Fun Stuff Online

Battle Isle

2024-10-02T18:26:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the island, where dreams collide,

Fortresses rise, while players hide.

Palm trees sway in the coastal breeze,

But danger’s lurking, beneath the seas.

Loot chests gleam in the sun's bright glow,

Weapons and shields, they call below.

The city beyond, with towering spires,

Whispers of victory, fueling fires.

On stilted homes, we set our plan,

Sniper's nest or an ambush span.

Build to the skies, break through the walls,

Only the brave will answer the calls.

Boats sail in, with teams ready to fight,

Until the storm shrinks into twilight.

One by one, the island claims,

This is the rhythm of Fortnite games.

Wolverine's Claws

Guardians of the Forgotten Shore

2024-09-14T17:54:00.000-05:00

Beneath the storm’s electric glow,

Where chests are buried deep below,

Three boats dock near the battle’s edge,

Guardians sworn to keep their pledge.

The island stands in mystery,

With builds and traps from history.

Its cliffs rise high, the loot is rare—

A final circle in the air.

They glide in silence, gliders wide,

The storm creeps close, but they don’t hide.

Their squad, united, knows the score:

Defend this land, claim one win more.

The tower built on distant ground,

A sniper scopes without a sound.

The map is theirs, the storm is tight—

Guardians prepared to fight.

In every round, they stand their guard,

To keep this island battle-scarred.

Legends rise with every game,

The guardians forge victory’s flame.

Heroes of the Island

4 Best Magic The Gathering Theme Decks of 2023

2023-03-07T15:48:00.001-06:00

No time for deckbuilding? No problem – come with us as we drop you straight into your Magic: The Gathering duel with the best MTG Theme Decks!

There’s numerous reasons why a player may opt to pick up a Theme Deck instead of building their own deck from the pool of cards they own.

Time can certainly be an issue, but sometimes you may have a strategy or even just a Mana type that your current card collection doesn’t cover as well as you’d like.

Perhaps you want to give a new set’s mechanics or general story a look before taking the plunge with boosters (of course, when you’re ready to go further you can check out our best MTG Booster Boxes list!).

In any case, Theme Decks are a great way to get playing with a tested, pre-constructed deck that won’t necessarily win you any tournaments, but will be able to hold its own in many duels.

Though not always built for beginners, Theme Decks also provide a good way to get started for newer players with a bit of experience – and they can learn the intricacies of their deck as they continue to play.

There’s numerous formats of Magic: The Gathering that are currently popular, but we’ve opted to keep it simple and check out the currently available Theme Decks for the Pioneer format of the game.

Pioneer is essentially the same as Standard, but cards remain legal in the format even when they rotate out of Tournament legal play – so it’s perfect for casual games with friends, though the decks themselves aren’t necessarily geared towards new players.

Pioneer decks are designed to be a bit more competitive than the usual Standard Theme Decks, with some advanced tactics often required – and provide a great base to build from.

Especially as they all contain sideboards of 15 cards to experiment with – and tokens too!

So we’ve taken a look at the four most recently released Pioneer Theme Decks for this list.

Which are the best though?

Come with us, as we check out the best MTG Theme Decks!

1. Izzet Phoenix (Blue-Red)

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Without a doubt the big star of the latest Pioneer Theme Decks, Izzet Phoenix packs a real punch – and it features a number of Rare and Mythical Rare cards that make this particular Theme Deck incredibly good value for money.

Our favourite card – though not necessarily the ‘best’, which of course is a matter of opinion – in the Theme Deck is Arclight Phoenix.

This creature has Flying and Haste, making it an immediate threat as soon as it’s summoned – but the real kicker is that you can bring it back from your Graveyard at the beginning of your combat step as long as you’ve played three or more Instant and Sorcery spells on your turn.

Given that Arclight Phoenix has Haste, this means that you can resurrect it and have it immediately attack for three points of damage!

Another creature – Crackling Drake – draws power from the number of Instant and Sorcery cards in exile and in your Graveyard.

Given that both Arclight Phoenix and Crackling Drake rely on Instant and Sorcery cards, it’s great that this Theme Deck is absolutely loaded with them – and they’re pretty useful on their own, even without the back up of the few creatures in the deck!

Naturally, if you do grab yourself an MTG Theme Deck, you’ll want to make sure your cards are well looked after – so check out our best Magic: The Gathering sleeves list!

2. Gruul Stompy (Red-Green)

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I’m a sucker for big creatures in MTG – and Gruul Stompy is absolutely loaded with them!

Creatures such as Bonecrusher Giant – which can attack and use its Stomp ability to deal further damage as an Instant – and Glorybringer, which has Flying, Haste and even a damaging Exert power, will definitely intimidate your opponent.

Lovestruck Beast, Questing Beast and Scavenging Ooze bring even more abilities – and attack power – to the table, with classic cards such as Elvish Mystic functioning as either fodder or Mana acceleration too!

Instants like Collected Company even bring some of those creatures straight onto the battlefield, allowing this MTG Theme Deck to really stomp your opponent into the ground.

Perhaps best of all is the inclusion of two Chandra, Torch of Defiance cards – bringing Legendary Planeswalker Chandra Nalaar to your side, with lots of bonuses for you to take advantage of.

You may well need to have a good non-slip surface to take your MTG Theme Deck into battle on – so take a look at our recommendations for Magic: The Gathering Play Mats!

3. Orzhov Humans (White-Black)

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Despite being filled with Human Creature cards – as is probably obvious from the name of this particular MTG Theme Deck – the most interesting inclusions in Orzhov Humans are the unusual Land cards.

Caves of Koilos, Unclaimed Territoy and Concealed Courtyard all bring interesting effects and a choice of Mana to tap too. Watch out for shock Land Godless Shrine though.

Land card Mutavault can even become a creature too!

That’s not to say that the Humans are slouches though. Several of them – along with Enchantments such as Rally the Ranks – allow you to boost their base Power and Toughness, making the Human army included in Orzhov Humans a lot more formidable than they may first appear!

Also worth highlighting is Bloodchief’s Thirst, which is a great way of dispatching annoying enemies – if you pay the Kicker cost to play the card, it’ll cope with anything it’s thrown at too.

You may well need a storage solution for your MTG Theme Deck – so Planeswalk over to our MTG Deck Boxes list for our recommendations!

4. Dimir Control (Blue-Black)

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Lastly, our least favourite of the Pioneer MTG Theme Decks – though that’s not to say that it’s bad – and, if control decks are your preferred strategy, you’re likely to find this one pretty appealing!

Also, it basically has the MTG version of Sharknado included – surely that’s worth something, right?

That’s correct – Dimir Control has the Shark Typhoon card, which hilariously spits Shark Creature Tokens (with Flying, of course!) onto the battlefield.

Just like Orzhov Humans, there’s some unusual and often powerful Land cards too – Temple of Deceit, Drowned Catacomb, Field of Ruin and Watery Grave – along with a Legendary Planeswalker: Narset, Parter of Veils.

Plenty of Instants make up the Dimir Control deck, giving you the ability to control the narrative as long as you have the Land to pay for them.

It may not be the best of a particularly strong bunch of MTG Theme Decks, but Dimir Control is a deck that’s well worth checking out if you really want to annoy a well organised opponent!

Are more Theme Decks due this year? Check out our upcoming MTG sets article for more information!

The post 4 Best Magic The Gathering Theme Decks of 2023 appeared first on Retro Dodo.

* This article was originally published here

TIAA’s Rhythmic Ad Urges Black Americans to Take Steps Toward Retiring Confidently

2023-03-07T13:45:00.001-06:00

Retirement equity fund TIAA and The Martin Agency are taking bold steps--literally--to address the massive financial disparity plaguing Black Americans pondering retirement. The financial services firm and its AOR have launched "Stepping Further," the latest initiative in its #RetireInequality campaign, to draw attention to a sobering stat: 54% of Black Americans currently do not have...

* This article was originally published here

This cordyceps fungus computer is a bit too 'Last of Us' for comfort

2023-03-07T13:03:00.001-06:00

Computational cordyceps. Fungus-powered logic functions. No, not a cynical Last of Us franchising spin off but the actual direction of research at the aptly titled Unconventional Computing Laboratory, part of the University of the West of England in Bristol, UK. And only slightly less scary than a cordyceps fungus brain monster.

Popular Science (via Tom's Hardware) has a piece on the work being done by lab lead Professor Andrew Adamatzky and his colleagues. Author of such works as The Science of Slime Mould, which argues that slime moulds perform complex computations that prove "the absence of a brain does not exclude an amorphous living creature from intelligence," Adamatzky and co. are reportedly working on actual computers composed, in part, of fungus.

"I mix mycelium cultures with hemp or with wood shavings, and then place it in closed plastic boxes and allow the mycelium to colonize the substrate, so everything then looks white," explains Andrew Adamatzky. "Then we insert electrodes and record the electrical activity of the mycelium. So, through the stimulation, it becomes electrical activity, and then we get the response."

In terms of turning that into a working computer, it goes something like this. In animal brains, neurons use electrical spikes to communicate signals, something that can be replicated when constructing artificial neural networks. Mycelium has a similar ability to create electrical spikes.

In simple terms, the presence or absence of a spike represents the ones and zeros of binary code. What's more, when mycelium are stimulated at two separate points, the conductivity increases, and they communicate faster and more reliably, effectively forming memory.

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Adamatzky says mycelium with different geometries can compute different functions, allowing something approaching an actual computer to be built.

"Right now it's just feasibility studies. We're just demonstrating that it's possible to implement computation, and it's possible to implement basic logical circuits and basic electronic circuits with mycelium," Adamatzky says. "In the future, we can grow more advanced mycelium computers and control devices."

Actually, Adamatzky goes further, even, than the idea of a fungal computer. "It's possible to implement neuromorphic circuits. We can say I'm planning to make a brain from mushrooms," he says.

So far, the lab has worked with oyster fungi, ghost fungi, bracket fungi, Enoki fungi, split gill fungi, and last but not least, yup you guessed it, caterpillar fungi, otherwise known as Cordyceps militari and of the same genus as the fungi from The Last of Us.

How much of this is truly plausible is beyond our pay grade. Certainly, some of the images in the article contributed by Adamatzky are whimsical to say the least. The motherboard sprinkled with mushroom shavings is silly enough to make the whole enterprise suspicious.

But on the basis of Adamatzky's extensive academic publications on the matter, we'll take it at face value for now. And we will, of course, welcome our new fungal overlords, as and when they arrive.

* This article was originally published here

Tuesday Quiz 7.3.23

2023-03-07T08:33:00.001-06:00

White to play

* This article was originally published here

JOKER: THE MAN WHO STOPPED LAUGHING #6 Review

2023-03-07T08:18:00.001-06:00

Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #6 is published by DC Comics, written by Matthew Rosenberg and illustrated by Lee Bermejo and Carmine Di Giandomenico.

Issue #6 is available 7th March 2023 either directly from DC Comics online or from your local comic book store, digital copies will be available to download from the usual content providers.

Synopsis

The Joker’s enjoying the sunny, warm weather of Los Angeles so much that he’s decided to stay… and get involved in local politics! Kate Spencer’s fists might have something to say about that, though!

Review

In this issue we catch up with Hollywood’s latest resident, The Joker as he begins to make himself at home in the luxurious surroundings in the only way he knows how to by causing absolute carnage. Joker’s new life is beginning to get considerably darker as he begins to become comfortable in his new surroundings but it’s time to move on and terrorise new surroundings as the hunt to find Joker is on maybe it’s best to head for the hills while he still can and leave the streets of LA to burn, a certain vigilante has other ideas and manages to head him off, what does this now mean for Joker?

So far I am really enjoying this The Man Who Stopped Laughing series it’s gritty rawness hitting new levels for a story that we thought we already knew, Matthew Rosenberg adds a new level of darkness to a story that was always one of the darkest on the DC roster. As the issues go by the story begins to gather pace and building up to an explosive ending. The book gives you everything you would want from a comic, suspense, intrigue and plenty of DC style action.

Lee Bermejo and Carmine Di Giandomenico combine to create a comic that is full of graphic detail and vibrant tones that brings the darkness of the story to life, you do come to expect a certain type of darkness when it comes to a Joker story but this one feels different with a more gritty edge.

The main cover captures the very essence of the Joker, Lee Bermejo brings a chilling look to Joker that lays the foundations to what else the book has in store.

Verdict

A book that is starting to expand into a chilling tale as Joker’s plans come to fruition. The excitement of what is to come is at an all time high, this series is definitely one not to be missed.

The post JOKER: THE MAN WHO STOPPED LAUGHING #6 Review appeared first on Get Your Comic On.

* This article was originally published here

Razer’s Iskur XL gaming chair just got a big price cut

2023-03-07T08:15:00.001-06:00

Get more comfortable while playing video games by purchasing the Razer Iskur XL gaming chair, which is currently available with a $130 discount from Amazon.

* This article was originally published here

Hogwarts Legacy: Invisibility Potion Guide - How to Get the Recipe and Ingredients

2023-03-07T08:12:00.001-06:00

Stealth is an important part of Hogwarts Legacy gameplay, and players can use the Invisibility Potion to enhance this aspect of the game greatly. While the standard Disillusionment Charm will work in most situations, there are some encounters that call for a more foolproof method of remaining undetected. This is where the Invisibility Potion comes in handy.

* This article was originally published here

PS Plus Essential Free Games for March 2023 Available Now

2023-03-07T08:06:00.001-06:00

PS Plus Essential free games for March 2023 have begun rolling out worldwide. The line-up is already available in Asia and Europe, but folks in North and South America will have to wait a little while longer.

All PS Plus Essential free games – March 2023

As a reminder, players will get the following games this month:

Battlefield 2042
Minecraft Dungeons
Code Vein

The aforementioned games are for players to keep as long as they have an active PS Plus membership (any tier).

Players in the Americas should expect the games to become available 10 am ET/7 am PT.

Battlefield 2042 just received a small update ahead of its PS Plus release. DICE has said that the hotfix has been rolled out for PS4 and PS5 players to resolve an issue with the Prologue experience.

A small hotfix is now going live for PlayStation 4/5 players to resolve an issue with the prologue experience. pic.twitter.com/MeT0ZnbNr6

— Battlefield Comms (@BattlefieldComm) March 7, 2023

Here’s your monthly warning not to claim the games above via the PS Plus Extra and Premium catalogs, should they become part of them. Overriding your PS Plus Essential games licenses means you will eventually lose access to these games forever when they exit Extra and Premium.

The post PS Plus Essential Free Games for March 2023 Available Now appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

* This article was originally published here

Tarkov publicly shames 6,700 'scum of the earth' cheaters by publishing their nicknames after banning them

2023-03-07T07:59:00.001-06:00

Tarkov developer Battlestate Games is getting medieval with the game's cheaters. Not content with merely banning rogue players who make use of things like wallhacks and aimbots, the studio is now shaming them publicly, too. Techcrunch reports that Battlestate has banned 6,700 cheaters from Tarkov in the last week, and it's published every single one of their nicknames in an easy-to-read spreadsheet.

Publishing the cheaters' names is meant to serve a dual purpose, both shaming the cheaters in a public space and showing non-cheaters that Battlestate is taking action. "We want honest players to see the nicknames of cheaters," a Battlestate spokesperson told Techcrunch, in order to "know that justice has been served". It's a practice that the studio intends to make a habit of, and there are already numerous spreadsheets filled with cheaters' names on the company's Twitter.

Battlestate has published several spreadsheets like this, and more than a few of them give you an opportunity for a loooong scroll. (Image credit: Battlestate Games)

Battlestate has strong opinions about players who use cheats in its game. It was a little over a week ago that company COO Nikita Buyanov took to Reddit to decry the actions of "Hackers, cheaters and other related scum of the earth," encouraging players to "report all these bastards". Of course, it wasn't long before some commenters pointed out that—as emotive as its statement was—Battlestate has made these kinds of posts before, and cheaters are still ruining games for players. Perhaps Battlestate wants to convince the doubters it means business by mounting 6,700 proverbial heads on spikes?

The community has regarded the move with sceptical eye so far. While some players have revelled in the public display of justice—a user named Epic_Tea summed up their mood with a post that just read "More!! Ban them all!"—far more are worried that the bans are like "trying to mop the rain," in the words of a player called JangoDarkSaber. One much-upvoted post on the game's subreddit, from SeparateAddress9070, imagines a follow-up announcement from Battlestate reading "In other news, we had record sales of new accounts this weekend!" as the cheaters bought their way back into the game.

So Battlestate has a lot of work ahead of it if it wants to convince the community that it's serious about stamping about cheaters. Still, this isn't exactly a bad way to go about doing that, and I imagine there are more than a few players scanning the published ban lists to see if the devs caught that one guy who personally victimised them. I admit, I'd probably feel a little vindication if I spotted the name of someone who managed to miraculously headshot me through a solid wall in the latest wave of bans.

* This article was originally published here

Instagram: How to Use the Women’s History Month Chat Theme

2023-03-07T07:45:00.001-06:00

To celebrate Women's History Month in March, Instagram released a "Women's History Month" chat theme that adds shades of pink and orange to a conversation's background. This theme is called "Power of Us" by Sarah Cliff. Our guide will show you how to use the Women's History Month chat theme in the Instagram mobile application....

* This article was originally published here

Clippings

2023-03-07T07:25:00.001-06:00

Start a box or folder for clippings of interesting articles, pictures, or notes. Any time you see something in a magazine or newspaper that sparks your imagination, tear it out and put it in your box. If you can't tear it out, take a photo or make a little sketch and put that in your box instead.

Whenever you need inspiration for something, dig through your box of clippings for ideas that you can apply to your current project. If you have the space, you could pin the clippings up on the wall instead of storing them in a box. This way, you can be reminded of an idea whenever you walk by the wall.

From time to time, go through your clippings and get rid of ideas that are out of date or no longer interest you.
More Creativity Articles...

* This article was originally published here

THOR ANNUAL #18 (1993)

2023-03-07T07:21:00.003-06:00

Ron Marz writes all parts of this annual. It’s basically an old Tales of Asgard, but it’s got some very cool stylized art that looks a lot like Mike Mignola.

I liked it!

I didn’t like most 1993 annuals.

The new character introduced in this one is Hrinmeer The Flame. He does get used a few times more, but not much.

* This article was originally published here

The Finals closed beta – start date & how to sign up

2023-03-07T07:21:00.001-06:00

A new free-to-play first-person-shooter is looking to make a name for itself in the form of The Finals from Embark Studios.

Taking the form of a futuristic combat gameshow, The Finals sets itself apart in several ways; including promising out and out destruction of its environments meaning you’ll be fighting on an ever changing battlefield to try and secure victory for your team.

NOW READ: Best graphics card for 4K gaming 2023 – budget, 60fps, 144fps option

Having spent some time in Alpha, the game is now ready to enter beta, and welcome more gamers wanting to give this action-packed shooter a go for themselves.

If you want to be among them, then you’re in the right place – here’s what you need to know to get in.

The Finals closed beta – start date & predicted start time

The Finals closed beta kicks off from Tuesday, March 7 2023. It’ll run for two weeks, which means it should end on Tuesday, March 21 2023.

While an exact start time hasn’t been announced – we predict the beta to kick off around 6pm UK time – but keep an eye on the game’s official Twitter account in case they go live early.

The Finals closed beta – how to sign up

Your best bet of getting into the closed beta of The Finals is to sign up via the game’s Steam page. Head there, login to Steam, scroll down to ‘Join the The Finals Playtest’ and then click the ‘Request Access’ button.

Then, it’s a case of waiting by your emails – or Steam client – and you’ll get a notification when the developer is letting more people into the beta.

The team behind The Finals include some veteran FPS developers. Embark was founded in 2018 by former members of DICE who worked on both Battlefield and the Battlefront games – including Patrick Soderlund.

The team are also working on Arc Raiders – which was originally set to come out before this project, until August of last year. That’s still on the way, and expected later in 2023.

The Finals will be free to play on PC when it launches, although a release date has not yet been set.

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Videogamer.com is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API / Last updated on 2023-02-28

The post The Finals closed beta – start date & how to sign up appeared first on VideoGamer.com.

* This article was originally published here

Breath of the Wild: How to Find & Upgrade The Zora Set

2023-03-07T07:09:00.001-06:00

Players won't be able to dive underwater in Breath of the Wild, but they can equip Link with different armor and accessories to increase swimming speed. If they're following BotW's main story, they'll get the Zora Armor without too much trouble. However, they'll need to put in some effort for the Zora Helm and Zora Greaves.

* This article was originally published here

Kaiju Universe codes (March 2023)

2023-03-07T07:06:00.001-06:00

We’ve tested all the available Kaiju Universe codes and compiled all the working ones in the list below. So, if you have been looking for the latest codes, your search ends here. We will also regularly update this list with new codes as and when the developers share them, so make sure to bookmark this page and check back often to get your hands on the latest offering. Before jumping into our list of Kaiju Universe codes, if you play other Roblox games, check out Strongman Simulator codes that will get you massive boosts, and Factory Simulator codes. There are, of course, other similar articles that you can take a look at, but we will leave you to search for them. ... [MORE]

* This article was originally published here

Golf Clash to tee off with PGA Tour courses in EA Games partnership

2023-03-07T07:03:00.001-06:00

Iconic golf courses like TPC Sawgrass are coming to mobile, thanks to a new Golf Clash PGA Tour partnership bringing the world of professional putting and driving to life. The new agreement, also involving PGA Tour partner EA Games, is set to bring not only some of the most famous courses but the much-anticipated competitions too, starting out with The Players tournament.

While Golf Clash is a popular enough title already, with over 100 million lifetime downloads, the new deal with the PGA Tour and EA promises to put a spotlight on the casual golf game once again. I say casual, things are probably going to start getting a lot less casual with the introduction of tournaments like The Players at TPC Sawgrass, but with special in-game rewards on the line, it’s well worth testing yourself by teeing off against the rest.

If you want to take part in the inaugural Golf Clash PGA Tour event, The Players tournament takes place on March 9-10, with those talented enough to advance coming back for the final day on March 11. Outside of the main competition, there’s also a Golden Shot event for the challenging 17th hole at Sawgrass, with success earning you a course-affiliate ball that happens to be great for leaping over the water.

Continue reading Golf Clash to tee off with PGA Tour courses in EA Games partnership

Twitter’s Website Was Down With API Access Errors In The Longest Outage Of Elon Musk Era

2023-03-07T06:45:00.001-06:00

Update 9;48 Twitter’s services appear to be restored

Twitter’s website was down for about an hour this morning. Attempting to access the home page of Twitter.com returned an error suggesting that “your current API plan does not include access to this endpoint.” The Twitter app, however, appeared to be mostly functioning, though with some errors: all links failed, with the same error message.

The outage-tracking website downforeveryoneorjustme says the problems began before 9AM Pacific this morning.

Twitter has gone down with an error message indicating that the issue is API access.

John Koetsier

Twitter recently closed API access for multiple companies using it to send and read tweets. It’s unclear at this point if the current problem is related. Twitter also cut 10% of its workforce, possibly related to Esther Crawford (prominent product leader), who famously supported the many Elon Musk changes.

Twitter’s service has been surprisingly robust as the company has cut thousands of workers. That’s something that former GitHub CTO Jason Warner wasn’t surprised by.

“Twitter — the service — can suffer lots and lots and lots of issues and it will still be a useful/amusing service for many,” he said recently. “It is not the same as a mission critical product.”

The point: if a tweet fails to load in a user’s timeline, that user will likely never know, because another tweet fills that space. In addition, because most people use Twitter as part of their leisure or casual distraction, it’s not mission critical for most, and momentary issues are mostly solved by a refresh of a page or a restart of an app.

The outage however was larger and more extensive. It affected all aspects of the website, including advertising, corporate communications and advertising.

Twitter had an outage that lasted 45 minutes on July 14th, 2022. This outage lasts for about 15 minutes more than previous ones and is the longest in the Elon Musk Era.

It begs the question: Does Twitter still have the best people to manage the service and diagnose issues, then fix them? Twitter employed approximately 7,500 workers and had thousands of sub-contractors before Elon Musk. Now, the company is down to likely less than 2,000 employees, and it’s likely that a significant amount of critical operational knowledge has been tossed out the door.

Twitter’s motto is “Twitter: it’s what’s happening.”

However, this isn’t always the case at the moment.

The post Twitter’s Website Was Down With API Access Errors In The Longest Outage Of Elon Musk Era appeared first on Social Media Explorer.

* This article was originally published here

Squirrel stole my Rubik's Cube / Going nuts over twisty puzzles

2023-03-07T06:27:00.001-06:00

* This article was originally published here

Zorro : la nouvelle série Disney+ sur le vengeur masqué engage Bryan Cogman (Game of Thrones) à l'écriture

2023-03-07T06:21:00.003-06:00

Au moment où l'acteur Jean Dujardin se prépare à interpréter (pour la troisième fois) le personnage de Zorro, dans une production francophone développée par les équipes de France Télévisions, au moment où Sean Murphy s'apprête à réinventer le renard rusé au présent dans son propre label de comics, les convergences accidentelles se croisent jusqu'au bout. Le groupe Disney, qui planche sur le retour de Diego de la Vega depuis de longues années, aurait enfin mis en mouvement le projet de reboot de cette propriété intellectuelle, quitte à se coltiner un embouteillage certain d'ici les temps futurs.

D'un Z qui veut dire Zoo

La rédaction de Deadline Hollywood annonce que le reboot des aventures de Zorro sur la plateforme Disney+, officiellement commandé il y a une petite année et demie, s'est enfin trouvé un showrunner pour formuler une première ébauche de travail. Il s'agit du scénariste Bryan Cogman, une plume dont le travail s'est presque exclusivement résumé à deux productions "en costumes" : Game of Thrones et Le Seigneur des Anneaux : Les Anneaux de Pouvoir. Cogman est l'auteur de 11 épisodes sur l'adaptation des romans de George R.R. Martin, et signe un ensemble de 43 épisodes à un poste de producteur. Sur l'adaptation des appendices de la grande saga de J.R.R. Tolkien chez Prime Video, il aura occupé un rôle de consultant sur 4 épisodes. Difficile, donc, de jauger de la compétence du bonhomme sur une production de capes et d'épées qui devrait mécaniquement être moins copieuse en dragons, en trahisons, en anneaux magiques et en couples incestueux. A moins d'un pépin. D'un pépin sérieux.

S'il n'est pas directement un personnage né des comics, la figure de Zorro, qui apparaît dans la matière des fictions pulp des années 1920 aux Etats-Unis, pose la base d'une grammaire qui deviendra la norme des super-héros américains pour les générations à venir. Héros masqué, acrobate, expert du combat rapproché, celui-ci est au départ un gentilhomme né de la grande bourgeoisie espagnole, qui dissimule son identité au grand jour derrière une apparence d'oisif débonnaire, gaffeur, rêveur et surtout très inoffensif aux yeux de ses adversaires. Une caractéristique qui inspirera autant les maladresses de Clark Kent que le canon définitif de Bruce Wayne. La proximité entre Zorro et Batman, revendiquée par Frank Miller, Darwyn Cooke, Dennis O'Neil et Alan Grant, passe par toute une série de détails : une fortune, une relation aux traditions familiales, un code couleur, un héros qui préfère sortir la nuit, un "véhicule" quasi-surnaturel, une panoplie d'armes privilégiées, et un serviteur qui lui sert à dissimuler son identité en public. Comme beaucoup de héros, Zorro a son propre logo, sa propre signature, et aura même droit à sa version "Old Man" (voire sa version "Beyond") avec Le Masque de Zorro de Martin Campbell.

La série actuellement en développement chez Disney, s'articule autour de l'acteur Wilmer Valderrama (NCIS : Hawaii, That '70s Show), qui devrait occuper le rôle principal de Diego de la Vega, et celui de producteur exécutif sur le projet. Le descriptif fourni par Disney colle avec l'éventail classique des adaptations du mythe de Zorro : un hidalgo né en Nouvelle Espagne qui revient de ses études (ou de ses affaires, probablement, dans la mesure où Valderrama culmine à un âge vénérable de 43 ans - un peu âgé pour le portrait typique de l'universitaire de retour au pays) sur le vieux continent, pour découvrir que la ville de Los Angeles est désormais gouvernée par un tyran qui règne avec cruauté sur le comté. La nouvelle série devrait prendre une perspective plus large sur la Californie, en explorant la culture locale de cette région des Etats-Unis (avec, vraisemblablement, une place laissée aux Amérindiens, en accord avec les arcanes classiques du personnage) lors de la domination espagnole.

Quant à l'embouteillage : officiellement, si le reboot de Zorro de Disney+ s'inscrit dans une sorte de filiation - le conglomérat n'étant pas étranger à l'immense popularité du personnage dans la seconde moitié du 20e siècle, grâce à la première série portée par l'acteur Guy Williams et à ses nombreuses rediffusions aux Etats-Unis et en Europe occidentale - celui-ci est loin d'être une initiative isolée. Actuellement, la plateforme Prime Video planche sur sa propre réinvention du vengeur masqué. En mai de l'année dernière, le service de VOD du groupe Amazon avait annoncé la mise en production d'une série hispanophone mise en scène par les réalisateurs espagnols Javier Quintas et Miguel Ángel Vivas, avec l'acteur Miguel Bernardeau ("haha" oui, oui...) dans le rôle principal. Et en parallèle, la chaîne CBS aurait bel et bien passé la commande d'une série en six épisodes sur Zorro, basculée plus tard sur la CW, et mise entre les mains du réalisateur Robert Rodriguez et de l'actrice Sofia Verga.

En l'occurrence, ce projet là risque probablement de sauter au vu des difficultés économiques de la CW, mais il reste actuellement dans la course dans cet énorme barnum de reboots visant tous à ramener du passé le cavalier qui surgissait, jadis, hors de la nuit. Originalité de cette situation : pour une fois, la France participe au peloton. A vous de former les paris pour savoir qui parviendra à tirer le premier.

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* This article was originally published here

WWE 2K23 Season Pass Revealed; Adds the Steiner Brothers, Bray Wyatt, Eve Torres, and More

2023-03-07T06:21:00.001-06:00

Visual Concepts and 2K Games have unveiled WWE 2K23’s Season Pass, which adds 24 more Superstars to an already packed roster. It features five DLC packs and bonuses like the MyRISE Mega-Boost, instantly unlocking all WWE Legends in the base game and 200 Attribute Points.

The first DLC, Steiner Row Pack, arrives on April 19th and adds Scott and Rick Steiner, B-Fab (manager-only), Top Dolla and Ashante Adonis. On May 17th, the Pretty Sweet Pack releases and features Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Tiffany Stratton, Elton Prince and Kit Wilson. June 14th sees the arrival of the Race to NXT Pack with Harley Race, Ivy Nile, Wendy Choo, Tony D’Angelo and Trick Williams.

The Revel with Wyatt Pack has Bray Wyatt, Zeus, Valhalla, Joe Gacy and Blair Davenport and releases on July 19th. Finally, on August 16th, the Bad News U Pack arrives with Eve Torres, Wade Barrett, Damon Kemp, Andre Chase and Nathan Frazer.

WWE 2K23 is out on March 17th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC. Head here for more details on what to expect. You can also learn about what’s changed from last year’s title here.

* This article was originally published here

Best Mage Builds for Roblox Arcane Odyssey – Guide

2023-03-07T06:12:00.001-06:00

Roblox Arcane Odyssey has different stats builds that create the type of fighter your character will be. If the character has full (over 60%) Magic stats they are considered a Mage. This stats build also determines what Awakening the fighter will gain. For a Mage, the first Awakening is Mage’s Wisdom and another Magic slot, and their second is a third Magic slot. These slots will be the build for the Mage, and different combos are stronger than others.

Here we will show you the best Mage builds for Roblox Arcane Odyssey all in this guide!

* This article was originally published here

10 Best Level 2 Normal Encounter Power Sandwiches in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

2023-03-07T06:09:00.001-06:00

In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet to boost your special abilities you need to consume the power sandwiches that come in handy to fight Pokemon in the Scarlet and Violet.

More importantly, you can also craft the sandwiches that helps you to boost your encounter rate to catch normal Pokemon in the game.

So, if you are looking for the easy-to-understand guide to know how you can get your hands on these Sandwiches in the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet then you’re on luck today. Here we cover all information on best level 2 normal encounter power sandwiches.

Level 2 Normal Encounter Power Sandwiches Guide

If you looking to catch some of the normal Pokemon in the Scarlet and Violet well then for that you need to learn how you can craft the Encounter Power Sandwich first. More importantly you cannot purchase these sandwiches from the in-game shop.

But you can purchase the items that helps you to craft it. So, let’s take a look at how to get level 2 Pokémon using the best encounter power sandwich.

Great Tofu Sandwich

Items Need To Craft Great Tofu Sandwich	2× Tofu, 1× Rice, 1× Lettuce, 1× Avocado, 1× Wasabi, 1× Salt and 1× Horseradish
Benefits	Raid Power: Fighting Level 1 Catching Power: Grass Level. 1

Master Curry-and-Rice-Style Sandwich

Items Need To Craft Master Curry-and-Rice-Style Sandwich	1× Rice, 1× Jalapeño, 1× Tomato, 1× Curry Powder, 1× Mayonnaise and 1× Spicy Herba Mystica
Benefits	Title Power : Grass Level 2 Humungo Power: Fairy Level 2

Master Refreshing Sandwich

Items Need To Master Refreshing Sandwich	1× Cherry Tomatoes, 1× Avocado, 1× Kiwi, 1× Pickle, 1× Marmalade, 1× Salt and 1× Spicy Herba Mystica
Benefits	Title Power: Dragon Level 2 Humungo Power: Poison Level 2 Encounter Power: Normal Level 2

Master Variety Sandwich

Items Need To Craft Master Variety Sandwich	1× Prosciutto, 1× Cherry Tomatoes, 1× Smoked Fillet, 1× Potato Salad, 1× Hamburger, 1× Salt, 1× Vinegar and 1× Bitter Herba Mystica
Benefits	Title Power: Bug Level 2 Exp. Point Power: Steel Level 2

Ultra Curry-and-Rice-Style Sandwich

Items Need To Craft Ultra Curry-and-Rice-Style Sandwich	1× Rice, 1× Jalapeño, 1× Tomato, 1× Curry Powder and 1× Mayonnaise
Benefits	Humungo Power: Grass Level 2 Item Drop Power: Fairy Level 1

Master Potato Salad Sandwich

Items Need To Craft Master Potato Salad Sandwich	1× Potato Salad, 1× Cucumber, 1× Red Bell Pepper, 1× Avocado, 1× Red Onion, 1× Mayonnaise and 1× Sweet Herba Mystica
Benefits	Title Power: Ghost Level 2 Catching Power: Dragon Level 2

Master BLT Sandwich

Items Need To Craft Master BLT Sandwich	1× Bacon, 1× Lettuce, 1× Tomato, 1× Basil, 1× Cheese, 1× Mayonnaise, 1× Mustard and 1× Sweet Herba Mystica
Benefits	Title Power: Grass Level 2 Catching Power: Fairy Level 2

Master Zesty Sandwich

Items Need To Craft Master Zesty Sandwich	1× Jalapeño, 1× Onion, 1× Herbed Sausage, 1× Green Bell Pepper, 1× Watercress, 1× Chilli Sauce and 1× Sour Herba Mystica
Benefits	Title Power: Psychic Level 2 Teensy Power: Fighting Level 2

Master Noodle Sandwich

Items Need To Craft Master Noodle Sandwich	1× Noodles, 1× Lettuce, 1× Chorizo, 1× Olive Oil, 1× Ketchup and 1× Bitter Herba Mystica
Benefits	Title Power: Poison Level 2 Exp. Point Power: Electric Level 2

Master Tower Sandwich

Items Need To Craft Master Tower Sandwich	1x Bitter Herba Mystica, 1x Olive Oil, 1x Salt, 1x Potato Salad, 1x Noodles, 1x Rice, 1x Tofu, 1x Klawf Stick, 1x Hamburger and 1x Curry Powder
Benefits	Title Power: Steel Level 2 Encounter Power: Normal Level 2 Exp. Point Power: Fighting Level 2

This is end for this Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Encounter Normal Sandwitch guide. Here at Gameinstants we try our best to cover video game information for more similar content you can check our Pokemon Scarlet and Violet guide panel.

* This article was originally published here

The Finals: 8 Minutes of Gameplay - Full Chaotic Winning Match

2023-03-07T06:00:00.001-06:00

The Finals is an exciting new upcoming first-person shooter game that just had a closed hands-on preview event.

* This article was originally published here