Name a gamer mom who can learn how to play a game in one day, and then beat other veteran players on her first tournament. Pamela Director has learned Pokemon TCG in one day, and then placed top 8 in her first local tournament. Pamela even defeated her daughter, Caroline, who taught her how to play the game. Now that’s a wonder mom!
image via Twitter
The quirky rhythmic action game Patapon 2 will be coming back as a remastered game in the PS4. Patapon 2 will be available with 4K graphics, and compatible with a 4K display. The game can still be enjoyed in 1080p resolutions and an HD device for the regular PS4 owners. Patapon 2 retains the same gameplay, a player must command the Patapon troops to march, attack, defend, and use magic to the beat of the level’s music. The remastered Patapon 2 will be released on January 31, 2020.
(via IGN)
image via IGN
If you have a spare perfume, a zoo in Norfolk England will be very glad to take it off your hands. Banham Zoo has announced that it is soliciting fragrance donations. This is because the ocelots, jaguars, and cheetahs are enamored with the intoxicating scents of perfumes, and they are running out of their supply. Don’t worry that the large cats won’t like your perfume, as they are apparently open to different fragrances, as Time detailed:
The draw of a good perfume for both domestic cats but also wild cats is well-documented in various research projects. It can be positively enchanting for the big cats.
Chalk it up to the civetone, a natural perfume ingredient that comes from the animal civet (a small nocturnal animal) that labs can manufacture now, according to the Bronx Zoo’s testing.
“The keepers at Banham have noticed their stocks of old perfumes are running low and are hoping that visitors to the zoo might also want to drop off any old or unwanted scents when they visit,” as the announcement puts it.
“Our big cats definitely react positively when scents are used as part of their enrichment program. For some reason Calvin Klein perfume is a huge hit with all big cats but in all honesty, any perfumes work well and we do like to offer them a variety of different smells,” animal manager Mike Woolham said in the announcement.
image via wikimedia commons
Remember the billionaire who opened a matchmaking documentary to search for a girlfriend to accompany him in his trip to the moon? Well, it seems that he doesn’t need a girlfriend anymore. Yusaka Maezawa has canceled the matchmaking documentary, “Full Moon Lovers”, saying that he had mixed feelings about participating in the show, as Geek.com detailed:
“Due to personal reasons, I have informed AbemaTV … with my decision to no longer participate in the matchmaking documentary, hence requested for the cancellation of the show,” Maezawa wrote in a tweet.
“Despite my genuine and honest determination toward the show, there was a part of me that still had mixed feelings about my participation,” he explained.
Single ladies aged 20 or older—with a bright, positive personality, the desire to live life to the fullest, a wish for world peace, and an interest in going to space—were encouraged to apply online by Jan. 17.
“To think that 27,722 women, with earnest intentions and courage, had used their precious time to apply makes me feel extremely remorseful to conclude and inform everyone with this selfish decision of mine,” Maezawa said.
“I understand that I have disappointed many people—the applicants and all the staff from AbemaTV who were involved in the production—and I apologize to everyone for my unfavorable actions,” he continued. “I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart.”
image via Geek.com
Studio Drift created a large-scale moving block as a modern interpretation of one of the world’s oldest operas, l’orfeo. ‘EGO’ is handwoven from 10 miles of reflective Japanese fluorocarbon. Studio drift had to develop its own weaving room for the production of the moving block. Designboom has more details:
during the performance, a puppeteer directs the block live via algorithms and software so that it is completely aligned with the dancers and singers. as the object changes shape and state, it conveys the shifting perspectives of the opera’s protagonist
l’orfeo, a major multidisciplinary performance — collaboratively created by director monique wagemakers, choreographer nanine linning, and artist lonneke gordijn (studio drift) — premiered in the netherlands on january 28, 2020. ‘developing this opera in a close collaborative process with director monique wagemakers and choreographer nanine linning opened up my eyes for the magical possibilities of a theater setting and made me re-think the role of the public and its importance in our work,’ explains lonneke gordijn, who founded studio drift with ralph nauta in 2007.
another world is created in which an entire group is immersed simultaneously,’ gordijn continues. ‘techniques can be used that create visual effects that are impossible in a ‘real’ situation. stimulating all the senses with amazing power and impact. it was a delight to be introduced to this new world and I feel inspired to explore in more depth how we can bring and audience through an emotional journey with artworks outside of the theater or gallery space. in this
process we enhanced each other, puzzling together to sculpt an experience where dance, music, voice, sculpture and technology become one voice.’
image via Designboom
Graphic designer Becca Saladin showcases her talent through transforming famous historical figures into modern characters. Saladin reimagined Julius Caesar wearing the usual clothing you see everyday, along with Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth I, and Prince Albert. Her stunning artworks breath new life into these historical figures, as My Modern Met details:
Each portrait takes quite a bit of research, with Saladin focusing in particular on the eyes, skin, and hair. While she does her best to find as much information as possible about each person, sometimes it’s just not possible. For instance, Cleopatra, while one of the most requested characters for Saladin to work on, was very difficult to create because historians know very little about her appearance. In cases like these, Saladin is forced to make creative choices.
So how does she work her magic? When working on Egyptian and ancient Roman busts, the portrait is built up piece by piece. “The way I reconstruct the portrait busts is by using bits of other images—noses, eyes, lips, etc. from other sources and manipulating them so they fit together and so that they fit the subject,” she reveals. “Many times I’m digitally painting in details like eyeshadow, eyelashes, eyebrows, wrinkles, and skin color. It takes a long time to get it all to look like it makes sense.”
image credit: royalty_now via My Modern Met
This family in Rio De Janeiro found their beloved pet tortoise after three decades. The Almeida family lost its pet turtle thirty years ago in 1982. The family discovered Manuela, the tortoise, in the storage room, as Oddee details:
It wasn’t until their father, Leonel, died in early 2013, that the Almeida children began clearing out the second-floor room which he had filled with broken electrical items ad always kept locked. Leandro, Leonel’s son, said he was astonished to find Manuela (the turtle) alive inside a box containing an old record player.
A Rio De Janerio vet – Jeferson Pires -explained to the family that the red-footed species of tortoise ( like Manuela was) can go for long periods of time without eating. “They are particularly resilient and can survive for two to three years without food. In the wild, they eat fruits, leaves, dead animals, and even feces.” He said that Manuela most likely survived from eating termites from the wooden floors.
image via wikimedia commons
Physicists and amateur stargazers have discovered ‘the dunes’, a previously unknown kind of aurora phenomenon. The dunes are luminous, rippling wave patterns that does not fit any established aurora category. The new phenomenon has been documented thanks to the collaboration of space photographers and professional astronomers, as ScienceAlert details:
While authoring a guide book on the aurora borealis (aka northern lights), computational space physicist Minna Palmroth from the University of Helsinki had her attention drawn to the dunes, which at the time did not fit into the known kinds of aurora.
Shortly after the book was published, members of the Finnish hobbyist community again identified and photographed the dunes phenomenon in the sky, sharing the imagery with Palmroth and her colleagues so they could investigate it.
"One of the most memorable moments of our research collaboration was when the phenomenon appeared at that specific time and we were able to examine it in real time," says astronomy hobbyist Matti Helin.
"It was like piecing together a puzzle or conducting detective work. Every day we found new images and came up with new ideas."
image via ScienceAlert
Have you ever wanted to play the well-received Pokemon game for the Nintendo DS? Here’s a very simple and intuitive guide to the game, for those who are new to the game itself or Pokemon in general. For players who just want to have a good laugh, this video is for you.
Keto dieters will no longer have to restrain themselves or find an alternative dessert to a good helping of ice cream. Halo Top announced the introduction of a new series of keto ice cream. The ice cream series comes in seven flavors, Peanut Butter Chocolate, Berry Swirl, Jelly Donut, Chocolate Cheesecake, Caramel Butter Pecan, Banana Pie and White Chocolaty Macadamia Nut. USA Today has more details:
The dessert company says the Keto Series is lower in calories than regular ice cream without sacrificing flavor. Which is good news for those looking to ditch the extra carbs and calories.
The ice cream includes “ultra-filtered skim milk” and the pints have net carbs ranging from 5 to 10 grams, calories from 410 to 630 and protein from 17 to 22 grams. The serving size of the keto-friendly ice cream is two-thirds of a cup and calories range from 134 to 210 per serving.
“Our brand is focused on making delicious dessert that everyone can feel good about eating, and these new flavors allow us to do that for our fans looking to limit their sugar intake,” Meg Graeff, senior brand manager of Halo Top, said in a news release.
image via USA Today
The Department of Transportation has released proposed changes to the current rules for service animals on planes. One of the proposed changes is to prohibit emotional support pets on the plane. Only specially trained service dogs qualified as service animals will be allowed on the plane, as The Huffington Post detailed:
The DOT would also prohibit airlines from refusing a service animal solely on the basis of breed. Delta Airlines has a controversial policy of prohibiting “pit bull type dogs” on its flights.
Passengers wanting to ride with Fido would instead have to fill out a federal form attesting that their dog is trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability. The dog would need similar proof of good behavior, good health and having the ability to not relieve itself or do so in a sanitary manner.
“Today’s [Notice of Proposed Rulemaking] is intended to ensure a safe and accessible air transportation system,” the department said in a statement.
The changes follow concerns raised by travelers with disabilities, airlines, flight attendants and airports. These concerns include passengers falsely identifying their pets as service animals, the department said.
Previous incidents involving emotional support animals and planes include people trying to fly with a peacock, a hamster, a pig and a squirrel .
image via wikimedia commons
Cotton Branch Farm Sanctuary in Leesville, South Carolina, put out a call in a Facebook post, seeking “piggy cuddlers” to help 100 rescued pigs to learn to be comfortable with humans. The animals were rescued from an animal hoarding situation in Kentucky. Physical contact is important to help pigs adjust when they have new homes, as UPI detailed:
"Belly scratches, cookies, sitting with and even just talking to our pig friends can get them ready for their new home," the post said.
"We need to socialize them so they can eventually bond with the herd leader," meaning their new owners, Costner told The State newspaper.
Costner said the sanctuary is currently in the process of finding new homes for the 100 pigs as family pets.
image via Cotton Branch Farm Sanctuary
Would you like to play as a barista/therapist for different supernatural creatures? Coffee Talk is a chill game developed by Toge Productions. With the game’s gorgeous pixel art, the soundtrack that matches the calm vibes of your coffee shop, and the aspects of being able to interact with different characters as you serve them their drinks, the game is surely appealing. The game will be out for all major platforms on Jan. 30, as Polygon details:
Every in-game day, you’re greeted by a newspaper front page that’s littered with headlines regarding all the fantastical inhabitants of this world. Here, everything from dwarves to elves are real — and each one comes with its own politics and viewpoints, most of which will become obvious as you speak to your customers.
When patrons come up to the counter, they’ll be ready to order something that you actually have to make. Coffee Talk presents you with a variety of ingredients, which you use as the base, primary, and secondary layers of your drink, depending on what you’re concocting. For more simple drinks, you can simply look up via an in-game app; a triple-shot espresso, for example, is just a matter of selecting coffee + coffee + coffee. The game also lets you run wild with the latte art, which you can draw by hand.
image via Polygon
We see a lot of lists of the best horror films. The lists are subjective as to how the authors decided on the standards for a movie to be included in their rankings. This subjectivity and variety of standards makes the lists on the Internet quite different from each other. How about a list created using science? A new study imaged people’s brains as they watched horror movies. Not only were they able to rank the scariest movies through this study, they were also able to discover what makes horror movies so scary, as RT details:
Any list of best movies is sure to be controversial – just ask the people who run the Oscars. But this one is brought to you by science – based on a study by a team of neuroscientists at the University of Turku in Finland, published this month in the scientific journal NeuroImage.
First, they used Rotten Tomatoes, AllMovie and IMDb to come to a list of 100. They then had hundreds of volunteers, many of them horror movie fans, complete a survey asking them to rate the 100 movies on a scale of 1 to 10 for scariness and quality. (Incidentally, if you would like to take part in the survey, it is still active: Part 1 is here and Part 2 here.)
the survey was only part of this study, mainly a way of selecting the films. The researchers went all out on this study, and had 40 volunteers watch horror movies while hooked up to an MRI to scan their brain activity. They watched trimmed-down versions of The Conjuring 2 and Insidious, selected for their high place in the table, but also because they contained over 20 jump scares (or ‘acute threatening events’) apiece.
What they found rings true for any horror movie fan. Essentially, there are separate brain pathways for two main types of movie-induced fear: ‘sustained fear’, or a slow burning increase in tension, and ‘acute fear’, which is a fright or a jump scare.
During tension-building scenes, for instance when the soundtrack goes quiet and the protagonist is investigating a sinister place, our visual and auditory centres fire up so as to strain for any faint movement or sound in the darkness. Upon a jump scare, however, the threat evaluation and decision-making centres in the brain light up, similar to the ‘fight-or-flight’ response.
image via wikimedia commons
New data from the American Gaming Association estimated that more than 26 million Americans will wager money on Super Bowl LIV. This is a 15% increase from last year, with a projected amount of $6.8 billion. The increase in betting can be attributed to the increased number of states allowing legal and regulated sports betting. Fourteen states now allow sports wagering. The increase in betting in the Super Bowl is no surprise, as CNBC detailed:
“Americans have never before had so many opportunities to wager on the Super Bowl in a safe and legal manner, and clearly, they are getting in on the action,” said Bill Miller, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association. Miller tells CNBC that bettors are beginning to migrate from the illegal marketplace. “That’s the most important and exciting dynamic,” he added.
Since May of 2018 when the U.S. Supreme Court repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, 20 states now offer legal and regulated sports betting. Of those, 14 states are operational allowing sports wagering. Fourteen more states are expected to legalize this year. Legalization has proven to be a windfall for states, with $17 billion wagered legally and a lot of that money means new revenue for states.
With the new frontier of legalized sports betting taking hold, more and more Americans will wager on the Super Bowl at brick-and-mortar sportsbook, a 25% increase from last year. Another 5 million will place their bet online or on a mobile platforms, a 19% increase from last year.
image via CNBC
