И бюджетный планшет Surface Go 2.

Первый отзыв от читательницы.

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Microsoft уже работает над новыми функциями iPadOS.

-Album Details- Title: The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening Original Soundtrack Publisher: Nippon Columbia Catalog Number: COCX-41117~20 Release Date: March 18th, 2020 Ripped by: Razakin -Info- Soundtracks to the new Switch and the way better Game Boy versions of Link’s Awakening. Enjoy. Purchase Link(s) CDJapan

-Album Details- Title: Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon EVERY BUDDY! Original Soundtrack Publisher: Square Enix Music Catalog Number: SQEX-10710 Release Date: April 24th, 2019 Ripped by: Razakin -Info- Khew!  Some classic FF tracks arranged again for a Chocobo-game, the 2019 remaster of Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon. Enjoy. Purchase Link(s) CDJapan

A review by Medio DeCritici (165). What I Can Remember - 90s Arcade & The Simpsons (Arcade, 1991)

Это спортивная модель, которая не боится интенсивных тренировок, пока и окружающих звуков.

Показали игрокам нарезку из динамичных кадров, который хватило на полторы минуты хронометража.

Креативный директор игры Ашраф Измаил решил ответить геймерам и успокоить аудиторию.

Компания Meizu вчера, кроме флагманских смартфонов, представила ещё свои обновлённые накладные Bluetooth-наушники Meizu HD60.

Компания обещает бесплатный ремонт устройств и возмещение расходов, если ноутбук уже отремонтировали.

Finding top quality MP3 moving download can be real assignment thinking about that moving songs is somewhat of a particular specialty showcase. Certain everybody appreciates clouding prone to the clubs and furthermore move, yet have you ever before in reality… Continue Reading →

For those of you who follow the tweets of @DivaBiotech, you are already familiar with the varied interests and activities of outgoing world traveler and international marketing guru in the area of genomics, Ruby Gadelrab. Ruby is one of my favorite tweeps, keeping me up to date on the personal genomics scene and the latest biotech science news. I asked Ruby to guest post; (read more)

Source: Suzy - Discipline: BioTech

Thank God it's Thursday because I am already burnt out from the first three days of this week. It has been an inordinately stressful week for multiple reasons, one of which I will talk about today.It's not the lab. Lab work is like heaven for me. I love escaping to the bench, avoiding human contact, and focusing on how to get something puzzling to work.It's not the next looming product launch, ; (read more)

Source: Suzy - Discipline: BioTech

My grad schools days are long behind me, and as time goes on, my memories of the pain and suffering become more of a blur. But, there was one day that I will never forget.  Not only did I lose an entire days work, but I was lucky to avoid serious injury. It was the day I made the biggest mistake I ever made in the lab.My graduate school was in a southern area of the country where obnoxio; (read more)

Source: Suzy - Discipline: Misc

A man walks in a bar with his pet monkey. He sits down and orders a drink, meanwhile the monkey is running around all over the place and jumps up on a pool table. He grabs the 8 ball, shoves it into his mouth and swallows it hole. “Holy crap!” says the bartender, completely livid. […]

The post The Not So Stupid Monkey appeared first on Funny & Jokes.

It’s not everyday we regurgitate a few old (and new!) chemistry jokes. How often do we tell them? Periodically. We told one the other day, but there was no reaction. Hahaha! Wait? How come nobody else is laughing? Ehem… well, anyways, here are a few more: When I first heard oxygen and magnesium got together […]

The post Top 20 Chemistry Jokes of Some Time appeared first on Funny & Jokes.

Date: May 8, 2020

Location: South Korea

Tags: Parents' Day, carnations, flowers, stop-motion, Animation

Date: May 9, 2020

Today’s Doodle celebrates British footballer and coach Frank Soo, a fearsome half-back and inside forward who broke racial barriers playing for the English national team during World War II. On this day in 1942, Soo made his international debut in a match against Wales, becoming the first person of non-European descent—and only ever of Asian heritage—to represent the country’s team at the highest level.

Frank Soo was born on March 8th, 1914 in Derbyshire, England and raised in Liverpool. He quickly earned a reputation as one of the best youth players in the city. At just 18 years old, he was scouted by Stoke City F.C., becoming the first professional player of Chinese ancestry in the English Football League.

Renowned for an artful playing style, dignified ball control, and precise passing, the charismatic Soo was named team captain at age 27 and rose to a level of national celebrity. In 1940, following the outbreak of World War II, Soo enlisted in the Royal Air Force and continued his legacy as the captain of its football team. Though England’s Football Association deemed its wartime matches unofficial, Soo went on to represent his country in nine such international fixtures by 1945.

Soo retired from playing in 1950 and moved on to a successful international coaching career that lasted over three decades. His legacy lives on in the increasingly diverse English team that plays today.

Thank you, Frank Soo, for showing the world the unifying power of sport. ​

 

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Doodler Q&A with Matthew Cruickshank

Today’s Doodle was created by Doodler Matthew Cruickshank from North London.
Below, he shares some thoughts on the making of the Doodle:

 Q: What was your creative approach for this Doodle? Why did you choose this approach?

A: We found very old football trading cards online. This formed the basis of the Doodle, along with simple animation in order to celebrate Frank even more.

 Q: Did you draw inspiration from anything in particular for this Doodle?

A: I drew from my memories of being a very average footballer in England with a love of the game. But more importantly, I imagined how many barriers Frank broke down as a brilliant footballer in a minority. He took his talent to the pinnacle. 

 Q: What do you hope people will take away from this Doodle?

A: A love of football and a celebration of the diversity we have in the modern game today. Frank really played his part in achieving that.

 

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Early concept sketches of the Doodle 

Location: United Kingdom

Tags: Animation, Sports, footballer, half-back, forward, soccer, football, English Football League

The post Unpacking After a Fishing Trip: Why is it so Important? appeared first on Ocean Blue Fishing Adventures.

Hearing loss caused by the death of sensory hair cells of the inner ear is an unfortunate side effect for many patients treated with aminoglycoside antibiotics or platinum-containing chemotherapy agents. In animal models, induction of heat shock confers substantial otoprotection against aminoglycoside- and cisplatin-induced hair cell death. In this issue of the JCI, Breglio et al. demonstrate that inner ear tissue released exosomes carrying heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) in response to heat stress. HSP70 acted by a paracrine mechanism that engaged the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) on hair cells to protect them from death. Exosomes and the HSP70/TLR4 pathway could thus provide treatment targets for the protection of hair cells from chemically induced death or from other insults, such as noise.

Hair cells, the mechanosensory receptors of the inner ear, are responsible for hearing and balance. Hair cell death and consequent hearing loss are common results of treatment with ototoxic drugs, including the widely used aminoglycoside antibiotics. Induction of heat shock proteins (HSPs) confers protection against aminoglycoside-induced hair cell death via paracrine signaling that requires extracellular heat shock 70-kDa protein (HSP70). We investigated the mechanisms underlying this non–cell-autonomous protective signaling in the inner ear. In response to heat stress, inner ear tissue releases exosomes that carry HSP70 in addition to canonical exosome markers and other proteins. Isolated exosomes from heat-shocked utricles were sufficient to improve survival of hair cells exposed to the aminoglycoside antibiotic neomycin, whereas inhibition or depletion of exosomes from the extracellular environment abolished the protective effect of heat shock. Hair cell–specific expression of the known HSP70 receptor TLR4 was required for the protective effect of exosomes, and exosomal HSP70 interacted with TLR4 on hair cells. Our results indicate that exosomes are a previously undescribed mechanism of intercellular communication in the inner ear that can mediate nonautonomous hair cell survival. Exosomes may hold potential as nanocarriers for delivery of therapeutics against hearing loss.

An in-depth understanding of immune escape mechanisms in cancer is likely to lead to innovative advances in immunotherapeutic strategies. However, much remains unknown regarding these mechanisms and how they impact immunotherapy resistance. Using several preclinical tumor models as well as clinical specimens, we identified a mechanism whereby CD8+ T cell activation in response to programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) blockade induced a programmed death ligand 1/NOD-, LRR-, and pyrin domain–containing protein 3 (PD-L1/NLRP3) inflammasome signaling cascade that ultimately led to the recruitment of granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSCs) into tumor tissues, thereby dampening the resulting antitumor immune response. The genetic and pharmacologic inhibition of NLRP3 suppressed PMN-MDSC tumor infiltration and significantly augmented the efficacy of anti–PD-1 antibody immunotherapy. This pathway therefore represents a tumor-intrinsic mechanism of adaptive resistance to anti–PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy and is a promising target for future translational research.

Fibroblasts are key effector cells in tissue remodeling. They remain persistently activated in fibrotic diseases, resulting in progressive deposition of extracellular matrix. Although fibroblast activation may be initiated by external factors, prolonged activation can induce an “autonomous,” self-maintaining profibrotic phenotype in fibroblasts. Accumulating evidence suggests that epigenetic alterations play a central role in establishing this persistently activated pathologic phenotype of fibroblasts. We demonstrated that in fibrotic skin of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), a prototypical idiopathic fibrotic disease, TGF-β induced the expression of DNA methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A) and DNMT1 in fibroblasts in a SMAD-dependent manner to silence the expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) by promoter hypermethylation. Downregulation of SOCS3 facilitated activation of STAT3 to promote fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition, collagen release, and fibrosis in vitro and in vivo. Reestablishment of the epigenetic control of STAT3 signaling by genetic or pharmacological inactivation of DNMT3A reversed the activated phenotype of SSc fibroblasts in tissue culture, inhibited TGF-β–dependent fibroblast activation, and ameliorated experimental fibrosis in murine models. These findings identify a pathway of epigenetic imprinting of fibroblasts in fibrotic disease with translational implications for the development of targeted therapies in fibrotic diseases.

Approximately half of the world’s population is infected with the stomach pathogen Helicobacter pylori. Infection with H. pylori is the main risk factor for distal gastric cancer. Bacterial virulence factors, such as the oncoprotein CagA, augment cancer risk. Yet despite high infection rates, only a fraction of H. pylori–infected individuals develop gastric cancer. This raises the question of defining the specific host and bacterial factors responsible for gastric tumorigenesis. To investigate the tumorigenic determinants, we analyzed gastric tissues from human subjects and animals infected with H. pylori bacteria harboring different CagA status. For laboratory studies, well-defined H. pylori strain B128 and its cancerogenic derivative strain 7.13, as well as various bacterial isogenic mutants were employed. We found that H. pylori compromises key tumor suppressor mechanisms: the host stress and apoptotic responses. Our studies showed that CagA induces phosphorylation of XIAP E3 ubiquitin ligase, which enhances ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of the host proapoptotic factor Siva1. This process is mediated by the PI3K/Akt pathway. Inhibition of Siva1 by H. pylori increases survival of human cells with damaged DNA. It occurs in a strain-specific manner and is associated with the ability to induce gastric tumor.

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) affects at least 10% of newborns globally and leads to the development of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). Despite its high incidence, there is no consensus on the implications of PAE on metabolic disease risk in adults. Here, we describe a cohort of adults with FASDs that had an increased incidence of metabolic abnormalities, including type 2 diabetes, low HDL, high triglycerides, and female-specific overweight and obesity. Using a zebrafish model for PAE, we performed population studies to elucidate the metabolic disease seen in the clinical cohort. Embryonic alcohol exposure (EAE) in male zebrafish increased the propensity for diet-induced obesity and fasting hyperglycemia in adulthood. We identified several consequences of EAE that may contribute to these phenotypes, including a reduction in adult locomotor activity, alterations in visceral adipose tissue and hepatic development, and persistent diet-responsive transcriptional changes. Taken together, our findings define metabolic vulnerabilities due to EAE and provide evidence that behavioral changes and primary organ dysfunction contribute to resultant metabolic abnormalities.

Brown and beige adipose tissues contain thermogenic fat cells that can be activated by β3-adrenergic receptor agonists. In rodents, such drugs both diminish obesity and improve glucose homeostasis. In this issue of the JCI, O’Mara et al. and Finlin and Memetimin et al. report that chronic administration of the approved β3 agonist mirabegron to human subjects was without effect on body weight or fat mass, but improved several measures of glucose homeostasis. Though the mechanisms mediating these metabolic effects are uncertain, the data suggest that β3 agonists could have therapeutic utility in disorders of glucose homeostasis.

It’s no secret that I love Japan. I mean, I really, really love Japan. I felt more at home in Tokyo than I ever have anywhere else, and I think about going back all. the. time. I’m even thinking about it right now. You’re probably reading this right now because, at the very least, some tiny part of you is curious about whether you should do it. It might be the tiiiiiiiniest little part, but I’m sure it’s there. Maybe you don’t want to admit it because it seems pretty impossible, and yeah, I will admit that if you have a job that you don’t want to leave, strong family ties, kids, pets, or no money (among other things), it must seem like a distant what-if that will never happen. Here’s the thing. If you’re really, honestly interested, then make it happen. Because guess what? You freaking can make it happen, and don’t let anybody tell you no. If you’re coming up with a “But…” right now, I’ll stop you right there! “But I have kids/pets…” Figure out how to take them with you, because you can! “But I don’t want to leave my job…” Take a sabbatical for a year, look into transfers to a branch abroad, look for a better job in the same field in Japan, or look into whether this job is really worth giving up on this dream (maybe it isn’t). “But I can’t speak the language…” So? I moved to Japan and didn’t speak a word. Some people learn before they go, some people learn while they’re there (me), and some people never learn (I don’t recommend this). I could go on forever, but the whole world is at your fingers if you really want it! I seriously believe that. It’s not always easy, but if you want something badly enough, don’t you owe it to yourself to at least try? Anyways, let me give you the top reasons why I think that you should give living in Japan a try! 1. Living in a different culture opens your eyes. This especially is true if you immerse yourself in as much of the culture as you can. Make Japanese friends, learn about what people do on a daily basis and what they believe in. Try doing things in ways that are new to you. Try new foods! Mochi is the schiz, by the way! Once you’ve experienced doing new things, it will change how you do things even if you return back home. I will always have a no-shoes policy in my house (it’s so much cleaner!), I absolutely CRAVE a train system (if only!), and I have a newfound respect for walking and cycling. I never did this when I was little, but now, if I can, I walk! 2. You’ll have a fresh start. In your new home in Japan, you won’t have any of the drama that surrounded you in your old one. Thanks to the internet, we can still keep in touch with friends and family, but being a few thousand miles away from them will keep a lot of the drama to a minimum. Take a chance to stretch your wings and see what kind of person you are when you have the freedom to be you without their judgement. Trust me, it takes a weight off being in a new place where nobody knows who you used to be (or who they thought you used to be). Oh, and you know what? I bet that you will love yourself more than you ever did before. 3. Japan is a magical place! Seriously. Cherry blossoms, gorgeous temples and “castles” (I wouldn’t call them castles, but they’re called that nonetheless, and they’re really cool anyway), a rich history filled with Samurai and ninjas (who doesn’t love ninjas?), seasonal treats, and an entire culture that grew up reading manga. How does this not sound like an amazing place to live?!  And no offense to any other country, but Japanese trains come quickly, go almost everywhere, are extremely punctual, and pretty clean, which makes them (Tokyo especially) easily #1 in the world in public transportation. Now that sounds magical to me. 4. Universal Health Care. If you’re American like me, this will make a HUGE difference in your life. Trust me. If you come from pretty much any other 1st world nation, it probably won’t matter as much, though. But at least it’s good! 5. Japan is safer than where you came from. There’s no gun violence. There’s very low crime in general. You can walk in the dead of night in the seediest parts of town, as a woman, alone, and still feel perfectly safe from other people. From earthquakes is another matter, but you’ll get used to them really fast, and Japan is built to withstand all but the biggest. 6. Wa. There is a concept called wa in Japanese society, which essentially promotes practicing peace and harmony in your daily life. Wa is obvious in everything from traditional architecture and decor to the way that people act around each other– courteousness, quiet, and respect are what you expect most from your neighbors. You’re never going to wake up to your neighbors blaring music at 3am having a raucous party. Even drunken people wandering the street are more polite than not (although most of them just sort of stumble home or sit down where they are for the night– but remember, Japan is safe so they only thing they have to worry about is getting chilly). We could all use a little bit of harmony in our lives, and that’s something that Japan taught me to value. I’m surprised that yoga isn’t more popular, since they’re pretty in tune with each other. 7. All the new gadgets, and all of the old culture. Sure, Silicon Valley is where a lot of new apps are coming out, but if you want lots of little weird but useful gadgets to make your life easier (or more interesting), take a stroll through Akihabara. Plus, there are tons of cheap versions of what you’re used to, like large-capacity flash drives and SD cards. And I would be remiss in not mentioning the used electronics! Smartphones! Right next to small neighborhood temples, btw. It’s the only place to find Ayanami Rei in a kimono, wandering the street. The best of both worlds! 8. MANGA AND ANIME EVERYWHERE. This should be your main reason. This should be enough of a reason. Not only is it available everywhere, but events abound. If you wanted, you could go to an anime-related event every weekend of the year. Also, let’s not forget that it’s the only place to see all of the anime movies released in the theater, go to the official events (like Jump Festa, Comicket, World Cosplay Summit, and Anime Japan, among others), and see the musicals, seiyuu radio shows, and stage plays. If this isn’t reason enough, you’re probably in the wrong place. 9. It’s cheaper than you think. I lived in Tokyo, and then I moved back to the US, thinking that because I was living in a place often called “The Most Expensive City In The World,” it would be cheaper here. Nope.. Apartment rents, even in small cities, are at least the price that I was paying in Tokyo (~$600/mo). And try finding that in LA. So far I haven’t had any luck, and especially not in the areas that are actually sort-of-kind-of safe. Food is also about on-par with the US, especially domestic food. Considering that it’s an island, it’s actually really, really cheap. Food in Hawaii cost sometimes 3-4 times what I was able to get it for in Japan. Then, when you factor in healthcare, which is pretty cheap (what you pay for the insurance is based on your income, and then it covers 80% of all your bills — this is a simplification, but generally holds true), and transportation costs (you don’t need a car, therefore no gas, no insurance, no car maintenance fees), it’s downright cheap. Even living in Tokyo. 10. You will never run out of things to do. In nearly a decade, I never ran out of cool things to do. Can you say the same about the city that you live in now? Thought so. Ah man, I kinda feel ready to jump back on a plane and move across the ocean… three cats and all! Somebody hold me back… resistance is fading……………….  

You read that right. Joanne and I visited a Masonic Cemetary. Alone. It was one of the most calming experiences of my life. We were kind of invited, by the town, and when we arrived, we were definitely welcomed by the residents. This all started when, in the brochure listing the “town attractions” that we received in St. Helens, were two cemeteries. The addresses as well as short descriptions were listed, as well as a short missive asking us to please be respectful and not make loud noises. It sounded really creepy and really interesting, so both of us jumped at the chance to drive out there right before sunset. They weren’t what I expected at all… Well, the first one was actually roped off with a “no trespassing” sign hanging from it, so we didn’t go inside. It was right alongside the highway in Oregon, across some old train tracks, visible from the road, and named and marked on a tourist map, yet they didn’t want visitors. I wonder what happened there. In any case, we headed for the other cemetery. This one was removed from the main road, and rumored to be a lot larger. It was also known to be haunted, but visitors were welcome as long as they were respectful. Off the map it was, but when we arrived, it was also gated off. A sad Joanne looks through the gate at the second destination that was cut off from us. Ah, but unlike the other cemetery, this one didn’t have a “no tresspassing” sign. There was a clear path around the sides of the gate, the ground bare of grass and obviously well-traversed. Apparently a lot of people walked around the gate. Maybe they just didn’t want us to drive. We decided to walk. There was even a sign. And a long, winding, steep road through the forest.  It was quite a hike to reach the top of the large hill where the cemetery was supposedly located, but the view was breathtaking. It took us a good ten or fifteen minutes to reach the top, and the road was quite steep. For some reason, to the immediate right of the trail, someone had been excavating land for quite some time, and there was a deep quarry. Why someone would dig a quarry next to a burial ground is beside me. I don’t doubt that the residents were unhappy about it. I wondered if maybe I would feel some spirits, but I didn’t expect what really happened to me. As soon as I stepped off of the road and onto the grass, a calm unlike anything I’ve ever felt descended upon me. It enveloped me in a warm cocoon, and Joanne and I immediately separated and wandered quietly alone between the gravestones. I know, 100%, that not only was I welcomed, but that the residents were happy to have me there. I talked a bit with some of the gravestones, but mostly wandered about, amazed at how much serenity I felt. We must have spent around a half hour wandering quietly alone, together, before we left in order to return to the festivities in town. But I’ll never forget the experience. It was something really, really special. I took some video footage too, but I’m not sure yet whether I want to use it. We’ll see! Someday, I’ll set up a tripod and get a shot of me walking like this. But for now, have Joanne instead. ???? <3

Microsoft plans to add trackpad and mouse support to its Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps for iPad by the fall, according to TechCrunch and The Verge.

iPadOS 13.4 introduced trackpad and mouse support on all iPad models released in the past four to five years. Keyboards with trackpads include Apple's Magic Keyboard and Brydge's Pro+ for the iPad Pro and Logitech's Combo for the 10.2-inch iPad and the 10.5-inch iPad Air.

When using a trackpad, the cursor displays as a circle on the screen, popping up only when you have a finger on the trackpad. The circle then morphs into various other shapes when hovering over app icons, text fields, or other on-screen elements.

This article, "Microsoft to Add Trackpad Support to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Apps on iPad" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

Apple in mid-April reopened Apple Garosugil, its lone store in South Korea, located in the Seoul's Gangnam District.


Apple's South Korea reopening has served as a test ground for further store reopenings, and Apple created an instructional video on reopening practices that's now being shared with other retail employees around the world as they prepare to reopen stores. We're not able to share the video, but it provides a good overview of the measures Apple is putting in place to safely operate retail locations.

Retail employees are following a strict set of guidelines that very heavily emphasize social distancing of two meters (or six feet in the United States). Apple is taking the following measures:

• Prior to when work starts, all employees undergo a health screening complete with a temperature check, with the results logged in a daily spreadsheet.


• Daily briefings are done in the mornings in the Forum area at Apple Stores, with employees making sure to sit at least two meters apart.


• Prior to being allowed in the store, customers are also given a temperature check.


• All ‌Apple Stores‌ are providing hand sanitizer, which customers are encouraged to use.


• Stores are limiting the number of people inside, forming lines with customers waiting at least two meters apart.


• Products purchased by customers or returned after repair are delivered from the back in a relay system, being handed off from employee to employee to allow each person to stay in a separated zone without back and forth.


• Product specialists and Genius Bar staff are positioning themselves across tables away from customers in order to maintain distance.


• In the forum area, employees sit one cube away from customers they're interacting with.


• Employees are encouraged to communicate with one another through the Talk app to cut down on unnecessary movement within the store.


• Half of the workstations in the back are empty, with employees working at alternating workstations to keep more distance between them.


• Tables have been rearranged to put products on corners to prevent customers from being near one another.


• Products on tables have been reduced.


• Communal tables and couches have been removed from employee break rooms and have been replaced with individual chairs evenly spaced about the room.


• Operating hours are reduced.


• Employees are all wearing face masks.

After opening its South Korea store on April 16, Apple has reopened its sole store in Vienna, Austria, and 21 stores located in Australia. Stores in Germany will begin reopening on May 11, and all of the newly opened locations are following many of the same guidelines listed above to keep both customers and employees safe.

There's no word yet on when Apple retail stores in the United States will start to reopen, but Apple CEO Tim Cook last week said that stores in North America will begin reopening starting in the month of May.

Apple plans to evaluate data and make reopening decisions on a city by city, county by county basis, following local guidelines and recommendations before opening up a store.
This article, "Apple Preparing Retail Employees to Return to Work With Tips From South Korea Reopening" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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On Wednesday, May 1, 2019, Flayrah contributor 2cross2affliction wrote in the article 'Sonic the Hedgehog' ... the movie ... the trailer:

Fun fact: no movie directly adapted from a video game has ever scored as "fresh" on the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. [...] But, a new challenger approaches! [...] The question of whether this movie is going to be any good, perhaps unfairly, has mostly already been answered by the Internet. The answer so far has been no. No. Just no. Okay, maybe Jim Carrey? But otherwise, why? Why the human teeth? Why ten times?

Whoops. Turns out Sonic the Hedgehog somehow, against the odds, is rated Fresh by Rotten Tomatoes, with a score of 64% positive reviews from 175 professional opinions, as of this writing.

read more

After the bumper here, the review will get into spoiler territory. I will say that if you are a Sonic fan this movie will give you a sense of pride as it is far better than it should have had any right in being. Taking the franchise’s lore and resetting it to tell its own story, but retaining the strong characterization and quip heavy personalities of Sonic and Robotnik that makes their rivalry such a strong one. It also keeps the first entry simple with the hedgehog and doctor being the only two characters from the universe being in the film. This makes the story stronger since it can develop those two far more and not have to worry about any other kind of side character fan service for now.

Hey, at least now Sonic fans can brag to Mario ones that Mario may still be the king of games, but Sonic blew the plumber’s cinematic pieces out of the water. Not that that was a high bar I suppose. Then again, having better quality games than Sonic these days isn’t one either (the author quips while using a quote from Sonic Forces for his review’s headline).

In the video game Sonic the Hedgehog, timing is everything. While at the heart of the game is a fast paced platformer, its foundation has always been learning the layout of a level and timing your actions appropriately. In a twist, the timing of this film and its release had quite a bit of impact on my view of it.

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— seeya soon, boring details about today’s comic: made with:

On the Young Turks, Cenk Uygur quotes passages from Bob Woodward's book, "The Price of Politics", quoting statements made by President Obama proving that he intends to cut entitlements like social security, medicare, and medicaid. Continue reading →

Barack Obama promised to change the way things work in Washington, and after four years, nothing has changed: Corporate money controls President Obama and Congress. We need real change: vote for Rocky Anderson. Continue reading →

Thinking of using TurboTax to file your tax returns? Think again. The Minnesota Department of Revenue advises against using Intuit software to file tax returns! It found unacceptable errors in Intuit tax software, including TurboTax, ProSeries, Lacerte, and Intuit online. Continue reading →