kate

Vince Gilligan has been rather open with The Hollywood Reporter about progress on his Breaking Bad spin-off, Better Call Saul. It’s pretty clear that there’s a lot of work to be done before the show hits the air, which is currently projected to be between August and October of next year, but the basic shape of the thing is starting to take focus around its Bob Oedenkirk-shaped nucleus.

The big problem, I guess, was finding the dramatic engine for the show or, as Gilligan puts it:

We’ve had to find the ongoing itch that Saul needs to scratch, so to speak, or else we wouldn’t have much of a show.

I don’t want to guess what it might be, though I’m certainly curious.

And then they had to settle on a tone, which seems to have been quite intuitive, the report saying:

 If Bad was 75 percent dramatic and 25 percent comedic, Saul will be the opposite.

I suspect the real balance might be a little closer to 50/50. I’d argue that Friends, for example, was 25% dramatic and that felt like the sitcom it was.

The look of Saul is set to be quite similar to Breaking Bad, with Gilligan keen to keep consistency in crew and approach:

Let’s shoot it in Albuquerque, let’s get as much of the crew back together as possible, and let’s do it the way we did it before so that it will be of a piece with that pre-existing fictional universe that we had so much fun creating.

And it won’t just be the style carried over as, in an eminently fan-stoking fashion, Gilligan is promising to include cameos from Breaking Bad characters – somehow including the principles. Of Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul‘s professed desire to appear, Gilligan says:

Personally, I’d have a hard time resisting putting all these guys in for a cameo or two every now and then.

It seems like they’re in full puzzle-solving mode at the moment, working with pieces already in play while trying to create a new arrangement. I’m sure it’s exciting every bit as much as it’s frustrating for the team.

I’m hopeful that Better Call Saul can find a life of it’s own and sustain at least as well as Breaking Bad did. Gilligan’s obviously no dummy, so the prognosis is good.

Incidentally, Gilligan is interested in writing and directing a movie. Apart from his professed appetite to make a Western – and now would be the time to do so, with all his Breaking Bad buzz to coerce a studio into greenlighting such a thing – there aren’t many clues as to what the film might be.

And when it will be, it seems, will depend on how hands on he wants to remain with Better Call Saul. I’ve got a hunch it might be a while to we see a feature film, then…

You Can Expect To See Bryan Cranston And Aaron Paul In Breaking Bad Spin-Off, Better Call Saul

If you’ve consumed even a small amount of fantasy stories, you’ll know the scene I’m about to describe is something you don’t see every day. The stage is set in view of a wondrous city in a frozen wasteland, with gossamer auroras dancing above. Standing proudly beneath the city’s protective dome are sculpted towers and archways, offering sanctuary from the cold. In the foreground, there are skillfully wrought water pipes, diving through the ice to hot springs below. Everything speaks to the effort of some great civilization, rich with knowledge and power.

Our first protagonist appears, having nearly completed his perilous trek across the icy desert. He’s a doctor, and he’s come a long way to practice the art his culture is famous for. His mentor visits him in a dream, teasing him with riddles, and reminding him to be careful and wise. It’s exactly the sort of introductory conversation you’d expect in a story that begins with the end of a journey. Except that both characters are of color. As is the second protagonist, who appears later.

In a snowy fantasy setting. 

I did not get to experience Solstice in its finished state, as the copy I received is a playable beta. The later chapters of the story are unknown to me, and there are still kinks to be worked out. The content needs some polish, and the music was mostly placeholders from developer MoaCube’s previous visual novel, Cinders (which I also enjoyed). While I can’t comment on the complete package yet, I can say that Solstice has everything a good mystery needs — legendary treasure, untouchable noble families, an insane archaeologist, and skeletons in every closet. Our two player characters — Galen, the doctor, and Yani, an expert technician — trade starring roles as they conduct their respective investigations. There’s a lot going on in Solstice, but the player has plenty of tools to keep on top of things. Important clues are automatically noted in your journal (pages handily tagged by character), and you can rewind the conversation if you missed a bit. The devs promise multiple story outcomes, and as I made my choices, I couldn’t help but wonder about the branches I left untouched.

From the moment I launched the game, I was smitten with the stunning artwork, which evokes an inviting world of swaying lanterns, burning incense, overgrown plants, and masterful technology. The backgrounds brought out the same feeling I used to have as a kid when looking at storybook illustrations — the slow satisfaction of studying the little details and imagining myself among them. My present circumstances could not have made me better primed for a setting like this. Here in Reykjavik, the days are getting ever shorter, the trees are going bare, and we had our first snow earlier this week. I was tickled to be taking part in a story about a bright city kept warm by hot springs, trying to cope with the onset of winter. As I cranked up my own geothermal heater, I found myself longing for streets lined with flowers that never die, and an ethereal dome to keep the wind away.

The “Jewel in the North” is home to a melting pot of wanderers from all corners. Though there’s some snarkery between Northerners and Southerners, the overall impression I got was of a community that respects each others’ differences. Galen and Yani’s cultural quirks are commented on, but in the portion of the story that I viewed, they were never treated as lesser (on the contrary, their respective skill-sets are highly valued). Sexuality is also handled with casual acceptance, as Galen turns down the advances of Constance, the sultry bathhouse owner (who I’ll get to momentarily), citing his preference for Kasiya, the handsome captain of the guard. Everything is cool here. All are welcome.

Solstice may only be a little indie title in a niche genre, but it’s willing to travel in narrative directions that the big dogs rarely do. It demonstrates the “risky” business of increasing character diversity is a non-issue when put into play. Solstice is about nothing more complicated than people from different places, with different stories to tell. That’s not risky. That’s interesting.

Solstice suffers from the same drawback as Cinders, in that it’s obvious the English text has been through the translation wringer (though here’s a cool thing: the devs have a forum thread asking for beta players to contribute notes on spelling and grammar — there’s even an invitation for it in-game). Still, while the phrasing may be clunky at times, the characters shine through anyway — particularly the women, who make up an even half of the dramatis personae. Yani, the brainy technician. Yakone, the tough caravan driver. Slava, the affable innkeeper. Laura, the jittery noble’s assistant. And yeah, Constance, the bathhouse owner. But here’s the thing — I am fully on board with having a female character who wears her sexuality on her sleeve (or lack of sleeves, in her case), so long as it’s not presented as the default value of womanhood. Because there are women like that. Just as there are women who are technicians, and innkeepers, and caravan drivers. I got a genuine sense of intelligence and autonomy from Constance, further bolstered by the fact that Galen (a player character, keep in mind) isn’t interested in her. She’s not a prize, or set decoration. She’s one facet of a city that represents a variety of ways to be a woman a person.

And I really, really dig that.

Solstice is currently under development, with release planned between late 2013 and early 2014. Pre-orders (which grant beta access) can be purchased straight from the developer.

Becky Chambers writes essays, science fiction, and stuff about video games. Like most internet people, she has a website. She can also be found on Twitter.

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Did you think I wouldn’t use a Xena picture for this post? Did you really?

Last month archaeologists working in Tuscany uncovered a tomb holding two 2,600-year-old bodies assumed to be a warrior prince and his wife. The reason they thought they knew the gender of the two piles o’ bones is that one of them was laid to rest near a lance and the other near some pieces of jewelry.

But…

Bone analysis [pause for a giggle break from my inner 12-year-old] has revealed that the “prince” with the lance was actually a 35- to 40-year old woman, and the “wife” who took her worldly bling into the afterlife was a man. Husband? Boy-toy? The world may never know.

Alessandro Mandolesi, who led the expedition, said the spear was placed between the two bodies as a “symbol of union,” so maybe the woman wasn’t a warrior at all. A dissenting opinion comes from Judith Weingarten of the British School at Athens, who notes that the spear was buried with the woman, not between the woman and the man.

As generally fun as this story is (yes, stories about ancient archaeology and gender mix-ups are fun, OK?), it actually highlights a serious problem in the realm of archaeology: Namely, that researchers take their gender biases into the field with them. Archaeologists saw one skeleton with a lance and another with jewelry and assumed that the former was a man and the latter a woman. But that doesn’t take into account the diversity of ancient civilizations. The warrior princess and her tomb-mate, for example, hailed from the Etruscan culture, where, according to LiveScience, women did all sorts of things that were frowned upon in, say, ancient Greece and Rome. They worked out. They had kids by multiple fathers. They partook of the booze and the nude sunbathing.

Says Weingarten:

“Until very recently, and sadly still in some countries, sex determination is based on grave goods. And that, in turn, is based almost entirely on our preconceptions. A clear illustration is jewelry: We associate jewelry with women, but that is nonsense in much of the ancient world. Guys liked bling, too.”

BRB, going to my library’s website to look up books on the Etruscans.

(via: LiveScience)

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Isaiah Stephens decided he wanted to do a series of Disney women dressed as other characters for Halloween. Before seeing the images, I thought it sounded like a fun idea. After seeing them? *FLAIL DROOL GUH* Yeah. Take a look at the ones he’s put together so far.

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Beginning today, there’s a new way to explore the magic of New Fantasyland with the “Fantasyland: Break The Curse” iPad app, available now on iTunes.

In it, the story of Fantasyland comes to life in the form of a magical interactive pop-up storybook inspired by the New Fantasyland expansion at Magic Kingdom Park. In it, families can compete in challenging quests at Prince Eric’s seaside castle, Maurice’s workshop, Beast’s lair and Storybook Circus, with the goal of discovering secrets and unlocking enchanted symbols to restore magic to the land.

The app is free to download in the iTunes store. It’s currently available only for the iPad.

Download the Free ‘Fantasyland: Break The Curse’ iPad App from Disney Parks by Jennifer Fickley-Baker: Originally posted on the Disney Parks Blog

The best reason to head to Disneyland park this time of year, yep, the pumpkin beignets, those delectable little fried goodies you can find at Café Orleans and at the Mint Julep Bar.

If you can’t make it to New Orleans Square, here’s Chef Christina Orejel to show you how to make pumpkin beignets at home (it takes patience to let them rise). But have a hot coffee ready when the first batch is ready, give it a dusting of powdered sugar and head to your happy place.

Pumpkin Beignets – New Orleans Square at Disneyland Park
Makes 25 beignets

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons pumpkin purée
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin extract (optional)
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• Pinch salt
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tablespoon dry instant yeast
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Powdered sugar, for coating

1. Combine pumpkin purée, sugar, cream, water, eggs, shortening, pumpkin extract, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk to combine. Add flour and yeast, stirring by hand to combine.
2. Mix dough with the dough hook attachment until it forms a ball around the hook; the dough may be a little sticky.
3. With floured hands, remove dough from hook and roll into a ball. Place dough in a clean bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
4. Roll dough on a well-floured surface to 1/3-inch thickness. Cut into 25 squares. Cover with a clean dishtowel and set aside in a warm, draft-free area for 45 minutes.
5. Line a plate with paper towels; set aside.
6. Pour vegetable oil into a deep pot to a depth of 3 inches. Heat oil to 350°F.
7. Working in 2 or 3 batches, carefully drop dough into oil. Cook, turning frequently with a long-handled slotted spoon, until puffed and golden, about 3 minutes.
8. Remove beignets with a slotted spoon and transfer to the plate lined with paper towels. Lightly tent with foil to keep warm while remaining beignets cook.
9. Generously sprinkle powdered sugar on top of warm beignets; serve warm.

Pumpkin Beignets Are Back in New Orleans Square at Disneyland Park by Pam Brandon: Originally posted on the Disney Parks Blog

geeksngamers:

Cowboy Bebop - by Dodong Dela Cruz

Nice~~~ 

Tetsuo: “Link!”
Link: “HYAAAAH!”

It just isn’t the same without Kaneda.

According to Gilles Bone, the creator of this illustration, here are the weapons in no particular order:

…Doom‘s BFG, Mario Kart‘s Blue Shell, Pokémon‘s Pokeball, Halo‘s Plasma Grenade, the Portal gun and a broken Chain Sword from Warhammer forming the arms of the throne. On the back we have Kratos’ Swords from God of War, Sora’s Keyblade from Kingdom Hearts, Frog’s Masamune from Chrono Trigger, the Dagger of Time from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Squall’s Gunblade from Final Fantasy VIII, Cloud’s Buster Sword as well as Sephiroth’s Masamune from Final Fantasy VII, “Save the Queen” from Final Fantasy IX, opposite to it Link’s Mastersword from Legend of Zelda, Soul Calibur and Soul Edge from Soulcalibur V, and last but not least, Nightmare’s Soul Edge Phantom from Soulcalibur III.

Wow!

Seeing as Pokémon X and Y came out today, I truly fear for all the inhabitants of Animal Crossing.

Did you know that if you go to the Wikipedia page for Pokémon X and Y, the release date has a ^WW next to it? I get that the ^WW stands for worldwide. I’d just never actually seen it on a Wikipedia entry before.

Teikou poster at Shibuya Station (Ginza Line)

To celebrate the 1 million first print run of Kuroko no Basket volume 24, released October 4th, ads to promote the release were scattered all around major cities in Japan. In Tokyo, the posters were on display on JR lines from September 3rd through October 6th, and then moved to Tokyo Metro lines from October 7th until the 13th. There were a total of 18 different posters, plus one collaboration poster with Ansatsu Kyoushitsu.

While we didn't get to photograph all of them, check out the ones we did! A full list of the posters and their locations can be found here.

The second anime season is already under way giving KuroBas fans much to rejoice about. Got any favorite players? Tell us in the comments! Midorima and Akashi for me!

Available in early 2014

Tweet

This is the kind of thing that kind of alarms me, but since people don’t believe in privacy anymore, the practice of allowing corporations to tweet hijack your social media to advertise their products may be less of a big deal as it undoubtedly becomes more common.

As we all know, New York Comic-Con installed a new badge system this year that involved RFID technology. The radio frequency enhanced badges not only allow security to check whether you have been going in and out too much, but in theory allow organizers a Marauder’s Map like chart of where all the badges are over an area.

They also, as Mashable reported, used a system set up to allow NYCC to post as you, with such messages as these:

So much pop culture to digest! Can’t. handle. the. awesome. #NYCC http://t.co/KWGNcKPdJd

— Brian Crecente (@crecenteb) October 10, 2013

#NYCC is the Best Four Days of my Year! http://t.co/r0mjC7v87b

— Harry Knowles (@headgeek666) October 10, 2013

Even this morning as news broke, the con was urging you to activate your badge to join on the advertising campaign:

Activate your #NYCC-ID before you get to the Javits so you're ready-set-nerd! http://t.co/9EvTh4gumO

— New York Comic Con (@NY_Comic_Con) October 11, 2013

However, soon a more comforting message was released:

FYI – do not fret if #NYCC-ID tweeted as you yesterday! We shut this opt-in feature off so it won't happen anymore. Have a blast at NYCC!

— New York Comic Con (@NY_Comic_Con) October 11, 2013

If this apology seemed a bit glib, a more formal one was released to news organizations this morning:

“As you may have seen yesterday, there were some posts to Twitter and Facebook issued by New York Comic Con on behalf of attendees after RFID badges were registered,” the representative wrote. “This was an opt-in function after signing in, but we were probably too enthusiastic in our messaging and eagerness to spread the good word about NYCC. We have since shut down this service completely and apologize for any perceived overstep. Please accept our apologies and have an absolutely excellent time this weekend. “

There are a couple of lessons here: #1 don’t opt in to things you don’t understand. I rarely “authorize” apps to most as me — my twitter is my professional news feed and only I can handle it. I realize this ship has sailed for people who always check the box.

#2 it was obviously an over-zealous marketing meeting where these boosterish messages were approved. This technology is getting more and more common and it’s our guess that people will come to see it as the price they pay for free social media tools.

Tweet

Possibly one of the most demanded comics from fans, Marvel have announced today that they will be publishing a new Black Widow solo series, written by Nathan Edmondson and drawn by Phil Noto. Natasha Romanov will be in the title role.

In a pitch which seems to draw heavily from the character as-depicted in The Avengers movie, the Black Widow series will focus on the character when she’s not being an Avenger. To that extent, this’ll be a little like the premise of Hawkeye, only with less dogs and weird mobs and more vengeance, bloodshed, atonement, and spy stuff. She… doesn’t have much interest in relaxing, it appears.

The book will be honed in on her past life as an assassin, as she tries to make amends for all the contract killings she entered into. Nathan Edmondson is best known for his critically acclaimed books as Image, including Who is Jake Ellis?. He’ll be joined on the book by Phil Noto, who is well-known as a Black Widow fan, as five seconds spent on his Tumblr will testify. This should be a winner.

Black Widow will start in January.

@stevewmorris

Necropolis

Chapter One

Page One

by Jake Wyatt

Selina Briggs of The Jelly Empire has shared a video (made by Peter Michaud) featuring her bots as The Jelly League. All of these figures will be available at NYCC this year:

• Super Jelly
• Batbot
• Martian Bot-Hunter
• Hawkbot
• Wonder Jelly
• Flashbot
• Jelly Lantern

They all look rad, and I feel like the Jellybot platform really goes well with these designs. Check out the video, and I've attached a copy of the placeholder header image which is a still of all the bots in this troop.

And, by the way, The Jelly Empire is still not finished sharing NYCC news!

Digimon is a series that's near and dear to my heart from growing up, especially the original Digimon Adventure season. Taichi and Yamato were two of my favorite characters, and Gabumon digivolves into my favorite Digimon, which is Garurumon. That probably has something to do with the fact that my favorite animal is a white tiger, but anywho, I digress.

We've previously seen the prototypes for Megahouse's G.E.M. Taichi & Yamato, but now you can get your orders in for them. Who will you pick? Are you like me, and you just can't choose? Yeah, I'm gonna have to bust the budget and end up pre-ordering both of them. Curse you childhood memories! They're looking at a January 2014 release and they're retailing for ¥4,800 each, so start saving the pennies!

[ Pre-order Taichi & Agumon at Hobby Search | AmiAmi | HLJ ]
[ Pre-order Yamato & Gabumon at Hobby Search | AmiAmi | HLJ ]

This incredible Lego diorama depicts the Hong Kong battle from Pacific Rim, the coolest kaiju versus jaeger fight in the film. During the battle, Gipsy Danger takes down Otachi, a Category 4 kaiju, with a giant ship. The level of detail here is astounding. Lego builder Olive Seon is a master of monster builds!

Read more...

The Disneyland Monorail has always been a favorite attraction of mine, much like the Disneyland Railroad. These two iconic attractions are a great escape and offer fantastic views of Disneyland park. I had so much fun writing and researching the ‘Meet the Steam Engines of the Disneyland Railroad’ series, I thought it would be fun to start a spin-off on the history of the Disneyland Monorail! The Mark VII currently transports guests from Tomorrowland to the Downtown Disney District and back, but today we’re going to start at the very beginning – the Mark I.

During the development of Disneyland, a monorail system was planned to be part of the opening of Tomorrowland. Unfortunately, Walt Disney and his team of Imagineers could not find a suitable version to make this dream a reality. It wasn’t until 1958 when two of his Imagineers introduced Walt to a monorail created by the Alweg Corporation in Germany did he see the potential of bringing this system to his original Magic Kingdom. Rather than the traditional suspended-track design, the Alweg Corporation had created a unique straddle-beam track. The benefit of this slender design allowed the beam to blend perfectly with the surrounding landscape in Walt’s world of “tomorrow.” Walt also loved the combination of electric propulsion and rubber wheels on the beam that produced an almost noiseless operation – preventing distraction for guests on the attraction or near it.

Walt Disney asked Alweg to design the original 8/10-mile beamway around Tomorrowland and enlisted a young designer, Bob Gurr, to design the train. With this collaboration, the Disneyland Alweg Monorail System opened on June 14, 1959, as the first daily operating monorail system in the Western Hemisphere. This “Highway in Sky” featured two trains, each with 3 cabins and the now-iconic bubble top in front. Walt Disney’s hope was not only to provide a scenic journey above Disneyland, but to create a solution for mass transportation needs all around the world. However, the Disneyland Alweg Monorail System was purely an entertainment attraction when it opened and didn’t function as transportation for guests until 1961 … but we’ll save that story for the next installment!

Now for a bit of trivia … Where can you find a tribute to the Mark I Monorail at the Disneyland Resort today? Leave your answer in the comments!

The History of the Disneyland Monorail: Mark I, 1959-1961 by Erin Glover: Originally posted on the Disney Parks Blog