'The protests have not changed his views on the conflict'

’My pain is unmatched’

Booty is no stranger to switching schools

Whenever I think of the Counting Crows‚ I remember their spectacular performance when they were first starting out on Saturday Night Live. The cast goofed on them a little because Adam was taking it very seriously. It turned out that performance was so good because he took it so seriously. The Counting Crows were formed in Berkeley‚ California‚ in 1991. Known for their dynamic live performances and the introspective lyrics of frontman Adam Duritz‚ the band achieved significant fame with their 1993 debut album “August and Everything After‚” which featured the hit single “Mr. Jones.” Over the years‚ Counting Crows The post Complete List Of Counting Crows Band Members appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

Scientists believe they’ve found a way to make plastics more durable and biodegradable by adding bacterial spores that have been put through evolutionary rigors. This kind of “living plastic” can break down in about five months without the necessary addition of any other microbes. Researchers led by scientists at the University of California San Diego […] The post Revolutionary New ‘Living Plastic’ That Could Slash Damage to the Environment Developed by California Researchers appeared first on Good News Network.

Movies &; TV star wars: the bad batch Star Wars: The Bad Batch Gave Us an Ending No One Expected The final season of The Bad Batch offered something that practically no Star Wars story does: a moment’s peace By Emmet Asher-Perrin | Published on May 2‚ 2024 Credit: Lucasfilm Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Lucasfilm With the finale of Star Wars: The Bad Batch there are currently no major animated arcs coming in the Star Wars canon. Which is a shame because since the launching of The Clone Wars series‚ the animated projects have made up some of the best storytelling that Star Wars has seen in the last twenty years. The Bad Batch easily ranks among them‚ and the paltry three seasons we received were never going to feel like enough. But‚ like everything about Clone Force 99‚ the way that they left was singular and unlikely to be matched. [Spoilers ahead.] Season three of Bad Batch is largely devoted to little/big sister Omega coming into her own and getting prodigal… you can’t call him a son‚ I’m going with prodigal reluctant dad‚ Crosshair back into the arms of his family. While his inhibitor chip initially prompted Crosshair to walk straight into the arms of the Empire as the fascist organization came into power‚ by the end of season one‚ he’d chosen to stay of his own free will‚ furious over the Batch’s refusal to choose him and join up. Season two showed us what this spiteful decision cost Crosshair as the realization dawned that the Empire would be nothing like the Republic. It was a key journey to showcase: Crosshair’s mistake was effectively a stand-in for every clone who chose to stay with the Empire. Regardless of their own personal moral leanings (and every clone is different‚ of course)‚ it makes sense that it would be difficult for many of them to grasp what the Empire truly was at first glance. None of them were designed to question‚ to learn about the political motivations of war‚ to buck a lifetime of conditioning and subvert their “purpose.” But after losing someone important to him‚ Crosshair finally breaks and kills an Imperial officer‚ getting him sent to a secret base on Tantiss where Omega is also delivered at the end of season two. Omega bonded to every member of the Batch in her time as their big/little sister slash adopted daughter over the show’s run—she even tried with Crosshair when she met him‚ fruitless though the attempt seemed. With the setup more blatant than ever on Tantiss (he’s literally stuck in a cell that she walks by on her rounds every day)‚ Omega finally has the opening she needs to do what she does best: Make people better. When she moves to escape the base‚ she takes Crosshair with her‚ along with a once-vicious lurca hound that she has named Batcher. Cue awkward family reunion‚ but more importantly‚ cue an entire subplot of Crosshair not only returning home to deal with his PTSD‚ but also getting a therapy dog out of the deal. The final season tips the possibility that Omega might be Force-sensitive into the pot as well; part of the reason she’s valuable to the Tantiss research facility is that Doctor Hemlock is among the first scientists working on Emperor cloning‚ and Omega’s high midichlorian count has the potential to make a clone that can wield the Force. But in a wild U-turn away from the Star Wars’ favorite narrative cue—that everything must ultimately center around the Jedi and their powers—The Bad Batch makes the choice to essentially ignore this revelation. Omega gets to meet Asaaj Ventress (who is‚ thankfully‚ alive after a rough turn in the novels that suggested otherwise) and try out some training‚ but there’s no indication in either direction about her potential Force-wielding abilities. And that’s because showrunner Jennifer Corbett and her team seem to rightly understand that it doesn’t matter. Omega’s true abilities lie in her compassion and her ability to encourage others toward that end. Image: Lucasfilm Of course Omega is eventually recaptured (her choice) and of course it means that the Bad Batch have to mount a wild rescue mission that immediately goes sideways. But what’s astounding is that a mission that should have “Total Party Death” written all over it winds up making way for… precisely the opposite. So let’s get into what that means. Because it’s hard to talk about that finale without the context. Star Wars stories belong to their name with all the strife that entails‚ often upbeat in their execution‚ but far from content for the characters involved. There are very few tales that result in happy endings of any sort—I could count them on one hand. There’s nothing wrong with that choice per se‚ but it’s also technically a recent change to the mythos; for decades (unless you read the Expanded Universe novels) the central Star Wars story‚ being the OG trilogy‚ ended on a high note. As the fictional universe grew‚ it deprioritized that viewpoint and aligned far more to the prequels side of things‚ mired in tragedy of a decidedly operatic nature. With all of those stories spinning out to offer a vantage point on the galaxy that is darker than ever‚ it seems pointed to note that The Bad Batch have joined the ranks of those lucky few characters who get a kinder ending. And the reason that it seems so pointed is precisely because of where they came from and what they lost. What the animated Star Wars shows built much of their legacy on is attention paid to the clone army‚ built for the Republic at the secret behest of then-Chancellor Palpatine. That the prequel stories relied upon the presence of a brainwashed slave race who were bought‚ grown‚ and trained for the sole purpose of dying for the Republic has been a cornerstone of the narrative since 2002’s Attack of the Clones… but the prequels weren’t built to tell that part of the story. Animation was well-suited to the task of shining a light on the humanity of the clone troopers; after all‚ it’s easier to animate thousands of identical men than it is to CGI composite thousands of performances from one actor. And so the animated shows became the place to showcase just that‚ and the clone army was given a space where they could be presented as people rather than identical cannon fodder. That choice led to some of the best stories Star Wars has told. But it also created a vicious little conundrum: The characters that many viewers counted among their favorites never had a shot at a real life. They were forced to be soldiers in a war they had no part in causing‚ for the side that paid for their birth and programming. They were created to serve and then to die. While it didn’t come clear until the end‚ The Bad Batch turned out to be a story about a few of those clones getting a chance to choose their own futures. Corbett and crew took that opportunity to narrow focus in on the clones’ experience and bolted with it‚ seemingly straight for the finish line without ever once looking back. And in many ways‚ it used tragedy toward a far more meaningful coda than Star Wars often offers. And that’s all because of Tech. Having assumed a much harsher ending was coming for these characters‚ I was dismayed—both as a critic and as a fan—at Tech’s death in the end of season two. It was beautifully written‚ but it felt like either a probable warmup to greater loss‚ or a possible fakeout‚ which Star Wars has pulled too many times. (“Somehow‚ Palpatine returned” is likely to get etched on J.J. Abrams’ grave at this rate.) The point was that I doubted the death would continue to be meaningful in retrospect‚ which is unfortunately a common problem in fiction today. We’ve gone so far in the direction of death for the sake of shock or realism that it has actually ceased to have narrative weight in most cases. But the Bad Batch all survive this fight. Every last one of them. And they go back to Pabu and live safe‚ completely outside their function and programming as soldiers. And Omega gets to grow up with the people she loves surrounding her and guiding her. And suddenly‚ Tech’s death isn’t just a precursor to more terrible misfortune in an unfair universe—it was for this. His family living on a world that he loved‚ figuring out who they are outside of that armor and spending time doing whatever moves them. Omega getting the childhood that Phee pointed out she was missing. Clone Force 99 growing old together. Image: Lucasfilm Yes‚ Omega leaves home in the end to join the Rebellion‚ but that’s just where growing up leads. (He’d be proud of her‚ in any case.) And yes‚ something needs to be said about the many clones who died in service of them getting that ending. (Star Wars needs to have a talk with itself about how it renders collateral damage‚ but that is truly another conversation for another time.) And yes‚ there is always the chance that someone will come along and undo the whole thing with a later tale. But for now‚ Tech’s final words are the perfect punctuation at the end of their story: “When have we ever followed orders&;#63;” Never. And look how that paid off for them&;#63; Perhaps it’s time for a few more characters in that galaxy far‚ far away to sit up and take note. [end-mark] The post &;lt;i&;gt;Star Wars: The Bad Batch&;lt;/i&;gt; Gave Us an Ending No One Expected appeared first on Reactor.

News Flesh of the Gods Kristen Stewart and Oscar Isaac Are Starring in a Vampire Movie From the Director of Mandy Obviously‚ we’re all in on this By Molly Templeton | Published on May 2‚ 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share Honestly‚ are other details necessary&;#63; Kristen Stewart (Love Lies Bleeding; that other vampire movie) and Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight‚ pictured above) are set to co-star in the next film from Panos Cosmatos‚ the director behind the trippy-ass Nicolas Cage film Mandy‚ and also the somewhat-less-seen Beyond the Black Rainbow. Flesh of the Gods‚ as this film is dramatically titled‚ is written by Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en)‚ with a story by Walker and Cosmatos. The Hollywood Reporter says the film “follows a married couple‚ Raoul (Isaac) and Alex (Stewart)‚ who descend each evening from their luxury skyscraper condo and head into an electric nighttime realm of 80’s LA. When they cross paths with the mysterious and enigmatic woman and her hard-partying cabal‚ Raoul and Alex are seduced into a glamorous‚ surrealistic world of hedonism‚ thrills‚ and violence.” I love the phrase “hard-partying‚” like if you do it enough‚ it becomes akin to hard work. In a statement‚ Cosmatos said‚ “Both propulsive and hypnotic‚ Flesh will take you on a hot rod joy ride deep into the glittering heart of hell.” Sign me up. Sign us all up. Flesh of the Gods has not yet begun production‚ so it’s anyone’s guess when we will get to ride this hot-rod all the way to hell’s sparkly‚ presumably blood-drenched heart. But we’re waiting. Patiently.[end-mark] The post Kristen Stewart and Oscar Isaac Are Starring in a Vampire Movie From the Director of &;lt;i&;gt;Mandy&;lt;/i&;gt; appeared first on Reactor.

Movies &; TV Star Trek: Discovery Star Trek: Discovery’s “Whistlespeak” It’s time for another episode centered on the complications of the Prime Directive… By Keith R.A. DeCandido | Published on May 2‚ 2024 Credit: CBS / Paramount+ Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: CBS / Paramount+ The Prime Directive is one of the most complicated tropes to come out of the Star Trek franchise over the past 58 years. Created as it was in the shadow of the Vietnam War (and with the Korean War a recent memory)‚ the notion of a directive that keeps the Federation from sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong (a grave oversimplification) was‚ I’m sure‚ very appealing to Gene Roddenberry and his various writers. Probably the best discussion of the PD was in a TNG episode‚ “Pen Pals‚” specifically a scene in Picard’s quarters. Scripted by the great Melinda M. Snodgrass‚ the scene beautifully illustrates the complex issues surrounding the non-interference rule. In particular‚ there’s a line Picard has when he says that the Prime Directive “protects us—to prevent us from allowing our emotions to overwhelm our judgment.” However‚ something went horribly wrong with the PD as TNG went on‚ and it’s infected the remainder of the franchise far too often. In “Pen Pals‚” Worf comments that the PD is an absolute‚ and the entire rest of the scene is a refutation of Worf’s statement. But then the franchise itself doubled down on Worf’s words‚ leading to—among other things—turning our heroes into idiots in the moronic “Who Watches the Watchers&;#63;” and into murderers in the morally repugnant TNG episode “Homeward‚” one of the nadirs of the franchise. (See also Enterprise’s “Dear Doctor.”) “Whistlespeak” is one hundred percent a Prime Directive episode‚ and it continues the trend—seen also in SNW‚ particularly “Among the Lotus Eaters”—of moving away from TNG’s dumbshit absolutism. Because first and foremost‚ Star Trek is heroic fiction. There’s a reason why so many Trek episodes start with the protagonists responding to a distress call. Trek has always stood out as the franchise that gives us compassion over combat‚ talking over fighting‚ and finding ways to help people. We start this week with the Discovery crew doing what it does best: working its way through a scientific problem. Back in season two‚ Ethan Peck’s Spock matter-of-factly stated “I like science.” (Peck himself owns a T-shirt with that saying on it that he has worn to many a public appearance.) That’s pretty much the Discovery ethos‚ and some of the best scenes in this show’s five-year history have been various crewmembers tossing ideas around to figure out a problem. In this case‚ it’s Stamets‚ Adria‚ Tilly‚ and Burnham trying to determine what the clue they found last week is supposed to mean—which is hard‚ as it’s just a vial of distilled water with some scratches on it. They’re aided in this by Kovich‚ who has been able to find a complete list of all five scientists who worked on the Progenitor Project (and who left the clues and erased evidence of their existence). Of the two who are left‚ they detemine that the latest clue was left by a Denobulan named Hitoroshi Kreel‚ who did work with weather modification technology‚ including water reclamation stations that can make it rain. They eventually find a world Kreel designed a water tower for. The problem is that it’s a pre-warp society. In fact‚ it’s a pre-technology society‚ which has built traditions and religion around the water stations‚ which are high on mountains. It’s assumed that Kreel built them on mountains to avoid PD issues‚ but he was only partly successful. And the tower itself can’t be beamed into due to some kind of interference. Burnham and Tilly beam down in native garb‚ and with native markings on their foreheads‚ to try to get into the tower. They wind up joining a pilgrimage to the tower‚ where they meet several locals‚ including one who is coughing up a proverbial lung due to being stuck in one of the dust storms. At one point‚ she starts choking to death‚ but they’re able to cure her by several people getting in a tight circle and each running a stick around a metal bowl‚ creating a loud resonant sound. The sonics are able to dislodge the dust from the woman’s windpipe. Credit: CBS / Paramount+ Our heroes soon learn that there’s a ritual involved in getting into the tower involving a race. Because they have to pretend to be natives‚ Burnham and Tilly don’t ask questions about how the ritual works. Too late‚ they learn that the race to the tower isn’t just a race: it’s a re-creation of an event from the past‚ when a woman ran to the tower without water‚ having sacrificed it to give others water. To that end‚ they all have to take pills that dry out their throat and they’re not allowed any water until the end of the race. If you drink water—and bowls are left all along the race‚ thus giving you an easy out‚ and also proving that they’re not completely insane—then you’re disqualified. Burnham notices that some moss looks like it’s been contaminated by radiation—something the locals wouldn’t know about—and it may be that there’s a control console she can mess with. She drinks water‚ disqualifying her‚ and follows the moss‚ while Tilly continues to run the race. In the end‚ Starfleet training prevails on two different levels. The last two runners are Tilly and Prava. The latter is that most tired of clich&;eacute;s‚ the willful daughter of the single-parent leader who wants to prove herself. Her father doesn’t want her to run the race‚ and what seems to be over-protectiveness proves to be far worse. Before we find out how it is‚ Tilly has to show the other part of Starfleet training‚ besides the physical fitness: that aforementioned compassion. The last bit of the race is run while holding a bowl of water in hand. Prava drops her bowl‚ emptying it‚ which disqualifies her. But Tilly stops‚ dumps some of her water into Prava’s bowl‚ and they can finish it together. That’s when the other shoe drops: in order to get rain‚ the locals make a sacrifice. Whoever wins the race goes into the tower‚ yes‚ but the tower also goes through cycles of being sealed. Aided by Adira‚ Burnham is able to fix the busted console‚ and now everything works right. But by this time‚ Tilly and Prava are trapped in the tower and going to die‚ and Discovery can’t beam them out. So Burnham goes full violate-the-PD and beams into the vestibule even though Prava’s father is there‚ lamenting over the fact that he sent his daughter to her death. Burnham breathlessly explains that it’s a machine‚ the sacrifices are meaningless‚ the machine was broken‚ she fixed it‚ and get your daughter and my friend the fuck out of there‚ please. Credit: CBS / Paramount+ Because yes‚ the PD is important to protect both the Federation from imperialism and less-technology-developed worlds from being taken advantage of. But it shouldn’t get in the way of stopping people from dying. Worf’s statement and subsequent episodes notwithstanding‚ the PD is not an absolute and it should never ever ever get in the way of saving lives that can be saved easily. (That “easily” caveat is important.) And in the end‚ everybody lives‚ the locals realize that sacrificing lives to get rain isn’t the best idea‚ and‚ oh yeah‚ it starts raining. But most importantly: everybody lives. Two other plotlines at work here‚ continuing some character work. Rayner assigns Adira to the bridge‚ as they wanted more time on the bridge‚ and they’re tasked with helping Burnham fix the tower. The problem is that they’re not sure they’re up to the task‚ and they try to get Rayner to let someone else handle it. Rayner‚ however‚ doesn’t take any of their nonsense‚ reminding them that the time bug was not their fault‚ even though they’re carrying major guilt over it. And we also continue Culber’s trying to come to terms with the zhiantara he went through in “Jinaal.” He talks to a holographic re-creation of his abuela‚ which is adorable‚ and she’s the one who convinces him to give himself a medical checkup‚ make sure there’s no neurological reason for his weird feelings. He also asks Stamets to help—“Nothing as romantic as a neural scan‚” Stamets jokes—and they determine that there’s nothing wrong with him physically. Stamets then urges Culber to do something he doesn’t seem to have considered: enjoy it. He feels more connected to everything‚ and while that is weird‚ that doesn’t make it bad. We haven’t seen much of Culber and Stamets as a couple lately‚ and this is a welcome return to it‚ especially this more mature Stamets who is much better at seeing the big picture than he used to be. Credit: CBS / Paramount+ I’m a little disappointed more wasn’t done with the whistling method of communicating over long distances. Ultimately‚ it’s there to show that the people are genuinely alien‚ which is certainly appreciated‚ but given that it’s the title of the episode‚ I was expecting it to play a bigger role in the plot. Ah‚ well. And I do like that they have retinal tricorders and subcutaneous communicators for ease of clandestine infiltration… The scratches on the vial turned out to match a number in the native language‚ specifically the number five. The next piece of the puzzle was in Tower #5‚ as well as some writing in the Betazoid language. Since the fifth and final scientist was a Betazoid named Marina Derex‚ this makes sense. One assumes we’ll find out what that text said next week…[end-mark] The post &;lt;i&;gt;Star Trek: Discovery&;lt;/i&;gt;’s “Whistlespeak” appeared first on Reactor.

The season 11 update to Sea of Thieves changed the way missions worked in the game. They were moved from various points of the map. With the reworked system‚ you can now buy‚ start‚ and complete quests all from the comfort of your own ship in Sea of Thieves. How quests work in Sea of Thieves Rather than having to blast all around the place to buy the various quests in Sea of Thieves‚ the whole process is now managed by the Quest Table. This all-in-one location can be found in the captain’s quarters of your ship. This streamlines game sessions massively‚ making for more action and less faffing. Image: Rare The Quest Table is where you can start everything from Tall Tales to Voyages. This area allows you to buy‚ start‚ and then complete the various Sea of Thieves quests quickly and easily. Simply head to the table. Here‚ select what you want to do from the extensive list. Finally‚ you embark on your adventure. Once completed‚ turn your mission in at the Table for your r...

One of the chief complaints about GZW at launch was the permanence of your Faction choice. If you want to swap‚ you can now change Factions in Gray Zone Warfare — Here’s how. How to change Faction in Gray Zone Warfare All players can now change Faction in Gray Zone Warfare‚ but it’s not something you’ll want to do all the time. The only way to swap Faction is to wipe your character and create a new one. This was impossible at launch‚ but you can easily delete your character on the Main Menu screen. Screenshot: PC Invasion Open Gray Zone Warfare and press the Wipe Character button (pictured above) in the bottom corner of the screen. You can only have one character at a time‚ and the system does have a couple of limitations: Character wiping is permanent There’s no way to bring a deleted character back‚ so make sure it’s something you definitely want to do before proceeding. Characters with less than an hour of playtime cannot b...