From the movie 21 (2008) with Kevin Spacey. Don’t know the code source, sorry.
jgc says: “The code appears to be C++ created by the US agency NOAA and is code used to calculate the position of a GPS receiver based on information received from GPS satellites”.
Established in 1895 in the small England village of Holcombe as J.W. Foster and Sons, Reebok, as it was renamed in 1958 (after "rhebok", a type of African gazelle) is a "worldwide designer, marketer and distributor of sports, fitness and casual footwear, apparel and equipment." In 2006, Adidas Group acquired Reebok and, according to this report, it's been holding back Adidas' profits, noting that Reebok itself has been unprofitable for many years now. A clear reflection of Reebok's place in consumer culture: When was the last time you thought of Reebok in the same way you think of Nike or Adidas? As part of its repositioning, starting in 2013, Reebok has been focusing on fitness instead of specific sports and started supporting the CrossFit movement, introducing Reebok CrossFit last year and marking the first use of the "Delta" logo, which has now been promoted as the official Reebok log… excuse me, as the official Reebok symbol.
The new Reebok Delta symbol represents the positive and transformative change that fitness can have on a person's life. Through the millennia the delta has been a symbol of change and transformation. The Reebok Delta has three distinct parts each representing the changes — physical, mental and social — that occur when people push themselves beyond their perceived limits and embrace an active and challenging life.
"The new brand mark signals a clear purpose for our brand and it will be a badge for those who pursue a fuller life through fitness. We believe the benefits of an active life go beyond the physical benefits and impacts your whole self and your relationships with others," said Matt O'Toole, Reebok Chief Marketing Officer. "It is our symbol of change - an invitation to take part, and to unlock your true potential. It's not a logo, it's a symbol… a way of life."
It's probably not fair to keep comparing Reebok to Nike or Adidas but since no one ever said design blogging had to be fair I shall continue: I don't think the previous Reebok logo ever achieved the same ubiquity or memorability as the Nike Swoosh or Adidas' stripes. Before writing this post, if you had asked me to draw the Reebok icon from scratch I wouldn't even have known where to start. This is a long way of saying that changing the logo is not a brand equity killer for Reebok and, as it turns out, moving into something much simpler that comes with a small but passionate following in the CrossFit community is a smart move. The new delta logo isn't particularly interesting or innovative — other blogs have whined that it looks like the Delta Faucet logo or Google Drive but they all have it wrong, it looks like tasty oznei aman eaten during the Jewish holiday of Purim. Lame comparisons aside, the new delta logo is simple, it looks like it means business, and it works perfectly on apparel. Again, not a fantastic logo but it gets the job done.
New logo introduction. Long-ish. Some screen captures below where the new logo can be seen.Screen captures from the video.New Reebok FitHub stores. More info here.As due diligence on my part, here is Miranda Kerr introducing a new line of shoes. New logo at the end. Told ya this was important and relevant.
In application there is not much to see. Just the logo on stuff. But given the large amounts of stuff the logo goes on, it's surprising to see how well it works on so much of it. I doubt the logo will single-handedly turn profits for Reebok but at least it's a clear signal that this is a new Reebok and that it endorses a specific set of activities — "training, running, outdoor, yoga, dance and aerobics" as specified in the press release — that Nike and Adidas are not placing as keen a focus on.
“The ’80s called. They want their store back,”the RadioShack clerk says in the ad that ran during last month’s Super Bowl game.
Unfortunately for the electronics retailer, moving its stores into the 21st century doesn’t mean just updating the merchandise, as the ad suggests; it means getting rid of the stores altogether.
RadioShack’s ad might have been amusing, but it’s a curious use of capital by a struggling company that just signed off on a $400 million loss for 2013. The company’s sales have halved since their mid-1990′s peak, and today it announced it’s closing another 1,100 stores across the US, after shuttering 235 in 2012.
RadioShack’s problems are myriad. Like other brick-and-mortar electronics retailers, it has struggled in the face of aggressive competition from the online juggernaut that is Amazon. But it has also shot itself in the foot with outdated product choices and substandard customer service. The company’s stock price is currently in the doldrums, amid persistent rumors (paywall) it could formally file for bankruptcy.
Last year, we suggested Amazon should just buy the company. Jeff Bezos’s online behemoth has been inching towards its own physical retail presence, by installing lockers at gas stations and convenience stores where deliveries can be received. After its latest closures, RadioShack will still (incredibly) have more than 4,000 stores around America. With a market value now well below $300 million, it is even cheaper than it was a year ago, and worth only slightly more than Bezos paid out of his own pocket to buy the Washington Post. This thesis remains compelling, and for RadioShack, possibly the only way out.
Yes, beloved Japanese icon of kid-friendly cute Hello Kitty and legendary magazine of class, culture and nekkid ladies Playboy have teamed up to spawn an unholy merchandise mash-up. Assuming the complete cognitive dissonance hasn't caused you to pass out, here are a few of the items now available.
One of my sneaky goals with the LEGENDS OF RED SONJA anthology was to try to get some of my favorite female comics writers who have drifted away from writing comics, to catch the bug again and come back. I wanted to read more great stories!
And it worked! A couple of my very favorite female writers are now working furiously on new awesome comics projects. HOORAY FOR SNEAKING THIS ONE TIME!
One of the things I am really excited about is NANCY A. COLLINS taking over and revamping VAMPIRELLA. This is such a perfect mix of writer and character, I can’t believe it. She’s going to KILL on this book.
Nancy is a Bram Stoker award winner, I am goofy for her work, and she did the MOST under-rated run of Swamp Thing ever. She will bring Vampi to glory, I know it. I hope the people giving Red Sonja a try will also take a look at what Nancy is doing with VAMPIRELLA!
…Assuming that TMZ is right about this. (Which is worth checking.)
Ellen DeGeneres does NOT own the picture that broke Twitter … unless he signed his rights away, the owner of the famous Oscar pic is BRADLEY COOPER.Here’s the way it works … the person who owns the now-famous photo is the person who actually took it … NOT the person who owns the camera or organized the shoot. Cooper was the snapper … so it’s his.And even if Ellen signed her rights over to the Academy when she signed her hosting gig, the Academy would have no rights to the photo, because Ellen can’t transfer what isn’t hers.So unless Bradley signed his rights away to the Academy, he’s the copyright owner. Any use of the pic without his permission is a violation of the copyright.He seemed down with tweeting it out, so Ellen is cool. But any use of the pic on TV shows — including hers — would only be kosher with Bradley’s blessing. And he’d own the rights to any reproduction.It all translates into cash. It could come in handy if that “Hangover” money runs out.
Any of the copyright lawyers who’re following care to weigh in?
Today Burning Man announced that it has transitioned to a non-profit organization. The process began in 2011 with the launch of the non-profit Burning Man Project. Over the course of more than two years, a number of steps were undertaken to allow the non-profit to take control of the limited liability corporation that has run the event since the late 1990s. In January the Burning Man Project became the sole stockholder in the LLC, thus completing the transition. According to Burning Man, the organization’s yearly festival in Black Rock City will be largely unaffected by the transition.
Every year, as you well know, tens of thousands of participants depart Black Rock City invigorated and inspired to make the rest of their lives ‘more like Burning Man.’ It is through this network and with the help of the non-profit we can now proactively stimulate the culture to manifest in programs related to civic engagement, education and the arts.
A PLOS ONE study published in early January suggests the answer is no, at least for those people who regularly drink the beverage.
U.K. researchers found drinking around four cups of coffee per day was no more dehydrating than drinking the same amount of water for the 50 male coffee drinkers included in their study.
But also that awkward moment when the Forest of Cheem’s sacrifice is relegated to unimportance in Moffat’s world. Her bravery and kindness don’t matter, and she’s turned into yet another cheap joke about women being infatuated with the Doctor.
That she fancied the Doctor did not feature at all in the season 1 episode. She was curious about his origins, she had sympathy for him, and she gave her life so he could save the rest of the people aboard the base. I personally don’t see her fawning over him (like so many of Moffat’s women do). Thus, with no real evidence to draw this from, Moffat seems to be interpreting her sacrifice as “fancying” the Doctor, which is immensely problematic: It suggests that she did this only for him rather than to save everyone on the ship, and it shows yet another example of Moffat thinking that any woman who interacts with the Doctor must be infatuated with him.
Even if she did fancy him, the fact that Moffat considers her actions negligible in comparison to her “crush” is pretty gross, especially when the payoff from this line is so small. All it does in the context of the episode is set up the Doctor as an object of desire. But in the context of the show, it undermines the agency and power of women to act with bravery and integrity without it being all for the Doctor.
'the complete lack of any actual alchemical concepts' hoo boy I know where this is going
This first engenders some explanation.
I HATE THE ALCHEMIST.
I rarely feel this kind of vitriol toward any class, feeling that it usually comes down to how they're played, but having seen several played, having played one myself, and being a guy who ABSOLUTELY adores chemistry, potions, compounds, extracts, solutions and the like, I feel it needs must be said. I hate the alchemist as it is written. I intend to re-write it. And I need help with ideas, concepts, and possibly, people playtesting the concept.
My major beefs consist chiefly of the remarkably silly "lol-my-bombs-and-extracts-are-stable-because-magic-bio-electrical-aura!" concept, the shoehorned in idea of "mutagens" and the like, the complete lack of any actual alchemical concepts (which happen, by the way, to be incredibly cool in and of themselves) the many, many things done in the name of "balance" and yet, only end up with bad writing, the monomaniacal focus on liquids as being alchemical, so therefore, I intend to clean house and renovate.
First off, spells, bombs and discoveries are gone; I am going to replace this with a system something rather like charm-cascades from Exalted, based around mastery of a certain compound, such as Charcoal, or brimstone. Knowing how to utilize charcoal for instance, could allow the alchemist to whip up something on the fly to make some activated charcoal to neutralize ingested poisons, and the like. Or alternatively make a smoke-bomb out of it. At higher levels, the Alchemist could potentially turn lead or silver into gold, or, if they get bored of that, turn it into fulminating silver and blow someone up with it.
Each of the types will be divvied up according to the four stages of the Alchemical Magnum Opus. Nigredo (blackness) which focuses around using fire or rot to purify a substance, such as Phosphorus or Charcoal. Albedo (Whiteness) which focuses on the purity of the results of nigredo (such as, once again, phosphorus) or generally pure white substances, such as salt, or chalk. Citrinitas, which is the phase at which silver can be transmuted into gold, and would focus around transformative substances, and represents the waning of lunar power, and the waxing of solar-power (that being gold). And finally, there is Rubedo, the traditional "red philosopher's stone" point, wherein the redness represents the purity of gold, and the point at which one has reached the apex of perfection and may derive panacea and immortality both from the runoff of the stone.
To keep balance, most of these would admittedly, be non-permanent compounds, and measured in "times per day" as many abilities are, the logic being that that was as much of the compound that the alchemist could prepare that morning. The difference between this and extracts however, is that the explanation isn't "It's magic, shut up" and is instead "Unless I add the stabilizing element, which costs 5 gold for enough to make it worthwhile, it'll separate overnight and I have to mix it again in the morning."
I also figure that each step of the process is not necessarily connected to a level. Someone might potentially access Rubedo at level 15, or as early as level 5, depending on what they grab, the focus for reaching higher steps in the process of Magnum Opus being the prerequisite steps of their own process they are slowly developing.
While yes, I want this to be in parts practical and chemical, and sort of real-world, I also want it to be real world alchemy, which used strange and, in reality pointless requirements and rituals based on pseudo-science, but the difference here being, that sort of thing actually works. For the most part, the magic should come from the materials; not the alchemist. The alchemist is, himself, a mortal man, deigning to use knowledge of chemistry to steal fire from the gods!
In place of the alchemist's spells and such and the need for them to make potions and philters and the like, there is instead a, currently hazily defined system of using bizzare or special ingredients to make such things. Want a Potion of Regeneration? Best get to pulling out and putrefying those troll brains bucko! (I played BG2 and loved the ring of regeneration's backstory.) you feel the sudden need for a Philter of Love? Well, a shop might carry the parts, or alternatively, you gotta figure out a way to make a succubus cry to get what you need.
Most of the other things would remain there, and hopefully the end result would be interesting enough to relegate mutagens to an archetype feature, as they should have been. The similarities between the Alchemist and the Bard, are already an interesting one, but of course, the addition of a little thief would help.
At the moment, here are some compounds I have, and ideas of what they could do and their effects. Suggestions?
Nigredo
Charcoal
Plumbago (Graphite)
Plumbago, as an aspect of charcoal, is useful for may purposes, providing an easy way to mark something up, work as makeup, giving a +2 bonus to stealth checks to avoid being noticed in dark lighting, or any other creative use the alchemist can devise.
Smoke Bombs
Using charcoal as an element of a smoke bomb, the alchemist can create a small globe, capable of releasing a thick cloud of dirty black smoke when used, disorienting the target and obscuring anything inside of it. The smoke of a smoke bomb grants 50% cover to a subject within its 30 foot radius, friend or foe. Any individual not expecting such an attack is dazed for 1 round from the flash and release of subsequent black smoke.
Activated Charcoal
Charcoal, when prepared in a special manner becomes a highly effective and powerful antidote; when consumed by a poisoned individual, charcoal is capable of neutralizing ingested, nonmagical poisons.
Fire Starters
When prepared properly, charcoal is capable of being an effective method of quickly starting a fire. Properly prepared charcoal is capable of building a fire in nearly any wind conditions, without the need for more fuel, but with fuel, it burns for twice as long as it would normally, as well as twice as hot, applying the effects of Endure Elements for the element of cold as long as they are warming themselves by the fire.
Aqua Vitae (Ethanol)
Alchemists Fire
When properly mixed with other compounds, Aqua Vitae can be used to make a thinner, weaker variety of Alchemists fire. Alchemists Fire made with Aqua Vitae is not stabilized like regular Alchemists fire, and will separate relatively quickly, requiring the alchemist to re-mix the solution daily without stabilizing chemicals. Without spending money for the stabilizing elements, alchemical fre made with Aqua Vitae does only 1d4 fire damage, and is easier to extinguish, requiring only a DC 10 Reflex save. For a quarter of the creation cost of alchemical fire per vial, the alchemist can purchase ingredients to stabilize the compound, rendering it identical to baseline alchemical fire.
Alchemical Accelerants
When applied to alchemists fire, Aqua Vitae can be used as an alchemical accelerant. Much like alchemists fire made using Aqua Vitae, accelerants separate and need to be re-mixed daily unless stabilized with components equivalent to one quarter the cost of alchemical accelerants.
Lamp Oil
Aqua Vitae can be used to make lantern oil cheaply and quickly. At the cost of only material components, an alchemist can create large quantities of lamp oil, capable of burning twice as long as normal lamp oil, or be converted into kerosine.
'The issue would certainly have had better pacing as a miniseries as opposed to a one-shot. It's a dense read with a lot of information crammed in for the sake of well-rounded characters and a developed plot. Letterer John J. Hill deserves a round of applause for his ability to integrate the sheer amount of text into each panel. A glance over the page can be a little overwhelming at first sight, but Hill manages to lay out the dialogue boxes in a clear, organic way.'
Marguerite Bennett and a team of artists deliver a "well-rounded, thoughtfully developed Lois" in DC Comics' "Superman: Lois Lane" #1.
The new Nong’s will occupy a sunlit space on 609 Southeast Ankeny, formerly leased by Origami Catering, and just next door to the old sauce-bottling operation. At the new counter service brick and mortar, customers will pass by a big glass display looking into Nong’s sauce factory, before taking one of the 38 seats inside (or out on the sidewalk beyond a rolling garage door.)
Expect the same, infallible chicken and rice, along with the rest of Nong’s expanded PSU menu, featuring Thai Basketball Mom’s Wings, sauced in tomato, Sriracha, and Chinese whiskey and her Coca Cola/cocoa powder-braised pork and rice offset by a heap of pickled mustard greens and boiled egg.
Local taps, along with some choice suds from Southeast Asia will stock the beer-only bar early on, with the promise of local cocktail collaborations in the near future. Also in the works: a signature KMG soft serve ice cream, with the exact flavor still to be determined.
Ming Doyle beat buried lede: "Superman/OMAC story"!!!!!!!!!
The best Superman comic book currently published is about to get even better with the addition of Steve Rude, arguably one of today’s best living American comic book artists. The April 14 edition of DC Comics’ digital-first Adventures of Superman anthology will see the master storyteller collaborate with writer (and a brilliant, influential artist in his own right) Jerry Ordway for a Superman story starring OMAC, a cult favorite creation of Rude’s hero, Jack Kirby.
But Rude and Ordway are just two of the creators DC has lined up for the weekly Adventures of Superman — one of ComicsAlliance’s picks for the best comic books of 2013.
Art by Jon Bogdanove
Beginning March 10, writer Joe Keatinge begins a three-part story called “Strange Visitor” drawn by some familiar names: Ming Doyle, David Williams, Al Gordon, Tula Lotay, and Jason Shawn Alexander. Up next is “Ghosts of Krypton,” a one-shot by Steve Niles and Matthew Dow Smith, followed by “Mystery Box” courtesy of Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro. Ordway and Rude follow the next week with their Superman/OMAC story, “Seed of Destruction.”
The co-creator of ’80s indie sci-fi sensation Nexus, Steve Rude is a hugely talented but relatively elusive force in the comic book business. A master of creating distinct figures, faces and even whole species; fantastic and delicately detailed locales; dynamic superhero action; and quite sexy, intimate moments, Rude is active in the collectors market, where he continues to create one beautiful commission after another for us to enjoy. The artist’s Facebook timeline is an all but endless stream of some of the best superhero and good-girl pin-up art you’ll ever see.
But as detailed in the “Rude Dude” documentary, Rude temporarily retired from making comics altogether, pursuing a new career in the fine arts while supplementing his income with commissions and eBay auctions of his vast archive of Nexus artwork. Fortunately for us, he returned to comics with new Nexus stories for Dark Horse Presents, and he continues to engage his fanbase with successful Kickstarter campaigns for new art books (you can still order the latest one). The artist also drew Dollar Bill, a one-shot that was part of DC’s controversial but eminently well drawn Before Watchmen line.
Art by Steve Rude
In a missive to fans, Rude explained how the new Superman project came together.
To begin the process of Dude recruitment, [DC editor] Alex submitted several scripts to entice my interest for the Adventures of Superman project, but it wasn’t until we settled on something specifically catered to “The Dude Mentality”-with characters most memorable to the 60′s and 70′s– that things finally clicked.
And what would fit the Dude mentality?
How ’bout OMAC? Of the One Man Army Corps? As created by the great Jack Kirby back in ’75?
That, I decided, was the character I wanted to feature along with Superman, in the 10-page comic which would mark my artistic debut with DC West [as DC Digital is sometimes known]. Smartly, editor Alex was from the “let the talent do their thing and get outta their way” school. And soon I was off to do just that.
But hey, I’m an artist not a writer. Who was gonna write this thing?
No sooner than did the question launch itself into the comic book ether than did the answer return with a resounding boom. The writer, it was decided, would be actual one-time Adventures of Supermanwriter/artist himself–Jerry Ordway. And what kind of writing job would Jerry end up doing?
Here’s your answer; Jerry submitted his script and we all loved it. And after a hour or two of of finely tuned script discussion over the phone one afternoon, he and I were able to up the dramatics even further on the cool-meter.
No sooner was our script fully refined and on track, when out came my collection of the great Kirby OMAC comics. With my memory still fully intact with the groundbreaking concepts common to all Kirby comics, I needed little brushing up on OMAC history as I proceeded to get up to speed and draw the 10 pages with Superman and OMAC in record time.
To the best of my knowledge, Rude’s work on Adventures of Superman marks his return to the character for the first time since 1999, when he collaborated with Roger Stern on The Incredible Hulk vs. Superman (which is out of print, but the wonderful Superman/Batman: World’s Finest, which Rude drew in collaboration with Dave Gibbons and Karl Kesel, is not). The digital-first series has been characterized by artistic expressions of Superman in the character’s classic idiom, and there’s nobody whose vision of and dedication to the traditional Superman matches that of Steve Rude. Indeed, the famously perfectionist artist wrote that the Adventures of Superman project didn’t have the budget that Rude requires to paint his covers, but that he felt compelled to paint i anyway. “Such sacrifices does one make in the name of proper presentation,” said Rude.
Long, longtime Superman readers will recall that Ordway previously wrote and drew the previous iteration of Adventures of Superman in the 1980s and ’90s, where he collaborated with colorist Glenn Whitmore on some of the best looking Superman stories of the modern era. Whitmore is also a longtime associate of Rude, coloring both Nexus and The Moth. Throw in cover artwork by former Superman: The Man of Steel artist Jon Bogdanove, this Spring is something of an all-star game of Superman comicbookery.
The NBA MVP discussion is getting more and more interesting by the day.
LeBron James didn't have Dwyane Wade at his side on Monday against the Bobcats, but it didn't quite matter. The two-time defending champ exploded for a career-high 61 points in a 124-107 rout and continues to make the MVP race with Kevin Durant more interesting by the day.
I mean, when these are going in ...
And for point No. 57, a career high ...
James had seven boards and five assists to go along with the Miami franchise-record 61 points, and he got there on just 33 shots, going 8-of-10 from the three-point line and 9-of-12 from the charity stripe. Chris Bosh and Toney Douglas were the only other members of the Heat to score in double figures (15 and 10).
Oh man, poor Bobcats. They've had the pleasure of allowing witnessing two 60-plus-point games this season, the two highest individual scoring performances of the season. Previously, Carmelo Anthony dropped a career-high and Madison Square Garden record 62 points on Jan. 24 against Charlotte. It was LeBron's turn Monday night, and it's quite amazing what a 61-point game can do to a scoring average.
It is March and LeBron's scoring average just went from 26.9 to 27.5 after one game.
It's 50 years since Lloyd Alexander published the first book in his amazing Prydain Chronicles series — and to celebrate, the first book is getting an utterly beautiful new cover. We've got the exclusive reveal of this lovely artwork, plus an exclusive essay by the book's new editor, Noa Wheeler.
Art by Jon Bogdanove
Art by Steve Rude
