly and even today only work on B-mode (or even C). While Disney did better on their next try (the vastly improved Grizzly River Run at Disney California Adventure), this stinker of an attraction lives on at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

 

Now, don’t get me wrong, Trader Sam’s… you’re pretty great. You are. But long before you and your wacky hijinks set up camp at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, there was (and still is!) a little place we know and love called the Tambu Lounge.

Outside of ‘Ohana itself (Tambu’s next door neighbor, located upstairs in the Great Ceremonial House), this is the only place you can get ‘Ohana Bread Pudding, which just so happens to be #OnTheList this week!

Now, for those of you who haven’t had ‘Ohana Bread Pudding, I put this little video together to give you an idea of how I, personally, feel about this dessert.  (You’re gonna want to turn on your sound for this to get the full effect of my feelings.)

Warning. This is pretty sexy.

A video posted by Disney Food Blog (@disneyfoodblog) on Mar 1, 2015 at 7:35am PST

I’ll just give you a minute.

OK, I’m pretty sure you don’t even need to read the rest of this post to be convinced to put this on your list, but I’ll write it anyway just in case. ;-D

Tambu Lounge has a few other items on their list of “Greatest Hits,” of course.

Take the Lapu Lapu, for instance (just don’t take mine): rum and tropical juices SERVED IN A PINEAPPLE and topped with MORE RUM makes up my First Day at Disney tradition. And the Pulled Pork Nachos ain’t bad, either.

But if you look at the final item on the bar eats menu, your little eye may just spy the listing for ‘Ohana Bread Pudding available in a single serve portion. That’s right — a full meal at ‘Ohana is served family-style, so the Bread Pudding there is meant for sharing with your whole table.

But here at Tambu? The entire dish is ALL. YOURS.

For those of us who are Disney food devotees, this has been a looooooong time coming. For at least a year, we heard the rumors that sometimes…just once in a while…you MIGHT be lucky enough to score a serving of ‘Ohana Bread Pudding (which is pretty much the best dessert on the planet) at Tambu. IF the stars were aligned. And IF you got a friendly-enough bartender to make the stretch for you.

Testing this rumor, our results were mixed. Sometimes we could get the dessert. Sometimes we couldn’t. But we always tried!

So imagine our delight when the dessert was finally put onto the actual menu at Tambu Lounge! SUCCESS!

Seriously, I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s the best dessert on the planet. I’ve had A. LOT. OF. DESSERT. at Disney restaurants, my friends, and this one is still my Number One. I dream about it. I want to take it into a closet and eat it all by myself. It’s an addiction.

So what’s the big deal, you ask? It’s warm pineapple bread pudding served a la mode with a pour-it-yourself container of that signature, delicious Banana-Caramel sauce. It’s all topped with ice cream.

The components are basic, but when you put them all together…

…heaven.

It’s true — all the lounge talk over the past few months at the Polynesian has revolved around Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto and Tiki Terrace, and with good reason.

But here’s the thing: with more traffic going to the Grog Grotto downstairs, that means there might be a few extra seats at Tambu. Ergo, more ‘Ohana Bread Pudding for me…

…  AND for you, if you put it #OnTheList!

Are you a fan of ‘Ohana Bread Pudding? Please let us know with a comment!

Disney Food Blog Fans, be sure to check out our DFB Disney World Dining Guide e-Books! Find great deals at DFBStore.com! Also, come on over and:

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Everything’s coming up Milhouse!

You know how we love our over-the-top gourmet HOT DOGS here at the DFB!

From the Barbecue Slaw Hot Dog and Chili-Cheese Dog at Casey’s Corner, to the Coney Island Dog at The Lunching Pad, to the fun assortment at The Mara in Animal Kingdom Lodge (the Mara BLT Hot Dog, the Reuben Hot Dog, and the African Chili-Cheese Hot Dog)… well, the bigger the variety of toppings to choose from, the better!

And now we’re excited to have SEVEN new gourmet hot dogs to add to the list at the Grand Floridian’s Gasparilla Island Grill! But there’s a little twist: the menu rotates. There are seven different hot dogs, with a different one featured each day of the week. Each hot dog is inspired by a different city or state in the U.S. So, let’s take a Hot Dog Tour of the country — courtesy of Gasparilla Island Grill — starting in…

Cleveland — Available on Sundays

The Cleveland Dog is topped with coleslaw and hot sauce. And the fries? Don’t look on the side for for this natural pairing, because they’re on top of this dog, too!

Seattle — Available on Mondays

The Seattle Dog is topped with cream cheese (now, why didn’t I think of that?), but you’ll have to look under a huge — and SPICY! — pile of jalapeños, cabbage, and Sriracha to find it!

Kansas City — Available on Tuesdays

Sauerkraut and Swiss cheese surround the Kansas City Dog, served on a sesame seed bun.

Memphis — Available on Wednesdays

Bacon, barbecue sauce, chopped scallions, shredded cheddar… what’s not to love about the Memphis Dog?

Idaho — Available on Thursdays

The Idaho Dog is the only Hot Dog of the assortment that will NOT be served on a bun baked fresh in the Grand Floridian Bakery. That’s because it’s served on a BAKED POTATO! Bacon bits, chives, sour cream, and cheddar cheese round out the toppings.

New York — Available on Fridays

The New York Dog is a classic: mustard, sauerkraut, and onion sauce make up the toppings list.

Chicago — Available on Saturdays

The Chicago Dog comes complete with a pickle spear, tomatoes, whole sport peppers, chopped onions, green relish, and mustard… oh, and a dash or two of celery salt, of course. It’s all on a poppy seed bun.

So, there you have it… seven new reasons to visit Gasparilla Island Grill (if you’re a hot dog fan, of course!). Will you be taking that monorail trip from the Magic Kingdom to try one?

Which of the new Gasparilla Hot Dogs tops your list? And does YOUR town have a signature Dog? Please let us know with a comment!

Disney Food Blog Fans, be sure to check out our DFB Disney World Dining Guide e-Books! Find great deals at DFBStore.com! Also, come on over and:

• Subscribe to our Newsletter
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As long as people believe that Donald Trump built himself up from nothing, does it really matter that he was in fact born rich?

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If you were a kid in the ’90s, hell, if you were anyone in the ’90s, then you know about Goosebumps. At the least, you know about the famous cover artwork. We’ve been getting our Goosebumps fill lately and decided to share our love with the people. We want to know which story, cover, TV show clip, etc. is your absolute favorite. We all have one. But first, let’s hear a couple staff favorites…

Mark Shrayber

Obviously One Day at Horror Land. Or Night of the Living Dummy. Are there other Goosebumps books?

Alex Diedrick

My grandpa and I would always read Goosebumps books when I was little. I was obsessed with them, but my favorites were the ones that didn’t end with a kid-friendly, cookie-cutter finale. That’s why The Cuckoo Clock Of Doom is my favorite story. The entire book consists of the protagonist jumping around time, trying to fix his life, all because he wanted to get back at his awful sister. He finally does, but discovers that in his time-meddling, he has removed his sister from existence. Since his life is 1000 times better because of that, he’s cool with it. No other kid-lit series would make a narrator okay with nonchalantly destroying a sibling.

Jameson Brown

The books were always pretty fun to read (nothing super intellectual, but fun nonetheless), but what actually was unnerving were the two episodes of Piano Lessons Can Be Murder and Night Of The Living Dummy II. I should not have been scared of them at my age then, but those creepy piano playing hands stayed in my head for a while. Looking back on them, the shows were gloriously bad. But, they are still fun to watch in the campiest, “I’m bored on my lunch break” kind of way.

Give us your finest Goosebumps memories in the comments below!

It has happened.

It was only a matter of time. The Dickey memes have been cast far and wide, but someone has finally made a "Suck My" shirt with R.A. Dickey's face on it. Okay, that's a little NSFW and you probably shouldn't buy one for your young children. Sure, it's also kind of crass and low-hanging fruit on the Dickey-meme tree. And besides, it's not like R.A. Dickey isn't aware of his phallic-sounding surname. I'm sure he's sick of the jokes about it and he'd never in a million years approve of... oh snap, apparently someone sent him one of the shirts and he's wearing it and grinning and rocking the double-thumbs-up. Okay!

savage pic.twitter.com/qK8YrRlBJA

— e (@__baud) October 14, 2015

When Dickey was with the Mets we did an awful lot to proliferate the legend of the R.A. Dickey face. Now the legend appears to be at its zenith. If you want a t-shirt of your own, they're available on eBay.

Ultron California by RedLetterMedia is a really amusing and cleverly timed James Spader mashup that inserts the wise words of Robert California from The Office into the mouth of Ultron from the blockbuster film Avengers: Age of Ultron.

via /Film

Penn State alumnus and comedian Keegan-Michael Key returned to campus for homecoming week, and he pretended to be head coach James Franklin for the football team’s meeting. The players loved it, particularly when Key imitated Franklin’s handshake.

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Reservations are now open for MahaloWeen, October 12 and 13 at Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel. Mahaloween attendees will receive: appetizers; two drink tickets good for either a signature Tiki drink (with or without alcohol), or a selection of beer and wine; Commemorative Mahaloween Kukui nut lei; a Tiki print; 1 special edition Tiki glass available only to Mahaloween attendees. The artists who created the print and Tiki glass will be on hand to autograph their pieces during the event. Price is $150 per person (tax and gratuity are included). Reservations can be made at Disneyland.com.

In a new Rolling Stone interview, Rage Against the Machine bassist Tim “Timmy C.” Commerford claimed responsibility for one of most devastating outbreaks during the rap-metal crisis that ravaged America in the years leading up to 9/11: the one, the only, Limp Bizkit. He hereby apologizes for that bullshit.

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As we inch closer and closer to the release of NBA 2K16, more and more information has been released – from the return of 2KTV to the all-important player ratings. But perhaps no revelation to date has been as amazing as this latest one. That’s right, 2K16‘s unending quest for verisimilitude that began with mouth guards has reached the pinnacle with Chris Bosh videobombs!

Steve Noah captured this footage at the NBA 2K16 launch party on Monday night, and kudos to him for sharing it with all of us. Most instances like this in video games would be considered a glitch, but it’s clearly on purpose. For one, it’s Bosh, but even so, the animation is too smooth to be lumped in with some of the horrifying accidents out there.

It’s incredible that the people over at 2K have the time and resources to add this level of detail to the game, but now that they’ve set the standard, the only place to go is higher. As it stands, there’s one massive stone left unturned, a criminal slight we can only hope is rectified in NBA 2K17. Say it with me: Robin Lopez Mascot Fight minigame. The public demands it.

(Via Steve Noah)

Just when you thought Ronda Rousey couldn’t get any cooler, she goes and lands one of the coolest movie roles in the history of cinema. While it’s looking like Emily Blunt may have beaten out the UFC champ for the role of Captain Marvel, Rousey’s Hollywood reps haven’t been sitting idle. Variety is now reporting that Ronda Rousey will play the Patrick Swayze role in a gender-swapped reboot of Road House:

Sources say MGM is currently meeting with writers to pen the script with with no shortage of scribes getting in line for the opportunity to do so.
…
Rousey thought the idea of starring in a remake was a great idea but wanted to be respectful when pursuing the project. Sources say Rousey recently reached out to Swayze’s widow, Lisa Niemi, to ask for her blessing to star in the remake, which insiders say Niemi gladly gave.

In case you live under a rock or never watch TNT on Sunday afternoon, Road House is about a rough and tumble bouncer with a heart of gold that’s brought in to clean up the meanest bar in Missouri. Patrick Swayze takes out the trash, wins over the girl, and defeats a corrupt businessman, all in 114 minutes of action packed fisticuffs. It is one of the purest pieces of ‘Muricana ever made, which means we can probably expect a Ghostbusters-sized controversy over the lead being given to a woman.

But this just goes to show you the star power of the 28-year-old Rousey. First, she was getting parts written into major film franchises specifically for her, and now a major studio is flipping one of its classics on its head and rebuilding it around her. Who knows what this film could do for her popularity? If the movie is nothing but Ronda judo throwing dudes through tables and windows, it could be the thing that solidifies her as the long awaited female Schwarzenegger or Stallone.

(via Variety)

Back in 2008, Jonathan Blow made a name for himself with Braid, a tricky, stylish puzzle-platformer with a story that was deeper than it appeared at first glance. Whether you think Braid was a masterpiece or overrated, there’s no denying it had a huge positive effect on the indie gaming scene, and for the past seven years, people have been waiting for Blow’s next project.

That project is The Witness, a game Blow started developing almost immediately after the release of Braid. The Witness is an adventure game in which you wander around an island, solving maze-like puzzles. Blow has remained tight-lipped about the game’s story, although he has said the puzzles themselves will start to tell a story of sorts as you play through them. According to Blow, The Witness will also be a huge game, weighing in at 80 to 100 hours if you’re the completionist type.

The Witness comes out on PC and PS4 on January 26. What do you folks think? Excited for Jonathan Blow’s latest game, or are you not a fan of his navel-gazing brand of gaming? Personally, I’m willing to give anything that looks even a little bit like Myst a shot, so consider me on board.

via PlayStation Blog

It’s a pairing the world (okay, the Internet) didn’t know it wanted until right now, but Alison Brie and Ian McShane will star in a new series from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.

Doctor Thorne, based on Anthony Trollope’s novel of the same name, follows the titular doctor (played by Rev.‘s Tom Hollander), and how some British things happen to him, and when do we get to the Alison Brie and Ian McShane fireworks factory? The pimp philosopher portrays “railway tycoon Sir Roger Scatcherd,” reports EW, while Brie will bring a “young, rich American heiress named Miss Martha Dunstable” to life. She can re-use one of Trudy’s hats.

“Doctor Thorne is a wonderful example of Trollope’s gift for understanding the tangles we humans get into,” Fellowes said in a release. “He is sharply observant, critical, and merciful in equal measure and, above all, highly entertaining. With the cast we have assembled, I am confident we can bring all of these qualities to the screen.” (Via)

This will be Fellowes’ follow-up to Downton Abbey, which is ending soon. We should all be so lucky, to lose one job and then call up Ian McShane and Alison Brie, and immediately have another. Meanwhile, we’ll go back to writing our Annie Edison/Al Swearengen fan fiction.

It’s mostly the word “f*ck,” interrupted by an occasional rhyming celebrity name.

(Via EW)