firehose

“

And focusing on Marvel and DC at the expense of the dozens of other publishers in comics, and then declaring comics a failure at San Diego Comic-Con, is incredibly myopic. It’s a mistake to think that Marvel and DC are all that mattered, that their new events or announcements dictate the future of capital-c Comics. Marvel and DC are comics, just like the other publishers, and they make some great ones when they let the creators do their own thing. But at this point? You can’t treat them like the entirety of the comics industry, or even two companies that can dictate the future of comics. They run the movies, and that’s cool, but running comics? It’s just not true any more. Image in particular outsells Marvel in the book market as far as trade paperbacks go, and that holds true in the comics market lately, too. That’s no coincidence. People enjoy Marvel and DC, but they want more than Marvel and DC.

If the announcements from the Big Two felt lackluster, but the fans still had a great time, how did comics fail? That sounds like a Marvel & DC problem. Vertical debuted Moyoco Anno’s brand new book In Clothes Called Fat at the show, a comic geared toward adult women. They sold out of Fumi Yoshinaga’s What Did You Eat Yesterday?, a romance/cooking comic. At Image, we sold out of Greg Tocchini & Rick Remender’s Low, an aquatic sci-fi tale, and Nick Dragotta & team’s Howtoons, a comic geared toward getting kids interested in the science through practical play. Boom! burned through Lumberjanes, a comic about girls at camp. These aren’t your normal comics, and people were eating them up.

”

-

After two bad “Comic-Con was bad for comics!”/”Comic-Con was good for comics!” pieces, io9 lets iamdavidbrothers do his thing, and the result is—surprise surprise—a great piece that’s head and shoulders above the traditional (print) comic coverage on the site*.

(* I specify print because Lauren does really good webcomics stuff over there, because Lauren is great.)

insidematthieu:

Young sorceress with her golem.

(200 followers / 100th post celebration!)

salamandra75:

• Sardonyx goblet with eagle’s head,
• Last Third of the Seventeenth Century
• Agate; Diamond; Emerald; Gold; Enamel; Ruby
• France

And if I were a Calvin and Hobbes character, I’d be this t-rex flying a jet. 

vgjunk:

Pocket Fighter, PS1.

azspot:

Matt Bors

failforwardrpg:

Note: The people named in this article have a history of harassing their critics. As such I have chosen to keep my sources and any traceable information they have given me anonymous to protect them.

Three weeks ago the 5th edition of Dungeons and Dragons came out. D&D is the iconic tabletop role playing game, so a new edition is a big deal. It’s one of the few times that the small, insular pen and paper community gets noticed by the rest of the world. Many game websites have talked about it, notably Polygon’s piece on gender inclusive language. Yet at the same time as D&D tries to appeal to those outside the gender binary, it has been driving them away by employing two of the most toxic personalities in tabletop gaming.

Read More

vgjunk:

You can make duvet covers at RedBubble now, so I did. Now my dream of owning a bed that looks like the ones in Chrono Trigger's Zeal (as mentioned here) is one step closer to becoming reality.

mostlysignssomeportents:

A bot that monitors Wikipedia for edits from Russian government IPs recorded a change to the MH17 entry, assigning blame to “Ukrainian soldiers” (a previous edit had blamed it on “terrorists of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic with Buk system missiles, which the terrorists received from the Russian Federation.”

Read more…

MLB, pay attention. THIS is how you do a first pitch.

First pitches are so boring in America. A quasi-celebrity or local politician or contest winner gets introduced and throws a hilariously bad or boringly competent pitch while you're trying to unwrap your hot dog and give tepid applause at the same time. Japanese baseball just invites Rina Takeda and has her BREAK BLOCKS WITH HER FACE.

Here's the wind-up:

AND THE PITCH

Another advantage of Japanese baseball: the opposing team's leadoff batter stands in for the ceremonial first pitch. DO THIS NOW, MLB. The inexplicable phalanx of mascots can be optional.  Except for Dinger. Dinger is not welcome to our first pitch party.

(h/t With Leather)

The French economist Thomas Piketty could not have dreamed up a better illustration of the problematic and growing income inequality in the US than the Family Dollar-Dollar Tree combination.

Let’s start with the backdrop: Essentially, the lower-income Americans that are the target customers of dollar stores have gotten too poor to buy anything other than food (a vivid illustration of Piketty’s point about income inequality). That has depressed margins and profits at these discount retailers.

The fact that these poor Americans—and the retailers that serve them—are doing so badly attracted the attention of some of the richest and best-connected investors in the world. Funds associated with the activist investors Nelson Peltz and Carl Icahn have snapped up significant chunks of Family Dollar in recent months—as has the hedge fund manager John Paulson.

And they have been pushing for a sale. Which makes sense, from their point of view: Combined, they stand to earn hundreds of millions on the deal, at least on paper. (Again, the fact that financiers have done well on the deal, even as low-income folks struggle, squares with Piketty’s view that large fortunes tend to grow faster than overall income, resulting in mounting piles of capital owned by the wealthy.)

Other people that stand to earn a tidy sum on the merger? Well, Family Dollar’s CEO Howard Levine owns roughly 8% of the shares outstanding, so the deal price would land him with paper gains of about $130 million. Perhaps he deserves it? Not so fast.

As we said earlier, the entire reason the company was pushed to sell by the activist investors was because its numbers under Levine haven’t been great. The fact that a CEO at the helm of a struggling company is able to harvest such a rich payout is quite in keeping with Piketty’s contention that outsized pay packages for corporate executives—even when there is less-than-clear evidence that they’re deserved—are key drivers of US inequality. On top of that, as if to emphasize the points about the growing importance of inheritance that Piketty makes in his book Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Levine is the son of the founder of the firm, Leon Levine. (We put in a request to Family Dollar asking for comment, but haven’t heard back.)

Well, surely the deal will lead to a healthier retailer in the long run, right? That’s far from clear. This deal is being financed by roughly $9.5 billion in borrowings. The debt used to finance the deal could result in a credit rating cut for Family Dollar, which is already flirting with junk status, Bloomberg notes. In other words, Family Dollar could be in worse financial shape after the deal, not better.

Oh, and what’s next for the company? A wave of cost-cutting, aimed at helping the combined dollar store giant take advantage of the significant synergies and efficiencies that the deal creates. While the companies have said they don’t plan on closing stores, cost-cutting waves usually aren’t great for employees.

In short, this deal—prompted by the hardship of low-income customers—leaves a few well-connected investors, executives, and the bankers who arranged the deal much better off, as the finances of the business, its customers and, perhaps, its employees languish.

New submitter meeotch writes: According to a new study by the Urban Institute, 35% of U.S. adults with a credit history (91% of the adult population of the U.S.) have debt "in collections" — a status generally not acquired until payments are at least 180 days past due. Debt problems seem to be worse in the South, with states hovering in the 40%+ range, while the Northeast has it better, at less than 30%. The study's authors claim their findings actually underrepresent low-income consumers, because "adults without a credit file are more likely to be financially disadvantaged." Oddly, only 5% of adults have debt 30-180 days past due. This latter fact is partially accounted for by the fact that a broader range of debt can enter "in collections" status than "past due" status (e.g. parking tickets)... But also perhaps demonstrates that as one falls far enough along the debt spiral, escape becomes impossible. Particularly in the case of high-interest debt such as credit cards — the issuers of which cluster in states such as South Dakota, following a 1978 Supreme Court ruling that found that states' usury laws did not apply to banks headquartered in other states. Even taking into account the folks who lost a parking ticket under their passenger seat, 35% is a pretty shocking number. Anyone have other theories why this number is so much higher than the 5% of people who are just "late"? How about some napkin math on the debt spiral?

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

chroniclesofachemist:

Those are fucking PHOTOS of molecules I dont fucking know how to react when I was in school they told me this shit is impossible look at this beauty you even see the doublebonding oh my fucking god tahts so fucking beautiful.

mfw microscopes are getting this good

SOURCE

isei-silva:

sweet-bitsy:

lampsarepeopletoo:

punsicle:

hurdygurdygirl:

This is how I’d play chess

I HAVE NEVER LOVED A VIDEO SO DEARLY

HOLY SH*T

Isn’t this how everyone plays

This is exactly how you play

aaeds:

yungvenuz:

sixpenceee:

Mayflys are a winged insect that have a short lifespan. They mate in such a way that all of them mature in the exact same time. The will die out soon, but for the time being Wisconsin looks like something straight out of a horror movie. 

SOURCE

nnnnnnuh

That’s…not too far south of where I live. 

piesexualdean:

turtwink:

does medusa have pubes and if so are they snakes too

According to Timbaland, ’9th Inning’ hitmaker Missy Elliott’s new single, which is produced by one Timothy Z Mosley, is a “game-changer”.

“It’s coming,” he confirmed to Rolling Stone when asked about the single’s whereabouts. ”It’s on her. She got the first single, it’s just a matter of when she wants to do it. We got the hollow-tip bullet in the gun. We have the game-changer right there.”

Asked to describe it in more detail, he added: ”It’s something you ain’t never heard Missy do. It sounds today, but the future.”

Banjo and a donk then.

birdandmoon:

I redrew an old comic, and Topatoco made it into a fancy print!

Time challenges will forever be the worst part of any Assassin’s Creed game—unless we were able to move as fast as American Ninja Warrior Kacy Catanzaro does in this new real-time SDCC footage from Gamespot, of course. Maybe that’s why Unity didn’t want to include playable female assassins in AC: Unity; they’re too hard to animate because they’re so much better at running around than the male characters are and the game would be over too quickly.

Worth noting?: the best time on the course before Kacy ran it? It was by Gamespot’s Anna Prosser. But yeah, women make terrible assassins. Boo us!

Previously in Mighty Kacy

• Check out her obstacle course run from another angle
• And her groundbreaking American Ninja Warrior run

Are you following The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, & Google +?

 

As the series 8 premiere in August rapidly approaches, more details keep dropping about how Peter Capaldi’s Doctor will change Doctor Who, especially if you’ve been looking at the recent leaks. If not, let Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, and Steven Moffat tell you what the show will be like under Capaldi’s iron fist—and, of course, more talk of Peter Jackson directing an episode.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Capaldi said he laid down the law on his Doctor’s romantic behavior. He said, “There’ll be no flirting, that’s for sure. It’s not what this Doctor’s concerned with. It’s quite a fun relationship, but no, I did call and say, ‘I want no [flirty] moments’. I think there was a bit of tension with that at first, but I was absolutely adamant.” (Expletives and Moffat’s cowering-in-fear deleted, I imagine.)

We’ve been promised in the past that things would be different for the Doctor in a coming season with nothing really coming of it, but it’s encouraging to hear that Capaldi put his foot down on how he’d like to portray the character. It sounds like they picked the right actor for the job if things are really going to change this time around.

Indeed, it really does sound like we’re finally going to get a different tone for the character, as Jenna Coleman added in an Empire magazine interview, “With Matt’s Doctor [Clara] felt quite safe, really. She knew she’d be caught if she was in danger, but this guy is a lot less human-friendly and a lot less patient. He’s more removed and inaccessible.” And Capaldi sounds like he intends to keep it that way—even down to his uninviting look.

Moffat talked to SFX about the “grey-haired stick insect,” saying,

[Capaldi] wanted to be quite stark. Stark and skinny. A stick-insect sort of thing. Clara actually calls him a grey-haired stick-insect at one point. We had some hilarious pictures of Peter just dressing up. It was all coming from him because he’s really into his clothes. I didn’t feel qualified to go and chat too much about it. Certainly the costume didn’t go anywhere until I shut up. The thing I’ve learned about showrunning is you need to know the bits you’re bad at!

In other words, Capaldi is basically in charge of Doctor Who now. Get on board or get out of the way.

Then, of course, there’s more news that Peter Jackson will probably get to direct an episode of Doctor Who eventually. At this point, it sounds like a done deal and just a matter of scheduling, so maybe he just can’t find the time to stretch that one episode into three? Jackson himself said that he finally feels ready to work within TV’s “impossibly tiny” schedules, but Moffat told SFX,

He’s still incredibly busy on The Hobbit. I’ve spoken to him face to face, and he would like to do one. He accepts that there’s no money and that there’s no time, and it would have to be when he’s available—and I don’t think he’s even been available enough to answer our emails of late!

So a Peter Jackson-directed episode is pretty much going to happen—it’s just a matter of when. Although, it’s starting to sound like the answer might be, “Whenever Capaldi damn well tells us it’s OK.”

(via Daily Dot, io9, Digital Spy)

Previously in time and space

• The BBC gave us yet another painfully short 12th Doctor teaser
• Moffat says series 8 will have consequences
• The first episode already leaked on the Internet

Are you following The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google +?

With the release of "Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery" on Blu-ray, some key players remember the David Lynch series that flamed brightly and burned out quickly.

Original Source

Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Things just got mainstream: Amazon announced a dedicated 3D print service. 

The online retail giant stepped deeply into the world of 3D printing by launching a new “Main Product Category” called “3D Designs & Print on Demand”. It’s very much like Shapeways or Sculpteo: great designs may be browsed, searched, selected, printed and then shipped to your door. 

At present the service boasts over 200 products, some of which are customizable. Shapeways has teamed with Mixee labs to provide twenty 3D model generators with which customers can quickly design personalized objects of various kinds. Generators include various rings, pendants, figurines and items of jewelry. They’re easy to use and prices are reasonable, at least for 3D printing. 

Amazon’s tagline says: “Introducing Amazon’s 3D Printing Store; Shop the Future”. They’re not kidding - this is how the future may very well turn out. Browsing and designing objects that show up at your door tomorrow. 

While this functionality has been available for some time from Shapeways and other similar services, Amazon takes it to a whole new level. Shapeways might be the biggest 3D print service, but they certainly do not have Amazon’s 250M client base. In fact, Amazon likely adds more new clients every week than exist at most 3D print services today. And these clients could purchase 3D printed items in a way they’re already very familiar with. Some of the 3D printed items even qualify for Amazon Prime, the company’s flat-rate shipping service. 

Amazon also offers a way for designers to apply to their service if they wish to include their designs in the Amazon 3D Print Store. At this point, Amazon’s 200 items are far less than Shapeways catalog, but with Amazon’s massive size, that could change very quickly. What designer wouldn’t want their designs shown to a quarter of a BILLION possible clients? 

But how is Amazon producing the 3D prints? Did they just buy a pile of EOS machines? Perhaps some Stratasys? No, it appears from their press release they’ve partnered with Sculpteo, one of the largest 3D print services. Sculpteo’s CEO, Clément Moreau, says: 

Amazon’s deep understanding of customers coupled with Sculpteo’s fast, high-quality manufacturing process offers an unprecedented level of product possibilities for customers.

There’s no mention of Shapeways, so we presume they’re not part of the deal behind the scenes. However, it's possible Amazon is in fact using Shapeways or other 3D print services behind the scenes in addition to Sculpteo and hasn't made that known. 

So what happens now? We can think of several implications of this blockbuster announcement. 

Shapeways may face a steep challenge. Assuming Shapeways isn't part of the deal, Shapeways at the moment may have the edge on 3D content due to their long existence and relationships with many designers, but Amazon’s depth of client base may shift that over the next few years. It may be that Shapeways will have to partner with another retailer in a similar deal if they haven't done one with Amazon. 

Sculpteo could be a huge winner in this deal. The Amazon shoppers will drive significant business towards Sculpteo’s 3D print factories, which will use economies of scale to grow rapidly. 

MakerBot and Cubify / 3D Systems might not be pleased with this development, as it means some potential 3D printer buyers might instead use Amazon to satisfy their 3D printing urges. Both companies have been pursuing a content strategy around customized model generators, which Amazon now provides, too. 

On the other hand, the announcement could mean this: A huge number of people will now be exposed to 3D printing through Amazon. This could very significantly grow interest in the technology, causing growth in all participants. More water floats all boats, so to speak. 

Amazon’s 3D printing venture seems very serious - and permanent. It’s a bold statement to their retail competitors, who will surely try to keep up with Amazon with their own 3D printing operations. 

Via Amazon

YELLING

WE ALL BECOME the YELL.  Wear a BLACK clothing!  Has this brib crows finall a discover ROCK N ROLL COMCERPT?