'a no-win situation'

'He has to do it again'

Congratulations to Robbie Gould for one hell of a career

Alice In Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle‚ Washington‚ in 1987. The band is known for its distinctive style‚ which blends elements of heavy metal and grunge. Throughout its career‚ Alice In Chains has released several albums‚ many of which have achieved significant commercial success and critical acclaim. The band’s lineup has undergone changes over the years‚ with members joining‚ departing‚ and‚ in some cases‚ rejoining. Despite these changes and challenges‚ including a hiatus‚ Alice In Chains has continued to be a prominent force in the rock music scene‚ with their albums often charting highly and receiving The post Complete List Of Alice In Chains Band Members appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

The largest operational nuclear fusion reactor on Earth just produced its first plasma when it came online over the weekend in Japan. A tokamak-style nuclear fusion reactor‚ the JT-60SA used superconducting magnets to heat and contain a gas to 200 million Celsius‚ turning it into a form of matter called plasma. Nuclear fusion is billed […] The post Japan Powers Up World’s Largest Experimental Nuclear Reactor and Generates First Plasma appeared first on Good News Network.

I feel the last few years have seen a flourishing in fantasy novels that explicitly centre the Jewish experience in European history. Or perhaps it’s just that I’m encountering them more in the scattershot sampling of fantasy that I read. Either way‚ Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros (The City Beautiful‚ Bone Weaver) is a book concerned with Jewishness and survival in the face of hostility. It’s also a book that speaks strikingly to queer themes. Wrath Becomes Her sets itself in eastern Europe during WWII (near Vilnius‚ which was at different times immediately after WWI claimed by Poland‚ the Republic of Lithuania‚ and Soviet Russia before the German invasion). The Nazis are the current occupying force‚ and Jewish communities are caught between German genocide on one hand‚ local antisemitic pogroms on the other‚ and the background antisemitism of the Soviet partisans on a third. Wrath Becomes Her’s protagonist is Vera‚ who begins the book without a mouth but longing to speak: Vera is a golem‚ created by a Jewish father‚ Ezra‚ not out of holiness but through forbidden magic and the desecration of corpses. To Ezra‚ Vera is a tool to enact his vengeance on the Nazis who killed Chaya‚ his teenaged partisan daughter. To Vera‚ Ezra is a father-figure‚ an impression reinforced by the faint memories that swim up from the depths of her consciousness. She has some of Chaya’s memories—and‚ she soon learns‚ Ezra is incorporating pieces of Chaya into her creation: tongue‚ teeth‚ eyes‚ hair. Maybe even soul. When the Nazis raid the farm and barn where Ezra has been in hiding‚ bringing Vera into being‚ Vera flees. Chance brings her to Akiva‚ the last survivor of Chaya’s partisan band‚ who at first mistakes her for Chaya. Her true nature is a surprise to him‚ but he quickly accepts her as a comrade in his quest to kill as many Nazis as possible before he dies. Vera‚ on the other hand‚ wants to find Ezra at least as much as she wants to carry out the vengeance with which he has charged her‚ though her willingness to just kill every Nazi (or random local shooting at her) who gets in her way is refreshingly straightforward. Buy it Now While Vera is welcomed by most of the Jewish refugees hiding in the forest‚ at least one‚ a rabbi‚ tries to destroy her‚ insisting that she’s an abomination. But together with Akiva she makes her way to Vilnius (Vilna)‚ where the Nazis have been collecting Jewish mystical texts. Ezra’s not there‚ and Vera can’t kill any Nazis in the city without bringing retribution down on the heads of innocents. But one of the partisan sympathisers who shelters them along the way has a radio‚ and learns that a new German secret weapon is being shipped in by train. Vera can prevent the weapon’s delivery and seize it for the Jewish partisans. But when she and Akiva separate the train carriage that’s carrying the weapon from its engine and bring the boxes containing the weapon back to the safehouse‚ they discover that the boxes contain… clay. German clay. The Nazis are making their own golems‚ using tools and theories stolen from the Jewish people they’re murdering en masse‚ because the ordinary technologies of war just aren’t enough for their destructive projects. Vera can infiltrate Trakkai Castle‚ where the boxes were bound‚ and put a stop to it. But that’s where they’re making Nazi golems‚ at least one of which is an inhuman monster even worse than the human ones‚ because he’s harder to stop. I confess I find it difficult to discuss novels set against a backdrop of genocide‚ and even more so when the mass killing of civilians and the rhetoric of elimination dominates the news from all angles. It seems the Holocaust‚ largest of history’s many pogroms‚ is doomed to remain of terrible relevance. Polydoros isn’t shy about the kinds of violence that attended that project in Europe’s eastern borderlands‚ nor is he shy about the species of hope and resignation‚ despair and determination‚ that this violence provokes in its victims and its survivors. Vera’s experience of her embodiment—her creation at Ezra’s hands‚ her desperation to speak‚ her desire to shape herself‚ her desire to be perceived as a person—strike me as open to very queer and trans readings. As does her concern that the circumstances of her creation‚ out of forbidden magic and parts of a dead girl‚ might somehow taint her‚ or make her very existence somehow an abomination to other people. (Every queer person over a certain age has experienced a frisson of that kind of fear.) I think I should leave trans writers to discuss the potential trans readings‚ however. I would be interested in reading such a discussion‚ but I lack the practical or theoretical grounding to participate in one. Structurally and in terms of its narrative progression‚ Wrath Becomes Her reminds me very much of a video game. (This is not a criticism: The narrative achievements of the video game form are their own kind of art‚ and the form as a whole seems to have finally matured into a widespread willingness to experiment.) Wrath Becomes Her as a narrative has several discrete goal-oriented sequences: Vera’s initial escape from the Nazi raid‚ her discovery of Akiva and their fraught arrival at the forest camp‚ their journey together with a young woman to the safehouse outside Vilna‚ their infiltration of the Vilna ghetto‚ their exfiltration of Vilna‚ their train raid‚ Vera’s infiltration of Trakkai Castle‚ her showdown with the Nazi golem‚ and even‚ in the end‚ Akiva’s fate remind me enduringly of the kind of video game missions that are to me exemplified by the Sniper Elite franchise (albeit here with rather more sensitivity and less grotesque celebration of bullet-driven death). They’re narrative vignettes organised around a goal‚ during which the protagonist explores a different environment‚ where most of the characters encountered are instrumental to the goal or mission‚ rather than having a lasting effect on the protagonist. This gives Wrath Becomes Her‚ despite the horrors of its setting‚ more of the air of an action-adventure story than it would otherwise possess. Wrath Becomes Her is a slick‚ fast-paced and effective wartime adventure. If I would’ve preferred something a little less slick‚ with a little less of the Nazis doing magic and a little more of the people building communities in the face of terrible circumstances‚ that’s on me‚ not on Polydoros. Vera is a compelling character‚ and on the whole‚ the novel takes an interesting approach to her revenge-quest. Wrath Becomes Her is published by Inkyard Press. Liz Bourke is a cranky queer person who reads books. She holds a Ph.D in Classics from Trinity College‚ Dublin. Her first book‚ Sleeping With Monsters‚ a collection of reviews and criticism‚ was published in 2017 by Aqueduct Press. It was a finalist for the 2018 Locus Awards and was nominated for a 2018 Hugo Award in Best Related Work. She was a finalist for the inaugural 2020 Ignyte Critic Award‚ and has also been a finalist for the BSFA nonfiction award. She lives in Ireland with an insomniac toddler‚ her wife‚ and their two very put-upon cats.

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty‚ dirty‚ wet hole‚ filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell‚ nor yet a dry‚ bare‚ sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole‚ and that means comfort.” How many of us can recite this line from memory? I admit‚ I get tripped up in the details‚ but the first sentence is gold‚ and the image it conjures up is even better. For me‚ it’s one part Peter Jackson‚ one part Rankin/Bass‚ one part the way I imagined a hobbit-hole before I’d seen any movies. Tidy. Cozy. Warm. Wood-lined. Part of a tree‚ part of the earth‚ close to all the things I cared so fiercely about when I was a small kid hearing The Hobbit read aloud for the first time. I have been reading a book about a house—of course‚ a book about a house is never just a book about a house—and it has left me feeling a little scraped and raw. It’s the kind of book that starts out feeling like a rollicking adventure and then burns away layers until you remember that every house has seen (or will see) things good and bad‚ seen life and death and the little moments and the large. Fictional houses can seem like havens because we only get to spend a little bit of time with them. But that time‚ however brief‚ can be hugely influential. For me‚ it didn’t start with hobbit-holes. It started with The Wind in the Willows—specifically‚ the edition illustrated by Michael Hague‚ in which everything is rich and saturated and looks as welcoming and comfortable as a well-worn velvet sofa. I haven’t even seen a copy of this book in years and I can still see Mole and Badger and Rat and the rest; I am still shocked that I have not yet cross-stitched the words “Believe me‚ my young friend‚ there is nothing—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats” and hung them on the wall. (Do I regularly mess about in boats? No. Did I when I was small? Yes‚ whenever given the opportunity.) The warrens and homes of The Wind in the Willows were cluttered‚ but perfectly so. Things had places they were meant to go. Wood furniture‚ things hanging from the rafters‚ large tables and roaring fireplaces—put them all in my house. (Some may have loved Toad Hall more‚ but to a kid‚ it was the place you’d be nervous about breaking something. No‚ it’s a den for me.) And a den is very like a hobbit-hole‚ in some ways. Cozy‚ warm‚ practical‚ built for meals and guests. When I got a little older‚ though‚ I discovered the other place in Middle-earth that I desperately wanted to live: Lothlórien. Living in the trees! I had never even heard of Swiss Family Robinson‚ yet was obsessed with treehouses‚ with the idea of being up‚ up‚ up among the secret branches‚ the ones that in normal trees were too flimsy to hold much weight. Magic trees were clearly different. But the logistics didn’t really matter. It was just the idea of this golden magical wood that somehow‚ wise and clever like the elves‚ had everything a person could need. I imagined it sort of like the forest in my childhood copy of The Twelve Dancing Princesses‚ all golden and beautifully impractical. I never got around to imagining the elves’ actual homes. Just the trees. Trees that were home—no matter how distant Middle-earth seemed‚ that I understood. In elementary and middle school‚ I encountered a lot of houses that were both basic and beyond my understanding. My idea of New York City was a mash-up of contrasts: the apartments of All-of-a-Kind Family (five sisters in one room!); the expansive‚ incredible museum in From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler; the magical New York in So You Want to Be a Wizard. I loved The Westing Game and had absolutely no idea how to imagine an “apartment house.” I knew it was on a lake‚ but I had no idea how big a lake could be. I imagined a sort of tower that was also a house‚ a hotel that had house-like characteristics. I can still almost see how wrong I was. And then there was the concept of the beach house. Some of you may have met this concept in a normal sort of way: by being in one. I discovered it in William Sleator’s Interstellar Pig‚ in which a kid on vacation at the beach meets some very interesting neighbors who are playing an even more intriguing board game. Beach houses—the real things—never lived up to my youthful imaginings. Fantasy is full of homes that a reader may or may not imagine as the author saw them. The house in The Forgotten Beasts of Eld‚ which I envisioned full of libraries and animals‚ a mountain house that was isolated but comforting‚ cozy and stern at once. The weyrs of Anne McCaffreys’ dragonriders—how did we picture those? What did they look like? Why does my brain hold onto a single image of a hallway from a Melanie Rawn book when I can’t remember which book‚ or why that location might be important? Buy it Now Somewhere in all of our heads is an utterly feat of impossible architecture‚ all of these places connected‚ like an M.C. Escher drawing of towers and forests and clean stone walls. Where I wanted to live as a teen‚ though‚ was slightly simpler: a house that was a cross between the Addams Family house and something you’d find in an Edward Gorey drawing. There is no other explanation for how old Victorians and their ilk danced into my head and settled there. They are not hobbit-holes (though you could make one just as cozy). They are not tree-forts or railroad apartments. But they are still my brain’s highest idea of a perfect house—at least of the kind a person can have. (Of the magic kind‚ there is nothing better than Howl’s castle.) There’s probably a lineup of houses in your head‚ too. They aren’t always easy to access; I had to think more than I expected about where I had found all my ideas about home and comfort and an ideal use of space. (And this is only what lodged in my psyche early; there’s a whole other list of houses and castles and dens from my more recent years of reading.) Like so many other things in books‚ these concepts seep in when you aren’t looking for them. A book is a story about how even the smallest of us can have important roles to play‚ but it’s also a story about what matters to different people and where they feel safe. How to live comfortably‚ and how that can mean so many different things. (Let us not forget the raft people of Earthsea!) Some want to be close to the earth. Some want to peer into the distance from the tops of trees. And some make mountain homes far up in the cold north that are still the warmest places of all. What we read shapes how we see the world‚ what leaps out and what fades back—and colors how we want to live in it. What does your magical architecture look like? Originally published September 2022 Molly Templeton lives and writes in Oregon‚ and spends as much time as possible in the woods. Sometimes she talks about books on Twitter.

Need some style? Then be sure to try out the BlackCell skins and content! Here is how to unlock the Abolisher Operator in Modern Warfare 3 Season 1. Modern Warfare 3: How to Unlock the Abolisher Operator in Season 1 There’s a lot of new content available for you to collect in Modern Warfare 3 Season 1. The immense update to Warzone‚ new game modes‚ new maps‚ and‚ of course‚ new Operators. Along with Nolan and Dokkaebi‚ a new Operator is coming from the exclusive BlackCell premium content. You guessed‚ we are talking about the Abolisher Operator‚ who looks pretty decent and menacing if you ask me. Just like with Nolan and Dokkaebi‚ the Abolisher took the main stage during the Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 launch trailer and he is part of the BlackCell Battle Pass. As you can guess‚ this means that you will have to purchase the BlackCell Battle Pass for you to use the Abolisher Operator in Modern Warfare 3. Now‚ what does this mean exactly? Well‚ while the base Ba...

Since LEGO Fortnite is directly tied to Fortnite‚ do we get Fortnite Battle Pass XP through LEGO Fortnite? Find out in this article. Does LEGO Fortnite reward Fortnite Battle Pass XP? Unfortunately‚ currently‚ there’s no way to earn Fortnite Battle Pass XP through LEGO Fortnite. If that were the case‚ people would likely complete their entire Fortnite Battle Pass through LEGO Fortnite since it’s an easier experience than Fortnite’s Battle Royale. Related: How does Hunger work in LEGO Fortnite Explained The sad truth about LEGO Fortnite is there aren’t any quests to complete or story beats to follow at all. I thought the experience would be loosely tied together with some amount of quests that ultimately lead you to a final boss‚ but that doesn’t exist here. Instead‚ you have Cuddle Team Leader‚ who gives you a tutorial on how to play the game. Thankfully‚ LEGO Fortnite is very user-friendly‚ and learning the ropes d...

If you want to befriend EVE and continue the Rift in Time story‚ you’ll want to know how to finish The Flying Metal Nuisance quest in Disney Dreamlight Valley. While playing through the main quest for the Rift in Time DLC‚ you’ll soon come across this quest that has Jafar ask that you deal with this ‘metal nuisance’. Here’s how to complete it. Disney Dreamlight Valley: The Flying Metal Nuisance quest guide Your first step is to actually find this ‘flying metal nuisance’‚ who just so happens to be EVE from WALL-E. Jafar upgrades your Pickaxe so it can break Copper‚ which will come in handy. Head to the western side of Ancient’s Landing where the wooden bridge is located‚ and break the Copper rocks blocking your way. Past there you should see EVE floating. Screenshot: PC Invasion Speak with EVE‚ then head back to Jafar at any Hologram Station without the Royal Hourglass you’re trying to get fro...