26/11/18: Setting Things Straight and It's a Little Early for Gift Giving Isn't it?

Intro

Week 15. It seems the festive season has begun. It's just under a month until Christmas now, and to mark the start of yule time, I went to the light switch on. It was pretty fun, I met Santa. 

Culture

The leaning tower of Pisa isn't leaning as much as it used to. 

Over the past 20 years, engineers have been trying straighten the iconic structure, and recently they have stated that the tower has recovered 4 centimetres of tilt and that it's structural health is better than it was.

The tower was opened back up to the public in 2001 after being closed for a decade so that engineers could reduce it's slant. The workers managed to recover a substantial 17 inches of tilt during that time, using thousands of lead counterweights and extracting soil from the base of the tower.

It seems all those photos of people pushing the tower have finally paid off.

(Source: USA Today)

Christmas things?

A shopping centre in the Isle of Man has sparked some controversy this week after people saw their Christmas display for the first time.

The display at Tynwald Mills mall shows two polar bears getting particularly "cozy", much to the shock or amusement of many shoppers. A number of people took to twitter, tweeting their bemusement at seeing the gentle giants and noting how the pair looked... stylised.

The centre has since apologized and thanked shoppers for 'getting a little too much into Christmas" and said that the "interactive display" has since been tweaked.

I suppose it's going to get colder so it's one way to keep warm.

(Source: Mirror Online)


TV



One of Netflix's new original shows has caused some legal conflict recently with a pretty obscure claimant.

The Satanic Temple attempted to sue Netflix and Warner Bros after they included footage of a statue depicting Baphomet, in the new Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina. However, the two groups have since reached an amicable settlement, which means that every episode must now cite the statue's 'unique characteristics' in the credits.

Although, during the lawsuit, the Satanic Temple stated that they had received hate-mail from angry fans, accusing the group of trying to ruin the show, and they asked that people not put their entertainment above religious freedom.
(Source: Hollywood Reporter)


Crime



A New Orleans man has been arrested after he made a bomb threat, but it seems as though that may not have been his intent.

Apparently, Arthur Posey walked into Willie's Chicken Shack and asked what time the restaurant was to close. He then said "Y'all about to close up right now because I'm about to get a bomb and blow this place up".

That seems pretty explicit, however Mr Posey claims that by 'this place' he meant the toilet as he really needed to go... I imagine the employees did too after that.
(Source: Huffpost)



More Crime



A British academic has been pardoned by the United Arab Emirates after he was sentenced to life in prison for spying.

Matthew Hedges has said he was there to research the country's security strategies for his  PhD and has completely denied spying. He was pardoned as part of the country's National Day anniversary, but a spokesman said he was "100% a secret service operative."

He was apparently forced to sign a confession stating that he worked for MI6, without a lawyer present. the document was also in Arabic, which Mr Hedges cannot read. He is now en route to the British embassy in the country.
(Source: BBC News)

17/09/18: Swinging into Victory and Son of Witcher: White-Washing

Intro

Week 5. So I moved into my flat yesterday and I have't really had a moment to just sit down and write. Normally I start writing posts on saturday and get half way through so this week's may very well be shorter. Also, I find I'm doing more gaming stories. Wouldn't mind writing about it for a career.

Gaming

So this week I managed to get my hands on Spider-Man PS4, and it is a masterpiece. Insomniac really has done the web-head justice.

The first thing on anybody's mind is the web-swinging. In so many of the Spidey games of days past, devs have failed at this seemingly simple hurdle, with a few notable exceptions like Spider-Man 2 and Web of Shadows. But every inch of traversal in this latest version is like playing a dream. It feels so smooth and I could happily just move through Manhattan for hours on end, zipping and swinging to my heart's content.

Next up is combat. While SM 2018 does nothing new, it does the old very well indeed. It follows the Arkham beat-em'-up formula perfectly, with the classic Spider-man seasoning. Both the clever quips and web-based gadgets really serve to make you feel like the wall-crawling hero about town in a way that past games have failed to.

Finally, the characters are all incredibly rounded and human. For most that might not be a big deal, but for me i want to be drawn into a story and it's world. Every person from the heroic spidey to the dastardly Mr Negative seems to have their own personal demons and quirks that layer them as characters and makes them feel all together more real. For example, when Peter heads over to MJ's to stay the night, the conversation he has with himself feels so relatable, with it's notions of affection and insecurity.

At time of writing, I haven't finished it but cannot wait to play more.

Film and TV

On the subject of gaming news, Netflix is adapting the beloved game and book series, the Witcher, originally by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski into an 8-part TV drama, to be released in either 2018 or 2019.

While this is a very exciting prospect with a lot of potential, Twitter has been up in arms recently due to the casting choice of an originally white character, Ciri, protagonist Geralt's surrogate-daughter. The people behind the show chose a BAME (black, Asian or minority ethnic) actor to play the pivotal role, and people have reacted with mild levels of racism, which is funny, considering much of the Witcher focuses on fantasy xenophobia.

I understand the opinion, however. Many fans will have become accustomed to a Ciri who they know and love and to take part of that away would feel like a sort of betrayal. But, at the same time, the reaction feels childish and, in some ways, the people feel akin to the monsters Geralt fights.
(Source: Digital Spy)

Outro

I really am sorry, but at time of writing it is 2 in the morning on Tuesday and i haven't had a moment to just detox myself, let alone properly write. Hopefully you understand but next week things should be back to normal. Again I am very sorry but I am in dire need of sleep. I should've started earlier in the week to be honest.