News Naruto Live-Action Naruto in The Works‚ With Shang-Chi’s Destin Daniel Cretton Directing Is this the reason why the director left Avengers: The Kang Dynasty? By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on February 26‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed Lionsgate is finally moving ahead with a live-action adaptation of the popular Naruto series‚ with Marvel Cinematic Universe alum Destin Daniel Cretton helming the project. The Naruto film will be based on the manga by Masashi Kishimoto‚ where a young ninja named Naruto Uzumaki strives to become the leading ninja in his village. Cretton‚ whose current credits include directing Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings‚ its upcoming sequel‚ and the MCU TV series‚ Wonder Man‚ expressed great joy in joining the project. “It was a true honor to meet Kishimoto-san in Tokyo and hear his expansive vision for his creation‚” Cretton said in a statement. “We are very excited to collaborate and bring Naruto to the big screen.” The news of Cretton’s involvement also comes after we learned last November that the filmmaker stepped down from directing another Marvel film‚ Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. That move likely freed up his schedule to pitch himself to the Naruto creator. “When I heard of Destin’s attachment‚ it happened to be right after watching a blockbuster action film of his‚ and I thought he would be the perfect director for Naruto‚” Masashi Kishimoto said in the same statement. “After enjoying his other films and understanding that his forte is in creating solid dramas about people‚ I became convinced that there is no other director for Naruto.” He added‚ “In actually meeting Destin‚ I also found him to be an open-minded director who was willing to embrace my input‚ and felt strongly that we would be able to cooperate together in the production process. To put it simply‚ the live-action Naruto is bound to be a film with spectacular action and profound drama. I can’t help but be excited for it.” The project is still in its early days‚ so no news yet on casting‚ let alone a release date. [end-mark] The post Live-Action Naruto in The Works‚ With <;i>;Shang-Chi’<;/i>;s Destin Daniel Cretton Directing appeared first on Reactor.

Book Recommendations book review Unapologetically Queer: Saara El-Arifi’s Faebound A review of the first book in a new romantasy series. By Liz Bourke | Published on February 26‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed Faebound begins a new series from Saara El-Arifi: a fantasy set in a world of perpetually warring elves‚ where an exiled soldier stumbles across the hidden race of fae‚ who are cursed to remain in their underground kingdom on account of their eradication of an entire species.  Yeeran is the youngest colonel in the history of her tribe‚ the Waning elves. They fight with the other elven tribes over a precious resource‚ the mineral known as fraedia. The wars have been going on for longer than anyone can recall‚ and it has driven their society to the point where starving children are enlisted younger than ten years of age. From the text‚ the fighting seems confined to the region where the resource is located‚ and the regions that the elves inhabit do not seem to be particularly vast. Yeeran’s lover is the elected ruler of their tribe; Yeeran’s sister‚ Lettle‚ is a diviner‚ following the old magic of foretelling that few among the elves still respect. When Yeeran makes a fatal error on her first day in her new command‚ exceeding her orders and getting several hundred troops under her command killed‚ her chieftain lover orders her exiled in lieu of her execution. To Yeeran‚ exile is a fate worse than death. When‚ soon after she’s left in the wilderness beyond the bounds of elven civilisation‚ she sees one of the magical beasts—the obeah—whose hide and bones are necessary to make the tools that allow elves to deploy offensive magic‚ she thinks that maybe she can earn a reprieve by killing it and bringing its skin home. For obeah are rare and growing rarer‚ and Yeeran still believes her lover wants what Yeeran wants: an end to the war‚ and for their tribe to live in peace and prosperity. Unbeknownst to Yeeran‚ Lettle has followed her to the wilderness‚ accompanied by Rayan‚ one of Yeeran’s loyal under-officers. They meet up with her in time to witness her kill the obeah—and in time to be captured by a party of fae‚ secretly scouting in the world outside their prisoning homeland. The obeah are companion animals to the fae. A bond with an obeah is what allows a fae to use their innate magic‚ but the fae’s life is linked to that of the obeah‚ and vice versa: To kill one is to kill the other. Yeeran has just killed the obeah that was bound to a prince of the fae‚ and their fae captors mean to bring her back to their home to execute her—and to keep her companions in perpetual imprisonment. The leader of their captors is the fae Furi‚ sister to the dead prince. She’s viciously angry at Yeeran. Yeeran finds her attractive. Buy the Book Faebound Saara El-Arifi Buy Book icon-close Faebound Saara El-Arifi Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget Yeeran’s execution is forestalled when an obeah chooses to bond with her. This is unprecedented in fae history. Instead‚ she’s sentenced to a term of service in the fae military—if she can survive an initiation designed to demonstrate her mastery of fae magic. The people training her for that initiation include Furi‚ who still hates her‚ and Prince Nerad‚ the only other surviving heir to the fae throne. Meanwhile‚ Lettle is falling in love with Rayan (and is convinced that a prophecy means she’ll cause his death if she lets herself love him) while trying to gather information on fae society and the constraints of the fae’s imprisoning curse in order to escape. Only members of the royal family can prise open the barrier holding the fae in their underground kingdom‚ but if the royal family leaves‚ the kingdom will decay. Power‚ politics‚ and fraught personal relationships collide with the assassination of the fae queens and the revelation that Rayan is the secret child of the dead fae prince‚ and so eligible for kingship according to the magic that chooses fae rulers. There is much of interest in Faebound: the glimpses we get of elven society‚ with their perpetual war and elected leaders; fae society and the magics that bind the fae to their underground kingdom; Yeeran and Lettle’s dysfunctional but loyal family relationship; Yeeran’s taste in women and unshakeable (yet unearned) loyalty to her chieftain; the mystery of what the fae are in fact doing in the world above. And yet I do not see how Faebound ties the thread of its events together into a unified narrative. It is the first book in a series‚ but I have no sense for its narrative arc‚ or the potential direction of its sequel. Part of this is that our two viewpoint characters‚ Lettle and Yeeran‚ do not make many intentional decisions that much effect the events of the narrative: They’re central to events‚ in that several important things happen while they’re present‚ but they’re not moving most of these developments‚ and certainly not on purpose. Staggering around trying to figure out how things work is intensely relatable‚ I grant you‚ but not particularly satisfying. All the more so as more than one piece of significant information is hidden from both viewpoint characters and the reader until Faebound’s conclusion‚ and at least one of those pieces of information—that Rayan‚ too‚ has become bound to an obeah—is hidden by someone who is supposed to be their friend and ally for very slight reasons. (Although the characters are in their twenties and thirties‚ they frequently act like young‚ insecure teenagers‚ and fail to talk to each other about things of emotional import in favour of storing up grievances to blow up angrily at inopportune moments‚ or of ignoring each other’s reasonable concerns until a furious argument is the inevitable result‚ or of moping resentfully because they assume that someone they’ve turned down for a sexual relationship might—they’re just assuming‚ rather than talking about it—be having a sexual relationship with someone else.) And some connections are simply never drawn: Yeeran’s relationship with Furi combines antagonism with sexual tension and eventually leads to respect and also orgasms‚ but never leads Yeeran to re-examine her previous relationship with her old chieftain‚ or consider whether there are any problems associated with getting sexually involved with someone who holds a position of power relative to you—even though Furi occupies a similar position of authority‚ including over Yeeran‚ as her previous lover. I wanted to enjoy Faebound. And at points‚ I did: The prose is straightforward—stylistically‚ Samantha Shannon is a good comparison—the character relationships engaging‚ the setup interesting and full of potential. But Faebound’s characters seem to me more observers of the narrative than drivers of it‚ and they make too few connections in what they’re observing (and see too few thematic complexities) for me to feel satisfied with the experience. Should I soften this conclusion? Should I tell you that reading is a matter of taste‚ and that where one person sees a lack‚ another finds a perfect balance? But you know this already. I think Faebound is probably perfectly pitched to appeal to people who prefer their epic fantasy to be less dense and much more straightforward than I do‚ but just as unapologetically queer. [end-mark] Faebound is published by Del Rey. The post Unapologetically Queer: Saara El-Arifi’s <;i>;Faebound<;/i>; appeared first on Reactor.

Read the original post "How We Make $8000+ A Month Online from our Homestead" on A Modern Homestead. Last year we decided to stop living in the rat race of the corporate world and work towards making money online instead! As of 2019‚ we now make over $8‚000 a month online from our 8-acre homestead! How To Make Money Online You see‚ everything changed one day in January 2016‚ when my husband came... Read More The post "How We Make $8000+ A Month Online from our Homestead" appeared first on A Modern Homestead.

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Important information for anyone kissing frogs in search of a prince – if you’re hoping to start a family‚ measure the testicles first. The bigger the balls a glass frog is carrying‚ the less chance it will make a good father. The finding is consistent with evolutionary models‚ and for that matter‚ with evidence from some other species‚ but the pattern is not universal.Along with survival of the fittest‚ evolution is driven by sexual selection‚ among other processes. The animal kingdom has found a lot of different ways for this to operate‚ usually – although not always – among males. In some species‚ males woo females with bright colors or dances‚ in others they fight for dominance. Then there are the species where sperm competition is key to passing on one’s genes‚ usually identifiable by the size of the cojones. This has now been verified in neotropical glass frogs‚ with the findings appropriately published on Valentine’s Day. But there’s a price to pay for all that testicular endowment‚ and it comes when it’s time to raise the young.Many Centrolenidae‚ popularly known as glass frogs for their transparent abdominal skin‚ live in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America‚ when not presenting The Muppet Show. The females lay eggs on leaves hanging over water before moving on to greener ponds. The males hop in to fertilize after the female has gone‚ which means she exercises no choice over the father‚ and there can be lots of competition over a newly laid clutch.How this competition plays out varies by species‚ providing Anyelet Valencia-Aguillar of São Paulo State University and collaborators with an opportunity to explore strategies.Males of some glass frog species have spines sticking off their upper arms‚ which they use as weapons to fight over who gets to spread their seed. Others guard the eggs‚ both from rivals and sources of danger. Another form of competition – we suggest not reading the next bit while eating – is by maximizing sperm production so that if multiple males all jizz over the same set of eggs‚ those with the most sperm have the most tadpoles. Naturally‚ larger testicles are key to winning the sperm wars.This raises the question of the extent to which frogs manage an all-of-the-above strategy‚ or if there is a trade-off between approaches. An alternative idea is that growth in testicle size is driven not by competition‚ but by females producing larger clutch sizes. In this scenario‚ frogs need big balls simply to be able to handle a whole clutch.Rainforests lend themselves to species diversification‚ and glass frogs are no exception. Comparing characteristics of 37 species‚ the researchers concluded that testes were larger among species that (shall we say) eat‚ shoot‚ and leave‚ than those that stick around to keep the eggs safe.On the other hand‚ or upper arm‚ the authors also expected males with fighting spines would come less equipped down below‚ but found no statistically significant relationship.Apparently‚ fighting capacity only takes you so far in the frog world‚ and even members of species with arm spines need a backup strategy in the crown jewels. Nor were the males much larger than females among small-balled species‚ a pattern often seen with other animals such as great apes‚ where gorillas don’t need to engage in sperm competition‚ using their size and strength to repel rivals.“Paternal effort could lead to a decrease in gonadal investment because if a male invests more in clutch guarding‚ he will have less energy to invest in survival‚ growth‚ or gamete production‚” the authors note. However‚ this opens the question of why other strategies like fighting spines don’t show the same correlation.The authors speculate that testosterone drives both testicle size and fighting capacity‚ so these can go together‚ but the hormone is less compatible with parental care. However‚ this theory has yet to be tested. Alternatively‚ males that spend time looking after a clutch probably only fertilize one per mating season‚ rather than needing lots of sperm in the hope of happening upon several.Certainly‚ the hypothesis that testicle size was a response to larger clutches failed. Indeed‚ if anything‚ the opposite was the case: larger clutches were associated with more parental care but had no relation to testicle size.Frogs are far from the first type of animal in which such studies have been done. In bats‚ there is a trade-off between testicle and brain size. Like aircraft‚ flying species can’t carry too much luggage and a bat with big balls aboard must jettison brain weight to stay airborne. Those who invest in intellect probably live longer‚ but also may have better strategies for wooing mates. On the other hand‚ studies of parental care and testicular size have produced differing results depending on the branch of the animal family tree being explored.Either way‚ we definitely think someone should tell Miss Piggy to check under the…whatever it is Muppets have.The study is published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

In September 2022‚ NASA performed the first serious test of planetary protection in space. The DART mission was sent to smash into asteroid Dimorphos‚ the small moon of asteroid Didymos. It was the first time humanity moved a celestial body. DART stands for Double Asteroid Redirection Test‚ and as tests go it did very well. Maybe too well. Dimorphos might have experienced global deformation from the event.On September 26‚ 2022‚ DART fired its engines and plummeted into Dimorphos. The momentum that was delivered in such an impact was significant. DART was expected to shorten the period of the asteroid around Didymos by seven minutes. It actually shortened the period by over 33 minutes‚ and the asteroid also shed boulders that were seen flying off by several telescopes.The beyond-expectations results are great‚ but it is important to understand how it was possible to change the motion of this body this much. Researchers were able to produce a series of simulations about the properties of Dimorphos‚ and quite a dramatic picture is being painted.The bulk density of Dimorphos‚ and the number of boulders estimated to be on its surface and subsurface were estimated from the data collected by DART before the collision. Combined with the other data related to the collision‚ researchers estimate Dimorphos to be a rubble-pile object similar to asteroids Ryugu and Bennu‚ both of which were visited by sample retrieval missions.Didymos is a stony S-type asteroid‚ and it's thought that Dimorphos is the accumulation of material shed by Didymos as it spins. And for that reason‚ Dimorphos behaved in a very unusual way following the impact. Basically‚ the impact changed Dimorphos for good‚ but without leaving a crater behind.Dimorphos is about 160 meters (520 feet) across compared to 780 meters (2‚560 feet) for Didymos. The collision with DART at the high speed of 6.6 kilometers (4 miles) per second imparted enough energy to make the major changes discussed above. But the material that makes Dimorphos is so loose that the impact led to the whole asteroid getting rearranged. No crater was left because the whole asteroid changed around the impact site.This is extreme‚ but not unheard-of. When OSIRIS-REx touched Bennu to collect its sample‚ it sunk into the loosely held material that makes up the asteroid. It’s a space ball-pit in terms of consistency.The European Space Agency is expected to launch a follow-up mission called Hera that will go and study the new configuration of the system – the researchers are certain that Hera will find a reshaped asteroid rather than a crater. The name Dimorphos means "having two forms" in Greek‚ and it was chosen to represent the past and present orbit of the object. Now it has an even more apt meaning.The study is published in Nature Astronomy.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) of Australia has solved a century-old mystery‚ locating the wreckage of the steamship SS Nemesis. In July 1904‚ the SS Nemesis was transporting coal from Newcastle to Melbourne when it went missing in a violent storm somewhere off the New South Wales coast. Over the next few weeks‚ debris from the ship and several bodies of crewmembers washed up on Cronulla Beach.The last sighting of the ship was just off the coast of Wollongong‚ by the crew of another ship caught in the storm. But the oceans are big‚ and for over a century‚ the location of the 73-meter-long (240-foot) ship was not found.Then‚ in 2022‚ remote sensor company Subsea Professional Marine Services was searching for cargo containers lost off the coast of Sydney and spotted the wreckage 26 kilometers (16 miles) from the shore. Since then‚ Heritage New South Wales petitioned CSIRO to take a closer look at the wreck. First‚ the team mapped the seafloor using advanced multibeam echosounders‚ before inspecting it closer by dropping cameras down to the wreckage.         The team has now confirmed that the wreck is the SS Nemesis.“The wreck is located towards the edge of the continental shelf and is sitting upright on the seafloor but is showing significant damage and deterioration at both the bow and stern‚” CSIRO hydrographic surveyor Phil Vandenbossche explained in a press release. “Our visual inspection of the wreck using the drop camera showed some key structures were still intact and identifiable‚ including two of the ship’s anchors lying on the seafloor.”    Videos taken of the wreck will now be stitched together to create a 3D model of the SS Nemesis in its current condition‚ helping to investigate it further. Those with potential family connections to the 32 crewmembers who died during the shipwreck have been urged to contact Heritage New South Wales (NSW)."The wreck is one of many thousands of shipwrecks that lie along the Australian coastline‚ with many still to be found‚" Senior Maritime Archaeologist with Heritage NSW‚ Dr Brad Duncan‚ added. “This discovery and confirmation of the wreck’s identity not only provides significant archaeological information about the ship and wrecking event but‚ more importantly‚ may offer some solace to the families and friends of those who perished onboard as it provides a location at which they can mourn their loved ones."

On Friday‚ Intuitive Machines made history‚ becoming the first private company to make a soft landing on the Moon. The Odysseus lander‚ also known as IM-1‚ safely landed in the South Pole region of the Moon. As well as touching down nearer the lunar pole than any previous lander‚ the mission marks the first time the US has been to the Moon in over 50 years.Despite a number of landers making it to the surface in recent years‚ sending spacecraft to the Moon is still no easy task. Just ask US space company Astrobotic. Odysseus encountered its own problems too during the descent phase‚ failing to record its historic landing‚ before briefly losing communications with the Intuitive Machines team below. After a few minutes‚ contact was re-established‚ and the team was able to confirm a successful touchdown. It's good and bad news‚ with the lander believed to be lying on its side against a rock.An image taken by the Odysseus lander on descent.Image credit: Intuitive Machines/NASAFortunately‚ the lander should still be able to deliver the majority of its payloads‚ with the only payload potentially trapped (given that that side of the craft is pressed to the ground) being an art project. Overall‚ the landing has been a huge success."We did have a stable‚ controlled landing‚ and a safe‚ soft touchdown‚" Tim Crain‚ chief technology officer and co-founder‚ Intuitive Machines announced in in a NASA press conference on Friday.The team reports that the lander is alive and well‚ successfully charging using its solar chargers‚ and communicating with Earth. Even more excitingly‚ NASA instruments on board the craft operated successfully. This includes instruments used to monitor propellant on the way to the Moon‚ landing technology‚ and instruments that collected data on plume-surface interactions during the descent.“For the first time in more than half a century‚ America returned to the Moon. Congratulations to Intuitive Machines for placing the lunar lander Odysseus carrying NASA scientific instruments to a place no person or machine has gone before‚ the lunar South Pole‚” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. “This feat from Intuitive Machines‚ SpaceX‚ and NASA demonstrates the promise of American leadership in space and the power of commercial partnerships under NASA’s CLPS initiative. Further‚ this success opens the door for new voyages under Artemis to send astronauts to the Moon‚ then onward to Mars.”The team is now working fast‚ given the short operation time they have ahead of them‚ set by the approaching lunar night."Once the Sun sets on 'Oddie'‚ the batteries will attempt to keep the vehicle warm and alive but eventually it'll fall into a deep cold and then the electronics that we produce just won't survive the deep cold of lunar night‚" Cain added at the press conference‚ per the BBC. "And so‚ best case scenario‚ we're looking at another nine to 10 days [mission time]."Additional challenges await the team‚ including that some of the lander's antennas are pointed downwards‚ when ideally they would be pointing at Earth. Nevertheless‚ the mission marks a milestone‚ being the first private lander to land on the Moon‚ and the first time NASA has operated scientific instruments on the Moon in over 50 years.